Random Access

Monday – 09 February 2009
Another overcast day in the valley begins a new work week.

Last night, SaraRules and I watched Appaloosa, starring Ed Harris, Viggo Mortenson and Renee Zellweger and Jeremy Irons. It was a good movie. It both started and ended in unexpected ways, which we both enjoyed. Additionally, we were both surprised to find that the story had been written by Robert B. Parker, best known as the creator/author of the Spenser books.

Stray Toasters

• We still have nothing more concrete than “September or October,” at this point, for those keeping score.  More details as they are available. Stay tuned.
• London police demand that new pub owner installs a CCTV as a licensing condition
• 
• Two monkeys, one banana.
• Speaking of monkeys, last Wednesday’s  Monkey #1 actually apologized. Unglaublich!
• Facebook flashmob shuts down station
• Stevie Wonder’s Do I Do is a long song; it checks in at nearly 10:30 long!
• Steampunk puzzle game preview
• I’m going to try another 300 lb max bench press next week. Operative word: “Try.” The last time I tried, I couldn’t do it… but could get a rep at 250 lbs. We’ll see how it goes.
• Bankers can’t possibly afford NYC on a mere $500K/year
• 

Namaste.

Friday – 06 February 2009
Today is Bit’s first birthday:

And, in other news, it’s my day off. I actually caught myself watching part of The Price Is Right. Fortunately, I noticed that Bravo was airing The West Wing.

Last night, shockpuppet and came over for dinner. SaraRules fixed maple chicken with mashed sweet potatoes and green beans. Both the dinner and the company were excellent.

Four-Color Coverage
After our guests left, I read this week’s comics. Of the six books that I picked up, there were three standouts:

• Dark Reign: Secret Warriors #1 – A few years ago, Nick Fury disappeared. It eventually came to light that he was aware of… something… that wasn’t right in the world and went underground to find out what. The first thing that he found about was the impending Skrull invasion. The second was… well, you should read this book to find out. To combat his growing list of issues, Fury assembled a team of agents – super-powered agents – to handle the “heavy lifting,” so to speak. It was a good read, with interesting implications for the Marvel Universe.
• Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #3 (of 5) – Superboy-Prime. Mordru. The LSV. The 31st Century anti-alien Justice League. Superman… and the Legion. Correction: Three Legions – The “classic” LSH, Legionnaires and the Reboot Legion. And God bless George Perez – that man draws one hell of a splash page. And big fight scenes. And… and… yeah. Geoff Johns wrote a solid issue that even sees the return of [spoiler deleted]. Yep, definitely looking forward to Issue #4.
• X-Men: Noir #3 – I’m really enjoying this take on the X-mythos. Fred Van Lente even threw in a nod to the classic Scott-Jean-Logan triangle. Readers also got a look into the Magnus family dynamic and it’s quirks. Not only that, there was also an… explosive… scene including Pryor Airlines. Another good read.

Workout
Yesterday’s workout was a slightly modified version of Tuesday’s workout:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Lat Pull-downs (behind the head): 3 sets/15 reps, 110 lbs
• Row (Nautilus, compound row): 3 sets/12 reps, 125 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 70 lbs
• Push-ups: 3 sets/10 reps
• Core (plank): 2 sets/30 seconds

Stray Toasters

• Even though I’m off today, I have to run to the office. My turn on the pager rotation started yesterday… and I forgot to bring the pager home. D’oh!
• If I rode a motorcycle, I’d seriously have to consider getting a helmet/visor like this:

  

• I’m having lunch with Stefanie and in a bit. Hopper’s. Madame X Stout. Amen. Stefanie’s going to do a GL My Little Pony for me, similar to the Mac MLP that she did for .

“Up, up and away!”

Wednesday – 04 February 2009
Wow. I’d been in the office less than an hour… and already had two people that I’d like to introduce to the business end of my shoe. And the first one, happened less than 10 minutes after walking in the door.  The first person was spared my ire because he’s in the other office today; the second has been spared because it would be… um… “career limiting” for me to tell him that he is an [expletive deleted] moron.

I neglected to log yesterday’s workout:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 225 lbs, 2 sets @ 185 lbs
• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/15 reps, 110 lbs
• Row (Nautilus, compound row): 3 sets/12 reps, 125 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, hammer): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Side Bends: 2 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 70 lbs

Post workout weight: 184.3 lbs

Last night was a lazy night in… even though it wasn’t originally planned that way. I was supposed to head out to play ‘Clix with Perry, but a couple of the kids got sick, so he was on Kid Patrol last night. Instead, I stayed home, created a Peacebringer on CoH and watched The Secret Life of Bees with SaraRules. It was a coming-of-age movie, set in South Carolina in the 60s, at the height of the civil rights movement. It was well-paced and well-told. I give it a thumbs-up with an okay.

Stray Toasters

• In today’s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Australia holds ‘pigeon smuggler’
• Christians Bailing on GoDaddy Due to ‘Immoral’ Advertising
  I’m sorry… is this really something new? GoDaddy’s Super Bowl ads have been innuendo-laden for HOW many years now?! And people are just glomming onto this?!  Really?! Sorry, not buying it.  In fact, it reminds me of the Bill O’Reilly/Pepsi/Ludacris hullaballoo from a few years back.
• Automotive X-Prize Draws 25 Teams So Far
• 
• Ziggy Stardust remix album
• Bagels + cream cheese == good.
• Control-a-Cat Remote Control
• Today’s Monkey #2 just keeps stackin’ it up…
• Linda Hesh’s “Bench Project”
• Rob Cockerham writes article critical of Cash4Gold, gets offered cash to kill story

Back to it.

Namaste.

Friday – 30 January 2009
It’s quiet in the office today. Most of the people in our office recently started a 9/80 schedule – we work 80 hours in 9 days and get every other Friday off – and this is most of the office’s “off” Friday. The IT team has been split in two and my team works the odd Friday and will have next Friday off. I think that there are… six (6) of us in the building, so far.  (Must refrain from playing City of Heroes all day…)

Last night, SaraRules and I had dinner with our friend Murphy. Not Eddie. Not Peter. Papa. As in “Take and bake pizza.” It was good. After dinner (and a couple of episodes of NCIS and CSI:), we went to the gym:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Reverse Fly: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 70 lbs, 2 sets @ 80 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 140 lbs
• Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Rows: 3 sets/12 reps, 125 lbs
• Dips: 3 sets/10 reps

It was a short, but good, workout.

Post-workout weight: 186.0.
SaraRules suggested that I might think about cutting back on crack ginger snaps.  I suggested that she might be wrong in that… and that I could stop any time I wanted.  If I wanted to, that is.

Stray Toasters

• I apparently was very generous with the amount of coffee I scooped into the maker last night; this is a strong cup o’ joe.
• Barack and Michelle Obama lead celebration of new equal pay law
• “Longinus!”
• …who was also referenced in Final Crisis: Revelations. (It made me chuckle.)
• Black Swan author’s rules for living
• 
• Blagojevich ousted as Illinois governor
• Bionic teeth!
• GDP sees biggest drop in 27 years
• This user icon amused me:



• Lode Runner
• And, in other game-related news: DRM shuts down PC version of Gears of War

Namaste.

Wednesday – 28 January 2009
This month is flying by. Kind of odd to think that February starts next week… and that Bit will be a year old a few days after that. I’m also curious to see how Black History Month celebrations note the election of President Obama.

Last night, while watching TV, I assembled a couple more pieces for the WWG “City Planning” board: The Apartment Building and the Vacant Lot. When it’s all said and done, the first corner/block will look something like this.

SaraRules and I also went to the gym last night:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 205 lbs, 2 sets @ 185 lbs
• Rows (Nautilus, Compound Row): 3 sets/12 reps, 140 lbs
• Flys (Dumbbell, flat bench): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Shrugs: 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Curls: 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Lateral Raises (with forward fly): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Tricep Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 60 lbs
• Push-ups: 2 sets/10 reps

It was a pretty good workout.

Post-workout weight: 183.1 lbs

Stray Toasters

• The workday started off slowly, which was nice… but has since turned into “one thing after another.”
• After suspension for nodding at Obama, drum major quits
• T-Shirt Hell is closing up shop.
• By way of Liz and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: I knew that being a lawyer was a sometimes dirty job, but this takes it to a whole new level.
• Kindle 2: Electric Boogaloo?
• These are heels for dudes.
• Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow…
• MST3K Cast Reunites for Live Webcast
• A combination I never even considered: Zombie Hello Kitty Cake
• Peer reveals ‘cello scrotum’ hoax

Tonight: is coming over for dinner; I’m cooking Cornish game hens… but no idea as to what I want to do for vegetables.

Namaste.

Today’s workout was a little short, but was good:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set each: 225 lbs, 185 lbs, 205 lbs
• Curls (barbell, reverse grip): 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs (10-second hold on 10th rep)
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/15 reps, 140 lbs
• Reverse Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Lateral Raises (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Push-ups: 2 sets/15 reps

Post workout weight: 183.7 lbs

Wes and I hit the gym; with a couple minor modifications, we effectively repeated Tuesday’s workout:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 235lbs, 2 sets @ 185 lbs
• Rows (Nautilus): 3 sets/12 reps, 125 lbs
• Flys (dumbbell, flat bench): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Sit-ups (decline bench): 1 set/10 reps
• Reverse Deltoid Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/12 reps, 140 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, concentration): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Tricep Press (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 70 lbs
• Core (plank): 2 sets/30 seconds
• Push-ups: 1 set/10 reps

Post-workout weight: 183.7 lbs

Tuesday – 13 January 2009
Today has been/is being a mixed bag. A little feast, a little famine. And a couple of meetings, too.

I’m currently enjoying a brief respite from the hullaballoo.

Wes and I got in a slightly-later-than-usual workout:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs, with a 10-rep 135 lb warm-up
• Rows (Nautilus): 3 sets/12 reps, 125 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Reverse Deltoid Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions: 3 sets/12 reps, 140 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, concentration): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Tricep Press (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 70 lbs

Post-workout weight: 182.4 lbs

Stray Toasters
Maybe later. Or, more likely, tomorrow…

Thanks to Beth for the title to this post.

Today was the first day back in the gym in… 2½ weeks.  Wes and I did a short workout, but it was enough to remind me why I enjoy working out:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 225lbs, 2 sets @ 185 lbs
• Flys: 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Back Extension (machine): 3 sets/12 reps – 2 sets @ 120 lbs, 1 set @ 200 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 60 lbs

Post-workout weight: 183.4 lbs.
(Not bad, considering all of the holiday snacking I did.)

All-in-all, it wasn’t a bad way to kick of the first workout of the new year. And, maybe someday, I’ll look like this guy:

Yep. Lou Ferrigno.  *nod*

Friday – 19 December 2008
And it’s almost vacation-time. Amen.

I wound up not going to the gym yesterday… but I still got a workout (of sorts): All of the equipment that we moved last week?  We moved it to more permanent locations. In about 3 hours. It wasn’t an entirely pretty process, but the results don’t look half bad.

Last night, SaraRules and I went to Gardner Village to pick up a few Christmas gifts… and to stroll (briefly) around the grounds and look at the lights. Briefly because it was cold and windy. But, the trip was otherwise successful. After that, we had dinner at Olive Garden. I had the Chicken Carbonara with a glass of Kendal Jackson Riesling; SaraRules had the Apricot Chicken.

Last night’s sleep was… broken. Very broken. I woke up at least three times between 3 AM and 6:30 AM. For no apparent reason that I can discern. Oh, well. I don’t have to get up for anything tomorning, so I’ll try to make it up tonight.

Stray Toasters

• Sweet Game-loving Jesus: The CoH Mac client is in beta testing. *downloading*
• By way of SaraRules – The Sartorialist: On Zoot Suits, Baggies, Stacy Adams & 125th Street
• Since the Satorialist’s post references them…  Ladies and Gentlemen, I give to you… The Time
  Morris Day |MTV Music
• For Meliko: McCarthyism
• Help select the 100 greatest Looney Toons
• 
• Father punishes son with public humiliation

Namaste.

Wes, Marci and I hit the gym at lunch today:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Incline Press (Icarian): 3 sets/10 reps, 140 lbs
• Rows (machine): 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 120 lbs, 2 sets @ 100 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, hammer): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Shrugs (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Lower Back Extensions (aerobics room): 3 sets/10 reps
• Push-ups: 3 sets/10 reps

All-in-all it was a good workout… especially for a day when I was somewhat ambivalent about going to the gym.

Post-workout weight: 180.8 lbs

Thursday – 11 December 2008
Welcome to another NBN Thursday.

Last night was a low-key stay-at-home night. And that was fine with me. I fixed a little dinner, watched some TV, enjoyed a visit from SaraRules, and read yesterday’s four-color haul. Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday evening, if I do say so myself.

Chew on This: Food for Thought – Charitable Donations
Since I no longer work for the USPS, I don’t have Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charitable contributions coming out of my check. That’s a shame, because I enjoyed being able to donate to charities that resonated with me.

Last year, I made something of a Christmas resolution: Select a charity and make a donation to it. After a bit of investigation, via Charity Navigator, I decided to donate to the Children’s Defense Fund. With Christmas rolling around again, I’m starting to think about this year’s giving. I may still give to CDF, but I’m weighing other options, as well.

To that end, I thought I’d solicit opinions of others to see what organizations they donate to or think of as worthwhile entities for donations. So, if you have an organization to whom you make charitable donations, I’d be interested in what it is and, if you’d care to do so, why you find it worthwhile.  Thanks!

Four-Color Coverage
There were a couple of noteworthy items in yesterday’s books:

• Justice League of America #27 – This issue featured the (long overdue) “integration” of the heroes of the Milestone Universe into the Mainstream DCU. It also featured the return of Doctor Light – the heroine, not the villain that the Teen Titans used to smack around back in the day. This issue had the return of Icon and the Shadow Cabinet… and setup the traditional “We’re here to save the day/world/universe/creation, and we’ll do it even if we have to go through you first” battle between the Shadow Cabinet and the JLA.
• Legion of Super-Heroes: The More Things Change

  

  When I saw this TPB in the store, it wasn’t a question of “Am I going to buy this,” it was more a question of “Am I going to be able to wait until I read everything else before reading it?” I was… and the journey to the 31st Century DCU was well worth the wait. The book reprints a number of Legion stories from the late 80s; some of the stories I had read, some I had not – this was during the time when there were two Legion books: The Legion of Super-Heroes (available at specialty shops only) and Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes (which was available at newstands, 7-11s and just about anywhere comics were sold). LSH was printed on high-quality Baxter paper; TotLSH was printed on newsprint and ran a one-year-long story… before reprinting the stories from LSH. (Oh, DC, you greedy double-dipping bastards…) If you’re a long-time Legion fan, this would make an excellent addition to your collection.

• Secret Invasion: Dark Reign #1 – The invasion is over and the aftermath is being dealt with. [SPOILER DELETED] has been charged with picking up the pieces of S.H.I.E.L.D. and putting things back in order. Their first order of business: Putting together an eerily Illuminati-like group to delegate authority… and responsibility. It’s an interesting premise, but I found myself distracted – not in a good way – by the artwork at some points, especially in panels involving Namor.

Stray Toasters

• I have wanted a Gamora HeroClix figure ever since Chris first used it to kick my butt. (And every time that it’s been used against me since then, too…) I’ve been watching eBay to see if one pops up at a reasonable price, but haven’t bid on one. Yesterday, while at Dr. Volt’s, I picked up a couple of boosters of Secret Invasion ‘Clix. There was a Gamora in one of them.
• Missing inflatable breast mystery — solved!
• From ThinkGeek: DNA Portrait
• Actor cuts throat on Vienna stage
• From the home to the arcade: Guitar Hero enters the arcade
• Everybody Wang Chung tonight…
• At home with avant-garde Syrian artist

I’m skipping the gym today. I tweaked something in my shoulder on Tuesday, it seems. So, I’ll just go on Saturday, before the ‘Clix tourney.

Namaste.

Wes and I hit the gym at lunch. We decided to try max presses first: He’s just shy of 225 lbs. and I couldn’t do anything with 300, but I was good with 250. We’re going to try again in a couple of weeks. With that out of the way, we got on to the rest of the workout:

• Leg Raises: 50 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Flys (dumbbell, flat bench): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, hammer grip): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Tricep Extension (dumbbell, overhead): 3 sets/10 reps, 40 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, middle block): 3 sets/10 reps, 15 lbs
• Flys (machine): 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 100 lbs, 2 sets @ 110 lbs
• Back Extensions (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 140 lbs
• Push-ups: 3 sets/15 reps

Post-workout weight: 181.2 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• The Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to note that UDoT has updated the Commuterlink site.
• I’m tired.
  I’m also pretty much done for the day.
  I may just go home and take a nap before heading out for dinner.
  (Or I may play City. Or Ultimate Alliance. Or something.)
• Thanks to for pointing out Beware of the Doghouse
• Meetings. YAY! *ack-phbbbpt*
• has convinced me that some people “…should never ever have clones.”
• USPS Server Meltdown – “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds…” but a busted server? Yeah, that’ll do it.

Namaste.

Wes and I hit the gym again at lunch. We did a variation of Tuesday’s workout:

• Dips: 3 sets/10 reps
• Bench press: 3 sets/15 reps, 155 lbs
• Curls (dumbell, concentration): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Bent-over Rows: 3 sets/12 reps, 30 lbs
• Lateral raises (with forward rotation): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Reverse Punches: 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (dumbbell, overhead): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs

Post-workout weight: 180.9 lbs.

Not a bad workout, overall.  The extra reps on bench, even at the lower weight, made my arms quite tired. And, from the way that I was dragging on lateral raises, I can tell I need to do them more often, too.

Stray Toasters

• From BBC News: Congresswoman hangs up on Obama
• Santa hat pasties
• Edible Electronics Monitor Drugs in Your Body
• I have a ‘Clix tourney on Saturday. This one’s going to be interesting: 300 points, but no single figure can be more than 50 points. I’ve been looking at who that leaves as eligible. Part of me is thinking of doing a team and calling it “Prisoner Transfer” and filling it with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and/or police officers and thugs/henchmen – no one with superpowers.  I do have a couple of other ideas that I’m mulling over, but the “Prisoner Transfer” idea just makes me laugh.
• Prince rewards spendy fans with DRM-crippled downloads

Namaste.

Wednesday – 03 December 2008
Mid-week. And stuff.

«REWIND«
Wes and I hit the gym yesterday at lunch:

• Dips: 3 sets/10 reps
• Bench press: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 200 lbs; 2 sets @ 185 lb
• Curls (dumbell, concentration): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Side bends: 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Lateral raises: 3 sets/10 reps, 15 lbs
• Push-ups (elevated): 3 sets, 10 reps

I think that was everything. And I neglected to throw in Friday’s workout, too… but it was basically the same as last Tuesday’s, but with lighter weight, as I was working out with SaraRules.

Post-workout weight: 180.1 lbs.

›PLAY›
Last night, I had some grand delusions/designs of possibly breaking down my Rokenbok/LEGO train table. But, by the time I got home, I realized that it was almost time for the new episode of NCIS… so I sat on the couch to watch it.

I should have worked on the table, because about 15 minutes into the episode, the TV was watching me.

I faded in and out during the episode, but woke up for the very end of it. At that point, I figured that I should eat something… and it was time for Fringe. So I ate and watched Fringe. No falling asleep this time. I considered working on the table after it went off, but I got involved in surfing the Interwebs. So, the table remains a task for another day.

Today, I’ve already had an impromptu, albeit brief, meeting and put out a couple of minor fires. I call that a decent start to the day. And I get to hand off The Leash today, after two weeks of being on-call; I opted to do the two weeks on so that I can have two weeks off while I’m on vacation. Win-win.

Stray Toasters

• There’s a chance of snow in the forecast. I’m somewhat surprised – though not upset – that we haven’t seen very much so far this year.
• American folk music legend Odetta dies at 77
• From NPR Music: Best CDs of 2008
• Why the love affair with man-eating plants?
  
• By way of ThinkGeek:

  
  (click image for details)

• Some people stop at nothing
  If you’re searching for something
  Lay down the law
  Shout out for more
  Breakout and shout, day in day out
  Breakout
• First Look: Static in the DC Universe
  I really want to make a joke/pun about the Milestone Universe being “integrated” into the DC Universe… but it’s a little too easy. Suffice if to say that I’m glad that it’s being done and it’s a bit overdue. In fact, the 2003 season opener of Static Shock, “Hard as Nails“, that made a sideways nod (second quote) to the issue of a shared universe.
• Will Iron Man 2 feel the Black Widow’s sting?
• 
• How comics can save us from scientific ignorance

I’m not sure if today is a sushi day or not, but comics won’t be in until tomorrow.

Namaste.