Random Access

Thursday – 17 July 2008
4th and 1, so to speak.
I’m good with that.
AND… it’s NBN Sushi Thursday.
Bang.

Last night, I picked up an anemic number of books from Dr. Volt’s. I supplemented it by picking up one box, each, of Justice League and Avengers HeroClix. The JL box was nothing but duplicates; the Avengers box had a Rare Bucky figure.

I stopped in to hang with SaraRules’ family for a bit before heading home. When I got home I plopped down on the couch, unpacked Defiant, turned on the TV… and proceeded to nod off. I’m still not sure exactly how long I was out, but it was a little odd to awaken and not be really sure “what just happened…?”

I got up, got mobile and fixed a bite to eat. Then, it was time to hit the mean streets of Paragon City. I logged in and was invited to join a team almost immediately. I did. We fought The Freakshow. Level 30+…. which meant that I got sidekicked up to 29. And the XP started rolling in. By the time I logged off, I had tacked on a level-and-a-half. As an added bonus, an old server-mate from when I first started playing logged on and joined the team.

And I got to watch The Sisko Show and Seven Days, to boot!

I had a few (more) odd dreams this morning…

…and woke up with Here He Comes, by Will Smith, running through my head.

Workout
Mark, Wes and I hit the gym at lunch yesterday. Wes wanted to do some triceps exercises, so we worked back and triceps:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps – 205 lbs
• Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps – 120 lbs
• Reverse Deltoid Flys: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set @ 60 lbs, 2 sets @ 70 lbs
• Tricep Press (rotating flat bar): 3 sets/10 reps – 80 lbs
• Tricep Press (rope extensions): 3 sets/10 reps – 60 lbs
• Push-ups (diamond): 1 set/15 reps

It was a good workout… and tiring. My shoulders are a little stiff/sore this morning, but I’m otherwise rather pain-free. But, I forgot to check my post-workout weight. Bah.

Stray Toasters

• Happy Anniversary to OnlyAly and !



• Ravens agree to deal with first-round QB Joe Flacco
• From the “Can’t Win for Losing” file: Rev. Jackson allegedly used ‘n-word’ on Fox News
• 
• Gaping hole in Gmail privacy
• Raspberry or not-Raspberry? You make the call.
• “Okay, son… we’ll go camping right after I stop at the bank.”

• The Bicknell International Film Festival
• I [heart] CoH/CoV… but I may have to give this some consideration:

• Sega Says the iPhone Is As powerful As the Dreamcast

Namaste.

Tuesday – 15 July 2008
“Sleeping in” is what occurs when one decides to ignore alarms in order to spend more time in The Dreaming
“Oversleeping” is what occurs when one fails to awaken at or by a certain time to begin the day.

Three guesses as to which one I did this morning.
Hint: I was up until 2:00 this morning watching The Middleman and stumble-dragged myself into bed when it was over and alarms were deemed “evil” in my sleep-addled brain.

After work yesterday, I headed home changed clothes and waited for Chris to show up… and then we headed over to play HeroClix with Perry. We played a 2-on-1 game – Chris versus Perry and me; 300 points, unrestricted. I played with the team I used in Saturday’s tourney and Perry used the Abomination and the Super-Adaptoid. Chris used Magneto and an assortment of mutants (with a couple of human Paramedics). And, as an added bonus: We played on a map that I have learned to hate. With a passion. And Chris beat us down. Soundly. We did manage to take out Wolverine… and nearly defeated Cyclops. But, it was fun.

Stray Toasters

• I have to keep reminding myself that today is “Tuesday” and not “Wednesday.”
• Cyberbullying grows bigger and meaner with photos, video
• I think I’m going to get a Rikti Monkey for my Veteran Rewards pet:



• By way of ThinkGeek: Under Construction t-shirt
• Chicago is seeing the dearth of the blues
• 
• From the “Grace Under Pressure” file: ‘It was like I was on rollerblades,’ says Miss USA
• From ‘untouchable’ to role model
• Vegan Zombie t-shirt



• Server room: Day 2
• Wes just bowed out of today’s workout. *sigh* Maybe I’ll hit the gym on the way home from tonight’s Scion game.
• I need to pare down some of the music in my iTunes. I have far too many duplicate entries…

Ka-POW!

Mark, Wes and I headed to the gym at lunchtime. We repeated the routine that Wes and I did last week, for the most part:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs.
• Flys (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs, with 10 sec. hold on the 10th rep
• Curls (standing, hammer): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs.
• Lateral Raises (with forward extension): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs.
• Tricep Extensions (standing, dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 45 lbs.

Today’s post-workout weight: 175.3 lbs.

Overall, it felt good. We’re going to try to squeeze in another workout on Thursday, if possible. And, hopefully, we didn’t make Mark want to murder us… assuming that he’s able to lift his arms high enough to do so.

Stray Toasters

• Speeders to pay for police chases
• Thanks to Derek for this one: 35,310 LEGO Star Wars Clone Trooper Army Invades Earth
• By way of The Weekly Crisis
  • 10 Stories Essential to Understanding the Current Marvel Universe
  • 10 Stories Essential to Understanding the Current DC Universe
• From the “It shouldn’t be like this” file: Woman dies ignored on hospital waiting room floor
  

Back to it…

Wednesday – 25 June 2008
During the work day, I (and usually a coworker or two) take walks around the complex/campus/whatever you’d care to call it. This week, I’ve had a couple of amusing/interesting experiences:

1. There are trees along the south end of the path where we walk. Apparently, there are a couple of new nests in some of those trees. Wes and I were… not quite “dive bombed”… more “strafed”… as we walked along the path. The first time it happened, I felt a little like Tippi Hedren in The Birds. And the second and third times, too. I may suggest altering our walking path for the next couple of weeks.
2. On Monday afternoon’s walk, I was almost done with my walk when I approached a couple of ladies walking in the same direction, but more slowly, than me. I was a few feet behind one of them when I said,”Excuse me, please, ladies.” One froze, the other… yelped (best word for it). Hell, I froze, too. They hadn’t heard me approaching; I had figured that since I was wearing hard-soled shoes and was on a cement walkway, they had heard my footsteps. No go, Flight. It took the yelping lady a few moments to regain her composure.

Yesterday also included a workout with Wes. It’s the first time I’ve been back to the Gold’s on Van Winkle in close to two years. Nice gym… although a couple of the patrons were ass-monkeys. “It takes all kinds,” I guess. The routine was a little short, but good:

• Recumbent Bike: 0.5 miles, 100 rpm
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs.
• Flys (machine): 3 sets/10 reps, 100 lbs.
• Curls (standing, hammer): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs.
• Lateral Raises (with forward extension): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs.
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/10 reps, 60 lbs.

Last night was lazy. I came home, cooked dinner, sat on the couch and vegged. I also finished off the Superman card I’ve been working on:

I’m pretty happy with it. Once again, finding quotes was a right royal pain, but I wanted to find some from various sources (comics, TV series and movies). I think that the quote I’m most fond of is “Excuse me, sir. Would you care to step outside,” from Superman: The Movie.

Stray Toasters

• I just chatted with ; all’s well with him, Bot and Bit.
• “Can You Hear Me Now?”
  A cellphone. *shakes head*
• You don’t need no finesse or no personality
  You just need two arms and an attitude.
  And everybody sing with me, come on now!
• I found these images in Derek’s blog. I’m liberating them in the name of the people:
  • 
  • 
• , this sounds like something you might want to check out: Sarah Milstein on urban hiking
• By way of Indexed:



• Man in wheelchair charged with drunk driving

Time to hit it.

Namaste.

Today’s workout was good; it was a rehash of Tuesday’s routine, with a change in some of the weights:

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps – 1 set each at: 225 lbs, 205 lbs and 185 lbs
• Flys (Nautilus, high-to-low): 3 sets/10 reps, 110 lbs
• Bent-over Rows (barbell): 3 sets/12 reps – 1 set @ 95 lbs, 2 sets at 105 lbs
• Bench Dips: 3 sets/15 reps with 45 lb plate
• Lateral Raises (with forward extensions x3): 3 sets/4 reps, 12 lbs
• Push-ups: 1 set/10 reps

Pre-workout weight: 174.6 lbs.

Hopefully, I won’t be as sore on tomorrow or Saturday as I was yesterday and earlier today.

I also noticed something today that was rather geeky/amusing: When I was working up to my 300-pound bench press, I would internally emphasize that moving the weight was a matter of willpower. Which, all things considered, it is: Push the body, push the weight. “Mind over matter.” Pretty basic. It’s still in the back of my head when I’m working out, more often than not.

Today, I noticed something else: I was reciting the Green Lantern oath (the second one, “In brightest day…”) in my head as I was doing some of the exercises… especially the ones that “hurt” or that I didn’t want to do. To be honest, the cadence of the oath even fit the pace of the exercises. And GLs are all about willpower… so, it fit.

Geeky, yes.
But that’s just the way I’m wired, I guess.

Today is Kris’ birthday. I called her this morning… but didn’t get an answer. I tried again this afternoon with much better success.

After work, I headed home to change clothes and have a bite to eat.

Next up: Scion… for the first time in nearly two months.

Workout
Today’s workout wasn’t too bad… considering that it’s been a week since I was last in the gym.

• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Flys (Nautilus, high-to-low): 3 sets/12 reps – 1 set @ 95 lbs, 2 sets @ 110 lbs
• Bent-over Rows (barbell): 3 sets/12 reps – 1 set @ 55 lbs, 2 sets at 70 lbs
• Bench Dips: 3 sets/15 reps – 1 set with 40 lb dumbbell, 1 set with 45 lb plate
• Lateral Raises (with forward extensions x3): 3 sets/4 reps – 2 sets @ 15 lbs, 1 set @ 8 lbs
• Push-ups: 1 set/10 reps

Post-workout weight: 175.6 lbs

Stray Toasters

• Terence Stamp talks Valkyrie and Superman II
• …which reminds me: General Zod – 2008 Presidential Candidate

  

• Best and Worst-Dressed in Sci-Fi
• “Genuine Leather”



• How… HOW… in the Nine Hells do you manage to hit yourself in the head with a nail gun?!
• Edo Period-style Pac-Man fan art
• Giger-esque furniture from old motorbikes

Namaste.

Tuesday – 03 June 2008
Last night, I got home to find that my Giants set of ‘Clix had arrived. As I had some errands to run, I took the package, unopened, with me. I’ll come back to that one in a minute.

One of the evening’s errands was to take my guitar to Acoustic Music. The bridge had… separated… from the body, rendering the instrument pretty much useless. They will reattach the bridge and restring the guitar; I should have it back inside of a week. I had asked Tom (SaraRules’ friend) and Bruce (from Jitterbug) where the best place to take it would be – both of them said Acoustic Music. First choice. No hesitation. (Well, there was a little hesitation from Tom, as he tried to recall the name of the place, but it was still his first choice.)

One of the other “errands” was to see if Chris was home and show him the Giants set. He was. I did. He laughed when I told him that I came by just to show him the figures, but he liked them. (The sculpts and paint jobs are really good, the pictures on the site don’t do ’em justice.) He didn’t recognize all of the characters, but he did know a few of them.

On to the store to pick up a few groceries and then home. I cooked dinner: Grilled chicken over angel hair pasta with a garden salad and a glass of Gewurtztraminer to wash it down. Aside from neglecting to turn on the range hood fan while cooking – and thus having a little too much smoke in the apartment and THUS setting off the smoke detector – it was good.

I even got to watch ST:DS9 and Seven Days. before calling it a night.

Workout
Back in the saddle again:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Pulldowns (close grip): 3 sets/12 reps, 120 lbs
• Shoulder Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/15 reps – 30 lbs (1 set), 35 lbs (2 sets)
• Bent-over Row: 3 sets/10 reps, 35 lbs
• Wrist Curls: 2 sets (each)/15 reps – 55 lbs (reverse), 45 lbs (forward)

Pre-workout weight: 172.4 lbs.

I don’t know what I did to lose two pounds over the last week, but I’m not going to argue.

Stray Toasters

• SaraRules got to interview the Mayor of Aspen yesterday. Her recap of it made me laugh.
• Radio From Hell (known as “Radio from Heck,” in Happy Valley) has a LiveJournal account. Who knew!?
• “Secret Agent” and “Salmon”
• America’s Unhealthiest Drinks Exposed
• 
• Steampunk R2
• Interesting note: Jonathan LaPaglia, Seven Days‘ protagonist and his brother, Without a Trace‘s Anthony LaPaglia, are Australian; you’d never know from their accent… or lack thereof. Jonathan LaPaglia was a physician before switching to acting. He graduated with an M.B.B.S. degree from the University of Adelaide.
• Mel Gibson, however is NOT Australian; his family moved there from New York when he was a young boy.
• 13 Movie Mementos Lost in the Universal Studios Fire That No One Will Miss
• 
• Hugh Jackman is still Australian.
• Bardot fined for stoking hate race

/lunch

Namaste.

Tuesday – 27 May 2008
The rain is gone.
The boxes are no longer in my car.
SaraRules is on her way to Colorado for summer camp The Aspen Music Festival.

Today’s going pretty well. For today’s workout, I wanted to do a few back-related exercises, as I feel like we’ve been ignoring that area. So, it went a little something like this:

• Leg raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench press: 3 sets/12 reps, 185 lbs
• Reverse fly: 3 sets/10 reps, 82.5 lbs
• Decline press: 3 sets/12 reps – 135 lbs (first and third sets), 155 lbs (second set)
• Rows (standing, barbell, close grip handle): 3 sets/12 reps – 45 lbs (first set), 70 lbs (second and third sets)
• Leg raises: 3 sets/10 reps
• Back extensions: 2 sets/12 reps

All-in-all it was a good workout. Today’s weigh-in weight: 174.4 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• I’ve been trying to convince a coworker to buy a (at least one) MacBook. He’s considering it.
• Pain Lies on the Riverside
• Do whites need training before raising black children?
• Happy 5th Birthday to WordPress.
• Plants, for your health
• I may have to make a trip to Aspen to attend this.
• If Will Smith had one of these, I Am Legend might have been a (slightly) different movie.
  (Thanks to for pointing this out.)
• Adult balloon-twisters and gospel balloon-twisters battle
• SaraRules just called; she made it to camp Aspen safely and is getting settled in.

Quote of the Day
Just when I think that conversations with can’t get any better, he proves me wrong:

: bot/bit made it to US soil. not to DC yet tho
: Good deal.
They still have about 1:30 to go before they hit DCA, right?
: give or take. she said they were running late but not sure if it was them being late or the planes
: Gotcha.
: How are you this evening/early morning?
: eh…didn’t sleep last night. probably won’t sleep much tonight. frazzled. and in the middle of a packout. no pressure.
: Packout?
: yeah, movers came and started to pack and crate all our stuff
: ah.
: Dude. Condi… on the piano?
In Aspen?
: yeah she’s actually really good
: HAVE to see if SaraRules can score tix for that.
: wait…black person? in aspen?
: *ding*
: is that allowed?
: We’ll find out in 3 weeks.
I’ll send detailed reports.
But… Condi’s there in August. Performing, apparently.
http://www.aspenmusicfestival.com/index.cfm?&swf_plugin=0,9,0
: she going to take over any small countries full of brown people w/oil on her way over?
: No idea.
: there are brown people in texas. maybe we can make arrangements
: True enough.
And there are a FEW in Kansas.
: doubtful. it’s kansas.
: Seen ’em.
Been in a couple of rib joints.
: people see bigfoot too, rob
: But…
*sigh*
FINE.
: lol i think we have the makings of a really offensive comedy sketch
“crikey…i’m on the lookout for a negro…”
: By Jove! Kansas!
: i believe you. really i do
next thing you’ll tell me is that there are black people in utah.
: No.
There aren’t.
Just me.
And I tell people that I just had a really bad sunburn.
: damn. that’s some 4th degree shit
: You’d be amazed what people believe here.
*rimshot*
: dammit. now you have me thinking of ribs.
: 🙂
: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/05/27/tranracial.adoption.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
: so….moral of the story is that it’s better to leave the little black kids in orphanages/foster homes?
: Apparently.
: i noticed no mention of any white kids being adopted by non-white families
: What self-respecting “person of color” wants to adopt a white kid?
Hell…
Bruce Wayne didn’t even want to.
He just made Dick Grayson a “ward.”
: well if you’re looking for well adjusted, master wayne isn’t the way to go
: I’m just saying…
Mr. Drummond adopted two!
: yes but one of them was a sassy midget
who wouldn’t take that kid?
: Touche.
: he’s the rich man’s webster
: And there’s another case: Webster.
White folk.
Black kid.
Adopt a white kid?
No way, man.
: big fat greek guy.
: I see…
Greek guys want to have black kids.
Is that why you married Bot?
: lol yes, we’re all infected with the fever
: (I’ll allow you to decline to answer that)
: me? decline? please.

Tonight: ‘Clix and Scion.

Namaste.

Wednesday: Coda
Today hasn’t been bad. I started the day (briefly) in SLC and then headed to AF. Not too much was going on there, but there were a couple of small… not even fires… to deal with. And the first workout in about two weeks. It was a decent workout, but having been out of the gym for so long, it was a definite challenge:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs.
• Upright Rows: 3 sets – 1 set/8 reps @ 70 lbs, 2 sets/10 reps @ 50 lbs (we think)
• Curls (dumbbell, concentration): 3 sets/10 reps, 25 lbs
• Rows: 3 sets/12 reps, 120 lbs.

I weighed in at 174.4 lbs. I don’t think that’s too bad.

I headed back up to SLC to round out the day. It was pretty quiet, so I was able to get a decent bit of Win 2K3 reading done.

Home to play around with ‘Nine. Installing a couple of the drivers was like going around my ass to scratch my nose. Yay for Windoze. Blah.

Stray Toasters

• City of Heroes/City of Villains new update, Issue 12: Midnight Hour, went live today.
• asked me if I had seen this article about PHP coding (all functions that begin with the letter “a”). I hadn’t. I asked him if he had heard A, by Barenaked Ladies. He hadn’t. He has now.
• On today’s Fresh Air, David Bianculli interviewed Mark Evanier, author of Kirby: King of Comics
• Five Gadgets That Will Make You a Super Hero
• …however, although I don’t think that injections of radioactive scorpion venom will turn Senator Kennedy into a superhero, it will hopefully slow the progress of his tumor.
• Spider-Bot!
  Spider-Bot!
  Does what Ted Kennedy cannot!
  (Climb walls, that is.)
• I bagged on Twitter a few of days ago. I still agree with ‘s comment – and I find this Penny Arcade toon to be fairly spot-on (and amusing) – but I think that Gizmodo found a good use for Twitter.
• 
• Refurbished iPhones Might Still Have Previous Owners’ Personal Data, No Way to Erase It

Namaste.

Monday – 05 May 2008
Cinco de Mayo.

Last night, after we moved some of SaraRules’ things and had dinner, we watched Night Watch and Cloverfield.  It’s been a while since I’ve seen Day Watch; I need to watch it again to get the full story.  Seeing Cloverfield on the small screen was good as it didn’t have the same overwhelming sense of “Blair Witch cam”-induced sensory overload that seeing it on the big screen had.  (No, sitting on the fourth row of the theatre had nothing to do with it…)  It was also good because of the special features.  There was one interview that mentioned something about the story of which neither of us was aware.  Knowing this item changes the dynamic of the movie a bit.

Meanwhile, back in northern Utah…

The commute wasn’t bad this morning.  The monkeys were pretty well-behaved.  This is not to say that there wasn’t action:

I had just crossed into Beaver County when I got passed by a red Mazda or Acura or Infinity.  The lady driving it looked like she was on a mission.  I was doing somewhere around 80 MPH and she cruised right on past me.  She didn’t exactly leave me in the dust, but she was moving at a good clip.  I decided to ghost her, lagging behind about seven to ten car lengths.  We drove through Beaver, no problem.  Just north of Beaver, she crested a hill as she cruised up behind a van and a truck.  Approaching the top of the hill, I decided to back off the gas a little.

Good thing, too.  As I hit the summit, there was a UHP Dodge Charger in the middle of a U-turn.  I backed off a little more; he completed his turn a few lengths behind me.  He cruised along, off my driver’s side rear quarter panel.  Then he sped up a bit.  Just after he passed me, he dropped the pedal and hit the lights.

Target: Red car.

He rolled up behind her.  She was apparently oblivious to this fact.  He must have stayed behind her for nearly a half-mile before she rubbed a couple of brain cells together, mustered up a clue and pulled over

Other than that, the drive was uneventful until I got to NEHPI Nephi – there was an overturned tractor-trailer just south of Exit 225.

Workout
Today’s workout focus was shoulders:

• Flys (Nautilus): 3 sets/15 reps – 95 lbs, 125 lbs, 95 lbs.
• Shoulder Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 40 lbs
• Upright Rows (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Lateral Raises (dumbbell): 3 sets/12 reps, 12 lbs
• Back Extensions: 2 sets/15 reps, using 5 lb. weights to do flys at the top of the extension

Post-workout weight: 170.4 lbs.

We tried a few shoulder presses with 50 lb. dumbbells.  They felt awkward and too heavy.  We also tried them on a couple of benches – The first one, a preacher curl bench, just felt “wrong;” the second was a flat bench, which provided no back support.

Stray Toasters

• Florida in t-minus three days and counting…
• The Evolution of Video Game Music
• Iron Man wound up making $101M (USD) over the weekend.  Somehow, I think that they’ll easily recover the costs of making/marketing the movie.  Call it a hunch.
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Woman without hands asked for fingerprints
• #000000 Power T-shirt



• The 50 Greatest Commercial Parodies of All-Time

/lunch

Namaste.

It was still snowing when I woke up this morning.
And there was a trace of accumulation.
Madness!

Workout
Today’s routine was less… stellar than some recent ones have been. But, it was a workout, nonetheless:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets / 20reps
• Bench Press (barbell): 3 sets
  • Set 1: 5 reps, 225 lbs, 5 res, 185 lbs
  • Sets 2 & 3: 10 reps, 185 lbs
• Curls (barbell): 3 sets / 10 reps, 55 lbs
• Flys (Nautilus): 3 sets / 15 reps, 95 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, Hammer grip): 3 sets, 10 reps, 20 lbs
• Decline Oblique Crunches: 1 set / 10 reps per side

The inside of my shoulder started to twinge a bit during the first set of bench presses, so I decided to back off on the weight. That seemed to help some, but there was still a little sore-/tenderness. I’ll be keeping an eye on that.

Pre-workout weight: 172.8 lbs.

Stray Toasters

• Last night, while waiting for dinner to cook, I read this week’s four-color haul. There were a LOT of reveals in different books:
  • Action Comics
  • DC Universe 0
  • The New Avengers

  And not just throw-away stuff, either. Some good solid “Oscillating blades, meet fecal material” setup for this summer’s events.

• By way of : Stupid, stupid burning brightly or how not to win an election
• You’re charging me for what?! Airline fees way up since January 1
• The bottom line.
• pinged me this morning to say that he had just seen the new trailer for The Incredible Hulk. As he put it: “…didn’t realize there was going to be Hulk-on-Hulk action” I explained that it was actually The Abomination… but that it technically was Hulk-on-Hulk action.
• I am going to miss CSI: tonight, as SaraRules and I are going out with friends, but this amuses me:



• As I neither saw a mushroom cloud nor heard calls for evacuations from the valley, I am going to take it on good faith that now has his PS3 and GTA4… and that no innocents were unduly harmed in the process of him acquiring it. The guilty, however… well… sometimes, you just have to set an example.
• Speaking of GTA4: For everyone who is so worried about its content, repeat after me: “It’s a GAME. I really should get over it.”

/lunch

Namaste.

Monday – 28 April 2008
Indulge

Pronunciation: \in-ˈdəlj\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): in·dulged; in·dulg·ing

Etymology: Latin indulgēre to be complaisant

Date: circa 1623

That’s exactly what I did this morning: Indulged myself with staying in bed. Forty-five whole extra minutes. Alarm? Yep, it was set. And it went off. A few times.

Didn’t matter.
Didn’t care.

This morning was about enjoying the last vestiges of the first full good night’s sleep that I’ve had in almost a week. And it was totally worth it. As an added bonus, I got to spend a little more time with SaraRules. Can’t beat that at twice the price, either. Sure, it meant a later start to the commute. And a later end to the work day, but like I said:

Didn’t matter.
Didn’t care.

Workout
Coming back to a workout after a week off is not fun. Today was no exception. We pretty much did (most of) last Monday’s routine:

• Bench Press (barbell): 3 sets/8 reps – 2.5 sets @225 lbs, half-set @ 185 lbs
• Curls (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps – 2 sets @ 70 lbs, 1 set @ 50 lbs
• Flys (Nautilus): 3 sets/15 reps, 95 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, Hammer grip): 3 sets, 10 reps, 25 lbs
• Dips: 2 sets, 20 reps & 15 reps

Post-workout weight: 170.2 lbs.
(If nothing else, not having an appetite for four days helped get rid of a few pounds…)

Home. Everything seems to be in one piece. That’s a good sign.

Stray Toasters

• Thanks to an excellent suggestion from , The Covet List is now being given form as my Amazon Wish List.
• America’s Dirty Little Oil Secret: Plastic Bottles and Bags
• 
• Chris and I are playing ‘Clix tomorrow. I get to try out Galactus. I should probably bone up on the special rules for him before we play…
• Apple has upgraded the iMac.
• , can you explain why your team gave up all their draft picks until the fourth round?!
• Guilty: Jury Convicts Reiser of First-Degree Murder
• Wow… sounds like my desk:



• I’ve mentioned before, but you should also check out Brad Guigar’s other comics, Courting Disaster and Phables.
• Even though the content is often very similar, I think that I like Gizmodo a little better than Engadget.

And now, to see if I can figure out what sounds good for dinner…

Namaste.

Monday – 21 April 2008
I am back in the northlands once more. Today’s commute was uneventful. There was one odd/amusing thing, though: Driving through Meadow, you pass a cattle ranch on the east side of the interstate. This morning, there was a calf outside the cattle pens, grazing along the outside of the fence. It seemed rather nonplussed about the fact that the other cattle were “over there” and just kept chewing at the grass near one of the fence posts.

I had dinner with SaraRules and Rachel last night; we invited Lish, but he punked out on us. (I’m trying to attribute his reluctance to join us to the fact that he was working on a project and not to the fact that I kind of, sort of… threw him through a door Saturday night.) Dinner was nice. After that, SaraRules and I stopped at the local Hollywood Video to pick up a copy of The Magnificent Seven, a movie which I have (somehow) managed to never see before. I liked it. Quite a bit. I will have to add it to the collection at some point.

Workout
Today saw a subtle shift in the workout: Eric wanted to give a little more focus to biceps, so we alternated bicep exercises with other exercises:

• Bench Press (barbell): 3 sets/8 reps, 225 lbs
• Curls (barbell): 3 sets/10 reps – 2 sets @ 70 lbs, 1 set @ 60 lbs
• Flys (Nautilus): 3 sets/15 reps, 95 lbs
• Curls (pulley): 3 sets/10 reps, 70 lbs
• Military Press: 2 sets/10 reps, 85 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, Hammer grip): 3 sets, 10 reps, 20 lbs
• Dips: 2 sets, 20 reps & 15 reps

Post-workout weight: 176.8 lbs

Stray Toasters

• I need to drink more water, generally speaking.
• As I had that thought, I had another one: Aside from the fact that they are water-breathers (and, in some cases, magic-users), Atlanteans (see Aquaman, Namor and Patrick Duffy) are basically normal humanoids. The water-breathing thing is the key here, because… well… Where do they go to the bathroom?!
• Evil Monkey’s Guide to Kosher Imaginary Animals
• 
• Scientists on their “life-changing” books
• As long as it took me to plow through it the first time I read it, I’m giving consideration to reading The Difference Engine again.
• Tyranist is blaming me for his sons’ addiction to Munchkin. I think I can live with that.



• Jigglypuff.
• Scuzzlebutt.

Now to finish up a training lesson that I have had on the back burner for a while.

Namaste.

So far, the day is cruising along nicely. The lunchtime workout was good:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/12 reps, 60 lbs
• Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 130 lbs
• Rows (T-bar style, with a barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 55 lbs
• Tricep Press: 3 sets/12 reps, 70 lbs (Body Masters machine, facing away from the pulley system)
• Core: 4 sets – 2 sets/full extension, 45 secs.; 2 sets/elbows, 30 secs.

Today’s pre-workout weight: 176.8

We followed the workout with a trip to Subway. Oven-roasted chicken breast. With pepperjack cheese. On Italian Herbs and Cheese bread. Tasty.

Stray Toasters

• Thanks to , I have three new icons:
  • 
  • 
  • 
• sent a me a link to “The Day After the Marathon”
• Here’s the trailer for the upcoming Iron Man videogame

• From BBC News: NY tower plans found in rubbish
• What Would Tyler Durden Do? had (they were “asked” to take them down by Paramount) cast photos from the upcoming G.I. Joe movie. The last three lines of the lead-in were classic:
  

  You may note that almost every one of these sets has a shot from the back. This entire movie is asses. It’s like a two hour Hot Buns contest.

• Truly, truly, truly outrageous!
• From Campbell’s Condensed Newspaper: Think twice before taking pictures in public

*ZOOM*

Friday – 11 April 2008
Greetings from southern Utah. I got special dispensation to work from home today… so I decided that since I had everything that I needed for today’s work on Defiant, I would beat Friday afternoon/evening traffic by leaving Thursday night. It seemed to work pretty well.

Today, I’ve been working on my database front end and I found a/the error in coding that’s kept one section from working properly. One small, simple thing. It’s been dancing at the edge of my awareness for the past day or so – I’ve been tinkering with things around it, but not that one item – but I finally found it, changed it, and now it’s working. Now I can move on to the next piece of the puzzle. This whole project – warts and all – has been a fun challenge.

I went to the gym before going to lunch. Details below.

SaraRules got in from work, picked me up and we met some of the other MFAs – and Matt, director of their program – for lunch at a place called “Grumpy Joes.” The restaurant is a small, very unassuming place in a little strip of shops. If you blinked while driving by it, you’d miss it. Literally. We did, in fact.

It’s run by an older couple; the gentleman, known only by his (last) name: Farina, is a riot. Seriously. He was taking our orders and would stop to tell a story or a joke/funny comment. And did he ever take a shine to SaraRules. She walked in the door and he walked over and hugged her. She also got special attention from him throughout the meal.

The food was pretty good. It wasn’t Spago or Tavern on the Green, but neither did it purport itself as such. It was more like home-cooking. I think that we’ll have to go there again before SaraRules leaves Cedar.

Workout
A little before lunch, I headed to the Gold’s Gym to get in a workout. I needed it; I’ve been slacking a bit on my exercising. The Gold’s here is kind of… small. But, it’s a gym. And I was able to get in a decent workout:

• Recumbent Bike: 1.6 miles, ~100 rpm (roughly 7 minutes)
• Decline Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 155 lbs
• Curls (dumbbell, Hammer grip): 3 sets/10 reps, 30 lbs
• Lateral Raises (forward rotation): 3 sets/10 reps, 10 lbs
• Rows: 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
• Tricep Extension (dumbbell, overhead, standing): 3 sets/10 reps, 45 lbs
• Tricep Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs
• Core: 4 sets – 2 sets/full extension, 45 secs.; 2 sets/elbows, 30 secs.

Post-workout weight: 171.0 lbs

I forgot to weigh myself at the gym. In fact, I completely spaced it off until I was just about to step in to the shower. So, today’s weight, while accurate, doesn’t reflect the added weight of gym clothes.

Stray Toasters

• I am beginning to grok:
  • CSS layout > HTML tables

  …and how to implement them.

• After seeing Kevin Cronin on Don’t Forget the Lyrics a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been more apt to listen to the various and sundry REO Speedwagon selections in my iTunes folder.
• Firefox Logo Spied in Deep Space
• Someone in SaraRules’ apartment has a copy of the April 2008 issue of Cosmpolitan. In it is an article entitled: “21 Things Every Guy Wants to Hear” Laughing, SaraRules pointed out the following, saying that she saw it and thought of me:
  

  #19: “A man wearing anything dressier than jeans and a tee shirt is trying too hard.

  *blink blink*

  Fortunately, I also know her sense of style and fashion, so I know that she doesn’t agree with this. For laughs, I read the other twenty items. Given that Rocky is her favorite movie, I told her the following reminded me of her:

  #21: “I want to march down the aisle to the theme from Rocky.”

  …to which she retorted: “The theme? Can you see me marching down the aisle to that? No. Now, the slow, romantic theme, maybe. But not really.”

• For :



• Discuss among yourselves: Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone
• Coldfinger….
  She’s the girl, the girl with the polar touch
  A penguin’s touch
  Such a cold finger
  Beckons you to enter her cave, frozen
  But don’t go in….
• 
• Mother saw warning signs in son who planned shooting spree
• tomarrow != tomorrow
• Murdered Pregnant Women: The Racial Divide
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Mom Brings Baby Along to Candy Store Robbery

Time to get on with the weekend… in the words of .

Namaste.