Sunday
Today was a fairly relaxed day around the house. And there ain’t nothin’ wrong with that. Highlights of the day include a quick trip to the nominally-local Best Buy, phone calls from my uncle and Bret (mostly to say “hi,” but also to talk about the Steelers-Ravens game; I expected the calls, though) and picking up from the airport and hanging out with him for a bit.

Football
Baltimore at Pittsburgh
7 – 20

The Ravens headed to Steeltown to take on the Steelers on their home turf. Pittsburgh is the only team that I consistently worry about in the AFC.

The first half was close; it was 10 – 7 at halftime. After that, the Steelers went to work and made the Ravens’ chances at seeing the playoffs even more dim. At this point, there’s still a mathematical chance to make it, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.

It was a loss to a team on fire. Nice job by the guys from the Pitt.

Random Access
This time, it’s a slight change of pace. I present “Seasonal Affective,” a column from my hometown’s independent weekly, Baltimore City Paper. Okay… it’s not a complete change of pace – the column actually makes a nice corollary to last week’s “Whose Holiday Is It Anyway” diatribe. Enjoy.

Stray Toasters

  • While out this afternoon, we were stopped at a traffic light next to a car with five passengers, all in their mid-to-late teens. A young lady and young man in the back seat leaned over and looked over at me… and waved. I waved back. *shrug* Why not? The smiled. I’m not sure that they expected me to respond to them. As the light turned green, they waved again as we took off. They restored a bit of my faith in humanity’s potential for goodness.
  • I spent most of the afternoon – and a good portion of late last night/early this morning – working on ‘s computer. It’s been sporadically running a bit slow. I think that I found and dealt with the problem.
  • Eve and Gina and the meaning of “Sorry.”

  • I like this pic of Marvel Comics’ “First Family”
  • 1 part HALO 2
    1 part Metroid Prime: Echoes
    Mix well.

  • I need to pick up a few LEGO baseplates. I don’t know what I want to build, but I want to build something.
  • A Writer’s Block: With Words and Pictures, Author T.P. Luce Brings his East Baltimore Block Into A Slice Of Gritty City Life
  • I like cyberpunk novelist William Gibson‘s work. Neuromancer remains one of my all-time favorite reads. But before Neuromancer, he wrote a short story called Johnny Mnemonic. It was a good story. When I heard that it was being turned into a feature film, I was rather happy.

    Until I saw it, that is.

    It starred Keanu Reeves as the title character. I don’t have anything against Mr. Reeves, but he wasn’t Johnny. The movie just didn’t work; nice try, but not quite what we were after. Again, I don’t blame Keanu – when a movie goes south, I think that the director should step up and admit, “Hey, I screwed the pooch on this one. Sorry.”

    Now, Keanu is starring in Constantine, a movie based on another favored read of mine, Hellblazer (1, 2). This marks Francis Lawrence’s first time directing a feature film; his previous experience lies in music videos. I’ve heard some positive press for the movie, but I’m not going to hold my breath over it until I see it… and how badly the changes affect the overall story and feel of John Constantine.

  • Sign up for the free online course: Retool Your Home Office, from CNet.com.

Namaste.