Random Access

I stumbled across this comic by way of an ad on a webcomic I read:

And, yes, it made me laugh.

Monday – 16 February 2009
Another work week begins… but at least it’s a short week.

The Splendid Heritage exhibit was amazing.  It displayed pieces of Native American art while detailing the pieces’ artistic and cultural significance. On display were such things as clothing, weaponry, a winter count, and even childrens’ toys. There were also a number of “touch stations,” where visitors could actually handle samples of items. The exhibit runs from 09 February 2009 through 03 January 2010; I think that it would make an excellent family – or even date – outing.

Last night, Chris and I got together to play a (or “yet another”) game of HeroClix. We’d settled on the Avengers vs. JLA for our teams. I played the JLA:

• Batman
• Black Lightning
• Flash
• Green Arrow
• Green Lantern
• Martian Manhunter
• Superman
• Wonder Woman and
• Zatanna

Chris fielded the Avengers:

• Box
• Captain America
• Dr. Strange
• Hercules
• Iron Man
• Ms. Marvel
• Spider-Man (Iron Spider/Civil War costume)
• Wolverine

We played on the masterboard I took to the tournament a couple of weeks ago, with one modification: I finished the new corner – gas station/garage, single room apartment and armory. I didn’t put roofs on the new buildings, so that we could have some indoor space in which to play and we took the shelter off of the gas pumps, so that we could play in the space under it. We played a two-hour game and at the end of it, I won on points, 412 – 213. Pictures of the game and actual board can be seen here.

Stray Toasters

• Disney adds African-American princess Tiana to royal family
• From today’s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Jacksons star in Nigerian resort row
• Esquire’s 75 Books Every Man Should Read – I need to get cracking on this…
• I saw this cartoon on Applegeeks last night:

  

  I wondered how true it was, so I did a little poking around for news items… until I found this article: Dead rodents, excrement in peanut processor lead to recall

• British, French submarines collide
• The NBA All-Star Weekend was this past weekend. Events included the three-point shootout, dunk competition and the All-Star Game. Dwight Howard had an impressive – and amusing – dunk in the first round:

  but in the end, Lex Luthor Defeating Superman, NBA-style

• Top 10 Comic Book Romances
• Hey kids (and nostalgic adults), it’s Runway Barbie!

And that’s a wrap… for now.

Namaste.

Sunday – 15 February 2009
Last night’s dinner at Braza Grill was very good. It’s a churrascaria, along the lines of Rodizio Grill or Toucano’s… but a little smaller. Our waitress, Sarah, was very good – quite attentive and responsive. The… I’m not sure if he was the owner and/or manager… was also rather involved in the dining experience, he came by many times to make sure that we were enjoying ourselves and that the service was up-to-par. The atmosphere was pleasant, there was nothing that beat you over the head and said, “Yes, we are a Brazilian steakhouse!”

The salad bar had a good selection and the offerings of meat were quite good. I did note that they did not seem to have any “exotic meats,” as you might find at Rodizio, but the meats they had included:

• Steak
• Lamb
• Ham
• Sausage
• Chicken
• Bacon-wrapped chicken
• Beef tenderloin

And, yes, they had grilled pinapple.  Then there was the dessert cart.  There were nine or ten dessert options; we opted for the tiramisu, which was light and delicious. On the whole, it was a very pleasant dining experience. I heartily recommend it for those looking for a new or different place to dine.

Today, SaraRules and I are meeting her parents for brunch and then heading up to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts to see the Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art exhibit.

Later, I’m heading over to Chris’ to play HeroClix. We’re having a 1200-point Avengers vs. JLA battle.  If I can finish the fifth corner, I may take the new map with me.

And with that… we’re off.

Namaste.

Saturday – 14 February 2009
Happy Valentine’s Day.

…or Single’s Awareness Day.
…or Anti-Green Lantern Day¹.

After sleeping in a bit and getting ready to face the day, SaraRules and I waited for Rachel to drop by. The three of us went to The Cheesecake Factory for brunch. I had the Cajun Jambalaya Pasta and a slice of the Chocolate Cake Cheesecake, both of which were very good. We came back home and hung out for a while before Rachel had to head back to Cedar City.

Later, SaraRules and I are having dinner at Braza Grill.

And somewhere in the middle, I’m going to try and finish up another portion of the new street corner. for the ‘Clix map, either the gas station or the gun store. If I’m lucky, maybe even both of ’em. We’ll see.

Stray Toasters

• Knowing how much I enjoyed the brief portions of it that we got to watch, SaraRules got me Planet Earth for my Valentine’s Day gift.
• NYCC ’09: Green Lantern at 50
• My ‘Clix Storm just arrived.

  

• DesktopGaming has Killer Retro Gaming Wallpapers
• 10 Cheap of Free Home Theatre Upgrades
• Homophones! Learn what they are, if you don’t know.

Namaste.

¹ – The traditional colors of Valentine’s Day are red and white.
The color of a Green Lantern’s uniform are, oddly enough, green and black.

If you look at a color wheel, red lies opposite green and white is the opposite of black.

Therefore, Valentine’s Day (at least in terms of color) == Anti-Green Lantern Day.

Q.E.D.

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Friday – 13 February 2009
Happy Birthday to Rana (Sib-1):

Last night, after watching CSI:, SaraRules and I watched Spenser: Ceremony. (Thanks, Netflix!) Again, it was enjoyable; this time we noticed the point at which it diverged from the book – at the very end of the story, actually. (The book didn’t have quite as happy an ending as the movie.)

I also assembled a garage for my ‘Clix map. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do the armory and gas station before getting together with Chris for our game this weekend.

Stray Toasters

• Best LEGO Sets in History
• Shirley Manson was on The Late Late Show last night… and may be on again tonight.
• French Vanilla ice cream and ginger snaps
• 9/11 widow apparently on Buffalo flight
• Thanks to (and Gizmodo) for pointing out this freebie!
• Men’s Guide to Style Manifesto
• This will be the first Sunday – of six months of Sundays – without football.
• Apple says jailbreaking iPhones is illegal and should be banned
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” file: Amazon sells rape simulation game
  WHO thought this was “a good idea?!”

Song of the Day
For today’s song, I’m going back “a few” years: Swing Out Sister – Breakout

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Wes almost backed out of going to the gym this afternoon. Fortunately, he didn’t and we had a pretty good workout:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/15 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 205 lbs
• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
• Rows (Nautilus, compound): 3 sets/10 reps, 130 lbs
• Lateral Raises (with fly): 3 sets/10 reps – 2 sets @ 10 lbs, 1 set @ 12 lbs
• Shoulder Press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 35 lbs
• Tricep Extensions (rope): 3 sets/15 reps, 60 lbs

Post workout weight: 184.9 lbs

Stray Toasters

• “To boldly take your fetish geekery where no one has gone before…”
• And, in an oddly-related note, sent by Coworker DaveW: “That Jean-Luc Picard“
• I like LEGO zombies
• Ledger fans demand The Joker retired from film.
  Nine Hells.  Yes, he did a great job. Stellar, even. But… he was not – nor will he ever be – the only person to ever play The Joker. Get over it and move on.  This campaign is about as silly as saying “Don’t make any more James Bond movies if/when (fill in your favorite Bond portrayer) dies!” *sigh* Monkeys.
• Body dragged nearly 20 miles on NYC highways
• LEGO Star Wars magnets make collecting rare minifigs cheaper
• Pac-Man Ghost Lamps

Back to the grind.

Thursday – 12 February 2009
Another NBN Thursday kicks off… with the added bonus of snow! Fortunately, the road monkeys seem to be dealing with it fairly well.

Last night was (yet another) lazy night in. After watching a few shows, including an amazing Food Network Challenge. The episode was “Chocolate Masterpieces,” in which the competitors had to “recreate” their visions/versions of classical works of art… in chocolate. The pieces they chose were:

• Degas’ Ballerina
• Neptune, at Trevi Fountain
• Lion, near Piazzale degli Uffizi and
• Rodin’s Thinker

As usual, the chefs had eight (8) hours to complete their work. The interpretations were incredible. And BIG.  The lion piece was nearly 1,200 pounds and took twelve (12) people to move to the judging table. If you get a chance to see this episode, it’s worth it.

After that, I started working on another corner for my ‘Clix street map. This corner will include a gas station, garage, store and a small apartment. I’ll see about getting some pictures of it in the next few days.

Stray Toasters

• By way of SaraRules: IN-N-OUT Burger pursuing Draper site
• Art in Two Germanys Often Spoke the Same Tongue
• Jet searching for new pilot after Favre’s bailout
• 
• By way of : Power Hog – Piggybank Power Meter Keeps the Change
• The Musical Illusionist, Now Appearing at Hotel St. George
• Pope condemns denial of Holocaust
  His Chocolate Holiness, Pope Groovalicious, concurs with this applauds Pope Benedict on taking this stand.
• 
• Up could elevate animated movies with its serious story
• Sat collision highlights growing threat

Zoom!

Wednesday – 11 February 2009
Last night, SaraRules, her parents and I had dinner at the African Restaurant and Market (1878 S. Redwood Rd, for those of you in town). The food was quite good. The only complaint that I really had about the experience was the turned-down thermostat. We’re planning another trip there… when the weather is a little warmer.

Getting back home, we settled in and watched an episode of Justice League,”Hearts and Minds (Parts 1 and 2)“.

I wanted to compare it to last week’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold Despero/GLC episode – and last night’s episode of NCIS. We also enjoyed mugs of hot chocolate! Win-Win! The flight crew from USAirways 1549 was on The Late Late Show; it was interesting to hear the story of the abortive flight/water landing from all five points of view.

Stray Toasters

• I had an odd dream this morning: part X-Files, part Fringe… with a dash of CSI:
• NFL’s Oscar Season: Handing out awards for the year’s best
• How to Manage Geeks
• 
• Favre’s agent: NY Jets QB retiring
• Steampunk sculpture
• Giant Midwest Mecca of Nerditude in Oklahoma
• NYCC ’09: Men Are from Krypton, Women Are from Paradise Island

*voop*

Today’s workout was a mostly back and shoulders (with a little triceps thrown in, for good measure) workout:

• Leg Raises: 3 sets/20 reps
• Bench Press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs
• Lat Pull-downs: 3 sets/10 reps, 120 lbs
• Rows (Nautilus, compound): 3 sets/10 reps, 125 lbs
• Lateral Raises (with forward rotation): 3 sets/15 reps, 10 lbs
• Tricep Press (T-bar): 3 sets/15 reps – 1 set @ 70 lbs, 2 sets @ 80 lbs
• Dips: 3 sets/15 reps – 2 sets, bench dips; 1 set unassisted

It was a good workout.  At least, that’s what my triceps are telling me.  I might add a little more shoulder work in on Thursday.

Stray Toasters

• passed this along to me: Dear Spike, Love Dad: Of a Dream
  I think it might even be Quote of the Day.
• By way of SaraRules: Michelle Obama to Grace Cover of Vogue Magazine
• Steampunk cake
• Hey, Stop Staring at This Lady’s… Arm
• From today’s “Unintentional Porn Overheard at Work” file comes this gem:
  

  “I’ll have to play with it until I’m comfortable with it…”

• Turning an iPod Touch into an iPhone
• Pong Museum
• Stopping Trucks the Superhero Way
  To which, SaraRules replied: “Hmm…. interesting. But I do think Superman would be more effective.”
• 50 of the Most Insane Things Never Seen on Google Street View

Back to it.

Tuesday – 10 February 2009
Snow is falling across the valley. Oddly enough, the road monkeys seem to be behaving… for them. That, in itself, is impressive.

Last night was a lazy night in. SaraRules fixed a tasty goulash dish and we watched a couple of NCIS reruns and  24. (Oh, Jack Bauer, you’re such a scamp.) She quilted, I nerded. And we also enjoyed some green tea yogurt from Red Mango. We also caught an episode of Unwrapped that featured an abbreviated tour of the Tastykake factory.

Stray Toasters

• The Council for Better Driving: Utah would like to remind motorists to watch your speed and spacing when driving in today’s weather.
• Mistrial declared in 12-year-old girl’s alleged assault on police officer
  • Final arguments in trial against 12-year-old girl mistaken for hooker
    
• Actor James Whitmore has passed away.
• USB devices stuffed into LEGO
• New York Comic-Con was this past weekend. A few items of note from it:
  • DC’s Superman Panel and Superman – Building a Better Tomorrow
  • DCU Online Panel
  • Green Lantern: Blackest Night, with Eddie Berganza (video)
  • Marvel and Activision Panel
  • The X-Men Panel
  • Hickman and Eaglesham talk Fantastic Four
  • Comic Book Resources also… drafted (?)… Jill Pantozzi, maintainer of Has Boobs, Reads Comics, as a reporter/commentator.  I like her style and may have to follow her blog more regularly.
• Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
• My favorite part of Newsarama’s review of Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3 (of 5) was:
  

  Seriously, if you aren’t having a blast reading Legion of 3 Worlds, you should stop reading superhero books, because you’ve lost your joy. Conversely, if you’ve been looking for a fun experience after too many books have been bogged down by disconnect and bleak self-importance, you have arrived.

• Slashdot slashdots Slashdot
• I finally managed to track down a reasonably-priced Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)/Star Sapphire pair of Minimates.
• Hallucinations that are tied to eye disease

Meetings!  WHEEEEEE!

Namaste.

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.

Sunday – 08 February 2009
Yesterday was a good day, all around.

I went 1-2 at the tournament, but I was happy with my choice in teams and how it fared against others. I played a team based on the theme “Gotham City PD,” using:

• Captain Gordon – team captain
• Gotham City Detective (x3)
• Gotham City Policeman (x2)
• Gotham City Undercover

I got a bye – and lone win – in the first round, playing against Keith, who fielded five Multiplex figures, with the Atom LE as the team captain. Next up, I faced Jerry, who used two Doombots, a White Martian and a Spider-Slayer. My last game was against Ryan, with his S.H.I.E.L.D. team, captained by Sharon Carter. That was my closest game, coming down to the last kill – Ryan won by five points.

On the other hand, the tournament was a “success” for me on two levels:

1. We got to play on the map that I built
2. I got the Fellowship Prize (which I’m sure the map helped me secure): Henchman LE

After that, I met SaraRules at home and we then headed to her parents’ place for dinner and to hang out with the family. After that, we made a pilgrimage to the Garden of Sweden, before heading home for a lazy evening and watching the end of West Side Story.

Today… we’re off to brunch and waiting for the Pro Bowl. Other than that, the sky’s the limit.

Namaste.

Saturday – 07 February 2009
Yesterday evening, SaraRules and I had dinner with her family – including an aunt, visiting from out-of-town – at Jasmine. Sushi, Chinese food, good atmosphere and good company.

After dinner, I headed to meet the usual suspects at Clitorati while SaraRules got to spend some quality time with her aunt and the rest of her family. The gathering was smallish, but both and put in appearances; it was good to see them both. SaraRules also showed up a little later, but opted out of going to get a bite to eat. Returning home, I watched about roughly half of West Side Story with SaraRules – I’ve never seen it before, so I had to ask “Who’s who” and “What’s the story here” more than a few times.

This morning, I was up before I had planned: The Leash went off shortly after 8:00 AM. I waited for a follow-up alert… which canceled the first one. Thank God. SaraRules got up to get ready for quilt club; I got up to finish my street corner map for today’s Clix tourney. As an added bonus, I watched last night’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold while enjoying my morning coffee. The episode featured the Green Lantern Corps and Despero. I had to make a quick run to Target and Office Depot, too – I needed to get more glue and to find some way to make sure that the map’s corners didn’t move around during gameplay. I was going to use binder clips, but I found some sticky-backed Velcro^® tabs. After a quick “Is this going to work” test, I’m glad that I decided against the binder clips.

Time to finish getting ready and get out of Dodge.

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!”