Random Access

Wolverine + frog = ???
(Thanks to Derek for the story link)

And what would you call it?
Wolvertoad?
Froggerine?

Monday – 09 June 2008
Here comes the work week.

I can’t complain about the weather, though.

It’s supposed to get up to the upper 70s. I can deal with that… especially since SaraRules just told me that it’s cold enough in Aspen that she had to wear a sweater this morning. In June. That just ain’t right.

I played a little CoH last night. I may switch over to CoV in the next day or two and show Mr. Dhoruba some love. Speaking of whom, I need to get a screenshot of his updated look… as well as a shot of my new Hero-side character, Kurigari.

This morning, I apparently woke up long enough to turn off the alarm… and roll back over. I don’t really , remember it, though. I was up about twenty minutes later, though. It didn’t take too long to kick the morning into gear. And the frozen mocha didn’t hurt, either.

Stray Toasters

• WWDC.
• SaraRules and kind of bonded over a common… um… “lack of bonding” experience.
• Have you ever listened to Space Oddity with only one channel (right or left)? Try it sometime.
• I have started trying a couple of new layouts of items in one of the display cases:

  

  I know that this leaves a lot of empty space on that shelf, but I really like the way it accents the figure. The only better thing that I could imagine would be to have an LED in/on the figure, similar to the McFarlane HALO3 Cortana figure. I also wish that I had about a half-inch more height to work with – Galactus would look nice behind Jean.

• New rocket car spotted in Silver Lake
  (Why does this many me want to hum the theme from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?)
• My coworker Robert came over a little while ago to ask me if I had seen Stuff White People Like. I told him that I had and that I found it amusing.
• I find this particularly apt, especially given many Utah drivers’ aversion to roundabouts:



• Okay… this is a little uncanny (and weird): Without any input/coercion from me, a dialogue clip from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang just played on iTunes.
• Joshua Ellingson Fine Art & Illustration

Whee!!!!

Namaste.

Before I forget (again): Happy Hatching Day to !

The move went much faster than expected. I think that we were done with the lifting/shuttling in just over thirty minutes. We even got to use Forearm Forklift straps; different, but not bad. Nizlee’s folks fixed us a nice lunch in return for the elbow grease, which was very nice of them.

I had some time to kill before heading to Chris and Mary’s, so I thought I’d go by and play with the kids, since I was nearby. I called to see if she was at home; she wasn’t but said that I was welcome to stop by. And that’s exactly what I did. It’s been a few months since I’ve seen them. The biggest noticeable difference is that the fur on Presto’s lower back is developing more of an orange tint. But they’re all still very cute.

(click images for larger versions)

On to Chris and Mary’s to watch Diary of the Dead. It was a George Romero film, so of course there was a bit of commentary… but it was also a pretty good movie, too. It got a little campy for a couple of scenes near the end, but it did wrap up nicely.

Stray Toasters

• “I’m Samuel. Hello.”
• I picked up a pass to a sneak preview of The Incredible Hulk after the tournament yesterday. The screening is Monday night… at 7:00. I was actually looking forward to going… but then I remembered that I am going out to dinner with SaraRules’ family tomorrow evening.

  

  Oh, well. I’ll catch the movie when it releases. So, if anyone is interested in a free pass to the movie, let me know.

• I should play City tonight.
• Or Marvel Ultimate Alliance.
• Or go old school and play MechCommander, which I just got back from Chris.
• This is a cool picture of Wonder Woman.
• X2: X-Men United is on FX. I like this movie. And its predecessor. X3… not so much.

And with that… I’m a vapor trail.

Namaste.

Sunday – 08 June 2008
Last week, I mentioned going for a morning walk with , but I was too out of it Sunday morning. At Clitorati, we bandied about the idea of trying again today. said that he wanted to go to the Gay Pride parade… and I figured that we could kill two birds with one stone: Get in a walk and fly wingman for .

Great plan.

In theory.

I was up later than I had planned to be and slept in again this morning. I woke up to find that had been up working on a project until O’dark-thirty himself. I’m not sure if he wound up heading downtown or not. And I don’t know what wound up doing, either.

O, na.

In a couple of hours, I’ll be helping parents move some furniture. Nothing like some good, old-fashioned heavy lifting to kick off your day! And, I’m counting it as another (much needed) workout… of sorts. Today is also Chris’ birthday; we’re celebrating by watching a zombie movie: Diary of the Dead.

Stray Toasters

• posted this video earlier. I’m sharing the love:

• After watching that, I noticed that was still online, so I chatted with her for a few minutes. I may have possibly condemned her to a corner of Hell near mine as we wound up talking about dust bunnies, “cool beans” vs. “hot beans,” and the possible origins of the term “holy shit.”By
• My angels
  My devils
  Thorn in my pride
• By way of Esquire: Tips on Buying Denim and Three Ways to Wear Denim
• I should get my guitar back tomorrow or Tuesday.
• What Went Wrong? Twelve Experts on the Clinton Campaign
• No cure for the Summertime Blues? I find that hard to believe.
• hall != haul
• 
• I just heard from lj user=”tofer1977″, he didn’t go downtown, either.
• Tin Machine just played on Nomad. I’d forgotten how much I liked their second CD.

Time to get ready to face the day.

Namaste.

Saturday – 07 June 2008
Today is my mother’s birthday.

It is also Prince’s birthday.

I called Mom to wish her a happy birthday.
I did not call Prince.

Despite waking up late, it was a good day. There was another ‘Clix tournament at Far West today; I picked up Chris on the way to the store. I decided to try a different team, as I don’t want to become a one-trick pony with the Legion. I went with the Doom Patrol:

• The Chief
• Mento (yes, I received a lot of jibes referring to him as “The Fresh-Maker”)
• Rita Farr and
• Red Arrow

I know… I know… Red Arrow is not – nor has he been – a member of DP, but he filled a slot that I needed for long-range attacks.

As Fate would have it… I drew Chris as my first round opponent. Before the match even started, I was ready to chalk it up as an automatic loss. And, boy, was I right. He obliterated me. I think that I damaged one of his characters. Maybe.

Second round, I played a guy named Frank. He had a three-person team of X-related people:

• Archangel
• Emma Frost
• Jean Grey (Age of Apocalypse)

I won this game… on points. Frank played a defensive game and I was able to effectively set up a pincer offense. I lost The Chief in the gambit, but I was able to take out Emma and Jean (and was working on Archangel) before time was called.

Third round: Sean. He played with a mixed force:

• Accomplished Perfect Physician
• The Leader
• Unus the Untouchable

This was a good game. I kept trying to hit Physician, but his damned Super Senses let him keep dodging the attacks. Rita didn’t get close enough to do any damage. The Chief and Mento…? Well, let’s just say that they aren’t exactly damage cannons. In the end, I lost the team to attrition.

So, I was 1 – 2 for the day. On the up side, I won the “Fellowship” (think “Sportsmanship/Good Conduct/etc”) award, for which I got a Stardust figure. Stardust… Herald of Galactus. Nice! And… Chris was the big winner of the day. His prize: A spot in the HeroClix 2008 World Champioship at GenCon… with a first round bye. VERY nice!

There’s another tournament in a couple of weeks. 1,000 points… per player. Unrestricted, which means that if it’s EVER been a figure, it’s usuable. Ostensibly, this means that I could field both Galactus AND Phoenix. Of course, that would be ALL that I could field. And they would be targets. Big targets. Colossal targets, in fact.

After the tourney was over, Sean and Frank wanted to play some more, so Chris and I took them on. 400 points per player. We fielded a mixed team, as did Frank and Sean. We wound up taking out Frank’s part of their team and shortly thereafter – with most of their heavy-hitters gone – Sean conceded the game.

I stopped at Jitterbug to have a bite to eat. Uriah was there and we, along with the other folks in the shop, sat around and gabbed for a while.

From there, it was off to say “Hi” to SaraRules’ family. They were watching Amazon Women on the Moon when I got there. I had not seen it before, so they played a couple of scenes – featuring David Allen Grier as Don “No Soul” Simmons. I cracked up. Check ’em out:

…and…

Next up: Breakfast.

Stray Toasters

• By way of MarknTyme: AA-12: World’s Deadliest Shotgun
• By way of : Indian school names monkey god chairman

Namaste.

I’ve apparently been misreading the title of this book. I’m Ivory Soap sure that it should have really been called:

Windoze Sleeper 2003 Training Kit

And, yes, “toasterifficness” is a word.
His Chocolate Holiness has decreed it, so shall it be.

• I had an interesting thought while taking a walk at lunch: I passed some flowers outside one of the buildings in our office park; some of the flowers had begun to wilt. My first thought was “Why is beauty so transitory?” I mused on it for a few moments and then had to amend the thought to: “Why is our perception of beauty – or what is considered ‘beautiful’ – so transitory?”
• Somebody’s Somebody
• Lish wanted me to make a note of Bacon Salt. I seem to remember that someone else (possibly or ) had pointed this out to me a few months ago.
• Lish also thinks that I should audition for Top Chef… based solely on the strength of my S’mores Brownie Pie. I’m not so confident that they alone are enough to get me on – let alone through – a season of Top Chef.
• I’m anxious to get my guitar back from the shop. I wasn’t really aware how much I missed having it around… until it wasn’t. Go figure.
• Rowling’s Harvard Speech Doesn’t Entrance All
  Wow. I was pretty amazed at some of the graduates’ reactions in this article. Want to talk about “entitlement,” check these out these quotes:

  “I think we could have done better,” shrugged computer science major Kevin Bombino. He says Rowling lacks the gravitas a Harvard commencement speaker should have.”You know, we’re Harvard. We’re like the most prominent national institution. And I think we should be entitled to … we should be able to get anyone. And in my opinion, we’re settling here. “

  …and…

  “It’s definitely the ‘A’ list, and I wouldn’t ever associate J.K. Rowling with the people on that list,” says senior Andy Vaz. “From the moment we walk through the gates of Harvard Yard, they constantly emphasize that we are the leaders of tomorrow. They should have picked a leader to speak at commencement. Not a children’s writer. What does that say to the class of 2008? Are we the joke class?”

  As SaraRules put it: “I’m sorry that probably the most published living author isn’t good enough for a CS major.” I think that the best summary to the article was this:

  “They’ll grow up,” says 1983 graduate David Epstein. “They’ll have a broader worldview and they’ll understand that there are many, many ways to contribute. You know what they say — the freshman bring so much, and the seniors take away so little.”

• Today’s iTunes random play has been full of Prince songs.

Friday – 06 June 2008
This morning started off with the alarm going off… and me waking up with a headache. I didn’t consider that the most auspicious start to a Friday morning, so I stayed in bed for a bit. I should have gotten up then, because I wound up in an odd, rather disturbing corner of The Dreaming.

The second go-round of waking up went considerably better. I hit B&B for a large cup of frozen, triple-shotted goodness and Einstein Bros. for a bagel sandwich. Add to that having some decent commuting tunes and Bob’s your uncle, as the saying goes.

The Best: Sugar Sugar
The Archies vs. Mary Lou Lord (with Semisonic)

This song was originally done by The Archies in 1969.
It was covered by Mary Lou Lord in 1995 for Saturday Morning Cartoons’ Greatest Hits.

It’s a bubblegum pop song at heart – and one that I’ve liked since I was a kid – but the edge that Ms. Lord gives it, pushes it ahead of the original in my book.

Winner: Mary Lou Lord

Stray Toasters

• Would LeVar Burton have had Windows Server 2003 books on Reading Rainbow? Should he have added them to the line-up?
• Cosby sweaters for auction
  I just want to know if you get Jell-O Pudding Pops and/or a TI-99/4A with each sweater?
• Jon Favreau on Iron Man 2 and Beyond
• Would X-Men: The Last Stand have been a better movie had Jon Favreau been the director, rather than Brett Ratner?
• All we hear is…

• New club drug: Preparation H?
• They were singing
  Back to back
  Belly to belly
  I don’t give a damn, ’cause I’m stone dead already
  Back to back
  Belly to belly
  A zombie jamboree
• Speaking of zombies: Blog Like It’s the End of the World Day is coming up next Friday.

Namaste.

Thursday: Coda

After work, I came home for a bit, read today’s four-color haul and then went to Borders to do some drawing. I’ve decided that I am entering Project: Rooftop‘s latest contest – “Superman: Man of Style,” in which the challenge is to reimagine Superman’s costume. I think that I have a decent idea with good reasons for the changes to the iconic costume. After settling on what I wanted to do, I tried some preliminary sketches. (And the fact that I haven’t really drawn anything in months really shows…) The deadline is 15 June 2008, so I do have some time to get things worked out. I hit a bit of a wall, so I switched gears and decided to work on the new piece I started last week. Progress was made.

Back home. I installed the light in the second display case. The two cases look good. I do think that I’ll be rearranging what is on the shelves though.

Four-Color Coverage
It’s been forever since I’ve done one of these, but it was a light week – I only picked up five books – and today’s haul was pretty good. So, on with the show!

• Avengers/Invaders #2 (of 12) – The Invaders, Marvel Comics’ WWII-era supergroup, have wound up in New York City of 2008. Having left the 40s in the middle of an attack on a Nazi stronghold, they aren’t sure what to make of their new surroundings… even to the point of thinking that everyone around them is a Skrull. I mean Nazi. On the other side of the coin, the Avengers have to find a way to subdue the Invaders and minimize their contact with the world of 2008, so that they don’t corrupt the timestream. Piece of cake, right? Riiiight.
• Justice Society of America #16 – I can’t say enough good things about this book. At the end of Issue #15, we were introduced to Gog. The being who gave Magog his power. A self-proclaimed god who was cast out of the Third World. What’s he doing here on Earth? Why does he know Earth-22’s (Kingdom Come) Superman? And what did he do to Damage?
• Secret Invasion #3 (of 8 ) – Skrulls. Everywhere. A couple of new reveals. And… who’s that guy with the eyepatch?
• Supergirl #30 – This version Supergirl has been… an uneven book during it’s fairly short span. Homicidal pawn of Darkseid. Rebellious teen. Super-smart heroine, out to save the world…. literally. DC has said that they are going to more fully integrate the book with the Superman corner of the DCU. They took a giant step in that direction with this issue. Kara, still feeling out of place, tries to find some answers and figure out what to do now that the baby she was sent to Earth to protect is now almost twice as old as she is. And she even has a bonding moment with a certain Dark Knight. I was on the fence about this book recently; it will be interesting to give it a few issues to see if it’s back on track or if this was only a momentary flicker of hope.
• Trinity #1 – When Diana Prince, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne get together (in their civilian identities, no less) to compare notes about having variations of the same dream, it’s a pretty good indication that something is afoot. In their dreams, a powerful entity is trying to break free from some form of captivity. Sorceress Morgaine LeFey is also aware of the power… and wants it for herself. Kurt Busiek (Astro City) and company have kicked of DC’s newest weekly series nicely. I’m not sure if I’m up for yet another weekly, but I may give it a few weeks to see how it shapes up.

Stray Toasters

• I talked with the parental units today; all’s well in their respective parts of the seaboard.
• I neglected to mention something that I saw on Sunday at Borders: There was a woman, curled up in a chair in the cafe. Her cell phone rang; she answered it. When I looked up, there was a man standing outside the cafe window; he was on his phone. For a few moments, their conversations were synced to the point that you would have thought that they were talking to each other.
• There was a lone box of Mutations and Monsters ‘Clix in Dr. Volt’s today. I couldn’t just leave it there. I’m glad that I didn’t. In it was a rare figure: Omega Red
• I checked out a couple of movie trailers on Apple.com. Has anyone heard anything about City of Ember? I was intrigued by its trailer. I also saw the trailer for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. This looks like it could be fun.
• Burn Notice. On USA. I’ve only seen a few episodes, but I’m enjoying it.
• WWDC. Monday.

And that’s a wrap.

Namaste.

Thursday – 05 June 2008
I must really like Sting’s Shadows in the Rain at a very deep level.

Why do I think this?
Because I keep enacting the “Woke up in my clothes again this morning” line.

I have a rather comfortable couch. Last night, I watched the end of DS9. I felt fine, fairly alert. Seven Days came on, but it was an episode that I’m not overly fond of, so I switched over to Law & Order: SVU. I don’t even think I made it to “Law.” I may not have even made it past the “L.” Next thing I knew, it was 6:30. I didn’t think that I was that tired. Guess I was wrong. *shrug*

Got up. Did the rituals. Ran into two of my neighbors on the way to the car. Hit the B&B for an iced mocha. And started the day.

And so it goes.

And so far, it goes well. Besides that… it’s Sushi and Comics NBN Thursday. Win-win.

Chew on This: Food for Thought
Now that the Democratic Nomination Debacle seems to be over, I’m… somewhat intrigued… by some of the news media’s choices in whom to interview about the groundbreaking importance of Senator Obama’s campaign and nomination.

CNN interviewed Jesse Jackson a couple of days ago. I was torn about this. On one hand, it made logical sense, as Rev. Jackson has run for office in the past. On the other hand, it seemed as though part of the reason they chose him was because of his role as a so-called “Black leader.” That gives me some pause. I’m not sure that I would really bestow that title upon him today. Yes, he’s done good things in the cause of the advancement of Black – and others’ – civil rights… but, to me, he seems to have moved from that to be more of a demagogue (def. 1) than an actual leader. Or, dare I say it: A rabble-rouser.

Sometimes, he seems to just… magically appear… at whatever scene is getting the most coverage. He’ll say a few words that play to the crowd and/or are useful as sound bites, but I don’t often find myself agreeing with him.

I would also put Rev. Al Sharpton in this “Who can we interview to get ‘the Black perspective'” category. However – and this is a pretty big “however” – I have to admit that I’ve seen Rev. Sharpton jumping on the latest bandwagon far less often in the past few years. I don’t know if I would say that he has “calmed down in his own age,” but it seems as though he’s more judicious about which windmills he chooses to joust.

I would go on to say that I’m not sure that there is “a” Black leader… or even two or three of them. (Of course, I currently live in Utah, so they could be out there, but I just don’t hear about them from behind the Zion Curtain…) The leaders of the 60s through… 80s, I’d say, have a certain perspective that I’m not sure is completely relevant today. I don’t mean this to diminish any of their accomplishments; I wouldn’t have many – possibly ANY – of the opportunities that I have enjoyed had it not been for their struggles and the paths they trod. But, when listening to them, it sometimes seems as if some of their old biases and prejudices still tinge their opinions.

To be honest, I’m not sure that I really want a “Black leader.” The “Black Experience,” as it is called, draws from a common history, but has so many facets that I believe that no single leader would be able to bridge them all.

Besides I’d rather have a leader who can speak to all people and draw them closer, as a whole, while acknowledging and respecting their differences.

Stray Toasters

• While I like many versions of Ave Maria, I am particularly fond of the Franz Schubert version.
• The 31 Places to Go This Summer
• There’s been a shake-up at the top of the Air Force chain of command, due largely to the nuclear warhead-laden B-52 that flew from North Dakota to Texas last year.
• How Tech-Savvy Will the Next President Be?
• 
• New trailer for Hunter S. Thompson documentary
• Forty days and forty nights,
  Didn’t it rain, children.
  Not a speck of land in sight,
  Didn’t it, didn’t it rain.
• Photographers aren’t terrorists and vice-versa
• ST: TAS / Common People mash-up:

• The Picture of Everything

Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?

Namaste.

Wednesday: Coda
This evening, I saw Iron Man again; I went with Max and Perry. It was just as much fun this time as it was opening day. Perry and Max both enjoyed it, as well. And this time I was able to catch a glimpse of Captain America’s shield in Tony’s workshop.

After the movie, I headed back to Kate and Perry’s and hung out for a while. This translates mostly into getting some surrogate uncle time with the kids. And, as a new twist, the two youngest asked me to read them a bedtime story: Go, Dog. Go! That was both unexpected and fun. After the youngest kids went to bed, Perry, Max and I watched Justice League Unlimited; tonight’s episode was “Question Authority,” in which The Question discovers the truth behind the founding members’ secret concerning an alternate/future President Luthor and The Justice Lords. This episode also contained one of my favorite lines from the series: The Question confronts the contemporary Lex Luthor about his plans to run for President of the United States. Luthor laughs and responds:

“President?! Foolish, faceless man… my campaign is a farce! A small part of a much grander scheme. President. Do you know how much power I’d have to give up to be President?! That’s right, conspiracy buff… I spent seventy-five million dollars on a fake presidential campaign… all just to tick Superman off.”

(You can also listen to it – as Luthor smacks The Question around his office – here.)

Perry just looked at me askance as I quoted most of that line while Luthor was saying it. Kate just laughed and shook her head.

Stray Toasters

• I was (pleasantly) surprised to see a news item saying that Senator Clinton is (finally) ending her bid for the Democratic nomination… especially as Senator Obama got the magic number last night.
• I asked our HR guy if I could post A Different State of Race Relations – and a commentary – on our internal site or an internal email. He thought about it and then decided that it would probably be best to get some sort of go-ahead from corporate HR. So, I’m going to kick it up the chain of command tomorrow, I do believe.
• “Elitist.” *chuckle*
• Number Five… made of LEGO
• I caught the tail end of DS9‘s series finale, “What You Leave Behind,” tonight.

I think that there is a glass of milk calling my name. I don’t know if it’s chocolate or not. Yet.

In a “comics world meets real world” crossover sort of way, Dwim sent me a link to an article from The Deseret News about Britain’s Prime Minister helping to stave off Marvel’s “Secret Invasion”:

(11:17:41) Dwim: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,5143,700231575,00.html
(12:58:50) Me: If only we, as Americans, had an alien-fighting political figure.
(12:58:54) Me: Oh, wait…
(13:35:46) Me: No, he’s not really fighting aliens.
(13:35:54) Me: He wants to make them feel more welcome.
(13:35:56) Me: Hm.
(13:36:09) Me: GW… Skrull sympathizer?
(13:36:12) Me: Interesting spin.
(13:36:15) Me: OR
(13:36:21) Me: Is GW a Skrull himself?!
(13:52:12) Dwim: He’s not so much a Skrull as, say, a psychopathic megalomaniac who seeks to consolidate the power of all three brances of government into a single throne while removing the liberties currently enjoyed by his subjects with the excuse of keeping them safe from Muslim boogeymen, and while making his co-conspirators wealthy through a program of endless war.
(13:52:58) Dwim: Also, he enjoys golf, the occasional drink, and banging Laura on the weekends.
(13:54:09) Me: Right, but consider this: If he keeps the weathly/elite happy, they will be much more complacent and docile when their Skrull overlords sweep down upon the planet.
(13:54:24) Me: And the golf, alcohol and Laura items are just fringe benefits.
(13:54:29) Dwim: Have you considered the connection with the Skrull and Bones Society?¹
(13:54:35) Me: >.<
(13:54:42) Me: That was bad.
(13:54:46) Dwim: Thank you.

¹ -  For those who didn’t catch the pun (or just didn’t get it):  Skull and Bones Society

Wednesday – 04 June 2008
A grey and wet day in the valley. It was in the mid 70s (at least) yesterday; today, we’ll be lucky to break 60°F. Welcome to Utah.

Human of the Day
Speaking of “Welcome to Utah,” pointed out an article in The Washington Post entitled A Different State of Race Relations, about… well… race relations in Utah. For this, I name him today’s Human of the Day.

Windows Server 2003. Blah.

Stray Toasters

• I think that these should go on the Covet List not only because they would be neat, but also because I can see more or less practical uses for them, especially when dealing with monkeys.
• By way of SaraRules: Metropolis Symphony. Now, I just need to find an excuse to get to Aspen on a Wednesday. Maybe I’ll call in sick. Or ask if I can work in the Aurora office that week. Or something.
• Yesterday’s WhatIs.com Word of the Day was “tokenization.” This made me laugh because Marci, one of the QA testers, had come to me with a deliciously subversive idea: Being the only woman in the QA department – and the only woman in a non-executive or non-admin position in the SLC office – she is planning on getting a shirt that says “Token.” She recently asked me if I wanted one, too. I told her that I’d take one in black, if she got one in pink.
• Bone Chillers Ice Tray
• I don’t know what to say
  The monkeys won’t do!

  

• Mr. Spock: The ‘Mystery of Masculinity’ Embodied
• The Zurich Chamber Orchestra put this together as a promotional piece:

• As soon as I typed that, “Cantaloop Flip Fantasia 2000” went through my head. That would make for an interesting remix… of some sort.
• Thanks to and for pointing out the following “cubicle rage” videos:

  …and, from a second angle (and in color):

  
  Office Worker Meltdown Second Angle – Watch more free videos

• By way of NPR: Bobblehead of State?

Namaste.

Tuesday: Coda
When I got home, I turned on the TV and started surfing. I landed on CNN. As the Montana and South Dakota primaries were tonight, I watched the coverage. I missed Hillary Clinton’s… “No I’m not done, yet” speech. There’s a part of me that’s glad I did. I did watch Barack Obama’s speech. Once again, it was a classic. He didn’t bash Senator Clinton and there was only one jab (that I picked up on) at Senator McCain. Other than that, he seemed sincere and humble and appreciative.

After I watched a little more primary coverage, I flipped over to L&O: SVU. It was a rebroadcast of the season finale, which I didn’t see in first-run. It was a good episode, but it left a few questions about next season.

While waiting for dinner to cook (i.e.: “putting it the nukerator”), I installed a light in one of the display cases. It looks nice. I may move some things around to catch the light better. I may not. We’ll see.

Stray Toasters

• I chatted with Rana briefly this evening. She and Bit are back in the States and doing well.
• Liv Tyler is on The Tonight Show. She seems so… grounded. I find that odd/interesting, as her father is Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler. I guess that I was expecting her to be more Jack and Kelly Osbourne.
• , guess what character is getting a new action figure made. Here’s a hint:

  

• With Eric’s help, I was able to recover data from DS9’s former hard drive. After the process, I dismantled the drive – it was the first time that I had done that.
• I made the mistake of flipping to Boomerang a little while ago. Space Ace was on. That reminded me of the proliferation of video game-related cartoons that were part of the CBS Saturday morning lineup in the 80s.
• By way of Despair.com:



• AirPort Extreme. Hmm.
• A commercial for Burger King, featuring The Artist Formerly Known as Puff Daddy, was just on. In it, a BK marketing guy tells P. Diddy (as he is now known),”We need a new ad campaign.” Young Mr. Combs looks at him and, very simply says, “Tell ’em Diddy says ‘BK is open late.'” And then something FINALLY hit me: Something about the name “P. Diddy” struck me as both odd/ridiculous… but strangely familiar, however I didn’t make the connection until tonight:

  

  That’s right: Diddy Kong. He renamed himself… after a cartoon/video game monkey.

• Donkey Kong was adapted into a cartoon, too. Also on CBS. Also far from good.
• There’s a Utah Blaze game Monday night. That could be a nice change of pace way to spend the evening.

Time to figure out what I want for a pre-bed snack.

Namaste.

Who knew that Barack Obama was a Rush fan!?

(snapshotted from CNN’s Election Center 2008 page)