Random Access

Monday – 28 January 2008
I am in the office already… and I’ve been here since 7:15.
Not only that, but I’m in the AF office.
Madness!

Okay, not really “madness.” SaraRules left this morning and I got up, ready and out when she left. It’s just that I haven’t been in the AF office this early since God was a boy.

Speaking of which: Gordon B. Hinckley passed away last night. As the 15th President of the LDS Church, he led his congregation for over 13 years. I wasn’t in Utah the last time a Prophet of the Church died, so it will be interesting to see how the local population treats such an event.

Back to the story at hand: 7:15! I slept… well, when I slept. I was up and down a few times last night, mostly with some unusual dreams. Fortunately, there is coffee and iTunes to help me make it through the morning. I started the day with Tank! and Billy Ocean’s Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car (sorry, and ) is currently playing.

Alright… “Attack the day like birds of prey” time.

Namaste.

Sunday – 27 January 2008
Last night, SaraRules and I went to play Minister G’off after all. We got her brother, Logan, to go along with us. We have the pictures to prove it.

Today, we slept in a bit. Later, while SaraRules was reading The Walking Dead, I finally remembered how to make an animated icon in Photoshop:

This afternoon, we went to the Capitol Theatre and saw Utah Opera‘s production of Tosca. It was a great production. The set was from the Seattle Opera; my favorite part of the staging was in Act Three, when they took the set from pre-dawn to early morning.

After that, we headed to SaraRules’ parents’ for dinner and to hang out for a while.

Back home for SaraRules to do homework and for me to save the world. For a bit, at least. When she was done, we watched Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I had forgotten how fun it was… and a decent story, too.

And that’s how I spent my Sunday.

Oh… and it’s the 50th Anniversary of the LEGO brick!

Saturday – 26 January 2008
Last night, SaraRules and I went to my company’s “Winter Party.” It was held at Snowbird’s Cliff Lodge. We mostly hung out with with and shockpuppet and a few other coworkers. And, I was finally able to introduce SaraRules to my coworker who plays cello and performs with the Orchestra at Temple Square; they talked about string-y things and whatnot. Our keynote speaker for last night’s party was Richard Marcinko, former commander of Navy SEAL Team Six; he was an interesting person, but he wasn’t exactly a great public speaker. And, at the end of the affair, we got new company jackets and a copy of Mr. Marcinko’s book, Rogue Warrior.

After driving out of the canyon, we met up with the usual suspects – plus Land – at Cheers: North.

This morning started slowly and quietly – i.e.: “Sleeping in!” I don’t know what happened – or who put in the order for it – but it was a very nice, bright and temperate day: Temps were in the 40s! As there were no new ‘toons to watch, SaraRules and I decided to head out for breakfast. We went to the local Paradise Bakery and Cafè, but they stop selling breakfast at 11AM. Curses! So, we opted to go elsewhere… but not before SaraRules made a stop at Simply Mac to pick up a pink Speck case for her MacBook.

We wound up having breakfast in Holladay at a place called Sharon’s. SaraRules’ parents joined us. We sat, ate and chatted for a while. Post-breakfast, we headed up to the parents’ place for a bit to meet Loomis, their recently-adopted cat. Their newly-adopted, large cat. He’s on the order of 21 pounds. Cute cat, though. And rather friendly… as long as you don’t mess with his paws – I saw some of his handiwork in proving to others his dislike for having his paws messed with.

From there, we headed down to visit Kate, Perry and the kids. When we left there, we stopped in the Sandy Red Balloon. I was in a mood to possibly pick up something to add to the Rokenbok collection… but nothing they had caught my eye. So I didn’t.

Pictures of the day… so far.

Now, it’s time to figure out what to do for dinner.

This evening… we may just have to play some miniature golf. Just because we can.

Namaste.

Friday – 25 January 2008
I have The Leash again this week. Once in every six weeks isn’t so bad, unless it goes off at 5:00… because someone has sent spam to it. *grblsnrkx*

Otherwise, last night was something of a mixed bag:

• I got to play CoH for a couple of hours with members of my supergroup.
• I caught an episode of pre-writers’ strike CSI: from earlier this season.
• I thought about – but decided against – making brownies.
• …and I seem to be on the front side of possibly coming down with something.

The top three == good.
The last one != good.

But I’m fighting the fight, so we’ll see what comes of it.

I think that we’re actually going to see the sun today. That would be a pleasant change of pace from the “living in a dirty fishbowl” haze that we’ve had for the past few days.

Stray Toasters

• I saw this icon, for , last night in an Apple (computer, not fruit) forum. It amused me.

  

• Nathan Sawaya: The Art of the Brick
• I had forgotten that they are doing a movie version of Get Smart, starring Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway. I remember watching the TV show, starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon, with my father, many years ago. You can see the trailer for the movie here.
• Sweet monkey-squeezin’ Jesus…. The Juggernaut, Bitch is back on YouTube!
• 
• By way of NPR Music:
  • The Incredible Disappearing TV Theme Song
  • ‘Kiddie Soul’ Compilation Not Just Kidding Around
• 
• They Started as Cheerleaders
• For :
  

  

And that’s that… for now, at least.

Namaste.

I am about to do some work on a coworker’s laptop.  Since it this project could take some time, I asked for his power cord, as well.  As he begain to detangle/detach it, he came up with the following gem:

“They should come up with a wireless power cord.”

To which someone else quickly retorted:

“Batteries?”

And this would be where I note that they are both tech writers.

Thursday – 24 January 2008
So far, so grey. I mean,”So far, so good!” Yeah… “good.” That’s the ticket. Even if I can barely see across 215 from the office window.

I have hot chocolate. I’m willing to bet that most of you don’t. Pity.

The morning started off slow and leisurely, and included a quick chat with . Then the short trek to the north office; I’ll most likely wind up in the south office a little later, but for now… I’m here.

Stray Toasters

• I meant to post this yestermorn… but forgot it: The Weather Channel’s Epic. Check out the “Dangerous Drop” video.
• TheAtlantic.com has dropped the fees for access to their online content.
• As much as I enjoy a good episode of Justice League and/or Legion of Super-Heroes… or even reading my weekly four-color goodness… or even having my GL costume for Halloween 2004… or even playing City of Heroes, I don’t think that I’m quite this far gone: Superheroes in Real Life. More power to ’em, though. 🙂
• , this might be up your alley: CoolMiniOrNot – Hot or Not site for sculpted, painted miniatures

And, that’s a good start.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 23 January 2008
Mid-week and all’s well… if grey, gloomy and generally “blah” can be considered “well.”

I got a decent start on the morning… even after someone dialed my number at 5:45 AM. No idea who it was, because no number came up on the Caller ID. Monkeys. I was up and nominally mobile a little after 7:00 this morning and out the door, caffeinated (and bagel-laden) and in the office by 8:30. As an added bonus, the first song on Nomad’s shuffle play was Big Daddy Kane’s A Job Ain’t Nuthin’ But Work. Nice way to kick off the short commute.

Mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money got get made
To get paid in this trade
And I believe that I can acheive
To make ends meet like a hair weave

Survivin’ in this economy people in the world wanna be
Stayin’ in the upper class so you’re the path
The rich gets the most and the poor gets so little
And only Monie Love can make it in the middle

The work day wasn’t too chaotic. Fortunately. I was asked to check out a problem with a server… which not only was not having a problem (today), but was also in the middle of running some tests for one of our engineers. So, that got downgraded from “Put this at the top of today’s to-do list” to “Keep an eye on this.” I’m okay with that. I’ve also managed to work in some hardware testing… which means that I have been able to clear stacks of dysfunctional machinery out of my work area. I actually found some work space under all of the dreck!

Sushi Wednesday.
New Comics Day.
‘Nuff said.

Genius that I am, I left the power cord (POWER CHORD!) for Defiant at work. *sigh* This meant that – rather than go buy a (“yet another”) new one – I had to go back to the office to retrieve it. This was good on a couple of counts… as I also forgot that I needed to pick up a few things at the store, too. So, I headed to the office to find…

…neither of my badges worked on the main doors of the building. *grblsnrkx* Fortunately, I had messaged Code Monkey BB to see if he was still at work before leaving home. He was. I called him and he brought my cord down to the lobby. We chatted a bit before I took off to run some more errands and he went back upstairs to sling some more code.

After errand-running, I decided to see if was in. She was. I told her that I had her Trader Joe’s shwag with me and would drop it off, if that was alright. Not only was it alright, she asked if I’d mind lending a hand to , who had been helping her resurrect her PC – at this point they were having a problem getting her mouse to respond and needed to rejoin the PC to the wireless network.

No problem!
Piece of cake!
We’d have it back online and humming in no time!

An hour and a half later, we finally had things up and running again. Just like Tom Tom the Piper’s Son… but without the pigs.

Stray Toasters

• I had many things in the four-color hold today… and I picked up a couple new Stikfas:
  1. Alpha Male Samurai with Stallion
  2. Omega Male Black Knight
• By way of comes Gaslight Justice League, a steampunk/Victorian Era look at the JLA.
• had a few things to say about peoples’ reactions to Heath Ledger’s death.
• Today was also Sushi Wednesday for … who, along with the Sib-1 sister-unit, has been interviewing pediatricians. It sounds like it has been a feast-or-famine kind of thing.
• : has your Trader Joe’s items, as you are more likely to see her on Friday evening.
• Area 51 designated with a new name
• By way of : The Internet Party: What happens when Google’s parents leave town for the weekend?
• By way of : The 5 Most Horrifying Bugs in the World
• SR-71A… made out of LEGO. Win-Win!

I’m sure that there was probably more that I was going to add to this… but all I want to do now is save the world (if I can find a team) and read the rest of this week’s four-color haul.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 22 January 2008
And… we’re back in the Land behind the Zion Curtain.

Actually, we got back last night. We arrived in Utah as snow began to fall a little south of Cedar City. *sigh* I left (relatively) sunny southern California for this?!

Yesterday, SaraRules and I hit the Trader Joe’s in La Cañada before hitting the road. I haven’t been to a Trader Joe’s in a few years – since the last Disneyland trip, in fact. I stocked up on a few bottles of Two Buck Chuck, among other tasty wines and some assorted snacks. Then, we were northbound and down. We stopped at an In and Out Burger in Vegas. ‘Twas tasty.

Today’s commute wasn’t as hellish as I had feared that it might be. The roads in southern Utah were fairly clear. I didn’t really have to deal with any road monkeys, which was also nice. Today’s workout was good:

• Bench press: 3 sets/10 reps, 185 lbs.
• Curls (standing, barbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs.
• Fly (Nautilus): 3 sets/10 reps, 95 lbs. (ten-second hold on the tenth rep)
• Decline press (dumbbell): 3 sets/10 reps, 50 lbs
• Tricep press: 3 sets/10 reps, 80 lbs.
• Dips: 2 sets/15 reps

It was definitely tiring, but good. I think that I will start increasing my weights next week, by at least 5 lbs per exercise. And, speaking of increasing weight: When I stepped on the scale today, I tipped the scales at 169.6 lbs. I don’t think that I’ve weighed quite that much since my freshman year in college.

Stray Toasters

• Last night, somewhere north of Las Vegas, SaraRules put Queen’s Greatest Hits in the CD player. While we were listening to Killer Queen, I started thinking, “What would you do for a video for this song?” Almost immediately, I thought of the Queen of Hearts, from Alice in Wonderland, running around going “Off with ‘is head!” From that point on, it became something of a game to see what Disney movies/characters could be best matched with the rest of the songs on the CD.
• Chris Anthony’s Dream Photo Exhibition
• 
• Beer Can Dan
• By way of Wired (and Sarah Silverman): The 33 Things That Make Us Crazy
• Retro-gamer cupcakes
• From xkcd: “The Data So Far”

  

• I have a fresh supply of Twix.
• Steampunk LEGO Naboo Fighter and UK Church of the Jedi

Quotes of the Day

Item 1 comes from a brief (though not brief enough) conversation with a coworker:

Office Simian: Is there a color printer around here?
Me: No, there’s one in Salt Lake
Office Simian: Well, that makes it kind of difficult, doesn’t it?
Me: Not really… if you’re going to be in Salt Lake

Item 2 is from a conversation with :

(4:36:13 PM) : please. kill me.
(4:36:33 PM) : Can I just… wound… you?
(4:36:40 PM) : but..
(4:36:41 PM) : shockpuppet would kill me if I kill you.
(4:36:51 PM) : if you strike me down now i will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
(4:37:45 PM) : I dunno… I can imagine a lot.
(4:39:47 PM) : MORE.
(4:41:53 PM) : But, shockpuppet…
(4:43:39 PM) : yeah. she would really fuck you up.
(4:43:57 PM) : and then she’s have SaraRules to deal with…
(4:44:01 PM) : she’d..
(4:44:12 PM) : in the end it would probably kick off a world war.

Tonight: Scion… and maybe saving the world, after I get home.

Namaste.

Monday – January 21, 2008

Text of the “I have a dream…” speech

Human of the Day
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Namaste.

Sunday – 20 January 2008
This morning, we got up and breakfast at Noah’s Bagels with Meliko, Cat and Adrienne. After that, we headed back to Meliko and Cat’s apartment to get our gear and get on our way. We made a… somewhat… quick stop at the comic shop around the corner from the apartment. I’m glad I did: I found a Time Trapper ‘Clix.

On to LEGOland! Sweet Mary, mother of God… it was fun! The park was bigger than I expected. We got to pretty much all of the sections, but there are still some things that we’d like to go back and check out. We saw the exhibits. Rode a few rides. Walked. Toured. Shopped. Had a good time.

From there, we headed up to Montrose to meet up with the infamous Tom C., his girlfriend Jo and their roommate, Blair. (, both SaraRules and I hugged him for you. His reaction was worth it.) We went to dinner at Jerry’s Famous Deli in Studio City. Our waiter looked like an adult Peter Brady (NOT Christopher Knight… but, rather, what Peter Brady would have looked like had “he” grown up). And he wasn’t exactly the most attentive waiter. *sigh* Oh, well. Back to Tom’s to chill and hang out.

Here are today’s pictures… with a warning: After the pictures of SaraRules and Meliko and of Cat and me, there are over 350 pictures in LEGOland.

Human of the Day
Today’s HotD is SaraRules, for putting up with me being a horribly overgrown kid – with a camera – at LEGOland. (Or, as she put it: “It was fun watching you be so excited about being at LEGOland.”)

Time to relax and unwind.

Namaste.

Saturday – 19 January 2008
This morning SaraRules and I got up, observed the hygiene rituals and then headed off to enjoy a few things in the greater L.A. Metro area. But first… on to the nearby Target for a couple of new SD cards for the camera. Next, we went to a bagel shop around the corner from Meliko’s place. I had ham, egg and swiss on a sesame bagel, which was rather good.

And then…Seal Beach. (pictures) We walked down the pier and then walked down on the sand… and a little way into the surf. The ambient temperature was in the mid-60s and the water 57°F, pretty chilly but still okay to stand in (briefly!). There were surfers on the north side of the pier and sunbathers on the south side. And, we even saw one wakeboarder trying to “surf” down a sand dune. He was unsuccessful in all four attempts that we watched. There was no wind, so I didn’t get to fly my kite.

Back to the apartment to meet/pick-up Meliko and then we headed to Messob, an Ethiopian restaurant. The ladies split a vegetarian platter; I had Sigo Wat – a braised beef dish. All of it was good and I understand why it is that SaraRules tries to make this one of her “must go to” places when she’s in L.A.

After lunch, we went to Beverly Hills (cue Axel F) to go to Sprinkles Cupcakes. I had heard them both rave about the cupcakes… and bemoan the fact that there was usually a wait to get in the door. When we got there, we had 20-ish minute wait to get in. That gave us the perfect opportunity to do some people-watching. We weren’t let down. We counted more than “a few” fashion faux-pas and straight-up “fashion don’ts.” Finally, we went inside, ordered our cupcakes and were on our way to…

…Gallery 1988 for Under the Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee. As cool as the pieces looked online, they were even more impressive in the gallery. If I had the money to do so ($$$), I would have added a couple of pieces to my burgeoning art collection. If you’re in the L.A. area – and are a fan of comic-related art – you should definitely see this exhibit (on display through 01 Feb 08). After looking at the exhibit, we went next door to Golden Apple Comics.

*bliss*

I found some old issues of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, a handful of Legion of Super-Heroes and an Elseworld title that I haven’t seen in a while: Speeding Bullets. Not only that, I picked up a few pieces of plastic crack, including:

• Captain America
• Lex Luthor
• Shadowcat
• Superman Blue
• Triplicate Girl (!)
• Wasp and
• Wonder Girl

Yeah, I was pretty stoked. Back to the car – by way of a nearby Baskin-Robbins – and back to the apartment.

Next up, we’re going to see Cloverfield in a bit.

::: time lapse :::

So, SaraRules, Meliko and I just got back from Cloverfield. It was well-done. Very well done, in many ways… but be warned: It’s shot in Blair Witch cam. Even more so than the second and third Bourne movies. However, the technique was used very effectively in this movie. And the characters were rather believable. And the movie was written with the assumption that the members of the audience actually had functional brains. So… I give the movie a thumbs-up with an okay.

Tomorrow: LEGOland.

Namaste.

Friday: Coda
Annnd, we’re here. Long Beach. SoCal. According to Weather.com, it’s 49°F here. Forty-nine. At almost 10:00 PM. SLC won’t see the other side of forty for the next couple of months, probably.

The trip was fun. Long, but fun. We stopped in St. George (so I could pick up my camera – kudos to online shopping/in-store pick-up). While we were off the interstate, we decided to pick up lunch at the nearby Burger King. This was… entertaining.

We pulled up to the drive-in and SaraRules started to place our order. I think that it took four tries to get the first part of the order in and have the person on the mike actually get it right. Then, SaraRules put in the second part of the order. That was, comparatively, a piece of cake – she only had to repeat herself once.

And, just as we were about to add an extra order of onion rings to the mix, we were cut off, given a total and told to drive around.

*blink blink*

We drove up to the window… and added in our onion ring request. Because, as SaraRules put it: “We already had food and knew that they would not spit in our onion rings.”

So, the whole exchange – which should have taken about… four minutes – took nearly ten. Wow. Talk about “fast” food.

We drove through Vegas and the NV/CA state line and on to Baker, CA. If you’ve never been to/through Baker, you’re not really missing much: A few gas stations, some restaurants (mostly attached to the gas stations) and a buttload of mobile homes. Oh, and the world’s tallest thermometer. On the plus side, they did have a Dairy Queen, so I was able to sate my chocolate-dipped cone craving.

On the road again and on to Long Beach! Tally-ho!

As we dropped through Cajon Pass and into San Bernardino, the traffic picked up… the way that traffic does when you’re entering a major metropolitan area. It reminded me of the traffic on 495 in/around DC.

We made it to Meliko‘s. When we got there, Jeff and Adrienne – friends of theirs, were there. We said our “hellos” and then decided to head off to get something to eat. We went to a place called Marri’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant. I had the chicken alfredo. Good stuff. By the time we got back, Meliko’s roommate, Cat, was home. SaraRules and I hung out while the four of them (Meliko, Cat, Adrienne and Jeff) practiced a song.

Stray Toasters

• Right after this afternoon’s post, pointed me in the direction of 25 Amazing Photos Taken at the Exact Perfect Time
• : I got ya covered. There’s actually a TJ’s just around the corner. Literally.
• How bad-ass is Wonder Woman? Not only did she whoop Batman’s ass, but she’s a therapist: Ask Golden Age Wonder Woman
• The newest “Sneak Preview” from the upcoming HeroClix release Crisis: The Flash. The Barry Allen “I’m going to run myself to death” Flash.

  

And, since I’m on vacation… I’m done.

Namaste.

Friday – 18 January 2008
Yesterday, I was tired. Weary. BEAT. The drive from AF to Cedar was no longer (distance-wise) than usual, but damn and a half, if it didn’t seem to take seven hours longer than usual. On the other hand, I was able to capture this shot, just as I was passing through Nephi:

Not the best picture in the world, but not too shabby for an in-phone camera. It doesn’t show incredibly well, but there was a “column” of light and cloud in the middle of it that made me take the picture.

Shortly after I got in, SaraRules and I went to dinner with Josh and Steve. It was fun… even though we had a “not as good as she could have been” waitress. She was on par with Heather, our waitress from the Christmastime Outback dining experience. At least the food and the company were good. Steve came back to SaraRules’ for a bit and we hung out with Steph, Darillyn and Vince. After things died down, I decided to call it a night. I crawled into bed and was apparently out – and I mean “OUT” – in about three minutes.

I woke up this morning and it took me about three minutes to come to the realization that today was “Friday” and not “Saturday.” Although, being Friday, it made infinitely more sense as to why SaraRules had to go into work this morning. *facepalm* Yep… genius, I am. She should be home in a few and then we’re off like a prom dress after midnight.

I didn’t think about this before, but we will be hitting a Trader Joe’s or two while we’re outside the Zion Curtain. If anyone has anything that you’d like from there, drop me a line. I’m not sure what my connectivity will be like in California, so if you want to be sure that I’ll get your request, call or text message me.

Stray Toasters

• In another first: I almost typed “Starry Toasters.”
• I told a couple of people around the office that I was taking off to California this weekend. A few of them – Tyranist in particular – asked why I chose this weekend. I told him because of the long weekend/holiday. After a moment’s reflection, he nodded… “Ah, Black Christmas. Got it.”
  (Back story: Many businesses in Utah close for 24 July, Pioneer Day. Tyranist pointed out that if I could – and usually do – refer to Pioneer Day as “Mormon Christmas,” he could refer to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as “Black Christmas.” I agreed.)
• After seven years of solid use – and a few cases of abuse – I am replacing my digital camera. After all, I’m going on vacation – I should have a reliable camera with which I can take pictures.
• The IKEA Winter Sale ends 21 January 2008.
  I may have to see if I can squeeze in a pilgrimage to the Costa Mesa Garden of Sweden…
• Ever have a “What Would Cthulhu Do?” moment? Get some of these and maybe you’ll be a few steps closer to figuring it out.
• 
• By way of Wired: Macheads Dream of Teleporters, Holographic Sex Toys, Squidets
• 
• Paper airplane to be launched from International Space Station

And… that’s a wrap for now.

Namaste.

Thursday – 17 January 2008
Guess who just printed two tickets to LEGOland: California.

Mm-hmm, that’s right.