Random Access

Monday – 09 July 2007
A new week begins…

Work was good. Relatively painless. Nothing to write home about. After work, I stopped by to pick up a Sentinel ‘Clix from Perry – I need to exorcise a demon and this is a necessary artifact to that end.

Stray Toasters

• I accidently hit <DELETE> and wound up with “Stray Tasters” for a moment. Like “Stray Taoists,” but different… and not as amusing.
• Sculptures inside vacuum tubes
• 
• New 7 Wonders of the World
• William Gibson explains why science fiction is about the present
• I have recently been made aware that there are Legion ‘Clix from previous releases that I do not have. This will have to be rectified.
• : From the DCG – Legion Animated Ultra Boy

That’s it for now.

Namaste.

Sunday – 08 July 2007: coda
Today was good. Lazy. Relaxed. And just… plain… good.
More about today after this break to backfill last night’s experience:

I neglected to mention that I went downtown last night to see Diane Schuur with the Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra. She put on a nice set. I think that I knew – somewhere in the back of my head – that she played piano, but for some reason spaced it off until seeing her play last night. *duhr* After her set, I stayed to watch Luther Hughes & The Cannonball-Coltrane Project, a five-piece band (upright bass, trumpet, sax, piano and drums) I liked them. Sure, some of the jokes between the songs were a bit stale/corny, but when they were playing… man, they were pretty hot.

I woke up this morning; I considered that a good start to the day. From there, I proceeded to do a whole lot of nothing for the next few hours. And that was fine. After a while, though, it wasn’t fine, so I decided to run a few errands.

And get a mocha.
Naturally.

Mocha was acquired. Errands were run. Then, it was time to find something for lunch… but I didn’t want the same old same. Jitterbug fit the bill, nicely. Post-food, I drove down to hang out with Kate, Perry and the kids for a bit… and came home with a few new pieces of plastic crack.

I did a few things around the apartment – including rehanging some pictures – before heading downtown to catch the final act of the Jazz Festival: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. It was the second time I’ve seen them in the past… year or so. And the show, though shorter, was every bit as good. They ended their set with Go-Daddy-O… and then filed offstage. People started leaving, but I stood in place – there was no way that they could end a show without doing their signature piece, So Long, Farewell, Goodbye. A minute or two later, they reappeared onstage and went into it. Before ending the song, Scotty broke into a few measures of Sweet Home Alabama and the rest of the band joined in. The crowd… went… nuts. I would love to hear them do a full version of that, I bet that it would rock eight ways from Sunday and in ways that Lynyrd Skynyrd never imagined. It was a great end to the festival. And, I may have to try and catch them in Vegas next month, God willing and the creek don’t rise.

Stray Toasters

• I am talking with the lovely Ms. … and you are not.
• I am also enjoying a glass of Merlot. And you are not.
• Diamond Select will be adding a Sue Storm statue (click the image) to their catalog. It reminded me that I still wouldn’t mind tracking down one of their Jean Grey statues (click the image).
• Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow
• 
• Steampunk Magazine – available for free download
• Indexed
• “…said the [click] to the [click].”
• Latest Chinese Safety Problem: Exploding Cell Phone Batteries
• , you may want to check this out.
• When I see this, the caption in my head says, “Daaaaaay-O! Day-ay-ay-O!”

Namaste.

By way of comes this.

Reason #29385 of “Why Rob shouldn’t be allowed to play with PhotoShop when he’s tired” is:

Saturday – 07 July 2007
So far today, I…

• ..overslept and missed this morning’s episode of Legion of Super Heroes. (I’d seen it before.)
• Cleaned the apartment.
• Read a good bit of Vision of the Future

just got here. She wants to go to the Garden of Sweden. Who am I to say no to a trip there?!

ZOOM!

Friday – 06 July 2007
And so, another week comes to a close.

I’m trying something a little different with this post: I turned off the PostAvatar plugin because it seems to cause WordPress to eat posts. Which it did to this post a little while ago. Which it has done many times before. Which is annoying. So, I’ll just try embedding the icons by hand, for a bit and see how that works out.

Jason, James and I had off-site training today. It was good. There were interesting applications of technology. There were sections on personnel relations, including inter-office communications. There were exercises in creative thinking. And… and… Oh, Hell. We went to see Transformers. There. I said it. It had action. A little suspense. Lots of shit blowing up – even more that Live Free or Die Hard! And it was fun. Sure, there are old-school purists who will find things to complain about:

“Waaaah, Bumblebee is supposed to be a Volkswagen…”
“Optimus Prime never had ghost flames…!”
“According to episode blah-blah-blah…”

I would just like to remind those people of one tiny, miniscule, almost-insignificant fact: It’s a movie… based on a cartoon… based on a line of toys. Sit down. Shut up. Enjoy the ride. It’s fun. Thank you, move along. *ahem* Where was I? Oh, yeah… It was fun. Definitely worth seeing.

The Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival opens this evening; I might even go to coffee a little late, so that I can hear Diane Reeves perform. And the festival closes down with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Yeah… I’ll be spending a little time downtown this weekend.

Stray Toasters

• I have an idea for my new lyric-to-drawing piece. Now I just need to draw it…
• is trying to kill me. Again. This time, this is her weapon of choice.
• It seems as though my young acolyte/apprentice has started the clock on his fifteen minutes of fame – he’s the one talking about the Wii in the home video clip.
• 
• A few days ago, made a comment about Marvin Gaye’s version of The Star-Spangled Banner being the “best version ever.” I’m not sure that I agree with that, but I did agree with his choice of Ray Charles’ America the Beautiful. For many years, I’ve thought that the late Mr. Charles’ rendition is the definitive version. That led me to consider other songs that have been covered by different artists and which of those versions I consider “The Best.” So far, I’ve come up with the following:
  • Al Jarreau – Since I Fell for You
  • Sinead O’Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U
  • Tina Turner – The Bitch Is Back
  • Bruce Willis (yes, that “Bruce Willis”) – Good Lovin’
  • Was (not Was) – Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone
  • Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (ft. Henry Rollins) – War
  • Me’Shell Ndegeocello – Poison Ivy

  I’ll be adding to this list, as I remember/discover other songs that fit the bill. I may even make it an item/feature unto itself

• Microsoft to extend Xbox 360 warranty, take $1 billion hit
• Dwim showed me this video yesterday. It made me laugh. A lot.
• 
• Arf Forum: Unholy Marriage of Art & Comics
• I [heart] my blender.
• Laptop typewriter mod
• Blood ties: Yakuza daughter lifts lid on hidden hell of gangsters’ families

Up out.

Namaste.

Thursday – 05 July 2007
The work week resumes.

Yesterday was good. I spent part of the day hanging out with Kate, Perry and the kids… and part of the day with and family. And stuff. And whatnot. We only half-saw the fireworks last night, due to an obstructed view. Damned dirty trees! (Wow… I just had a horrible “Planet of the Acers” pun run through my head.) Although, we did see, hear and almost get set on fire by the ones that ‘ neighbors.

This morning, there were far more monkeys on the road than I would have ordinarily expected. The only real annoyance with them came near the tail end of the commute, so I shouldn’t complain too much. Speaking of which, had the (mis)fortune of hearing me rail at/against a slew of road monkeys – affectionately referred to as “cock monkeys,” if I recall correctly – Tuesday afternoon.

Stray Toasters

• Sometimes, whether it be Providence, Fate, Karma, cybermancy, technopathy or just lucky happenstance, you wind up hearing a song on your iPod that you haven’t heard in a long time. And it will make you smile. I was the beneficiary of such a circumstance while taking my morning constitutional.
• Speaking of music that makes me smile: The Salt Lake City Jazz Festival is this weekend.
• is trying to kill me. How do I know? She sent me a link to this.
• – Irish children swept out to sea
• – Indian woman strips in dowry row
• 
• First Amendment mob of photogs hit Silver Spring on July 4
• I started with a dream
  But came to a decision
  I started with a dream
  But now I have a mission
  I have a goal
  To see beyond my vision
  With imagination
  I’ll get there
• Cassandra Wilson, Impromtu
• Design story behind memorial for Madrid train bombings
• 

Time to pick up and put down heavy things.

Namaste.

Wednesday: 04 July 2007
Happy July 4th… to those to whom it applies.

Many people fought so that we can have the freedoms that we enjoy today. They proved that with enough people gathered behind a cause, anything can be changed. Take time to remember that the day is about more than cookouts and sales and fireworks.

The Fourth of July reminds me of my paternal grandparents. Growing up, I would often spend a few weeks in the summer with them. Those parts of my vacation usually bridged the Fourth of July weekend. Every Fourth, my grandparents would pack me into their car and drive to Princeton to see the fireworks. I’d sit on the hood of the car, looking up over the shopping center, watching the various pyrotechnics. (To this day, my favorite display remains the chrysanthemum.) After everything was over – with my ears ringing and a slight headache from the explosions – we’d get back into the car and head home. I was usually asleep shortly after we got out of the parking lot.

This morning, despite turning off the alarm and not placing Nomad in the SoundDock, I was awake at 6:20 AM. Six. Twenty. For no discernible reason. *grblsnrkx* After staring at the clock for a few moments, I rolled over and went back to sleep. When I finally decided to get up and out of bed, I made coffee showered… and then proceeded to do a lot of nothing. I called Kris – she’s out of class today for the holiday.

Game night was canceled last night, so I had the opportunity to find something else to entertain myself. My weapon of choice: A movie. Live Free or Die Hard. It was good. Fun. Witty. Good writing. Sure, there were a few scenes that required some suspension of disbelief. But, you know what you’re getting when you walk into the theatre. I wasn’t disappointed. There were a couple of interesting trailers before the movie, as well: War, The Kingdom and… Hitman (which, if I am not mistaken, is based upon the video game series). Also, Timothy Olyphant, the lead antagonist, reminded me of a young Billy Bob Thornton in a few close-up shots.

Stray Toasters

• I fear that two of my interests (addictions/obsessions) are beginning to merge: I have an urge to build a replica of LSH HQ out of LEGO bricks.
• I have finally upgraded to Firefox 2.0 One change that will take some getting used to is the “X” on each tab, rather than the “x” at the end other Tab bar.
• 
• Ursula LeGuin rips into Slate Magazine

And now… time to hang out and have some coffee.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 03 July 2007
I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but this morning’s commute was relatively monkey-free and it had a good soundtrack:

• emmet swimming – Arlington
• Rush – Tom Sawyer
• Duran Duran – Notorious
• Rush – The Spirit of Radio
• The Presidents of the United States of America – Lump
• Michael Jackson – In the Closet (the man may be a whackjob, but some of his music is damned entertaining and good)

I’m not sure whether or not it was the technopathic link with Nomad in action, but I was very pleased with that lineup.

Thanks to those of you who gave comments on last night’s “Irish Creme + Decaf = ???” question. As it turns out, it was rather tasty and made for a nice pre-bed drink while I read more of Vision of the Future. made the suggestion of Butterscotch Schnapps and coffee… I will have to explore this possibility. Do any of you have any other “alternately leaded” coffee recipes/combinations that you enjoy? I’d be interested to see what they are, if so.

Stray Toasters

• I not only have a frozen mocha, I have chocolate espresso beans, as well.
• How and why in the Nine Hells do you “fire” a “living goddess?” Wouldn’t you think she might shove lightning bolts up your ass for something like that?
• I think that I need to take in a Real Salt Lake game…
• Tyranist pointed me in the direction of the trailer for Shoot ‘Em Up (Hey, , it has Clive Owen!)… which then led to a link to the trailer for I Am Legend. I will have to see both of these movies.
• Conform or be cast out…
• 
• 33 Ways to Watch Free TV Online
• I think that I slightly covet this tape dispenser.
• Whenever I read stories about this, I hear Heaven Is a Halfpipe in the back of my head.
• Reason #489537 of “Why amuses me”: She sent a link to this picture.
• Captain America Buried in Arlington National Cemetery… but does anyone care at this point?
• If WizKids did Young Avengers ‘Clix, why didn’t they include one for Hawkeye (Kate Bishop)?

And now to pick up and put down heavy things.

Namaste.

I just made a run to the local purveyor of packaged goods. I exited with:

• A bottle of Merlot
• A bottle of Gewurtztraminer
• A bottle of Irish Creme

I was struck by the thought that an Irish Coffee sounded pretty good as a nightcap. Then I thought about the flip side of that: I don’t know that I want to start drinking coffee at 10:00, if I plan on being in bed sometime around 1:00, especially since I haven’t been sleeping well of late…

Then I remembered: I have some decaf coffee, left over from when Chris would drink it on Shadowrun nights. But then I was stuck with the conundrum:

I know that decaf is pretty much the coffee equivalent of masturbation, but is it blasphemy/heresy (or even prostitution) to put Irish Creme in decaf?

What are your thoughts on the matter?

Monday – 02 July 2007
I actually slept last night. Fairly well, at that. Of course, the pre-bed glass of Merlot probably didn’t hurt, either.

Yesterday was good… despite the 8:30 awakening. Perry called around 10 to invite me to coffee. I took him up on the offer. Then I indulged in a little bit of retail therapy at Old Navy. Yep… Old Navy.

Back home… to find out that Intrepid was having connection issues. They seem to have been tied to my firewall deciding to fire off a couple of terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) procedures. *grblsnrkx* I thought that I had taken care of most of them… until this morning. But that’s another story.

Back out to run some errands, have dinner with Kate, Perry and the kids and to visit the Garden of Sweden. Among other things, I picked up a couple of picture frames for two of my Rush concert tourbooks. I mounted and hung them… and they look pretty good, although I may need to look at getting different mattes – the Vapor Trails tourbook kind of gets lost/washes out in the white matte. I still need to get two more – one for R30 and one for the upcoming Snakes & Arrows tour. Out a little later for a drive and I ended the night with a book and the aforementioned glass of Merlot.

Today’s been good – as a welcome and refreshing change from doc reading and training videos, Jason walked me through some domain administration. It’s nice to actually be able to ask a question and get feedback (not to be confused with Feedback).

Stray Toasters

• Ultimate Team Cardboard Fortress Battle
• Spoiler Sport: Geoff Johns on Sinestro Corps
• There is now a second poster for Countdown. (Here’s the first poster, in case you missed it. Somehow.)
• Steampunk play based on Hackers
• 7% humidity
• 525,000 iPhones sold in first weekend
• …and with that in mind: iPhone + multitouch + goatse = arrghhhhh
• The Shrinking Violet/Atom Girl HeroClix makes me chuckle.
• Alabama Governor discovers global warming cure: Pray for rain

Namaste.

Sunday – 01 July 2007
I’m awake.

Most of you will read the above sentence and go “Well… DUH!”

• I was up at 8:30 this morning.
• It’s a Sunday morning on which I have NOTHING to do.
• I went to bed about 1:00.
• I was rather tired… and a bit cranky/surly when I went to bed.

I used to like sleep. I don’t (usually) require very much of it, but I enjoy sleeping in on weekends when I have nothing going on. Like today. And, on top of that, I’ve had some rather bizarre – and disconcerting – dreams lately. That hasn’t helped in the “good night’s sleep” department, either.

Blah.

Saturday – 30 June 2007

Last night: Clitorati. As usual, it was a good end to the evening and the week.

After a poor night’s sleep (really odd dreams… and they were all interconnected), I woke up to watch this morning’s episode of Legion of Super Heroes. It was one that I’ve seen at least twice before. And it’s not among my favorite episodes. So, I got ready to meet Chris at the gym – he wanted some ideas on things to add to his workout.

Roughly two hours later, I was on my way home again. I talked with the parental units as I drove home. Both of them are well.

Four-Color Coverage

• The Brave and the Bold #3 and #4 – Batman, the Blue Beetle, Lobo and Supergirl. Green Lantern and Adam Strange. The Lord of Time, the Fatal Five. And an appearance by Destiny, of The Endless. You want star-spanning – and time-spanning – action? This books had it… in spades. And still manages to leave you with questions of “Who? Why? and How?”
• Firestorm #35 – Darkseid thinks that Professor Martin Stein, one half of Firestorm, holds the key to the Anti-Life Equation. And, as with most things, what Darkseid wants… Darkseid gets. Or lays waste to. And my Providence smile upon any who get in his way.
• Justice League of America #10 – “The Lightning Saga: Final Chapter – The Villain is the Hero in His Own Story” Wow.
  

  *Voiceover: Black Canary*
  They lied to me. They lied to us. But, worst of all —

  They lied to him.

  Superman: Sensor Girl. I see you now.

  No doubt, Clark’s always been the hardest of us to rile. But when the dagger in his chest is put there by his dearest childhood friends..?

  …you don’t want to be anywhere near him.

  They’re known as the Legion of Super-Heroes. Seven of them came back in time. But all it takes is one of them to distract us from their actual mission.

  Superman: Where are they, Jeckie? *grabs Sensor Girl by the shoulder*
  Sensor Girl: Clark, you’re hurting me.
  Superman: I – I barely…
  Sensor Girl: Y-You shattered my shoulder.
  Superman: Jeckie!

  *Voiceover: Black Canary*
  I’m not sure what torments him more —

  –the thought of injuring Sensor Girl–

  –or the fact that she knows him well enough to get inside his brain twice.

  And that was just in the first three pages.

  Three minutes (and two pages) later, the Justice League and the Justice Society have tracked down the Legionnaires… and want some answers. And Superman confronts Sensor Girl:

  Superman: Jeckie, I’m annoyed now. Truly annoyed. So why don’t you just tell me why you’re really h–

  Sensor Girl: You weren’t supposed to find us, Clark.

  *Voiceover: Superman*
  I check the whole spectrum to make sure she’s really there. Microscopic, chemical, X-ray, auditory, ultrasonic, magnetic, photonic —
  Superman: Is this the Espionage Squad, because–?
  Sensor Girl: It was voluteers only — and when Val signed up — like Dawny — even like Thom — I couldn’t let him go alone.
  I even scan both her hearts to make sure the physiology’s right
  Sensor Girl: It’s different from last time, Clark. To bring him back — there’s no Proty to take the fall.
  But the only thing that convinces me —

  –is the salty sweet smell of her tears.

  Proty? I was right then. Like when we brought Garth back t– Rao…
  Superman: Dinah, it’s what I said.
  Black Canary: Okay, people, we have a problem–
  Superman: I can see the lightning rod, Jeckie — please tell me you’re not here to kill yourself.

  Seven Legionnaires undertake a suicide mission to rescue a fallen hero. But whom? The conclusion leaves us with an answer. But is it the right answer? It also leaves us with questions… ones that are apparently being revealed in Countdown. That aside, this story was worth the wait. After all, it has the Legion that I grew up with. My “warm, happy place in comics” as Tyranist and I describe it. Well-written and executed… and just…. fun. Long live the Legion!

• The Sinestro Corps Special #1 – “The Second Rebirth”: Two years ago, we witnessed the return of Green Lantern Hal Jordan to the DCU. With this book, we see his counterpart, Sinestro, and are introduced to the masses that are the Sinestro Corps. We’ve seen glimpses of some of the bright stars – or would that be “dark stars” – among the Sinestro Corps, but that was a small handful of Corpsmen; in this issue, we see that there are many, many more… enough to rival the numbers of the Green Lantern Corps. Readers of the various Green Lantern titles have always heard Sinestro’s story… from the side of the GLC. Not here. Now, we hear the story in Sinestro’s voice. And then there’s the new oath:
  

  In blackest day…
  In brightest night
  Beware your fears made into light
  Let those who try to stop what’s right
  Burn like my power — Sinestro’s might!

  Then there’s the attack on Oa. And [spoiler deleted]. What is Ion? How does it relate to Parallax? We even get a look at [spoiler deleted] and [spoiler deleted]. And the Guardian of the Sinestro Corps is none other than [spoiler deleted], who hasn’t been seen around the DCU/DCM in MANY years. There’s a storm coming. But is there anywhere safe to hide from it?

• Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #31 – [Spoiler deleted] is voted in as the new leader of the LSH as the United Planets hunts for the now-missing Cosmic Boy. Why do they want him? Oh, a little something to the tune of “war crimes” for destroying a planet.
• Superman/Batman #37 – A visit with Pete Ross. Killer Croc breaks into Lex-Com. Lex Luthor… hiding something from Gotham City PD? Kryptonite? Who’s pulling the strings and to what tune are the puppets dancing?
• Ultimate X-Men #83 – The Group-Formerly-Known-as-the-X-Men travel to the tunnels of the Morlocks to rescue two of their own. Bishop goes on a recruitment drive – who’s in and who’s out?
• X-Men: First Class #1 – Professor Xavier, realizes that Jean – as the sole female on the fledgling X-team – has no peers or role models. He finds her a mentor: Susan Richards, the Invisible Girl.

Stray Toasters

• I have my Legion Clix. I even picked up a couple of Avengers ‘Clix, too: Black Panther and Captain Britain.
• , have you heard about this: Record store rep threatens Prince over free CD giveaway
• Vindication 3.0
• Incarcerex

And now, to find some lunch and some trouble to get into.

Namaste.