Random Access

Thursday – 28 June 2007
So far, NBN Thursday has gone well.

I woke up this morning, but was a little slow getting out of the gate. Not horribly so, but a little. As I was getting ready, I had a song run through my head… a song that I don’t think I’ve heard since I was in Kindergarten:

There was a man named Michaeal Finnegan
Who grew whiskers on his chin-igan
Shaved them off, but they grew back in again
Poor old Michael Finnegnan…
Begin again!

And the song would repeat. Simple, basic kids’ song.

I could understand it if the song had run through my head while I was shaving. That would actually… make… sense. But, no. I had finished shaving and was ironing the day’s outfit when it burst onto the scene. Fortunately, it came and went fairly quickly; but the thought of it has amused me for the better portion of the day.

Stray Toasters

• I have discovered that WordPress has a built-in (as of its last version) import function. Coupled with LiveJournal’s XML/CSV export function, I can export all of my entries from LJ and set them up in Random Access. I will be testing this out.
• I also discovered that I had somehow set user registration on Random Access so that I was the only one who could register users to leave comments. I don’t remember doing it, but that’s not the point. The point is: I changed the setting so that anyone can register. (Of course, this could prove an interesting test for the spam filter plugin that I use.)
• Acolyte Derek sent me a link to The Peoples’ Mario. Interesting.
• I have a Fat Boy ice cream sandwich! Tasty iced creams…. Mmm.
• Eric sent me a link to Balancing Points. This is pretty cool, as well.
• There’s a nasty rumour that Valarinne put in an appearance in Paragon City last night.

More later. Maybe. If you’re good.

Namaste.

Wednesday: coda
And so, another mid-week ends…

I came home this evening and took a somewhat unexpected nap. Then it was time to feed. But, I didn’t feel like cooking and, as I do not have the powers of Ronson (yet), making pizza and beer appear from thin air wasn’t an option, either. So, I did the next best thing: I went to Charlie Chow’s Dragon Grill. And, as an added bonus, went with me. Spring rolls. Beef with broccoli. Oolong tea. And a fortune cookie! After dinner, we headed over to Salt Lake Coffee Break for a bit. Nyx shared with me some of her ideas for upcoming art pieces; my thoughts hovered somewhere around “Wow.” I am looking forward to seeing them when she’s done with them.

Stray Toasters

• Don called shortly after I got home; I don’t think that we’ve had a chance to talk since I got back from the Right Coast, so it was a rather pleasant surprise. He had a couple of questions about Silk Road Online and how some of its stats/info compared with other RPGs/MMOs. I wasn’t familiar with the game… but that’s what the Interweb is for.We also talked comics, books, movies, and other games. (Go figure!) So, it was a pretty standard conversation for us. Among the things we talked about, he mentioned a series of books – the Cassandra Kresnov trilogy, by Joel Shepherd – that sounds like an interesting read.
• Vindication 2.0
• Missing Heroes?
• I’ve been a fan of Irregular Webcomic for… a couple of years, I think. Maybe more. Maybe less. I found the editorial/thoughts in this post to be particularly interesting – it’s a somewhat lengthy read, but it’s good food for thought.
• UnRealID.com
• Giant Otter Pop of Doom.
• Designer Interview: City of Heroes & Villains – Issue 10: Invasion
• From Comic Book Resources: Dwayne McDuffie on the Balance of Justice and Injustice
• When ‘Digital Natives’ Go to the Library
• Yes, it’s an iPhone news round-up
• I just had a horrible audio-visual pun go through my head when I glanced at a Magic: the Gathering card: Que Serra Serra…
• Oldman to quit acting?

Quote of the Day

[19:40] : So.
[19:40] : Aye?
[19:40] : When buying a new SATA drive for your PC it is best to make sure your PC has SATA support first.
[19:40] : sigh. 🙂
[19:40] : SATA add in card here i come.
[19:40] : I take it that you didn’t confirm this beforehand.
[19:41] : You’re aware that this will be posted, aren’t you?
[19:46] : yeah. i didn’t. i just assumed. *sob*
[19:46] : mistakes were made.
[19:46] : some deaths were involved.
[19:46] : or maybe i just wanted a new motherboard, CPU and RAM too. hmm. 😀
[19:47] : Maybe so.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 27 June 2007
Middle of the week and all’s well.

Last night was game night. Nominally. We had a hard time staying focused and keeping the game on-track. Hopefully, the (few) things we learned will be helpful and we didn’t neglect to ask something whose answer could wind up biting us in the collective ass.

Today, I have… huh… what have I done? Oh, wait: I went back and tracked down a problem with one of the systems I installed yesterday. And gone over more documentation for software. And stuff.

I recently got an email about a task that was supposed to take place a couple of weeks ago… but was decided against at the time. There was a rumour that it might still go through, but nothing definite. Until today. *sigh*

Let the monkeys hit the floor!
Let the monkeys hit the floor!
Let the monkeys hit the floor!
Let the monkeys hit the FLOOOOOOOOOR!

Stray Toasters

• Because I haven’t mentioned this enough…
• I haven’t listened to Snakes & Arrows nearly as much as I should have. I must rectify this.
• I have, however, started listening to each Rush CD as complete works. I have been toying with the idea of reviewing each CD: Highlight. Lowlight. Limelight.
• By way of ESPN.com: Philbrick: Lights, camera, graduation – Page 2’s ultimate commencement address
• Man spends 18 years making miniature garden castle
• 
• First Annual LEGO Creativity Awards
• – Video gaming is not an addiction, yet
• “Do you have a low tolerance for pain?”
• – Ann Coulter vs. Elizabeth Edwards

Namaste.

Tuesday – 26 June 2007
You know that it’s going to be an interesting day when it takes you at least fifteen seconds to remember what day it is. Seriously. The alarm went off and I couldn’t remember if it was Sunday, Monday or possibly Tuesday. Slowly, clarity – or some semblence of it – made its way into the dark recesses of my brain and I came up with “It’s Tuesday.” The rest of the morning prep went fairly well after that.

Into the SLC office to finish up a task that I had started on Friday. I had planned to finish it yesterday, but I was in AF all day. From what I could gather, it would take an hour-and-a-half or so to wrap up. Wrong. Try almost four hours, thanks to a couple of hardware issues and the fact that there are parts of the process that I am completely unfamiliar. Wrapped it up and headed down to AF…

…just in time to head to the gym. Today’s workout shouldn’t have been overly taxing, but it was work – Eric agreed. But, we muddled out way through it.

Back to the ranch for the back half of the workday. Whoop.

Stray Toasters

• I need a nap.
• The new LSH ‘Clix come out tomorrow.
  …as does the new Avengers set.
• …and, since we’re on the topic of The Avengers: New Iron Man movie photo
• Dirty Microbe – “World’s best funny t-shirts and stuff.”
• Video Ga-Ga (Neither is exactly work-safe.)
  • You’ve probably seen or heard Hey There, Delilah by The Plain White T’s. A coworker sent me this parody.
  • Dwim sent me a link to an SNL sketch starring Christopher Walken: Colonel Angus
• Have dinner with Joss Whedon, help a good cause.
• It’s sad how accurate this is…
  
• “The Baby Jesus” meat product
• …and Supreme Court-approved drugs for Jesus
• 
• GoogleTalk and Safari don’t mix well.
• Instructables
• So… are they bringing Magik back?

Quote of the Day

From a conversation with earlier this afternoon:

[14:54] : you have 5 minutes to reach minimum safe distance.
[15:13] : Um.
[15:13] : That’s not a good sign.
[15:14] : sorry. you were vaporized about 5 minutes ago.
[15:14] : Sweet.
[15:14] : I am a vapor trail!
[15:15] : you’re awfully talkative for someone who was recently vaporized. maybe it was a dud. is there an ICBM in the parking lot there?
[15:15] : You mean that big, shiny metal thing that crashed about 15 minutes ago?
[15:16] : no no.. that’s just a busload full of nuns.
[15:16] : Oh.
[15:16] : Then…. no.

Namaste.

Monday – 25 June 2007
A new week begins. So far, it’s been decent. The morning commute wasn’t bad, although the road was pretty thick with monkeys. Decent music and a frozen mocha helped make things bearable.

Shortly after I got to work, I got a call from . On her way to work, she passed by 20+ police officers (from different agencies); she wanted to know if I had heard anything about it. I hadn’t. But, after some digging and an assist from , I found out what/why: This. *sigh* Some peoples’ children.

Stray Toasters

• I need to get more pretzel Goldfish.
• Confession: I like a few Everclear songs… despite the fact that many of their songs sound pretty much the same.
• Music Box Dancer. Dunno why, but I like this, too.
• Dysentery. Who knew?! Well, WHO knew, but that’s another story.
• Style, diplomacy… and three dumptrucks full of class.
• For :
  

More later.

Namaste.

Sunday (coda)
Jazz.

Not the Utah variety.
The New Orleans variety.

And, for the record: I know that the Utah Jazz were the New Orleans Jazz before the move.
That doesn’t change the fact that they are still not what I’m talking about.

Jazz music is what I’m talking about here.
Dixieland jazz.

Brass. Banjo. Drum. Bass. And a piano.
Even more specifically: The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. To borrow a quote from Drumline: “One band, one sound.” In this case, it was: Seven men. Seven instrumnents. One mood.

And the mood was: Fun.

Not only did they come to Salt Lake and play up a storm, they redeemed the 2007 Utah Arts Festival. At least, they redeemed it for me. They played their brand of music and lit up the place. There were people dancing in front of the stage. Around/among the crowd. And, when they did their “Second Line” piece, Joe Avery, they led a line of people through the performance area and up on the stage. They turned a performance into an interactive experience. And it was wonderful. You could tell that the band was having a good time. You see it. You could hear it. You could feel it. And, looking around the crowd, you could tell that the people were having just as good a time. In fact, I think that my three bellwethers were:

• A little girl – she couldn’t have been more than three – who walked past me with her family. She danced as she walked by… no prodding from her parents, no insistence from anyone. She just… danced. And she was into it, too.
• A young lady who danced past me in the Second Line. She was dancing in the moment. You could see it in the look on her face and the way that she moved as the line snaked through the crowd. The mood and the spirit seemed to be infectious to her; she seemed powerless to resist it. And, quite frankly, she seemed very happy and willing to give in to it.
• An older gentleman (in his… late 60s/early70s, maybe) who, at one point, was dancing near the stage… and then decided to let the music move him around the crowd. Not too far from me, he put his drink down and seriously got his dance on. A few moments later, he returned to his cup, picked it up and grooved his way through the rest of the crowd.

I think that I’ve loved hearing the saxophone in jazz since I could pronounce the word “saxophone.” A low, moaning sax can tell you about heartbreak and pain. A high, wailing sax can make you fly. And it can hit just about every emotion in between. Tonight, however, I was forced to reconsider its position in the instrumental pantheon. Don’t get me wrong, Darryl Adams did it right. He was all over it: High. Low. Running the scales. He was on. But… Lucien Barbarin (I think it was him, I didn’t get a good look at him… and I know that it wasn’t Frank Demond) turned it out… on the trombone. That’s right: The trombone. And it was gooood. This isn’t to say that the other instruments didn’t swing, too. They did. Mightily. But, these two… *nod*… they had the stuff tonight.

So, while the Kimball Arts Festival still holds a little more appeal to me, tonight restored my faith in the Utah Arts Festival.

Namaste.

Sunday – 24 June 2007
It’s been a pretty decent day… even though I haven’t done a lot.

The day started with brunch at Ruth’s Diner with , , Carrie Kelly and Dina. From there, I drove up Emigration Canyon and down Parley’s back into the valley. I decided to take Wasatch Blvd. back rather than 215. A quick stop at B&B and then back home. and Dina got their gear and – after we exchanged a few videos on YouTube – headed for the northlands.

came over a little while later and picked up the kids. It’s going to be a bit more quiet (esp. around 4 in the morning) without them here.

I decided to have Nefer-Tem spend a little time in Paragon City. Shortly after logging in, I was invited to a team – comprised of a few Peacebringers, Tanks and Blasters. Usually, I’m a bit leery of teams like this, as I prefer teams with a Defender or Controller to help with the healing. But, I ventured on. And it was a pretty good team. I did die once, but only once; and that was despite us taking on some rather healthy-sized groups of The Council and The Freakshow.

Now… I think that I’m going to head downtown again. There is jazz at the Arts Festival. The temperature is cooling off and it will be a nice way to wind down the evening. Something that I neglected to mention last night: I was a little… disappointed in this year’s festival. It seemed “smaller,” with respect to the number of artists’ booths. I think that I walked through pretty much all of them in about an hour. If hadn’t spotted me – and I hadn’t sat around to chat with her and a few others, I would have been out of the gates after that hour. But, that’s okay… The Kimball Arts Festival in Park City is just around the corner.

I just got a message from saying that she made it home safely. Selah.

Namaste.

Saturday (coda)
The derby match was fun. And full of crashes. And a couple of fights. And two pretty big (though not life-endangering) injuries. The TVRgirls lost to the Salt City Shakers, but it was a good match.

Post-derby, we went to breakfast at Cheers: South. They have a new manager there: Patrick… who looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out why. He put the last piece together: He used to manage the Bad Ass Coffee Co. location where Perry and I often go for coffee.

and Dina are crashing here again tonight. When they got in from their post-bout party, we talked about the bout and the skaters a bit before they turned in for the night.

Tomorning: Brunch.

Namaste.

Saturday – 23 June 2007
and her teammate Dina (“Scarlet Danger”) crashed here after Clitorati. Apparently, the kids remember , as they came out almost immediately to say “Hi.” And, they sidled up to Dina almost as quickly – which is a little atypical for them around strangers. This morning, and I went in search of caffeination (in which we were successful) and to pick up her brother, who is a referree for tonight’s bout. Back here so that the three of them could prep for the bout (while I watched today’s LSH episode). When wheels and bearings and other assorted items had been checked and changed and otherwise fiddled with, they headed off to a team brunch/meeting.

Today’s episode of Legion of Super Heroes was a rebroadcast of “Champions,” which (surprise!) I hadn’t seen. Lightning Lad was competing in the Galactic Games (think “Interstellar Olympics”), with Phantom Girl and Superman along for moral support. The games are being sabotaged by The Fatal Five… with the help of Mekt Ranzz, older brother of Lightning Lad. Some “famous faces” thrown in for added flavor are: competitors Jo Nah (not-yet-called Ultra Boy) and Tenzil Kem (Matter-Eater Lad, before he joins in “The Substitutes”) and President of the United Planets Winema Wazzo… Phantom Girl’s mother. Despite the superhero/supervillain brawl near the end, it was a fairly light episode; I’d almost go so far as to call it a filler episode. But it was a new (to me) ep. And it was Legion. And that was enough.

It’s a great day out there. I believe that I’m going to head downtown and take in some of the Arts Festival at some point this afternoon. A couple of hours down there should give me enough time to take in the artwork and the atmosphere… and work on my tan.

Stray Toasters

• pulled a Smokey and the Bandit for me.
• I have found my plectra!
• I have also found my roulette chips from Caesar’s Palace, The Hard Rock Hotel Casino and The State Line Hotel and Casino.
• “Hopen.” And I’m pretty happy with it.
• Because I am in touch with my inner lemming…
  $3950.00The Cadaver Calculator – Find out how much your body is worth

  Mingle² – Online Dating

• Reason #573826 of “Why Rob shouldn’t be allowed to play with PhotoShop when he’s bored” is…
  

• Guinness.
• 
• Giant monkey crotch playground toy
• By way of SciFi: Tapping Eager to Join Atlantis
• Tyranist: Are you familiar with this movie

Namaste.

Friday (coda)
Post-work, I did some straightening (and even threw in a little cleaning, for good measure). I played with the cats in between bouts of “I don’t feel like dealing with [insert cleaning task] just yet.” Then, a shower and out the door fo Clitorati.

Tonight’s gathering was smallish, but good. , and two of her teammates, arrived a little after 9:00 PM. After introductions were bandied about, we sat, chatted and drank our beverages of choice. Then, it was on to dinner.

Tomorrow is Derby Day. In light of that, here is a simple list of the positions and rules (1, 2) for the bout. And it seems as though more people than I thought are interested in sitting in the “Suicide Seats.” It should be fun.

Stray Toasters

• “Common sense, unfortunately, isn’t.” I came up with this a few months ago. When I look at the number of times/cases when it’s been applicable, I almost get the urge to trademark it.
• For …
  “Did you see the new Batman costume for The Dark Knight?”
  
• What do you get when you mix math and rock music? Questionable Content has the answer.
• loves me (or at least tolerates me). How do I know? She sent me a link to this and this.
• sent me a link to this story yesterday.
• By way of comes a link to this t-shirt.

Namaste.

Friday – 22 June 2007

Last night, I headed to the Garden of Sweden. *genuflect* The plan:

• Go
• Pick up ONE item (in four parts)
• Take it home.
• Assemble.
• Dance!

Okay… maybe not the “Dance!” part, but the rest was on the list. Items 1 through 4 seemed simple enough. 1 and 2 were. Step 3 is where the problems ensued. The boxes, despite careful calculations on my part, refused to fit in the car. *braincramp* Damnable Physics and its stupid “Two objects may not occupy the same space at the same time” rule! *shakes fist* A few hasty – and mildly frantic – phone calls later, I reached my new favorite choice to play Batgirl (or possibly Carrie Kelly) in a future Bat-flick: . She saved me from impending doom and disaster. With panache and style.

Home. Disassemblage. Assemblage. It would have been a little easier with my drill, but it wasn’t available. So…. elbow grease! When I was done, I was tired. Very tired. And it was after 3:00 AM. Which made it a perfect time to pass out. Which I did.

This morning, the alarm was summarily turned off and ignored. As was Nomad. And an early morning phone call. The second call, however, I did answer. A bit gruffly. (Sorry.) And then I got about starting the day. Of course, it didn’t really start until I thinned the blood in my caffeinestream. So the first few minutes in the office were… sluggish. I spent most of the day in the server room and putting out some small fires. I was kept pretty busy, which is never a bad thing. But, I can’t say that I wasn’t glad to see 5:00 roll around, either.

Tonight: Clitorati.
Tomorrow: Derby! And, maybe a chance to see some of the Utah Arts Festival. (We shall see…)

Stray Toasters
I’ll either post them later tonight or tomorrow. Or Sunday.

Although, I will note that I apparently missed an “anniversary.” It seems as though my journal had its sixth birthday back on Thursday, 14 June 2007. Huh.

And with that… I’m ghost.

Namaste.

Thursday – 21 June 2007
I spent a quiet evening with the kids, after work.

Then… I played City.

I logged on first as Corvus Nox. I ran with a team comprised mostly of my supergroup, which was fun (and a little rare for me). We took on Council of Thorns and Tsoo. There were some deaths involved… on our side. But we managed to get through the missions. And ‘Nox got to Security Level 14. Which means that I get to ditch the second most-stupid superpower (Hover) in lieu of it’s beefier upgraded version: Flight. Selah.

I logged out, with the intention of going to bed.
(Please see entries on: “Road to Hell” and “Paving”)

Then, I remembered that I had gotten the Hand of Nefer-Tem up to Security Level 30… and neglected to pick out a new costume. I also remembered that new costumes are “earned” by taking on missions for the tailors at iCON. I had not yet completed my costume mission. *grblsnrkx* I had to defeat 30 Crey agents. Fair enough. At least I had started the mission before logging out last time. I headed to Brickstown to find some low-level (30 – 32) Crey. I found them. They, for some reason, shot… back. Ô.õ What was that all about?! Not only did they shoot back, they killed me a couple of times. The bastards.

I got through all thirty of them and returned to the iCON in Independence Port to see Lauren, one of the tailors. A nip here, a tuck there and a few adjustments later, I had a new, “formal” costume:

The kilt was the closest thing that I could find to a shenti, so I went with that. I’m happy with the overall look, too.

Stray Toasters

• I had a meeting with the Captain and his First Mate, Coca-Cola, this evening. Unfortunately, his Second Officer, Juice d’Orange, was unavailable. We were, however, able to come to an accord.
• Dwim pointed out this stop-motion film of a young man putting together a Millenium Falcon… out of LEGO bricks. Around 1:30 into it, keep an eye on the “exploding” red tile (lower left corner of the screen).
• NCSoft has finally added new flying poses to City of Heroes/Villains. I still want the ability to do loops and barrel rolls.
• likes to kill zombies.
• I’m still torn: Hopen or Malm. Decisions, decisions…

Next on the agenda: Acquire caffeination and ease on down the road.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 20 June 2007
This morning has gotten off to a slow start. I apparently didn’t sleep well last night. When I got up this morning to turn off Nomad (I use it as a secondary alarm), I stretched out on the couch… for an hour. I felt a bit better after that, so I figured that it was about time to get the day started. I also have a frozen mocha, so hopefully that will thin out the blood in my caffeinestream.

The work day hasn’t been bad. A little work in the server room. Some research. Rush in Rio. And a nice constitutional… with a discussion about guns.

Stray Toasters

• I was listening to Piccadilly Collection, by Squeeze, last night. One of my particular favorite songs of theirs is Hourglass – a song that makes NO sense (as far as I can tell) and whose video makes even less sense… but is a fun, bounce-around-like-an-idiot tune.
• comes: Endless Zombie Rampage
• …and while we’re on the subject of zombies: Monster by Mail
• From Coworker Dave W. (I swear… I’m going to have to start numbering the Daves at this rate): Overheard in New York
• So you wanted to meet the wizard?
  Let me tell you that you’ve come to the right place!
  Shall I make you a frog or a lizard?
  You should see the strained expression on your face
  If the way I come on is fright’ning
  That’s the way I felt like coming on today
  Have you ever been kissed by lightning?
  Let me tell you, that will make you go away
• Star Wars AT-AT stroller mod
• Titanic lamp (the only thing missing is the guy bouncing off the propeller)
• Computer programs… hidden on your old LPs? Yep.
• 

Namaste.

Damn and a half….
Rhapsody in Blue is a FINE piece of music. Period.

Tuesday – 19 June 2007
Just a couple of quick things:

• I saw something about Bat for Lashes’ What’s a Girl to Do? on boingboing.net last week, but neglected to check it out until this morning. It’s an interesting and quirky song. And, pound for pound, it has at least as many furries as Goldfrapp’s Number One or Strict Machine.
• Correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t we seen this… before? And didn’t it wind up leading to something bad? As much as I hate to admit it, maybe Bruce was right. Again.

Namaste.