Monday
Twas a great day in the valley. Sunny and warm with blue skies. A small contingent of us walked to Subway for lunch. The most direct path is through a couple of subdivisions (…in the high school halls, in the shopping malls…conform or be cast out…). Nice houses and more than a few of them had some very nice antique cars parked in their driveways.

, and I went to Noodles & Co. for dinner. Then Nox and I stopped into Best Buy; I looked at mp3 players while he check out the videogames. I was approached by Randi, the associate working in that area. She asked what brought me into the store and I responded: “My feet!” I don’t think that she quite knew how to respond to that. She blinked a couple of times, while her Customer Response Processing Unit analyzed my answer. She smiled and said that she couldn’t remember anyone giving her that answer before. She then asked if I had any questions or needed any help; I told her that I was considering a new mp3 player and was looking at what they had to offer. She didn’t take that as “I don’t need help, but thank you,” and started talking to me about some of the features of the various players. It wasn’t annoying, as she was nice and trying to be helpful.

We came back to the homestead. Nox and I watched the season finale of 24; he also tried his hand at Ghost Recon. After the show went off, we played a game of NetRunner. I want to find a way to integrate it into my upcoming Shadowrun game, as I have at least one potential player who wants to play a decker… and I don’t want their part of the game to take up too much of our time for gameplay. Nox and I figured out some ways that it could be done. We’ll refine the process over time.

Random Access
H to O
No flow without the other
Oh but how
Do they make contact
With one another?
   “Chemistry” by Rush (from “Signals”)

I don’t know what else to call this, so I’ll simply refer to it as “A simple theory and its non-effective practical application.”

Cameras are point-and-shoot devices.
So are firearms.

Men are equipped with point-and-shoot devices, too. It’s most commonly referred to as a penis. And, even though the plural of the word is either “penes” or “penises,” I’m sorely tempted to refer to it as “penirati,” just to keep it in line with “clitorati.” But, I digress…

Point-and-shoot.

Why is it, then, that there are often not-quite-puddles on the mat in front of the urinal in the men’s restroom at work!? It’s not like one has to exert a lot of effort to use the urinal. Point. Shoot. Flush. Simplicity in and of itself. I would think that one would have to try to miss the damned thing. At first, I thought that maybe it was backsplash or overflow from the urinal. So, I stood there and watched it after flushing it. There were a few drops, but I would hardly call it Mt. Vesuvius.

Here’s an added bit of trivia: Urinals are (usually) made with a “sweet spot.” No, not the most tasty place to lick it. The place that produces the least amount of backsplash. I don’t remember when I learned that, but I remember that it was on a late night talk show. It amused me – to no end – to hear how designers and engineers have created the modern urinal to be usable with minimal “return on investment.” (And for those of you who were wondering: It’s in the back of the bowl, where – in most units – there’s a little v-shaped indentation.

I’ve heard the argument that some women have made about men splashing the toilet seat – usually because the man in question was too lazy to lift the lid and/or… to AIM for the bottom of the bowl. I understand their irritation: I wouldn’t want to sit – or almost sit – on a wet seat, either.

If I didn’t think that the concept was so absurd, I would be tempted to buy a small box of Cheerios. What do Cheerios have to do with going to the bathroom? Lots, actually. It’s how some people train their young male offspring to use the potty: Turn “Learning to use the Potty” into a game of “Sink the Cheerios!” I know it sounds funny… but it works. For years, young boys have deep-sixed some of General Mills’ finest cereal products. (I’m sure that someone, somewhere, has substituted Froot Loops or Apple Jacks or something similar for Cheerios.) I’m not sure why, but the “Listen to the sound of a whole ‘nother O…” jingle (from Apple-Cinnamon Cheerios) just went through my head. Somehow, I don’t think that “Splaaaaaaash” was the sound that the guys in marketing had in mind.

But, again, I digress…

It’s not like there’s a tidal wave or flood plain in front of the urinal, but there’s definitely enough to make you wonder how it wound up there. And given the fact that the drain has a… “grate” over it, using Cheerios isn’t as viable an option as my inner anarchist might like. Maybe painting a bullseye in the back of the bowl would help…

Stray Toasters

  • I was pleased – though shocked – with the way that 24 ended.
  • I’ve had more soda (in my rum and cokes) over the past few weeks than I’ve had in the past three years. But, the Captain makes them sooooo tasty. I didn’t have one tonight, though.
  • is coming back to SLC this weekend. We might actually get to have our bowl-off!
  • Cat farts and chameleons.
  • I have A LOT of cards from the Sim City CCG.
  • Does anyone remember the New Zoo Revue?
  • Thurl Ravenscroft, R.I.P. (by way of boingboing.net)

    Thurl Ravenscroft has died at 91. Ravenscroft sang lead on the “Grim Grinning Ghosts” theme for the Haunted Mansion, as well as “You’re a Mean One, Mr Grinch.” He was also known as the voice of Frosted Flakes’s Tony the Tiger. Ravenscroft died from causes related to colon cancer.

  • It looks like the X-babies are back. Where’s Longshot when you need him!?
  • , this one’s for you: Outback Maxx

There were a lot of other things that I would add, but I’m tired and it’s past my bedtime.

Namaste.