Monthly Archives: July 2006

Jul282006

Mixing Universes

When I was a kid, I often mashed together elements of various fictional universes in my imagination. Thus, it wasn’t uncommon for me to imagine an adventure in which Mr. Spock was hanging out on the Millenium Falcon with Han and Chewie while they were on their way to pick up Aquaman. Apparently, one grown-up fanboy still likes to combine his various interests:

The Empire's secret weapon!

As always, click for a bigger view, if you dare…

[FYI, this photo comes from this year’s Comic-Con; a gallery of other costumes can be found here.]

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Jul282006

The 8th Grade Science Quiz

Well, this is reassuring:


You Passed 8th Grade Science


Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

 

Apparently I haven’t forgotten everything I learned in school… except how to concentrate on work instead of taking silly Internet quizzes, of course…

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Jul282006

E-mail Meme: About Me

As you can probably guess from the subject line up, I received the following via e-mail. It’s somewhat meme-ish, so I thought I’d post it up here, just in case my three loyal readers are feeling voyeuristic and want to know all about me. Plus, it has the added benefit of allowing me to throw up a quick, low-effort entry for y’all:

Continue Reading…

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Jul272006

The Pizza Challenge Monster

Oh, good Lord! This pizza thing just keeps getting more and more elaborate. Brian Greenberg has the latest details, but, in a nutshell, these crazy kids are now planning to fly Dave, the owner of Utah’s own Este, out to NYC with a chilled pie (not frozen, as that apparently yields unsatisfactory results) which he will bake somewhere in or around Rockefeller Center. Assuming, of course, that Brian can talk a nearby pizzeria into the use of their oven for some dippy Internet stunt. Meanwhile, Este Dave has decided to challenge three top New York pizza-makers and maybe one in Cincinnati. Brian fears this may turn into a full-blown reality-TV show before it’s over, and I can’t say I blame him. My head-spin is now up to about 45 RPMs; when it reaches 78, I’m going to start talking like Alvin the Chipmunk…

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Jul262006

Back in the Real World

Well, I’m home. The Girlfriend and I had a great time in Vegas, aside from the weather. As previously reported, it was hot. And when I say hot, I mean really hot, hotter than Utah — which can get pretty uncomfortably warm — ever thinks about getting. Hot like sticking-your-head-in-a-pizza-oven hot. It was so hot, I saw birds walking around with their beaks open, panting for breath. It was so hot, I think I saw some demons on furlough from the pits of hell lying prostrate on the side of the road, praying for shade. Or maybe those were just some Nevada Department of Transportation guys not doing their jobs — I was singularly unimpressed by the roads in and around Vegas, and deeply annoyed the couple of times we got stuck dealing with construction. Long story, but basically the NDOT crews gave every indication of having no clue what they were doing, which meant that traffic was at a standstill for much longer than you want to be at a standstill when you’re in the middle of a pizza oven.

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Jul212006

Offline for a Few Days

Hey, kids, just a little FYI: The Girlfriend and I are leaving first thing in the morning for a road trip to Sin City. No, not that Sin City (although I’m sure we could find a spiritual sister to skinny little Nancy Callahan easily enough) — I’m talking about wonderful Las Vegas here, home of the World Series of Poker and really cheap shrimp cocktail. My good friend Jeremy and his wife, who live down there, are expecting their first child in November, so we thought it’d be good to get together before everything changes. I’m told it’s hotter than hell in Vegas right now, but this is the week that worked best for everyone.

Besides, it’s hotter than hell here in the SLC, too, so it’s not like we won’t be used to it.

I was hoping I’d find the time tonight to write a good long entry about the events of last weekend, but it’ll have to wait, as it’s late and I need to get some rest for tomorrow’s drive. I intend to remain blissfully unplugged while I’m gone, so no fresh content until next week. Feel free to leave comments if you like, but they’ll wait in limbo until I have the chance to review them.
Have a good one, loyal readers, and like the running gag in John Landis films, see you next Wednesday!

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Jul202006

BearCam

Every once in a while something magical comes along, fills me with wonder, and reminds me that the world actually isn’t a fetid stinkhole of pain and depression after all. I’ve encountered two such somethings today. The first was the doe and two fawns that crossed the road in front on me as I drove to the train station this morning (in the middle of suburban South Jordan, Utah, I might add). And the second is the Pratt Museum’s BearCam, a live video feed from the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary in Alaska, where bears like to congregate in the summer and feast on salmon. I just heard about this awesome little distraction through an article on Wired and within moments of clicking over there, I was watching a brown bear ambling through rushing waters in search of a tasty snack. Simply fascinating.

The camera operates from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Alaska Standard Time; between 1 and 5 p.m., an actual human being makes sure the camera is pointed at the action. Better hurry, though: according to the Wired article, the bears wander off in late August, whereupon the cam will be shut off for the season.

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Jul202006

Exploration Day 2006

It’s July 20th, the 37th anniversary of the first time human beings walked on the moon. My opinion that this day ought to be made a national holiday has not yet found any support from the Powers That Be, and, poking around the Interweb today, I’m disappointed to see so little discussion about the anniversary or human spaceflight in general. I did find one op-ed by Buzz Aldrin, who was at Tranquility Base with Neil Armstrong when he took his small step, and Rick N. Tumlinson, the founder of an organization called the Space Frontier Foundation. Their sentiments will no doubt sound corny to some, but they appeal to the idealistic core I keep hidden under my cynical exterior:

Continue Reading…

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