Back On Schedule

It has been a few weeks since I was on the computer after midnight. The cold is gone, but there is still some coughing now and then from residual throat irritation. I've been sleeping almost normal stretches of time.

Tried to sleep in, but only made it to 8:30. I'm not sure but I think I made eggs for breakfast. Or was that yesterday?

Caught up on some of the Tivo recordings. Looked at the end of the 9ers game, but it cut off with 2:11 left to play. Bummer.

Did a lot of reading on the Kindle, something called Implant which is sci-fi in a covert CIA setting. It's pretty linear, no real sub-plots. Good enough writing to keep plugging away.

Lunchtime I decided to go to Togo's a few blocks away, but needed cash, and also wanted to get some Ester-C so I stopped at the CU, then made the 2-mile trip to Rite Aid. I also picked up some of that black elderberry syrup. Togo's was the last stop, it was almost as busy as a work day. I got a #9 for lunch and a #6 for later, took them both home. My sandwich maker was an adorably cute young woman who reminded me of my best friend's girlfriend of 20 years ago. Haven't heard from best friend in ages, but his ex is on Facebook and active in local theater so I see her from time to time.

The Ester-C is not coated hardly at all, and is too big at 1k to swallow. The syrup said take two tsps, but it was so intense I could only handle 1/2 of a tsp.

Watched some mindless TV (courtroom reality shows) and read some more.

Mostly wasted time till a little after 7, and walked over to the BASFA meeting at Coco's. It was my first meeting since football season, or close to it. It was not quite a full house, but close. It was not as entertaining as usual, not a lot of good quips, and way too many people interrupting or holding their own conversations. Or both. Auction items were mostly junk. The food was horrible - burned tri-tip in some overcooked sauce/paste.

It was a COLD walk. My patio thermometer said 50° but the weather widgets both said 40°. I should have worn my Sharks jacket instead of the thin faux leather.

Plans for tomorrow:
Work
???

Second Monday

Up and out by 8:30, spent almost as much time writing up the re-opened bug as doing the nine setups and video captures. And then there were about six test cases to FAIL and reference the bug. Sad, really, because the cases I was testing didn't fail, what happened is something in the way the videos were captured made the analyzer refuse to work on the whole file. Kind of like failing a driving test because one of your blinkers didn't work.

Lunch was at the Korean buffet, China China. I made sure to have some sushi.

At BASFA last night someone mentioned Repo! The Genetic Opera, and a quick check showed Fry's had it, so after work I picked up the blu-ray version. Also got a plain DVD of Nine. I saw a stage version at City Lights a few months ago, and wanted to see what it should have looked like.

Home, watched Repo and was surprised both pleasantly and un. The surround sound, when they used it, came in clearly on all channels, but amplitude was all over the place. The first 5+ minutes was intro, no singing, mostly comic book frames. Each chapter began with a comic panel which was drawn from a live freeze frame. Cute idea. When they finally did get around to singing it was tuneless, and often childish. Toward the end there was actually a bit of melody when Sarah Brightman sang her one number (which was rudely cut off in the middle).

The story goes like this: It's 2030 or so, people have died in droves from organ failures, and a tycoon sets up a company which sells replacement organs, and gets the laws passed to allow the organs to be repossessed if payments are missed. There are two sub-plots. The tycoon has two sons and a daughter who are just plain bizarre and he hates them. He also had a fiancé who left him for a doctor. The doctor accidentally poisons his pregnant wife, but manages to save the baby girl. It is now 17 years later and the wheels of jealousy begin to turn.

Which brings me to some of the pleasant. The cast.
Sarah Brightman is the tycoon's squeeze. She was blind when he discovered her, and gave her amazing eyes.
Paul Sorvino is the tycoon. He has an impressive operatic voice which the score does very little to let him use. He's also a solid actor
Paris Hilton is the tycoon's daughter, and she actually acts! You may not recognize her. The character is addicted to surgery, and she wears many faces (literally).
Anthony Head of Buffy fame is the doctor/repo man. Once again a nice voice but not much material to show it off. Impressive physical acting.
Alexa Vega is the doctor's daughter. They let her cut loose once toward the end to show her chops, but for the most part she sings boring tuneless stuff.

It was almost worth watching. It definitely is not something to watch while eating. Lots of gore and mutilation. There have been comparisons to Rocky Horror but this gem does not even come close on any aspect except maybe cinematography, and I chalk that up to much more modern available technology.

If I'm at BASFA next week, this will be on the auction table. No sense hogging it.

Plans for tomorrow:
Work
Nine (?)