Happy November Fools Day!

[howeird]

At midnight I marked what I consider to be the first day of winter by lighting the pilot light on the gas heater and turning on the electronic thermostat. The heater is right below the master bathroom, and it was way too nippy in there this morning.

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After work I killed some time reading at Starbucks, then went to see The Comebacks. I was the only one in the theater after an hour - the other four people had bailed, but I don't think that was anything to do with the movie since they whispered to each other non-stop from the time they walked in. I was amazed how empty the whole Mercado 20 was - I sat in the lobby reading from about 7:15 till 7:45 and there were times when there was nobody in line at the concession stand. I don't think 30 people came into the building.

The movie was generally lame, it's an attempt to spoof all kinds of movies, with an emphasis on the "down and out coach/team becomes Champions of the Known Universe" cliché. You know you're not in for major thrills when the best acting performance is turned in by Dennis Rodman. However, there are some very funny one-liners and sight gags, and a few sexy cheerleader and football players-in-the-shower dance snippets which would make this worth seeing with a rewind option. They did an excellent job of not dragging out any of the scenes, it's not a movie one can fast forward through without missing anything. David Koechner as Coach Lambeau Fields is totally forgettable in a role obviously written for Bill Murray. I personally can't watch Bill Murray for more than 30 seconds without feeling nauseous, so saying he would have been better in this part will give you an idea how bad Koechner is.

OTOH, it would be a good movie to go to with a group of friends, inebriation optional.

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Did my remedial soldering when I got home. It was a little tricky because the connectors are built intelligently - there is a little ridge of plastic between each contact to help prevent shorting between them. Trouble is I needed to short two adjacent contacts to make these work. Will try them tomorrow in the lab.

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My buddy bigcatroary moved to NYC a few years ago, and was looking to buy a house near where my aunt & uncle live, so I hooked them up. They've been friends ever since. He just got a promotion to Baltimore, which is where one of my sisters lives. I think he's stalking my family. :-)

 He's a redhead, so is she. Their offices, if I read Google Maps right, are 4 blocks apart. I'm sure they will get together and become friends too. No, not that way, they are both happily Married With Children™.

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And a quick note that the Poppy Jasper movie festival is in Morgan Hill weekend after next. Short films (limited to 30 minutes max) so excellent for impatient me.

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From time to time I read the peacecorpsfolks journal, a good place for people who want to become Peace Corps Volunteers to ask those who have been there, and have been seeing a disturbing trend. Lately, most of the messages have been cut from this template:
Hi. I am graduating from college this year, and have always wanted to be in the Peace Corps. Will my history of [choose one or more]
clinical depression
ADHD
Bipolar disorder
pharmacological experimentation
Abusive alcoholic parents
Psychotic episodes
affect my chances of being invited to join?"

I sure hope the right answer to this is "you bet your ass it will". You would have to be crazy to want to take that time bomb into a high pressure situation in a foreign country which would not have Peace Corps if it didn't have inadequate medical facilities and general ignorance/hatred of Americans acting strangely.

Enuf already. time for bed.