Author Archives: Bob Evans

Food poisoning

So it seems that last week I was suffering from food poisoning. A friend of mine who had gone with us to JPL’s open house had the same symptoms over the same period of time. In some ways he had it worse because he was vomiting but my symptoms persisted longer. (Perhaps because on the ENbrel medication I am on for arthritis.)

Anyway yesterday was the first day I could eat without stomach cramps. (Though tonight I did have mild cramping after a dinner of fish.)

It has cost me a weeks writing, but I got back onto my horse today and Cawdor is moving forward again.

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Been Sick

Sorry I have been away so long my friends but I have been ill.

Now, not all of my absence has been due to the illness. On Sunday , my sweetie-wife, Gun-And Rockets, and myself drove north to Pasadena visiting the Jet Propulsion Lab on their open house. It’s really a geek disneyland with kiosks about their missions, but past and future. It was fun, though my knees hated me by the end of the day.

Anyway I got home way too tired for a Sunday Night Movie.

Monday my throat began to hurt and I did not feel up to making any sort of postings here.

I struggled to work through nasty stomach cramps, but after just two hours I called it quits and returned home and to bed.

I can say I have truly broken in my CPAP machine. When I am sick I sleep. With a fever of 102 I slept a lot, and I used my CPAP machine throughout. Well I missed work the next day and that brigs us up to today.

I made it back to work, struggled through another tough day, then I skipped dinner as my stomach was in no mood for one. Instead I watched Dr Who with my sweetie-wife and finished a round of edits on Cawdor. (More than 60,000 words, 240 pages or past the 2/3rds mark.)

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Post Birthday

So yesterday was my Birthday. I celebrated by getting up early and going to see a sleep specialist. He informed me not only do I have sever sleep apnea but I have a jaw that is too small and is contributing to the sleeping problems.

However all was not lost. I did prescribed a CPAP machine and I was told I could pick it up right away. So I left the doctors office and drove to the company suppling the CPAP machine. That went well and from there I made a brief stop over at my work to bring home person items. (My day job is moving to a new location at the end of the month and bringing home your personal items is part of the process.)

I spent the rest of the afternoon with my sweetie-wife getting ready for Birthday celebrations for that evening. People showed up about six thirty and we had a very pleasant evening of chili, cake, conversations, and games.

I went to bed and slept my first night at home with the CPAP machine. It went pretty well, except once during the night I awoke to find I had taken off the mask. I slipped it back on and went back to sleep.

Today I am feeling more refreshed and more energized than I typically do so I think the machine is the right call for me.

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Movie Review: Iron Man 2

Sunday morning, my sweetie-wife and I went out and saw the first showing of Iron Man 2. I think this may have been the first time my sweetie-wife has gone with me to see a Superhero flick.

A few weeks ago she started expressing an interest in Iron Man 2 and I pulled out the blu-ray of Iron Man to catch her up on the franchise.

Iron Man 2 is a worth sequel to the first film. It’s based on the premise What Happens If Iron Man existed? Continue reading →

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Sunday Night Movie: You Only Live Twice

So last night I returned to my trek through the Bond Franchise. Since I am watching the film in release order the next movie was You Only Live Twice.

This is a Bond movie I have never seen in it’s entirety. Oh, I’ve seen lots of bits here and there, but I had never had the chance to sit down and watch it straight through from the start.

The problem in doing a franchise like Bond is that the producers, writers, and directors have to keep topping themselves. Each film needs to be bigger and with higher stakes than the last or you risk having you audience go ho-hum over what was supposed to be  thrilling experience.

Of course the problem with getting bigger and bigger in your stunts, action, and your dangers is that you run the terrible risk of sailing right over the top and landing in farce-land. (A fine place to be if you intend to go, but a lousy accidental destination.)

As you can likely tell from the picture i selected to illustrate my post, I think You Only Live Twice splashed-down in farce-land with a side trip to Mockalvania. Continue reading →

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No regrets

So I have been asked if I regretted voting for Barrack Obama over John McCain for president of the United States in 2008.

John  McCain does not stand for the protections of the Constitution for US Citizens.

Nope, I do not regret my choice. I regret that Republican Party failed to give me a viable alternative.

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Under The Weather

Well, my sweetie-wofe came down with a cold over the weekend and now it seems that I have it as well.

I came home early from the day-job yesterday and stayed home today. I’m dizzy with clogged sinuses and my throat is quite sore.

All in all it has not been much fun in Stalingrad.

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Sleeping is nice

So, Thursday night I checked into Alvarado Hospital for the second night of my sleep study. This time I was fitted with what are called nasal pillows, then wired up for anothe nights of data gathering.

Nasa pillows is an alternative to the nose and face masks used by many CPAP users. A small hose goes to your nose and sort of like oxygen in a hospital you has vents blowing directly into each nostril. I found this setup much more comfortable than either if the mask arrangements.

I had a splitting headache so I did not work in the hospital that night and instead watched TV until it was time to sleep. (I was so brain dead that I found myself actually watching Futurama.)

The numerous leads for the data bothered me again so I did not sleep through the night, but other then that I slept rather well and the next day I was actually refreshed. My coworkers were able to see a difference in my energy levels.

Sadly I am back to normal now. It’s been two nights without a CPAP machine and I am tried and groggy during the day. I won;t be seeing my sleep specialist until Mid-May so it’s going to be a long two weeks.

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A Milestone – late

32 years late to be precise.

Most people in America get their driver’s license when they are sixteen. For all sorts of reasons far too numerous to go into here I did not.

I have never had a driver’s license . Many learner’s permits, but something always interceded and prevented me for completing the plans at time for getting my license.

Today I had my frist road driving test ever, at the age of 48.

My examiner was an older gentleman  who appeared utterly bored by the process. He quizzed me on the car and its equipment. (I failed to find the defroster right away but in San Diego they are harder commonly used pieces of equipment.)

Then we buckled up and hit the road in the Clairemont area of San Diego, This is an area where I used to live and know many of the streets.

The test was shorter than I expected. Frankly I spent more time waiting in a roasting car for my turn to be tested than in getting tested. I did not perform perfectly, but long story short, I passed.

Be terrified I am now a licensed driver.

My sweetie-wife reported that the DMV building seemed to be shaking while I was on the road. I guess me being licensed is truly unnatural.

Tomorrow night I do sleep study tests 2: The Sequel.

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Cawdor is going shockingly fast

I’m rounding on 200 pages or about 50,000 words done on the first draft of Cawdor and that when massive hits to my productivity due to bad sleep and headaches. I am on track to complete a first draft version by mid June and that will be simply astounding to me.

The plot has decided to deviate from scripted outline, but that is no cause for concern or panic. An outline is just a guide, showing me where I want to end up, if it turns out that Route 66 is more exciting than Route 8, but both get me where I need to be than there’s nothing wrong with Route 66.

What had started off as a re-intrepretation of Macbeth has now become an exploration in paternalism and the cynicism of the viewpoint. The book actually now has villains beside the Macbeth analogs. It’s quite a turn but one I am very interested in and very excited to explore.

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