shark bytes

I'd really like to have had a more positive post to make here

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:58:20 GMT

I'm home, as safe as can be expected and physically OK. My office is closed, my city has advised everyone to stay indoors and shelter in place, an MIT police officer was shot and killed a few blocks away less than an hour after I walked through that area last night on my way home....

I think "physically OK" will have to do for now.

Readercon

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 19:09:56 GMT

There's a lot I want to say about the Readercon failure, but other people have said most of what I wanted to say already -- and my RSI is acting up, so typing is a bad idea.

Two things I think need saying, though:
1. The Board is not the Concom, and the Board is not Readercon. The Board can be replaced without the convention ending...and it is my opinion that it should be replaced due to its failure to respect its own declared policies. Perhaps the members that supported this decision can "retroactively retire".

2. I haven't yet asked for my money back for next year's preregistration. I will if I have to (see #1 for why I might not have to), and if so I will then turn around and donate it to BARCC. (Sure, the policy says "non-refundable but transferable" -- but hey, Readercon's policies are made to be broken.)

Be a part of Google's user experience research

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:42:05 GMT

Google's looking for more people to take part in user experience surveys. This could be your chance to improve current products or even ones that haven't been released yet.

From the FAQ: "You certainly don’t need to be a computer expert or Internet enthusiast to sign up. The range of people we’re hoping will sign up actually includes anyone that has ever used the Internet in any way."

Sign-up link: http://goo.gl/wdoik

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:22:38 GMT

For those who have had a rough 2011 (and for those who have been luckier and had a smooth year), may 2012 bring you joy and peace and wonderful things.

Codito's iPhone/iPad board games on sale

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:11:38 GMT

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/6434327#6434327

Codito has put Medici and Ra on sale (through April 4th). These are good iOS ports; not quite up to the level of the masterful Carcassone port (which is definitely worth the $10), but solid nonetheless.

Ra (universal) $2.99 USD
Medici HD (iPad) $1.99 USD
Medici (iPhone) $0.99 USD

The 11th day of the 11th month

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:46:18 GMT

(I can't come up with a better way to say it than I did last year, so here it is again.)

Whether you call it Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, or Veterans Day doesn't matter; the day itself does.

Thank you to all who have served and are serving today: family, friends, and others.

May the results of your service be worthy of your sacrifices.

(2010 addition: Earlier this week I (and several co-workers) spent some time volunteering at the New England Center for Homeless Veterans, and I've also donated some money in honor of all the veterans I know.)

Oh, why not?

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:34:52 GMT

After reading "Because I'm being 14 years old today", which was itself a reaction to "Wherein we are back in seventh grade, but with better hair", I was mildly amused.

When I thought some more about it, though, I looked back to this past weekend when I went home to see family and get a full-blown Small Town 4th of July Experience™; as part of the latter, I ran into a couple of familiar faces working the town's historical society table.

They belonged to people who I'd known back in the sort of timeframe both shadesong and jasra mention, who were just in town for the day to help out because it's "home" for them too even though they both now live elsewhere.

Neither of them was the subject of my hopeless crush at that age, but one of them was my crush object's best friend at the time. That person has since sent me a "good to see you and I'm sorry I didn't think to get a picture" message, which sends my thoughts back to middle school...which means I may as well join in on this micro-meme.

View Poll: Ah, middle school.

En route back from Minicon

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 22:37:29 GMT

I'm sitting around at MSP, having found a nice quiet corner with a power outlet. It has almost[1] all the comforts of the Delta Sky Club at a fraction of the cost. (0/n is a fraction, right?)

I wound up getting to the airport much earlier than necessary, because I was able to snag a ride with someone who was heading out right at that moment...since the hotel shuttle is no longer operating, that was a definite win. Naturally, the security line was short; it always is when I'm not in a hurry.

It was a good con. I got in several games of Dominion, some Zar, a round of Power Grid, and some other games; made it to a few program items; saw many people I wanted to see; and made the Saturday night party rounds including the great LJ party. (I never managed to make it to the pool/hot tub, though.)

Now the countdown to Penguicon starts.

[1] No snacks, no drinks, no shiny bathrooms. Comfy chairs and power, though....

2010 Conventions?

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:01:09 GMT

View Poll: 2010 Conventions

Roger Ebert, on eating and dining

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:15:45 GMT

Roger Ebert has posted a thoughtful piece on food and dining and memory, discussing his experiences since surgery left him unable to eat normally and what he truly misses most about no longer being able to do so.

He's managed to express in words something I could never quite get right: how I feel about the difference between a meal eaten in company and a mere refueling stop, and why I take the convention rule of 5-2-1 (5 hours of sleep, 2 meals, 1 shower each day) and add the stipulation (in my own case) that the two meals should be eaten with other people if at all possible.

Read the whole thing.

(via leahbobet)

Something to see in Las Vegas

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 06:26:37 GMT

The Atomic Testing Museum. The gift shop sells, among other things, Atomic FireBall candy and postcards showing the above-ground tests as seen from Las Vegas (they were a tourist attraction!).

My letter to Rep. Toomey

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:01:49 GMT

This is important.

Since my state rep is on both the Joint Committee on Public Health and Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, I specifically mention them in this letter in hopes that a non-form letter will be more effective. If you live in Massachusetts, please call and write your legislators with your own experiences and concerns. (Call and write; call to get their attention, write to make your arguments.)

Dear Rep. Toomey:

As someone who serves on committees for both public health and public safety, you are in a very important position regarding the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program and the need to restore its funding (line item 4510-0810 of the Department of Public Health budget).

This program is a critical part of both public health issues (in that it helps victims of sexual assault to receive necessary health care including diagnosis of potential sexually-transmitted diseases) and public safety issues (the program has an extremely positive effect on arrests and convictions in cases of rape and sexual assault).

I realize that economic times are tough and that difficult budget decisions must be made, but cuts to this program are false economy. Cost-effective improvements in our law enforcement process that also provide compassionate assistance to crime victims are not areas we should neglect at any time.

As a longtime constituent, I have been very pleased with your legislative record over the years and have confidence that you can lead your colleagues on this issue and restore the necessary budget to this important program. As a friend of far too many victims of sexual assault, I ask you for your understanding of the human cost these cuts will have if funding is not restored.

Thank you for your attention.
[me at my address]

The 11th day of the 11th month

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:38:01 GMT

Whether you call it Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, or Veterans Day doesn't matter; the day itself does.

Thank you to all who have served and are serving today: family, friends, and others.

May the results of your service be worthy of your sacrifices.

Under the cover versions....

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:19:23 GMT

I'd asked folks to guess how many different artists' versions of songs I have. Here are the answers, along with lists of the artists represented.

All Along The Watchtower:
9: Bob Dylan, Bryan Ferry, Indigo Girls, Jimi Hendrix, U2, Neil Young, Eddie Vedder & The Million Dollar Bashers, Tom Landa & The Paperboys, The Fratellis
(I didn't count the Bob Dylan collaborations with The Band and The Grateful Dead separately.)

Don't Fear The Reaper:
4: Blue Öyster Cult, The Beautiful South, Heaven 17, s.e.k.s

Ever Fallen In Love:
5: The Buzzcocks, Fine Young Cannibals, Nouvelle Vague, Thea Gilmore, Pete Yorn

Hallelujah:
9: Leonard Cohen, Brandi Carlile, Jeff Buckley, k.d. lang, Patricia O'Callaghan, Willie Nelson, John Cale, Rufus Wainwright, Bono

Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want:
8: The Smiths, The Dream Academy, Hootie & The Blowfish, OK Go, The Autumns, The Caulfield Sisters, Elefant, She & Him

Smells Like Teen Spirit:
5: Patti Smith, Paul Anka, Tori Amos, Dsico That No-Talent Hack, Abigail

Spirit In The Sky:
3: Norman Greenbaum, Doctor & The Medics, Gareth Gates with the Kumars

Tainted Love:
4: Palast Orchester w/Max Raabe, My Brightest Diamond, The Finger, Soft Cell

Total Eclipse of the Heart:
6: Bonnie Tyler, Guster, Hurra Torpedo, Nicki French, Stickboy, Tori Amos

Video Killed The Radio Star
5: The Buggles, Ben Folds Five, Erasure, The Presidents of the United States of America, Tom Baker Says

Wuthering Heights
6: Kate Bush, Pat Benatar, The Puppini Sisters, The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, James Reyne, White Flag

Stairway to Heaven
27: Led Zeppelin, Dolly Parton, Heart, Justin Hayward, Pat Boone, and 22 additional versions from The Money or the Gun including Rolf Harris's with didgeridoo and wobbleboard.

The two I don't have the originals of are "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Tainted Love"; while the Soft Cell version is probably the best known, the original recording was by Gloria Jones in 1964.

So, how much do I like cover versions?

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:12:16 GMT

If you ask me to play each of the following songs, how many different artists (including the original artist) will I have available in iTunes? (Not including parodies, but including instrumental-only versions.)

View Poll: How many different artists?

Random answers to random questions

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:56:19 GMT

In this post I asked for questions, and received some...and as I said, "I might answer". Here are some answers.

In some cases, I'm going to list the questioner but not the question; in the others, the question but not the questioner. (Oh, and I've sorted the list so there won't be any telltale correlations between comments posted and questions asked. :-) If you've forgotten what you asked, you can see what you said.

aedifica: Is it still there?
cthulhia: Indeed.
dpolicar: Good question, to which I don't have a good answer.
gnomi: It's a bit late to answer this one, isn't it?
lbmango: Mu.
mdyesowitch: Not at the moment.
moiread: Fairly, even when I don't know how to respond.
timprov: It's a bit late to answer this one, isn't it?
yendi: If it were a game of BSG: all four dials in the blue.
But is it much much worse than two? I guess....
Have you ever given any thought to what you want your funeral to be like? You mean besides "very far in the future"? Not really, since I don't expect to be actively involved in it.
Three? Yes, I forgot to include "Come Together".
What color are your shoes? Black.
What do you like best about autumn? Being able to keep the windows open, because the weather is just cool enough to start doing that instead of running the air conditioning all the time.
What is your favorite cheerful song? There are several candidates: "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport", "Good Day Sunshine", the Great Big Sea cover of "Run Runaway", Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World", even "Daydream Believer" (cheesy as it is) makes the list...but when it comes right down to "this will make me smile EVERY TIME" it's got to be the Muppets version of "Mahna Mahna". (I want to hear a mashup of "Mahna Mahna" and "Numa Numa".)
What is your favorite food? Probably pizza, just because of its versatility.
What's your favorite cryptid? If fictional ones count, the Loch Moose Monster from Janet Kagan's Mirabile. If not, probably the classic: Bigfoot.
Why am I having flashbacks to the Usenet Oracle? Because everything old is new again, and a question that can engender an amusing answer is still fun to play with. You owe the Oracle a .signature file of 4 lines or less.
Why? It's an interrogative used to ask about underlying causes, but that's not important right now.

Random thoughts lead to random poll questions

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:10:48 GMT

View Poll: Random questions for random people

What cons are people planning to go to for the rest of 2009?

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:11:52 GMT

I'm guessing that most of the MSP contingent have plans to be at Convivial 4 (Oct. 16-18), and some of the folks who usually make it to Penguicon have plans for ConClave 34 (Oct. 9-11)...and it's quite possible that there are people who're planning on both.

Right now my next planned con is Arisia 2010 (Jan. 15-18), but it's not completely silly to try to get to something between now and then.

Who's going to what, when, where? Philcon is probably too close to Thanksgiving for me to manage. What else am I missing?

Worldcon: it wasn't all the remake of "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles"

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:57:19 GMT

As my last few posts have indicated, I had a bit of an adventure getting home from Worldcon this year. Funny, it wasn't so hard to get home from my last Worldcon in 2004! (I just took the T, since it was in town and I was actually commuting.)

This was my third Worldcon, but only the first one I actually went to instead of merely attending when it was being held within an easy commute of where I lived (Noreascon 3 [1989] and Noreascon 4 [2004]).

Getting there wasn't much trouble; I had a morning flight out, so I headed to BOS on the MBTA and arrived pretty quickly. (About 45 minutes chair-to-chair, including 10 minutes walking to the T and time for a restroom stop before I went to the gate.) Logan's for-pay WiFi wasn't worth the bother, so I tethered my cellphone, did a bit of LJ reading/commenting, and posted a quick Facebook update. (I still haven't succumbed to Twitter.)

The flight up was fairly empty and smooth; as we came in on approach to YUL, the woman in the row behind me asked if she could borrow a pen to fill out the landing card. As I turned, she saw that I was reading The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and asked if I was going to Worldcon! Sure enough, I'd run into a fellow fan before even landing in Canada.

(I later found out who she was; papersky said "I've just heard your praises sung!" as she passed me on the escalators, and later explained that her interviewer from Locus had mentioned me since I'd talked about knowing my way around YUL from previous trips to farthingparty. Turns out I'd just met the new Editor-in-Chief, who hadn't been planning to come to Worldcon until Charles Brown's death returning from Readercon.)

We got through the airport and shared a cab in to town; since she had more luggage and an infant to deal with, we went to the Intercontinental (where she was staying) and I walked down to the Delta. This was the start of a whole lot of walking. I think the theme of this Worldcon should have been "Vaster than empires and more slow to walk across."

Since it was the day before the con actually started, I went to the Palais after checking in so I could get the lay of the land, then did some running around before eventually heading to dinner and the Farthing Party party up on St. Denis. The former was tasty tasty Tibetan food, and the latter was crowded but fun; I then headed back to the Delta for the Reno bid party.

The con itself started, and everything becomes a whirl of encounters on the escalators and in hallways and in the Green Room (the con suite was over at the Delta), wonderful and intelligent panelists and annoying and frustrating panelists, mile-long treks to the far end of the Palais and mile-long treks back from there, the understrength dealer's room (due to customs hassles keeping many of the usual US vendors home) and an overstrength exhibit of David Hartwell's ties, lunches and dinners, old friends and new friends, parties that kept going and parties that got shut down, and Hugos that rocked because they were made of actual rock (well, the bases anyway).

I won't try to name-check everyone I saw, but if I saw you there, hi!

A few highlights:
- Holding the WALL-E Hugo that shsilver was selling chances to hold for $5 donations to the Fan Funds. According to the con newsletter he pulled in $200+. Man, that sucker was heavy. Very pretty base, though; it's up there with 2004's in my opinion.
- Dinner at the Polish place with xiphias and cheshyre, especially when the waitress said "your naleśniki is coming, it's not premade, it's worth the wait". It was more than worth the wait. The pierogies were wonderful, too.
- Dinner at Shambala. Momos, pierogies, gyoza...no matter what you call it, it's a dumpling and I want some. Yum.
- The "How not to be a jerk on the Internet" panel, with karnythia, kate_nepveu, scalzi, and catvalente. Added bonus: a run down to the Van Houtte afterward with karnythia, her husband p_dilla, and catvalente for coffee (or in my case, hot chocolate) and conversation followed by coming upstairs to run into tithenai et al and 2muchexposition.
- The black cherry soda in the con suite.
- Finding a comfy seat at the Arisia party, where I could sit, chat, and see people coming in and out without having to move around or lean against a wall or anything.
- Walking up (and I do mean up...there's a definite hill there) to HMV to find all the CDs that are expensive or nearly impossible to get in the States.
- Time with good friends, even (or especially) the local ones I should just make time to see more of.
ETA: - the Sassafrass concert, which I was slightly late to (thanks to the program grid being 30 minutes off of the actual schedule for filking) but not so late that I didn't catch "Somebody Will" and "Hearthfire".

Some lower lights:
- With gaming being split between the Delta and the Palais, I didn't actually get much gaming in. There was enough else going on that this wasn't a horrible problem, though.
- Programming was a bit disorganized, with long sets of "corrections" to the program guide and grid which were themselves incomplete.
- Several panelists and audience members reminded me why I like the stronger style of moderation that some people use.
- The con's free wireless coverage was only in the dealer's room/art show/fan lounge area, or you could pay the Palais's extortionate fee to use theirs. In the Delta, there was a magic code to use in the lobby and nearby areas, but I never seemed to have the sheet of paper I'd written it on when I needed it.
- 500m is a long way between the party hotel and the con itself when you're going back and forth.

Then there was the "adventure" of getting back (previously described here and on FB), which worked out with meeting Scott Edelman at dinner in the hotel restaurant at the Holiday Inn, because his flight had also been cancelled. I wound up accidentally encountering two industry pros, one on each end of the trip, both of whom were also very nice people and great to talk to. That's the sort of thing that I love about this field.

Should I go to World Fantasy Con?

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:59:47 GMT

(Worldcon report coming at some point.)

It looks like airfare is pretty cheap at the moment, though transcontinental travel is still going to be a giant time suck. There aren't any BOS-SJC nonstops (AA killed their old "nerd bird" a few years ago, and JetBlue chopped theirs during the fuel price jump last year), so it's a hub connection somewhere (IAH, probably, since CO has the cheap fare right now) and end-to-end gate-to-gate times run in the 8-9 hour range.

Pluses/minuses:
+ Another con to fill in the gap between Worldcon and Arisia
+ BOS-SJC fare reasonably cheap right now
+ Can hook a SEA stop in there to see family; a BOS-SJC-SEA-BOS triangle trip only adds about $100-150 to the fare if I stay through Sunday
+ "Use it or lose it" vacation policy; WFC + the extra day at each end would get me closer, and doing the Seattle trip would get me under the threshold for sure even if I don't take any other time off
- Not sure how many folks I know will be there
- Two extra hotel nights pretty much required due to flight times (either in SJC or near SEA)
- Two long travel days

Thoughts?

Home. Thud.

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:26:17 GMT

Home and safe. Going to try for some more sleep since I'm not very functional. More later.

Let's try that again....

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:00:07 GMT

At YUL, and about to head to the gate. "This time for sure!" ("But that trick never works.")

Let's hope my next post is from BOS or somewhere in Cambridge, and that it happens today.

Well, frak.

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:16:05 GMT

I'm at the Holiday Inn Aeroport in Montreal after Air Canada cancelled my flight. I have an 0630 flight tomorrow and will at least try to get to work after I arrive.

The good news is that this has become an extension of the con; I'm sitting in the restaurant with Scott Edelman and a couple other stranded congoers. Apparently the NW flight to Detroit was cancelled due to crew rest issues, so several of the non-Boston contingent are also still in Montreal.

Post Worldcon update

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:04:22 GMT

At YUL in the AC lounge; it was definitely a good call to get the lounge pass add-on for my flight. Wi-Fi, snacks, drinks, comfy chairs, power outlets, and OMG clean bathroom yay. I'm tired and worn out but I had a damn good con despite shut-down parties, overly long elevator lines, and the nearly endless walk to the panel rooms.

Back to work tomorrow. Urgh.

ETA: flight delayed ~1hr. Back in the lounge. Very glad I got the pass.

Worldcon? Worldcon!

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:30:05 GMT

Given this post, you already know what's coming up, don't you?

View Poll: Anticipation (67th Worldcon) attendance