So, this past weekend was Balticon. I was there. In dramatic contrast to the last 48 hours or so, I mostly had a pretty good time, basking in the communal glow of geekdom (or not…the communal “glow” can occasionally be described as more of a “funk” or “stench”, and is not particularly pleasant to bask […]

At least to me, it seems like I’m not posting as much lately. I suspect that if I go back and count things, I’m probably running at about the same pace; it just doesn’t feel like I’m putting in the time. Granted, there’s been a bit more of life out there to take up my […]

Just something to think about – remember ten years ago when a computer not connected to broadband internet was a perfectly useful piece of equipment, and not a plastic and silicon doorstop? I’d written a bit more here, but I deleted it after I realized it sounded an awful lot like Abe Simpson yelling at […]

So, the weekend events proved to be both as enjoyable and as stressful as I expected. I’m really not complaining about any of it, per se; I enjoyed the company of some quite wonderful people, and, somewhat unexpectedly, I had the opportunity to be a bit of company for someone else who maybe needed it. […]

I did a bit of sleep deficit spending this weekend; such is the toll of a busy weekend followed by a week during which rest did not come easy, followed by another busy weekend. Mostly it was Saturday that did me in. It was really the two-pronged assault of (1) the labor involved in helping […]

Seems a bunch of Rhode Island “Christians” got upset when Governor Chaffee referred to the big evergreen displayed in the state house as a “holiday tree.” Their chosen method of protest? Interrupting a children’s choir performance at the tree-lighting with a renegade singing of “O Christmas Tree.” “Oh Christmas Tree.” A largely secular little ditty […]

As you may be aware, dear reader, I’m a big fan of the kind of pop culture meta piece like this one from (surprise) Amanda Marcotte about what she perceives as the ascendance of mass-market mediocrity in modern American popular culture as being inherently more “worthy” than properties with more limited, niche appeal. I include […]

Last minute changes in plans scuttled my original weekend schedule, but it all kind of worked out. No worries, I got a little bit more sleep and a bit of a break. Doesn’t change the fact that once you’ve properly girded yourself for a given task, having it fall off the schedule at the last […]

For reasons that still kind of elude me, this weekend involved cramming more stuff into 72 hours or so than is really possible or advisable, but a lot of it was quite a bit of fun. Still, I’m finding myself dragging a bit, largely due to sleep deficit and a few aches and pains as […]

I don’t have a particular thesis for today. My mind is swimming with all kinds of random stuff, and none of it is coalescing into one coherent point. But, it still needs to get out, so I’m going to take the shotgun approach and try getting out some thoughts on a handful of things; and […]