6 Sep 2015

What a Week It’s Been!

posted in: personal news | 0
http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-25/igau-tidal-wave.html

    You know how sometimes it’s just one damn thing after another? Well, around here lately it’s been one damn thing after another after another after another….

    The hardest thing actually happened first, while we were at Sasquan (see earlier posts). My mother-in-law’s dog Diego, a charming and beloved cairn terrier who was her lifeline, died unexpectedly. We were very sad, and she was devastated, and we cut short our planned post-con vacation and came home to be with her.

    From there, it was simply adding insult to injury, a concatenation of minor and major mishaps that left me reeling. For starters, everything around me started breaking:

    • On the way home, my suitcase wheels break.  
    • After arriving home on the red-eye from Seattle, I collapse into my living room recliner. Whoomp. The back flops horizontal—and that’s where it stays. (The gas cylinder has just given out. The gas cylinder for which you can’t buy a replacement. I eventually epoxied it back in the upright position.)  
    • Next day, Allysen informs me that the refrigerator isn’t working right. What? That can’t be! We just bought it only, like, 24 years ago! I spend two hours cleaning dust and fur out from under and behind and in the works. That brings it almost up to spec on max cool, but I think a new one is in our future. 
    • The next day, I flick on the cable TV. No sound. I unplug the cable box/DVR, and plug it back in. That’s done it: It’s dead, Jim. (On Monday, the cable guys spend two hours replacing the power cord, the HDMI cable, and half the house wiring.) 
    • 2 a.m., a couple of days later. My daughter on the cell. A close friend of hers, a student with no family within a thousand miles, has been arrested for—let’s just call it very bad driving choices—in a town forty minutes away, and could I go bail him out. (A great kid who made some regrettable decisions that night.)  At least the local magistrate, rousted out of bed at 4 a.m. to release him on bond, is cheerful and friendly. See you in court Monday morning!

    In the meantime, I am working feverishly getting some changes made to six of my books in preparation for a big promotion coming up next week. Also, a reorganization proposal for my website is on my desk, waiting for me to look at it. And the person who’s going to help me get print editions in the works waits patiently for me to get back to her with some answers to basic questions. Do I know what font I want? Umm…

    • Court for the friend is an interesting experience, which I write up for my own story notes. Gotta use that some day. The end result of the court appearance being, of course, a future court date. 
    • Give it a couple of days, and I’m standing outside talking to someone on the street. My downstairs neighbor calls from the front door: “There’s water coming from my ceiling!”  I sprint upstairs. Our tiny pantry/laundry room is flooded. Our two-year-old washer (a Samsung, a Consumer Reports Best Buy!) has let go from the drain pump, sending water down through the walls to the first floor and basement. The basement ceiling and various places in the walls are opened up as I write, with fans blowing.
    • Do I think I’m done with flooding? No, one more little nose-tweak. Last night, I’m walking through the basement and almost miss it: the pool of water overflowing the particle-board shelf where sit—sat—our jugs of emergency water. Really? 

    So far, today has been uneventful. Dare I hope?

    For a writer, all things are fodder. Surely, one day I will get a story out of all this!

    30 Aug 2015

    Schrödinger’s Sasquan—Part 3

    posted in: cons, personal news, science fiction, worldcons | 0

    It takes a good sense of humor to attend a worldcon. Last year, at Loncon, we procrastinated too long in getting a place to stay, and we wound up camping on a sailboat moored somewhere off the Thames. This year, we put in for a room early, and requested a room on a quiet floor of the main con hotel. (No more schlepping an hour each way to get to the con for us!) What did we get? A room two doors down from the con hospitality suite, open 24 hours a day!

    To our surprise, it worked out okay. The soundproofing was good, and we were rarely bothered by the noise. And when we got the munchies around midnight, we just had to throw on some pants and shoes and go down the hall.

    If there’s one thing (most) science fiction fans have in abundance, it’s a sense of humor. When I saw this T-shirt at Sasquan (just weeks after my attendance at the Schrödinger Sessions for SF writers), I knew I had to have it.

    Wanted: Schrödinger’s Cat

    After Sasquan, we visited relatives in the Puget Sound region, and got a further look at the extreme drought conditions currently afflicting the U.S. Northwest. The grass is brown, and even many bushes are brown. Here’s picture of a rhododendron that’s surely alive… and dead… all at the same time. (Not unlike some con-goers I saw early Sunday morning.)

    Schrödinger’s Rhodo 

    One personal highlight of the con was at last meeting my friend Ann, who for years has been helping me format my ebooks—yes, those same ebooks I’ve been flogging (not too relentlessly, I hope) for almost as long as I’ve been writing this blog. Ann lives in Washington, and all this time our communication has been by email. She’s a fan who offered to help, because it’s fun! (!!!) At last, we met face-to-face, and Allysen and I got to take her out to dinner, as a very small thank-you for all the work she’s done for us. (But was I smart enough to take a picture? Noooo…)

    Finally, here’s some of the quirky fan art that accompanied Sasquan. I love fan art.

    Artist: Fan GoH Brad Foster
    Artist: Ray VanTilburg

    And that’s my roundup of the 2015 Worldcon!

    8 Aug 2015

    Our Hot New Grill

    posted in: personal news, putting stuff together | 0

    Not long ago, I remarked to someone that it was a point of pride with me that I’d never actually bought a gas grill, but had gotten along for years on trash-picked models that simply required some repair. (In our town, trash-picking is a well-regarded means of recycling things. Sometimes people even post to the town email list about items they’re putting out at the curb, which is how I got our lawnmower, our snowblower, and our first couple of gas grills.)

    I can no longer make that brag. Our grill has been tottering on its last legs for a while, and it never was all that good to begin with. Allysen quietly decided to get me a new grill as an early birthday present. She did all the online research, reading reviews and searching for features. Upon my return from the quantum workshop I found a huge box in the back of our truck, bearing the words “Kenmore Gas Grill. Assembly required.”

    What fun! Some assembly was indeed required. Much assembly was required. Not all the parts fit. There are two parts left over, angle irons with holes drilled in them. What are those for? I learned that—contrary to common practice—assembling large pieces of hardware in the dark, or alternatively, in the hot blazing sun, is not necessarily the smartest way to do it. But now it’s together. And what a glorious gas grill!  I especially like the built-in LED lights and the fold-out side table.

    I have not yet cooked anything on it, because every evening this week has been booked up. But I’m hankering to. I might just go out there and cook a single veggie burger on it, if that’s what it takes to get this thing rolling!
     
    2 Aug 2015

    The Cat’s Still Alive (and Dead)! — Schrödinger Sessions

    posted in: personal news, quantum physics, science, technology | 0
    Not really Schrödinger’s cat, but she is in a box.

    I’ve just come back from an incredible weekend at the Schrödinger Sessions: Science for Science Fiction, at the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland, near Washington, D.C. The JQI staff hosted just over a dozen SF writers, and for several days stuffed our heads full of information about quantum physics. It was head-exploding. But in a good way!

    Here are some of the things we learned from Chad Orzel, Steve Rolston, Chris Monroe, and others:

    • How to become quantum (which only works if you are very small, much smaller even than I was when I was at my low weight).
    • How (if you can master the first step) you can be in two places at one time—and also how to collapse that state so that you’re just in one.
    • How to trap a single charged atom (ion) in a vacuum trap and cool it to just a whisker above Absolute Zero. (And we leaned over and didn’t touch! equipment that does just that.)
    • How to quantum-entangle two or more particles in the above-mentioned apparatus. (Okay, I still don’t really understand how to do that.)
    • How to make light disappear with two polarized filters, and reappear with the addition of a third. (I sort of understand that.)
    • That sometimes the answer to the question “Why?” is “Just shut up and calculate.”
    • That probability is not a definition of a thing, but a statement of our knowledge of a system.
    • That probability is not a definition of knowledge after all, but of our ignorance about a system.
    • That there are two rules of quantum mechanics:
    1. Quantum objects are waves, and can be in states of superposition (more than one position at a time).
    2. Rule #1 holds as long as you don’t look!

    Professor James Gates (familiar from countless PBS documentaries) told us why he doesn’t buy the extra dimensions suggested by most string theorists.
    Professor Raman Sundrum (of the Randall-Sundrum Model) told us why he does, and furthermore why it’s possible we’re living in a holographic universe.

    I learned that quantum physicists say “I don’t know” a lot.

    There was tons more, presented by a bunch of professors. I hope I can remember it. Or most of it. Or some of it.

    Part of it, in fact, plays right into what I’m trying to do in The Reefs of Time. So I really hope I can remember that part.

    Maybe I’ll buy the book by Chad Orzel, one of the workshop leaders, How to Teach [Quantum] Physics to Your Dog.

    Down in there is a glowing cluster of verra verra cold ytterbium atoms.    
     
    29 Jun 2015

    Curse You, Skunk Baron! [PHEW!]

    posted in: animal friends, personal news, quirky | 0

    He looks innocent, doesn’t he? All doe eyed and mild mannered. Well, at 2:45 a.m. Sunday morning, when I took him out for a late-night pee, he wasn’t so mild mannered—not when he saw Philippe LePew in the bushes in front of our house. He vaulted over the side of the steps and dove after it, nearly yanking me head over heels with him. (Thank God for retractable leashes—and that he was on the leash.)

    As I yanked him back, I saw the flash of white and black in the bushes, and I knew my night—which just hours before had been a pleasant gathering of friends for movie night—had just taken a serious turn for the worse.

    Going inside was out of the question, even though it was cold and raining. I leaned on the doorbell, rousting Allysen out of bed. She began a long series of trips up and down the stairs, bringing me all the supplies: bucket, rubber gloves, old T-shirt, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, dish detergent, vinegar, Nature’s Miracle, towels, etc. (Forget tomato juice; it doesn’t work.) Here’s the recipe we used (it’s on a refrigerator magnet that we got at the animal hospital):

    1 quart hydrogen peroxide
    ¼ cup baking soda
    2 teaspoons dish detergent

    Mix it up, lather it in, and wait 20 minutes. I especially liked the waiting part, standing in the cold rain in bare feet, in shorts and t-shirt, trying to keep Captain Jack from shaking it off all over me. Then around the house to the hose, to wash him down. Repeat. We were soon out of H2O2, so I switched to vinegar and baking soda.

    Eventually I toweled him down and poured Nature’s Miracle skunk treatment all over him. By the time we got upstairs it was 4:30 a.m., and Allysen had set up sleeping arrangements for us in the living room—Jack in his crate, me on the sofa on multiple sets of sheets, and a fan in the window. (No way was I going to risk taking skunk essence into our bedroom.)

    Me sleeping on the sofa and Jack in his crate was the sight that met our daughter Lexi when she passed through early Sunday morning. What have they done to make Mom that mad? she wondered.

    Amazingly, the next day, the skunk smell was almost entirely gone. But Captain Jack hadn’t forgotten. The next few times we went out, one thing was clear: He wanted to find that skunk and teach him a lesson he wouldn’t forget!

    Fortunately, Philippe the skunk had moved on.

    15 Jun 2015

    How to Tire Out a Border Collie If You Don’t Have a Herd

    posted in: animal friends, personal news | 4

    Captain Jack considers my socks from the hamper and his pillow from my office to be his flock, his to move about the house as the need comes over him. It’s cute, but it doesn’t really serve the purpose of tiring him out.

    This might. 

    Click picture to biggify

    This is our new 1-Running-Dog Bike Tow Leash, attached to my recumbent bike. It weirded him out pretty good for the first few minutes, but now that he’s gotten the hang of it, he really seems to like it. We live near a bike path, so we can get going without worrying about car traffic, at least for the first mile. I’ll have to get some video of it. When he breaks into a gallop, I feel like Roy Rogers on Trigger, with Bullet racing alongside.

    I also have to say I like our town. In the space of two minutes, yesterday, I passed a young girl on a unicycle and a guy on a Segway. The Segwayist yelled to me and Jack, “Man, that… is… cool!”

    I  had to agree. But I’m already starting to see signs of Jack getting into shape. A vigorous forty-five minute run just leaves him wanting more. 

    21 Apr 2015

    Websites Still Down, No thanks to Verizon

    posted in: personal news, web sites | 0

    Both of my websites have been down since last week, thanks to Verizon botching an upgrade to the connection between them and my hosting service, SFF Net. This affects both my author website at www.starrigger.net and my online writing course at www.writeSF.com. If you click either of those links right now, you’ll get nada.

    I am just one of a large number of authors affected by this, and other Verizon corporate customers as well. The fact that this has been going on for almost a week now gives you a pretty good indication of how well Verizon takes care of its customers. (But I’m sure our business is important to them!)

    This means if you happen to be reading one of my ebooks, and you get to the end, and find a link to see “more ebooks by Jeffrey A. Carver,” you can click the link all night, but you won’t see bupkis except for error messages.

    Repair updates continue to stream at https://twitter.com/sffnet, offering alternately hope and despair. 

    Hosting sites like mine is SF Net’s business. They must be about ready to fall on their swords. Don’t, guys! We’ll get through this.

    Verizon technical support

    16 Apr 2015

    I’ve Cast Off the Yokes of Sickness and Taxes!

    posted in: personal news | 0

    For much of my last week I have been occupied by twin plagues: getting through my first miserable cold of the season (Spring is here!), and finishing my tax returns. On one return, I owe money, and on another I get money back, and so on. Life is good!

    Did you know that if you live in Massachusetts, but you get paid to teach at a weekend workshop in Vermont, you wind up having to file a tax return to the Green Mountain State as well as the Bay State? As well as the United States? Probably you didn’t know, and I’m betting you didn’t care. But you do.

    But wait. Did you know that if you put solar panels on your roof to generate electricity and help the planet, no one can tell you—not the IRS, not the online tax advisors, not Turbotax—whether the solar energy credits you eventually get from the utilities are taxable income? Or if they are, how you balance them against the money you spent putting up the panels. You’d think the IRS would have a position on the question. But apparently they don’t. You’re on your own with that one, buddy.

    Well, who cares now, because it’s all signed and done, and I went out rollerblading to celebrate! And then I came home and made a nice, fresh batch of frozen margaritas!

    I do love frozen margaritas.

    4 Apr 2015

    Our Sojourn in San Francisco Bay

    posted in: adventures, personal news, wishful dreams | 0

    Well, not in the bay, but in the bay area. We’ve just returned from a trip west, visiting my brother and his wife, who are visiting scholars this year at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. We got to see lovely Palo Alto and Stanford itself, which besides advanced study boasts two fantastic art museums, and the Herbert Hoover Tower, which houses the former president’s library as well as a great observation deck. Here’s a picture from Wikipedia (I forgot to take my own).

    I’m not entirely without snapshots, though. One day we drove to and through San Francisco, and over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Muir National Monument, which is an island in the middle of beautiful state parkland, and the home to a gorgeous redwood forest. It took us a while to get there, but the walk through the redwoods was well worth it. So was the view from the low mountain slopes back across San Francisco Bay toward the city. These pix don’t really do them justice.

    If you zoom way in, you can see the San Francisco skyline.

    Treebeard would approve. Maybe these are the Entwives?

    Another day we drove south to see elephant seals lounging on the beach, gathering their strength for a nine-month swim that would take them thousands of miles across the ocean, eating and swimming, until their return for mating season on this beach next year. Did you know elephant seals can dive to 1500 feet and stay down for an hour, while holding their breaths? On the beach, they look like enormous stuffed dog toys, idly flicking sand onto their bodies with their flippers.

    On the final day, we visited the Cantor and Anderson art museums. Here’s Rodin’s “Thinker,” one of seven castings made by Rodin.

    The driving game of choice in Palo Alto, by the way, is seeing how many Teslas you can spot per trip. It didn’t take long to develop Tesla envy.

    It was a short visit, but memorable. Remind me to get an appointment to Stanford the next time I’m on sabbatical!

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