12 Aug 2024

Worldcon 2024 Winding Down

posted in: adventures, cons, travel, worldcons | 1

Yesterday’s highlights were some time spent with Gay and Joe (The Forever War) Haldeman, whom we had not seen in years. They are a delightful couple, and probably the best-traveled people we know, always jaunting around the world, visiting friends. We also had a beer and fine conversation with Stefan Rudnicki—co-owner of Skyboat Media, and also well traveled—who recently narrated six of my audiobooks. Though we worked closely together on the books, we had never actually met in person until this con. He’s a fount of knowledge about the audiobook business and a very generous guy. Stefan’s wife Gabrielle de Cuir, also a topnotch narrator and director, is a delightful lady as well. I hope to be working again with them soon.

Later we watched the Hugo Awards ceremony on my laptop, from the hotel room. The audio level was low, so I had to look at the results online today. Many of the works I voted for actually won! Possibly a first. Congratulations, Hugo winners and nominees!

Here a few visual highlights. First is the SEC (Scottish Exhibition Center), with the “Armadillo” theater center on the left, a delightfully idiosyncratic building on the outside, and bizarrely incomprehensible on the inside. On the right is the Ovo Hydro—or, as we called it, the Flying Saucer (it lights up green at night). That’s a sports center, apparently. That seemingly insignificant, triangular-roofed building between them is the main exhibition hall, where most of the con actually took place.

How about a Batmobile or two?

The SEC campus sits right next to the River Clyde, on the far banks of which sit BBC Scotland, an IMAX theater, and the Glasgow Science Center.

I thought I was going to get away without buying anything at the con except a t-shirt, but the art show mugged me and forced me to buy a print of a photo-art piece I particularly liked. Oops.

6 Aug 2024

Final Post from Edinburgh

posted in: adventures, Scotland, travel, worldcons | 0

Low key day today, after sleeping in following our expedition yesterday. We strolled through the throngs walking the city. Here’s the Edinburgh Castle, which overlooks the city. We never got up there for a tour of the inside, so I guess we’ll have to come back.

We also discovered that the tall monument I posted a picture of a couple of days ago is not actually to Saint Andrew, but to a scoundrel who, two and a quarter centuries ago, worked to prolong the African slave trade. (!! See my correction.)

One notable fact of our visit in Scotland so far has been the remarkable number of really pleasant and helpful people we’ve met, some of them local and some visitors like ourselves. Basically, everyone has been helpful or cheerful to talk to. We had our final dinner here at Abbotsford Pub on Rose Street, where we found ourselves chatting with a very nice couple from Kennebunk, Maine.

Tomorrow our daughter Jayce flies in to join us, and we leave for Glasgow and Worldcon!

5 Aug 2024

More Views from Scotland

posted in: Scotland, travel, Uncategorized | 0

Yesterday we saw more of Edinburgh, including an exhibit of contemporary Scottish painters, the St. Giles Cathedral, and a lot in between. Here’s the Walter Scott Monument, standing in our path. Or wait, is that Barad-dur?

Well, whichever, here’s Allysen tasting an Old Engine Oil Stout with her fish and chips. Tastes good!

Today we boarded a train for Dunkeld, mostly to see the countryside—which was stunningly beautiful, very Middle Earthish…

…and to poke around Dunkeld-Birnam (here’s the River Tay and Dunkeld)…

which among other things contains the Beatrix Potter museum and garden. The museum was closed, but the garden was lovely, with bronze sculptures of Peter and a friend, and the fox…

…and also a gorgeous sculpture of a coo (a cow) painted with lovely psychedelic mushrooms.

4 Aug 2024

Edinburgh, Scotland!

posted in: adventures, cons, travel | 1

That’s Edinboro not Edinburg as the Delta pilot called it. We’re here, and it’s beautiful! We came within a whisker of having to cancel the trip because of a painful blood clot in my leg, but I got cleared by the docs at the last minute, and here we are. So far, we’ve seen the National (Art) Gallery, which had some excellent Impressionist work, as well as halls and halls of older paintings. We arrived, coincidentally, during Fringe Festival, which features a lot of shows by stand-up comics. Lots of enthusiasm in the streets for that. We might or might not get to one, because between my gimpy leg and dragging around a POC (portable O2 concentrator), activities that involve close quarters and sitting a lot are iffy. Still, there’s plenty to see.

Here’s a tall statue at St. Andrew’s Square. Edit: It is not Saint Andrew, as we had guessed. It is a monument to a Henry Dundas, first viscount Melville (1742-1811), who as Secretary of State for War in 1996, was instrumental in delaying the abolition of the British Atlantic slave trade, resulting in the enslavement of half a million Africans.

Later, me, in our basement hotel/apt suite with my new favorite beer, Wingman session IPA from Scotland’s Brewdog Brewery.

14 Dec 2022

Great Trip, Except…

posted in: airplanes, travel | 1

Except for the part where I lost my laptop at the TSA checkpoint at LAX and didn’t realize it until we were already in the air, bound for Boston. Yeah, that part sucked. My laptop and my tablet were separated from me along with all my other stuff during the course of a manual pat-down, because of the portable oxygen concentrator on my back. After all the distraction of the thorough searching, I failed to realize that my devices never got put back into my computer bag. I’ve filed a claim and now can only wait. It’s in the hands of God and the LA Airport Police, who process (they say) 5-7000 lost items every month. Fortunately, everything important on it is backed up to Dropbox.

Aside from that, we had a great time. Besides visiting with family, we were graced with good friends, good dogs, good food, and good museums. I wish I’d thought to take a picture of that red Focker Triplane at the Museum of Flying at the Santa Monica Airport! Well, here’s a 1959 attempt at a flying car, the Trautmann RoadAir…

6 Dec 2022

Go West, Old Man!

posted in: family, trains, travel | 0

We are visiting Allysen’s brother Andrew and his family in L.A., as well as some good friends. It’s great to see everyone. The weather is surprisingly chilly in southern California, not all that different from the temps back in Boston. Here are a few scenes—not including the humans we are visiting, because I always forget to take pictures when we’re gathered. Here’s Allysen with the local glowing-eyed canine crew…

Yesterday, Jayce and Allysen and I took the train on a scenic ride up the coast to Santa Barbara, where we strolled on the pier, had some good seafood, tried a wine tasting, and strolled some more while awaiting the train home. A lovely interlude. Here’s the Pacific Surfliner…

And here’s Jayce and Allysen at the beginning of the pier. The view was beautiful, a small city nestled between the hills and the sea.

Amtrak got on my good side on the pleasant ride up, with a friendly conductor who explained everything we needed to know, and a great view of the ocean. Yay, Amtrak!

Amtrak got on my bad side on the ride home, where we were left to scramble to find an open door when we reached our stop at Camarillo. Upon alighting, we found ourselves on the wrong side of a cyclone fence separating the two tracks, and us from our car. The way across was long and climby and very poorly signed. No elevators for the disabled, or for the heavy-breathing gent with the oxygen pack on his back. Bad Amtrak!

The sun is now setting and illuminating a gorgeous cumulus cloud behind three stately palm trees! Lovely. I just tried to take a picture of it to share. Can’t even see the cloud in the photo! Bad camera!

11 Jun 2022

Sherrick Shindig 2022

posted in: Adventures with the Mothership, family, personal news, travel | 6

I have always had a gratifyingly warm relationship with my relatives on my mother’s side of the family, the Sherricks. What with the older generation passing and folks scattering to the ends of the U.S.A., I don’t see any of them very often anymore. Fortunately, my cousins periodically organize a reunion, a.k.a. Sherrick Shindig, at some different location, typically not where anyone lives. This year is the first time in ten years I’ve been able to attend, and we are gathered at a lakeside house in Tennessee, which is a state none of us lives in. We’re having a great time. Swimming, boating, relaxing, talking…

That’s after calming down from the last six miles of the drive here (Allysen and I driving the Winnebago mothership). The road in to this location could very well serve as a roller coaster track for Cedar Point. Up, down, twist right, twist left, twist and climb, twist and drop. The mountain roads of Puerto Rico got nothing on this road. But we made it!

Here are a few pics.

My cousins Kianna and Lois, and me:

My cousin Bruce, with Allysen:

My cousin Stewart and his grandson Luke:

Some of the Sherricks gathered around:

Can you find me in this picture?

This is where we’re all staying:

A good time for all!

4 Sep 2019

Dragon Con, Day Five and Home: End Times

posted in: cons, Dragon Con, travel | 0

(Monday and Tuesday)

I’m typing this on an Amtrak train jittering its way northward from Atlanta (we’ve just passed Philadelphia). What happened to the nice, smooth track we were running over a while ago? Oh well, I should be home in not too many hours—although the vibrations might take a while to settle down. I decided to take Amtrak’s Crescent train home for decompression, a change of pace, and because I like trains. Also, I’m sick of airports. Like Dragon Con itself, this choice is a mixed bag. It’s an overnight train to New York, and I haven’t gotten much sleep, despite the generous legroom and seating space in coach. But the staff is friendly, the Café car sells a very nice IPA, and I’ve had interesting conversations with fellow passengers. Breakfast in the dining car is the kind of thing that makes train travel fun! (On the NYC-Boston train, the Café car barkeep tells me I should cherish that dining car on the Crescent, because Amtrak management is trying to get rid of them. Boo, management!)

Here’s the Crescent, the train that took me as far as New York. They’re changing from diesel locomotives to electric. I think this was in D.C.

But this is supposed to be about Dragon Con.

Dragon Con is basically a world’s fair for geeks. I think one’s first visit has to be regarded as a learning experience. (Assuming one returns for more.) I have, after the fact, learned about many things I could have, should have gone to. I have learned something of how one might make better use of the time, as an attending pro. (Starting with, start planning in October for the following Labor Day weekend. I have trouble planning next week!)

Some closing observations:

  • It’s a very friendly community!
  • It needs more places to sit. I tired of choosing between sitting on the floor or standing, while biding time between events.
  • It has more than enough bars. Every hotel has multiple mini-bars set up all over the place. If you have to ask where one can get a drink in this place, you aren’t looking very hard.
  • Lots of great programming! But prepare for lines. Long lines.
  • Don’t expect to just run into your friends. With 85,000 or more people here, you probably won’t. You’ll learn afterward that they were there.
  • There are many celebrities in attendance! If you hope to see one, see previous item about lines. I coulda’ seen David Tennant!
  • It’s great fun, interleaved with sensory overload.
  • If you take the train home, many of your fellow passengers will also be from Dragon Con.
  • If you have time to kill before your train/place, go to the Atlanta Botanical Garden! It’s wonderful!
  • Don’t make any life-changing decisions in the first couple of days after. Get some sleep instead.

Here are some highlights from the Botanical Garden:

And now… back home at the Star Rigger Ranch, and quiet….

22 May 2019

Returning Home

posted in: personal news, travel | 1

That 7 a.m. flight out of Burbank was definitely out of my comfort zone time-wise, but it was a very smooth flight nevertheless, and we arrived early in Boston. Here’s what it looked like, coming in low over the harbor.

The temperature in the L.A. area was in the 50’s and 60’s most of the time I was there. I had been chilly, not having packed enough long-sleeve shirts. I knew it would be cooler in Boston, so I wore one of those for a second day, plus a jacket—to find it in the 80’s in Boston!

I was apparently at peak-time pricing for Lyft, so I opted to take the T home. That’s when it started. The Silver Line bus took a big-ass detour, and then broke down at the combustion-to-electric changeover point, and all the passengers dragged their luggage to another bus. The Red Line was fine, except that the elevator at the endpoint was closed for “vertical transportation” improvements. I made it home, though, and thought I was done for the day. But no.

We went out for dinner with friends—and on the way home, I hit a pothole, and BAM!, front tire blowout. Brand-new tire. We were on a downhill access road to a highway, which wasn’t great for changing a tire, but should have been easy for a tow truck to find. But no, the service driver sent by the auto club couldn’t follow even step-by-step instructions, and finally abandoned me without troubling to tell me. By the time my local shop sent a tow truck, it was after 11 p.m., and I’d been waiting for almost two hours. He, bless him, dropped me off at my house on his way to the shop with my car.

Welcome home!

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