Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold

28/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A bit of a deviation from the main thread of the Vorkosigan , but still related (similar to how Rogue One is “A Star Wars Story”). Bujold continues to demonstrate a gift for creating flawed but endearing characters and dropping them into situations both amusing and adventurous. And while I wouldn’t have expected much from a sheltered, naïve, gay obstetrician who’s never met a woman in his life before venturing off-planet, title character Ethan makes for a very entertaining protagonist.

Me holding Ethan of Athos

Year 50 Day 353

Me in a computer lab classroom, in front of a round table with several inactive workstations. Against the wall is a screen showing a slide with the Highline College logo and the title 'Accessibility Workshop'.

Day 353: Gave a presentation/workshop on basic document accessibility to the college’s tutors today. Went over alt text and headings, why they should be used (complete with brief NVDA screen reader demo), how to use them in Word and Google Docs, why not to use Canva, and how to use the Read&Write extension for Chrome. All in all, not a bad session, even at the end of a long week.

Year 50 Day 352

Me wearing a black short-sleeve button-up shirt with a skull and crossbones pattern, in front of signs advertising the Access Services department for students with disabilities and the Achieve program for students with intellectual disabilities.

Day 352: Got to spend some time tabling for the Access Services department today as Highline hosted a bunch of prospective students visiting from local high schools. Days like this always amuse me — I have very clear memories of being a freshman in high school and thinking the seniors looked so adult. As a 50 year old…it’s a little different.

The Face of the Unknown by Christopher L. Bennett

27/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A “year four” adventure that serves to both bridge the gap between TOS and TAS (and explain some of the changes to the ship and crew between the shows) and to take a much deeper dive into the First Federation as first introduced in The Corbomite Maneuver. Along the way, we get to learn more about Balok’s threatening puppet, Spock gets some introspective assistance, and Kirk…well, Kirk does his thing with impassioned speeches and eyeing alien women. The exploration of the First Federation is obviously the core theme, and it’s done well, extrapolating well from what little we learn in the TOS episode. One of the better TOS novels.

Me holding The Face of the Unknown