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📚 twenty of 2020: Starman by Alan Dean Foster ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A pleasant and easy adaptation of an 80s SF film that I remember enjoying when it came out. It’s another of the “benevolent alien meets paranoid humans” contact stories, but does it simply and well.

On This Day: Apr 25

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Since I’ll hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.

There are 23 posts previously published on April 25th

  • 2024
  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
    • 📚 twenty of 2020: Starman by Alan Dean Foster ⭐️⭐️⭐️ A pleasant and easy adaptation of an 80s SF film that I remember enjoying when it came out. It’s another of the “benevolent alien meets paranoid humans” contact stories, but does it simply and well. ➡
    • On This Day: Apr 25 Recognizing 20 years of blogging, here are my past posts from April 25 ➡
  • 2019
    • Book thirty-one of 2019: The Big Time, by Fritz Leiber. ⭐️⭐️ 1958 Hugo Best Novel For some reason, I couldn’t get invested in this one. I didn’t dislike it, and it being structured very much like a single-set play was interesting, but I had to work my way through it. ➡
  • 2018
  • 2017
    • Nice surprise birthday present from an old friend. Thanks for the new kilt, Rick! #royalkilt ➡
  • 2016
    • Made my hotel reservation for #nwc40. Less than a year to go! ;) (116/366) ➡
  • 2014
    • It’s been a cranky day, and the cold still has me in a bit of a fog, but I’m wrapping up with a pizza party with the CWU tutors that Prairie supervises, so at least the workday’s ending on a good note. ➡
  • 2005
    • Maybe I won’t end up in hell… A guy died and found himself waiting in the long line of judgment. As he stood there he noticed that some souls were allowed to march right through the pearly gates into heaven. Others, though, were led over to Satan who threw them into the burning pit. ➡
    • Nasty bug I've spent the majority of the last 31 hours or so either unconscious or in a very woozy half-conscious state, thanks to being hit with a _nasty_ cold bug. Loads of fun, let me tell you. Ugh. ➡
  • 2004
    • Goodbye, Floyd I just found out about some sad news for any Alaskans or expatriates: well-known panhandler Floyd died April 7, 2004. ➡
    • More megapixels isn’t necessarily better quality Something I need to keep in mind while continuing my search to replace my digital camera: 8 megapixels isn't always better than 5. ➡
    • One week notice: my b-day! Consider this one week notice for any of you that might be in the Seattle area: next Monday's my 31st birthday, so I'm making the yearly 'haul your ass to the Vogue and hang out for a while' call for Saturday night, May 1st. ➡
  • 2003
    • All about me! Prompted by Kasia (via Robert), I realized that I don't have any sort of 'about me' info here. Guess it's time to rectify that, huh? ➡
    • Remember when we had rights? Last weekend, when Miranda was visiting, she asked me, 'what's up with all the political stuff on your site lately?' Well, Amy sums it up quite well — when this is the situation, I find it reprehensible for people not to care. To shrug their shoulders and turn away. To deem it 'somebody else's problem.' It's in times like these that we must pay attention, and do what we can to prevent things from getting any worse, and to right the wrongs already in practice. ➡
    • ERA still in limbo So — Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia — what do you say we move into the 21st century and get the ERA passed? ➡
    • Warm fuzzies Midway through the day today, I got some very nice comments from Dyanna and Kirsten. It was too busy at work for me to respond at the time, it was exactly the pick-up I needed in the midst of a crazy day at work. You're both wonderful! ➡
    • …just a matter of emphasis So — what many have been saying for months is starting to be admitted. The U.S., recognized as the world's leading superpower, went to war to prove a point, and lied about emphasized the danger in order to get support that wouldn't have been there otherwise. ➡
  • 2001
    • I’m a furry dildo? The ultimate sexual contradiction. You're quite dirty, and very into carnal excavation, but you also have a soft romantic side. And, honestly, THAT side is itself conflicted -- you're needy and giving at the same time. It's like you need to need to give to need. What's that all about? ➡
    • More site work Work continues on the site redesign. I've completed the changeover of the Quotebook introduction and the first page of Amusing bits, and added some information over to the right hand side of this page. ➡
    • I’m a Mastermind Like just 9% of the population you are a MASTERMIND (SIAT). You can be silent and withdrawn, but behind your reserved exterior lies an active mind that allows you to analyze situations and come up with creative, unexpected solutions. Normal people call this 'scheming.' Don't learn German. ➡

On This Day: Apr 24

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Since I’ll hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.

There are 12 posts previously published on April 24th

  • 2024
    • Year 50 Day 358 Highline's Q Center (part of the college's LGBTQIA+ community) had their spring fashion event today ➡
  • 2023
  • 2020
  • 2018
    • Toronto van attack: The cop who didn’t shoot: “What held his finger? Bravery? Training? Compassion? Perhaps we will find out in the days ahead. But whatever it is, it deserves attention.” ➡
  • 2017
    • So I came home right as two loaves of homemade sourdough bread came out of the oven. It smells so good in here! ➡
  • 2016
    • I’m confused. From the point of view of a Democratic Party voter…what’s the point? Republicans will use it to allocate delegates, but we already had our caucuses to do that (for better or for worse); what is the purpose of the primary? ➡
    • Witness me! ;) The only downside to this shirt is that it wasn’t here in time for Norwescon. (115/366) ➡
  • 2014
    • Since I still have #nwc37 on the brain, today’s #throwbackthursday #tbt shot is me and a U.S.S. Phoenix (Star Trek fan film) officer at #nwc32. ➡
  • 2007
    • Took me long enough… Of course, at this point, local movie aficionados will be giving me your basic (and well deserved), 'Well, _DUH!_' ;) I'd heard about Scarecrow for years, knew that it was supposed to be 'the' place to go locally for movies, but for some reason, just hadn't ever actually wandered in. ➡
  • 2004
    • Bottomless bathtubs I have no idea when or why, but at some point in my youth, my overactive imagination seized upon the idea that there was no actual support structure underneath the bathtub. I was terrified that at any point during a bath or shower, the caulking would give way, or the bottom of the tub would drop out, and I'd go plummeting into the depths of the earth. ➡
  • 2003

Plague Puzzle Two

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We actually completed this one a couple weeks ago; I just forgot to post the photos until now.

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

On This Day: Apr 23

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Since I’ll hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.

There are 23 posts previously published on April 23rd

  • 2024
  • 2023
  • 2020
    • Plague Puzzle Two We actually completed this one a couple weeks ago; I just forgot to post the photos until now. Friday Saturday Sunday Monday ➡
    • On This Day: Apr 23 Recognizing 20 years of blogging, here are my past posts from April 23 ➡
  • 2018
    • Nice collection of renders of the DIS version of the Enterprise collected by TrekMovie. Gotta admit, I think this version of the ship is growing on me, and these artists’ work presenting it from different angles helps. ➡
    • As seen on Twitter via @TychoTithonus: #MyHandleExplained for djwudi. ➡
    • Experimenting with posting YouTube videos to micro.blog. Excellent show by Front 242 last night. So impressed that these guys are still going this strong, really glad I got a chance to see them. ➡
  • 2017
    • Book twenty-five of 2017: The Captain’s Daughter, by Peter David. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #StarTrek #tos ➡
  • 2016
    • The wind’s been ridiculous all day, so we decided to take a “do nothing” day. Prairie read and napped, I made progress on Norwescon photos. Now for a movie date night (watching Mr. Holmes). (114/366) ➡
  • 2014
    • Failed my saving throw vs. con crud, and am actually taking a sick day, which I almost never do. Slept the morning away already. Ugh. Harrumph. Bleah. ➡
  • 2009
    • Dreamhost Does Good Ooooh. See those last few words? _That's_ nice to see. 'Unlimited disk and bandwidth, forever!' No worries about storing large files (not that I tend to do that), no worries about surcharges on the (very) off chance that I get Slashdotted or Dugg. Just keep paying my yearly bill, and I'm set. ➡
    • Archie vs. Pulp: Common People (Again) Apparently something has changed at UMG, and they've decided that graciously allowing fans to use bits of their artist's music in projects like this _isn't_ kosher, because this morning I got notice that my video was blocked worldwide. ➡
  • 2008
    • Dig  al T  evis on So, in the end, it's a mixed bag. It's great when it works, but when it doesn't work, it's a lot more frustrating than the 'old-n-busted' system ever was. ➡
  • 2007
    • Norwescon 30: Friday Finally -- all my shots from Friday of this year's Norwescon are processed and uploaded. There's a few random hall costumes to start off with, and shots from the Stardance towards the end. However, the majority of Friday's shots are from the Fannish Fetish Fashion Show. ➡
  • 2006
    • Potbellied Pig Monster While wandering around NSCC before class one morning last week, I took this picture of an interesting looking tree trunk. Once home, both Prairie and I saw a 'potbellied pig monster' in the contours of the trunk. ➡
  • 2004
    • TypePad IDs are TypeKey IDs! Apparently, anyone who uses TypePad to run their weblog auto-magically has a TypeKey login. Has this information been made public yet? ➡
  • 2003
    • Redesigning This is a starting point, not an end point. Some things may look goofy at the moment — my most humble apologies. Comments, as always, are welcome. ➡
    • Its / It's / Its' I think someday I want to start a software company called Its ➡
    • They're running out of excuses As Iraqi Shiite demands for a dominant role in Iraq's future mount, Bush administration officials say they underestimated the Shiites' organizational strength and are unprepared to prevent the rise of an anti-American, Islamic fundamentalist government in the country. ➡
    • The Trotts take over the world Now, my only question -- which Trott is Pinky, and which Trott is Brain? ➡
  • 2001
    • Fairbanks bound Well, I went and got a wild hair up my butt and decided to head up to Fairbanks for a weekend to goof off, visit my brother, and meet up with some friends. Should be fun...so, in about a month, I'll be heading north for some playtime...woohoo! ➡

On This Day: Apr 22

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Since I’ll hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.

There are 25 posts previously published on April 22nd

  • 2024
    • Year 50 Day 356 It was a work from home day, and nothing of particular interest happened. ➡
  • 2023
    • 🎥 Cocaine Bear Exactly what it says it will be, exactly what you think it’s going to be, and exactly what we wanted for a lazy Saturday afternoon. ➡
  • 2020
    • On This Day: Apr 22 Recognizing 20 years of blogging, here are my past posts from April 22 ➡
    • 📚 nineteen of 2020: The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1967 Hugo Best Novel Once again, Heinlein has strong and interesting SF (the moon declaring independence) coupled with politics I don’t entirely go for and serious issues with women and sexism. ➡
  • 2018
    • Unexpected sightings: an oil lamp sitting atop a gas pump. ➡
  • 2017
    • At the #marchforscience with a message from your friendly neighborhood t-rex. ➡
    • Before the Yakima #marchforscience in our matching Rogue NASA shirts! ➡
    • Prairie and I are prepping for this afternoon’s #marchforscience satellite march in Yakima. ➡
  • 2016
    • Springtime looked pretty nice on campus today. (113/366) ➡
  • 2014
    • Oh dear. It seems con crud is trying to kick my butt. Drinking lots of cranberry juice and heading to bed early to try and knock it out quickly. ➡
  • 2009
    • Links for April 18th through April 22nd Sometime between April 18th and April 22nd, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too! • Sports fans are _weird_! • When Worlds Collide: Spock Confronts the Ultimate Challenge • Talk Like Shakespeare Day • Doe v. Fortuny: Seattle's Jason Fortuny (aka RFJason) ordered to pay nearly $75,000 for Craigslist sex ad prank • It Was a Dark and Silly Night: Gahan Wilson Meets Neil Gaiman ➡
    • The Narcissism Epidemic Last I checked, most of our lives don't require all that attitude. Treating the whole world as if it works for you doesn't suggest you're special, it means you're an ass. ➡
    • Ranking the Star Trek Films After having spent much of the past few weeks working my way through the Star Trek film series, this is how I rank them, best to worst. Obviously, this is my personal ranking. Feel free to disagree. ➡
  • 2006
    • Political Protests in the Age of AOL OMG BUSH LRN 2 PREZ ➡
    • FBiPod? The government funded research in microdrive storage, electrochemistry and signal compression. They did so for one reason: It turned out that those were the key ingredients for the development of the iPod. ➡
    • Storybook Forest What actually happened here was that I'd forgotten to switch my white balance away from a custom setting for indoors. However, I actually like the final effect -- the gold tones give this an old-timey, almost storybook look to my eye. ➡
  • 2005
    • Sex on Wheels Two funny photos I found on Flickr today. ➡
    • Friday Tribble Blogging It's such a nice day outside today that he decided to wander out to the fire escape to bask in the sunshine for a while. Sounds like a good idea to me -- I'd join, if I didn't have to head back to work after lunch! ➡
  • 2004
  • 2003
    • Destinations It's not uncommon for me to stumble across something on the 'net that catches my eye, but that I don't create a full entry for. Sometimes I want to come back to it with a full entry later, other times it's just a 'ooh, neat!' moment. In order to track these, there is a new sidebar section called 'Destinations' — little one-line links. Sometimes I may come back to these for full posts, other times that may be all that appears. It's worth experimenting with for a bit, at least. ➡
    • Santorum If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything. ➡
    • Mayday! Mayday! The other day at work, I was toying with the idea of doing a 'day in the life' series of photos. Taking my camera with me during the day, and snapping a shot every so often, then presenting them to the world. I hadn't decided quite how to do it — a picture an hour? Every half hour? — but I'd been letting it rumble around in the back of my brain since then. ➡
    • What did he say? I have never, that I can recall, heard the subject of a permanent base in Iraq, discussed in any meeting. The likelihood of it seems to me to be so low that it does not surprise me that it's never been discussed in my presence. To my knowledge. ➡
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📚 nineteen of 2020: The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1967 Hugo Best Novel

Once again, Heinlein has strong and interesting SF (the moon declaring independence) coupled with politics I don’t entirely go for and serious issues with women and sexism.

On This Day: Apr 21

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Since I’ll hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.

There are 17 posts previously published on April 21st

  • 2024
    • Year 50 Day 355 I’m afraid the print on this shirt is degrading to the point where soon it won’t be remotely legible. ➡
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
    • Seen (but not purchased) at the Kent Goodwill. Honestly, I considered them out of morbid curiosity, but then decided it really wouldn’t be worth it. #fumanchu #saxrohmer #racism #orientalism ➡
  • 2017
    • It’s a little sad to watch my #nwc40 tattoo wear away as the days go by. (Though I’ll admit to being impressed at its longevity. I haven’t been pointedly scrubbing at it, but I haven’t been avoiding it while in the shower, either. Not bad!) ➡
  • 2016
    • This week has had an unusually high amount of adulting in it. Just one day left! (112/366) ➡
  • 2015
    • Got asked to help out at the book sale for an hour. Left with another stack. Imagine that! More SF, but also some nonfiction “history of SF”, one by Lester Del Rey, the other Frederik Pohl’s memoir. #moarbooks ➡
  • 2014
    • We got a new toy! Prairie and I have been concentrating more on our health since the beginning of the year. We’ve each been using our exercise bike daily, and after three months, decided to step things up a bit with a good elliptical machine. It’s a pretty nice early birthday present for me (us)! ➡
  • 2008
    • Britannica Webshare Sounds nice, and a welcome companion/competitor to Wikipedia. I've applied, now it's just a question of whether I've been regular enough as of late to get accepted. ;) ➡
  • 2005
    • Better Living Through Apathy As cynical as it may be, I think there just might be something to Davan's theory in today's Something Positive strip. ➡
    • MS backing down on gay rights? In a move that angered many of the company's gay employees, the Microsoft Corporation, publicly perceived as the vanguard institution of the new economy, has taken a major political stand in favor of age-old discrimination. ➡
    • April Seattle Weblogger’s Meetup I finally made it out to another Weblogger's meetup! It was long past time, as the last time I'd made it out was back in November. While I don't have much basis for comparison, it seemed to be a pretty good turnout again, 20-some people all told, I'd guess. ➡
  • 2004
    • Freedom! Only in Seattle would buying clothing involve standing in the middle of the store lobby, having a large bald man stand behind you and wrap his arms around your waist, and then assist you in dropping your trousers to your ankles. ➡
    • Neal Stephenson: Confusion I so need to get to the bookstore soon — Confusion, the second book in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle (which began with Quicksilver) is out. Salon has an interview with Stephenson and a review of Confusion up which both look good, though I don't have time to read them right now. Argh! :) ➡
  • 2003
  • 2002
    • Funniest man on the planet? I'm not entirely sure if Robin Williams is the funniest man on the planet or not, but after being able to see him live tonight -- it wouldn't surprise me! ➡

On This Day: Apr 20

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Since I’ll hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.

There are 24 posts previously published on April 20th

  • 2024
  • 2023
  • 2020
  • 2018
    • Interesting: SmugMug has bought Flickr. Hopefully that means good things; I was a big fan of Flickr until Yahoo! bought it and let it stagnate, and SmugMug is where I ended up starting to set things up instead. Could be too little too late, but hopefully not. ➡
  • 2016
    • Selfies with a tiny world app are…entertainingly alien. Or, “does this app make my forehead look big?” (111/366) ➡
  • 2015
    • Four old SF anthologies, a mid-70s printing of Clockwork Orange, a Star Trek novel, and a DVD collection of four Dracula films…all for $8. Gotta love campus book sales! ➡
    • 75 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, students stretched out under the willow trees by the Ganges. Gorgeous day! ➡
  • 2014
    • The Grammar Dalek and I are ready for the final day of #nwc37. :) ➡
  • 2006
    • Tulip Tulip cutout. ➡
    • Birthday Wishes Back in March of '03, I stumbled across a series of discs from Sony called the 'Soundtrack for a Century'. Over time I've collected eight out of the eleven pieces of the series, and any (or all) of these last three would be greatly appreciated. ➡
  • 2005
    • Heteroflexible One of the mailing lists I belong to (though I don't chime in terribly often) is that of the Utilikilts Yahoo! Group. For the past few days there's been an interesting discussion of sexuality. Over the course of the discussion, I just stumbled across a new term that I'd not heard before, but that I like a _lot_. ➡
    • Social Realist Some silly/fun astrology bits from #flickr tonight... ➡
  • 2004
    • Watch that apostrophe! There's a certain irony in a publication mis-using an apostrophe in an employment ad looking for an editor. ➡
    • Safer nuclear missiles Thank god for small favors — at least when Bush finally flips his lid and the nukes start flying, we won't be damaging our atmosphere… ➡
    • Donnie Darko coming back to Seattle! How incredibly cool — Donnie Darko, which disappeared from most theaters practically before it was released, has become such a cult favorite that its studio is going to be re-releasing it to theaters, starting right here in Seattle! ➡
    • Romeo + Juliet r0xx0Rz! Worth a few minutes of cheap amusement: Romeo and Juliet presented as 'L33T-speak'. Somewhat painful, but funny. ➡
  • 2003
    • TV Turnoff Week Apr. 21-27 I stopped watching TV roughly, oh, ten or twelve years or so, I think. Since then, the only times I've been around much TV has been when I've been over at someone elses house and they've happened to have it turned on. ➡
    • Blogchalking is back This is my blogchalk: United States, Washington, Seattle, English, Michael, Male, 26-30, Macintosh computers, movies, music, and other random bits. ➡
    • A visit from Miranda Had a very pleasant weekend — just staying at home and relaxing for most of it, but yesterday evening spent a good few hours visiting with Miranda, who had come out to visit. ➡
  • 2001
    • Stolen van! My parents had their van stolen Wednesday night. If anyone who sees this could keep their eyes open, and, if you're lucky enough to see it, give a call to the police, it would be greatly appreciated. ➡
    • In other words, I talk a lot My propensity for loquaciousness and paranthetical diatribes. ➡
    • About my tattoo This actually came about from an e-mail I was writing tonight, and I thought it was a bit too good to lose into the great bit bucket in the sky. ➡

Difficult Listening Hour 2020.04.18

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Week ten of my unplanned, unrehearsed, seat-of-the-pants goofing around. As a way of getting back into practice and doing something regularly, I’ve started doing regular Twitch broadcasts, now on Saturday mid-mornings. These are the results. Anything goes.

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