Today begins Shore Leave, a science-fiction convention I attend every July just north of Baltimore. And so, I am on the road, from Raleigh to Baltimore. It’s a long, lonely road, enlivened by the craziness of the Washington mixing bowl, the hecticness of the traffic on I-95 from Fredericksburg north. Fun, fun times. Tonight’s programmingContinue reading “On the Road”
On Getting Ready
Tomorrow begins Shore Leave, the Star Trek/media-SF convention I attend in Baltimore every July. I haven’t packed yet. Today I work until six, then I need to come home, pack a bag, and get some sleep. A little time, a little rest, will do me good. I should clean out the Beetle. Yes, that wouldContinue reading “On Getting Ready”
On Ten Pop Culture Questions
Stolen from Keith and Lisa, who stole it from Drew: 1) Wonder Woman or Xena? Wonder Woman. 2) John Strange or Carl Kolchak? Carl Kolchak. 3) 9th Doctor (Eccleston) or 10th Doctor (Tennant)? Eccleston. Tennant is more traditionally Doctor-ish, which makes Eccleston's performance look all the more impressive because he wasn't traditionally Doctor-ish. 4) JulyContinue reading “On Ten Pop Culture Questions”
On a Mockery of Lady Liberty
In Memphis, Tennessee a mega-church unveiled a new statue at its entrance: From the New York Times article: As the congregation of the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church looked on and its pastor, Apostle Alton R. Williams, presided, a brown shroud much like a burqa was pulled away to reveal a giant statue of theContinue reading “On a Mockery of Lady Liberty”
On July 4th
Today, we commemorate America’s Declaration of Independence from Britain over two centuries ago. Many of us, as Homer Simpson so proudly proclaimed, will spend today celebrating America by blowing up a small part of it. I’m reminded today of something I encountered last year, people in lawn chairs along the interstate to view fireworks. InContinue reading “On July 4th”
On My Bad Day
A quick summation. I've been suffering panic attacks. Since Saturday, to be exact. Long-time Allynologists will tell you that I have a lot going on in my life right now, and very little of it is stable. Saturday afternoon at work, I tensed up, my breathing tightened, and I felt a fight-or-flight response building insideContinue reading “On My Bad Day”
On an Asteroid Near-Miss
As you read this, an asteroid has already whizzed past Earth, coming close at a distance a little more than the moon’s. From the Register’s report: An asteroid half a mile long will fly past the earth tomorrow morning, missing us by an astronomical hair’s breadth of half a million kilometres or so. The asteroid,Continue reading “On an Asteroid Near-Miss”
On Using Monster
Lately I've been going through Monster.com and taking a look at job openings in the Baltimore metropolitan area. I've also been going through the Baltimore Sun website doing same. And I've made a shocking discovery. I can't remember what I've applied for. It should be obvious–sometimes the link is a different color because it's aContinue reading “On Using Monster”
On 39 Questions
Borrowed from Keith, 39 questions! 1. Have you ever been searched by the cops? Yes. 2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters? Not normally, no. 3. When's the last time you've been sledding? About ten years ago. 4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? Being single I'm quite used toContinue reading “On 39 Questions”
On Receiving Unwanted Spam
Anyone who has an e-mail address receives spam. Depending on your filtering methods, you may see very little of it, or you may see a lot. Earlier this week I received a message from Kevin Kline. He was trying to interest me in some thing or the other. I don’t recall, exactly. What I doContinue reading “On Receiving Unwanted Spam”