I realized today that we’re a month away from Farpoint. Farpoint is a science-fiction convention held north of Baltimore every February (right next to the building where I work, actually), usually right around Valentine’s Day. This year it falls the weekend after, beginning on February the 18th. I’ve been attending Farpoint since 2006, and thisContinue reading “On a Month Until Farpoint”
Monthly Archives: January 2011
On the Repeal of Health Care Reform
Today, the House of Representatives will be voting on the “Repeal the Job Killing Health Care Law Act.” This bill, written by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that was passed by the last Congress, and, despite some requests that, in the wake of the Tuscon shootingsContinue reading “On the Repeal of Health Care Reform”
On the Beetle, in Snow
Note: This isn’t really a blog post, at least not in the way that I conceive of blog posts. During my train commute, many mornings I will write. Sometimes, it’s writing for work. Sometimes, it’s drabbles or other fiction. And sometimes, it’s just whatever happens to be on my mind. I’ve decided to present someContinue reading “On the Beetle, in Snow”
On the Silence of Winter
The world is strangely silent tonight. Despite a main highway, there’s been little traffic, and not just because of the holiday. The world is taking a breath as a winter storm moves in. Snow began falling a little while ago. The back walk, which had been cleared since the last snowfall, now has a quarterContinue reading “On the Silence of Winter”
On Cat Pictures and Facebook Profiles
I don’t know who said it first, but I think it’s true — the Internet was made for cat photos. 🙂 Last week, Facebook upgraded my profile to the new profile page design. I’d heard wailing and gnashing of teeth from friends who upgraded their profile pages immediately after they were announced; I was contentContinue reading “On Cat Pictures and Facebook Profiles”
On This Week’s Scottish Musical Discovery
Every few months, I’ll discover a new and interesting band on Vic Galloway’s Scotland Introducing podcast for the BBC. While the main point of interest this week for me was two live tracks by The Seventeenth Century from Ally McCrae’s BBC Introducing in Scotland show, the podcast kicked off with a track from Aerials Up,Continue reading “On This Week’s Scottish Musical Discovery”
On My Childhood Superhero
I suppose it was inevitable that my life would end up surrounded by superheroes. My first job was in a comic book shop. I write about superheroes most every day of the week at work. Some would find this surprising, knowing how little of Marvel Comics’ output I read (right now, just Thor, and I’mContinue reading “On My Childhood Superhero”
On Longer Days
We know, from the days that we’re very small, that the length of day, from sunrise to sunset, grows and shrinks as time passes. In summer we have long days. In winter we have short days. The length of a day may change by a minute, two at most, from day to day, an imperceptibleContinue reading “On Longer Days”
On Gun Control, History, and Alternatives
Today I was called a “fucking idiot” on Facebook by someone who goes by the name Steamboat Guy. The reason? I suggested that if we, as a society, are unwilling to regulate and restrict gun ownership because of the Second Amendment, then we need other solutions to the problem of gun violence in the UnitedContinue reading “On Gun Control, History, and Alternatives”
On Coding Hijinks
Ever have one of those moments where you do something, and you think it’s brilliant, and then forty-eight hours later or so you crinkle the nose and say, “Wait, why did I do that again?” I spent part of last week in Code-land. I had some VBA macros to write. I’d had meetings in DecemberContinue reading “On Coding Hijinks”