Evening Thoughts

I fell yesterday afternoon. It was after 4 p.m. and Eric was just getting home. I was headed toward the staircase, for what reason I do not remember clearly. I tripped, possibly on my own feet, and hit the ground before my brain had registered that I was falling. My left knee and right arm hit first, I think, followed quickly by my face (the right side) and the rest of me. Based on the pattern of pain, the left knee and right shoulder took the brunt of the fall. My right arm was wrenched, and my elbow is sore. My left knee has an impressive bruise starting to develop. The knee itself feels like I twisted it a bit... not too much, but enough to cause pain. I was sure I would get a fat lip or black eye out of it, but my face hasn't swollen at all.

For almost a minute after I fell, I couldn't think or move. Eric came in the house, and I tried to call him. He heard something, because a moment later he was trying to help me. I don't believe I lost consciousness, but I really hurt myself. Inkwell was even worried about me. It took several minutes before I was able to get up, and then I downed some painkiller, which seemed to work to keep me from moaning the remainder of the night.

Today I've been hobbling around, trying not to go back to bed and sleep it off. I wanted to get things done, but somehow got caught up in watching a stream of the Eurovision contest (that is one bizarre thing). I suppose resting and Eurovision were just the thing...

So, Eurovision. The winning song was "1944" from the Ukraine. It's about the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in by the Soviets in the 1940s, and might have been a little too political for the contest. But it was allowed anyway, and beat Australia in a nail-biter of a final. Personally, I really liked the guys from Cyprus. The Russian song was just okay, but the graphics and performance were fairly mind-bending, and in my case stomach-churning.

However, the absolute best thing in the contest was "Love Love Peace Peace" by the hosts:

Ok, how about some other links?

I've been thinking about my tendency to drop the opening pronoun of sentences, and thought it might be a side-effect from learning Spanish. This article argues it's just the natural progression of language.

I need to reread this article about identity, because my first reading couldn't have possibly gotten all the nuance out of it. The article calls on Miss Marple to explain some of the ways identity has changed.

How many of these seven books that will probably never be printed again have you read?

Boing Boing has a 360 degree video of a tornado. You can actually drag the video around with your mouse to see all around the car and see what's happening in front or behind them as they storm-chase. Amazingly, at one point the chasers jump out of their vehicles to take photos. It's a testament to the insanity of the human race.

Ever heard of a mail-order home? Altas Obscura shares a tale from Reddit of one. Really cool... and some of the Reddit comments are impressive too.

If any man tries to, ever, make me wear high heeled shoes, I will beat him over the head with said shoes. I do NOT wear them, and will not wear them. Ever. Period. End of story. That said, a woman was dismissed from a job because she refused to go out and buy high heeled shoes to wear. That's prompted a bit of a backlash, including a petition to parliament. More at MeFi.

I suddenly have even less desire to fly the unfriendly skies. Apparently the TSA is even worse than it had been, which is impressive, honestly.

If anyone bothered to read my fiction piece on Friday, do you want more, or should I stick with non-fiction?

* * *
A comic con has shot itself in the foot, rather dramatically. Thanks to the magic of screencapping, the whole thing can be read even though the convention took down the post. In short, the official convention Facebook page complained about cosplayers wanting a free ride to the con with a goofy little post showing off a pretend conversation between a cosplayer and the convention. While I absolutely agree with the convention that no one at all should expect a free ride to a con, the message is a teeny-tiny bit unprofessional. Still, not the end of the world, right?

Wrong.

When people complained, the convention doubled-down: instead of apologizing for a post that offended some of their audience, they made things worse, calling some cosplayers "hot chicks in almost no clothes", "over sexual models" and "boob models". The organizer who is posting, who identifies himself as "Jim", also makes the claim that professional cosplayers aren't even fans of the people they are dressed as... in other words, he played the fake-geek-girl card.

Throughout it all, he's completely oblivious why his statements about some portion of cosplayers might possibly be offensive to the cosplayer community at large. Then he even claims he never called anyone names - forgetting his earlier "hot chicks" and "models" comments, apparently.

Jim also decides he's the one who gets to determine which cosplay is "real", saying the people he's deriding aren't real cosplayers, so no one should be offended. *facepalm* Seriously dude? You are going to man-splain cosplay to people? Really?

This naturally made a few people look closer at the convention, and guess what they found? A guest was announced before she had a contract with them... if they'd asked at all. This is a serious no-no in con circles. Conventions who do it cannot be trusted. It's one thing to have a contract then have a guest cancel. It's quite another to promote your con with a guest who hasn't yet been signed.

I hate to see any convention go up in smoke, particularly over something as stupid as a social media blunder. Hopefully the guest announcement was just miscommunication as well. But not matter the cause, this con has some work to do before their actual event to earn back goodwill... and if they don't try, then it's pretty clear they deserve whatever negativity they get.

And to all the con-runners out there: Social Media is a minefield. Do NOT post jokes that insult anyone on them. Someone will always be offended. Always. Just don't. You are a business, play it safe. If you have to rant, get a personal page. And, should you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. Apologize for causing offense and learn from the experience; don't defend your actions because you will continue to insult people.

Whew... I'm going to watch Peace Peace Love Love again to cheer up after that rant...

Inkwell and Emerald City Comicon

So... Inkwell...

One of the problems with having a cat and not knowing enough people here locally who are willing to cat-sit is that we generally end up taking Inkwell with us when we go over the mountains for an event like Emerald City Comicon. My folks are very tolerant about having a cat wandering the house I grew up in for the weekend, and good about feeding him, so it's usually not much of a problem.

Inkwell himself seems to have gotten ok with the idea of traveling across the state in his box, especially since I figured out that covering it helped him stay calm. And so the trip to Seattle for Emerald City Comicon on Friday evening was nearly entirely uneventful until we got over the pass and decided we needed to stop for dinner.

I generally don't try to feed Inkwell in the car because he's so stressed, but he was really calm and relaxed, so I gave him his kibble while Eric and I chowed down on soft tacos in North Bend.

We had maybe a half hour to 45 minutes left to my folks place, and after our meal we got back on the road. Inkwell, who had been quiet for almost the entire trip, started to meow. We reassured him we'd be stopping soon, but he continued to meow, then his meows took on a deeper, more desperate tone. I reached back and put my fingers into the carrier, and he sniffed them and meowed some more. Then he started his deep "LIFE REALLY SUCKS!" meows that sound like howls... and suddenly stopped.

I put my fingers back in the carrier, and he was right in front of the door. Just crouched up against it, which he doesn't do while in the car because that means he's on the "uphill" side of the carrier (which we belt into the back seat behind the driver). I pet him a little, and he batted at my fingers, so I figured he was ok.

When we got to my folks place, the first thing we always do is bring in the carrier and let him out. Well, he was out of the carrier like a little furry rocket when I opened the door. Usually he's a little cautious. I reached into the carrier to grab his food dish and touched the towel and pad he rests on... they were damp...

I'd forgotten a very important thing about Inkwell's eating habits. After he finishes his dinner, without fail, he goes to the litter box to pee. Every time. Just as soon as he finishes his last meal of the day, it's litter box time. And I'd given him his last meal of the day while he had no access to a litter box.

Oops.

I pulled out his padding and my mother washed it while we were at the convention. Inkwell, in the meantime, loves my parents house because it's a large house with lots of great places to hide (many years of accumulation, including lots of fabric because my mom is a quilter). So he vanished into the house, only appearing for skritches, meals, and to use his litter box.

Eric and I went to the convention, about which I'll write more soon. Sunday afternoon, Eric's Oz panel was our last event of the day, then we headed back to my parents house to pick up Inkwell and go. We'd packed up on Sunday morning as much as possible, and gotten the carrier ready. Inkwell is not stupid, and he recognized that he was going back in the carrier when Eric and I got back.

...

So he hid.

...

Boy did he hide.

...

He totally won at hide-and-seek.

...

Four adults searching for more than 30 minutes could not find him. We considered leaving him behind and letting my parents bring him home later in the week, but I didn't want to mess up their schedules. Eric and I both had work Monday morning, so we were getting increasingly desperate to find the little fuzzball. I tried to lure him out with treats, with more kibble, with stern commands. Nope. He was well-hidden.

As my mother and I were discussing whether or not he might have managed to get himself into a blocked-off windowsill, my dad exclaimed, "There he is!" and I rushed over. His face was peeking out of a shelf. He tried to duck, but I grabbed him and started a tug-of-cat to get him out. He was extremely well secured though, and started to growl at me. I was startled and let him go, and he vanished back into the dark.

I started removing items and discovered two bookshelves, one in front of the other. The one in back had a gap on a shelf where a hanging quilt was stored. The shelf in front was nearly completely full, just with a tiny gap, so it was impossible to see the hiding place. Inkwell was crouched on the hanging quilt, with no exit. It was an excellent hiding place, and one he'd apparently discovered and used for the entire weekend. My mom had been moving items in front of the shelves to see if she could find him, never realizing he was right there. He had apparently poked his head out when he thought the humans were gone to see what mom had moved, and my very quiet father had spotted him.

Well, Inkwell knew the jig was up, but wasn't going to go quietly to his doom carrier box. No, he crouched as far from me as he could manage and growled. I suddenly realized I could pull out the quilt he was on, which I did, much to his dismay. I grabbed him before he could jump back into the empty space and held the grumbling, struggling, shedding cat to me as I climbed back out of the storage area to the living room. He fought going into the carrier, but we got him in, then I had to clean copious amounts of cat hair off my arms and shirt.

We got out of Seattle a full hour later than we'd hoped to.

Inkwell was quietly seething the entire trip. Whenever we stopped and I checked on him he glared at me. He was also breathing heavily, back to his normal nervousness. I didn't try to feed him on the road.

When we finally got home and let him out, he seemed remarkably surprised and recovered very quickly. Eric fed him, we dragged stuff out of the car, and both fell into bed, exhausted. Inkwell was very skittish Monday morning when I pulled the pads out of his carrier to air them out, but otherwise got used to being home quickly. It was a pretty short trip over the mountains, and he's clearly hoping we won't take him anywhere any time soon.

A Sunday Review

Reckless Traveler by Walter Rhein.

Walter Rhein contacted me about two months ago after reading my review of Turn Right at Machu Picchu and asked if I could read his book about living in Peru. I was a bit reluctant: I was afraid with my current Hugo obsession I wouldn't want to take time out to read a non-fiction book. However, I agreed, and I started to read it chapter by chapter in between other readings. This is the perfect book for casual reading - almost every chapter stands alone well, and Rhein sprinkles in enough information within chapters to get the reader quickly back up to speed if it's been awhile between readings. Toward the end of the book I found I was reluctant to stop reading to get to other stuff, so I finished off the last third in a day... although it took me weeks of doling out chapters to get that far. There are 42 chapters, and each one is short and fun.

Ok, Spoilers ahead (use rot13 to read). V sbhaq gur svefg puncgre gb or n avpr vagebqhpgvba gb gur obbx nf n jubyr - gur nhgube vf ba n ohf fgbccrq ol zra jvgu NX-47f. Gur fvghngvba vfa'g erfbyirq hagvy gur svany puncgre naq jbexf irel avpryl nf n obbxraq gb gur frevrf. Vg jnf nyfb pbzcryyvat, znxvat zr jnag gb pbzr onpx naq frr jung unq tbggra uvz gb gung cbvag, juvpu vf n arng gevpx.

V jba'g tb puncgre ol puncgre, ohg fbzr bs gur zbzragf gung ernyyl fgbbq bhg sbe zr jrer gur puncgre ba orq ohtf naq gur arkg puncgre gung gnyxf nobhg gur nhgube'f lbhgu jvgu pbhfvaf jub jrer n ovg jvyq. Gur jubyr xvqarl fgbarf nqiragher jnf nznmvat gb ernq nobhg. V jnf nzhfrq ol gur sbyx xabjyrqtr gung ur rkcrevraprq va phevat vg. Va snpg, whfg nobhg rirel zrqvpny gnyr jnf unve-envfvat naq lrg nzhfvat. V pna fnl vg'f nzhfvat orpnhfr V qvqa'g unir gb yvir vg.

V ybirq gur gnyr bs Fcnavfu zvfgnxrf naq jung rirelbar gubhtug ur nfxrq gur jnvgre sbe. Gung jnf cevpryrff. Nf jnf gur gevc gb Znpuh Cvppuh jvgu uvf sevraq Tenql. Va snpg, gur ragver frpgvba jvgu Tenql jnf ernyyl sha gb ernq... evtug hc hagvy gur svany cnentencu bs puncgre 23, ng juvpu cbvag V chg gur obbx qbja naq nyzbfg pevrq sbe n zna V'q arire zrg.

Sbeghangryl, gur arkg puncgre jnf na nqiragher va uhzbe naq Xnsxnrfdhr ohernhpenpl. Gurer ner n pbhcyr zber ivfvgf gb gbhevfg fcbgf, zbfgyl gbyq va n jnl gung znxrf lbh ernyyl jnag gb tb purpx gurz bhg. Gurer ner nyfb fgbevrf nobhg grnpuvat gung znqr zr teva. Grnpuvat Gur Pnyy bs gur Jvyq gb n ohapu bs puvyqera jub unq ab pyhr jung fabj vf jnf ybiryl. V nyfb ybirq ubj ur uvq uvf xabjyrqtr bs Fcnavfu sebz gur angvir grnpuref. V'ir urneq bs crbcyr qbvat gung fbeg bs guvat orsber, whfg abg nf ybat nf gur nhgube fnvq ur pneevrq vg ba. V nyfb ybir uvf ivrj bs rqhpngvba naq jul cresrpgvba fubhyq abg or gur tbny. Irel avpr fghss gurer.

V jnf nyfb nzhfrq ol gur vapvqragf juvyr ur jnf n wbheanyvfg jvgu n cerff cnff. Lrf, gur guvatf ner zntvpny. V ybir zvar, nygubhtu V eneryl unir gb hfr vg. V gubhtug uvf rkcrevrapr jvgu gur Cerfvqrag jnf cerggl shaal. Ur qvqa'g qb nalguvat jebat, rvgure. Gur gevpx vf gung lbh ner gurer gb trg fbzr xvaq bs fgbel. Gung'f nyy ur arrqrq gb qb, naq urpx, ur qvq vg! V qba'g xabj vs ur jebgr nobhg vg sbe gur jrofvgr, ohg ur tbg vg sbe gur obbx, fb gung jbexf. Ur fubhyq unir oebhtug n cra naq abgrcnq jvgu uvz, nf jryy, ohg V'z vzcerffrq ur tbg nf sne nf ur qvq. Nzhfvatyl, ol yrnivat n yvggyr rneyl, ur znqr uvzfrys ybbx n yvggyr zber cebsrffvbany. Ur tnir gur vzcerffvba ur jnf bss gb svyr uvf fgbel. V ybir vg!

In conclusion, if you are any kind of traveler or, like me, wish you could be a traveler, this is a great book to read. I also heartily recommend it to younger readers, high school age. In fact, I wouldn't hesitate to give it to just about any teenager. The worst activities he gets up to, that he describes, involve drinking. And even those result in some lessons learned. But high school or college kids would get a lot out of the stories in this book - from the willingness to take risks to the understanding that sometimes bad things happen. I may have been reluctant to start this book, but I'm very glad I read it.

---

Television shows:

• Gotham: "Damned If You Do..." - An episode that sets up the new status quo, showing Penguin consolidating his power while Jim is demoted to street duty. There's a point in this episode where Bruce shows his twisted reasoning that will eventually lead him to take up the mantle of Batman - and shares that reasoning with Jim, who takes it to heart. And that's really the entire point of the show. Bad choices are made that result in horrible things with the goal towards creating a greater good. What are the consequences of those bad choices going to be on the people who made them? We also see Nygma falling further into mental breakdown with an interesting scene at a mirror. The Riddler has been both villain and anti-hero in the comics, this show may try to give him all the levels he's had in the comics.


• Doctor Who: "The Witch's Familiar" - Missy is truly an amazing character. I definitely see the roots of the original Master in her portrayal, along with the gathered insanity of the others. Her tricks in this one were lovely from a story standpoint. However, the absolute best moment of all came in the beginning, (spoilers) jura Zvffl vf gryyvat Pynen gur fgbel nobhg gur Qbpgbe naq Pynen fnlf gur Qbpgbe tbg njnl. Zvffl'f erfcbafr (naq gur ivqrb bs gur Qbpgbe nybat jvgu vg) znqr zr cnhfr gur fubj fb V pbhyq snyy bhg bs zl punve ynhtuvat: "Ab, ur'f gur Qbpgbe. Ur sryy vagb n arfg bs inzcver zbaxrlf. Ohg gung'f nabgure fgbel!" V'z abj tbvat gb fcraq fbzr gvzr guvaxvat nobhg inzcver zbaxrlf, V guvax. Gur bgure gryyvat zbzrag jnf jura Zvffl gevrq gb trg gur Qbpgbe gb xvyy gur qnyrx juvpu unq xvyyrq Pynen. Irel zhpu ure guvat. Was it a great episode? Yes and no. It had some moments, but it dragged a little in the middle.

---

Novella review:

• What Has Passed Shall In Kinder Light Appear by Bao Shu is one of the more interesting stories I've read this entire year. Originally I was a bit put off by it because I thought the writer was getting basic stuff wrong... then it hit me what was happening. At that point I started to really enjoy it. While it probably could have been a tad shorter, it was still quite excellent. I'm not sure about the ending, but the whole thing was so good that by the end I was enjoying it enough it almost didn't matter. In short, definitely a contender for my Hugo nomination ballot.

---

Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Aug 12th
• Justice League United #12 - So the team works after all? I wonder very much about Mera on the hunt for Aquaman all on her own, but at least Animal Man keeps his word. As for the rest, the team probably ought to listen to Etrigan on this one.
• Earth 2 Society #3 - Ok, I liked the bits with Lois' story, but I'm not really sure what to make of the rest. I'm not sure I get where this story is going.
• DC Comics Bombshells #1 - Ok, I'm in. The total subversion of the Batman origin was lovely. This is fun from start to finish, with a pleasant kind of art that amuses me. The stories are promising so far as well. I know Mera shows up soon, so I'm just going to really enjoy this book, I think.
• Arrow: Season 2.5 #11 - Well, that's kind of an anti-climax for the final scene, since we know he survives. In fact, all of season three is already over, so there's no question at all. This book was a neat enough idea, but it just falls down in places.
• Star Trek/Green Lantern #2 - For whatever reason, it took me forever to want to read this book. I literally would read the first page, say, "eh" and move on to a different book. Once I got past the first page, it wasn't bad, but honestly, I'm just not that interested in it. Which is strange, because usually I love cross-universe stories like this. I will just note that whoever is writing the book got the spectrum lanterns all wrong, as well. Oops.
• Empire Uprising #4 - Wow. Everyone in this book is pretty evil, but this guy takes the cake, I think. I also wonder about Lohkyn - I remember him from the original series. A good character, even though his fate was unpleasant. I'm not sure about that final splash, though. Going to have to keep reading.
• Rebels #5 - Honestly, this series feels like it's been going a lot longer than five issues, and I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I feel like I need to go back and reread the first four issues, though. There's stuff I feel like I'm missing.
• Secret Wars 2099 #4 - I really hate Miguel in this book. Roberta, on the other hand, is very cool. And seeing Hercules and Sub-Mariner trying to drink each other under the table was great.
• SpongeBob Comics #47 - I love the fishstick. I don't know why, but it really amused the heck out of me. The rest is more of the usual - fun if you like the humor in SpongeBob.
• Doctor Who 10th #14 - Oooo Pyramids of Mars references! Awesome. I wanna read more of this one, especially after that cliffhanger.
• Doctor Who 11th #15 - Well, 15 issues in we finally get the finish to the story that started in depression with a rainbow dog. Good stuff, and I'm glad we've sorted out Jones and ARC. I'm curious where the story will head next.
• Doctor Who 2015: Four Doctors #1 - Clara goes to stop a paradox but apparently causes the very paradox she went to prevent? Is that what I'm reading here? Good job Clara!

NOTE: This was a huge week, so my brain is a little fried... but people who want to read comics for Hugo purposes could do worse than to look at DC Comics Bombshells and/or Empire Uprising. I probably wouldn't bother with the Trek/Lantern crossover, but then again, it might get really good at the end. Bombshells is an interesting alternate take on the DCU in WWII, while Empire Uprising is all about the world when the bad guy has won and is trying to keep control of his empire.

---

Past Sunday Reviews -- My Kindle Wishlist -- Hugo 2016 Posts page

Another Travel Day

We had a pleasant evening with my family Monday night. My nephew was hanging out at my folks' place, and one of my older sisters came over with her husband and daughter for dinner, so there were nine people... which is about the number we used to have every Sunday for dinner when I was growing up. We had BLTs and chocolate milk and an incredible lemon cake with chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. I gotta say, it's one of the best meals I've had in a long time, especially when four of us started talking to Siri on four different devices to get silly answers.

I didn't sleep terribly well Monday night due to the lack of AC in my parents' house (people in the Seattle area don't have AC because it's a waste of money for the one week or so it's needed). I actually woke up about 4 in the morning to get online. We had a very slow start, loading up the car after getting showers and such. My sister Lisa was able to capture Inkwell, who was hiding, and we got him into the carrier fairly quickly. Then we were on the road again, this time down to Lacey, where Eric's parents now reside in Panorama City.

Eric's folks have a lovely place in what is essentially a giant retirement community. Eric's mom gave us a tour of the place, which was nice. Inkwell was allowed out of his carrier, but he was stunned to not be home and hid behind the litter box that we'd brought in for him. Eventually, he actually hid in the carrier, which he hates, because he was so upset and stressed.

We had a lovely lunch with Eric's parents, then took off for home. As we got on the road, we predicted getting home about 5 p.m. I expected we'd get home faster, but five-ish sounded right. We went over Highway 12, White Pass, which was a bit scary at times. I prefer I-90 because there are passing lanes. But with the construction, it was probably six of one and half a dozen of the other. Still, there was a semi-truck driver who was tailgating us on the pass and should have his license revoked. I was behind a camper and couldn't pass, and being tailgated was extremely nerve-wracking. Highway 12 is narrow, twisty and has dramatic drop-offs that were, frankly, terrifying for me. Add in the crappy drivers on a Tuesday afternoon, and I did not enjoy the drive.

I finally had Eric take over the wheel somewhere between the pass and Naches. He got us home. About 20 miles from home, he turned on the radio and the second song that came on was "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John. A stunningly appropriate song for our return from the annual Wizard of Oz convention.

Once home, Inkwell was the first to wander the house and investigate. He was happy to be home and made various happy meow sounds while I set out his water dish. We hauled in the rest of the stuff from the car and sat down... and that was that. We did as little as possible for the remainder of the day, figuring we have all day today (Wednesday) to get everything cleaned up, put away and ready for me to go to work tomorrow.

It's almost 10 a.m., and I'm finally up and moving around. I have the rest of the day to get unpacked, get clothing washed and prep for tomorrow's return to work. Yay. I'm very glad I took one more day off, because I'm barely moving yet and I'd hate to be at work and miserable. Instead, I hope to get back and be ready and raring to go.

Some last-minute thoughts...

With Eric and Karyl running next year's convention, I'm going to be able to lean on the con chair for submissions to the newsletter a little easier. Mwah-ha-ha-ha! *ahem* I plan on doing a bunch of stuff in the next year's worth of newsletters that I got suggestions on from people during the convention, including explaining long-standing convention traditions. Let's see if it all works.

I took over the research table for the International Wizard of Oz Club. I plan on pushing hard for it in Oz circles. The research table is an Oz-themed creative contest with three categories: Non-Fiction, Fiction and Artwork. I will be posting the rules and such soon for next year's contest. The awards will be announced at Oz Con International 2016 (Winkie Con 52) in Portland Oregon, but the prizes won't be awarded until the National Wizard of Oz Convention, which I think will be held in August in Philadelphia (but don't quote me on that, I'm going by memory from a quick conversation). The research table has cash prizes for all the categories, which makes it something that should be encouraged, in my opinion. In addition, we will print some/all of the fiction and non-fiction entries in the Winkie Con Program Book.

Journey from Oz

Monday morning Eric and I woke up early, before the time I set on my alarm to make sure we'd make our shuttle. We had no desire to eat at the hotel, considering how expensive it was. We figured the airport food would be an improvement in both price and taste. At least we'd have more options. So we scheduled the shuttle for 9:20 a.m. and got up and ready in plenty of time. We walked to the lobby and checked out, then waited for the shuttle.

We got to the lobby a little early, and the shuttle was a little late. The driver, Deirdre, was fantastic. The shuttle to the hotel nearly made me as sick as the plane, but the ride out was comfortable and smooth. Once at the airport, we got our tickets printed at the automatic booth, then considered our options.

The problem was that we didn't know what was beyond security, while there were a lot of food options on the non-boarding side. I asked an official-looking guy, but he wasn't sure (as it turned out, he couldn't have known what was behind each gate). His uncertainty decided me, and Eric and I stayed on the non-boarding side to get a breakfast at Jack in the Box. It was both cheaper and better than anything we could have gotten at the hotel.

Next up was security. I hoped I was ready, so we got in line and it went fairly quickly. I was stopped and told I had a "groin anomaly" and the lady who was scanning me apologized and said she was going to have to pat me down in the groin area with the back of her hand. She seemed genuinely sorry and asked if I wanted a private screening. As I didn't see a quick pat-down as likely to be a problem, I said she could just do it and braced myself. She quickly and gently patted the areas the little screen was showing as odd (there was an outline of a human body and two squares on it showing "anomalies"). Then another agent swabbed my hands to make sure I hadn't been handling whatever it is their machines are looking for. I was remarkably calm about it all. I didn't find the pat-down to be particularly intrusive. Twenty years ago it would have humiliated me, but I guess I'm old enough I just don't care anymore. So, there's a security nightmare I went through and survived. Yay me.

After going through security, we took an escalator up to the gates and found two small restaurants, a deli selling overpriced boxed food and a little bookstore place with flickering lights that gave me a headache. JitB had been a good choice and we were glad we ate before going through security.

At the gate, I went to the counter and chatted with an Alaska Airline agent whose name I should have gotten about possibly getting a window seat to help with my anxiety and nausea. She told me the flight was overbooked, so there might not be much chance, but as she looked at who had the window seat in our row, she looked startled for a second then said, "This might work." She promised to let me know a few minutes before boarding. I settled down to rest with Eric, tried to read, and then the anxiety began.

I had somehow managed to block out all thoughts of the flight completely until that moment. I was feeling slightly nervous, but no more so than any other trip I might take. But once I was at the gate and waiting, my anxiety crept out from wherever it had been hiding and I started to get really uncomfortable. I wanted to walk around, and did so for a bit. I tried to normalize my feelings and just act like it was an everyday thing for me. But whenever I looked out at the planes, I saw them crashing into the ground or burning or exploding. My brain was manufacturing disasters at a rate that made me sweat. I finally focused on my iPad and tried to ignore everything around me. I got a story read, and played some Doctor Who: Legacy. But the attack was ready to hit at a moment's notice.

The plane arrived and people started to disembark. The agent I talked with called a woman up to the counter, talked with her for a moment, and then called for me (actually Eric, but I saw what was happening and approached before she had to pronounce "Gjovaag"). The lady who had been called up had agreed to switch seats, taking the aisle seat. I heard the agent promise her some frequent flier miles for "helping her out". I thanked both the agent and the lady profusely, and was sternly told by the lady that I should not get sick in her row. I laughed weakly and went back to Eric. Then they started boarding.

We were in row 15, and apparently that would be one of the last rows to board. I waited as long as I could stand, then the full blown panic attack started and I got in line for the gate, despite it not being time for us yet. I explained to the gate agent, she waved us on after scanning our boarding tickets, and we headed down the ramp. I was sweating and shaking and really felt like I was going to attack something or run away, I wasn't sure which. The flight crew stopped me at the door, explaining that "someone is swimming upstream" and they wanted to give him room to get off the plane. I was mostly fine with that, but I found myself leaning against the outside of the plane and shaking. One of the crew asked if I was ok, and I explained that I was having an anxiety attack. They were immediately concerned, asked if I needed anything. I said I just needed to sit down on the plane soon.

Once the guy swimming upstream got off, the crew pointed me to my seat and said they would bring me some water. I got to the seat where the lady who had switched with us was already sitting. She saw my face and quickly got up and out of the way so I could sit. As soon as I sat down I started crying and shaking and just basically fell completely apart. They must have boarded everyone else while I got through most of my attack, because Eric helped me with my seatbelt and I got a cup of water and then we were ready to leave. In short, dealing with the anxiety attack passed the time quickly. The lady who switched seats with me offered Eric and I some Starburst candy, which we took.

The flight itself wasn't too bad. I saw at least two wildfires, a bunch of lakes that were outlined in brown... an effect of the drought, what I think was the Columbia River, Mt. St. Helens and finally Mt. Rainier. I slept a little, but I would nod off and start dreaming that I was falling through the sky, strapped into my seat... I'd jolt awake in terror and be in my seat and have another jolt of terror until I realized I was safe... then I would stare at the horizon until my stomach settled and I managed to get my breathing even again. I don't think I screamed. No one seemed too worried about me.

We were in the seats right in front of the emergency exits, which meant our seats couldn't recline. I think there might have been an extra inch or so clearance between us and the seats in front of us because of that. The people in front of both Eric and I reclined their seats, but I hardly noticed unless I compared them to the person on the aisle seat. In short, the Alaska plane was MUCH more comfortable.

Coming into SeaTac we did a u-turn over Seattle, basically over the Space Needle, in fact. I also spotted the Tacoma Dome, which was the first landmark in the Seattle area I recognized from the air. The descent was a little bouncy, but I was mostly ok with it. Once we were on the ground, the anxiety vanished like a puff of smoke. All that was left was relief.

SeaTac is much bigger than San Diego's airport, and we almost got lost trying to find our way out to the designated meeting spot with my mom. Once she arrived, we jumped in and she gave Eric and much-desired Cherry Coke and me a Fierce Melon Gatorade. Life was good. I survived. I won't have to fly to the Oz Con next year... it will be in Portland, Oregon, which is a mere three-hour drive from home.

We still have to drive back home from my folks' place today, though my understanding is that we'll be starting out by traveling down to Olympia to see Eric's folks. So, lots more traveling ahead.

A long day of travel...

Honestly, I meant to blog that I'd safely arrived in San Diego last night, but I ended up forgetting to due to my utter exhaustion. I really don't handle flying well. But here I am. I'm not happy with the room we were given, but other than that I'm fine. I think. I have work to do today, so I'm off to see the Wizard of Oz convention...

Over the mountains and through the woods...

...to my folks house we go. First stage is done. We're in the Seattle area until our flight to San Diego. I'm going to be mostly off the grid until then.

A Guide to Strange or Obscure Places

My attention was first drawn to Atlas Obscura by the story of the man who never was. I quickly learned that it's a fascinating site with stories that you aren't likely to read elsewhere. The site calls itself "...the definitive guide to the world's wondrous and curious places," and it seems to live up to the description.

I also enjoyed the articles on the Mississippi River Basin Model, Jefferson Davis Capture Site, the Myra Necropolis and Indian Key... in particular. I've found very few of the articles on the site disappoint me.

I found the report on Jimi Hendrix's Grave to be a bit close to home. Literally. His grave is within walking distance of where I grew up. Well, more like an easy bike ride, but Greenwood Memorial Park is definitely in my old stomping grounds.

This picture doesn't look accurate to me. It's not raining.

Home, Resting

I have a job this afternoon installing a printer and possibly cleaning some malware off a computer, but otherwise just trying to recover. I'll blog later.

Apparently I'm a Cat Now

When the three of us arrived at the hotel we have reservations for tonight, we were told that the room was reserved for two. The guy refused to charge us extra, and we decided that I'm a cat staying in the room. No pet fees. Yay.

This morning when I woke up I was at sea level. I'm going to sleep tonight at 3500 feet.

I'm in California...

...and my house-sitter and her Rotweiller are enjoying my home. *sigh*

Anyway, we made it to Oregon last night, then got up bright and early and headed down to California this morning. We will be in Asilomar at the Winkie Convention tomorrow afternoon. At the moment we are in a place that has a temperature that makes me melt when I step outside. Asilomar, being on the Monterey peninsula, has much more sane temperatures that are similar to Seattle. Which means I'll be bundled up since I'm used to Eastern Washington temps.

I may be posting a bit about the convention while I'm there, but not a lot else, I'm afraid. We have lots of plans, a full car, and high hopes for a great con. If you want to try to follow it live, visit my Twitter (over on the sidebar). I'll try to tweet during the evening programs if I can get an internet connection (which is sometimes tricky).

So... highlights of the drive... um... trees. I saw three deer along the side of the road, watching traffic as they calmly ate grass. We passed a lot of trucks. There are some nice rest stops along the I5 corridor. And some not-so-nice ones, too. We spotted, to our immense surprise, a familiar car belonging to another Oz fan while stopped at the California border for the inspection. I wonder if they saw us? And now it's probably time for dinner. So I think I'll log off and see if my traveling companions want to risk being melted by the sun and high temps to go find food.

A Conversation on the Road

"Hey, Laura, what's that oversize load there?"

"Huh, I dunno, Lisa. Looks like a little house..."

"Ha, yeah, a really little house. Maybe it's an outhouse!"

"Yeah, right! Seriously, I wonder what it is..."



"..."

"..."



"I didn't know they came prefab."

"EVEN THE FREAKING ROCKS! EVEN THE ROCKS IN THE WALLS! THEY'RE ALL PREFAB! THE RESTSTOP IS A LIE!"

Random Thoughts on Current Topics

Airport Security

Let's start with airport security, since it's hitting the news hard right now. Let's make it clear: I haven't been on a plane in over 10 years. My last plane trip was to San Diego Comicon 2000, and was fairly pleasant. But I get sick on planes, violently sick. Although I've managed to never throw up on a plane, there have been a number of close calls and at least one mad dash through a terminal to the nearest bathroom. So even if I could afford plane trips and had somewhere to go, I would avoid planes if possible. But in addition to my airsickness, there's now the choice between getting x-rayed or groped to contend with.

Pat-downs were a necessary evil, so we thought. But the enhanced pat-downs they are now conducting are sexual assault and should be made illegal. An article about a guy threatened with fines for leaving the airport after refusing to be abused is currently making the rounds, and while a few people feel it's no big deal and he should have given in, many others are overly aware of the dangers of allowing security personnel to physically abuse travelers who haven't done anything wrong. And if you think x-ray scans aren't a big deal, you aren't a pilot who travels constantly and is forced to endure way higher than reasonable amounts of radiation.

But what's the alternative? How about common sense? There are ways to protect the public that don't involve sexual assault or physically damaging x-ray scans. In fact, the current TSA security theater probably does less to protect the public than the old ways. I think the TSA should be charged with making intelligent changes to the system, banning stupid theatrics and useless gadgets, and until then I don't think anyone should fly if they can at all help it. But then, what do I know?

Plagiarism

Another big Internet story is the tale of Plagiarism in college. Apparently a guy (or gal) in the business of writing custom papers for college students has written a tell-all article about the profession and what it means for the world. In short, it appears that an awful lot of people who can't write to save their lives are passing because they or their parents have enough money to pay someone else to write for them. The big argument is whether this is a flaw in the education system itself, in the expectations for the education system, or something else. But it does explain how some complete morons have been able to get through school when they should have flunked out of any writing-intensive course they took.

When I was in college, I helped a few classmates with papers. It wasn't me writing the paper. They would write a draft and I would go over it correcting spelling, grammar, and sometimes helping them to clarify a poorly expressed thought. The original work was theirs and the final work was theirs, but I helped the process along. I never got paid in cash and I never considered it anything but being helpful, and a way to practice my own writing skills. When I make an effort (unlike on this blog, which is pretty much all rough draft) I can write like a professional. In college I also worked in the writing center and did pretty much the same job, only I was expected to teach a bit as well. Even now I have a... let's say friend... taking university classes who sends me papers to correct. I like doing it. For me, it's a great deal of fun. I enjoy writing and editing. But the thought of writing someone else's paper for them makes me sick.

Reading the original article makes me feel like some sort of sucker for doing all my own work in college. I never once plagiarized, even though there was one incident in which it might have earned me a passing grade (I still hate Clarissa). I never cheated, because I was paying a whole lot of money for an education, and cheating doesn't result in brains. But perhaps it results in success. To be honest, I feel bitter about it and angry that students get away with cheating. I'm particularly horrified to read comments from teachers who can't flunk students who cheat because they get sued by those same rich families that paid for the bogus papers.

I guess the only way to avoid cheating is to force students to do all their writing in class, which will take away from time to teach. But I gather that the costs to universities of failing students who ought to be failing is too high, so my own degree is becoming increasingly worthless as more and more certifiable morons are graduated from schools only because they are rich enough to afford to cheat.

Winkie Convention Report for Non-Oz Fans

If this works, anyone reading this on the blog itself should only see this paragraph. Folks reading the feed will get the whole post, sorry. If you want to read about my trip to the Winkie Convention, it's down below...

The Reason We Didn't Go Swimming in Willows CA

My Car...

Is a trooper. It outperformed our calculated gas mileage, which left us with gas money credit for a rainy day.

Home...

...And I think I shall fall in bed and sleep as soon as we've eaten dinner. Eleven and a half hours of driving is about 8 hours too much for me to handle in a day.

Linkdump

Flu Diagnosis Chart.

If you don't want to recycle those plastic bottles down at the transfer station, try turning them into a chandelier.

Gonzo as Davros.... it actually works... Now, I can't help but start casting my own Muppet Doctor Who. Let your imaginations loose on that one!

Better artificial bones: Made of Wood.

Here's yet another example of why I don't like flying, you can be held prisoner by the airlines.

This is old, but check out this intense video of citizens saving children from a burning car.

Another hard look at health care in "How American Health Care Killed My Father".

Pug (puppy) for the in-laws.

Over the Pass, And Through the Woods...

We left at 10am in order to make sure we got over Snoqualmie Pass by nightfall. We allowed plenty of time. Good thing, too. We stopped for lunch in Cle Elum, where I took a little picture of an icicle:


The trees on the way up to the pass were beautiful!


But the road was filled with writhing Snow Snakes. At least we could see the pavement under the snakes. For awhile.


Higher into the pass it got a little hairier. I was glad Eric was driving, as I'm a total snow wimp.


And the road...


...gradually...


...vanished...


...under...


...the ice...


You can see the Tunnel in this image. We were both glad to see it, because it meant we were very close to the Summit.


Other vehicles, including a LOT of cars, pulled over to chain up. We braved the remainder of the pass in our non-traction tires.


Road conditions were grim.


Other drivers were stupid.


The scenery was fantastic and threatening.


The famous Snoqualmie roadside waterfalls were frozen.


And it didn't get any better after we summitted and headed back down toward Seattle!


In fact, the road got even worse for a bit...


...culminating in a section of road where Snow Devils danced across, obscuring vision and gusting on the laboring freight trucks. I took one final picture, then held on to my seat for dear life.


And then we reached North Bend, and the rain started. We suddenly both felt a lot more comfortable, and I drove us to my parent's house, where the snow was still thick and falling. We almost didn't get away from my parent's house, as the car got stuck in a drift and Eric and my dad had to push it out! The same situation at Eric's parent's house, where we are staying. The main roads were fine, the side roads were a nightmare. We even had a little spin out as we neared his parent's place. Luckily, Eric is a skilled driver and managed to keep the car on the road.

Now, as I sit here writing this, I can hear the rain pounding the roof and have hopes that by the time we have to go out again on Saturday the snow will be mostly gone.

So, Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you are all safe and warm tonight!