Thoughts about three old sf stories

Here are some thoughts about three old sf stories. (These thoughts include spoilers.) The stories aren’t particularly connected to each other except by appearing in the same anthology. Story 1: “Environment,” by Chester S. Geier (1944) The two male human protagonists, who are the only characters in the story, constantly say each other’s names when […]

Excellent can opener

KTO recently gave me a nifty kitchen device: a Bartelli soft-edge ambidextrous can opener. Instead of cutting through the top of the lid of the can, it cuts through the side edge of the lid of the can. It has some advantages over traditional can openers: You don’t have to squeeze it to puncture the […]

Once Upon a Space Opera

At some point in the late 1980s, someone (I think Geoff H) suggested that it might be fun to create a Once Upon a Time variant based on the conventions/tropes of space opera. (In place of the fairytale tropes of OUaT.) So we cut a bunch of index cards in half and invited friends to […]

Life updates

Some assorted life updates: 15 days after my lower back started hurting, it’s feeling a lot better, though still some pain. (No advice, please.) I now have even more sympathy than usual for those of you whose back issues don’t go away. I posted my first post in the local Buy Nothing group on Facebook, […]

Some things to know before backing a crowdfunding campaign

Some general things to be aware of before backing a crowdfunding campaign: If you’re backing it before it gets fully funded: It may not end up getting funded. You’re not ordering a product; instead, you’re helping to provide funding for production of the product. There is no guarantee that the product will end up being […]

Hearing aids!

I’ve now acquired my first pair of prescription hearing aids! Some assorted notes and thoughts: The room where we sat while the doctor set up the hearing aids had a prominent sign on the wall prohibiting photos or audio or video recording. I was surprised and mildly put off—I never think to record discussions with […]

Today’s anniversaries

Today is the 43rd anniversary of my mother’s death. And today would’ve been my father’s 84th birthday. (It’s been nearly 19 years since he was killed.) I’m musing about what they might be like if they were still alive. It’s not so hard for me to imagine Peter at 84; I’m sure he would’ve continued […]

A knock on the door

(Content warning for description of opening my front door when someone knocked on it. I know that some of you get very upset about the idea of opening one’s door; you may want to skip this post.) The following is a description of a puzzling incident that happened in April (iIrc)—I wrote the description at […]

My recent medical stuff (all is fine)

A post about assorted recent and forthcoming medical stuff. Nothing bad here, all is well. (The thought of the comments that I would likely get on such a post was stressing me out, so I’m closing comments on this.) Content warning for a little bit of stuff about weight and BMI, though not much. This […]