Control over communications in Vinge’s Zones of Thought books
(Quasi-spoilers here for all three Zones books, in that if you've got this idea in your head as you read,...
“I want to hear it in your own words”
Another writing trope that bugs me, this time one I've seen as often in published fiction (and on TV shows)...
Dragon Award deadline impending
Dragon Con is running an award this year, the Dragon Award. They had a nominations phase that's now over; voting...
Pournelle on ebooks, from 1980
Late in 2015, I read an issue of Destinies (a “paperback magazine”) from 1980; it included a piece by Jerry...
The art of repeating the question on panels
We had a discussion last week on Facebook about the importance of con panelists using microphones (publicly visible post), but...
Do you ask people questions about themselves?
My friend L and I had been hanging out together for a few months, but they almost never asked me...
Who gets to pick what’s on the Hugo ballot?
I just posted this as a comment on Scalzi's blog entry about the Hugos, and figured I ought to post...
My plan for today
Home from Worldcon. What I want to do today but will try to refrain from doing: Spend all day reading...
Dream: Mega-mall plus crumbling ancient ruins
Dreamed I was hosting a social event but decided, an hour before it was scheduled to start, to briefly stop...
Belated update on E Pluribus Hugo
Here's a detailed analysis of the effects that the E. Pluribus Hugo proposal would have had on the 2014 and...
Moderators: Don’t try to guess audience members’ genders
A note to convention panel moderators: when you're calling on audience members, please don't attempt to identify them by gender....
My Worldcon schedule
At MidAmeriCon, I'll be on four panels (two of which I'm moderating). I also hope to attend most of the...