Do you think that he still has his space suit?

If it wasn't for Yuri Gagarin, I never would have stopped.

I had plans to meet up with one of my coworkers from my previous job today, have a bite to eat and go for a beer.  We'd arranged to rendezvous in New Westminster, and since I didn't have anything important planned for the day I packed up the Nikon and headed down a couple of hours in advance so that I could play tourist.

I arrived at the restaurant a bit early, so I decided to do a quick turn around the block before going in.  As I rounded the second corner and headed up Begbie Street, I noticed that I was approaching the Arundel Mansions building, which frankly looked somewhat less palatial than its name would suggest.

As I went past the entrance, for whatever reason I glanced over at the door, just for a second.  I walked another 20 feet, and then stopped, as my mind caught up with the input from that momentary look, then headed back to look again.

Is everyone out there familiar with Yuri Gagarin?  Legendary Russian cosmonaut, the first man to reach outer space and orbit the planet? Died in a test flight accident in 1968?  How he would end up in a slightly seedy looking hotel in New Westminster is a strange enough question all on its own, but next door to Ella Fitzgerald?  Not to mention Lewis Carroll and Beatrix Potter, who really should be in apartments closer to A. A. Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh.  And as for classic novelists Antoine St. Exupery and Joseph Conrad, I can't imagine what their conversations in the elevator would be like, if in fact the Arundel Mansions enjoys the luxury of an elevator.

Oh, and Mr. A "Hilter", in #18? I'm sorry, Adolf, but if you're going to use an assumed name, you could at least do something more creative than just switching the third and fourth letters.

- Sid

Wrong question.

Lt. Commander Data: I have been testing the aphorism, "A watched pot never boils." I have boiled the same amount of water in this kettle sixty-two times. In some cases I have ignored the kettle; in others, I have watched it intently. In every instance, the water reaches its boiling point in precisely 51.7 seconds. It appears I am not capable of perceiving time any differently than my internal chronometer.

Commander William T. Riker: Why don't you turn it off?

Data: Sir?

Riker: Data, people do not have internal chronometers. Why don't you see what happens if you turn yours off?

Data: Thank you, sir. I will try that.

[Riker nods and gets up to leave, but stops]

Riker: Just don't be late for your shift!

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, Timescape

At work today, one of my co-workers noticed that I was standing beside the kettle with a tea bag, a mug, and a patient expression.  Quickly sizing up the situation, she cheerfully commented, "You know, if you watch it, it won't boil."

Without even pausing, I replied, "No, they tested that on Star Trek - Data boiled a kettle at the end of one episode and it boiled in the same length of time whether he watched it or not.  Riker told him to turn off his internal chronometer and try it again."

She shook her head and said, "I have no idea how you can remember these things!"

No no, not how, why…

- Sid

P.S. Yes, I am aware of the irony of putting up this posting immediately following my last entry, thank you for asking.

A '72 Zelazny, from the vines on the south side of the hill.

A few years ago, I decided that I should add some kind of personal information to my resume, give some kind of little hint as to what I did when I wasn’t at work.  After some deliberation, I added the following:

PERSONAL INTERESTS
Science fiction
Military history

Oddly enough, no one has ever asked me for my opinion of the relative merits of the Russian T-34 versus the German Panther or for an analysis of the Duke of Wellington's strategy at Waterloo, but for whatever reason the science fiction tag seems to evoke a response.  In a job interview with the ICBC about four years ago, one of the interviewers got this funny look in her eye and said, “So, science fiction…do you go to...conventions?”*  And, in the case of my recent change of jobs, I’ve already mentioned the questions about my blog, during the interview I was asked what my favourite sci-fi movie was**, and last week some co-workers solicited my opinion of Babylon 5, which for whatever reason had come up during their lunch conversation.***

Sigh...

Here I am with this comprehensive, almost encyclopedic knowledge of fantasy and science fiction, and no one ever asks me about anything but the pop culture aspects.

There are times when I feel like a connoisseur who has developed a vast knowledge of wines, liqueurs, whiskeys and other beverages, building it up piece by piece over a lifetime of sampling and evaluation.  I know histories, vintages, successes, failures; I can distinguish subtleties of flavour; and my shelves contain a complete range from the exotic to the traditional.  And what do people ask me about? The relative merits of wine-in-a-box.

- Sid

*  The answer is no.  To quote my friend Laurie, I'm not that kind of a doctor.

**  Star Wars, the first one.  Not necessarily the best science fiction movie ever, but I have my reasons.

*** Reasonable show, took it a couple of seasons to find its groove, but it was always hampered by the fact that all the supporting characters were more interesting than the leads.