Strength in Numbers.

Damn it, I missed Towel Day again. I had it marked on the calendar and everything, but somehow it completely slipped through the cracks until Dave, the training supervisor at work who is also a science fiction fan, burst into the office with a loud "Happy Towel Day, everyone!"

At least I can take small comfort in being the only person who knew what in the hell he was talking about - although admittedly, not everyone would find that a reason to be comforted.

- Sid

Housekeeping.

Over the three and a half years that I've been doing this blog, a few things have changed.  Blogger itself has added some features, and, to be honest, I've figured out how to do some things in the editing phase that I didn't realize I could do.  I've also recently added the little atomic swirl that I've been using as a marker at the end of posts.

However, this creates a bit of a dilemma for me.  Traditionally, I feel that when something is finished, it's finished.  As an example, I would like nothing more than for George Lucas to stop messing about with the Star Wars movies - yes George, it's wonderful that you have more money and better special effects capabilities, but I think that in their original form those movies represent a particular vision, a vision that was created using the tools available at that time.  I'm also not impressed by the remastered episodes of the original Star Trek that have started getting into circulation, the ones where the special effects shots of spaceships, planets, and so forth have been recreated to match current state of the art.  (And that stand out like sore thumbs compared to the other footage as a result.)

On the other hand, I am a big fan of consistency in documents, and it niggles at me that everything doesn't match up over time. I've also learned some little tricks that I think just make the postings look a bit nicer (it was surprisingly tricky to convince the HTML editor to put a space between the title and a picture).

So, here's the question: is it acceptable for me to go back and make changes to pictures, post videos, and add my little logo?  Or would I be making the same sort of egotistical mistake that's represented by all those director's cut DVDs?

- Sid

Clumsily written and scientifically incorrect?

A brilliant industrialist named Justin Cord awakes from a 300-year cryonic suspension into a world that has accepted an extreme form of market capitalism. It's a world in which humans themselves have become incorporated and most people no longer own a majority of themselves.

Jacket blurb for The Unincorporated Man 

After enjoying a pleasant brunch downtown at The Two Parrots this morning, I decided to enjoy the sunny weather and wander about for a bit.  Not surprisingly, my travels led me toward Chapters, and in I went for a casual browse.

I'm sure that there must be reams of manuals on shelf placement and book popularity, but suffice it to say that if an aisle is below a minimum width (as tends to be common with Chapters outlets) you're only going to browse the top two rows unless you're looking for something specific.  As a result, it's not a surprise that I noticed a large trade paperback of The Unincorporated Man, by Dani and Eytan Kollin, facing out on on the top shelf.
 
To my mild amusement, the cover contained the following bit of promotional drivel by Canadian SF author Robert J. Sawyer:

"Reminiscent of Heinlein--a good, old-fashioned, enormously appealing SF yarn. Bravo!" 

Umm....old-fashioned science fiction?...sigh...I guess it's too late to step back and take another run at that one, Bob?

- Sid

P.S.  Yes, I know perfectly well what he means, but as with a certain friend and the statement "Once we're on the plane, it will be clear sailing", there's just something a little bit askew in there.