Gnomic Statements XII.

You know, Emilia Clarke does look like the young Linda Hamilton!

- Sid

Geekmas.

It’s December 1st. American Thanksgiving and Black Friday are now behind us, I received my first Christmas card last week – apparently the holiday season has arrived, and with it, the challenging question of gifts for geeks such as myself.

Between Secret Santa at the workplace and my friends, I felt that there were enough people seeking guidance for holiday gift buying that some hints regarding affordable stocking stuffers would be useful.  I’ve split the options into four convenient categories:  books, movies, mugs, and hats.

To avoid overlap, if you do plan to purchase one or more of these items for me, just leave an anonymous comment with your choice of gift, and I’ll remove it from the list.  (If you’d like me to buy YOU one of these items, leave a comment with your name included.)

Books
I don’t usually recommend books as one of my gift options, but conveniently there are a couple of things unpurchased on my books-to-buy list.  The Peripheral, William Gibson’s new book, is currently out in hardcover, and I was intrigued enough by Sebastien de Castell’s presentation at the Vancouver Writer’s Fest that I'd like to read his book, Traitor’s Blade.  In addition, the fourth James S.A. Corey Expanse book, Cibola Burn, is also available.

Movies
The Evil Doctor Smith has already requested a short list of gift options, and called dibs on my top two blu-ray* choices, Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men: Days of Future Past.  However, there are still some options out there.  For example, I don’t have any of the Star Trek movies on blu-ray.  (Star Wars and Lord of the Rings are covered, thank you.)  My movie collection also lacks many of the classic SF/horror films such as Them**, The Thing (the black and white version, that is), The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and so on, although I did just buy the original Michael Rennie version of The Day the Earth Stood Still.  The Keanu Reeves version?  Perhaps less interested.

Mugs
I have a fairly large collection of souvenir mugs – after all, if you’re careful, a good mug will last for decades, failing unfortunate dishwashing accidents.  However, only a couple of my mugs are SF or fantasy related, which offers a wide open field for gift giving.  To avoid duplication, I already have a classic logo Doctor Who mug and a large TARDIS mug from last year’s Secret Santa.  The TARDIS mug has actually never had tea in it, I view it as more decorative than practical – there’s a reason that there aren’t a lot of square mugs out there.

Hats
Because I’m bald, I’m a dedicated hat wearer, generally in the style that I think of as baseball caps.  I’ve never gone looking, but there must be someplace out there that sells hats with Starfleet logos and the like, they can’t all be sports related.  Bonus points for hats duplicating actual hats worn in movies, such as Con-Am 27 or Nostromo caps. Nota bene: I do NOT want one of those Jayne Cobb Firefly hats, that’s not my style at all. Oh, and fabric all the way around, please, no meshbacks. Too much rain in Vancouver for that.

This list is designed to max out well under the fifty dollar mark per item.  However, if someone has a desperate desire to spend $120,000 USD on a 105 inch Samsung UN105S9W TV set for me, I will not stand in your way.  Happy holidays!

- Sid

* Yes, I realize full well that physical media is dead, thank you, but I still like blu-ray.  The resolution is good, video streaming lag isn’t an issue, and you don’t have to wonder whether or not something is available on Netflix.

** Giant mutant ants, 1954. Scared me to death when I first saw it on TV at the age of ten.  Features a Who's Who of actors who went on to greater fame in other roles:  James Whitmore, Fess Parker, James Arness, and a brief uncredited speaking role as an Army sergeant for one Leonard Nimoy. Coincidentally, James Arness also appear in the titular role of The Thing.

 

Better living through science - or not.

Recently I've found myself doing this whole experimental routine in the men's room - will the toilet flush automatically?  Where's the sweet spot to get the tap to emit water? If I move my hands counter-clockwise will it get hotter?* Let's see, is the soap manual or sensor-based?  How do I get a paper towel? (How do I get the paper towels to stop?)

And every time I go through my robot-influenced dance performance in front of a paper towel dispenser, I think of this prophetic section from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

A loud clatter of gunk music flooded through the Heart of Gold cabin as Zaphod searched the sub-etha radio wavebands for news of himself.  The machine was rather difficult to operate.  For years radios had been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then as the technology  became more sophisticated the controls were made touch-sensitive - you merely had to brush the panels with your fingers; now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure of course, but meant that you had to sit infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same programme.

Seriously, is the bathroom a place where you want to "wave your hand...and hope"?

- Sid

* Wait, this may be a brilliant idea.  Let's get on that, Science.