(![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
james_davis_nicoll Sep. 5th, 2025 08:59 am)
james_davis_nicoll Sep. 5th, 2025 08:59 am)
A scholar's insight yields unexpected harvest.
The Memory of the Ogisi (The Forever Desert, volume 3) by Moses Ose Utomi
A scholar's insight yields unexpected harvest.
The Memory of the Ogisi (The Forever Desert, volume 3) by Moses Ose Utomi
Not quite full moon but a nice clear sky for London, so I dug out my trusty 500mm mirror lens and a 2X converter and put it onto my micro 4/3 camera, so effective magnification was about equivalent to 2000mm on full frame 35mm. At some point I really do need to sort out a tripod that I can use from my bedroom window, which is fairly high up, for this one the camera was resting on a pillow on the window sill and probably not completely motionless. This is uncropped and has not been edited in any way.
Larger versions here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/150868539@N02/54764983482/in/dateposted-public/
Larger versions here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/150868539@N02/54764983482/in/dateposted-public/
Talking to someone a couple of hours ago, I realised I moved to this house in Guildford in September 1995. And then checking the calendar, I realised I moved in on this date.
Some of you may have worked out that this was just after Intersection, the first Glasgow Worldcon. In fact, the people I was buying the house from wanted me to move in the weekend of the convention, but, as I was a division head, I needed to be at the convention. The plan was to move on Monday, the 4th. Then there was delay completing the sale of my flat in Lewisham. I had intended to leave Glasgow on the Friday but I had to leave early to get money from from my savings to pay the deposit to complete the purchase. For a whole week I owned two properties. But I did move on time.
Some of you may have worked out that this was just after Intersection, the first Glasgow Worldcon. In fact, the people I was buying the house from wanted me to move in the weekend of the convention, but, as I was a division head, I needed to be at the convention. The plan was to move on Monday, the 4th. Then there was delay completing the sale of my flat in Lewisham. I had intended to leave Glasgow on the Friday but I had to leave early to get money from from my savings to pay the deposit to complete the purchase. For a whole week I owned two properties. But I did move on time.
Tags:
(james_davis_nicoll Sep. 4th, 2025 10:12 am)
james_davis_nicoll Sep. 4th, 2025 10:12 am)
These stories have been going for at least 15 years or more...
Getting Lost in the Archives: Five Long-Running SFF Webcomics
Tags:
The malevolent Hierarchs are dead. The only way to learn about them is archaeology. The only thing worse than archaeologists not finding the relics of evil sorcerers is finding relics of evil sorcerers.
Queen Demon (The Rising World, volume by Martha Wells
Tags:
The Morris Federation are doing a recruiting push, backed up by a lot of short videos. Here's the one for Anonymous Morris
We're a team with wide variation in age, etc. See my family photo!. 
(I'm the oldest one. The rest are my son, daughter-in-law, grandson (very young) and my grand-daughter by my daughter. Theo and Oswin, you can deduce, are cousins.
Dreamwidth's photo hosting is clunky beyond belief... I do wish they'd put a bit of effort into making it work better.
Tags:
Both of Premee's cats have been found and returned.
Bears ands girls has beens doing stuffs heres in wiens, wes hopes to dos evens mores. Wes hopes tos spends ans extras days heres. wills knows soons. Best fishes tos alls
Tags:
(james_davis_nicoll Sep. 3rd, 2025 08:50 am)
james_davis_nicoll Sep. 3rd, 2025 08:50 am)
A fantastic quest may be a semi-divine repeat offender's chance for redemption.
Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’En (Translated by Julie Lovell)
Tags:
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
We are taking a break this week, too many miles in the car last weekend.
Annie Lore, Valerie Housden, Graham Leathers, Mitchell And TJ Burnside Clapp, Renee Alper & Stan Logan, Jordin Kare, Mary Bertke, Tera Mitchel, Urban Tapestry, Judith Hayman, Bill Maraschiello, Steve Macdonald & Mary Ellen Wessels, Downtown Freddy Brown, Juanita Coulson, Anne Passovoy, Meg Davis
Available on iTunes, Google Play and most other places you can get podcasts. We can be heard Wednesday at 6am and 9pm Central on scifi.radio.
filkcast.blogspot.com
Annie Lore, Valerie Housden, Graham Leathers, Mitchell And TJ Burnside Clapp, Renee Alper & Stan Logan, Jordin Kare, Mary Bertke, Tera Mitchel, Urban Tapestry, Judith Hayman, Bill Maraschiello, Steve Macdonald & Mary Ellen Wessels, Downtown Freddy Brown, Juanita Coulson, Anne Passovoy, Meg Davis
Available on iTunes, Google Play and most other places you can get podcasts. We can be heard Wednesday at 6am and 9pm Central on scifi.radio.
filkcast.blogspot.com
Kumas is ins Wiens. this is ins Austrias. Bears ands girls has beens ridings lots ofs trains.
Bears founds places ats trains stations thats hads fishes , buts could nots gets girls tos buys somes. Girls dids buys some bits ofs fishs ons somes rices. Nots whats bears wanteds.
Bears is seeings lots ofs europes.
Bears founds places ats trains stations thats hads fishes , buts could nots gets girls tos buys somes. Girls dids buys some bits ofs fishs ons somes rices. Nots whats bears wanteds.
Bears is seeings lots ofs europes.
Tags:
I haven't been writing much about Lisa's trip because parts of it were not that great, but as we head into the last couple of weeks, I'm happy to report that something has gone well. Lisa asked if I could get her a hotel reservation in Vienna, which is convenient to Munich. It turns out that IHG has two hotels in their Garner brand (relatively new brand, Europe only, and I think they're using it for their acquisition of existing hotels unlike the new-builds like Holiday Inn Express). After some study, I found that I could book a room at the Garner across the street from Vienna HBF for a lot fewer points than the ill-starred HIX in Lucerne. (IHG thankfully refunded me the points from that stay.) Lisa reports the hotel is nice — much nicer, including nicer staff, than that one in Switzerland. She's visiting a local railroad museum and other attractions, and sounds happy.
She may do one more trip before flying home in a couple of weeks. She has an ambition to visit the smallest country in the world that does not have a railway station — at least an active station attached to the rest of the adjacent railway network. We'll let you know if that turns out. Meanwhile, I'll leave you to puzzle over which country we're talking about.
She may do one more trip before flying home in a couple of weeks. She has an ambition to visit the smallest country in the world that does not have a railway station — at least an active station attached to the rest of the adjacent railway network. We'll let you know if that turns out. Meanwhile, I'll leave you to puzzle over which country we're talking about.
Why are morning hours so long?
Each one lasts at least two hours
By lunchtime it is teatime
By teatime I am ready for bed.
My favourite day starts after nine am
and rushes through to lunch
at two pm
Why are afternoon hours long
When I get up too early?
The whole day drags by slowly
until eachc hour lasts three at least
My favourite day starts after ten am
and rushes through to lunch
at three pm
Each one lasts at least two hours
By lunchtime it is teatime
By teatime I am ready for bed.
My favourite day starts after nine am
and rushes through to lunch
at two pm
Why are afternoon hours long
When I get up too early?
The whole day drags by slowly
until eachc hour lasts three at least
My favourite day starts after ten am
and rushes through to lunch
at three pm
Another SF bundle, the 2024 revised edition of Fragged Empire, a post-post apocalyptic tabletop roleplaying game from Design Ministries:
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Fragged2E
Briefly, Humanity has gone extinct 15,000 years in the future, and the heirs - eight bio-engineered species - have to pick up the pieces and "rebuild the galaxy".
While this edition is new, a January 2023 bundle offered the first edition and some other games as alternatives to D&D. The current version seems to be a playable system and is well presented - there are a few instances of the "men in heavy armour / women in tight revealing clothing" school of art, but it's not as ridiculous as some other examples I've seen. It's reasonably priced and I think it's worth a look if you like SF RPGs.
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Fragged2E
Briefly, Humanity has gone extinct 15,000 years in the future, and the heirs - eight bio-engineered species - have to pick up the pieces and "rebuild the galaxy".
While this edition is new, a January 2023 bundle offered the first edition and some other games as alternatives to D&D. The current version seems to be a playable system and is well presented - there are a few instances of the "men in heavy armour / women in tight revealing clothing" school of art, but it's not as ridiculous as some other examples I've seen. It's reasonably priced and I think it's worth a look if you like SF RPGs.
The 2024 revised edition of Fragged Empire: fifteen thousand years in the future, humanity has gone extinct, but eight engineered species rule the wonders that remain.
Bundle of Holding: Fragged Empire 2E
Tags:
![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
Per the ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_news post regarding the MS/TN blocks, we are doing a small code push shortly in order to get the code live. As per usual, please let us know if you see anything wonky.
There is some code cleanup we've been doing that is going out with this push but I don't think there is any new/reworked functionality, so it should be pretty invisible if all goes well.
I will be too busy to post tomorrow.
2012: O2 offers free wifi to multitudes, which I only now realize may be have been referenced in Kingsman, researchers determine that despite a century having passed, the Titanic remains at the bottom of the Atlantic, and in a glorious celebration of the effectiveness of the modern British educational system, doctors warn Britons not to drink liquid nitrogen.
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2012 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers
Embassytown by China Miéville
Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear
Rule 34 by Charles Stross
The Postmortal by Drew Magary
The Waters Rising by Sheri S. Tepper
2012: O2 offers free wifi to multitudes, which I only now realize may be have been referenced in Kingsman, researchers determine that despite a century having passed, the Titanic remains at the bottom of the Atlantic, and in a glorious celebration of the effectiveness of the modern British educational system, doctors warn Britons not to drink liquid nitrogen.
Poll #33559 Clarke Award Finalists 2012
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 47
Which 2012 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
View Answers
The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers
0 (0.0%)
Embassytown by China Miéville
22 (46.8%)
Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear
6 (12.8%)
Rule 34 by Charles Stross
34 (72.3%)
The Postmortal by Drew Magary
1 (2.1%)
The Waters Rising by Sheri S. Tepper
7 (14.9%)
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2012 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers
Embassytown by China Miéville
Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear
Rule 34 by Charles Stross
The Postmortal by Drew Magary
The Waters Rising by Sheri S. Tepper
Tags:
.