I was pushing hard to finish a book (Plot & Structure) and shodoshan was busy trying to finish sewing a new bodice for her ren faire outfit. I finished the book, and jumped to my feet and headed towards her (because she was going to read it next). We met in the hallway between the doors of our rooms, as she was coming to show me the finished bodice.

Synchronicity!

Current Mood: amused

Westercon 62 was fantastic. It's definitely a cream of the crop convention, almost entirely authors, editors and agents. I haven't had this busy of a schedule since Denvention last year.

San Jose won the bid to be Westercon 64 in 2011. I was the party mascot, mostly just keeping the conversation light and pouring bottle after bottle of my own wine to the guests. I'm glad that so many people enjoyed the wine, and the party.

Current Mood: pleased

After a full weekend in Reno, I repacked and headed out to Thunderhill for a racing school. I have to swap tires and replace broken windscreen and rearsets in the morning before practice so sleep bekons...

Current Mood: exhausted

shodoshan and I just got back from an excellent weekend in Reno. I picked up my newly rebuilt Superbike from Zoran, and we visited with her mom the rest of the weekend. Kayla spent the night at a childhood friend's house, while we went to see shodoshan's adolescent haunts.

This was a fun full weekend that had nothing to do with obligation, a first in quite a while for both of us. We should do this more often.

• 20:50 beneath the bridge waiting for bats. #
• 21:48 a sad lack of bats tonight. we saw many, but no cloud. #

• 20:09 At BASFA for the first time in years. #

• 16:28 $175 for my old LPs. awesome. #
• 16:29 a sad day - Stacys Bookstore is now an empty carcass. #

• 10:05 Clean digitty dogs. That was overdue. #

• 17:28 i am at the EQCA legal update. I'll be tweeting this. #
• 17:41 it's all well-groomed men here, not a single woman in sight except for the EQCA gals. #
• 17:47 alright a few well-groomed lesbian couples have arrived. #
• 18:49 EQCA has hired 25 fulltime people to do ground work for helping change public opinion. #
• 18:50 these are focus in counties where we lost badly that have lots of votes - LA, San Diego, etc #
• 18:51 They are no longer working with consultants who did the reactice, negative campaign last year. #
• 18:52 Marc Solomon is running campaign - came out from successful Massachusetts campaign. #
• 18:53 EQCA needs our money to support Prop8 recall. #
• 18:54 i'm trying to decide if they are doing a better job, better focus. #
• 18:54 i spent a lot of money with them last year. smoking hole in budget kind of money. #
• 18:55 is the money going to a well-focused group this time? This is the question. #

Yesterday was not a good day to interact with me. I was deeply, deeply angry about the California Supreme Court's decision to allow a majority vote to strip rights from a minority. This is not a state I want to live in any more.

I'm wondering if perhaps it is time for enlightened people to provide an object lesson to California.

The tech industry that provides so much tax income for the state isn't here for any other reason than because it started here, and it congregates here. The truth is that the entire tech industry could move elsewhere. Yes, I'm saying that enlightened people should walk away from a state willing to be controlled by mob rule, and go to a place much more enlightened.

I mean, hello -- Iowa and Maine have demonstrated more clue.

So let's ask ourselves. Are you willing to move to someplace better? I would. I'd hate to leave California's beautiful parks and oceans. But if we could move...

We should consider leaving a large smoking hole where California's tech industry used to be. Drain california's brain power. Leave it to Hollywood and overcrowded cow pastures. Let's make an example that nobody will ever forget.

Note for those who say it wouldn't work: yes, it has and it can. New York alienated producers enough to create Hollywood. And seriously, what state wouldn't bend over backwards to give the Tech industry enough concessions to make it possible?

Let's do it. Let's choose a place. Let's go there, and let's make a lesson no state or country will ever forget.

Current Mood: angry

• 14:14 I am ensconced in room 610 at Baycon. Krys and KaylaMonster will be joining me later. #
• 14:15 @britgeekgrrl any chance you're going to make it down tonight? Or still just planning for tomorrow? #

So after last year had such incredibly good programming, I skipped (one of the best) races this year to attend Baycon. Reading the programming schedule this morning, I have to regret my decision.

Friday and Saturday have only a single writer's panel.

Sunday morning at 10am is 3 panels for writers: World-Building, Iron Editor and the SFWA meeting. All in the same block. Sweet!

Current Mood: annoyed

• 22:40 hot shower is the best kind of yummy goodness #
• 10:43 i hate crashing. #
• 14:09 bike cleaned up and back together. napping before first race. #

During the warmup lap I tested the superbike tires and found grip was just fine, so when the race started I dropped the hammer and ran. I was 4th into turn 1, passed Lazlo on the first lap and tried to track down Neil.

On the 3rd lap I went hot into turn one, overcooked and almost lost the front just like how I crashed in practice this morning. Lazlo was way behind me, I decided that finishing 4th was fine and ran around to bring it home safely.

I made some suspension adjustments to try and find some grip. They helped which was good because Lazlo had really picked up his game. He got the holeshot. Neil and I diced for second, but he passed Lazlo and checked out. I considered my total lack of grip, decided I didn't have enough to chase him. I nursed the bike around and shadowed Lazlo until the last lap, did a block pass in the very last corner and came in 2nd.

I got a really poor start. Only by stuffing a few guys into turn 1 was I able to avoid being last. I passed a few heavy twins guys, then caught up to Darren right before he ran off the track. Finally I caught and passed Lazlo to take 3rd place. Not bad for a lightweight bike running in the big bike class.

• 14:28 about to go out for 20-lap solo endurance race #
• 15:32 I am become Nausea #
• 15:33 6th. maybe 5th. god only knows. #
• 15:34 moral to story: don't do endurance without having exercised in 28 days. #

Going nearly 5 seconds faster than I've ever gone before at this track was a real pleasure. A mindnumbingly good surprise, and more than enough to let me totally forget about the nausea at the end of the race. Perhaps even better was the times I did on the last 3 laps where I was just rotating and trying not to puke in my helmet. I thought they would be 2:10s. They were 2:04s... 2-2.8 seconds than my fastest pace here ever before. Yowie. Apparently I was ready for this.

All of these changes are likely due to the excellent job of revalving my forks that Jim @ Catalyst Reaction Systems did. I don't think it's possible to pay them enough for the great work they've done.

Having gotten good sleep the night before, and the night before that, really helped I'm sure. I'm glad my life is (usually) making that possible.

Current Mood: complacent

I started on the 4th row, so a good start was essential. I got that, wheelied past the 3rd row and went past others on the brakes. I think I was maybe 5th or 6th into turn 1. Christine Coolie shot past me into turn 2 and took off like a lightning bolt. I was worried about keeping up with her, but she pulled off for a mechanical at the end of the first lap. Lexx Hartl passed me 2 laps later, but he crashed out a while later. I caught and passed Lazlo Romano, and then was stuck on my own for 16 laps.

Note to self: don't do an endurance race after 4 weeks with no exercise. Because of the soft tissue damage from the crash in Vegas, my doctor told me to avoid the gym until there was absolutely no pain. So that brought me to this race without a single day in the gym, a single bike ride, nothing. By the 19th lap it was everything I could do not to puke in my helmet.

All the real pleasure came after I had crawled off the bike and laid motionless for a half hour.

1. I got 4th place, which is better than expected.

2. I got $35 cash payment from this race.

3. The 1st lap is always slow -- from a dead stop on the grid. My second lap was .1 of a second slower than my fastest lap EVER on this track. The remaining 18 laps were all faster than I have ever gone here before, with a fastest lap of 2:02.0 -- 4.8 seconds faster than ever before. Sweet.

Current Mood: pleased

It seems the going price to Montreal is $422/person or thereabouts, no matter which airline you fly. Given that this is a direct flight from SF, I'm given to just paying for it now.

Or has anyone else found a cheaper way to get there?

EtA: skip it, I went ahead and bought the tickets.

Current Mood: curious