Though I don’t have any snail-mail stories out for submission out the moment, I have been anxiously checking the mailbox every day in the hope that the June issue of Analog will be there. Yes, it is late March, but the June issue hits news stands around April 4 and I tend to get my…
I don’t know what it is with people and restrooms–or more specifically, men and men’s rooms. First it was being able to hear the clicking of BlackBerry keys coming from the various stalls; and then recently two other oddities: The guy at the urinal next to mine had one of those hands-free blue-tooth phones that are…
I was at my writers group last night when Kelly texted me to let me know that the Little Man did not go to bed as easily as usual. It had started raining after I left and some pretty strong thunderstorms passed through town, and between that and the break in the usual routine (I’m…
I’ve hit one of those points where everything seems to be jockeying for a rapidly dwindling supply of time. In the day job, between travel and training I’ve gotten behind and have been playing catch-up. In order to this, I’ve been heading into the office early–some days as early as 6am–to give myself a few…
I received the remained issues for 1941 in the mail today: June 1941 July 1941 August 1941 November 1941 December 1941 As I mentioned in an earlier post, 1941 is now complete, and all of the issues, with the exception of January are in very good condition. Really rather incredible for 71 years when you…
All it takes it one hit. That’s what you hear baseball coaches saying often about breaking out of a slump. It’s getting that hit that is the tricky part. But last night, I think I finally got it. In a baseball slump, in order to get a hit, a batter will often try making small…
Since I mentioned my birthday in the previous post, I ought to mention that it is this coming Sunday. Last year, I took advantage of the day as an excuse to self-indulgently abstain from the Internet for a period of 24 hours. I plan on doing the same this year. I think I deserve one…
I received word today that the 5 issues I was missing for 1941 have shipped and so my Astounding collection for 1941 is complete. This means I now have enough issues of Astounding to get through Episode 29 (mid-August 2011) of my Vacation in the Golden Age without a gap. (And for those who know…
There is a satisfying symmetry, reading the March 1940 issue in the month of March. It makes me feel somehow more connected with a fan who, 71 years ago may not have gotten his or her hands on the issue the instant it hit the newsstands, but may have gotten it in time to read…
The first song I sang to the Little Z-Man before I put him to bed tonight was “Watermelon Weather” and I chose that particular tune for 3 reasons: First, in honor of the late-spring-like weather we’ve had here in the metro-DC area these last two days. Warm spring days are always so refreshing after the…
As I promised in the earlier post, I have also made my first published science fiction story, “When I Kissed the Learned Astronomer” available on the Kindle for people who want to read it there. You can find it in Amazon’s Kindle Store. It’ll cost you $0.99 there, but remember, the story is also freely…