All posts by Jack

fandom, science fiction

Torcon 3

Toronto has faded into the mist. Actually it was a pretty clear day as we departed Toronto. We could see the Tower from the Airport, which we didn’t on arrival, on account of darkness. Elaine and I spent the morning packing up and visiting the Royal Ontario Museum. It’s a lot bigger on the inside that the outside. Fortunately, or un, the ROM didn’t open until 10 AM, giving us plenty of time to pack and organize our return. The unfortunate part is the we only had 2.5 hours at the ROM before returning for our bus. The ROM was under renovation and several exhibit areas were closed. We did get to see the South Asian, Indian and Chinese Art exhibits as well as a ‘history of decorative drawing rooms from the 1500’s to present’ exhibit. What we totally avoided was the Natural history on second floor. Just ran out of time.
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science fiction

Worldcon

Toronto is a very nice city for a Worldcon. The Parties have been going to 2 or 3 in the morning. Last night I heard a young woman say that going against the flow of the crowd was like a trout swimming upstream.

golf

Dart game

I thought of a new Dart Game on the way home tonight. At least I don’t remember anyone else ever suggesting it before.

There are 20 numbers on a dart board, plus the bulls-eyes. Each number has an inner ring and and an outer ring worth 3X or 2X respectively. Take the scorecard from a golf course and shoot the par for each hole, 1 though 18. If par is 4 then shoot as many darts as it takes to make par. Do it in 2 darts with a pair of doubles, or a trip and a single, or four darts with four singles. Repeat for each hole . Fewest total of darts to reach par wins. In the event of a tie, go to the nineteenth hole. Most number of nineteens in three darts wins. If still tied, repeat with 20’s, then bulls, then double bulls.
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science fiction

no maps for these territories

William Gibson is one of my favorite science fiction authors.I invited him to be the Guest of Honor at the Disclave I chaired in 1986, and he accepted. I think this was the first SF con at which he was GOH. He had just won the Hugo for Neuromancer at the previous Worldcon and it was a genre shaking book.

I just got a DVD from Netflix that is a “documentary” of Gibson. “No Maps For These Territories” is an interview he gives from the back seat of a car. the director, Mark Neale, gets to very in-depth discussions of his literature and his influences. Of course, there is much discussion of the impact of technology on the human psyche and Gibson’s perspective on it. I find it very interesting. And the director has lots of fun with the backgrounds seen through the car windows. I highly recommend it for fans of Gibson, or authors in general.

golf

League play

Today was a busy golf day. It started with a lesson where the pro continued to explain that my swing is really good, I just need to work on the mechanics. And as he explains the mechanics, they make sense. I just have no kinesthetic sense and it takes a long time for me to get the feel for what I’m doing, and I don’t always know when I’m off until the ball starts flying wrong. Later that day I joined a work league for a nine hole scramble. Unfortunately the lessons hadn’t gelled and while I hit some great shots, I really messed up a few. But it’s coming along. A playing lesson tomorrow.

General

My first entry

Welcome to my blog. This is pub the ish time. Let me introduce myself. I am Jack Heneghan, SF Fan, Golfer and Engineer, residing in Colorado, right near the Air Force Academy, high on the Great Plains where they meet the Rockies. This blog will be my forum for comments, musings and general rants.

My wife Elaine is explaining some of the intricacies of setting up and running a blog. Once I figure it out I will probably post photos as well. And I will throw in reviews of things I am watching or reading or working on.

later