threemonkeys

11:05 am: unCONventional
It appears I haven't posted anything here for ages. But then there is a rather hollow echo whenever you step into LJ space these days. Buton the off chance anybody is still reading here and wants to know what I am up to - take a look over here. Particularly have a look at the pages associated with programming.

So, yes, I will be at Continuum 8 - think of it as recovery therapy.

09:00 pm: Short Bread Tales
Time once again for my annual assessment of the state of the nation's education based on one financial transaction - the purchase of Girl Guide Biscuits. In recent years there has been a steady improvement in the quality of price and change calculation. So what happened this year?

I'm cutting down consumption - I only asked for three packets, all of the same time. Rather than attempt to multiply a simple amount ($3.50)by three, the Guide looked blank and stared at her mother. The mother dithered and consulted the cheat sheet that comes with the boxes of packets. She still got the calculation wrong. Wrong in a way that couldn't even be explained by reading the wrong row of the cheat sheet.

Oh dear.

11:37 am: In the words of a Queen song...
It appears that the Wellington region's second largest* seller of SF/F new books is closing down. Rather surprisingly, that title belongs to Dymocks Queensgate - at least until the end of the month. The staff member who told me thought the owner should have played up that genre angle. The thing being that although they shifted plenty of product and the owner is a fantasy fan, they never made a point of promoting it.

Personally, I'm not convinced. The pressures on retail bookstores are well known (high prices, high overheads, cheaper internet alternatives) and these are much worse in the sf/f genre area. As fans we tend to be price-smarter and more fickle shoppers than average - it can work to our disadvantage at times like this. However, I'm not going to be very upset about the passing of this particular store - they've never been involved in the fan community the way the late lamented City Dymocks was.


*Duh - Arty Bees is the largest. Also worth noting that the ranking is just anecdotal from the reps and therefore obviously doesn't include parallel imports.

05:38 pm: FFANZ - go on, you know you want to
Dave Cake is reporting that there have been no nominations for FFANZ, so the nomination period has been extended for a week.

So, I say to you - I would very much like to see one of you at unCONventional in June. So go on, put your name forward. Nominators are easy to find. Do it!

06:33 pm: FFANZ race now open
Nominations are now open for the 2012 Fan Fund of Australia and New Zealand (FFANZ). FFANZ in 2012 will send one Australian science fiction fan from Australia to the 2012 New Zealand Natcon, unCONventional, in Auckland from 1-4 June.

Prospective candidates will have until March 1st 2012 to file the documents required to have one’s name placed in nomination and added to the ballot. The ballots will be published and distributed in early March, and voting will run from March 12-April 9th.

Candidates should file the following documents:

• A brief letter stating one’s intent to run for FFANZ 2012.
• A nominator and a seconder, preferably a nominator from Australia and a seconder from New Zealand.
• A 100 word or less platform statement specifying the candidate’s reasons for running and qualifications for becoming the 2012 FFANZ delegate.

The duties of the winning candidate will be as follows:

• Travel to New Zealand and attend unCONventional, the 33rd New Zealand Natcon, in Auckland from 1-4 June 2012 .
• Visit and get to know as many New Zealand Science Fiction fans as time will permit.
• Become the Australian FFANZ administrator until a replacement administrator is found, normally this happens when the administrator role is handed over to the succeeding eastbound delegate (in 2014 if a race is run every year).
• Raise funds and maintain an account to be used by the next eastbound delegate(s) in 2012.
• Promote connections between Australian and New Zealand fandom by a trip report or other means.

Please feel free to distribute this message to your fannish networks.

06:37 pm: From the credit where credit is due department
A while back I commented about how well thought out a gift from my power supplier was. The send out a small am/fm radio that was ideal for inclusion in an emergency kit. I just want to mention them again because they have now sent out another entirely fit for purpose item - a hand crank torch. Again, ideal for an emergency kit. Worth remembering that this company is based in Christchurch so the motivation is obvious, but still an extremely well thought out item. Just to prove that it wasn't a fluke.

Worth also pointing out that the company is consistently at the cheap end of the power pricing comparisons and their power generation side doesn't burn fossil fuels.

Yes, I do have that "it is too good to be true" feeling.

12:04 pm: School Reunions - a question
So have any of you geeky types been to your school reunions? What were your experiences? The reason I ask is that my old high school is having a major anniversary reunion at Easter this year. I wasn't even considering going, but over xmas down south I had a couple of conversations(1) where I was actively encouraged to attend. The thing is, I suspect that I have nothing in common with old school mates. My experiences whenever I've bumped into old fellow inmates is that the lingua franca of such encounters is children (and now grandkids) - a language which I do not speak. It doesn't help that I'm from a rural area and most people stayed in that environment when I didn't.

So are my concerns justified, or have you had good experiences? Of course I may not be able to go anyway - work commitments and money might get in the way (and if I had plenty of time and money, I'd be going to Swancon or Eastercon for sure).


(1)The two conversations were both with pairs of sisters who went to the same school. The older sister of each pair was called Bronwyn and the younger was in the same year at school as me. The fact that I find that worthy of note goes a long way to explaining why I suspect that I will be out of place at a reunion.

10:55 am: Been Away
I have on occasion remarked that Wellington seems keen to get rid of me and reluctant to take me back. Traveling down South this year it was the other way around. First the long term parking I had pre-booked (and pre-paid) was full and I had to be directed elsewhere. The the flight had a whole bunch of small delays including a long wait on the plane waiting for takeoff clearance.

On the way back, the plane arrived early. Then the luggage from the flight was unloaded so swiftly that it was already on the carousel by the time I had walked there straight from the plane. Then without fuss or bother the parking attendants waived my ticket for my alternative parking so I didn't pay any extra.

Good to be home.

09:18 pm: Cross
Oh damn, I appear to have become one of those people who put test posts up, supposedly to test the client, but really to tell everybody that they have a new toy. Except that behaviour was all over two years ago. So I won't.

09:56 pm: Cosy and Warm
Many of the local shops have small ads posted in their windows etc for various local handyfolk services. The local takeaway has a notice up advertising the services of a nanny - it reads more like a babysitting service. But unlike most of the stores, the ad isn't in the window - it is stuck to another glass surface. It is on the hood above the display cabinet where this takeaway shop keeps their cooked chicken on display. Unfortunate placement or subtle advertising - you be the judge.