On the Road again like I was last summer!

G’day – It is once again time for getting some bitumen under my tyres!  Heading off on a 3-week Southern Tour.  —  First Stop is RAVENCON, an excellent SF con in Richmond, VA.  Then onward to FL to see friends & sights.  From there up the Natchez Trace to Nashville over Chattanooga to eventually reach home.  —  Looking forward to the drive.

To joke or not to joke!

How can one better magnify the Almighty than by sniggering with him at his little jokes, particularly the poorer ones. -Samuel Beckett, author (1906-1989)

Something to think about!

The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons. -Fyodor Dostoyevsky, novelist (1821-1881)

Space? We don’t need no stinkin’ space!

“WASHINGTON – An ambitious vision to take people to the moon and Mars may fall apart before it even gets off the ground because of uncertain planning and inadequate funding, several experts said on Thursday.  —  …  —  Earlier this week, U.S. space agency officials told Congress that between 5,800 and 7,300 jobs would go over the next three years as the space shuttles are retired, most at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The shuttles are scheduled to be grounded by 2010.”

 

It is about time to get rid of NASA.  We don’t need it.  If folk want to go into space, they can go to the Russians, Chinese, or if hard up, there is always the Europeans & Japanese.  Just think of all that could be done by the money saved.  The US could buy a Jet Fighter!  Besides, the space program didn’t produce anything of use or value other than Tang.  We need more tax cuts & cuts in no-essential spending such as education.

SF, London & Middle-earth, oh my!

Had a busy 2+ weeks involving SF & Tolkien.  —  First was LUNACON just north of NYC at the “Escher Hilton.”  I had a very nice time.  —  Then after spending the day doing laundry I headed off to London and EASTERCON.  I was getting back to my roots.  My first regular SF con was the Bristol Eastercon in 1973.  I’m a British SF fan with an extremely far west midlands accent. J  I also enjoyed the luxury of flying Business Class across the Atlantic.  So nice!  The con was great, & I enjoyed the company of several friends for dinner, including one from Oz.  —  I then hosted a panel on “The Worlds of Tolkien” at my local library.  Much fun.  —  I, of course, pushed both our local SF con – ALBACON 08 – & the projected “Reunion Tour of Middle-earth” in 2010 or ’11.  I’m looking forward to it.  —  Now it would be really neat if I get the chance to work on The Hobbit.  Now that would be an adventure!  —  Read The Hobbit on the flight.  TLOTR will be for my next road trip in 3 weeks.

Credit cards anyone?

As I was getting rid of several more credit card applications, I thought, I might pass on what I do with them.  I may have posted this earlier, but what the heck.  —  After trashing the application & throwing it away, I then seal the EMPTY envelope & mail it back.  —  This helps the PO as they charge 1^st class postage and costs the companies something for bothering me in the first place.

Golden Rule and all that!

The best way to be more free is to grant more freedom to others. -Carlo Dossi, author and diplomat (1849-1910)

Have you seen the elephant?

War is delightful to those who have had no experience of it. -Desiderius Erasmus, humanist and theologian (1466-1536)