Zenna Henderson

I'm not sure how I arrived there -- I know I was looking at Wikipedia articles about Heinlein novels, though how I ended up doing that is a mystery, it's not like I haven't read them all, most several times over -- but I found myself reading about another of my favorite authors, Zenna Henderson.

Her stories of "The People," very human-looking aliens fleeing disaster who crash-landed in lifeboats scattered all over North America in the early part of the 20th Century, offer a nearly unique take on one of the genre's more uncommon ideas and her work outside that series is at least as strong. Widely enjoyed -- L. Neil Smith speaks highly of her and he is hardly alone -- her work is anything but conventional SF, despite straightforward narrative and a deft touch at setting scenes and establishing characters.

Somehow, she makes mindreading aliens as real and as homey as Aunt Bea. Well worth checking out if you never have; despite a lack of rayguns or futuristic appurtenances, Zenna Henderson's worlds are wonderful places to visit.

And The Answer Is:

A) 2.68#
B) $18.73
C) "An ingenious way to ruin the main course of three feasts."
D) A and B
E) All of the above

...If the question is "Turducken," I'll be finding out which (besides A and B) is correct. Hey, I'll have Regular Turkey on Family Thanksgiving. Tam will be along for all this, so you'll get two (2) opinions for the price of one. Also I'll be making skin-on mashed taters, veggies, etc., so starvation is unlikely.

Now I Know

My Thanksgiving-Day schedule: de nada. Nil. Family picked a different day.

H'mmm. I wonder how small a Turducken* one can obtain on short notice? Come The Day, I'm gonna be a-cookin'!
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* You say that dish isn't over the top? Lookit the bottom of the linked article where it says, "See also: whole stuffed camel." (I'm told that generally, they throw the stuffed camel out and eat the.... Ewwwwww).

Outta Time

I had a post all sort-of planned out but lost too much time doing (some of) what actually needed doing, instead.

So, how goofy is this? Every year, I buy birthday and Christmas/Holiday* cards for family and friends and nearly every time, I think, "Oh, they don't want to hear from me," and never get around to sending the cards. Sheesh.

Thanksgiving is coming up. I have no idea what I'm going to do this year.
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* Not all of my friends are Christmas people. I tend to use generic cards to avoid those calls and e-mails that go, "Menhirs? Menhirs?! I'll have you know we are not that sort of Druids!" Oh, dear.

Too Obvious?

A lot of the emotional statements in support of nationalsocializing health care include the phrase "A country (meaning the government) as wealthy as this one can..." or words to that effect.

There's a problem there, a clear indication that the speaker Doesn't Get It on a fundamental level: This country's government isn't wealthy at all; in fact, it is deep in debt. The fellow who says otherwise is assuming that your money, your employer's money, every citizen's income, ultimately belongs to The State and that The State has every right to decide how it is to be spent.

Don't fall for it. It's your money.

(PS: Have you seen the ads for RethinkReform yet? Not an unhopeful sign).

The Old Phone Saga Continues

Over at Retrotechnologist: Progress restoring my hotel phone, plus a tangent about nutdrivers.

Hold That Thought -- If You Can

Engineering's Poet Laureate Henry Petroski in The Pencil,* quoting and commenting on an 1897 Century Sears, Roebuck and Co. ad for a pencil with a triangular cross-section:

''This shape prevents the fingers becoming cramped while writing and also the possibility of their rolling from the desk."

...Most writers do not worry about their fingers rolling from the desk....

354 pages (not including bibliography) on the history, technology and philosophy of the common pencil and its myriad creators, refiners, producers and users. Utterly fascinating. If you enjoy that sort of thing, you should head on over to the Amazon link at Tam's and pick up a copy!
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* Not to be confused with Leonard Read's libertarian (and far shorter) essay, I, Pencil. Have you read it?

Happy Birthday, NRA!

The National Rifle Association was founded this date in 1871. It's the oldest civil rights organization in the United States.

The Man's A Saint

Or nearly as patient, anyway. Police officer, traffic stop, very lonely cat: it could have been a recipe for disaster but it appears Our Man In Blue is a a bit of a cat person.

Just A Quick Note

To my co-workers at The Skunk Works: Microwave ovens are not self-cleaning. And to the janitorial staff: really, they're not. Ick.

Old Phone?

New content posted at Retrotechnologist. With photographs and even a schematic!

Me, Too

I heard about it early on: like Caleb and Uncle, I'm glad she's okay. Food for thought there.