Auto foo

Got to the dealership at the crack of 6:40, waited about 10 minutes (brought a book to read) for their check-in guy to arrive, my car was in the shop almost immediately. About 7:30, they told me the part I'd had them pre-order was the wrong one, but there was a dealer in SJ who had the right one, so they will send a driver to get it. It's well before major rush hour, so this should not take too long. I figure I will probably be at work by 10. Worst cae they will shuttle me to work and I'll have them pick me up when the car is done.

The lounge here has wireless for free, but no AC outlets, and the table part of the table-chair modules are way too low for comfort, unless you are < 4 feet tall. My notebook computer is a bit too big to comfortably use it on my lap.
Sigh

Once upon a time I was a professional

...writer. I worked for newspapers in Oregon and Washington State, my main job was laying out the paper and writing headlines. I have a degree in this, which was earned by not only taking classes, but by writing for the campus paper, working as a proofreader and layout editor and photographer/darkroom tech.

I mention this in light of a recent posting on his blog by Tom Veal which kevin_standlee was kind enough to link to, in which Veal claims a blog's writing quality is going to be poor, as it is usually a "zeroth" draft (not even a first draft). He uses this argument to defend professional writers being nominated for and winning Best Fan Writer Hugo awards. I'm here to say that in my professional writer days, my zeroth draft was better than any amateur writer's "polished" essay. Besides, a professional writer won't be posting what first comes out his fingertips, he will always proofread and edit on the fly, which is something most amateurs will not.

I wonder, if I join WSFS, what I can do to change their constitution to make the Fan Writer Hugo into a "best fiction by a non-pro in a non-pro medium" award. Because, IMHO, they need to do this both to recognize the fen writers, and to make this award more credible.

Shake Up

Japan's quake - how will it affect Worldcon?

Auto Foo the sequel

The car didn't get done till 10:30, but considering the parts snafu, that was pretty fast service. And now my front passenger door locks, which is a good thing. A little before 10 I checked on the status, and they thought it might be another hour and a half, so I was going to opt to take the shuttle to work (which is probably what I should have done in the first place) but it was a 15-minute wait for the shuttle, and it looked like the repair would be done about the same time I reached the office. Which turned out to be the case.

So, Toyota of Sunnyvale gets high marks from me. Their parts department screwed up, but they made up for it by finding the right part, getting it delivered quickly, and keeping me updated. They also knocked $25 off the repair price to help compensate. I saw them treating all their customers well, it wasn't just my charm and good looks.

Dr What?

So, finally cracked open the latest Dr. Who DVD (Series 3 vol. 2) from amazon.co.uk, and watched the two Dalek episodes (one episode, split in two, actually) Daleks In Manhattan and Evolution Of The Daleks. I continue to adore the new companion, Freema Agyeman, and sincerely wish they had named her something more exotic than Martha Jones. It's a sad day when the actress has a more Whovian name than the character she's playing. Come to think of it, Billie Piper is a pretty kewl character name compared to Rose Tyler. Tennant continues to be an enjoyable Doctor for me. Fine production values, but the writing isn't as good as it might have been. There was some really bad dialogue, especially around the "evolved" dalek scenes, and not much in the quip department. I loved the performance of Miranda Raison as the token floozy, Tallulah (gag me - this is the name of the floozy character Jodie Foster played in Bugsy Malone). And the sappy "give me your tired, your poor" theme was a bit much, even for lil' ol' me, who is highly romantic about the Miss Liberty poem and what it stands for. Or ought to stand for.

Two more episodes, probably will watch those tonight.

Current mood: contemplative

Fez Alert!

I hope johnnyeponymous is reading this, because I've found a great addition to the con fez patrol:
http://bonniedelight.livejournal.com/22996.html