Part-time prevaricator
Half an hour’s rotation of the earth sure does look interesting.
And here’s Orion, next to a power pole, with the bright lights of Souris, MB, on the horizon.
In related good news, my camera and lens appear to have survived last week’s tumble unscathed.
It was clear and reasonably warm last night, and there was a reasonable chance of getting some aurora Borealis, so I headed to my usual spot about fifteen minutes out of town. I got my tripod set up, and retired to the warmth of the car—the temperature was only ‑10°C or so, but the windchill was significant, a south wind howling along at what felt like about 40–50 km/h—and listened to music for a while.
After about ten or fifteen minutes, I noticed that I couldn’t see the little red light on my camera anymore. I briefly wondered if maybe the battery had died, but then I realized that I also couldn’t see the thin dark lines of the tripod.
Sure enough, the wind had tipped it over into the snow. See the photo below, which is the ten-second window when it actually fell.
I cleaned the lens off as best I could, then packed it all up and headed home, where I gave the lens a more thorough cleaning and then set it aside to dry. This morning it looks OK, so I think I got away lucky.
…a contract and a rejection. So it goes.
The contract is for a Prairie SF short story, one with a CanCon title and an unreliable 3rd-person POV.
The rejection is for a sub-200-word flash piece, and I’m about to send it to its next destination.
Wish me luck!
I’m working away on my library-full-of-self-erasing books, and I have a novel to finish writing, but I’ve had an idea and I want to pursue it soon. (Actually, it’s not a new idea; it’s a re-use of a concept from one of my nanowrimo projects.)
“The Slow-Motion Apocalypse” is a “day in the life” portrait of an aging wizard who happens to be all that’s standing in the way of a nuclear blast obliterating part of Manhattan.
Interested?
![[photo of the concert ticket]](https://patrickjohanneson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/20200130_100632.jpg)
A couple nights ago we went to see Steven Page in concert at the Westman Centennial Auditorium. It’s been a while; he hasn’t been to Brandon in twenty-five years. He was on tour with Craig Northey of The Odds and Kevin Fox, a cellist.
The show was amazing. I confess, I didn’t know much of Page’s newer stuff, but what I heard I liked. We ended up buying a couple CDs during the intermission, so I look forward to hearing more of his recent work.
Continue reading “Steven Page in Concert”At the coffee shop this grey Monday morning, the young woman behind me asked if I used to work at the research station. I said no, I’ve worked at the university for 25 years¹.
“You look familiar, though,” she said. “Maybe it’s just that you’ve got a friendly face.”
It’s good to know that my Monday face wasn’t a scowl.
¹ !
There’s a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they’re absolutely free. Don’t miss so many of them.
—Jo Walton
Happy New Year. Let’s make the best of it, shall we?
On the morning of Dec. 31st, there was quite a bit of hoarfrost. I grabbed my camera and went north of the river to take some photos.
Continue reading “Hoarfrost around town”