Christopher McKitterick's Blog, page 48

Poll re: Book Launch Party, Fri. Nov. 5!

Howdy! In less than two weeks is the launch of my novel, Transcendence , and I need to figure out where to hold the post-bookstore-event party, how many might be coming, what I should prepare, and so forth. Help!

View Poll: Book Launch Party, Fri. Nov. 5!
If you have any other ideas or comments, I'd love to hear 'em in comments. Thanks!
Chris

Off the interwebs for a few days.

Just so you know that I'm still alive even if I don't respond here or in email for a few days: I'm off to West Virginia University with James Gunn to talk SF with students there as part of the West Virginia University Festival of Ideas. How awesome is that?

It's my first trip to Morgantown, or anywhere in West Virginia, really.

Have a good week!

Best,
Chris
Click the photo of Damon Knight Grand Master James Gunn to see more about the Festival of Ideas.

I haz a finished cover!

Geez, busy has prevented me from sharing some excitin' news: My editor just sent Transcendence off to the printer! Here's the final cover for the hardcover edition, coming out in TWO WEEKS:


Click the image to see sample chapter stuff. Click here to see the full-size dustjacket.

And check out that quote just above my name, deep in shadow: Jack McDevitt read it and liked it and gave me a blurb (full quote inside the flap). Woohoo! Thank you, Jack, and thanks to Kij, George, Jim, and Ann for their kind words (and to A.J., who passed away a few years ago).

If you're in town on Friday, November 5, come by the University of Kansas student union building, where the Jayhawk Ink bookstore will host my book launch from 4:00pm - 5:30pm. I'll host a reception at my place afterward. Spread the word!

Oh, and you can pre-order now from Hadley Rille Books at a big discount (for either the trade paperback or the hardcover) and get free shipping. Bargain!

Best,
Chris

I has a finished cover!

Geez, busy has prevented me from sharing some excitin' news: My editor just sent Transcendence off to the printer! Here's the final cover for the hardcover edition, coming out in TWO WEEKS:


Click the image to see sample chapter stuff. Click here to see the full-size dustjacket.

And check out that quote just above my name, deep in shadow: Jack McDevitt read it and liked it and gave me a blurb (full quote inside the flap). Woohoo! Thank you, Jack, and thanks to Kij, George, Jim, and Ann for their kind words (and to A.J., who passed away a few years ago).

If you're in town on Friday, November 5, come by the University of Kansas student union building, where the Jayhawk Ink bookstore will host my book launch. I'll host a reception at my place afterward. Spread the word!

Oh, and you can pre-order now from Hadley Rille Books at a big discount (for either the trade paperback or the hardcover) and get free shipping. Bargain!

Best,
Chris

Health Update

PS: Stepped on the scale this morning and discovered that I've dipped into the 160s for the first time since my first years in college! Digital scale sez 169.8 lbs. Woohoo!

Chris

Quest for the Tires

Over the past few weeks - nay, months - the Crossfire's tires have experienced a precipitous decline. The left-rear hoop started losing air ever-so-slowly during the summer until, a few weeks ago, that particular tire wouldn't stay inflated for more than a few days. Upon inspection, I noticed a big ol' crack opened up in the sidewall; that was new. And a bit scary. Thus the Crossfire dropped to in-town duty only.

Why not just run out and buy a new tire? Well, one doesn't just buy a single tire when they're at this stage of wear (never mind that it has only 15,000 miles or so; they're super-grippy summer tires), and in fact the front ones were looking pretty much past their prime, too. So buying one meant buying a set. No biggie, sez you, everyone has to buy a set of tires now and then. Quit whinging! Well, these are no ordinary tires. To replace the shoes that my beloved sports-car wore when new would set me back nearly two grand. Let's be precise: $1700, plus installation and so forth. For a set of tires. I've bought several entire cars that cost less than that. So I was delaying the inevitable, at least until spring, by which time I could save up a bit (didn't get paid last summer, still catching up).

Now let's complicate things: Last week, my other operational car (the forest-green 1994 Saab 900S convertible) blew some kind of coolant fitting somewhere under the hood (have yet to identify where), so now it loses coolant at an alarming rate. We'll call that car non-op. To further complicate things, I teach every Monday night in Kansas City, about 35 miles from home. Not exactly a destination designed for riding my Vespa, eh? So I've had to use KU rental cars.

(For those of you playing along at home, I also own some other non-op vehicles: A 1966 Chrysler Newport, out of service due to its engine being in pieces. This is a planned event, on account of hot-rodding it. I also have a full-size motorcycle, 1978 BMW R100S, also in pieces as it's undergoing restoration. Just for giggles, let's add the Aprilia RS50 that got wrecked in last year's accident, and the electric bicycle, which lost its power supply cable during removal of the rear wheel - another bad tire - due to a factory-stripped bolt. *sigh*)

So I needed to replace the tires, but was not willing to spend that big a pile of gold on 'em. My local shop found a different but still-excellent set of tires, Goodyear Eagle F1 All-Seasons, which would allow me to drive the Crossfire through rain and even *gasp* snow! Unfortunately, four of 'em in my sizes (very wide, 18" front and 19" rear) would cost $1400. Oof. That's if he could even order them, which seemed unclear. He suggested I check around elsewhere, because these are the only tires he could find for my car, and because he's not a Goodyear dealer, he doesn't get good prices. I love Performance Tire & Wheel - how many shop managers would say that? So I did check around.

NO ONE COULD GET ME MY TIRES. Oh, that's not entirely true:

1) Gregg Tire (the local Goodyear dealer as rec'd by Steve at Performance) thought they might be able to get a pair of the 19s from a place in California, but they'd call me back. Have I heard yet? In three days? No.

2) Sears (not the one in my town, of course, but one 40 miles away) could order them at a slightly cheaper price, but to order them I needed a Sears card. I am not shitting you. VISA was no good for them. So I called Sears' Bombay Division, because I think I have a Sears card, but it turns out that no, I don't. If you don't use it for a year, they cancel it.

3) At this point I was getting frustrated enough to check with Satan, Himself, and stopped by Wal-Mart's tire department. The girl (I intentionally use that word) behind the counter assured me Wal-Mart couldn't order tires in my sizes, but the mechanic who overheard her said I should check the website, order them, and have them shipped to the store. Seriously? That's a business model? Desperate I was, so I went home and fired up the interwebs to discover that Wal-Mart actually carried 'em for a little cheaper than Sears... but it would take 3-4 weeks before they arrived. Wha...?

"Okay, that's it," said I. "Damn trying to shop locally." I went to Tire Rack's online dealership and found my tires for WAY cheaper. But no way could I safely install those puppies by myself. With my tires trembling quietly in the checkout page (only 2 left in 19s, by the way), I called Steve at Performance Tire and asked if I could have them shipped to his store for them to install. Yes! Success!

Thus assured, I placed my order - totalling $720 with shipping - and expect them to arrive in about 4-5 days. That's weeks faster than Wal-Mart and $680 cheaper than ordering them locally. Holy crap.

If you've ever wondered why local stores are failing and why online sales have exploded, this Quest for the Tires should answer that question.

Chris

Astro-Porn of the Day: Solar Eruption

A sunspot just now rotating into view finally shook off a web of magnetic filaments in this really neat eruption captured by the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory. Because the eruption is facing away from Earth, we were not in the line of fire... this time. Note that the sunspot is crossing the surface of the Sun, so the next eruption could help clear our skies of those pesky satellites. Or not. Regardless, what a show:


Click the image to see the story.

Best,
Chris

Writing workshop tomorrow

Tomorrow afternoon, I give a spec-fic writing workshop with Robin Wayne Bailey and Susan Satterfield at The Writers Place in Kansas City. Should be much fun!

Rather than make a lot of handouts for the attendees, I added a bunch of SF Writer Resources to the Center for the Study of Science Fiction's weblinks page (where you can also find tons of other resources for SF scholars, teachers, and fans).

TRANSCENDENCE news: Countdown to book launch: Exactly four weeks, minus a few hours. Reading and signing at Jayhawk Ink, in the University of Kansas student union. Getting so excited!

Oh, and it's Hadley Rille Books' 5-year birthday, and they're giving away a free Kindle 3G to celebrate! Just go to the website and register. I also noticed that you can pre-order my novel at significant discount (with free shipping) directly from the site.

*happy dance*
Chris

tracking health progress 2

It's been a while since my last health-tracking post, so without further ado, an update. If you missed my previous post, I got started on this in late March, after my last shoulder-injury appointment when the doc told me that I could do anything that didn't actively hurt; "sore" is okay. But that if I didn't start feeling better by July, he was going to recommend surgery. No thanks. So I decided to move on from rubber-band physical-therapy stuff to full-on workouts like I'd done years ago.

While upping my physical activity, I also decided to reduce the lard that'd collected around my midsection. I figured I had about 15 pounds to lose, as I'd gained about that much since the accident. chernobylred was just starting a new eating plan, what with her interminable food issues, and discovered paleo eating. Since she's the cook in the house, I got to experience the benefits of eating like that, too. Now, I didn't start full-on paleo; I simply cut out refined sugar (I used to love my sweets...). With only a bit more exercise and no sugar, I lost 10 pounds by May. Good results tend to encourage greater efforts, so I started cutting out more processed foods and started exercising more - by mid-June (my last health-track post), I'd lost 15 pounds, gained muscle, strengthened my injured shoulder a LOT, and improved my overall health a bunch. I also discovered that I had more than just 15 pounds to lose....

The CSSF summer program put a pause on progress, of course, what with pretty much every waking hour spent with the Workshoppers, then Conference attendees, then Institute students, but I stuck (mostly) to good eating habits and stayed physically active if not working out. But after July (and the SF Institute) ended, I jumped back into it, almost completely cutting out grains while upping the workout routine. Yesterday morning, I was 21 pounds lighter than when I started all this in April. I'm able to wear pants only my undergrad-me could have fit into before, and the new clothes I bought last winter are just huge. Who knew I had so much weight to lose? I hear that guys underestimate how much fat they're carrying, and gee whiz is it true, folks.

However, I hit a snag a couple of weeks ago, and maybe you have a suggestion. The tendon on my left forearm, where the muscle joins the inside of the elbow, no longer approves of exercises that require a grip and pull, like curls or pull-ups. Still bothered me last night when I tried to resume my workout schedule, even after letting the arm mostly rest. Tendonitis? Something else? I should probably get it looked at by a professional. Dammit.

Anyhow, here's some photo documentation (taken August 24 - should update this, as I'm down another 4 pounds!).
Front shot (replicating stance from previous post to compare):


Back shot:

I like that my shoulders now look even from behind!

Workout details - for tracking purposes, here's my workout circuit (until the arm started bothering me...):
ExerciseReps/SetsTechnique
Sit-ups30/2-5, time-limitedexercise ball under back, add set between other exercises
TRX free pushups12/2start with grips at knee-level, slowly dip through full range of motion, slowly push back up to full extension - challenging!
TRX rows15/2start back on floor, squeeze shoulderblades together while pulling grips to chest
Single-leg squats12/2stand near wall to balance
Dead-hang pull-ups15-20/2 (then add 2-5 kipping pull-ups)start hanging full-extension from bar, pull until chin is over bar, lower slowly; at end, use momentum for added kipping pull-ups
Dumbbell push-ups15-20/2grip dumbbells, lower slowly until nose touches floor, push up fast
Dumbbell curls + shrugs10-15/234 pounds, alternate curl and shrug, both arms simultaneous
Triceps extensions, dips, stair-running, etc.however many I'm in the mood forvarious
And I'm bicycling to work most days now that it's cooled off and I don't show up to the office all sweaty. Other suggestions of what to add to my circuit?
Breakfast each day is usually a spinach salad with a variety of nuts and sunflower seeds, whatever meat I find in the fridge, feta cheese, veggies if I can find 'em, and either chernobylred -made dressing or olive oil with balsamic vinegar. Sometimes (like today) I fry up the ingredients in a pan and toss the hot mix on top of more greens, as spinach pretty much disappears with heat. "Lunch" is whatever CR makes for dinner (our sleep schedules are very different), and dinner is usually another salad or just handfuls of veggies and nuts, often with melted mozzarella and spices on top.

Finally, I leave you with this: If I can manage decent eating-and-fitness progress even with a frakked-up shoulder and a sweet tooth, you can do it, too! Thanks so much to chernobylred for the encouragement and eating support - you make this seem easy! I'd love to hear what's been working for you if you've been working on your health, too.

Best,
Chris

Zarmina's World

Re: yesterday's post about the newly discovered, Earth-like planet Gliese 581, the discoverer has given it a much more pleasant name: Zarmina's World.

He also says he's "99.999% certain" that it supports life. Wow, that's not the sort of thing you usually hear from a scientist!

Chris