Christopher L. Bennett's Blog, page 14

Get the whole DTI series in this month’s STAR TREK eBook Deals!

This month, Simon & Schuster’s Star Trek eBook Deals include my entire Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations series — both novels and all three e-novellas — for just 99 cents each, through September 4.

https://www.simonandschuster.com/p/star-trek-ebook-deals

This means you can get the entire series for only about 5 dollars! Sounds like quite a deal.

Also on sale this month are Diane Carey’s classic George Kirk/Robert April novel Final Frontier, Christie Golden’s second post-finale Voyager novel The Farther Shore, Dayton Ward’s recent Original Series novel Agents of Influence, and Una McCormack’s Deep Space Nine: Hollow Men, a sequel to the episode “In the Pale Moonlight.”

Grounds for experimentation

Sometimes my local grocery store hands out bags of free stuff to its curbside pickup customers, and the most recent time this happened, the bag included a sample pouch of coffee grounds. I wasn’t sure what to do with them, since I didn’t have a coffee maker; I rely on coffee bags, which work essentially like tea bags. So I searched online for methods for making coffee without a maker. The only method I had the necessary equipment for was brewing the coffee in a measuring cup and pouring it through a fine mesh strainer, which does an imperfect job straining out the grounds. It was also suggested to dribble cold water on the coffee to make the grounds settle, so I did that and then strained it, which mostly worked.

Turns out the coffee isn’t bad; it’s a medium roast, described on the package as “smooth with a balanced flavor,” and I found it mild enough that I could almost take it black, though I did stir in a little creamer. It did taste a bit thin, but it seemed to have a pretty decent caffeine kick, which could be useful now that I’m weeks from deadline on my current writing project.

Afterward, I realized I also needed to search for how to dispose of coffee grounds. I’m glad I did that before I tried pouring them down the sink drain, which is apparently a bad thing. But it wasn’t easy to scoop them out of the measuring cup with a paper towel and throw them in the trash. It’s easier when the grounds are contained in a coffee bag.

It turned out not to be a great idea to try that coffee after having already had my regular cup that morning, since the second cup was pretty strong, and once the cumulative caffeine kick wore off, I was pretty zonked out and useless. So the next day, I started the day with a cup made from the loose grounds. This time, I tried pouring it more directly into the strainer in hopes of getting a less thin-tasting result, but I ended up with way too many grounds in the cup, and oddly a less full cup than I expected.

I considered just going ahead and buying a small single-cup coffee maker for about 20 bucks, something I’ve thought about doing in the past. I wasn’t quite sure where I’d keep it in my small kitchen, but I figured out that it would just fit in the cabinet where I keep my coffee and tea bags, so it could work.

Still, I decided to try something else first. It occurred to me that the next time I used a coffee bag, I could cut it open, rinse it out, let it dry, and insert it in my mesh strainer to catch the grounds. When I did that the next morning, I was planning to cut it on three sides so it would be flat, but after cutting two sides, I realized it could form a rough cone shape, which was better. Once dried out, it fit surprisingly well into the strainer:

When I used it the next morning, it worked, but it was very slow. The grounds quickly built up in the bottom and blocked the liquid, so I could only strain a little at a time. I eventually found it went a bit faster if I used a spoon to push the grounds aside.

In any case, all this prompted me to investigate ground coffee and how much it would cost per cup. The Folger’s coffee bags I use run to about 28 cents per cup, but it looks like a can of the equivalent ground coffee would make enough cups that it would come out to under 5 cents a cup. So if I spent 20 bucks on a coffee maker, it would pay for itself in about 3 months, assuming one cup of coffee per day.

That realization of how comparatively expensive my coffee bag usage has been, combined with my lack of success at finding a reliable method for preparing loose grounds, convinced me to go ahead and get the coffee maker. I ordered it just after I signed my contract for “Aleyara’s Descent” on Thursday (since I like to know for certain I have money coming before I buy things).

It was delivered sooner than I expected, just a little while ago today (Saturday). This time the delivery guy brought it to the right building and handed it to me on the balcony, which was convenient for me, but seemed a bit too trusting of the guy not to confirm I was who I said I was.

I figured it was still early enough in the afternoon that I could go ahead and make a cup of coffee rather than waiting until morning. Of course, I followed the instructions to wash the reusable filter and do a dry (well, wet) run with just boiling water first, but then I made my first cup with the free coffee grounds, and I’m finishing it up as I write this, using the black ceramic mug that came with the machine, a nice bonus (I manage just fine with just my usual mug, but it’s nice to gain another one). I don’t exactly love the taste, but it’s okay, not too sour or bitter, though enough that I did add some creamer.

I think the coffee I made in the measuring cup tasted a little better. I wondered if that was because I “bloomed” the grounds first, letting them sit in a small amount of water for a minute before adding the rest. But a drip coffee maker adds the water gradually enough that it’s the same as blooming anyway, or so it seems to me. So maybe it’s just that the grounds were fresher last week. Or maybe the concentration of the coffee is different.

Anyway, now I finally have my own coffee maker for the first time in my life, and it’s compact and easy to use — although I haven’t gotten the hang of pouring water from the mug into the crescent-shaped reservoir without spilling some. I guess I should use a measuring cup with a spout for that. Also, it’s so lightweight that I have to hold it in place to push the power button, or it slides. And the power doesn’t automatically turn off after the cup is brewed, unlike the single-serve coffee maker in my hotel room at Shore Leave. That’s a bit inconvenient.

Still, it’s a good thing to have. I do like my coffee bags, but they’re a more expensive indulgence than I realized. And there’s no guarantee the store will always carry them. A coffee maker gives me more options.

Well, I think the caffeine buzz is kicking in, so I should get back to work.

“Aleyara’s Descent” into ANALOG

I mentioned a couple of weeks back that I got a novelette accepted on the morning before Shore Leave began. I’ve just signed the contract, so it’s time to announce more widely what I already told the convention audience.

“Aleyara’s Descent” will be my thirteenth story published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, and my first since “Conventional Powers” in the Sept/Oct 2019 issue. At 15,800 words (in the unrevised draft), it’s the longest piece of non-Star Trek short fiction I’ve ever sold. (The previous record-holder was also an Analog story, “Hubstitute Creatures” at 14,200.)

It’s also pretty unusual for me. Though the story technically takes place in my Arachne-Troubleshooter Universe, it stands effectively alone, since it’s set entirely in the distant past of an alien planet. Basically it’s historical fiction, just not about human history. The story is an adventure quest set in the preindustrial era of the Biaru, a colorful species with a rich mythology and spiritual life, so it has the feel of high fantasy even though it’s a work of hard science fiction. It’s a deep dive into a whole alien world — its people, its biology, its customs and beliefs and stories. It’s my first published story with no human characters (although my Patreon story “Growth Industry” has no speaking human characters). I’m eager to say more, but I don’t want to spoil it.

The Biaru are one of my favorite species that I’ve ever created, and I’ve written multiple stories about them (though this is the only one set before their contact with humans), but it’s taken me decades to finally get them into print. “Aleyara’s Descent,” my thirteenth Analog story, was actually written just months after my first Analog story, “Aggravated Vehicular Genocide,” way back in 1997. After my initial failed attempts to sell it, I convinced myself there weren’t enough markets for a story of its length, and I decided that I’d incorporate it into a novel instead, with some reworking of its ending. (I did not submit it to Analog at the time, perhaps because I felt it was too fantasy-like for a hard-SF magazine. I wonder now what might have happened if I hadn’t talked myself out of trying it there.) As my career took another direction and my original novel plans remained mostly unrealized, the story gathered dust on my shelf.

But recently, I’ve been too busy with audio novels to write new short stories, and I realized that I needed to get something out there on the market. So I took another look at “Aleyara” and decided it was worth submitting as it was, even if that required adjusting my novel plans later on. I had to stop letting my tentative plans for the future prevent me from using what assets I had in the present. I sent it to Analog first out of tradition, basically, but I figured it was a long shot. I was quite pleasantly surprised when I got editor Trevor Quachri’s acceptance e-mail.

So it’s taken me fully 25 years, but I finally get to tell the epic tale of “Aleyara’s Descent.” I hope it will open the door to telling more stories about the Biaru going forward.

My new microwave

I was expecting it might take a few days after I got home from Shore Leave before I obtained a new microwave oven, so I made a stovetop meal with leftovers for lunch yesterday (forgetting that I usually use a microwave for reheating). But then I decided to start shopping online. I’d already settled on going for a smaller, less expensive 900-watt oven rather than the 1100-watt kind I’d had before. After thinking it through and comparing notes with Cousin Barbara, I realized my old microwave was too large for my needs anyway, and it was easy enough to adjust cooking times with a handy chart I found online and could print out.

Since I’d rather minimize human contact for the next couple of weeks as a COVID precaution post-convention, I figured I should get a microwave delivered. But rather than going to Amazon, I tried the Target site to see if they delivered, since they had cheaper options (and apparently the sale that I thought was ending last week was still ongoing). They actually had same-day delivery, but I soon realized that the oven I wanted was the same one I’d seen on my quick trip to the small local Target last week. It was just a few blocks away, and delivery would cost an extra 10 bucks.

So I decided to go in person after all. Since I already knew exactly what item I wanted and where to find it, I wouldn’t need to be in the store for long. And I had my N95 masks for extra protection. The only issue was carrying the thing, but I decided to drive up and find a parking space near the Target. I had to circle the block, but I found a space surprisingly close to the store near the end of my loop. (The blocks there are long and narrow, so the street behind the store is a very short walk from it.) I put a quarter in the meter for 12 minutes and hastened to run my errand.

The only snag was realizing I should go back and get a cart to carry the box to the register. They even let me take the cart out to my car, as long as I brought it right back, which of course I did. Though as it turned out, the smaller microwave wasn’t so heavy. I don’t know if I could’ve lugged it all the way home on foot, but it was easier to carry from my car to my apartment than it usually is to carry my groceries.

The new oven seems to work okay, though there’s going to be a learning curve getting the hang of the new controls — for instance, I can’t just tap in a time and hit start, since tapping any of the first 6 number buttons instantly starts cooking that many minutes. I have to hit “Time Cook” first and then the time. But it’s not that hard. For reheating my leftovers today, I weighed the serving on my kitchen scale so I’d know how many times to hit the “reheat” button, and it worked pretty well. I just have to remember in the future to hit that button twice for a serving that size.

The best thing is that the oven’s slightly smaller size lets me do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I have a small kitchenette, and the old microwave had to be positioned sideways to leave me enough counter space. Which meant that when I had the dishes drying on the rack between the sink and the microwave, the rack blocked the door from opening very far, so it was very hard to use the microwave after washing the dishes. But now, even though the new oven’s width is only a bit over an inch less, it’s small enough to let me do this:

Yay! I no longer have to choose between doing the dishes and having an accessible microwave (and counter space)! The age-old dream is fulfilled!

Although that white towel is what I used when I had too many dishes to fit in the rack, so I put some on a wire cooling rack atop the towel atop the microwave. The new one might be a bit small for that, but I could use the counter space in front of it. Or the cutting block that provides a bit more counter space between the fridge and the stovetop, if I want access to the microwave (but then that would block my toaster oven).

One problem is that I store the dish rack on top of the microwave when I’m not using it, but the new one’s a bit small to make a good platform for that, and the new position puts it under the overhead cabinets, so it’s a bit more awkward to put things on top of it. Also, I have to be careful not to let that towel get caught in the door. I’m considering if I have any alternative places to store the rack.

As it happens, I also recently bought a glass shelf that goes over two of the burners on my electric stove, which also gives me a bit more counter space than I had before. Between the two, hopefully my kitchen won’t feel quite so crowded anymore.

Journey’s end, eventually

I’m home at last, but the start of my trip today wasn’t quite as smooth as I hoped.

I got what counts as a decent night’s sleep for a motel, i.e. I woke up in the middle of the night, got up for a while, and eventually drifted off after who knows how long, only to wake up and find it was nearly 8 AM. That was good, since that was when the breakfast room opened. I expected I’d take something back to my room to eat, but the breakfast room was empty, so I had a quick bowl of cereal, coffee, and orange juice there, and also took a honey bun for later, which I completely forgot about until unpacking my food bag at home just now.

I asked the guy at the front desk where the nearest garage was, and he named one he’d frequented and thought well of, after steering me away from a closer auto parts place that didn’t do repairs. So I packed up my car and drove about a mile to that garage… and they told me they don’t do tires. Ack! I guess the motel guy never needed tire service from them.

So that garage’s guy directed me to a tire specialist about nine miles away, which meant, this being western Maryland, that it was across the border in West Virginia. They had an office on one side of the road and a garage on the other, which seems an odd setup. But they got a new tire on within about 15 minutes, for a bit under a hundred bucks, and I was on my way — after asking the woman in the office where the nearest place was to get coffee, since I’d forgotten to get a second cup from the motel before I left. That turned out to be a gas station mini-mart, which let me fill up (just over enough to get home) and get a deli sandwich for lunch and dinner. It was close to 10:30 by now, and I figured I needed both food and coffee to be fully alert, so I had half the sandwich right there.

Then I had to do a long, long drive through intermittently heavy rain. Remember how I estimated on the way out that there was a swath of about 2 hours between rest stops? Even though I was basically taking the same route in reverse, plus the ten or so miles from the gas station to the road, either I went much slower, the rest areas are asymmetrical, or I just underestimated it the first time. When I finally found a rest stop — after passing through Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the northern skinny part of West Virginia and re-entering Ohio — I checked the time on my gas receipt and found I’d been driving nonstop for nearly four hours!

Well, at least that means I made good time, though I stopped more often on the Ohio part of the trip. That went about as usual, aside from several slowdowns due to construction and accidents. Or rather, due to most American drivers having no idea how to zipper merge, so they always create a bottleneck trying to crowd into a single lane. If they’d just slow down and allow room between cars, they could merge far more quickly. But in their selfish haste to get ahead rather than deferring to others, they make things slower for themselves as well as everyone else.

Also, of course, whenever someone’s going too slowly in the right lane and you try to pass them on the left, they inevitably speed up just then so you can’t pass them after all. And when you move back to the right lane behind them, they immediately slow down again.

So anyway, I initially put my phone away once I was on the last leg of I-71 and didn’t need directions. But then we hit another slowdown, and I realized I could still use the traffic info, so at a point when we stopped moving completely, I put the phone back in the clip and restarted Maps. I kept it going all the way home, and it was interesting to see the overhead map view of the route through Cincinnati that I know so well from ground level.

I was wary about getting home and finding it smelling of insecticide from the cockroach spraying, so I kept my mask on and vented out the place right away. But I saw or sensed no sign that anyone’s been in here since I left. I’d think they would’ve left a note if they’d sprayed, but there’s nothing. I guess I’ll ask tomorrow.

The phone clip is already half-broken, by the way. It still holds the phone, but one of the two springy rods that hold the movable part of the clip in place has already detached from that part. I guess that’s what I get for buying a cheap one.

And my right wrist still feels like I’m wearing the proof-of-vaccination wristband I wore all weekend, even though I tore it off more than a day ago.

But I get to sleep in my own bed again…

Stranded after Shore Leave

Remember how ten years ago, on the way home from Shore Leave, I took too wide a turn into a driveway and gave myself two flat tires, so I had to stop for the night only a few hours into my trip home?

This time, at least it wasn’t my fault.

I was just over a hundred miles out from the convention, on I-70 just a few miles short of taking the exit to I-68, when I noticed something a bit wonky with my steering. I figured it was probably just the vagaries of the roadway, but then I started to hear an increasingly loud groaning sound. I vainly hoped it might just be the engine of the semi behind me, but the truck wasn’t that close. From the car’s performance, I realized I must have a flat. I kept going slowly forward in hopes of reaching the next exit, but I realized it was on the left and I couldn’t get over there. Plus I was starting to smell burning rubber (or maybe I just noticed that after I stopped and am rewriting the narrative in my head). I had no choice but to pull over to the shoulder, which seemed alarmingly narrow. I didn’t feel safe getting out to try to fix a flat on the driver side of the car, with other vehicles racing past behind me at 70 MPH or more. (It was a 70 MPH limit on that road, but of course, many freeway drivers interpret speed limits as lower limits.)

Feeling stuck in the car, I tried phoning my insurance agent, but it was after 5 PM on a Sunday, and their voice menu advised calling 911 in an emergency. I wasn’t sure mine was enough of an emergency to warrant 911, but I didn’t know what other options I had. The 911 operator directed me to the state police, who called a tow service for me.

As it happened, while I was waiting for the tow, a good samaritan (and a former Saturn owner, so I guess he felt a connection) pulled over and offered to help me put on the spare. He didn’t get too far before the tow service guy came along, and basically the latter guy just contributed his superior jack to make it go faster, and the good samaritan kept working on the tire until the small spare tire was in place. I guess that’s why the tow guy didn’t charge me. He was on his way before I even got to ask the question.

But I did ask how long the spare would last me, and he advised it was no good for more than 30 miles. It was also raining, another good reason to stop early. The tow guy told me of a motel a few miles away, which I then confirmed on GPS.

I’m typing this from my room there, which looks nice and clean even though the motel seems unimpressive on the outside. Still, I opened the window to let it air out before taking my mask off.

I was hoping the motel might be in the book of coupons I picked up from a rest area on the way out, something I always do in case of emergencies like this. But I couldn’t find it in the book. Still, the price isn’t bad, considering. I just hope the nearby garage doesn’t charge me too much tomorrow for a new tire.

The thing is, I asked the garage back home to check my tires before the trip, and they said they looked good. Still, the last entry I have in my computer for a new tire purchase is seven years ago. I was a bit concerned about their age before I left, and I guess it was warranted.

Still, all things considered, I got lucky. I had a tire blowout at 70 MPH on the freeway, and the car and I are otherwise whole and unhurt. I guess I’m lucky it was a rear tire on a front-wheel drive car. Otherwise, who knows? In any case, I’m grateful to the gentleman who stopped to help a stranded motorist. Thank you, sir, whoever you are.

–

So anyway, the last day of Shore Leave went about as I expected. I got a pretty good night’s sleep, thanks to remembering to sleep on the folded-over comforter. Being stuffed from Andy Nelson’s BBQ and a slice of chocolate cake the evening before probably helped. Still, I hung out in my room all morning, getting in a bit of writing and getting ready to go, and I got my leftover BBQ sandwich and carrot sticks out of the room fridge for lunch. Then I went and got some ice to preserve the second half of the chicken sandwich I bought yesterday, which I was saving for dinner. I checked out before my noon stint in the “writer’s chimney,” but hit a bit of a snag when they disabled my room key early and I still had two bags in my room, since I was taking two trips to the car. So I had to go to the desk and ask them to reauthorize a key for me for the few minutes it took to get my bags out.

Things were slow at the author chimney, and I only sold one book. I only sold three in total this year, all Star Trek, even though I brought a bunch of my original books to sell. Still, I got to finish off with a nice panel talking about Sherlock Holmes. And I got to have some informative conversations with other writer guests, a couple of which might lead to new work opportunities. Here’s hoping.

And then I hit the road and drove for a while, and stopped at a rest area to have the chicken sandwich and some trail mix as an early dinner. Then I hit the road again with the goal of trying to make it at least halfway home before stopping. So much for that idea.

I guess now I should rest, recover, and count my blessings. Hopefully I’ll get a new tire pretty quickly in the morning and get home without further incident.

But wow, two post-Shore Leave flat tire events ten years apart. I’d better be careful after Shore Leave in 2032…

Belated Shore Leave post

It’s Saturday night, I’m worn out and recovering in my hotel room, and it’s too soon after eating for me to lie down (I get heartburn), so I’m going to try to put together some coherent summary of the past few days.

The drive out was fortunately unremarkable. The car seemed to get pretty good mileage. My new phone clip helped a lot, making it easier to see the GPS screen, though it took some trial and error to find the best place for it. (I initially had it so the phone covered the car clock, so I moved it to the right vent. I tried using gorilla tape to hold the vent in place so it wouldn’t sag under the weight, but that tape’s stretchy, so I’m still working on that issue.) I took the most fuel-efficient route, which has a long swath in the middle of about 2 hours between rest stops, which wasn’t ideal. But the plus side was that I made it to Cousin Barb’s just before sunset, so I didn’t have to navigate a particularly tricky road in the dark. (I keep wanting to get in the left lane early for my turn, but I forget that road has a number of places where the left lane is turn-only.)

The main glitch I had was that night; I forgot my suitcase zipper had a damaged end, so the slider got stuck and I had to force the teeth open manually, making it impossible to close again. The next morning, I borrowed some scissors and cut the zipper so I could put the slider back on and close it for the trip, but the cut’s position means I can’t open it again without the slider coming loose again. I guess that suitcase is effectively a loss now. I can use it until I get home, but then I should probably replace it by next time.

I got some good news Friday morning, though. While I was doing some writing at Barb’s before going in to the con, I got an acceptance letter for a novelette I submitted a while back. I’ll talk more about that in a later post, since I like to wait until the contract’s signed. But it’s very good news. I think this is the second time I’ve gotten a story acceptance e-mail while writing at Barb’s kitchen table. I guess it’s good luck.

So I made a couple of sandwiches, ate one for lunch, and packed the other in my insulated bag of cold stuff. I figured I’d transfer it to my hotel room fridge and save it for dinner. I got into the hotel in the early afternoon, and I got my green wristband saying I confirmed my vaccination status, which everyone at the con needs. But the hotel was having computer problems and the check-in line wasn’t moving at all. I couldn’t handle the stress of being in a noisy, crowded lobby for an indefinite time, so I got out of there, walked around the grounds for a while, then went to the car and had the sandwich early, not wanting to leave it in the hot car too long even in a chilled bag. I finally went back and found the line still glacial, but at least moving a nonzero amount. I missed half my 4 PM panel because of it, but it was just talking about our new projects, so I got to do a bit of that once I showed up. I don’t have that much to talk about anyway, other than Tangent Knights and the recent Arachne duology.

Later that night, I had another panel, then the usual Meet the Pros signing event at 10 to midnight, which usually consists mostly of interacting with the fans in the first hour and mingling with other writers in the second. I had a bunch of books out to sell, lugged in a heavy double grocery bag, but I only sold two. It’s the first convention back; I guess things are slow.

I didn’t sleep well last night, because I forgot how firm the mattresses are here. I belatedly remembered my hack to fold the comforter over double and sleep atop it, for the extra cushioning. Hopefully I’ll sleep better tonight.

This morning, I had a makeshift breakfast in my room, then went across the street to the local grocery store on the theory that I could get a deli sandwich there for lunch cheaper than at the hotel cafe. It turned out that it actually cost more — oops. Well, at least I got my exercise in for the day.

I had a couple of interesting panels this afternoon, about worldbuilding and creating truly alien species. Then there was a “What’s New in Trek Literature” panel where we couldn’t really say much, because things have slowed down so much with Trek Lit these days. All I have upcoming are a few things for Star Trek Adventures. Later on, I joined a panel about what eSpec Books is doing, where we talked a bit about the Arachne duology.

In between, I got to talk to fellow writers and editors and do a bit of networking, which hopefully will lead to some new writing opportunities. So that made it a productive day.

Then there was the annual writers’ dinner, which we used to hold at Andy Nelson’s BBQ, but this time (like the last time pre-COVID), we had it catered in from there to the hotel. This was the one time I’d be in a group without my mask on, so I was hoping we’d have it outdoors for the ventilation, but stormy weather kept it inside. I know everyone there was vaccinated, so I just hope that was protection enough. Still, it was worth it for the food. And then they brought out chocolate cake for someone’s birthday, and I couldn’t pass that up despite being full and tired and wanting to call it a day. It was very good cake, but I am so stuffed now.

So that’s my past few days. Tomorrow, I’ll be signing books in the “author chimney” at the book vendor table downstairs, from 12-12:30. Then I have a 1 PM panel on Sherlock Holmes. After that, I’ll set out for home, since Cousin Barb and I agree it’s best if I don’t risk exposing her after the con. I’ll have to stay at a motel overnight, but I’ll stay masked and keep to myself.

Oh, and I don’t know yet if they sprayed my apartment for cockroaches while I was out. I guess I’ll find out once I’m home. Oh yes, and then I’ll have to see about getting a new microwave…

A surprise I did not need

Well, just when I thought everything was going reasonably smoothly in the run-up to Shore Leave — car repaired swiftly, COVID test scheduled promptly and turning up negative, my own physical fitness improved somewhat in recent weeks — I got thrown a bit of a curve ball. This morning, I noticed an odd silhouette on the clock of my microwave oven. Was there a bug on it? I looked closer, and it turned out there was a bug inside the clock. And then I saw another one crawl across it.

I have no idea how, but somehow some bugs must’ve nested inside the workings of my microwave, probably slipping in through the air vents or something. I’m not sure, but they’re probably cockroach nymphs. (I took a photo to show the manager, but I don’t want to inflict it on my readers.) I immediately took the microwave out onto the balcony, and as soon as the office opened, I went to notify the manager. Apparently I’m now required to get a cockroach spraying in my apartment, which is something I’ve always managed to avoid until now, relying on plastic roach baits instead. They’ve always worked in the past, but not so much lately, and now I’m wondering if a hidden nest inside the microwave might explain that. Anyway, they’ll presumably do it while I’m away, which works out, I guess. Unless they come today, but I didn’t get the impression they would.

Unfortunately, neither the manager nor I had any idea how to get bugs out of the inner workings of a microwave. Maybe putting a chunk of dry ice inside overnight would suffocate them, but I don’t have time to sort that out when I have to make final preparations for my trip tomorrow. And I’m not allowed to leave appliances sitting on the balcony. I hated to do it with an otherwise perfectly workable appliance, but my only option was to lug the microwave to the dumpster out back.

On the other hand, I just looked back through my records, and unless I omitted something, the last entry I have for buying a microwave oven was from 2005. Which appears to be consistent with when this model was on the market. So it had a good long run. And a new one can be had for about 100 bucks or so, which isn’t too bad, though it’s not great, either. (I’ll be getting a nice-sized check after I finish my current project in about a month, but I don’t yet have any work lined up beyond that.)

I checked, and apparently Target has a sale on microwaves that’s ending today. I decided to walk up to the Target store a few blocks away, a small one serving the university, to see if they had a suitable one. But I couldn’t carry it back; I had a hard enough time lugging the old one down to the trash. I thought I might ask if they did same-day delivery, the cost of which would presumably be cancelled out by the sale price.

But the only microwaves they had were 900 watts, while I’m used to 1100. Maybe if I’d had time to think it over, I’d have decided to settle for the lower power. But it was a token effort anyway, so I just went home (then promptly went out to return some library videos and mail a package, as long as I still had fresh sunblock on).

I guess I’ll just have to get by without microwave food for the rest of today and tomorrow morning, and then an unknown amount of time after I get home. That’s easier now than it would’ve been once, since I rely less on frozen dinners (stovetop mixes, pasta, etc. are cheaper) and use an electric kettle to boil water. But there are still a number of things I routinely microwave, like hot dogs, veggie-burger patties, and single-serve macaroni pouches (which I just restocked on yesterday, and only work in the microwave). Come to think of it, maybe I should get a smaller one next time after all, since I rarely use it for anything big.

I wonder if they make smaller 1100-watt ovens. Or does it scale with size, so that a smaller 900-watt heats as fast as a larger 1100-watt? I’m not sure that makes sense given how microwave ovens work, but maybe the energy is more concentrated in a smaller volume?

Well, that was fast…

As I mentioned in my Shore Leave post earlier today, I dropped off my car this morning for the electrical repair work I needed done. The guy at my regular garage, which is about a one-mile walk from home, told me that they couldn’t identify the problem there, so they recommended that I take it to a shop about four miles away, a bit harder to get to, but a few minutes’ walk from a bus route. I’d been hesitant because I was reluctant to take the bus during the pandemic, but I finally had to get around to it to be ready for Shore Leave.

As it happened, I just missed the bus I should’ve taken and caught another one that used to go the same way past the university, but it turned out it actually goes a different way now. But the point where it diverged, a bit over halfway to home, was within what I consider manageable walking distance, past Burnet Woods and through the university. So I got off at that corner and walked the rest of the way. Two weeks ago, it might’ve been harder, since it’s uphill nearly all the way. But I’ve been taking pretty much daily walks lately and I’m feeling more fit.

I’d been worried that the electrical problem would be some complicated thing that they needed time to fix, or that there’d be a big backlog, given that I needed days’ advance notice to schedule the dropoff. I hoped it wouldn’t take so long that I’d be late for the trip. But as it turned out, they called me less than four hours after I dropped it off and told me they’d already fixed it, and done the basic maintenance and safety checks I asked for too!

Apparently they did a point-by-point inspection of the electrical system to try to identify where the fault was, and didn’t find an answer, which I guess is as far as my regular garage got. But then they looked a little deeper and found that there was simply a fuse missing! Apparently it’s so elementary that they didn’t think to look for it at first.

So it was an easy fix, but it left me with the need to travel to that garage twice in one day. I rested up a bit more, then tried to walk as far as I could. If it had been my only walk that day, I could’ve probably made it the whole way. But I only made it about a third of the way, maybe, before my knees advised me they’d had enough. So I sat and waited and took the bus the rest of the way, though I had a fair walk from the bus stop to the garage, this time through unfamiliar territory (though I had a map printout to follow).

So that went fine, except that on the drive back, the GPS tried to make me turn onto a closed road, and I had to do some awkward circling to try to get out of it. A police car went right by me while I was veering around confusedly, but fortunately didn’t seem to think it looked as dangerous as it felt to me, because they went right by. Oh, yes, and when I was nearly home, a cement truck blocked the intersection I had to pass through, but fortunately I was able to make a right turn to squeeze past it and then go left onto a parallel road… which was blocked by a delivery truck, so I made another left and a right to get back onto the intended road.

But now my car is back, and it’s fixed, and that’s one major thing off my pre-Shore Leave checklist.

Schedule for Shore Leave 42 (Updated)

The schedule of Shore Leave panels and events is now up:

Schedule

I’ve signed up for a fair number of panels on Friday and Saturday, assuming everything goes smoothly with my car repair and travel. (I dropped off the car a bit over an hour ago, and they said they didn’t think it would take too long to fix — I hope they’re right. I tried out the car clip for my phone, and it worked okay, making it somewhat easier to see the GPS screen. I discovered I could use an elastic hair band over the clip ends from behind to hold the phone in the clip a bit more snugly. The drawback of the vent clip is that I’m not supposed to use it when the car heater is on, but that won’t be an issue until winter.)

Here’s where you’ll hopefully see me this weekend:

Friday, July 15

4pm, Salon F: The Latest and Greatest

David Mack, Richard C. White, Russ Colchamiro, Sherri Cook Woosley, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Heather E. Hutsell, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Christopher L. Bennett, Christopher D. Abbott

Come find out what our authors have been working on! Hear about their newest books—and their next ones.

8pm, Salon E: Kick-Ass Heroes Who Don’t Kick Ass

Rigel Ailur, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Christopher L. Bennett, Susan Olesen, TJ Perkins

What heroes triumph using brilliance, smarts, cleverness, guile, etc., instead of violence? The Doctor comes to mind, as do some iterations of Wonder Woman. Who else? Does that aspect of their character get overlooked too often and not receive the credit it deserves?

10pm-Midnight, Hunt-Valley Hallway: Meet The Pros

Meet your favorite Author and buy your favorite books from our Bookseller.

Saturday, July 16

12pm, Derby: Worldbuilding & the Star Trek Universe

Amy Imhoff, Kelli Fitzpatrick, Derek Attico, Greg Cox, Dayton Ward, CLB

Encompassing all of what’s new in Trek, from the shows to Star Trek Online to tie-in properties like comics, novels, and other media, this IP is expanding, with new creators and production designers bringing fresh perspectives.

2pm, Derby: Truly Alien Beings

Rigel Ailur, CLB, David Mack, Laura Ware

When have Star Trek and other franchises done uniquely different entities really well, and when not so well? Is this different from the fantastical—but not alien—creatures in Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Doctor Who? If so, how?

UPDATE: 5pm, Belmont: eSpec Books Presents

Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Aaron Rosenberg, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Russ Colchamiro, Mike McPhail, Jenifer Purcell Rosenberg, Hildy Silverman, Christopher L. Bennett

The newest from eSpec Books

Sunday, July 17

1pm, Salon F: The Game Is Afoot!

Michael Jan Friedman, Mary Fan, Roberto Rogow, Christopher D. Abbot, CLB

Sherlock Holmes never goes out of style, yet the famed sleuth is seeing renewed life with various stories, novellas, and two rumored series in the works with Robert Downey, Jr. Why does the man from Baker Street endure after all these years?

It seems I don’t really have any new or recent Star Trek projects to talk about, since there doesn’t appear to be a Star Trek Adventures panel this year. But I’ll be able to talk about my Arachne novels and Tangent Knights, and my past couple of Trek novels might come up somewhere.