The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion
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Daily Chit Chat
Nasty commute this morning. It's 8 degrees out & we got over an inch of snow at home. The weather forecasters never mentioned any snow. I don't know what the wind chill is, but probably below zero. There's not a lot of wind, but it's certainly drifting the snow since it's so light.Salt isn't working well on the roads. It's too cold so the best ones were where they hadn't plowed yet. Unfortunately, half my 35 mile commute had been plowed. The Interstate was really dangerous. It was half plowed, lots of slush in piles with snow drifting back. At these temps, windshield wipers don't work so well & there was a tractor trailer that kept slowing way down then speeding up to pass. Yuck.
I made it in, though. They closed schools because of the cold, but Marg is supposed to have a meeting. I bet they'll cancel it. I sure hope I can make it back into the lane tonight.
I hope you make it back safely, Jim.
Our postal carriers and university students almost got the day off, even here in south-central Missouri. When I managed to crawl out of bed, soon after the sun had risen, it was 2 degrees. Next time I move I'm going further south.
Marg said it was 2 degrees when she got up. Thankfully the wind has died down. That was brutal.
I had to leave work early & run home as the water had frozen. I got it going again. The main water pipe comes up under the house in a crawl space. While the pipe is insulated, the shut off valve handle sticks out. A little heat on it & everything started to flow again. Now I have a space heater under there on low power since it's 5f (-15c). It was 8f when I left this morning at 4:30am, but only 2f when Marg got up a couple of hours later. Supposed to be colder tonight.We're just not built for it to be this cold for more than a day or so. I had terrible arguments with the contractors to make sure water lines were at least 18" deep. I really wanted 24", but was told that was overkill. Right. I was also told I wouldn't need glow plugs or a block heater in my diesel tractor. I had to put one in it, too. I don't know what these people are thinking, but I'd rather spend a little extra to prevent worst case scenarios.
Indeed. One person's overkill is another's margin of safety. I, too, prefer the latter.
-1F (-18C) here this morning. Brrr! Water's still running. No wind, thankfully.
It's been unseasonably cold here - southwest Florida, but I can't imagine what you folks are going through. I grew up in Atlanta and moved here 40 years ago to get away from winter. Brrr. I've had the top up on my car for a week now. Poor me.
Jim wrote: "I had terrible arguments with the contractors to make sure water lines were at least 18" deep. I really wanted 24", but was told that was overkill. Right."Years ago, as a consulting civil engineer, I designed a project on Sanibel Island. The customary depth for water mains is 30" of cover. When the brand new city engineer (from Upnorth) reviewed the plans, one of his comments was that the water mains needed to have 36" of cover. I asked him why. He said "For freeze protection." Then he paused and with realization said, "Oh. Nevermind." (The temp may have reached 32 at some point in Sanibel's history but certainly not long enough to freeze water mains.)
Mod
I remember the Miss Pickerell books from my elementary school days way back when (before colour TV).
I don't recall those, but Miss Pickerell sounds like quite the lady. Looks like Abebooks has the first one for about $5.60 with free shipping.
I've recently started reading from a list of greatest books. Not Sci-Fi but surprisingly I've found distinct connections to Sci-Fi. For instance in the Expanse Series there are a couple of hidden references to Don Quixote, written in 1605. For instance the name of the ship Rocinante is also the name of Don Quixote's horse. There were a couple others but basically James Holden is the future Knight Errant following his own code of Chivalry.
Goodreads has retired the most-read-authors feature. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... I'm sorry to see it go. Did anyone besides me use it?
I used it once, but I have a good idea of which authors I read the most. If I like an author, I tend to read as many of their books as I can, which sometimes takes several years.
No, I didn't use it. I know who my favorite authors are & what I'm reading, so I didn't find it helpful. I got an email that Endgames, the latest in Modesitt's Imager series shipped yesterday. I'm really looking forward to it, although I have one other in the series to read first. I don't know why it's been sitting on my shelf so long. I guess The Boss read it first & put it away.
I don't know why the Powers-That-Be put the price of a book on pre-order so high & then drop it. Since "Endgames" is on its way, I figured Modesitt probably had another coming out in 6 months or so & it would be available on Amazon for pre-order now. The Mage-Fire War hardback was for $29. I bought it thinking the price would drop before it shipped. It did so today by $7.20. That's a fair amount of money, enough to buy another book or two. I'm not hurting for money nor do I have a real book budget, but it seems like the high price would scare a lot of folks off. I would have waited if I hadn't known it would drop & I'd get the lower price. Why the initial high price if they never stick to it?
I think they were having problems with the algorithm. It’s like the one they have for following authors. I don’t get an email for every author but for some reason after finishing Dante’s Devine Comedy they recommended I follow him as an author so if he published any new books I’d be informed. Should be a rule that if they’ve been dead over 100 years they can skip that. Of course if anyone could write a book after death it would be Dante.
The pre-order price is for the fans who don't care how much it costs. They want to be sure they get the book; they want to signal excitement, and they might even want to support the author. The dropped price is to encourage ppl on the fence to jump on the bandwagon (so to speak ;).
Mod
The most expensive proto-SF I saw was Somnium by Kepler. It was $65,000. I think I'll wait for it to go on sale.
I have a first edition Currents of Space by Asimov. I figure my daughter will be the one to sell it after I’m gone. I also have two first edition D&D books not SF but definitely of value.
I have some first editions that would be tough to replace, but I doubt most of mine are worth much. I read them, don't just keep them pristine in a bag. From what I've seen, people are really picky about condition on most of the high priced books.
Most of my first editions are ones I bought to read too. Mostly contemporary authors. Card, Herbert, Sanderson and a couple others. Mostly do ebooks & audiobooks now.
Mod
Oh, of course. Having an author signature helps.
To me it is mostly silly. I like the words in the books much more than the physical object. If you are trying to maintain the value of a collectible, you can't have much as fun enjoying the book in the normal way. But, to each their own fun!
I only went to the show because it was too cold for my normal outdoor activities and I wanted to get out of the house. Neat to see some illuminated manuscripts, and some unusual art books.
Once at a friends house I noticed a 1st edition "To Kill a Mockingbird" on his shelf. He had got it at a garage sale and didn't realize it was valuable. I should have bought it for a dollar. But I'm honest, and told him. He got ripped-off by an appraiser who sold it without getting his permission, but still he made something like $8000. Lucky!
I agree with you on reading rather than collecting, although I do have a few exceptions. I'm a fan & friends with Janny Wurts, so I have hardback first editions of most of her books with personal inscriptions to me inside. I treasure those & have paperback reading copies. I didn't pay anything extra for them, just swapped her books for bowls or spinning up some cat hair for her. I also keep the Xmas cards she & Don Maitz send every year that he paints. They're both excellent artists. I gave my daughter-in-law one of Janny's dragon paintings, too.I also paid $100 for Here There Be Dragons / Way Up High, a limited edition signed by Zelazny. Not only was it the only way to get these 2 stories at the time, but I'm a fan of him & a Vaughn Bodé. It took years before I found it that cheap, though.
Most of my 1st editions are from the time where hard bounds came out first and I couldn’t wait. Also there are certain authors I like to support. I’ve read them all. Now when a book is released it’s in nearly all formats at the same time.
I bought a first English edition of Jules Verne - Mistress Branican about twenty years ago. I was actually very surprised to see how much they can cost now. Quite recently in a big book lot of paperbacks bought sight unseen I found a first edition HB of Alfred Bester - Tiger! Tiger! in great condition which was a pleasant surprise.
Like others have said its the reading pleasure not the value of the books that’s important to me.
I have a really nice special edition of the LOTR, too. My wife bought it for me for my birthday years ago. A puppy chewed the corners. Sigh. Puppies & kids, one reason I collect so few really 'good' books. I've got to love them, laugh, & move on or I'd strangle all the little monsters. Eventually they've all grown up to be decent.;)
I should have created a topic for thanking Jo for all her hard work as moderator. Did you know that when she started there were only 40 members? Now we're over 1000. Fantastic job, Jo! Thank you!
Indeed, she's worked hard for us. Thank you Jo!
And of course thanks to Jim for the growth of this group, also. After all, he's the one who brought me here!
Thank you, Jo, as well as all other mods!
Thanks Jo. I haven't been here long but appreciate the work of all moderators, if they be of 'good moral character.' :)On a side note, has anyone read "interactive" books or stories for adults. Came across a short story publisher a while back who was and still is looking for them. I'm wondering if it is catching on.
Mod
We're drying up slightly & had a sunny 60 degree day. It was wonderful to get some outside work done. I cleaned up the mulch, manure, & brush piles with the tractor plus did a few other chores.One of the chores was stashing all the stuff from the horse trailer. Marg took it to the shop today to get a window fixed. As she was leaving, literally in their exit gate, the rear axle came off the trailer on one side. They took it off the rest of the way & I found a place that would recycle it where she could drop it on the way home.
It was a goose-neck, aluminum, 2 horse trailer with a tack room. It cost us $12K new 15 years ago. We had no idea that the connection between one of the axles & the frame had corroded, but it was so bad it couldn't be fixed. Apparently the others were going, too. The frame was just eaten up where the steel axles supported the aluminum frame. Ugh.
I don't know how we're going to afford another. Even a decent used one is $12K & my little car has over 100K miles on it, so I'll probably need to replace it soon. At least the trailer broke where it did without horses on it. We got lucky there. We have Horse & Rider, sort of a Triple A for trucks & trailers. We've had to call on their services twice & they've been very good, but it's a pain breaking down. The thought of an axle coming loose on the highway with horses is just plain terrifying.
Maybe someone has a used horse trailer on Craigslist or something that might be reasonably priced.I miss doing some of that outdoor work. We downsized to a townhome three years ago. Tiny backyard. Sits on salt marsh. I can trim, hack and cut at some of the brush and vines there in the winter months, but it's not the same.
I'm in KY, John. We have entire dealerships devoted to selling used horse trailers not to mention a lot of horse related lists that the girls belong to. It's more an issue of weeding out the garbage & deciding how much we have to come up with. Of couse, there are other issues. I'm also really pushing for a goose-neck rather than a bumper pull even though they cost more & I sure don't want to get another aluminum trailer that's more than 5 years old.The girls are trying to decide on types & that part is beyond me. They've never liked step-ups or slant loads, but those are a lot less expensive & common around here, so they're considering it. Do they really need a tack room? They're far more knowledgeable about ventilation & windows, too.
Real life came up, so I had to do Cheryl's monthly duties (which Jo used to do) plus my own. While we have a check list, I may well have screwed something up. There's a lot of little fussy things to do, so it's easy to overlook or goof something. Let me know if you spot something I forgot or that is wrong, please!
Jim wrote: "I'm in KY, John. We have entire dealerships devoted to selling used horse trailers not to mention a lot of horse related lists that the girls belong to. It's more an issue of weeding out the garbag..."lol, I've heard rumors of horses in Kentucky, Jim. Appreciate the insights. That horse tending world is certainly an unknown to me. Grandad used to keep a few cows now and then, however.
Favorite line from Tom Cruise / Bill Paxton scene in Edge of Tomorrow ... Cruise is trying to gain favor with Paxton the sergeant (?).
"I mean, we're both Americans, right?" Cruise says.
"No, suh. I'm from Kentucky," Paxton replies.
Good luck with the trailers.
That was a great line. True, too. It's funny, but the area in Maryland where we used to live was more horsey than KY is in many ways. Different. Big breeding farms here with Thoroughbred flat racing & Saddlebred shows. There it was fox hunting (chasing) & steeplechase. A lot of Thoroughbreds, but also various warmbloods & tons of ponies.
ty Jim, I hope to have more time for modding soon again
You're welcome, Cheryl. Seems like the only thing I screwed up was the poll - twice. Sigh.
I guess everyone has heard the news that Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy, has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. This is terrible news. Jeopardy & Trebek have been a constant in our lives almost our entire marriage; about the time our youngest boy was born & he's in his mid 30s now.Trebek says he's going to fight it. He says he can't die because he had 3 years left on his contract. I don't think there's much hope from the little I know, though. Terrible. He's an icon.
https://www.npr.org/2019/03/07/700991...
The world is going crazy. After spending several thousand dollars on devices, you'd think they'd work out of the box. Nope. I've spent hours over the past week jumping through hoops to properly license & register them. It's not enough they're registered on a secure web site or licensed on the boxes themselves with 1kb signatures. After doing that, I had to pretty much repeat the process while they're connected to the site. That's tough when they can't be connected during regular business hours until they're fully configured & tested.I don't understand the thought processes that go into these decisions. I also had problems licensing a piece of test equipment so it would collect data. It's a one time license & a piece of hardware, but the PC it was connected to died. There isn't any charge for the software or license once the box is purchased. I can put the licenses on as many PCs as I want, but each has a different license depending on the machine's signature. Why? Why should I have to jump through hoops to get it to work? They must have licensing departments that are trying to justify their jobs.
A bank we deal with recently changed their password policies. Now it must be exactly 8 characters without any capitals or symbols. According to the web site, this is to 'enhance security'. In what world does that make sense?
I think I need to take a half day today so I don't melt down.
Jim wrote: "I think I need to take a half day today so I don't melt down. "Try not to melt or just imagine registering a new you!
The Evolution of Science Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
A History of the English Speaking Peoples, 4 Vols (other topics)Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer (other topics)
A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? (other topics)
Bleak House (other topics)
A Night in the Lonesome October (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Winston Churchill (other topics)Roger Zelazny (other topics)
Felix Salten (other topics)
Sam Kean (other topics)
Chuck Tingle (other topics)
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Me too. It was a big deal when GR changed things.