My tribute painting to the Origi graffiti

 

Off to Chicago for some convention work

 Star Trek Mission Chicago

April 8-10. 2022

Season 8 of Reign coverage

 

Season 8 of @GoalieGuys coverage and match reports on ProstAmerika has begun.

My tenth Cascadia NWSL Derby.

OLR 1

PTFC 1

Now from Lumen Field ...

Media work tangents

The off cam photo was noticed, so now I need to maybe make someone here a saber ...

 

Hello Kitten

 

Somehow my chess game just gets worse with time

My chess game is not great, but I enjoy the game.  

Lately, I have been playing Blitz online, because that is so much better than against a computer or classical for what time I get to play.

I start to feel good, play a few games ok, then tank a couple terrible mistakes. This would not be terrible in and of itself, but my game is actually rating down over time.

I am actually playing puzzles and reading up, trying to get better for real. But, my rating is a chunk lower than it was a year ago.

In grad school my friend James would beat me over and over, but never the same way.  I won maybe 6 and drew a few out of 100 plus games.

I think back to learning in the third grade, to being schooled by elementary chess kids in summer at camps, but I keep trying and learning.

I want to try a live speed tourney, and I will someday. Finishing low in the standings is inevitable I guess.

So be it.

Less than 30 hours

Burned some air miles this past weekend. It was warm and sunny.  A nice dinner and lunch on the waterfront.  Dipped my toes in some cold water on a hot day.  Ate some chocolate. Played a couple really old arcade games. Pleasant company. Cute little room.  A couple museums. Turnaround time between airport checks just under 30 hours. Home.

 

Breaking that favorite item

 I broke my favorite kitchen knife.

The chicken was really frozen, so I tried to break it up and it just snapped off.

This is like losing those comfortable shoes ot jeans that finally wear out.

Today, while getting eggs, milk, and bananas

 In retrospect, when she sort of cut in front of me when the new check register opened I should have known something like this was coming.

The order ahead of me was rung up and the person moved along.

I had three items, oh and I needed a bag to carry them home because eggs.

The checker grabs my three items and I accept the 8 cent charge for a bag.  She begins to ring up the first and the second when the previous customer interjects.  She is leaning over the end of the check stand, holding out a ten dollar bill and bringing it directly into the space of the checker, who is actually on to the next customer and trying to move things along.  “Can I get a new ten, this one has tape on it.  Some places won’t take them.”  The checker tries to tell her that this will take a moment, after all, she was ringing up the next customer.

The woman remains steadfast in her holding out of the ten dollar bill.  I kind of shrug in a just make her go away I don’t care sort of way, and so she briefly suspends my three item order, and gets the woman replacement paper currency in the form of two five dollar bills.  The two fives appear nice and reasonably new.  They are not really what she wanted, but she takes them with visible irritation as the checker resumes my three item order.

“I need a different dime. This one I cannot tell what coin it is.”  She is now in the same spot, extending her hand out with a very weathered dime.  The checker is actually a bit flustered by the interjections, and lack of space being respected since there is not a plastic shield there, but in front of me. Again, the order is just about done.  She managed to get all three items quickly rung up.  I am about to hand her the cash and she opens the register and gives the woman a very, very shiny dime. At no point in time did the previous customer  acknowledge me as the customer actually being helped or as being interrupted.  She had a clear focus on the checker. Her transaction was not yet complete until the money received in change was acceptable.

I get my nickel back in change, take my bag of three items, and begin to walk away as there are a couple people in line behind me.  The previous customer is still there, blocking my way, putting her coins away while stands there with her cart of one bag of groceries. She is also sort of inspecting the coins and bills in her wallet.  I decide to step to the left instead of the right to avoid her as she finally begins to move away. I exit the store and go the long way around to the car.

Reading List 2021

This is the annual reading list, and for me it seems shorter than other years, but it was a tough year to make as much time to just sit and read as I would like.

Gaming
Magic: The Gathering: Rise of the Gatewatch: A Visual History by Wizards of the Coast

Fiction 

The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm by Christopher Paolini
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir

Stardance by Spider & Jeanne Robinson

Badger: The Novel by Mike Baron

Grendel by John Gardner

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

Agatha H. and the Siege of Mechanicsburg by Kaja & Phil Foglio

The Prodigal Sorcerer (Magic The Gathering, No. 6) by Mark Sumner

Nobody's Ghoul by Devon Monk

The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov

The Crystal Shard by R.A. Salvatore
Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events by 

Brent Spiner, Jea

nne Darst (With)

The Ivory King by JT Krul

The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump by Harry Turtledove

Wayward Moon by Devon Monk

Short Fiction

Sealed With A Tryst by Devon Monk

At Death's Door by Devon Monk

Wish Upon A Straw by Devon Monk
A Few More by Benjamin Heider

Interlude: Behind the Curtain by Ren Cummins
Ripple Effects: A Wild Cards Story by Laura Mixon

Face Your Furs by Seanan McGuire

The Black Wave (Avery Cates) by Jeff Somers

It’s A Bird. It’s A Plane. It’s The Physical Manifestation Of My Ridiculous Reaction To Canonically Bisexual Superheroes Who Freak Me Out Because I’m An Ignorant Emotionally Stunted Bigot by Chuck Tingle

Non-Fiction/Biography/Poetry/Collections

Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife

The Flea: The Amazing Story of Leo Messi by Michael Part

Monsters of River & Rock: My Life As Iron Maiden's Compulsive Angler by Adrian Smith
National Geographic Complete Survival Manual by Michael S. Sweeney

A Medieval Family: The Pastons of Fifteenth-Century England by Frances Gies & Joseph Gies

Faces by Louie Raffloer

The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, A Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War

by Malcolm Gladwell

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe by Brian Green

Graphic Novels/TPB

Girl Genius: The Second Journey of Agatha Heterodyne Volume 5: Queens and Pirates by Kaja & Phil Foglio

Girl Genius: The Second Journey of Agatha Heterodyne Volume 6: Sparks and Monsters by Kaja & Phil Foglio
Tuki: Fight For Fire (Volume 1) by Jeff Smith

The Strange Death of Alex Raymond by Dave Sim & Carson Grubaugh

Butts In Seats: The Tony Schiavone Story by Dirk Manning & Tony Schiavone

Papers/Essays/Children's Books/Cookbooks/Misc

The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: From Cauldron Cakes to Knickerbocker Glory--More Than 15
Magical Recipes for Wizards and Non-Wizards Alike (Unofficial Cookbook) by Dinah Bucholz
A Smooth Exit from Eternal Inflation? by Stephen Hawking & Thomas Hertog

Heroes' Feast: The Official Dungeons & Dragons Cookbook by Jon Peterson, Kyle Newman, and Michael Witwer

Re-reads

The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss

Ephemera 2021

An interesting year.  The 20s have already been a long decade.

Soccer Media
Virtual media coverage of NWSL Draft(s), OLR preseason, USWNT for GoalieGuys and Prost

In Person Media 8-24-2021 Cascadia Doubleheader presser - Lumen Field

In Person Match Coverage
OLR 0 - 0 HOU 04-16-21 Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA - NWSL Challenge Cup
OLR 3 - 2 CHI 04-27-21 Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA - NWSL Challenge Cup
OLR 0 - 0 NCC 05-15-21 Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA - NWSL Regular Season
OLR 0 - 3 NJNY 06-26-21 Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA - NWSL Regular Season

OLR 2 - 0 KC 07-11-21 Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA - NWSL Regular Season 

OLR 2 - 0 LOU 7-31-21 Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA - NWSL Regular Season 
OLR 2 - 1 PTFC 08-29-21 Lumen Field - Seattle, WA - NWSL Regular Season
SSFC 0 - 2 PTFC 08-29-21 Lumen Field - Seattle, WA - MLS Regular Season
OLR 3 - 0 ORL 9-26-21 Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA - NWSL Regular Season

OLR 1 WASH 2 11-14-21 Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA - NWSL Playoffs (Semifinals)

Live Convention Events

PAX West 9/3-6 [E] Horse Theatre

NYCC 10/7-10 (*L Division)

ECCC 12/2-5 (*L Division)

Live Stuff

Moulin Rouge 10-7 Al Hirschfeld Theatre

In This Moment / Black Veil Brides / Ded  10-14 Paramount Theatre

This Is Halloween 10-30 The Triple Door

Halestorm / Evanescence / Plush 11-7 Climate Pledge Arena

Masquerade 11-26 The Can Can Culinary Cabaret

Movies in the Theatre
Raya and the Last Dragon
Black Widow

The Suicide Squad

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Dune

Eternals

Virtual Stuff
4-9-21 Town Hall Seattle Brian Greene

Virtual Conventions 
PAX Indie Showcase 4/10 [E]
PAX Online 7/15-18 [E]

Virtual Crunchyroll Expo *L Mod Supe 8/5-7

IRL Events
Green Seattle Partnership - Evergreen Carbon Capture 4-10

Pokemon GO Fest 7-17

Randoma

The Doubleclicks - "Science at Home" music video

0 - 0 4/16 v HOU

3 - 2 4/27 v CHI

Community Service 

PAX West

The Beach

Broadway

Hijinks

NYCC *Light

In This Moment

Halestorm / Evanescence

ECCC 

Halloween Pumpkin Pi

 

I will miss the guacamole

 

I will miss the fresh made guac at the table at the restaurant down the river walk.

The work I do sometimes leads to moments like this

 

The first travels since the before times

 This is going to be one long string of pics and comments about my first travels further than Tacoma in 580 days.  Yes, it was 580 days from my return from Chicago to taking off on this trip.  It was then 585 days between this sort of work, although I did do a local con with different work recently.

Wing check and off we go

Chicago change planes and pizza for lunch

2nd wing check heading south and east

A glorious day at the beach for the best layover ever

While waiting for the train

The train up the coast followed

Rolling through places

A Soho doorway and work tour with someone I finally met in person I work with

Just wow

The EMPIRE State Building

Street breakfast

Got to help Anthrax with a thing

Friedman's in Hell's Kitchen

The apt in NJ

Got to at least once

Best traffic sign ever during the week

The Team

Wing check as we approached home