Ketherian's Notebook

More on the Kindle (sort of)
Wired has a list of E-book readers at a glance "(old crappy ones not included)". The E-book reader is the ultimate geek toy; expensive, unnecessary and overly complicated (anything dealing with DRM is overly-complicated). That doesn't deter the want (at least not my want) of the device, just delays it a bit until the price point drops some more. Odd that the Apple itouch isn't in the list.

Is anybody listening?. The BBC has (yet another) article warning about the dangers of posting disturbing, illegal or just reputation-crushing details (not just photos mind) to social websites. "Millions of young people could damage their future careers with the details about themselves they post on social networking websites, a watchdog warns." If you know someone just starting their career - ask to see their social sites. They might be surprised to learn there are a lot of people over 40 on both FaceBook and MySpace (and LJ, and all the other social groups). Have you googled your name to see what comes up? Could you show it to your mother, your boss, your mentor? If you can't - you've got a problem.

Sad news
Verity Lambert died on Thursday, November 22, 2007. She was 71. She also was Doctor Who's first producer and the BBC's first female TV producer. Wikipedia entry, Screenonline biography, Times Obit.

More for my wish list.
Sling Media. Featured on Ars Technica's 2007 holdiay gift guide, the intro ads are great - and so too is the device. It's got a low price and seems readily available for online purchase from a host of online retailers. I've not seen anything about it in Canada, so I'm guessing the only way to get this things would be through the internet.

Home Trebuchet Kit, a Few Feet Short of Perfection. Gizmodo made my day by showing me this kit. It's only 1/20th scale (aww shuks!) but it's supposibly fully functional. Now this would be the thing to make a get-together something special. And, with winter already here - can you just imagine using snowballs in this thing?

Thanks to the Evil DM for the update - The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Vol1 (12 DVDs include seven feature-length empisodes [My First Adventure, Passion for Life, The Perils of Cupid, Travels With Father, Journey of Radiance, Spring Break Adventure, Love's Sweet Song], 38 companion documentaries, a Historical overview, an Interactive game and an Interactive timeline). Amazon.Ca has it for $91.99. Chapters has it for $104.99. This will eventually be a 3 box set detailing all 22 episodes of the series.

Metafilter question about buying dice has some good links to dice sellers. But what makes a "nice set of dice"? Is it their appearance? Is it the fact that they roll well (strange-shaped dice and d100s do not roll well - well, actually they roll too well as they almost never seem to stop!)? I've never really thought about it. I buy dice based on their appearance.

Events in Montreal
The 52nd Salon des metiers d'art will be at the Bonaventure west exibition hall from December 7th through the 22nd. If you're looking for handicraft, odd, or different Christmas gifts - this is a great place to go looking. The show typically has lots of small industry/home craft items for display and sale. The site doesn't have all the exhibitors up yet, but the list of exhibitors that are up are a great example of the myriad of exhibitors typical to the event.

Thursday  (June 22, 2006) was a hot and muggy day in Montréal. I packed and headed downtown for about 11AM. The trip down was uneventful as everyone on the bus and metro seemed to already be in that foggy daze one travels through on hot and humid days. There was a cool wind blowing, but stepping out of the wind, or into the sunlight, reminded you that summer was indeed here.

Once downtown, I went to Peel metro and headed straight for the Infotouriste Centre just southish of St-Cathrine. I picked up a few pamphlets and got in line to get a map. They were surprised to find out I was a local, but said locals often visit to pick up information for guests or friends. For those who've never been the Info Touriste is a great place to get all manner of information about Montréal for free.

Then I walked to Lush. Lush is a great shop that features handmade soap. As I walked in a group of about 20 children (between the ages of 3-5) walked out with their two minders ... it was quite surreal. I love the smell of the place - the scents of blueberries, ice cream, and other sweets mixed with a clean smell that always reminds me of spring. The soap is pilled in odd shapes, some decorated, some cut in cute shapes and others are just arranged around large jutting pieces of uncut soap.

I picked up their travel pack as a gift for Anne Weaton and continued to walk down St Cathrine's. The street was busy with people, mostly office-types, enjoying the weather; but there were a few sportsfans rushing from bar to bar too (or perhaps I should say TV to TV) as the FIFA world cup was playing, and soccer is a big game in Montréal.

I was still pretty early, so I stopped into a little restaurant and had a nice sandwich for lunch. The place wasn't air conditioned, but even just being out of the sun significantly changed the temperature so that I could get comfortable. After lunch I ran to Astro books and picked up my brick of comics. I barely had time to say hi to the folks that work there, I was so rushed. Naturally I left the gift I bought on their counter. I turned around and ran back only to have Paul casually pick up my bag from the rear counter and turn around to hand it to me when he saw me come in. He didn't even break his conversation to do it. I said it then, and I'll say it again: thank you.

I arrived at the Magical Blend shortly before 1PM. I went in, and lucky for me they had the book. I bought a copy of "Just a Geek" and then up to the floor above the store, where I was directed to an almost airless room with some 40 chairs arranged. I chose one of the metal chairs in the back of the room. The hosts were offering bottles of water to anyone that wanted it, and after about a minute sitting there, I could feel why.

There were already a few people in the room, and more arrived slowly over the next 10 minutes. About 1/2 the chairs were plastic lawn furniture and the other half were metal office chairs. There was a simple flat desk and chair at the front of the room and beside it was a fan, osillating and blowing a scant breeze. The room had trellis making up most of one wall on one side and a thin curtain on the other.  Unfortunately two of the plastic chairs collapsed during the presentation - no one was injured, but it sure made me glad of my chair-choice!

As I was waiting a young blond woman sat down across from me. That's Anne! That's Mrs. Weaton! I thought. I've never met either Wil or Anne, but having read his blog for so long, it took just one look for me to recognize her. Two friends (hi sinvraal, hi WAM) came in while I was waiting. Both had made arrangements in their busy lives to come to this event; and it made me wonder if the number of people present (I'd guess around 60) was all the more impressive because it happened at 1PM on a Thursday afternoon; the day before a holiday in Québec.

Around 1PM Scarlet came in and introduced Wil Wheaton. He was greeted warmly with applause. As he spoke I was reminded of storytellers. I've listed to a lot of authors talk and read, and few can do it with the same style and humor as Wil Wheaton. He read three passages from his book, Just a Geek. But he didn't just read from the book. He moved. He used his hands (well, one hand - the other held the book open), and even his body - stepping forward to show enthusiasm, pulling back to show dismay. He was whitty, engaging, and entertaining; and he seemed to be feeding off the energy of the crowd.

At about 2:30 he started taking questions. After the rush of insecurity, a few people did ask questions; and his answers were just as entertaining as his reading had been. I won't even try to parrot his thoughts (or his stories) but for one meager attempt. I love his definion of "geek" - being able to take any topic at least one step further than the common audience is comfortable. There are "geeks" for every topic imaginable. Sports geeks, for example, know all the trivia about their team, and are able to quote stats as easily as the rest of us breath.

As we filed out of the room I gathered what courage I have and stepped forward to tap Ann on the shoulder. "Mrs. Wheaton?" I asked softly. I introduced myself, shook her hand and gave her the gift. I think I said something rather silly about her being a guest too and therefore deserving a gift. My purpose was to hopefully help her like (and remember) Montréal; but my intention was just to get a smile from a visitor. She smiled, she seemed pleased - and so I am happy.

We then all filed out of the room. The organizers regularly handed out water to any who asked, but the intermission was much needed and gave me time to talk to a few people I'd not seen in years. I even remembered to give out my email address (naturally having forgotten to grab a stack of business cards before coming downtown).

We got back in line and slowly made our way back upstairs. The organizers were letting us up in batches. The line to get things signed stretched around the outter edge of the room, with Wil sitting calmly at the table. He chatted with each visitor, gladly standing up for pictures, hugs and handshakes. It was really hot in that room and the fan beside him didn't dent the heat much at all. In line I got to talking with some friends while watching Wil - he was just as engaging signing things and chatting with fans as he was when he presented.

When I finally got up there I had such an attack of ... well, lets just say I got scared. I blurted out my lines and tried to smile. I got a smile back ... and kind words; he agreed to sign 2 books for Anticipation in 2009 to auction off, he accepted a large blue t-shirt from Anticipation in 2009, and he taught me a thing or two about poker. Note to self: Must read Phil Gordon's Little Green Book: Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Texas Hold'em.

As I left (and said goodbye to a friend) I waited around the top of the stairs taking to another fellow. This guy is running RoyalCon this fall. I was hoping to get a minute with Anne, but no luck. I didn't want to break up the conversations she was having, and she was busy with a map on her lap trying to figure out the city. Since I don't give good directions, I just hung back. Then another friend arrived (or two - hi grrscarygrrscary, hi RD), so I waited until they had been through the line and got stuff signed before heading out.

I was waiting out front of the Magical Blend with a friend when I saw the Weatons depart. They seemed happy; which is, I guess, the best way to end such an event.

My day continued ... but blogging about the Serenity Screening in Montréal later that night will have to wait.

Edited to add: This post's been sitting around on my desktop for a while now. I can't believe I wrote it and then forgot to post! Ah well; pardon the backlog'ed entry folks.

Originally posted to the AnticipationSF blog. If we can get 75 (we're currently at 40) people to "demand" Will Weaton come to Montréal - he'll set something up. He's available on Thursday, June 22nd, 2006.

I've signed up.