Norwescon notes

[ironymaiden]

due to my brain being full of work stuff, the weekend wasn't as restorative as i hoped. but there was still plenty of goodness.

as mentioned previously, the science GOH is a costumer with a magnificent beard, and i will always treasure in my heart the memory of him using his trident to point out features on projections of Pluto and Charon.

i didn't do much with the other guests...not very interesting to me, or already in my social circle. i did enjoy the Angry Robot books panels. their founder is a character, but in a good way*. the household ended up with three of their books as swag, they all sound good.

loose panel notes:

• The key to pinup art is extra vertebrae. More length in torso shows off hip and breasts. (Most people are 5.5 heads tall.)



• Chris Wahl beefcake Popeye and Shaggy



• Lunar soil is too spiky for plant roots. It will literally cut through them. To farm on the moon we need to tumble the soil. Mars is easier since there has been water. Mars dirt is more like diatomaceous earth.



• (on radiation exposure) Lung tissue collects alpha particles



• Neutron radiation is only an issue in places like Hanford where the concentration is crazy high



• glacial lake Missoula flood



• Harold McCluskey accident



• Radioactive kitty litter



• Helium comes from decaying radioactive material



• Nagasaki material came from 100b. Now open for tours.



• Tritium contamination treatment: half rack of beer on the way home

*ask me about my impressions of Jim Baen for contrast

Comments

[brithistorian]

You can't just drop something like that in a footnote and walk off! What about your impressions of Jim Baen?

[ironymaiden]

well, it's been more than ten years (eep). basically he spouted some sexist shit about women in the military after a huge fangirl in the audience had identified herself as a naval officer. while he was sitting beside IIRC (wasn't a fan at the time) Lois McMaster Bujold or maybe Terri Weiskopf. definitely a kickass woman vital to his business. as i think about it, between that and the godawful John Ringo book in the swag bag, i was turned off the Baen brand for years.

[brithistorian]

Somehow I'm not at all surprised by this, and yet it pales in comparison to the crime of inflicting John Ringo on the world. ;)

[ironymaiden]

For contrast: a comment/question about how Angry Robot has a lot of books with "strong female characters" got a response that was "of course! they ARE over half the people in the world". and then went on to talk about not wanting that definition to be restricted to fighting prowess. (on my TBR list now, a book about a labor organizer!?)

[buhrger]

Impressions Are Wanted! Thread, Continue!

[ironymaiden]

i suspect that if he had been alive for the Sad Puppies, his response would have been...interesting.