morning commute

guy on the bus on 15th this morning is panicking. he needs to get to 14th W and Howe. bus driver has no clue. consortium of bus riders check out his printed out trip plan, recognize his stop, pull for it, and give him instructions on which way he needs to go on foot from there. this spurs a discussion of how bus riders in Seattle know their routes inside out and are quite helpful. (also about the street grid, since we almost sent him on a wild goose chase into Magnolia.)

the stop before mine, the bus is about to pull away, and a man in the shelter lets out an auctioneer bellow - "someone's coming!" bus driver waits, long moments pass, and a young woman comes pelting down the sidewalk. the dude in the shelter must have seen her start running from blocks away.

i lost count of the people carrying or reading Harry Potter.

someone stuck a sign that says "Buffering..." on the Real building.

i love this town.

sorbet

Friday evening i started a book, then i read that other book, then i finished the first book Saturday afternoon. it was a nice palate cleanser.

Old Man's War is delightful. cool, refreshing, sweet but not cloying, a burst of flavor that lingers not upon my brain. i've been meaning to read it for a while, what with the good buzz it had a few years ago and the comparisons to Heinlein juveniles. (i was lucky enough to read them all in a gulp when i was fourteen. the tiny local library must have had a librarian who was a fan at the time - most of them were elderly copies when i read them and likely first editions.) i'm a military SF hater, but i have really fond memories of Starship Troopers, Tunnel in the Sky, and Time for the Stars.

anyway, it was fun. the conceit of "dying" on earth and doing a hitch in the colonial military in return for an extended life and a homestead is a cool one. Scalzi avoids being too pedantic, gives us tech notes through the Doctor's companion device (character who doesn't understand asks questions for the reader), and adds welcome emotional depth. our hero isn't broken up about leaving his kids behind, but he sure as hell misses his recently deceased wife. good stuff. in true RAH style, our hero advances rapidly and is in the right place at the right time. it's fine, because it's what you secretly wanted to happen anyway. did Scalzi want that one set of aliens to represent Islam? maybe, but he doesn't have the tools or desire to take it anywhere. that's fine too.

recommended for: getting over bad days, beaches, traveling, and getting that taste out of your mouth.

sorbet

Friday evening i started a book, then i read that other book, then i finished the first book Saturday afternoon. it was a nice palate cleanser.

Old Man's War is delightful. cool, refreshing, sweet but not cloying, a burst of flavor that lingers not upon my brain. i've been meaning to read it for a while, what with the good buzz it had a few years ago and the comparisons to Heinlein juveniles. (i was lucky enough to read them all in a gulp when i was fourteen. the tiny local library must have had a librarian who was a fan at the time - most of them were elderly copies when i read them and likely first editions.) i'm a military SF hater, but i have really fond memories of Starship Troopers, Tunnel in the Sky, and Time for the Stars.

anyway, it was fun. the conceit of "dying" on earth and doing a hitch in the colonial military in return for an extended life and a homestead is a cool one. Scalzi avoids being too pedantic, gives us tech notes through the Doctor's companion device (character who doesn't understand asks questions for the reader), and adds welcome emotional depth. our hero isn't broken up about leaving his kids behind, but he sure as hell misses his recently deceased wife. good stuff. in true RAH style, our hero advances rapidly and is in the right place at the right time. it's fine, because it's what you secretly wanted to happen anyway. did Scalzi want that one set of aliens to represent Islam? maybe, but he doesn't have the tools or desire to take it anywhere. that's fine too.

recommended for: getting over bad days, beaches, traveling, and getting that taste out of your mouth.