This and that
Jun. 22nd, 2006 09:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hafoc
Went to Anthrocon, and I had a good time. The hotel was decent, although as others have said housekeeping was a little spotty. The lack of restaurants open on the weekend indicates that the local businessmen don't Get It yet, but if AC keeps coming here, they will.
You've got to see the Lawrence Convention Center. It is one spectacular gimungohuge place; reminded me of sets from any number of SF films I've seen over the years, only it's real. I might also point out to certain venues in Philadelphia that they really should investigate these concepts of air conditioning and elevators that work.
Of course, I hated the Adams Mark in Philly. Hated it with a passion. Kagemushi was waxing nostalgic about the demise of the 'grand old hotel,' saying with tears in his eyes how only a couple walls were still standing-- and I applauded. Did I say I hated that place?
So now I'm back home, and really irritated. My job has me bored out of my gourd. The only thing wrong with it is the increasing difficulty of making me face the same damned problems again.. and again.. and again... other than that, it's nearly perfect for me. It is almost enough to make me stop worrying about the usual budget crisis in my Division. I'm senior enough that a budget crash would get me transferred to some other program, not fired completely.
We are, of course, facing the usual budget crisis. With another slash-and-burn Republican leading in the Governor's race polls at the moment. His program is to cut taxes and cut spending. Fine, but that's been the program in this government for the last ten years, and things just get worse and worse. They build more prisons and slash everything else. College tuition rises, services stop, the cities go to hell, and they wonder why they can't attract any educated, sophisticated urban types to start new high tech industries. Go figure.
The Republican candidate-presumptive is Dick DeVos. Of Amway. A man who made his millions bilking people out of their savings with pyramid schemes. He's just what we need, right?
I didn't vote for Dick Posthumous in the last election. I'm not planning on voting for Dick DeVos in this one, nor do I plan to vote for whatever Dick the Republicans run next time. If they could bring in another William Milliken, now, him I'd vote for. A Republican and the best governor I can remember. But that was when politicians were only evil and nasty behind the scenes, when they needed to get something done-- and Milliken could be the nastiest of the nasty, when he had to be. But never in public. Politicians used to at least put on a civil face in public back then. All that's gone now.
Writing.. well, I am at it. Wrote another 1000 words or so on Hilltown tonight. It's up to 4000 plus in this chapter. I wrote more, much more, but I had to go back and redo it. It's hard to hear what the characters are telling me they want to do, sometimes. Anyway, at the moment, there is hope on that front.
The living room ceiling is about 40% done. Done enough that Tephra and I could put up the ceiling fan, shortly before we went to the Con. Patches Cat is no longer convinced that it is a huge insect likely to swoop down from the ceiling and eat her. She will walk through the living room now, but she still casts a suspicious eye upward from time to time.
You've got to see the Lawrence Convention Center. It is one spectacular gimungohuge place; reminded me of sets from any number of SF films I've seen over the years, only it's real. I might also point out to certain venues in Philadelphia that they really should investigate these concepts of air conditioning and elevators that work.
Of course, I hated the Adams Mark in Philly. Hated it with a passion. Kagemushi was waxing nostalgic about the demise of the 'grand old hotel,' saying with tears in his eyes how only a couple walls were still standing-- and I applauded. Did I say I hated that place?
So now I'm back home, and really irritated. My job has me bored out of my gourd. The only thing wrong with it is the increasing difficulty of making me face the same damned problems again.. and again.. and again... other than that, it's nearly perfect for me. It is almost enough to make me stop worrying about the usual budget crisis in my Division. I'm senior enough that a budget crash would get me transferred to some other program, not fired completely.
We are, of course, facing the usual budget crisis. With another slash-and-burn Republican leading in the Governor's race polls at the moment. His program is to cut taxes and cut spending. Fine, but that's been the program in this government for the last ten years, and things just get worse and worse. They build more prisons and slash everything else. College tuition rises, services stop, the cities go to hell, and they wonder why they can't attract any educated, sophisticated urban types to start new high tech industries. Go figure.
The Republican candidate-presumptive is Dick DeVos. Of Amway. A man who made his millions bilking people out of their savings with pyramid schemes. He's just what we need, right?
I didn't vote for Dick Posthumous in the last election. I'm not planning on voting for Dick DeVos in this one, nor do I plan to vote for whatever Dick the Republicans run next time. If they could bring in another William Milliken, now, him I'd vote for. A Republican and the best governor I can remember. But that was when politicians were only evil and nasty behind the scenes, when they needed to get something done-- and Milliken could be the nastiest of the nasty, when he had to be. But never in public. Politicians used to at least put on a civil face in public back then. All that's gone now.
Writing.. well, I am at it. Wrote another 1000 words or so on Hilltown tonight. It's up to 4000 plus in this chapter. I wrote more, much more, but I had to go back and redo it. It's hard to hear what the characters are telling me they want to do, sometimes. Anyway, at the moment, there is hope on that front.
The living room ceiling is about 40% done. Done enough that Tephra and I could put up the ceiling fan, shortly before we went to the Con. Patches Cat is no longer convinced that it is a huge insect likely to swoop down from the ceiling and eat her. She will walk through the living room now, but she still casts a suspicious eye upward from time to time.
