On the road again: San Francisco, day 2

Morning and into the early afternoon was work, as was most of the evening, but between those two times my friend, fellow writer, and blog comment poster, Griffin, led a private walking tour of parts of San Francisco that he knows very well. Along the way, we got to spend some time visiting with friends Alan Beatts and Jude Feldman of the wonderful Borderlands Books and the equally lovely Borderlands Cafe; I could happily spend all day in those two places.

Lunch was at the Ti Couz Creperie, where I enjoyed an orange drink and a crepe with ham, cheese, and egg (the "complete").

We walked for hours, pausing in the middle for sinfully delicious and old-fashioned milkshakes at the St. Francis Fountain, another place I could happily park for long periods.

Dinner was at celebrity chef Chris Cosentino's place, Incanto. The food there is rich and marvelous. We began with a salumi plate, and then I had a special dish of pork-blood pappardelle--yes, broad noodles made from pork blood--with trotter meat off the bone and foie gras. I couldn't finish it; in fact, I didn't even try. It was just that rich.

Tomorrow night is the SF in SF event at which Amelia Beamer and I are the two guest writers. If you're in the Bay Area, you should definitely come by and say hi.

Come see me in San Francisco on Sept. 20

Out on the other coast, in the mystic city of San Francisco, lives a little bookstore that can, Borderlands Books. (Okay, it's not that little, but the sentence worked better that way.) The owner, Alan Beatts, and manager, Jude Feldman, from time to time take pity on writers and invite them to the store to read, sign, and bask in the adoration of the one or two people who show up for such events. Regardless of the audience size, no signing there can be a loss, because you get to visit with Alan, Jude, the rest of the great staff, and, of course, the many, many books.

I'm going to be one of those signing writers come two weeks from Sunday. At 3:00 p.m. on September 20, I'll be reading there, with luck signing some books, and, if we get enough of a crowd to have good energy, doing some of the Science Magic Sex spoken word show.

So, if you're in the SF area and not doing anything that day, please drop by and say hi, buy a few books, and perhaps learn what happened to the hamsters.

I hope to see you there.

On the road again: Worldcon, Montreal, day 2

Flashes from a Worldcon day:

Sacrificed some con time for an extravagant seven hours of sleep. Oh, silly sleeping man!

Worked way too many hours, including two conference calls.

A panel on Open Science went surprisingly well, all things considered. Over fifty folks attended and seemed interested and even animated on the topic.

One of the audience members was Geoff Ryman, a writer whose work I have long liked and admired. In a moment of fanboy geek behavior, I caught him as he was leaving and told him how much I enjoyed his work. As it turned out, he had been talking to Jim Minz, a Baen editor, that morning about, among other things, my work. Geoff and I engaged in a short but interesting conversation that I feel lucky to have had.

My second panel, which addressed the topic of who should pay for science, went rather less well, with only about twenty people there. It did not help, of course, that we were opposite the opening ceremonies. I tried to be both informative and entertaining, but I suspect my periodic annoyance was more than clear to many, if not most of the attendees. I did the best I could.

Dinner was at Au Pied de Cochon, where we become foie-drunk on foie gras poppers (not their name, but basically what they were), poutine with foie gras, and pig's foot stuffed with foie gras. The last was enormous, and we finished less than a third of it. (I took photos with my phone but don't have email from it while in Canada, so I'll try to remember to post those photos later.) I don't need to eat the last dish again, but I"m glad I tried it.

At the restaurant, we ran into Alan and Jude again. They were having dinner with Jim Minz.

Later, going to con parties, we ran into...Jim Minz (with Alan and not). Jim is everywhere.

In closing, I must share two non-con items. The first is a news story that caught my attention with this blurb:

Elderly Woman
Busted Again
Caught With Salmon in Pants
It's 61st Arrest for 86-Year-Old

Really, how can you not click on a story with that third line? (For those who want it, here it is.)

The second is this Zombieland R-rated trailer, which Kyle brought to my attention. The mere prospect of going to that movie brightens my world. Wait for the cock-blocking line to appreciate its full genius. Wow. I am so there.

On the road again: IDF, day 1

I did some business and picked up my conference materials today, but that's about all I can say about work. For those of you who wonder why I don't talk more about PT business, the reason is simple: All of our work remains confidential unless a client directs us to take it public. So, I can't talk about it. 'Nuff said.

On the fun front, after a low-cal, room-service dinner last night, today I treated myself to that patty melt I mentioned in yesterday's second entry. It was as good as ever. You can't go wrong with grilled meat and cheese on grilled bread.

Dinner this evening was a delightful time with Alan Beatts and Jude Feldman, as I mentioned the other day was in the plans. We talked about all manner of topics related to science fiction and some entirely unrelated, and I enjoyed the conversation and the company a great deal. I hope to see more of them--and finally get to their bookstore--when I'm next out here.

It's late, and I still have writing to do, so to the novel I go.

Heading out

Tomorrow morning, I head to San Francisco. I'm hoping to get to spend a little time with Alan Beatts and Jude Feldman of Borderlands Books. The main purpose of my trip, however, is to take in the Intel Developers' Forum (IDF). I will only get to attend the first full day of the show (Tuesday), but that day alone is worth the trip.

Over the coming months, I'll be traveling a lot. I always find travel interesting, but I also miss being home. I particularly miss getting to spend time with Sarah and Scott; I'm acutely aware of how rapidly they're changing and growing. I also have a great deal of trouble managing my weight while I'm traveling, and I need to lose a significant number of pounds. I know I can do it, but stress eating and travel go hand in hand with me. Challenges, challenges.

In any case, when I next write I should be in San Francisco.