(1) FUTURE TENSE. The July 2021 entry in the Future Tense Fiction series is Justina Ireland’s “Collateral Damage”, about how an Army platoon responds when an experimental military robot is embedded with it.
…Unit 10003 interacted with assigned platoon during physical training and assisted in small tasks. Complete recordings are now available for download. Morale of assigned unit is high and no hostility was experienced. ENTRY COMPLETE…
Writer and military historian Andrew Liptak’s response essay asks “Will members of the military ever be willing to fight alongside autonomous robots?”
…The development of the Greek phalanx helped protect soldiers from cavalry, the deployment of English longbows helped stymie large formations of enemy soldiers, new construction methods changed the shape of fortifications, line infantry helped European formations take advantage of firearms, and anti-aircraft cannons helped protect against incoming enemy aircraft. The technological revolution of warfare has not stopped, and today, robotics on the battlefield—through the use of drones, automated turrets, or the remote-controlled Flir PackBot—have made appearances in the most recent conflicts….
(2) BOUCHERCON CANCELLED. The 2021 Bouchercon, a convention for mystery fans that was scheduled to be held this month in New Orleans, has been cancelled by the organizers. Members received an email explaining the decision (which has not yet been published). Writers commenting on Facebook pointed to Louisiana’s COVID spike, The con will be held in the city in 2025, instead. The Anthony Awards are still happening and details of the online/virtual awards ceremony will be coming soon.
(3) LONGYEAR ACCEPTANCE SPEECH. Barry B. Longyear invites Facebook readers to hear his Prometheus Award acceptance speech via Zoom on August 21, followed by a panel discussion “SF, Liberty, Alternative Publishing Trends and the Prometheus Awards” hosted by LFS and sponsored by Reason Magazine. The Zoom event will take place 3:00-4:30 PM EDT on August 21 and it is open to the public. This is the Zoom event link.
(4) FLASH FICTION ROUNDUP. Space Cowboy Books in Joshua Tree, CA presents “An evening of Flash Science Fiction with stories by Christopher Ruocchio, Brent A. Harris and David Brin” on August 10 at 6:00 p.m Pacific. Register for the free Zoom event here.
(5) BLUE PLAQUE SPECIAL. Another commemorative plaque honoring Tolkien has been installed on a British building: “Blue plaque celebrates time Lord of the Rings author Tolkien spent near Withernsea a century ago” reports the Yorkshire Post.
A blue plaque has gone up in Withernsea to mark the time Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien and his wife spent there when he was a soldier during World War One.
The Lifeboat Café, where it has gone up, occupies the site of 76 Queen Street, where Tolkien’s wife Edith lodged in 1917, while he was stationed at nearby Thirtle Bridge Camp, three miles away, for a time as commander of the Humber Garrison, which was tasked with protecting the coast from invasion.
Tolkien, who was recovering from trench fever which he’d picked up in France, had not yet been published
…The plaque, funded by wellwishers, was organised by Phil Mathison, the author of Tolkien in East Yorkshire 1917-1918.
Two others have been installed at the Dennison Centre in Hull, which was Brooklands Hospital during the First World war, and in Hornsea, where his wife stayed at 1 Bank Terrace.
(6) KISWAHILI SF PRIZE. The Nyabola Prize for Science Fiction was announced earlier this year, inviting writers between the ages of 18 and 35 to submit sci-fi and speculative fiction in the Kiswahili language. Over 140 million people speak Kiswahili in Eastern and Southern Africa and it is the most widely spoken African language in the world. The deadline to enter was May 31. Read the March 24 announcement here. It offers $1,000 to the first place winner, and $500 and $250 to the second and third place winners. The top ten stories will be published in an anthology.
In a recent interview published in The Conversation, two of the prize’s principal administrators, Mukoma wa Ngugi and Lizzy Attree, commented on the impact of empowering writers to create sci-fi in African language literature. “New Kiswahili science fiction award charts a path for African languages”.
…Mokoma adds that fostering science fiction in African languages changes the narrative that African languages cannot accommodate scientific discourse:
“There is also the idea that African languages are social languages, emotive and cannot carry science. Most definitely not true. All languages can convey the most complex ideas but we have to let them. There is something beautiful about African languages carrying science, fictionalised of course, into imagined futures.”
(7) THERE WILL BE WAR. [Item by Jennifer Hawthorne.] This was originally a thread on Twitter, but Cory Doctorow compiled and posted it to his blog. “Games Workshop declares war on its customers (again)”. It references Making Light, Warhammer 40K (extensively) and “Starship Troopers.”
There’s a difference between a con-artist and a grifter. A con-artist is just a gabby mugger, and when they vanish with your money, you know you’ve been robbed.
A grifter, on the other hand, is someone who can work the law to declare your stuff to be their stuff, which makes you a lawless cur because your pockets are stuffed full of their money and merely handing it over is the least you can do to make up for your sin.
IP trolls are grifters, not con artists, and that’s by design, a feature of the construction of copyright and trademark law.
Progressives may rail at the term “IP” for its imprecision, but truly, it has a very precise meaning: “‘IP’ is any law that lets me control the conduct of my customers, competitors and critics, such that they must arrange their affairs to my benefit.”…
(8) TALKING ABOUT PIRANESI. Susanna Clarke will discuss her Hugo-nominated and Kitschie-winning book Piranesi with Neil Gaiman in a free (or pay-what-you-can) online event September 2 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific. Get tickets here.
Step into the extraordinary and mysterious world of Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Susanna Clarke as she discusses her spectacular novel, Piranesi, with the one and only Neil Gaiman live and online exclusively for 5×15. Join us for what promises to be an unmissable conversation between two of our best loved, most powerfully imaginative writers.
(9) THE BOOK OF VAUGHN. Boing Boing reports there’s a “Vaughn Bode documentary in the works”. [Note: The line over the “e” in his name is not shown here because WordPress doesn’t support the character.]
Vaughn Bode was one of the coolest underground artists of the 1960s and 1970s, painting a joyous mix of sexuality, psychedelia and appropriated cartoon tropes. It would have been his 80th birthday this month, and director Nick Francis is preparing a documentary about his short life and long influence.
(10) THE FORCES OF EVIL DO NOT SLEEP. Cora Buhlert writes about the new Masters of the Universe: Revelation cartoon and the classic sword and sorcery influences on the Masters of the Universe franchise in general in “Eternia Revisited – Some Reflections on Master of the Universe: Revelation”. Includes spoilers.
…Those cartoons were basically 25-minute toy ads and I knew that even as a kid (especially since the commercial breaks helpfully ran ads for the very same toys). Nonetheless, I loved them. They also had a big influence on me – how big I wouldn’t realise until many years later. And I’m far from the only one. Look at how many reboots, reimaginationings, live action versions, etc… of 1980s kid cartoons there have been in recent years. For example, right now Snake Eyes, a pretty neat looking movie based on the ninja character from G.I. Joe, is in the theatres. They may only have been glorified toy commercials, but those cartoons influenced a whole generation and have outlasted many of the more serious and wholesome media of the same era. At any rate, I don’t see a big screen Löwenzahn reboot anywhere. As for wholesome and educational cartoons, how wholesome and educational does Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids look now, knowing what we know about Bill Cosby?…
(11) THREE COSTUMERS PASS AWAY. The International Costumers Guild has announced the deaths of three veteran masqueraders in recent days.
R.I.P. Robert “G. Bob” Moyer. He was a fixture at many East-Coast Costume-Cons, and always had good garb. He was also known for his middle-eastern dance skills and charming personality.
More sad news for our community, Leo d’Entremont passed away suddenly at home last night. [August 1] He will be missed at many events and our thoughts go out to his wife and family.
Dana MacDermott passed last night. [August 3] An inspiration and icon to many, she will be missed. Our thoughts go out to her husband, Bruce MacDermott, as well as her sons, family and many friends.
(12) J.W. RINZLER (1962-2021). Jonathan Rinzler, who wrote under the name J.W. Rinzler, died July 28 from pancreatic cancer at the age of 58.
Berkleyside has a detailed appreciation of his career: “Remembering Jonathan Rinzler, bestselling author of ‘Star Wars’ books”.
Rinzler had a prodigious career as a bestselling author of cinematic history books about Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and other 20th century blockbuster films. He joined Lucasfilm in 2001 and became the executive editor of its publishing arm, Lucasbooks. Over 15 years, he authored an extensive body of Star Wars-related publications, including The Making of Star Wars (a New York Times bestseller), The Making of The Empire Strikes Back, The Making of Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: The Blueprints, and The Sounds of Star Wars.
… In addition to his multiple books about the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, he wrote The Making of Aliens, The Making of Planet of the Apes, The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, and Howard Kazanjian: A Producer’s Life.
…In addition to his nonfiction works, Rinzler wrote two novels, the No. 1 best-selling graphic novel The Star Wars, which he co-authored with artist Mike Mayhew, and his recent space history novel All Up…
Mary Robinette Kowal added this note to the announcement:
(13) MEMORY LANE.
- 1972 – Forty-nine years ago at L.A.Con 1, Poul Anderson win the Best Novella Hugo for “The Queen of Air and Darkness”. (It was his fourth Hugo. All of his Hugo wins would be in the non-Novel categories.) Other nominated works “A Meeting with Medusa” by Arthur C. Clarke, “The Fourth Profession” by Larry Niven, “Dread Empire” by John Brunner and “A Special Kind of Morning” by Gardner R. Dozois. It would also win a Locus Award for Short Fiction and a Nebula Award for a Novelette. (One work, three different categories.) It’s available, not surprisingly, in The Queen of Air and Darkness: Volume Two of the Short Fiction of Poul Anderson which is available from the usual suspects.
(14) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.
[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]
- Born August 4, 1923 — Paul Schneider. He wrote scripts for the original Star Trek, Star Trek: The Animated Series, The Starlost, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. He’s best remembered for two episodes of the original Trek series: “Balance of Terror” and “The Squire of Gothos.” “Balance of Terror,” of course, introduced the Romulans. (Died 2008.)
- Born August 4, 1937 — David Bedford. Composer who worked with Ursula K. Le Guin to produce and score her Rigel 9 album which the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction says is “a work that is musically pleasant although narratively underpowered.” I’ve not heard it, so cannot say how accurate this opinion is. (Died 2011.)
- Born August 4, 1942 — Don S. Davis. He’s best-known for playing General Hammond on Stargate SG-1 and Major Garland Briggs on Twin Peaks. He had a small part in Beyond the Stars as Phil Clawson, and was in Hook as Dr. Fields. Neat factoid: on MacGyver for five years, he was the stunt double for Dana Elcar. (Died 2008.)
- Born August 4, 1944 — Richard Belzer, 77. In the Third Rock from The Sun series as himself, also the Species II film and an adaption of Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters, along with series work too in The X-Files, The Invaders, Human Target, and a recurring role in the original Flash series to name a few of his genre roles.
- Born August 4, 1950 — Steve Senn, 71. Here because of his Spacebread duology, Spacebread and Born of Flame. Spacebread being a large white cat known throughout the galaxy as an adventuress and a rogue. He’s also written the comic novels, Ralph Fozbek and the Amazing Black Hole Patrol and Loonie Louie Meets the Space Fungus. Spacebread is available at the usual suspects for a mere ninety cents as is Born of Flame: A Space Story!
- Born August 4, 1968 — Daniel Dae Kim, 53. First genre role was in the NightMan series, other roles include the Brave New World tv film, the second Fantasy Island of three series, recurring roles on Lost, Angel and Crusade, the Babylon 5 spinoff Crusade series, Star Trek: Voyager, Charmed and voice work on Justice League Unlimited.
- Born August 4, 1969 — Fenella Woolgar, 52. Agatha Christie in “The Unicorn and The Wasp” episode of Doctor Who where she more than capably played off against David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor. She was series regular Min in the Jekyll series. Her only other genre work was as Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester.
- Born August 4, 1981 — Meghan, the former Duchess of Sussex, 40, Yes she’s done a genre performance or so. To be precise, she showed up on Fringe in the first two episodes of the second season (“A New Day in the Old Town” and “Night of Desirable Objects” as Junior FBI Agent Amy Jessup. She was also in the “First Knight” episode of Knight Rider as Annie Ortiz, and Natasha in “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Lose” on Century City.
(15) COMICS SECTION.
- Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal’s “Sandwich” strip shows a robot maddeningly determined to keep humans safe.
(16) FF@60. Fans will get to experience two of the Fantastic Four’s greatest adventures in a new way when Fantastic Four Anniversary Tribute #1 is published in November. In the tradition of Giant-Size X-Men: Tribute To Wein & Cockrum #1 and Captain America Anniversary Tribute #1, this giant-sized issue will present classic stories with new artwork by today’s leading artists.
Sixty years ago, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby made history and brought about the beginning of the Marvel Age of comics with the release of FANTASTIC FOUR #1. Now a bevy of Marvel’s finest creators will pay tribute to that monumental moment by reinterpreting, page by page, the story from that inaugural release as well as FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #3, the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm!
(17) HULL & POHL. Andrew Porter took these photos of Elizabeth Anne Hull and her husband Frederik Pohl in years gone by. Hull died this week, and Pohl in 2013.
Elizabeth Ann Hull and Frederik Pohl. Photo taken by and (c) Andrew Porter 
Frederik Pohl and Elizabeth Anne Hull. Photo taken by and (c) Andrew Porter.
(18) TRYING TO BE HELPFUL. Daniel Dern nominates these as the titles for Phillip Pullman Dark Materials sequels.
- The Precient Wrench
- His Uglee Mugge
- The Ambitious Protractor
- The Slye Pliers
- The Open Source Aleitheometer
- The Dust Buster
- The Unworthy Hammer
- The Book In The Stone
- The Sword In The Scroll
(19) SOUL MAN. The dark year 2204, in a world that has seen 73 years of continuous war. A Shaman is sent on a mission to convert the soul of a giant battle colossus. “The Shaman” curated by DUST.
The dark year 2204, in a world that has seen 73 years of continuous war. Recently mankind re-discovered the arts of Shamanism. The Shaman’s school of thought believes that every person or object has a soul. During battle Shamans step over into the Netherworld to find and convert the souls of their enemies’ giant battle machines. This tactic enables a single man to overcome an invincibly seeming steel monster. This is the story of Joshua, a Shaman, who is sent on a mission to convert the soul of a giant battle colossus. He does not yet know that the soul is prepared for his coming and that the deadly psychological soul-to-soul confrontation in the Netherworld will be on eye level.
(20) A DIFFERENT SHIELD BEARER. “The Multiverse Blows Open With Captain Carter In New Clips From Marvel’s ‘What If…?’ Series On Disney+” – SYFY Wire sets the frame:
The animated series, which arrives on Disney+ next week, takes Loki‘s introduction of the multiverse and runs with it, presenting alternate outcomes for our favorite MCU heroes and villains. Overseeing all of these parallel dimensions is Uatu the Watcher (voiced by Wright), an omnipotent celestial being whose job it is to watch over the Earth without interfering….
(21) THE DRINK OF DRAGON CON. Makes me wonder what the official beverage of the Worldcon would be named.
(22) AIR APPARENT. [Item by Daniel Dern.] What a difference a (longer) day makes: “’Totally New’ Idea Suggests Longer Days On Early Earth Set Stage For Complex Life” at Slashdot.
“A research team has proposed a novel link between how fast our planet spun on its axis, which defines the length of a day, and the ancient production of additional oxygen,” reports Science Magazine. “Their modeling of Earth’s early days, which incorporates evidence from microbial mats coating the bottom of a shallow, sunlit sinkhole in Lake Huron, produced a surprising conclusion: as Earth’s spin slowed, the resulting longer days could have triggered more photosynthesis from similar mats, allowing oxygen to build up in ancient seas and diffuse up into the atmosphere.”
(23) VIDEO OF THE DAY. [Item by Martin Morse Wooster.] In “Honest Trailers: G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra and Retaliation,” the Screen Junkies say the first two G.I. Joe movies are “like Team America but without the jokes” that mixes “generic military dudes and hot military babes.”
[Thanks to John King Tarpinian, Cat Eldridge, Mike Kennedy, Lise Andreasen, Daniel Dern, Jennifer Hawthorne, Joey Eschrich, Andrew Porter, Martin Morse Wooster, JJ, and Michael Toman for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to contributing editor of the day Soon Lee.]
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Thanks for Title Credit!
(I think I’ve earwormed myself…)
(13) Three different categories for one work is a bit odd.
Andrew (not Werdna) says of “The Queen of Air and Darkness” Award wins: Three different categories for one work is a bit odd.
I thought so. Part of the joy of doing these Birthdays is the deep dive into the Awards for what an author has won for a given work. This is the first time I’ve had a work win in three different categories. We’ll see if that happens again.
Now listening to P. Djeli Clark’s The Haunting of Tram Car 015
Reading just as fast as we can
Scrolling down the page with one hand
Try to read comments before good night
And then the next Scroll goes up online
We tap the link to read the news and then you say
14) Bedford and Le Guin’s space opera Rigel 9 is available in digital from Amazon. Also Open Culture has an article on this opera:
https://www.openculture.com/2018/01/hear-ursula-k-le-guins-sweeping-musical-space-opera-rigel-9-1985.html
Am really enjoying The Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas.
Had an MRI late this afternoon, which did confirm the presence of a brain in my skull. They said that, because I did such an excellent job of laying there completely still for the whole fifteen minutes, they got lovely images of it. On Friday, I’ll take the disk they gave me to the neurologist, and get her opinion.
Soon Lee: Wonderful!!
Lis Carey: This may be the first time science has confirmed the presence of a brain in a Filer’s skull — I’m very excited!
@Lis,
Congratulations! All this and a brain too! And lovely pictures!
And then there’s the costume “Queen of Air and Darkness”, which was a winner also – hi, Marjii!
P J Evans says And then there’s the costume “Queen of Air and Darkness”, which was a winner also – hi, Marjii!
Oh do tell that story.
PJ: You mean this https://fanac.org/photohtm.php?worldcon/Torcon/w73m011 costume?
No, this one:
https://fanac.org/photohtm.php?worldcon/Discon/w74m041
She was a lovely person.
Andrew (not Werdna) says PJ: You mean this https://fanac.org/photohtm.php?worldcon/Torcon/w73m011 costume?
That photo was taken at Torcon II? Anderson actually won a Best Novelette Hugo for “Goat Song” that year.
@Mike Glyer–I am pleased and proud to have made this contribution to the scientific understanding of Filer-kind!
@Soon Lee–Thank you! It’s amazing, what science can find these days!
22) Wouldn’t the total sunlight in X absolute units of time be the same regardless of rotation speed? It could be broken up in 3 periods of light and dark if the spin is faster or one period if the spin is slower. But same total sunlight. What am I missing?
I had a brain MRI when I was 16 or so but could definitely have mislaid it between then and joining Filerdom a decadeish later.
I’ve had at least a dozen MRIs in the past four years. And a well over several dozen cat-scans. When I had my latest series of cat-scans this past week to rule cancer which they did, the technician at that hospital remarked that I was her most frequent repeat patient.
(14) I don’t know whether it’s described in Schneider’s script, but “Balance of Terror” has (in my opinion) one of the great final shots of any Star Trek episode. Kirk has just met briefly with Angela (whose almost-husband Tomlinson has died) in the chapel, and he goes out purposefully striding down the corridor — to a cue from Alexander Courage’s “Where No Man Has Gone Before” score — and suddenly he’s just one of the crew, about a dozen all going to their various tasks (toward and away from the camera), then he leaves the frame as the camera continues backing up and the crew members keep striding until fadeout. A crew member has been lost but the organism goes on. It’s one of the best wordless moments in the series, even if it does have the writing and directing credits briefly superimposed.
(14) Well, why not just by the album? Not expensive and let’s say the concept is “interesting”, if nothing else: https://www.discogs.com/David-Bedford-Ursula-Le-Guin-Rigel-9/master/280726
Amazon? No, never an option, for obvious reasons…
If you’re intent on avoiding Amazon, Rigel 9 is also available for purchase from iTunes for just seven dollars. Music and Poetry of the Kesh is also available there as well, as is The Worlds of Ursula Le Guin film.
(18) That protractor is obviously angling for something.
Re our brains: the other year I had a CT of my inner ear (trying to lock down some weird post-common-cold phenomena that remained elusive). The tech seemed a little bemused when I asked for a copy of my own, but he burned me a CD which is lost somewhere in my jumble of accreted acquisitions.
@Patrick Morris Miller
I’ve been sulking over not getting copies of the pictures from my MRI since I had it done. I wanted to frame one and stick it on the wall, but I forgot to ask and they didn’t offer, sigh.
I’ve had several MRIs in my time, though none of my skull, at least that I can recall. (Head x-ray after taking a 13-stitches header over bicycle handlebars and into a sidewalk.)
I did keep copies of the shoulder x-rays after my disastrous fall in 2012. Pretty gruesome if you know what arm bones are supposed to look like.
(21) THE DRINK OF DRAGON CON. Makes me wonder what the official beverage of the Worldcon would be named.
“Rocket Fuel”, of course. 😀
21: “Hugo’s Sweat”?
Lis: “On Friday, I’ll take the disk they gave me to the neurologist, and get her opinion.”
It’s always good to get a second opinion; if there’s anybody who can confirm the presence of a brain it’s a neurologist.
If Worldcon is ever held in Houston we’ve got that on tap for you!
https://8thwonder.com/brews/rocket-fuel-vietnamese-coffee-porter
I had a can of it the other night just by coincidence, it’s very drinkable.
Jake says It’s always good to get a second opinion; if there’s anybody who can confirm the presence of a brain it’s a neurologist.
Cute but trust me when I say that they can be a pain when it comes to actually being willing to state a definitive diagnosis. I went a full year with one being unwilling to bring herself to officially note that I was having blackouts until I blacked out in a hospital room during treatment for a staph infection and split my forehead open requiring fifty stitches. The nurses for the rest of the stay dubbed it my Harry Potter scar. Still have it nearly a year later.
@P J Evans: Thanks. Sorry about my jumping to conclusions
@Cat: Yes, TorconII
(7) The Mark Protection Committee has to consider factors like “could this cause confusion” in deciding whether and how much action to take against potential infringing usages, which typically come with “Hugo Award” and “Worldcon.” (The other WSFS service marks are less likely to be used by anyone else.) And we also have to be aware of agreements we’ve made: in particular, part of getting the marks registered in the EU involved agreeing with Hugo Boss that while they will not give out anything called a “Hugo Award,” WSFS (including its licensees, particularly Worldcon committees) won’t produce clothing or other merchandise with HUGO on it. We thought that was a reasonable compromise.
There are other events out there that call themselves “Worldcon.” As far as I can tell, most of them are happening in places that have never hosted a World Science Fiction Convention, and those events seem to be unlikely to ever be held in places that have ever hosted a World Science Fiction Convention, so the chances of “consumer confusion” are low, and also because WSFS doesn’t typically try to register the service marks in places that the convention hasn’t been held, it would be difficult and expensive to do anything other than send strongly worded letters to those organizations anyway.
Now the events that called themselves “Worldcon” in places where the marks are registered are different, and we’ve had pretty good results with them, going back to the 1980s.
I really want to see the pics from the CT and PET scans I had before starting chemo. (I did watch the screen during the echocardiogram: how often do you get to watch your own heart?)
When I had some kind of mildly alarming symptom a decade or so back, the ER doc ordered an MRI or X-ray (I can’t recall which) to check for tumors or evidence of stroke or whatever. After a moderate wait, he came in and reported (with an absolutely straight face), “Well, I looked at the image of your head, and there’s nothing there.” One of the few times a doctor has deliberately joked with me.
P J Evans says I really want to see the pics from the CT and PET scans I had before starting chemo. (I did watch the screen during the echocardiogram: how often do you get to watch your own heart?)
I’ve been shown several of my brain MRIs. I can’t say that they’re all that impressive — lots of colorful, meaningless swirls. Now the after imaging of the surgical work done on my left elbow after removing a staphylococcus infection in the bone itself — that’s was very impressive as they had to rebuild the bone. Almost as impressive as the bill it generated.
I did have my head scanned a couple of years ago, when I had my Scary Thing That Turned Out Not To Be A Stroke… I don’t think they confirmed the actual presence of a brain, they just assured me that, whatever was in there, it wasn’t actually broken.
Steve Wright says I did have my head scanned a couple of years ago, when I had my Scary Thing That Turned Out Not To Be A Stroke… I don’t think they confirmed the actual presence of a brain, they just assured me that, whatever was in there, it wasn’t actually broken.
My last series of cat-scans this past week turned out to be looking for cancer, a fact that my PCP who I dearly love decided not to tell me until after the tests cleared me of having any such thing. (I trust her, so I’m not pissed at her for doing this.) Nice thing is I won’t need a colonoscopy for awhile…
I had a colonoscopy recently. The prep is always fun.
While I was living in Crystal City, VA (aka Amazon City Of The Future), I ended up with unexpected sinus problems. I had never dealt with sinus ailments up to that point, and I had vaguely heard of pseudoephedrine due to the meth connection.
So I went to urgent care very late on a Friday night to ask about options. Evidently the urgent care person was sick and tired of dealing with people, because she looked at me and said that I had an aneurysm or something like that. She told me to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
So I went to a nearby Boston Market to consider my options. I reasonably decided that if I really had a brain problem I would already be in hospital. But I have never forgiven her for freaking me out with a false diagnosis.
Rob Thornton says While I was living in Crystal City, VA (aka Amazon City Of The Future), I ended up with unexpected sinus problems. I had never dealt with sinus ailments up to that point, and I had vaguely heard of pseudoephedrine due to the meth connection.
So I went to urgent care very late on a Friday night to ask about options. Evidently the urgent care person was sick and tired of dealing with people, because she looked at me and said that I had an aneurysm or something like that. She told me to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
So I went to a nearby Boston Market to consider my options. I reasonably decided that if I really had a brain problem I would already be in hospital. But I have never forgiven her for freaking me out with a false diagnosis.
If that urgent care staffer was a licensed medical personnel, she committed medical malpractice. If she thought that you had an aneurysm, she had a legal obligation to get you treatment there by the appropriate medical staff even if meant calling the local emergency response team. Under no conditions should she have suggested driving yourself to the hospital!
Jeffrey Jones says I had a colonoscopy recently. The prep is always fun.
No, it’s not. Nor is the prep for a cat-scan. Horrid tasting liquid it is.
Which is why I’m so glad that this series of cat-scans covered that region as well. Complete with the hot flush inducing IV of course.
Proof of an existing brain would deprive me of one of my favorite excuses.
Meredith moment: Elizabeth Hand’s superb Wylding Hall which won a Shirley Jackson Award is available from the usual suspects for a buck ninety nine. It also makes, not surprisingly given its narrative structure, a great listen if you’re so inclined with a full cast ensemble.
@Cat Eldridge: for me it is, now that it’s done and I don’t have to do it again for 10 years.
@Jeffrey Jones: Yeah, that was the best part as far as I was concerned. The timer is down to three years or so for me for the sequel, though.
Jeffrey Jones says to me for me it is, now that it’s done and I don’t have to do it again for 10 years.
Congratulations! I was actually overdue for mine but the comprehensive series of cat-scans obviated the need for one as they scanned everything for signs of cancer for the pelvis to the lungs. It was completely clear.
(I’m having weird symptoms that might have meant cancer. Fortunately they didn’t.)
Congratulations to you too, Cat.
The scans the did on me didn’t include my head, but yeah, I figure I’m safe from colonoscopies for a while longer. (The PET scan was harder: you have to lie still for so long, on a metal table, and I was in a position that’s uncomfortable for that long even with pillows.)
Jeffrey Jones says Congratulations to you too, Cat.
Thanks. I’ve had so many image studies done over the past few decades that they can’t load them all into the computer system in my primary care provider at one time. They have to call them up one at a time as needed.
P J Evans says The scans the did on me didn’t include my head, but yeah, I figure I’m safe from colonoscopies for a while longer. (The PET scan was harder: you have to lie still for so long, on a metal table, and I was in a position that’s uncomfortable for that long even with pillows.)
Seizures makes it hard for me to stay still for long periods of time, so a colonoscopy wasn’t high on my list of things I wanted to do. There is a new, non-invasive ultrasound based colonoscopy but it’s not commonly used yet.
(7) Games Workshop spent most of the last two decades on my “DO NOT BUY” list for persistently going after their fans. They used to target online sellers of their product – especially eBay auctions for OOP and/or modified (and painted) figures, which were not available elsewhere.
They also discontinued their “Bits” service, where you could order individual figures or sprues that were part of other sets. And then sent C&D’s to dealers who started selling their spare bits.
And they targeted creative works that – in some cases – made their product more appealing. Like additional scenarios for Space Hulk or other games that fans had designed and uploaded to BoardGameGeek.com.
A few years ago, they loosened their grip a bit, and instituted a bunch of more fan-friendly policies. I started buying their stuff again. Not a ton – three box games and a bunch of figure packs, a few paints and accessories.
And now I’m giving serious thought to adding them back to my Do Not Buy list and shelving their games. Again.