To continue telling about yesterday...

Actually, I forgot to mention that Friday we had gone to see the performance of The Adventures of Luke Skywalker by the Lux Radio Theater. It was good, but we both kept dozing off, so we went to the train. Before that we'd seen "Terror in Wolf Swamp," a radio reading which was quite funny. These had all been moved around because Patrick Stewart came to talk for a half-hour at the Civic Center Auditorium.

I'd almost hoped that I'd be seeing the babies on Saturday instead so I could go dancing today, but it was not to be. There was a "Blog this!" panel which I didn't feel like going to. (One of the panellists has an on-line journal, not a blog, and has gone out of the way not to meet me in the past. I don't particularly want to know this person any more, as it happens.) Rich went to look at a Musketeer swordfight, which appalled him. I left him and met up with Bernarob, and a SandyEggo reader, who "knew" GoE, came by and introduced herself. It was great to meet her, after we missed each other at the Pratchett party.

I wanted to accost Kim Stanley Robinson after his Kaffe Klatsch, because he had known GoE and I hadn't managed to let him know when our friend died. I went to where these things were and sat with a woman I thought was in charge. It turned out she just had something for Terry Pratchett (the next KKlatsch, and it was interesting watching to see how many people wanted to see him. They hadn't signed up but were hopeful (and the people in charge did squeeze in a young girl). There were zillions of people for TP and next to nobody for Donald Kingsbury. We met an Englishwoman Friday who has known Pterry forever, and I can't help but think he must be thrilled to be the Big Star after so many years on the fringe "funny, kind of like Douglas Adams"). She, the woman waiting for Pterry, had a long tale of woe about Wednesday, which was the day she came to San Jose from the Seattle area. It started at 5 AM because she hadn't realized her flight was that day, went through getting a bus from the wrong hotel and having no money to take a trolley to the right one, and then the right one messed up and she didn't have a reservation, and ConJose didn't have her registration, and she was having a Real Hard Day. Fortunately, one of her planned roomies came up and helped her out, but what a terrible day she had.

KSR didn't remember that Gerhard had repaired his computer, but he did remember swimming with him. He expressed sorrow at the death, and I left. That was the main thing I hadn't been eager to do, and I was relieved to have done it. Rich was at Computer Folklore, and I could shop. This is when I found my book dedication!!

I missaw "Brain picks up language early" on one of the television screens and wondered who "Brian" was and why we cared.

More buttons, these in the dealer room:

If they outlaw the teaching of evolution only outlaws will evolve. (hey, THEY would understand the coffee button!)

Earth First -- we'll strip mine the other planets later

Microsoft - doesn't that mean small and limp?

Dogs crawl under gates, Programs crawl under Windows.

Don't piss me off, I'm running out of places to hide the bodies.

I was especially taken by the stuffed Cthulhu dolls, especially the Santa Cthulhu with the hat, and jingle bells on the end of the tentacles, and a red and white scarf. It's times like these, I miss my dwarf! I considered giving such a thing to one of the World's Cutest Babies, but I kind of thought Monica would disown me. I did see a bumper sticker -- "I embarrass my offspring." The proper saying would be "I was put on this earth to embarrass my offspring."

One guy had a booth with McDonald's toys. I didn't see any Monsters Inc. things, though.

Personal Computers; what SF didn't predict

I was still bouncy about my books (which I was lugging around in the canvas bag.) We went over to the big ballroom in the Fairmont to attend this talk. Bernadette, with Robert in tow, went to a panel on "selling your artwork" and she got more signatures on her shirt, as well.

The panel, Lee Felzenstein, Dan Sokol, Al Alcorn, Jef Raskin, Allen Baum, and the Great Woz, started with a couple of comments. They don't think SF predicted video games. Jef said "A computer shall not lose your work or by inaction allow it to be lost..." Great shout from the audience: "THAT'S FANTASY!!" There was talk about the Homebrew Computer Club. They say SF writers got the human-'puter interface wrong. In "You Asked for It", a column of the 40s (?) someone wanted a way to store music. Bernarob's iPOD is certainly that! Inventers, engineers, etc. were missing the concept of consumer uses for microwaves, lasers, GPS, etc. "What are you going to do with it? Play games?" With Heinlein juvies, it doesn't matter that the technology is out of date, it's the idea that you can make a difference.

SF missed consumer satellite dishes, TiVo, Napster. Murray Leinster, in "A Logic Named Joe" predicted the Internet. It was a humor piece. (Gerhard would have liked this part. He'd have been shouting comments.)

What should SF writers write about? "What happens when refugees phone home?" in other words, when technology is really world wide. SF didn't predict that tech could be used for trivial interests. It means more screwups with reservations and coffee. They commented on the use of pagers when your meal is ready. Someone had "predicted", ha ha, computers in doorknobs, and then think of the hotel keys. Nowadays there's a class at Stanford on the history of video games.

They said nobody predicted how fallible or culpable people would mess up great technology and I thought that's not true... I just finished a Fred Pohl collection of dystopian stories where that's the common thread.

David Brin, from the audience, said of 9/11: "Everything that worked well that day was by technologies and regular people." Hollywood has contempt for regular people (flyover country) which is why the movies show stupid failures. He was the best audience commentator and was on the way to a "Killer B's" panel. I enjoyed this presentation, however. Rich commented on the egos, both in the panel and the audience... "*I* did this, *I* am in charge of that". Part of why Brin was that good is that he didn't parade a massive ego. (He may have one, but he's not displaying it.)

We hung around the statue of a great pile of dung Quetzalcoatl in the park to try to meet GoE's friend. No luck. Then we browsed around through various rooms. I had a couple more books I wanted to buy. Rich is no fun to have along at these times, since he just wants to race through. I got Glen Cook to sign the two of his books I bought.

Sapientizing Animals

We all met here to hear (most of) this panel by David Brin, Larry Niven, Vernor Vinge, Terry Bisson, and Terry Pratchett. It started a little late because the Killer B's went on so long.

Bisson never got a word in. LN: "Dolphins were put into such experiments that if they were intelligent they'd have been begging us to stop." TP referred to "couch prawns." Vinge said that TP was sort of a belief figure.

How do you get cooperation from animals you are uplifting? DB said that if they're being uplifted, it doesn't mean they aren't slaves. "Fishinado or Life in the Extreme." It takes thirty or more generations of slaves. Stephen Baxter wrote about cephalopods in space. Niven said: " the better you design aliens, the better you understand humans."

We had to leave, fascinating as it was, to walk over to dinner with Mark, Monica, and Mark's dad. This was a great meal... barbequed salmon, wild rice, yams, salad (Rich's veggies). Later there were construct-your-own sundaes. We watched The Rookie (well, a lot of it, I did doze off now and again) and got back to the motel just before midnight.

Today we couldn't find a Mass in English at anywhere or any time we needed it, so we skipped it. Rich dropped me off at Monica's at 9 and walked off to go to Faster Than Light, Ultra-Wideband Technology, Visions of Singularity, and Computer History.

Roni and Alex came a little after 10. I spent the time talking to Genevieve. Alex was having a reaction to her shots last week and was a little rashy and fussy. We went to Happy Hollow, and the babies seemed to have a good time. By the time it was "ride time", though, Alex had had it. She did like the merry-go-round. Genevieve went on a ladybug (it seemed awfully fast, but she liked it) and then Monica and G. and I went on the Dragon train. The seat was a little hot, so we put "B", the blanket, down and she sat on it. Well, this was the most interesting thing that has ever happened in her life! "I sitting on B. Not too hot!" After the tunnel, she kind of wanted to have B to cuddle with, so the ride ended none too soon.

I stayed in the car with a dozing Alex while Roni ran in for the veggies we were giving her and Alex's presents from Genevieve (which G. wanted to keep, of course.) Then by 2:30 she was gone. I'd missed the dance, but I gave some thought to walking over to the con, but at 100+ degrees, it was too much trouble.

I read for awhile, dozed a little, and used Monica's computer. The motel does have a data line, yes, and free phone calls up to 30 minutes, but it's slower than it needs to be and it sometimes takes a half-hour just to log on!

Rich got back about 7 and we drove back to the motel and walked over to Denny's. The place had a lot of con attendees, which I finally noticed as we left. I've gotten used to seeing Klingons at every turn!

We finally discovered an "A and B" switch at the motel tv so that the channels we've been looking for are there. I've been sort of watching the "Third Watch Marathon." ("Law and Order" is disappointing... you'd think they'd have enough shows for the whole weekend, but I've seen repeats three times now.)

Rich and Bernadette had gone to the Improv Story telling and Bernadette got Pterry to sign her shirt. Phil Foglio also did, and read it and laughed at it. (Take THAT, drooling fanboy in the elevator who wanted to meet Phil!) Bernadette's contribution to the story was a three-year-old with a kitten and a detonator. This is the one thing (well, apart from the dance) that I'm sorry I missed. Afterwards, Rich had finally managed to see Gerhard's friend. He'd also done pretty well in the quarter swap. He'll try again tomorrow. We missed the Hugos (without G. as a contender, who cares?) tonight, and the Masquerade last night... we're just not your die-hard fans.

ConJose Pictures from a guy in Minnesota

ObGoe: Trailing Edge Technology.