Author: Douglas

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Day 69: Pre-PCP

I am anticipating a possible outage tomorrow during the 9th annual Pumpkin Carving Party.  I’ve got many things going on that will make it challenging to sit in front of the computer for any length of time.  Maybe I should set my alarm?

We’ve been planning for a party here.  Thus far I’ve bought $200 dollars worth of food and still have to cook it and buy beer.  I’ve half made a train costume for Halloween and need to get that done or be kicked out of “World’s Best Dad” club.  Cleaned the house .  Cleaned the office.  GOt the car in the garage.

I need to mow, sweep, and decide not to do a spiderweb this year–again.  Probably ought to shave.  I need to wrap presents for the birthday party the next day and maybe I have to get a card, but she’s one so I am not sure on the protocol there.

Hopefully, today will wrap up nicely at work and I’ll be done by mid-afternoon.

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Day 68: Menagerium Incipiam

I finally dug up my copy of “Robota” by Doug Chiang and Orson Scott Card. Throughout my considerations of “Bringer” that book came to mind nearly every time I tried to picture the main character. I’ve purposefully only skimmed through it now that I have found it to avoid plagiarism. Though I don’t mind the fleeting glimpse to become inspired.

Chiang’s work has inspired me to consider everyday things, but in different scales and in different proportions. Making some animal bigger isn’t all that unexpected, but making an animal bigger by making one of its parts bigger seems to be a good general place to start. So I am going to create a menagerie of sorts.

Nothing super fancy struck me, but I like the idea of a cat with a long tail.  A tail that’s twice or three times as long as tails normally are.  Could be for over-balance or maybe even prehensile.   Even stranger to think it might have been part of the process to domesticate cats.  Like there was a reason they were bred.

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Day 67: More on Johnka’s Sledge

The cockpit/bridge [need a better term and consistency here] of Johnka’s floating sledge underslings the prow.  The driver [captain] enjoys most of the day in the sun.  For early morning and late afternoon sun the driver flies bright canopies.  Some models are equipped with a heliotracking curtain that does the work for the driver.  During light wind storms or gusty days a sand curtain is hung around the entire cockpit.

On brisker days drivers land the sledge, lower the balloons, and anchor the craft as best they can.  The kabs are drawn up on the windward side to protect the craft.  [could go either way on the logic here; maybe the kabs should be leeward]  With the sledge leeward of the kabs there is less digging to be done to get back underway.  I’ve seen 3/4 buried kabs stand and walk away with no more than a grunt to mark their effort.

Behind the cockpit, most modern sledges have a small kitchen: a cook stove, a sink and a low table.  On either side of that one room is a berth or two.  Larger sledges with a crew will have a long narrow hall running the length of the ship to a larger bunk room and small mess.

Clearly I need to decide what sort of vehicle this is: sled, ship, or wagon.  Nautical terms on the web here I come.

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