mdlbear | Done Worldcon "weekend" (20110816 Tu

0816 Tu
* up 6:30; W=194.6; drugs, nose, teeth
* 9:30am PT - Christina Morgan, Homestead, Dept 174 re: neck/shoulder pain
It's a posture thing, apparently. Letting my shoulders slump down and
forward stretches the trapezius. Given exercises to strengthen the
muscles that pull the shoulders up and back, also Amazon.com: Kinesio Tex Tape
@ Thoughts on RESTful API Design (LWN)
In my definition, a real-world RESTful API is an API that provides answers
to questions that you wont find in introductory texts, but that inevitably
surface in the real world, such as whether or not resources should be
described formally, how to create useful and automatic command-line
interfaces, how to do polling, asynchronous and other non-standard type of
requests, and how to deal with operations that have no good RESTful
mapping.
A beautiful RESTful API on the other hand is one that does not deviate
from the principles of RESTful architecture style too easily. One
important design element for example that is not always addressed is the
possibility for complete auto-discovery by the API user, so that the API
can be used by a human with a web browser, without any reference to
external documentation. I will discuss this issue in detail in Forms.
* 3-mile walk
* buy: 3 more iPad -> eQuill covers at Central
@ MotoGoogle - Cringely on technology
* sync xfer
* load a couple of pens into Minnie
* call Mom
* script KH
* ask N whether we've requested a concert slot at Conflikt -> yes
* pay bills. put another $1k on southwest if possible
* $500 to Kat, for misc. plus netbook
* pack
* load drugs

0817 We - 0821 Sun - Renovation
* memberships purchased (me, Colleen)
x Johnny Garlic's
In Roseville, about 2:30 away off I80. Peppermill is 4:30
= hotel: Peppermill Adults: 2 Acknowledgement#: 324NLFC7
Peppermill Tower Room Check-In: 08/17/2011 Check-Out: 08/22/2011
Room charges (USD): 710.00 Taxes (USD): 142.30 Total (USD): 852.30
https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=ep_view_ei&eventID=2590056&lastName=Savitzky&resAckNum=324NLFC7&locale=EN_US
~ Arrive Thursday instead of Wednesday? Leave Sunday noonish? Would save
$300 or so. -> no to the arrival -- music night is Wednesday.

0817 We
* up 6:45; W=194.6; drugs, nose,
* exercises
* pack last-minute items: CPAP, neti pot, drugs; squid, kindle
finally put CPAP in its own case. Would easily fit in Chami without the
songbook, but that's just barely too big to go alongside the music stand
desk in the Travelpro. A pair of smaller notebooks with thin, trimmable
or flexible covers would work.
@ Daily Kos: Power From Fusion - It May Be A Horse Race! (filkertom)
@ Armed and Dangerous » A flash at the heart of the West
Flash mob at
Copenhagen Central Station. Copenhagen Phil playing Ravel's Bolero
@ Southwest Airlines publishes under-seat dimensions
Dog Jaunt : Airplane under-seat measurements Chami fits!
* sync netbook
* left ~10:20. Rest stop 2:30ish before Donner Pass. Construction in the
pass; traffic kept moving but rarely got above the limit.
* arrived ~3:30; a little over 5 hours.
* buffet early dinner/late lunch in the Peppermill. They have decent
roast beef and chili verde.
* stupidly left blue tote sitting on the ground at hotel reg. Fortunately
it was turned in. Had Colleen's meds, kindle and laptop.
= CC parking $7 but free with handicap placard
* Tricky Pixie concert. Now (8:22) charging scooter while waiting for
Mary Crowell's concert at 9.
* Checked out the filk rooms (Naples, in the Peppermill. They stink.
Literally. The chaos room reeked of burning oil, the bardic of smoke.
@ Crashing the Tea Party - NYTimes.com The con ctr has free wifi

0818 Th
* up 9:30; drugs, nose
* buffet breakfast in the Peppermill; nothing to write home about
@ Clare Bell is rathacat on youtube - some songs and videos
: Stupid lappy didn't sleep this am. :P Now (2pm) sitting near the
espresso stand, but not very conspicuous. I had a connection here last
night, but not now. :P
: met (author) Kate (???Richards?) sitting on a bench outside coming back
from a run to the car
* Con suite, which is huge. Atlantis, near end of skybridge.
$ 5 copies of CC+S to Friends of Filk @$9
bought copy of Michael Longcor's _Drunken Angel_, which I've been
looking for in CD. I know I have the tape somewhere...
* dinner: Atlantis sushi/oyster bar. Yum.
& In Dave Weingart's concert; lent Beth a music stand for concert use;
will get it back tomorrow. Must remember to grab another in the room
before rehearsal time.
* 9:30 rm 842 for rehearsal

0819 Fr
* up 8ish; drugs, nose,
* took pictures of back to record tape position before taking it off --
it's starting to peel
@ LawPundit: The "Wafer Thin" Writing Tablets of Vindolanda
Precede in Design the Thin Tablet Design Claim of Apple for the iPad2 by
ca. 2000 Years: Does Modern Greed Know No Bounds? (gmcdavid)
* 9:55 finally caught up on lj.
* breakfast in the Milano, which apparently serves it at all hours. The
buffet was closed for the half hour btw. breakfast and lunch.
* Colleen to CC; then back for rehearsal.
* good rehearsal. We're coming together, finally. We'll do one more
runthrough tonight and record.
* 2:45 Callie shuttles to CC while N and I swim. (eventually)
* ~45min pool time with N. Mostly in the long, narrow pool with the
waterfall. Fun! I'm out of shape.
* yummy dinner with Callie annd Colleen in the Atlantis sushi bar.
& bought collapsing duffel in the hotel gift shop. Proved very useful for
retrieving the music stand, other things.
* 8pm San Cipriano Founder's Day Party 1525 Atlantis. Sylvan wants us to
attend. Hmm. -> Convolution 2012 con-volution.com
* Open filk with Callie. Cicero, Ship of Stone, Vampire Megabyte, QV,
Toolmakers; out on WItC on Callie's suggestion
* back to room ~2:50

0820 Sa
* up 9:11; drugs, nose, teeth; bath
& forgot toothbrush; low on naproxen. Forgot quarters. :(
: hotel's WiFi is flaky; they're clearly not used to a hotel full of
geeks. No connection this morning. Why in hell do they use https for
their splash page?
: room is huge; bathroom excellent with both grab bars that stick out from
the wall, and a counter running the whole length of the room. Decor is
fake-Italianoid crossing over the line from opulent to tacky
* plan is to have breakfast, then drop Colleen at CC and go do laundry
* 1:30 at laundromat. Expensive, but fortunately there's a change
machine. Wash was $3.75 Several networks open, but all closed. At
least there are a few plastic chairs on one end. Not that you can see
the machines from them. 1:50 done washing. Driers free, apparently,
but not all of them work. :P 2:40 done
@ Ian's Shoelace Site - Shoe Lacing Methods (ysabetwordsmith)
* caught up with C, N, and Colleen; hung out, went to dealers' room and
art show, and finally went to espresso bar, sat with Shree (who used to
live in the Bay Area but is now a Reno local) and got an iced mocha for
me and an iced peppermint mocha for Colleen.
* said goodbye to C and N.
* dinner at the Atlantis buffet, which is great (though a bit pricey) with
Shree (don't know her mundane name)
* 9:29 in Bill Mills' concert. Hot and humid; he sings with guitar and
recorded backup; may be a professional performer. Pretty good; we came
in on Ship of Stone. Lots of oldies. tvof.info (The Voices of Fandom)
Nice old nylon-string Ovation -- first one I've seen. Yamaha mixer.
* Open filk. Where the Heart Is, the Bears, Vampire Megabyte (request by
Jeff Bohnhoff), Wheelin' (wanted to impress Bill Mills, who was
packing up to leave. I succeeded.)
: family emergency - have to go home a day early. :P

0823 Su
% Slept badly: ~2-3, 5-8
* up 8ish Checked out and on the road 10:30
* get gas in or near Reno
* somehow managed to get everything in the car
* home 4:30ish. Sleepy on the last leg; finally stopped for a break
* drink, salad (cottage cheese+pepper for me, grapefruit for Colleen),
stir-fried bacon and veggies.
* looking for Kingston charger tips. Currently have the wrong one on.
* exhausted
* bed ~midnight

Worldcon was... well, yes. Something like that, anyway. Good, but exhausting, somewhat frantic, and marred by a filk hotel that reeked of smoke everywhere but our room (which was large and well-laid-out). Also, the Peppermill's WiFi was sporadic at best. Fortunately, between free valet parking and the fact that convention center parking was free with a handicap placard, and the CC itself was totally smoke-free, we managed. We toughed out the smoke in the filk room Friday and Saturday nights; small, but good energy.

Between meals, laundry, and a couple of good Tempered Glass rehearsals, I missed the panels completely, and only got to maybe a third of the concerts. Maybe less. And had some good conversations, but far fewer than I'd wanted or hoped to. I did get to go hang out in one of the Peppermill's excellent swimming pools with Naomi on Friday, which was good. (The pool was long, shallow, and had a waterfall. Fun!)

The fact that we'd had to check out a day early, Sunday rather than Monday, didn't help at all. Still, family emergencies take precedence (everybody is safe; no need to worry), and there are some advantages to having a day free to recover before going to work.

But there were a lot of people we didn't get to hang out with or say goodbye to. And I go to cons more for the people than anything else these days. It was good to have another con where I wasn't scheduled to perform, though.

Backing up, I had a PT appointment Tuesday about my strained right trapezius muscle -- apparently this is almost entirely the result of bad posture. Leaving my shoulders slumped and my head forward results in the trapezius being continuously stretched; actually using it can easily result in its getting strained. She gave me some exercises; Colleen claims that she notices a difference after only a week.

Some luggage notes in no particular order: I looked up Southwest's under-seat stowage dimensions: Chami fits. She worked well on the trip, too; I was able to piggyback her on the Travelpro, though that combination really needs a strap to stabilize it. The Amazon electronics box works, but isn't big enough for everything; I need something about the same width and depth, but 6" or so longer to fit all the way up one side. I stacked a smaller box with the recorder in that slot, but it kept falling out.

Another problem is that Chami isn't big enough for a full-sized music stand desk. I took the Travelpro to the open filk Saturday night, which worked better but meant largely emptying it and repacking in the morning. I also tried wearing Chami plus Minnie as a backpack -- way too heavy for me. And there isn't a good way to wear Chami and Plink together, either. That may be worth some hacking to accomplish.

In other luggage notes, I managed to leave the blue tote with Colleen's netbook, kindle, and meds sitting on the floor by the front desk when we checked in. Fortunately it was found and turned in; the weekend could have been much worse.

Musical note: I went to Bill Mills' concert, and discovered that he was a fan of mine! Felt good, but weird. I gave him a copy of CC&S. At the filk that evening, I hauled out "Wheelin'" as he was packing up; I think I impressed him.

So... a very mixed bag. Some terrific parts, some miserable parts, a lot of stress, a few good conversations, quite a few missed opportunities. And I doubt I'll ever be back to the Peppermill. Good riddance. Did I mention the tacky mass-produced paintings?

Some good links that came by during the week, up in the notes as usual.