I will be carrying hand sanitizer around with me at Philcon, on my brother's advice. And he said that any time I touch a door handle, I'm to consider my hand contaminated.

Philcon is still called Philcon, because it's still in the Philadelphia area and features primarily Philadelphia-area writers and panelists.

And Mark, I'm friends with the people who run Philcon. If you like, I could ask them to consider asking you again next year. After all, you have as many qualifications as any of us who are panelists!

One last thing: Mike and I are leaving from his place of work about 5 - 5:30 tonight (depending on how long it takes him to get out of there) so we should be on site by about 7:30 or so (depending on where we choose to eat). If you have my cell phone number, please call if you want to connect. If you don't have it and need it, e-mail me at my hotmail addy.

-Alyce

Sue:
Teach them to cough and sneeze into the crook of their elbow. Doesn't transmit so much.

Ah! I've seen people do that, and I never quite figured out that that was what they were doing. It just looked like they were turning their head, and the arm action was part of the sneeze.

Jon A.

I've been sneezing into my shoulder or my elbow ever since I first heard it was a great idea. The advantage of it is that you can't forget to wash your hands before touching door handles or shaking hands.

- Alyce

Physics fans take note:

A discussion on rpg.net linked to this page on Schlock Mercenary which describes a plan for moving a gas giant by building a Brobdingnagian "2-ended candle" fusion engine setup in its upper atmosphere.

Leaving aside the basic engineering difficulties of making such a thing work, my first reaction was "that won't work!" Then I thought about it a little more, and realized it would work, only badly, and in the opposite fashion as the illustration suggests, as the thrust to the planet comes from the downward thrust of the lower engine pushing against the atmosphere. It would also generate a hurricane around itself, I think.

What do you think?

Jon A.

Alyce,

I've been sneezing into my shoulder or my elbow ever since I first heard it was a great idea.

Yeah, I used to call it the food service salut, since most people in the food service industry learned to do it early or wash their hands at least 100 times a day.

Sue,

Teach them to cough and sneeze into the crook of their elbow. Doesn't transmit so much.

Yep. That's what he's learned to do. He only forgets to do it when he is on a real coughing jag.

Edited by author 11-20-2009 01:52 PM
HMS writes: cupholders in the trunk

I'm thinking it's not so much for the benefit of people being snuck into drive-ins or kidnap victims but for people tailgating out of the back of their cars, or picnicing during car trips.

There was something in the news about children being trapped in trunks (& thus expiring) and how there do exist add-on parts for inside-the-trunk release levers but they would drive up the cost of the standard model (of course) so they aren't included by default.

--Matt
"Yo dude, we heard you like driving so we put a car in your car so you can drive while you drive!"

"so you can drive while you drive!"

I love that one.

-- Mark

Sector R:
There was something in the news about children being trapped in trunks (& thus expiring) and how there do exist add-on parts for inside-the-trunk release levers but they would drive up the cost of the standard model (of course) so they aren't included by default.

The story I read in the news was about parents who flopped down the pass-through into the trunk and used it as a "play area" for their kids. On the one hand, it's no so different from playing in the back of a station wagon, like we used to do when we were kids, before people knew better. Except that nowadays trunks are crumple zones. VERY BAD IDEA.

I actually think those cupholders in the trunk are for situations where the driver gets groceries and picks up a coffee at the same time. Put groceries in trunk, put coffee in trunk cupholder, no need to carry the coffee into the passenger compartment where it might spill on something.

Jon A.

Ahem, Philcon is NOT in the Philadelphia area anymore. There is this big body of water that separates New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I'm sure you passed over it tonight on your way there. That means you went to another state. You may say near the Phila area, but certainly not 'in' the Phila area.

Craig R.

Ahem, Philcon is NOT in the Philadelphia area anymore.

The US government is very surprised to hear you say that. The Census Police will be along shortly to readjust your attitude and your Congressional district.

--Jon
37980 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area

Yep, and you have several metropolitan areas listed in that Census definiton, as well as four different states. Sorry, but last I checked, Philadelphia was still only in Pennsylvania...

--Craig R.

I didn't attend the original showing for the usual no good reason, but it looks like the Christmas RiffTrax is being re-run Dec. 16th and 17th. I'll have to be sure to make one of those.

-- Mark

Wal-Mart currently has all five seasons of Babylon 5 on sale for $20 each. No idea how long that will last...

Jon A.

Ooooo...online or in store? Thanks!

Jen

In store, I saw it yesterday while I was picking up "Christmas Village" stuff for my mom.

Jon A.

Remember how Scott M. used to have a comic shop that also rented anime DVDs?

Well, after the shop folded up, he put all his DVDs into a filing cabinet but he still had all the DVD cases in the spare room at his home.

As a result of Scott's cleaning out his spare room this weekend, I've now got a couple hundred empty DVD cases... just in case anyone needs any.

Most are normal thickness (not slimline) black but some are in variety of weird colors, and there are a few with multiple-disc storage.

And -- AND -- he let me have the DVD cover art inserts & booklets for the anime DVDs. Just in case, you know, any of mine are damaged and need replacing.

--Matt
"Why?" you ask? Well, I buy used DVDs a lot, and often they're in ratty, beaten up boxes. An infinite supply of them might be useful.