Saint Nickanuck of the Tundra

“When you are playing a character of solid blackness, that in itself is very interesting, in the sense that you have no other motivation other than the accumulation of power…  It’s not so much about not having a moral center, it’s just that the only thing that mattered is increasing power.”

“I’ve been trying to find a redeeming feature to Palpatine, and the only one I’ve got so far is that he’s clearly a patron of the arts because he goes to the opera.”

-Ian McDiarmid on Palpatine, from Homing Beacon #137

Some people have decided that it is currently “homeopathy awareness week.”

As such, it is incumbent on me to do my part in the distribution of educational materials:

[nod of the head-mirror to Hell’s News Stand]

The radio experience was quite fun this morning, involving a lively discussion with Jackie about her role at Sinai, and how that relates to such bugs as swine-origin influenza and MRSA.  Callers asked some interesting questions about eye, bone, and prostate infections, which added some variety to the proceedings.  I decided to experiment with asking my Twitter followers for questions as well, and they did not disappoint - many thanks to Jim/Pink Tornado and Vividmuse for their contributions!  I even got an SMS question from Frank that I tried to slide in at the end, although there wasn’t enough time to do it justice.

In theory, the shows are archived and available as podcasts, although the archiving is incomplete and there isn’t any RSS-related “podcasting” to speak of.  Hopefully, that will fixed in the near future.  Not that there are any future plans, or anything…  *insert evil laughter here*

A blast was had at Balticon, and I was immediately spit back out into the work week with a serious case of con fatigue.  Fear not, an actual con recap is on the way!

You may gasp in amazement, but only once.  I’ll wait.

For now, I’m pleased to report that I’ll be on the Ask the Expert show this Sunday, May 31, from 08:00-09:00 EST on WHFS 105.7 FM radio…  although this time, as the host.  Our regular hostess, the lovely and talented Rudy Miller, will be taking a much deserved vacation, and left the reigns of this week’s show in my clutching, purulent hands.  My erstwhile radio partner in crime, Jackie Daley, will join me as a guest to give an update on how the swine-origin influenza outbreak has progressed, other infectious topics, and take listener calls. The most prominent of Lafferty’s Rules will again be prominent - wash your hands. You can tune in directly if you are in the Baltimore area, or check out the live feed from their website.

Balticon is nearly afoot.  It is a thing of glory and excellence, and you must go.  Look at Jared - he’s going, even with shattered and mending bones.  I will be around and doing all manner of things, like so:

• Hard Science for Beginners, Fri 7pm - In which I, with other science-types, discuss why one should not begin with soft science.

• Meet the Scientists Social, Fri 10pm - There will be SCIENCE in the air.  And food.  What more do you need?  Really?

• Live Escape Pod, Sat 10am - Balticon’s Guest of Honor is author Charlie Stross, and Steve Eley has put together a live cast recording of Stross’s story Rogue Farm. I will be playing someone who says wizened things while drinking a pint of beer. Ahh, true to life characters…

• Live Aliens You Will Meet, Sat 3pm - Puppet aliens dueling in song win the coveted Intergalactic Idol crown!  That is all.

• Live Mister Adventure, Sat 10pm - Another pulp tale of superheroic derring-do!  These are doubly fun at Balticon due to the sheer volume of voice (heh) talent available.
  

• What’s Your Vector? Lyme and Related Diseases, Sun 4pm - It’s May in Baltimore, and that means Lyme Disease season is beginning.  Join me as I sort through some of the misconceptions, myths, and uncertainties surrounding this tick-borne bug.  Also, because it’s in context, I will finally be discussing syphilis in a con talk!  And some of you know what great joy that brings me… 

• Live Vintage Gamer, Sun 10pm - Jim brings the excellent Vintage Gamer show to Balticon for it’s first ever live video recording, with myself as one of the guests!  Vintage games will be shown and discussed, musical interludes will be performed, and… there just may be a gaming competition.  I’ll need my scrubs…

Apart from the above events I’m directly involved in, the con schedule is bursting with other awesome panels, readings, and performances - the full pocket program can be found here.  Balticon 43 is May 22-25 at the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn, and lives online here.  You must go, and say hello when you do.

Man, I leave to enjoy Ravencon and a trip to the APDIM conference in Dallas, and all manner of over-sensationalized porcine plague panic breaks loose.

If only you people would just stop doing this.

Because of your bestial transgressions, I’ll be on the Ask the Expert show this Sunday, May 3, from 08:00-09:00 EST on WHFS 105.7 FM radio. Along with Jackie Daley, Director of Sinai Hospital’s Infection Prevention and Control division, we’ll discuss all things related to the swine-origin influenza outbreak, and take listener calls. I expect that, once again, I’ll be discussing the most prominent of Lafferty’s Rules - wash your hands. You can tune in directly if you are in the Baltimore area, or check out the live feed from their website.

For more loads more information, and my more doctorly assessment of these infectious piggy proceedings, check out my post on the LifeBridge Health blog.

Once again, Laura and I are shambling down to Ravencon this weekend as science guests.  We will be participating in, or at least hanging out at, the following:

• The Impact of Digital Media (Friday, 6pm, Dogwood) - Cmar - In which we discuss how a digital mediorite impact wiped out the dinosaurs.

• Opening Ceremonies (Friday, 7:30pm, Dogwood/Cardinal) - I suppose we should stop by.

• FuMP Concert (Friday, 9pm, Dogwood/Cardinal) - In which we will attempt to be Devo Spice’s fangirls in Mur’s absence.

• Bio-ethics? Just ethics in disguise? (Saturday, 4pm, Rappahanock) - Cmar - In which we philosophize about ethics and stealth.

• Mr. Adventure Live! (Saturday, 5pm, Dogwood) - Cmar - In which Mr. Adventure will have another amazing adventure, and I shall speak in a funny voice.

• Soapbox: Space Exploration (Saturday, 7pm, Potomac) - Laura - In which Laura pwns MacGuyver by detailing her plan to construct a space exploration vehicle out of naught but disused soap containers and spent cat fur.

• 5 Years in the Future (Saturday, 7pm, Rappahanock) - Cmar & Quantum Laura - In which the future of science will be predicted.

• Cubic Foot of Wonder (Saturday, 11pm, Potomac) - Laura - In which the wonders of cubic feet are gleefully explored.

• Space: There and Back Again (Sunday, 10am, Rappahanock) - Laura - In which the Hobbit is re-imagined as post-modern space opera.

At least, I think that’s what the panels will be about. One can never tell.

Ravencon 2009 is April 24-26 at the Crowne Plaza West in Richmond, VA, and lives online here. If you happen by, be sure to say hello.

The Easter Triduum has begun, and there’s no better time to resurrect the blog!

*ducks*

In any case, this is spot-on:

[tip of the hat to Laura for pointing this out; courtesy Graphjam]

Good Cthulhu in R’lyeh! Convention season is already here…

Last year was my first at Farpoint, and it proved to be an awesome time, relaxed and relatively low-key.

Dammit if we didn’t have to go and mess with things.  This time around, Laura and I are both involved in the Science and Podcasting tracks.  And in looking at the schedule as I type this, that’s… somewhat of an understatement.  To wit, said involvement:

• Podcasters Roundtable (Saturday, 9am, Ridgely 1) and Meet the Brains (Saturday, 9am, Ridgely 2) - Laura, John - The intro panels for both tracks, fighting an epic battle to decide the fate of both audio and science. Or something. We’ll be around.

• Aliens You Will Meet presents: Space Piracy, Yes or No? (Saturday, 1pm, Ridgely 1) - John - This is going to be serious fun.  Puppets…  weapons…  and the most important debate of our time.

• Not What You Believe, But Why (Saturday, 3pm, Ridgely 2) - Laura, John - Self-evident, I think.

• The Mythical Controversy of Vaccines and Autism (Saturday, 5pm, Ridgely 2) - John - Vaccines don’t cause autism, and the myth that they do has had fatal consequences.  Need I say more?  Well… I will.

• Geeks In The House (Sunday, 9am, Ridgely 2) - Laura, John - I really have no idea.  I may need geeky bling.

• What Darwin Did Not Know (Sunday, 10am, Ridgely 2) - John - It’s Darwin Day, don’t you know.

• James Webb Space Telescope (Sunday, 11am, Ridgely 2) - Laura - In which Laura will speak about her orbital death ra- uh, I mean way-cool space telescope!

• Public Space, Private Space (Sunday, 1pm, Ridgely 2) - Laura - In which the merits of these spheres of the space industry will be discussed, and Laura will speak on her orbital death ray.  If you’re lucky.

• Dear Doctor: Ask A Brain (Sunday, 3pm, Ridgely 2) - Laura, John - I’d prefer questions be directed to my ear-flesh, as opposed to my brain directly.

• Science and Education (Sunday, 4pm, Ridgely 2) - Laura, John - Also self-evident, I think.

Farpoint 2009 is February 13-15 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Timonium, MD, and lives online here.  If you happen by, be sure to say hello.

Apparently, it’s a new year. And I have a blog. I suppose I’ll have to do something about that.

This morning, I awoke to the following two messages next to each other in my feed. In hindsight, they summed things up quite nicely:

@jchutchins Welcome up! Amplify your bliss!

@warrenellis uurrrrrgggg groan fuck shit morning where are my clothes and my spare internal organs damnit

That is all.