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ksmithIt's about 830pm CST. It's coolish, overcast, a tad humid. I'm out on the deck, my feet up, Gaby lying (for the moment) beneath my legs. King is inside. He's had enough for the day.
Yesterday morning, NADWcon Day 5, dawned thundery and rainy. The storm passed over Madison fairly quickly, and I didn't think much more of it until I went online and saw that 500K+ households were without power in NE Illinois. Again.
Only 9 days after the last blow-out, 70+ mph winds lashed through. I phoned a friend, and she checked with a neighbor of mine, who said that power on my street had not gone out. Then I phoned my vet's, where I had boarded King and Gaby, and could not get though.
I forget the exact timeline because I had three programming items to get through: a signing with TM Esther Friesner, who as always was damned delightful, and panels on the Discworld Beastiary and What To Read When You've Read All Your Pratchett. I expected the panels to be lightly attended given the time and day and all, but they were *packed*. On the former, Ian Mitchell discussed his current project, an actual Discworld Bestiary that is planned for sometime in 2013. We discussed our favorite creatures, and whether fabulous or magically-induced creatures belonged in the book. It was great fun, and I would pay to listen to Mitchell read the phone book. Lovely voice. Then came the What To Read--people carried in chairs from other rooms, for heavens' sake, on the afternoon of the last day of the con. Check Patrick Rothfuss' blog in the next day or two to see what books we talked about. Really good discussion.
I then had a break. Tried calling my vet again, then called the nearby emergency vet to see if they knew anything. Their power had just come on, but they didn't know anything about my vet's office. I hoped the area had dodged the bullet, but I couldn't be sure.
I reach the point where there are too many details to put down and I am just too tired. The closing ceremonies featured a public reading of Where's My Cow, which was good fun. I wound up the con with a nice dinner with Sir Pterry and Colin Smythe among the diners. Afterwards I had a wander around to the Dead Dog and then to the hotel bar. Crashed, but didn't sleep well. Awoke early, then met Dave G and Denise Connell for breakfast, and received a call from my vet's. They had indeed lost power, but the pups were fine and we arranged a pickup time.
Decent drive home. I listened to the little talking box this time, and wound up on some medium-size state roads that caddy-cornered me home. As I neared my house, I spotted more uprooted and shattered trees and encountered lights-out at several busy intersections. I got home to find all was well except for the battery back-up sump pump, which notified me of the need for a new battery with an incessant beeping that didn't stop until I ripped out its little fuse. I'll deal with it this weekend.
I brewed coffee, then unpacked. Vacuumed. Forgot about the coffee. Left a couple of hours later to pick up the pups. To say they were excited to see me was the understatement of the year. The vet's office is in an early 50's brick building which proved surprisingly cool, but the pups had been sequestered for a while and they'd had enough of this boarding shit, thank you, we would like to go home now. I knew they were in good hands, but I was still worried, and am glad to have them home. My personal bestiary.
A few con items:
I am now the proud possessor of a hedgehog necklace, courtesy of Marilyn Allen.
The word for the day is "pachyplasmodium."
I came home to find the lilies and hydrangea in bloom, and tiny tomatoes on the raised bed Siberian and Tommy Toe. The tomatoes in the pots, which looked better than the raised bed plants before I left, now look worse. I think they were overwatered, so I will give them a few days to dry out.
I had a great time at the con. It was great to see old friends and make new ones. But right now I am tired, my throat is bugging me a little, and I don't want to go to work tomorrow.
Note: well over 800K households lost power thanks to the storm. Homes a few blocks from me have no power. Half the intersections lost their lights. I found only a couple of small branches scattered about. I dodged a bullet.
Yesterday morning, NADWcon Day 5, dawned thundery and rainy. The storm passed over Madison fairly quickly, and I didn't think much more of it until I went online and saw that 500K+ households were without power in NE Illinois. Again.
Only 9 days after the last blow-out, 70+ mph winds lashed through. I phoned a friend, and she checked with a neighbor of mine, who said that power on my street had not gone out. Then I phoned my vet's, where I had boarded King and Gaby, and could not get though.
I forget the exact timeline because I had three programming items to get through: a signing with TM Esther Friesner, who as always was damned delightful, and panels on the Discworld Beastiary and What To Read When You've Read All Your Pratchett. I expected the panels to be lightly attended given the time and day and all, but they were *packed*. On the former, Ian Mitchell discussed his current project, an actual Discworld Bestiary that is planned for sometime in 2013. We discussed our favorite creatures, and whether fabulous or magically-induced creatures belonged in the book. It was great fun, and I would pay to listen to Mitchell read the phone book. Lovely voice. Then came the What To Read--people carried in chairs from other rooms, for heavens' sake, on the afternoon of the last day of the con. Check Patrick Rothfuss' blog in the next day or two to see what books we talked about. Really good discussion.
I then had a break. Tried calling my vet again, then called the nearby emergency vet to see if they knew anything. Their power had just come on, but they didn't know anything about my vet's office. I hoped the area had dodged the bullet, but I couldn't be sure.
I reach the point where there are too many details to put down and I am just too tired. The closing ceremonies featured a public reading of Where's My Cow, which was good fun. I wound up the con with a nice dinner with Sir Pterry and Colin Smythe among the diners. Afterwards I had a wander around to the Dead Dog and then to the hotel bar. Crashed, but didn't sleep well. Awoke early, then met Dave G and Denise Connell for breakfast, and received a call from my vet's. They had indeed lost power, but the pups were fine and we arranged a pickup time.
Decent drive home. I listened to the little talking box this time, and wound up on some medium-size state roads that caddy-cornered me home. As I neared my house, I spotted more uprooted and shattered trees and encountered lights-out at several busy intersections. I got home to find all was well except for the battery back-up sump pump, which notified me of the need for a new battery with an incessant beeping that didn't stop until I ripped out its little fuse. I'll deal with it this weekend.
I brewed coffee, then unpacked. Vacuumed. Forgot about the coffee. Left a couple of hours later to pick up the pups. To say they were excited to see me was the understatement of the year. The vet's office is in an early 50's brick building which proved surprisingly cool, but the pups had been sequestered for a while and they'd had enough of this boarding shit, thank you, we would like to go home now. I knew they were in good hands, but I was still worried, and am glad to have them home. My personal bestiary.
A few con items:
I am now the proud possessor of a hedgehog necklace, courtesy of Marilyn Allen.
The word for the day is "pachyplasmodium."
I came home to find the lilies and hydrangea in bloom, and tiny tomatoes on the raised bed Siberian and Tommy Toe. The tomatoes in the pots, which looked better than the raised bed plants before I left, now look worse. I think they were overwatered, so I will give them a few days to dry out.
I had a great time at the con. It was great to see old friends and make new ones. But right now I am tired, my throat is bugging me a little, and I don't want to go to work tomorrow.
Note: well over 800K households lost power thanks to the storm. Homes a few blocks from me have no power. Half the intersections lost their lights. I found only a couple of small branches scattered about. I dodged a bullet.
