Daily Archives: November 27, 2011

Loscon post -Day Three

The first panel of the morning was Robert Heinlein’s Future History, what he got right and what he got wrong. This was a panel discussion of a number of fans and scholars of Robert Heinlein, including the author of the Biography, Robert Heinlein: In Dialog With His Century. It was very innteresting, but covered little new ground. Verdict: Okay

Next up was a panel on upcoming movies in the next 3-5 years, however audience members kept derailing the single presenter and we had progress very slowly. So slowly I bailed on the panel and went to another. Verdict: No good. I stepped into a video presentation about Nazi Germany’s flying wing fighter and tests of a full-scale model as to its stealth capabilities. Now a bad documentary, but it leaned on the hyperbole of what this fighter would have meant to the war so late in that conflict. Even in full production in late 44 or early 45 this would not have turned the tide of the war. Verdict: Alright

Next I went to GRAIL: A Mission of Gravity. This was a presentation about the recently launched unmanned lunar mission to map the interior of the moon by gravity. The probes, two, were launched in September but because they are taking a very odd low energy orbit to the moon are still in transit. The GRAIL spacecraft should start operating early next year and after a three month mission we should have a detail mass mapping of the lunar subsurface.  Verdict: Pretty good

Final panel was How Should Magic Work in a Story? This was a two person panel of Tim Powers and Harry Turtledove. It was s fast and far ranging discussion of fantasy and magic and how to work the elements of the fantastic without breaking disbelief. Whenever these two get together it’s usually very good and this was no exception. Verdict: Thumbs Up.

 

And that was my Loscon for 2011.

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Post Loscon

Well, we are home and safe after Loscon 38. I had a great time, came away with lots of new information, and a few news story ideas. I had far more panels that were fun than were not fun could ask little more of a good convention.

Now I am tired and unlikely to stay up late, so there will be no Sunday Night Movie this weekened.

 

Happy Holidays to all.

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Loscon Post Day two

Good morning world, Here it is Sunday Morning I;ve had my breakfast and ready to take on day three, the last, of Loscon.
So what did I do yesterday?
I started with a presentation

    Vostok & Mercury: The Beginning Of The Space Race.

This was presented by Dr Jim Buby and it covered in a lot of detail, quite a bit unknown to me, the history of the early parts of the space race. Verdict: Thumbs Up
Next was

    Wings Into Space The History Of The X-15.

This weas presented by Michelle Evans (no realation) who has spent 30 years working on a book about the x-15, man’s first spacecraft. The X-15 was part of a program that was trying to reach space with fully reusable vehicles, but was derailed by the race to the moon. Verdict: Thumbs Up.
After that I hurried over to

    A Conversation With Nicholas Meyer

Riding Rockets: The X-racer experience. This was three of the founding engineers from X-Cor, and really great space start up, and one of their test pilots Col. Rick Searfoss former shuttle astronaut. Their work on the Lynx continues, and they report about a 25 month plan to start paid trip to space very much Virgin Galactic.
The final presentation did not work for me. It was a survey of fantasy and Sf set in ordinary home environments. Unfortunately the presentation was a bit dry and so I just bounced around this final hour.
After dinner we hit the parties where I heard some good readings, met friends I had not seen in quite a while, had many good conversation and enjoyed ice scream. Sadly, my arthritis began flaring, my knees began hurting and when it got to me limping from room to room I called it an evening and retired for the night.

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