Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Quetzalcoatlus northropi's LiveJournal:

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Friday, July 10th, 2009
7:51 pm	Do I want a  biscuit? (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, July 4th, 2009
10:02 pm	Three questions, only one of which is serious 1. In Dr Who: Tomb of the Cybermen, is the pilot ex-Starfleet? 2. In the US film version of State of Play, is Russell Crowe's haircut based on Danny Concannon's in The West Wing? 3. Which cheap DVD of 1970s/1980s British TV should I buy: Children of the Stones, The Day of the Triffids or The Nightmare Man? (18 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 28th, 2009
9:54 pm	Paprika; Quatermass dmw and I just watched Paprika, an anime set mostly in people's dreams. We largely enjoyed it. And it made much more sense than the extended dream sequences of Neon Genesis Evangelion, which puzzle me still. We also enjoyed Quatermass II. I was unexpectedly moved by the story of Leo Pugh, the Boy Calculator. I appreciated that the opening scenes in Australia actually looked like the mallee. It was interesting to note its sources and to see how closely many Dr Who serials would stick to its plot outline. Particularly appealing was the way our eponymous protagonist kept saying, "Let me through, I'm a scientist!" and "Listen to me, I'm a scientist!" I must try that out in daily life and see how far that gets me. (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 27th, 2009
8:32 pm	We have a houseguest for a few days. doctor_k is visiting. She's here to renew her certification in trauma medicine. Her work starts where my Senior First Aid course ends. My training amounts to CPR, calling an ambulance, and keeping the patient calm [1]. Her training starts with the trauma victim being treated on the roadside, or arriving at the hospital. I was squicked out by my little glimpse of medical care, so she has thoughtfully refrained from showing us the photos and videos. Further evidence of her kindness is that she offered to take me shopping for a suit. So, this afternoon, after her exam, she and dmw and I went into town. I quickly discovered that dmw knows how to judge quality tailoring while my judgement amounts to, "Do they have obvious holes?" doctor_k then took me to a department store where she handed me many suits to try on. I now have a much better idea of what I might buy. Also, I no longer flinch at the mere thought. Tomorrow, we'll have brunch before she heads back to Perth and I head back into the office. I have a day or two more of high-stress work and then I hope I can flop. [1] OK, also Helicopter Safety. Always approach one from the downhill side and make sure that the pilot has seen you. (Comment on this)
Saturday, June 20th, 2009
12:09 pm	Midwinter morning in the new house Our last house was very dark. The living room in particular looked out onto a wide, shaded balcony that was deliberately designed not to let light in - and then, the window blind was broken so we couldn't see out anyway. The dining room was better, as the blinds did work, but the room had not been well cared for, and both the blinds and the kitchen lino looked stained and grubby even when clean. So, for weekend breakfasts, we could choose between gloomy or grubby. Now we can sit at our dining table[1], looking out through nine metres or so of picture windows. We watch the rain fall and the eucalypts sway in the wind. I can sit eating my boiled egg and marmalade toast while dmw moves behind me in the open-plan kitchen, making himself huevos rancheros and coffee. There's some sort of remix of "Another Green World" on the stereo. It's good. [1] OK, it's scavenged tabletop sitting on top of a couple of trestles, but we're improving things over time. Right now we're working on the CD/DVD racks and the wardrobes. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
8:49 pm	I am coming down with a cold, so I'm sitting on the sofa, under a rug. Next to me sits a mug of lemon, ginger and honey tea. On the TV: the two surviving episodes of the original Quatermass Experiment. Then I think I'll go to bed. ( Random commentary. Spilers for a 1953 TV serial. ) (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 14th, 2009
10:38 pm	Conjecture The first sf convention I ever attended was Confictionary, which was held in Adelaide in 1991. The first convention dmw ever attended was HongCon, held the year after, which I was also at. Both of these were run by local fannish group Yoyodyne in a now defunct North Adelaide hotel. I met Neil Gaiman, had lunch with George Turner, and met quite a number of people who have been my good friends ever since (*waves at halfflat*). These conventions helped change my life. But then the large conventions stopped being held here. We've had mini-conventions and relaxacons, but nothing larger than a couple of dozen people. After dmw and I finally got together, we started to go to interstate and (much later) international conventions. But South Australia's been a dead spot for some time. So, when dmw decided to bid for the 2009 National Science Fiction Convention, I may have suggested that the name "Conjecture" was appropriate. He won the bid, pulled together a committee, and last weekend Conjecture became reality. Many people (not including myself) worked their backsides off to make it work. Many more people (including myself) got to enjoy the results of their hard labour, by attending panels and hanging out with friends in the bar. But one of the highlights for me was watching the new Adelaide fans arrive. They were easy to spot on Friday and Saturday, standing apart, not knowing anyone, seemingly determined to attend every possible panel. By Sunday, they were standing next to the registration desk, saying, "It's like this whole open secret! Why didn't I know this existed?", and I'd say, "Because there hasn't been a large convention here in seventeen years." By Monday, they were waving their glasses excitedly in the bar, and plotting how to rearrange their holiday time to go to Continuum and Aussiecon IV. And then I would shake their hands and say, "Welcome to fandom." (12 Comments |Comment on this)
10:30 pm	House and garden It's been a proper winter's day today, by Adelaide standards, windy and wet and cool. We have the fire going and our washing's hung up indoors. Another pleasantly domestic day, in contrast to last weekend's convention and our stressful weekdays. We started with brunch with two of my oldest friends, then drove to Ikea for some odds and ends (e.g. indoor drying rack for washing, a set of ten sea creature finger puppets, and other necessities for winter). In the evening, I made far too much TexMex food for two people, and we watched the election day episodes of the seventh season of The West Wing. But I am coming down with a cold. (Comment on this)
Saturday, June 13th, 2009
11:49 pm	Some pleasing things I continue to love life in Toytown. Saturday mornings are particularly fine, when the main street bustles and all the shops are open. Today I had "Penny Lane" playing my head as I did my weekend errands. Today it was autumnal: cool, a little windy, the air smelling of woodsmoke. Later, we went out to buy fruit trees and gardening supplies. We chose a donut peach and a strawberry guava to start with. Later, there will be pears and nectarines and more citrus fruit. And in the late afternoon dmw bounced up and down on the trampoline so we could judge the clearance underneath - some of the underside will be planted with asparagus. We had many friends visit Adelaide for Conjecture last week. I was pleased to see that quite a few returned of their volition to restaurants we'd first taken them to. doctor_k went back to a cafe in Stirling two or three times. J&L took other friends to our favourite Japanese restaurant. Another mob arranged brunch at Tin Cat. And I just read that one Adelaide-based friend has returned to the former bank that's been turned into a cafe. Truly glad to share our local knowledge. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
10:08 pm	I feel compelled to assure surliminal that the biggest leek in captivity no longer threatens humanity. We ate it. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
9:10 pm	damienw  is now taking the last of our visitors to the airport. I declare Natcon season officially closed. (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
7:53 am	The unofficial start of the convention In Adelaide airport, waiting for [Bad username: surliminal"], who's flying in from the UK. And tonight I hope to have dinner with the fishlifters. (Comment on this)
Monday, May 25th, 2009
11:09 pm	These are a few of my favourite things I went to an interesting talk tonight on extinct megafauna. More specifically, about the use of DNA sequencing on "ancient DNA". I heard of the talk through one of the Yoyodynes (a local fan group) who was one of the organisers. Some examples from the talk: The nearest living relatives of the dodo and the equally extinct solitaire are pigeon species from southeast Asia, even though Mauritius is much closer to Africa and Madagascar than Asia. They came a long way to colonise. New Zealanders are fond of the rare yellow-eyed penguin, which is found only on New Zealand's southern coast and a few small islands to the south. A genetic study of penguin remains from just after the arrival of the Maori were compared with museum samples from just after the arrival of the Europeans and to modern birds, to see whether a genetic bottleneck had occurred beytween the waves of human immigration. Instead, the study found that the Maori-era penguin was a quite different species which became extinct on the New Zealand mainland before the Europeans arrived. The yellow-eyed penguin spread north only after that first species went extinct, and has lived on New Zealand for only a little longer than Europeans. Moa ranged in size from 1 to 2 metres tall. It used to be thought that there were three species of moa that varied in size across both the north and south islands. An examination of remnant DNA showed instead that there were only two species, one on north island and one on south island, and the variation in size was due to sex. Female moa towered over the males. No-one has successfully replicated DNA from anything older than a mammoth. Reported DNA extracted from dinosaur bones and eggs has turned out to be contamination from humans and (I think) molds. Even with fresh-frozen mammoths, the success rate for DNA is only 80%. You need a lot more accuracy than that to clone a mammoth. All errors are my own. Feel free to correct. Dammit, I'm a mathematical hydrogeologist, not a paleogeneticist. (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
11:02 pm	The Northern Territory Intervention continues Why is this still happening? ( Read more... ) "How can Jenny Macklin speak about consultation, when so much of the money in this budget will go towards controlling Aboriginal people? In the NT, $106 million will be spent this coming year on the racist Income Management system. That's a cost of $7000 per person, paying public servants to tell our people how to live, eat and sleep. Its almost eight times the figure allocated for family support services", said Monique Wiseman from the Stop the Intervention Collective in Sydney. "The millions allocated for Indigenous housing is not being used to support Aboriginal people, but to break up our organisations and take full control of communities. The minister has been clear that no money will be spent until people relinquish their land rights and sign long term leases with the government. The government has signed the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous people, which demands respect for land rights and self-determination. The bullying and hypocrisy have got to stop", concluded Ms Wiseman. ( Read more... ) Media release emailed to me from the Women for Wik collective. I haven't found a copy online. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 18th, 2009
9:56 pm	Conjecture 2009 damienw  is the Chair of this year's Australian National Science Fiction Convention, Conjecture. This is the first time in decades that the Natcon's been held in Adelaide. It's being held over the long weekend of 5th to 8th June. Highlights in the programme so far: at least one winery tour, maybe two a tour of Haighs chocolates a masked ball with author Sean Williams as DJ a children's programme a workshop with Canadian author Julie Czerneda cool fans visiting from oveseas talks on sciencey stuff by people who hopefully know what they're talking about (probably including me) very probably some knitting actual discussion of science fiction conjecture2009.org/ What more excuse do you need to visit? (14 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 10th, 2009
11:04 pm	I am much calmer now. I have removed some of my previous posts. Thanks to everyone who commented, as it helped me get through the week. I will let you know how it all turns out. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
10:59 pm	Newsflash: NYT doesn't get it From an article on the strong opening weekend of Wolverine: But an unexpectedly large female audience — nearly 50 percent of the total [...] boosted Fox’s expectations for the film’s continued strength. They then go on to comment on the remarkable success of Iron Man last year. Perhaps they should be introduced to the term "fangirl"? (12 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 4th, 2009
9:09 pm	Toytown gloaming I had a meeting in town this afternoon. I caught the tram home, and stopped off at our greengrocers for some potatoes and broccoli. As I reached our gate, a passerby said, "Good evening, neighbour!" and we exchanged appreciative comments on the weather. One of my boots fell apart at work today, so tomorrow I will get to meet Pete the Cobbler, whose shop is right next door to Kathy the Hairdresser's. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
8:49 pm	If there's anyone left who would like a Dreamwidth code but doesn't have one, please leave your email address here (comments are screened). I have four. ETA: All gone. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
9:42 pm	More adventures in Toytown We continue to learn about our new neighbourhood. Yesterday we went to meet our local mechanic, Boris, whose shop is just north of the tram stop. I'm not sure where Boris is from originally, and he made a joke about not typing very fast in English, but his accent suggests he's lived in Australia longer than I have. His kid daughter rang while we were there to talk about footy tips. Boris fixed our car, which had a worn bearing and numerous other problems. We are now broke for a week, but the car goes. Today I went to meet one of our local hairdressers. There are six salons within five hundred metres of our house, but I went to Kathy's, because that's where I was able to make an appointment. Kathy is in late middle age and her salon seems to be a single-operator gig. She cut and coloured my hair and I am happy with it. She also charged about a third of what the fancy place I used to go to did, which doesn't seem quite right. I guess that eventually I will get to know the names of the greengrocers, the newsagents, the butchers, maybe even the teenagers who staff the supermarket checkouts in the evening. And dmw already knows the names of our immediate neighbours. I don't think I lived anywhere quite as village-like since my family left southern Edinburgh when I was eight. The place reminds me of this jigsaw I had and loved as a kid, of happy pig families shopping at a greengrocer's on a lovely summer's day. Happy pig families, I kid you not. (4 Comments |Comment on this)