How busy have I been for the past month? So busy I didn’t share here about my magnificent Fat Duck meal of August 13 until Friday, and I hadn’t even uploaded my Loncon3 photos to Flickr until just a short while ago.

You can check out the whole Loncon3 album here.

Don’t worry … I’ve culled out all the foodie pics and will be sharing those separately.

Now on to Spokane!

I’ve often told you that I’m never quite sure these days whether the highlight of the many conventions I attend is the conventions themselves or the destination restaurants I arrange to visit at the same time. Such was the case with Loncon3, the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention. (Though it was only my personal 27th … and the 40th anniversary of my first, at that!)

Which means I’d arranged to visit The Fat Duck before Loncon3 was to begin. Sadly, United Airlines lost my luggage for two days, which meant that I was unable to wear my purple boating blazer as planned, and was stuck with the casual jacket and jeans I’d worn over on the flight. This caused a bit of anxiety at first, because surely one of the best restaurants in the world deserved a bit of dressing up, but a quick read of The Fat Duck FAQ calmed me down, as it reads:

We do not have a dress code policy at the restaurant – please come along however you feel comfortable.

And so, after picking up a new shirt, socks and underwear (TMI, I know) at a men’s shop near our hotel, Irene and I met David Shaw, Diane Martin, their son, and Graham Sleight at Paddington Station for a train to Maidenhead, followed by a short cab ride to the village of Bray.

We arrived slightly early for our 1:30 lunch, and so wandered the picturesque village for a bit until we could bear to wait no longer. (more…)

My iPhone 5 battery has been limping along, requiring constant recharging to get me through the day, but since I’m happy with the phone and not eager to drop big bucks on the new iPhone 6, I figured I’d check to see how much it would cost to swap in a new battery. And surprise, surprise, Apple turns out to have a battery replacement program.

Because:

Apple has determined that a very small percentage of iPhone 5 devices may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently. The affected iPhone 5 devices were sold between September 2012 and January 2013 and fall within a limited serial number range.

If your iPhone 5 is experiencing these symptoms and meets the eligibility requirements noted below, Apple will replace your iPhone 5 battery, free of charge.

And also surprise, surprise, plugging in my iPhone’s serial number shows that I’m eligible. So I made an appointment at the Genius Bar, and am hoping the process won’t be a long one.

Since the site gives no indication of how much time this will take, I went to Google and started typing, “How long does it take … ”

But before I could complete the phrase, autocomplete filled in the five most popular things online searchers are wondering about. And they’re not at all what I would I have thought.

So how long does it take to get to Mars anyway?

Back in May, I told you about the upcoming publication of a new Spanish-language printing of editor James Lowder’s anthology The Book of All Flesh, titled El libro de los zombies. It was to contain my short story “Live People Don’t Understand,” which would appear under the title “Los vivos no lo comprenden.”

Well, that book’s now out, and can be ordered here. (At least I think it can—my Spanish is nearly non-existent.)

If you like the story of mine that appears there, thank translators José Luis Viruete and Gustavo A. Díaz—because they’re likely more responsible for your enjoyment than I am!

So I was on the way home from Fort Lauderdale, where I’d spent a couple of weeks helping my mother pack and move (the details of which are a tale for another time), when I spotted a guy at the airport walking quickly by while wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the face of a mustachioed man chomping a cigar.

I pointed at his chest as he passed and asked, “Stan Lee?”

“No,” he said, followed by him revealing who it really was, which I heard as “Ditko.”

“Ditko?” I asked, surprised. “Steve Ditko?”

“No,” he answered, baffled by my cluelessness. “Coach Ditka.”

And thus do two fans confuse each other!

While I was down in Florida last week visiting my mother, I spotted a box of Manischewitz matzoh which celebrated the creators of Superman, those two Jewish kids from Cleveland, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. My first thought was, how cool is that?

My second thought was … well … take a look at the back of the box and see whether you can guess.

Did you spot it? (more…)

Via Eater, the latest list of Latin Americas’s 50 Best Restaurants has been announced … and I’ve been to three of them. Check out the full list below, and click through to posts about my visits to #2, #5, and #30.

1. Central Lima, Peru
2. Astrid y Gastón Lima, Peru
3. D.O.M. São Paulo, Brazil
4. Maní São Paulo, Brazil
5. Boragó Santiago, Chile
6. Pujol Mexico City, Mexico
7. Maido Lima, Peru
8. Biko Mexico City, Mexico
9. Tegui Buenos Aires, Argentina
10. Quintonil Mexico City, Mexico
11. Malabar Lima, Peru
12. Mocoto São Paulo, Brazil
13. Roberta Sudbrack Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
14. Aramburu Buenos Aires, Argentina
15. La Mar Lima, Peru
16. Tarquino Buenos Aires, Argentina
17. Parador La Huella José Ignacio, Uruguay
18. El Baqueano Buenos Aires, Argentina
19. Pangea Monterrey, Mexico
20. Fiesta Lima, Peru
21. Chila Buenos Aires, Argentina
22. La Cabrera Buenos Aires, Argentina
23. Tomo 1 Buenos Aires, Argentina
24. Sud 777 Mexico City, Mexico
25. Manzanilla Ensenada, Mexico
26. MeroToro Mexico City, Mexico
27. Rafael Lima, Peru
28. Alto Caracas, Venezuela
29. Oviedo Buenos Aires, Argentina
30. Osaka Santiago, Chile
31. La Picanteria Lima, Peru
32. Gustu La Paz, Bolivia
33. Rosetta Mexico City, Mexico
34. Remanso Do Bosque Belém, Brazil
35. Olympe Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
36. Epice São Paulo, Brazil
37. Ambrosía Santiago, Chile
38. Attimo São Paulo, Brazil
39. Criterión Bogotá, Colombia
40. Francis Mallman 1884 Mendoza, Argentina
41. Amaranta Toluca, Mexico
42. Corazón de Tierra Ensenada, Mexico
43. Harry Sasson Bogotá, Colombia
44. Fasano São Paulo, Brazil
45. La Bourgogne Punta del Este, Uruguay
46. El Cielo Bogotá, Colombia
47. Sucre Buenos Aires, Argentina
48. Elena Buenos Aires, Argentina
49. Leo Cocina y Cava Bogotá, Colombia
50. Pura Tierra Buenos Aires, Argentina

Looking at this list, all I can think is … how soon can I get to South America again?

August was an amazingly light month for remembered dreams, thanks to trips to the Ohio Light Opera and the London Worldcon, as well Florida to help with my mother’s move. It’s not that I had fewer dreams (or so I believe), but that due to exhaustion, most of them effervesced upon waking.

In any case, here’s what survived my travels to be shared on Twitter, starring Goldie Hawn, Edward G. Robinson, John Kerry, Joss Whedon and more …

August 2014 Dreams

I dreamt I met a guy who was 7′ 6″ and attempted to tell him about my encounter with Eddie Carmel without being offensive about it. Aug 31

I dreamt a dancing group of laughing Mad Hatter’s Tea Party people danced up and surrounded me and wanted me to run away and join them. Aug 30

I dreamt I was bragging to people that Brett Cox was so strong he could punch himself in the face. But when he tried to do it … he failed. Aug 30

I dreamt that during a World Horror Con, I went to a baseball game with @joe_hill, caught a foul ball. The crowd cheered as I held it high. Aug 26

I dreamt I was a photographer in a war zone, and just as I was taking a pic of a guy in the distance with a rifle, he raised it right at me. Aug 26

I remember nothing of the dream this middle-of-the-night note was meant to bring to mind: DICK CAVETT MEETS MADONNA. The dream dissipated. Aug 25

I dream I was walking down an alley with @LenWein when he turned and offered me a job at a new comic book company he was starting up. Aug 24

I dreamt I sat with Goldie Hawn at the Oscars when Entertainment Weekly announced it would hand out written apologies to stars, so we went. Aug 15

I dreamt I was walking down the street with Edward G. Robinson, chatting him up about the life of Jack Williamson, and showing old photos. Aug 15

I dreamt I sat around with former Marvel Bullpenners (including Joss Whedon, a former editor-in- chief) and traded tales of the old days. Aug 10 (more…)

As I was preparing to add my photos from Loncon3 to my Flickr albums, I realized I still hadn’t uploaded last month’s Readercon pics. And so …

… if you’d like to see me with David Kyle, who attended the first science fiction convention in 1936, as well as 42 other photos, you can check them out here.

And just in case you’re worried—no, you won’t be forced to look at food pics!

As I’ve told you before, Loncon3 was the 40th anniversary of my first Worldcon, which was Discon II. But I wasn’t alone in that—for Discon II was also the first Worldcon for F. Brett Cox.

Brett and I celebrated that anniversary with lunch at AL Masar Lebanese restaurant, after which Jeannie Beckwith commemorated the moment with a photo.

Only a single photo exists of each of us from that 1974 gathering, and I’ve cropped them together with the most recent pic to show what four decades can do to a fan.

Where did the hair time go?

Don’t forget to check back in 2054 to see what another 40 years does to the two of us!