Stockholm and the ABBA Museum

Stockholm is a city made up of many small islands with bridges and inlets and ferries.  We had two things we absolutely wanted to do in Stockholm — see the Vasa, and go to the ABBA museum. To… Read More

Remember the Vasa!

One of the highlights of our trip to Stockholm was going to the Vasa Museum to see the wreck of King Carl Gustav’s warship. The ship sank on her maiden voyage — hadn’t even gotten out of the… Read More

Worldcon 75 – a trip to Helsinki, part 5

After the Masquerade, I was ready to sleep in!  But we weren’t quite done yet. We had a Masquerade Show & Tell scheduled for 2pm.  The contestants all came and wore or brought their costumes from the night… Read More

Worldcon 75 – a trip to Helsinki, part 4 – The Masquerade

Here we are, the big event for me, the Worldcon Masquerade.  I’ve been working towards this since before we got into town. A Worldcon Masquerade is a major stage event, just like a play or musical.  Except that… Read More

Worldcon 75 – a trip to Helsinki, part 3 — The Hugos

The Hugo Awards are one of the main events at a Worldcon.  They have been given out annually since 1955, and are one of the primary purposes of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS).  Retro-Hugos may be awarded… Read More

Worldcon 75 – a trip to Helsinki, part 2

Remember that advertisement about Worldcon?  Our expectations had been for a convention of 3500-4000.  In the last week, though, memberships surged.  The crowds on Wednesday were so bad that many members couldn’t get in to see the panels… Read More

Worldcon 75 — a trip to Helsinki, part 1

While we were in Kansas City last year, for MidAmeriCon II (Worldcon 74), I was asked if I could help run the Masquerade.  I said sure, and figured it would be a good opportunity to visit Scandinavia.  Stephen… Read More

Mounting grab bars

Mom decided that she wanted a grab bar on the two-step transition from the front hall to the back hall/laundry room, and another one at the bottom of the main staircase. (Wow!  she’s letting me change her house!)… Read More

Swapping out Sargent Locks

Continuing the saga of house improvements for my mother… After her fall, we knew that she needed someone in the house with her full time.  But she had spread her papers (financial and otherwise) all over the house…. Read More

Setting up an iPhone for your nonagenerian mother

Mom’s iPhone 5C started acting wonky — the touch screen was difficult to get to respond, even after a hard reset.  Then my cousin called me to tell me that mom’s phone kept giving an error about “wait… Read More