C'mon admit it...you read SF, you watch it, you play SF-based videogames, and when you saw the headline "Missing island may have been caused by digitizing error", the first thing that came to mind was "I wonder why the teleporter failed?"

Got off the phone with a guy trying to sell me promotional items. Since we've bought stuff from there before, he's doing the chummy "Just because you're a friend" spiel and decides to keep the mood light by telling me a joke.

A racist one.

Now, it wasn't the most offensive one I've ever heard, and it certainly wasn't directed at my lily-white Nordic/Scottish Canadian self, but consider this: this guy has no idea what I look like. He's only ever spoken to me over the phone. So when there was dead silence as a response, he tried the "Gee, normally that slays them" bit, and then asked "So, not really, huh?"

"No."

At this point he obviously clued in that, and I repeat, he doesn't know what I look like. In a rather transparent attempt to find out just how badly he screwed up, he asked me where I'm from. This was the point where I goofed up, because if I'd been thinking, instead of telling him the truth, I would have lied and told him that while I was born in Canada one of my parents was from Trinidad, or Haiti, or Ghana, or somewhere else of sufficiently dark-complected population.

Especially spam that's supposedly from a woman titled "Hi! I live in the same city you do!"

No, no you don't. When there's only 1500 people living there, trust me, I'd recognize someone who looks like one of the stock photos they attach to said emails.

Well, the series. Sure, the infodumps get excessive, but still, I have all the books. All in digital. And most in hardcopy.

Well, out of pure chance I stumbled on the artist who does some of the covers for the French editions published by l'Atalante, a person who goes by the name "Genkkis". You can see some of the covers here.

Dude is frickin' brilliant.

You'll note the covers all have the same background, which for a hardcopy collection means they'd be nicely matched on the shelf, but that isn't the good part. The good part is that, unlike the Baen covers, even the generally accepted Mattingly ones that they've used for the last few years, Genkkis clearly understands what's going on in that particular book and, unlike the Baen covers where, if Honor doesn't appear in person it looks like a naval flotilla is going to war against her giant ghost-like head, he uses other characters who play important roles in the story.

The cover for Storm Form the Shadows 1 is a good example: the main character is Mike Henke, with Isabel Bardasano as a minor background. Albrecht Deitweiller and Aldona Anisimovna feature in the second cover of the split-published edition (so note: no good guys at all). Crown of Slaves 1 has a merged Queen Berry/Princess Ruth with everyone's favourite Heterosexual Life Partner Badass Superspies Anton Zilwicki and Victor Cachat.

Mission of Honor 1 is a nice one symbolically, showing both Queen Elizabeth and Elois Pritchard clutching their respective, torn flags.

In short, I've become his newest fanboy.

I mean, over a year is a lot.

One of the more amusing things I've seen in my career is the number of times people who don't go on many business trips express an annoying envy (usually with commentary) about those of us who do.  Inevitably when they end up going on business trips there's the complaining about all the travel they do.  And the ones still not doing the travel never take the bleeding hint.

Oy.

Sure, travel is a nice break from the office routine now and then, but having to spend three days in Igloolik for a 45 minute presentation, having to share a hotel room with someone I've never met before.  Yeah, real fun that.  And then still two and half weeks more on the road...

Oh well.  I finally found the best real poutine in Ottawa, and it's not far from the hotel, so the overnight there will be okay.  (Elgin Street Diner, if anyone cares).

I thought I might as well get around to actually using it.  Yay me.