Category Archives: Science Fiction

Normans Kill

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Hudson River

Heard somewhere in upstate New York, near Normans Kill, “A car, a truck, my kingdom for a horseless carriage!”

A kill is a body of water, most commonly a creek, but also a tidal inlet, river, strait, or arm of the sea. The term is derived from Middle Dutch, meaning riverbed or water channel. It is found in areas of Dutch influence as in the former American colony of New Netherland, like the Hudson Valley. Originally called “Tawasentha” (a place of the many dead), the Normans Kill is named for a Norwegian immigrant to the Albany, NY area. No Richard III connection.

Normans Kill is an interesting juxtaposition. Driving across the state on the New York Thruway in 2022, I noted this fact. I posted about it and then forgot about it. Rooting through old pics, I spied this one. I like the clouds. Googling Normans Kill in AI mode, I came upon a reference to what I previously wrote:

Normans Kill connection: A specific blog post from 2022 documents the origin of this particular line, referencing a moment of inspiration while the author was driving past the Normans Kill in upstate New York. It is not, however, an older piece of folklore or urban legend from the area.

I think I have created a reference to myself by a Bot. Seems rather masturbatory.

From Star Wars to Infinity and Beyond

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A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away… I was sitting at my desk, my father’s old desk, thinking about how much my life has changed. It was only April then, when these photos were taken. We were in DC, enjoying the sights and life was good. Since then, my dad has died, setting in motion a cascade of events that has led me to this moment. It has been a long and winding road, and I am not there yet. Not by half. There are still plenty more miles to go.

Today, I went to the DMV and got my license renewed. This was the excuse, if not the reason for this trip back east. I went to lunch with Anne and Dan at Roosters and then met with our financial advisor. Later, I got my haircut and then packed again for the next leg of our journey. Meanwhile, my bros have finally received their inheritance. Hooray! I am glad that that is now settled. Anne got kudos from the aesthetics advisor on her rearrangement of the bookshelves. Today, Chris managed the final dressing of the house. The housekeeper comes on Thursday. The photoshoot is on Saturday. The house will then be listed next Tuesday. The realtor’s open house is next Thursday and the weekend after this one the house will be first shown to the public. It has been a lot of work, but it seems like all this effort is bearing fruit.

Dune: Part Two

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Mike Yukhtenko on Unsplash

I watched the second installment of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune trilogy. The good news is that there will be at least three episodes. The bad news is that author Frank Herbert wrote six volumes in his series. So, there may will be many more.

Dune: Part One introduced us to Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), son of the tragically slain Duke of Arrakis (nee Dune), now he is the heir apparent. He and his pregnant mother, the Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), escaped into the desert both ready to go full Lawerence of Arabia among the Bedouin-like desert dwellers known as the Fremen. As in the first movie, where we were only briefly introduced to Chani (Zendaya), Paul’s Freman love interest, in this movie we likewise can only glance at Alia, Paul’s unborn sister. First, to turn a phrase, “in a womb with a view” and then grown, as Anya Taylor-Joy, but only in cameo.

Then after much blood in the sand and a 2 hours and 45 minutes running time, Paul is the self-proclaimed emperor. I guess that he can now add that title to his many other epithets: Duke, Mahdi, Muad’Dib, Usul, Lisan al-Gaib, and Kwisatz Haderach. Dune: Part Two is essentially a war movie and its sequel will likely be a jihad. I guess that even with his new 4D vision, Paul could not see any way around a universe engulfing holy war. Mores the pity, but that’s people for you.

In a Galaxy Far, Far Away

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Star Wars Storm Trooper

In the aftermath of last week’s squirrel attack, things are progressing slowly. My insurance company is engaged, and they and Toyota are now in dialog. The insurance company wants photos. Pictures of the squirrel damage in the engine compartment and also photos of the rest of the car, showing that it is otherwise undamaged. I sent Toyota the undamaged photographs and they are supposed to forward them all to the insurance company. I got a call this morning from my insurance company, and I directed them to the Toyota dealer. Hopefully, they are playing nicely together. I am rather laissez faire about the whole situation, because I know that no resolution to this problem will be available anytime soon. Speaking with the Toyota tech I learned that the wiring harnesses that the squirrel damaged are on backorder. In fact, there are none available now throughout the country. The Toyota tech used a nice turn of phrase to describe the bleakness of the situation, they are on galactic backorder. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you are my only hope.