Tick Tock

The days are ticking away. Only six remain until that plane lumbers into the air and I wing away to Florida, for the scariest holiday so far undertaken. So many hours in the air, and all kinds of dangers to be faced. On the other hand, maybe I'll be seated next to someone really nice, or we'll be transported up into a passing flying saucer and taken away to see the majestic splendours of the Ice Palaces of Altair V. Who knows?

I wonder if there are ice palaces on Altair V? Are there even planets around Altair? There's a wealth of information on Altair on Wikipedia; that swiftly rotating bright white star is 16.7 light years away, and yet can be seen with the naked eye on any clear night. Imagine that for a moment, that there is something so bright that it can be seen 157,993,690,000,000 kilometres away. It's a fascinating world which has such fantastic things in it. Who knows what might be in the vicinity of Altair? Perhaps it hosts an annual Galactic Poet convention, or maybe the wandering thespians of the spaceways return there to regale one another with tall stories in a rundown space hotel that has seen better days? Could there be a hat factory, and a selection of civilized worlds grown there to buy the hats? We don't know!

Miami will be interesting. Travelling outside the EU, for we are still fortunately in the EU at the moment, is a daunting thing. Will they have compatible food? Will the infamous lack of real cheese in the USA hamper relations? Will my friends recognise me at the airport? What will we talk about? Will there be enough board games in the case to keep everyone happy for a week? Will staking out board game shops lead to a spotting of the 'Dice Tower' crew? So many questions! Is it okay to drink the water, and will there be any alligators? Oh, the torment, the torment!

One thing that is certain is that so many hours in the air will lead to an awful lot of the books currently stalled in my book piles to get read! That's a great thing. The scourge that is the computer, and the total absorption into trivial things that it represents, is a continuing one. 'A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court' is proceeding nicely, though, as if some magical block has finally been removed. It was a difficult read, as was 'The Prince And The Pauper' before it, but probably worth it, and becoming easier as the end nears. Oh, satire, you are a deeply unsatisfying thing to read. Perhaps Twain, who I've never warmed to, really needed more plot to back it up? Is criticizing such cherished works of fiction allowed? 'A Connecticut Yankee...' will require a great deal of thought before being finally put away.

Oh, to finish, some interesting things about Miami: Outdoor pools, the art deco district, the Dice Tower, the history, and of course it's right next to the Florida Keys, amongst many other things.

O.