A Conference of Nigh Disasters

So One spent most of last week toiling away at conference in Brisbane - a conference plagued by nigh disasters!


As one of the the organisers of said conference the first nigh disaster occurred when the venue went silent on the communication front for a while. It turned out they had been sold but the new owners had sensibly decided to honour all their bookings so disaster was averted.

The next nigh disaster was when the conference bag printer decided to leave the printing until the day before the conference. Luckily Old Mate was able to go there in person and impress upon them the urgency, so disaster was averted.

Another nigh disaster loomed for the plane flight northwards when One learned that President S, Sis, and Oneself would be seated in the same row. Luckily Sis had planned carefully and President S was seated as a barrier between the pair of us, so disaster was averted.

There was also a nigh disaster when very few of the attendees inferred the Hawaiian theme for the "Libraryland cocktails" event -  "cocktails", by the pool. What is there that is not clear in that invite?!?
In any case one can always depend on Vivacious Em to get the memo and attend in appropriate attire. Several others clothed themselves correctly as well, so disaster was averted.

With One not emceeing this year there was a chance for a nigh disaster but President S stepped up to the duties and so disaster was averted.

A most heinous nigh disaster was presented to us as the venue decided that savoury low sugar "treats" were in order for the morning and afternoon teas in order to facilitate increased concentration in the afternoons. Thankfully there were some chocolate balls for the final morning tea and so disaster was averted.

As the moment for the walk to the conference dinner venue approached so did a most violent electrical rain storm. Nigh disaster was averted by the hiring of maxi cabs to ferry attendees to the Gourmet venue. It was also averted when the storm decided to peter out five minutes before the first cabs arrived, sigh.

Nigh disaster also loomed when, as one was arranging LibraryBFF's birthday bubbles at the farewell drinks bar, LibraryBFF herself appeared beside me seeking her next drink. Surprisingly she was just happy to have said next drink, and was not concerned about lost surprise, and so disaster was averted.

One is hoping that next year's Sydney conference is not so nigh disaster prone.
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The unread A to Z : Crowdsourcing J

One is once again due for one's next read in ones A to Z of Unread SciFi and Fantasy Authors quest.

The J is the current letter and, once again,  one has nothing suitable on the bowing to read shelf.

One is turning once more to one's network of loyal readers in order to crowd source the J - or at least a short-list of Js.

The Rules

Titles should be in the sci-fi and fantasy realms, or speculative fiction if you prefer.

The Author's Surname should begin with the letter J, and they should be one who's wares one has not sampled before.

Here is my Author list of already read Js from the time span of The Tales:

Kenneth Johnson, Robert Jordan

Hmmm, not very impressive. A quick perusal of several Internet lists can add: Steve Jackson, Tove Jansson, and K. W. Jeter. Making it a truly impressive list.

So get to it Internet, and recommend away.

Bonus points if the book is available in the work catalogue

Even more bonus points, and the win by default, if you place your recommendation into one's hands.
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Replication

So yesterday one ticked off the number one priority on one's performance plan as set by Supervisor Grand Chief K - a viewing of Bladerunner 2049.

It occurred at the instigation of BestFriendSincePrep who was surprised at one's availability and then further surprised when it transpired that Sneaky Pete was also available.

As to the film - nay experience - well, one still has to absorb it all before full commentary is possible.
I will say that the visuals, sounds, and feel were very close to the original, whilst also taking the plot in new directions.

I rate it just shy of 4 stars at the moment and will see how it changes with repeat viewings - which are, I believe, the second, third, and fourth priorities of one's performance plan.
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What One did on One's Holidays

So One has spent most of the previous fortnight on holidays, during which time period many and sundry activities have been partaken.

Farming Out the Kids

At Sneaky Pete's suggestion Hulk and I joined him, Uncle Niece, and BuildItBoy on an expeditious rainy-day expedition to Collingwood Children's Farm.
One found it quite educational and was particularly surprised to learn that Feeding the Goats was not merely a euphemism - which is probably all well and good as it went on for nigh an hour.

Ex-Presidential Duties

A morning of phone calls and remote work on one's user group commitments.

Library Day Trips

One spent most of a day traipsing across the public transport system with Hulk to show of the genius level of one's progeny to one's work colleagues, who must all now be convinced that she is very advanced for her age.

A Magical Gaming Experience

To mark the occasion of having a day off due to footy one's demesne was host to the likes of Sneaky Pete, Pirate Dave, Gavman, and ElfBoy for many hours of card gaming fun.

Footy in Black and Yellow

Swinging the blokeyness pendulum the other way one had Sneaky Pete back the next day for some Grand Final viewing.

Baby's First Bee Sting

After a morning of intensive gardening - of the kind required to make a clear path from the front door to the street using only a small pair of scissors after Hulk has traded you for the big snippers - one's afternoon relaxation time was cut short by Hulk inadvertently squashing a bee against a watering can and suffering the resulting suicidal self defence that bees are known for.
Of course after the bee's fate was explained to her Hulk decided to go out to the scene and tell the bee "sorry I made you dead bee, goodbye"

Inescapable Work and further gaming delights

Nothing can describe the joy of having one's day for oneself interrupted by a minor work crisis.
Following up the relatively easily solved issue with an afternoon of gaming with Badger was definitely enough to balance the scales.

Unmissable Training Day at Work

Under orders from Supervisor Grand Chief K one had to curtail one's holiday plans to attend this day.
I begrudgingly took part in having my unfair share of the pizza and cake lunch - which was barely enough to fuel me through the afternoon "clean up your work area" activity.

Male Privilege Training

Which brings us to today and the final half day off work before attending an afternoon session of training on Male Privilege in which I was horrified to find that no-one had catered for my afternoon tea! Such hardship thus proving that one has no privilege in life.
I believe I will receive an A+ grade.

A Holiday from Holidays

And now one is back to the regular schedule and able to relax and recover from such an intensive holiday break.

One is almost looking forwards to the morrow's Performance Planning meeting.

Almost.
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