Travel

Wanna know the table of contents for the upcoming Connie Willis collection The Best of Connie Willis: Award-winning Stories’? First, here’s the book description: Few authors have had careers as successful as that of Connie Willis. Inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and recently awarded the title of Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Willis is still going strong. Her smart, heartfelt fiction runs the gamut from screwball comedy to profound tragedy, combining dazzling plot twists, cutting-edge science, and unforgettable characters. From a near future mourning the extinction of dogs to an alternate history in which invading aliens were defeated by none other than Emily Dickinson; from a madcap convention of bumbling quantum physicists in Hollywood to a London whose Underground has become a storehouse of intangible memories both foul and fair—here are the greatest stories of one of the greatest writers working in any genre today. All ten of the stories gathered here are Hugo or Nebula award winners—some even have the distinction of winning both. With a new Introduction by the author and personal afterwords to each story—plus a special look at three of Willis’s unique public speeches—this is unquestionably the collection of the season, a book that every Connie Willis fan will treasure, and, to those unfamiliar with her work, the perfect introduction to one of the most accomplished and best-loved writers of our time. Here’s the table of contents, which omits the Afterwords following each story … “A Letter from the Clearys” “At the Rialto” “Death on the Nile” “The Soul Selects Her Own Society” “Fire Watch” “Inside Job” “Even the Queen” “The Winds of Marble Arch” “All Seated on the Ground” “The Last of the Winnebagos” Book info as per Amazon US: Hardcover: 496 pages Publisher: Del Rey (July 9, 2013) ISBN-10: 0345540646 ISBN-13: 978-0345540645 Related posts: SFWA Names Connie Willis Recipient of the 2011 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award Time Travel Lecture with Connie Willis, Ted Chiang and Amy H. Sturgis Connie Willis Wins 2011 Robert A. Heinlein Award

We slept in Sunday Fathers Day morning. When we awakened Kenny prepared great omelettes and biscuits in the Coach and afterward we took off for Meteor Crater. Its claim to fame is that it is the best preserved meteor crater in the entire world primarily because of the very small amount of water precipitation it is exposed to in the desert of Arizona. The Crater was created 50000 years

Friday 14thDecided to make Mono lake our destination for today and set off down the 395 a lovely road. Feeling better after yesterday39s rather lost feeling from saying goodbye to the guys of Quincy. Its difficult not to bounce back driving down these roads the scenery is beautiful and the weather perfect. Couldn39t find any campsites around Mono lake so carried on to the June lake loop

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is the top ten books on your summer TBR list. Last year, I bought the beautiful clothbound Penguin Classics edition of Les Misérables and was saving it for this summer. I started reading it June 2 and am a little over halfway through. Reading the book has put me in a French mood, so seven of the books on my list are set in France: Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery* – I’m eager to revisit some of the cast of The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I loved that book. How the French Invented Love by Marilyn Yalom* – I’m always up for French-related cultural nonfiction, and this book sounds amazing. Jacob’s Folly by Rebecca Miller – I pre-ordered this and have had it for months but haven’t had a chance to read it yet. I was waiting for the spring semester to be over, so this one’s pretty high on my TBR list. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo* – This is what inspired the direction of my summer reading, so of course it has to go on the list! Lotería by Mario Alberto Zambrano – This book comes out in July. I have an advance copy, and just skimming, I’m already intrigued by how the book is set up. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert* – I got the much-hyped Lydia Davis translation of this book a couple of years ago, but it’s been sitting on my shelf ever since. Hopefully, this is the year I get to it! The Most Beautiful Walk in the World by John Baxter* – I’ve read two of Baxter’s books. I love him because his travel writing straight-up transports you to France. Perfume by Patrick Süskind* – This has been on my shelf for years. I snagged a copy at a library sale a little after the movie came out…if the movie is that twisted, I imagine the book is even more awesome. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving – I’m one of the few people on earth who has never read this book. The Estella Society is doing a readalong in July, so I’m in! *dusts off copy* The Sexual Life of an Islamist in Paris by Leïla Marouane* – I got a copy of this a few of months ago for the Europa Editions challenge, and it’s also high up on my list. * Vive la France!

Games like this are why the late, great A's broadcaster Bill King famously refused to travel to Arlington. In a game that was billed as a matchup of potential rookie of the year candidates, both starting pitchers exited early while Nelson Cruz and the Rangers bullpen did just enough to escape with a victory, snapping their six game losing streak. Dan Straily had been dominant over his past five starts and had not allowed a home run in over a month. That quickly changed in the second inning. Adrian Beltre led off with a sharp line drive to left, and AJ Pierzynski immediately followed with a two run blast off the right field foul pole. Straily was clearly having trouble locating pitches and was leaving the ball up. Maybe the 89 degree heat was getting to him, because the stuff he displayed in his 7 shutout innings just a few weeks ago in the same setting was absent tonight. Straily was again tagged in the third inning, by a Leonys Martin double and an Ian Kinsler single. 3-0 Rangers, and with the way Straily was pitching the A's were lucky it wasn't worse. Meanwhile, the A's offense was stinging the ball all over the field against Nick Tepesch with little to show for it. That would change in the fourth inning, which saw the A's bat around, scoring six of their seven baserunners. SAVG! The inning started off with a John Jaso double (he has now reached base in sixteen straight games). Yoenis Cespedes then lasered a groundball that was too hot for gold glover Adrian Beltre to handle. The ball ricocheted off of his leg right to Elvis Andrus. Jaso took off for third as Beltre kicked the ball, and Andrus saw an easy out at third. Except that Jaso somehow eluding Beltre's first tag, oversliding the base, and escaping the second tag attempt. Replays showed that he was probably out on the second tag, but between this and his crazy run in the Yankees series when he should have been dead to rights, I think he has some sort of baserunning voodoo going on. That was huge, because Brandon Moss smacked a mildly breaking slider over the middle of the plate for a line drive RBI. Tepesch then walked Josh Donaldson to load the bases, bringing Seth Smith to the plate. Smith stroked an easy grounder between first and second, plating two runs to tie up the game. For some reason, Ron Washington had infield playing in, as if expecting the red-hot Jed Lowrie to bunt. Lowrie lined a hanging curveball for a double; 4-3 A's. It wasn't over yet. The runners moved up on a Josh Reddick groundout, and again the infield played in, with second and third, one out, in the fourth inning. I will not pretend to understand this move, but I can safely say this wasn't a Joe Maddon mad genius shift. Harry Potter stroked a sacrifice fly to make it 5-3. Coco Crisp had a solid single to right to cap the scoring, as Jaso made the third out on his second time at bat in the inning. Unfortunately, Straily and the A's bullpen couldn't hold on to the 6-3 lead. Straily was lucky to escape the bottom of the fourth only allowing a solo home run to Nelson Cruz. He coughed up a double to David Murphy, a walk to Martin, but got Jurickson Profar to fly out to end the inning. At that point it was clear that Straily was not settling down, but Melvin sent him back out for the 5th inning. While I admire the sentiment of trying to get the starter through five, Straily really did not have it today and he probably should have been replaced earlier. He got the first out, but Ian Kinsler singled and advanced to second on a rare Josh Reddick error. He flirted with disaster with Adrian Beltre but his line drive safely ended up in Smith's glove. However, AJ Pierzynski struck again, smacking a double to score Kinsler. Suddenly the 6-3 lead was sitting at a precarious 6-5, with certified A's killer Nelson Cruz at the plate. Jesse Chavez, last week's hero, was sent in to get the crucial out. The last time this happened, Cruz crushed a grand slam off Chavez. C

Tour time today. Our faithful guide Cory took us to breakfast at the Castaways a popular local diner. Now we were ready to venture on. There are no famous points of interest like Niagara Falls Grand Canyon or Mt. Rushmore right in our town Gabby Hayes was born here though. We drove past the Pink House ruins of the Sinclair Refinery the old Button Factory Air Preheater where Cory worke

As he intimated back in 2011, Monetate isn’t just servicing the e-commerce industry with its website optimization technology and analytics, says CEO David Brussin. It’s addressing the individual consumer as well. And yet, in spite of expanding into travel, financial services, and publishing, among other areas, Brussin thinks e-commerce giant Amazon is one of his [...]

Trianglesby Kimberly Ann MillerRelease Date: 06/18/13Publisher: Spencer Hill PressSummary from Goodreads: A cruise ship. A beautiful island. Two sexy guys. What could possibly go wrong?In the Bermuda Triangle—a lot.Hoping to leave behind the reminders of her crappy life--her father's death years ago, her mother's medical problems, and the loser who’s practically stalking her--seventeen-year-old Autumn Taylor hops on a ship with her sister for a little distraction. When she wakes up in the Bermuda Triangle, she fears she's gone nuts for more than one reason: that loser’s suddenly claiming they're a happy couple... a hot guy is wrapping his arms around her and saying "Happy Anniversary"... and suddenly, she’s full of bruises, losing her hair, and getting IV medication. Autumn visits the ship's doctor, hoping for a pill or a shot to make the craziness go away. Instead, she's warned that these "alternate realities" could become permanent.She just has to ask herself one question—how the hell is she going to get out of this mess? ***Excerpt***“Are you all right, honey?”I opened my eyes. An attractive young woman with red hair and brilliantgreen eyes was looking at me. What I thought was salt water from theocean must have been tears because my face was the only one nearby thatwas wet. I glanced at her concerned expression and smiled. “Yes, thankyou. I’m fine.” I swiped away a tear with my finger. “Just…everything’sfine.”She stepped closer and lowered her voice. “This cruise will changeyour life. Nothing will be the same when it’s over, but it will be worth it.You’ll see.” Her emerald eyes twinkled, and she nodded her head once.I forced a laugh to be polite. “Thanks. Enjoy your cruise.”What a weirdo. What did that even mean? How could a cruise changemy life? I moved from my spot to avoid more weirdness from her andfound a less populated area at the back of the ship. New York and NewJersey disappeared behind us as we charged toward Bermuda and awayfrom the mess my life had become.A cloud covered the retreating sun, sending shivers through me. Awhite-haired lady dropped her purse and lots of change tumbled out. Apenny hit my foot and landed on tails.My cell phone buzzed. I pulled it from my pocket. I had thirteenmessages and thirteen texts. How would Nisha survive the next five dayswithout hearing from me? I took care of the messages and told her I’d callher when we got back to Jersey.Even though I was not very superstitious, a bad feeling crawled intothe pit of my stomach and took up residence.I knew what I was leaving behind, but what was I floating toward?Kimberly Miller received Bachelor's degrees from Georgian Court University and Rutgers University and a Master's degree from The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She is an avid reader and particularly enjoys true crime and young adult novels. She grew up in New Jersey and currently resides in Monmouth County with her husband and three cats. When she’s not writing, she loves to travel to sunny islands where she snorkels by day and stargazes by night. She always takes her Nook with her. Website?Twitter?Goodreads?Facebook?Tumblr***GIVEAWAY***(2) $10 gift card to Amazon or Barnes and NobleSpencer Hill Press is also doing a giveaway for a cruise! Click HEREto enter to win!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Plastics have become synonymous with waste, but they can be made ­sustainably.There can be little doubt that plastic materials have dramatically improved everything from clothing to travel to communications to building. Some of the damage they have caused, however, is equally dramatic.

by Rich Klein In today’s world, really exceptional customer service is the way to go to ensure long-term customer satisfaction. In fact, when I began training for my current job, it was noted to us at least twice that many of us (including me) were selected because we have really good phone skills and that we have the ability to communicate complex ideas. I wrote last week about a local restaurant that fell short of expectations and then abruptly closed.  I was actually across the street from that location yesterday and can confirm there was a big sign on the door confirming it. If you remember my biggest issues were that we had to wait what seemed to be at least 40 minutes for our check and during the two hours we were there, no manager ever walked the floor to check on how everyone was doing.  They left us with a token freebie or two and an apology. To get the response we should have gotten in the first place it actually took eight posts on Facebook as well as a series of emails back and forth to the owner whose email was provided to me by the person who monitors Hoffbrau Steaks’ Facebook page.  This was the first response: "I did get your email, and have not had a chance to respond. All I can do is apologize. We are very sad to have had to close that location. We gave it all we had, but just did not do enough volume to keep it going and I am sorry about your negative experience of Saturday night. We wish you well.” Now do note, there is a location within driving or train distance from my house and a really savvy customer-service oriented owner would have said something like “How about if you ever venture downtown, stop in and have a meal on us?”   It took an email back from me to remind her of that.  If I never showed up, they weren’t out anything. his was the response to my email about explaining that. “Rich, Normally I would have offered you a complimentary dinner to make up for your negative experience, but since you had indicated you ‘now had a useless appetizer / dessert gift card’, I was under the impression you wouldn't be willing to travel to our Dallas West End location.  Our mission at Hoffbrau Steaks is that everyone has Steaks 'n Smiles, which would include you. If you would like to give us a try again, I would happily send you a voucher for a dinner for 2 on us, which could certainly be redeemed at the Dallas West End location.  Please send me your mailing address and I'll drop it in the mail.” If and when the vouchers arrive, we will consider the matter closed and we may even take them up on the offer. However, this whole experience is a good reminder to always do your best to make sure everyone is satisfied as you never know who will post on Facebook, write a review or post on a blog.  Just remember, this is 2013 and the world has changed from even just 15 or 20 years ago. Putting your best foot forward right out of the gate is vital and that’s a great lesson for card shop owners and show promoters.  Plenty of businesses are responsive to customers and if you don’t work hard to earn business, those people will take it from you. Fortunately, I do have a few really good customer stories to tell in comparison. First, one thing I strive for now that I'm back doing a show each month is to work with my regular customers. I really like helping my regulars get the cards they need at a fair price. Here is an example of helping a collector that I did recently. One of my regulars is a real nice man who owns several Jersey Mike's in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and is an avid Reds collector. A few months ago, I sold him a 1968 Topps Lee May (which is a brutally tough card) at full book although the card was ex at best. We agreed that was a fair transaction and he still spends and visits me every show. This month when he came by, I told him I had a better 1968 Topps Lee May for him. We finally found the card, he agreed with me and I told him to return the other card the next time he saw me. I had gotten the Lee May in a "gr