Recirculating Cheese

First, the sewage treatment plant from the I-89 rest stop in Sharon VT. No shit (or rather, the opposite). It's a Living Machine, installed a few years ago, and it smells like a greenhouse.


Kylie in Square Victoria.


( more! pics! )

The Palais des Congrès occupies three city blocks. As far as I know, this is the only original building to survive, and it's just the facade. The actual fire station was relocated to the east end of the Palais (conveniently close to Tim Hortons).


( more random pics )

Worldcon been pretty good. Free time and decent internet to blog about it, not so much.

Took in the Botanical Gardens today, ran into a number of fen, including Michael Freaking Swanwick.

Over 600 shots taken so far, but I can't get my laptop to read the camera's SD card, so I can't show you.

Tomorrow, the Biodome, and then to Lake Champlain.

After bugging out of the meetings, I met up with lyonesse and pywaket, who were up in Montréal for an unrelated weekend getaway.
( more public art, both intentional and otherwise )

( lyonesse liked the ironwork on the railings and balconies )

( OMG NSFW: penises 50% off )

( dinner at Le Grain de Sel )

So this was the 4th of July, which is observed in Canada as the day that comes between the 3rd and the 5th. Which is to say, just another day. Except that Montreal has a summer-long international fireworks competition.

So this was the Australian entry in a Canadian fireworks competition, on July 4. Just so we're clear on it.

The fireworks started as we were finishing dinner, so we high-tailed it directly out to the river, approximately as close to the launch point as we could be (without paying the $25 admission to La Ronde). I took almost 100 shots, of which this one (from the finale) can be representative. ( You know what fireworks look like. )

I really didn't need to be at the Sunday meetings, so I took my restaurant notes (and my camera), and wandered.
( gasp, more pixs )

On the way out of Montreal, I picked up a guy hitch-hiking to Sherbrooke (less than 20 miles out of my way), got caught in a complete cluster-fuck 10-mile traffic jam in the middle of freaking nowhere Quebec, and had dinner with my friend Dan and his new soul-mate in Vermont. And got home at midnight.

My Worldcon job is souvenir book editor. I don't get to do the design and layout (the fun part) - that's being handled by someone with more history and probably more chops. No, I'm the guy with the clipboard, saying "we need this many words about this guest, and something about the history of French language fanzines, etc."

This morning I got a forwarded email from kylecassidy, proposing a photo essay of sorts. I'd never heard of him before, but I wandered from the sample page to his portfolio site to his LJ, and came up for air a couple hours later.

Up to this point, the book has been pretty theoretical, but it's suddenly become more real - I'm going to get to work with words and pictures from people who are way more talented than I'll ever be, and I'm stoked.

It's also inspired me to pick up my camera again, and maybe make the jump into DSLR. And to sign up for UMass Lowell's Advanced Photoshop class, since it's unaccountably not cancelled for the first time in at least a couple years. Someday I'll actually finish that damned certificate program.

EDIT: It also put me in a bit of a quandary. Kyle is doing some interesting stuff, that I might want to read/look at as often as I bother to read LJ (which is sporadically), but I have a pretty strong policy of only friending people who are my actual friends. Every one of the 100+ people on my list is someone I know personally ...except tmcm. Thank god I've already crossed that barrier, although the policy still mostly stands.