Between the new Terminator TV show interfering with my future-history and my inadvertently "pulling a Casablanca" by discovering a much better ending at the last minute, the story I just finished turned out surprisingly well. If only I could actually plan stories this way...

A cat is like chocolate.
A cat in a box is like a chocolate cake.

Elaine and I were checking out the used CDs at the local thrift store when I spotted a Rick Astley album. I know he's only made five albums, and we already own three of them. But I couldn't remember if this was one of the three or not, so I showed it to Elaine and asked her. I didn't expect an intelligible answer. Of course, I didn't expect what I got either.

There was a picture of Rick Astley on the cover. Not a shot from the famous video -- just a black and white, 3/4s profile from '93. Nonetheless, as soon as Elaine saw the cover, she screamed in delight, reached for it, and started babbling nonsense syllables as fast as she could.

I guess she recognized him.

Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between robots and guys in space suits.

There are very few deadlines in my life. I think the only story I've actually written to a deadline since I started writing full time was for Windstorm Creative's slug anthology. I figured since my first sale was to a Windstorm Creative anthology, it was worth going out of my way to write a story that included a slug to submit to them again. Also, as themed topics go, "something with a slug" has a fair amount of freedom.

At any rate, due to the almost complete lack of meaningful deadlines for freelance sci-fi writers who haven't gotten book deals yet, I decided to create my own deadline. Four stories a year. That way, I can always submit something to Writers of the Future, as long as I'm still eligible.

Unfortunately, last year, I followed the letter of that law and not the spirit. I went easy on myself and counted two pieces that don't count for WotF -- a children's piece and the first draft of my novel. So, after being ahead in stories for years, I'm finally out of pieces that WotF hasn't seen.

Between editing my first novel and working on my second novel, it'd be really easy to stop writing shorts now... But, I've actually developed a taste for them over the last five years. So, I think I will write a story specifically for the June WotF deadline. It'll be interesting to see how long I keep it up for after that. My dedication to submitting to WotF has never really been tested before.

Elaine found a use for our "ornamental" wood stove. It's the most stable, grip-able object of the right height for pulling herself up on. With its help, she can actually pull herself into a standing position. Which will be a much more useful skill when she can balance that way...

Daniel and I have a recurring argument about "less" versus "fewer." Unlike most of the rest of the world, I care about that distinction. Daniel thinks I'm being pedantic. (We do have other grammatical arguments where the roles are reversed.) Daniel likes to quiz me, offering grey areas that involve decimals to try and catch me up. "Is 1.3 gallons of gas less or fewer than 1.7?" That kind of thing. I particularly liked his most recent attempt. Which I aced, by the way.

Is 4mph less or fewer than 10mph?

The answer is, of course, slower.