running on ooblek

Above: I was doing a quick doodle for today's Blathering, and Peter Pan just popped in there without me really intending to put him in. Any suggestions for a caption? :-)

I booked Urban Tapestry's flights to GAfilk yesterday through Travelocity.ca. I did try a travel agent to see if she could match the prices that Jodi found on Travelocity, but it was no go...turns out the agent would have to add service charges that would push up the fees.

If this is the case for most flights, I wonder how in-person travel agencies survive? Perhaps because some people are uncomfortable with booking flights online. Or maybe they make most of their money from travel packages that include hotels and other services.

A survey for you travelers out there: When you book flights, do you prefer doing this online or in person / over the phone? If online, what service do you use?

Anyway, I'm happy our flights are booked. :-) There were several ways we could have done this, but after discussions with the GAfilk concom we decided it would be easiest if we booked our own flights then have the convention reimburse us. I used XE.net to convert Canadian to U.S. dollars based on that day's conversion rate.

This whole process would have been so much more of a hassle before the Internet.




Writing update:

A while back, I had mentioned that an associate editor at a publishing house had passed my mss up to the head of the imprint. It's been two months, but I know it could be a lot longer. :-)



Meanwhile, I'm just about finished revisions based on the helpful comments from an editor at another publishing house. Many thanks to Luisa, Reid and Jodi for proofreading my revised mss! I'm grateful to those who slogged through Round #1: Jeff, Ruth, Allison, Dave C., and Parki. My agent will be submitting the revised version to the first editor (the one who made the suggestions).

Running On Ooblek!

A long while back, I talked about Ooblek, a mixture of cornstarch and water which becomes a collodial suspension. When it sits in the bowl, it's liquid. Once you apply pressure, it changes state to become a rigid solid. Explanation: the cornstarch particles don't dissolve in the water but float instead, making a thick liquid. When you put sudden pressure on the water (like smacking down your hand), most of the water runs out from between the grains, leaving the solid cornstarch particles behind. When you take the pressure away, the water runs back again.

The result is VERY cool, and it's a great outdoor summer activity with kids. And as you can tell from this YouTube video, also with adults. Thanks to Jeff for the link!



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