Hiding out and Hanging out

So, I'm still not Wi-Fi enabled and mobile. But I expect to be shortly. And I'm thinking now of locations to hide or hang out while wasting time surfing the net doing my important writing.
My detached garage has no electricity, though it might be within reach of my Mac Mini's Air Port. But let's say you just want to go someplace away from the usual coffee shops and just sit in a quiet spot?
Here is:
#1 College Extension Campus Buildings
My current temp assignment is at the "Naperville Campus" of Northern Illinois University. A nice big, recent building along one of the many Corporeta lining the tollway. During the summer its practically empty except for the occasional seminar. You can be it's Wi-Fi enabled. And it has plenty of lounging areas besides the classrooms. Pretty much anyone can walk in, and there's a small cafe, too.
Now I haven't tested the Wi-Fi, and it may be you need to be a registered student to access it, so you might be SOL if you want free internet, or have a data plan handy. And while there are a few of these "Campus" buildings in local downtowns, I'm thinking a lot of them are a bit of a drive from anybody's residence. But of you really need a few hours of peace and quiet, here's a possibility.

Best analysis of a failed "Star Trek" movie by its writer

http://www.metafilter.com/99091…

It's easier to follow the links in this article than to track to the original articles it cites. Basically, Michael Pillar, "Star Trek: TNG's" show runner, detailed what went wrong with "Star Trek: Insurrection."

While I might complain that I just now realized the final plot of the movie was swiped by "Avatar," is it better than the original idea of swiping from "Heart of Darkness?" or rather "Apocalypse Now?"

Commenters in the article point out the main problem with Roddenberry's Star Trek universe: The Federation has infinite resources and its people can get pretty much anything they want. Starship crews are all perfected human beings without the possibility for character-based conflict. The only source for conflict is people on new planets who haven't been converted to The Way; or the Borg, the Ferengi (as originally conceived) and other races who invade the Federation because they Want Our Stuff. After Roddenberry died, the staff were allowed to create some conflict among characters. Deep Space 9 threw together more than one source of conflict with the local war's detente and its intrigues, then the Founders on the other side of the wormhole, while the beloved Ferengi Quark made his nut by meeting even Federation members' appetite for avarice. And don't forget "Gold-pressed Latinum," introduced as the new hard (well, liquid) currency because it was the only substance which couldn't be duplicated by transporters.

Then again, this is the production crew that did two movies with a Villain who wanted to Blow Up the Earth simply because they had a bad day. At least Marvin the martian wanted a better view of Venus!

Further Adventures in Publication!

Once again, I can look forward to the ego-stroke of seeing my name as a byline. This time it's for a collection of academic essays called "Captain America and the Struggle of the Superhero," edited by Robert G. Weiner.

I was able to dust off an article I written a few years ago on Roy Thomas' "Retro-World War II" series The Invaders, and All-Star Squadron and repurpose it by putting more emphasis on Captain America. Then I was asked what else I could write, and I ended up with an article on Cap's post-mortem career as a Marvel Zombie.

Well, that book has been and gone to the publisher, and it's now scheduled, at least on Amazon, to ship June 30th! Whee!

Coming up, time allowing, something on James Bond.

Authors! Has This Happened to YOU?

Since I started selling my old books through Amazon, and my old 45s through GEMM.com, I had always wondered if this might happen, and now it has: I've sold a book back to its author.

I don't need to embarrass anyone by revealing the author's name. Just know that this was a vanity-published "think-and-grow-rich" book that I got as a review copy, back when I was editing a pennysaver and a quarterly business magazine. And as far I know, mine was the only copy that was ever offered on Amazon. But I know how stingy publishers today can be with contributors' copies. So just don't let yourself be caught short.

Despite the fact that I work for one of the world's largest printing companies, I do not get an employee discount program for any of the books we print, just a vendor discount on magazines. Guess otherwise all of our employees would be slogging Harry Potter books on Amazon.

Meantime, here's My Amazon Storefront.