Upcoming podcast, upcoming Nebula Weekend and more

A few items related to my life in the science fiction (and fantasy–see what I did there!) world:

1. Tonight I’ll be participating in my second podcast with some of the SF Signal folks. My first time was via voicemail but this time I will be participating in real time with the rest of the folks. In fact, I got a good microphone just to make sure my voice comes through loud and clear and isn’t fuzzy or garbled. (Hush! to those of you who claim my voice is always fuzzy and garbled.) I won’t tell you what the podcast is about–you’ll have to find out when it is released–but I will tell you it should be a good one. I’m excited and a little nervous to participate, but it should be fun.
2. At my writer’s group tonight there is an interesting presentation on the changing landscape of the publishing world, thanks to eBooks. I’m looking forward to this. The emphasis is on traditional publishing versus self-publishing and it will be interesting to see how the discussion evolves.
3. I’ll be attending most of the Nebula Award Weekend, which takes place in Washington, D.C. this year. I’ll be around the hotel and events all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The big award banquet–a formal dinner that takes place before the ceremony–is Saturday night. Kelly has obtained a babysitter for us, and she and I (along with the Sibling-To-Be-Named-Later) will be at that dinner and award ceremony together. She got a special dress to accommodate her growing maternal abdomen. I had my suit pants altered. It should be a blast, especially since this was the first year I was eligible to vote for the Nebulas. Of course, I’m a fan, too, and I’m looking forward to seeing folks like Joe Haldeman, Jack McDevitt, Connie Willis, Allen Steele, Stan Schmidt and others.
   
4. I got a great new story idea yesterday. I’ve jotted down the rough notion and the idea is rattling around in my head, but I think it will amount to another attempt at a fun and exciting science fiction mystery. I won’t say any more about it, but I’m hoping to get started on it soon.
5. I emailed George R. R. Martin yesterday to tell him just how much I loved Game of Thrones and that he changed my opinion about epic fantasy. I don’t know if I’ll hear back from him or not, but the point wasn’t to get a response. It was to let one author know the impact he had on a reader. I try to do that whenever I can.
6. So far, A Clash of Kings is awesome.
7. If you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, Episode 15 of my Vacation in the Golden Age, covering the September 1940 Astounding has been posted. And yesterday, my latest Wayward Time Traveler column went up, this one a 2-parter on time travel.
8. There is one more thing that will involve me and is related to the science fiction (and fantasy–I did it again!) world but I’m not going to tell you what it is yet. But pay attention as I will let you know about it in the near future.
9. I had a record number of hits for a single day on my blog yesterday. More than twice the daily average.
10. The series finale of Smallville is still awesome. (Spoiler alert)