Crossing Nevada

After stopping for lunch in Winnemucca, Nevada yesterday, Lisa and I set out west again on I-80. This section of freeway runs along the Humboldt River valley, flanked by dusty plains and dry lake beds. In the hot summer sun, we could see small dust devils kicking up here and there. Then we spotted the largest dust devil we've ever seen, and Lisa, who was driving at the time, urged me to get out the camera.
( Pictures and video behind the cut )

We saw several more dust devils as we continued westward, including a smaller one that actually blew right over us on I-80, rattling the van badly but doing no harm. I don't know what it would have been like to have been in the way of this large one, however.

( Car Trouble Brewing )

With no need to get cracking early today, we took advantage of the two days in Reno to sleep in a bit today. Circus Circus has internet connectivity, but it's $10/24 hours, so I waited until we came back from brunch -- at the Silver Legacy, not the notoriously-bad Circus Circus buffet -- before getting online. There I spent more than an hour answering e-mail and letting myself get drawn into this discussion about the Hugo Awards and Worldcon. I really don't have time for this, even on a light day like today.

Lisa and I are thinking about what to do with the rest of our light day here in Reno. I've spent too much money on travel to afford to gamble much, so we may just go down to the Atlantis hotel-casino and walk around the site of the Reno in 2011 Worldcon bid. Feeling whimsical, I'm wearing my shirt from the Seattle bid today for when we go have a look.

With any luck, nothing worse will happen to us today than being waylaid by an attractive pinball machine again, like happened yesterday at the Red Lion Hotel-Casino in Winnemucca.

Oh, and yesterday's final count of trains spotted was 9. Wildlife (not counting dust devils) was minimal.

WSFS Documents Posted

Results from this year's WSFS Business Meeting are now available from the Denvention 3 Executive Division documents site.

This includes the new versions of the WSFS Constitution and Standing Rules as of the end of Denvention 3 and the draft Agenda for the 2009 WSFS Business Meeting. The 2009 Agenda includes the exact wording of the new constitutional amendments that passed at Denvention 3 and are being sent to Anticipation for ratification:

• Marking Peter Weston's Contribution: Acknowledges Peter Weston's version of the Hugo Award rocket as definitive


• One Fewer Award: Removes the Best Semiprozine Hugo Award, and modifies the definition of Best Fanzine so that most works that formerly qualified as Best Semiprozine are not eligible for Best Fanzine.


• Making the Web Eligible: Clarifies the eligibility of works published in electronic or other non-print forms; Changes Best Related Book to Best Related Work and provides guidance for how to treat electronic and other non-print works in categories that previously were interpreted as to exclude such works.


• Best Graphic Story: Adds a new Hugo Award category for Best Graphic Story

Note that while these documents are official, they are subject to revision and correction. (For instance, I've already seen a typo or two. We wanted to get them published quickly due to the interest in the results and the apparent controversy over certain amendments that have received first passage.)

Remember that none of the proposed changes that received first passage have been ratified. These adopted amendments must be ratified at Anticipation before they take effect.