Mystery solved

I found out what happened with the dead guy in the carport.

One of the tenants actually knew him; he was their best friend’s brother. Possibly he was at one of the many parties which happen in this complex at strange times. As I’d guessed, he died of an overdose — a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol.

He was 23 years old.

Car colors

Dear internet,

I’ve noticed something odd.

Cars used to come in many colors. Red, blue, green, black, white, silver, gold, and so on. Cars still come in lots of colors, but the frequency has changed.

I’ve been paying attention here in the Bay Area, ever since Shannon and I went car shopping in January. And this is weird.

Fully 40% of the cars around here are silver–yes, almost half. And another 30% are neutral–mostly white, a few black, and a handful of brown-gold. Meaning that 70% of the cars around here are neutral-colored. And that’s not even counting the really deep blue or green cars that look black if you’re not paying attention.

It seems to me that as recently as 5 years ago, there were a lot more colors in cars. Especially red.

Those are guesstimates, of course, but I’m curious about this. Is this the new trend in cars for the last decade? I’ve heard rumors of the “silver-gray clones” in vehicles, because silver cars hold the best resell value.

And is this local to the Bay Area or is it true elsewhere in the country? It might be a Bay Area thing. Folks here love neutrals and earthy colors. Often on BART, I’m the only person in the whole car whose jacket isn’t neutral-colored.

What are car colors like where you live?

And now we sing!

I’m at the Pizza Hut. (what?)
I’m at the Taco Bell. (what?)
I’m at the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

No real information, but…

…in the spot where the apartment manager found the dead guy yesterday, one of my neighbors left flowers.

I thought that was sweet. I observed a moment of silence for whoever he was.

Sale to Lightspeed Magazine

Whew, I can finally announce this.

There’s a new magazine in town, folks. Published by Sean Wallace of Prime Books and edited by John Joseph Adams, Lightspeed Magazine will feature “all types of sf, from near-future, sociological soft sf, to far-future, star-spanning hard sf, and anything and everything in between.”

I’ve got a story in the first issue. It’s called “I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno.” It’s a multi-century love story about two lovers who just can’t connect.

I’m excited about this new market and honored to help establish it. Given Sean’s work building Fantasy Magazine and JJA’s experience as slush editor for F&SF, I’m confident that Lightspeed will be terrific.

Surprise

Today they found a dead guy in the carport under my apartment complex.

No idea what happened yet. Apartment manager is still sorting it out. But there were a lot of cops. And yellow caution tape everywhere.

Offer: velvet cloak

More housecleaning. I have a black velvet cloak with royal purple silk lining. I’ve loved this cloak for many years, but I’m ready to let it go.

One size fits most. It’s ankle-length on me and I’m 5’5″. Machine-washable, with a hood. You can fold the hood back a bit to show the purple silk if you like. It’s in good condition (a few small marks, but no holes or major issues).

The only requirement is that you either pick it up from me, or pay for shipping. Shipping is probably about $12 or so.

I’d prefer it go to someone who will love it, which is why I’m not auctioning or freecycling it.

Let me know if you’re interested.