gwyn | Sometimes, people are funny

I took the bus downtown yesterday to get my hair cut and do some shopping at the Pike Place Market (and to check out the new Sephora store downtown, my greatest temptation). The salon I go to is in Pioneer Square, which is technically farther south of downtown, and where I worked before I got laid off. It's not the nicest area, most of the businesses don't last there and you always see storefronts papered over, sometimes for years. Between the creepy drug addict homeless people, registered sex offenders, and nighttime party animals prowling the numerous bars in the area, it's just not the greatest neighborhood for a legit business, though it is home to the most art galleries in Seattle. After my haircut, I went across the street to catch the bus uptown, and noticed yet another papered over storefront, and tried to remember what business had been there back in January when I was still regularly at that bus stop. As I stared at the sign, though, I began to actually see the words, where before I just kind of glanced at the signs without paying attention. And this is what the window papers said:

Bill's Phaser, laser, tractor beam & Photon Blaster repair shop

We tune, clean, and restore all makes & models of vaporizing hardware

A Federation-endorsed Plasma-Ray dealer

We also carry a full line of military-grade force field protection gear and decoy hologram suits

I loved this so much I dug out the return slip for my book and wrote it all down. I could see the letters SFM on the bottom of the sign, and couldn't quite see what they stood for, but finally figured out it was Science Fiction Museum. Then later as I walked uptown, I saw a painted sign on the side of a building, extolling the virtues of riding the hover train through Seattle, and promoting the Science Fiction Museum. I love their theme, I love how seriously they're taking it, and I just think they've done a brilliant job. I can't wait till they open!

And a very happy natal day wish goes out to