On the positive side, I got to rec Lois McMaster Bujold

This weekend an acquaintance of mine noticed that I was reading an sf book-- which one, I don't recall, but it was by a woman. He remarked that he had only ever read one female sf author in his life, Octavia Butler. (And liked her work.) I asked him who else he liked, thinking to rec more women.

"I love Niven and Pournelle!" he replied.

"Hmm," I said, and recced Bujold.

"Don't you like them?" he asked, noting my lack of enthusiasm.

"Not really."

"Not even Lucifer's Hammer?"

"No... The prose was clunky and it bothered me that once the apocalypse happened, suddenly there were gangs of rampaging black cannibals."

He denied the existence of rampaging black cannibals, and suggested that I had gotten the book confused with a different post-apocalyptic work containing rampaging black cannibals, Heinlein's Farnham's Freehold. I turn the matter over to the wisdom of LJ!

[Poll #1030388]

On the positive side, I got to rec Lois McMaster Bujold

This weekend an acquaintance of mine noticed that I was reading an sf book-- which one, I don't recall, but it was by a woman. He remarked that he had only ever read one female sf author in his life, Octavia Butler. (And liked her work.) I asked him who else he liked, thinking to rec more women.

"I love Niven and Pournelle!" he replied.

"Hmm," I said, and recced Bujold.

"Don't you like them?" he asked, noting my lack of enthusiasm.

"Not really."

"Not even Lucifer's Hammer?"

"No... The prose was clunky and it bothered me that once the apocalypse happened, suddenly there were gangs of rampaging black cannibals."

He denied the existence of rampaging black cannibals, and suggested that I had gotten the book confused with a different post-apocalyptic work containing rampaging black cannibals, Heinlein's Farnham's Freehold. I turn the matter over to the wisdom of LJ!

[Poll #1030388]

Portable DVD player

I bought a Dynex 7" portable DVD player to bring to Japan, to avoid lugging around my heavy laptop. However, it turns out that despite packaging claiming that it plays CDs and DVD-R, it actually only plays official, store-bought, American DVDs, not Hong Kong VCDs or anything burned to disc. That is no good.

Does anyone know of or own a portable, lightweight, cheap DVD player which will play home-burned discs?

Portable DVD player

I bought a Dynex 7" portable DVD player to bring to Japan, to avoid lugging around my heavy laptop. However, it turns out that despite packaging claiming that it plays CDs and DVD-R, it actually only plays official, store-bought, American DVDs, not Hong Kong VCDs or anything burned to disc. That is no good.

Does anyone know of or own a portable, lightweight, cheap DVD player which will play home-burned discs?