A few random things before bed...

[usernamenumber]

1) Spider Robinson's wife is having medical problems (thanks to marius23 for the link). They cannot afford her medical care, and are soliciting book sales and donations toward that cause. Spider Robinson is one of those names I've known as a name for some time (though I keep wanting to mentally replace his surname with 'Jerusalem'), but whom I've never read.

One of the ways in which they are asking for support is buying books through their book page, which gives them a cut of the Amazon sale.

Question: Supposing I was going to get a first Spider Robinson book, which would those of you who've read him recommend?


2) I wish to plug QRSTs. They are a local printer in Somerville. If you send them an image, they will put it on a shirt for $15 each. No cafepress overhead, and no shipping costs. I sent them three designs late Monday night, and picked my shirts up today. They only do plain white, but on a variety of types of garments and their work is good. I look forward to showing off my witty (for some very small niches) but crapily-designed shirts at future social gatherings.


3) Today was a mixed-bag at work. I felt well-rested and on top of things, which is great (and sadly unusual). After the long weekend I commented to people that I got 11ish hours of sleep two nights in a row, but didn't feel like it had made a difference, but now I'm rethinking that. I think the weekend, plus getting decent sleep Monday and Tuesday nights, plus a trip to the gym on Tuesday had me feeling focused and competent in a way I'd almost forgotten I could feel. Yay!

Plus, nothing helps the ego like your boss saying "we need to know how many new words were added between two versions of this giant xml file, but it's not worth more than about 30 minutes work", and having a completed script ready and in cvs in exactly 30 minutes, then getting "oh, actually, we need sentences, not words" and a bunch of other little tweaks, and turning those around in a few mins each, all while juggling ten other projects.

There were some screwups, and it's frustrating that despite all the good stuff, my day still ended with my TODO list longer than when it started. Sadly, this has been par for the course at my job lately, but I still hold a glimmer of hope that this series of crunch-times is nearing an end. Overall, it was a refreshingly confidence-inducing day. Now all I need to do is not snap under the weight of the metric crapton of stuff I have to go be confident about in the coming weeks!


4) My butt was saved on Labor Day by a passing mechanic, whom juldea has dubbed "The Rasta Tire Faerie of Somerville". Short version: tire blew out, he happened to pass me working on it in the gas station parking lot. Got a new tire from his place and put it on, all for a reasonable price, and even tracking down some used ones to give me a cheaper option. His name's Al, his number is 781 266 7170, and he'll come to you if you are in the area, as he's freelance. The long version is longer than I have the energy to tell right now, but is amusing, I assure you.

Comments

[tpau]

either get Callahan's Crosstime Saloon or Lady Slings the Booze. i prefer the latter :)

[pokedigimaniac.livejournal.com]

Spider Robinson is one of those names I've known as a name for some time (though I keep wanting to mentally replace his surname with 'Jerusalem')

Hee hee. You too, huh? I need to reread that series.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Spider's a pretty awesome writer, though I'll warn you against reading more than four of his books in a row - that's when you start to realize that he's really only got one or two basic plots. They're well-written enough, though, that taken one or two at a time they're amazing and utterly worth reading.

I'd start with 'Time Travelers Strictly Cash,' though that's a personal preference. I also have to put in a plug for 'Stardance,' since it's one of my Top Ten Stories Ever - just... if you can, find a copy of the original novella, not the extended novel version.

[yunafonfabre.livejournal.com]

Either Callahan's Crosstime Saloon or By Any Other Name -- his short stories are much stronger than his novels.

[truthspeaker.livejournal.com]

I've used QRSTs in the past. They're the place I go to by default for smaller orders that are going to be distributed by hand.