From last summer. It's HEAVY.

"L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés et désirs."

In order, I *think*:

- We moved.
- My car's rear bumper was hit. When I wasn't there. No note, of course.
- UTI, hospital visit, GI side effects from antibiotic
- I turned 42...
- ... on which day I had to euthanize Zathras due to sudden/unrecoverable kidney failure.
- John got a speeding ticket.
- I got itching and (not life-threatening) anaphylaxis from aforementioned antibiotic.

There were bright spots as well, including some really great help and support from friends, but mostly I'm glad the month is over.

I miss Z terribly.


(Oh yeah, I got my hair cut short a few days after we moved, but people seem to think that's an improvement.)

Hey, one of my pre-big move helpers got pretty sick and can't help. So, I'll repeat: Anyone up for transporting a load or two of smallish items from Maple Leaf to Capitol Hill?

I seem to have pulled my shoulder/bicep/pec area through overuse or somesuch. Icing, stretching, assessing to see just how far this is going to set things back.

Luck does not seem to be operating in an optimal fashion at the moment.

Work has mostly eaten j*d*w*. So, before we move all the big stuff on Saturday, I'm wondering if anyone local would have the time and energy to assist me

on:
- Tue, Wed, or Thu 6pm - ??
- or, Friday any time

with:
- transporting some folded-up bookshelves and boxes (E Maple Leaf to SW Capitol Hill)
- setting up stacking bookshelves and fastening them to the wall
and/or
- setting up track lighting and floor lamps

as well as:
- taking me home if it's dark out

This may sound like a weird way to move, but it's actually pretty sensible given my gimpiness and poor low-light vision.

In return you will get:
- gas money if applicable
- food if desired
- effusive thanks whether or not you want them :)

Thanks in advance!

(I do have a helper who could theoretically do tasks #2 and #3, but it'd probably be better to ask him to help plow through whatever else I might have left in the basement and/or garage... since the question of exactly which boxes are mine is still somewhat open, eek, and I can't get at a lot of that stuff all by myself)

I'll be glad when we're done packing, moving, and getting settled so I can think about stuff that isn't extremely mundane.

Some people remember shitty service.

jodawi and I will be moving from Maple Leaf to Capitol Hill in the near future -- he'll be splitting his time between two residences again, the same way we did things 2006-07. If you'd like to help and want donuts/pizza/etc....

Which oneS of these days might you be free?
Sat 9/11
Sun 9/12
Sat 9/25
Sun 9/26
Sat Oct 2
(Last wknd of Sept probably optimal)

Maybe or definitely?

Do you have a vehicle that could comfortably carry a large loveseat?


We'll pick the date with the most favorable combination of when the most people could definitely come, we can find a truck to rent (since Jod's truck went to the big garage in the sky on Monday). and Jod would have the fewest job responsibilities.

Thanks!!!!!!

As usual, nothing's ever all good or all bad. Currently I'm full of profound sadness, much anxiety, moderrate happiness, great anticipation, etc. The more things change, the more they stay the same, and all that.

One of the really good things right now is that a new 13" Unibody MacBook Pro (easy to read fonts + reverse colors with 1 button + size that really does fit on my lap comfortably) means that not only can I do some of the additional training/prep I need without getting eyestrain and tension/migraines so quickly, but I'll also be able to resume reading recreationally.

I don't even know where to start; it's not like I have a ton of money to spend on books nor to read as voraciously as I have at times in the past, but... any suggestions? I've tended toward hard science fiction with intelligent, introspective, analytic protagonists -- although I found it increasingly difficult to get attached to SF starting sometime i the 90s, with some exceptions.

In no particular order: Clarke left me cold for the most part, Heinlein was fascinating but sexist until Stranger in a Strange Land (goofy/entertaining/annoying/sexist thereafter); Asimov, throughout his career, almost always caught an held my attention in practically every genre. I've enjoyed some Brin (Earth, Glory Season), some Benford (Timescape!), some Bear (Moving Mars), some Silverberg (Up The Line), Frederik Pohl (Gateway and pretty much everything else), a bunch of others I can't remember right this second -- most are packed in boxes in the basement right now or aren't terribly mainstream. Softer SF's OK too if it's good (fsvo good), ditto for pretty much any genre if the book is right.

Time travel and its cousins are awesome. A relatively small or well-defined cast of important characters is better than having a zillion people to keep track of (probably why I could never get into Turtledove's books). Too much action/battle tends to annoy me, but characters who engage in mental masturbation do, too.

Umumum... Niven annoyed me even though I always should have enjoyed his work... cyberpunk did nothing for me, though I'm sure I'd enjoy something in the genre if I tried hard enough... hated Sterling's work... used to enjoy Orson Scott Card but couldn't stand him after a while.

Don't care about male vs. female protagonists; I tend to relate to make ones slightly better, but again, how they think is far more important than their gender identity.

Anyway, suggestions? Remember, it doesn't have to be SF despite my leanings in that direction...