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stoutfellowWell, it's been a quiet Saturday. This past week has been hectic (work) and stressful (non-work), but I got most of what needed doing done, and the stress seems to have abated for the moment.
I'm musing on the vagaries of magazine subscriptions. a) I have subscribed to Scientific American for twenty-six years, without a break. Nonetheless, I continue to receive requests that I consider subscribing. b) A while back, I subscribed to Nature. I found it interesting, but a bit overwhelming, and did not renew. After a brief hiatus, they gave me a free subscription, which persists to this day. c) My subscription to Consumer Reports lapsed years ago, as I found little use for its recommendations - I don't drive, and most of the items they showcase are things I don't need or want; nonetheless, they continue to try to enter me in their annual lottery. Take a hint, willya?
Current reading includes Henry Petroski's The Pencil (lots of interesting stuff, if you like this kind of thing - why pencils are yellow, why they're hexagonal, why it's called "pencil lead") and Tom Holt's Who's Afraid of Beowulf, the latter a reread. I've heard Holt compared to Pratchett, but I'd judge him a more restrained and less caustic version of Douglas Adams. He doesn't have Pratchett's breadth or depth, I don't think.
I'm musing on the vagaries of magazine subscriptions. a) I have subscribed to Scientific American for twenty-six years, without a break. Nonetheless, I continue to receive requests that I consider subscribing. b) A while back, I subscribed to Nature. I found it interesting, but a bit overwhelming, and did not renew. After a brief hiatus, they gave me a free subscription, which persists to this day. c) My subscription to Consumer Reports lapsed years ago, as I found little use for its recommendations - I don't drive, and most of the items they showcase are things I don't need or want; nonetheless, they continue to try to enter me in their annual lottery. Take a hint, willya?
Current reading includes Henry Petroski's The Pencil (lots of interesting stuff, if you like this kind of thing - why pencils are yellow, why they're hexagonal, why it's called "pencil lead") and Tom Holt's Who's Afraid of Beowulf, the latter a reread. I've heard Holt compared to Pratchett, but I'd judge him a more restrained and less caustic version of Douglas Adams. He doesn't have Pratchett's breadth or depth, I don't think.
