Relaxing

[stoutfellow]

Well, 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.

Comments

And how *is* Mrs. Brown's lovely daughter?

[(Anonymous)]

Heh. Nice first LJ entry! I actually have a free account, courtesy of Lynette (Meerkat1), under the name of hornedhopper. I haven't ever actually posted anything, though. I hope you enjoy your foray into LJ; it seems to me like a complicated square dance with ever-changing partners...just keep on moving!

Lorraine

Re: And how *is* Mrs. Brown's lovely daughter?

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

She seems to be aging well, thank you (and thanks also for not going with That Other Song, arguably the group's weakest). Actually, I tend to put three related disks in the player at a time; the other two were the Hollies and (now playing) Neil Diamond.

LJ seems like an interesting activity; Cat Meier has warned me of the weirdness of never being sure who's reading or how they're reacting, but I'll give it a go, at least for a while.

fj/herman's 'ermits

[(Anonymous)]

Hmmm ok there I guess you don't wanna comment on Henry the 8th. Today is Saturday and tomorrow at work there will be only 2 people on the floor taking calls from customers so my stress level will be high. Tarjet' is trying a new thing letting all the level 3"s off Sun/Mon and working them Tue/sat cuz of easter. the old man is still deaf as a post and they have upped my medication to 500mg per day. H.A.N.D....donpp

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

Welcome to LJ, for those times when the BZujold list simply isn't sucking enough time!

(Robert)

Digital camera recommendations

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

What are you planning on using it for?