Arsonists

I was reading about how some of the fires in California were set by arsonists.  —  I hope the catch these !@#$%^&*()_+.  I have a good punishment for them.  If convicted, then they should be dropped off at a meeting of the persons who lost their homes, belongings and/or know someone who died in the fire.  —  The authorities can then leave.  Justice will be done.

Get rid of Illegals

I was just reading an article about how the immigration raids are preventing someone from harvesting her onions.  Well, she could pay living wages and employ legal citizens?  —  I have no real sympathy for anyone employing illegal immigrants.  You break the law, you pay the price, tho paying legals might be cheaper.  —  On the other hand if she doesn’t mind illegal activities, maybe she has a nice 60 inch plasma TV I can liberate.  I can just drop by and remove it when she isn’t around.  Now this is a way to watch TLOTR on 22 September.

Oral Hygiene

The trouble with words is that you never know whose mouths they’ve been in.
-Dennis Potter, dramatist (1935-1994)

Yaminons!

I received a nice surprise today.  Someone made a small donation to the “Yaminon Defense Fund,” www.yaminon.org  .  It is my website to raise some money to help with the restoration of Yaminons or Northern Hairy-nosed Wombats.  They are the 6th most endangered mamal on the planet.  —  So when you drop by here, think strongly about dropping by www.yaminon.org  and leaving a few dollars, Euros, etc.  —  Cute and cuddly critters as the Yaminon shouldn’t disappear.

Sounds right to me!

Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you’ve never been hurt and live like it’s heaven on Earth.
–Mark Twain

Bringing Pern to Albany

Okay, I admit it, I’m a sucker.  What else would you call me after I volunteered to chair ALBACON 08.  I guess, no good deed goes unpunished.  This morning I called Anne McCaffrey and asked her to be our GoH.  She said, YES!  Assuming her health holds up.  —  Well, this meant, it was my turn to go back in the barrel.  🙂  To balance things out, I got another GoH from the LA area, Todd McCaffrey, her son.  the tentative dates, subject to locking down the hotel, is 10-12 October 2008.  I hope some of you can make it. 

I’m an elitist and proud of it.

After getting back from my trip down Rt. 66 I was catching up on my TIME Magazines.  One article was quite interesting.  “Failing Our Geniuses.”  Ain’t this the truth.  —  The article points out, we spend ten times as much on the students who are below average as on those who are above.  —  Now I’m not saying we should spend less on the below average children, but that we should be spending more, much, much more on the above average children.  Hey folk, these are the kids who will grow up to discover, invent & create all those things you really will like and want.  Without nurturing our geniuses we will be much poorer.  —  The US needs more “Davidson Academies.”  Are such schools elitist?  Probably so, but exactly what is wrong with nurturing the elite?  I’m not all that in favor of equality when it means that everyone MUST be the same.  This usually insures that everyone will be equally ignorant.  —  I’m all in favor of having schools where you have to be very much above average to get in.  I don’t see these same complainers asking Stanford, MIT, Un. of Chicago, and even state universities to have an open door policy to enrollment.  Should a person with an IQ well below average enter so they can waste time, effort and money on them?  —  The US should be spending 10 times as much supporting really smart kids as on helping the dumb ones.  —  Of course, the US don’t really want to spend money on education in the first place.  It doesn’t give back a profit within 90 days.  —  Yes, I’m an elitist and proud of it.  If it weren’t for “geeks” and “nerds,” all those “normal” folk would have to think up ways to amuse themselves on their own. 

The BEACH has Landed!

G’day,  —  Yesterday I received my proof copy of the paperback version of THE BEACH OF ATONEMENT.  —  It was good so I released the paperback edition for your purchase. 🙂   You can find is on www.lulu.com or go directly to http://www.lulu.com/content/944065 .  —  I’m really excited about this.  —  I hope to release the hardback version within 2-3 weeks.  I haven’t received my proof copy yet.  —  Oh yes, I’m really excited about this if you haven’t guessed.  🙂

HANTS = Hampshire ?

When I was in England, I learned that the postal abbreviation for Hamshire was HANTS.  This confused me as there is no “N” or “T” in Hampshire.  I asked around and never got an answer.  However, I knew the good readers of “Column 8” in the Sydney Morning Herald would be able to solve this for me.  The answer follows:

“Jan Howard Finder must have talked to an unusually ill-informed museum curator,” writes Bill Noble, of Macquarie University (“Why is Hampshire abbreviated as HANTS?”, Column 8, yesterday). “Hamtunscir is first recorded as such in 755. It was named from Hamtun, the old name for Southampton. The HANTS abbreviation comes from the Doomsday Book entry, where it was transcribed by Latin-trained French speaking clerics as Hantescire. Scir is Old English for shire.” Simple, eh?

Is it good to go?

G’day!  —  Today I uploaded the corrected text, I think, of “The Beach Of Atonment.”  —  I ordered my proof copies as well which should get here in 2-3 weeks.  If the books are fine, then I shall be able to release them for sale.  —  It is a good thing, I’m not adding in all the time I’ve spent with the book. 🙂  —  I’ll be posting the good news, once it is good news, here, on Famous Folk & to those of you who have emailed me on the book.  —  the prices will be: $40 for the hardback; $25 for the paperback & $15 to download it.  —  Buy earliy & often- lots!  Tell your friends!