So I have a number of "things" -- primarily cheap books, comics, CDs, and a few DVDs -- that are collecting space and I'd like to get rid of. While I can go can donate to the local library, the greedy punk in me wants to get something out of this besides a tax donation. While I could open a shop on eBay or something like that, I think the effort and cost involved would suck the living daylights out of me for little return.

Someone (creativedv8tion?) mentioned something about a book swapping service. How does this work? What kind of costs are there (postage, packing materials, etc.)? Any suggestions and/or referrals that anyone would like to give?

Spent most of the day yesterday incapacitated with a headache. It was always too bright, so I tried keeping my eyes closed while staying awake. Failed miserably on that last part. Pretty much was sleeping on and off from 11 am to 6:30 pm.Surprisingly, the headache lifted a bit to just a dull pain, and I was able to read the paper and watch TV in the evening. Even more surprising was that I was able to fall asleep at my regular time.

Alas, this morning I woke up early and am fairly grumpy. There's not nearly enough coffee in this building to pep me up. Mind you, I work in a 50-story buliding, with a cafeteria and a Strabucks in it. Nope, not nearly enough coffee. But I'm not like this guy.

I feel like I'm playing stupid. And I'm winning.

Jen finished Harry Potter. Big surprise there.

Got most of our CDs ripped. Using FLAC file format, there were 6,173 individual tracks on 397 CDs, totalling 118 GB of drive space. I still have a stack of CDs that are in Jen's car, and four in mine.

WSoPC was fun again. Pat Kiernan could be the next Alex Trebek. I could give less than a care about who is going to host TPiR, though having this drag out is just an embarrassment.

Microsoft Windows 7 in three years? Not holding my breath. They were saying the same thing for Longhorn, of which the server side *STILL* hasn't been released and isn't expected until early next year.

I think I need to keep a headache journal.

Jen is reading HP, and just blew her nose and wiped her eyes. I looked over, and she said "Dammit." I said, "Huh?" Her reply was something spoilerish.

This day is going to be intolerable.

Oh, best line about "Set for Life" has to go to lambertman -- "I wouldn't watch this crap again even if *I* was the contestant."

When fandoms of rialtus collide: From Blog@Newsarama, Stan Lee on To Tell the Truth.

And from the blogs, "This isn't going to last long". jiggery_pokery should appreciate that... EDIT And indeed, the number is now 227,000 just a few hours later.

Oh, and I think LJ did something funky and logged everyone me out. If you haven't been seeing the normal number of postings, you may have been affected too.

A9.com has changed as of yesterday. Many A9 features, such as history, bookmarks, and diary, are gone. The A9 Toolbar is being discountinued. And, most importantly, they are dropping the amazon.com discount. If you still had the discount available on amazon.com, you might want to use it now before you "time out".

I know I did. I've got the books from Ken Jennings and Bob Harris on the way, as well as the Quintessential Phase of the Hitchhiker's Guide radio series. ZANG!

This icon was too funny not to share... As seen in im_a_pistol's journal, credited to opiumgaze.


The LA Times sent out an insert with the Sunday paper stating they would be discontinuing their TV Times as part of the Sunday paper, unless you opted in for free. Presumably, the LA Times did some sort of focus group or survey, and found out that most people don't use this paper guide anymore, and the cost of giving it to everyone versus only to those subscribers that want it pushed the decision to drop this by default. My pessimistic nature says that it will be free for now. But it shows how the tide it turning. Gone are the days when you had to have a TV Guide or local paper guide in order to know when anything was on. Enter the days of on-screen guides, PVRs, and Internet based listings.

Ironically, this leads me to a point -- I forgot that "The Amazing Race" was on last night, but thankfully, TiVo has it waiting for me. Oh, and for nyone who likes "Psych", it's been renewed for a second season. And George Duran of "Ham on the Street" made a funny in his blog, as syndicated here on LJ. Sure wish Alton Brown still kept a blog.

Not sure if anyone needs an external USB 2.0 hard drive or not, but here's a fairly good deal for a 160GB -- $57.95 shipped after rebate. Oh, and amazon.com has a sale on Harmony remote controls right now. Go. Get one now. Go on. I'll wait.

The Santa Ana winds have picked up over the weekend, resulting in me being down for the count on Sunday with an allergy/sinus headache. Took one of my "good" pills this morning, and that seemed to help. I can't take these at night because they make me jittery and therefore I can't sleep. Of course, I already couldn't sleep last night because of said headache, so I'm in a world of hurt today.

I did pick up The Death of Superman, World Without Superman, and The Return of Superman this weekend. Never read any of these stories, and thought I should finally get to them. I also picked up Dan Meltzer's The Millionaires and The Zero Game in hardcover for $3.33 each. Wasn't so fortunate on the pricing for Shadow of the Giant, which I am SO looking forward to reading.

Uhm, yeah. I suppose I should get lunch, since it's now 1 pm.

EDIT: Had I just waited for one more song to go through on the XM Radio, I would have said I was listening to Baha Men - Who Let the Dogs Out? *snerk*

Looks like Jen and I are going to be going to Vegas with a free room at a popular strip hotel. (No, jelly_doughnut and jumbach, it's not where we met/ate. Either place.) Probably be coming back on July 4, long before any fireworks, because I hate traffic. And no, msmcfeeley, I won't lose my cell.

Speaking of which, msmcfeeley, have you ever won off this Blingo thing? I've been there for two months and have gotten nothing, and don't know if I'm wasting my time...

I know that it's some 80 some degrees outside still, but my feet are cold. Of course, I don't have any shoes or socks on, and am inside in a nicely air conditioned house.

Just bought Jen and her mother tickets to the return of The Lion King at the Pantages Theater. Second row, center. Unbelievable... It's good to be on a pre-order email list.

I have a whole shelf of books that I have yet to read, and yet feel compelled to buy more. Is that wrong?

The California primary elections are tomorrow, and I can't wait until 8 pm when I won't have to see Phil Angelides and Steve Westly for a while. Of course, the cycle then goes into a frenzy with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom McClintock, and others joining the frey.

I'm pondering doing some home automation and whatnot with the house. I may just go with remote controls for the lighting and shades upstairs, or I may do something more. I'm reading up on some things like X10 (the protocol, not the irritating pop-up and pop-under purveyors), and have to address a moral issue. Namely, should I get some X10 protocol equipment from X10.com (that irritating pop-up and pop-under purveyor mentioned earlier) which would further support their horrible advertising schemes? Ugh. Maybe I'll just stick with remote control switches...

1) The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - ISBN 0385504209 - 454 pages - 3 stars

Like everyone else recently, I borrowed this book from a friend, who gushed all over themselves on how excellent this book was. Even my wife swore this was a great book -- so much so that she read it while having pink eye.

I just don't see it.

Sure, it was an okay story. But the author put very little into character development. The chapters were, on a whole, very short. I suppose that was to ratchet up the suspense value, but I found it annoying. The characters knew things very conveniently and figured out items at just the right time. It was just so ... forced. It defintely wasn't worth the hype that has circled this book, and I still don't know why my wife went through the pain of reading this with pink eye!

2. Deny Thy Father - ISBN 0743464095 - 368 pages - 2 stars

Yeah, well, it was a Star Trek book. It wasn't as good as some of the more recent books, but I've read much worse. This one tells the story of Will and Kyle Riker from the days long before ST:TNG started. It really seemed more to be two mini stories that are somewhat intertwined. *shrug* It was mindless reading that kept me awake while on the train.

Pages: 368

YTD Pages: 822