Too Much Reading Material -- 01/06/00
Back at work today, taking yesterday off and getting some extra rest really seems to have helped me fight off this cold -- I'm not ready to go out and run five miles, but I was able to get through a day's work.
My mail slot was filled with mail:
two issues of PC Week *sigh* even though they've been telling me for months that my subscription would lapse if I didn't renew Right Now! Really, This May Be Your Very Last Issue... and yet still they come... (I've discovered that I can access it online for articles I need to read)
Network World
IBM's The Magazine of MQSeries
IBM's CICS Transaction 390 magazine
an advertisement for some Decision Support Software seminars
and advertisement for the Internet Commerce Expo in Boston, March 28-30
A Christmas card from a friend in the UK
Of course one of the things I did at work today was to go to the fatbrain.com online bookstore to take advantage of a twenty dollar discount ("save 2000 pennies in 2000") and ordered two books (Java 1.2 by Example, Third Edition and Core Java 2, Volume I: Fundamentals, Fourth Edition) -- My, doesn't that sound like exciting reading? Hey, but it only came to $47.20 with shipping after all of the various discounts (the list prices are $39.99 and $42.99) so I think I came out okay. (I buy a lot of technical books and most of them I pay for myself and don't ask for reimbursement; that way they belong to me personally and not to the company.)
I get other publications, some at home and some at work:
IBM Systems Journal
Beyond Computing
Analog Science Fiction Magazine
The New England Runner
Consumer Reports
There are other magazines, some of them technical, that come for my wife. (Before she became a math teacher she was a systems analyst -- most recent title had been senior database architect -- and she is still on a lot of mailing lists.) And Public Radio/TV in Boston (WGBH) sends a monthly newsletter/program guide. And the Boston Museum of Fine Arts sends a members' magazine. The kids have subscriptions to various computer gaming magazines. I also tend to pick up copies of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine... oh yeah, I usually pick up the latest issue of Mad Magazine (but that's mostly for the kids *grin*).
And we get The Providence Journal delivered seven days. There are two local papers (one weekly and one twice a week) that we used to subscribe to but now just pick up at newstands sometimes.
Have I mentioned that I do a lot of technical reading?.... various books and manuals from work (in addition to the stuff I buy)... and stuff I print or download from the Internet. And, of course, I spent more than $400 at Amazon.com last year (I'm afraid to add it all up) and although much of that was for presents, there were still a bunch of books for myself (at least one hardcover and at least ten paperbacks). And I sometimes pick up books in actual brick and mortar bookstores and even in supermarkets. Have I mentioned a trip to the public library once or twice a month? Besides science fiction, I also enjoy mysteries (usually private eye or police procedurals, not books about sweet little old English ladies who drink tea and solve locked room murders) and thrillers and Tom Clancy type novels.
And, yes, once upon a time, long ago and far away, I was an English major, and I also sometimes can even be found reading actual genuine literature and poetry even.
What I can't figure out is how I have time to read any online journals, let alone write one!
And have you read anything interesting lately?
p.s. Yes, I am a fast reader....

**Too Much Reading Material** -- *01/06/00*
Back at work today, taking yesterday off and getting some extra rest really seems to have helped me fight off this cold -- I'm not ready to go out and run five miles, but I was able to get through a day's work. My mail slot was filled with mail: two issues of PC Week sigh even though they've been telling me for months that my subscription would lapse if I didn't renew Right Now! Really, This May Be Your Very Last Issue... and yet still they come... (I've discovered that I can access it online for articles I need to read) Network World IBM's The Magazine of MQSeries IBM's CICS Transaction 390 magazine an advertisement for some Decision Support Software seminars and advertisement for the Internet Commerce Expo in Boston, March 28-30 A Christmas card from a friend in the UK Of course one of the things I did at work today was to go to the fatbrain.com online bookstore to take advantage of a twenty dollar discount ("save 2000 pennies in 2000") and ordered two books (Java 1.2 by Example, Third Edition and Core Java 2, Volume I: Fundamentals, Fourth Edition) -- My, doesn't that sound like exciting reading? Hey, but it only came to $47.20 with shipping after all of the various discounts (the list prices are $39.99 and $42.99) so I think I came out okay. (I buy a lot of technical books and most of them I pay for myself and don't ask for reimbursement; that way they belong to me personally and not to the company.) I get other publications, some at home and some at work: IBM Systems Journal Beyond Computing Analog Science Fiction Magazine The New England Runner Consumer Reports There are other magazines, some of them technical, that come for my wife. (Before she became a math teacher she was a systems analyst -- most recent title had been senior database architect -- and she is still on a lot of mailing lists.) And Public Radio/TV in Boston (WGBH) sends a monthly newsletter/program guide. And the Boston Museum of Fine Arts sends a members' magazine. The kids have subscriptions to various computer gaming magazines. I also tend to pick up copies of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine... oh yeah, I usually pick up the latest issue of Mad Magazine (but that's mostly for the kids grin). And we get The Providence Journal delivered seven days. There are two local papers (one weekly and one twice a week) that we used to subscribe to but now just pick up at newstands sometimes. Have I mentioned that I do a lot of technical reading?.... various books and manuals from work (in addition to the stuff I buy)... and stuff I print or download from the Internet. And, of course, I spent more than $400 at Amazon.com last year (I'm afraid to add it all up) and although much of that was for presents, there were still a bunch of books for myself (at least one hardcover and at least ten paperbacks). And I sometimes pick up books in actual brick and mortar bookstores and even in supermarkets. Have I mentioned a trip to the public library once or twice a month? Besides science fiction, I also enjoy mysteries (usually private eye or police procedurals, not books about sweet little old English ladies who drink tea and solve locked room murders) and thrillers and Tom Clancy type novels. And, yes, once upon a time, long ago and far away, I was an English major, and I also sometimes can even be found reading actual genuine literature and poetry even. What I can't figure out is how I have time to read any online journals, let alone write one! And have you read anything interesting lately? p.s. Yes, I am a fast reader....

In addition to my application to Open Pages, I also applied to be added to Speak Freely. I've got the html for both on my index page; now just waiting to be approved and added.

Sick Day -- 01/05/00 (yesterday's entry)

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