Soon...

Next Wednesday, the failed Bush Presidency counter hits 1000 days. Yay.

Public Service Announcement for Writers

Absolute Write has published this year's 20 Worst Agents list.

None of these agents has a significant track record of sales to commercial (advance-paying) publishers, and most have virtually no documented and verified sales at all (many sales claimed by these agents turn out to be vanity publishers). All charge clients before a sale is made, whether directly, by charging fees such as reading or administrative fees, or indirectly, for "editing services."

Just remember, if you write a book that you want to see in the bookstores:
in modern, legitimate publishing money should always flow toward you, the writer.

If anything in getting a book published costs you more than it takes to submit your work, you're being scammed.

Paging Wallace and Gromit

From the Times Online.UK:

No carrot is safe as monster rabbit goes on rampage

When rumours began to spread about a monstrous rabbit stalking a Northumberland village, some locals unwisely dismissed it as an April Fool’s prank.

Or maybe it wasn't:

At the Northumberland Arms, hunched villagers whisper of the giant, ravenous rabbit prowling the community at night. No one, it seems, can catch it, and no home-grown vegetable is safe.

The creature leaves behind huge footprints, has diabolically shaped ears and is proving the biggest threat to cabbages in the history of the local allotment. So strong that it is able to pull leeks and turnips fully out of the soil, the black-and-brown rabbit has already demolished a market stall’s worth of Japanese onions, parsnips and spring carrots.

Full story here.

- Link via dangerousmeta

Computerized piano torture

At the cube across from mine, a delightful little loop of music is playing overandoverandover again.
The person is at a meeting; and the computer is locked.
A delightful little loop of music is playing overandoverandover again.
A delightful little loop of music is playing overandoverandover again.
A delightful little loop of music is playing overandoverandover again.
A delightful little loop of music is playing overandoverandover again.

It was cute the first two hundred times but it's getting old...

April

The New Zealand invasion has left for Europe. Blogging should resume soon.