Let's Talk about ME!

The Fantastical Librarian, Mieneke, has a nice little interview series where she interviews bloggers. Today, she features and interview with me. So, if you have any desire to learn more about me and Neth Space, enjoy. Otherwise, move along, this is not the post you are looking for.

The Great Labor Day Purge

So, because I actually need to access my home office (and because I value my marraige) I spent the holiday weekend organizing all my books, mostly to get rid of as many as possible. The 2 photos below should make the problem clear.

 

After a few hours of work I was this far (the piles are actually organized - trust me):

 

 

 

After a bit longer (still orgainzied, just lest distinguishable. My son launched a great expedition to climb Mount TBR):

 

 

 

And finally, I dicovered that I do actually have bookshelves back there.

 

 

19 boxes of books.

 

 

 

They are on there way to a combination of a local used bookstore and the library (though I imagine quite a few will find their way into the recycling system). I'm exhausted, but it's nice to have my office back. Any bets on how long it'll take before I'm drowning again?

Room With A View and an Update

I was in Denver, Golden, Denver again, Boulder, Denver again this weekend. Yes it went that way and it was all professional society related meetings. So, a few drinks, but no real outside enjoyment - but it was cold and a bit snowy, so I'm not too bummed by that.

I've finished up Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole (Book Depository, Powell's Books, Indiebound) and should have review up soonish, but it could easily be a week out if I don't find some free time somewher. I'm almost done with The Hungar Games by Suzanne Collins  (Book Depository, Powell's Books, Indiebound). I can see why it's spoken of so highly - it is good, and I can see it translating very well into a movie. I'm not sure what I'll read next, but I'm leaning toward Arctic Rising by Tobias Buckell  (Book Depository, Powell's Books, Indiebound). I should also have another whisky review up soon.

So, on to the room with a view.

Denver, CO

And a bonus - not truly a room with a view, since it's the view from my new office that I moved into late last month. It's nice, but it can get a bit warm in the afternoon. It's February, if it gets a bit warm in February, I dread July.



Phoenix, AZ (west)



Phoenix, AZ (west-southwest)



The Day After Groundhog Day

So, not that any of you have been counting (which is more than just understandable) but this blog was ‘born’ on this day (also a Friday by the way) six years ago. That makes me something of an internet old fart, if not an ancient like a few out there. I find it suitably ironic and appropriate that it was the day after Groundhog Day that this was founded. Certainly I’ve evolved a lot over the years, but at the same time, there is certainly a very repeatable cycle to discussion in blogs that does indeed remind one of a certain Bill Murray movie (and yes, it is indeediSuntory time, though that isn’t the Bill Murray movie I’m referring to).

I’ve had many starts and stops along the way – from regular cover art posts, to rants, to travel posts, to Questions Five interviews, to the SFF Literary Pub Crawl, to something completely different photos, to room with a view photos, to whisky reviews, and of course, lots and lots of book reviews. I’ve gotten much better at reviewing and I’ve had the opportunity to meet and interact with many of my favorite authors (in person and on-line). It’s been a wild ride, and even though my ‘productivity’ has declined over the last year or so, I plan to forge ahead for the foreseeable future. So, thanks for reading, I’ll see you ‘tomorrow’ and now it is Suntory Time.

Cheers! Salud! Na Zdravi! Kampai! Noroc! Sláinte! Or however you prefer…

PHD the Movie

I know I pretty well keep this a to book-focused blog, but then it is my blog and I do post about whatever interests me at the time. So, I'm excited that PHD (Piled High & Deeper), the popular webcomic about life graduate school, is going to be a full-length movie starring a few grad students from Caltec. Back when the comic first started I read it every day because I was essentially married to Celia (at least my wife repeated told me that she was Celia). Thankfully she graduated, finished up the post-doc, and has moved on to a non-academic research institution. And since that move I've stopped keeping up with the comic - but it remains a very insightful (and hilarious) view of the trials of graduate school. Anyway, the trailer is below and more info is available here and  here.

PHD Movie Trailer from PHD Comics on Vimeo.