Publications and more journeys....

[tcpip]

Some clouds have silver linings and in the case of the Dr. Cairns book this one is sterling. Instead of having to deal with a two-bit publisher who drops the ball at the last minute I now have the Fabian Society/Pluto Press expressing interest and contact with (ahem) Oxford University press. Now that's more like it.

On Monday morning I'm getting in a big silver bird to go to New Zealand for a couple of weeks. Although it's for a family visit I've also been applying like crazy for IT jobs there. I wouldn't mind spending some time in the land of the Long White Cloud. At least real estate is cheap. I've been making more than a passing interest in a 96 room lodge in Gore (bottom of South Island - only $125K NZD). Just what I need for my secret base whilst I plan world domination.

In other real estate news, apparently each person in Australia has a net wealth of $219,000. Hmmm... Feel like you're on the wrong side of the wealth fence?

Some livejournal posters have been coming up with some brilliant links of late.

Shorxrore suggests typing in miserable failure into google.

a2gsg alerts us to
Fucked Company, where people can post the most stupid internal memos from their workplace. I highly recommend this one for both severina242 and caseopaya.

Baralier points out the errors of the latest version of MS-Office. I wince at this one because it's all true.

For the gamers among us, Lederhosen found this little gem -
a Roman era d20. God help me, I even thought about bidding on it. I do like the line: "Modern scholarship has not yet established the game for which these dice were used."

Finally, Wildilocks points us to
LJ Connect. Which I suppose means that the mass media doesn't stand a chance.

Andrew Bartlett. Whatever went wrong? He was such a nice boy.

Comments

[bar-bar-ella.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the new publishing interest! OUP is very cool...

96 room lodge?? *envy*

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

The lodge is a former single-men's quarters for a meatworking factory (urgh!) so it's pretty basic apparently. On the other side of the fence, it's located near some amazing landscape (glaciers less than two hours drive away) and what is supposed to be the best trout fishing in the world.

I'm thinking of converting the entire thing into flats and setting up a haven for artists, politicos and scientists in the style of Iain Banks' The Culture.

I am quite mad, aren't I?

[greylock.livejournal.com]

I am quite mad, aren't I?
Indeed, it's damnably cold down in those climes, IIRC, and fairly isolated too.

Just the thing to ride out a nuclear war. :|

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Midsummer averages about 14 degrees, midwinter is about 5, range between 31 (whoa!) and -5. About 900 mm of rain per annum over 137 days.

Actually it sounds quite pleasant.

[ktwhoopi.livejournal.com]

can i come help with world domination? (hoping for a spot at the lodge)

:)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Of course!

You know, it's amazing how many people want to engage in a bit of world domination.

Hey, we couldn't do worse that the people currently running the show could we?

[ktwhoopi.livejournal.com]

Hey, we couldn't do worse that the people currently running the show could we?
damn straight!! *nods emphatically*

[jesusandrew.livejournal.com]

Great news on the book! And your potential NZ scheme sounds intrigiung.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'll believe it all when I see it though... Still, gives me something whilst I'm working on the next two or three...

[caseopaya.livejournal.com]

You never mentioned Oxford!! Wow!!

And I'm definitely on the wrong side of the wealth fence *sigh*

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

re: OUP. Remember Saturday night? Jo-Anne?

I somehow suspect that wealth index will find a lot of people on the "wrong" side. I'd like to see a Gini co-efficient for the distribution of wealth.

[caseopaya.livejournal.com]

Yes I remember Saturday night but didn't hear all the conversations going on. Does she have associations with OUP?

[shorxrore.livejournal.com]

haha good stuff

the ljconnect held my attention for all of 15 seconds

but that d20 is pretty friggin awesome...

More old school gamer references

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I reckon the Roman-era d20 was used for a game called 'papers & paychecks', set in a far future where people engaged in adminstrative or service work and most agriculture and manufacturing was done by machines.

Re: More old school gamer references

[shorxrore.livejournal.com]

hahahaha

how odd that would be if it was true...

[log-reloaded.livejournal.com]

well well well... if this book thingy happens in the way it seems it will currently some of us might be on the "right" side of the wealth fence.
but on the other hand YOU JUST GOT HOME and now you are thinking of leaving again... is ok i don't care, i understand, we don't want you here any way, I'll just go sit alone in the dark it's ok.

but if world domination's is your calling who am i to stand in your way ... i just want special treatment when it comes to fruition.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

LOG! And here we thought you'd disappeared from Livejournal land... Hey, that's a familiar icon isn't it?

I know my feet are pretty itchy. They have been since Howard was elected over that Tampa "incident". Hey, I'm not getting any younger and there's a big wide world out there and believe me it's damn interesting... I want more!

And no sitting in the dark for you, m'dear bright and morning star.... No point hiding that your light under a bushel...