Potentially the biggest story ever- the results of the SETI@home search for alien signals are in, and the scientists are going back to observe 150 stand out signal sources. I so want them to get a result, and, whether they do or not, I really have got to sign up to the next round.
In my move before last, I measured up how many litres of CDs and books I owned as I stuffed them into rucksacks (80 litres of CD, 90 of book). In their current house move, Michael Frayn and his wife have estimated they possess 250 metres of books, prompting Alan Coren to desperately try to convert this measurement back into a number of units.
(By now I’ve probably cleared the 125 litre mark for books, despite a clear out on the recent move. The CDs haven’t bred as much and are only up to about 90 litres, with 40+ litres of comics despite my best Ebaying. Alan and Brian undoubtedly possess greater volumes than I, if they’d like to guesstimate the displacement of their collections I’d love to hear.)
I dream of making a living from writing, but even if I manage to break through the apathy and writer’s block, finish something, put up with the rejection and carry on pitching until I get a deal, it may still prove impossible. Of the 417,000 new titles published last year, very few made it into the ‘pile them high’ lists of Waterstones etc. It almost makes you lament the days of the tiny independent bookshop.
Yes, it’s my father’s birthday today. I was going to send him an e-card until I realised that he doesn’t have his own e-mail address, sharing one with Mum instead.
but what’s happened to the comments section so that I can become the critic I deserve to be? Do I need to contact my SUA representation?
Actually the answer looks like “no”, I don’t need to. Comments are back on in the couple of minutes it took me to write this. But I’ll leave it here for posterity (and to confuse anybody that actually reads it!)