Strict machine

The machine clanks on. Since getting back at midnight on Monday/Tuesday I have: successfully produced one of the most hideous editions of the Reporter so far, finished the Colleges and 'Studying at Cambridge' pages for the Graduate Prospectus, got rid of some old music on ucam.adverts.giveaway, paid credit card bills as far as necessary (including clearing my troublesomely-high-interest HSBC account), posted the book I managed to sell on Amazon while I was away, completed all the outstanding eBay transactions (only feedback was oustanding, I'd paid before going), posted the cheque to pay for the two lovely school-story books I bought, ripped a CD for a friend and posted it, washed most of my clothes from Glastonbury, caught up with uk.misc, written some kind of report of Glastonbury on LJ (better than I managed last year, anyway) ... and completely and utterly failed to catch up with my email.

There had to be something. Apologies to all the people who are expecting email from me; I am still drowning in spam, mailing lists, and half-remembered conversations. (Somehow it's easier to come back to usenet, because it just potters along and one can drift in and out.)

(I've just remembered something else I never got round to posting, too; those figurines for k425. And I still haven't declared tax for last year. Oh well.)

Thank you...

... whoever paid for 12 months of LJ account for me!

Free books

I know quite a few of my readers here read Georgette Heyer. I seem to recall that one of them (at least!) said they wanted my copy of Powder and Patch (1962 Pan pb), but I can't remember who...

Does anybody want a copy of Anne Digby's Second Term at Trebizon? (Slightly tatty 1981 pb copy.) I seem to have acquired duplicates.

Coming second in the human race

Horrified to discover that on a newsgroup full of apparently-intelligent people, it's apparently deemed quite okay for people to casually say "All Americans are thick" and "the French are all arrogant" -- and not even in the context of a joke, but apparently just stating facts. And it can't be xenophobic, because everybody says it! It's a national tradition!

Next up: "It's racist to call a black person a racist". Argh.

I didn't expect to have to have these debates with adults. Am I just hopelessly naïve?

Give up

No, not tonight, not ever. Go to bed. GIVE UP. Try to sleep. GIVE UP. Try not to breathe.