As you no doubt have heard us complain, we are moving soon. So we finally have done the long promised big purge of our bookshelves. Now, who wants something?

The terms:
You pay shipping. This is our one non-negotiable.
Hard covers are $5
Trade paperbacks are $2
Paperbacks are $1
Comics are free with shipping
I think there is only one book listed with a note that it's rare that we'd probably want more for (haven't bothered to get off my ass and look it up though), but you're free to make an offer on anything else.

Deadline: we need to hear from you before noon (Pacific Time) on Thursday 6/19.

Shipping: books will not be shipped until the first week of July (we have little stuff like a vacation and moving coming up).
Pickup is available for Seattle locals and anyone who can meet with wrdnrd when she's in Portland for OSBridge.

This is about 2/5ths of the books we have, but I limited it to the stuff I thought was most likely to move. If any of you want old bibles, comics in Japanese,wrdnrd's various collections of lit from college, or, *shudder*, Hawthorn, let me know and I'll catalog more.

The spreadsheet is a google doc because that was easier for me.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KwcQzDLnkBI3fQKLrEvi93ATsB3_YzxdZx3FtaXL5Aw/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you see something you like and feel free to direct other people here. Get this stuff out of our house!

Edited to Add:
We got a couple board games to get rid of as well, make an offer.
Mind Trap (IIRC this was a bunch of lateral thinking puzzle questions mostly)
Risk (the retro old school version in a wood box)
Vegas Showdown (original printing)
Axis and Allies (fuck if I know which version, there are so many. it has a blue box)
Classic Bingo

So, as you may have heard, wrdnrd and I are buying a house. Ok, technically we're buying into a co-op, but most of this is the same. And it's a HUGE amount of bullshit. So I am going to give some of my hard earned knowledge to you, in case you are also thinking of doing this terribly stupid thing soon.

Disclaimer: this information is US specific and may in certain cases even be Washington state specific. I am not an expert, this is my first time buying a house, please work with professionals if you are going to do something like this.

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Here's the deal: I list well regarded authors I have not been able to get into. You recommend a starting place (or you can tell me not to bother) and I'll try it. I will give each author two attempts to catch my interest. If after two books*, which I have not already read**, I remain unsold, then they are off my list forever.

I'll add to this list as I recall more names.


My initial list for recs:
Gene Wolfe
Mary Gentle
Catherynne M. Valente
Iain M. Banks
Guy Gavriel Kay


* I will not promise to read any book beyond 25 pages if it's not grabbing me. You may want to keep that in mind and not recommend things that get good around 100 pages in.

** If it's been a long time since I've read a book I might be convinced to give it another try.

Cause I totally did.

I usually spend a couple days after class pretty sore, but it fills my workout needs of 1) not being boring and 2) having someone encouraging/yelling at me to do stuff. Mostly the basic class consists of balancing, different kinds of rolling, and different vaults over small obstacles, with some intermittent strength training (pushups, squats, and pullups being the default). Though occasionally we get to run courses and swing on ropes.

Anyway, I'm having a lot of fun and actually enjoying exercising again, though it can be frustrating watching 12 year old kids (man, the kids class would have been awesome when I was little) effortlessly backflip off walls.

Assuming you aren't also following me on twitter/facebook, here's the first look at my new octopus tattoo.



If you remember my post about commissioning the tattoo you'll notice a couple minor changes that the tattoo artist suggested: flipping it to face forward on my arm and some simplification/elimination of the suckers on some of the tentacle tips. But overall he did a great job matching the original and did a very nice job with the colors too.

I'll put up some more pictures after it heals, but I'm super happy with this and I'm glad I decided to commission a custom piece for my first time.

Also, shout out to Josh W at Slave to the Needle. He did a great job on the tat and did it super fast: I was out in under 2 hours. Also it appears to be healing nicely, not too much swelling or welting, but I'll take credit for some of that.

Maki of Just Bento & Just Hungry has a bunch of articles on onigiri, but the best place to start is her onigiri FAQ (http://justbento.com/handbook/bento-basics/onigiri-omusubi-faq).

One of the links is to the Cooking Cute blog’s instructions on using a mold like the one we sent you (http://www.cookingcute.com/onigiri_with_filling.htm). My instructions are pretty much the same as theirs.


Andy’s instructions:

Make some rice. You need to be using Japanese style short grain rice, sometimes labeled as sushi rice, otherwise it won’t stick right.

Make the onigiri as soon as the rice is done. It will be hot, but since you’re using a mold it should be ok (I’ve made them the traditional way by hand and it’s kinda painful with hot rice).

Wet the mold and fill about half way with rice. Do not pack the rice in.

Make a little divot in the center for filling and put something in it. I’m a traditionalist and use umiboshi or umiboshi paste. If you’re using umiboshi you’ll probably want to remove the pit first: not only is it large, but sometimes it has a little point on top that likes to jab into lips.

If you buy umiboshi paste in a squeeze bottle you can cheat and inject it in after making a plain onigiri.

Fill the mold the rest of the way with rice, then press down the lid.

Remove the lid, turn the mold over, and give it a good shake to release the onigiri. I think the style of mold we gave you has a flap on the back you can push on to help release the onigiri if necessary.

Re-wet the mold and lid before making the next one.

Sprinkle a little salt on the onigiri and, if you’re going to eat it immediately, put a strip of nori on it. I don’t recommend putting nori on the onigiri until you’re about to eat it, otherwise I find it gets mushy, so if you’re packing for a snack later I keep the seaweed in a separate bag until eating time.

That’s pretty much it.

I finally decided to stop talking about getting a tattoo and actually figure out what I wanted. Eventually I settled on a octopus. And if you need to ask why I would get an octopus I will question how well you know me.

Anyway, I got in touch with Erika Moen because I knew she did tattoo commissions, liked cephalopods, and had a style I liked. Here are the results.

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Some rough thoughts on the realities of governance in the Mushroom Kingdom.


Princess Peach is just a figurehead. Mushroom Kingdom royalty hasn’t wielded real power in generations, executive decisions are carried out by a council of advisors lead by the chamberlain. This has been the norm all of Peach’s life, her bubbly airhead personality is an affectation for the public. As long as she doesn’t act out she is provided with an opulent lifestyle: castle, servants, travel to exotic locations, sexy racecars, etc.

Most citizens have some awareness of the current situation. In order to keep either a democratic revolution or a restoration of the monarchy from occurring a constant threat from outside is required. Normally this is Bowser, who’s nation is strong enough to occasionally invade and kidnap the (intentionally poorly guarded) Peach, but can still be defeated by a plumber with a decent vertical leap. Bowser is sadly unaware that he exists only at the Mushroom Kingdom’s whim and that should he ever not present a galvanizing threat (or conversely, ever attempt to offer a real one) the kingdom would suddenly find itself capable of marshalling a surprisingly proficient military and erasing him from the map.

Mario is the perfect hero. Working class. Rescues the princess he loves. Is mostly mute. I don’t think he’s in on the scheme exactly, but he and his brother have to make their way in the strange land they’ve ended up stuck in. They’re good at their jobs and as long as they keep stomping goombas and rescuing Peach they live in relative comfort and are treated like celebrities.

I did something painful to my thumb earlier in the week (pretty sure it's not broken), so I'm going to retroactively claim that's what's kept me from posting for months. Yes, that doesn't make sense, no I don't care.

Wrdnrd and I were strangely mopey yesterday, so we blew off all our cleaning and dinner plans and just sat upstairs watching ATLA and eating homemade salsa. Our moods were gradually fixed, now I just need to be sure I don't get down today because of everything I failed to accomplish yesterday.

Our scooters are in the shop again. Thankfully mine was fixable (parts aren't made for it anymore), but because of the aforementioned thumb I'm not going to pick it up until wrdnrd's is also ready. Also I'm stalling because i don't feel up to budgeting right now, so I'd rather put off paying for it.

We bought a proper carpet cleaner. I've only played with it a little (see mopey and thumb), but it worked way better than I expected. Our carpet is old, so it'll never look great, but it can be a couple shades lighter and without obvious cat vomit stains. And I'm anxious to hit the high traffic area by the kitchen and see if it can look like something other than a packed dirt trail.

I'm off omeprazole for right now. I give it a break when I run out, both to see how my reflux is doing and also because IIRC eventually my body will start overcompensating with more acid, so I'd like to give it a chance to reset. Things seem pretty good right now, but they're always good until they're not. At least since it's OTC if I decide i need to go back on I can pop by the store at any time.

Having a medical billing issue which is frustrating with its opaqueness. And because I paid and subsequently tried to get reimbursement I think no one is really motivated to try and resolve it. They have their money.

Really have been feeling the need to play video games again. But there's always so much to do at home. Maybe I should break out the DS and get my fix in on the bus in the mornings.

Caught up with the new season of Doctor Who. Some of the weakest damn writing I have ever seen. Current theory: they blew the budget on that snippet of "Alien in New York" that played during The Angels Take Manhattan, so they paid half rates for the scripts. But yeah, terrible, terrible scripts so far this season and everyone involved should be ashamed with themselves. On the other hand it has actually made me miss the convoluted "everything is about River always" season, so maybe that was Moffet's secret goal.

Anyone enjoying my tweeting during my Breaking Bad watch? Should I keep it up?

/ramble

To recap the last week, for those not following my twitter/getting complained to in person.

I had my worst case of anxiety ever at work on Wednesday. I had back to back to back meetings scheduled on the day I was trying to wrap things up and leave early to pack for WisCon. I almost ran out of the office when I was done (and then camped in the quiet lobby for 5 minutes to calm down a bit).

Fortunately we planned really well this time and weren't rushed at home and got to the airport with plenty of time. That didn't get rid of my trip anxiety (which was super sensitive due to all my earlier stress), but it helped keep it in check. I still had to pace around the airport to stay calm though.

I still had some chest pain and anxiety during my first panel, but a long weekend filled with nothing but drinking and hanging out with awesome people and just not giving a shit about work was wonderful. I had pretty much no reflux and absolutely no anxiety. Which on the one hand is great, on the other demonstrates how easy it is for my brain to fuck up my body.

My panels went ok, I think (since I'm not going to read any writeups of them). I did way less partying this year, both because beer can often bother my reflux and because Jess didn't need a wingman. And we had a pretty solid bar in our room, so it's not like I needed the parties to unwind at night.

Having a room to just me and wrdnrd was kind of nice (no pants! the toilet paper lasted all weekend! I didn't have to threaten anyone with a knife to get the AC set where I need it!), but also kind of lonely. I miss the planning to cover diverse panels and then report back to the team. Also, it's nice to sleep in, but without roommates stomping about it's easy for us to sleep in too much.

On Tuesday I woke with a little pain, either due to the single malt that ended the night or just the first stirrings of trip anxiety. Throughout the day the anxiety and associated pain ebbed and flowed, and mostly just made me uncomfortable (and a bit of an asshole to wrdnrd at the airport).

Felt better for a little while on the bus home, then just had a mental collapse as my body realized how worn out all the travel and anxiety had made me. Food and sake have made it better, though now I'm struggling with the memories of coming home from WisCon last year. I think I made enough posts about what we went through with Ed, so I'm not going to do it again here.

I think we're skipping WisCon, and most travel for that matter, next year. I've always had issues with anxiety when preparing for trips, but everything in my brain is way worse right now. This is a travel heavy year and I think I just need to spend more time relaxing.