As some of you might know, I originally killed the account back in May. And then waited the required time for it to (supposedly) be deleted. But it wasn’t – it was just suspended. it seems that was JUST before facebook created a “real” delete for an account. And so, several weeks later, I had to log in, re-activate the account, and then re-delete it. And wait. And wait. And check back after the deadline, just to be sure.

All of this just in time, I might add, for me to realize I’ll probably have to get a new account anyway – to keep tabs on my kids when they get accounts. Gotta love digital parenting, yeah?

In other social networking news, I am looking forward to the September release of Diaspora. We’ll see if it lives up to it’s promises (and hype).

• I’ve got my blood sugar levels under control, with a minimum dose of metformin daily and diet. This rocks.
• The tooth I had removed a few weeks back has healed completely. This also rocks, but it has taken some getting used to the missing molar on that side.
• I’ve been three days without smoking. So far, so good.
• I’m down to 184 lbs as of last night. This is UP from my low a few weeks back of 181, but still, some fluctuations are normal. I’ve basically lost 30 lbs, and it’s staying off. Stopping smoking may mean a short-term gain, but I am confident that I’ll lose it again. On a related note, I need a new, smaller belt.
• My intestines and I have come to an agreement, and for now they are not intent on killing me. I REALLY miss spicy food, but I suppose it’s worth it.

So overall? I’m good. I feel great. At some point, my system is going to purge all the crap in my lungs and sinuses, and that’ll SUCK, but it’s worth it.

There is one problem that I’m having. Finding eBooks that aren’t new releases or best sellers or blockbusters or whatever can be a pain in the ass. Publishers are jumping on the bandwagon post-haste with most new releases on Kindle and iBooks available the same day as a hardback or paperback release. Which is cool. Apple and Amazon already carry most of Project Gutenberg‘s archives (and what they don’t I can get directly from PG). I’ve found the Baen Free Library, where some fantastic stuff is available for download as ePub (my format of choice, thanks). I’ve read most of  the Creative Commons works by Corey Doctorow and Mur Lafferty now (and if you haven’t, you should).

And then things seem to just…drop off.

I’ve dug on the search engines, skimmed forums, gone to every small publisher site I can find, and I have a question: Where do I find GOOD ebooks? Where are the hordes of books I’ve heard tell are out there?

Who are you reading these days, and if it’s an eBook or Creative Commons work[1], where are you FINDING them? Where are the new, up-and-coming, unknowns? Where are the Corey Doctorows and the Mur Laffertys? What am I missing?

[1] I support the Creative Commons and I support Open Standards, and I will gladly pay for an eBook.[2]  This is something publishers are just as slow to understand as the music and movie industries are.

[2] Authors need to eat. I fully support authors eating. Especially the one living in my house.

“Oh, you don’t want that one, you want this one ” [points to a 500G 7200RPM drive] “it’s much faster.”

Um, no. If I ask for a specific part, don’t tell me I want something else instead unless I ask for your opinion. I’m sure dude was just doing his job, and the statement had about all the feelings of a man agreeing to a proctological exam. Maybe less. So it may have been rote.

But it annoyed me. Because ti assumed I didn’t know what I needed. That I was an uninformed consumer. And on the one hand, since the unwashed masses shop at TigerDirect, that’s probably a safe assumption (an, I saw some Wal*Mart shoppers there yesterday, let me tell you). But really. If someone asks for something specific, don’t tell them what they need unless asked, Mmmm-kay?

I do think posting updates from the blog to twitter or what-have-you is OK – if you have something to say in more than 140 characters, you’ve got the space for it, and people who follow you on twitter do not necessarily know where your blog is.

I suppose I see twitter/tumblr more as the “hub” for up-to-the-moment things, like a news ticker. Only I get to control what I add to it, as well as who and what I get updates from.

In other writing news, I’ve been working on my next article for ExitEvent, and probably need to get back to writing for IntrepidMedia – and I’ll be trying to update this space a little more often as well.

The whole reason we went up was for her mom & step-dad’s new gallery show. I think I made QUITE an impression, as the only man in Calumet in a kilt. As a bonus some of Ursula’s Fans who happen to live up there made it out, and a good time was had by all.

For the record, Lake Superior is AMAZING in the summer, and I have photos to post when I suck them off my phone. As a bonus, the black flies weren’t bad – we only encountered them one time, and I only got one bite. I consider that a win.

Tom and Margo (the aforementioned Step-Dad & Mom) still have a fantastic house in Calumet – warm, homey, and full of art. This time, though, there was a new addition – lots and lots of recycled computers. Seems Ursula’s younger brother is one of US – a geek. And he’s putting Linux on anything he can, and refreshing old macs if he can, and just kinda geeking out in general. Once he gets a good mentor, he’s going to be unstoppable.

And as someone who was once like that myself, I approve. *grin*

By Sunday, I was both ready and not ready to leave. I suppose that’s pretty typical of a short of trip like that. Just about the time I was unwinding, it was time go.

C’est la vie.

Tuesday I woke up to a pain in my jaw. I figured something had gotten caught between my teeth, and irritated the gum, causing swelling. A little flossing, some brushing, and some rinsing, and I managed to dislodge what I figured was causing it, and everyone would be happy.

Not so much. The swelling was back on Wednesday. So some more cleaning, a little Aleve, and it felt right as rain. That’ll take care of it, right? Right up until the Aleve wore off. By Thursday night a blister on my gum said to me “not so much” and “abscess.” So Friday morning I’m hitting the Aleve WAY outside the recommended dosage, and calling around town to see what dentist happened to be open[1]. I managed to get an early afternoon appointment with a new dentist in town, who actually has Friday Hours.

The short story at this point is, yes, I had an abscess, and oh YEAH, that tooth came out with a whole bunch of woobly junk that was identified as the infection itself, and I got the GOOD painkillers for the rest of the weekend. And wow, even with the hole in my mouth and OTC painkillers, I feel a WHOLE lot better than I did last week.

The COOL (and longer) part of the story is that I have found the most awesome dentist ever.[2] She is, to be blunt, one of us. Smartphone using, social networking, Holy Grail quoting, former Ren geek, makes her own corsets AND fairy wings, plus she swore right back at me when I dropped a “motherfucker” during a particularly difficult part of the procedure *grin*. As per my superpower[3], I got a chunk of her life story, and quite frankly, she’s not only a fantastic dentist, but a very cool person who busted her ASS to get where she is.

All that and she managed to yank out a molar on short notice on Friday, with a great attitude to the point where I actually had FUN during the extraction.

I have a new dentist. And I can’t wait for my next appointment. Ain’t that wild?

[1] Why dentists in Pittsboro close Fridays is beyond me.

[2] She’s actually buying out a dentist who’s retiring, and I hope the bank approves it ASAP.

[3] The one where I get anyone’s life story within minutes – nay seconds – of meeting them.

Yesterday, Jeff The Riffer asked for web comics to read. And I promised my list of “currently following.” The list is currently 101 items – even though I go through semi-regularly and cut out things I’m bored with or haven’t updated in forever.

They are in no particular order, and not sorted by update frequency. Some update infrequenty, some NSFW, you have been warned, etc, etc.

I also realised that I REALLY need to talk to Ellen again and get the name of the tea and soap suppliers.

That being said, we had fun. We got to hang out with Jennie and her sister and Miss Monster and Spunky and Dave and Diana and the Dorsai Irregulars and the Artist’s Cabal[1] and Laura and Blotch and SofaWolf and tresch and Tango and lots of fans and friends and even more that I’m forgetting.

But what sticks out most is that late Saturday night, I ended up walking the streets of Pittsburgh with a posse.

Ursula was off doing her homework, so Jennie and Miss Monster and I went to the Lawn Party. I got a call from Urs – Laura was done with her homework and was a little concerned about walking back to her hotel alone. Being only mostly inebriated, I told Ursula that I would find a way to make sure she got an escort. Turning to Crimson, an absolutely standup guy and part of the security staff, I posed the concern to him. He offered to go with since he was off duty, and then Jennie and Mel offered to go with, and before we got to where she was we had collected Foxfeather and Mbala and a friend. We picked up Laura (not literally) and off we went to get her to her hotel safely in the dark of Pittsburgh.

After a wrong turn or two (and I owe Crimson BIGTIME for riding herd on us) we did get her to her hotel. On the way we kept Miss Monster mostly out of trouble, we saw the AMAZING architecture that is the Renaissance Pittsburgh, wondered past public art, found out that the Allegheny River looks really cool at night and that there are some neat bridges over it, and I decided that I need to get out of the Convention Center area a little more next year.

As we were staggering back, it dawned on me – this is not supposed to happen. I should NOT have a posse. Miss Monster should have a posse. Jennie should have a posse. Ursula should have a posse. Me? I’m just Ursula’s lackey at these things. I should be walking back alone, not with a group of some of the truly fantastic people I get to hang out with at these things. [3]

On our way back, we detoured to the dance so Jennie could see the spectacle. Which resulted in all of us on the dance floor. After about half an hour[3], we were panting and hanging out near the fursuit lounge. Looking at my phone I that it was almost 2am, and perhaps it was time to head to the room and pass out.

I call that a good Saturday night. *grin*

[1] What I have dubbed the a group of artists who ALWAYS seem to be hanging together – namely Heather, Natasha, Marci, Diana, and Shyboar

[2]  Which is one of the reasons I like the furry cons so much – there are some great people at them, and some who have become phenomenal friends – even if I only get to hang out with them once or twice a year.

[3] I love me some house/techno, but the DJ needed to vary the tempos some. The songs changed, but the beat remained the same. Give me a cooldown song every so often, dude. Please.

And best shared with LOTS of alcohol.

So, All good news on the medical followup front :
- Good : All the tests came back negative, and I am overall fine
- Better : My A1C blood sugar is DOWN from 6.5 to 6.1! This is “as low as we’re probably gonna get” so as long as I keep up the good work, we can consider my Type-2 Diabetes UNDER CONTROL!
- Mediocre : I am off spicy foods for the foreseeable future, as this causes, as noted in the earlier post, dire repercussions.

So, as we pack for AnthroCon 2010, I can go with a BIG sigh of relief, and knowing that I’m FINE.

And now, back to our regular programming…