I’m going to be moving web and mail hosts for all my domains sometime in the next few days, so there will be downtime. I’m very, very sorry. I know you need this blog to get through your day.
Slight change of plans: Selecting a different host, still moving, but probably less traumatic.
I had a fantastic time at BookCamp Toronto. Was honored and pleased to meet most of the organizers the night before, and to mingle with publishers, software developers, XMLers, and others. Also pleased to add quite a few book/tech nerds to my twitter feed and greader.
I’ve organized my toots and some other background info from the (un)conference in a google doc, for general consumption. Go see my notes.
DOES ANYONE NEED ANYTHING AT THE STORE?
Thanks for the suggestions, @enchiladaplate, @gazbeirne, @ImagineBGP, @diskgrinder, @logista, @transiit, and @lueread.
On Friday morning I’ll be traveling with a colleague to parts north to attend BookCampToronto on Saturday. Sessions are being held at the UT iSchool, with the requisite happy hours and meetups. The organizers have appeared to have done an amazing job dealing with high demand, sponsorships, and venue updates. I’m excited to talk to other book and web nerds about the future of publishing, writing, and books in the DigitalAge™. Sounds like things should be well wired/wireless, so I look forward to tooting the events of the day.
After the conference I’m going to stay on for a couple days to visit a friend, then take the train most of the way home on Monday evening. I like trains.
(Speaking of trains, I bought another Kid Acne Rollin’ Stock toy today. I got a shark.)
I have a soft spot for art toys. So, I gave in yesterday while at Vault of Midnight and got one of Kid Acne’s Rollin’ Stock series of vinyl dolls, distributed by Kid Robot.
It’s a blind sort set of 20 creatures in little train carts. The idea is to get all of them and construct a 3-inch-tall train of strange animals. I generally don’t buy things from sets, but I genuinely like all of the toys as illustrated on the boxes. I wouldn’t mind getting any of them. So I will probably buy a couple more, at least.
This one was a very serious deer who likes bling.
A very serious deer.
The workmanship is quite good; his little antlers came in separate little baggies, and his necklace is actually a separate rubbery piece. The wheels roll, of course. Each toy also comes with a card depicting the doll and giving its number in the series (the deer is 2/20).
If you know anything about my political predilections, which you probably do, you’d probably guess that I’m for single-payer health care.
Yesterday in MichiganLiberal, contributor ScottyUrb wrote about contacting Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow in regard to the recent barring of single-payer advocates from the Senate’s discussion with insurance companies. The first round of talks starts today.
I emailed Senator Stabenow’s office with the following message this morning:
Hello Senator,
I would like to add my voice to the growing number of people who hope that the current Senate talks on health insurance will include advocates for single-payer insurance.
I’m one of many young women who have struggled to pay health insurance premiums. While my current employer generously contributes to my health insurance, my previous employer did not. This time last year I was making approximately $1500/month at my main job, spending half of that on rent, and paying another $150/month out of pocket for basic health insurance to cover emergencies and regular doctor visits necessary to maintain my medications. This insurance did not include prescription coverage.
Young women with children are at an even greater disadvantage.
I understand that there are many issues facing the legislature today. However, I feel that including any options that relieve Americans from some of the burden of paying for what should be a basic human right should be a priority, and should be included in the conversation about health care.
Thank you for your service, and for considering the opinions of your constituents.
Devon Persing
Fingers crossed, eh?