Some publishers will sell books at a much lower discount to authors than bookstores. If a bookstore wants to help out an author they will sometimes let them sell these copies, which yields the author a lot more per book than royalties on the books the bookstore sells.

This is my experience with my singer/songwriter buds. Especially with independent book/music stores. Depending on how cool they are, the stores are willing to take the extra bite in their own profits to get folks in the door on performance days.

The activity thing is odd. The story times at our dinky local library branch are packed as a rule. No extra effort required.

In a sea of overtaxing requirements to see something great get its due, I can see how the request would be aggravating but, in the end, they can ask for anything they can imagine. Don't mean they're gonna get it.

OMG, I just had an argument with my boss, who believes that the phrase "course materials placed on reserve" does not include books placed on reserve.

Dagnabbit! Tumblr came back, but now is down again?? WTF, dudes.

SF Bay Area jobs with Pandora [link]

Last week I called in for three refills, and when I emailed my doctor's assistant I only mentioned two. So she only got refills for those two.

Shouldn't she just be refilling what the pharmacy asks her for, and not waiting for me to remind her? I just sent in a "What about the third?" email and she said she guesses she can refill it without waiting on the doctor. Dude, it's Vitamin D. Also, why have you been waiting a week for him to refill Vitamin D?

He asked me if she was a slow part of the refill process, and I skipped past that and blamed the pharmacy, because I was feeling avoidant, but seriously. It's been over a week.

In re: Amy's post about liking winter except for all the sick people... why more sick people in winter? Is this something I knew once but have now forgotten? Or does it only seem like there are more sick people? But then why flu/winter. I feel like I once used to know a lot of things I can't retrieve anymore. Bah.

JFC I'm so pissed off. They've had four years to convert my position from temporary to permanent. FOUR YEARS.

Now the position turns into a pumpkin at the end of January, and they STILL haven't announced the permanent slot so I can apply for my own frelling job.

I'm trying to come up with a way of saying "If you're trying to show me how much you value your employees, it's working." -- without pissing too many people off.

Because of dry indoor air in heated locations in winter, dry mucus membranes in the nose are more vulnerable to viruses. Also, more people are indoors in the same spaces sharing the same air in the winter.

In re: Amy's post about liking winter except for all the sick people... why more sick people in winter?

I heard something recently about how it's because people are inside more, but that seems so unlikely to me -- don't most people work [inside] most of the time year-round??

Edit: I will buy flea's additional information.

I hope the actual reading goes more smoothly than the planning for the reading, Allyson.

I completely forgot about a vet appointment yesterday. Oops. Rescheduled to Thursday. And called Comcast to cancel my TV service while I was at it, but it was cheaper to keep the basic cable, but still, net effect = lower bill.