Typhoon Tokage

I always used to laugh when I saw somebody use an umbrella in high winds, seemingly being pulled around by an invisible donkey until the inevitable point where the umbrella is pulled outward like a double-jointed flagellate. No more. That shit happened to me today and I almost got my eye poked out. After so many close calls with BB guns in my youth, it would just be wrong to lose an eye any other way.
Yes, friends, it’s another installment of this year’s hit quiz show, Name That Typhoon!
Hint: Today’s typhoon has a Japanese name.
What’s that? I thought the Japanese didn’t name their typhoons and simply numbered them.
That’s absolutely true, today’s typhoon is #23. Apparently what happened is that the Stupendously Hip International Typhoon-Naming Organization (SHIT-NO) ran out of English names. For the last typhoon, they just made some stupid ass name up. This time, they are honoring the kamikaze, or divine wind, that saved Japan from invading Mongol hordes not once but two times way back in history when there were samurais and fiefs and shit.
// ALERT! JUST ANNOUNCED ON COMPANY PA: WORK WILL END EARLY DUE TO TYPHOON! SCUTTLE BACK TO YOUR HOLES, LITTLE PEONS! LIVE TO SERVE ANOTHER DAY! //
Uh oh. It’s really howling out there. Hope I don’t poke an eye out.

Cheerful Monday People…

Must die.
Please God, make them go away. I asked one of the girls why she was all smiles today. She said it was because the new fax machine we ordered came in this morning. She said its sparkling newness was a good omen for the rest of the week.
Oh. Well then.
The thing is, I can’t figure out if she was high on the reefer and making fun of me, or if this is just a sign that the Japanese take their trademark happy worker bee thing a bit too seriously.

Free E-books: The Baen Free Library

If you like (mostly science) fiction, you should definitely check out the Baen Free Library. On the home page you will find a mission statement by the head “librarian,” Eric Flint, who explains why the books in the library, even though most of them are also available in paper form, are made available for free download. After ordering several paid subscriptions in order to read sequels to books I found in the free library, I can say that I agree with Mr. Flint’s reasoning 100%. I greatly admire what these people are doing.
Over the past couple years I’ve read every book available for download in the Free Library (I prefer RTF format files, which I usually convert to text in Word and read on my laptops or cellphone), and although the Belisarius series and the 163x books, among others, are old favorites, the book I enjoyed the most is Sisters of Glass.
Mind you, a lot of the books in there aren’t so hot, but then again, its all FREE so I can’t really complain. Besides, half the fun of going through any library of books I don’t know is separating the wheat from the chaff.
If you like the works you read for free, you might want to check out their paid Webscriptions and subscribe for their paid stories, as I have in the past, although there is no obligation to do so. One really cool thing about the webscriptions is that they will often offer a free download of the works you purchased to someone of your choosing. Like I said, checkcheckcheckcheckcheck-cha-check it out .
Note: I don’t profit in any way from linking to these sites, I just think they kick ass and deserve more recognition.
Update: BTW, one of the reasons I liked Sisters of Glass so much is that it read so much like a Gibson novel (my first post today spurred this one) – so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually did write it.