Steampunk and Stamps and Badges Galore!

are we halfway through this round of ROW80 yet?

I feel as though I've hit the middle point, mainly because I have some scenes to type up, which rather dissipated the editing-on-screen flow I had going. By which I mean, I missed editing night on Monday. I knit instead, so if I edit on Thursday, it'll all balance out.

I love my schedule and want to stick to it; this was a case of letting my head cold (sick again? since when does this happen to me?) act as a procrastination excuse, when I'd already had the entire weekend off to do nothing but read.

There's never enough time for reading!

I just donated to save Perrot's Folly, a Tolkien landmark in Birmingham. I've driven past this building, but I'm hoping that by the time of my next visit to the UK, it'll be open to the public:

Lookit! Steampunk wallpaper! I like this one because of the tentacle, reminiscent of the 'mistress' in my story Druid's Moon:

Does anyone else get lots of promotional mail? Ever since I started blogging regularly, and writing a few more book reviews than usual, I've gotten one or two emails a day promoting book releases, art exhibitions, speakers' tours, and so on. A handful are interesting and a very few actually lead me to ask for a copy of the book being promoted (I got one about the latest MAD Magazine collection and immediately replied saying I was interested, but never got a copy of the book).

Every once in a while I get weird stuff (like a promotion for an author who is, apparently, 'in Russia like Neil Gaiman is in the US', an an exhibition on recycled plastic made into supposedly designer bags and shoes).

And the other day, I got one from the US Postal Service:

In the email, they say: "Today, the U.S. Postal Service introduced the Global Forever First-Class Mail International stamp. Priced at $1.10 each and offered in a pane of 20, the Global stamp offers a single price for any First-Class Mail International 1-ounce letter to any country in the world. The Global stamp also may be used to mail a 2-ounce letter to Canada. ... The stamp showcases the beauty of planet Earth with an artistic rendering — a composite of images created from satellite and 3D computer technology data. In this image, the Atlantic Ocean is flanked by North and South America, Africa and parts of Europe. Art director William J. Gicker selected this depiction of Earth by Italian artist Leonello Calvetti. Greg Breeding designed the stamp."

I like the idea a lot. If I lived in the States, I'd send postcards to friends worldwide!

I quoted Heinlein in my last post on what human beings should be able to do, and so I figured now's a good time to revisit my science badges. The original badges are on the Science Creative Quarterly site.

The closest I've come to geeky arts and crafts was knitting more than one Doctor Who scarf

I try, within the limits of my own knowledge

I add this badge, even though I haven't set fire to things in a good way. Burned a friend's sweater with a Bunsen burner once. And I'm not allowed to own a toaster oven any more.

Does studying medical history count? Fascinating stuff.

Mostly because of the Kraken-type creature in Druid's Moon

Love my New Yorker rejection card!

Who doesn't know what a tadpole is? Or looks like?

I try. Especially lately, as I've been following Coldest Journey on Twitter. Antarctica is so interesting!

Speaking of donations, actually, here's the blurb for Coldest Journey: "Sir Ranulph Fiennes is leading a team of explorers to conquer the last great polar challenge: crossing Antarctica in winter. Their remarkable attempt aims to raise $10m for Seeing is Believing with match-funding from Standard Chartered, provide crucial scientific data and form the basis of an invaluable education programme." And finally:

My sister has a telescope! And fellow Forumite Ron sometimes shares photos from his telescope.

Which badges would you earn from the Science Creative Quarterly?

I wish I could have done the re-introducing myself blogfest, but I'm still catching up on all the fascinating blog posts I missed while ill. More links coming soon!