Post 3738 - Hello

It is getting late, yet again.

You remember that episode of The Big Bang Theory where the boy are going out, but Sheldon stays home, saying that he has to update the OS on his laptop? The laughtrack came on. People in Des Moines, Iowa, were laughing, not knowing what that silly Sheldon was talking about.

Guess what I did this evening?

Yep.

I updated the OS on a very old laptop.

I installed lubuntu on it this evening. Went well, but then I installed dropbox on it. It would take a long time to sync everything. The laptop fan was running overtime, overheating like crazy. I decided to shut down the machine for the evening.

Why do I bother? I have other computers in this house, including this desktop I bought in 2009, but which still runs like a stop, thanks to the installation of a solid state drive last year. But there is something about these older machines that makes me want to keep them going until they just won't go any further. It is a weird disease.

So, Dustjacket Books in Maritime Centre is moving in the coming days. To get the books they don't want to lug to their new location, across the street, they are having a "stuff a bag" sale. As many books as will fit in a standard grocery bag cost ten dollars. I think they could have stuffed a few more books in one bag, so they charged me $30, but I got some great bargains. Lots of vintage mysteries from the 1960's and 1970's, featuring writers I knew of but whose work I did not own. I had no idea John Creasey had produced so much work, but a quick look on Wikipedia tells me that he produce some 600 novels during his life, and wrote under something like 28 pseudonyms. I probably got a dozen or more today, so a tiny smattering of his output. I know that Creasey wrote a bunch of short stories under J.J. Marric, so I wonder what his total output truly was. I also wonder if anybody will ever know...

Maritime Centre is going through a major, fundamental renovation. The foodcourt, reduced to two entries in recent months as three other eateries closed, is itself closing this week. After DJ is gone, and more on that later, they will renovate that whole section, eventually extending the parking to that level. I will miss that foodcourt. Nick's Place was a terrific place to get breakfast or lunch. But it closed last year, when the new owners couldn't or wouldn't make a go of it.

The food court will, in a year or so, re-open one level up. Star*Bucks is moving in. McDonald's. Other places. It will face Barrington Street so people walking by will actually see it and realize there are eateries there, as opposed to people having no idea there were places to eat.

The two remaining entries in the foodcourt, a Chinese place and a place that sells sushi, will perhaps have no place to sit once this game of musical chairs is over.

DJ Books is moving across the street to the building that houses the Historic Farmer's Market. I was told it is moving next to the Chinese restaurant in there, which you don't know about because you don't go there. The staff person tells me that the place will be a bit bigger. They will be open nights and weekends. They have grand plans for the new store, which will include having authors drop by, and other special events they will reveal.

DJ Books was... an eclectic store. Not quite as precarious as Doull's bookstore was when it was downtown, but along those lines. If the books they are selling dirt cheap help them deal with the overage in books they have, perhaps the new joint will look less messy and more welcoming. I wish them well.

I love used bookstores. Not nearly as many as there used to be, though.

Guess I will turn in. Lots to do tomorrow.

See you then.

Bevboy