A couple of months ago, I bought George R R Martin's book Game of Thrones. I can't recall why because I don't often read this type of "fantasy" novel.
However, I think that one of the reasons was the critical acclaim it has, with a great many people (see Amazon's reviews) praising Martin's writing. Having finished it a few weeks ago, I agree. It is a well written and well paced book, with characters you can believe in.
I had no idea it was being made into an HBO series. I've seen the first episode now and it is a very well done adaption, well acted and beautiful to look at.
Sean Bean's really cornering the market for grizzled warriors - what with Boromir, Odysseus and now Lord Eddard Stark.
Now, there are five more books in the series, and each is substantial. I do want to read them but will have to decide how to parcel this time out. There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day anymore!
I wrote a post a while ago called Sugar - Toxic?. This linked to an article in the New York Times by Gary Taubes, about UCSF professor Robert Lustig's concerns about sugar use (especially High Fructose Corn Syrup).
Lustig is interviewed on US public radio KQED San Francisco and the interview is available as a download here :
It's about an hour, with no actual adverts, and worth a listen. We're paying for convenience in more ways than one.
If it's not family members having some trouble with a Bridge game's Windows 7 compatibility (none, as it turns out), it's card problems of a plastic nature.
I often seem to have problems getting a hold of a replacement bank card when mine is coming up to expiry. At the end of the month, my debit card expires and I've been keeping an eye out for weeks for the new one. Turns out that went missing, so I've got the bank to send a replacement. Thank goodness, received.
Now I have had to spend hours going through my various online relationships and check what card might be registered, changing or deleting as appropriate. This is where some form of secure online identity would be useful, so I could update my profile once and have everyone start using it immediately.
Unfortunately, I introduced a big problem with the word secure ...