Random thoughts...

[Brian861]

Big news out of the BJF camp. Brian is leaving CD full time to pursue his own interest. He'll be hanging around in a part-time capacity. I couldn't be more happy for him and looking forward to carrying on with the journey. Congrats, Brian!

[TacomaDiver]

Thank you both. I've never been through a fire situation like this before and it was frightening. So fast (that's what 100+ mph sustained winds will do!) and destructive.

[Sock Monkey]

Thank you for the kind words and thoughts.

The fires definitely impacted us, but we got VERY lucky.

I'm not sure if it was better or worse, but we were in Texas as the fires burned. We drove down to East Texas to surprise my wife's family at Christmas, and it was nerve wracking and INTENSE watching from a far as everything was happening. We left our two cats at home, which added to our stress. (Sorry SK collectors, my copy of Misery was unharmed so there wasn't one less copy out there to drive your price up.)

Work and our apartments got evacuated, and and the end of it all, the fires stopped a little less than half a mile from where I live. The neighborhoods across the street that I have walked countless times through lots dozens of homes. (Not as bad as other neighborhoods where the entire neighborhood burned down - 300+ homes in one neighborhood are gone.) This part of Colorado lost about 1,000 homes that afternoon and night.

Oh man. I’m glad everything turned out okay for you. Sorry to hear about the other losses though. We had a massive fire tear through our area back in 2020 and we had friends lose their homes. It’s devastating.

[Ben Staad]

I am glad to hear that you, your wife, cats, and books all escaped those awful fires. What a devastating event for the area.

Thank you for the kind words and thoughts.

The fires definitely impacted us, but we got VERY lucky.

I'm not sure if it was better or worse, but we were in Texas as the fires burned. We drove down to East Texas to surprise my wife's family at Christmas, and it was nerve wracking and INTENSE watching from a far as everything was happening. We left our two cats at home, which added to our stress. (Sorry SK collectors, my copy of Misery was unharmed so there wasn't one less copy out there to drive your price up.)

Work and our apartments got evacuated, and and the end of it all, the fires stopped a little less than half a mile from where I live. The neighborhoods across the street that I have walked countless times through lots dozens of homes. (Not as bad as other neighborhoods where the entire neighborhood burned down - 300+ homes in one neighborhood are gone.) This part of Colorado lost about 1,000 homes that afternoon and night.

[TacomaDiver]

I just saw an article regarding the fires in CO. I think TacomaDiver lives in that area. If you live in the area I hope you and the family are safe.

Yes, I believe he does. My business partners son and family lives there also. They evacuated at 7pm last night. No word yet after that.

Thank you for the kind words and thoughts.

The fires definitely impacted us, but we got VERY lucky.

I'm not sure if it was better or worse, but we were in Texas as the fires burned. We drove down to East Texas to surprise my wife's family at Christmas, and it was nerve wracking and INTENSE watching from a far as everything was happening. We left our two cats at home, which added to our stress. (Sorry SK collectors, my copy of Misery was unharmed so there wasn't one less copy out there to drive your price up.)

Work and our apartments got evacuated, and and the end of it all, the fires stopped a little less than half a mile from where I live. The neighborhoods across the street that I have walked countless times through lots dozens of homes. (Not as bad as other neighborhoods where the entire neighborhood burned down - 300+ homes in one neighborhood are gone.) This part of Colorado lost about 1,000 homes that afternoon and night.

[Brian861]

If anyone is dealing with health issues and trying to balance life, work, and a gazillion doctors appointments please know that you are not alone. It is so incredibly difficult sometimes. Just had a doctor cancel an hour before an appointment. I structured my whole work day to go to this appointment and ever started work an hour early. Wish I could send them a bill for my time which they wasted.

No doubt. They'd sure charge you if you didn't show up or cancel in time.

[Ben Staad]

If anyone is dealing with health issues and trying to balance life, work, and a gazillion doctors appointments please know that you are not alone. It is so incredibly difficult sometimes. Just had a doctor cancel an hour before an appointment. I structured my whole work day to go to this appointment and ever started work an hour early. Wish I could send them a bill for my time which they wasted.

[Sock Monkey]

I reviewed my book budget from last year vs. actual and I just about doubled my budget. That can't happen in 2022. I have a few books from LP that I will need to pay for but I think 2022 will be a low purchase year for me.

Over the next few weeks, as I review finances, I will create a new book budget for 2022 but I don't see it increasing much from last year. So as I stated above that will mean less purchases to counter the rising cost of books.

Kind of a bummer as I love collecting and supporting specific publishers, authors, and artists. But honestly inflation has outpaced my income.

Anyway. I'm just kind of rambling in the random thoughts section of this site.

You’re braver than I am. I’m afraid to look at my budget versus actual expenditure for 2021. I know that I blew my budget to smithereens.

Like you, I’m going to have to reassess my budget and book buying. Some life changes are quickly approaching that is going to make this necessary for me.

[Ben Staad]

I 100% get this. My FB is highly limited. I'm not on any other social media platform as FB is enough. My friends on FB include my wife and one author. My groups are a few local community groups, small press collectors and a Jeff Strand Group. I deleted a few other book groups as I quickly became overwhelmed with them.

Thanks for the suggestion. I jumped on and right off, it was overwhelming me with stuff. I guess i like my social media at a little slower pace LOL!!!

[Ben Staad]

I reviewed my book budget from last year vs. actual and I just about doubled my budget. That can't happen in 2022. I have a few books from LP that I will need to pay for but I think 2022 will be a low purchase year for me.

Over the next few weeks, as I review finances, I will create a new book budget for 2022 but I don't see it increasing much from last year. So as I stated above that will mean less purchases to counter the rising cost of books.

Kind of a bummer as I love collecting and supporting specific publishers, authors, and artists. But honestly inflation has outpaced my income.

Anyway. I'm just kind of rambling in the random thoughts section of this site.

[Ben Staad]

Ughh. That stinks, Brian. My wife has lost her account a few times now to hackers.

Understandable, Martin. My Facebook account was hacked on Christmas morning and it seems nearly impossible that I'll get the original back. Facebook seems to care less as any attempt to try and recover it is fruitless. I did create another account and the hack did allow for a purge long over due.

[Brian861]

I wish Mr. Kane nothing but success. I just wish he would use email or his website for customer engagement. Having had multiple enquiries ignored I have tuned them out. I know that I am missing items I would like but I do not operate in the space he works in. Such is life.

Understandable, Martin. My Facebook account was hacked on Christmas morning and it seems nearly impossible that I'll get the original back. Facebook seems to care less as any attempt to try and recover it is fruitless. I did create another account and the hack did allow for a purge long over due.

[Martin]

It's a Facebook page ran by Paul Michael Kane. The best community on Facebook IMO. I highly encourage you to check it out if you're on Facebook.

I wish Mr. Kane nothing but success. I just wish he would use email or his website for customer engagement. Having had multiple enquiries ignored I have tuned them out. I know that I am missing items I would like but I do not operate in the space he works in. Such is life.

[mhatchett]

Thanks for the suggestion. I jumped on and right off, it was overwhelming me with stuff. I guess i like my social media at a little slower pace LOL!!!

[Brian861]

What is the 19th Edition?

It's a Facebook page ran by Paul Michael Kane. The best community on Facebook IMO. I highly encourage you to check it out if you're on Facebook.