Giving away what?

I boxed up a bunch of books to send to my sister today and took them to the post office. When it was my turn at the counter, I told the clerk I wanted to send the box via media mail, which is the cheap rate for books and other printed matter. She gave me the price and told me that media mail was subject to inspection and if the material inside wasn't media it would be returned. I said the box contained all the Harry Potter books and she looked absolutely crestfallen. "You're giving away all your Harry Potter books?" I quickly explained that I'd bought myself a nifty new boxed set and I was giving my old books to my niece and nephew, then she brightened right up again. We were quite chummy by the time I'd completed my transaction.

In other news, I'd really like to get my hands on one of these cheese making kits.

Finally, here's something really useful; how to stop that annoying "unused icons" balloon from popping up on your Windows PC.

Just another Friday

I have the great fortune of having the sort of job that lets me listen to audio books while I work. I recently came across J.C. Hutchin's 7th Son Podcast Novel Trilogy and I'm really enjoying it so far. If you like Sci-Fi, do give it a whirl.

I haven't tried this yet, but someone has concocted a drink called Black Velvet, which is a mixture of Guinness and Champagne. Now, I'm a fan of both Guinness and Champagne, but at first glance, mixing them sounds like a way to ruin both. In fact, it sounds like something a desperate alcoholic might come up with the morning after a New Year's Eve party. But I've not tried it yet; I'll reserve judgement until such a time as I have.