Book - The Salmon of Doubt

I held off reading this book because I was under the impression it was an unfinished version of a Hitchhikers novel that a group of editors tried to complete. This impression was totally wrong and I am annoyed at the hype that gave me that idea. Salmon of Doubt is actually a collection of essays written by Douglas Adams in his lifetime that had been published in various other places. And they're really interesting. The essays are about the things that really excited him, like technology, atheism, and rhinos. It was a good trip through his brain.

One thing I found very annoying was the billions upon billions of introductions to the book. Seriously. There was "An Introduction to the Introduction to the New Edition." I know they were trying to be funny but it really wasn't. Not even cute. Just annoying.

There are a few chapters of an unfinished novel at the very end. It's a Dirk Gently story, so I can't really judge the quality all that well because I could never really get into that series. I did try, but it just didn't work for me. This section of the book is very very short. I think it was about four chapters. Just as things start happening, Adams goes off and dies.

The essay written by Dawkins at the end was a nice touch though. It was written just after Adams' death and was written really raw. I cried a little.

Overall, I liked it. I had feared the worst and was very pleasantly surprised.

(no subject)

I got my flu shot today. I could not think of a logical reason not to get it, even though I really hate needles. My office was offering them for free (if you have the company insurance plan) and they were bringing a nurse into the building to administer them.

I told the nurse I was afraid of needles and was going to keep my eyes shut the whole time and to please not tell me when she's ready. In addition to that, she pressed on my arm so I couldn't feel the initial pressure of the needle. All of that helped me keep my arm muscles decently relaxed, so it didn't hurt too much. Yay!

It hurts a little to lift my arm, but I remember having that problem last year too.

And hopefully this means the filthy people on the metro won't get me sick.