Category: Chatter

Amazon sends us Kindle owners an email every few days saying “You bought this and that, so we think you’ll like these items.” They’re right an annoying large portion of the time, but when they get it wrong they really blow it.

Okay, yes, the book of PF is pretty good. But I have a copy. And I actually paid cold hard cash for the FreeBSD Design & Implementation book, and waited in line to get it signed. Either of these would be excellent gifts for the BSD aficionado in your life, except that they probably already have them.

But the others? The author has never said a nice word about me. In fact, every time I get near him he calls me a lazy good-for-nothing who ought to be working harder, better, and smarter, eating less, and in general doing more for humanity. Flavored with a whole lot of really bad language. One of these days, I’m going to punch that bastard in the face.

The good news is, Amazon doesn’t know everything about us. Yet.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy everything I need for the next month via my Amazon Prime subscription.

Happy holidays, everyone!

I’m sure everyone who reads this blog knows I’ll be at BSDCan tonight through early Sunday morning. I will also have books for sale, however.

Absolute OpenBSD, $50

SSH Mastery, $20

DNSSEC Mastery (4 proof copies only), $20

Cash only.

If you buy a book, I’ll throw in a free Tilted Windmill Press T-shirt while supplies last. Because why not.

I’ll also be giving away some books as review copies. If you want a review copy of Absolute OpenBSD, you’ll need to give me your email address. I’ll be handing it off to the NSP publicity department. Sorry to be a pain on that, but I have to pay for any Absolute OpenBSDs that aren’t review copies. (Or I can ship them back to the publisher, but that’s just a waste.) I’m more flexible with review copies of self-published books.

I’m a guest of honor at Penguicon this weekend. I’ll be doing a one-hour talk on technology publishing in 2013. I’ll also be inventing an ice cream flavor.

Other guests include author Jim C Hines, chef and author Jeff Potter, Arduino and Raspberry pi guru & author Maik Schmidt, hackerspace advocate and censorship activist Nick Farr, plus author and filmmaker Jason Denzel.

Whenever I go to this type of con, I usually take in a few panels, see some cool demos, and spend a good chunk of time hanging out in the bar or lobby, wondering who all these people are. If you’re in the Detroit area, come by and say hello.

I will also have hard copies of Absolute OpenBSD for sale at $50 each. Amazon doesn’t have them yet. No Starch doesn’t have them yet. But I have them. Cash and PayPal accepted — I had hoped to take credit cards, but the PayPal credit card app doesn’t like my knockoff Android tablet. But by showing up, you can get the book you’ve been demanding for four years now.

And now that I’m a guest, maybe the cool kids will let me hang with them. But probably not.

Absolute OpenBSD is at the printer. I can do nothing more on this book. For better or worse, the book is complete. I’m resisting the urge to scream “I can do it better! Give me the book back, I will rewrite it until it doesn’t suck!”

I got copyedits back on DNSSEC Mastery. Hopefully, the ebook will be available on the weekend, with print next month.

On an unrelated note

April 1st is a tedious day, with all the efforts to be funny drifting around the Internet. Unless, of course, you’re the one pulling the gag, in which case it’s freaking hilarious. I don’t pull pranks, of course.

Unless they’re really, REALLY good. So I’d like to present a flash from the past here, and point you at FretBSD.

And, of course, there’s always the Great Committer. You know, I haven’t spoken with John Baldwin much since that post. Odd, really…

For those who want the dubious pleasure of encountering me in meatspace:

I am a guest at Penguicon April 26-28, 2013, in Pontiac, MI, USA.

I am teaching at BSDCan, May 15-18, 2013, in Ottawa, Ontario, CA.

I expect to have copies of Absolute OpenBSD at both events. (Penguicon might be pushing it, but I’m hopeful.) I’ll sell them in person for $50USD. This is a little more expensive than buying them online, but you get hand delivery and possibly even a handshake depending on how many people have been poking at me in the recent past. Also, I hate carrying change.

Why do I sell books, instead of giving them away to all the fans who take the trouble to come see me? One, because I have to pay for them. Two, because mortgage.