This must be a Thursday.

Not much to report. The first week of summer hours, arriving early and working late, is at an end, with the half-day reward tomorrow. Already, I’m not entirely sure that it’s been worth it.

Meanwhile, I’ve been getting issues of Kaleidotrope ready for mail over the weekend — and, as I periodically do, thinking about going the online route with the zine. I love the process of layout and the physicality of a print zine, but going digital would open up some interesting possibilities — and, moreover, would free up some money that currently goes to printing and postage. It’s just a thought.

And, also meanwhile…well, my back hasn’t been so great lately, with the return of pain that had been pretty manageable (if not negligible) for quite some time. The pain is pretty minor, as these things go; I have friends who’ve been bed-ridden or had to visit the hospital because of back pain. I don’t have any trouble walking, or moving, or even bending — just increased discomfort when I do so. The most worrying has been some minor numbness and weakness in my right leg today. I’ve been starting up with the stretches again, which I’d been too lax about, and trying to lose some weight anyway. But if the pain and numbness keep up, I may have to revisit my spinal doctor and talk about options. It’s hard to tell if the steroid injections helped much the first time, though I think they did a little. I don’t even know if that’s something we can discuss trying again.

Something tells me I’d have to get another MRI, and man, I do not enjoy those.

Anyway, time for bed. I need to rest up so me and my back can get to work tomorrow. We’re not allowed to take vacation days and use the summer hours — if you’re off a day, you work a regular week the rest of it — but nobody’s said what happens if you’re unfortunately sick, especially at the end of the week. It would suck mightily to work those extra three hours all for naught. So, bed.

Thursday various

  • Following up on yesterday’s revelation that Michael Palin didn’t like A Fish Called Wanda when he first read the script, here’s a letter sent by a “comedy script editor” to the BBC, calling Fawlty Towers — incidentally named the all-time top British television program by the BFI in 2000 — “[a] collection of cliches and stock characters which I can’t see being anything but a disaster.”
  • Following up on the Wonder Woman post on Monday, here’s two more dissenting views.
  • This I Write Like meme is getting torn apart all over the place, notably here [via] and here [via]

    I’d post my own results, but they change with every different piece of text I have “analyzed,” and none seem remotely accurate — a weird mix of ego-stroking and insult.

  • And that’s one way to ensure fewer comments… [via]
  • And finally, Zombies: The Kid Vector:

    Here’s somethin they don’t tell you, but you better listen good if you want to survive out there: It’s the kids you gotta watch out for. They stay in the shadows, in the dark. When you see ’em, they don’t run right at you like the big ones, they stay back, let you come in closer. You think you’re rescuin a kid, you get in close and BAM! The dead brat goes for your throat or face, workin for a quick kill.