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DIY Tippe Top

A few years back, and as a promotion for Suspended in Language, I had some tippe tops made. They were so popular that I broke my own (unwritten) rules and made an extra batch after the first one ran out. But as the saying goes, “fool me once…”. So, they really are all gone now.

But! Don’t despair. You can make your own:

The video is courtesy of The Automata/Automation Blog, which you should visit because it is quite nifty.

And the signed copy of Apollo 13 goes to…

Brian A. — who improved his odds by purchasing a couple copies of T-Minus — had his number come up in the drawing, so he gets the book. Congratulations Brian, and thanks to all who entered. As I knew would happen, almost everybody had something interesting to say beyond just “sign me up,” so I enjoyed hearing from you all!

[In case you missed my comment at the close of the drawing, here’s how I picked: I listed out the entries as they came in and assigned numbers to each one. For example, if
Buzz Aldrin had been the first to respond, with just a comment or email, and
Sally Ride was second and she reminded me she bought three books last
year, and Alexei Leonov responded third and showed me he had purchased
a copy of T-Minus that day, and then I got another entry via the blog,
the list would have looked like this:

1 Buzz Aldrin
2-4 Sally Ride
5-17 Alexei Leonov
18 Alan Bean

and so on. Then I went to www.random.org and put in the total
number of entries (18 in the example above) and it spit back a
number at me (11 for this test case, so congratulations to Alexei
Leonov), and then I contacted the person who got the book!]

Again, thanks to everyone who entered. When I find something else cool to give away, I’ll do this again.

Win a signed copy of Jim Lovell’s Apollo 13

My last post was about Mary Roach’s terrific Packing for Mars, and in it I promised to give away a book signed by an Apollo astronaut. Today’s a good day to do that. So…

Somehow I ended up with two copies of Jim Lovell’s book Apollo 13, written with Jeffrey Kluger (formerly titled Lost Moon). And somehow they’re both signed by Jim Lovell, the Gemini VII, Gemini XII, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13 astronaut.

(OK, those “somehow”s are disingenuous. I found a used copy years ago and without knowing it was signed I bought it immediately. Thrilling! And then just a couple of weeks ago I found another, and it too was signed, and I couldn’t resist buying it again. But I don’t need two as much as one of you need one…)

If you’ve seen the movie, you know a lot of the story, and if you’re reading this blog, you probably want to know even more. And would probably like a signed copy, too. So here you go.

Apollo 13To enter, do one or more of the following things:

  • Leave a comment on this blog post (you only need to do that once — duplicates won’t count — and if you see this via Facebook, please head over to the blog proper).
  • Buy one of my books through the G. T. Labs site (as many as you like, and duplicates do count).
  • Send me a message or postcard or letter (contact information is available at the site, at the “About” link on the upper right of the blog, or you can get in touch via Facebook too) that convinces me that you bought one of my books elsewhere. The evidence could be a copy of a receipt, a plausible and entertaining story, the 16th word on the 11th page, … use your imagination!

I’ll enter your name once for each comment and/or once for each dollar you spend and/or once for each book you bought elsewhere (or elsewhen), and on December 1st I’ll pick a winner at random from the entries and send a bit of history to someone. Good luck!

Recommended: Packing for Mars by Mary Roach

The NASA insignia.

Image via Wikipedia

I just finished reading Mary Roach’s book Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, and if you like books about space, you’ll love this one. She does good research, has fun with it, and she brings all that fun to life on the page. And if you think NASA’s vision and people have become boring and staid and that we’ve lost our ability to dream big, she’ll set you straight.

Best of all, her closing lines answer the question “Why do this?” as well as any I’ve ever read. I’m tempted to quote them, but then you might be tempted to not read the book yourself. So I won’t…so you will.

p.s. On a space-related note, if you’ve ever hankered after a book signed by an Apollo astronaut who’s flown to the moon, I’ll be giving one away in a few days, so stay tuned!

A year at the races

I’ve just run the last timed race I plan to in 2010 — my feet and hip and ankles hope so, anyway — so here’s a recap. Because you care.

  • Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon: Too warm and humid, but beautiful — how have I not run this race before?; 1 EotT [1]
  • Sylvania (Sprint) Triathlon: See previous entry, if you’re interested in details — I didn’t drown, I didn’t crash, I didn’t cramp; 0 EotT, but lots of…The Doors. Really? I mean, sure, they do things differently in Ohio. I know that. But still, The Doors?
  • Running the Rails 10K: Very hot and humid (racing in August? What was I thinking?), no music, and a slow time with a bonus serving of humility [2]
  • Dances with Dirt 100K relay: Cool and rainy, which mixed well with the pre-existing muck; this year’s legs were Butt Kicker, Stripper Pole, and Where’s the F’N Bridge…they left me bloody, bruised, and happy
  • Detroit Half Marathon: Cool, beautiful on both sides of the U.S./Canada border, an ankle roll at the start, and a personal best for this distance; 2 EotT (one via a marching band, for special torture)

I was lucky to enjoy decent health (with a couple rounds of physical therapy, natch) throughout, so it was a year with many enjoyable events, made even better because Kat ran versions of all but Dirt. Way to go, Kat!

Now to rest my feet and hip and ankles. And maybe see the physical therapist again.

[1] EotT = Eye of the Tiger by whoever wrote and/or sang the miserable thing with the express purpose of inspiring everyone in the world but me to put forth maximum effort. (All I do is grit my teeth.) It’s the song Mephistopheles has on repeat over the PA system during interval training in Dante’s 10th circle.

[2] Around the second mile I heard some quick stepping behind and then beside me, and it was a younger runner (maybe not even in his teens) stomping past me. Noisily, it seemed to me. Smug older runner that I am, I think to myself, “I’ve seen this before many times. And in another two miles I’ll see you again, this time with a fist buried in your side to try and relieve a cramp. I will say something sympathetic and inspiring, get a tepid response, and then will leave you far, far behind.” So…that didn’t happen. I didn’t speed up and if he slowed down you couldn’t prove it by me. Well done, kid, and thanks for the life lesson!