GIVE ME A FULCRUM LONG ENOUGH: So, Mrs. Earthling and I are moving to a new house (just six miles away, no other lifestyle changes are involved), and we've frantically packing ahead of this Saturday's move. The best part of moving, of course, is lingering over old pictures, books and bits of miscellaneous crap. Highlights so far:
- My pile of old Traveller books. Traveller being the granddaddy of science fiction roleplaying games. Also, old Car Wars stuff, which included a submission from me to the Autoduel Quarterly, my first sale (and but one of three bits of nonlegal writing I've earned money for) at the age of 14. I earned $5, but never cashed the check, since I thought the check was cooler than the cash.
- $15 in Eastern Caribbean Dollars from a sailing trip to Dominica and Guadouple in 1998; also, about $4.50 in loose pre-1964 dimes and quarters.
- An autographed photo of Chancellor Helmut Kohl; also, one of King Fahd.
- Maureen McHugh's China Mountain Zhang, a lovely science fiction novel from 1992 or so. Of all the things in this novel -- about a 22nd century dominated by the People's Republic of China -- I found most frightening was the fact that mandatory hour-long political meetings on Mars were held during the one hour on Mars which lasts 1 hour 39 1/2 minutes.
- A can of Diet Coke from 1987, the purchase of which would send AUS$0.05 to the first defence of Australia's America's Cup Victory.
- Seibold & Walsh's Monkey Business.
- A bookcase I built in 7th grade woodshop.
- A factory set of Schabak-brand 1:600 scale Boeings, 727, 737, 757, 767, 747-100 and 747-200, in the original Boeing factory livery. Craphound I am not, but I found these in a garbage bin when my first law firm moved to a difference office. I think I could get about $100 for it on Ebay.
Remark on any old crap you've found around the house of late. Or remark on my crap because I have a whole big lot of it.
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