Tech alert! Plus some other crap about ebay of all things.

If you have ZoneAlarm (free firewall that I would highly recommend) and it's asking about ie.exe do not allow it to access the internet. It's a Trojan horse, so is counter.exe. And the five other Trojan horses I've just found on my machine. I hate viruses, they scare the crap out of me. I am now convinced my bank account will be drained. I am deep scanning my whole machine for baddies.

Aside from that the general news is good - Subtext sales are on the up again after the great review we received on The F Word. We've had a submission from a guy which is good, and some more orders from men too. I had an order today from a city council as well! That was a bit of a surprise. In fact, I was a little frightened by the official looking envelope and purchase order until I looked closely. I even got to take my mum and dad out on a countryside walk this afternoon and get paid for it. Sweetness.

I have also rekindled my love interest with ebay over the past couple of days, and despite being penniless due to car breaking problems have bought myself a red bag and a blue bag. Some of you may already know I have a bag problem, and I did have kind of an ebay problem for a while too. You know the type of thing, can't stop thinking about ebay, setting 4am alarms to wake you up to bid on stuff in the USA, skipping lectures to catch the end of the auction. Normal stuff, right?

Ebay is great though. It's recycling, really.
Speaking of consumerism auction style my top picks for autumn ebay shopping are:
Knitted berets
Long wool coats with belts
Pleated skirts
Vintage bowling bags that are tatty
Knee high boots with flat soles - preferably with buckles.

(for more advice on what to wear at any given time or situation Jeepers is you woman)

The above about sums up my ebay watch list, if you remove the skirt and add a couple more bags. I'll cry if you bid against me and I loose.

Book meme: I've been tagged, and I actually got around to doing it!

Tagged by the hippest hippie
1. One book that changed your life?
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf – I’d identified as a feminist for a while before reading it, but seeing my ideas in print was great. Thanks Sarah for lending me a copy!
2. One book you have read more than once?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – I re-read this recently, having forgotten entirely what happened in it. I skim read books super fast, so don’t always remember what I’ve read or take everything in. I’m ready now to read the next one. I love Harry Potter.
3. One book you would want on a desert island?
Outdoor Survival Handbook: The Classic Indispensable Guide to Surviving the Outdoors by Ray Mears. Hippie – you’re right; this is the one to go for! Ray Mears is ace.
4. One book that made you laugh?
I’m reading The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams at the moment (it was read to me by my teacher when I was about 11) and it’s made me laugh out load so many times. It is utterly bonkers.
5. One book that made you cry?
I read this before the film came out, after my brother recommended it – Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde, made me cry. The book’s better than the film. Aren’t they always?
6. One book you wish had been written?
The very busy woman’s guide to pausing time, and if necessary rewinding it just to catch up on sleep.
7. One book you wish had never been written?
I can’t think of one without first researching it (and I feel like writing this off the cuff). I would prefer race hate books not to be written.
8. One book you are currently reading?
The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, awesome.
9. One book you have been meaning to read?
I have a few books on the go at the moment that I have been meaning to read, but this tag has a theme of one. So, here’s one, Fire with Fire by Naomi Wolf (which I have leant to the aforementioned Sarah after hearing it is just one big retraction of Beauty Myth).
10. Now tag five people
I'll do this bit later...

Meshing - a step in the right direction or a daft idea?

A new option available to couples who choose to get married, want to keep their own names, but don't want to double barrel them is meshing. Harking from the states it basically means combining both names to come up with a totally new one. Blair and Bus = Blush etc.

I know, I'm so totally NOT allowed to blog at work, nevermind surf the net, but this one was just too good.