FREE books!

I'm participating in a couple of group promotions this month.  Tons of FREE books.  Please take a moment and browse the links below.

From My Book Cave:

 

https://mybookcave.com/g/escape-into-realms-and-galaxies/?bcsrc=kecikg

From StoryOrigin:

 

https://storyoriginapp.com/to/4itRPYT

On behalf of all the authors involved, thanks for taking a look at our books.  :)

Thanks!

Just wanted to say thanks to whoever promoted my book a few days ago.  I saw a nice little bump in downloads of Clouds of Venus, and I really appreciate it.  :)

Welcome, new readers!

Just want to welcome all the new folks who downloaded Clouds of Venus today.  I hope you enjoy the book.  :)

Fed cuts a quarter

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point on Wednesday.  The market expected this, so the cut was already baked in.

I don't agree with the decision.  I think prices of goods are still way too high, and the only way to bring them down is with some sustained deflation.  We need higher interest rates, not lower ones.  Gold and silver have been making all-time highs in recent weeks, and that's kind of a red flag, you know?

In any event, the stock market is quiet at the moment... too quiet.  Volatility is noticeably low, indicating we're ripe for a correction.  September and October are historically volatile months for both stocks and world events, so keep an eye out for trouble.

Computer update

My laptop is old, and it shows.

I recently had to dispose of the battery.  It reached the end of its natural life.  Since I don't really take the laptop anywhere, and since it works fine without a battery and on AC power, I decided not to buy a replacement battery.

The "t" key is sttill somettimes double-striking and someimes nott registtering at all.  I'm leaving tthtis paragraph uncorrectted so you can see for yourself whatt I have to endure.  Yeah, itt sucks. 

The display sometimes features flashing horizontal lines.  It has something to do with color.  Also, pressure on it in a certain way can make it do the flashing thing.  There's obviously a bad connection somewhere where the screen portion of the laptop is hinged to the lower part.

The laptop is nearly nine years old, so it's no spring chicken, and it's served me pretty well.  I'll keep using it until it becomes unusable, but I fear that day is approaching faster than I would like. 

Thanks!

Just wanted to say thanks to the unknown benefactor who promoted Clouds of Venus today.  It's always nice to see a mysterious spike in free downloads.

To the new readers out there, I hope you enjoy the book.  :) 

Turf battle

Many people have mentioned that the appearance of the Joro spider in their yards has resulted in the native garden spider getting pushed out.  This was a concern of mine.  I like the Joros, but I don't like the idea of them thriving at the expense of the native species' right to exist.

Luckily, there's some good news.  There's a garden spider in the bearded irises.  The Joros have been here in my yard since 2022, but the garden spiders are also still here.  I'm encouraged by this.

I really hope the two species can find a way to coexist.