Shopping

Sale Alert: The Pragmatic Programmer for $2.99

I’m not sure how long this sale will be going on, but I saw it this morning, and thought I’d share. I’ve often seen The Pragmatic Programmer paired with The Mythical Man-Month as must reads for new programmers. It’s normally $50 in print, and $40 on the Kindle, but is currently available for $2.99. Quite the bargain.

For the crochet folks out there…

Amigurumi (編みぐるみ) is, according to Wikipedia, the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. So, string + tool = cute stuffed thing. It’s a pretty cool hobby, and there are people who are crazy good at it. I am not one of those people. However, that certainly is not the fault of my teacher, Stacey Trock of FreshStitches. Several years ago (when Stacey was still living in the area and working at A Tangled Skein, I took an Introduction to Amigurumi class from her, and had a blast. I made an awesome little piggy, who has since gone on walkabout somewhere. If he ever resurfaces, I’ll be sure to grab a picture.

Since that time, Stacey has moved on to new things, and is now a full-time designer of cool amigurumi. And, for a limited time, you can get one of her ridiculously cute patterns (Frankie the Lobster) absolutely free! You should definitely check out Frankie, Stacey, and the rest of the FreshStitches menagerie. They’re all adorable.

For the Frank Sinatra fans

If you’re a fan of Old Blue Eyes, you might want to check out this deal from Amazon, wherein you can get 22 of his greatest hits for 99¢. I’m not sure how long the sale will last, so if you’re interested, act quickly!

Behold! A new pen!

Well, nothing to behold yet, as I haven’t done anything with it yet. But I have one, dagnabit.

Zebra, the makers of the venerable F-301 ballpoint pens has come out with a fountain pen. The pen, available in black or blue, doesn’t have great reviews on Amazon. I’m not sure how much of this is from people simply not being used to fountain pens, and how much of it is from the product actually being shoddy. But, I saw one at the drug store today, and decided to give it a shot. I shall report back when I have impressions to share.