How's this:

The nefarious Professor Verbosity threatens Lexicon City with a mysterious new superweapon and only the Grammarian can stop him just as soon as he hires a decent sidekick. Mix in the interference of the Avant Guardian (a goofy superhero wanna-be), a mysterious stranger who strikes from the shadows, and a beautiful, brainy college professor with a thing for superhero technology, and the Grammarian has his work cut out for him.

VERBOSITY’S VENGEANCE: A GRAMMARIAN ADVENTURE NOVEL is a fast-paced, superhero science fiction story. This book is a complete, polished novel of approximately 113,000 words, intended for readers 14 to adult. The Grammarian’s superpowers derive from a combination of high-tech gadgetry and exceptional verbal ability; superhero fight scenes and an action-filled plot are balanced with clever wordplay, language-based abilities, and word nerd humor.

No spaceships, but it IS sci-fi. One of my beta readers is field-testing it by reading it with her 10 year old son, who LOVES it.

Sadly, since the book is already written and being shopped around to various publishers, I can't give you a cut for coming up with the idea. I'd be happy to send you a review copy, though. 8-)

I did a Google hangout once. Same issues with the audio - lots of echo, clumsy interface to turn off the individual mics via software.

That's like a lifetime achievement Oscar, right?

I can't recall when I joined. 1997? 1998? I don't think I did a JE until 2003, though. Maybe they list from that date.

I ordered mine a long time ago. Still waiting in silence...

I ordered mine a couple of weeks ago, with a 6 week lead time on shipping. It sounds like we'll get them at the same time. I forget how much the bill came to with all the accessories - $75?

We're following the same logic: if it works well, I may eventually get another for something else.

For cases, though, I've never much been one for legos. Assuming I like the device, I'll probably knock together a small case out of oak veneer plywood.

My wife has been wanting to go to Turkey for a long time. A cruise, a tour, on our own... she's just anxious to get over there.

On the Meyers-Briggs, I always come out as an INTJ, which is spot-on.

I did the Strength Finders thing in a training session a couple of years ago. While some of it was accurate, I felt like there must have been some kind of significant breakdown somewhere. My top five were:

1. Learner
2. Restorative
3. Strategic
4. Focus
5. Relator

The first three are on target: love of learning new skills and facts; I like to fix objects, systems and people; strong desire to analyze and find the best path through the tangles. #4 is basically true, as I like to keep my eyes on the prize. It was the #5, Relator, that was way off base. My own assessment is that I don't relate with people very well at all, and I don't immediately seek out connection and mutual knowledge through emotional intimacy. Quite the opposite, in fact.

One that was not in the top five, which I was very surprised to see missing, was Communication. I love to be in front of a crowd and tell a good story, convey information in a way that people will find compelling, turn the perfect phrase that will stick in people's mind.

So, are these things useful? Maybe. As you said, the descriptions for each are quite complementary, so if it matches you, it makes you feel great. Where it falls apart, though, it calls the underlying algorithms into question.

When they made me, they broke the mold...

We aims to please!

I can think of 6 ways to make money doing that... ;-)

Excellent - looking forward to it!