Month: October 2013

Tomorrow’s For-Profit Idea Today

Brian J. Noggle

Want to cash in on the chickens-in-your-suburban-backyard craze and fleece pluck some urban homesteaders but don’t want to set up a rescue organization? Become a chicken veterinarian:

As a growing number of suburbanites and weekend farmers raise poultry for fun, not just food, they are learning that top health care is hard to find. In many cases, they are left to wing it.

Hens, roosters and other poultry can have unique ailments that set them far apart from Fluffy and Fido. And even specialists well-versed on exotic birds may not know chickens, which are bred to be egg-laying machines.

There are chicken experts: The American College of Poultry Veterinarians has about 260 members in good standing. But the vast majority work in the food industry, vets say.

On the one hand, a chicken kick to the head won’t kill you. On the other hand, you’re more likely to get a type of influenza named like a strong password.

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Good Book Hunting: October 5, 2013

Brian J. Noggle

Subtitle: Wherein Your Book Fair Hero Disappoints You

Today we drove through the rain to Clever, Missouri, from downtown Springfield for the Friends of the Clever Library Book Sale. Why were we in downtown Springfield? Because I’d gotten an email from the YMCA about a book fair at the Downtown Springfield YMCA. So my beautiful wife unloaded my children in the rain and I sought a parking space downtown–don’t laugh, Springfield has a revitalized downtown that’s at least as busy as most sections of downtown Springfield on a comparable non-Cardinals Saturday. Well, okay, maybe it’s worth a laugh, since the parking spot I found was just across Jefferson. As I got out of the car, they were coming out of the library. According to the front desk volunteer, the book sale was books on a couple of tables, and the tables were gone now.

So, off to Clever.

In April, I said I was going to limit the number of books I bought. I did not. This trip, however, I did.

Purchases at the Clever Book Sale October 5, 2013

The stack on the right: My beautiful wife’s collection of magazines and books. In the center, where my towers usually stand: the boys’ collection of new books and VHS cassettes. That little bump on the right: what I got.

I got:

  • The Crossroads by John D. MacDonald.
     
  • Lemons Never Lie by Richard Stark.
     
  • Dead Street by Mickey Spillaine.
     
  • Stony Man: Vanishing Point, the only Mack Bolan-related book they had this time around.
     
  • A hardback nonfiction book on Japanese gangs.
     
  • Three Highlander movies on videocassette.
     
  • A couple of Star Trek movies on videocassette in case I didn’t have them yet.
  • Kingpin on videocassette.

That is right: Five books total, and one of them I might already own (the MacDonald). I bought the Star Trek movies because I think I have a gap in my collection, but these did not fill any gaps, so I have dupes to ship off to someone. Today’s purchases were heavily insurance in nature: that is, I bought them to make sure I would not have missed them if I did not have them already.

Funny what a thirty-to-forty books read year can do to even my well-known thirst to acquire books.

Of course, in the coming weeks, the Friends of the Christian County Library and the Friends of the Springfield-Greene County Library will hold their book sales, so I might fall into my irresponsible hoarding of bound and printed knowledge habits again soon.

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Buy John Donnelly's Gold Buy The Courtship of Barbara Holt Buy Coffee House Memories

Here’s Something

Brian J. Noggle

The Courtship of Barbara Holt is now available through Amazon as a paperback:

It’s been available for Kindle for some time and has sold one.

Which means it’s almost selling as well as John Donnelly’s Gold.

Buy My Books!
Buy John Donnelly's Gold Buy The Courtship of Barbara Holt Buy Coffee House Memories