The Rabid Librarian's Ravings in the Wind

When information technology people go bad

2009-12-02T23:21:00.000-05:00

Search for aliens costs school employee his job: Man used computer program that bogged down system; will cost $1M to fix

Now SETI@home is not that difficult to remove from one computer (I've run it on and off on mine)...but Brad Niesluchowski, who was an Arizona school system's information technology director, put it on 5,000 computers for nearly 10 years. While that speaks of dedication to the cause of finding alien intelligence, it also bogged down computers in the system and will cost a great deal to remove it from all of the computers. SETI@home specifically states (as I recall) that you should only put it on computers that you have a complete right to.

In many ways far worse, although somewhat more limited in scope but much darker in intent, one of the University of Kentucky's systems integration analysts for information technology, Robert N. McAllister, was charged with possession of child pornography. Officers found more than 500 images and videos of partially naked children and children involved in sexual acts on his laptop and have seized a computer owned by UK.

UK employee pleads not guilty to child porn charges

Which reminds me of this piece:

The dark side of the internet

"The darkweb"; "the deep web"; beneath "the surface web" – the metaphors alone make the internet feel suddenly more unfathomable and mysterious. Other terms circulate among those in the know: "darknet", "invisible web", "dark address space", "murky address space", "dirty address space". Not all these phrases mean the same thing. While a "darknet" is an online network such as Freenet that is concealed from non-users, with all the potential for transgressive behaviour that implies, much of "the deep web", spooky as it sounds, consists of unremarkable consumer and research data that is beyond the reach of search engines. "Dark address space" often refers to internet addresses that, for purely technical reasons, have simply stopped working.

And yet, in a sense, they are all part of the same picture: beyond the confines of most people's online lives, there is a vast other internet out there, used by millions but largely ignored by the media and properly understood by only a few computer scientists. How was it created? What exactly happens in it? And does it represent the future of life online or the past?

The article discusses Freenet, a software programme that allows the user to explore the web without being detected. It's been used by paedophiles, criminals, terrorists, and other nefarious types in addition to law-abiding citizens wanting anonymity. Of course, a lot of that type of material appears on the normal Internet as well, but the deep web is estimated to be much larger and largely unsearchable by standard search engines. The article's worth a look at.

Unlikely libraries

2009-12-02T09:09:00.000-05:00

In a decommissioned British phone booth (here's another) [Thanks to birdie at LISNews!]

In a basement laundry in New York [Thanks to Bibliofuture at LISNews!]

I read the White House blog

2009-12-01T23:59:00.001-05:00

and today they shared some statistics regarding AIDS, it being World AIDS day. The scariest one to me was that (in the US at least), according to the CDC, '21% of HIV-positive people don’t know that they are infected'.

That's one in five people who are unaware that they are potentially passing it on. One in five people who could be getting life-extending drugs early on.

Some people know they should be tested, but are afraid to do so. Some people have no clue that they should be. But it's not a bad idea for anyone. I've been through two HIV tests in my life (not counting the numerous ones when I give blood--you should never give blood just to get tested). The tests are often anonymous. They're safe. They're handled much better than in the early days of AIDS. (One person I know went to get one and a lady shouted across the room asking where she should send him for his AIDS test). Counseling is available, especially from the public health department. When I had my last one I knew that I was latex allergic, and they sent me home with latex-free condoms.

If you are sexually active (even if you think you're in a monogamous relationship), you should get tested. [I knew someone who got herpes from her husband, and he tried to blame her, even though she'd been a virgin at marriage and had never had an affair]. If you've ever done intravenous drug use, get tested. If you've ever gone to a prostitute, get tested. If you've ever been given a blood transfusion, especially before the 1990s, get tested. If you've had a needle stick at work, get tested. If you meet any criteria of risk, get tested. And do practise safer sex. Condoms should be a fact of life unless you're completely abstinent or trying to have a baby, in my book. There are alternatives to latex for those allergic. There are dental dams for oral sex. The public health department can recommend whatever you need.

Take care of yourself. Take care of those you love. And maybe, just maybe, we can beat HIV/AIDS.

I managed to capture and bring home a filter pump today

2009-12-01T00:31:00.000-05:00

for the fish tank, since the last one (and a few fish) went belly-up. The new one is a biofilter with the cascading water that has been taken in and filtered through foam, charcoal, and biofilter material, all of which is easily replaced. It's superior to the biowheel one I had. It took a little while to figure out (at one point I thought I was missing the leveling lever, but it was still in the box, thankfully. Everything's working fine. While I was at it I cleaned out a lot of the duckweed and java moss--so you can really see the fish--and also scrubbed some of the algae off the glass. I also added some water treated with priming stuff to take out the harmful chemicals so now the tank is completely full. I'm concerned because the nitrites are high (nitrates, my fish survive; nitrites can be deadly). The chlorine's okay, but I went ahead and treated the tank as a whole to help with the nitrites and added a bacterial solution that helps with both nitrites and nitrates. I think it's from not having a filter going for nearly a week, so the filter should help, especially as it gets established. In the meantime, the fish do not appear to be in distress, and are quite active.

Here are some near a patch of java moss, for example:

These are swimming by the gargoyle:

(Sorry, it's hard to get really great pictures with a phone camera and moving water and fish.) Wish me luck with getting things balanced. I've got several large platies, but some tiny ones as well, so somebody's having babies. :)

Scavenger hunt!

2009-12-01T00:02:00.000-05:00

Today in my mailbox was a key. Strange. The fob had little tiny print, the type I have trouble with when using my contacts, but I soldiered on. There was also a US Postal Service note saying they'd left a parcel. Presumably this had something to do with the key, as there was no package in front of my door. The key fob said that it would fit into the lock, which would then capture the key, leaving the box unlocked. There was a great big '1' on the other side.

Okay. So somewhere there must be a USPS box where the key fit. But I didn't know where it was. I thought I'd seen one somewhere around. I decided it must either be near the leasing office or near the entrance to the complex. I thought there was a blue mail box near the entrance at the kerb; maybe it would be near that. I decided to check there first, since it wasn't out of the way much in my walk to the leasing office. Turns out there is no outgoing mail box at all, and I've obviously hallucinated one in the past. There was--on the side I almost never go by--a grey box near the office containing four compartments with the familiar eagle logo on it. One was labelled '1'.

I inserted the key, which was indeed captured, but unlocked the box. Some helpful soul had even drawn arrows to indicate the direction to unlock it. Inside was what I expected, a package from a Paperback Swap member with a book inside. I have two on order; this one was 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories, edited by Al Sarrantonio and Martin Greenberg. It was a withdrawn junior high school library book, and in nice shape. Stories include those by Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, HP Lovecraft, Manley Wade Wellman, Rudyard Kipling, Stephen Crane, Fritz Leiber, Ramsey Campbell, Ambrose Bierce, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain (and here it's his birthday), Saki, and a host of others I don't recognise as well. I'm quite pleased. This should keep me in stead for quite some time, along with my Lovecraft collection, for having the wits scared out of me. I love classic horror, things like 'The Raven', 'The Monkey's Paw', and 'The Dunwich Horror'.

The game was nice

2009-11-29T23:07:00.001-05:00

We've had some downtime but it looks like we've got one, possibly two, adventures starting. Also, three characters that have been in limbo have finally gotten out of the reality bubble they were in and are pursuing leads on a case. It involves a murder on a train (very popular--we had one already, and then there's the infamous 'Horror on the Orient Express' which we haven't gotten to.) Our gamemaster has been presenting the stories mostly in order according to alphabet as a way to randomise, although certain adventures have to take place at certain times of the year or before another.) I must remember how to play my character; it's been so long. Somewhere I have a small notebook with her abilities; I'm pretty sure I know where it is. Funny how I organise other people's stuff for a living but have trouble with my own. It is nice to have a clean house though. Clean, mind you, but not totally in place. I should go through the closets and drawers and do a purge. Unfortunately Margaret doesn't have a character for that particular adventure. But I'm sure we'll have something for her to participate in soon. Also, my character on the train is a cousin to one of hers, and they're both necromancers, so she'll get to see her in action.

I am tired, having gotten up at 3:30 am. I think I'll go on to bed. Ever since I put the call in to Insight about the wonky cable access, it has worked fine. Murphy's Law, I guess, but I'll keep the appointment just in case it will be an ongoing issue.

Good night.

It's hard to believe

2009-11-29T22:57:00.001-05:00

that Autumn is almost over. The holiday season has started; December is just around the corner, and after that, a new year. Time seems to go by so much faster as you get older. I remember summer vacations seeming to last so long. Now summer passes in the blink of an eye. I suspect it only gets worse as you age.

The picture here is of a gingko leaf. There are lots of gingkos in Lexington because Henry Clay, the famous 19th century politician, had them brought over from China, or so I've heard. I think the trees are beautiful, but the female gingko's fruit smells horrible, and it's especially treacherous to walk on a sidewalk littered by them.

I also took a picture of the last roses of the year, which believe it or not are still blooming, although they've already grown large hips, too. I have no earthly idea why they came out different sizes; they were both taken with my phone. Anyway, I thought I'd post them here.

So I'm up and on schedule

2009-11-29T04:06:00.000-05:00

and pretty tired, having only had 3 1/2 hours of sleep on top of an 8-hour shift. But hopefully it will be a good day. I'm waiting a few minutes before calling a cab and then I'll be on my way.

I so wish I had a car though. I talked to a man the other day who worked at one of those buy-here pay-here places, which I'm generally pretty leery of. But he said they didn't put computers on the car to disable it in case of non-payment, and if something major happened like an engine or transmission blowing they'd replace the car. He said a good down payment would be $500, which is really doable. It might be worth checking out the company, I think.

My Internet seems to be up at the moment

2009-11-28T23:18:00.000-05:00

I just got in from work and the first thing I did was fill the fish tank up so that I could turn the heater back on (it had gone down a little and I was afraid to leave too much of it exposed). The only problem is, I tried priming the pump, but I'm not getting any flow at all, and not even a sucking sound as usual when it is dry. I may have killed the pump somehow, or it may just have worn out; I've had it for years. Fortunately I live within walking distance of two pet stores.

I'll keep this brief; one, I don't know if the broadband connexion will be dropped again, and two, I have to get up very, very early (in the middle of the night, really) and I should go onto bed. But I wanted to write a little before doing that.

My Internet

2009-11-28T10:20:00.001-05:00

and phone service (since it piggybacks on it) is going in and out for some reason. Insight will be over to fix it sometime Tuesday morning. So I'll try to blog, but if I don't, you know why. Thanks!

My coat! I found my coat!

2009-11-27T23:44:00.000-05:00

I was going to empty the bags, but then I noticed a sky blue colour under one of them. There it was, yay. I also found two hats, a scarf/hood combination, and two mismatched gloves. :)

Well, I'm home

2009-11-27T23:24:00.001-05:00

from Danville and from work tonight. It's cold and frosty outside, so I'm going to look for my coat before bed.

It was a good visit. We stopped in Danville to pick up my grandmother and my stepfather John's mother, and then we went to Stanford to my mom's house and had Thanksgiving dinner. The only things I couldn't eat were the stuffing, the turkey, and the ham (oh, and there were Southern-style beans, but my mom made me some with just butter, and she also cooked some fresh-caught fish for me). There were ten people altogether--my mom and John, their mothers, me, John's son Robert, John's granddaughter, her father, and his girlfriend and her son. The girl's mother died earlier this year or last, I can't remember which.

Oops, sorry, I must change the TV from the Meditation channel. A didgeridoo is playing, and they grate on my nerves, no matter how much I try to like them. I appreciate Aboriginal art and culture, but I can't abide that instrument; it sounds completely alien. I'm more of a bagpipes kind of girl.

Okay, I'm back. We had the meal early so my mom could enjoy the visit before she had to go to work in the early afternoon. We all visited for awhile after she left and then John brought us back to Danville. I talked with my grandmother quite awhile. My grandmother fried up a huge potato that fed both of us. (My cousin had brought her a 50-lb bag of them, plus a 25-lb bag of pinto beans, and she lives alone. She gave me some of the beans.) Later I started to fall asleep on the couch, so I went on to bed around 8 pm. That was when I realised I had made a horrible mistake--I had checked the CPAP humidifier before I left to make sure it wasn't on and heating the water (I didn't want to burn the house down) but it never occurred to me that I would need to take the machine with me to sleep at her house. It shows how much I go anywhere overnight. So I propped myself on the generous pillows and tried to make do, but I woke up ever couple of hours or so, and I slept fitfully at best. I tossed and turned, and stayed in bed until the sky started to get light, because I was too tired to read but couldn't sleep.

Once I got up, I checked my blood sugar. It was only 128! I'd remembered to take my Janumet the evening before (my mom, John, his mother, my grandmother, and I all have diabetes, so we talked at length about that, and it reminded me to take the pill). It really helped. I made a point to do so tonight even with work. My grandmother and I had some oatmeal and a little later John and Momma came by to get me. Once we got back to Lexington, I laid down and slept with the CPAP for about three hours, although I really had meant to finally do my laundry. That will have to wait until tomorrow, when I don't need to be to work until 2 pm and I have no notes to work on since we didn't play last week.

I guess that's all for now. I'm eating some vegetarian chili with cheese and tortilla chips. I was going to have a cheese sandwich, but the Havarti slices were mouldy despite being unopened and having a date for April of next year, so I guess I got a bad batch. Icky. Hope your holiday went well (assuming you celebrated it, anyway; I know some of you are from outside the States).

Remembering those who won't be sitting down with their families at the table today

2009-11-26T09:13:00.001-05:00

Military families united by tragedies: Mom of suicidal Marine befriends wife of veteran charged with murder

It is essential that we provide care to our veterans, including the hidden menace of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other psychological ills. It is the least we can do for their sacrifice, and we should also do it because it is the right thing to do. That's how to support our troops.

One section of the story I found chilling:

Months before his arrest, Windy recalled, a VA counselor told her to get used to having a broken husband.

"She told me, 'Your husband died in Iraq. You're either going to have to deal with that or move on,'" Windy said.

There must be more we can do to prepare these men and women for the horrors of war and to help them deal with the aftermath.

Well, I think I did a pretty decent job

2009-11-26T09:02:00.000-05:00

There's still detail work, but the bedroom and bath are nice, the kitchen dishes haven't been done yet but they're in the dishwasher or stacked neatly in the sink for those that aren't dishwasher safe. I still need to do laundry, but I'll do that when I come back tomorrow before work. The printer box is gone. And no, I didn't find my coat. There were just boxes of books in the closet. I didn't touch the other stuff that came from the car, though--that's another day, so it may be there. The house looks lived in without being a disaster. I slept another couple of hours, so I'm not dead on my feet. I'm dressed and ready, and John just left Stanford, so he'll be here in about an hour.

Well, I'm up, if a bit groggy

2009-11-26T03:45:00.000-05:00

I think I'll take about half an hour to wake up properly and then sort the laundry, start the laundry, attack the bathroom, then the kitchen, and then the living room, which is the most cluttered of all. It has things like the printer box (I kept it for a little while in case I had to return it) and the stuff that came out of the car. I'd like to get rid of the old printer that doesn't work, but I really can't throw that in the garbage; it needs to be recycled. Maybe Margaret can take me to the electronics recycling centre sometime soon. It has hazardous materials in it and shouldn't go in the dumpster. Maybe I can find room in a closet for now, although my closets are mostly full of books (rather than clothes). The bedroom's pretty much okay except for making the bed and clearing some old receipts, etc., from the top of the chest of drawers. I really shouldn't run the vacuum in the middle of the night (although I am going to run the dishwasher), but I can sweep the bathroom and kitchen, and maybe mop if there's time.

I know, it sounds like a big job. I kept the house really clean for about 6 months and then back in April I got sick and it just all went to hell. I have to pretty much do a major purge twice a year, since I'm such a pack rat. Now I have incentive, which will help for having the house nice for the ritual to Hekate next Monday. Wish me luck.

I won't be blogging tomorrow evening

2009-11-25T23:23:00.001-05:00

as I will be away from the computer. Early tomorrow morning my stepfather is coming up to get me and take me to Stanford or Danville (I'm not sure which) so we can have Thanksgiving dinner before my mother goes to work at 2:30 (my mom's a nurse, and that often means working on holidays). I'm going to stay overnight at my grandmother's. She hasn't been doing so well lately. She's walking with a cane, severely diabetic, and has had some serious health issues. I want to make sure I get a chance to spend some time with her now. I'll come back Friday and work at 3:30.

Tonight I worked till a little after 10 pm and I'm home now (obviously, as I'm blogging). I really need to straighten up the house before John comes by, and I'm not sure when that will be. Plus, I need to do laundry. I am thinking of going on to bed and maybe getting a few hours' sleep and then working on it then. It's mostly just picking up stuff that's lying about. I tend to throw everything on the couch when I get home, and I'm terrible at keeping things in their place. Plus, I hang onto things I shouldn't, like printer boxes and recyclables (I have no way to really recycle at my apartment, and no car to take them somewhere like Good Foods Co-op.

Maybe I'll find my coat. :) I suspect it's in a box in the closet. Why I didn't put it on the coat rack, I don't know.

We had a potluck at work this afternoon. I brought fruit salad, something my family always enjoys for Thanksgiving. I used the cherry-heavy fruit cocktail, pineapple, mandarin oranges, with light whipped topping, plus shredded coconut on the side for anyone who wanted that. What I forgot were the bananas and apples, but when I brought the rest home I picked up some bananas from work so that I can put it in mine, anyway. I'll go ahead and mix the coconut in. (That's not part of my family tradition; I just like coconut in my fruit salad.) But we had all sorts of dishes and everyone had a good time.

Well, that's enough for now. I may blog in the morning. If not, and if you're celebrating, Happy Thanksgiving. :)

I was so sorry to hear

2009-11-25T23:11:00.000-05:00

that an acquaintance lost his mother yesterday in a terrible car crash as she was doing some Thanksgiving shopping. It is always hard to deal with the death of a loved one, but it is especially hard as the holiday season commences. My sympathy goes out to Bobby. It is a reminder that we can lose someone very precious to us at any time, and should make the most of our relationships each day.

The magic of pop-up books has long delighted me

2009-11-24T23:17:00.000-05:00

So it's very sad to hear that one of the driving forces behind today's pop-up industry has died--Waldo 'Wally' Hunt.

Pop-up books in the news (be sure to watch the video of an amazing alphabet book, ABC3D

Waldo Hunt dies at 88; entrepreneur revived the pop-up book as art form (He also amassed a collection of at least 4,000 antique and contemporary pop-up titles)

A shame

2009-11-24T22:59:00.000-05:00

Remember the census worker found hanged in a rural area of Kentucky? The authorities have ruled it a suicide, although the man made it look like he was killed because he was a government worker. He had apparently taken out $600,000 in life insurance and his family would have been paid and extra $10,000 from the government if he were killed on the job. As it is, the policy is null due to the suicide. I don't know what factors drove him to take his life, but it's a shame that he did so, and that in doing so, robbed his family of security they might have had if he had died (eventually) in some other way.

How one man and his burro are changing lives (and you can help!)

2009-11-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

Read more at the New York Times: Acclaimed Colombian Institution Has 4,800 Books and Ten Legs and learn how you can help.

Thanks to Buffy, who shared a post from Gargoyles loose in the library, who in turn got it from Jessamyn West.

:)

2009-11-23T13:34:00.000-05:00

Earth Destroyed By Large Hadron Collider; Martian Questioned

I took today off and haven't gotten a blessed thing done all day but sleep and eat. I'm getting up now to go over to a friend's house to visit and watch 'Heroes' tonight. I really meant to clean the house and do laundry, but I wound up catching up on lots of sleep and generally getting nothing done. I am going to pay some bills before I leave though. Cleaning and laundry will have to wait till later tonight.

46 years ago today--the day after the Kennedy assassination--

2009-11-23T11:35:00.001-05:00

'Doctor Who' premiered in its first iteration on the BBC in Britain, and brought a little hope into the world.

Nov. 23, 1963: Doctor Who Materializes on BBC

Let's celebrate with the original theme:

If you don't know about it, let me begin by saying that it's the longest running science fiction television show in the world. I first saw 'Doctor Who' back during the Tom Baker days on PBS. I saw just a bit of Peter Davison (whom I'd had a crush on back when he played Tristan on 'All Creatures Great and Small'). The various British series run by PBS in those days ('Omega Factor' was another) really fanned my sense of Anglophilism, and books like Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising sequence did as well.

I've seen several with David Tennant (who I think makes a very good Doctor). I sort of missed the Christopher Eccleston ones. I'd really like to get the DVDs. It's a shame some of the early 'Doctor Who's were lost. It would be horribly expensive to have a complete set, but I'd love to have one nonetheless.

The 11th Doctor is about to start his run. I wonder what they'll do when he runs out of regenerations? I'd hate to see the series close. But even if it did, it really has already lasted through my entire life and beyond, an era of its own and made many firsts. The music in the video above, for example was the first time a series theme was made entirely via electronic means. There have been several spinoffs, the most well-known probably 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' and 'Torchwood' (an anagramme of 'Doctor Who'). Even the TARDIS (the 1950s-style police call box in which he and his companions travel, short for 'Time and Relative Dimension in Space') has even entered the English language and it is more recognisable as itself than the model upon which it was based.

If you haven't watched Doctor Who, catch it on TV or on the BBC's channel on YouTube. You'll really enjoy it if you have any soul whatsoever.

I'm a little out of it

2009-11-22T21:54:00.002-05:00

I had been going strong since 5 am, going over to a friend's house and cleaning it in preparation for the game. We didn't wind up having it, because a bout of insomnia meant he really needed to sleep, and it's just as well, because I would have been totally useless. As it was, I went home around 2:30 pm and could barely walk home from the bus stop, I was so sleepy. I got home around 3:40, ate a couple of cheese sandwiches, and went right to bed by 4:30 pm. I set my alarm for 9 pm. About 8:45 my friend called to make sure I was alright. He'd had a dream that I had died and had tried to call a couple of times and couldn't reach me. I had woken up shortly before he called but was still groggy and wasn't making a lot of sense on the phone. I think my blood sugar was a little wonky, because I feel better now that I've eaten again. It doesn't go low very often, but it may have this time. Also, I feel a little overheated from being in bed. My allergies are bothering me, too. So I don't feel particularly great at the moment.

Speaking of blood sugar, I was at work the other day and after lunch felt very bad, very tired, thirsty, and my eyes were blurring. I checked my blood sugar and it was 407, the highest I've ever tested. I'd forgotten to take my meds that morning and had had a baked potato and some cottage cheese for lunch. I guess I need to cut out the starchy vegetables. It was a little scary. I mean, there have been several times I've tested in the 300s without eating a thing, but still. There's something called the sunrise effect or dawn phenomenon that makes you release cortisol at night to keep your blood sugar up while you sleep. That's perfectly normal for someone who isn't diabetic, but for a diabetic it means the blood sugar is elevated beyond normal levels in the morning, before breakfast. There's also something called the Somogyi effect that is a rebound from mid-nighttime low blood sugar. My afternoon blood sugars (before supper) tend to be pretty normal. But the mornings are a problem, and lunch makes it worse, and eating protein and sensibly doesn't seem to really help a great deal, but it does help a little.

I'm on four diabetes medications, and although I don't always eat as I should, I've been doing better without any improvement. I really think I may wind up on insulin soon, and that has a whole other set of issues to it. I wonder if another injectable drug, called Byetta, might be an option. My stepfather swears by it, and he's done very well on it. Interesting fact: Byetta (Exenatide) 'is a synthetic version of exendin-4, a naturally-occurring hormone that was first isolated from the saliva of the lizard known as a Gila monster.' So some diabetics owe their lives to a poisonous lizard. :)

Another reason I don't want to ride on a subway

2009-11-22T21:36:00.000-05:00

I don't like the idea of cramped spaces underground where you hurtle forward on trains. I don't even like tunnels, and something like the Chunnel is right out. But then there's the wackos on the subway, too.

Police: Man fatally stabbed over subway seat: Passenger killed in front of horrified riders in Manhattan, authorities say

I am far too provincial to survive in a city the size of New York. The only comparable place I've visited was Los Angeles, and I didn't care for it at all. Lexington is just right. As of 2000, there were 260,512 in the city (although it's grown substantially since then, so it should be interesting to see what 2010 brings). I can immediately find countryside within the county line, with horse and cattle farms nearby, but it also has a robust arts community. It's within a reasonable drive of Louisville and Cincinnati for big-name concerts and other activities, too. Although it certainly doesn't have the heterogeneity and cultural opportunities of New York, it's a nice place to live.

Now granted, something like this could have happened on a city bus, I suppose. Still, there's something about being trapped underground with a crazy guy with a knife that just creeps me out. Your commute should not involve dying over a seat.

Now that's a bargain book

2009-11-22T21:18:00.000-05:00

Rare Darwin book kept in toilet

A first edition of Charles Darwin's Origin Of Species, which was kept on a toilet bookshelf, is to be auctioned.

It is hoped the book, which was bought about 40 years ago in a West Country shop for a few shillings, will reach £60,000 in Tuesday's sale.

The book was kept on a bookcase in a guest lavatory at the owner's family home in Oxfordshire.

Just 1,250 copies of the work were produced in 1859. In April one sold at auction in Norfolk for £35,000.