Capt. Mondo's World o' Mondo-ness

I Am the Polkaroo of TCP
After a long, marathon stint at work cleaning up some databases for the company, at lunchtime I headed down to The Computer Paper offices to pick up a bevy of books I had been told were waiting for me.

So I headed down to their offices as usual. My visits there tend to be short, and far in between – usually on a basis of once every couple of months or so, sometimes longer. So I was amused to find the receptionist (who always seems to be different whenever I come to visit) somewhat excited to meet me, saying that I have managed to achieve near-mythical status within the Toronto organization. She called me the "Polkaroo of TCP" – the Polkaroo being a kid's TV character who you always hear about, but never actually see, and doubt actually exists. I went on to meet one of the Associate Editors, who said that he'd been reading my articles for years and was pleased to meet me. I also met the office manager, who told me that I still get regular mail – sometimes more than people who work their full time. This was something of a surprise, as very little, if any, actually gets through to me, but I don't doubt that it is largely press-related junk mail of little relevance to what I do for TCP now. I know that David T. vets any email I receive from readers, and passes them on to me, so am not bothered on that account. Both the associate editor and the office manager confirmed my somewhat mythical status in the organization, joking that they were beginning to think my name was some sort of nom de plume for David T., the editor in chief. Still, it was all a nice ego boost.

In the end, I came away with 22 fresh titles. For the record, they are:

• Linux Server Hacks,
• Apache: The Definitive Guide 3rd Edition,
• Windows XP Pro: The Missing Manual
• Practical TCP/IP
• Web Services Security
• DSL Advances
• Oracle SQL, 2nd Edition
• Bluetooth Profiles: The Definitive Guide
• Security in Computing, 3rd Edition
• Real World XML
• Network Sales and Services Handbook
• Exam Cram: Network+
• Exam Cram: A+
• Exam Cram: IT Certification Success
• ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive Guide
• Webmaster in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition
• Troubleshooting Cisco IP Telephony
• DB2 Universal Database v8, 5th Edition (IBM)
• The Complete Reference: Red Hat Linux 8 (DVD Edition)
• Red Hat Linux Administration: A Beginner's Guide
• Unix Power Tools, 3rd Edition
• Bioinformatics Computing

Lots of potential things for me to read and review. Of immediate interest from the list are the two (large!) books on Linux administration, as well as the book on bioinformatics (a subject I know very little about) as well as Exam Cram book on the types of certification out there. Will most likely end up donating the rest to the FIS at the U. of T.