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Opinions needed: Which should be the next Nerd Trash header?

It's about time to swap the current one (Andy Griffith wearing pink sunglasses from I think that episode of The Andy Griffith Show where he, Opie, and Aunt Bea go to Hollywood), but I can't decide which to use. Here's the candidates.

As you can see, I have a several variations of this one. The source image is from some pre-Parks and Rec movie Aubrey Plaza did called "The To Do List". I like it because it's a bit risque and daring. I have reservations about it for much the same reason. It might be too risque, even with her hand obscured by the blog's name.

Here's the next option:

I like this because it fits the nerd motif of the blog and is obviously "safer" than the Plaza header. My main problem is that my brain box keeps telling me that I've seen this picture used on another blog before, but I can't recall if I have or where I've seen it. I don't want to copycat someone.

Alternatively, I could revisit an old header:

Both oldies, but goodies. I've always liked them. If I went with these, I'd probably create new versions since they no longer need to be as wide because I finally learned how to center header images. :)

So which one should be Nerd Trash's next header image? Let me know down in the comments.

Honestly? Same

Credit: Our Valued Customers.

If I could convert all the pointless nerd knowledge and trivia into knowledge that was applicable to the real world, I would be neigh on a god, a weapon to surpass Metal Gear!

Or at the very least, someone who isn't terrible at math.

2017 in review

2017 ended several weeks ago and I have to say, it was a most fruitful year for my reading. Here's a list of all the books I read:

1. Tooth and Nail - Ian Rankin
2. Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb
3. His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik
4. Old Man's War - John Scalzi
5. The Ghost Brigades - Scalzi
6. Night Train to Rigel - Timothy Zahn
7. The Last Colony - John Scalzi
8. Dragonflight - Anne McCaffrey
9. Phule's Company - Robert Asprin
10. Trading in Danger - Elizabeth Moon
11. Shards of Honor - Lois McMaster Bujold
12. Marque and Reprisal - Elizabeth Moon
13. Shotgun Saturday Night - Bill Crider
14. Cursed to Death - Crider
15. To Tame a Land - Louis L'lamour
16. Barrayar - Lois McMaster Bujold
17. The Warrior's Apprentice - Bujold
18. The Mountains of Mourning - Bujold
19. Pacific Vortex! - Clive Cussler
20. Killing Floor - Lee Child
21. The Mediterranean Caper - Cussler
22. The Prisoner of Zenda - Anthony Hope
23. The Baker's Boy - J.V. Jones
24. Spinneret - Timothy Zahn
25. Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne
26. Devlin's Luck - Patricia Bray
27. Devlin's Honor - Bray
28. A Call to Duty - David Weber, Timothy Zahn
29. Rules of Prey - John Sandford
30. Altered Carbon - Richard K. Morgan

The good: While I only read four more than what I did last year, I'm more than satisfied with thirty. I'm also pleased with the increase in the number of SF from I believe nine in 2016 to fifteen in 2017. I also like that I read nine SF books in a row because I've never read nine books of any genre in a row before. I usually manage two, sometimes three in a row, but never nine.

Another thing I'm happy with is the variety of books. I read more mysteries and added in some classic lit, thrillers, and even a western. I plan on continuing this trend in the 2018, but that's another post, I suppose.

The bad: All good must have a bad and for me, it was the decline in my fantasy reading. The year before last I read eleven, but could only muster five last year. Even more startling is the the five month gap between the second fantasy book, His Majesty's Dragon, and the third, The Baker's Boy. I had picked up other fantasy books in the interim between the two, but The Baker's Boy was the only one I read to completion. I can honestly say that I have no clue why I went through such a drought but it happened and hopefully I can move on from it.

2017 also marks the last year that I'm focusing on the quantity of books read. I originally did it because I just wanted to track how many I could read in a year and after more than doubling in 2016 what I read in 2015, I wanted to see if I could go further. I did and I'm realistic enough to recognize that thirty books is probably my limit. I still plan on keeping track of what I read, but I'm not shooting for a specific total.

Instead, I'm going to focus on the quality of what I read and try to broaden my horizons, but that's another post for another day.

2018 is Already Cruel: RIP Dolores O'Riordan from The Cranberries

I'm not going to front and pretend that I was a die hard fan of The Cranberries; like a lot of people, I knew them mainly from their seminal hits "Linger" and "Zombie". Nonetheless, Dolores O'Riordan's vocal skills were clear to even us and I can honestly say that she had one of the best voices I have heard in my 34 years on this planet. Her loss at the age of 46 is a tragedy on many levels.

Here's their Tiny Desk Concert for NPR.



Such a sad loss.

Stan Lee accused of sexual harassment???

So there's a story going around about comics legend Stan Lee sexually harassing his home care nurses. CBR and others are reporting on it, but I'm a tad bit skeptical about it. Why? Because the original source of the story comes from The Daily Mail.

Here's the thing about The Daily Mail: it's not exactly known as a bastion of journalistic anything. It's a tabloid at best that's been known to distort the truth and straight out lie, so much so that Wikipedia banned it as a citable source in its articles. And yet, people are buying the story without really stopping and thinking "gee, should we believe a newspaper nicknamed The Daily Fail?"

There's also just the fact that the idea of a 95 year old man who requires in home care is going to be physically capable of doing any kind of harassment. I'm well aware that professional caregivers can and have been victimized by the very people they're caring for, but it works the other way too. My grandmother had a caregiver and several years after the former died, her caregiver was arrested and tried for physically abusing her clients, which included one of them dying.

Now, I should point out that my skepticism isn't deeply rooted. If more victims come forward or if this story verified as legitimate, then my skepticism ends and I’ll be one of the legions of disappointed nerd boys and girls, standing in support of his victims. Until then, I'm not ready to denounce Stan Lee.

So what do you think? Let me know in the comments.

I SHOULD'VE BEEN GONE / LONG AGO, FAR AWAY / AND YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN GONE / NOW I KNOW JUST WHY YOU STAY

No wonder Steve Perry is known as "The Voice". Damn, that man has some pipes on him.