Blood donating, or rather plasma and platelets

Looks like the number of people with the flu right now is biting into the number of eligible donors. It's been a while since the Red Cross have taken actual blood cells, they are far more keen on the yellow stuff, I turned up during the 30 minutes when the computer was down and we all assumed our communication was fine until a nurse asked if I'd be willing to consider donating plasma which is what my appointment was for.

This is far more entertaining than donating Whole Blood or Red Blood Cells as you get hooked up to a machine with three tubes connected to the needle (In, Out and Anticoagulant). Then you alternate between squeezing a little rubber Santa Claus and bleeding, with not_squeezing and having your freshly filtered blood pumped back into you plus a healthy dose of anticoagulant. Much harder to read to. I'm usually absolutely fine, the pain is far less than a bee sting and the only discomfort is the weird bit where the plasma machine pumps your blood back into you. This time however I had the unusual experience of sensing what felt like the tip of the needle rubbing against the opposite wall of my vein. Eww. Easily fixed, just ease it back a little.

Iron count back down to 119. [sigh] Must eat more broccoli - not exactly a hardship.

The Algebraist by Iain Banks

Loved it. One of the many reasons I enjoy reading his stuff is the language he uses, I had several moments where I giggled quietly to myself.

"It was generally held that seven billion years' lack of practice probably accounted for the sheer awfulness of Dweller spaceship design and building standards, though Fassin wasn't convinced that cause and effect hadn't been confused here."

"As military fuck-ups went it was a many-faceted gem, a work of genius, a grapeshot, multi-stage, cluster-warhead, fractal-munition regenerative-weapon-system of a fuck-up."

...and what a universe to work in. Humanity is spread throughout the stars desperately trying to maintain an autocratic and oppressive empire called the Mercatoria while hunting down the last of the AI after a terrible war. A multitude of alien species are going about their business ranging from the impossibly long-lived Dwellers who live in gas giants to the macabre Ythyn who live to catalogue the dead.

Fassin Taak is a 'Slow Seer' and was anticipating a very long life working with the Dwellers and delving through their massive archives. He is conscripted by the Mercatoria to seek ancient and vital information and is swept into a race against time as two massive fleets bear down on his system to claim it for themselves.

I *love* the Dwellers.