My 30th Birthday Haul

Just wanted to update with a few things I got on my birthday.

First off, I got some more money. The Makerbot fund thermometer to the right went up a bunch. My mother advised me to open a CD at the bank to deposit the money. That way it's locked in there for a set period and earns higher interest than savings. I tell you guys, mother knows best.

My wife, Beth, got me a really cool portable photo studio. I know I could make something like this, but I was always too lazy and this comes in just a more convenient package. Just look at this new picture I took for my Rogue Space - MECHS promo. It's a much better lighting and quality.

But it may be a little small for my daughter since she is getting bigger.

Bree got me an awesome book called "How to Trap a Zombie and Track a Vampire". It's a fun activity book published by Wizards, and contains all sorts of fun things you can do to train your child to be a monster hunter/wizard/adventurer. This coupled with my Geek Dad book, will mean Bree and I will have a lot of fun growing up.

Now, for the crown jewel: My mother in law is a very crafty person. She works at a university and teaches book-making classes. She does all sorts of creative artsy things like home-made popup books, home-made leather and perfect bound, etc. She was able to get a hold of a 1st edition printing of one of the Mars books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. She knew I was a big fan of the Barsoom series as I read a lot of them in my childhood, so when she found this book at a thrift store, she knew I had to have it.

The great thing is she made a clamshell box. A felt lined box that they make for preserving and protecting really old books. It looks perfect as you will see from the photos below.

Outside of the clamshell box. It's completely felt lined and sturdy.

Showing inside of the box with the original book. My mother in law knew i liked the new John Carter movie so this was sort of a small surprise. The big red half circle on the other side was perfect for it though.

Closeup of the original book with original spine and binding.

It's authentic. Printed 1918