That would be the PayPal button at the bottom of the left column.<\/p>\n
My laptop suddenly went catatonic on Tuesday, leaving me with no computer except my 8 1\/2 year old Pentium II desktop. Until today, I wasn’t even able to edit my websites, since I’d misplaced the WordPress passwords. They are now safely written down on a slip of paper tucked into a certain page of a book no one else would ever think to look in. Pocock’s translation of Statius’ Thebaid<\/em> into Spenserian stanzas? No, that’s actually an interesting work both in theory and in small doses and might attract attention, plus I don’t own a copy. The edition of ‘Sext Properci’ by Balcells and Minguez with facing Catalan translation? That might well intrigue a Barcelonés, a Romance philologist, or a Propertian. Ciani’s Lexicon zu Lycophron<\/em>? That would probably work, except that its presence on my desk in easy reach of the keyboard would itself attract suspicion. (Yes, I have a copy. No, I don’t know why I bought it. Yes, it must have been on sale. No, I’ve never opened it. Yes, I expect to do so once or twice before I die, probably a lot more than once or twice, once I get around to reading Lycophron. Satisfied?)<\/p>\n This has the makings of an interesting game:<\/p>\n What classical work, primary or secondary, would be least likely to attract the notice of an average cross-section of classicists and others browsing my shelves or yours? Suggestions may be placed in the comments. The question is not which is actually the most boring — that could cause unpleasantness if the author is still alive — but which has the least attractive title and subject. Narrowness of appeal would count for a great deal. The Manuscript Tradition of Cornelius Nepos<\/em>? There are narrower and far more tedious titles than that.<\/p>\n To return to my computer problems . . . .<\/p>\n Fortunately, I have twelve more days until the laptop warranty expires. Unfortunately, the problem seems to be in the hard drive, and it contains a lot of files I can’t easily do without. I’m hoping to be able to hire someone this week to try to copy the data off it before I send the machine to HP for repair. Since money is very tight at the moment, I will be extremely grateful for any contributions (hence the PayPal button), as well as any suggestions for what I can do technically.<\/p>\n Since I’m in the ‘bargaining’ stage of my electronic grief, I can also promise more and better posts now that I have regained access. I’ve had plenty to say, with little time to say it, but two weeks off for Christmas solves that problem, at least for the moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" That would be the PayPal button at the bottom of the left column. My laptop suddenly went catatonic on Tuesday, leaving me with no computer except my 8 1\/2 year old Pentium II desktop. Until today, I wasn’t even able … Continue reading