On Thu, 07 Oct 2004 20:06:41 +0100, Richard Baker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I just got home to find a package waiting for me. My address was > handwritten on it and the return address was for a Michael Cockburn (I > think, I can't really make out the surname) in Saint Albans. I don't > know anyone of that name, nor was I expected anything except for a > couple of packages from Amazon (variously containing Banks' _The > Algebraist_, Stephenson's _The System of the World_ and Southern's _The > Roman Empire From Severus To Constatine_). Intrigued, I opened it to > find an old and somewhat battered copy of _The Iron Dragon's Daughter_ > by Mike Swanwick. This is a book I spent many years searching for, > until the lovely Ashley bought me a copy about four years ago. So now > I'm wondering who the kind donor is, why they would send me a book that > I wanted very much years ago, and where they got my address. > > Does anyone have any ideas?
I guess the place to start is: Who knew you were looking for it? Theories: - Perhaps when you were searching for that book, you made some online queries for it (ie: in a newsgroup) that were archived somewhere that some samaritan just recently came across? That person then uses the Power of Google to dig up your address somehow and send you the book... - How old was the postmark? Perhaps the person saw your search a few years back and sent you the book a few years back, but if fell behind the machine at the post office and was only recently discovered and delivered? Actually, for that matter, it could have fallen behing a machine *before* it was postmarked, so this case doesn't even need to have an old postmark. - You have a fairy godparent living in Saint Albans who's a bit lax and has fallen quite behind on granting your wishes. :-) _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
