Charles Petzold

Years ago, I read a story about a woman who received a bill for $0.00. She ignored it, of course, and she received a follow-up bill still demanding $0.00, and then some letters that threatened to get a collection agency after her. Finally, she just wrote out a check for $0.00 and mailed it in. The letters stopped.

The lesson is this: Software is stupid, and sometimes you have to do something equally stupid to get the software to work right.

Which brings us to Amazon.com, and its insistance that my new book 3D Programming for Windows won't ship until October. The solution — suggested by one of the very few people who are still enthusiastic about reading the book following the shabby treatment that they've experienced — is simple: Cancel your existing order, and then re-order. I tried it myself, and now Amazon.com tells me that it's going to mail the book to me on August 13.

In the future, I'm going to tattoo a lightening bolt on my forehead and publish my books under the name J.K. Petzold. Maybe that will help.