Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Reading Update
I used to read a lot (really, a lot). Then I barely read at all. Within the last year I've started reading quite a bit again.
My problem is that it is entirely possible for me to read a book without ever looking at the title or seeing who the author is. Someone will hand me a book and say "read this" and I somehow miss the title almost every time. Or I'll notice the title quickly at first and then ignore it.
So I'm going to try to be more aware of what books I'm reading. Learn a bit about titles and authors. Just a bit, that way if I am reading a bunch of books by the same person, I'll realize it!
I'm going to list a lot of books now. These are the ones that I can remember reading through the summer. I'll also put a short description that makes sense to me...even if it doesn't make sense to anyone else that has or will read the book.
And I'll make a reading update post every few books that I read. The sidebar will list the ones that I've read since my last update post.
Monster Island/Nation/Planet by David Wellington. A series of 3 books. People are either dead or zombies, very few that aren't. Old mummy dude gets into people's minds. Mad scientist trying to save wife.
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. Boy and grandfather take the foreigner to find his dead grandfathers lover from the war. Dog goes too. It jumps between a couple of stories...the boy/grandfather and the story of the city they are looking for, with bits of stories about the war/stuff thrown in.
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. The guy lives in a very cluttered apartment. He is writing a book. He came to the US from somewhere else. He had a love, did a modeling job, has a single neighbor.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carols Ruiz Zafon. Very good. A boy is taken to pick out a book, a man is trying to destroy the book. There are lots of little stories that tie into one in a very well done way (the blind girl, the bum, the publisher's secretary).
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. His experiences when attempting to thru hike the Appalachian Trail. Very interesting and has me even more interested in hiking than I was.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. A circus story! The almost-vet ends up on a circus train and falls in love. Of course there is an elephant. I really enjoyed this one.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. A vampire story...the dad is telling his daughter his stories after she finds a book.
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Somehow I missed reading this in high school. Ummm, it is about war and the guy's life now and the aliens? I should read it again.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. A man and his son are walking south. Something happened and the world is mostly dead. Written without extra words and reads very quickly. Many things are left for you to figure out and think about, but in a good way.
The White Castle: A Novel by Orhan Pamuk. A guy from Italy is taken as a slave to Turkey when their ship is captured. He convinces people he is a doctor and gets special treatment from the Pasha. He is sold to a man very similar in looks to himself and spends the next 20 years with him.
I think there are more that I've read. And I hope I matched up my memories of contents with titles correctly (I googled for authors)!
My problem is that it is entirely possible for me to read a book without ever looking at the title or seeing who the author is. Someone will hand me a book and say "read this" and I somehow miss the title almost every time. Or I'll notice the title quickly at first and then ignore it.
So I'm going to try to be more aware of what books I'm reading. Learn a bit about titles and authors. Just a bit, that way if I am reading a bunch of books by the same person, I'll realize it!
I'm going to list a lot of books now. These are the ones that I can remember reading through the summer. I'll also put a short description that makes sense to me...even if it doesn't make sense to anyone else that has or will read the book.
And I'll make a reading update post every few books that I read. The sidebar will list the ones that I've read since my last update post.
Monster Island/Nation/Planet by David Wellington. A series of 3 books. People are either dead or zombies, very few that aren't. Old mummy dude gets into people's minds. Mad scientist trying to save wife.
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. Boy and grandfather take the foreigner to find his dead grandfathers lover from the war. Dog goes too. It jumps between a couple of stories...the boy/grandfather and the story of the city they are looking for, with bits of stories about the war/stuff thrown in.
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. The guy lives in a very cluttered apartment. He is writing a book. He came to the US from somewhere else. He had a love, did a modeling job, has a single neighbor.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carols Ruiz Zafon. Very good. A boy is taken to pick out a book, a man is trying to destroy the book. There are lots of little stories that tie into one in a very well done way (the blind girl, the bum, the publisher's secretary).
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. His experiences when attempting to thru hike the Appalachian Trail. Very interesting and has me even more interested in hiking than I was.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. A circus story! The almost-vet ends up on a circus train and falls in love. Of course there is an elephant. I really enjoyed this one.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. A vampire story...the dad is telling his daughter his stories after she finds a book.
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Somehow I missed reading this in high school. Ummm, it is about war and the guy's life now and the aliens? I should read it again.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. A man and his son are walking south. Something happened and the world is mostly dead. Written without extra words and reads very quickly. Many things are left for you to figure out and think about, but in a good way.
The White Castle: A Novel by Orhan Pamuk. A guy from Italy is taken as a slave to Turkey when their ship is captured. He convinces people he is a doctor and gets special treatment from the Pasha. He is sold to a man very similar in looks to himself and spends the next 20 years with him.
I think there are more that I've read. And I hope I matched up my memories of contents with titles correctly (I googled for authors)!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
change jar
There isn't much going on. I'm busy with the new apartment (I'm finishing moving tonite) and work. I really want to do some cooking and baking...I'll try to find time for that this weekend. I'm soooo sick of beans and rice. I made them again last nite since I barely had time to make/eat anything and they are quick.
I was studying at Starbucks yesterday morning and the whole hour that I was there, a woman was sitting in the corner shaking a jar of change. Not like a cup to get change from people, it sounded like a large mason jar 1/2 full of change. I thought she would stop after a few minutes, but nope. She was doing it when I got there and still going at it an hour later when I left. My iPod was great to have then...it blocked it out enough that I could study.
In case you were wondering, here are the names of the songs to the bits I put up the other day.
i need your arms around me / i need to feel your touch / i need your understanding / i need your love so much
**Never There by Cake
-----------
you must die, i alone am best / i hope you flip some guy the bird / he cut you off and you're forced to swerve
**I Hope You Die by The Bloodhound Gang
-----------
car after bus, car after truck / after this my lungs will be so fucked up
**Carbon Monoxide by Cake
-----------
making my entrance again with my usual flair / sure of my lines / nobody's there
**Send in the Clowns by Frank Sinatra
-----------
you don't eat or drink or mow the lawn / you just fuck your uncle all day long
**Uncle Fucka by Terrance and Phillip (South Park)
I was studying at Starbucks yesterday morning and the whole hour that I was there, a woman was sitting in the corner shaking a jar of change. Not like a cup to get change from people, it sounded like a large mason jar 1/2 full of change. I thought she would stop after a few minutes, but nope. She was doing it when I got there and still going at it an hour later when I left. My iPod was great to have then...it blocked it out enough that I could study.
In case you were wondering, here are the names of the songs to the bits I put up the other day.
i need your arms around me / i need to feel your touch / i need your understanding / i need your love so much
**Never There by Cake
-----------
you must die, i alone am best / i hope you flip some guy the bird / he cut you off and you're forced to swerve
**I Hope You Die by The Bloodhound Gang
-----------
car after bus, car after truck / after this my lungs will be so fucked up
**Carbon Monoxide by Cake
-----------
making my entrance again with my usual flair / sure of my lines / nobody's there
**Send in the Clowns by Frank Sinatra
-----------
you don't eat or drink or mow the lawn / you just fuck your uncle all day long
**Uncle Fucka by Terrance and Phillip (South Park)
Friday, August 24, 2007
snippets of songs
Bits of songs that I heard while I was studying this morning. I put the iPod on and then block out most of the stuff that goes from it to my ears. This is what didn't get blocked and slipped through.
-----------
i need your arms around me / i need to feel your touch / i need your understanding / i need your love so much
-----------
you must die, i alone am best / i hope you flip some guy the bird / he cut you off and you're forced to swerve
-----------
car after bus, car after truck / after this my lungs will be so fucked up
-----------
making my entrance again with my usual flair / sure of my lines / nobody's there
-----------
you don't eat or drink or mow the lawn / you just fuck your uncle all day long
-----------
I just found it amusing what bits of songs I heard and thought I would share! Have a great weekend!
-----------
i need your arms around me / i need to feel your touch / i need your understanding / i need your love so much
-----------
you must die, i alone am best / i hope you flip some guy the bird / he cut you off and you're forced to swerve
-----------
car after bus, car after truck / after this my lungs will be so fucked up
-----------
making my entrance again with my usual flair / sure of my lines / nobody's there
-----------
you don't eat or drink or mow the lawn / you just fuck your uncle all day long
-----------
I just found it amusing what bits of songs I heard and thought I would share! Have a great weekend!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Haiku
Caffiene headache hurts
Coffee makes it go away
Addiction still there
No attempt to break
The pull of coffee on me
Too hot to drink it
Fill cup up early
Forget about it til lunch
Problem solved, it's cold
the maths (of a financial ecomonics sort):
Put-call parity
Call plus present strike equals
Put plus forward price
Call is S less K
And for Put it's K less S
Max(above and naught)
I hate arbitrage
buy/sell/short the put/call/stock
which is when and why?
Coffee makes it go away
Addiction still there
No attempt to break
The pull of coffee on me
Too hot to drink it
Fill cup up early
Forget about it til lunch
Problem solved, it's cold
the maths (of a financial ecomonics sort):
Put-call parity
Call plus present strike equals
Put plus forward price
Call is S less K
And for Put it's K less S
Max(above and naught)
I hate arbitrage
buy/sell/short the put/call/stock
which is when and why?
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
I'd rather be hiking
So I'm on a roll with this posting thing!
Really I don't have anything of interest to say today. And no pictures.
Ummm, I just moved so I'm selling all the furniture I don't want on Craig's List. It is surprisingly easy. And it sells very quickly if you price it low enough! Kitchen gadgets and stuff don't sell quite as quickly as furniture. I might keep them and try again the 1st week of September, once all the students move back.
I was talking to a friend yesterday while I uploaded pics onto the flickr. I have a Mac, he has a PC. He said "my PC has VD"...that damn internets p*rn and its viruses. My Mac hates any wireless internets that I actually pay money for, but loves all the free wireless internets...it's an internets whore. Oh, J - I still have a wireless router thingy for you.
I got to play Batman's new learning game last nite (it is for his dissertation). A guy he works with made it in Flash based on what Batman wanted it to do. Now I know all about natural selection and he knows all about how it works on someone that is not him. I feel like a guinea pig.
I'm tired of eating beans and rice. I've been eating pretty much the same combo for 3 weeks now. Rice cooked in the rice maker, frozen corn and frozen bell peppers, garlic, beans (usually black, last time I got kidney and chickpeas), stir fry sauce, and hot sauce. It is filling, cheap, super easy, fast, and healthy. Hard to find all of that in a meal. Plus when I make it is enough for 2 dinners for me, 1 dinner for Batman, and 2 lunches for me. Once it cools down for real, I start making soup again. Easy, healthy, and much more room for variety.
I had kellogs organic frosted mini wheats for breakfast. The organic ones are vegan which is totally cool since I used to love frosted mini wheats (actually I liked the non-mini ones, but I'll take what I can get in vegan form).
Random enough for you?
Really I don't have anything of interest to say today. And no pictures.
Ummm, I just moved so I'm selling all the furniture I don't want on Craig's List. It is surprisingly easy. And it sells very quickly if you price it low enough! Kitchen gadgets and stuff don't sell quite as quickly as furniture. I might keep them and try again the 1st week of September, once all the students move back.
I was talking to a friend yesterday while I uploaded pics onto the flickr. I have a Mac, he has a PC. He said "my PC has VD"...that damn internets p*rn and its viruses. My Mac hates any wireless internets that I actually pay money for, but loves all the free wireless internets...it's an internets whore. Oh, J - I still have a wireless router thingy for you.
I got to play Batman's new learning game last nite (it is for his dissertation). A guy he works with made it in Flash based on what Batman wanted it to do. Now I know all about natural selection and he knows all about how it works on someone that is not him. I feel like a guinea pig.
I'm tired of eating beans and rice. I've been eating pretty much the same combo for 3 weeks now. Rice cooked in the rice maker, frozen corn and frozen bell peppers, garlic, beans (usually black, last time I got kidney and chickpeas), stir fry sauce, and hot sauce. It is filling, cheap, super easy, fast, and healthy. Hard to find all of that in a meal. Plus when I make it is enough for 2 dinners for me, 1 dinner for Batman, and 2 lunches for me. Once it cools down for real, I start making soup again. Easy, healthy, and much more room for variety.
I had kellogs organic frosted mini wheats for breakfast. The organic ones are vegan which is totally cool since I used to love frosted mini wheats (actually I liked the non-mini ones, but I'll take what I can get in vegan form).
Random enough for you?
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
lots of hiking pictures
More details on my hike, actually lots of pictures and not really that many more details.
Where we camped Friday nite. Our tent and "backyard".
Dinner Friday nite. Cous cous with chickpeas, Batman had a cup of split pea soup, and candles to keep the bugs out of the food.
Saturday Batman and I went to find the Appalachian Trail. We found some parking near it in North Adams and got on our way.
This is the first part of it, yep a short stretch of road in the AT:
Then we got to the trail part.
Hiking... this was a not-so-steep part. I couldn't get pictures of the steep part since I didn't want to slow down and didn't want to have my camera out to get broken. I had to use my hands a few times and some of those were times I didn't necessarily plan on using my hands.
Trees that look neat:
A view halfway up:
The beacon-thingy on top of Mt. Greylock. If it does something I don't know what. I was way too tired and it was too windy to bother finding a sign with information.
The view from the summit of Mt Greylock.
Stove for cooking dinner. I was soooo hungry that I ate all the dinner before I thought to take a picture of it. We had vegan sloppy joes with pitas. Yum. And tea cuz it was cold. The stove worked great once we got the hang of lighting it. It wasn't hard, but it took a couple of tries until we knew just how much gas to release before lighting it.
This is how I picture the "mountains" out here. Much of it was like this so I wasn't too far off. Batman did tell me that there are a few mountains in the east that have a tree line, so I guess I can leave the ""s of those when I talk about them.
Pretty trees:
Stone steps. There weren't very many of these, actually this set and maybe one more shorter one. It is pretty and I liked it.
Playing with my macro for Batman, moss on a rock. Super exciting, I know!
And I just found a "smudge" feature on my picture thingy. So here is a picture where you can see Batman's pack, can kinda see mine (I was wearing Batman's shirt and looke like I had been hiking aka gross), and us at the scenic view thingy half way up (I got another hiker to take our pic).
Where we camped Friday nite. Our tent and "backyard".
Dinner Friday nite. Cous cous with chickpeas, Batman had a cup of split pea soup, and candles to keep the bugs out of the food.
Saturday Batman and I went to find the Appalachian Trail. We found some parking near it in North Adams and got on our way.
This is the first part of it, yep a short stretch of road in the AT:
Then we got to the trail part.
Hiking... this was a not-so-steep part. I couldn't get pictures of the steep part since I didn't want to slow down and didn't want to have my camera out to get broken. I had to use my hands a few times and some of those were times I didn't necessarily plan on using my hands.
Trees that look neat:
A view halfway up:
The beacon-thingy on top of Mt. Greylock. If it does something I don't know what. I was way too tired and it was too windy to bother finding a sign with information.
The view from the summit of Mt Greylock.
Stove for cooking dinner. I was soooo hungry that I ate all the dinner before I thought to take a picture of it. We had vegan sloppy joes with pitas. Yum. And tea cuz it was cold. The stove worked great once we got the hang of lighting it. It wasn't hard, but it took a couple of tries until we knew just how much gas to release before lighting it.
This is how I picture the "mountains" out here. Much of it was like this so I wasn't too far off. Batman did tell me that there are a few mountains in the east that have a tree line, so I guess I can leave the ""s of those when I talk about them.
Pretty trees:
Stone steps. There weren't very many of these, actually this set and maybe one more shorter one. It is pretty and I liked it.
Playing with my macro for Batman, moss on a rock. Super exciting, I know!
And I just found a "smudge" feature on my picture thingy. So here is a picture where you can see Batman's pack, can kinda see mine (I was wearing Batman's shirt and looke like I had been hiking aka gross), and us at the scenic view thingy half way up (I got another hiker to take our pic).
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