Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Friday, February 24, 2017
Book Excerpt for the Day
Three
important revolutions shaped the course of history: the Cognitive Revolution
kick-started history about 70,000 years ago.
The Agricultural Revolution sped it up about 12,000 years ago. The Scientific Revolution, which got under
way only 500 years ago, may well end history and start something completely
different. This book tells the story of
how these three revolutions have affected humans and their fellow organisms.
(from Sapiens: A
Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah
Harari)
9*/10. The complete review is here.
.
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Alternative Movies
True dis. I watch about one movie per year. It isn't that movies aren't entertaining or good. It's the fact that I could've gotten several quality hours of good reading in, instead of watching a movie.
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Synesthesia
It's called synesthesia, and I know several people who have it. My former boss once rattled off the colors of each day of the week. And seemed slightly embarrassed about it.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Monday, February 20, 2017
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Because "Tragedies", you know
You just can't ignore all the victims in both of these terrorist attacks. We will never forget their names.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Book Excerpt for the Day
You could get the hell out of here if you
really wanted to, couldn’t you?” he said, peevishly.
She nodded. “I suppose I
could. But where?”
The question made no sense to him.
There was an entire world outside the fences, and she surely didn’t lack
the finances to explore it, not Joseph Whitehead’s daughter. Did she really find the prospect so
stale? They made such a strange
pair. He with his experience so
unnaturally abbreviated – years of his life wasted – and now anxious to make up
for lost time. She, so apathetic,
fatigued by the very thought of escape from her self-defined prison.
“You could go anywhere,” he
said.
“That’s as good as nowhere, she replied flatly.
(from The Damnation
Game by Clive Barker)
8½*/10. The full review is here.
.
Friday, February 17, 2017
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
All I need
Well, actually we have three dogs. But still, what more is there to want in life than this?
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Monday, February 13, 2017
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Book Excerpt for the Day
I’d
heard a deputy was killed yesterday,” said Buntline. “I didn’t know you were there.”
“I
can’t spend all my time drinking in
the hotel,” replied Holliday easily.
“And
the Kid gunned him down?”
Holliday
nodded. “He’s got a temper, and the
deputy was too stupid to realize it.”
“You
make it sound like the deputy’s fault,” noted Buntline.
“If
you taunt a mountain lion and the lion attacks, whose fault is it?” asked
Holliday.
“Does
the lion know right from wrong?” interjected Edison.
(from The Doctor and the Kid by Mike Resnick)
7*/10. The
complete review is here.
.
Friday, February 10, 2017
Thursday, February 09, 2017
Wednesday, February 08, 2017
Super Bowl Advice
Naturally, there's been a sh*tload of Super Bowl memes this week. But this was by far my favorite one.
Tuesday, February 07, 2017
Snow in Seattle
It snowed in Seattle yesterday. The weatherman said it was 5 inches, but the snowdrifts are much higher.
Monday, February 06, 2017
Book Excerpt for the Day
“I
could bury you headfirst in the sand so far you’d be standing on an upside-down
mountaintop.”
“I
could use that pointy tail of yours to spin you around until you took off,”
Aahz said.
“You try it, you sawed-off excrescence.”
“Overgrown faun,” Aahz leered.
“Where’s your panpipes?”
“Heap of rotting scales.
Dung-eater!”
“That’s no way to talk about your mother’s cooking!”
(from Myth-Fits by Jody Lynn Nye)
7½*/10. The complete review is here.
.
Saturday, February 04, 2017
Friday, February 03, 2017
Thursday, February 02, 2017
The U-Haul Interview
More than 4 decades ago, I applied for a management job with U-Haul, since they're headquartered here in Phoenix. There were two parts to the process - a math part (these were in the days before pocket calculators), and an interview.
The lady who interviewed me said they'd never had anyone score as high on the math section as I did. Alas, then came the Part 2: The Interview.
She asked me open-ended questions - what were my goals in life, where I wanted to be in 10 years, what was my idea of a good time, etc.
And I stupidly answered them all truthfully. Think hippie-dippie, flower child responses.
At the end, she sighed and said (and I can quote this verbatim): "You realize you totally blew the interview, don't you?" I was crushed since at the time I was working for slave wages in a gas station. Needless to say, I didn't get the job.
But all's well that ends well. A month later, I interviewed for a job as a chemist (which is what I have a degree in), acted like an overjoyed puppy in the interview, exaggerated a lot, got the job, and have worked there now for 40+ years.
Wednesday, February 01, 2017
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Monday, January 30, 2017
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Book Excerpt for the Day
My
standards were sliding swiftly. At first
I had insisted I would only work at a company with a mission I believed
in. Then I thought maybe it would be
fine as long as I was learning something new.
After that I decided it just couldn’t be evil. Now I was carefully delineating my personal
definition of evil.
(from Mr.
Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan)
7½*/10. The complete review is here.
.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Hand Sanitizer
True dis. My wife is a germophobe, but has caught two different viruses since the holidays. One was bronchitis, the other a stomach flu.
In fairness, it should be noted that she gave me the latte. I've been nusring a sore throat and a persistent cough for the past three days.
Friday, January 27, 2017
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Thursday Surrealism
Reportedly, there are 28 animals in the picture. I counted up to around 25 of them, but was getting confused as to which ones I'd already counted. So I fully believe the "28" total.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Book Excerpt for the Day
“They’re
shooting to kill, you realize.”
“Of course I realize it! What in hell did you do?”
“They seem to think I’m one of the terrorists, the ones with the nuke.”
“And are you?”
“Are you nuts? This investigation
has been a balls-up from the beginning.”
“They seem pretty damn convinced.”
“You yourself said they were stupid.”
“I
said you were stupid.”
“You never said I was stupid.”
“Yeah, but I was thinking it.”
(from Gideon’s
Corpse by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child)
6*/10. The complete review is here.
.
Monday, January 23, 2017
Salvador Dali Monday
RIP, Salvador Dali. Died 01/23/89. This is one of my favorite Dali paintings, although, truth be told, I have about 100 of those.
It is, however, my favorite Dali title:
50 Abstract Paintings which Seen from Two Metres Change into Three Lenins Disguised as Chinese and Seen from Six Metres Appear as the Head of a Royal Tiger
Sunday, January 22, 2017
You are what you eat
I no longer remember the artist's name, but we saw a bunch of these portraits when we were at the Louvre in 2003. They were freakin' awesome.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Public Service Announcement: Wine Edition
Don't let a good bottle of wine cloud your judgment. You're welcome.
Friday, January 20, 2017
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Book Excerpt for the Day
“Good to see you,” W said gloomily. “How’s things?”
“Well,”
Smith said, “our engine room’s full of killer frogs, our convoy got blown up
and we’ve opened a portal to Hell.
Still, mustn’t grumble.”
“Killer
frogs, eh?” W nodded thoughtfully. “While I bear amphibians no ill will –
indeed, man has much to learn from the toad – an engine room full of them
sounds excessive.”
(from A Game of
Battleships, by Toby Frost)
7½*/10. The full review is here.
.
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