My Scattered Thoughts

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-04-17

Max: Alice is working on being a woman. #SMAtuS #

THE LIFECYCLE OF SOFTWARE OBJECTS by Ted Chiang: So many things in this short book. AI, obsolete software, robots, early childhood learning. #

Alice visited the gorillas today. "Gagilla! Gagilla!" beating her chest. The gorillas were… amused. #SMAtuS #

FEERSUM ENDJINN by Iain M. Banks: Bascule's "dialect" was slow-going, painful to read. Liked the book, but not nearly as much as his others. #

Felt like I was in a Tennessee Williams play. Every beat, Max had some new strategy for keeping me home. Crying, pleading, etc. #SMAtuS #

Alice, while operating sandbox digger (for the first time?): "Oooooh… wow… yaaaay…" (x3) #SMAtuS #

I'm looking for an experienced Python programmer to help as a subject matter expert for a course I'm writing. ~2-4 hours/week. Paid! #

Everything was fine until I said I had to go to work. The screaming & crying sure woke me up though! #betterthancoffee #brightside? #SMAtuS #

Everyone wants to follow @onestarwar! Seriously: I've been learning so much! #

Max: Let's go to the tofu store [thai food restaurant] and bring our [chop] sticks! #SMAtuS #

Just finished reading SANDSTORM by Christopher Rowe. A D&D Forgotten Realms novel. Open the nostalgia floodgates! #fridayreads #

@OrangeTin I dig the profile pic. in reply to OrangeTin #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-04-10

BLACKSAD by Juan Diaz Canales: It's got that film noir thing going on, only all the people are animals. Skeptical? It works gangbusters. #

This morning, instead of yelling back at her, Max ran over and gave Alice a hug and a kiss. She stopped yelling. Smart kid. #SMAtuS #

Alice won't nap because there's a cement mixer truck set up on the street outside our apartment. This kid loves her heavy machinery! #SMAtuS #

PYONGYANG: A JOURNEY IN NORTH KOREA by Guy Delisle: Quietly horrifying. Delisle makes the whole country seem like an oppressive Disneyland. #

REDEMPTION IN INDIGO by Karen Lord: A delight. I thought the… wait a minute. Oh hell, I can't remember if I read the book's last pages. #

A SICKNESS IN THE FAMILY by Denise Mina: SURPRISE! ENDING! I didn't expect it. Be glad this isn't YOUR family. Jiminy Christmas! #

Today's Word on the Duck: KLAXON #

@MarsGirl75 You know, I think that's probably where I first learned it too. in reply to MarsGirl75 #

@shadalicious http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/5057247588_225f10faca.jpg in reply to shadalicious #

@hodgman BRILLIANT! in reply to hodgman #

DAYTRIPPER by Gabriel Ba: Fantastic non-linear story centering on the linchpins of one man's life. Truly excellent. #

Alice's first conversation: A: "Hi! Hi!" Sarah: "Hi, Alice! How are you?" A: "Good." Excited, with glee: "Good! GOOD!" Beautiful. #SMAtuS #

CAGES by Dave McKean: At times, self-indulgent in the worst way. BUT that artwork is stellar. #

@radiomaru How about Mark Danielewski's HOUSE OF LEAVES house? in reply to radiomaru #

LOCAL by Brian Wood: Boy, I'm glad I'm not in my early 20s anymore. Pretty interesting. #

Started reading WINNIE THE POOH with the kids last night. So happy to not read a picture book! Max had a LOT of questions. #SMAtuS #

JERUSALEM POKER by Edward Whittemore: Poker in the Holy Land. But oh so much more. #fridayreads #

Went for a walk at lunch. In the sun(!) Like I need another distraction from work… #

At the park, Sarah: Let's go. Max: But Mom, it's so nice out I can actually see the sun. We have bagels. Let's stay all of the day! #SMAtuS #

PROGRAM OR BE PROGRAMMED by Douglas Rushkoff: It's worth thinking about the world we're creating. Also: Learn to Program! #

@chowderino @MarsGirl75 Whooo! (Although I find it funny that you told her first… ;) in reply to chowderino #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-03-27

As of now, Adam Levin's THE INSTRUCTIONS is, hands down, the best book I've read in 2011. It's a doorstopper though at 1000+ pages! #

Last night, Max asked Sarah to tell him what all of his body parts were. Only he called them "skin pieces". #SMAtuS #

The Library of Congress has done a nice redesign of their site: http://www.loc.gov/index.html #

Max is a totally different kid when he's running, red-cheeked, in the sun. Could that smile get any bigger? #SMAtuS #

Alice is in such a hurry to grow up: not napping plus starting to use the toilet. You don't need to be in such a hurry! #SMAtuS #

Opt out of all the junk in your life: http://hotgarbage.org/optout/
Thanks, Tim! #

Red Letter Day for Alice: Going to the park and finding a dump truck filling baseball diamond with dirt. Foot-stompingly exciting! #SMAtuS #

Max asked me what "crumble" means. What an interesting word! Crumbles: cookies, castles, cliffs, faces, crackers, rocks, dirt clods. #SMAtuS #

Alice sure loves saying "Hi" these days. Ridiculously cute. #SMAtuS #

It's a good thing her mama works for a mountaineering school, because I think Alice has her eye on Rainier. #SMAtuS #

Max drew something on the computer with a heart. Told Sarah: "So that you will remember my love." #SMAtuS #

THE CRIPPLED GOD by Steven Erikson: Every page, even sentence, seems fraught with meaning. Every page turn, the END approaches. #fridayreads #

Our car is so soggy… "How soggy is it?" …there's a mushroom growing on the floor! #SMAtuS #ThatCan'tBeHealthy #

Alice: too busy teaching herself how to speak to nap. Makes for a LONG day. No one wants her to nap more than Max does. Tables turn. #SMAtuS #

Books Read February 2011

Home Land by Sam Lipsyte

Reminded me of HOT TUB TIME MACHINE. The looming shadow of the past affects the present continually. No one seems able to move past their nostalgia for high school. The ex-principal is a delightful character, a nearly tragic figure. Is it an epistolary novel if the target is a high school alumnus newsletter/message board? What a desperately funny novel.

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William Irvine

Or, how to appreciate the fleeting time we all have on this Earth while we can. Contemplate loss in order to find joy in what you have. Cultivate patience in the face of irritation and pain.

The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed by Bart Ehrman

The most amazing thing about this book: that a 2,000 year old book spent a decade mouldering in a bank deposit box in a strip mall in New Jersey. Also, the restoration work done on the manuscript is simply boggling in its delicacy. The main idea of the Gospel of Judas is that he is the secret hero and fulfiller of Christ’s ultimate plan to die. Interesting stuff, but I probably could have read a long-essay version and been just as happy.

The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross

The third novel in the Laundry series. Evil sorcerous cult seeks to summon a demon to destroy the world. Pretty fun stuff. But so gloomy! Also, if you haven’t, you’d want to read the previous Laundry stories first.

The Anti-American Manifesto by Ted Rall

Yeesh. Is there any corporate, governmental, institutional, infrastructural system in this country that’s not completely broken?

The Warded Man by Peter Brett

A man versus nature story. Only “nature” in this case are demons that attack everyone, everywhere, every night. Some interesting ideas that Brett explores pretty thoroughly. Like, hey, people would be pretty messed up if they were threatened with extreme, violent death every night of their lives.

The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them by Elif Batuman

A series of what are basically travel essays, plus thoughts on Russian novels. Highly engaging. Far more entertaining that you might expect considering the subject matter. The essay on the Tolstoy conference was probably the one I enjoyed the most. Read for “Who Killed Tolstoy”, “Summer in Samarkand”, and “The Possessed”.

Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tim Bissell

One man’s experience with video/computer games. A series of essays, really. They’re not quite reviews and not quite biography. Still, the subtitle should probably be “Why (Some Specific) Video Games Matter(ed) (To Me)”. If you like video games, you’ll probably like this. If you don’t like video games, this book would provide you with ammunition to support your feelings. Very readable.

The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah

Beautifully written. Tragic. A story of an old man’s childhood recollections written by a young woman. Powerful stuff.

Voluptuous Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin by Mel Gordon

Or What Happens When Everything Collapses and People Get Desperate. Also, how not to establish your world-changing organization as a long-term entity.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-03-20

You'd think I'd've learned by now not to underestimate Max's ability to roll with the punches. That guy's a real mensch. #SMAtuS #

Adam Levin's Gurion ben Judah reminds me of nothing so much as Orson Scott Card's Ender Wiggin. #TheInstructions #IntentionalSimilarities? #

Max sometimes plans on being bad, but then is good in spite of himself. I think he just forgets. #SMAtuS #

Bruce Sterling says some interesting things: http://blog.brian-fitzgerald.net/sxsw-eclectic-rough-notes-bruce-sterling-closing-speech #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-03-13

Holy cow! Alice just hit her 18-month birthday. Happy birthday and a half, kid! #SMAtuS #

Sarah wrote a sweet birthday-and-a-half note to our darling daughter, Alice. http://bit.ly/hLLLSk #SMAtuS #

Max did experiments in a lab today. We'll have our time travel machines soon, people! #SMAtuS #

Max has decided he wants a periodic table of the elements. A budding scientist on our hands? #SMAtuS #

Max called me paint. I called him a paintbrush. Then he said he painted me on the wall. This meant a big hug. Sweetie. #SMAtuS #

WOW. This blew my mind. Feels like Salman Khan has been flown in from the future. http://bit.ly/gwTA18 #

Okay, I don't mean to brag, but Max has been making elemental chains out of tinker toys. #Imtotallybragging #SMAtuS #

@jessnevins This is great stuff! in reply to jessnevins #

@HillaryJacques I love "reconstruction of past idiocy". The phrase, not that to which it refers. That sounds unpleasant. in reply to HillaryJacques #

@chowderino Max's good influence. ;) in reply to chowderino #

Max: Mom, what are all the elements? Can you tell me? … Here is a chain of elements! #SMAtuS #

Alice @ 18 months: 19lbs 15.5oz (15th percentile); 29.5 inches (5th percentile); head circ. 42 cm (50th percentile) Woo! #SMAtuS #

Alice sad. Max singing to her: "You're the sweetest little toddler in town…" #SMAtuS #

A beautiful map of science fiction: http://scimaps.org/submissions/7-digital_libraries/maps/thumbs/024_LG.jpg #

Yesterday, Max asked if he had a lot of lithium (the element) in his body. #SMAtuS #

@chowderino Funny. in reply to chowderino #

@bvanderveen I believe you're thinking of @banksimple. in reply to bvanderveen #

There's something deeply wrong here: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/03/hart.html #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-03-06

Alice taught herself how to do somersaults. #SMAtuS #aprodigyofnature #

After more than four years, Sarah will be entering the ranks of the (part time) employed! Way to go! #SMAtuS #findingchildcareisabitch #

Trying really hard to communicate with Max that he can't actually run faster than cars. This is more difficult than you can imagine. #SMAtuS #

@HillaryJacques Hey just because I don't "follow" it, doesn't mean I don't read it! (Thanks RSS!) in reply to HillaryJacques #

@HillaryJacques I'm not going to reply to that on the grounds that I might double entendre myself… That's Constitutional, right? in reply to HillaryJacques #

@HillaryJacques Ah, so you're a "strict constructionist"… in reply to HillaryJacques #

@jessnevins I would buy/read that! in reply to jessnevins #

@legslibrarian Hey, someone's gotta be a cataloger. *chortle* in reply to legslibrarian #

@cruickshank What!? I had no idea! in reply to cruickshank #

@cruickshank Thanks for mentioning it. Not sure I would have heard about it otherwise. in reply to cruickshank #

@liampdx Urine cake thing? in reply to liampdx #

@theatretec Ah, Greece is beautiful. I have such fond memories of my time there. in reply to theatretec #

PRETTIES by Scott Westerfeld. Some pointed YA science fiction. A sequel to UGLIES. #fridayreads #

@theatretec 2006, I think. We went to the islands Santorini, Siphnos, Naxos and Paros. We wandered. Planned our life. Rested. Felt history. in reply to theatretec #

@chowderino Me! Me! :) Awwww. Wanh-wanh…. in reply to chowderino #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-02-27

Big weekend for me and Max. We finished our first computer game together. (The lovely Machinarium) Also, he bit me on the face. Ow! #SMAtuS #

@liampdx That almost seems like more work… But then I had a data entry job typing ISBNs. I'm pretty fast. in reply to liampdx #

@PaulTobin Yes. According to the 1970s NEW ADVENTURES OF BATMAN cartoon… in reply to PaulTobin #

@zahgurim That's when the real fun starts! in reply to zahgurim #

Max is so much fun to watch at his swim class that he has his own fan club. #nojoke #SMAtuS #

Max, of Scrabble: "The blank pieces are too magic." He won't use them. #SMAtuS #

Words Max spelled in Scrabble: Bend, out, ski, don. #hesonlythree #SMAtuS #

@liampdx Don't forget the Man with the Concave Face! in reply to liampdx #

THE LAST BROTHER by Nathacha Appanah & THE TOWER OF MIDNIGHT by R. Jordan & B. Sanderson #fridayreads #

@Tuphlos I don't understand why libraries don't host & lend 100K+ Project Gutenberg DRM-free ebooks themselves to get in the ebook game. in reply to Tuphlos #

@Tuphlos Indeed. My local library does too. But why go through Overdrive to get them? Too much cataloging work to add a record for those? in reply to Tuphlos #

@Tuphlos Ha! I'm not one to talk. I hated my cataloging class! No one can take those ebooks away, though. No need for 21 steps to DL either. in reply to Tuphlos #

@HillaryJacques Speaking of mullets, Max has requested that his next haircut be short in front and long in the back… #wheredidIgowrong in reply to HillaryJacques #

@HillaryJacques Won't be the last time! in reply to HillaryJacques #

@librarythingtim Am still waiting for someone–libraries?–to take advantage of ebook potential in public domain. Show what DRM prevents. in reply to librarythingtim #

Highlight of the day: Alice calling me on the phone, saying hi, and wishing me a good day. #SMAtuS #

@shadalicious Nah. She hasn't figured that out. She is only 1.5 years old. :) She also thinks I can see her waving. #bussheswrong in reply to shadalicious #

@shadalicious Technology has very nearly caught up to what children expect it to do… This *means* something. #ormaybenot in reply to shadalicious #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-02-20

Read this 400+ page book in two days. I don't have a problem. No, really. I could stop anytime. Anytime I want to. #selfdelusion #

@MarsGirl75 Well… ok. Let's go with that theory! in reply to MarsGirl75 #

@HillaryJacques Maybe it's a Klein bottle building? If so, don't get stuck in/outside! in reply to HillaryJacques #

@MarsGirl75 Depends on what you mean by "good". :) I enjoyed it. (THE WARDED MAN) Some interesting ideas. Some troubling plot points. in reply to MarsGirl75 #

@HillaryJacques Oh, you wacky Alaskans, you. With your shantytown bunkhouses and gold panning prospectors! Also, stacks of caps? in reply to HillaryJacques #

@bvanderveen Oh boy, have you ever just tried to open a can of worms! In short: it makes no sense. Never has, but even less so now. in reply to bvanderveen #

@bvanderveen I think that's some of it, but let me break down the madness for you: in reply to bvanderveen #

@bvanderveen 1) Faculty and grad students submit research to peer reviewed articles; 2) Those articles are peer-reviewed by other faculty in reply to bvanderveen #

@bvanderveen 3) The university (pays faculty salaries as well as funding research) then pays for the privilege to access those articles in reply to bvanderveen #

@bvanderveen 4) Most research comes from publicly funded universities 5) Who pays for publicly funded universities? in reply to bvanderveen #

@bvanderveen But there are things like DOAJ, moving things in the right direction: http://www.doaj.org/ in reply to bvanderveen #

@mayormcginn Thank you! in reply to mayormcginn #

@cruickshank Finally, some sanity on this whole tunnel fiasco! in reply to cruickshank #

Alice fell asleep leaning on Max, while they watched Toy Story 2. He: "I thought she was just hugging me." #SMAtuS #

Max: It's silly when she (Alice) doesn't nap, because I'm used to my break with you (Sarah). #SMAtuS #

Max: "I thought Alice would never go to sleep." #SMAtuS #

PUMP SIX AND OTHER STORIES by Paolo Bacigalupi: Post ecological catastrophe SF. Not exactly heart-warming, but good. #fridayreads #

Times are tough, when people are breaking into *our* car. I hope they enjoyed those soggy crackers on the floor. #SMAtuS #

@HillaryJacques The car? Oh yeah. We don't lock the doors. There's nothing of value in there… They couldn't be bothered to take cd deck. in reply to HillaryJacques #

@HillaryJacques In case you're wondering: we leave it unlocked because we'd rather not have broken windows. in reply to HillaryJacques #

Sam Lipsyte – “The Dungeon Master” http://instapaper.com/zkullpo1U // man, what a great D&D game #

The Transformation as Sandbox Syndrome http://instapaper.com/zv7x9exX // sometimes it's helpful to get perspective from the past #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-02-13

Once, putting pants on Max, Alice tickled my feet. I laughed; she laughed; he laughed. Made pants-putting-on tough. No one minded. #SMAtuS #

I guess Alice really likes popcorn. She grabbed a 1 pound* bag of popcorn, ran off with it, and then pigged out. *popcorn is light! #SMAtuS #

According to Max, a "monger moon" is when the moon is full of worms. He talked about other moons, but sadly I don't remember them. #SMAtuS #

Max: "Mom, I love myself… Well, um, is it okay to love myself?" Sarah: "Yes." Max: "Okay." #SMAtuS #

@nfarina Oh, you know we all want you to. :) in reply to nfarina #

Marvel at the Solar System's motion (FLASHy): http://dd.dynamicdiagrams.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/orrery_2006.swf #

Max just called me from a rocket. He had to go; he was landing on a planet. #SMAtuS #TheFutureIsNOW #

@3liza If you prick me, do I not bleed? in reply to 3liza #

"Do robots not be born?" –Max #SMAtuS #

@MarsGirl75 Oh man, there are so many good books that he doesn't know anything about it all! What delights he has in store! in reply to MarsGirl75 #

Alice picked out her own outfit this morning: airplane PJ shirt, halloween candy corn pants, polka dot smart wool socks. #SMAtuS Love it! #

It's official: Max is reading. #SMAtuS #

THE LOST GOSPEL OF JUDAS ISCARIOT by Bart Ehrman: Fascinating. Once a Bible geek, always a Bible geek, I suppose. #fridayreads #

Not content with simply blowing our minds, Max likes spelling words forward and backward. For fun, I guess. (EG, KOOB/BOOK) #SMAtuS #

Done your taxes yet? I hired an accountant and it changed my life! http://on.fb.me/i7GASn #

@anankaf Oh yeah. I used to do that, too. I've been using an accountant for the last 2-3 years. It's a huge difference. in reply to anankaf #

Max and I went out for hot cocoa. We compared mustaches. He got excited about Art, knocked his cocoa on the floor. I love this kid! #SMAtuS #

RT: @tordotcom: In Memory of REDWALL author Brian Jacques: http://bit.ly/dVZXLd He will be missed. // I loved his books as a kid. #

@dloitz Your link doesn't appear to work. Otherwise, I'm so there! :) in reply to dloitz #

Max: How about you give me some grownup clothes and a beard so I can pretend to be a grownup? Please please please? #SMAtuS #

I've effectively been without my idea pipe (iPhone) for ~3 weeks now and I don't really miss it. Not as important to me as I thought? #

@shadalicious I've done that too. :) The difference is that this time it was a deliberate choice on my part. Funny how that works. in reply to shadalicious #

@nfarina Really? Perhaps that's what's been causing the heinous slowdowns on my 3G… Or maybe it's just that it's a 3G… in reply to nfarina #

Max: "4 and 4 and 5 are 13." #SMAtuS All I can say is WOW. I mean, I have trouble adding three numbers together… #

Max (to woman at a bus stop): "I'm Max. It's spelled M-A-X and I'm almost four years old." #SMAtuS #