Deep Thoughts

Hi,

When Ancient Mayans were in a meeting, did they doodle alpha-numeric characters in the margins of their notes?

later
Tom

Deep Thoughts

Hi,

When Ancient Mayans were in a meeting, did they doodle alpha-numeric characters in the margins of their notes?

later
Tom

Because Addition is Commutative

Hi,

So you know how Sesame Street has those foam numbers that move around and interact with people/muppets? Yeah, in my dream last night they were all over the place. Sort of like numeric pokemon. The best part was that instantaneous, fully-formed dream-logic that said when two numbers love each other very much, genetic (numeric?) diversity was ensured via semi-randomized arithmetical reproductive operation. Normally, the kid would be the result of addition or multiplication. As each successive generation got larger, subtraction and division came into play -- especially as the difference between the two numbers increased. Division would only occur when the result would be a whole number.

I had a 7, but it left me to join another 7 being raised by wild dogs. *shrug* It's a dream.

later
Tom

Because Addition is Commutative

Hi,

So you know how Sesame Street has those foam numbers that move around and interact with people/muppets? Yeah, in my dream last night they were all over the place. Sort of like numeric pokemon. The best part was that instantaneous, fully-formed dream-logic that said when two numbers love each other very much, genetic (numeric?) diversity was ensured via semi-randomized arithmetical reproductive operation. Normally, the kid would be the result of addition or multiplication. As each successive generation got larger, subtraction and division came into play -- especially as the difference between the two numbers increased. Division would only occur when the result would be a whole number.

I had a 7, but it left me to join another 7 being raised by wild dogs. *shrug* It's a dream.

later
Tom

Reading Review Round-Up

Hi,

So here's what I read this year (in reverse chronological order):

1. Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton
2. Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was by Aglica Gorodischer and translated by Ursula K. LeGuin
3. Cavaliers and Roundheads: The English at War 1642-1649 by Christopher Hibbert
4. Dark Space: The Sentients of Orion Book 1 by Marianne de Pierres
5. Mostly True by Bill Daniel
6. Paddy Griffith's Napoleonic Wargaming for Fun by Paddy Griffith
7. Emissaries from the Dead by Adam-Troy Casto
8. Hymn Before Battle by John Ringo
9. Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
10. The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington
11. Trader to the Stars by Poul Anderson
12. Madness of Flowers by Jay Lake
13. Desolation Road by Ian McDonald
14. Anathem by Neal Stevenson
15. Accelerando by Charles Stross
16. Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson
17. The Quiet War by Paul J. McAuley
18. Blood of the Mantis by Adrian Tchaikovsky
19. The Drowning City by Amanda Downum
20. Songs of the Dying Earth edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
21. Singularity's Ring by Paul Melko
22. The Lees of Laughter's End by Steven Erikson
23. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard
24. Laugh Lines: Short Comic Plays edited by Eric Lane and Nina Shengold
25. True Hallucinations by Terence McKenna
26. The Lost City of Z: A tale of deadly obsession in the amazon by David Grann
27. Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding
28. Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
29. Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton
30. The Sunless Countries by Karl Schroeder
31. A Sailor of Austria: In Which, Without Really Intending to, Otto Prohaska Becomes Official War Hero No. 27 of the Habsburg Empire by John Biggins
32. Courtship Rites by Donald Kingsbury
33. Grand Conjunction by Sean Williams
34. The Bloody White Baron by James Palmer
35. The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime: Con Artists, Burglars, Rogues, and Scoundrels from the Time of Sherlock Holmes edited by Michael Sims
36. The Man with the Golden Torc by Simon R. Green
37. Dragonfly Falling by Adrian Tchaikovsky
38. House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
39. My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk translated by Erdag M. Goknar
40. The Crown Conspiracy by Michael J. Sullivan
41. Drood by Dan Simmons
42. The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan
43. Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle by Daniel L. Everett
44. Charlatan: America's most dangerous huckster, the man who pursued him and the age of flimflam by Pope Brock
45. Liberation: Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America by Brian Slattery
46. The Five Ages of the Universe: Inside the Physics of Eternity by Fred C. Adams and Greg Laughlin
47. January Dancer by Michael Flynn
48. City of Thieves by David Benioff
49. The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez
50. Other Worlds, Better Lives by Howard Waldrop
51. The Great Planet Robbery by Craig DiLouie

So not quite 1 book per week. There was also a bunch of comics and graphic novels in there so I think it was a respectable year. I feel like my reading this year had a fair amount of diversity. I read non-fiction books, I read a couple of anthologies, I read some plays, I read books by women and books by foreign authors (i.e. not originally written in English). I'm not sure if I read anything by a POC (but I might) and I know I didn't read much in the way of poetry, but overall not too shabby.

My Top Books for 2009:

1. Courtship Rites by Donald Kingsbury -- I'll admit that the various themes in this book really resonate with me and it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I found this to be an extraordinary book. It's out of print and I'm very glad I snagged a copy.
   
2. Anathem by Neal Stevenson -- Monk-punk is another niche theme for me, but Stevenson really nails it here. Plus, mathematical proofs in the appendices, what more could you want?
   
3. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard -- A necromancer makes a deal with the devil, decides it wasn't worth it, tries to get his soul back. Johannes is a fantastic character in a wonderful story and it's a real treat to read.
   
4. House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds -- Every 200,000 years the 1,000 clones of the Gentian line get together to talk about all the things they've seen and done on their galactic tours since the last time. Campion and Purslane are running late. When they arrive at the site of the party, they find that their siblings have been wiped out by an unknown enemy using fobidden weapons. Reynolds always does a good job with slower-than-light sci-fi and this is a great example.
   

Honorable Mentions:

• January Dancer by Michael Flynn
  
• My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk translated by Erdag M. Goknar
  
• Drood by Dan Simmons
  
• The Sunless Countries by Karl Schroeder
  

Overall it was a pretty good year for books
Tom

Reading Review Round-Up

Hi,

So here's what I read this year (in reverse chronological order):

1. Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton
2. Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was by Aglica Gorodischer and translated by Ursula K. LeGuin
3. Cavaliers and Roundheads: The English at War 1642-1649 by Christopher Hibbert
4. Dark Space: The Sentients of Orion Book 1 by Marianne de Pierres
5. Mostly True by Bill Daniel
6. Paddy Griffith's Napoleonic Wargaming for Fun by Paddy Griffith
7. Emissaries from the Dead by Adam-Troy Casto
8. Hymn Before Battle by John Ringo
9. Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
10. The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington
11. Trader to the Stars by Poul Anderson
12. Madness of Flowers by Jay Lake
13. Desolation Road by Ian McDonald
14. Anathem by Neal Stevenson
15. Accelerando by Charles Stross
16. Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson
17. The Quiet War by Paul J. McAuley
18. Blood of the Mantis by Adrian Tchaikovsky
19. The Drowning City by Amanda Downum
20. Songs of the Dying Earth edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
21. Singularity's Ring by Paul Melko
22. The Lees of Laughter's End by Steven Erikson
23. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard
24. Laugh Lines: Short Comic Plays edited by Eric Lane and Nina Shengold
25. True Hallucinations by Terence McKenna
26. The Lost City of Z: A tale of deadly obsession in the amazon by David Grann
27. Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding
28. Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
29. Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton
30. The Sunless Countries by Karl Schroeder
31. A Sailor of Austria: In Which, Without Really Intending to, Otto Prohaska Becomes Official War Hero No. 27 of the Habsburg Empire by John Biggins
32. Courtship Rites by Donald Kingsbury
33. Grand Conjunction by Sean Williams
34. The Bloody White Baron by James Palmer
35. The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime: Con Artists, Burglars, Rogues, and Scoundrels from the Time of Sherlock Holmes edited by Michael Sims
36. The Man with the Golden Torc by Simon R. Green
37. Dragonfly Falling by Adrian Tchaikovsky
38. House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
39. My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk translated by Erdag M. Goknar
40. The Crown Conspiracy by Michael J. Sullivan
41. Drood by Dan Simmons
42. The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan
43. Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle by Daniel L. Everett
44. Charlatan: America's most dangerous huckster, the man who pursued him and the age of flimflam by Pope Brock
45. Liberation: Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America by Brian Slattery
46. The Five Ages of the Universe: Inside the Physics of Eternity by Fred C. Adams and Greg Laughlin
47. January Dancer by Michael Flynn
48. City of Thieves by David Benioff
49. The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez
50. Other Worlds, Better Lives by Howard Waldrop
51. The Great Planet Robbery by Craig DiLouie

So not quite 1 book per week. There was also a bunch of comics and graphic novels in there so I think it was a respectable year. I feel like my reading this year had a fair amount of diversity. I read non-fiction books, I read a couple of anthologies, I read some plays, I read books by women and books by foreign authors (i.e. not originally written in English). I'm not sure if I read anything by a POC (but I might) and I know I didn't read much in the way of poetry, but overall not too shabby.

My Top Books for 2009:

1. Courtship Rites by Donald Kingsbury -- I'll admit that the various themes in this book really resonate with me and it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I found this to be an extraordinary book. It's out of print and I'm very glad I snagged a copy.
   
2. Anathem by Neal Stevenson -- Monk-punk is another niche theme for me, but Stevenson really nails it here. Plus, mathematical proofs in the appendices, what more could you want?
   
3. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard -- A necromancer makes a deal with the devil, decides it wasn't worth it, tries to get his soul back. Johannes is a fantastic character in a wonderful story and it's a real treat to read.
   
4. House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds -- Every 200,000 years the 1,000 clones of the Gentian line get together to talk about all the things they've seen and done on their galactic tours since the last time. Campion and Purslane are running late. When they arrive at the site of the party, they find that their siblings have been wiped out by an unknown enemy using fobidden weapons. Reynolds always does a good job with slower-than-light sci-fi and this is a great example.
   

Honorable Mentions:

• January Dancer by Michael Flynn
  
• My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk translated by Erdag M. Goknar
  
• Drood by Dan Simmons
  
• The Sunless Countries by Karl Schroeder
  

Overall it was a pretty good year for books
Tom