September 02, 2002
Back in the thick
So Annie left New Jersey on Sunday afternoon, an afternoon of rain and boredom and nostalgia and all those things. I wanted to go climbing or sailing or something, but the weather sucked too much to do anything but drive my "new" car (1991 Subary Legacy wagon).
But....Sunday did let me see some people.
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| Steph Raible |
Steph and I grabbed some coffee at Starbucks (hiss, boo, evil) and gabbed about where our lives are going. We try to do this several times a year, but we usually only end up getting together about every 6 months. Cool to see where she's going with her life, she's a person I probably will never lose touch with.
After that, I went to Kat's, and immediately left to get a birthday cake for her mother. Then I ran into more people.
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| Lauay!!! |
While out with Cliff and some other kid that I forget the name of, we ran into Lauie at the Acme. Then I went driving with Lauie to try and get Kat's mom some birthday presents. It didn't work, but we ran into more people at WalMart.
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| The Mroczkowski Brothers, Matt (L) and Andy (R) |
I probably have never written about the Mroczkowski clan before in my journal. Andy was a good friend when I was a socially inept high school weenie (as opposed to now, when I'm a socially inept grad school weenie, but ohwell). As much as I disagree with his religion, I am grateful for knowing him, because he introduced religious ideas to me and that made me more of a scientist, and better able to stand up for my beliefs. Oh yeah, and he has a walrus rib over the door to his house.
Well, the party went off all right, I went home kinda earlyish to sleep some, and ended up oversleeping. So I hit the road in my new car, said goodbye to both my parents and even my brother (rare that I say goodbye to people, maybe I'm becoming more responsible?).
While on the highway, I got a tasty treat.
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| Yum |
Galati is a very tasty treat, and I've been trying to find it for weeks, but none can be had in Syracuse (you can always let me know if you know where to get some). I guess German lacks all things frozen....
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Further back...
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Previous Trips...
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Hiking Mount Whitney, 2007 
Spring Break in West Virginia, 2005
New Year's in Paris, 2003-2004
Coming to America, 2003
Protesting in Berlin, 2003
Prague Bier-Tour, 2002
Dresden, 2002
Recent Reading
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Stealing the Network
I first bumped into the Stealing the Network series when reading the exploits of Joe Grand, one of the book's many hacker authors.
The 'Stealing the ...' series of books follows a rather disparate group of computer hackers as they help a former NSA spook (many of them unwittingly) gather the money he needs to retire.
The stories themselves are not fantastic fiction. The writing is uneven and choppy, the characters are stereotypical and not very well thought-out. What is fascinating about this book series is the technical accuracy of the exploits (at some points *too* accurate, with screen shots and step-by-step instructions).
It's a great series to read if you're a system administrator, or just getting into the wonderful field of computer security.
Rated 
by reid
on March 06, 2011
by reid
on March 06, 2011
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Close to the Machine
Ellen Ullman is one of those authors that somehow avoided my radar. Until now...
Close to the Machine is less a book than a collection of loosely related personal anecdotes from Ellen's time as a very rare thing -- a successful female bisexual independent computer programming consultant.
In the course of her work and relationship life, she learns hard lessons about programming, running a business, being lonely, and loving the wrong people. I found it particularly poignant being a crypto-nerd with difficult times in relationships and a more-or-less NDA'd, secret work life.
This book is a must-read for anyone into running their own business, programming, or anyone dating a person that is a business-a-holic or programmer.
Rated 
by reid
on November 23, 2009
by reid
on November 23, 2009
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The Long Trip Home
I had the joy of dining with the author in Florida. We went to a little Brazilian BBQ where he spoke with our waitstaff in (what I can only assume was) flawless Portugese.
Brian Wyllie spent 1969-1971 living in Brazil working for the Peace Corps. His recent book outlines his trip back to the United States via Bolivia, Peru, and the Carribean chain, by way of bus, train, and sailboat. The format comes spattered with observations from the modern day, and makes me think, "this must be what John McPhee's journal looks like."
The trip sounded like a fantastic one, but I was left wanting more detail...where did the gun (being snuck through customs in a variety of places, no doubt) come from? And how did Geneve's hair smell? Alas, we'll have to wait for another book to find the answers.
Rated by reid
on April 16, 2009
by reid
on April 16, 2009