February 05, 2003
One of those days
Ever have a day that you're feeling just great? Today.
Yesterday I went for a couple hour bike ride on my girl's bike. The rear axle seized briefly (I shot what was left my 1,99 &euro chain lubricant into it), the chain rings are so worn that I experience chainsuck. I thought after these two things happened the bike wouldn't make it home, but it did. I've scrubbed the chain out with a toothbrush and put more lubricant in and it seems to be happier. Now if only the brakes worked...
The ride yesterday reminded of Erik. He went to the most recent Critical Mass in NYC. Maybe I should get one going here....I spent much of my ride fighting traffic, pedestrians, and trams. We have bike lanes in a lot of places, but not downtown...and besides most people don't respect the bike lanes (cars drive in them, people walk in them). Yesterday I felt like I was the only person who looks both ways before crossing a bike lane. I've been doing that since I almost got run down my first day here back in September :).
So I came home from my ride, ate a frozen pizza dinner, finished folding my laundry, and went to bed. At about 8pm. I woke up this morning at 7am. Guess my first class of today is cancelled too, so I'm going back to sleep. I've really needed it -- have only been sleeping ~4 hours a night.
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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