June 09, 2003
An Intorvert's Weekend
My mum and Jack came into town for a visit, and to go to a wedding. Unfortunately it rained most of the time Thursday/Friday, so not much getting outside. That, and I'm avoiding buying anything but food, so it amounted to a very lazy couple of days.
I watched Donnie Darko on Saturday, after a bit of a bike ride. It's very bizarre. I might describe it as American Beauty meets Owl Creek Bridge. I could provide further analysis but it is one of those sorts of movies that questions...well, I'll stop myself from rambling.
I went out to my new coffeehouse on Saturday night. I sat around and finished one of my books, sipping chai and listening to a large group talk about plans to visit Italy. They wanted Euro coins. They wanted to know what to do with their luggage once they got there. I suppose I could have told them all about these things, but I was happier with listening. Yes, it's been an introverted weekend. On the plus side, the Coffee Pavillion is a pretty smoke-free less crowded place, and the people there seem to be happy having some weird-looking bookworm living in the corner. So I'll probably make a usual thing out of it.
Sunday was bike riding, bike riding, bike riding. I made it down to Fabius and back by way of Apulia Road and route 91 (round trip somewhere around 50 miles). Not bad for 3 hours on a mountain bike. It made my heart feel good, and released some endorphines which act in opposition to whatever hormones your body releases when you wander back to the, "Am I alive?" question.
Anyway enough existential crises for one night. I'm going to bed.
| TrackBackPost a comment
Further back...
ArchivesFriends and Family
Search
Previous Trips...
-
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
![]()
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
![]()
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
![]()
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