October 06, 2003
Things You Never Knew...
Another issue of "Things you never knew about Reid..."
Kat and my ex-girlfriend have a big thing in common. Often when I would be non-talkative, they'd ask what I was thinking. I would answer, "Nothing." Neither would believe me. I guess I should confess that they were both right.
Last night I walked outside in the 30something degree air that is Syracuse this time of year. I thought what I always thought when I walk outside, but I stuck with the thought process a little longer. "The sky is up. That's space. But what's really up? I'm looking toward/away from the sun (depending on time of day), while moving around it."
I decided to run with the idea. I have decided that the definitions of up, down, top, bottom, to the side of, and other such things are really aspecific. Better defintions might be, "the part furthest from the gravity well" (top, up), "the part nearest the gravity well" (bottom). You get the idea.
But the definition needs more refinement. After all, there are a lot of gravity wells in the universe, and they're all influencing everything else if they are within the same light cone. So how about "the part furthest from the gravity well with the strongest influence" (top, up).
That won't do, either. What if that part is actually closer to another, more massive object than its other side? "The part furthest from the gravity well, X, with the strongest influence, such that that part is still influenced most strongly by gravity well X."
Yes, that definition will do nicely.
I've gotten on this recent kick of defining technical things with more precision after a late-night conversation with my cousin last week. We were trying to define the word, "word." (n, "The act of making verbal communication"). Then looking up the definition of "verbal" (adj, "of, relating to, or consisting of words"). If we put together the definitions by simple substitution, the definition of "word" is "The act of making communication of, relating to, or consisting of the act of making communication of, relating to, or consisting of the act..."
Alternatively we can define word (n, "Something that is said"). Said, the past form of Say (v, "To express in words"). Combined, we get "Something that is expressed in something that is expressed in something that is expressed in..."
Rats. So, basically, it's a term that can't be defined. I've been looking for other technical definitions that fit into this sort of category. I guess it's my new, er, hobby.
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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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The Curve of Binding Energy
John McPhee follows famous physicist Ted Taylor in this piece that was -- and probably still -- ahead of its time.
Originally published in 1973, McPhee outlined the coming security and environmental issues surrounding the plutonium enrichment processes. For the most part, though, McPhee invites the reader to draw his or her own conclusions, although he does point out the ease with which any number of people could obtain the material (though not necessarily the manufacturing prowess) to make an atomic weapon.
The question still sits in my mind after reading -- are we being too paranoid, or not paranoid enough?
Rated 
by reid
on October 01, 2007
by reid
on October 01, 2007
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Zodiac
Zodiac touts itself as an 'eco-thriller,' and it is just that. Told from the first-person perspective of ST (or Sangamon Taylor), the book recounts a roughly six-month period of his life busting big corporations for violating environmental laws.
Not the tree-hugging political activist type, ST is equipped with chem labs, scuba divers, maps, and an organization (GEE International, the Group of Environmental Extremists) that masterfully brings the press into the fold to scare the public with the very real dangers posed by illegal dumping. It's sort of a Sierra Club member's wet dream -- a band of ecowarriors that actually get things done.
ST finds something odd happening in Boston Harbor during his tale: a new form of pollution that could poison everyone on the planet in a matter of weeks. His quest to uncover exactly who and what is causing the latest spike in toxins goes all the way up to the President of the United States, and could end up costing him his own life.
While a neat and fast-paced tale, the novel drags on a bit toward the end, begging disbelief from even the most forgiving sci-fi folk. While not as good as his latest offerings, it's still a great read for those that enjoy a good Stephenson novel (or even those who don't).
Rated 
by reid
on July 17, 2005
by reid
on July 17, 2005
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Cat's Cradle
A few years ago, I attempted to woo an online datee, and she immediately criticized me for my politics. I protested the war on Iraq, which was "a shame." She defended her position of complete noninvolvement by standing behind Vonnegut.
It may seem odd to open a review that way. My assumption is now not that she was an idiot, but that she had only read Cat's Cradle, and only with a rather odd viewpoint.
Cat's Cradle looks at a cold-war world where the personifications of religious, political, and scientific single-mindedness collide to destroy the world.
Vonnegut tells a masterful tale, but it makes me wonder what one person's indifference would do to prevent us from all dying? So for now I will continue to unblindly stop unjust wars, even while I'm only reading.
Rated by reid
on July 17, 2005
by reid
on July 17, 2005