October 26, 2003
Happy Halloween
Saturday meant Halloween party at the Red House. The Red House is an artsy little shithole of a red house right near campus. Their parties are always exquisite...two years ago I walked in the door to my first Red House party (also on Halloween) and was propositioned not five minutes in the door. This year was no exception to the free love rule. I met an old friend who couldn't keep her hands off my chest hair, this time cooing how she would be coming back to campus in the Spring, and that we need to, er, 'hang out.'
I also met up with the other Adjunct Anizer, James Howison. He was there with his girlfriend. Very cute couple...
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| James and Ankeen |
I spent quite a bit of time hanging out with James/Ankeen and some beer, and also with my group of fly girls.
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| Morgan, Sarah, Pat, and Megan |
I should probably mention my costume for the evening was a mini-skirt, fishnets, a very Rocky Horror corset, and a lady-of-the-night jacket. I also wore a blonde wig reminscent of Julia Roberts' in Pretty Woman. Yes, I was a working girl.
The interesting bit of this anecdote was that we went to Darwin's, a shitty little bar on the SU hill. First time I've ever been to a bar near campus, and likely the last. It reminded me just how conservative this town is, even the college students.
Not five minutes in the door of Darwin's, I had a fine freshman gentleman questioning me as to why I was dressed the way I was. The particulars of the conversation are lost on me, but I do recall him saying, "What are you, a fucking faggot?"
I ignored him as coolly as I could. In a sense, it was quite humorous. Picture a drunk punk saying that to me when I have one girl (Kate) handcuffed to me and another (Lenore) hanging on my other arm. Still it took a little force of will to keep myself from punching him in the balls.
Lessons of the evening? Red House = good. Syracuse = bad.
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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