December 15, 2003
Neither let it burn too bright...
You know you're getting snow when you live in Syracuse and there's a severe weather alert for "Heavy snowfall". We're at 12" and it shows little sign of letting up.
The only trouble from all this is a -10C chill outside, coupled with the last of the firewood being in the woodstove, presently on its last coals. Assuming I can't go pick up this cord of wood in the next few days, it is going to be a very cold apartment indeed.
In the meantime, I've been shaking off the last vestiges of what Kei and I have termed the "man period." I think this one supercedes my previous definition...it's this sort of funk that guys spiral into when they haven't gotten laid in 3 months, and seems to be cyclic in that it crops up right at those intervals.
To combat the effects, you need endorphines. So I went for a walk. Ran into one other brave soul on the streets, and we simultaneously said, "Nice night for a walk," to each other in passing.
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| Or sledding |
It was a nice night for a walk, or whatever other outdoor activity you prescribe to. There were lots of folks snowboarding and sledding down the hills by Crouse Hall. Most people swipe trays from the dormitory cafeterias and use them as downhill friction-reducing devices.
I decided to make the walk a lot lot longer.
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| Once again |
Here we have my ever-so-popular South Campus shot. We've seen it a few times before.
In order to get up to the water towers this time, I had to hike the access road which was covered up snowdrift up to my waste in most place. It took me a half hour just to go up the 1/4-mile access road...we won't even talk about the trails.
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| Sweet-looking stairs |
I did a little more exploring after the South Campus shot, trailblazing through the woods around the water towers. I stumbled upon these neat-looking stairs. They don't really serve any purpose that I can tell, unless the plan for this place was to make it into a city park.
In all, it was a hike of just under 5k, and it took 3 hours. The roads all had a foot of snow...walking was not easy anywhere. Even the 4-wheel drive beasts were having trouble.
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| The morning after |
I think there's a car buried under there somewhere. Today is digging out day. Also the day that I polished off my final papers. Time to party hardy I guess.
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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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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