February 15, 2007
Bike Jamming
I moved recently to a new part of San Diego -- much closer to downtown. I'm living with a crazy smart developer for Sony Corp (insert jokes about proprietary house keys here...seriously, the keys to our condo are smartcard chips with some kind of custom interface that I'm going to have to hit with the digital logic probe).
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| A slightly longer commute, not that I mind |
I now live in Cortez Hill (instead of Point Loma). It adds about five miles to my bicycle commute. I'm actually loving the extra time in the saddle, though...a large portion of the extra mileage is on a bicycle path that runs between the highway and the bay. Dodging joggers (some with dogs) and the occasional bicycle commuter is a lot less stressful than dodging cars for the whole ride.
The new roommate is pretty nifty, too, and has what I would call a cadre of nerdy friends. Government work is always a little strange in that regard -- most of the people that I've worked with are 20 years older than I, married with children, etc. I, on the other hand, am in a long-distance relationship with my life partner (we could get married, sure, but neither of us really believe in that particular institution anymore), and the only argument we've ever had is whether the tofu stirfry needs a drop of habanero pepper sauce, or if we should give it the smokier flavour of salsa taquera (hint: they're both good). In short, knowing some people from my demographic is pretty nifty.
The exercise is good, too...the last two months haven't seen very much saddle time, with a lot of out-of-town visitors, then moving, then finally getting the dreaded flu. My commute takes about 40 minutes each way now. Kind of funny when I think about it...this time last year I was living in Syracuse, NY, and commuting to Rome. That commute took about 50 minutes -- of driving. I much prefer the current scenario for a lot of reasons.
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| Your moment of Zen: The ride home |
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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