Category Archives: Books

The suboptimal way to read a book

I’m about halfway through reading Digital Diploma Mills: The Automation of Higher Education by David F. Noble, a book recommended to me by a fellow student. It is a scathing critique of the trend of universities viewing education as a … Continue reading

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Videodrome revisited?

On Boing Boing, Cory Doctorow writes about the novel The Execution Channel by Ken Macleod, a thriller that includes as a plot element an internet video feed of people being tortured and killed. No one knows where the signal originates. … Continue reading

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God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut

R.I.P. Kurt Vonnegut Jr., 11 November 1922 — 11April 2007. He’s up in heaven now. From “God Bless You Dr. Kevorkian”: I am honorary president of the American Humanist Association, having succeeded the late, great, spectacularly prolific writer and scientist, … Continue reading

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Math courses, probability theory, abstract algebra, The Equation That Couldn’t Be Solved

Tom Harrison in his blog Monday Evening was kind enough to recognize a second grade teacher and me for our accomplishments in our mathematics courses. I enjoyed Linear Algebra very much, which is a good thing since if I am … Continue reading

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R.I.P. John Morressy, 8 December 1930 — 20 March 2006

John Morressy, author and retired english professor, was perhaps best known for his stories of the wizard Kedrigern. Hardly a month went by without one of his short stories appearing in F&SF or other magazines.

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

When I was in the second grade or thereabouts, the teacher read us “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl in installments after lunch. I loved the book, and was delighted by the first film adaptation, Willy Wonka and … Continue reading

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A very scary dream on Halloween morning

This morning I awakened from a horrible nightmare. Perhaps somewhat apropos for Halloween. But the dream didn’t involve vampires, wiches, or ghosts. It was about Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). I dreamt that I went into a bookstore to browse. I … Continue reading

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Sir Apropos of Nothing; Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive Fiction

I just read Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David, a comedic fantasy. It was quite entertaining. There are a few puns, but not a non-stop stream of them like a Xanth novel. The paperback includes a teaser for the … Continue reading

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The Elder Gods; Lyra’s Oxford

Started reading “The Elder Gods” by David and Leigh Eddings. I really liked their Belgariad and Mallorean series. I’m only 1/3 of the way into this one, and am not yet convinced that I like it as well, although it … Continue reading

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The Elder Gods; Monster

I purchased the new book “The Elder Gods” (The Dreamers, Book 1) by David and Leigh Eddings last night at Borders. The Eddings’ have been my favorite fantasy authors ever since I read “Pawn of Prophecy” (book 1 of the … Continue reading

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