Rants, Raves, and Rhetoric v4

Category: Books / Novels / Writing

  • Resolution Progress 2012: End

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    Today is the last day of the year, so where am I with those 2012 goals? Reading goals should be at 100%: Complete unfinished novel series. 23.1 of 28 done or 82.5%. So I missed. American History and Decision Making. 10 of 10 done or 100%. So done. Science. 13 of 13 done or 100%. So done. Read 50 books. I have read…

  • 2012 Reading List

    I had three reading goals: Complete unfinished novel series. A Song of Ice and Fire DONE — A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) — George R.R. Martin DONE — A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2) — George R.R. Martin DONE — A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3) — George R.R. Martin DONE — A…

  • Resolution Progress 2012: Third Quarter

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    Today is the 274th day or third-quarter of the year, so where am I with those goals? Reading goals should be at 75%: Complete unfinished novel series. 21.6 of 28 done or 77%. So slightly ahead. American History and Decision Making. 7.5 of 10 done or 75%. Should be 7.5. Science. 10 of 13 done or 76%. So slightly ahead.…

  • TED Talk: Steven Pinker: The surprising decline in violence

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    Wow, not sure why I have not posted this one yet. In college, I was one of four students who showed up to the showing of a video of Pinker talking about his book How the Mind Works. It reinforced for me Psychology was a good choice for me. So this talk on decline in…

  • TED Talk: What we learned from 5 million books

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    Google Labs’ Ngram Viewer lets us look at the use of phrases over time. For example, my name, Ezra, appears to have been most popular usage peaks back in the 1600s and 1700s, but has been more consistently used since the 1800s. This kind of thing can get me lost for hours at a time.…

  • Metaphors and Plot

    Shortly after yesterday’s Spoilers post, I ran across this on Tumblr. In case the photo below disappears or gets blocked, it says: I’m more interested in the symbols and metaphors in a novel than the actual plot. Maybe this is why I am so bad at spoiling things. The events are not so important as…

  • Spoilers

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    Sports: I bought my first DVR specifically to record the 2006 World Cup games while at work. I was in my first few months and did not feel like I could afford to take off work to catch all the games I desired. For the 2010, I tuned out of Facebook because I knew lots of…

  • Goodreads Context Menu Search

    At some point when I am not too lazy, I should empower my future laziness. I really need an easier way to look up books on Goodreads when I see them mentioned on other pages. For example, say I go to BBC’s Big Read and want to add some to my wish list. At present I…

  • Resolution Progress 2012: Second Quarter

    Today is the 183rd day or midpoint of the year, so where am I with those goals? Reading goals should be at 50%: Complete unfinished novel series. 13 of 27 done. That is 48%. So I am a little behind. American History and Decision Making. 4 of 10 done. That is 40%. So I am a little behind. Science. 6…