The Read 52 books goal is done over a couple months early. The last couple years, I read over 21,000 pages and at this point have read 18,027. Guess this means selecting shorter books helped me hit the number easier. It also means I should get in another 3,000 pages before the end of the year…
Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe by Simon Singh My rating: 4 of 5 stars This one falls along the lines of the Elegant Universe as a history of science. Going back to Greek philosophers and moving through developments in understanding the Universe, Singh explains the findings and the contemporary reactions. And also how…
This passage comes from the book Big Bang. [George] Gamow was infamous for his limericks and his sometimes offbeat application of physics. On one occasion, he argued God lived 9.5 light years from the Earth. This estimate  relied on the fact that in 1904, at the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, churches across Russia had…
One of the many times at the beach as a teen, I recall a horseshoe crab and something blue on the sand near it. Years later I learned their blood is blue. Our blood is red due to hemoglobin which contains iron. Iron binds with oxygen to make rust. Rust is red. So our blood…
I found 50 Experiences of Racially Mixed people (PDF) interesting. That Americans consider race to be a singular identity makes sense. Claiming to be biracial or multiracial makes no sense in that paradigm. The experiences listed were very familiar. Number 28, “You have been mistaken for another person of mixed heritage who does not resemble you,” brought…
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple My rating: 4 of 5 stars The format is a form I enjoy: A collection of emails, letters, and notes. They form the clues as to why Bernadette disappeared. Microsoft corporate culture and its effect on Seattle prominently features in the story. Work recently gave us little glass…
Today the United States Government went into a partial shutdown. Also, I happened to have lunch with employees of the Georgia State Archives. (The past couple weeks I have worked on helping with working out the kinks of their move to the Board of Regents information technology infrastructure.) The restaurant where we ate appeared to…
Read 52 books. Today, at 3/4 through the year, I should be at 39 books read. I am at 48. (Got to 39 books on Jul 25, 2013.) Just current four I am reading will complete the goal for the year. Of course, I will keep reading because that is what I do. Post 180 blog entries. Today…