Murder and Inquisition in the Abbey, and Other Things of Varying Importance
My computer's power cord is borked. I suspect broken wires near where the cord plugs into the laptop; the computer randomly shuts down (virus, spyware, and adware checks all come back clean so far), and the cord has a small spot near the laptop plug that is very warm - hot, in fact. So, currently, running my laptop is a fire hazard. For the time being, I'll use my account on Jeff's computer and hope that my dad can fix the cord. or perhaps we can procur a new one. I guess we'll see.
Other than that, I'm about 99% sure that I'm going to be a farmer. I don't know what Dad thinks of the idea, or anything like that...but I still haven't had any other calls for job interviews (except for the creepy, unsoliciated one) and it's been 5 months of looking. I have a few ideas for ways the farm could, maybe, generate extra income, but nothing concrete yet. Anyways, he wants to discuss the idea and such either after he's done seeding or the next time he comes to the city. I'll know better after that what I think about things.
Meanwhile, lol, I typed the above paragraphs yesterday, but did not post them because I forgot how to work on a Debian computer. :D Luckily for me, in this instance the "autosave draft" dodad worked, in conjunction with the "restore previous browser session" function.
So, this has been a mostly computer-free weekend for me. It's been only slightly productive, I have to say, however, I began Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose late Friday night, and made it more than halfway through yesterday, and today have very nearly finished (probably will be done it early enough that I can take another hour walk as the sun sets). Geek that I am, I have been taking notes, in an attempt, likely in vain, to discern the identity of the murderer in the abbey - fun stuff. And now I see why the strongest recommenders of this work, in my experience, have been professors of Philosophy. The Name of the Rose is absolutely riddled with the use, abuse, and innovation of propositional logic, which is one of the most used tools of philosophers - at least of ancient and less ancient, but not yet modern philosophers.
Speaking of philosophers, it's interesting that Jeff is reading Neil Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle. I believe he is somewhere in the book entitled Junta which is in the second volume. Characters who frequently appear, or are mentioned include such folks as Isaac Newton and Henri Leibniz. (The same Leibniz whom I mentioned last fall semester, he of the radically, insanely encapsulated Monad.) I find it highly amusing that both of us are reading such philosophy-laden works at similar times. although, his also has matters of commerce, and mathematics (the creation of algebra and calculus *gasp*) and pirates ("Aargh!") and other fun scallywag type things.
Now, if I wish to finish The Name of the Rose in a timely fashion to go for my planned walk, I should get myself a drink and go back out to the deck to read. On the other hand, I could dawdle and play here...and thus prolong the time of my reading...putting off the end for another day. I could, in fact, look up many of the Latin phrases that have been used, as I have no idea what they say, and only know (from my linguistics class) how they should be pronounced. o.O
And I really ought to mention how odd it is to read off of a conventional monitor because I am so used to reading off of my laptop monitor, which is easier on the eyes, though less easy than reading off of paper in a book. Related, yet not by much: Using Epiphany is also unusual after using Firefox for well over two years. I'm somewhat lost without all my extensions and add-ons like StumbleUpon, FlashBlock, FoxyTunes, my search engine bar (with Google, Wiki, the Food Network, and many others), and also my torrent search engine bar. One nice thing about using Jeff's computer - I can play with a mail client that isn't Outlook (which, without trying, I can break very easily) and I can play Gnometris (open source Tetris clone). This is also good practice at refamiliarizing myself with Debian, as Jeff is threateningoffering to set me up a Debian computer from among the pieces of his computer graveyard.
And now, at last, thirst - both for drink and for the satisfaction of my curiosity - bid me leave you all, so that I may get something cold to drink while I try to beat William of Baskerville and young Adso to solving the mystery behind the murders at the abbey.
Other than that, I'm about 99% sure that I'm going to be a farmer. I don't know what Dad thinks of the idea, or anything like that...but I still haven't had any other calls for job interviews (except for the creepy, unsoliciated one) and it's been 5 months of looking. I have a few ideas for ways the farm could, maybe, generate extra income, but nothing concrete yet. Anyways, he wants to discuss the idea and such either after he's done seeding or the next time he comes to the city. I'll know better after that what I think about things.
Meanwhile, lol, I typed the above paragraphs yesterday, but did not post them because I forgot how to work on a Debian computer. :D Luckily for me, in this instance the "autosave draft" dodad worked, in conjunction with the "restore previous browser session" function.
So, this has been a mostly computer-free weekend for me. It's been only slightly productive, I have to say, however, I began Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose late Friday night, and made it more than halfway through yesterday, and today have very nearly finished (probably will be done it early enough that I can take another hour walk as the sun sets). Geek that I am, I have been taking notes, in an attempt, likely in vain, to discern the identity of the murderer in the abbey - fun stuff. And now I see why the strongest recommenders of this work, in my experience, have been professors of Philosophy. The Name of the Rose is absolutely riddled with the use, abuse, and innovation of propositional logic, which is one of the most used tools of philosophers - at least of ancient and less ancient, but not yet modern philosophers.
Speaking of philosophers, it's interesting that Jeff is reading Neil Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle. I believe he is somewhere in the book entitled Junta which is in the second volume. Characters who frequently appear, or are mentioned include such folks as Isaac Newton and Henri Leibniz. (The same Leibniz whom I mentioned last fall semester, he of the radically, insanely encapsulated Monad.) I find it highly amusing that both of us are reading such philosophy-laden works at similar times. although, his also has matters of commerce, and mathematics (the creation of algebra and calculus *gasp*) and pirates ("Aargh!") and other fun scallywag type things.
Now, if I wish to finish The Name of the Rose in a timely fashion to go for my planned walk, I should get myself a drink and go back out to the deck to read. On the other hand, I could dawdle and play here...and thus prolong the time of my reading...putting off the end for another day. I could, in fact, look up many of the Latin phrases that have been used, as I have no idea what they say, and only know (from my linguistics class) how they should be pronounced. o.O
And I really ought to mention how odd it is to read off of a conventional monitor because I am so used to reading off of my laptop monitor, which is easier on the eyes, though less easy than reading off of paper in a book. Related, yet not by much: Using Epiphany is also unusual after using Firefox for well over two years. I'm somewhat lost without all my extensions and add-ons like StumbleUpon, FlashBlock, FoxyTunes, my search engine bar (with Google, Wiki, the Food Network, and many others), and also my torrent search engine bar. One nice thing about using Jeff's computer - I can play with a mail client that isn't Outlook (which, without trying, I can break very easily) and I can play Gnometris (open source Tetris clone). This is also good practice at refamiliarizing myself with Debian, as Jeff is threateningoffering to set me up a Debian computer from among the pieces of his computer graveyard.
And now, at last, thirst - both for drink and for the satisfaction of my curiosity - bid me leave you all, so that I may get something cold to drink while I try to beat William of Baskerville and young Adso to solving the mystery behind the murders at the abbey.