Archive for the 'books' Tag

Book Review: Coldfire Trilogy

I recently finished the Coldfire Trilogy, a sci-fi/fantasy trilogy by C. S. Friedman, and enjoyed it more than any series I’ve read in quite a while. In brief, the books are set on a planet recently (1200 years ago) colonized by humans that is quite similar to Earth except for one major difference — a strange force, called the Fae, is present on this planet and responds to humans by making their thoughts and emotions become (almost always unintentionally) more-or-less “real.”
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Book Review: Absolution Gap

Recently, I read the Absolution Gap, the third book in Alastair Reynolds’ trilogy (the previous two were Revelation Space and Redemption Ark, and have been complemented with several novellas and short stories set in the same universe). I quite enjoyed it, but reading it reminded me of why I can only take Mr. Reynolds’ writing in small doses.
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As I watch a tumbleweed roll by…

Alright, alright. Paradoxdruid.com has been a little slow lately. Honestly, it’s less out of interest (I have 2 article drafts started that are saved and need finishing) and more about lack of time. But that’s not a reasonable excuse! So I thought I’d write a few capsule book reviews of things that I’ve read recently. (continued)

Books on fruit?

Jenny (wife) is now in the grad school program here for Info & Library Science. One of her classes, Reference, is sort of a “ways that patrons screw up asking for information from the library, and how you can prevent it.” It includes lots of funny stories, including this: (continued)

Beloved Children’s Books

I just got an interesting book called The Tao and Mother Goose, which more than anything about its philosophy has reminded me of how much I love some of my old children’s books. (continued)

Get thee to a library

Or any other place where you can find a copy of the latest Atlantic magazine (continued)

Most Hated Books

Now that we know what your favorites were, what were your least favorites?
What books do you think society hates the most? (continued)

What are we reading?

I’ve had some free time lately, so I’ve been using it to catch up on all sorts of reading. I thought it might be fun if we could all chime in with our impressions on books we’ve recently read, so maybe we can all see a few that interest us. Please throw up a comment if you have one– the site is “supported by viewers like you.” ™ (continued)

Damn you, Andrew

Hey, that sorta rhymes!
Anyway, Jenny read “Public Enemies” a book about John Dillinger, Baby
Face Nelson, the Barkers, Bonnie and Clyde, and all those other 1930s
outlaws.  And when she was telling me that Nelson was shot a
ridiculous number of times by high-calibre sub-machine guns, and then
twice in the legs with buckshot, before shooting an FBI agent right
between the eyes from across the road, then got away and lived for two
days, I thought, “Hmmmm, endure pain, 80+, handguns, 80+.” (continued)

Three books and a desert island

Ok, since Andrew seems in need of some more post so he doesn’t close down the site I’ll ask a question.

If you were stranded on a desert island, but could have three books (and not need them for fuel or such things) what three books would you take?

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Free Rice

Okay, I’ll admit that it’s entirely possible that I am the last person to learn about this website*, but it’s really addictive.  It’s a game that tests your vocabulary.  Each time you get a word’s meaning correct, 20 grains of rice are donated to the UN World Program.  So, give Free Rice a whirl.  I bet you’ll have fun and you’ll get to help make strides toward ending hunger.

 *I heard about it forever ago, I just never actually looked at it.


Security Cam Music Video

This band decided they didn’t have money to make a video, so they set up in public places in view of security cameras, then asked to get the footage from the people.

Pretty cool results, though a little creepy to think how much these cameras are around.

A news story about it is here


Some Frogs and Toads are just weird…

Thanks to one of my favorites blogs, Zooillogix, I recently got to see toads giving live birth from their back and frogs without lungs. (continued)


20% of Scientists use “Cognition Enhancement” Drugs

According to a recent anonymous poll in Nature magazine. Further commentary at WebMD. Crazy, huh?


Are you paying Attention?

Well?


Trunk Monkey!

Trunk Monkey. Yes this is exactly what you think it is (check out ep 4 theft retrieval system)


Scientists for a better PCR

Because you need to know who’s your daddy
The PCR Song


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