18 March 2010

Today was nice and sunny outside, and got up to 60F, so I took about an hour long walk while listening to Hobbes’ Leviathan on my iPod.  I have to say, it’s a lot more difficult to comprehend listening to it versus reading it.  Even when I read something like this, I find myself going back and rereading so I can wrap my head around what the author is trying to express.  It’s even more difficult when I’m just listening to it.  I’ve only gotten to the beginning of chapter 4, and listened to each preceding chapter twice in a row.  I’m not really sure what to think of it.  I’ve read excerpts before for class, but I’m not recognizing what I’m listening to so far.  It seems like Hobbes is going on and on about physical things like inertia and heat, and either likening them to, or pinpointing them as causes of, senses, dreams, imagination, etc.  It’s really very dry.  The volunteer reader is very good, though, especially compared to some of the other readers I’ve experienced from Librivox.  It’s also nice that it seems to be the same reader for every chapter so far.  It’s kind of jarring when Librivox has different people read different chapters of a book (though I understand that since all the readers are volunteers and reading an audiobooks is a demanding undertaking, having volunteers only commit to small snippets is logical).

I picked up MC Frontalot’s new album today.  I got to download the mp3s from the site, and my physical CD should arrive sometime in April.  I found out it was coming out because I’ve been reading more blogs lately, including Jhonen Vasquez’s.  I noticed Jhonen did the cover art for the album, and hopped over to MC Frontalot’s page to see when it was coming out.  Since it’s available for order now, I decided to pick it up.

Trying to be healthy

I’ve been taking various steps to be marginally more active/healthy.  I try to get up (to get water, or just to stretch my legs) at work regularly.  Even though we’re not in a situation where we can have a standing desk, I have elevated my chair to its maximum height and have been sitting on the edge so my feet are still firmly on the floor.  From what I can tell, my circulation has been better, and I’ve been forced to improve my posture while sitting at the computer.  An added bonus is that I’m actually sitting high enough to feel comfortable at our tall desks.

Away from work I’m trying to get out of the house more often both for exercise and just to avoid being so sedentary.  It was about 70F today, so I walked a mile down the road to The Perk in the shopping center where our Filipino food store used to be.  Apparently they went out of business about 6 months ago, and I never heard.  Now I feel a bit guilty about not shopping there more often.  There go my plans of making lumpia with Mikey until I can figure out a new place to get wrappers.  The shopping center was nearly unrecognizable from when I’d been there last.  The hookah bar had moved, and none of the restaurants were the same except The Perk coffee shop.  They seem to have added a “bar” sign, though.  I don’t remember them serving alcohol.

Anyway, I guess I can walk down there safely as there’s a sidewalk the whole way, contrary to what I said to my dad the other day.  I did get honked at about 3 times, though, and I didn’t see any other pedestrians, so that made me feel less safe.  The only other person I saw on the sidewalk was a bicyclist.  Even though they’ve made “scenic” bicycle trails throughout the city, our town still isn’t very bicycle friendly on the roads.

04 March 2010

The weather is nice out today (about 55F), so I walked to Harps to pick up 2lb of strawberries for food day at work tomorrow.  I’m trying to be more active, so it was nice to get outside and have a brisk walk.  Enjoying the sun was also nice.  I probably fill my “nerd” stereotype a bit too much regarding never seeing the sun.

I’m about halfway through chapter 2 of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. While I haven’t gotten far in the book, I am enjoying it immensely.  One thing I find particularly amusing are the footnotes.  In general I find footnotes to be both amusing and enjoyable in fiction.  At the moment the main one other than Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell that comes to mind is Good Omens, but I’m pretty sure I’ve enjoyed footnotes in other books as well.

My plans for this evening include picking up some dinner for myself and a friend, then chilling at his house while watching Top Gear.  As little as I know about cars, I find both Top Gear and Car Talk incredibly enjoyable.  Maybe I secretly have a passion for cars, but I just won’t tell myself.

Today my dad pointed me toward an Engadget article about an $85 netbook. It’s certainly limited (tiny screen, non-Atom processor, etc.), but at $85, I don’t see any reason not to at least check it out.  It seems like it would be great for a student, or anyone who needs to take notes on a regular basis.  Regarding application capabilities and such, it seems more like a mobile phone than a laptop.  To be fair, though, mobile phones can do quite a bit these days.

Ĝis!
(until next time)