Rick's Ramblings (Two)

Daily Walk

2008-05-04T21:19:00.002-04:00

Since the ice rink where I used to skate at lunch has closed for the season, I've slowly begun taking walks at lunch. Call it a nod to exercise, of which I get very little. It's been a good daily routine, and I've rarely missed it.

I take a left out of my office building, and walk across the Longfellow Bridge. In my routine, I walk to Boston on the west sidewalk, which is the narrower sidewalk. When I get to the other side, I walk back on the east sidewalk, which is the wider sidewalk. The views are gorgeous, even when the weather isn't ideal.

Mileage maps show the distance to be under a mile (.88 miles, to be exact). I get the whole thing done in about twenty to twenty-five minutes. Some days I'll walk briskly, but mostly I walk normally, affecting no rush. Sometimes I'll even stop along the way and take pictures.

The walk is good for the heart, supposedly, but I've been finding that it's good for the mind. The work that I do is quite immersing, so the walk clears my head. A little brain reset in the middle day. I recommend it, highly.

100 Things About My Wife

2008-04-16T21:39:00.002-04:00

My wife put together a list titled 100 things about me. I found the list insightful and fascinating, and it made me feel nice and warm when I saw myself mentioned. I told her that I would have to put together my own list now. When she was putting her list together, she said she had pretty good momentum up through 70 items, but after that things became harder. Of course, now that her list is publicized, she now has thought of other things to add to it.

Let me point out two things of note on her list. Item 15: Her dedication to giving up smoking was one of the hardest things she's gone through, and one for which I'm immensely proud. Item 71: The match was Italy versus Spain.

Forty (YouTube)

2008-04-07T11:17:00.002-04:00

Forty

2008-04-05T21:12:00.002-04:00

Forty is the "new thirty." This means I should be feeling thirty, but I promise you, I don't feel thirty at all. I feel exactly forty. And it's not just physically feeling forty. It's emotionally feeling forty. There are people where I work who graduated from college in the past two years. Me? I am looking forward to my twentieth college reunion in the next two years.

While filling out a survey earlier in the week, I noticed that this would be the last week that I could check off the box next to 35-39. Starting tomorrow, I hit the 40-44 check boxes. Mental note: Stop filling out surveys.

Long ago, when I was in high school, or maybe even earlier, I had a vivid dream. I was driving a car, and it was a hatch back of sorts. I stopped in front of a house in the suburbs, and I got out, unlocked the hatch, and in the back were bags of groceries. I remember the hatch tugging my arm up, and I remember looking around. I woke up, not finding out where I was going with all those groceries.

Sometimes, when I find myself in that exact situation (which isn't often, since we don't have a hatchback, and I don't often get the groceries), I say "I'm living the dream." Tomorrow, on my fortieth, I'll have to remind myself of this. Often.

Seven

2008-03-30T22:39:00.003-04:00

I took a peek at some of my daughter's homework the other day. The class is learning how to count coins. For some reason, this seems advanced to me. I don't remember knowing about coins and money until I was much older. Mia is somehow picking this stuff up.

Of late, Mia's been obsessed with her Nintendo (she's really become adept at Mario Kart DS) and WebKinz. I don't remember playing video games when I was her age, because they weren't invented yet. I certainly didn't know or remember passwords when I was her age, yet here is Mia, carefully instructing me not to reveal her WebKinz password.

I take her to school every morning that I am able. I've looked on at the parents of her classmates, and I sense the same feelings: warmth; pride; love. Raising a child is ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. One minute I'm blinking tears at her sweetness, and the next minute I find myself yelling at her to get dressed for school.

Mundane. Profound. And she's now seven.

AYT

2008-03-12T23:14:00.002-04:00

A few months ago, I received my first text message spam. I thought somehow my wife learned how to text. But instead it was spam, so I deleted it. Over the next few days, the spam began to increase in frequency. I learned to mass delete the text messages on my cell phone, after quickly scanning their obvious subject lines. As the weeks went by, I was doing this more and more, until Jenn asked "what's up with your cell phone bill?" Sure enough, I was getting billed for each of these text messages. Every one of these messages took 15 cents out of my pocket, and after thirty or forty a week, it was beginning to add up. After trolling through Google, I found two sites ([1] [2]) that showed me how to turn off the ability to receive text messages. I did it, and now I'm spam-free. I'm sure when I get another phone, or my daughter discovers texting, I'll be inclined to turn this back on, but until then, just send me e-mail.

Pull Here. Hold Here.

2008-02-20T21:12:00.005-05:00

I marvel at today's packaging technology. Tonight, for dinner, I had to open up a package of Sargento Cheese (shredded mild cheddar). The bag itself is sealed entirely, so normally I pull out some scissors to open the top. However, in the top-left corner of the bag was the direction: "Pull Here". Pulling there with one hand, I didn't see how that would help me at all. But then I saw another direction on the bag: "Hold Here." Holding there with my other hand, I saw immediately what had to be done. I pulled with my first hand while holding with my second hand, and the top-most part of the sealed package cut open cleanly. Dairy treasure! Of course the bag had its own resealable Ziploc. I stared at the bag like it was some magic trick, which I got right the first time. Marvelous.

Cachinnatous

2008-02-18T22:37:00.003-05:00

I was reading David Brin's The Uplift War. This is the first science fiction book that I've read in some time, and it's terrific so far. The aliens and humans in this book have a separate language which is interesting to read (the book provides a glossary). Of course, there are English words that I have to look up, and one of them was cachinnatous. The online dictionary I use didn't have this word, but they had a similar word called cachinnatory, which is an adjective for "accompanied by immoderate laughter". That seemed to fit the sentence (the word was used in "a gaggle of cachinnatous humans"). Humans laughing a little too loudly perhaps? I think so.

Review: Voyage of the Manteño

2008-02-12T22:29:00.004-05:00

I can't remember when, but at one point I mentioned to Jenn that I was fascinated by adventures on the open sea. We conversed about it, and she told me about Kon-Tiki, the famed book by explorer Thor Heyerdahl. In that book, he builds a raft and then goes on an expedition from South America to the Polynesian Islands. I think I received this book as a gift, and eventually I began to read it.

Somehow, during the reading of Kon-Tiki, an e-mail arrived from John Haslett. "I was wondering if I could induce you to read my new book." His book? Voyage of the Manteño: The Education of a Modern-Day Expeditioner.

Both books describe the details of building balsa rafts. Both books describe the arcane politics of setting sail from a foreign land. Both books were about open sea voyages (in the case of Manteño, multiple voyages), and the effort it takes to make a voyage work. In each there are fascinating passages about the ocean which any sea-dreaming land lubber like me could enjoy.

While Kon-Tiki is the more popular of the two, and certainly the more heralded (it was first published in 1950), John Haslett's book comes much closer to telling me what I wanted to know. What does the ocean feel like in a storm? What are your emotions when you're adrift at sea? And what happens when you get pissed at your shipmates? (Both authors had a small crew.)

Voyage of the Manteño took on these questions and more. John describes the ocean in all its beauty and fury. He describes feelings of elation, anxiety, and abject terror. He describes the emotional fortitude required to be a true explorer. He writes about his shipmates as worthy companions, even though some of them couldn't hack the sea-faring life. His book is ultimately an adventure of great endurance.

When I finished reading it, I felt immense satisfaction that John was still out there, planning his next voyage. I hope he'll write about it.

Happy Birthday to Jenn

2008-02-01T09:32:00.001-05:00

My wife's birthday is today. Hurray!

Handwriting Day

2008-01-23T22:51:00.000-05:00

Best Books Read in 2007

2008-01-22T22:07:00.000-05:00

My Previous Best Books: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006.

I read fourteen books last year. Surprisingly, only three of these were novels: Waiting, Bangkok 8, and Thank You for Smoking. The rest were wonderful non-fiction books, my favorites being The Looming Tower, Voyage of The Manteño, and The Smartest Guys in the Room.

I'll be writing reviews of Waiting and Voyage of The Manteño, as these my among my favorites from 2007.

Martin Luther King Day

2008-01-21T12:09:00.000-05:00

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I hope we're getting close.

Best Movies Watched in 2007

2008-01-10T21:53:00.000-05:00

(This is my seventh such list. I have done this for my movie viewing in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.)

My favorite movie from 2007 was No Country for Old Men. A very close second was Michael Clayton.

"No Country" is a powerful movie. A treacherous criminal on the chase, a hero on the run, and an old cop on the watch are the principal characters in the Coen Brother's finest work. Perfectly paced, minimally scored, and as serious as a choke hold, the movie is just too good. Praise is coming from everywhere on this movie, and it's deserving.

"Michael Clayton" is the other compelling offering from 2007. A forlorn lawyer, played by George Clooney, has to come to grips with the limits of his own ethics, and his firm's. A criminal plot involving one of his colleagues forces him to act, but it strains his reserves. This is a dark and brooding film, the kind I like. But its touch of clarity makes it less ambiguous than "No Country", which pushes that film to the top.

Best DVD Commentary: Seabiscuit, Saw, Old School

Favorite Male Acting: Tony Leung Chiu Wai (Infernal Affairs)

Favorite Female Acting: Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

Finally Glad I Watched: "Stranger Than Fiction", "Old School", "Finding Forrester", "A History of Violence", "Saw"

My 2007 Books and Movies

2008-01-05T22:26:00.000-05:00

Sitting at my Geocities website is the list of books and movies that I finished in 2007. I had a good reading push in December to get my total to something respectable, but my wife finished over fifty last year. I'll write up my "best of" list soon. Happy New Year, once again!

Happy New Year

2007-12-31T23:15:00.000-05:00

Peace and prosperity to everyone in 2008!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T21:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays!

Snow Snarl

2007-12-13T23:47:00.000-05:00

It took me nearly four hours to drive the eight miles from my office to my home, thanks to the heavy snow storm that burst onto the scene with unrelenting force. Six to seven inches where laid down in the afternoon going into the evening, and car commuters like me were bearing the brunt of it.

I thought I'd be smart and take Route 93 home because I left during the day (this highway is typically backed up in the evening commute). Of course, that quickly became an exercise in frustration since I wasn't the only person leaving to get ahead of the storm. Doubling back, I decided to take to the city streets. Up Massachusetts Avenue, the traffic was moving at a snail's pace, and I settled in for what would be a long stretch of nightmare traffic. Intricate merges became nasty merges. Traffic lights blinked with feeble authority. I saw at least one car abandoned, blocking traffic until drivers noticed that there wasn't anyone inside. Me and several other drivers were popping out during the frequent stops to brush off our windshields.

It was a tough one out there. I'm glad I'm home.

My Old Reading List

2007-11-29T22:18:00.001-05:00

The National Endowment for the Arts released a study earlier in the month proclaiming that children are reading less. This study follows their 2004 study titled Reading at Risk.

Their new findings made me think about the books that took hold of me when I was in elementary school. I browsed SparkNotes to remind myself what I might have read back in the day. Part of me wishes I was blogging back in my youth, so I could dig out an actual list.

Here are the books (and specifically, the stories) that helped make me a life-long reader, the ones that gave me the first taste that reading was worth "doing for fun."

The Illustrated Man - Every geek's entry point to a reading life must begin with science fiction. I still remember that the cover of my edition featured a man sitting with his back exposed, completely covered with tattoos. The one short story I remember was "The Long Rain", which I devoured in an afternoon, amazed that something as simple as rain could be made so sinister.

Different Seasons - King's book of four short stories (one for each season) made me wish I could somehow read faster. I especially loved "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" (which is now a famous movie). The name of the town mentioned at the end of the book, Zihuatanejo, has been stuck inside my head ever since I finished it.

Catcher in the Rye - This book made me realize that a unique voice could emerge out of words, and take over my imagination. And that this voice could be (somehow!) similar to my own. I knew how Holden Caulfield sounded. I understood his sarcastic take on life. I got his humor. This book made me think that there must be other books like this.

Honorable mentions: The Little Prince, The Great Gatsby, A Clockwork Orange.

My Boring, Humble Life

2007-11-21T22:39:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, the Boston Globe ran a story about Tobin Kerns, a high-school aged man who was in jail for plotting to massacre his high school in Marshfield.

In the article (written by Emily Sweeney), he said "I just want to put this behind me and live a boring, humble life." That quote stuck with me for some reason. And as I went about my day, I realized why. He was hoping to live my life: boring and humble. He didn't want to be in the news, or in jail, or to associate with the people that got him into this mess. He wanted my life; my life with its boring rituals, with its humble aspirations. Mr. Kerns realized that he was in a bad situation, and all of a sudden the boring life didn't seem so bad after all. In fact, he'd love to be reading about some kid like him in the newspaper, and saying "Sheesh...glad that's not me."

Last week, Mr. Kerns was sentenced to ten months (five months already served) as an adult, in an adult jail. I'm hoping he gets his wish for that boring life when he gets out. It's not all that bad.

Fizzix

2007-11-06T21:35:00.000-05:00

Yummy! A snack that combines carbonation and yogurt. My wife thinks these two elements don't go together, but I gave it a try, and it's not bad!

Jenn Read Fifty Books...

2007-10-30T22:48:00.001-04:00

...and counting. She finished her 2007 News Resolution a little over two months ahead of schedule. Typical. As for me? I've got two books that I'm sure to finish before the end of the year, which will bring my own lame total up to twelve.

My Mind on Sports

2007-10-25T20:06:00.000-04:00

I've been venting my sports thoughts over at a BLOG I started on Sporting News earlier this year. And thank goodness too, since the Red Sox are in the World Series, the Patriots look great this season, the Celtics picked up Kevin Garnett, and the Bruins look pretty lively. But you can't also forget the New England Revolution, the local college teams (Boston College, Boston University, and sometimes Harvard can break into the national sports consciousness), golf, tennis, the Olympics (summer and winter), and everything in between. And if you scroll down a little bit, there on the left is a nifty ticker so you can see what's in my sporting mind. Go Boston!

Flying

2007-10-08T22:44:00.000-04:00

Since 2005, I have been travelling for work. Over the past few weeks, I discovered FlightMemory, and it's a little delight. I've learned that my smallest flight was between Minneapolis and Eau Claire, Wisconsin (85 miles). I've learned that I've flown almost 45,000 miles over eight different airlines. I've also been reminded that I took one "international flight" to Toronto. I wish I could map my travel over time, because it's increased over the past year, much to my immediate household's dismay. Next week offers more travel; check the map next week to see where!

Top Chef: Season 3

2007-09-22T20:10:00.000-04:00

I'm enjoying Season 3 of Top Chef, the reality television show/cooking competition. A full season has nearly finished, and we're down to four contestants: Hung, Casey, Dale, and Brian. My money is on Hung, and my wife has picked Casey. All I can say is thank goodness my wife roots for the same sports teams as I do!

One of the things that make watching Top Chef so pleasurable is the "additional content." The judges on the show have blogs that are lucid and helpful in understanding what happened during a particular show. It's must reading for fans. And Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential, has been writing about Top Chef, which is the equivalent of reading how Curt Schilling might break down your favorite baseball game.

Bravo constantly replays episodes of Top Chef. I encourage you to watch and get on board!