I’ve read a LOT of science fiction over the last 50 years. Probably started buying paperbacks in 1968 or so when I started at McGill University. I used to shop at the Chapters bookstore on Ste. Catherine. Recently, it seems that many of the SF themes are becoming reality… Space flight: In SF, it’s often… Read more »
Memories from high school: – Bus money/allowance. I would walk so I could buy comic books at a corner store. – About a 1-mile walk. – 3 semesters of Latin. – “streamed” classes. In smart class. Mrs. Rubin(?) English and home room; Miss Silverstein French. Took a technical drawing class. Took a shop class. Still… Read more »
– Grandfather built a cottage in Laurentians. Whole extended family spent summers there. On a little lake – something like a 1 mile walk around it. I used to swim across and back. – Friends with a neighbor kid our age Martin Tekala was name? Used to bicycle with him and brother. One trip, did… Read more »
2021-04-08: Five years retired. Feeling ‘bored’ with retirement. Same sort of feeling I had when working, about the same timing. (I used to joke that 1st year is learning, 2nd-3rd is very productive (the expert), 4th is bored but still delivering, 5th is looking for something new. Problem with being retired is that there is… Read more »
When young, father build a fold-down train-track setup in bedroom. I remember doing “experiments” with the power supply. Clip to a pencil lead and it would get hot, maybe burn. Potentially could start a fire. Oops. My mother thought I might be autistic when young. I was apparently a quiet kid. Would sit and play… Read more »
The book describes the historical evolution of the book index and concordance. Some interesting historical episodes. Funny to see some of the arguments against indexing. E.g., with an index, no need to actually read the book. One takeaway is that current search algorithms (Google, et al.) are poor compared to human-created indices. Some AI approaches… Read more »
A book on “biogerontology”, the science of aging and the potential to “cure” aging. Discusses 10 areas that need solutions if we are to extend human lifespan. Many are under investigation today. There are actually some clinical trials under way or planned. Progress is being made (good!), but not fast enough to help me (bad).… Read more »
The book is of theme similar to Hariri’s “Sapiens”, but they take a contrarian approach to the standard model of how human society evolved to what we have today. They discuss a lot about the pre-Columbus Americas that I’ve never been exposed to. A heavy read. (Partly, the authors’ political bias is counter to mine,… Read more »
Ben Patrick is the “knees over toes guy”. This is a short book laying out the program Patrick uses for addressing knee pain and injury avoidance. Classic advice is to keep the knees over the foot (behind the toes) when exercising or participating in any sport. Book’s argument is that this advice is impossible to… Read more »
Picked up this book due to my recent knee issues. Author is a personal trainer and orthopaedic exercise specialist. The book argues that healing and recovery from injury is not complete, leading to re-injury. Book begins by laying out the science of collagen. Collagen is the primary structural molecule in the body. Different forms in… Read more »