Wizard of Earthsea

According to Amazon.ca, Wizard of Earthsea was published in 1968. The fact that it's still on the table in fantasy discussion, I think, is pretty impressive.

The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker actually kind of reminds me of this book. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was playing Zelda while I read it. Or maybe the similarities caused me to pick up the game again while I was reading. I don't know the chronology so I'll just shut up about that.

Sparrowhawk, or Ged, or THE "Wizard of Earthsea" (y'know, the one the whole story's about) learns a little magic from his aunt, saves his village with tricks, becomes a master's disciple and leaves him to go to the Magic Academy on Roke. (This whole story centres around a group of islands Ged refers to as the Archipelago -- I love that word) While in school, he calls up a dark spell he discovered earlier and unleashes his evil shadow. This destroys his confidence in his gift and himself, and he becomes a timid practitioner of the arts.

Unfortunately, the story takes forward-jumps through time that, when I realized they had happened, put me off a little. After one such jump, he has finished school and goes off to meet his destiny.

Along the way, he learns a little something about his powers, his enemy and himself. He meets people who work very well to set up a sequel, and all ends in goodness and happy thoughts.

I'm glad I read this book - as I've said before, I like books on boats, and this one also had a dragon or nine. I don't have any of the other Earthsea books but if they cross my path, I'll definitely pick them up and flip through their pages.

Updates, updates, updates

At the risk of offending Dylan with a mundane writing style reminiscent of Schrodinger's Catsup, this is what's up with me---

Life has finally settled down with the marketing release of Quicken Home Inventory [premiermanagerwhatever]. The name they finally settled on was Quicken Home Inventory Manager but it was kicked around and around for a couple of months.

Regardless, the installer was released with a couple of hitches and a lot of late, late nights drinking pop, coffee, watermelon juice, whatever it took to keep my synapses firing.

At the end of last week, Kim took Lillian and Nicholas on a camping trip with her parents to give me room to finish what needed to be finished.

As it turned out, that was documentation which was typed out laboriously in the living room of my townhouse, with TRON, The Hulk, and I-Poddius blaring in the background. (Not all at once, for sure.)

So, QHIM went away (sort of) with a whimper, rather than a mad rush of activity. Unfortunately, the installer shipped with a known issue that will have to be fixed in a future release, despite the fact that I discovered and repaired the bug before the product shipped. Fortunately, I will be staying with QHIM (probably) for the 1.1 release that will likely take place in November.

With that bitter taste in my mouth, I received a little bit of a spanking by way of “areas for growth” where I was told that I needed to be aware how important it was, on code-freeze day, to be available, and also how important it was for me to have been available on the weekend of that code-freeze, to fix the bug (that shipped with the release). I stood my ground, contending that I was available by phone all weekend and that I had slated 6 hours on Saturday for work, which I spent on some externalization design, rather than the bug. If they’d called me Saturday, or even Friday, when they discovered that the bug hadn’t gone away with my most recent attempt at a fix, it would have been dealt with in time, and the installer would have been more acceptable.

I’m not trying to deflect blame – I accept my failure to properly fix the bug and my lack of follow-up when dealing with QA but I am not wholly to blame. My bosses understood my point of view and accepted that and even rewarded me with a Spotlight Award (see previous post) and a comp day off, which I will use on Friday, to do taxes, change the oil in the car and renew my driver’s license.

In non-work news, Lillian is a crawling monster. Rather than rocking back and forth on her hands and knees, and crying out of frustration, she’s actually motoring around the floor, crying when whatever she’s found to get into is taken from her.

Nick has finished another season of soccer, and I completed my first year as an assistant coach. The year was wrapped up at Chuck E. Cheese, where the Skeeballs rolled and I was presented with a Coach shirt and gift certificates for Tim Horton’s and Red Lobster. It was a good season but there was something missing that made last season great. Kim and I used the Red Lobster card for supper when she got back from camping.

Biking to work continues and I’ve even managed to shed some weight. I played soccer, helped cubicle-mate-Dave move and threw the ball around with Sean “King Kong Awesome” Woods, and by Saturday, everything was back to normal. A faster-than-usual recovery for my creaky body.

As a final note, Serenity, the movie based off the series Firefly, was amazing. I’ve never watched Firefly, but I didn’t feel the lack. I just enjoyed the amazing characters and the fun storyline. “You’ve spent your entire life taking care of me. My turn.” - that’s the best line I’ve heard in a very long time.

---End of update… until next time

Intuit Spotlight Award

I found out, on Friday, that I am the recipient of Intuit's prestigious (although not that prestigious, since the person I talked to about it this morning had never heard of it) Spotlight Award. It's nice to know that I've chosen the right field and that they think so too.

Another blog post will be up sometime soon with updates beyond this, but I thought I'd let you all know.

Later.

The Eye of the World

When I was in high school, my dad delivered Sears merchandise to a corner store that also sold what any good corner store does. Goodies, pop, books, comics, magazines, and so-on.

It’s the books, comics and magazines that were important at the time, because, as is common with my father, he became friends with the shopkeeper. What this resulted in was box after box of coverless literature. There were dozens of the same issue of Deathlok, Sleepwalker, Ghostrider and all the other popular comics of the day, as well as thirty or forty Auto Traders, Big Bike magazine and all other sorts of things.

It is this way, however, that I discovered Robert Jordan. One delivery of books brought The Eye of the World into my life and I read it, sort of knowing that I liked fantasy and thinking that this looked like a good fantasy novel.

I’ve never been pulled in by a book so completely in my life. The story starts in a serene little village where the weather is strange. It’s been winter far too long. Then a modest farm boy sees a mysterious stranger on the road, which leads to a whirlwind of adventure, excitement, terror, elation and sadness. This is the traditional fantasy story at its absolute best. The characters are believable, you can sympathize with them, and, unlike Jordan’s later works, they haven’t worked themselves into stereotypes or cariacatures of themselves yet.

The terror that follows the main characters is haunting, the evil they have to overcome daunting, and pages are turned with heart in throat.

The Eye of the World is the book that helped me to define myself as a fan of Fantasy (or Speculative Fiction if you’re one of those who finds the term Fantasy to be a negative one) and it has largely directed my reading toward that genre.

Today, I finished my (what, tenth, eleventh?) latest reread of this book and it remains my favourite.

In the impossible slowness of this incredibly busy day, I just thought I’d share that.

Distraction by Bat and Jeff

A desperately-needed distraction presented itself by way of two characters, Bat and Jeff. The distraction was necessary because of a meal-time tussle with number-one son over the consumption of a hamburger. Moving away from the conflict, I switched into “amicable-Liam” mode (not to be confused with “angry-Liam” or “Chinese-Liam”).

This is what came out (kinda—it’s been awhile, so word-for-word is unlikely):

Once upon a time, there were two boys, Bat and Jeff. Bat’s real name wasn’t bat – it was Bartholomew. But he didn’t like Bartholomew, so he asked everyone to just call him Bat.

Bat and Jeff had mostly the same classes, but they didn’t take Gym together. Other than that, they were mostly together.

Jeff had some odd habits, not the least of which was excusing himself to go to the bathroom and following teachers around the school. He was intensely curious and he would pick a teacher and follow that person throughout the day during various bathroom trips.

Well, one Tuesday, Jeff decided that Mr. Johnson, the principal, would be an interesting person to follow around the school. Throughout the morning, Mr. Johnson had a very normal day – he would go to his classes, go to the mysterious Teachers’ Lounge, and the bathroom, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Then came the afternoon. Mr. Johnson, at precisely two o’clock, left the school and did not return. The whole day, Jeff kept an eye on Mr. Johnson’s office, and the other on the teachers’ lounge and Mr. Johnson was nowhere to be seen.

He explained this to Bat and suggested that the two of them keep an eye on what Mr. Johnson was doing the rest of the week.

Bat, who had known about his friend’s habit, had never joined him, but this mystery was too much to walk away from.

So, the two kids kept watch over their wayward principal, marking his trips to the bathroom, the teachers’ lounge and his classes in Bat’s notebook.

Then, Tuesday came around, and Bat and Jeff kept an especially tight watch on the principal.

At precisely two o’clock, Mr. Johnson left in his car and did not return. The two kids were stymied.

They enlisted the help of Bat’s older brother, “Pit”. Pit’s real name was Poindexter, but he hated the name and made everyone (except his mom and dad) call him Pit. This, as you may guess, was the reason Bartholomew had chosen Bat.

Pit didn’t have classes in the afternoon, since he was in college and could choose his courses. Bat and Jeff asked Pit to keep an eye on Mr. Johnson the following Tuesday and find out where he was going and what he was doing that kept him away from school on Tuesday afternoons.

Pit, liking his little brother very much (I think the name-thing had a lot to do with that), decided he’d help the kids out. He got in his car and followed Mr. Johnson at two o’clock on the third Tuesday of this story.

Bat and Jeff waited in Bat’s basement for Pit to return with the report. They had thoughts of a secret job as a spy, or a secret woman he would meet (they’d watched a lot of soap operas during the summer) or any number of fantastic things that Mr. Johnson was getting up to.

Finally, the door upstairs opened and slammed closed. Pit joined the two kids in the basement and gave his report.

“There’s nothing strange about Mr. Johnson leaving Tuesday afternoons. He gets in his car and drives out to Leduc where his mom’s in the hospital. He doesn’t have any classes to teach Tuesday afternoons and he spends all afternoon and evening with his mom before going home.”

Bat and Jeff were disappointed with the very ordinary explanation for their mystery but the solution was pretty satisfying in itself.

THE END

Granted, it’s not the best story that I’ve ever come up with (especially compared to the greatest hero in the history of Liam-kind – Rick the Robot), but it got Nick through supper and improved everyone’s mood drastically.

Innovation meets technology

When I was working at Halliburton, Sheldon Kryger (also known as that student-guy) introduced me to Tablet PC, a piece of technology that has a screen that you can write to. It requires the special pen that comes with the Tablet and it has a bunch of nifty software to make use of the hardware. I coveted his laptop for a long time.
Finally, yesterday, my dream computer became my reality computer. Combining the authorization of the Benefits Coordinator at Intuit, the Product Manager of Quicken Solutions Group and my wife, as well as Canadian Equifax, I’m sure, I was cleared for the money required to buy Best Buy’s best buy, a Gateway (insert model numbers here) Tablet PC.
So far, I’ve fought with the power cable and the wireless router. There was a little scare when the power cord would not power up the computer (fear not - it wasn’t pushed in far enough, and before you laugh at me, Sylvain at Intuit had the same difficulty as I did when he first got his).
The biggest inside joke of the purchase is that it comes with Microsoft Money 2006, the big competitor for Intuit’s Quicken. I had a good laugh over that.
Where do I go from here? Anywhere in the house, maybe in the yard, and currently at the office, though the wireless network here is secure and I can’t get on to configure antivirus, anti-spy ware and anti-adware. Someday…

My Pod, i-Poddius

For my birthday this year, my parents bought me an iPod.

I've never been one for getting the name-brand stuff. I would have been happy with some 512 Meg thing from a company nobody's heard of. However, my sister has elite-status tastes, and nothing would do but that her brother's music-box be the best. And so, she delivered the tiny, tiny Nano to my door one blistering Friday afternoon.

The first thing on the iPod? Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann (although it says it's ELO).

It's a great little piece of technology. I can fit an entire Robert Jordan book on it and still have room for 200 songs and the installer project I'm working on. It's got games (breakout, solitaire, paratrooper and a name-that-tune based on the songs currently on the iPod), notes that you can read through, reminders, probably an alarm that you can set on the computer and transfer to the iPod, and a stopwatch. I use the stopwatch to measure my times going to and from work on my bike (which I've ridden almost every day for the last month).

Thanks Mom, thanks Dad, and thanks Meghan for having elite-status tastes.

Arivaderci,

Liam

Canceled

As of Monday, I have decided that I will no longer strive for the goal of 50 books in this year.

That does not mean that I'm going to stop reading or that my reading-list will change but work, life and overtime have conspired to keep me among the non-reading (except for Google search results on obscure windows API functions).

Instead, the time that I have that is free has lately been occupied by College Football 2003 (the one with Joey Harrington on the cover), family time and cleaning.

In news, it looks like I've finished the main part of my installer project for work - the status screen is the next hurdle but aside from some refreshing issues (as in, the screen won't refresh -- not that I am refreshed by the work) it's done too. Now to cross my fingers and hope it passes QA.

That is all,

Liam

But That Was Long Ago

The maudlin recollection of missed opportunities has haunted me, recently. A snippet of a familiar song dragged me through time and space to the trip south to Lethbridge. The time - a multitude of different long-weekends, start-of-semesters, and so on.

So often I would make my way down there and make my way back, proud of the fact that I could handle the entire trip in one go. What happened to the rest-stop at the side of the road? A chance to stop and step into the tall rows of whatever grew in the endless fields I drove past?

I saw Lethbridge - and my tie there - too much as a destination rather than a journey. I spent so much time figuratively counting down the days that I missed out on a good portion of my life. The majority of the people I met there were transient in my life - existing, to me, on a temporary basis because they helped to define my time down there. Do I miss the friends I made in Lethbridge? Few of them. And yet, a snippet of a familiar song can drag me back to a time of loneliness where my solitude was absolute, recalling it with a sad fondness. Not a longing but an acknowledgement of a time when things were simpler, and much sadder. I won't dwell on these feelings, but I do think they're worth writing down.

With the first pick of the franchise's first draft, the Texans pick...

In the past, I have heard that it takes 5 years to be able to properly grade a draft. I thought this was a good number to go by, since players take time to develop and they probably don’t really come into their own before two or three years in, and then they could just have a lucky season or two.

Regardless, in the fast-paced era of free-agency, the turnaround time has become insane. I think 4 years are plenty, nowadays, before you cast your judgment on a draft class.

With that said, here is my judgment on the Houston Texans’ 2002 draft class:

1. David Carr – He had three years of steady progress, learning under the gun, when he regressed seriously last year. Granted, he was under extreme pressure all year, both from coaches who feared for their own jobs and from defensive linemen who seemed to have no impediment to the quarterback. Considering he was a #1 overall pick, I believe that he has not played up to standards, with the caveat that this year will be his do-or-die season. No more excuses, no more coddling. So far, I would give this pick a C-.

2. Jabar Gaffney WR Florida – He had a solid season last year, and has been a consistent, yet under-used, target. He’s off to Philadelphia to battle with the likes of Jason Avant and Freddie Mitchell for the right to catch passes from Donovan McNabb. Considering the state of the offense, he has been a solid pick all the way around, and despite his disparaging comments about the Texans, I wish him the best. B

2a. Chester Pitts G San Diego – This has probably been the best pick of the draft for the Texans, so far. More than solid, Chester will get a chance to stick at one position under Gary Kubiak and it will be his position of strength, Guard. With a solid tackle beside him, Pitts should be the best lineman on the team, in a good way, rather than the “best-of-a-bad-lot” way that he has been in the past. A-

3. Fred Weary G Tennessee – I dunno. This wasn’t a great pick. I’m thinking it was a heck of a reach. I think he might do something in Kubiak’s Zone Blocking system, and he’ll probably get a chance to compete for a starting spot against Steve McKinney. So far, though, he’s been nothing. D

3a. Charles Hill NT Maryland – He was brought in to be a Capers system guy and was released early on. F

4. Jonathan Wells RB Ohio State – Great special-teamer, decent blocker, decent catcher, just didn’t run as big as he was. Still, he’ll be missed. B+

5. Jarrod Baxter FB New Mexico – Not good, not bad. Never played, but expectations for 5th rounders are limited. C-

5a. Ramon Walker SS Pittsburgh – I love this guy. He blocked two kicks against the Patriots and has been a steady force on special teams when he’s been healthy. I don’t know if he’s still on the team, but he’s probably my sentimental favourite first draftee. A

6. Demarcus Faggins CB Kansas – He’s probably the steal of the draft – hard to find anyone this far down, let alone a guy who can step in and shut down Marvin Harrisson in his first game as a starter. A

6a Howard Green DT Louisiana – Didn’t do anything. Another beefy guy who didn’t make the team. D

7. Greg White DE Minnesota – I have no idea who this guy is. D

7a. Ahmad Miller DT Nevada – See above. D

Overall, there were some surprises. They took Chester Pitts over Clinton Portis. I thought they should have taken Julius Peppers instead of Daid Carr, and then found a quarterback later in the draft, maybe Josh McCown or Rohan Davey.

I thought that drafting Gaffney was a huge mistake since Florida receivers just don’t seem to do so well in the NFL.
I’d say that they get a C- for their first draft, hoping that David Carr’s performance this year will boost it up significantly.

Milestone Number One Reached, Four Days Late

Four days, over the course of four months, doesn’t seem like all that much. Considering I almost gave this goal up when I got my new job, I’m pretty satisfied with the four days.
Here, for your viewing pleasure, is the list of books that I read over the last four months (and four days):

Bloody Sundays - Mike Freeman
A Feast For Crows - George R. R. Martin
The Magician's Nephew - C. S. Lewis
Memories of Ice - Steven Erickson
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Song of Susannah - Steven King
The Dark Tower - Steven King
Eragon - Christopher Paolini
Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
Shaman's Crossing - Robin Hobb
Queen of Demons - David Drake
The Horse and His Boy - C. S. Lewis
Nighttime Parenting - William Sears
The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
Prince Caspian - C. S. Lewis
Jackal of Nar - John Marco

Next, I move on to The Grand Design which is the sequel to Jackal of Nar in John Marco’s “Tyrants and Kings” series.

The 2006 Texans Draft

Well, the big off-season weekend for the NFL has come and gone. I had resigned myself to the likelihood of bad personnel decisions that I’d seen in the past and, while I wasn’t looking forward to it, I had resigned myself to the addition of Reggie Bush to the Houston Texans.

Boy, was I ever wrong.

I know you’re supposed to grade a draft 5 years after, to allow the players a chance to learn, develop and all that other stuff. However, I believe that involves a lot of hindsight and second-guessing, so I’m going to comment on my team’s draft two days removed.

1. Mario Williams, DE, NC St. This is, in my opinion, the second-best guy the Texans could have gotten. I thought that their pass protection was worse than their pass-rush (though it’s like having an overacting contest between Jim Carrey and Al Pacino). I thought D’Brickashaw Ferguson would have been the guy to get here, even if the Texans couldn’t trade down. Regardless, this is a big area of need, he’s a huge physical force and he’s apparently got a heart of gold.

2. Demeco Ryans, LB, Alabama. It surprised me that, with Tackle Winston Justice (and Eric Winston, for that matter) still on the board, the Texans would dip back into the defensive pool. However, by all accounts, this guy could end up being THE leader on defense. He’s smart, he’s solid and he’s apparently another high-character guy. (the kind of guy that Winston Justice apparently isn’t)
Charles Spencer, T/G, Pittsburgh. Finally, I thought when hearing about the first of two consecutive picks in the 3rd round. Finally, they have an offensive lineman picked on the first day. I don’t know who this guy is, and with Eric Winston still on the board, I was quite baffled. But apparently, this guy could be the next coming of Larry Allen. He could be a big bust too, but apparently, they like the tools he’s working with, so I’ll support that.

3a. Eric Winston, T, Miami. YES! Two picks in a row and they’re both offensive linemen. Well, call the first day a complete success!

4. Owen Daniels, TE, Wisconsin. I was a little confused by the pick of a backup tight end when guys like Free Safety Ko Simpson (thought to be a first-round talent) and Strong Safety Darnell Bing were still on the board but I’m not going to pretend I know the things that the Texans’ front office knows.

5. Traded for Eric Moulds, WR, Buffalo Bills. I’ll take a Pro-Bowl receiver for a fifth round pick any day.

6. Wali Lundy, RB, Virginia. He’s the kind of guy that will fit into the offensive scheme that the Texans want to run. He’s a solid short-yardage back and apparently, he could be ready to step in and start in a couple of years.

7. Given up for Kevin Walter, WR, Cincinnati. I don’t know how I feel about this, given the next pick in the draft.

7a. David Anderson, WR, Colorado St. He’s small, he’s tough and he runs good routes. I guess we need our Wayne Chrebet, too.

All in all, it was the best draft day that the Texans have ever had, Reggie Bush hype aside. And regardless of whether five years from now, people are calling all of the Texans’ draft picks busts, for today, the front office filled needs, got the best players for them and leave me excited for the regular season.

Now, was that so hard?

All my life, there has been a stigma attached to April 24. It’s been a day I’ve looked forward to; a day that was surrounded by celebration, amusement and merrymaking. There have also been a fair number of these days that were marred by loneliness, sadness at the passing of time and some searching for a direction. Most of that was after graduation from High School and into my first couple of years of University. I’m glad to say that today is about the happiness and that I’ve found direction, purpose and a wonderful woman to share the passing of time.

Yesterday, at my birthday party, several people asked me what it was like, this inexorable march toward middle-age. Having given it some thought, I told them that it took me by surprise a little. I was expecting to take it like any other birthday, just a number going up, not a big deal. Then it hit me. I actually started to feel old. Not old, creaky and breaking down (although Saturday’s hockey game hit me like a tonne of bricks) but just like I’m not youthful any longer. Sure, older people will say, “wait ‘til you’re my age before you complain about being old.” Problem with that is, I’ll never be your age. You’re older than me now, you’ll be older than me in twenty, forty, seventy years, assuming we’ve managed to cheat Ol’ Man Death that long. I don’t know what sort of social stigmas are placed on 30. I know it’s meant to be a transformation from liberty, rebellion and fast times to responsibility, attachment to home and family but anyone who knows me knows that my life has never really been about rebellion, I’ve never felt any lack of liberty, and, quite frankly, my ass is far too large to accommodate any sort of fast living. (Maybe fast-food living, but that’s another matter entirely).

As I head into the fourth decade of my life, there are certain things I can look back on with a chuckle, where there was only dread embarrassment, heart-rending sorrow or some sort of boundless rage not seen since Ben Stiller in Mystery Men. It’s nice to have some insulation from those raw emotions and that pain. Sure, I still have scars from what I endured, but I would be as arrogantly egocentric as I was at 19 if I thought that anyone who’s made it to 30 has done so without his or her share of scars.

Some thoughts at 30:
First love is wonderful and it really, really sucks.
Getting out of bed after a day of sports may just be the hardest thing in the world.
My wife and two kids are the best thing to ever happen to me.
A life without distractions doesn’t seem like much of a life at all.
Neither does a life without focus.
Doing something you love doesn’t make it easier, it just makes it easier to try harder.
The saying: “Nothing worth doing is ever easy” serves as a good mantra when you’re doing something hard, but it’s basically bullshit.
It’s better to do the right thing that’s hard to do than to put it off by doing the easy thing. That always bites me in the ass.
Swearing is cool.

Next up: Sprint to the mini-goal finish-line.

Once more, into the books

The second annual Liam-and-Kim-and-Sean-attended Library book sale took place on Saturday, April 8, 2006. Here, for your reading pleasure, are the books I got.

Stephen King – The Stand
I’ve seen the movie and listened to part of the audio book. It’s pretty good, so far, and I guess has pretty strong ties to The Dark Tower, so I wanted to read the rest of it. And now I can.

Lloyd Alexander – The Prydain Chronicles
This, along with The Narnia Chronicles, was my first foray into the world of Fantasy. And now, just like Narnia, I want to read these books to Nicholas, and Lillian eventually as well.

Jack Whyte – The Sorceror: Metamorphosis
I actually found two copies of this. The first one was an old, beaten-up copy that had the first ten pages shoved back into the middle of the book. There was a hesitation when I found the second copy: I actually felt guilty about leaving a broken book behind.

Terry Pratchett – The Carpet People
This is apparently the first thing that Terry Pratchett wrote (or had published, anyway) and with all the good things I’ve heard about him, it seemed like a good idea to pick this up.

Stephen King – The Drawing of the Three
I love The Dark Tower and when I found my own copy of the second book, I jumped on it with both feet.

Marion Zimmer Bradley – Ghostlight
Kim likes Marion Zimmer Bradley – at least the Avalon series, so I figure I’ll give this one a shot.

Bill McKay – MageKnight: Rebel Thunder
I didn’t know, going in, that MageKnight was a Collectible Card Game but I’ll go ahead and read this anyway. It can’t be much worse than the Magic: The Gathering book that I have.

William W. Johnstone – The Last Gunfighter: Manhunt
I’m not going to not get a book by a guy who has such a close name to mine. That’s really the only reason I got the book. But I’ll read it anyway – who wouldn’t want to read about the LAST gunfighter?

ed. Mark Tier – Visions of Liberty
This looks like a lot of Science Fiction that I’ve read, seen or heard about. It’s a compilation of liberation stories by numerous science fiction writers. I’m not impossibly intrigued, but it DOES seem kinda neat.

Richard North Patterson – Protect and Defend
Y’know, every time I see a book by Richard North Patterson or Michael Connelly, or David Baldacci, or one of those guys, I wonder, “When will they run out of words to fit that pattern?” Because it’s always something along the lines of: Extreme Justice or To Serve and Protect, or Honour over Violence or something schlocky like that. I’ve since come to realize, though, that they’re never going to run out. There are too many words and too many combinations. Protect and Defend didn’t look like anything but standard Richard North Patterson fare but I was feeling it, and it was only 50 cents.

Sara Douglass – Hades’ Daughter
I’ve heard good things about Sara Douglass. I have a couple of her books that I haven’t gotten to yet: The Wayfarer Redemption, the Axis trilogy – and now I have a Greeky Geeky book to throw on the pile.

Diana Gabaldon – The Fiery Cross
I have no idea anything about this book. It has a nice cover and a lot of pages and it seems like it will be about something fantasy-ish. Now, I’ll be wrong and it will be some kind of romance novel that never ends… but I’m interested in finding out.

Elaine Flinn – Tagged for Murder
This looks like it’s based on crap but it’s a mystery and I likes the mysteries.

Steven Brust – The Paths of the Dead
This is the only book I’ve ever taken out of the Edmonton Public Library and I didn’t get a chance to finish it. Now, I can take my time.

Stephen R. Donaldson – The Gap Into Madness: Chaos and Order
I know nothing about this book, other than it’s written by Stephen R. Donaldson and I liked the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever enough to want to try this one.

Katherine Kurtz – The Temple and the Crown
I have some other stuff of hers and what I’ve heard of her is encouraging enough to intrigue me.

Andre Norton – Warlock
I’m not entirely sure what prompted me to get this book, other than the fact that Andre Norton died, either early this year, or late last year.

H. N. Turtletaub – The Gryphon’s Skull
Another Greeky Geeky book for me to read at my leisure.

Eric Van Lustbader – Jian
Apparently, the Jian is superior to the ninja. However, there are do not appear to be any ninja in this book. Or maybe that’s just because they’re so good at hiding.

L. E. Modesitt jr. – Wellspring of Chaos
I sometimes wonder why I continue this series. Between The Magic of Recluce and The Death of Chaos, this was a fantastic series. Then I read Fall of Angels and the ensuing books, and it took a serious down-turn. However, I’ve started the series, and it doesn’t offend me to continue, so continue I will.

Curt Benjamin – The Gates of Heaven
This one looked like it might be good. It’s the first book of a series about something. But the cover looked good. God, I’m superficial.

Richard Sherbaniuk – The Fifth Horseman
I’m guessing this is about Mr. T. I heard that Mr. T was the fifth horseman but he decided to take his van instead.

Orson Scott Card – The Crystal City
I really liked Ender’s series. This one is definitely different from that one but it’s also written very well. I look forward to getting back to these books.

Raymond E. Feist – A Darkness at Sethanon
All of my Krondor books went away, and this is my first (or second) step in the attempt to recompile them.

ed. Carol Edgarian – The Writer’s Life
Kim picked this out for me. I’m not sure what she was expecting. I’m not sure what *I* was expecting when I started looking through it but it’s basically a book of quotes by some famous writers. It’s pretty interesting, even if a lot of the quotes are taken out of context.

T. F. Banks – The Thief Taker
This is part of a series. I don’t know what to expect but it looks good.

Stephen King – Rose Madder
There were a whole bunch of Stephen King books for sale. Aside from The Stand and all the Dark Tower books that I found, I picked up a couple Stephen King books. Why I chose this one and not another, I can’t really say.

Elmore Leonard – Be Cool
I like the way Elmore Leonard writes. And the movie wasn’t bad either. I don’t know if he wrote this book just for the movie or if he thought it was a good premise all on its own, but it seems to work.

Timothy Zahn – Heir to the Empire
I bought three Star Wars books. I remember reading part of this one about fifteen years ago or so. Man, I’m getting old.

Anne Bishop – Queen of the Darkness
This is the first book of a series. I found book two somewhere but I didn’t pick it up. “Why,” I thought to myself at the time, “would I want a book two when I don’t have the book one?” I’m kicking myself, now.

Lynn Abbey – Thieves’ World: Sanctuary
There’s nothing wrong with a little sanctuary. Especially when you live on a world teeming with thieves. At least, I’m assuming that’s what this book’s about. We’ll see.

Robert Ludlum – The Bourne Supremacy
I’ve been told these books are much better than the movies. I found the first two and I’m looking forward to reading them.

Jon Land – Labyrinth
As far as I know, this book has nothing to do with the movie of the same name. Unless David Bowie shows up in this, too.

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett – Good Omens
I’ve read the first little bit of this. It’s pretty good so far but I was hip-deep in other books when I started it. I’ll be able to give it the attention it deserves, in time.

Jack Whyte – Clothar the Frank
I really hope that Jack Whyte turns out to be good. I have a lot of his books, now.

Piers Anthony – Cube Route
I haven’t read a Xanth novel since before my university days. I hope it’s not too disappointing.

Irene Radford – Guardian of the Promise
How many books have there been about modern-day people interacting with people from Arthur’s time? Certainly, this can’t be as good as Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade (which, I guess, should be changed to Indiana Jones: The Second-Last Crusade).

David Farland – Wizardborn
I want to read the Runelord series. I have it in this year’s 50-book schedule, and this is the third book in that series. I guess if the first two are good, I’ll put this one in the schedule, as well.

Stephen King – Needful Things
I’m pretty sure Max Von Sydow is in the movie for this book, so I got the book.

Herman Melville – Moby-Dick
Call me Ishmael. I like books on boats.

L. E. Modesitt jr. – The Ethos Effect
I got this one because I want to start my way into Science Fiction and what better way than with an author I already know?

Dan Chernenko – The Bastard King
He’s a king, but he’s a real bastard. It looked good on the outside.

Jerry Pournelle – The Houses of the Kzinti
I swear, there were fifty copies of this at various tables. I got sick of it staring at me, so I bought it and the rest of the copies left me alone.

Curt Benjamin – The Prince of Dreams
The second book in the series. So there.

John Moore – Heroics for Beginners
I was somewhat impressed by a book on the same theme that I got last year, Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David. We’ll see…

Robert Ludlum – The Bourne Identity
Matt Damon could kick my ass.

David Morrell – Double Image
This is another guy with the random-title-generator.

Michael A. Stackpole – Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron
I think I played this game once. And I enjoyed the Wing Commander books…

Sir Walter Scott – Rob Roy
Never seen the movie. I hope the book is good.

Karin Lowachee – Cagebird
I got this book in the hopes that it would be better than the blurb on the back of the book.

Stephen King – The Gunslinger
I saw it and I wasn’t going to not get it.

Diana Gabaldon – Dragonfly in Amber
I got this one on the strengths of The Fiery Cross. Which weren’t much, but the book was 50 cents.

R. A. Salvatore – Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
I’d wanted to read this book before I saw Attack of the Clones but I didn’t. I’d like to, though, to see how they explain away that awful, awful love montage in the movie.

T. F. Banks – The Emperor’s Assassin
I really don’t know what to expect from this series. It sounds good but I’ve been burned before.

James Joyce – Finnegan’s Wake
I liked some stuff of his that I read in University. I’m hoping this will be just as dark and depressing as the rest of it.

Robert Silverberg – Sorcerers of Majipoor
In my hunting-down of the Majipoor books, I’d never actually heard of this one. Does that mean he’s still writing them?

Charles Dickens – Nicholas Nickleby
My dad always calls Nick “Nicholas Nickleby”. I want to see if I should be offended or not.

Mark Merlis – An Arrow’s Flight
Yet another Greeky Geeky book for me to read.

Roger McDonald – Darwin’s Shooter
Whether this is about an assassin, a photographer or an alcoholic, it should make for some good readin’.

Stan Lee – The God Project
Okay, okay, so it isn’t the same Stan Lee. The title (which I’m sure has nothing to do with the book) sounds intriguing.

J. Gregory Keyes – The Waterborn
He dropped the J. and wrote some good books (The Briar King and The Charnel Prince). I’m hoping that his first book will be as good as his last two.

Jack Whyte – The Saxon Shore
I bought a Jack Whyte book a couple of years ago and never got to it. It’s one of the Arthur books. While there are a lot of Arthur books out there, there aren’t a lot of GOOD Arthur books out there. I’ve heard good things about Jack Whyte and I hope they’re true.

Stephen Chambers – Hope’s End
This one, from the cover, looks like a good, solid Fantasy novel. So I’ll probably hopelessly disappointed by it.

George R. R. Martin – A Game of Thrones
I hoard copies of A Game of Thrones. I lost a copy and I had another one’s cover ripped to bits by some people my brother works with, so they could use the pieces of paper for cribbage pegs. (My brother got the bastards back, though. He smashed their board to bits with a sledge hammer. He’s so cool) So now, when I see a cheap copy of the book, I pick it up.

Robert Silverberg – The Mountains of Majipoor
I started collecting the Majipoor because I was intrigued in the brain behind the Legends compilation, featuring such fantasy luminaries as Robert Jordan, George R. R. Martin, Terry Goodkind, Raymond E. Feist and a whole bunch of others. I’ve read the first bit of Lord Valentine’s Castle (which I picked up at last year’s library book sale) and it turns out the main character’s a good juggler.

Ursula Le Guin – A Wizard of Earthsea
This one seems to be a Fantasy standard. Kind of like The Lord of the Rings among others. I look forward to reading it.

Terry Pratchett – Hogfather
If nothing else, it’s supposed to make me laugh.

Christopher Hyde – Black Dragon
The title made me look at it but something that it said on the cover made me buy it: By the author of Hard Target. We all know what a masterful story that was. “No, you should know better!”

California Dreamin'

Turns out, I'm headed to California on Sunday.

Being the only remote member of the development team is not without its frustrations - not being able to go to the lead engineer and sit and talk through a problem is the main one. But it's not entirely without its perks, either.

Sunday morning, I will strap myself into a plane and head down to Mountainview, California, where the rest of my development team is. I'm kinda looking forward to it and I'm kinda not.

On the positive side, I get to meet the rest of the team and Jim Whitelaw informed me the other day that his friend has a sailboat and we're all going sailing on the Sunday.

On the negative side, I don't get to bring my family. Kim's never been alone in the house and I feel like I'm abandoning her to the not-so-tender mercies of the world.

Plus, I'm going to miss my guys.

However, it's for five days and it will be a valuable experience.

California, here I come.

WHAT?!

Nothing better than
Haiku error messages
"Total System Crash"

Your computer sucks
Get a faster processor
If you want this app

Sorry. It's my fault.
Arrays are not my strong suit
Pointer out-of-range

Will you ever learn?
Letters? Numbers? Not the same.
Invalid input.

That file isn't there.
Maybe it is somewhere else.
Wanna go find it?

Wanna do something?
It doesn't matter right now.
I'm doing MY thing.

Solitary morn.
Mist outside my window pane,
Smoke in my PC.

Sorry 'bout your luck.
That file you wanted is gone.
Purged it yesterday.

See? Sharp.

For those of you who require a formal statement, I have begun the new phase of my career at Intuit Canada.

During my interview, they asked a lot of questions, testing my knowledge. Most of the questions asked by Adwin, the Senior Software Engineer, were based around C++ (as Quicken has always been programmed in C and C++ and the QSG [Quicken Solutions Group] has been a C++-centric group). I figured that the main reason I’d gotten the job was because of my fairly-extensive knowledge of C++.

Except I’m the only Engineer in Edmonton who isn’t working in C++.

It turns out that the driving force behind my being hired is that I have shown (through work experience and through my references) that I am not afraid to speak up when I have concerns and they felt that that would be a very valuable asset to have as a remote member of a development team.

So I’m using C#, leaning very heavily on concepts I’ve never really looked at like Events and Delegates. It’s going to be a harrowing couple of weeks, getting up to speed on these things. When I do, things will all be well (until they throw the next challenge at me, anyway!)

On the reading front, things are going slowly, but still relatively on target for the 50 books goal.

I’ve finished (but haven’t had time to write about): The Horse and his Boy, Nighttime Parenting, and The Subtle Knife. That gives me 14 books read through today. I have a month and a week to finish three books to be on track (though my goal #1 list has expanded out of control – there are now a whopping 23 books! I’m going to have to revise this list to allow for reality, and for the fact that I’m reading two software design books (they have already been added to the list but they’re taking precedence over all the other books right now. )

They’re Design Patterns by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson and John Vlissides; and Code Complete by Steve McConnell. So far, they’re very high-level and have a lot to do with design intent, laying groundwork and avoiding just jumping into the code in order to avoid redoing a bunch of work.

Very interesting stuff.

36 books to go!

A little family history for you

Dear Mr Jones,

Thank you for your enquiry of 17th April, in which you request
informationconcerning Robert Hardie Wilson and Julia Allen.The only information
we have relates to Mr Wilson. The minutes of a meeting held on 10th October 1901
state that "Mr Wilson, who acted as secretary ofthe club for the past five
months should receive remuneration to the extentof £75". His employment in this
capacity probably began in April of thatyear, after the existing secretary
resigned, having been in the position foronly one year.Unfortunately, we have no
further details and I have been unable to find anyreference to Julia Allen.I
hope the information supplied i! s of some use. If I can be of any
furtherassistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,Angela
HoweHeritage & Museum Curator
The R&ASt AndrewsFife, KY16 9JD
Tel. +44 (0)1334 460062
www.randa.org

My cousin Mike has been digging into our family history and it turns out that my great grandfather was the secretary for the St. Andrews golf club, the birthplace of golf. Thanks to Auntie Anne for forwarding this information to me.

This Time Next Week

This time next week, I’ll be sitting down, probably with Jim Whitelaw or Chris Smith (who is one of his underlings), going through stuff for the job.

Maybe I’ll be in the HR person’s office, going over benefits information, looking forward to that meeting being over so I can get on with working.

Most significantly, however, is the fact that I won’t be at Halliburton.

My post-university life has centred around two key elements: My relationship with Kim and my job at Halliburton.

Over the last three years, the two have been intertwined and, while my relationship with Kim has not been defined by my job at Halliburton, both have developed into long-term relationships. Now one of them is coming to an end.

The job was not without its frustrations: getting called out for things I didn’t do (probably because I was supposed to do them), working months on two or three projects, just to see them get cancelled or changed just before I finished them, and so on.

It’s had its successes, too. Most notably the programming projects, the technical writing, and the hours and hours of interacting with Engineering, trying to get the product out on time. Being support personnel is not an ideal career for me, but it did have its attractions.

I’ve also made friends. I don’t care to pretend that all of the people I’ve become friends with at Halliburton are people I will always keep in touch with. I’m going one direction and they’re going in another. However, I have made friends I care about, friends I will keep up with after I’m gone, and I will remember everyone I worked with until time leaves nothing but a vague impression. I will miss every one of them, whether they were stressors, friends, co-workers, bosses, mentors or just people I passed in the hallways and shared a quip with.

I will miss this place.

At Least the Milkshake was Tasty

I was making milkshakes for dessert when Kim calls into the kitchen, "What happened?"

I'd heard a small [crump] but I didn't pay it any mind, amid the whinings of an out-of-sorts Lillian and the incoherent babblings of everyday Nicholas. I joined her at the picture window and we saw a white car, stopped in the middle of the road.

Kim explained that she'd watched the car driving down the road and heard the noise. I slipped into my shoes and scurried outside to see if there was anything I could do.

A car was stopped at the entrance to the condo complex, facing outward. A man was walking toward the white car, which now had a hood bent up like an A.

Being a "first-aider", I assessed the situation and noticed that everyone was okay. It was pretty obvious what happened, but the guy who had been leaving the condo explained it to me anyway.

"It was slippery and I couldn't stop. Man, I hope she doesn't go to the cops." I was in no position to comment on that and I suggested that the woman, who was pretty shaken-up, pull her car over to the side of the road. Fortunately, it was still driveable, and she did as I suggested.

I wasn't going to go anywhere, since this guy was taller than I was, and the lady was a small Asian woman. I didn't think the guy would try to do anything but I wanted to make sure.

I suggested he go and get his insurance papers and he ran off to his car to get them. They weren't there. He drove off as I noted his license plate number in case he didn't come back.

While he was gone, I asked the lady if she had a pen and paper. She was still pretty shaken-up, and I offered to write the information down for her. I did, she told the guy she wouldn't go to the police and everyone left, if not happy, then satisfied. About the time that I finished writing the insurance information, I realized that I hadn't put my coat on. Or my touque.

I went inside and enjoyed my milkshake and now you have this delightful story to read.

The end.

"I quit." "You're fired."

Over the last three days, I've gotten to say both of these things.

I fired a temp yesterday because she wasn't performing up to expectations. Ah, expectations, which will invariably lead to disappointment. Still, as a boss (not a BOOSE) you have to have expectations and if they're not met, you get to fire people.

I did, and then had nightmares about it last night.

Firing people really sucks, but the gratitude on the faces of the rest of Document Control helped to ease that suckiness.

I hired someone new today. Heather likes her and figures she'll do okay. I hope she's right because we're running out of time.

For those of you keeping track, 6 days, 4 hours and 23 minutes... 22 minutes.

As for reading and my annual goal, I have been forced, by the work situation, to put that on hold. There is a certain amount of work I have to get done before I leave and it comes before any subtle knives.

Resigned To It

Well, today came the worst part of starting a new job – at least when you like the job you’re leaving.

I have nothing but the utmost respect for my current boss, Ed. He knows how to treat people and, while Halliburton is still among the lowest salaries for Engineers, there are more than enough perks to keep people around.

I told Ed today, when I handed in my resignation, that if it hadn’t been the situation that it is, I wouldn’t have left. I truly believe that. I think he believed it too. He took what had the potential to be a very painful experience and made it easy on me. He knew that I was leaving. Someone told him and I think I know who but that doesn’t matter. I wanted to be the one to tell him but that’s not always my choice when I tell other people. Regardless, I left his office with a handshake and best wishes and, I truly believe, no hard feelings on either side.

A New Job: I'll really be "Intuit"

I got the Job

For those of you who were at coffee when I was home alone, you know what I’m talking about.

For the rest of you, I’ll start at the beginning.

My wife left for the weekend. Hopped on a plane and headed to Vancouver for her brother’s wedding. The day after she left, I got an email from Graham Thompson, Talent Acquisition for Intuit, the makers of Quickbooks, Quicken, Quick Tax and I’m sure a few others. I figured it was a long shot for the job but I want a career in software development and they seemed to be a reasonable fit. C++ is their specialty, and it’s mine too, so we seemed to be a pretty good match.

Sunday came, and I had a 30-minute phone interview with Graham after I spent a few hours going over things I would say, trying to relax and trying to build up my confidence.

I kicked that interview’s ass.

Graham told me, at the end, that I sounded like a reasonable candidate for the position they were hiring for. I figured I’d get a second interview.

That Friday, I did.

When Kim sprained her ankle, I took two days off to take care of her, and that allowed me the opportunity to sneak off for a bit for a face-to-face interview with Jim Whitelaw, the hiring manager. It turned out that he interviewed me with a senior Software Engineer (though that may change soon if Apegga has their way). Partway through the interview, Jim turned to the senior man and said, “Do you have any more questions for him?” He said, “Yeah, but he’ll get them. Do you want me to ask them anyway?” At that point, I was fairly confident that I would get the job. They asked some good problem-solving questions, some programming questions and some about my history of conflict-resolution, predicting how long it would take me to finish a project and things of that nature. I had good answers for all of them. Still, I wasn’t entirely sure. I wasn’t ready to hand in my resignation, anyway.

Yesterday, I found out that they were going to offer me a package. Today I found out what the package was going to be. Either tomorrow or the next day, I’m going to go to Intuit and sign an agreement and I’m going to give my notice at the Big Red (hustling on!). The money is more than I expected out of a junior position and as much as I’m making now. With taking a car off the road, not using the gas, balanced by a bus pass, I’ll be taking home more than I was before and doing what I want to do for a living, not to mention that I’ll be at the bottom of the totem-pole, rather than at the top, so my opportunities for advancement will be more prevalent.

While 2006 started with a fairly nondescript aura, it’s turned out to be a fairly significant year. Thank god for the green years.

According to Intuit.ca:
Perks:

Fitness Incentive and Games Room:
Our Edmonton office has a gymnasium and associated equipment onsite. Our onsite fitness facility is complete with treadmill, weights, exercise bike, showers and towel service. Our games room is equipped with a big-screen TV, VCR, billiards and fooseball! We have nap rooms too - three of them; each with a bed, bedding, nightstand, reading lamp and clock radio. Calgary and remote employees are eligible to receive a fitness incentive to help defray the cost of a gym membership or monthly gym fees.

Tuition Assistance:
Employees who choose to continue their education through an accredited school may qualify for assistance with books and tuition. Intuit reimburses employees up to $2,000 per fiscal year for job- or career-related courses.

Computer Loan Program:
After six months of regular employment, employees can borrow up to $3,000 to purchase a computer. The loan is interest free and is paid back through payroll deductions.

Product Discounts:
Employees enjoy substantial discounts on Intuit products.

Corporate Giving:
Intuit encourages and supports employees' community involvement efforts through the We Care and Give Back Program. It includes two components:

Employee Volunteer Program:
Employees are encouraged to develop and demonstrate leadership skills by organizing team volunteer activities. The program includes financial support and time off to volunteer for corporate approved projects and programs.

Employee Matching Program:
Intuit provides matching funds to charitable organizations that employees personally support, and/or funds raised through an individual's personal efforts for a charitable organization. We match donations made by eligible employees, dollar for dollar, up to $1,200.

Adoption Assistance:
To help offset the cost of adopting a child, Intuit reimburses up to $4,500 (net) per adoption.

On-Site Cafeteria:
The Edmonton location has a cafeteria on site, which includes a sandwich-bar/deli, salad bar, soups, pizza, pastas, roasted turkey, beef or pork, desserts, fruit - just about anything.

Queen of Demons

Well past due, I’ve finally managed to power my way through the second book of David Drake’s Lord of the Isles series. The first book was really good. There were some flaws with the writing but I could get past those because it WAS a good book and a first book. The second book is much worse.

In the first book, they killed off the best character and everyone else fell into their predetermined roles, using no logical deduction but always coming to the right conclusions. The critics talked about how well Drake threaded multiple story-lines together and tied them at the end. Shouldn’t it matter that three of those four story lines didn’t matter? I mean, Garric, who is the main character, and his sister and two friends each have their own story arc but none but Garric’s (at least until the end) has anything to do with the rest of the story.

Granted, the scenes in and of themselves were largely entertaining. Like the one group of humans who were dumped into an alternate dimension and built a fort so that they could fight off a group of bad guys every night. That was kind of amusing. But it didn’t have anything to do with anything else.

It was kind of like reading a Conan book that just wouldn’t end.

But now I’m done it and I’m glad because if I stuck it on my bookshelf unfinished, I’d have to start all over again, again, and now I can put it away, knowing that it’s not in my queue. I hate giving up on things.

Minigoal #5

On to The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman. Next Monday, I expect to have The Subtle Knife finished.

Oh, and by Friday, I’ll have another blog entry up.

Until later,

39 books to go!

Minigoal update or: As the Slacker Turns

I am very far behind in my minigoal of completing Queen of Demons right now. I went camping and got tired and never got back into reading after that. Hopefully, this weekend will settle that. I hope to finish Queen of Demons and The Subtle Knife by the end of the weekend. Not that this is very realistic but it will get me back on track.

How's that sound?

Talk to ya later

Valentine's Day

Well, another Valentine’s Day has come and gone, nobody got hurt and cards were exchanged.

I know that Valentine’s Day is probably the most harangued “holiday” that is celebrated in these parts. (I wonder if they think that Ramadan has become to commercialized in other parts of the world…) If you look at it, though, every celebration in our culture is inundated with advertising, commercialism and the imposed need to buy everything in sight to appease those we love.

It takes some work to fight through the hallmark commercials and the chocolate hearts but I’ve always thought of Valentine’s Day (even when I was single and bitter) as a time for couples to put aside everything else – work, the kids (without committing criminal negligence), friends, hockey games and everything else, and concentrate on the other member of the relationship. Granted, people say it would be nice to be treated like that the rest of the year, and it would. It would be nice to be the sole focus of someone’s life. However, this is not practical and not possible with the need to pay for heating, eating, treating and other things that just don’t rhyme.

It was nice to have an evening alone with my wife. We sat in front of the television and watched a good TV show. We exchanged our cards, re-learned that we are important to each other, and it may have only been an hour out of the evening but was nice nonetheless.

So, for all you Valentine’s Day haters out there:

PBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBT!

Oh, but I have to say that despite her cynicism, Krista has the best Valentine's Day card ever.

Winter Camp as seen by a Leader of Beavers

The weekend started with frustration. I was supposed to be leaving work at 3 pm. We had things to do and I’d cleared it with my boss. Unfortunately, 3 came and went and I was still slaving over the latest URGENT URGENT RUSH RUSH GOTTA GET THIS OUT THE DOOR OR THE COMPANY IS DOOOOOOOOOOOMED change that they waited until the very last minute to foist upon me. ‘Sokay, whatever. I was out of here at 3:30. Plenty of time to get the running around I needed done. Except that things kept creeping up. And then I forgot my shirt (which I ended up not *really* needing.) I’m not trying to set a frustrating tone for the entire weekend, I’m just saying that the time until we got to camp was, while not immersed, I’d say lightly dipped in frustration.

The second I stepped into the lodge where we would all be sleeping, all of that frustration was swept away and I was transported back into the heyday of my youth when I would be the one wearing the silly hat (as a Cub OR a Beaver – we had funny hats for both, back then) and I wanted nothing more than to go and play. And play I did. As soon as we were squared away (thanks, Rob, for the hand with the bags), we were off in the trailer, pulled by Akela’s RV. Around a couple corners and into the slightly-snowy tobogganing hill. That’s right, there was snow there. You know, white stuff, little chilly, good for throwing at Cubs… The first bunch of attempts to go down the hill were met with good-natured frustration and failure. Then Rob had the genius idea of turning the krazy karpet over and sliding on the dull side. Face first. I tried it. The bottom of the hill was lined with some shrubs which met my face.

Next it was off to camp opening and then bed for Beavers. I became acquainted with a swede-saw as I had to lop the front corners off a bunch of Kub Kars to turn them into something the Beavers could race the next day. Then I carved my own and it was off to bed.

The next morning started with a breakfast prepared (as I’m sure all of you know by now) by a professional chef. Scrambled eggs are amazing when you mix them with Cream of Mushroom soup. Who knew? Anyway, after that was a long hike down to the lake for a quick game of tag and a return trip to the lodge and mess hall for morning snack.

While the Beavers went off with Rob and Rainbow to make candles, I sanded down the Beaver Kars that I had cut the night before. Splinter + Beaver = tragedy. The cars were painted and the time after lunch was dedicated to Valentine’s craft, which I was once again not a part of, because I was helping to fix the Kub Kar track.

After lunch it was back down to the lake (on the trailer) for some Mega-boggan fun. It was a little disconcerting to hear the ice cracking underneath and I had a couple of Dead Zone moments, but nothing went wrong (aside from the boggan breaking and requiring a little fixey-fixey) and a good time was had by all.

It was during this sojourn that I decided my time of throwing snowballs was done. Three snowballs left my hands and three Cub/Beavers ended up in tears, the results of my missile-projection dripping down their faces. I’m such a jerk. Ah well, I paid for it the next day when one of the cubs walked right up to me and threw a snowball right in my junk – three times. I guess it’s a little more physically demanding than a “Hail Mary” but it gets the point across.

Supper that night was smoked pork loin and spaghetti with the now-infamous salmon sauce. I passed on the salmon and went for the meat sauce. I’ve never been much for fish.

The Scouting-Car rally came next and I was allowed to do the announcing. The kids were pretty excited. I made them all name their cars and the tournament was underway. Beavers fell by the wayside until one stood victorious. It was Spider-Car.

Next, the Cubs had their tournament. Again, I was announcing. Finally, Baby-Blue Crew won the Cub tournament.

In the end, it was a grudge match between Beavers and Cubs. This had transcended mere racing. The battle was on between the younger beavers and the Cubs who could throw farther, run faster and do more. None of that matters on the race-track, though, and that was apparent at the finish line where Spider-Car made a mockery of Baby-Blue Crew and there was much celebration among the Beavers at the expense of the Cubs.

Campfire was fun. There was the usual assortment of skits and songs and I even got up in front of everyone to do a rousing round of “Down by the bay” (not to be confused with “Sitting on the dock of the bay” – that wouldn’t have won many Cubs or Beavers over). Big thanks to Nicholas for the first “Did you ever see a” because his was the only hand in the air when I asked for a line. That opened things up and it seemed like everyone had a line. Even with the last one: “Did you ever see a cub… um… doing that thing like this!”

Sunday saw another fantastic breakfast, a trip to the lake, cleanup and the long drive home. There were a few frustrations on Sunday and all of us (Lillian aside – she’s a real champ) felt the effects of a weekend of cramming too much stuff into too little time. Still, I was glad to be a part of it and I’ll definitely get out for Spring camp at Evansburg, which I thought was in Pennsylvania but is apparently in Alberta.

Shaman's Crossing

I always feel a little trepidation when I start to read a new series. Especially when it’s written by an author I’ve previously enjoyed. It’s probably because the probability for disappointment is so high. Regardless, I kept my head and my hopes up when I started Shaman’s Crossing, Book 1 of the Soldier’s Son series by Robin Hobb. I thought that her Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies had some of the best characterization I’ve ever read. I just didn’t want to be disappointed.

Once again, I was treated to a good, solid story with characters I could like, even with their shortcomings -- maybe because of their shortcomings. The characters, even the main character, have their moments of pettiness, of weakness, hesitation where the classic hero-type would save the world without self-doubt, conflict or delay.

Though there’s never any fear of the death of the protagonist – it’s a 1st-person narrative – the bumps and bruises, and worse, make you wince in sympathetic pain for his troubles. And even though you know that the hero will somehow win the day, Hobb does an incredible job of keeping suspense, with failure just within reach at every turn.

The setting was basically at the height of North American colonization and the sympathy that the main character is forced to feel for his enemies can be seen as an indictment of our forefathers and the building of the railroads, or of Brazil’s continued woes with the rain forest, without being heavy-handed or preachy.

I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series, even if this one isn’t as good as Hobb’s previous works.

Minigoal #4

Due to my forgetting The Subtle Knife at my parents’ house during Saturday lunch, my order has changed somewhat, with Queen of Demons moving up and the two final His Dark Materials books moving down. I’m currently 237 pages into the 662-page Queen of Demons which leave me about 6 days worth of reading left. Discounting the weekend, when I’ll be on Beaver Camp, that makes next Wednesday as the day for me to be finished.

Until more later on,

40 books to go!

Anansi Boys

Wow. It’s hard to peg Neil Gaiman’s writing down into a genre. Is it Fantasy? Well, there are fantastical elements in there. Is it Science Fiction? Sometimes, I guess, but not really. I guess it’s more Alternate Reality type stuff. Does that fall under Fantasy?

Anyway, Anansi Boys was more of the same stuff that was in American Gods. One thing that I was disappointed in: It didn’t have the epic feeling that the first one did. I didn’t really care about Fat Charlie or Spider as much as I did Shadow.

Then again, maybe that’s just my love of Viking gods. Or George Guidall. Lenny Henry did a great job, reading the book. After Eragon, I was afraid that Britain was the country where voice actors went if they sucked. Looks like I was wrong.

I’m sure that there was plenty that I missed in Anansi Boys, themes that either went over my head, or I just failed to hear, but it was pretty quick, both because of how short the book was, and because of the pacing of the story. There wasn’t much time for waiting.

The resolution was a little hurried - it tried to be relaxed and I thought it didn't work out well with the rest of the story, but that's just me.

Minigoal Update:

I’m looking pretty good for finishing Shaman’s Crossing by tomorrow. I’ve got around 150 pages left and since Kim’s leaving me for tonight and tomorrow night, there should be more than ample time.

41 books to go!

Three New Books as Stories Unfold

I said before starting Kushiel’s Dart that I would give it a chance. I think that 178 pages is enough of a chance.

Now, I like Fantasy novels, but they’re not supposed to be that sort of … ahem… fantasy.

This series is based on a woman who becomes a spy based on her enjoyment of pain. Apparently, once people hurt her and have their way with her, they’re that much more likely to give away state secrets or something.

You would think that a story based on this could only go so far. You would be wrong.

Jacqueline Carey wrote three books about Phedre, who is blessed with “Kushiel’s Dart”, hence the catchy title. This lands her in the hands of her master, some guy with a weird name.

French names abound in this book that had good characters, a decent amount of intrigue but way too much smut that went too far for this cowboy.

So, the masochist-spy goes by the wayside (all three books worth), being replaced by Shaman’s Crossing by Robin Hobb and Wizard of the Grove by Tanya Huff. Wizard of the Grove is split into two books, Child of the Grove and The Last Wizard.

Tonight, I returned the second and third Kushiel books, without a receipt, and, combined with my Chapter’s card, a 15% discount and 5 dollars, I covered the price of Shaman's Crossing.

The funny thing about this is that the entire Kushiel series cost 5 dollars less than Shaman's Crossing would have been if I could have bought it the night I bought the Kushiel series. So basically, I got a book that I don't want (Kushiel's Avatar) for nothing.

So, the end of this very confusing tale is that, mathematical contradictions aside, my lack of willingness to read crap earned me a half a used book.

On to the minigoal!

Minigoal revision:

Getting rid of the book that I was in the middle of reading kinda hurts. Especially when I was a prodigious 178 pages in. Regardless, I soldier on. With the Soldier’s Son Trilogy. Or the first book of it, anyway.

Shaman's Crossing is 577 pages long, and, keeping with my 80-or-so pages per day, that works out to 7 days to read this book. Since it’s now Sunday, that means that Saturday is still the deadline for the completion of the book.

Two more in the bag:

Eragon

I have to admit that I was more than a little disappointed with Eragon by Christopher Paolini. It was a modestly good book. The characters were okay, though nothing to scream about. The weakest point about the book was its dialogue. Throughout the book, Eragon, who is the “child of destiny” in this book, asks questions and receives answers like it’s a video game.

“Tell me more about .”
“ is ."
It was like this without variation for the first half of the book. The second half was better, if only just a little.

It probably doesn’t help that I listened to the audiobook and Saphira, the blue dragon, was done in a “Me Cookie Monster want cookie” kind of voice. Really, the voice actor did a pretty poor job overall, and I had a hard time gauging the quality of writing.

All that said, the plot is pretty strong for a rehashed old fantasy theme, and I’m looking a little forward to Eldest, as long as it’s not done by the same guy. There are supposed to be more dragons and I’m not sure I can take the story seriously with a dread army of muppets at Eragon’s command.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

I’ve pretty much said all I need to about The Chronicles of Narnia. I continue to be amazed by Nicholas’ listening skills and his comprehension level. He’s excited to learn more about Narnia and Aslan (even if he sometimes mixes up which is which).

My favourite part to read to him was the part after Aslan’s return, his playing with Susan and Lucy at the Stone Table. However, I think his favourite part was when Aslan breathed life back into the statues at the Witch’s castle. Especially the Lion. “Us lions. Did you hear that, everyone? Aslan said Us Lions!” And of course, the noble giant, Rumblebuffin.

Next up, The Horse and His Boy and Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Anansi Boys is read by a Brit, too. I can only hope he’s better than the guy that did Eragon.

42 books left to go!

Three years?!

Lost in the haze of goals, work, babies and Beavers, the third anniversary of my meeting Kim came and went with a small celebration.

For the first couple of months that Kim and I went out, we were continually saying, “I can’t believe it’s only been [insert time-period here]!” Honestly, it felt, all the way though, like we’d been together for years. There was very little transition, very little discomfort. We fit.

And now it’s been three years and all I can think is, “I can’t believe it’s only been three years!”

Happy anniversary, Kim.

Memories of Ice

Well, it’s five days past my original minigoal but one day ahead of the revised one. Without staying up way too late on any given day, I’ve finished Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson.

When people ask me to describe this series, my brain freezes up and I just say “It’s cool. Read it.” It’s hard to find the words in a conversation that will encompass the story that I’ve read so far.

But I’ll try:

The Malazan Book of the Fallen is a series that chronicles the expansion of the powerful Malazan Empire. Spanning across continents, the Malazans use brutal military efficiency, powerful magic and the mysterious Claw (assassins) to conquer people and bring peace to the lands.

At the beginning of the series, in Gardens of the Moon, you’re dropped in the middle of the action, and if you’re not willing to be confused for a couple hundred pages, you’re probably not going to enjoy them enough to go on. It’s worth it to struggle through, though, because the story picks up very quickly and there are a whole bunch of very interesting characters on both sides of the fence (and some right in the middle).

Deadhouse Gates is the second book and the best one I’ve read so far. It involves an uprising on one of the continents that the empire has already claimed and a desperate race for the Empire’s newest Fist, Coltaine, and an imperial historian, Duiker. They lead a horde of refugees across the continent, chased by rebels. But this is just one part of the story.

Memories of Ice is a continuation of Gardens of the Moon, with more plot development, new enemies and an actual bad guy! Some of the new characters are absolutely amazing and the development of some of the original characters is even better. Quick Ben and Ganoes Paran, in particular, are the characters I look forward to reading about in the future.

Hopefully, House of Chains will be as good as the rest of the series has been so far, but that’s to be read some time in the future.

Minigoal #3

For now, it’s on to Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey. If it’s as good as I’ve heard, I should be able to whip right through it. However, since it’s over 800 pages as well, I’ll try to keep it realistic and say 10 days, which is 80 pages per day (which I believe is realistic). So, I will hope to have Kushiel’s Dart finished on February 4.

Also, there is just a sliver (maybe five pages) left in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which I hope will get finished on Friday, if not before.

Finally, I’m about three-quarters of the way done Eragon. If I can finish these two by the end of January (which I feel is very possible), I’m looking at having finished eight books in January, projecting out at 96 books this year.

I don’t believe I’ll be able to keep that up. Things happen and I know how it goes. Still, 8 books in a month is nothing to sneeze at.

Until next time.

Welcome to "The Fold"

Given my ability to find such books, I have decided to incorporate Eragon by Christopher Paolini and Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman into the January-April portion of my Annual Goal.

I've started Eragon and, while I'll definitely finish it, there are some things that I'm not enjoying. More on this later.

Minigoal Update:

Well, the weekend has come and gone and, while I’m a little closer to the end of Memories of Ice, there’s still a long way to go.

I’m heartened, however, by the fact that I’ve only got a little more than a quarter of the book to go, I’ve finished five books already this year, this is the longest book remaining before the end of April, and as of right now, I’m only 3 days past my original minigoal.

Given these things, I will officially revise my minigoal to Thursday, January 26 (happy birthday, dad). I think this is reasonable, even generous, and I will have 6 books done by the end of January, which is two ahead of schedule. (I believe I can finish Eragon and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by then as well, which would actually make it 8 books, but whatever).

I’m trying to decide about the nature of my posts. Should I keep plot-points out to avoid ruining the books for people who haven’t yet read them or should I just state that I’m going to put the plot points in and have a section for them at the end of the post?

What do you think, bloggers?

If nothing comes up in the mean-time or in-between time, I’ll blog atcha on Thursday.

So, yeah, the car

Sung to the tune of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Picture yourself in a car on the highway
A dark green Corolla, as cars pass you by.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
“Thank you, yes, this car is mine.”

No need for taxis or buses or rides
No need for samaritaaaans
Under the hood’s an engine that will take you there.

Mom gave me her car yesterdaaaay
Mom gave me her car yesterdaaay
Mom gave me her car yesterdaaaay
Ooooooooooooh


And my imagination is gone. So yeah, my mom transferred ownership of the Corolla to me yesterday. Quite the New Year’s present. So I guess I’ll wash it, then.

I’d put up a picture but I don’t have one and the car’s too dirty right now for me to want to take a picture of it.

The Dark Tower

I just finished Book 7 of The Dark Tower, called The Dark Tower, by Stephen King. It’s been a long time since I’ve been as blown away by a book as I was by this one. I’m still trying to process it. I enjoyed the rest of the series. It’s really good, it’s really well-written. This one was miles above those. There are some who would say that the ending is a little schlocky, probably that they saw it coming, that it’s a cheesy cop-out.

I didn’t see it coming. It’s appropriate given Roland’s character. It’s appropriately miserable for the tone that King sets throughout the series. It’s heart-breaking and yet I was left with a tiny spark of hope for Roland. Hope that brighter days are ahead.

I’m writing this as vague as I can because, while I don’t claim to have a very large readership, and those that I know read In The Now either have read the series or don’t plan on it anytime soon, I know that I’ve given the URL to my brother and he’s very much intent on finishing the series without having it spoiled prematurely.

I think that the series is worth reading. It’s one of the few that I’ve actually finished (given how few of the series that I read are done being written) and I’d put the end of this series above most of them. I’d say it’s equivalent in quality to the ending of the Narnia Chronicles and it makes me very hungry and impatient for the end of The Wheel of Time series, A Song of Ice and Fire and The Sword of Truth series (although I sort of dread the end of that one with the direction the series has taken lately).

There are all kinds of holes that people could pick at in The Dark Tower – just as there are in every book – plot moves too slow for some, inconsistencies, I’m sure, that I haven’t picked up, too many coincidences… I don’t care. I don’t read a story to find the holes (unless they’re big and get in the way of the story – see The Sword of Truth) and what I got out of The Dark Tower surpasses any quibbling I might do about the fine points.

I can definitely see why it took Stephen King so long to write the series. He’s distracted himself throughout, by writing other books, making a name for himself (Richard Bachman, to be exact). Despite the disparity between publishing, productivity, quality of writing, all that kind of thing, I’ve struggled in the same way to get a story out of my head. It’s nothing on the level of The Dark Tower – it’s not fit to wipe Roland’s ass. Regardless, I can’t help but feel kindred to Stephen King. And I’ll guarantee that I’m not the only one. I just hope that I don’t have to nearly get killed and write myself into the story as an apology to the readers in order to get my own story out.

45 books to go!

Minigoal update: Life happens, and it laughs at the goals, mini or otherwise, of mortal men and women. I’ve broken the 400-page barrier on Memories of Ice but I’m still not at the halfway point in the 892-page behemoth. It’s a great story – everything’s coming together in Capustan and all Hell’s about to break loose – but between rediscovering my long-term non-sexual yet time-consuming love for John Madden, coupled with a bad week for Kim, a bad night or two for Nick, and the always-hard-on-reading work, I believe I will have to revise my minigoal yet again. I don’t mind this, since I’m looking at being done 8 books by the end of January, if all goes according to plan, which is way ahead of schedule, and I knew that I would need to factor in real life when I started this thing. Depending on how far I am by the end of the weekend, I will either post a new minigoal or revise my current one of Memories of Ice finished by the end of the weekend.

Blog atcha then!

Stupid Sprite!

Last night, Kim and I went to Millbourne Mall (I know, I know, why Millbourne?!) to hang out. Well, they have a used-book store and some other things of interest.

We went to the bookstore and made some purchases (The Prydain Chronicles, including The Black Cauldron; The Running Man by Stephen King; and Clash of the Titans, the novelization as well as a couple of movies for Nicholas). Hell of all Hells, I left a partially open bottle of sprite in the same bag as the books. I thought the Sprite was closed. Alas, the books were lost as were the movies. It put a bit of a damper on the rest of the evening. Very little pisses me off more than throwing away books (or wasting money). Of course, I could point the finger at myself for not closing the bottle properly but I blame the Sprite. If it hadn’t been so enticing, I would not have bought it. And if its openness had not been so easily concealed, the books would have been okay.

Stupid Sprite.

Minigoal #2

Well, having finished minigoal #1 (A Feast for Crows) in time, I am going to set another goal, keeping in mind that I don’t want to be up until 2am every time one of these things comes due.

The book I’m currently reading is Memories of Ice by Steven Erickson. Given that it is 892 pages, I will give myself 9 days to finish it. That’s January 20. I feel that this is a realistic goal that will also give me time with my family.

I’m pleased with my progress, so far, with Song for Susannah finished and creeping up on halfway through The Dark Tower. If I finish this soon, well, I’ve found Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman and Eragon by Christopher Paolini. I’ve been intrigued by Eragon for some time and I look forward to reading it – listening to it.

It could be that I will get through quite a few more books with Nicholas than just The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

So, by next Friday, I will hopefully be done Memories of Ice, (which is a sequel to Deadhouse Gates) and I will move on to the Kushiel series. I don’t know how much I’m going to like it but I’ll give it a fair shot.

Until next time.

A Feast for Crows

Well, I squeezed it in, just under the wire. Even if it took me until 2 in the morning.

I finished A Feast for Crows last night and I have to say, I’m a little disappointed.

The story was fantastic. The characters just keep improving. I think that adding the points of view that he did really added richness to the story. Everybody has a motivation and, right or wrong, you can see how they came to it.

My disappointment comes from the fact that it took Martin this long between A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows and even if he finishes A Dance with Dragons within the next two years, it’s likely going to be four years after that before the next one comes out. I think that some of my favourite storylines won’t be continued for six years.

Nothing that happened in this story surprised me. I didn’t see any of it coming but I never do. On the other hand, I’ve come to understand Martin’s writing style a little more and there were no shocks.

There wasn’t a real ending to this book. I mean, in A Game of Thrones, you had Ned, A Storm of Swords had the Red Wedding and Tywin Lannister on the crapper. (I don’t really remember A Clash of Kings and its ending very well but I think there was something with Jon Snow beyond the Wall). That said, what I’ve read has made me want to read A Dance with Dragons, very much.

Now.

46 to go!

The Magician's Nephew

I don’t always know how much Nicholas is paying attention. He’s always preferred books that had pictures in them, whether they were comic books or just chapter-type books that had pictures every few pages, like The B.F.G., which I read to him a couple of months ago.

Nicholas and I were part of the way through The Magician’s Nephew, the first of the Narnia books. (First in author-preference and chronological order, sixth or seventh in publishing date) I couldn’t guarantee that he was paying attention to what I was reading but I was enjoying reading it anyway. He floored me this evening, however, when I was reading a scene at the end where it described a wondrous smell and how it smelled like greenery and life, Nicholas said, “That must be the garden.” Now, I knew there was a garden but I can’t say that I expected him to remember, if he’d known at the beginning. I guess his excitement over the Narnia books is more than just passing the time.

I wonder how much he really is picking up. It’s exciting.

The story is pretty much exactly the way I remember it. I read it once when I was a kid and once two years ago. I hope Nicholas got a lot out of this one because if he did, I have a feeling he’s really going to enjoy the next one… and the one after that, and the one after that, and the one after that…

47 to go!

Yesterday, I learned that one of my co-workers was fired because he showed a lack of respect to a co-worker.

On the face of it, that doesn’t really seem to be too good a reason to be let go. However, I have come to learn what happened.

My former co-worker, a male engineer (who nobody really liked, because of a lack of social skills or restraint – the guy just tried way too hard) asked a female engineer out. This woman keeps her personal life very far from her work. She’s nice in a very quiet way but most people she works with realize that she is here to work, not for a social life. Not that she’s a recluse – she’ll socialize within the work environment but aside form that, she keeps to herself.

The male engineer pressed his case on her until, one night, after hours, she was working and he buzzed at the door, unable to enter. She went to the door and let him in and he stood in her office afterward, harassing her about why she wouldn’t go out with him. There were other situations as well but none explains the situation as well as this one.

Gossip is all well and good but beyond being a story to tell people for the sake of itself, this situation leaves me to think about some things.

It was pretty easy to tell, a few seconds into meeting the male engineer, that his social skills were lacking and his arrogance would not let him believe he had some to learn about fitting into a team environment like we have. He would try to force his way into people’s lives with big words and faux-concern in the form of questions, the answers to which he did not know.

Several people at work were willing to write him off a couple days into his work term. He rubbed so many people the wrong way, myself included. I was willing to give him a chance, however, telling my co-workers, “He’ll learn. He’ll have to or he won’t last.” I’m not happy that I was right. I would much rather that he’d learned his lesson without having to lose his job but I can understand that he couldn’t continue to work here, given what happened.

Another co-worker told me that the fired engineer had said of his firing: “I was stupid.” I don’t know exactly what that means but I can’t say he’s wrong. The way it seemed that he said it, (using my best powers of hearsay) it didn’t sound like he’d learned anything from the experience. Granted, it will probably be some time before he gets over the fact that he was fired and takes anything from it but given his apparent self-image, I find it hard to believe he’ll get anything but bitterness from what happened.

Does this make me a cynic? Sure. I've never denied that, though.

Good bye, Engineer-boy. I hope you figure it out.

Song of Susannah

Well, the day after I set the goal, I finished one of the books on my list.

I didn’t realize how far I was into Song of Susannah by Stephen King until the end.

This installment, while not quite as good as Wizard and Glass or Drawing of the Three, is still impressive. Its cliffhanger, while not as intense as The Waste Lands, is subtle and compelling.

I don’t know if I’m the only person with this experience but I’m going through this series, only understanding half of what I’m being told. Granted, King does go back and explain most things but I always feel as if my head is just below the water during the story and I spend half the time trying to understand what's going on and the other half telling myself that it's okay, that all will come clear in time.

I hope that The Dark Tower has the answers I need. What the Hell does the turtle do? What the Hell is in the Dark Tower? Do Cuthbert and Alain come back into the story at some point?

These aren’t the only questions but they’re the most pressing.

Oh, and 48 more books to go!

Annual Goal

At the beginning of the year, it has been my tradition to set goals for myself. Finishing a writing project, programming something I need, losing weight, learning to skate, all kinds of personal development and accomplishments.

2004 was an overly hectic year, with the wedding, the new house and big adjustments.

2005 was no less hectic, with massive bouts of overtime, not enough sleep and, not least, a new baby.

2006 is the year I’ll be returning to my old ways, in somewhat the same way that I entered 2003.

The goal I have will be a dynamic goal, though. This way, I’ll hopefully keep things realistic. Each goal will have a mini-goal. If that mini-goal is reached, I’ll create a new mini-goal, and so on, until all of my mini-goals have been accomplished and the goal is, as well.

So, without much further ado, my goal for 2006 is to … read 50 books.

I know, I know, I already had that goal once. But I didn’t achieve it. And I think that’s because of a couple of factors and now, with a more stable life and lifestyle, I think that if I keep my mini-goals, and keep them realistic, I can make it through the year, 50 books behind me.

So, my first goal is the following books by the end of April.


A Feast For Crows – George R. R. Martin
Memories of Ice – Steven Erickson
Kushiel’s Dart – Jacqueline Carey
Kushiel’s Chosen – Jacqueline Carey
Kushiel’s Avatar – Jacqueline Carey
The Subtle Knife – Philip Pullman
The Amber Spyglass – Philip Pullman
The Magician’s Nephew – C. S. Lewis
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – C. S. Lewis
Queen of Demons – David Drake
Prentice Alvin – Orson Scott Card
Song of Susannah – Steven King
The Dark Tower – Steven King
Jackal of Nar – John Marco
The Grand Design – John Marco
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe – Douglas Adams


I have already finished one book, Bloody Sunday by Mike Freeman, and this list will see me at 17, 1/3 of the way through the year. (and as we all know, 17 * 3 = 51, so I can take it easy on one of those 1/3s, reading only 16)

Now we come to the tricky part. Keeping a mini-goal realistic while still staying on pace. Also, finding the hours in the day to actually read all these books. Keeping to the scheduling, 16 books over 16 weeks and 5 days is going to require almost a book a week! I’m not going to lie to you. I’m not going to read all of these books on paper. I have audiobook versions of Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower and I plan on using that medium for those two books (as well as any others I can get my greedy hands on). And I will be reading the Chronicles of Narnia to Nicholas at bedtime and to pass time whenever. We’re already most of the way through The Magician’s Nephew, so we might even get into the third book by the time the end of April comes along. So, there are four books that I should easily meet without sacrificing family time. That leaves 12 books for lunch-hours, early mornings and evenings after Nicholas has gone to bed. Think I can do it? I don’t know either. Here’s the first mini-goal: A Feast for Crows by January 11. I know, I know, a lot of you out there could, and probably will have (or have) polished this book off in a couple of nights but I don’t work that way.

I will establish a new mini-goal once this one is reached. If I fail to read it by the 11th, it’ll probably be because I don’t care or can’t find the time, either one showing me that it’s not a priority. So we’ll see.

Yeah.

Goals are good.

GOAAAAALLLLLL!