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Malachai Constant
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PostFri Oct 24, 2014 5:16 pm 
Proofiness an examination of mathematical deception.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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meandering Wa
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PostSat Oct 25, 2014 6:57 am 
Ski Would love to hear more about this book. Is it academic or a more sociable type read. I just finished "Hotel Pastis" a fun book by Peter Mayle I have read before. I have a collection of the early writings of John Muir waiting at my desk at work. I left yesterday before it arrived. bawl.gif

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PostSat Oct 25, 2014 10:13 am 
I have only read through some of the initial draft copies so far- I haven't delved into this "final" copy yet. I use the word "final" loosely here, because the recording of history seems never to be "final"; there's always some stone somewhere yet to be turned over. If it's the same as the drafts, it's pretty much along the lines of "just the facts, ma'am", but the facts can sometimes be quite interesting, sometimes hilarious, and sometimes tragic- just like real life. From our conversations, my understanding is that she endeavored to refrain from editorializing and just presented things as they were and are. If and when I can get the data extracted from two dead computers here, I might be able to complete a similar effort that I've been fiddling around with for a couple decades. There are what I believe to be some "holes" which I hope to make an effort to fill (that are, fortunately, insignificant in the larger picture.) Short answer: academic. Rife with all kinds of maps and charts and historical data some might find excruciatingly tedious. But then, if the Queets is the center of your universe, it's all good. smile.gif bk

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Jumble Jowls
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PostMon Oct 27, 2014 11:24 am 
Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond, by Gene Kranz. http://www.amazon.com/Failure-Is-Not-Option-Mission/dp/1439148813/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=17QXFNB727C9C0Z1FYAD Kranz was flight director at Mission Control during the Apollo 11 mission and others. He gives a behind-the-scenes look at the talent and seamless cooperation involved in the effort to put a man on the moon. I doubt very seriously that we could repeat the efforts today.

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Mike Collins
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PostMon Nov 03, 2014 5:45 pm 
Stimson Bullitt was born into an influential Seattle family. He reminisces his climbing exploits in Illusion Dweller. Many of his climbs will be familiar to folks in this forum which adds familiarity to the author's words. He hopscotches from risks to pleasures to comraderie in his presentation of his mountaineering life which provides the reader with an enjoyable book to curl up with during the rainy weather with us now. BTW the Bullitt Foundation provided the family gift of 590 acres for Squak Mountain State Park that we all can enjoy in addition to his lasting words.

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostFri Nov 14, 2014 2:45 pm 
I'm pretty much obsessed with Orson Scott Card's Shadow series with Bean. I blew thru #3 and #4 in the series. Ordered #5 from the library. I guess you could still call them sci fi but the series has mostly shifted to planet earth with very little advanced technological stuff, so it could more or less be the near future as we know it. Continues to be a global game of political and military chess moves, kind of like Risk. I find it to be fascinating. And interesting characters. Col. Graff and Mazer Rackham from Ender's Game keep popping up, I can't help picture them as Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley. Petra is a major character as well. I like the actress that played her in Ender's Game. They did a good job of casting, and it was a sadly under appreciated movie.

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GaliWalker
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PostFri Nov 14, 2014 3:11 pm 
Only the longest threads, is great. This is popular science book, but with a twist: The book details seven of the most important moments in science from the perspective of a fictional character. Since most of the 'action' in theoretical physics happens inside the mind it is difficult to convey the excitement of momentous discoveries. With fiction the writer can get around this. Also, extremely refreshing to read about scientists as the real "heroes" in history. If you like science you'll enjoy this one. up.gif

'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!" Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
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Voxxjin
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PostFri Nov 14, 2014 4:24 pm 
A Dance with Dragons - George R R Martin Book 5 of the famous Game of Thrones series. I've had it since it came out but I know how slow he is to write these books so I have not been in a rush to read it.

Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war
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GaliWalker
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PostSun Nov 16, 2014 2:43 pm 
GaliWalker wrote:
Only the longest threads, is great. This is popular science book ...
Still having fun reading this one. I found these bits interesting:
Quote:
As physicists rummaged around in this windswept chaos, organizing and classifying particles, they noticed certain patterns emerging. ... Gell-Mann found that a set of six elementary particles, which he whimsically named "quarks", could be combined in various ways to form the proton, the neutron, and most of the other, newer sub-atomic particles. ... It is a tricky matter, knowing when to probe into the genealogy of words. Often names are just names, like quarks for instance - that word makes no sense. At other times, it is downright treacherous to read too much into names; the Up quark isn't any more vertically upright than the Down quark, and the Strange and Charm quarks aren't stranger and more charming than the Top or Bottom quarks.
ykm.gif We all love you Quark. smile.gif Edit: My favorite part of the book:
Quote:
Even after it had been found, the neutrino continued to shock us with its maverick behavior; it turned out to be chiral. Before you can feel the horror that chilled the physics community at this discovery, you will need to know what chirality is. ...

'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!" Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
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mike
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PostSun Nov 16, 2014 3:51 pm 

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NacMacFeegle
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PostThu Jan 08, 2015 11:02 am 
I'm currently in the middle of "The Way of Kings" by Brandon Sanderson (it's about 1300 pages long!). So far I'd rank it as one of the best high fantasy novels I've read in a long time. The world is very detailed and unusual with very engaging characters and a genuinely intriguing plot. I picked up Way of Kings because I'd enjoyed one of Sanderson's more recent works; "Steelheart" which is about a dystopian future where the earth is ruled by a race of evil superheroes. I'd recommend both books, and am looking forward to reading more from this author.

Read my hiking related stories and more at http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/
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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Jan 08, 2015 11:35 am 
Wildwood by Colin Meloy of the Decemberists Fantasy set around Portland reminiscent of Narnia without the Christian message. Sort of a kids book with some nice illustrations by Carson Ellis.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Toni
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PostThu Jan 08, 2015 1:10 pm 
up.gif

There is no Planet B
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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostThu Jan 08, 2015 1:46 pm 
Toni wrote:
up.gif
I've got that on a wait list at the library, looking forward to reading it.

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olderthanIusedtobe
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PostTue Jan 13, 2015 12:52 am 
I've been having a hard time getting into a book lately. Currently I'm working on "Station Eleven" that made a bunch of "best of" lists for 2014, but it's not grabbing me. It jumps all over different time frames, almost halfway thru and it's barely gotten into the plot. Trying some more today. This book is frustrating. It keeps sabotaging it's own momentum. The storyline set in the book's current time is interesting, but it keeps doing a bunch of boring flashbacks that don't add anything. This book should've been edited down to a much shorter, linear tale.

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