We are here

In Dark Eden there is a character named Jeff, a boy really, whose response to all kinds of new, strange situations is to say, "We are here, We really are here". Soon others have enough of this, and ask him why he keeps saying it when everyone knows it. I really liked Jeff's answer to this, "To remind myself, or otherwise I will forget". That is a problem. I forget, and This is it (which is another way of saying Journey is the Reward) is a fact too important to be forgotten. It seems I will be making this chant my own.

Dark Eden

There are lots of different stories branching away all the time from every single thing that happens. As soon as a moment has gone, different versions of it start to be told and remembered about. And some of them carry on, and some die out, and you can't know in advance which version will last and which won't.

Dark Eden takes place on an alien world. Where there is no sun, where trees pump heat from the bowels of the world to grow shiny lanterns on tops, where creatures have green-black blood, two hearts and six limbs. Generations ago two human survivors got trapped in an accident, and now their descendants are waiting for Earth to pick them back. It is about how these people cope. And it is strange and shocking. <-example-not-given-> The remarkable thing about the writing is, despite all the weirdness and shocks, the people are still people, they are not turned into aliens or animals; the things shock, but don't disgust, not at least without cold reason. That, combined with the relatively simple plot, leaves a deep impression. Strange worlds are needed from time to time to keep your sanity in this one. If you agree, give this one a try, but this is not a book for everyone.

Neat

Let
x = 0.9999.....           (1)

Multiply both sides by 10
10x = 9.9999....        (2)

Subtract (1) from (2)

LHS: 10x - x = 9x
RHS: 9.9999... - 0.9999.... = 9

as LHS=RHS, 9x = 9
so x = 1
but as per (1)  x = 0.9999....

So 1 = 0.9999.....

[No trick. This is actually important].

OO

Java: Everything is an object.
Java Developer: Object to everything. (OK, one Java developer :p).

Update

Ring: A circular doubly linked list.

Ring: One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all, And in the darkness bind them. The LOTR chant.

Ring: A field without multiplicative inverses. eg. Integers form a commutative ring.

Ring: A science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter. I encountered the idea of the world-as-a-flying-spaceship here first.

This list can be extended, but that is not the point. In human affairs there is a ring which is more concrete, more fundamental and more far reaching; it made its appearance today. In a small, happy, family function Zarin and me were engaged. The life is entering a new phase and let me add that I am not unaware of, in addition to the happiness, the responsibility this represents. Like all new things this will take some getting used to, the first I can point to is typing with an actual ring in the ring finger.

Wool IV and V

The weekend was put to good use by, among other things, finishing the fourth and fifth installments of the Wool series (see I, II, III here). The books are longer than the earlier ones in the series, and inevitably less crisp, but they are good. The fifth part, while not ending the story, puts it at a logical milestone, and when I was done, I was left wondering whether I should give the rest of the books a try. It turns out books VI, VII and VIII form a prequel triology to the Wool series, and the series, while giving many tantalizing details, did not conclusively answer where it all came from. It is the logical place to go, and the triology promises to do it. To conclude, I am all excited again! It is rare for a series to keep the same level of excitement after five books. Wool succeeds! Do expect further reports from the Silo world!