Random Links

Yoga for wine lovers.

Why didn't someone think of this before?

This is insane.

Did they get the right natural wonder in your state?

Mr. G and Jellybean.

That's a lot of people who live in such a cold place.

Happy Birthday, G!

Ready Player One -- Take 2

This was an interesting one.

I am not a regular participant (or any kind of participant, really) in the world of video games or virtual reality, so it took me a while to understand this book.  In the first few chapters, I frequently wasn't sure if our main character, Wade Watts, was in the real world or in his gaming world.  It didn't help that I was listening to this on a new iPod, and it took a little while to figure out how to get all the tracks to play in order.  Eventually it required retitling all of the tracks in the first nine chapters to start with a "0".  That was annoying.

Once I figured out the tracks and my new technology, I did get into the story.  It's the tale of Wade, who lives in a dystopian future (yes, another one of those) in which nearly everyone's great escape is to play a giant multi-player interactive video game called the OASIS.  OASIS was created by a now-deceased developer, who buried in the game an Easter egg hunt, and Wade is one of the hunters.  The prize for winning the hunt is control of the OASIS.  With that much real money at stake (think the virtual-real world interaction in things like Farmville and bitcoin), obviously there are corporate baddies throwing considerable resources at the hunt.  Political commentary, yadda yadda.  You can pretty much imagine it for yourself, so I'll avoid it.

Things start to get serious for Wade when the virtual villains come after him in the real world.  Thus begins the true test of his gaming skill.

The part I found the most interesting, and this may have only been my lack of familiarity with the subject matter, was the blurring of the lines between Wade's online and real personas.  My feelings on Facebook are well-known (see here, here, or here for examples). This post in particular addresses my concerns about our inability to change ourselves because our pasts are recorded online for the world to see.  There's a lot of that mixing up of lives in Ready Player One.

This book, as I said, was not really my cup of tea.  I am, however, reminded why I love reading, even in the digital form.  It can transport you to somewhere you never expected, even a place you don't understand, and make it enjoyable.  So there's that.

A Fond Farewell to an Old Favorite

I am finally retiring probably the oldest articles of clothing in my possession.

I've had these bike gloves for 20 years, maybe more.  (Yes, since I was a kid.)  Dad, you may even remember buying them.  I think we were on one of those vacations up to the Door Peninsula?  I can't quite remember, but I do remember that K and I were at the bike store but I don't think E was, and that was about that era in our lives.  These are definitely from back when I was riding the green Diamondback.

The gloves are in sorry shape.  They're frayed at the edges, there's a hole in one palm and at the thumb joint on the other, and the elastic in the spandex portion is basically shot.  But when you think about how old they are and the beatings they've taken in the intervening years (including one RAGBRAI), they've actually held up quite well.

And they're the best gloves ever because they're actually padded.  I know that's a wild idea for bike gloves, but they make biking fairly comfortable.  Perhaps I do strange things with my hands but I find the gloves you can buy now, with just a few of those little padded gel cushions scattered about the palms, to be grossly inadequate.  These are gloves; I can put my hands anywhere on the handlebars, in any position, and they're comfortable.  And as a bonus, there's lots of space to wipe your nose.

Or at least they were, and there was.

Memorial Day

Goal #21

Goal #21: CDs.

I moved my boxes of CDs into the middle of my apartment over the weekend, and hopefully I can make some progress at sorting, storing, and eliminating this week.

Recap of goal #20: during the first three days of the week, I worked pretty efficiently.  Then I spent most of Thursday in bed and moved at a snail's pace on Friday, so it turned out to be a mixed bag.  I'm not sure if those last two days should be held against me though.

Apologies

Sorry about the lack of posts this week.  I failed to do my customary "get ahead of the posts" last weekend, and then a nasty bout of food poisoning on Thursday kept me down.

(Although I ask you this: is there such a thing as an un-nasty bout of food poisoning?  I think "nasty bout of food poisoning" may be redundant.)

Bonus: I have gotten a lot of sleep in the last couple of days.

Posts will return, I promise!

(Another question: is it fair to label this as a "food" post?  I'm doin' it.)

Goal #20

Goal #20: work efficiently.

More billables.  Fewer hours.  Easier said than done.

Recap of goal #19: um.  Yeah.  That didn't happen.  Not even close.  That is all.

RIP Baxter

Another sad event for our family where the pets are concerned -- Baxter had his last breakfast on Wednesday.  Lots of love to G&G!

What I Watched -- D.O.A.

D.O.A. is another C-recommended old movie.  Two great things about old movies: 1) they're usually short; 2) camp.  This one was on TV on Tuesday afternoon, and I saw a few minutes of it while I was in C's office.  The backwards plot made it sound interesting enough to check out.

It starts out with Frank, our hero, going to the police station to report a murder.  "Who was murdered?" the homicide detective asks.  "I was."

Then Frank backs up and tells the story of how he came to be in San Francisco, and all the mysterious goings-on that had happened since his arrival, including the poisoned drink that would eventually be his undoing.

Bottom line: classic film noir -- worth having seen it once, but I probably won't watch it again.

Quote of the Day

"If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves."
  -- Thomas A. Edison

What I Read -- Congratulations, by the way

I heard about Congratulations, by the way on my old standby book podcast, Books on the Nightstand. It wasn't something I planned on running out to pick up, but I liked what Michael had to say about it: short, easy to read often, and with a good message.

So when Letter J and I popped into one of my favorite local shops, Left Bank Books, I was sad to be leaving empty handed.  Then, near the door, I saw a little table with copies of this trade-paperback-sized hardcover -- autographed, nonetheless!

(As a bit of a sad aside, LBB is closing its downtown location, and will return to being a single-location operation as of the end of this month.)

So I picked one up.  Michael is right: short, easy to read often, and with a good message.  I'll keep it around for when I need some inspiration.

Goal #19

Goal #19: continue the progress.

This weekend I did some necessary but not exciting things.  For example, I organized my pantry.  I have lived in this place for a year and a half and never done that, not even when I first moved in.  I just piled food in there and went with it.  Yesterday I cleared everything out onto the table and put in back into the pantry in proper order.  I feel better about that.

I also moved around a few small pieces of furniture, turned one of my rugs, and some other miscellany that make me feel as though I accomplished something, even though I could easily have gone another year and a half without doing those things.

Regardless, I at least feel as though I'm making progress.  Next up, tackle the mess on my old desk.

Recap of goal #18: I think I actually did this this week!  Now, to keep it up....

No Menu Monday

As a follow up to the recent post on great food, I realize that I've been remiss in not sharing the story of my delightful experience at No Menu Monday, the now-famous brainchild of the good folks at Home Wine Kitchen.

I went with a big group, and we had to split up and sit at tables of no more than four.  The waitress came to greet us and explained how things worked.  She would ask us the same questions that are on the website, take copious notes, and food would appear later.  (It takes a while for the first course to come out, because the chef is busy getting her ideas together.  So have a snack before you go and enjoy a glass of wine.)

I am a fairly adventurous eater, so there were very few limitations on what the chef could do.  But the "magic genie" question is chef's favorite, and I said to go heavy on the veggies, with an eye towards generally healthy cuisines like Mediterranean, north African, or Indian cuisine.

And voila!  The food appears!

My first course was a plate of little masa cakes with beans and roasted red peppers on top, sort of a variation on bruschetta.  How were they?  I have no idea.

One of the girls at my table was served cauliflower which had been poached in milk, then mashed into balls and fried.  Except it turns out that she didn't like cauliflower, so we swapped.  Too bad she wasn't a fan, because they were pretty tasty, very crispy on the outside, with only a mild cauliflower flavor.  I think that's because of the milk.  I was also having the wine pairings, and my first glass was a Sauvignon Blanc, but I don't know the details of any of the wines.  (If I had gotten the wine that went with the cauliflower, it would have been a chardonnay.  I'm okay with having a mis-matched wine, because I am generally not a fan of chards.)

My main was quite interesting.  It was a Mediterranean cheese a bit like feta (I can't remember the name of it), that is firm enough that you can treat it like you might a block of firm tofu.  I got two slices about 3/4-inch thick each, which had been seasoned and grilled.  It was served hot with zucchini spaghetti and a light mint pesto.  That's lightly cooked zucchini that's shredded to look like spaghetti, not flavored pasta.  And that was all over a cold leek and lentil salad.  A fascinating mix of flavors and textures (and temperatures!) that was delightful.  Wine: a dry Riesling.

Shockingly, dessert was my least favorite of all the courses.  It was a strawberry rhubarb sorbet with lavender almonds on top.  Not much of a fan of lavender, as it turns out, or rhubarb!  But my pairing was a strawberry-orange mimosa that could have been a dessert all on its own.

As you could probably guess, I'm going to caution you that this meal will work much better if you're either an adventurous eater already, or at least have an open mind about trying things that don't seem to be up your alley.  For me, it was a blast!

84, Charing Cross Road -- Take 2

This book was a lovely little find! It is a humorous and personal ode to books and the people who love them.

It's a collection of letters back and forth between Helene, a poor writer living in New York, and Frank, an employee at Marks & Co. Booksellers in London, as well as a few other employees, friends, and family who get to know each other in writing over the course of 20 years.  Some samples:

From Helene to Frank:
"Don't know whether I ever told you how dearly I love that Tristram Shandy, the Robb illustrations are enchanting, Uncle Toby would have been pleased.  Now then.  In the back, there's a list of other Macdonald Illustrated Classics which includes the Essays of Elia. I'd love to have this in the Macdonald edition--or any nice edition.  If it's Reasonable, of course.  Nothing's cheap any more, it's "reasonable." Or "sensibly priced." There's a building going up across the street, the sign over it says: "One and Two Bedroom Apartments At Rents That Make Sense."
Rents do NOT make sense.  And prices do not sit around being reasonable about anything, no matter what it says in the ad--which isn't an ad any more, it's A Commercial.
i go through life watching the english language being raped before me face.  like miniver cheevy, i was born too late.
and like miniver cheevy i cough and call it fate and go on drinking."

From Helene to Frank, upon receipt of a requested book:
"M. De Tocqeville's compliments and he begs to announce his safe arrival in America.  He sits around looking smug because everything he said was true, especially about lawyers running the country."

From Helene to Frank, about her new job:
". . . I write American History dramatizations.  I am starting with a script about New York under seven years of British Occupation and i MARVEL at how i rise above it to address you in friendly and forgiving fashion, your behavior over here from 1776 to 1783 was simply FILTHY."

It's a quick read -- only about a hundred pages -- but there were a number of letters that made me laugh out loud, and every single one reminded me why I love books.  Some of the references are a bit obscure, but it contributes to the picture of how in love with books these people are.  It was also interesting to read a book where the form is nearly as interesting as the content.  A gem!

A Weekend of Great Food

Last weekend was so full of food!

On Friday after work, I headed to Tripel, a fairly new spot in Lafayette Square, to meet a lawyer new to town for some networking.  We each had the beer sampler, and I let our waiter pick my three beers, so I don't even remember what I had!  To eat, I had the onion soup, which was decently tasty.  My new lawyer friend got the pommes frites, which were served with a flavored mayo which was pretty delicious.

Saturday morning I went on my Chain of Rocks bike ride, then headed over to A's house for his annual pig roast.  He could not have picked a lovelier day for a rooftop gathering!  And Josh Galliano, of Libertine fame (among others), was there roasting our pig for us!

Dad was in town for the weekend on some business, so we met for dinner at Bar Les Freres in Clayton, and continued to enjoy the lovely day with dinner out on their front patio.  Dad had their specials for both the app and main, but I went with menu choices.  I started with the gruyere souffle (the same that I had the first and only other time I was there), and had the mushroom and leek tart for my main.  Delicious, and a perfect evening.

Chain of Rocks Bridge

For the first time in all my years in St. Louis, I crossed the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge this past weekend.  I rode my bike up there and took in the lovely view:

The water towers from the bridge

The water towers and bridge from the Chouteau Island

The larger of these two towers also graces the cover of one of my favorite books about St. Louis!  Remember this?  It was cool to see it in person!

I also snapped two pictures of the 250th birthday celebration cakes that are all over St. Louis, but I am saving those for another post.

Goal #18

Goal #18: think positive thoughts.

I have had numerous discussions with T lately (thanks T!) about how I need to think more positively.  This week, I will work hard on it!

Recap of goal #17: I was well behaved this week!  I went to sleep at a reasonable hour; I got up early.  (Sometimes a little too early -- before I had even gotten ready for the next day!)  Now I just need to keep it up.

Random Links

A writing hut.

You Are Here: a mapping project.

Some crazy strength and balance (and a little bit of Chinese I can't read).

Is the next fad Victorian-era clothing?

The slow death of purposeless walking.

Two awesomely politically incorrect but accurate maps of St. Louis: central, west.

What I'm Reading Now -- Ready Player One

Ready Player One is not my typical type of book.  I'm not a gamer, and it's a book about a giant video game. I'm not a sci-fi reader, and it's set in the future (albeit only 30 years in the future).

But one of the hosts of my favorite book podcast has sung its praises on multiple occasions, so I'm taking a chance on it.

Wish me luck!