This is Where I Used to Live

About to fall asleep for the last time in GH. Spent the day assembling semi-disposable Swedish furniture. Realized the relevance of many childhood years spent playing with Lego. Tomorrow, I move downtown. More so. I am tired, and excited, and nostalgic for the parts of my life that I am about to leave behind.

More to come soon.

Chuck Palahniuk :: Survivor

“The first rule about fight club is you don’t talk about fight club. The second rule about fight club is you don’t talk about fight club.” If ROCKET SOUP had existed six months ago, I would have posted a short review of Chuck Palahniuk’s first novel, “Fight Club.” The just of this short review would have been that, while being a fantastic first work by an up and coming author, “Fight Club” was a slight bit disappointing; it was too similar to its silver screen adaptation. (Although, of course, by no fault of its own.) Not having a silver screen adaptation, Chuck Palahniuk’s second novel, “Survivor,” immediately sidesteps this criticism; although I think that it goes much further than that. “Survivor” is the tale of Tender Branson, last surviving member of the so-called Creedish Death Cult, ultra-sensationalized media messiah, and last passenger of flight 2039. (The tale is a first hand account, read into the flight recorder as flight 2039 makes its terminal journey to crash into the Australian outback.) A satire of modern American life, “Survivor” maintains the dark ambiance of Palahniuk’s earlier work. The scope of the story seems to grow exponentially as the plot twists and turns at break-neck speed; don’t get too comfortable, or your head will be spinning next chapter. And, as with “Fight Club,” Palahniuk has littered “Survivor” with examples of his prowess to write succinct yet quite memorable passages. One of my favorites, taken from “Survivor:”

“And maybe this is just a trick of the light, but I’ve eaten almost the whole lobster before I notice the heart beat.”

All things told, “Survivor” has to be one of the better novels that I’ve read in the past few years. I can’t recommend it to everybody, strong themes of suicide and exploitation may make it uneasy for the faint of heart, but if you enjoyed “Fight Club,” and are looking for a good, quick, read, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up a copy.

More to come soon.

Björk :: Volta

A Björk review 91 days after a Björk release. It took a while, but I have to lay the blame on the Smashing Pumpkins, and Queens of the Stone Age, and every other band / artist that / who released fantastic material in the months following May 8, 2007. Björk’s sixth full-length studio album, “Volta,” has barely found space on my rotation as of late, but not for lack of quality. “Volta,” while not departing completely from the experimental nature of its predecessor, “Medulla,” does feel like a callback to Björk’s earlier solo work; “Debut” or “Post.” At points, that is. Most succinctly, it seems as if Björk is perfecting her mix of layered vocals and orchestration with heavy beats and a dose of hip-hop production. (Timbaland is a collaborator on three album tracks.) Sound interesting? Well, it’s Björk. Perhaps that is, really, the only way to describe it. The Smashing Pumpkins write / play rock music. Dave Brubeck writes / plays jazz music. Björk writes / plays Björk music. Anyhow. Highlights include; “Wanderlust,” with its layered vocals, heavy metal horns, and beats, and “Vertebrae by Vertebrae,” with its foreboding horns, and crazy Björk vocals. (Honorable mention goes to “Declare Independence,” a set of annotated instructions on how to start a country.) Downsides include the teletubby-like cover artwork, and two duets with Antony Hegarty. (Perhaps I just haven’t reached that age where I can properly enjoy a *smarmy* love duet.) As a whole, “Volta” does not disappoint, but does not necessarily surpass Björk’s previous releases. (I give it 6.0 out of 10.0 slices of hot pizza.) If you are a die-hard Björk fan, buy “Volta,” no question. If not, try listening to “Homogenic,” or “Post,” or “Debut,” or “Medulla” first; you won’t be disappointed.

More to come soon.

Semi-Disposable Swedish Furniture Life

Another busy couple of weeks. Two weeks ago, I made the transition from being an independent consultant to being a development engineer. And, of course, one transition brings another. The Toronto housing / rentals market is, well, an experience. It took me three days to find the perfect apartment, and about five minutes for another renter to sweep it up. A bit of luck and a few chance encounters, however, led me to a similar apartment; same building, better view, lower rent. Sweet. And now I find myself thinking about semi-disposable Swedish furniture and the post-student life. Do I go with the post-modern-retro look? The trim and efficient? Chesterfield? Couch? Queen-sized or double bed? Bookshelf? Kitchen table? Paintings? (Omit Tyler Durden reference.) Have I become one of those people?

More to come soon.

Work / Work / Work

Yesterday, I was an independent consultant. Today, I am a development engineer. Work, work, work.

More to come soon.

Distracting Website #4

Will it blend? This website may only be distracting for a few minutes, but it is distracting none the less. I very much enjoyed the home-shopping-network-esque smile at the camera while doing something utterly senseless. “This knife will cut through a shoe!” Smile. “This cell phone will cut through butter!” Keep smiling. Anyhow.

Will It Blend?

Enjoy, if only for a few minutes. More to come soon.

Pseudo? Meta? Post?

Blogs are interesting things. Their premise is simple; a place to write about one’s life / thoughts / experiences / musings / whatever. Herein lies the problem; as soon as one’s life / thoughts / musings / whatever become really good, interesting, or busy, the blog tends to be the first thing to go. The past four weeks of my life have been busy, and I must apologize for letting ROCKET SOUP fall so far behind. Highlights of the past four weeks include; work, climbing, ultimate frisbee, flying a kite, miniature golf, fireworks, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Fulltone Octafuzz, Live Free or Die Hard, scopa, and a Nikon D-80 dSLR. The next few weeks of my life show promise of being as busy as the past four, but I do hope to keep ROCKET SOUP a little more up to date. After all, blogs are interesting things. They just happen to be much more interesting when supplied with content.

More to come soon.

Nine Inch Nails :: Year Zero

Saturation. Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? For the past few weeks, I have been listening, quite consistently, to “Year Zero” by the Nine Inch Nails. And, despite enjoying it thoroughly, I think that I’m about ready to move on to something else. First, a short review. “Year Zero” is the Nine Inch Nails’ sixth major release, and was initially described by Trent Reznor as “highly conceptual, quite noisy, f****** cool.” With these assertions I agree. As a conceptual album, “Year Zero” gives an account of a dystopian near future, and is distinctly extroverted as compared to previous releases. “Year Zero” is noisy, but not entirely due to distorted guitars and vocals; sequencers and synthesizers are the focus of much of the album. And, “f****** cool.” Yes, “Year Zero” is “f****** cool,” especially as compared to its predecessor, 2005’s “With Teeth.” Music aside, Trent Reznor has done much to keep his fans interested; hidden messages, “secret” websites, “leaked” USB drives at concerts, four album tracks released for tweaking as multi-track audio files, and a thermochromic disk that changes color when played.

Highlights from “Year Zero” include; “The Beginning of the End,” which sounds ever so slightly influenced by the Nine Inch Nails’ tour with Bauhaus last year, “The Great Destroyer,” for Trent’s high register vocals, “The Greater Good,” for its layered vocals and music box melody, “God Given,” for its callback to “Broken” vocal breaks, and of course, “Survivalism” and “Capital G.” Although quite solid, the album does lose a little due to homogeneity. Most songs fit into the three to four minute / synthesizer and sequencer / verse / chorus / verse / chorus / solo formula. And, while not completely absent, instrumental interludes akin to “The Fragile” are used sparingly. That said, and all things considered, “Year Zero” is a fantastic album that doesn’t disappoint one bit. (I didn’t HAVE to listen to it consistently for the past few weeks.) As usual, for lack of a better rating system, I give “Year Zero” 7.5 / 10 broken guitar strings, and recommend it to anybody who enjoys, or would enjoy enjoying, the Nine Inch Nails.

More to come soon.

Distracting Website #3

It would seem that Google has been at it again. For those of you who are interested in reading parking signs in San Francisco, or browsing lunch menus in New York City, Google Maps now includes a feature called Street View. Street View allows users to tour streetscapes and see 360° images of five American cities. (San Francisco, New York City, Las Vegas, Denver, and Miami.) Google. Is there anything they can’t do?

Google | Street View

More to come soon.

Singularly Blogworthy?

Long time no blog. While the past week has been anything but slow, it has not been filled with events that I would consider to be singularly blogworthy. (“Singularly blogworthy.” You read it here first.) A short cumulative update, however, would seem to be in order. Work, work, work. First game of the season with “Hot Disc Charge.” Dim sum. Frisbee. Absolutely perfect evening running weather. Electric guitar. More electric guitar. “A Short History of Nearly Everything.” “Year Zero.” “Zaireeka.” Council meeting. Dalton McGuinty and Arnold Schwarzenegger at the MaRS building. Work. And now, sleep.

More to come soon.

Mark Lutz & David Ascher :: Learning Python

“Learning Python,” by Mark Lutz and David Ascher, is successful not only as an introduction to the Python programming language, but also as a model of what every introductory programming text should be. Accessible and relevant to absolute beginners and expert programmers alike, “Learning Python” quickly accelerates the reader from simple ‘hello world’ examples, through the core language, and towards advanced features, libraries, and tools.

Clear and concise, “Learning Python” proceeds at a pace that allows for adequate coverage of difficult programming concepts, while not overwhelming the reader with unnecessary details. Additionally, Lutz and Ascher’s tone, often light and sometimes conversational, results in an enjoyable reading experience. Examples are utilized in order to illustrate key concepts, and are, for the most part, simple enough to be read inline with the primary text. Exercises are deferred to the conclusion of each section, where they may incorporate multiple concepts and broader contexts. Exercises, however, are not prohibitively complex, and example solutions are provided to assist the reader. In addition to examples and exercises, the authors provide common coding ‘gotchas’ and ‘why you will care’ blocks, to provide assistance and context for difficult concepts.

Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of Lutz and Ascher, a small number of sections pertaining to difficult topics remain confusing. These sections, however, are often noted as such, and multiple explanations are given at different levels of abstraction. Perhaps the greatest improvement to the text could be made through the addition of a general reference section. This would greatly simplify the use of the text as a basic reference in addition to an introductory guide.

Despite the aforementioned shortcomings, “Learning Python” is a fantastically written and well-organized introduction to the Python programming language. In fact, “Learning Python” is a fantastically written and well-organized introduction to programming in general. Given its pronounced successes, one must wonder, could “Learning Python’s” authors be persuaded to write texts in other subject areas? Perhaps quantum mechanics? Or electromagnetics?

Strange News from Another Star

I received some sad news this morning, and it has been slowly sinking in all day long. A few years back, I spent my summers working for P.R. Engineering Limited, a small company that specialized in the manufacturing and refurbishment of rock crushers for mining applications. This past Thursday, Joe and Frank Grieco, co-owners and managers of P.R. Engineering Limited, were both killed when their small plane crashed in a wooded area in western New York. Both Frank and Joe were extraordinary people. They will be missed greatly by their families, friends, acquaintances, and employees.

More to come soon.

The Nightwatchman @ The Horseshoe Tavern

Better. Than. Expected. Mediocre opening act. Fantastic sound. Great performance. Broken string. Harmonicas. “Canada’s most important exports are universal health care and the Arcade Fire.” Stage presence. Skipped encore formalities. Covers of “This Land is Our Land” and “Guerilla Radio.” The Nightwatchman @ The Horseshoe Tavern.

More to come soon.

The Nightwatchman :: One Man Revolution

Tom Morello is The Nightwatchman. Tom Morello is also the guitarist behind four Rage Against the Machine and three Audioslave albums. As The Nightwatchman, Morello discards his Telecaster and JCM800 in favor of an acoustic guitar and a microphone. Turbulent riffs and disjoint solos become rhythmic strumming and laid back fingerpicking. However, “you don’t gotta be loud, to be as heavy as s***.” “One Man Revolution” is, in a sense, more reminiscent of such folk legends as Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, than of Morello’s hard rock background. Morello sings in a surprising baritone, and his guitar work is simple but spot on. His lyrics are occasionally poetic, but more often than not, blunt. (“OMR” is, after all, an album about oppression, war, injustice, and revolution.) While effectively conveying Morello’s motives and message, such bluntness can be detrimental to the album’s general aesthetic. For this, I give “One Man Revolution” 5 / 10 tofu hotdogs, and recommend it mainly to those of you who are either dedicated Rage Against the Machine fans, or protest rock kids. “If you take a step towards freedom, it’ll take two steps towards you.”

More to come soon.

The Flaming Lips :: At War with the Mystics

Admittedly, I am a relative newcomer to the music of the Flaming Lips; I was introduced at “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots,” and my collection only spans as far back as “Zaireeka.” “At War with the Mystics,” however, makes a welcome addition to this collection, and is arguably the most accessible of the Flaming Lips’ recent offerings. Brimming with bleeps, squeaks, fuzzed out bass, and vocal harmonies, “AWwtM” oscillates between being ominous and quirky, profound and superficial. It is, however, this oscillation that makes “AWwtM” so very accessible. Individual songs resonate with unique individual qualities, and the album in no way feels homogeneous, untextured, or dull. While many songs could easily stand alone as singles, their contributions to the album form a picture that is both colorful and complete.

Highlights include; “Free Radicals,” which conjures images of Wayne Coyne wrestling with a Gibson SG double neck guitar, “The W.A.N.D.,” with its fuzzed out bass and “we got the power now, mother******, that’s where it belongs,” “Pompeii am Götterdämmerung,” a bass driven galloping melody about a young couple about to leap into a volcano, and “Mr. Ambulance Driver,” a song about how our lives are “strangely our own.” Downsides are few, but include; uninspired lyrics in “Haven’t got a Clue” and a well recorded but unimaginative cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” (To be fair, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is not a part of the album, but is packaged as bonus material.)

“At War with the Mystics” serves both as a fantastic addition to the Flaming Lips’ catalogue, and as an accesible introduction for those new to the music of the Flaming Lips. The music is as vibrant and colorful as the artwork, and is at times both profound and quirky. For lack of a better rating system, I give “At War with the Mystics” 8 / 10 Shanghai dumplings, and recommend it to anybody interested in, or interested in becoming interested in, the Flaming Lips. “The stars are so big. I am so small. Do I stand a chance?”

More to come soon.

Are We There Yet?

So, today at 2:19 AM, I submitted what should be the last component of my Master of Engineering degree. The moment felt a little anticlimactic, there were no fireworks or marching bands, no streamers or balloons, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I am done. Done, done, done. Anyhow, I must apologize to everybody for disappearing these past few weeks. I have been spending my hours either working for “the company,” out of town, or searching for keys in an unlit field late at night. However, I have not forgotten about ROCKET SOUP 2.0. Content will resume, following sleep.

More to come soon.

Distracting Website #2

This one has been around for a while, but I found it waiting in my inbox the day after my “it just works” post.

Honda | “Isn’t it nice when things just work?”

Enjoy! More to come soon.

“It just works.”

It took my PowerBook G4 695 days to go from “it just works” to “it almost works.” Subsequently, it took twenty minutes to go from “it almost works” to “it doesn’t work,” an hour to go from “it doesn’t work” to “it sort of works,” and a day to go from “it sort of works” to “it just works,” again. Somehow, I don’t think that any of the intermediate slogans would have passed muster at Apple’s marketing department. (However, it DOES just work, again.)

More to come soon.

GHC Curling Bonspiel II

Fun for the entire family. Well, mainly for the graduate student portion of the family.

More to come soon.

NO SOUP FOR YOU!

I never thought that my entries at ROCKET SOUP would actually be about rockets and / or soup. However, I recently paid a visit to The Original Soup Man, in the Toronto Eaton Centre, and thought that the experience warranted an entry. An explanation. The Original Soup Man is the restaurant of Al Yeganeh, popularly known as Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi.” (Not the original restaurant, but the new and franchised version.) There WERE rules for ordering, although I don’t imagine that they were enforced by the teenagers working the counter:

FOR THE MOST EFFICIENT AND FASTEST SERVICE THE LINE MUST BE KEPT MOVING.

• Pick the soup you want!
  
• Have your money ready!
  
• Move to the extreme left after ordering!
  

Most importantly, however, the soup was fantastic, thick and flavorful, but expensive. I had the mulligatawny. Delicious. I heartily recommend it, in particular for those readers who are familiar with the meaning of “NO SOUP FOR YOU!”

More to come soon.

Dieppe : A Chamber Opera

Wow. Busy week. While I won’t bore you with the details of school and work, I would like to mention one of the highlights of the week. On Thursday evening, my good friend MT premiered his first opera, Dieppe, being the culmination of his work towards a Master’s of Music Composition at UWO. The opera was fantastic, and I have to say congratulations to all those involved in the production. (My only criticism; a complete lack of zombie and / or ninja content.) But seriously, congratulations MT.

Dieppe : A Chamber Opera

Enjoy! More to come soon.

GRINDHOUSE

Zombies. Fast cars. Sex. Missing reels. Violence. Explosions. Guns. Crazy babysitter twins. More zombies. Robert Rodriguez. Planet Terror. Quentin Tarantino. Death Proof. 2 ½ Hours of Pure Dynamite! Grindhouse. See it.

More to come soon.

Ben Folds @ The Kool Haus

I’ll admit, it’s been a few years since I’ve paid much attention to Ben Folds. However, tonight’s show at the Kool Haus may have turned me around. MT, JG and I missed the opener, but managed to catch all of Ben’s set, which featured a good mix of new songs and old favorites. Highlights included:

• B****** Ain’t S*** by Dr. Dre
  
• Narcolepsy and Army from The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner
  
• Underground from Ben Folds Five
  
• Such Great Heights by The Postal Service
  
• Misirlou from the Pulp Fiction Soundtrack
  

The band was energetic, the sound was fantastic, and good times were had by all. Can Ben Folds play piano? Yes. Can Ben Folds sing? Yes. Would I see him again? Of course.

More to come soon.

TrekPolitiks?

Interesting excerpt from Douglas Coupland's Microserfs:

“Politics is, in the end, about biology, information, diversification, numbers, numbers, and numbers – all candy coated with charisma and guns.”

More to come soon.

No More Exams?

Scanning electron microscopy. Raman spectroscopy. Cathodoluminescence. Backscattered electrons. Scanning tunneling microscopy. Electron beam induced conductivity. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Electron backscatter diffraction. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Secondary electrons. Atomic force microscopy. Auger electron spectroscopy. Photoluminescence. Transmission electron microscopy. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy. Paper. Exam. Finished.

And to celebrate; laundry, cleaning, and a long overdue run.

More to come soon.

Distracting Website #1

An interesting / fun / distracting website, and a token to everybody who is stuck inside writing papers and studying for exams:

Nikon | Universcale

Enjoy! More to come soon.

BLOGGER 2.0

Or, BLOGGER X.Y?

Just a quick note to say kudos to BLOGGER for the improvements that they have made to their service. Although a little buggy at times, their new tools and options are definitely worth a try. (Especially if your CSS is a little rusty.) Check out the 'new' service at www.blogger.com.

More to come soon.

ROCKET SOUP 2.0

Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the blog. I should begin with an apology; to anybody who intended to follow the previous incarnation of ROCKET SOUP. One single post doesn't make for a very good weblog. Especially when said post consists, primarily, of a criticism of the single post weblog. I'm sorry. But, following a little redesign and a fresh start, I promise that there WILL be content. I have a lot to write about. I may even have time to write about it. So, stay tuned.


Finally, back by popular demand; my seven dream Jeopardy! categories, circa April 1st, 2007:

• Caffeinated Beverages
  
• Six String Acoustic Instruments
  
• 20th / 21st Century Literature
  
• Run Ian Run!
  
• Hindi Numbers < 14
  
• Nanotechnology
  
• Semi-Obscure Scandinavian Pop Music

I feel like I'm forgetting something. Anyhow, stay tuned / linked / whatever, as there is more to come soon. (I promise.)