Tuesday, December 31, 2019
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Friday, December 20, 2019
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Dance of life
"So to be crystal clear:
everything out there is influencing the evolution of everything else.
The bacteria and viruses and parasites that cause disease in us have
affected our evolution as we have adapted in ways to cope with their
effects. In response they have evolved in turn, and keep on doing so.
All kinds of environmental factors have affected our evolution, from
shifting weather patterns to changing food supplies—even dietary
preferences that are largely cultural. It’s as if the whole world is
engaged in an intricate, multilevel dance, where we’re all partners,
sometimes leading, sometimes following, but always affecting one
another’s movements—a global, evolutionary Macarena."
Source quoted at ReadingFreely.com
Source quoted at ReadingFreely.com
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Thursday, August 29, 2019
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Thursday, August 22, 2019
Friday, August 16, 2019
Monday, August 12, 2019
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Wednesday, July 31, 2019
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Thursday, July 25, 2019
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Follow me to ReadingFreely.com!
....and we're live! ReadingFreely's home is now www.readingfreely.com, which is where you should be reading this if all went according to plan.
Friday, July 5, 2019
What Einstein Told His Cook
What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained
© 2002 Richard Wolke
369 pages
© 2002 Richard Wolke
369 pages
What did Einstein tell his cook? ..I still don’t know. I have learned, however, that it is possible to make a jello out of champagne; that concrete sidewalks, even during a Houston summer, are unlikely to warm up to the precise temperature needed to fry an egg; why bottled Coca-Colas can go flat, despite being sealed (the plastic allows Co2 to escape); and why carmelized onions are called that when they’re fried into delicious brownness. What Einstein Told His Cook consists wholly of question-and-answer, the question being those lobbed at the author. The format reminded me strongly of Ask a Science Teacher, but with an adult audience. In that book, the Q and A was relieved every so often with DYI science experiments; here, variety is added with interesting recipes, including one for champagne jello. The author brings a strong sense of humor to the table, and is writing for a completely lay audience - -though he does have more technical explanations in parentheses, for readers who have a little more background reading pop science books. Although not as substantive as I’d hoped, What Einstein Told His Cook is nonetheless completely entertaining, and there’s more than enough chemistry here to make it a serious read, too. There is an book on the complete science of booking, but it’s a thousand page mammoth called The Food Lab. I didn'’t know it existed until it appeared on a friend of mine’s wedding registry.
Prepare to Meet Thy Doom
Prepare to Meet Thy Doom: And Other True Gaming Stories
© 2015 David Kushner
~ 5 hours, read by Wil Wheaton
Masters of Doom enthralled me, covering the genesis of modern PC gaming through its history of id software. Prepare to Meet Thy Doom is an oddly-titled follow-up that is less a work in itself, and more a collection of articles that are generally related to PC gaming. I say generally, because there’s pieces here on competitive chess, NeoPets, and bot-augmented online poker. The more kosher offerings include a follow-up piece on id software, as well as articles on Spore, Second Life, and the GTA series. Drawing on interviews with designer icons like John Romero and Will Wright, Kushner’s pieces often dwell on how PC games are continuing to push the developmental envelope – becoming more complex forms of entertainment, as they allow players to make their own experience. In Spore, for instance, there’s no static content to begin with: every bit of the animal and civilization that evolve are cobbled and produced by the player.. Rockstar Games is particularly notable for innovation: its latest games, GTA V and Red Dead Redemption II, are less games than ten hour cinematic experiences in which the player is driving the story. The game’s lead character grows throughout, shaped by the player’s decisions.
Those who are passionate PC gamers may find this of interest. Given that I effectively got it for free (Audible promotion), I can scarcely complain about it – especially since Wil Wheaton’s narration was, as usual, excellent. The narrator is largely responsible for my having experienced this book at all, given its slimness and the reviews griping about the lack of more substantial content. As much as I liked Masters of Doom, Prepare To Meet isn’t a stellar followup.
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