Astranoir

The weather is nice out today (about 55F), so I walked to Harps to pick up 2lb of strawberries for food day at work tomorrow.  I’m trying to be more active, so it was nice to get outside and have a brisk walk.  Enjoying the sun was also nice.  I probably fill my “nerd” stereotype a bit too much regarding never seeing the sun.

I’m about halfway through chapter 2 of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.While I haven’t gotten far in the book, I am enjoying it immensely.  One thing I find particularly amusing are the footnotes.  In general I find footnotes to be both amusing and enjoyable in fiction.  At the moment the main one other than Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell that comes to mind is Good Omens, but I’m pretty sure I’ve enjoyed footnotes in other books as well.

My plans for this evening include picking up some dinner for myself and a friend, then chilling at his house while watching Top Gear.  As little as I know about cars, I find both Top Gear and Car Talk incredibly enjoyable.  Maybe I secretly have a passion for cars, but I just won’t tell myself.

Today my dad pointed me toward an Engadget article about an $85 netbook. It’s certainly limited (tiny screen, non-Atom processor, etc.), but at $85, I don’t see any reason not to at least check it out.  It seems like it would be great for a student, or anyone who needs to take notes on a regular basis.  Regarding application capabilities and such, it seems more like a mobile phone than a laptop.  To be fair, though, mobile phones can do quite a bit these days.

Ĝis!
(until next time)

“Currently reading” may be a bit misleading as a title.  I have not begun reading either book.  I plan on starting to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell tonight, and my goal is to finish reading both books by the end of the month at the latest. It would be more accurate to say “about to read,” but that sounds noncommittal to me.

At any rate, I hope to be getting deep into these books as soon as possible.

Some might wonder why I am reading two hard copy books.  While I’m continuing to use my nook, Kes is loaning me Gateway, and as far as I can tell, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell isn’t available as an ebook.  I’m finding it irritatingly common that the books I’m interested in reading are not available digitally.  This may have something to do with my interest in science fiction.  It’s my impression that most science fiction writers benefit very little from digital books as compared to writers of other genres, and many of these sci-fi authors are against their use.  Ursula K Le Guin is notablyagainst Google Books, for example (not that I feel free online books and pay online books are the same, but digital piracy frightens a lot of people).

I am trying a different blog theme.  This is a fixed-width theme as opposed to a flexible-width one.  I would like a flexible-width theme, but I think I prefer the way this one looks otherwise.  Since I’ve only recently begun the blog, I’m sure its appearance will be in flux for awhile.

Thanks for any and all comments, by the way.  They are appreciated.

I will conclude with an Esperanto phrase of the day, which I chose from Lernuwhile learning about useful phrases:

Pardonu mi devas foriri. - Pardon, I have to leave.