Things I like

I haven't posted here in nearly a month, possibly because there hasn't been much to write about. There still isn't, really, but I'm not letting it stop me this time.

Some things that I am enjoying these days:


1. The weather

I don't know if it should come as a big surprise that people enjoy summer, but it seemed for a long time that cool and dry was all we would get for May and June. Not so these days. Of course, the combination of recent rain (including a nice weekend hail-shower) and present heat will unleash a wave of killer mosquitoes, but who am I to complain.

2. Reading


In particular, I've been reading Naomi Klein's excellent Shock Doctrine, and while it's rather heavy, the page-turning factor is practically Korman-esque (his early work, up to, but possibly not including The Toilet Paper Tigers). Reading on the porch is a good way to combine #1 and #2, and also to achieve the ever-popular chest tan/white back look.

3. New music

I don't find myself too much interested in bands that I haven't heard of these days, but I am rather enjoying new releases from 2 favourites.


The Notwist's latest, The Devil, You + Me, is as excellent as I had suspected, and features prominently in the current rotation on my iPod. And Wolf Parade's new album, with the unlikely name At Mount Zoomer, also nails most of the items on my musical checklist. You may have noticed that these two records were featured on back to back days by the purveyors of I'm-smarter-than-you---and-better-at-name-dropping-to-boot music reviews. I can assure you that this did not influence my decisions. I also bought the Wolf Parade album at Walmart, of all places (I was there for work, honest!), which would surely make me a target of scorn for the Pitchfork crowd.

4. A well-running bicycle

I was beginning to get pretty frustrated with all the grinding and clicks I was hearing from most of the moving parts on my Norco steed. But like most problems in life, it was all solved with a squirt here, and some lube there (insert joke). And some new bearings for the rear wheel. I no longer feel the need to ride dangerously (illegally?) by wearing headphones, for the sole purpose of obscuring the cries of pain from my bike.

5. Garage sales

Actually, I don't like garage sales. But work lately has included a weekly Friday round of south Winnipeg garage sales with a client, and occasionally something good turns up. Case in point:


1970s algebra texts are the best because they include lengthy tables for things like trig ratios which can now be done by any dollar store calculator. And the first page of the first chapter includes a rather grandiose and sweeping account of mathematical history:

Through the ages, man has found himself in need of numbers to help him in his daily chores. One of his most basic needs was to determine how many of a certain thing he had. Thus he developed a set of counting numbers, sometimes called natural numbers . . . Later man discovered more sophisticated uses for numbers. Gradually he developed a body of knowledge known as algebra, where many different sets of numbers are used.

That's all, nothing more needs to be said on the matter. And clearly, there was no need at the time to write inclusively of gender, either.