loge.hixie.ch

Hixie's Natural Log

2004-01-10 11:39 UTC Mad people, Tim, and the Groom Lake facility

On my way to the office (which is the staging point for my mission to today's primary objective, central Olso) I passed an old lady who appeared to be muttering to herself, and it struck me: I can no longer tell the difference between insane people, and people on hands-free mobile phones. Literally. I have no idea if she was on the phone or not. And she definitely wasn't speaking to anyone physically near her.

Later today, Tim will be arriving for a few months. I haven't seen him since August. Hopefully he'll be encouraging me to get to work slightly, ah, earlier, than I have been.

Last night I finished reading a series of seven books by Robert Doherty which I started over the new year. I bought Area 51 around the 23rd of December, finished that day or the next, spent a few days itching to buy Area 51: The Reply, which I finally did around the 26th, along with Area 51: The Mission. I then spent about 2 days reading and about 8 days itching to buy Area 51: The Sphinx, which I finally did on Monday (the 5th), along with Area 51: The Grail, Area 51: Excalibur, and Area 51: The Truth. There appear to be no real analysis sites on the Web for this series, which surprises me. (Is The Lurker's Guide an anomaly, or what? I made my entry into science fiction fandom with Babylon 5, which, at the aforementioned site, has incredibly detailed analysis of every scene of every show, cross-referenced across episodes with detailed plot descriptions, directors comments, and so forth. Did other series not cause that kind of response? Even Stargate SG-1 doesn't really seem to have that kind of detailed analysis. Although, having tried writing one for some episodes myself, I can understand that, I guess. Good analysis is long, hard work.)

Turns out there is another book, Area 51: Nosferatu, now available, with yet another (Legend (Area 51)) coming in "March" (quotemarks because I've become rather familiar with projected publication dates what with my involvement with software development, specification editing, and book proof-reading). I also noticed, while buying those books, that one of my favourite authors, Peter F. Hamilton (author of the simply stunning Night's Dawn trilogy) has some more books on sale now.

However, no more books for me for at least a week. Reading does terrible things to my productivity. I have an addictive personality and very little self-control (which is why I don't drink) so when I start reading, I have to finish, even if it is past 5am. Not something I want to keep doing for extended periods of time, really.

I'd better be off now, my exfil window is closing.