Tag: Books

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Hi everyone! I apologize for my brief absence.

The last two weeks have been quite eventful, and I had a lot to contend with including (takes a deep breath):

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  1. Finishing an online certification course in programming
  2. Submitting an application for research funding (for my PhD in Robotics)
  3. Finishing the last chapter of my second book
  4. Starting my Research Assistantship in the Robotics lab at the U of A (very, very exciting)
  5. Finish reading the The Silmarillion, and starting on Carl Sagan’s Dragons of Eden.

All in all, it was just about a lot of work and having fun whenever possible. I’m especially happy about #3. It was an amazing ride of feelings to write up the last few pages of my second book. The epilogue remains to be completed (this week), though it will be a short piece of work, followed by the more arduous task of content editing. As of now, I’m looking at a page count of about 120 or so, though given my past experience in editing Our Last Summer: A Personal Memoir, this number is bound to change.

Now that I’m nearing the completion of my second book, I can’t wait to get started on brainstorming my next three to four writing projects which will span various genres from politics, science fiction, and fantasy. I also intend to write a short story in my native language of Tamil (haven’t written in it for years, so it will be one hell of a fantastic mess) and which will serve as the third and final act of a trilogy of books that have been inspired from my personal life, including Our Last Summer, and my second book (call it Agent X). The coming week I will also begin my courses in manga art/drawing (a crucial aspect my upcoming writing projects, some of which will be in the form of manga/comics).

Apart from this, I’m keeping busy as we near the end of the year. Working as a research assistant in a robotics lab is exciting as heck, and I have lots to learn from my peers. My plans for this coming week are to post some promotional material for Our Last Summer as well as also provide for some new topics of discussion involving science and a slice of life.

I will keep you all posted in the coming days! For now, I’m going to sit back, relax, and just creep myself out with this beauty as for All Hallows’ Eve:

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Blackouts, Thunderstorms, and a long weekend!

It has been a unique summer in Edmonton.

The myriad thunderstorms, hail, and the unexpected blackout made for an adventurous, and delightful long weekend. A most notable account would involve the consistent hail that battered against my balcony windows, followed by severe lightning flashes that struck close to my apartment, persuading me to disconnect my electrical devices (lest they got fried), along with the ensuing thunder that caused my eardrums to ring periodically.

The whole scenario had its share of perks, namely some delicious dining at home, lots of board games, romantic walks in the rainfall, and pure, unadulterated procrastination. The highlight of the weekend was the blackout the day before yesterday. I could attribute the event to be equivalent to what this guy had to experience,

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I’m stuck in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre!

A lightning strike near our neighborhood resulted in a loss of electricity across the entire block, lasting for three hours.  I enjoyed the  throwback to a world without electricity. Having just returned from Chapters, following the purchase of an updated summer reading list,

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I’ve opted to begin with “Brave New World.” A book review should be due in the near future! The best part of the purchase was the 3 for $10 sale!

Leina, and I passed the hours, reading, and discussing the significant contributions of electricity to modern day life. It was relieving to not be bogged down with the usual streams of technology governing our daily entertainment.

The experience also provided ample food for thought, particularly on humanity’s dependence on technology, as well as the plight of third-world nations that may struggle for such basic (as would seem to those who live in first-world countries) resources.

All of which leads me to the subject of my next critical blog post: Electricity: Principles, and Applications. The post will be a brief review of the theory behind electricity, as well as its principal applications in our daily lives. The review will follow upon the format of various other popular science articles, and I hope to make it concise, and understandable for all my readers.

Meanwhile, I will spend the week continuing to edit my thesis. A preliminary date for  my defense has been chosen, though it is yet to be confirmed. Apart from this, I’m also  busy finishing up my second novel!

The long weekend was apt for inspiration, and I have several writing, art, and music projects aligned for the future! I hope to fill the absence until I post Electricity with brief updates on my daily thoughts, adventures, and blog modifications!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

“An Incomplete Eloquence”

An Incomplete Eloquence – a pretty interesting article on the use of marginalia, and a reader’s relationship to a book.

I don’t agree with all the points made by the author. After all, it is quite possible a person who defers the use of marginalia, isn’t necessarily failing to build a “relationship” with the book, nor is guilty of not having “used” it well.  Simply, the book may just be boring, inciting no particular inspiration in the reader. It may also be a personal preference of the reader, who in reality, may enjoy an interesting read, and find the necessity to pause, and collect their thoughts rather distracting.

The article was a pleasant coincidence, as I’ve spent the past month raking in a variety of book purchases amidst the summer sales at Chapters (the bookstore), and been recently debating between either using marginalia in those books or to document my thoughts in a separate journal! For now, I’ve decided to use a separate diary to compile my ideas, and analysis of the passages on the books I’ve read.

Nevertheless, I must admit there is “An Incomplete Eloquence” in the extensive use of marginalia that I myself utilized to a great extent throughout the course of my undergraduate studies.

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I can testify that the content of a few of my undergraduate physics books in quantum mechanics, or statistical mechanics are pretty similar to this one, and could basically describe a book within another!