(May 26, 2009)
After almost a year, an actual update! Not to worry, though... everybody is doing fine. The cat is not yet an official member of the family, but, as you can see, she gets along pretty well with the dog, who has been with us for three years already.
I just found out that I now have my own Wikipedia page! I have no idea how it got there (although I suspect Derek Abbott), but thanks to whoever took the trouble... It's fairly accurate too. I'll just have to replace my picture one of these days, because the one currently up is not exactly flattering :-P
I'm still reading some of what my family affectionately calls "those Buddha books." Currently, to be specific, the Majjhima Nikaya (The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha), one of the cornerstones of the so-called "Pali Canon." It has been a bit of a surprise, mostly, because of the emphasis on the "meditative attainments," also known as the jhanas, which appear to be a distinguishing feature of the Theravada tradition. But, in any case, it is quite interesting, in spite of all the repetitions.
Perhaps more interestingly, over the course of the past year, I have actually written a book about my own religious faith (and how it integrates with my understanding of the world as a scientist). You can read the first chapter here. There are four more chapters, for a total of about 120 pages, and I am currently trying to get it published somewhere, so if you know any publishers or can help in any way, I'd be very grateful!
On a decidedly lighter note... I have just recently discovered this Web comic called "Megatokyo". (Yes, yes, I know now that it has been around for almost nine years!) Anyway, it is cute and occasionally funny, although I must say that it was funnier at the beginning, when "Largo" was still involved. You can actually read the whole thing online, beginning here.
Random music statistic: about 3% (by memory) of the contents of my iTunes music library appear to be Bach, about 2% Beethoven, and about 1% Brahms. The conclusion is obvious: I need more Bach (and probably more Brahms too...)
On the popular music side, I finally got Roddy Frame's 1998 album The North Star, which is a wonderful piece of British rock/pop that (sadly) appears to have gone virtually unnoticed at the time...
What would would it matter if the world were to shatter
Is it the world you believe in?
Walk the line with some grace say it wasn't a race
Ain't that a reason for living?
Roddy Frame, "Reason for Living", The North Star (1998)