Monday, April 29, 2013

Work and Play

I downloaded photographs for the first time in ages, and these seemed to more-or-less cover the spectrum of stuff I've been doing.

First year labs - taken during a lull in the questions. Using a torsion balance to determine relative densities. Demonstrating is actually a pretty cool job; and it makes for more interesting pictures than most of my "real" work (the stuff I'll hopefully get a degree for). You can just picture me moving between the computer and my notebook for that.

Afternoon tea - just off from the middle-of-town traffic is a lovely Victorian garden with hedges and archways and benches and grottos, which I was too busy exploring to photograph - maybe another time! After that it was time for tea. We try to do something exciting most weekends, although that sometimes means making tea and drinking it without doing work at the same time. Those times are slightly less photogenic, but they're good too!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Book Log: Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian

("Good night" seems like two words to me, but it's one on the cover. Oh well.)

One of my criticisms against 'Skull in Shadows Lane' was that it read like a children's book (which it was, so it's not a terrible thing). Goodnight Mister Tom, which is also about children in wartime England, did not read like a children's book. I think this is a good thing (certainly, I enjoyed it), although part of me wonders if it really is a children's book.

William is evacuated from his meagre home in London to a surprisingly pleasant place in the country, where he stays with a crusty, but kind childless old widower: Mister Tom. Will blossoms in the wholesome new environment and it's a delight to watch his character unfold. Part of the delight, certainly, is being able to see things coming when he can't. I'm not sure how much that would change between an adult and a child's perspective.

It's a little odd to realise that I just don't know. As I write now, looking for an example that's more adult-oriented than kid-oriented, I can't think of a specific example. It's rich - I found some of the Heidi parallels rather fun, especially when somebody mentions the novel in a different context, but I don't imagine every reader would notice/appreciate that. The division probably doesn't have much to do with age, though. Some of the topics it deals with are horrible, but it does handle them well. I guess I wouldn't read it to small children, but that doesn't mean it's not a children's book at all.

I think I'll take it as this novel correcting the fault I found with 'Skull in Shadows Lane'. It has as much depth and colour as I could ask for, without particularly moving out of the realm of children. There's lots going on, but it's understandable. And if it takes more than one read to get all the goodness out of it - well, that's a sign of a good book, isn't it?

'Goodnight Mister Tom' is a coming-of-age novel that looks at some relevant topics of varying difficulty (abuse; discrimination; "gifted" education; interactions of family and state) rather well. The author loses herself very well, so that I'm not thinking about gender equality in education, but only wondering whether or not Connie will be able to go to high school. Which may lead me to the same topic, but lets me think about it in my own way. And I think these topics deserve some thought.

I enjoyed this. I'd like to read it again at some point.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Book Logs

I've finished a handful of books in the last couple of weeks (mostly the last week, which was a holiday from lectures, if not university work) and since it seemed unlikely I'd write posts for all of them, I'm going to put a snippet about each here.

The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien

I am always impressed by the immensity and grandness of this story by the time I finish it. It starts out merely cheerful and exciting - by the end it makes me wonder if I could ever do anything so worthwhile. Then I remember Frodo telling Gandalf that he wished he needn't have lived in such a time, and Gandalf's response about having to live through the time we are born into (although I've a feeling he phrases it more eloquently). I can thus convince myself that I don't need to be a Frodo or a Samwise or an Aragorn or an Eowyn.

It's harder to justify why I shouldn't strive to create as magnificently as Tolkien did. Exactly what that means is a little fuzzy, but I come away feeling inspired; like it's no good if all the book does is make me sad and happy and incredulous and awestruck. One needs to do something, whether it's a trip to Mount Doom, making sure Gaffer Gamgee has enough to eat, creating something to reflect the glory of our world, devouring knowledge like it's gong out of fashion or - just something. It doesn't seem enough to let life happen to one, after that account. One must do something.

OpenIntro Statistics
openintro.org

It's been a while since I read a textbook from cover to cover. It's nice having work that's focussed enough to make it worth the investment. This was very accessible, but covered a fair amount of ground (at least it felt that way to me - I don't have much to compare). It was, at least, enough to springboard me from high schoolish level into a more specialised textbook with a fair degree of confidence. (I'm currently reading Christopher Chatfield's The Analysis of Time Series: An Introduction)

The Four Loves
C. S. Lewis

I read this and thought "Hmm, that's interesting, but there's nothing particularly mindblowing about it." But since then I've been remembering this quote or that idea in a bunch of different contexts. I'm not sure there's an exciting core message that the whole book works to convey - although it's all thematically consistent - but there are fascinating insights scattered throughout. I was a little disappointed that so much of the book seemed to address men only. I see Lewis's point that he doesn't have any other experience, but I still didn't like it. Nonetheless, this was an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

A Skull in Shadows Lane
Robert Swindells

From the title, the back cover blurb, and what I've previously read from Swindells, I was expecting this to be a light-hearted five-find-outers-style mystery story. Instead it was a rather thoughtful look at post-WWII life through the eyes of eleven year old Jinty Linton, her brother Josh and their cohort, in a little English village where "nothing ever happens". I think Swindells exploits that ordinariness very well - this connected with me in a way that war stories generally don't. It felt like a children's book (which it is), but I still enjoyed it and have found a new way of seeing that time period.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Monday Miscellany

1. I posted recentlyish about knowing "nothing", largely prompted by the fact that some of the papers I'm reading for my honours project go way over my head. I also ended up emailing my supervisor to say "Wah! I don't know any stats!" (But in more grown up language, 'cause I'm boring like that.) He helpfully sent me an open source stats textbook. After reading about half of it, I was thinking "No, I know all of this. I meant the other stats." Oops. The second half of the book has been more helpful/new, but I suspect I'll need yet another book after that. So many things to know!

2. Easter was awesome. Easter is awesome. Something like that. And Easter hymns are amazing. Something in the music and the physicalness of really singing it out captures the wonder and excitement that is so hard to maintain through the year, but so much what Easter is about. He is risen! We are forgiven! He is risen!

3. In the sermon on Good Friday, our minister pointed out that Jesus was hated - and crucified - for showing love. I'm not sure how often I want to be liked more than I want to show love (and act on that). More often than I should. But at the same time it's definitely not right to alienate people. It's a tricksy topic, but one worth thinking about, I think.

4. I discovered that Google Reader was shutting down from my sister, who actually spends enough time on a computer (with internet) to use it regularly. I also discovered from her that there's a Feedly mobile app which works quite well. And now I have a feedreader on my phone (which, in fact, I really like). I haven't been so informed in months.