It’s that time of year again – Nobel Prize season. Today the physics prize was announced, and all over the twittosphere science writers were tweeting about one of the recipients – the first Nobel Prize winner with a non-professional twitter account! (@cosmicpinot) Would it, could it out-trend the iPhone 5 announcement? How many followers would he have by the end of the day? (It went from 350-1,230 by the end of the day in Switzerland….) Continue reading
The Gydle site is now officially online! Welcome to the new incarnation of your favorite blog. Soon I’ll add other stuff like my translating business, an interactive fiction page and, eventually, the publishing empire in its entirety. But don’t hold your breath. Judging from the time I spent agonizing over the details of the new design, it could be a while. Continue reading
This is going to be an odds and ends post. I have left many things dangling in this blog. Time to clean up.
Disorganization in general is starting to make me crazy. I can’t sit down to work any more if the kitchen counter is cluttered, or if my bed, out of sight upstairs, remains unmade. It’s not a writer’s block-related avoidance thing. More often than not, I’m eager to get to work. No, I am deeply afraid this is genetic.
My dear mom is the kind that makes you clean your room before the cleaning lady comes, so she doesn’t waste her time picking up your mess. You want to make cookies? Fine, but the kitchen better be spotless when you’re done. She has a deep obsession with kitchen counters, or perhaps horizontal surfaces in general – they must remain clutter-free or her karma is just off. And trust me, a karma-skewed mom is a thing to avoid. Continue reading
(aka the much-awaited post from Dave!!)
Last month I went to Black Hat and Def Con in Las Vegas. Mary was intrigued. A conference and convention about hacking! So I promised to do a blog post about them.
Big mistake.
Now I understand a lot more about writers’ block. The problem here wasn’t that I didn’t have enough to write about; on the contrary, there is too much, and I didn’t even know where to begin. So I am giving myself permission to leave a lot out and just post some random thoughts. Continue reading
Sometimes coincidences just jump out and tackle you. Yesterday, as I was perusing the New York Times, I came across an article entitled “Cancer’s secrets come into sharper focus” and I was hit with no less than five (5) amazing coincidences. Continue reading
We’re back! What a hike. We did the “Tour de Mt. Ruan” — a four-day hike that straddles the mountainous border between Switzerland and France. I didn’t intend to do journaling on this blog, but I didn’t intend not to do it either, so here’s a recap of the highlights for anyone who’s interested.
My chief technical officer (aka brother) Dave is on probation.
“Can you do a little post from the conference,” I ask, “while we’re out hiking? I’ve said you will on the blog.”
 |
| Be afraid. Be very, very afraid. |
Nothing like a commission to bring on a full-scale case of writer’s block, huh, Dave? I know the scenario all too well from my own experience. Continue reading
Tomorrow is August 1st, Switzerland’s Fourth of July. In every village of the country, celebrations commemorate the pact that was signed in 1291 by the the three founding cantons of Uri, Schwytz and Nidwald. Bonfires are built to evoke the smoke-signal communications technology that was used in the middle ages. Several days beforehand, huge piles of wood are stacked together in preparation. When they’re lit, the villages’ volunteer firefighters stand, hoses trained steadily on the fire, as it burns higher and higher into the night, sparks shooting up into the air. This must be what my 40 franc annual firefighter tax is for. Continue reading
My trips home to the US usually involve a certain amount of shopping. I’ve lived in Switzerland for 7 years now, but I still haven’t figured out how to buy clothes here. And there are some important items that cannot be found, at least at a reasonable price, on this side of the pond… Jelly Bellies, of course, top that list. Continue reading
Looks like I spoke too soon with all my good news. That same day, right after I finished the post, I got two slamdunks. One, a massive forest fire is threatening my hometown of Los Alamos, New Mexico, and two, my brother (the one that’s not a geek, or rather, not quite as much of a geek. We’re all geeks because we were raised in Los Alamos) was in a car accident in Montana. Thankfully, he’s fine. But the fire is not. It has burned over 60,000 acres so far and as of last night, was zero percent contained. The town’s best kept secret, its awesome ski hill, is starting to burn. It’s horrible and dangerous and devastating. Continue reading