Book Reports

I finished a couple of books in the last few weeks.

Darwin's Children, by Greg Bear, is the sequel to Darwin's Radio. I've read a number of other books by Mr. Bear and with the exception of W3 Women in Deep Time I feel confident recommending them all(Slant, the Eon Series). In the Darwin series, Bear asks what if the human race were on the verge of being replaced by the next evolutionary leap. Speculative genetic science and a dark view of the United States citizens and government hurl the protagonists through the story. It's a good read. The research that Mr. Bear puts into the Science behind his stories is evident, and he has a knack for being able to explain it to the lay person without dwelling on it to the expense of the rest of the story.
Where the sequel diverges from the original is its inclusion of spirituality. One of the main characters has an epiphany, feeling as though she is being directly touched by God. The story handles it maturely, exploring the emotional roller coaster this sort of experience subjects a person to. I'd be curious to discover what happened in the four years between the publishing of Radio and Children to make Mr. Bear decide to explore a topic like this in a work that had previously been grounded in pure science. Did he have such an epiphany himself, or did he stumble across the phenomenon of epiphanies while researching something else? Was he intrigued by the existence of God, or does the concept of a consistent unexplainable phenomenon happening to different people who have never met interest him more?
I've also just discovered that Slant is the last in a series of four. I need to get to the bookstore and find the first three.

Orion. Ben Bova. I don't believe I've read any of the author's other works, and I don't believe I will either. Orion is a monorail going over flat ground. The author spends as much time and detail on describing the character's feelings for a dead lover as he does listing the contents of a Neanderthal's rucksack. The time travel premises explored in the book are intriguing, but I think Mr. Bova could have gotten more mileage out of using them in a short story rather than a full length novel.

Drake's Revenge

I've recently acquired a Drake in EVE. It's the first ship I've kitted out as a passive shield tanker and I'm loving it. I was doing quick level 2 combat missions in my caracal before, but now I've upgraded to level 3. I can finish them in the same time as the level 2s but the loot and rewards are much better. My only peeve is that it's very slow. Cleaning and salvaging the loot drops takes a good long time.

Here's the Drake Loadout:
High Slots: 7 Heavy Missile Launchers, 1 Salvager
Mid Slots: 4 Large Shield Extenders, 2 Shield Rechargers
Low Slots: 2 Shield Power Relays, 2 Power Diagnostic Systems

All the gear is basic Tech 1 stuff or some version of cheap upgraded tech 1. I'll upgrade as I find better loot in the missions I'm running. I doubt I'll buy any tech 2 gear since I just don't think it makes enough of a difference when running missions to justify a ten-thousand percent increase in cost. Those millions I'm saving can go towards getting me a Nighthawk.

Bumbershoot

Bumbershoot was this weekend. I went on Saturday. Here is a list of bands I saw.

The Avett Brothers - Bluegrass Punk. These guys started out calm for a few songs, twanging on their banjo and upright bass. Then they started screaming and all the old people left.
Gogol Bordello - Gypsy Punk. These guys had tons of fans in attendance. I watched them while eating Chicken Tikka Masala behind their stage. The music was okay but the chicken was delicious.
Devotchka - Gypsy Pop. I have most of their albums. I didn't hear anything I hadn't heard before.
Saturday Knights - Not everyone can be the Beastie Boys. These guys look like they have fun trying, though.
Aqueduct - These guys were having a ton of fun on stage. The crowd was really into them. In terms of music I'd never heard before these guys win first prize.

I wanted to go saturday to see The Damnwells and Wu Tang Clan, but I stayed home and painted baseboard and window trim instead.

Wednesday Commute: Bike to work. Bus home
Wednesday Exercise: 19 miles biking

Thursday Commute: Bus to work. Bus and Bike home
Thursday Exercise: 5 miles

Friday Commute: Bike to work. Bus and Bike home
Friday Exercise: 25 miles biking

Saturday Exercise: 9 miles running

Sunday Exercise: None

Monday Commute: Holiday
Monday Exercise: None