Finished another book

This is what it feels like to have time to read...oh yeah...now I remember.

I just finished reading The Da Vinci Code last night. It was a pretty suspenseful read (though the ending was rather anticlimactic). I figured that I should at least read it so that I could choose how to interpret all the hype about it. (I figure that anything that is so discussed by the majority of the American public is at least worth getting to know. Then you can either choose to love it, hate it, or not really care - at least it will be an informed decision.)

I'm not going to comment on any theological issues about it. When I mentioned to Dad that it seemed to be a pretty quick read, he immediately started in on debunking the theology of it. *shrugs* I really don't care about the theology. I read fantasy novels most of the time when I have something to read for pleasure. There's no need to try to change them into reality!

And actually, if you read the whole thing, you find that the book itself suggests that the Church, while perhaps served by keeping such things quiet, is exonerated of any wrong-doing, having been simply played by a misguided historian.

Let's just read this for fun and not take it any more seriously than the film The Body or the book Das Jesus Video (if you know German, read the book, but avoid the movie like the plague!). Consider it a "what if", just like you would with Stargate!

(Those interested in more discussion of The Da Vinci Code might be interested in this blog entry by Kathy Bledsoe (including the comments) that I stumbled across.

Need a new book

Well, I finished reading Steven Brust's Dzur today. It was Vlad doing Vlad things. It wasn't my favorite Vlad book, but on the other hand, I did read whole thing in less than 24 hours. For those of you on the Renaissance circuit, it might interest you to know that Scratch (or someone very like him) made a cameo appearance in the book:

Few people paid any attention to me. I got a hopeful look from a skinny,
dark-haired beggar who was sitting on the ground next to a pastry shop holding a tin to collect coins in and a small frying pan whose purpose was known only to himself. (p. 105, hardcover edition)

Before that, I was re-reading Emma Bull's War for the Oaks. It's amusing being able to identify some of the settings in a fantasy novel, having been there myself.

Multitasking...Quiet.

I have a prof who is always going on about all of these literary greats who wrote all of their wonderful stuff by the time they were 25 or 30. (Granted, they were mostly dead rather soon thereafter...)

I was sitting there thinking that I don't have all that much time to think. Even if I were a genius, which I'm certainly not claiming to be, I wouldn't know it because there has been way too much distraction. Think of the TV on almost all the time in the background. Then there's the radio. Then there's all the required coursework. I mean, really, the only time in the day where I consistantly have time to just stop and think in relative quiet is on the bus (when I'm able to zone out the other people talking around me) and in the shower. I'd say I've conceived of most of my most recent papers while washing my hair.

The greats of the past didn't have these problems. They read if or when they wanted to. Many came from families with money, so they didn't have to work for a living. There were no TVs or radios. They had to walk or ride horse wherever they went, so there were probably longer stretches of time between point A and point B. Anytime that they were alone, it would have been quiet. (Granted, we can turn off the radio or TV, but we often don't.) They just had a lot more time, I think to think, because they had nothing else to stimulate that part of the brain. Also, they didn't necessarily have other people telling them what to write (say in course work), so they could devote their time to what they were really interested in developing.

NBC has reported on something that I think supports my hypothesis.

Jordan Grafman, Ph.D., National Institute of Neurological Disorders says, "It's quite likely that they're not going to have a lot of pause time to deliberate about the work they're doing. So where's the cost there? It's in deep thinking. It's in being thoughtful about what you're doing."

Note: For those of you who have read this far, I recommend that you read the comments too. They are just as, if not more interesting than this entry.

Low blood sugar in a ferret

I accidentally found out the other day what happens when a ferret has low bloodsugar. The ferrets were in the cage all day and I had neglected to check the food-dish before leaving. Apparently it was empty. Chaos seemed to be the only one with a problem. I got home and opened the doors to take him and Fuzzball out. Usually Chaos would sit on the floor for a minute and then scamper off to take care of business. This time, he ran back into the cage and up to the top floor to get my attention. He was shaking...little seizures through the extemities. I had to give him some Karo syrup to get his bloodsugar up high enough for him to eat again. Then I gave him some olive oil for some (from the ferret perspective) yummy non-sugar calories.

It took me calling the vet and her mentioning blood sugar for me to figure out what had happened.