Show Notes - Week of July 26, 2021

Greetings from 53.5° north latitude where it is still hot and getting drier. There was no update last week, so the usual sections are a bit meatier this week: two books, one segment, five beers, and a metric boatload of words. 

First up, a quote from the mid-week pickup Brain Pickings email. For this week, Brain Pickings creator Maria Popova went back to 2015 for an article on the famed mycologist, Beatrix Potter. (Yes, she also wrote a book or two.)

Imagination is the precursor to policy, the precondition to action. Imagination, like wonder, allows us to value something. –Linda Lear

The quote is from Linda Lear, who wrote what Popova calls the best book on Beatrix Potter. The quote struck me as I had recently written about imagination in the Gaming section. Imagination is not just for gaming and writing, but also allows us to see into the future and gives us a view at a world we would like to live, which in turn illuminates the targets we need to strive for to bring the ideas in our imagination into reality.

Reading Pile:
I was able to finish one book and one book-that-was-actually-a-play this week.

Book #25 for 2021 was “Authority” by Jeff Vandermeer, the second book in the Southern Reach trilogy. I read “Annihilation” in 2018 and liked it enough to pick up the second book. This has a significantly different feel than Annihilation as it takes place completely outside the mysterious and deadly zone that was the focus of the first book. Authority is largely the story of an interim administrator of the Southern Reach organization brought in to determine what exactly is going on with the flagging and directionless organization. Throughout the book, the protagonist flounders and control (authority) eludes him, but it is unclear why. The story comes together nicely and sets up for an interesting end to the trilogy. If you are not a fan of psychological terror, this might not be the book for you. There were many scenes which could definitely unnerve the reader, including and one completely freaky spine-tingling scene. 

Book #26 for 2021 was the play “R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots)”. This was originally written in 1920 and was translated to English in 1923. I was drawn to it as it is described as the work that introduced the word and concept of “robot” to English and science fiction. As with all good fiction, the technology is a stage prop, a reason to explore a facet of humanity. In this case, it is a story of human hubris and how the human race lost its purpose and was easily replaced by its creations. Highly recommended. Various versions exist, including on the Standard Ebooks site. 

As an aside, I discovered Standard Ebooks this week while searching for a version of R.U.R. The ebooks they publish are much nicer to read than the average fare from Gutenberg, and in fact use the translations from Gutenberg and other sources. Check them out.

Cycling Update:
I was able to complete the Grenfell-Virden segment in the cross-Canada virtual tour since the last update. When I picked route for this leg, I thought I would have a stop in Virden to identify the transition into Manitoba. Little did I know that Virden had such an outsized impact for a town of just over 3000 people. According to Wikipedia, Virden is the birthplace of the co-founder of Boston Pizza, the co-founder of Reader’s Digest, and a former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Nice work, Virden. 

Here is the latest progress chart. Since I started tracking my rides for this virtual tour, I have rode 165 times in 305 days for a total of 3007 km.

New Beers:
Five new beers in fourteen days. I am now at 786 unique check-ins in my personal quest to drink one of every beer in the world. One standout, one decent offering, and three that will not make the drink-again list.  

Beer #782 was The Tragically Hip Road Apples cider from Thornbury Village Cider House and Brewery in Thornhill, Ontario. I really wanted to love this cider, but it had a weird taste that I just could not get into. (3.0 / 5)

Beer #783 was the King Fallen Flag Imperial IPA from Narrow Gauge Brewing in Florissant, Missouri. This was quite a good beer with a deep flavor that was not overpowered by the high ABV. I have a couple other beers in the fridge from Narrow Gauge and I am looking forward to those as well. (4.0 / 5)

Beer #784 was the Valley of the Giants Belgian Strong from Polar Park here in Edmonton. The first taste was surprisingly good. It was crisp like a lager but definitely a strong ale taste. (3.75 / 5)

Beer #785 was the Bobbing Duck Wit from High River Brewing in High River. I was not a fan of this beer. The taste was overly peppery from the coriander, and I did not taste much else. (3.0 / 5)

Last up and coming in as Beer #786 was the Gold Past Life Czech Lager from The Establishment Brewing Company. For the only other beer I have had from Establishment, I commented that it “came highly recommended and well reviewed so I am surprised how little impact this had on me”. Ditto on this one. Admittedly I am not a fan of lagers, but this did not have much to draw me in. (3.0 / 5)

New Words:
A surfeit of words this week, mostly from “Rosewater: Insurrection” that I finished two weeks ago. 

enuresis
[ˌenyəˈrēsis]
NOUN
medicine

1. involuntary urination, especially by children at night.

diphthong
[ˈdifˌTHäNG, ˈdipˌTHäNG]
NOUN

1. a sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable, in which the sound begins as one vowel and moves toward another (as in coin, loud, and side).

res cogitans
[reɪz ˈkɒdʒɪtanz]
NOUN\

• (Philosophy) Substance which has or is regarded as having the power of thought; specifically (in Cartesian metaphysics) the human mind viewed as a substance distinct from the material world.\

res extensa[reɪz ɪkˈstɛnsə]
NOUN\

• (Philosophy) Matter, material substance; a material body.\

conurbation
[ˌkänərˈbāSH(ə)n]
NOUN

1. an extended urban area, typically consisting of several towns merging with the suburbs of one or more cities.

okada
[ôˈkädä]
NOUN\

1. a motorcycle serving as a taxi, with passengers sitting behind the driver.

crepuscular
[krəˈpəskyələr]
ADJECTIVE

1. of, resembling, or relating to twilight.

badinage
[ˌbadnˈäZH]
NOUN

1. humorous or witty conversation.

adventitious
[ˌadvenˈtiSHəs]
ADJECTIVE

1. happening or carried on according to chance rather than design or inherent nature.

adipose
[ˈadəˌpōs, ˈadəˌpōz]
ADJECTIVE
technical

1. (especially of body tissue) used for the storage of fat.

marl
[märl]
NOUN

1. an unconsolidated sedimentary rock or soil consisting of clay and lime, formerly used as fertilizer.

VERB

1. apply marl to.

phatic
[ˈfadik]
ADJECTIVE

1. denoting or relating to language used for general purposes of social interaction, rather than to convey information or ask questions. Utterances such as hello, how are you? and nice morning, isn’t it? are phatic.

allusive
[əˈlo͞osiv, əˈlo͞oziv]
ADJECTIVE

1. (of a remark or reference) working by suggestion rather than explicit mention.

trophic
[ˈtrōfik]
ADJECTIVE
ecology

1. relating to feeding and nutrition.

mentation
[menˈtāSHən]
NOUN
technical

1. mental activity.

manumission
[ˌmanyəˈmiSH(ə)n]
NOUN
historical

1. release from slavery.

plash
[plaSH]
NOUN

1. a sound produced by liquid striking something or being struck.\

VERB

1. splash.

dashiki
[dəˈSHēkē]
NOUN

1. a loose brightly colored shirt or tunic, originally from West Africa.

ordure
[ˈôrjər]
NOUN

1. excrement; dung.

jugaad
[ˌjo͞oˈɡäd]
NOUN\

1. (Indian) a flexible approach to problem-solving that uses limited resources in an innovative way.

integument
[inˈteɡyəmənt]
NOUN

1. a tough outer protective layer, especially that of an animal or plant.

aborning
[əˈbôrniNG]
ADVERB

1. while being born or produced.
   “the idea died aborning”

VERB
(be aborning)

1. being born or produced.

panopticon
[paˈnäptiˌkän]
NOUN\

1. (historical) a circular prison with cells arranged around a central well, from which prisoners could at all times be observed.

welter
[ˈweltər]
VERB
literary

1. move in a turbulent fashion.\

NOUN

1. a large number of items in no order; a confused mass.

massacring
[ˈmasəkər]
VERB
massacring (present participle)

1. deliberately and violently kill (a large number of people).

ex post facto
[ˌeks pōst ˈfaktō]
ADJECTIVE

1. having retroactive effect or force.\

ADVERB

1. retroactively.

limpet
[ˈlimpit]
NOUN

1. a marine mollusk with a shallow conical shell and a broad muscular foot, found clinging tightly to rocks.