Show Notes - Week of December 30, 2019

Welcome to the first entry for 2020, still from 53.5° north latitude, still reading, still finding new beers to drink. So what's the big deal with the new year then? 

Reading Pile:
I hit 50 books read for 2019 with under 15 hours left in the year. I finished the last 57 pages of "Collapse" by Jared Diamond in the morning of New Year's Eve. This was a book that I started with great enthusiasm, but ended with relief. The second section on the history of past societies such as Maya, the Vikings, and Japan were great. I was genuinely interested and learned a lot, and I could see how Diamond was using history to teach us about the present. The third section was decent, but was hard to get through, maybe because I have heard a lot about China and Rwanda in particular in the years since Collapse was released (2005). The fourth section, titled "Practical Lessons" and structured to be the follow-up to the history lesson Diamond presented in the second section was a hundred pages of tedium. When I said I finished the last 57 pages, I probably only read the equivalent of 10 full pages. The rest was just skimmed through.

I think Collapse is an important book in that it is filled with science and research on the impacts of societal decisions that lead to environmental disasters that then cause those societies to fail. However, I do not know how relevant Collapse is anymore. If you staunchly do not believe in the need to make different ecological decisions, this book will not likely sway you. If you already believe, there is not much point in this book other than as a reference. Maybe this will be a useful tool to sway the rest of the population that does not fit into either camp, but I suspect that camp is rather small at this point. 

I'll leave this section off with a quote from Collapse that seemed directly pertinent for the current political and economic climate here at home.

---

Yes, environmental problems do constrain human societies, but the societies' responses also make a difference. So, too, for better or for worse, do the actions and inactions of their leaders. 

 joined two reading groups on Reddit this month to help further my reading goals around big classic novels. The "War and Peace" (r/ayearofwarandpeace) and "The Count of Monte Cristo" (r/AReadingofMonteCristo) groups have so far been very engaging and interesting to participate in. War and Peace comes in at 361 chapters, so we will be reading and discussing a chapter pretty much every day this year. That will be an interesting way to read a book. Monte Cristo has an equally daunting thickness but with less chapters, meaning that we will only hold discussion threads every third day or so on that subreddit. 

Wish me luck on having the stamina to read and follow along with both reading groups this year.

---

New Beers:
With a couple weeks off came a small handful of new beers. Three came in one sitting at Brewsters, and two were pickups from various stores, four were Albertan, and all were Canadian. The locale unfortunately did not translate into really good beers though. The list started off positively with the Howitzer Strong Winter Ale from Brewsters (3.75 / 5), but after that everything was at best average. The first taste of Brewster's Civic Pride Watermelon Ale was shockingly tangy but only got marginally better after the initial taste (3.0 / 5). The final offering from Brewsters was their Cappucino Stout and I couldn't finish it. The coffee flavor seemed like it was brewed by someone that didn't know how to brew coffee (2.25 / 5). After that, I had the Serpens Pilsner from Legend Seven Brewing in Calgary. That was decent (3.25 / 5), but I have to say the labels on the Legend Seven beers are fantastic pieces of art. Lastly, fading back into the land of disappointment, the 78 Kolsch from Philips was uniformly underwhelming - not a lot of flavor, not really that crisp, no aroma. (2.75 / 5)

With those five beers in the last fortnight comes four new badges from Untappd: Winter Wonderland (Level 2), The Great White North (Level 90), Rising Steady (Level 59), and Hopped Down (Level 33). Regarding the Untappd badges, when I initially starting logging my beers, adding the Untappd badges added some interesting visuals to the page, but I don't get anything out of them and really don't care. As a result, this is the last time I am going to post anything about the Untappd badges. 

I do like the statistics that can come from Untappd however, so I think I will export my statistics from time to time and then work on my graphing and data manipulation skills to post something of value. For now, my total as of today is 621 unique beers since joining Untappd, which means a new beer every 2.82 days. I had the 78 Kolsch was Saturday night during supper, so I suppose I should schedule my next new beer early afternoon on Tuesday. ​​

New Words:
Quite a few new words this week, in fact this must be the longest list I have yet to compile. The vast majority are coming from the technical descriptions in Diamond's Collapse, but a few come from the Tolstoy and Dumas readings. 

vicissitude
[vəˈsisəˌt(y)o͞od]
NOUN
vicissitudes (plural noun)

1. a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.

senescence
[səˈnesəns]
NOUN
biology

1. the condition or process of deterioration with age.

putative
[ˈpyo͞odədiv]
ADJECTIVE

1. generally considered or reputed to be.

salutary
[ˈsalyəˌterē]
ADJECTIVE

1. (especially with reference to something unwelcome or unpleasant) producing good effects; beneficial.

glottochronology
[ˌɡlädōkrəˈnäləjē]
NOUN

1. the use of statistical data to date the divergence of languages from their common sources.

lithic
[ˈliTHik]
ADJECTIVE

1. archaeology
   geology
   of the nature of or relating to stone.

tuff
[təf]
NOUN

1. a light, porous rock formed by consolidation of volcanic ash.

paroxysm
[ˈperəkˌsizəm]
NOUN

1. a sudden attack or violent expression of a particular emotion or activity.
   "a paroxysm of weeping"
2. medicine  or attack of a disease; a sudden worsening of symptoms.

relict
[ˈrelikt]
NOUN

1. a thing which has survived from an earlier period or in a primitive form.

vesicle
[ˈvesək(ə)l]
NOUN

1. anatomy zoology  a small fluid-filled bladder, sac, cyst, or vacuole within the body.
2. botany an air-filled swelling in a plant, especially a seaweed.
3. geology a small cavity in volcanic rock, produced by gas bubbles in the molten lava.

karst
[kärst]
NOUN
geology

1. landscape underlain by limestone which has been eroded by dissolution, producing ridges, towers, fissures, sinkholes and other characteristic landforms.

rogation
[rōˈɡāSHən]
NOUN

1. (in the Christian Church) a solemn supplication consisting of the litany of the saints chanted on the three days before Ascension Day.

pathos
[ˈpāˌTHäs]
NOUN

1. a quality that evokes pity or sadness.

laconic
[ləˈkänik]
ADJECTIVE

1. (of a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words.

tephra
[ˈtefrə]
NOUN
geology

1. rock fragments and particles ejected by a volcanic eruption.

amenorrhea
[āˌmenəˈrēə]
NOUN

1. an abnormal absence of menstruation.

extirpate
[ˈekstərˌpāt]
VERB

1. root out and destroy completely.

coppice
[ˈkäpəs]
NOUN

1. an area of woodland in which the trees or shrubs are, or formerly were, periodically cut back to ground level to stimulate growth and provide firewood or timber.

VERB

1. cut back (a tree or shrub) to ground level periodically to stimulate growth.

endogamy
[enˈdäɡəmē]
NOUN
anthropology

1. the custom of marrying only within the limits of a local community, clan, or tribe.

eutrophication
[yo͞oˌträfəˈkāSH(ə)n]
NOUN

1. excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.

incipient
[inˈsipēənt]
ADJECTIVE

1. in an initial stage; beginning to happen or develop.

hagiography
[ˌhaɡēˈäɡrəfē, ˌhāɡēˈäɡrəfē]
NOUN

1. the writing of the lives of saints.
2. derogatory  adulatory writing about another person.
3. biography that idealizes its subject.

a priori
[ˌā prīˈôrī]
ADJECTIVE

1. relating to or denoting reasoning or knowledge which proceeds from theoretical deduction rather than from observation or experience.

riparian
[rəˈperēən, rīˈperēən]
ADJECTIVE

1. law relating to or situated on the banks of a river.
2. ecology relating to wetlands adjacent to rivers and streams.

profligate
[ˈpräfləɡət]
ADJECTIVE

1. recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources.

jabot
[ZHaˈbō, ˈZHaˌbō]
NOUN

1. an ornamental frill or ruffle on the front of a shirt or blouse, typically made of lace.

concision
[-ˈsiZHən]
NOUN

1. noun form of concise

palliate
[ˈpalēˌāt]
VERB

1. make (a disease or its symptoms) less severe or unpleasant without removing the cause.

samovar
[ˈsaməˌvär]
NOUN

1. a highly decorated tea urn used in Russia.

magnanimity
[ˌmaɡnəˈnimədē]
NOUN

1. the fact or condition of being magnanimous; generosity.

lorgnette
[lôrnˈyet]
NOUN

1. a pair of glasses or opera glasses held in front of a person's eyes by a long handle at one side.

obol
[ˈäb(ə)l]
NOUN

1. an ancient Greek coin worth one sixth of a drachma.

equanimity
[ˌekwəˈnimədē]
NOUN

1. mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.

dialectic
[ˌdīəˈlektik]
NOUN

1. the art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions.

ascetic
[əˈsedik]

ADJECTIVE

1. characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.