Show Notes - Week of June 29, 2020

A water-logged hello from 53.5° north latitude to you. It was a rainy week, which meant it was a pretty quiet week without a lot of time outside. But that was okay because it was a very relaxing week as a result. I did not make a lot (i.e. any progress) on my projects, but again, that is okay. It was probably the most relaxing single week vacation I have ever had. 

There was a particularly dorky milestone this week. I do all of the daily challenges in the Microsoft Solitaire game every month, but for June I decided to plan it out to get my points to the even thousands from 1,000 through through to the end which ended up being slightly over 28,000. Visual proof of the achievement is below. For those who may claim that I need to get out more, I say pshaw!

And besides, I did get out this week! I decided that I was hermitizing too much so I made a few deliberate moves to get out, including river valley walks, picnics, and fishing. Plus I got my hair cut for the first time in 100+ days. ​Time to start living again while the weather is nice, or at least not snowy, and before any COVID second wave descends.

Beyond that, the week was filled with reading, a couple new beers, and a solid stack of new words. Without further ado, here is what happened this week. 

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Reading Pile:
I was able to finish two books this week, and I might actually finish a third later today (July 5) but if I do, it will be after I post the entry for this week. Assuming that I only count the two books this week, I am now on pace for 49 books this year. Finishing that third book this week would put me on pace for 51, so my goal for this year is clearly achievable. 

Book #24 for 2020 was "Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World" by David Epstein. I really enjoyed this book which helped me feel good about my lack of super deep skills in any one area, and reminded me of a favorite quote of mine from Robert Heinlein that "... specialization is for insects". I printed that quote back in university, so maybe 1992 or so and it has been hanging in my home office for years. 

But enough about Heinlein, and back to Range. There were a number of takeaways from the book but two really stood out for me. First, was the notion that "we learn who we are only by living, and not before," which is a reminder to live and engage with the world. The second was a quote from a firefighter Epstein interviewed about the difference between making decisions and making sense.

"If I make a decision, it is a possession, I take pride in it, I tend to defend it and not listen to those who question it. If I make sense, then this is more dynamic and I listen and I can change it."  --Paul Gleason, firefighter, quoted in "Range"

Book #25 for 2020 was "Poached" by Stuart Gibbs. This is the third book in the FunJungle series I have read with my younger daughter in the past four months, and it was every bit as enjoyable as the other two. (To be clear, it is the third book we have read, but it is the second book in the series.)

There is probably not a lot to say about this, but as with "Belly Up" and "Panda-monium", I recommend this if you are looking for a thrilling mystery for a young reader and something that will be enjoyable to read aloud.

Book #24 and #25, plus the Heinlein quote.

New Beers:
Two new beers this week, with one coming from a great American brewery and the other coming from a Canadian brewery that maybe is great and maybe isn't. See below for an explanation on that.

The American beer was the Ommegang Adoration Belgian Strong Dark Ale. Thought there was too much taste at first sip, but the impact of the spices mellowed over the duration. The 10% ABV really snuck up on me, which might have caused the mellowing effect. (3.75 / 5). The Canadian beer was the Phillips DinoSour Blackberry Sour Ale. I didn't find this to be that sour at all. It had decent fruit flavor, but was pretty thin. (3.25 / 5)

I was thinking that this particular offering from was an outlier in how low I rated it. However, when I checked my ratings of the 15 Phillips beers I have checked in over the years, it came in at 3.23 so this was a pretty good indication of what I think of Phillips (Technically speaking: Arithmetic Mean = 3.23; Geometric Mean = 3.20; Median = 3.25). It is interesting how the data can show a different picture than the perception, as when I told my friends on a Zoom call the other night that I was having a beer from Phillips, we all agreed that you can't go wrong with Phillips. That seems to be true, but it also seems like there isn't a lot of standouts from them either, at least to my liking. 

New Words:
Although it is fair to say my mood in previous weeks was less than hospitable, this week my reading habit was untrammeled and as a result I was limned like a gaggle of serried teenaged boys finding themselves in a seraglio. 

bursar
[ˈbərsər]
NOUN

1. (BRITISH) a person who manages the financial affairs of a college or university.
   
2. (SCOTTISH) a student attending a college or university on a scholarship.

cresset
[ˈkresət]
NOUN
historical

1. a metal container of oil, grease, wood, or coal burned as a torch and typically mounted on a pole.

untrammeled
[ˌənˈtraməld]
ADJECTIVE

1. not deprived of freedom of action or expression; not restricted or hampered.

antimacassar
[ˌan(t)ēməˈkasər]
NOUN

1. a piece of cloth put over the back of a chair to protect it from grease and dirt or as an ornament.

eructation
[əˌrəkˈtāSH(ə)n]
NOUN
formal

1. a belch.

limn
[lim]
VERB
limned (past tense) · limned (past participle)

1. depict or describe in painting or words.
   
2. suffuse or highlight (something) with a bright color or light.
   

dispositive
[dəˈspäzədiv]
ADJECTIVE

1. relating to or bringing about the settlement of an issue or the disposition of property.

hostler
[ˈ(h)äslər]
NOUN
ostler (noun)

1. a man employed to look after the horses of people staying at an inn.

saturnine
[ˈsadərˌnīn]
ADJECTIVE

1. (of a person or their manner) slow and gloomy.

seraglio
[səˈrälyō]
NOUN
historical

1. the women's apartments (harem) in an Ottoman palace.

serried
[ˈserēd]
ADJECTIVE

1. (of rows of people or things) standing close together.