The Phoenix Exultant: or, Dispossessed in Utopia (volume two of The Golden Age by John Wright

More on (moron) personal ads

Lately, since I've started blogging, I've been trying to find some really cool blogs. I did a little research, like searching on celebrity's names that I thought were cool, or at sites like this or this, and I found some that worthwhile. I was reading one of the most popular blogs, Boing Boing, and they had a post about Brutally Honest personal ads.

So, of course, I had to submit mine.

Late.

Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton

It's 768 pages (big!) in the hardcover version, and just published in March, 2004. It starts out as a space opera, sweeping scope, tieing in a crime whodunit with alien invasion. Hamilton is becoming one of my favorite sci-fi authors.

Trip to DC

I took a trip to Washington DC for a mini-vacation, something I've been thinking about for a long time. I stayed in Georgetown and rode the subway over to the Smithsonian two days in a row. Saturday I went to the National Museum of Natural History and spent all day. Sunday I saw the National Museum of American History, and the National Air and Space Museum, which is amazing. I also lucked out, and Tuesday was the opening for the National Museum of the American Indian, so there were huge events all weekend long. I went to a show on the mall for the opening celebrations, it was kind of like a native American Cirque du Soleil, with lots of dancing, drumming, singing and chanting, and dramatic performing and video, all set to music. The costumes were fantastic.

The weather was beautiful for walking, clear and highs in the 70's, which is good because I did a heck of a lot of walking. I didn't really get to see half of the museums I visited, and you could spend days in each of them. I didn't even try to see any of the monuments, buildings or other things. Someday I'll have to spend a week there.

Late.

Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley Robinson

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman

A friend gave me the book Genius by James Gleick, and so enjoyed reading about the physicist Richard Feynman that I had to read his autobiography as well. Gleick is a much better writer than Feynman, but it's nice to hear some of the stories from the horse's mouth.

Drew's Attempt at Worst Personal Ad of All Time

SWM Seeks Attractive Young (at heart and in body) Female

My name is Drew and I’m an over-40 pipeline corrosion engineer. I am 6’ 0” tall and have a beer belly, like an ex-jock, and my mom says that I have a great personality. My perfect mate would be around 20, single (never married) with some college, so that she can converse with me at a minimal level. She would be between 5’ 5” and 5’ 7” (no taller) and have natural blond hair, fair skin, and blue or green eyes. I like women who are shaped like women, so her measurements should be 38-24-36. My hobbies are television, computers, reading science-fiction, and drinking (preferably beer) and eating (preferably meat). I don’t do drugs because of company testing, and I just quit smoking. I am seriously not a morning person, and I have been called emotionally underdeveloped because I don’t like to “talk about my feelings”. The ex-girlfriend who said that is crazy anyway. She broke up with me because we went out for a year and she literally expected me to propose to her. All the girls I’ve broken up with have said that I am a “nice guy” but that has a problem with commitment. My friend says that I am the archetypical guy’s guy, I don’t pay a lot of attention to my taste in clothes or personal hygiene (like those fags on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) because I’m definitely straight.

My turn-on’s are being in charge and women who know their place. My turn-offs are people who use weekend psychology like “let’s talk” and “what are you thinking?” long walks on the beach (you get sand in your underwear, and it’s tiring to walk in sand), and any form of dancing. I also hate personal ads that talk about hobbies like rock climbing or mountain biking, that’s not honest, no guy really wants to get off the couch when he’s got a satellite dish like mine. My dream date would involve getting together in an unusual place, like a car or bus, or maybe with one of your girlfriends (just a joke, unless you’re into that, in which case, I’m into that too).

I live in a small house that I just bought along, with my brother. I’m a neatness freak, and I am very particular about how my maid cleans the house. I own three cars, a 1967 GTO Convertible (my baby), a 1993 BMW 325i, and a 1982 Toyota Land Cruiser. I don’t really like kids, so I don’t think that if you have kids it would work out.

PICTURE REQUIRED, PREFERABLY SWIMSUIT (OR NUDE, JUST KIDDING, UNLESS YOU’RE INTO IT, IN WHICH CASE, I’M INTO THAT TOO). INCLUDE YOUR HOME AND WORK ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS.

Iron Council by China Mieville