Merry Xmas

Dial-up sucks. I've been Xmas-ing for the past few days, spending time with the folks, fighting my allergies and so on.

Cryptonomicon is so much better this time through. More later.

Me out.

Pre Cryptonomicon

Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon is one of the geekiest books I’ve ever read. The massive volume of historical fiction explores the evolution of currency, cryptography, technology and geography through parallel stories of the fictitious families, the Waterhouse family (geeks) and the Shaftoe family (grunts) during World War II and the boom of the Internet.

Not only the book is action packed, funny, extremely geeky (equations!) and fun, but also features an incredible level of historical accuracy. I decided to reread the book, but not after doing my own research on these subjects.

If you are planning to read Cryptonomicon, or have more of a passing interested in World War II, I suggest that you study some of the following. I have included only some of the highlights, hoping that it will help you to have a fuller experience with the novel. Go ahead, bookmark this post and consult it later.

Required studying before reading Cryptonomicon:

Battle of Wits – This history book is the real life counterpart to Cryptonomicon. Quite technical, but at the same time, action packed (the one and only Ian Fleming is in it), it describes the cryptographic efforts during the war and how they redefined what we now think of Intelligence. It is a must read. I’m pretty sure that Stephenson read this book and that is how he came up with the idea for Cryptonomicon.

The Second World War – This book does a really good job of making sense out of the overwhelmingly complex War. It serves as an excellent overview of the subject.

This page has a funny as hell summary of WW2, as if it was a chat room in an internet game.

Alan Turing: The Enigma – This biography is so detailed that it is creepy and somewhat tedious. But, since Al is one of the most important characters in Cryptonomicon, it is a must read. Also, the analysis of Turing’s most important papers make this one a winner if you have some interest in the history of computation. Just skip through the boring parts of his life at the end.

Tora! Tora! Tora! – It is a historical reenactment of the events that lead to the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. The script is merely expository (read: dumbed down), but it is an accurate and simple way to understand what happened. Also, pay attention to the attack on Nevada, you can almost see Lawrence Waterhouse playing in the band.

Other references that are pretty good too:

Hammond Atlas of World History – I have reviewed this book before, and again is the reference I turn to over and over. At least make yourself the favor of checking it out at your library and studying the maps related to WW2. Everything will make more sense after you do that.

The Ultimate National Geographic WWII Collection – This documentary used a lot of real footage from the war, and is an easy way to understand many of the most important battles.

Das Boot – It is the best submarine movie ever. Although it is very long, it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It will help you understand what the marine Bobby Shatoe encountered in some of his adventures; a must see if you are interested in war movies or naval adventures. Even Stephenson says that he studied this movie before writing the book.

Band of Brothers – The critically acclaimed HBO mini-series directed created by Spieldberg is a reenactment of the adventures of the 101st Airborne during the American offensive starting in Normandy all the way to the Eagle’s Nest. Excellent!

References for the hardcore only:

This website features some vintage educational posters on the American technology during the war.

Patton – This fun movie is a character study on the eccentric American general of the same name. Not so useful for understanding Cryptonomicon, but a good movie overall.

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich – This is a historical volume on the history of Germany that lead to the beginning and end of the War. Obviously very biased, but at the same time, extremely detailed. If you are into political intrigue, or want to really understand what the hell was that dude with the Chaplin mustage all about, this is the book. Warning: It is very long and dense.

The Rising Sun : The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 – It is the pacific side counter part of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Less on the political intrigue, and more into the warfare, it is an excellent book. Long, but easy to read. Oh, and it even talks about the warnings given to the marines about huge lizards in the pacific, just like the one encountered by Bobby Shaftoe.

Check out this link to hear the mp3 of Roosevelt’s speech after the Pearl Harbor Attack.

Grave of the Fireflies – This anime portrays the Nipponese suffering during the American firebombing campaign on Tokyo. Depressing.

Edo-Tokyo Museum – If you happen to be in Tokyo, try to visit this museum. It might help you understand the Japanese perspective on the War.

Enigma: The Battle for the Code – It is an extensive study focusing on the anglo efforts trying to break the german Enigma cryptographic engine. Read it if you really want to understand the machine.

This website has a cool java applet modeling Enigma that might help too.

Why should you care about this long list? Well, first of all, I feel that I have tapped into many of the resources that Stephenson himself studied. Second, you will understand many of the subtler aspects of Cryptonomicon after studying these. Finally, because WW2 is a very interesting period in history, not only politically, but technologically.

the kobbo diet

Definitivamente una de las figuras puertorriqueñas mas ilustres de las ultimas decadas es Kobbo Santarosa. Su show compite directamente con las noticias poniendo su credibilidad al nivel de los reporteros del canal 11. Ahora descubrimos otra faceta de tan talentoso productor de television.

Kobbo Santa Rosa: Ganador del Worldwide Contest Challenge
La insipiracion de Kobbo fue la gente que le dijo que no podria terminar el reto. Perdio 20 libras y bajo su porciento de grasa de 20.3% a 10.9%.

vamos a ver si ponen al paparazzi en la dieta de Kobbo.

Perdona, sa'e

La popularidad del reggaeton ha desplazado la salsa; no negaré que mi pasión cocolística me hace resentir mucho este género. Todo comenzó hace unos años cuando muchos salseros empezaron a darle espacio a cantantes de reggaeton en su música para validar este género de bajísima calidad de producción.

Puerto Rico se caracteriza por excelentes producciones musicales, así que no me puedo explicar por qué quedan tan flojas las pistas y los efectos de distorción de las voces. Pero lo que se lleva la corona de la tecatería eran los primeros videos de reggaeton. En imitación al gangsta-style americano, pero con pocos fondos para su producción, trataban de representar el exceso bling-bling poniendo segmentos de tipas chonchi en bikinis bailando en puentes peatonales que interrumpían al rapero que era circulado por motoras brilladas corriendo en una cancha de baloncesto de un caserío. Hubiera sido más interesantes si hubieran puesto las motoras en el puente peatonal, y las tipas en bikinis corrieran dando vueltas en la cancha de baloncesto para que rebajaran el chicho.

Creo que el evento que marca la muerte de la salsa fue el video de "He chocado con la vida" de Tito Rojas y Big Boy. El video no lo dejaban de repetir en el canal siete, y siempre me daba mucha risa como el director pensó que resultaría interesante visualmente que la cámara no apuntara a El Gallo Salsero, si no a su hombro, que daba un efecto de camarografo borracho. Estos visuales intercalaban los de Big Boy destruido emocionalmente (ja!) contemplando el carro accidentado.

Cómo dicen 3 Kings: Más charros que Chevy.

Why I will never get married

As you might remember, my best friend is getting married. Since we are both living away from where the wedding is (Puerto Rico), and from each other, planning is mostly done through phone and email.
My mother is in Puerto Rico, and she is constantly asking me about his wedding plans. She is always frustrated with my lack of knowledge of the most minuscule details of the wedding, and then she assumes that since I don't know, those details haven't been dealt with by the wedding planner. This empowers her to feel like she is the wedding planner, and she pounds me with things like "Tell him not to forget to [insert random wedding thing that I didn't even know existed]"
I know she is just trying to be helpful, but today it was too much and while on the phone she was driving me crazy and made me think that maybe inserting splinters under finger nails wouldn't be as bad as dealing with her. I invented an excuse to cut her off.

Yes, I am a bad son and I will burn in hell next to the cannibals.

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

For some reason in the past year I have ended up reading a lot of incredibly heavy books. I tend to read in bed, just before going to sleep, and now I think balancing huge heavy books in my belly should count as working out.

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes consists of three volumes of 22.5lbs*1/3 weight each. This includes every Calvin and Hobbes comic ever published. C&H has a very peculiar charm: when it doesn't make you laugh, it makes you understand. The art is wonderful, to the point that sometimes the story isn't necessary. Sometimes the writting is just really witty with simple drawings. But it always carries this magical warmth to it, sort of like reading hot chocolate in a cool night while playing with plastic dinosaurs.

As a comic book collection, it isn't as good as it could have been, especially after being spoiled with The Complete Far Side. Those feel sturdier and more durable. Also, they have a lot of extras and comments on the comics and the responses that they produced. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes seems simpler in comparison with no extras.

But, then again, it is every single Calvin & Hobbes ever published. If you like C&H, go buy it now. If you aren't familiar with them, borrow them from a friend. You will understand the joy and sadness of what Calvin once said:

It's a magical world, Hobbes, Ol' buddy ... let's go exploring.

Cheese Koan

There are cheeses made out of the following animals' milk:

buffalo
camel
cow
ewe
goat
mare
reindeer
yak

That is, cheese can be made out of almost every mammal that can be farmed, and then some.

But what about pig? I don't know. Pig milk must be really nasty or something.

Think about that.

Velociraptors in Puerto Rico

I posted about this site in the old, long gone blog. It is full of clever Christian extremist satire. But, there is this new jewel in it: Project Pterosaur.

Mission Statement

The goal of Project Pterosaur is to mount an expedition to locate and bring back to the United States living specimens of pterosaurs or their fertile eggs, which will be displayed in a Pterosaur Rookery that will be the center piece of the planned Fellowship Creation Science Museum and Research Institute (FCSMRI).

Of course.

Why Look For Living Pterosaurs?

[...] By finding and displaying living examples of what the Evolutionists claim is impossible, we will sow the seeds of Evolutionism doubt, thereby making the public receptive to the truth of the Bible.

Yes, but why not some other dinosaur.

While there are other extant creatures which Evolutionists claim have gone extinct long before man, they are not as ideal for our purposes as pterosaurs. Some of the alternatives are:

[...] Velociraptors: Today terrorize the goat herders of Puerto Rico and are rumored to guard the remains of the Ark. They have become vicious since the Fall as the result of the effects of genetic entropy, making them too dangerous for the sort of interactive public experience we have in mind.

Just picture it, Chemo Jones in Jurassic Park.

Please, don't confuse the cheese with cocaine

The grocery store nearby has an excellent selection of cheeses; and the woman who cuts the cheese is my friend's aunt. She is always recommending new good cheeses for me to try. I am not a cheese expert or anything, but I can recommend a few practical choices.

My favorite kind? It is hard to say, but I find myself constantly buying the king of cheeses, Brie de Meaux. With bread, crackers, wine or just by itself is incredible. I tend to like goat cheeses too, and a very malleable one is the famous Feta. It goes perfect on salads, sandwiches and anything with hummus. At some point in life, everyone should make a pizza with real, fresh Mozzarella. Smoked Gouda is a great fondue cheese. Queso fresco with black beans is another winner. Good ham is the best sidekick to Manchego. Also, check out the cheap Laughing Cow. I am not sure if it is cheese, ("processed milk product" it says), but it is a delicious spread that you can put on anything to make it better.

I just love cheese.

But cheese is not cocaine.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - In an unusual case of mistaken identity, a woman who thought a block of white cheese was cocaine is charged with trying to hire a hit man to rob and kill four men. [...] A search of the home with the permission of the occupants revealed no drugs, only the white, crumbly cheese common in Mexican cuisine.

por favor, no lo dejen salirse con la suya

Tufo es definido por la real academia española como "Emanación gaseosa que se desprende de las fermentaciones y de las combustiones imperfectas." Todos hemos sido victimas de algun tufo en algun momento de nuestras vidas. Para aquellos que han cogido guagua pública, debe de ser muy conocido el tufo que emanan los sobacos de la gente que hace compras en Capri de Rio Piedras.
Contrario a la creencia popular, la peste bubónica (o peste biónica segun cierto prócer puertorriqueño) no es un tufo si no una simple enfermedad infecciosa. Otras pestes que no deben de ser confundidas con tufos son las pestes que acompañan al Hercólobus. Aún no se ha podido determinar si los Pitufos poseen algun olor caracteristico que sirviera como inspiración para darles este nombre.
Algunos bandidos han adoptado el nombre de "Tufo" en un intento por dañar la reputacion de nuestros amigos mal olientes. A continuación, un caso directo desde Nicaragua de las fechorias que están dispuestos a realizar estos rufianes.

«El Tufo» es grosero

LA PAZ CENTRO, LEON, (Especial, por Leo Cárcamo).- Un sujeto conocido con el sobrenombre de «El Tufo», sin mediar palabra alguna le asestó una pedrada a Luis Andrés García Rojas, quien recibió el impacto en la cabeza, exactamente en la región parietal derecha.

El agredido fue trasladado de urgencia al centro de salud de esta localidad, donde el médico de turno orientó que le realizaran doce puntadas en la herida. «El Tufo», después de cometer el hecho, se dio a la fuga, informó el teniente Yáder Toval, de Seguridad Pública de la Policía Paceña, quien aseguró que este antisocial caerá de un momento a otro en prisión.

Just in case you aren't tired of the Medal yet

Just in case you aren't tired of me posting about the Medal, I have yet another one. Here is another article, this one about the appeal process.

TEN SCIENTISTS on Saturday sent an appeal to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on the wrongful omission of the Indian physicist E.C.G. Sudarshan, a professor at the University of Texas, Austin, United States, from this year's Nobel award in physics.

It explains a bit of the controversy too:

Dr. Glauber, in fact, gave it a new name, the P-representation, as if he had discovered it but went on to make inaccurate assertions as well. He had claimed that the P-representation was valid only in the limit of high intensity whereas Prof. Sudarshan's diagonal representation is, in fact, valid for all fields, whether of low, high or intermediate intensity.