(no subject)

I was talking to my parents about them being interested in Dwarf Fortress. My dad said something about playing it on a tablet, and I just couldn't help myself. As I tried to imagine someone wading through that nigh-inscrutable fever-dream of a UI on a tablet, I started laughing harder and harder until I was laughing so hard I was leaning back against a dresser in my chair, unable to breath.

I admire the game, and I mostly like it. But if you know Dwarf Fortress, you will understand.

(no subject)

Doctor Luke (my work friend) said that someone pointed him at a book from 1971 called Modern Operational Circuit Design. I looked it up and it seemed like it might be helpful so I got it through our iShare program (ILL, but within a network).

In discussing operational amplifiers, the author wrote in a footnote: "A note of encouragement is offered to certain readers: integral calculus is one of the mathematical disciplines that operational circuitry exploits and, in the process, rather demolishes as a barrier to understanding."

I am amused that I am clearly one of those 'certain readers.' Regrettably, I'm not at a point where I want to try to figure out integral calculus right now. It's on my list to be sure; I just don't know if it's high enough on that list for me to ever actually get to...