I was recently on a work trip in the Bay Area and took the Caltrain from San Francisco to San Jose. When I last took Caltrain in early 2024 I rode one of the last diesel-powered trains, but by this trip they had fully moved to the new electric ones (some diesel trains are still being used south of San Jose but not on the route I took). ...
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin Overall Review: The Dispossessed is a deeply political book that manages to take a nuanced view of both the anarchist and capitalist societies of the novel’s respective planets. It’s a very intentional choice by Le Guin to make Shevek (the protagonist) critical of his anarchist society while also having him discover the horrors of capitalist society. Le Guin uses vivid imagery of the planets and people to immerse you into Shevek’s world. The characters are compelling and the story complex and intriguing, if somewhat highbrow. The book feels very philosophical and political, and as long as that interests you I highly recommend The Dispossessed — even if science fiction isn’t usually your kind of thing. ...
View the code Check out the website Back in September, the MTA announced their first Open Data Challenge. The idea is that they publish a lot of data online for free and want to encourage people to make use of it, so they announced a challenge where the most creative uses of their data after a month would win MTA memorabilia. For my submission, I built a website that displays the real-time number of people that have ridden the subway so far today. While I didn’t win, I had a lot of fun building the project. The other submissions were super impressive too - I highly encourage you check them out on the MTA’s blog. My personal favorite is Noah Gunther’s Lately on the MTA, which is frankly a better version of my own project. ...
Imperial Earth by Arthur C. Clarke Overall Review: While not as grand nor epic as the name implies, Imperial Earth is nonetheless a fun science fiction exploration of love and rivalry in a futuristic Earth of the 23rd century. It’s a great book for those looking for a casual read by one of the greats in science fiction. Synopsis: Duncan Makenzie, heir to the powerful Makenzie hydrogen mining family on Saturn’s moon of Titan, must travel to Earth to ward off the coming threat of a new technology which risks making hydrogen fuel for space travel obsolete. Along the way, he reconnects with his lost love Calindy and rekindles his fierce rivalry with childhood friend Karl from the rival Helmer family. ...
The Art of Doing Science and Engineering by Richard Hamming Overall Review: The Art of Doing Science and Engineering is a dense and technical book that outlines an actionable philosophy for having an impactful career. The book is dry yet filled with anecdotes from Richard Hamming’s life. I’d only recommend it to those who enjoy reading academic books. That said, if you’re interested in how to be a more effective scientist (or technologist or engineer) and find detail-filled stories of engineering discoveries interesting, then this textbook is for you. ...
Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons This review contains spoilers for “Hyperion”, the first book in the series. This review sort of acts as a review for both, but be warned that this also means there are spoilers for both below. Overall Review: Dense and filled with complexity, Fall of Hyperion nonetheless feels more cohesive than its predecessor, Hyperion. This is science fiction at its best — expansive and highly technical while exploring the social, technological, and personal implications of humans branching out across time and space with futuristic technologies. While not very accessible to non-fans, I highly recommend the Hyperion Cantos series to anyone who loves science fiction. I especially encourage people to read through to Fall of Hyperion, as I enjoyed it more than Hyperion. ...
View the code I finally got around to writing about how I used Rust 6 months ago for the 2023 Advent of Code. I’ve been meaning to try out Rust in a small personal project for a few years now but have never gotten around to it. What is Rust Rust is a new(ish) systems language often touted as a replacement for C++. It’s become very popular in the developer community over the last few years. Notably, Amazon announced that they were moving to Rust for a lot of their systems. ...
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer Overall Review: Annihilation is a horrifying yet thought-provoking book about isolation and self-discovery. It’s a well-written story with thoughtful world-building that keeps you turning the page. Synopsis: Five scientists are sent on a mission into the government-controlled “Area X” to study its mysterious properties. The story follows the Biologist as she explores the abandoned landscape and reflects on her life leading up to the mission. Together, the scientists find inexplicable phenomena and uncover secrets about Area X. ...
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone Overall Review: This is How You Lose the Time War is a heartwarming and intriguing book that uses the setting of a time-travel war as the backdrop for a love story. The book is well-written, smart, and a joy to read. Synopsis: Two secret agents fighting on opposite sides of a time war fall in love with each other. On each side of the war is an advanced civilization far in the future working to modify past events in order to bring about their society while simultaneously preventing the opposing society from doing the same. After encountering each other in a battle, the agents exchange notes via convoluted sci-fi means and through this develop feelings for one another. ...
Destination Void by Frank Herbert Overall Review: Destination Void is overly dense and filled with esoteric philosophy that doesn’t pay off. Nonetheless, it’s a fun book with interesting ideas for hardcore science fiction fans. Synopsis: A group of clones onboard a ship bound for a distant star loses its human navigators in a malfunction. As they unexpectedly scramble to build an artificial consciousness in order to survive their journey, they learn that not everything is as it seems and must discover the truth about their mission. ...