atomicules

Mostly walking the dogs

The Only Thing That Makes Life Possible

"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next."

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Last one from this book.

Slow As If The Hinge In His Neck Had Rusted

"Berosty looked up at him as slow as if the hinge in his neck had rusted, and said, 'Did you ask them when I would die, then?'"

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Orgota Seemed Not An Unfriendly People

"The Orgota seemed not an unfriendly people, but incurious; they were colourless, steady, subdued. I liked them."

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Distinction Between A Maternal And A Paternal instinct Is Hardly Worth Making

"I suspect that the distinction between a maternal and a paternal instinct is hardly worth making; the parental instinct, the wish to protect, to further, is not a sex-linked characteristic."

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

A Man Wants His Virility Regarded

"A man wants his virility regarded, a woman wants her femininity appreciated, however indirect and subtle the indications of regard and appreciation. On Winter they will not exist. One is respected and judged only as a human being. It is an appalling experience."

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

I recently did about twenty hours of coach travel (stark reminder that Aberdeen remains miles from anywhere) so finished this book from Christmas and also read a whole other novel. So you are going to get some quotes.

My copy of this novel has three different introductions. One of them remarks something along the lines of it being an easy read, but I found it really hard to get into - although science fiction has historically been my favourite genre, I have a low tolerance for made up words and this definitely surpassed it; However, once I got over myself and into the book I enjoyed it and found it interesting.

Bell Pitched Up At The Top Of An Escalator

"Armed with his $3.5 million Stradivarius violin, Bell pitched up at the top of an escalator in a metro station in Washington DC during morning rush hour, put a hat in the ground to collect donations and performed for 43 minutes... By the end of his performance, Bell had collected a measly $32.17 in his hat."

Hello World: How to Be Human in the Age of the Machine by Hannah Fry

From the Art chapter. Not my kind of gig so I doubt I would have stopped or donated, but it is funny how the value of art is perceived based on the context and the reactions of others.

Bonin Didnt Know How To Fly The Plane Safely

"And that's what happened with Air France flight 447. Although Bonin had accumulated thousands of hours in an Airbus cockpit, his actual experience of flying an A330 by hand was minimal. His role as a pilot had mostly been to monitor the automatic system. It meant that when the autopilot disengaged during that evening's flight, Bonin didn't know how to fly the plane safely."

Hello World: How to Be Human in the Age of the Machine by Hannah Fry

About planes, but from the Cars chapter. And this is kind of how I feel about on-call and runbooks. Runbooks, automation and safety systems (I.e. tooling that tries to stop you doing stupid things) are important, but you do also just need some skin in the game and some understanding of the fundamentals of the systems you are supporting. Runbooks aren’t the be-all and end-all.

Even If You Have Been Diagnosed With Breast Cancer

"And it's Bayes' theorem that explains why - even if you have been diagnosed with breast cancer - the level of error in the tests means you probably don't have it."

Hello World: How to Be Human in the Age of the Machine by Hannah Fry

Got this book for Christmas from Little M. It’s very readable and interesting. This quote actually comes from the Cars chapter which is after the Medicine chapter; The opening page of the Medicine chapter is mind-blowing.

LINK: My 2023 Spotify playlist in a bottle

Forgotten I’d done this. The playlist doesn’t show the categories for the songs, but they were:

  • Spinn: Stargazing - A song that reminded me of my favourite person.
  • Let’s Eat Grandma: Strange Conversations - A song that I thought should be here just because (good choice).
  • Nia Archives: So tell me… - A song to I needed to hear live (oh, crushingly heart-breaking. So close).

Nobody I Know In My Age Group Who Remotely Likes This Kind Of Thing

"Now John’s gone there’s nobody I know in my age group who remotely likes this kind of thing. I don’t understand why. I’m driven by it."

Incorrectly, she wasn’t as big a deal for me as John Peel. I don’t really know why. I’ve listened to her last and most recent show from just before Christmas - the BBC have re-released her fiftieth anniversary shows on Sounds, which I will try to listen to, but those didn’t immediately feel in the spirit of Annie Nightingale who was very much about new music and looking forward.

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