I have the feeling this book is about to become the new Geek Bible. Complexity theory meets computer programming. What's not to love?

That, and it's written by a certified genius, Stephen Wolfram, who among other contributions gave the world Mathematica and thereby bought himself two decades of independent research. Mr. Wolfram is not modest about what he believes he's accomplished, although he also knows enough to say that time will tell what his true place in the pantheon should be.

For a general overview of the buzz, see this NYTimes article.

4:38:22 AM    please comment []

This definitely comes under the Truth Stranger Than Fiction header.

The mother of a French art theft suspect destroyed $1.4 billion in paintings and other art objects, investigators said. ~New York Times, Arts Section

Apparently the son was basically an art-loving kleptomaniac, who kept the art for his own private enjoyment. His Mom, on the other hand, saw a bunch of old junk ~ which she chopped up, burned, or tossed in a canal.

3:57:18 AM    please comment []

I've always thought of envy and jealousy as being two quite different emotions.

Envy is the gnawing wish to have what someone else has ~ but even more insidiously, to be the other person who has the enviable thing. I envy someone's state more than any particular item they may have.

Jealousy, on the other hand, is clearly about possession. I want to possess you, and if someone else appears to have a prior claim, I am jealous. I am jealous of my own possessions ~ don't touch without asking! If I'm jealous of something you have, you are irrelevant to the equation. It's the THING that I covet.

Envy is about the subject; jealousy, the object.

Curious, then, to find myself experiencing both emotions simultaneously in the same context.

M- has a new guy. I am envious. And I am jealous. It's a two-fer!

I must say, I never cease to amaze myself with the clever techniques of self-torture I manage to invent. Fortunately, I've retained enough of my sense of humor to be able to laugh at my pretzelized psyche.

3:37:17 AM    please comment []