Gödel, Escher, Bach

I finished a book today that I've been chewing on all summer. It's called Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, and I highly recommend it to everyone who is interested in computer science, the nature of consciousness, music, art, postmodernism, artificial intelligence, Lewis Carroll, Zen Buddhism, logical systems, genetics, wordplay, etc. I'm not sure how to describe this book except as a short course in the interconnectedness of everything and how much fun intellectual exercise can be.

Kiva Microlending

I'm currently doing some reading and research about microfinance and found Kiva, a website that matches individual lenders with entrepreneurs that want to get a loan.
I like the site because it's pretty grass roots but also seems to be well-administered and well-thought-out. It also has a lot of entrepreneurs in Honduras and Nicaragua, which are near and dear to my heart. I've made a $25 loan to the person pictured here. I encourage everyone to look into Kiva.

Good looking (and single too)

Here's my picture, looking a little younger than I do now. ¡Ay, que guapo!

Servanda Hind

Using the Internet Anagram Server, I have created some pseudonyms for myself:
(David Russell Hansen)
Dr. Elvis Anesuns Dahl
Unsel Handel Draviss
Dr. Unsel Dasha Levins

(David R. Hansen)
Servanda Hind
Dan-Hans Verdi
Hans van Riedd
Adri van Shend
Henri van Sadd
Dr. Enan Shavid

(David Hansen)
Dana Vendhis
Aden van Dish
Havan Desdin
Ned Hanvadis

And some headlines
Slav Sanhedrin Led Us
Auslander Lends Shiv
Sudanese Shill Dr. Van
Venusian Had Dr. Sells
Radishes Enslave Lund
Hurd Enslave Islands
Lard Enslaves Hindus
Enslave, Snarl Dudish
Slaves Slander Hindu
Hundred Slaves Slain
Dullness, Danish Rave
Sandhill Versus Dane

The Magic Mountain

I read The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann, this last quarter. I found it long and fairly difficult, but also rewarding and intriguing. It's the sort of book where nothing really happens, in the Hollywood sense, but the characters are well-developed and the book delves into some really interesting philosophy. I especially liked the way the book dealt with time as a subjective phenomenon. This occurs as the visit of the book's protagonist, Hans Castorp, to an Alpine sanatorium prolongs itself from an initial visit of a couple of weeks to months, then years. The first days and weeks are described in great detail, in pages of impressions, character development, and scenery. As time goes on, the book moves more quickly, with entire years passing by almost unnoted. This parallels the way that time seems to move slowly at first when one enters a new situation, then speeds up as routine sets in.
I received the book from my high school debate teacher, then waited 6 years to finish reading it (see "long and fairly difficult"). It was worth it.

Scientists in Taiwan have genetically modified 3 pigs to glow green. Even their internal organs are green. Now that's what I call a green revolution.
By the way, Fluorescent Pork would be a great name for a rock band.

Paraskavedekatriaphobia

That's fear of Friday the 13th and also my new favorite word. How would you like to have a psychologist (or is that a psychiatrist?) diagnose that one?