View from the Cockpit

I was going through some old photo albums and found this. The red arrow is pointing to the pilot's head. Yes, I am in an airplane cockpit, on the jumpseat behind the captain, as our commercial passenger airplane flies over the Arctic. Because waaay back in the day, a time of unbelievable innocence, they allowed kids to visit the cockpit during flights.

If Bioshock's Andrew Ryan Wrote Sleaze

Man-Hungry Female by Orrie Hitt
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Had Bioshock’s Andrew Ryan decided to write down his Ayn-Rand-ish diatribes on the wonders of unfettered capitalism, and sprinkle the narration with a few drinking binges and the ogling of girls, it would have been this book.

There is very little sex in the story—and I have no idea who is supposed to be the Man-Hungry Female of the title (she only seems to exist in the cover designer’s imagination).

Our nominal hero is a Jerk. Yes, capital J. Because he's a jerk of olympic proportions. Insensitive. Self-righteous. Chauvanistic. Egomaniac.

The plot is...thin. Hero inherits movie studio, decides to sink all his capital into making a documentary on the horrors of social welfare. The truth must be told! The screenwriter must be slept with!

Cue long boring soliloquies on how free market capitalism rocks. An odd seduction technique, but it works on the heroine. So. If political theory also gets you hot, this is the story for you.

The Kindle edition is formatted atrociously. Typos. Reversed paragraphs. I’d recommend looking for the paperback to read.

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How Do You GoodReads?

How many of you are on GoodReads? Or any of the few other sites that allow you to keep track of what you've read and share your reviews with friends?

I'm on GoodReads and I've got a question for ya:  Do you only rate books you've read recently? Or within the last, say, 10 years? Or do you not have a cut-off point, and rate even books you read as a little kid?

I ask because I rate everything - and it has been brought to my attention that some books I loved as a teenager might not stand the test of time, and some books I hated at one point I might actually enjoy today -- so my star ratings might not be an accurate snapshot of my current reading tastes.

Does that matter? I suppose it would if you were interested in GoodReads' new if you like such-n-such, you'll like that-n-this matching program. I might miss out on a book I'd like based on an opinion I formed back when I thought boys had cooties.

I have a To Be Read pile taller than my dresser, though, so getting more reading material really isn't a problem for me.

But I'm curious how other people approach this conundrum. How far back do you rate?

Tree Canopy of the United States of America

From Hardwood Floors News

This is a NASA map of the Tree Canopy of the United States.

It took six years to create, and lead to the determination that about one third of the US is currently forested.

First thing that struck me - Wisconsin. Only the far northern part, next to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, is heavily forested.

Well, of course, you say. Wisconsin is dairyland. Farmland.

It is NOW. But if you'll remember, Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods is set in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin used to be massively forested, which led to a booming lumber industry and "lumber barons" who became rich off it and built mansions like these below:

After the trees were gone, then agriculture was promoted.

For more about Wisconsin's logging history click here.

How about your state? Are you surprised by its canopy, or lack thereof?

Zaftig is Sexy Too

Here I am, in my long underwear because winter is chilly, waiting for my coffee to awaken me of a morning.

Well, no, obviously this isn't really me. It's Hilda, the recurring character drawn by artist Duane Bryers.

I found these images on tumblr but I'm pretty certain they came from HERE and I recommend you check that website out.

What I particularly like about Hilda is the fact that she is plump and yet presented as a pinup girl.

Maybe it's only me, being as I'm fat errr I mean zaftig myself, but I think this image is sexy. Wish there was more art of plump women in popular culture today.  What do y'all think?