I finished Gravity’s Rainbow last Thursday. Took me about a month, but I managed it. I need to read more Pynchon. It was fascinating and hilarious, a romp through the ruins men’s souls and the Europe. I recommended it to my friend Von. I hope he can handle it. He usually reads stuff like Steven King, Tom Clancy or that dude who writes all the stories about lawyers – Grissom? No, Grisham. Pynchon is a little more dense than those mass market potboilers. But the payoff is so much better.

Picked up Diaspora by Greg Egan on Friday. Polished it off on Sunday. Tasty science fiction, full of interesting ideas about humanity’s future. The idea that our destiny lies within a constructed digital existence as immortal, sentient software. Compelling reasoning.

Started reading The Lord of the Rings on Sunday evening. Last time I read Tolkien I was 14 or 15. That’s twenty years. Time to get reacquainted with Frodo, Gandalf and Company. This is a special volume; all three novels in one book, as it was originally intended. So far it seems much more simplistic than I remember it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am now the proud owner of a Sony DSC-P71 digital camera!! Most excellent. The batteries are doing their initial charge right now, so by tomorrow morning I will have a digital camera to tote around and shoot photos. I am excited. I have a pretty good SLR camera from Olympus, but scanning photos is such a hassle. This should eliminate the bulk and hassle of the real camera and let me shoot photos off the cuff. Cool.

Willie McCool, pilot of the ill fated Columbia Mission STS-107, spent a number of years on Guam in the 1970’s. He attended high school here before entering the Naval Academy. He married a Dededo girl and maintained close contact with Guam and his in-laws. He was bearing the Guam flag with him into orbit on this mission.

His obituary and funeral announcement ran in today’s paper.

What a delight to rediscover a favorite song! I just popped in one of my favorite compact disc’s, and there it was waiting for me. An old friend ready to say hello, talk story about paddling, old friends, the ocean and canoes. Life in the islands. Been a while Kaopuiki Aloha…

Speaking of old friends, I got a friend crashing at my place for a couple weeks. He was supposed to leave for New Zealand on Sunday, but he got delayed until February 16. He’s got no where else to go, so he’s set up camp on my couch. Ylig Bay Bed & Breakfast. Cook up some food every night, watch a DVD, drink a few beers and talk story. In the morning, I whip up some coffee and off I go to work. And he doesn’t even hang around the house during the day, he’s got a little sideline job helping install air conditioners. No worries, it’s actually kind of fun. This is actually the most I’ve seen of David in some time, and I am glad to help out. It is understood that at some point he will return the favor in New Zealand. Hopefully sooner than later too.