Re: Turn of the Century / Cryptonomicon

Chris Olds (cco@dydax.com)
Wed, 7 Jul 1999 09:35:19 -0700


JoeBar wrote:
> > "I think I would like Seattle," Emily says," except for the
> > rain. That innocence, and the missionary spirit. Like
> > writers, but not cynical."
>
> But...
> Redmond != Seattle, just as
> San Francisco != Silicon Valley.

Having just left Seattle for San Francisco (again), I couldn't be happier
about these inequalities. The only things I don't like about SF is that it
doesn't rain half enough, and it's full of Californians.

> Also... it's not the rain that makes Puget Sound
> (Seattle, East Side, &c) so depressing... it's the
> 14 months of dark grey sky per year.

That's a vicious lie - we get a full six weeks of hot weather a year, and
the sky comes in many interesting shades of grey the rest of the time
(polarized lenses make it even more interesting - why else would anyone in
Seattle need sunglasses?).

> ... on a related note, who's reading Cryptonomicon?

I liked it too, but I'm glad Neal's planning on writing more books in the
series. At 900+ pages, you'd think he could devote more to the wrapping-up
than he does (although he has gotten a little better, he still has a long
way to go).

> I'm having a blast reading it (I'm about 2/3 done).
> There is so much to love about the book, including the
> Pychonesque/D.F.Wallacesque absurd hyperbolic
> descriptions where you start off having NO idea
> what the hell Stephenson is talking about; or, where
> it all looks okay for a while and then you catch on
> slowly that you're being snowed.

The one that amazed me was the three pages of pornographic description of
Avi eating Cap'n Crunch.

/cco