tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17499980141570840712011-04-21T11:00:49.930-07:00Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-22313702065912952542009-03-28T21:18:00.001-07:002009-03-28T21:31:01.119-07:00

Cool woodstone steps circle crisply, descending into shady boundless bole.                           This hidden open space houses seekers in thought, singly joined in contemplation's continuum. Rings ripple outward marking stationary time. Leafwinds breeze overhead, showering assurance of shelter. Mind-motes mill and meander, circling pools of warm woodlight, growing small and expansive.

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-51222770309458364802008-05-05T18:58:00.001-07:002008-05-10T09:14:07.319-07:00

[Late evening commute]Loose black corduroys, not flared, a rain jacket, not bright, large leather purse, functional, brown pastie shoes, sensible. Smooth straight chestnut hair cut to the same length all around. Neat and constrained. She is reading Middlesex, the book in her right hand. Her left hand rests on her knee. Gold wedding band and a large sparkling diamond set in another. Her lips are

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-55693635395869084442008-02-14T15:39:00.000-08:002008-02-24T15:40:54.813-08:00

[Early morning commute]Windswept, red-brown wavy hair falling just below her shoulders. Tousled tresses frame hazel eyes. She is wearing brown cords and a green waterproof coat. Merrels make her look ready for an adventure. Talking on a cell phone she sweetly signs off, "Happy Valentine's day darling". After a contented pause the romance is tied up with her long wavy hair, twisted and piled into

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-30544127416042899262007-12-21T16:15:00.000-08:002007-12-21T16:18:53.317-08:00

How can people not love every scrap of Stata? Before the first winter snow storm I took a meandering route from the lab to Kendall. As you look at Stata from the back you see a bright pile of spiral towers and craggy turrets, brushed steel, orange brick, enameled yellow. A sweep of steps lifts above the nearest entrance. I took the steps. They are half in shadow - bright dappled light through

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-90614008008651001512007-10-01T12:53:00.000-07:002007-10-01T12:54:24.283-07:00

First day in October and all is well. The temperature has finally dropped and the world looks so different. Everyone is cosily wrapped against the bright leaves, scuffed into their shins by the cool breeze. No more dresses, shorts or skirts, except for the brave few. Goose bumps and cocoa on the way to Halloween.

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-81219006584913573002007-08-13T07:09:00.000-07:002007-08-13T08:17:48.619-07:00

Eric and Caroline eagerly weaved their way through tables of dining couples to the dance floor. I followed, curious, apprehensive. They spilled into a vacant spot just a new song began, I paused at the precipice. Eric nodded to the music, took Caroline's hands. And moved. They flowed and swayed, hips tilting in time. Caroline waited for Eric's lead attentively, and then they span and whirled in

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-65658464713160902592007-06-10T10:22:00.000-07:002007-07-30T10:29:36.606-07:00

With the invaluable assistance of Jade we ventured into Chinatown once more. Dim sum is fabulous. At this particular restaurant the vittles were pushed on carts weaving around the tables. Each vendor seemed keen to hand over his or her specific wares - we weren't sure if they got some kind of commission for emptying their carts and they certainly looked forlorn if we took nothing. Until Jade

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-17959112283663784762007-06-08T10:07:00.000-07:002007-07-30T10:27:04.581-07:00

The bus pauses by the monument most mornings, it's a meeting of many roads where traffic bunches briefly as it flows into Boston proper. The grounds of the town hall opposite contains a number of broad maples. The light only falls on them for part of the day and so the leaves are not fully reddened yet. As a breeze lifts the branches, ripples of pale green wash through the burgeoning crimson.

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-35874365585924010062007-06-07T16:46:00.000-07:002007-07-24T14:15:31.088-07:00

I have, of late, been reading Haruki Murakami's 'Norwegian Wood' on the bus to work - a recommendation of Dave Nelson's. It started innocently enough but it soon became clear that rather than having just one obligatory sex scene this book has many spicy pages - erotic enough to raise the heart rate of the most lustless reader. I turned the leaves a little self-consciously, chuckling to myself

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-52546958604300907692007-06-04T10:30:00.000-07:002007-07-30T10:34:14.988-07:00

Helium-filled balloons pat at my face enthusiastically as I sit in the back of Lea's car. We have just finished watching a film (Chinatown) at Eric's place and Dave, in the front seat ahead, will be the first drop-off. The rushing warm night air from Lea's open window separates us with loud silence and I become a distant observer. I can see them both smiling. Dave is in profile speaking to

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-69425367040757017372007-04-24T06:34:00.000-07:002007-04-28T16:18:40.726-07:00

Continuing with the religious theme, there was another flavour of loon on the bus last night. He had a classic strange behaviour of speaking in a conversational tone and volume to persons who were clearly ignoring him. It's as if the association between speaking-style and interaction-type have only been partially learned. The style is correct but applied inappropriately - instead of being a

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-56298186319652423812007-04-22T18:54:00.000-07:002007-04-27T07:05:07.041-07:00

Saturday was also very warm so I ate a late breakfast on the balcony overlooking the park. There was a race so there was a state police car diverting traffic just below me. I could hear aeroplanes overhead but it took a while for them to circle close enough to read the banners they were towing. One made me smile. I muttered quietly "I'm already here," and watched as the runners slowed and

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-16971106065670179582007-04-22T14:35:00.000-07:002007-04-24T18:18:11.479-07:00

Saturday was treating me with beguiling serenity but soon began to show it's true colours with the arrival of my first American evangelical cold-caller. A tall, jolly-looking chap with a clip-board and an arm full of propaganda, he shifted uneasily from foot to foot in his Saturday-best as if he was the harbinger of terrible news. Which of course he was. "Good morning!! Excuse me ma'am," and

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-86065313658362596012007-04-21T08:14:00.000-07:002007-04-22T14:32:47.483-07:00

Neural networks, both simulated in software and naturally neuronal (sorry this alliteration is horribly har- err... difficult to shake), are wicked cool. I want to attempt to apply the connectionist paradigm to a network made of real neurons. There are three significant hurdles: 1) Getting the neurons to connect up where and how you want them to. 2) Stimulating specific cells within the network

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-35996629294076569442007-04-15T08:02:00.000-07:002007-04-15T19:19:21.450-07:00

George Fifield suggested I look up Nick Montfort's interactive fiction work 'Ad Verbum'. The puzzles, both amusing and engaging, are all based on wordplay and the game pokes gentle fun at the text-adventure genre. Having played it through (not stinting on the hints I might add but still simply scoring 99/100) I am left with a pervasive penchant for abstruse alliteration.

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-65458338930519045992007-04-12T07:59:00.000-07:002007-08-02T07:50:21.374-07:00

I work at MIT one day a week both on microfluidics (with the Thorsen group) and, on my own time, cell modelling (with JackBackRack). MIT can seem much livelier than Harvard Medical School, but that's mostly due to the hordes of students churning down the 'infinite corridor' which connects many of the main buildings together.I am becoming quite fond of the place for several reasons: Everybody

Versipellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05601153685956185081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749998014157084071.post-48247230038584406382007-04-07T15:04:00.000-07:002007-04-08T01:17:50.051-07:00

I think my first gaming experience must have been the educational BBC Micro adventure "Granny's Garden", it certainly didn't feel at all educational and I remember it being so popular that access was restricted. At home, the Fothergill lads over the road had some kind of BBC/Acorn archimedes (I remember the owl logo) on which we were hooked by "Sphinx adventure". The younger Fothergill brother

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