Basking in Berkeley

I'm in Berkeley at the moment for a mini-vacation of sorts. This particular day was set aside as a lazy day so I've treated myself to reading by the poolside and doing a bit of swimming and... well that's about it. I've just finished the second book of Terry Brooks High Druid of Shannara Triology. I thought I had the third one so that I could finish the triology up before heading home, but alas I grabbed the wrong book. At least it's the first book of a different trilogy, so I won't feel completely disjointed should I decide that I don't mind switching between eras in the Shannara realm of things.

I haven't done as much reading as I thought I might be doing this summer, but the books that I have plowed through so far have been quite a trip. Buckminster Fuller's (the guy that made the geodesic dome popular) Critical Path presented an a lot eye-opening ideas about sustainability, technology, and why Spaceship Earth carries 6 billion (4 billion at the time the book was written) billionaires who don't realize their wealth. Of course you can label and dismiss the adoption of all Bucky's ideas a utopia, but you can't discount that fact there is a lot to be learned and borrowed from the amazing things this man presented in his lifetime. Also while reading this book I kept thinking how his philosophy, even though based on the service of ALL mankind rather than oneself, seemed to resonate so well with many of Ayn Rand's Objectivist philosophy, since the both paint a picture of a possible world where creativity and ingenuity flourish and are rewarded. Then again, many utopias paint that kind of picture. This also leads me to think that on the surface, each utopia isn't that different, it's just in the details that you find that each just require specific types of people. That's where the realization of these ideas runs into trouble. Either there's a problem finding enough people to fit the profile or other issues seem to get into the way; call it human nature, upbringing, ambition, or whatever else you wish.

I've also been trying to get some Russian into my blonde nogin. With Rosetta Stone and somewhat successful speaking attempts, I'm making some progress. I'm also interning at an architecture firm, where I'm learning how much paperwork goes into a building. It's quite funnily impressive how detailed instructions get in the specifications for the building things. Care for some light reading on how exactly cardboard is supposed to be disposed of on a job site?

But for now, I'm going back to vegging and maybe starting that other Terry Brook's book if daytime television fails to satisfy.

Labels: Ayn Rand, berkeley, books, Buckminster Fuller, reading, Russian, summer, Terry Brooks