The Secret Agent

I finished Conrad's The Secret Agent during my time away over Christmas, which included two quite long train journeys.

Currently reading (start of Christmas holidays)

Hugo: Les Miserables (in English translation!)
Conrad: The Secret Agent
Lewycka: A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian

Barke et al.: Misconceptions in Chemistry
Rhiordan and Hoddeson: Crystal Fire

... and also a book that I'm reviewing.

Campion update: I've read the two war-time novels
Traitor's Purse (see previous post)
Coroner's Pidgin

I don't think I'll finish all of the series in 2009!

Following a few days of cold weather I found some interested ice crystals outside my front door this morning. Unfortunately we were in a hurry to get to church, but I managed to get the following photographs later in the day. The ruler is 20 cm for comparison.































I think they have formed by vapour deposition from the cold damp air. This is essentially a process of diffusion-limited aggregation, similar to the growth of zinc or silver crystals under electrodeposition, which is the usual chemical fractal demonstration. The delicate fingers would be called "dendrites".



I thought they were pretty cool - such intricate and elegant beauty produced, quite literally, out of the air.

Graduate student life ... summed up in a comic strip

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1204

It's true that Tajel is a social sciences student, but it's just the same in physical science.

Currently reading

I've decided to scrap the currently reading pane on the RHS of this blog because it's fiddly and difficult to update - rather a challenge if you get through a fair few books and need to edit it frequently. Instead, I think I'll do a (semi)-regular posting.

So, as of 28.vii.2009, I'm currently reading

• Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo
  
• Sayers - Busman's Honeymoon
  
• Ball - The Self-Made Tapestry
  
• Rosen - Symmetry Discovered

I'm also progressing well with my year-long project to read all of Allingham's "Campion" novels - I've just finished The Fashion in Shrouds