my other sites
new photos
Lisbon, Portugal
Two Days in Libon
Madeira, Portugal
Three Days in Madeira
Venice
Finally made it to Venice.
MySQL Articles Moved
My articles on MySQL and related documentation have moved to a separate site: mysqlresources.comNew MySQL Book
In record time, I have written a book on MySQL Replication. I’m not sure why or how I got started on it, but I wrote it in three weeks, over the holidays. I finished yesterday. It’s not overly long, just 200 pages. However, I think I did a good job and that it will be a useful resource for database administrators who want to learn how to use this component of MySQL software. I still have to get some people to tech review it for me, but it’s in excellent shape. Since I’m publishing it myself, I had to edit it and do the layout myself, as well. I learned plenty in the process and have a better appreciation for the people at O’Reilly who published my other MySQL book. If you’re interested in getting a copy, give me a few weeks to get the changes that will come out of the tech review. Shortly after that I’ll have it for sale on Amazon. Come back to my web site for a notice when it’s available.
My Novel is on Amazon
Finally, I have managed to get my novel on Amazon’s web site. It took some doing. If you’ve been reading my web site regularly, you know I had originally used Lulu.com to print my book—publishing it myself. That started out well, but after getting an ISBN number, the price per book went to twenty-four dollars. What’s worse is that despite their assurances, it never made it to Amazon’s web site. I don’t expect to sell many copies of my book, but I would like it on Amazon’s site. I wanted to go through the experience of writing a novel and publishing it, to learn about all of that is involved. I also wanted to be able to point to it when trying to get an agent for my second novel. So, a few weeks ago I moved my novel to CreateSpace.com, a subsidiary of Amazon. Since the size of the book is different, about the size of a DVD case, I had to adjust the cover layout and the text. Once that was done, I uploaded the new layout and all and waited for my proof copy. It looks pretty good, so I approved the proof. A few days later, today it hit Amazon’s web site. Click on the image of the book cover here and you can buy a copy if you would like.
My First Lasagna
When I was a kid, my grandmother would make occasionally a wonderfully tasting lasagna. She has since died and I have been trying to find lasagna similar to the way she made it. I’ve tried lasagna at many restaurants over the years, even tried to find it here in Italy, but have not come close to finding it. So, I finally decided to try to make it myself. A couple of months ago I started practicing making a tomato sauce similar to hers, but more to my liking. I have also worked on learning to roast beef, one of the key ingredients of my grandmother’s recipe. Feeling ready, I made my first attempt this past night.
Christmas in Milan
It’s Christmas time in Milan. They brought in a giant Christmas tree and placed it in the piazza in front of the Duomo, next to the Galleria. It was quite a job putting it together and triming it. They also decorated it and added lights to it. They’ve also decorated all of the buildings surrounding the piazza with lights, as well as the Galleria. Additionally, they’ve placed lights behind the stained glass windows inside the Duomo. So you can see them easily from the outside at night. I wish they would like up the statue of the king at night. I guess they don’t like him.
Musings
Below are recent musings of mine. Click on an entry heading to read its full text. Click on the musings tab at the top left to see all of them.
What happened to Burglars?
A burglar is a person who breaks into someone’s home. It’s a perfectly good word, albeit one that may be difficult for some people to say. Perhaps because it’s difficult to pronunce, a substitute word is becoming popular among Americans: home invaders. I heard it for the first time on a television show a few weeks ago and again more recently. While the word home invader may be sufficiently accurate, it bothers me. Is this where the English language is heading? Will English become simpler and less artistic? I find that irritating and depressing.
Being a Settler
Although it may seem contradictory, I enjoy moving and I have a inordinately strong need for a stable home. Most people dread moving. They hate the disruption. Whereas, I enjoy it immensely. While this first part seems strange to most people, the second part confuses people less: I become very upset when my home is threatened. This seems to be contradictory to my love of moving. A thought occurred to me recently, that reconciles the two attitudes: I'm a settler.
Imprinting
Despite being intelligent and self-aware, I sometimes copy the behavior or expressions of others. I don't do this intentionally. I don't observe someone doing something and think that it's an interesting way to act. In fact, some mannerisms that I mimic, I don't particular like. However, I adopt their ways all the same. It's frustrating to me at times.
My Books
Below are a couple of my books that have been published and are still in print. Click on the book cover image to go to a site where you can buy my book.
In Search of Kafka
This is my first novel. It’s what I call a hi-tech comical thriller. It’s not about Kafka, incidentally. It’s about a computer programmer who inadvertently breaks into a Starbucks’ computer server and gets into trouble as a result. Throughout the novel he’s being hunted by Homeland Security.
MySQL in a Nutshell
This is a reference book (the second edition) which I wrote on the computer database software, MySQL. It’s not an interesting read, but it’s useful if you’re a MySQL software developer. If you’re interested in this topic, you should also check out my web site on MySQL Resources.
