House Forlorn Reads 4: Transcript

House Forlorn Reads episode 4

HFR Transcript

You've stumbled upon House Forlorn Reads, Episode 3. If you intended on finding a podcast about your preferred school for young witches and wizards, that's in the next dungeon down the hall, just past the balrog-baiting trophy case.

"House Forlorn Reads" is recorded for you by a house whose owners have moved out but haven't yet sold it to new owners. The house is sad and eager to have new humans living in it. This podcast, along with the House Forlorn blog and selected House Forlorn Chogger comics, can be found at HouseForlorn.com.

The music you hear is Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV565, produced by James Clarke, of the UK. This and other podcast-friendly music can be found on the "podsafe music network" at music.podshow.com.

I have a thirst for books, which stems from a lack of human (or canine/feline) companionship -- nobody flicking on lights, stomping up and down my stairs, cooking bacon, showering for hours on end or barking/meowing at strange noises outside.

Where does your thirst for books come from? Send a message to Houseforlorn@gmail.com, and I'll convey your thirst to others via this podcast. Let me know if you're a human or a house, where you're from, and what kind of house, home, apartment or tiny little abode you inhabit or are. Also, tell me what books drive your thirst. I'll leave names out of it, unless your name happens to be something like "colonial", "saltbox", "felt tent", "geodesic dome" or "limestone cavern".

In today's show, we'll read three enervating excerpts for you - touching on mathematics, winemaking and flights of fancy.

"Basic Mathematics", by William Betz, published in 1941, 42 by The Athenaeum Press, reviews in-depth everything in math from addition, subtraction, multiplication & division, up through algebra and trigonometry, with very helpful illustrations and examples peppered throughout.

"The Winemaker's Companion", by BCA Turner and CJJ Berry, 1960, 63, 65 & 67, published by Mills & Boon Limited, is a complete introduction and study of winemaking, with such chapter headings as "Preparing the Must," "Ailments of Wine", and "Cider and Perry".

"The Search for Life on Mars: Evolution of an Idea" by Henry S.F. Cooper, Jr., 1976, 79 & 80, is a biographical sketch of this scientific inquiry led by two camps: Carl Sagan, in one, and Klein, Horowitz, Levin and Oyama in the other. We'll look at an excerpt from the former which includes references to the latter.

First, from Basic Mathematics, "Testing your accuracy in Measurement" on page 130.

Next, I read the beginning of The Winemakers Companion on page 41, The Main Ingredients: I. Yeast.

Finally, on pages 103-4 of the Mars book, we learn a little about testing instrumentation.

Thanks for listening to House Forlorn Reads. Check out the HF blog, photo-blog and comic-strip postings via www.houseforlorn.com. Have a snowy day.

..HF.