Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Alright, I am in love with Dan Brown books. After I read the Da Vinci Code I can't stop. If you have never read a Dan Brown book, I highly recommend them. Be warned however, once you pick them up, you can't put them down.

I just finished reading Digital Fortress this afternoon. Digital Fortress had a slow start, but it definitely picked up the pace midway through the book. Before I knew it, I couldn't put it down!

Digital Fortress is about Susan Fletcher, one of the best code breakers at NSA (National Security Association). She supervises the code breaking machine TRANSLTR that can break even the most complicated codes in less than 3 hours. She is called in to work on a Saturday when TRANSLTR has been trying to break a code "Digital Fortress" for more than 12 hours. While she is working her fiancé is in Spain desperately trying to locate a special ring. This ring has the code engraved on it that will break the encryption program "Digital Fortress". While in Spain her fiancé realizes that someone is trying to keep the ring away from the NSA. The story that follows is a roller coaster ride of thrills that will keep you reading.

Definitely check this book out if you are into computers, programming, tech stuff etc.

Summer!

School is out, and summer vacation is finally here! Summer means long runs, bike rides, picking strawberries, swimming, and enjoying the sun. I just got back from picking strawberries today with my family at Heller's Farm in Bainbridge, New York. Picking the berries was a lot of fun, and we ended up coming home with more than 6 quarts!

The beauty of summer in upstate New York is incredible. The lush green trees and valleys captivate you as you hike, walk, or travel around the area. I believe it is important to stop and appreciate the beauty of this area because, one day it might not be here for us to enjoy.

I sent some film out to get developed. Hopefully, it will come back soon so I can post some more pictures! Happy Fathers' Day!

1 Week Down, 2 more days to go

This week was the official last week of school. Next week students are expected to attend Monday and Tuesday. I do not know if that is going to happen. Most students (like myself) are most likely not going to wake up Tuesday morning with the intention of going to school. On the last day of school, students aren't expected to do anything. Everyone just watches movies, eats, and cleans out their lockers. The cleaning out of lockers can be done on Monday. So why wait until Tuesday? Everyone can watch movies and eat at home. There is no need to attend the last day of school.

I just got home from work about a half an hour ago. I'm wiped out. I work as a bus boy at a local restaurant, and work is pretty tiring. All night I serve food, clean tables, set tables, and smile at complete strangers. Tonight there was an Italian guy at the restaurant. Him and his wife were completely drunk, and they told me that they loved me. This made my work seem less tedious and definitely more entertaining.

So this weekend I have to work again on Saturday, and possibly Sunday as well. Tomorrow I'm taking a photography class that I'm very excited for. The class should be interesting, fun, and I hope it will help improve my photography. I will also be taking a nice long run this weekend, it's time to get back into shape!

One More Week of School!

              I cannot wait for summer. Next week is my last full week of school, and then I have to go to school Monday and Tuesday the week after that. Summer vacation is so close I can taste it, and I can hardly wait for school to be done with.

              Unfortunately next week is going to be hell week. I have tons of final exams I have to plow through right up until the last day of school! I don't enjoy finals at all. How are you even supposed to study for a final in the first place? There is a reason I am in school for the majority of the year. To learn. Now at the end of the year I'm given a test on all the stuff we have learned since day one. I'm not complaining but, how can you expect anyone to do really well on a final?

             Anyway, Track season ended yesterday and I am very glad. I'm supposed to be at a track barbecue right now, but I decided staying as far away from track would be fine too. I had a pretty successful track season . This year for sports I did varsity cross country and track. I learned that track is a lot harder and more competitive than cross country is. I definitely enjoy cross country a lot more than track but, I think I'll be doing track again next year.

             I just finished reading another great book; The Da Vinci Code was a very good read. After reading it I can understand why it stirred up so much trouble in the Christian and Catholic communities. The book was a little offensive towards all God worshiping religions. The book was fiction however, there were many facts in the book. I definitely learned a lot. The Da Vinci Code proposed a very interesting theory. This theory was that Jesus was married to a woman named Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' favorite disciples. The theory claimed that Jesus was married to her, and they had a child together. This child was the vessel of the Holy Grail. The book was very interesting, and it is a MUST read for anyone.

           As for this weekend I think I'm going to take a break. I'm going to read Dan Brown's Angels&Demons, study, take a long run, swim, and enjoy the weekend.

Memorial Day Weekend

It is only Sunday, but my Memorial Day Weekend has been pretty crazy. Yesterday my family and I put together a garage and bake sale for the benefit of the cross country team. We raised over $600 for the team! It was great, I had a ton of fun, and I got some pretty cool stuff for free.

I received an old organ yesterday. A very old organ. The organ was made in the 1960s, but it is still in beautiful condition today. The organ is also very unique, to the left it has a pad where you push down buttons to play chords. On the right you have all your keys. I've been taking piano lessons for about 2 years so I thought it would be smart to pick the organ up. Right now it is sitting in my room waiting to be played.

When I wasn't working at the bake sale yesterday, I was walking around checking out other garage sales. Since it was memorial day weekend, there were a ton of other garage sales in town. I ended up falling in love with an old record player I found at one of the garage sales. I bought the record player, with 2 speakers, and 3 records. When hooked up to the speakers, the record player sounds beautiful. My Mom is happy because, now she can listen to her old records as well.

Aside from garage sales, I've been training for the steeplechase in track. The steeplechase is long distance hurdling on a track. You have to jump over 5 barricades (hurdles) per lap. One of the barricades has a water pit you have to jump over. Falling in the water pit usually spells disaster. I'm going to the state qualifiers for steeplechase which is as far as I will probably go. I don't expect to go to states for steeplechase. So I have practice tomorrow, and then a barbecue after practice. Happy Memorial Day Weekend! 

Holga 135BC Photos

Water for Elephants, an amazing movie!

Just got home from seeing Water for Elephants! I was planning on reading the book before I saw the movie, but unfortunately I never got around to doing that. I think I would've liked the book better than the movie. Most of the time books ARE better than the actual movie is.

The movie took place in the 1920s during the depression era. A veterinary student (Jacob Jankowski) about to graduate from Cornell University, when he receives the news that his parents had been killed in a car accident. He leaves short of school when he finds out that his father is deeply in debt. His dad had been spending a lot of money on his education. Jacob immediately packs his possessions and leaves home. He ends up hoping a train that belongs to a circus show knows as The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.

He ends up working for the circus, and meets the head-trainer August and his wife, Marlena. Jacob ends up falling in love with Marlena. I can't tell you about the rest of the movie because if I did, I would spoil it for you.

Overall it was a really good movie. I just wished that they had picked different people the play the rolls of Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson) and Marlena (Reese Witherspoon).

Photos from my Holga camera are coming in on Monday for the first time! I'm really excited, and I can't wait to upload them to the blog!