How cycling can save the world.

Got through the introduction so far and a few pages of the first chapter last night. So far so good, but i have a feeling it can get repetitive fairly quickly.

Debt, the first 5000 years

Nothing good.

Last three books have been duds.

Neal Asher's "Agent Cormac" books. Decent post-cyberpunk space opera sci-fi.

---

Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

“What Makes A Wine Worth Drinking - In Praise of the Sublime”

It’s a bit twee. I’m hoping it gets better.

“Bringing down the Colonel- A sex scandal of the gilded age and the powerless woman who took on Washington“

I’m about halfway through this one and it’s pretty good. In the late 1800s an unmarried woman sued a man for breach of promise, which was unheard of at that time.

Just finished “The Little Paris Bookshop”. A nice bit of fiction in between all the non-fiction I usually read.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Patrick Deneen, "Why Liberalism Failed" Because it is the water we all swim in it is difficult to understand the pitfalls. We can't go back and liberalism has achieved many great things but we need a big fix. It helped me understand why Trump is in power, why the yellow jackets etc.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Reading a bunch of David Baldacci books right now. Loved the Amos Decker series. Just finished the last Will Robbie book - End Game and enjoyed it. Starting the Camel Club series now and enjoying it so far.

Baldacci has a way with drawing me in with how he creates characters that I seem to care about. I am not a fan of his conspiracy or hit man setups, but I seem to like the characters and relationships that he writes.

I spend too much time in the car so I like to be entertained during my commute listening to audio books.

SaaS licenses, data privacy policies, medical device distribution agreements. They are dull as ditchwater but a lot of money flows through them.

Other than that, just read the first chapter of All the Light We Cannot See for the third time. It’s good but I keep getting derailed by the aforementioned bullshit.

Do audiobooks count?

If so I just wrapped up "The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the fire that saved America". Fantastic book..especially if you reside in or know the inland pacific northwest well (N. Idaho/eastern WA/western Montana). Primary focus is the fire of 1910, founding of the forest service, and the characters around it. Can't recommend it enough.

Prior to that was Duff McKagen's (GNR bass player) "How to be a Man" which was nice and short thankfully because there was not a whole lot there (I bought it because I had a long flight, sounded slightly interesting, and he did something really cool for my best buddy years back so I don't mind supporting). There were 2 chapters that were awesome though. One focused on his top 100 books (where I learned about The Big Burn) and the other on top 100 albums. Some really good suggestions in those two chapters.

Currently working on David Goggins "Can't Hurt Me". It's just kinda alright I suppose but I already knew a decent amount of his background via his JRE interview so it's not so novel to me.

Fancy Nancy and Peppa Pig. Every. Freaking. Night...

I recently downloaded the Goggins book and will start reading it in the next few days. It peaked my interest because I just finished reading "Living with a Seal" by Jesse Itzler. Itzler's book is a light read and I really enjoyed the book.

Reading it now

Didn't realize his story starts in the early 60s, around the time of Gidget/Gidget Goes Hawaiian and the Beach Party movies. Having seen plenty of them, and over & over, I can picture almost exactly where he's talking about

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff.

Jordan Peele is making it into a HBO show this summer

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance; while others find it fascinating, I only think it reminds me of why I left Missouri forever.

---

DFL > DNF > DNS

The Murderbot series.

Very fun and captivating, but the books are short so I'm burning through them too fast and will have to find something new soon.

In the last two months - three books all on Formula One - The Mechanic by Marc Priestley, How to Build a Race Car by Adrian Newey and Total Competition with Ross Brawn/Adam Parr. All quite good and gave fascinating insight to the behind the scenes of F1. Just started a book on herbal medicine, another on vegan recipes and also browsing my Haynes manual for my 1984 Kawasaki KZ750. I actually don't read much fiction.

Reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". I'm not sure its for me.


Just about to start "The Fifth Season" by N. K. Jemisin.

Recently finished: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. It was the first "self-help" type book I found helpful and enlightening. I actually liked it.

---

Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's

I've recently read:

"Life 3.0" by MIT's Max Tegmark about the rise of AI. I thought that it was excellent and thought provoking. It explores short, medium, and (very) long term effects of AI on society, earth, and even our galaxy and universe. It is mildly technical, but generally written for the lay person.

"Brief Answers To Big Questions" by Stephen Hawking. This was his last book, published posthumously by his estate. I found it very disappointing. It's a "popular" book, lacking any real scientific detail. But beyond that, it appears to be cobbled together quickly from some of his various prior writings to capitalize on the notoriety of his death. Entire paragraphs are repeated unintentionally throughout the book, and it looks like it never received even a "Microsoft Word" level of copy editing.

"Introduction to Quantum Mechanics" by David Griffiths. I've been reviewing basic QM again as part of my dabbling in the void between QM and General Relativity. (I originally studied both topics formally in school long ago.) IMO, it's an excellent treatment of QM -- the math is not for the faint of heart, but the narrative is good on its own.

---

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"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

Good to know. Will check it out.

Here's a suggestion for you..more of a business leadership book but I actually enjoyed it (I find most b.leadership books to be boring and repetitive): Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead by Jocko Willink. Each chapter has a real life SEAL example to reinforce the message.

+1

Liked it as well and throughout every day since I find myself thinking "he/she has too many fucks to give" multiple times.

The title throws people though - for those interested the message is not around not giving a fuck but rather prioritizing what things should get your fucks.

trying to keep up

So good - stick with it.

Dowloading the audio book now. I think I'm about to feel like an even bigger dummy...

Griffiths is great for E&M and QM. Not all agree but I think that Amit Goswami's QM is also a good intro. It hits a few other topics and approaches certain concepts from a different angle.

And just for fun you might look into counterfactual quantum computing.

GOOD

slowtwitch

I am reading the Star Force series by B.V. Larson. It's free if you have Amazon's Kindle unlimited.

---

"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

Bolded part made me laugh, thinking about how a cocktail party conversation would play out.

"Hi, I'm MOP_Mike."

"Hi, I'm wimsey. Nice to meet you. What do you do in your spare time, MOP_Mike?"

"I dabble in the void between quantum mechanics and general relativity. You?"

"Jiu jitsu classes a few times a week, sort of into the end of Game of Thrones right now...."

Itzler's book is hilarious. Loved it. I also really liked Goggins' book. I knew his story (and raced Kona the same year as he did) but I had no idea about his childhood.

---

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Isn't that the novelized version of daring exploits by Donald Trump's Space Force? I can't decide if my favorite one was when protected Earth from the invasion by the aliens from Planet Meksiko.

---

Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's

Just finished
The Elephant in the Room - by Tommy Tomlinson. It’s a memoir by an obese man and his battle with his weight. I read it in an effort to be more compassionate. Thus guy is in a situation I have a hard time relating to.

Just started
The Beneficiary -by Janny Scott
Nonfiction story of an extraordinarily wealthy family that made its fortunes in railroads during the gilded era. The family still has tremendous wealth. Generational wealth is fascinating, and it’s not necessarily a blessing. One character lived the party boy life and never made positive contributions to society. He knows it....and
he ends his own life.

Imagine inviting a guest to live with you for a month, then telling your wife. My wife wouldn't be happy.

I found him a bit tiresome. Itzler. I thought it was an interesting idea and bits were funny but not sustainable

Ha!

Yah, I'm pretty awkward at parties. I'd still buy you a beer, though. :-)

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"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

That looks cool. Thanks for the tip.

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"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

Blood Meridian-Cormac McCarthy

Society Must Be Defended-Michel Foucault

Terry Brooks - Genesis of Shannara right now; on the third book.
I have Heat of the Moment (a firefighter memoir type) up next.

That was one of the most grimly depressing books I've ever read. Made 'The Road' look like a 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' book by comparison!

Life by Keith Richards - the only Rolling Stone capable of surviving a nuclear war.

This was a very good book. As someone who has fought the weight battle the majority of my life, I very much understand him.

---

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I'm currently reading a few:

Stamped From the Beginning, a history of racist ideology in the US. Just started it. Eye opening.

Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott. Love it.

The second Harry Potter book. For the life of me I cannot remember the title of this one.

Daring Greatly, Brene Brown. She's simply fantastic.

After these it's going to be a season of a few months consuming a bunch of liberation, feminist, mystical, and radical theological works & some complimentary philosophy.

It's feast or famine for me -- read 2-3 books cover to cover within a week and do that for a couple months, but then go 5 weeks where I start 5 books but don't finish any of them for a bit. Right now is the latter since other things in life have been busy & I'm dabbling with learning a new hobby/skill (photography, taking a class) to compliment another project I'm working on.

Just finished “An Arabian Journey” really enjoyed it

Just started “The Silk Roads, a new history of the world”

Also, definitely check out “Bad Blood” insane Theranos story.

Jane Harper's three books are great if you like detective novels; I just finished those 3.
current nonfiction - "Fraternity" (Alexandra Robbins)
current fiction - just getting into Karin Slaughter's books.

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I pulled a couple of Ruth Rendell mysteries off my Mum's shelves, thinking I'd enjoy some classics of the genre. They did not age well!

I have Warlight by Michael Ondaatje and Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving cued up to read next, hopefully they're better.

+1. You know that sex in space is the Donalds real goal.

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"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

They are good. Makes you want them to be longer.

---

Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

Blerrrgh... sounds like work. I read to get away from that shit.

No way, man - if a good GDPR data processing agreement doesn't thrill your senses and make your loins tingle, I don't know what does...;)

I was curious if anyone else around here had heard of them. I only found them in a round about way. Have been waiting (years now) for the 3rd book of the King Killer Chronicles to come out and in a recent interview Patrick Rothfuss mentioned having enjoyed the Murderbot series which piqued my interest

Halfway through the last book and already sad that it will be ending soon.

Recently finished
The Flight Attendant not that bad, ending was strangely quick

The Zoo Keepers Wife - highly recommend

Illustrated History of the Roman Empire - Because those who don't know history are bound to repeat it. Of course those who DO know history are bound to have to watch as the people who don't repeat it.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

loved this. Prisoners of Geography also great.

If you are interested in these things

The plimsoll sensation is fascinating as it impacted trade

Thanks again for the tip about Smolin's book. I picked it up on your recommendation and just finished it.

I thought that the first third or so was pretty watered down for the lay reader. But even though he appears to go out of his way to avoid heavy maths, he gets satisfyingly deeper into his subjects as the book progresses

Finally, the last section, where he discusses his "causal theory of views", was really thought provoking. Basically, his theory suggests that space is an emergent property of fundamental time and energy. And, that resonates with some of my own ideas on the subject.

I intend to follow up by reading a few of his references cited and delve a bit deeper into his research.

EDIT: Lest anyone accuse me of illusions of grandeur, I'm merely an Oompa Loompa of Science, not an actual Physicist. :-)



Cheers.

-Mike

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"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

Just read Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark over the last couple of days. Solnit is a progressive activist & this book is about activism and not losing sight of the progress that's occurred, even when short of the larger goal and even when new problems manifest themselves. She's a masterful writer and what I loved about this book is how she calls out the fringe left's tactics & unrealistic approaches, advocating for consensus and working with those who have like goals, even if they're thought of by some on the extremes as enemies (i.e. environmental activists working with ranchers they might not fully agree with, etc.). It's damn good.

I also finished up Four Hour Work Week, about 7 years later than everyone else. Although I picked up a few good tips, I'm shocked at how over-written this book is. The concepts could have been distilled down to something 1/4 the length it is.

And from here I'll be reading a bunch of liberation/queer/black/progressive/eastern orthodox theology for a while to help with a side project I'm working on. Not everyone's cup of tea, but super interesting for a nerd like me.

Generation Of Swine - Hunter S. Thompson

The Heart of the World - Ian Baker

Empires of Sand - David Ball

That's funny because I've been listening to the 4 hour work week

I can't read heavy shit. I go for light entertainment 90% of the time.

The Colours of All The Cattle
About the 17th installment of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. Pure delight.

French Exit by Patrick DeWitt, author of The Sisters Brothers which was made into a movie laat year.

I make exceptions for true stories. This one is heartbreaking.

Say Nothing: A true story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Relive Box

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

Not reading, but listening: Le Carre's "A Perfect Spy", read by Michael Jayston.

Over the last four days, I drove over 2000 miles (BC 2 AK), so I had plenty of time to listen to this 21-hour audiobook.

Recommended (with caveats). "A Perfect Spy" has a lot of complex character development and is not always easy to follow. But it is a masterful book and Jayston is an excellent reader. If you're a Le Carre fan and have the time, this is worth it.

I'm continuing on my pursuit of all the Pulitzer Prize winning novels in non-fiction, history and biography.

Currently on "In our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines" which is interesting to me having lived there and married a Fiipina.

Next up is "Lord's of Finance: The Bankers who broke the world".

As part of the Biography winners, I want to read a biography of every U.S President. They are great for not only reading about the men who became President but also how they dealt with all the world issues going on during their terms. First up is Ron Chernow's biography of Washington. I'll be reading the President's in order.

About to start "The River is Doubt" which is a biography focused on Teddy Roosevelt and his crew tackling the Amazon River post 1912 election defeat. After wrapping up "The Big Burn" which is heavily focused on his presidency it's an excellent next step. After that I can see jumping into Edmund Morrises Roosevelt biography.

Just started newest John connolly

Just finished the fellini case. It was fantastic

Continuing with adaptive markets on audible

I haven't read a book other than to my kids at night for about 2 years.

Favourites are Sandra Boynton - Barnyard Dance and Spooky Pookie

Now getting into Dr Seuss - Hop on Pop, The Grinch, and others.



For myself I just started re-reading the Harry Potter series.

---

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I want my kids to be old enough for Philip pullman

In the meantime I'm stuck with digger the dog, the grufalo and the cat in the hat

Winners Take All.

So far, fantastic.

Just started today on my two flights home - “Judgment of Paris - California vs. France and the historic 1976 Paris tasting that revolutionized wine”.

Really good. I’m already halfway through it.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Murderbot is awesome. Can't wait for the next one (a full novel).

I'm currently reading Tiamat's Wrath (The Expanse #8) and listening to Expeditionary Force (Book 2 of 7) by Craig Alanson. Both are good.

---

Kevin

http://kevinmetcalfe.dreamhosters.com
My Strava

Listening to John connolly, one before the most recent so I can catch up

I didn't know a full Murderbot novel was coming, that is awesome!

In my effort to not have to pick out new books I've started the first of the ten books of Ian M Banks The Culture series.

East of West volume one, a comic by hickman, which is fantastic.

Dead Lucky: Life After Death on Mount Everest

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Pactimo brand ambassador, ask me about promo codes

I had a crazy, hectic spring but after moving at the end of May I was happy to finally have time and mental space to read "heavier", more time consuming books.

I picked up "The End", book six of Karl Ove Knausgaard's My Struggle series, and am partway into that. Then I got excited about a new Guy Gavriel Kay so am taking a break from Knausgaard to read "A Brightness Long Ago." It's amusing that pretty much everything about Kay's writing style is what Knausgaard is railing against in his novels. It may not be high art but it's entertaining. Neal Stephenson also has a new book, but I'll have to make more headway on The End before I start that one.

Just started Midnight at Chernobyl; I was fascinated by the HBO series this book takes a deep dive not only into what happened but the Soviets approach to nuclear power in the years prior to the plant even being built.

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

Finally picked it up. Read a couple other books between Barbarian Days and now

I failed to make my Goodreads challenge of 20 books in 2019, but I should be able to make or surpass in 2020

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Who Killed Hunter S. Thompson? for me. Not bad. But it's a bunch of guys all trying to honor Thompson by writing about him in the gonzo style, and none of them are nearly as good as Thompson was.

Also this is the first book in a while that I've read in full hardcover/paper form, and it's exhausting holding the book up. Even though I've been doing CrossFit for a few years now.

Shortest Way Home - Pete Buttigieg

Interesting guy, obviously very smart and willing to take long shots in political runs (hence his campaign for president). Overall there are things I like and dislike about him. Liked: very down to earth, level headed, not cocky and admits his mistakes. Disliked, acts like he has a lifetimes worth of business world experience after 2 years at McKinsey and it seems like running for higher office was his goal since high school. I get the impression he joined the Navy Reserves only because it would look good on a political resume.

I'm personally consider myself in the middle, but I want to learn more about these candidates.

"This is Your Brain on Music"

I'm learning a ton from this book so far (only about 100 pages in). It's one that I am taking my sweet ass time with though as I really want to get these concepts down.

If you're interested here's a presentation the author did a while back (I have not watched it myself but figure it probably hits the high points): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c7d5W0_NPA

The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells. As fun as it sounds.

Replying to the thread in general...

I'm currently reading:

Physical Origins of Time Asymmetry by JJ Halliwell et. al. (A bit dated and dry, but some interesting perspectives from some heavyweight physicists.)

Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality by John Gribbin (Also a bit dated, and light on maths, but some interesting concepts.)

and

Something Deeply Hidden by Sean Carroll (Also light on maths, but current and thought provoking.) Carroll also has an outstanding video on the subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6FR08VylO4

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"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

I've seen a few interviews with Sean Carroll and he seems to have the ability to break these heady concepts into something this knuckle dragger can wrap his head around.

If you were to start reading his stuff what would you recommend? The Big Picture?

Reading The Witcher series of books. Almost done reading The Last Wish before moving on to the next ones.

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~Brad

Shift, by Hugh Howey (prequel to Wool, which I read a few years ago). Good so far, seems to be setting the stage for the events in Wool pretty well, even early on.

Also picked up Dust, the sequel, so that'll be next unless I decide I need to read Wool again in between.

Something Deeply Hidden is my first foray into Carroll's catalog, so I can't really make a good recommendation. I believe SDH is his most recent work, though. And, I think that it stands well enough on its own as a starting point.

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"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

Daniel Yergin’s Pulitzer winning “ The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power.

Fascinating look at the history of oil and how it’s helped shape modern history.

In a pinch on airport travel a while back picked up "The Alice Network" . Supposedly about women spies in WWII and stuff. Fiction. Was supposedly a good seller. I hated it.

Good idea, but the execution was way too juvenile for my reading tastes.

I'd give it a "don't buy".

I know folks don't care for my political views (and subsequent related reads) but currently am reading "Open Veins". I'd say it's good. Still somewhat stained with communist sympathies, but I take it with a grain of salt the same way that I read US based history stuff that has a stain of excess nationalism and exceptionalism.

Speaking of that.........I felt that the WWII in Color series on Netflix was fantastic. No sympathies for communism, no died in the wool nationalism and exceptionalism. Seemed to be just the footage, the timeline, the names, the dates, the facts. Outstanding.

I've been doing audio books for my commute.

Just finished Labyrinth of Ice, this is about the Greeley expedition into the arctic in the 1850s.

Working on A Land so Strange, this is about Spanish conquistadors. Cabeza de Vaca was a member of a Spanish expedition to settle part of Mexico. They set sail from Cuba and royally screwed their navigation and ended up in Tampa bay. Cabeza de Vaca and 3 others ended up spending nearly a decade wandering the gulf coast and northern Mexico before stumbling across more Spaniards and making their way to Mexico City.

Next in queue Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire


Labyrinth of Ice got me on an expedition story kick, now I want more on the Age of Exploration.

---

Pactimo brand ambassador, ask me about promo codes

I read a fair bit of a translation of Cabez de Vaca's diary ages ago. It's spectacular and you might see if you can find it (I read it online).

I can't understand why his story hasn't been made into a film, it would be epic.

I will have to look into it.

My wife had to listen to some of the book on a road trip. The part we listened to was how Cortes conquered Mexico. I never new he basically broke rank to launch is conquest. She commented on how little we actually ever heard about the nitty gritty of what happened.

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Pactimo brand ambassador, ask me about promo codes

I'm rereading George Orwell's novel 1984 right now. Winston is still my fav literature character.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.

Arctic Obsession by Alexis S. Toubetzkoy.

Geology of the Sierra Nevada by Mary Hill.

When I'm done with one of those it'll be replaced by The Art of Intelligence by Henry A. Crumpton.

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War is god

I’ve finished four books so far this month.

“Heft On Wheels: A Field Guide to Doing a 180” NT Mike Magunson. A writer and college professor gives up booze and cigarettes and takes up the bicycle. I liked it. It was a quick, fun read. 5 stars.

“On Drinking” by Charles Bukowski. This was definitely not what I thought it would be when I picked. Series of poems and essays and interviews. Bukowski was a serious hard-core drunk. I’m surprised he lived until his 70s. 3 stars.

“All the Single ladies: unmarried women and the rise of an independent nation” by Rebecca Traister. This is a book club pick and I really liked it. The history of how single women have taken up various causes interspersed with interviews with single women today. 5 stars.

“There There” by Tommy Orange. It was nominated for mini awards last year and won a few. I don’t usually read fiction but this was really good. A lot of characters and the suspense builds throughout the book. I only picked it up because of a reading challenge at our local independent bookstore, but I’m glad I did. 4 stars.

Reading challenge here:

https://www.nashvillescene.com/...20-reading-challenge

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

 

My book for commuting right now is After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia Sunni Split in Islam. I knew and still know very little of the start of Islam but it is pretty fascinating how the religion quickly evolved after the death of Muhammed.

On the trainer I just started Silent Spring.

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Pactimo brand ambassador, ask me about promo codes

I just finished The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, which I recommend to all. It's a beautiful book. I'm writing an essay about my fav book right now. Luckily I found superbpaper review, hope with their help I'll finish my essay in the near future.

Pretty good movie too from what I remember.

Seems like audio versions of many of these older books are available on Youtube.

No idea where my message above went.

Anyway listening to and enjoying Dune. Pleasantly surprised.

The last quarter or so felt rushed. I wanted to know more about how exactly he became an EMT, what sort of "circle of chairs on a linoleum floor" [I read hat as group therapy] is was in for, and other bits & pieces of his life after 15 that just got stitched together as random paragraphs at the end

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

“Origins: How the Earth Shaped Human History” by Lewis Darnell.

Really enjoying it. Links together a lot of concepts were generally familiar with as a society, but gives them greater breadth and significance in the wider scope of our history and how we came into being.

Spoiler alert; it describes hundreds of millions of years, not the busiest six days imaginable...