Brian D. Buckley

A picture I took back in 2010. Big Bend National Park in Texas.

“Codswallop” is a fun word. I realized this morning in a flash of insight that, although I was certain “codswallop” was a word, I had absolutely no idea what it meant. Good for you, neurons.

To the dictionary!

First thing: it means “nonsense,” which does seem like what it ought to mean. Thus it joins the hallowed ranks of “balderdash,” “poppycock,” “claptrap,” “hokum,” and “hogwash.” Let’s hear it for the English language.

Second thing: it is British slang. To that I say, kudos to the Brits, and a real missed opportunity for us colonial types. “Codswallop” is a term any dialect should be proud to have in its lexicon. I, for one, plan to begin wielding it at the slightest provocation.

Third thing: etymology. One dictionary simply says “Origin obscure,” which is deeply disappointing. Another is braver, offering this solemn insight:

…perhaps from wallop, British slang for “beer,” and cod in one of its various senses, perhaps “testicles.”

This is better than I could possibly have dreamed. The insights to be gleaned from those short lines…where do I begin?

1. “Wallop” apparently means “beer”
2. “Cod,” a word I had heretofore associated strictly with fish, apparently means “testicles”
3. “Testicle-beer” apparently means “nonsense”
4. My very favorite part: the word perhaps, which indicates that the team of lexicographers didn’t know the etymology, but that “testicle-beer” is literally the very best theory they could come up with.

What can I say? I’m a simple man.

Well, I’m back.

I’m going to try and return to daily posting now. Can’t promise I’ll succeed, but we’ll give it a shot. Like so much else, I’ll take it a day at a time.

I am, of course, still struggling with clinical depression. A few weeks ago I completed my two-month stint at the mood disorder Intensive Outpatient Program in Cleveland. That was three hours of group therapy every weekday, plus a three-hour drive each way to get there and back. For those playing at home, that’s 30 hours per week of driving. Not exactly my idea of a good time.

But the program was useful. It showed me that having a daily structure helps keep me from sinking into the pit. And it showed me the importance of constantly fighting the downward spiral of negativity which is always waiting for a chance to strike. Also, I exercise every day, which is good. And I haven’t had any alcohol for over six months.

I’m doing noticeably better now. Not great, but better. Progress.

Still not working yet. Trying to figure out what the hell to do with my life. In the meantime, I’m looking for someplace around town to volunteer.

Let’s see, what else?

I haven’t been writing much. Hopefully a return to the blog will help change that. I wasn’t reading, either, for a long time, but I’ve started up again. I’m reading Don DeLillo’s White Noise, which is a profoundly weird but fairly enjoyable book.

Just this past Saturday, Betsy and I finished watching all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. More on that later.

Oh, and I have a niece. A beautiful baby girl. 🙂 She’s starting to look at things now, and she smiles sometimes.

Coming up tomorrow: Brian talks about something other than clinical depression! Woohoo!

So what’s new with you?

My wife and I spent the week of October 4-11 on vacation in Iceland, a.k.a. The Land of Ice and Fire. It’s roughly the size of Ohio but has a total population less than half that of Columbus, two-thirds of which is concentrated in the capital city of Reykjavik. Here are some highlights from this land of contrasts. Click to enlarge, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Found hanging in a Reykjavik window. Possibly the funniest thing we saw all week. Rampant graffiti notwithstanding, Reykjavik is the least ghetto place on the entire planet.

The most famous spot in Iceland, the towering Hallgrimskirkja. Pretty in pictures but rather drab in person. Great view from the top, though. I’m smiling in this picture because I’ve finally found something taller than me.

Another iconic Reykjavik landmark, the Sun Voyager is also the only sculpture in the city that isn’t hideously ugly (sorry Icelanders!)

A little church in the pretty national park of Thingvellir. You find quite a number of churches as you travel around.

The mighty double waterfall Gullfoss in all its thundering glory, complete with rainbow. What you don’t see in the photo is the constant freezing gale-force wind.

Betsy and I went whale-watching on a ship similar to this one. We saw a number of dolphins and Minke whales. Our guide spoke out against whale-hunting, which is legal but controversial in Iceland.

The Dynamic Duo at the peak of their arduous (for us, anyway) hike up Mount Esja. The trail was so steep that getting down was almost as tough as ascending. “Steinn” means “stone,” if you were wondering.

Look at this pig’s face. Look at it. This derpy expression, the mascot of supermarket chain Bonus, followed us around Reykjavik. I can’t tell if he’s high or…no, okay, he’s definitely high.

Our haul of duty-free liquor from the land up north. The two clear bottles on the right are Brennivin, the famous Icelandic booze. Of course I can’t actually drink any of it right now (depression and such) but a man can dream.

Any questions about our trip? Ask away in the comments!

The Fermi Paradox: if the conditions are right for life all over the universe, then how come we haven’t found aliens yet? This article looks at a lot of possible answers, and they are fascinating.

Doodle For Food is an artist’s Tumblr I found recently. It makes me laugh. Maybe it will make you laugh, too.

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments. I am continuing to feel better. I should have another post (with lots of pictures!) in the next couple weeks. Much like Monty Python’s peasant, this blog is Not Dead Yet!

I am still struggling with depression, but things are looking up at the moment. I have enrolled in a 6-8 week program in Cleveland, where I attend group therapy three hours a day, every weekday. I am also exercising an hour every day, and I have started meditating again. For the past week and a half, I have been feeling markedly better.

In other news, Betsy and I are watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Oh yeah!

Not sure yet when I’ll return to the blog, but it’s definitely coming. I haven’t given up yet. Thanks for your patience. 🙂

Not feeling well right now. Hopefully I’ll be back before too long.

In school, math progresses more or less in a straight line: arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus. In college you may do some more advanced calculus, or a few other things like discrete math or differential equations, but that’s generally it.

But suppose you want to dive deeper. What comes after calculus?

I’m hardly an expert, but from what I can tell, modern mathematics – the stuff that real mathematicians work on – consists of three parts: analysis, topology, and abstract algebra.

I’ve started learning about abstract algebra.

In elementary algebra, you take numbers and add/subtract/multiply/divide them together. In abstract algebra, you take a step back. You say “Instead of numbers, let’s use any elements from a set,” and “Instead of adding/subtracting/multiplying/dividing, let’s do any operation that takes in two and spits out one.”

With those and a few other simple rules, you’re on your way.

The key insight here is that elementary algebra isn’t the only algebra, it’s just an algebra. There are others axiom-based systems that turn out to be just as good.

For instance, in matrix algebra, the things you operate on are matrices instead of just numbers. And multiplication is non-commutative (that is, AB doesn’t necessarily equal BA). How do we handle such a strange situation?

And it isn’t just matrices. Strange new algebras pop up everywhere you look, operating on anything you can think of. Rather than trying to figure out each one individually, abstract algebra asks: what can we say about the structure of mathematics in general?

I got this book from Amazon, and I’m working through it now. Good stuff so far.

What kind of math interests you?