Niniane's Blog

I'm staying in a weekend house with a library, something I have always wanted!   I am sitting in the armchair with my kindle. I am here ...

My clean-up is complete and keys handed over and new tenants are happily ensconced in my Mountain View townhouse!  Or at least stressfully ...

I find it strange that when people win an award or get an amazing job, they say that they are "humbled". This makes no sense to ...

I went on my solo two-day camping trip last weekend.  It was so great. My pack was only 22.2 pounds even with a 4-pound tent and a 1-...

I am clearing out my belongings from my Mountain View townhouse.  I rented it for 4.5 years to Azer, and he let me keep some things in the g...

A delightful surprise has transpired.  It turns out that four friends / former coworkers work within one block of my office!  They work fro...

There is a British afternoon tearoom a block from my office.  I went there last week with two colleagues, Yuichi and "Sig". ...

Recently I watched Casablanca with a group of other people.  They gushed about how it's one of the most romantic films of all time!  It...

I chuckled out loud at the unnecessary aggression on this comment thread about MongoDB database's default setting of writes silently fa...

Three months ago, I decided to improve my sleeping habits.  Here is what I've learned so far: 1. Falling asleep.   It turns out I dis...

I decided to go camping by myself this summer.  I want two days of peace and solitude in the wilderness.  I've wanted to do this ever s...

At CM's birthday brunch: CM: My friend was deciding between being an animator on a film versus a game.  He said on a film, he'...

I am newly obsessed with Harry Potter books again.  The characters are so well-written!  I also forgot how funny the books are.

I am quite irritated at the Harry Potter movies. In the book, Hermione is a very strong, interesting character.  She is acknowledged by e...

Last month, I watched Fellowship of the Ring again.  It is an amazing movie, and I watched all 17 hours of bonus commentary.  However...! ...

"Moe" was one of the fellow students in my survival school course.  Moe lost 100 pounds in the six months prior to survival schoo...

I've decided to embark on a 60-day experiment to get enough sleep. All my life, I've had a reluctance to go to sleep at night.  ...

Yesterday I finished "Ender in Exile" by Orson Scott Card.  I have some issues with the middle third having a contrived plot.  An...

I read a story recently in a screenwriting book " The Story Book ".  It goes something like this: Writing is like mining for ...

I went for a 5-day meditation retreat at Esalen.  It is a meditation center in California on the coast between San Francisco and LA.  It us...