Well, yesterday, with no fanfare whatsoever I posted the 1,000th post in this blog after swimming 2,500 yards. I figured there was only one a day, perhaps less, on average. That led me to think that I have been at this for approximately 3 years, . But on closer examination I find the first post to be dated July 30, 2012 and to begin with this quote: "The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." There was a prior blog to this one which still exists somewhere out there. I have not logged onto it for a very long time. I suspect that it started less than 60 days before this one so I have apparently posted 1000 blogs in 800 days. While I have accomplished much in that time in terms of publication, I have actually moved backwards in terms of personal satisfaction. Such is the life of man.
I decided to send to a couple of "societies" (the cabal) requests for a "book review". For this purpose I singled out the US and European Math and Physics Societies (random selections from the group from each) and based loosely on those mentioned in a prior blog.
I do this with much trepidation. This is, after all, a first edition text which admittedly has incomplete math (I ask to be excused since a complete definition of the math of the universe is quite an undertaking for free) and it is merely a very long (way too long-150 page, 38,000 word) first draft of a grant application. I expect my feelings will be hurt, in other words. Ahh, but we've talked about fear and how it limits us artificially. I have proven that to act fearlessly is to accomplish much and I have shown cowardice when courage was called for in the most important circumstances, of course.
Anyway, I started with 4 and none of them in Asia, sadly. I will continue this process given time and I will tell you all about it and your only way to avoid hearing about it is to not read this blog.
There have been two replies so far. One from Europe-suitably polite, directing me to the person who does those reviews (or some sort of reviews) who is a professor in Madrid. I will reserve comments on traveling to Spain for the moment, but the significance is not lost. The other from the Physical society of the US which directed me to their submission process for papers for publication which includes paying a substantial amount of money, thereby missing completely the concept (getting a book review) which I assume is my fault for wording my request un-clearly and ignoring my somewhat impoverished condition.
The difference in the European vs US approach (mainly being tied to money compared to science) makes me long for the old country (in my case a cold barren place, not the Spanish coast where I should have come from or the Greek coast where my heart seems drawn).
I am close to the coast today, there are puffy clouds from gulf which don't portend rain, but only moderating the ever present heat of summer which is gone today. I know the inland waters before me, call me to cross over, but I only look at them and weep.
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