Tasso street party

Street party
Originally uploaded by thane.

Working out the misere transition algebra T(*2) with Meghan Allen and Angela Siegel

Working out the misere transition algebra T(*2) with Meghan Allen and Angela Siegel
Originally uploaded by thane.

Some books I bought at Erin & Chris's garage sale for $1

1) The Making of the President, 1960 [ Theodore H White. Always wanted to read it. Or so I thought. At least this is my big chance. ]

2) Justine [ Lawrence Durrell [1957]—the first of the "Alexandria Quartet." Like the names of various flowers, French cities, and events of the 14th century, this book has flitted in and out of my attention, always whispering "Ah—but you should know more." Also, there was the little matter of the Sigmund Freud quotation on the frontispiece: "I am accustoming myself to the idea of regarding every sexual act as a process in which four persons are involved. We shall have a lot to discuss about that." Clearly it wouldn't do to leave this book unpurchased? ]

3) State of the Nation, John dos Passos.

4) MRS. BJORKEN'S DIARY OF 1974 RUSSIAN VISIT, just next to In Memoriam: Joan G Bjorken, (1936-1983), and I thought, "ah, samizdat!" documents, or at least self-published. I've now worked out that she was the wife of James D. Bjorken, a physicist and senior administrator at FermiLab, now possibly still affiliated with the Stanford physics department.

In reading through these interesting pamphlets, I learned that Joan Bjorken established the Infant Care Center at Fermilab [Introduction of the "In Memoriam" pamphlet, by Leon Lederman].

With this fantastic photo of her talking to kids, presumably at Fermilab:

The things you find at a Palo Alto garage sale!