Mission of Honor

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Literature & Fiction
Author:	David Weber

The latest in a long line of Honor Harrington books. This features Honor as peacemaker with the Havenite Republic, while her friend, Michele (Mike) Henke goes and kicks Solaran League behind. This is a good followup on the previous novel and moves the story along quite well. The major battle is actually in the middle of the book, after a long setup. The setup was actually too long, but I understand the thought. Military life and war is 99% boredom followed by 1% sheer terror. I get that.
The most significant battle, however, takes place in the middle of the book. The previous book mentioned some of the setup there, but I never did understand the significance until fleshed out in this book. Manticore was bloodied. I knew it would happen anyway because Manticore was being written as an almost superpower. Mr. Weber would have to bring things down a bit if he wanted to continue the series. I still can't help but wonder how a nation could be geared for war for so long...but it is fiction, isn't it?
The closing of the book was predictable. Haven and Manticore finally joining an alliance. It should be interesting.

Honor is written as a space opera. Like Star Wars, but without the cheese. The characters and action are bigger than life. The battles are based on naval campaigns and all the trappings thereof. The three dimensions and technology are easily envisioned. There is very little about the series that I don't like.

Many of the books are free, online at http://baen.com/. Also the books usually come with a CD that contain many of David Weber's previous works, and this was no exception.

All That I Know

Rating:
Category:	Music
Genre:	Rock
Artist:	Collective Soul

Hennepin Canal

I’ve been wanting to spend more time with Hayden this summer and perhaps bike a bit more. Since it has been so warm, and I don’t like the heat, things haven’t come together very often. We have done a few rides locally on the trails but not for very long. So, I’ve been looking for a chance to go down to the Hennepin Canal south of here and start doing the trails. About the most interesting ride that I could find was around the confluence of the main canal and the feeder canal. Going north from there is an aqueduct and I thought that would be interesting to see. It would be around a 12 mile ride round trip. We started out around lock #22 at a nice park. The confluence was nice, a big lake. I was surprised that the canal was only traverse-able via canoe and only just barely. Several portages would be needed.

The road to the aqueduct was a nice ride. Warm, but nice. We found some strange behavior with some butterflies. They would cluster on the path around dark patches. When the wind would rustle them, the would flap their wings like a wave in a stadium. Kind of cool to watch. Somewhere around there a dog met us. Considering there wasn’t really a farm or road around there...not sure where he came from, but he didn’t follow us. Hayden did ask me about the green balls. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about but he pointed to the walnuts that were scattered around the ground. Some of them were quite large and had a very interesting texture. They weren’t like the ones that we have in Michigan.

After getting back to the park, we packed up and went to Wyanet where there is a cluster of locks. That was a short ride, and we saw some interesting people and some nice scenery. Perhaps if we lived a bit closer, I would want to bike the entire path, all 104 miles of it.

Links:

Photos
http://groesser.multiply.com/video/item/49/Lock_15
http://groesser.multiply.com/video/item/48
http://groesser.multiply.com/video/item/47
Wikipedia on Hennepin Canal
Interesting Site
Feeder and Canal
Wyanet

Lock 15?

Lock 16

Mystery Geyser

This is a mystery geyser on lock 17 or so.

Hennepin Canal, July 2010

At lock 22, we prepare for our trip up the feeder canal. In the background is the stump chair and my bike...far right.

Hayden and I travel to the Hennepin Canal.