Schwarzenau Brethren....and...Linux?

Variety is the spice of life, they say...

After my marathon session indexing the AutoCAD Bible, I was about to continue my technical stuff by indexing a Dummies book on the Linux operating system when an indexing colleague became ill and I took on a job for her.

Short book, some guy's dissertation, actually, on the founders of the Brethren Church. I'd done some subcontracting work for this colleague before on this subject; she has an ongoing arrangement to index stuff for the Brethren. They have their own encyclopedia, actually. This little book, only 145 pages, but packed with people, places, and theological concepts (lots about baptism), talked about the origins of the Brethren in what is now Germany in the late seventeenth/early eighteenth century. These folks were part of a "back to basics" movement after the Protestant Reformation. Really into separating from the material world, awaiting the apocalypse (slated for 1700), cultivating a pure and literal obedience to the New Testament and Jesus' commandments. The author's theme was to dig up more about what other movements influenced the Brethren (Radical Pietism and Anabaptism mainly). The Brethren are not as strict as the Amish, or the Mennonites, I think, but close. The Mennonites are the original Anabaptists (adult baptism is better than the infant kind), and the Amish are an offshoot of the Mennonites. It was interesting to keep track of all this stuff. Didn't make much money per hour, but it was a cool story.

Now I'm back to learning about the Linux operating system. Lots of good stuff I'd had a hint of in other books I've done, and this author does a good job of explaining it all. Linux can really be a substitute for Windows if you really, really, hate Microsoft (the different versions have nice, clean graphical interfaces), but its power is in the ability to send commands directly into the system without the graphic interface and do programming stuff. About 350 pages out of 600 left to go. Wish me luck meeting my end-of-Tuesday deadline.

Oh, and you'll notice I'm working on Sunday, and tomorrow as well. I don't pay much attention to weekends and holidays, although I do try to take Saturdays off (God was right about that day of rest idea in Genesis, just for mental health reasons if nothing else). But from the looks of the schedule, I'll get Wednesday and Thursday off instead, since my next project isn't supposed to come in until next week. But....you never know.

AutoCAD Can Take Up Your Life......

Sorry about the delay, but 1100 pages of AutoCAD guidance in seven days really takes up one's life.

Finished up the Social Class book index on May 5. A good analysis of how we do so want to think we're a classless society in America, but....not! As I expected, class even trumps race and gender in helping decide how life goes for people, but not always. What I like about Russell Sage's researchers is that they tell you about all the complexities of an issue, so I get a better perspective than through sound-bites on the news.

I know I indexed an AutoCAD (CAD stands for computer-aided design) book awhile back, but this one was the "bible" for folks looking up more and more specific stuff on how to use this engineering/architectural/mechanical design software. The 3D modeling is the coolest part. Reminds me of computer games like the SIMs where you can build house models, but this is not child's play by any stretch of the imagination. I just wonder how Wiley Publishing can call this a book for dummies. You have to know something to even begin. Not being a designer myself, I've had to absorb what this is about over several projects in the past three years. This book, The AutoCAD Bible For Dummies, gives the best explanation of the relationships among the different elements and concepts involved. I found out that I didn't understand the material as well as I had thought until I was done with this book.

More on what I've been doing since mid-May in the next post....