A day consumed by passions... assuming that programming can be considered a passion. That's debatable, but only if you're not a programmer. Hacking new code has a tendency to consume all available thought, especially when it's a new project to dig your teeth into.

Such is life. I got words in today, A Wolf in Taos Valley is up to about 4400 words, so I call that a win, all things considered.

Oh, and part of what consumed me is that I dug into and figured out what the references I was dealing with were saying in their reports.

No, let me rephrase that. I realized what they actually did. Whether they understand that I don't know. I suspect it's a case where the very original algorithm developers knew what they summoned; those coming after may be dealing with forces they know not.

Obscure, necessarily, mostly because it's an odd little corner of the applied computational world, visited rarely but with intensity by those who do so. Most of the known applications I'm aware of, the distinction I'm making is of little practical consequence. In fact, the distinction is immaterial and can be well justified on both formal and practical grounds. It mostly leads to a matter of interpretation of results. Among those who know, a matter of words and emphasis, not of understanding.

A trap for the unwary, however... sort of like writing fiction, now that I think about it ;)