getting started in programming language theory

These are the two textbook resources I'm reading to get myself up to speed:

• Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation


• Programming Languages and Lambda Calculi

The second book, PLLC, is a very good book that appears to cover the same material as in Benjamin Pierce's Types and Programming Languages. (Why do all these textbooks have four-letter acronyms?)

nightmare

I wanted to post something entirely non-programming related. I had a nightmare last night; I dreamt of atomic bombs going off. It was bizarre; in my dream, I imagined that the ISS had been taken over by terrorists (or aliens; not quite sure who was responsible here). LA had been hit by bombs, the floor shuddered, and blackness. The scene shifted, and I stumbled into a dark bar. CNN played in the dim light. Were the talking heads even American? Whispers all around. And again, the lights went out, screams, and I heard a large thudding roar in the distance, with the earth shifting in protest. Much too close. I tried to close the ajar bar door. It didn't help, but it made me feel better.

It was as if I were an extra in a bad B-rated movie. I stirred and, half-waking, looked at my clock. 8:00am. Well, there's nothing else to do. The Apocalypse dream is, at least, more interesting than getting up. Might as well watch how this all ends. I went back to sleep to finish watching the nightmare of my dreams. I don't remember what happened afterwards.

I write this now so that my future self can laugh at me. What a strange time we live in.

Speaking of anxieties: I'm going here tomorrow. Not to say that this has anything to do with my nightmares.