July 2009
2 posts
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Link to my review of Stephenson's "Anathem"
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews.
May 2009
1 post
Review of the book "Old Man's War"
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
My review
rating: 5 of 5 stars I really liked this book because it was well written and the story (unlike most of Science Fiction I’ve read) wasn’t silly and yet was believable. Good Science Fiction helps us look into a future and shouldn’t feel like an acid trip in basement full of broken Star Trek memorabilia. This book scored well on both...
January 2009
3 posts
My review of the book "Traffic: Why We Drive the...
Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do by Tom Vanderbilt
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a fairly engaging read. It slows down a bit in the middle and gets better toward the end. Most insightful was the statistics of accidents (showing who generally gets into accidents and why). If you have a heavy commute, this book will explain a bit of the behavior you see and what you should do about...
My review of "Unthinkable"
The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why by Amanda Ripley
My review
rating: 5 of 5 stars READ THIS BOOK. PERIOD. How people react to disaster is often different than you think. Most of the time we all go into shock and that shock can benefit or hinder our survivability. The tips in this book will help you harness or overcome (where needed) your instinctive reactions to...
My review of "Proust and the Squid"
Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a very engaging and enlightening book. For someone like me who has a small curious child, this has reinforced the need to read with him every night. As the book mentions, a child’s brain is naturally able to communicate verbally (all of the neurological structure is...
December 2008
1 post
My review of Richard Morgan's "Broken Angels"
Broken Angels by Richard K. Morgan
My review
rating: 3 of 5 stars I’ve read a few of Morgan’s previous books (“Market Forces”, “Altered Carbon”) and found this one to be a little less engaging and entertaining than the others. But this story does continue the Kovac’s story line and I do recommend it for Morgan fans. What I liked about the two previous...
November 2008
1 post
My Review of Jeff Shaara's "The Steel Wave"
The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II by Jeff Shaara
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a very engaging book. I have a hard putting it down and would have finished it by now if I could only keep my eyes open at night. This is historical drama that I use for entertainment and not for learning more about the events that surrounded D-Day (there are many good books for that). I thought...
October 2008
3 posts
My review of the book "The Short Bus: A Journey...
The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal by Jonathan Mooney
My review
rating: 3 of 5 stars For anyone who went through any form of special education, this book is for you. Reading this book brought back some memories for me. I came through an educational system that treated me as an oddity. In fifth grade I was spending my extra hours reading such books as “All Animals Wise and...
Review of Alan Alda's Book "Things I Overheard...
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself by Alan Alda
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a very good book which I found to be better than Alda’s other book from a few years ago. Alda provides us with wisdom as he goes back through the speeches he has given over the last few years. Much of it is indirect advice he gave to his children. Mainly, his advice is to enjoy life and to...
Review of "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle"
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski
My review
rating: 1 of 5 stars So far this book is okay. The first few chapters were a bit slow and the one about the miscarriage was just plain throat-grabbing sad. I’m not a pet person so the adolescent attraction to animals is totally lost on me. I would not compare this book to the works of Steinbeck as Oprah has (there’s...
September 2008
5 posts
Everybody should see this video: http://hellotxt.com/l/IwGc
Review of the Sedaris book "Dress Your Family in...
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars The first chapter is one of the funniest things I have ever read. Adopting the goofball TV free family who comes to the door to trick-or-treat on the day after Halloween, Oh man was that funny. And the stories about his family (especially his brother) are hysterical. Sedaris is one of the funniest authors...
My Review of Halberstam's "Firehouse"
Firehouse by David Halberstam
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a very good book. Inadvertently, I checked this book out at the begining of September not realizing that I would be reading it on the 11th. The timing could not have been better. For me it served as a reminder of the sacrifice the firemen of New York made on that tragic day. The book helped me understand the loss on a more...
My Review of Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture"
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
My review
rating: 5 of 5 stars After the first few chapters I have to admit that I really did not like the book. At that point I felt that the book was good but not great. But as I kept reading I started to realize that the story was becoming more poignant. Pausch starts to write better as he writes more about his family and less about himself. By the last few...
Review of "Einstein: His Life and Universe" by...
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a warm well written story about a very intelligent creative man. My favorite part of the story was hearing about the people Einstein collaborated with. Even hearing it from a book, his energy was elevating and reminded me to put more creative energy into my life. Interesting and sad were the stories of...
August 2008
6 posts
Review of the audio book "In Defense of Food"
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars This is another audio book that I borrowed from the library. In broad terms it was a very educational book. Even more importantly, I has helped me think of food a bit differently. I have allergies to quite a few foods. I can’t drink beer or eat bread because I am allergic to yeast. So my diet...
Max's first two points and my first YouTube Video
Review of Malcolm Gladwell's book "Blink"
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
My review
rating: 3 of 5 stars Very interesting so far. As with his other book “The Tipping Point,” the first few pages and chapters are written very well. View all my reviews.
Review of Carl Reiner's "My Anecdotal Life"
My Anecdotal Life by Carl Reiner
My review
rating: 3 of 5 stars Parts of this book are slow and yet others are so funny that my sides ached from laughing. The stories about how the ‘2000 year old man’ routine (with Mel Brooks) was developed is some of the funniest stuff I have ever read. View all my reviews.
Review of the audio version of "The Coldest...
The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War [UNABRIDGED CD] by David Halberstam
My review
rating: 5 of 5 stars I’ve always liked Halberstam’s style of going from story to story to tell a larger picture. In this audio book, the story comes alive as the tales of individual men is told by the reader. This was such a desperately awful war where thousands of American soldiers died...
Prelimiary Review of "Your Money & Your Brain"
Your Money and Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich by Jason Zweig
My review
rating: 3 of 5 stars Very interesting book. Most interesting so far is how the mind can get excited more about the prospect of making (or losing) than about actually making the moneyh. Good comparisons are made with how people get caught up in the latest hype using mechanisms similar...
July 2008
1 post
Book Review - Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a very good book. Right now I am 3/4 of the way through and I am having a hard time putting it down. By this point in the book the plot was weaved itself in many different directions. What was once settled in the earlier parts of the books comes back in a different light. The author changes the prospective on past...
June 2008
15 posts
Review of Michael Perry's book "Population 485"
Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time by Michael Perry
My review
rating: 5 of 5 stars This authors books always start a little bit slow, which is amazingly deceiving. Read this book all the way to the end. It has one of the most powerful, most emotional endings you will ever read. The last chapters leave you emotionally wrung-out but serves as a reminder of how the...
Review of Richard Morgan's book "Market Forces"
Market Forces by Richard K. Morgan
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars So good so far. I picked this up because I’ve read all of the Gibson books and wanted to read more cyberpunk type novels. Lots of violence so far but as I read deeper into the book it makes sense. Just finished it a day ago and have to say that it was a fun fast ride all the way to the last pages. The novel’s...
Guy 2 cubes over from me is playing some Led Zepplin tunes on a kids guitar (from Walmart) Might sound better playing “Wheels on the bus”
Heading out to get the toddler and go grocery shopping. I get the best service when I have my half-starved screaming devil child with me
Almost flattened a fox
The animal darted right out in front of my car yesterday. I was taking a left turn on to a major street when I saw the small orange body and bright white tail bob of a fox trying to cross the street. First it darted to my left and then quickly turned around and headed back toward the right.
As this was going on my mind finally registered that it was a fox. My immediate thought was to miss it...
My history of managing SAP Applications →
Washing cars in the rain
The RX-7 needs to be sold so I spent part of the evening washing the inside and out. As I was just finishing the outside it started to rain.
Looking up, the only rain cloud in the area was the one pouring on me and the Mazda. So I just kept working, moping up the extra drops as they came down and spoiled the shiny hood.
If I was religious and look at this as a sign from God. “He’s...
Turning more domestic every day...
Green Grass
My neighbor just commented on how nice our yard looks this year. Which is quite the compliment since we purchased the house last year and the lawn had been ignored since it had been a rental (the weeds in back were up to my waist).
So, my transition to being a proud suburbanite is nearly complete.
* transition *
Weary of the tinkering needed to run Linux
I am trying to figure...
Airshow with the Munchkin
Taking the munchkin to the airshow was a smashing success. We carried him around to the airplanes and helecopters so he could see up close the toys he plays at home.
We took a shot of him in front of a Navy helicopter to send to his uncle Pete (who is a Commander in the US Navy)
He was a bit more interested in the inflatable jumping castle than the airplanes, but that is understandable since the...
Taking the munchkin to an airshow
I will be taking the munchking to a local airshow this morning. He is starting to show the same interest in planes that I had when I was younger.
http://www.jeffco.us/airport/airport_T38_R76.htm
More importantly, I want him to see some of the older airplanes that will be on display. With fuel prices going ever higher, I am wondering if we will continue to see some of these vehicles still flying...
Good idea of the month - Turn old SAP systems into...
For most mid sized companies, knowing what can be done with a SAP application is sometimes just as important as knowing what to do with it. Case in point is a company I used to work for that just went through a R/3 to ECC upgrade. The brought in all new systems and completed the project without any issues. But they still have the old SAP systems running on the old hardware.
My recommendation is...
My forgotten page on MS's whimpy version of... →
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