Category: Books

Quote – Carl Sagan

An extraterrestrial being, newly arrived on Earth–scrutinizing what we mainly present to our children in television, radio, movies, newspapers, magazines, the comics, and many books–might easily conclude that we are intent on teaching them murder, rape, cruelty, superstition, credulity, and consumerism.  We keep at it, and through constant repetition many of them finally get it.  What kind of society could we create if, instead, we drummed into them science and a sense of hope?

Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World (page 39)

New Year’s Resolution

1/3 of my New Year’s Resolution is to read more.  I did pretty good in 2009 (after I spent a few days reflecting what books I actually read), here’s at least 90% of the actual books I read:

  • Hitchhiker’s Series (Douglas Adams): funny, zany, totally unbelievable, sometimes laugh out loud funny, but mostly just fun.  The 1st book is not out done by any of the subsequent stories and is my favorite by far.  But “So Long…” was a close 2nd.
  • Lord of the Flies – William Golding: kid on kid violence, but it’s a classic I never read in HS.  I recommend it.
  • Paranoia (free on DailyLit) – Joseph Finder: pulp entrepreneurship fiction.
  • Pizza Tiger – Thomas Monaghan (I think my copy is signed): it’s about Domino’s Pizza and how Tom made billions of dollars.  It was actually quite a good read.  Much better than The first billion is the hardest by T. Boone Pickens (where the writing was crap and the subject jumped all over from sentence to sentence).
  • Generation Kill – Evan Wright: the book and the HBO series were both great.
  • The Next 100 Years – George Friedman: in the next 100 years Japan is going to hurdle rocks, from the moon, towards our world-watching networks of satellites and we’re going to send marines in exoskeleton suits against them and Poland and kick their asses.  Mexico is our friend, China falls apart and Russia goes to the poor house.  Yes, it was interesting.
  • Blackwater – Jeremy Scahill: want to feel bad about what we’re doing in Iraq?  This book will get you there.  It will also piss you off about the recent dismissal of the case against some Blackwater operatives.  Someone should be held accountable.
  • The Associate – John Grisham: I found this at the airport (and after I finished it 2 legs of my journey later, I left it at the airport).  Shitty ending.
  • Call of the Wild (free on DailyLit) – Jack London: I can’t believe I hadn’t read this.  Excellent.  Buck is like my new man’s best friend.
  • Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (free on DailyLit) – duh: sometimes these old farts are hard to read.  Ben probably had a little bit of a selective memory, but his life was pretty awesome (considering he retired in his late 20s and then everyone kept giving him money and cool projects which he slam dunked).  A few lessons learned: be a vegetarian, don’t drink ’til you’re 40s (after you’re retired), make friends with just about every important person in history and start one of the 1st modern universities (if possible).
  • Post American World – Fareed Zakaria: I blame John Stewart and Stephen Colbert for adding this to my book list.  Overall, I thought it was a little bit to hard on the good ol’ USA (I think our future’s a lot brighter).
  • Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card: bored at the airport, this $6.99 book was good and entertaining throughout.  There’s a whole series (the Ender Quartet?) of them about a genius kid (who you meet at age 7) and how he defeats space invaders.  No joke.
  • I am Legend – Richard Matheson: way different than the movie popularized by Will Smith.  A really interesting take on the zombie/vampire genre in my humble opinion.  Not very long and worth the trip to the library.
  • UPDATED 1/5/10: Money Ball – Michael Lewis: very cool book, even if you don’t like baseball like me.  Premise: there is more to baseball than athleticism, and Bill Beane (GM for the A’s) figured out the equation, literally.  Awesome look at how statistics trump whatever “gut” feeling a scout/coach/GM might have about players.
  • The Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell: I like his writing style and his ideas.  Do I think he’s always right?  No, but the best point of the outliers is that it takes time and effort (and sometimes luck) to become an expert in anything.
  • Reefer Madness (Sex, Drugs and Labor in the American Black Market) – Eric Schlosser: did you know Marijuana grows in the wild in TN and KY?  neither did I.  The book was an in depth look at three of the US’s dirty little secrets and how they’ve thrived despite efforts to crack down on them.
  • UPDATED 1/20/10: Midnight Club – James Patterson: paraplegic cop takes down baddies (I didn’t buy this book).
  • Fareinheit 451 – Ray Bradbury: this actually kicked off me reading a bunch of classic fiction…great book if you’ve never read it.

I read a lot already online (I probably read about 50 pages of online text a day through blogs I follow), but my night time reading has fallen to occasionally.  In ’09 I read a pretty good list of books (above) but I definitely want to improve on how many real (as in tactile, bound, published books).  So my goal is to read a total of:

52 books (a book every week!).

…and go.

1/20/10 update: note that I originally said I was going to read 26 books, but after compiling the list of books I read in 2009, I realized that I had read about 26 books.  So, I’m taking the full on challenge: 1 book per week.

Swearing is Caring

You might not have ever heard of Gary Vaynerchuk, but he’s one bad ass entrepreneur.  Proprietor of Wine Library and WineLibrary TV, and a new wine-focused social network (corkd.com).  Not to mention this new book (Crush It).

In the world of online entrepreneurs, he’s been hitting the speaking circuit and getting plenty of press on TV.  Recently he spoke at FOWA (Future of Web Apps) in London.

WARNING: his talk contains explicit language.  Like construction worker explicit.  Though, his message is on point (customer service is paramount and is best shown by actually caring about your customers) and he is hilarious.  He’s just as funny in his WineLibraryTV stuff.  I particularly liked his review of Charles Shaw (aka two buck chuck).  If you want to save the 20 minutes, he recommends the Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc but panned the rest.

So, as far his talk at FOWA goes, here are the great points/quotes I gleaned from it (note that some is going to be paraphrased to nix the cursing).

  • “subscribing to cable…is like going into McDonald’s and ordering a burger and fries.  And then the cashier says, “that’s fine, asshole.  But you’re gonna have to pay for the whole menu.”  I’ve long wanted just to pay for HBO, Current and ESPN (and maybe the NFL redzone…).
  • “Don’t be a dickface. Because people will figure you out.”  My highest value is integrity.  I really love working with my clients and don’t take them for granted, when I say something I do it.  And when I say I really value their business I mean it.  It makes me happy beyond belief to hear that my reputation is unsullied and that people respect me (despite what they may think of a colleague or my employer).
  • “Customer service is not putting a feedback tab on the left side of your web page.  Customer service is answering every single email personally, meaning what you put in them and making your customers genuinely like you.”

His message about customer service and interaction is spot on.  It’s pretty refreshing to hear someone so honest and forthright get on the stage at the type of event that often degrades into the constant back-patting of speaker/millionaires.

Enjoy.

Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk from Carsonified on Vimeo.

Under a rock, the size of the universe

Apparently I’ve been missing out.  Until yesterday I hadn’t been aware of Carl Sagan and his books, shows and contributions to science (I blame my local PBS station).  I’m going to catch up on all the great reading content Carl has out there (starting with The Demon-Haunted World).  but I’ve also been watching a bunch of his Cosmos videos that are archived online.  EXCELLENT stuff.

And now, for my new favorite song by Carl Sagan feat. Stephen Hawking “A glorious dawn”.   I hope someone auto-tunes me posthumously.  Go to it!

Student Load vs. Teacher Quality

The debate continues.  As a master’s student at UVM my thesis focused on Vermont’s historical trends in educations which contributed to and set the stage for our high ranking public school system (at the time, according to certain resources).  I placed particular emphasis on the fact that Vermont’s long standing traditions and demographic arrangements had contributed to very small class sizes (the pupil to teacher ratio is still around 10:1, one of the lowest in the nation).  Subsequently this also means that VT has one of the most expensive education system on a per pupil basis in the country as well.

It’s nice to think that Vermont has the best public education system in the country, but that’s hotly debated with each of the number of sides, resources, experts, etc. pointing to a diverse array of statistics: class size, student achievement, teacher pay, graduation rate, unemployment, etc.  It all depends how you define “outcomes”.

I’ve been swayed from my original assertion that VT had it good because of the low class size (which was more caused by geography and population density than any public initiative).  And it seemed that a lot of other individuals had been too, even Bill Gates who threw a lot of money behind the small schools movement has largely backed away from it.

In my opinion, the debate swung to teacher quality and effectiveness and is partially being driven by Michelle Rhee and others (the question of merit pay has also been wrapped into this discussion, though I think that effectiveness/quality is and should be the focus).  There are plenty of questions remaining (like how to measure effectiveness in real time, rather than retroactively) but I like where the debate is going.

It’s interesting to see though that the Total Student Load theory¹ is still getting attention.  Could it be both?  From personal experience, it was much harder to get lost in a small class (just think back to your senior seminar courses in college).  But from the other side I can also remember big classes where the teacher was awesome and their instruction was lasting.  It’s no wonder we can’t make up our minds.

¹note that the article might be password protected at Edweek.org, but it’s basically a write up on William G. Ouchi and his new book The Secret of TSL.  If you really want to read up on class size and the debate against it, Eric Hanushek’s research is well known in education as an opponent to the class size argument (he says it’s bunk).

Ben Franklin sucked at advertising

For being a pioneer in printed news papers (creating one of the first papers in PA and infamously publishing Poor Richard’s Almanac), Ben Franklin, in all modern measurements, sucked at ad-copy.  I might go so far as to say that he would have been canned by any current magazine, newspaper or even blog for the wordy ads he put out.

Of course, back in the day (circa 1755) his long winded “advertisements” were the norm (perhaps even cutting edge) but these days any reader would probably just stop reading after the first line…see if you can make sense of this ad he ran in 1755 seeking to hire horses and carriages for General Braddock (who was “stateside” to protect the colonies from the belligerent French–obviously before they became the war-dodging country they are today.  Brush up on the French-Indian War here).

ADVERTISEMENT. — LANCASTER, April 26, 1755.

Whereas, one hundred and fifty waggons, with four horses to each waggon, and fifteen hundred saddle or pack horses, are wanted for the service of his majesty’s forces now about to rendezvous at Will’s Creek, and his excellency General Braddock having been pleased to empower me to contract for the hire of the same, I hereby give notice that I shall attend for that purpose at Lancaster from this day to next Wednesday evening, and at York from next Thursday morning till Friday evening, where I shall be ready to agree for waggons and teams, or single horses, on the following terms, viz.:

1. That there shall be paid for each waggon, with four good horses and a driver, fifteen shillings per diem; and for each able horse with a pack-saddle, or other saddle and furniture, two shillings per diem; and for each able horse without a saddle, eighteen pence per diem.

2.  That the pay commence from the time of their joining the forces at Will’s Creek, which must be on or before the 20th of May ensuing, and that a reasonable allowance be paid over and above for the time necessary for their travelling to Will’s Creek and home again after their discharge.

3. Each waggon and team, and every saddle or pack horse, is to be valued by indifferent persons chosen between me and the owner; and in case of the loss of any waggon, team, or other horse in the service, the price according to such valuation is to be allowed and paid.

4. Seven days’ pay is to be advanced and paid in hand by me to the owner of each waggon and team, or horse, at the time of contracting, if required, and the remainder to be paid by General Braddock, or by the paymaster of the army, at the time of their discharge, or from time to time, as it shall be demanded.

5.  No drivers of waggons, or persons taking care of the hired horses, are on any account to be called upon to do the duty of soldiers, or be otherwise employed than in conducting or taking care of their carriages or horses.

6.  All oats, Indian corn, or other forage that waggons or horses bring to the camp, more than is necessary for the subsistence of the horses, is to be taken for the use of the army, and a reasonable price paid for the same.

Note.–My son, William Franklin, is empowered to enter into like contracts with any person in Cumberland county.
B. FRANKLIN. (From the Dailylit.com version of Ben Franklin’s Autobiography)

No way that could be a Google Ad.  The 425 words/2300 characters are a far cry from meeting Google or Twitter standards, but if Ben had asked, I could have helped him trim it down.  Here’s the same ad as it might have been formatted for the internet-age.

Google Search Ad:

franklingoogle

Twitter Post:

franklintwitter

And finally Facebook:

franklinfacebookFair?  Not really.  Fun?  Certainly.  Franklin probably would have been a media powerhouse today (he was in his own time, amassing a fortune by 40 just through smart printing and by staying sharp).  Perhaps we can take a hint from his eloquent, flowing writing style.  Sure it’s formal, but it’s cordial and personal at the same time.  Which says a lot more than the ad samples above.

That being said, I don’t think many people answered his original ads.  After that “ad” appears in his book he talks about how he had to publish a warning to the people of PA after letting them know that the Brits would take their horses and wagons by force (since they had already asked so nicely and offered to pay).

Fred Rogers on Copyright

From Lawrence Lessig’s Free Culture, Mr. Rogers talking about how he believed VCRs would have positive technological impacts on his audience and show:

Fred Rogers, aka “Mr. Rogers,” for example, had testified in that case that he wanted people to feel free to tape Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

“Some public stations, as well as commercial stations, program the “Neighborhood” at hours when some children cannot use it. I think that it’s a real service to families to be able to record such programs and show them at appropriate times. I have always felt that with the advent of all of this new technology that allows people to tape the “Neighborhood” off-the-air, and I’m speaking for the “Neighborhood” because that’s what I produce, that they then become much more active in the programming of their family’s television life. Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others. My whole approach in broadcasting has always been “You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions.” Maybe I’m going on too long, but I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important.” [23]

23. Sony Corporation of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417, 455 fn. 27 (1984). Rogers never changed his view about the VCR.

Franklin's 13

From Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, freely available at your local library or from Dailylit.com.  These were the main tenets that he lived his life by, adapted from the Presbyterian church (though he claims not to have been a serious, church going man).

I propos’d to myself, for the sake of clearness, to use rather more names, with fewer ideas annex’d to each, than a few names with more ideas; and I included under thirteen names of virtues all that at that time occurr’d to me as necessary or desirable, and annexed to each a short precept, which fully express’d the extent I gave to its meaning.

These names of virtues, with their precepts, were:

1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

9. MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.

11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.

13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.