All Consuming : Aaron Swartz

TMBG's greatest album (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Aaron Swartz) — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 20:53:42 GMT

by They Might Be Giants

With this CD/DVD set, TMBG clearly cements Venue Songs as their greatest album. John Hodgman’s performance as the Deranged Millionaire is pitch-perfect, the videos are almost all wonderful (I especially enjoyed The Egg and Richards on Richards), and the new studio recordings, while noticably different, do not ruin what was great about these songs.

A good artist has a great style. But a great artist can do good work in any style. Venue Songs clearly shows TMBG to be great artists.

A story about "Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Aaron Swartz) — Wed, 25 May 2005 03:10:08 GMT

Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software

by Steven Johnson

An informative and entertaining read. I couldn’t put it down.

A story about "Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Aaron Swartz) — Wed, 25 May 2005 03:10:08 GMT

Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X

by Aaron Hillegass

Helpful guide.

A story about "Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Aaron Swartz) — Wed, 25 May 2005 03:10:07 GMT

Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software

by Sam Williams

Fun and informative read, if you’re interested in the subject matter.

A story about "The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Aaron Swartz) — Wed, 25 May 2005 03:10:07 GMT

The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time

by DOUGLAS ADAMS

The first part, while interesting, can be a bit repetitive. The second part, while unfinished, is pure joy.

A story about "Go to: The Story of the Math Majors, Bridge Players, Engineers, Chess Wizards, Scientists and Iconoclasts who were the Hero Programmers of the Software Revolution"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Aaron Swartz) — Wed, 25 May 2005 03:10:07 GMT

Go to: The Story of the Math Majors, Bridge Players, Engineers, Chess Wizards, Scientists and Iconoclasts who were the Hero Programmers of the Software Revolution

by Steve Lohr

Nothing super-exciting here, but interesting if you’re the kind of person who wants to know about all the people involved.

A story about "Machine Beauty: Elegance and the Heart of Technology (Repr ed) (Masterminds)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Aaron Swartz) — Wed, 25 May 2005 03:10:06 GMT

Machine Beauty: Elegance and the Heart of Technology (Repr ed) (Masterminds)

by David Gelernter

Informative and entertaining, like all Gelernter books. It’s quite convincing, and there are lots of fun thoughts about schooling and design.

A story about "Mirror Worlds: or the Day Software Puts the Universe in a Shoebox...How It Will Happen and What It Will Mean"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Aaron Swartz) — Wed, 25 May 2005 03:10:06 GMT

Mirror Worlds: or the Day Software Puts the Universe in a Shoebox...How It Will Happen and What It Will Mean

by David Gelernter

One of my favorite computer books ever. Every time I re-read it I find that Gelernter has already thought of my great new idea. It’s packed with new and entertaining thoughts. The only bad part is that they’re not all built yet.

A story about "The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Aaron Swartz) — Wed, 25 May 2005 03:10:05 GMT

The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual

by Christopher Locke

The authors are fun and so is this book, but in the end it’s not particularly informative. It’s mostly just a rant about companies that don’t talk to their customers. For those that are with it, the cluetrain is old hat.

A story about "The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Aaron Swartz) — Wed, 25 May 2005 03:10:05 GMT

The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence

by Ray Kurzweil

While boring at times and not particularly insightful, the final pages abou the future are sort of fun. You sort of wish Kurzweil would stop prophesizing and start building.

A story about "A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Aaron Swartz) — Wed, 25 May 2005 03:10:05 GMT

A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series)

by Christopher Alexander

The classic book. Makes you want to think about how to redesign your world and your life.

A story about "Building Wireless Community Networks"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Aaron Swartz) — Wed, 25 May 2005 03:10:04 GMT

Building Wireless Community Networks

by Rob Flickenger

A small book with nothing particularly thrilling on the subject. It’s potentially useful if you’re curious about the different forms of authentication and the differences between ad-hoc and managed mode, but the gritty details of how to set up a network for your community are sadly missing.