All Consuming : Brian Egge

Consumed "The Pillars of the Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Oprah's Book Club)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:13:49 GMT

The Pillars of the Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Oprah's Book Club)

by Ken Follett

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Anna Karenina"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:46:41 GMT

Anna Karenina

by Leo Tolstoy

NOT WORTH IT!

A story about "The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:57:54 GMT

The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture

by John Battelle

The first half of the book was interesting, but the second half dragged on, in what is now old news. The first half was well researched, and presented an interesting history of how search engines evolved. Once the author got to the point of Google’s IPO, it seemed pretty much like random press clippings from that point on. Yes, Google is involved in litigation, but so is every other large company.

Could have been much better (rated 3 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:04:04 GMT

Confessions of an Economic Hitman (Unabridged)

by John Perkins

For the most part I enjoyed the book, and learning about John Perkins involvement in various countries was quite enjoyable. Some aspects of his story are similar to that in ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’.

Unfortunately, what could have been a thoroughly enjoyable book was masked by his endless rants, and completely one sided story.

A story about "Boiler Room"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 10:30:55 GMT

Boiler Room

by Ben Younger

After watching this movie, it made me want to score the ‘highest in our firm’ on the Series 7. Sadly, I don’t think I came close with an 88%. However, people quite surprised that I returned to work after taking the exam.

A story about "1984 (Signet Classics)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:54:44 GMT

1984 (Signet Classics)

by George Orwell

I just noticed today how Skype uses 1984 to show the formatting of your Skype chats. Pretty funny, but appropriate. One of Skype’s features is encryption is always on. They’re also not trying to compete in the home phone market, which should keep them from having to comply with US wiretap rules.

A review of "Java Concurrency in Practice"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 22:06:19 GMT

Java Concurrency in Practice

by Brian Goetz

I really enjoyed this read. I learned quite a bit more than what I was expecting too, especially with regards to changes in the JVM’s memory model. I liked the numerous code examples, showing the correct way to implement many Java idioms. This book would be a good follow up to Effective Java

A question I have about "The King of Queens - The Complete Eighth Season"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 12:33:34 GMT

The King of Queens - The Complete Eighth Season

This is the first season I’ve watched. I really enjoyed it and plan to watch more seasons. Which season should I watch next?

A story about "Out Past the Lights"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 12:29:43 GMT

Out Past the Lights

by Ana Egge

I was curious who this ‘Ana Egge’ was, so I bought her album on iTunes. While I really like Sarah McLachlan and Natalie Merchant, I found most of Ana’s songs to be rather bland and monotone. The one song I really enjoyed was ‘Wedding Dress’, which has that Paula Cole story telling element to it.

Interesting, but not amazing (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 08:47:47 GMT

On The Wealth of Nations (Books That Changed the World)

by P. J. O'Rourke

I enjoyed this book, particularly as it coincides with my economics class at school. The book started out quite funny, and gradually become less so, as O’Rourke began quoting more and writing less.

Far more interesting than reading the original I’m sure, and it’s probably better than any other book about Smith’s work.

A story about "City of God"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 11:34:46 GMT

City of God

by Fernando Meirelles

The film itself was far to graphic for my comfort level. Yes, it’s realistic, and I think it’s important for the world to understand the situation in Rio, but there was just to much non stop shooting and violence for me to be able to recommend the movie to any of my friends.

However, the DVD includes an hour long documentary, which was very worthwhile. It was amazing how they were able to get interviews with both the police and the dealers. I would recommend renting the movie, and just watching the documentary part.

A story about the last time I consumed "Flamin' Hot Cheetos"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:37:08 GMT

Flamin' Hot Cheetos

by Frito-Lay

Some friends just sent me a care package from the US. Included were two bags of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. It was very kind of them, and I’m really looking forward to savoring my Cheetos. Australia doesn’t have many of the spicy foods which I’ve been used to in the US.

Why I recommend "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 21:47:50 GMT

How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter

by Ann Coulter

The book could have been titled ‘Ann Coulter vs The New York Times’, and she continually trashed the Times throughout the book. If your a conservative, you probably don’t read the times, so this point was a bit over done. I particularly liked her article on ‘Dating in Washington D.C.’.

This book will be useful in having conversations with my colleagues at ThoughtWorks.

First feature length slideshow (rated 2 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 21:42:32 GMT

An Inconvenient Truth

When the Manly Council announced the free screening of An Inconvenient Truth, I figured if I saw the film I could in affect get $15 of my taxes back.

I was expecting some sort of National Geographic meets Super Size Me type documentary. Instead, it was Al Gore giving a PowerPoint (Keynote really) presentation. Interspersed with his lecture were random boring stories about his life. If the movie were simply a Gore biography I wouldn’t have gone to see it for sure, but I have no doubt liberals would have flocked to it just the same.

The subject matter in the film was nothing new. ‘The earth is getting warmer and we need to change the way we do things.’ I agree with that part of it, I just differ on the how. I also don’t think it’s wise for use to be sending trillions of dollars to countries who don’t particularly like the western world.

A review of "Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and unknowns in the dazzling world of derivatives"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:58:26 GMT

Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and unknowns in the dazzling world of derivatives

by Satyajit Das

While Satyajit Das presents a grim view of the world of derivatives, the entire book is quite entertaining. For example:

Traders and quants belong to different cultures. Traders are like two- or three-year-olds, have very short attention spans and want instant gratification. They are easily distracted, fortunately. Quants are precocious, bright individuals of the same age group, entirely self-absorbed and full of their own self-importance. They need constant reassurance and a fair bit of stroking and praise to keep them going. They are also prone to the odd tantrum and hissy fit. It helps to have the skills of a kindergarten teacher to run a trading room.

Satyajit manages to explain a lot of complicated ideas in an easy to understand fashion. I finally understand the difference between R, NR, MR, and MMR credit events.

The book also covered about every major disaster in the 25 years which derivatives have been actively traded. The author occasionally concedes that derivatives have done some good, his main thesis is that one should be approach them with extreme caution.

A review of "Thunderpants"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 11:14:13 GMT

Thunderpants

by Peter Hewitt

I only rented this movie because Keira Knightley was in it, but as it turns out, she only had a cameo appearance for about 10 seconds. You can see her entire performance on YouTube and skip renting the movie.

Would be worth watching if it were based on a non-fiction event (rated 2 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 11:55:23 GMT

Tears of the Sun (Special Edition)

by Antoine Fuqua

‘Blackhawk Down’ was a book and movie based on a historical event. ‘Tears of the Sun’ seems to want to be a hero/action movie which decided to take place in war torn Nigeria.

Some may say that it’s based on the Biafran War, but the whole idea of the rescue mission is fictional. A movie about the Red Cross doctors who served during the war and later went on to form Doctor’s Without Borders would have been very interesting, but certainly wouldn’t be staring Bruce Willis.

A two hour movie about modern day Darfur would be very moving, but again, there wouldn’t be a story about the Navy Seals being there, and there wouldn’t be a role for Bruce Willis.

The movie ends with the quote by Edmund Burke

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

While I agree with the quote, I don’t think this movie did anything to raise awareness of anything, but rather cause confusion, or make us think that the U.S. military is doing something to help to genocide in Africa. It doesn’t help that the movie is set in Nigeria, which has had civil war and terrible atrocities occurring, but is now a relatively peaceful nation which is best known for the various email scams they send out. Certainly this film doesn’t help our view of modern day Nigeria.

This film attempts to be “Black Hawk Down”, “Hotel Rwanda”, “Heartbreak Ridge”, and “Rambo”. Unfortunately, it was none of these and was rather disappointing.

Not as good as the 1965 Doctor Zhivago

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 11:00:34 GMT

Doctor Zhivago (TV Miniseries)

by Giacomo Campiotti

I really enjoyed Omar Sharif and Julie Christie in the original movie adaptation of Doctor Zhivago, and I’ve thought about reading the book.

I was hoping that the mini-series version would add more detail than what was possible in the original feature length film. Unfortunately, it did not seem like they made much use of the extra time, and in fact, it seemed like there was more of the story in the original version. The extra time in the mini series seems to be spent with long camera shots and slow transitions.

I like Yuri’s character: optimist, romantic, poet, dreamer. Kiera Knightley does an excellent job playing Lara. It’s unfortunate that the film’s wasn’t able to do a better job showing the characters age. Lara is supposed start the film at 16 and end somewhere about 30. Yuri seems to just grow more facial hair as he ages.

The thing I missed the most about this version of the film was the soundtrack. I can’t think of Dr. Zhivago without thinking about the soundtrack from the original motion picture. The music is a central theme in the original, and in the remake, it seems merely like an afterthought.

A story about the last time I consumed "Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 11:00:20 GMT

Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War

by Mark Bowden

I had the opportunity to attend a presentation done by the author. He visited MCAS Miramar and described the research research he did to write the book.

I’m glad that he wrote the book, as many people were not aware of the situation in Somolia, and the efforts of our troops over there at the time.

A story about "Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Classics)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 12:11:28 GMT

Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Classics)

by Jane Austen

I picked this book up in London’s Heathrow airport on my way back to the states quite some time ago. I nearly completed the book before I landed in the US. This has become one of my favorite books of all time.

The characters and dialog in the book are fantastic. I’ve enjoyed the movie adaptations mostly because they have kept so much of Jane Austin’s original dialog in them. Of course the movies have to abridge the dialog, but the parts which remain are virtually unchanged.

I like to think of myself as a poorer version of Mr. Darcy. I’m not particularly out going, but I try to always be a gentleman. I used to think I’ve could find a Victorian wife and bring her back to ‘Pemberley’, and life happily ever after.

Not half as good as 'Effective C++' (rated 2 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Brian Egge) — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 02:22:47 GMT

More Effective C++: 35 New Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs

by Scott Meyers

This book was a let down after having just completed reading Effective C+. Many of the 35 items are similar to ones in the other book, but often go into numbing detail. Some of the items weren’t specific to C+, and could be considered general patterns. Also, this book hasn’t been updated in a while, so the stuff on smart pointers is rather out of date.

Compared to a Deitel & Deitel book, this book is a great read.