All Consuming : dvf1976

A story about "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:13 GMT

by Cory Doctorow

A story about "Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:08 GMT

Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy

by Christopher Phillips

Let people who do not know what to do with themselves in this life, but fritter away their hope for eternal life. If one loves intensely, the time comes when death seems bliss… The life I want is a life I could not endure in eternity. It is a life of love and intensity, suffering and creation… As one deserves a good night’s sleep, one also deserves to die. Why should I hope to wake again? To do what I have not done in the time I’ve had? All of us have so much more time than we use well… Lives are spoiled and made rotten by the sense that death is distant and irrelevant… [B]ut it makes for a better life if one has a rendezvous with death… There is nothing morbid about thinking and speaking of death. Those who disparage honesty do not know its joys.

pp160

A story about "Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:07 GMT

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

by Lynne Truss

“A woman, without her, man is nothing.”

“A woman without her man, is nothing.”

Punctuation matters!

A story about "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:07 GMT

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal

by Eric Schlosser

This was probably the wrong book to read after starting the Atkins Diet again…

Unsanitary conditions at the meat-packing plant and ecoli bacteria are not good for my appetite.

A story about "Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:07 GMT

Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market

by Eric Schlosser

We have been told for years to bow before “the market.” We have placed our faith in the laws of supply and demand. What has been forgotten, or ignored, is that the market rewards only efficiency. Every other human value gets in its way. The market will drive wages down like water, until they reach the lowest possible level.

pg 108

A story about "The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:07 GMT

The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever

by John Feinstein

“Do you have any kind of funny taste in your mouth?” the doctor asks, his voice soft. He is peering into the face of Rudy Tomjanovich, 29-year-old starting forward for the Houston Rockets. The four-time all-star is lying in the emergency room of a Los Angeles hospital. The date is Dec. 9, 1977.
Yes, Tomjanovich says. It’s very bitter. What is it?
“Spinal fluid,” comes the soft reply. “You’re leaking spinal fluid from your brain.”

That’s simultaneously awesome and awful!

A story about "Pattern Recognition"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:04 GMT

Pattern Recognition

by William Gibson

Audio

LOMBARD = Loads Of Money, But A Read Dickhead.

Ha!

A story about "A March to Madness: A View from the Floor in the Atlantic Coast Conference"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:03 GMT

A March to Madness: A View from the Floor in the Atlantic Coast Conference

by John Feinstein

Jeff McGinnis was a freshman during Derrick Phelps’s Senior year.

Derrick Phelps was a “pass-first, shoot-second” player, and Duke’s Grant Hill knew that.

Hill would give Phelps some space to shoot and said: “Come on, Derrick, shoot the ball”

After McGinnis rotated in, Hill gave the Freshman even more room (because he knew the inexperienced point guard wouldn’t know what to do with it).

Hill was right. McGinnis couldn’t hit the shots he took.

When Phelps came in for McGinnis, McGinnis said to (his opponent) Hill.

“Keep riding Derrick.”

What a dick move!

A story about "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:03 GMT

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

by David Sedaris

Audio

This is the first audio book I’ve completed while commuting to/from work.

A story about "Next: The Future Just Happened"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:03 GMT

Next: The Future Just Happened

by Michael Lewis

Audio

I listened to this book on the way up to Scott & Stacey’s wedding.

It was pretty good.

The 15 year old stock trader who made half a million in the market was a pretty funny and enlightening story.

A story about "Kant in 90 Minutes: Library Edition"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:03 GMT

Kant in 90 Minutes: Library Edition

by Paul Strathern

Audio

Ugh. I’m not a fan of Kant. I’d like to think that philosophy does not need to be so obscure.

A story about "Bleachers"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:03 GMT

Bleachers

by John Grisham

Audio

Recommended by Alan Fisher.

Pretty good little book. Coming back from 30-0 at halftime seems like a stretch, but I guess it’s possible.

A story about "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:02 GMT

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto

by Chuck Klosterman

Let us assume you met a rudimentary magician. Let us assume he can do five simple tricks – he can pull a rabbit out of his hat, he can make a coin disappear, he can turn the ace of spades into the Joker card, and two others in a similar vein. These are his only tricks and he can’t learn any more; he can only do these five. HOWEVER, it turns out he’s doing these five tricks with real magic. It’s not an illusion; he can actually conjure the bunny out of the ether and he can move the coin through space. He’s legitimately magical, but extremely limited in scope and influence.
Would this person be more impressive than Albert Einstein?

A story about "A Coach's Life"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:02 GMT

A Coach's Life

by Dean E. Smith

Dean is the MAN!

The chapter “I May Be Wrong, but” is exactly what I think religion should be all about.

Less about fear and more about love and faith.

A story about "The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (Authorized Edition)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:02 GMT

The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (Authorized Edition)

by National Commission on Terrorist Attacks

Audio

Meh.

I liked Richard Clarke’s book better.

A story about "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:02 GMT

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

by Malcolm Gladwell

This book is fantastic!

It puts forward dynamics of systems that I could sense, but never articulate

A story about "Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot.Com Juggernaut"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:02 GMT

Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot.Com Juggernaut

by James Marcus

A reminder: art is not a popularity contest.

pp 226

A story about "The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:01 GMT

The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations

by James Surowiecki

Audio

Terrific book!

I like it when a book uses points-of-reference that I immediately recognize in order to draw conclusions.

Mike Martz, Moneyball, The Tipping Point, and Linux are all things that I know something about; So, it doesn’t take a lot of reorienting myself to understand the author’s argument.

A story about "Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:01 GMT

Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction

by Kurt Vonnegut

Audio

The St. Nick story was excellent.

A story about "Pragmatic Version Control Using CVS"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:01 GMT

Pragmatic Version Control Using CVS

by David Thomas

I read this as soon as I started working at my new position at Red Hat. (I was hired to be a phone tech, but I prefer programming)

A story about "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking"

nobody@allconsuming.net (dvf1976) — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:08:01 GMT

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

by Malcolm Gladwell

Another fantastic book by Malcolm Gladwell.

I tried out the Pepsi/Coke challenge with my wife and it was right on the money.

The fact that so many CEOs are over 6 feet tall is weird!