Author: andrew

Yahoo! Answers

I’ve recently come across a fascinating attention economy knows as Yahoo! Answers.  It’s a place where you can log on and ask questions.  Or answer questions.  Or rate other people’s answers.  “What kind of questions can I ask?” you wonder.  That’s a great question.  You should log in and see what kind of questions other people are asking.  I’ve been addicted to this service all week now.  For joining, you get 100 points.  Every question you ask costs you 5 points.  Every questions you answer garners you 2 points, and when your answer is chosen as the best answer to a question, you earn 10 points.  When you earn a certain amount of points, you get….. something.  I don’t know what the something is yet, but I reached level 2, and Yahoo! assures me that there’s something special headed my way.  When I reached level 2 without a significant reward, I kind of gave up on this as an obsession.  I thought I’d come back to daily blogging instead.  Check out Yahoo Answers anyway; it’ll be worth your time.

Audio Books I’ve Been Listening To

  • The Search: How Google and its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture, by John Battelle.  Fascinating listening.  Battelle knows his stuff, and presents a thoughtful, well-rounded look at search that ranges from the theoretical to the historical, anthropoligical, technological, and literary aspects of search.  He starts his book by examining what he calls the database of intentions.  This is the aggregate or click-stream that comes from people’s searching habits.  What people are searching for is what they care about.  You can see a snapshot of this at Google Zeitgeist.  For some damn reason, Battelle occassionally uses profanity when it’s probably not needed.  I found that *%^&ing odd.  In the epilogue, he lays out a brilliant narrative of the human search for immortality, drawing from the Epic of Gilgamesh, mankind’s earliest known writing. Overall, this book is moderately recommended.  I really enjoyed it, but I think most of my readership would just kinda’ enjoy it.
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey.  For some reason, I felt a little cheesy listening to this as an audio book.  I felt like I was back in the 80’s, listening to self-help literature on a cassette tape as I rush from one big-city sales meeting to another.  But the material itself was decent.  I’ve read the book twice previously, so it was mostly review for me.  But the author, who was also the reader, did throw in some new material by way of examples and such.  Covey’s psuedo-Christian Mormon-ness emerges pretty strongly.  Good concepts, though.  The book is divided into two parts.  In the first part, he sets up principles on which he bases the habit.  In the second part, he enumerates the habits themselves.  I found the second part particularly useful.
  • The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown.  I’ve read the book, and I really enjoyed it.  I know what you’re thinking: “Isn’t that an anti-Christian book?”  Well, sorta.  It’s more anti-Catholic than anything.  It kind of promotes goddess worship and pagan practices.  By now you might think I’m looney or have turned from my faith or something because I said I enjoyed the book.  I assure you, I haven’t turned from my faith.  (I may be a little looney, though.  I’ll let you judge that for yourselves.)  The reason I enjoyed the book is that it’s darn good fiction.  It’s a fun read, and I’ve always been a sucker for a fun read.  Also, I have the ability to read critically.  I don’t believe or buy into everything I read.  I’m not going to read the DaVinci code and worship goddesses any more than I’m going to read it and start searching for the holy grail (also featured).  You see, Brown starts from a flawed premise: that right religion worships equal parts male and female god, and the Catholic church has been suppressing the female side of that equation for centuries.  He also has a bit of a flawed assumption that the (pre-Christian) ancients know more than we do today.  To assume such is to deny both the power of revelation and the wisdom gathered through a long lilterary tradition of philosophers, scientists and Christistian thinkers.  I’m able to enjoy the book because I can take the entire work as fiction and enjoy the story while analyzing and walling off the mistruths, flawed premises, and outright fabrications.  I listened to 6.25 hours of the audio book yesterday, so compelling is the storytelling.

If anyone wants to borrow any of these audio books, I have CDs of them.

Today Show Interview about The DaVinci Code

  • Ian McKellen, on whether there should be a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie to clarify that it’s fiction: “I’ve often thought there should be a disclaimer at the beginning of the Bible. I mean, walking on water? That takes a bit of…….faith or something.”
  • My response: “Yep, Ian, that’s what makes those things supernatural. When you start by acknowledging that such things don’t naturally happen, it means they’re miracles and thus worthy of the telling.”
  • Matt Laurer: “Paul, when you got the call that you were going to be the killer albino monk, how long did it take you to say yes?” Paul Bettany: “It took about ought-point-three seconds to say yes to that. It doesn’t matter what else you have going on. You can’t turn down an offer like that.”
  • My response: “I think if I got a call asking if I want to play a killer albino monk, I’d say yes, too. Who wouldn’t? I’m looking forward to seeing the movie just to see Paul Bettany. He’s great.”

Enough with the boring, the philosophical, and the book reports: a Tribute to a Teacher

Today, I’ve got some great news. My father, Larry Shinn, has been selected as the teacher of the year in Lodi, California. I’m so proud of him! He’s approached an increasingly difficult teaching environment with a caring, realistic attitude. As in any career, some times were tougher than others. But he’s persevered, and many students have benefited. In particular, he’s worked hard to share his love of science with students. He runs a science club at school and works at the district level with other educators on science education initiatives. The need for educators with a passion for science can’t be overstated. Many of the U.S.’s academic, ethical and national security issues in the coming decades will be decided not by policymakers in joint session but by scientists in lab coats. Some of these scientists may catch their passion as students at the gentle encouragement of Mr. Shinn. Other students will grow up to vote at the ballot box, with their consumer behavior, and with their labor resources on issues requiring an  understanding of scientific principles. They and the future they build may very well owe great thanks to Mr. Shinn. Let me be the first to express that thanks. “On behalf of my children, Mr. Shinn, thank you!”

The humans behind the 9/11 attack

I’m reading, as you know, the 9/11 Commission Report.  It’s emimently readable, but nothing like reading fiction.  In fiction, each detail contributes to the story.  In the report, there are many details that don’t contribute to the story.  They are just facts.  And way too many characters.
Perhaps most striking to me today is the account of the pilot-highjackers and their preparations for the attack.  They came to the U.S. a year or two in advance to learn English and attand flight school.  Two of the terrorists stayed in San Deigo for a period of time.  They proved terrible students, and never did learn English.  It must have been lonely, having cut off all communication with their families.  One of them had an especially tough time transitioning to the United States.  When he received work that his first child had been born, it was the last straw.  He went AWOL and returned to his home country (Yemen, I believe).  Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the famous mastermind behind the plot, was furious.  He wanted to kick this man off of the team.  Bin Laden disagreed, and the would-be father was eventually ‘returned’ to the team.  I wonder what his wife thought.  I wonder if she knew what her husband was going to do.  Twisted ideals or no, there’s something elemental in the love of a wife that must have cried out at her husband’s willingess to martyr himself for his faith in a brutal act of savagery.

Before today, I’d never thought about the humans behind the attack; I’d only thought of the acts.  Truly, looking at their thumbnail-sized low-quality photos printed in duotone on the pages of a book was a moving experience for me.  I just stared at those pictures and wondered what kind of zeal must have possessed these men that they would plan for several years to die.  Two years is a long time to know the date of your death, and it’s a long time to lose your nerve or change your mind.  I wonder whether any of them changed their minds, or had to talk each other back into following the plan.

Fascinating to put faces to the savagery.

New Ways to Read?

I’ve always been somewhat of a reading traditionalist.  I like reading books.  I like pages.  I like the smell of old books.  When I open a classic like Plutarch’s Lives inthe 1910 printing from the Harvard Classics series, the scent is unmistakable.  It’s like I’m breathing rarefied air.

So this new step is a real departure for me.  I’ve started experimenting with book content in two new electronic forms.  I bought my first e-book the other day (not counting the Bible that I purchased for my last Palm Pilot) from a company called 37signals.  It’s their manifesto on how to create new companies based around simple web application.  It’s a bit disappointing as a read.

Today I realized that I’ve been subscribed to audible.com for a few months now.  It was one of those trial memberships that I forgot to cancel, and I now have enough credit to download 7 full audiobooks and listen to them on my computer, CDs, or my iPod.

Configuring my computer to download the books was a little bit of a challenge.  I actually had to call audible.com’s tech support, but I solved my own problem while I was on hold with them (and explained to them how I’d solved it, in case someone else has that particular problem).

So, the first book I downloaded is called The Search by John Battelle.  It’s subtitled How Google and its rivals rewrote the rules of business and changed out culture.  I’ll let you know how it is.  Should be 10 hours worth of interesting listening, at the very least.

Comments

I know the comments weren’t working.  I fixed them, and they should be just fine now.  As always, I appreciate your feedback and discussion; it’s what keeps this blog from being a tinny single-trumpet band.  I hope to return to our orchestral days soon!

– Andrew

Walking yet another line

As I’m reading the 9/11 Commission report, I’m constantly frustrated by the frequent opportunities the U.S. had to stop Usama bin Laden before the September 11 attacks. We were stopped by small things like a lack of logistical support for covert operations or our standing national policy against assasination. These things seem so petty in hindsight. Those in charge seem guilty of lacking the political will to act. I keep feeling like I’m reading a story with the end written first, and the lead-up written as one long flashback. I keep wanting to yell to the key players, “They’re all going to die in the end unless you do something!”

Fast-forwarding to the present, our country is engaged in a lot of practices in our efforts against terrorism that draw legitimate questions from within our borders and throughout the global community. I’ts been recently revealed that the CIA has a network of prisons worldwide at which the United States ‘detains’ people without trial and uses questionable interrogation methods. I stand in a long line of people claiming to abhor that practice. But I can also imagine reading about the next attack in another commission’s report and wondering why we didn’t do more. I can imagine wondering why we were so squeamish when innocent lives were on the line and why we lacked the political will to act when so many lives were in danger. For now, I’ll suspend judgement and not choose a position for or against our government’s practices. Questioning such practices is healthy. Specifically, I ask you this question: How far is too far in trying to stop evil? It’s a classic ethical question with very observable outworkings. Are we going too far now? Should we have gone further before September 11, 2001?

I’ll keep reading the commission’s report. But I know how the story ends, and it saddens me. They all die.

Andrew’s Literary Look-Ahead

This will be a summer of unfinished works. Here’s the meal slated to slake my literary palate during the coming summer months:

  • The 9/11 Commission Report: I’m halfway through and actively engaged with this book. It is a detailed account of the terrorist attacks on America, including quite a bit if Al-Qaeda’s history. I feel like I’m studying terrorist-ology. It’s not difficult reading, but it has more characters to keep track of than a Tom Clancy novel.
  • My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir: I picked this book up 8 years ago and read only the first chapter. I’m hoping that 8 years of additional maturity and my vicinity to the Sierra Nevada Mountains will render this work more interesting now than when I last attempted it.
  • We Were Soldiers Once…. And Young by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.): This account of one of the U.S.’s first major engagements of the Vietnam War is simultaneously raw and eloquent. It covers with striking candor the ills of war and the hardships of battle. Written by a warrior, the slant is toward moment-to-moment accuracy, resisting the urge to glorify ugly events. I’m 300 pages into this 475-page work. What do I hope to gain from reading this? It’s history. I hope to have my repulsion for war and killing renewed and my respect and appreciation for those involved polished.
  • A Son of Thunder by Henry Mayer: This work of history covers a different war, and men who made different sacrifices. Specifically, it’s about Patrick Henry. He’s one of those supporting actors on America’s historical stage whose colorful life and notable role in the founding of America hold interest from many angles. This is another one that I’ve started and not finished.
  • War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: This book is almost the archtype of old, thick, boring books. Tolstoy knew both aristocracy and war during his lifetime, and wrote this book as an epic struggle of men and nations. It comes highly recommended as one of the greatest works in world literature, and only cost me $5.98 in hardcover form at Barnes and Noble. I’m really looking forward to it.
  • Washington, the Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner: My study of our founding father continues, and my amazement at the wisdom and far-sightedness with which they structured our country continues to grow. Though they had no idea what changes time would have wrought, they passed to us a government of rigid structure and flexible function. It’s a fascinating combination that has served us well for more than 200 years. I hope that others like me study the words and actions of our forefathers and gain wisdom for how to conduct our nation along the critical passages and rocky shoals of the future.

What’s on your summer reading list and why?