January 2007 Archives
Senator Barack Obama (D-Il.) will be speaking at the "Yes We Can!" rally this Friday at George Mason University. I'm reminded of a similar rally at UCSB in 1992, though the speaker was the candidate's wife. I shook Hilary Clinton's hand after her speach that Spring day. It's too early to form a strong opinion of Obama, but suffice it to say I find him intriguing. I'll be sure to post if I shake his hand, but it's very unlikely (i.e., I'm not going to try).
I didn't see the broadcast on Sunday, but 60 Minutes ran a story about usability including an interview with Human Factors Design guru Don Norman. Check it out here.
Sports Illustrated reports that, "Barry Bonds thinks Mark McGwire and Pete Rose belong in the Hall of Fame." Now why would Barry think that?
Like every other blogger out there, I'm posting on Apple's newly announced and highly anticipated iPhone. It looks incredible and I suspect the new functions are very cool. However, going with Cingular as its sole provider is a major stumbling block for me. Frankly, I don't know much about Cingular's service here in the DC area, but I'm a Verizon guy. It doesn't really matter for the short term, though, because I'll wait for the 2nd or 3rd generation version of the phone anyway. This "late adopter" approach has worked well for my Powerbook and iPod.
Every January I think about making a reading list for the year, but I've never followed through with actually making a list, let alone adhering to one. Rather than compiling a rigid list of books to be read without deviation, it seems better to have several books on the list with flexibility for the inevitable new discoveries and recommendations throughout the year. So, I'm in the process of compiling my 2007 Reading List and I'm looking for recommendations. I'm reading mostly non-fiction these days, but there are some classic fiction books that I've been meaning to read for a while. For example, Andy and I recently talked about reading Atlas Shrugged, so I'm open to such recommendations. However, if you recommend the latest John Grisham or, God forbid, Dan Brown book, you will be immediately banned from this blog. I generally have four categories that I like to read (not necessarily in order): politics/history, current events/interesting non-fiction ala Fast Food Nation, science and philosophy, and apologetics/theology.
Here are some of the books on my list so far:
The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (currently half-way through, and highly recommended reading for my conservative friends (read: my friends))
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity by Ronald Sider
Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences by Edward Tenner
How to Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method by G. Polya
Belief in God in an Age of Science by John Polkinghorne
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Philosophy of Science by Samir Okasha (very short)
Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant?: A Professor And a Punk Rocker Discuss Science, Religion, Naturalism & Christianity by Preston Jones (dialog between a Christian professor and Greg Graffin, the front man for the band Bad Religion who got a PhD in evolutionary biology)
Rethinking Human Nature: A Christian Materialist Alternative to the Soul by Kevin Corcoran (this seems so bold to me)
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis (author of Moneyball)
The Logic of Failure: Recognizing and Avoiding Error in Complex Situations by Dietrich Dorner, et al.
Calculated Risks: How to Know When Numbers Deceive You by Gerd Gigerenzer
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Turning Points,: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity by Mark A. Noll
God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It by Jim Wallis
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik
A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin (fourth book in a fantasy fiction series)
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell (I may be the last person to read it)
There are more that I could scrounge up, but this is a good start. I look forward to receiving your recommendations, including any comments on the books I've listed above. I may revise this post if I think of additional must-reads.
