by Rupe | May 29, 2005 | Not So Recent Reads
Author: Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Date: 29-May-05
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?
These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life, from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing, and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: Freakonomics.
Levitt and co-author Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives; how people get what they want or need especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they set out to explore the hidden side of…well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The secrets of the Ku Klux Klan.
What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter.
My Thoughts: A great read that does a decent job in tie a number of really remote idea together. Would recommend a read.
By the way, misguided biggots like Bill Benneth, the former republican Education Secretary tried to use it as a basis of one of his racist thoughts. Sorry, didn’t work dude!
by Rupe | May 25, 2005 | Not So Recent Reads
Author: Thomas L. Friedman
Date: 05-May-2005
When scholars write the history of the world 20 years from now, and they come to the chapter “Y2K to March 2004”, what will they say was the most crucial development? The attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the Iraq war? Or the convergence of technology and events that allowed India, China, and so many other countries to become part of the global supply chain for services and manufacturing, creating an explosion of wealth in the middle classes of the world’s two biggest nations, giving them a huge new stake in the success of globalization? And with this “flattening” of the globe, which requires us to run faster in order to stay in place, has the world gotten too small and too fast for human beings and their political systems to adjust in a stable manner?
In this brilliant new work, the award-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman demystifies the brave new world, allowing listeners to make sense of the often bewildering global scene unfolding before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues, Friedman explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the 21st century; what it means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; and how governments and societies can, and must, adapt. The World Is Flat is the timely and essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.
My Thoughts: Took me a while to get through this book. A really great read – comes well recommended.
by Rupe | Mar 29, 2005 | Not So Recent Reads
Author:
Date:
Once again Michael Crichton gives us his trademark combination of page-turning suspense, cutting-edge technology, and extraordinary research. State of Fear is a superb blend of edge-of-your-seat suspense and thought provoking commentary on how information is manipulated in the modern world. From the streets of Paris, to the glaciers of Antarctica, to the exotic and dangerous Solomon Islands, State of Fear takes the reader on a rollercoaster thrill ride, all the while keeping the brain in high gear.
My Thoughts: Great read. Recommend this book be taken on a long trip. Also a good book to curl up to on a long winter’s night.
by Rupe | Feb 25, 2005 | Not So Recent Reads
Author: Armand Nicholi, Jr
Date: 22 Feb- 2005
Renowned psychiatrist and educator Armand Nicholi presents a fascinating comparison of the beliefs of Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis. For all the variety of specific religious beliefs, there are fundamentally only two kinds of people: believers and nonbelievers.
In the 20th century, no spokesman was more prominent for nonbelief than Sigmund Freud, and nobody argued for belief more successfully than C.S. Lewis. From pain and suffering to love and sex, from God to morality, Lewis and Freud carefully argued opposing positions and even considered the chief objections to their positions. Based on years of studying both men, including wide access to Freud’s letters and teaching a popular course at Harvard comparing the two, this debate on the greatest of subjects strikes at the deepest chords in our souls.
My Thoughts: Probably one of the best books I have had the pleasure of reading. I would highly recommend a read for those who grapple with the idea of God.
by Rupe | Feb 23, 2005 | Workout Log
Today’s run – 2.0m/18.23 min
Mood: The tired feeling continued today….mostly because I spent approx 6 hours behind the steering….went to Jacksonville today. Goal starting tonite is to be in bed by no later than 11pm. that way I get aboout 7 hours of sleep or so. Will be working on refining my workout regiment over phase II in about a week. Will be bringing in weighs and cycling. Alternated today between 6, 7, and 8. 6(.25m): 7(.25): 8(.25):6(.25):7(.5) and then a mixof 6 and 7 to finish off the .5 mile. Finished off with 20 pushups, 20 curl ups, and 20 leg lifts.
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Week 3: 11.02m [Phase I.3] / [Total = 35.63m)]
Week 2: 10.89m [Phase I.2]
Week 1: 13.72 m [Phase I.1]
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Zocor up check…just too it. Ate pretty good today…not alot, turkey sandwich, chicken breat. Not gonna make much of it, as this is just a temporary phase….I have not exhaled yet, but today is literally my last day on active duty. As I write this piece the clock is exactly on 11:01pm; I will official be in a reserve status in exactly 1 hours time. It has been a mixed blessing. Materially, I got quite a bit, learned a lot, met a lot of great folks, but I have also seen the darker side of man as well. Won’t dwell on that tho, because, given what I have accomplished, I am already a winner and a bigger winner is yet to come. I wish the ones gone the best and the ones left behind the same. Fair Winds and Following Seas.
