Adam's Curse, by Bryan Sykes
Sykes is a rare bird: an accomplished scientist who can write for the layman. He describes results of recent research into the history and future of the Y chromosome, which is special: unlike the other chromosomes in the body, it does not get to participate in recombination, thereby it is the chromosome that accumulates errors and is now excessively specialized. The book is an exciting read, and a real pleasure --- easily one of the best science books of the year for me. His description is clear even for someone who's not a geneticist.
If the book has a fault, it is that he claims that sexual selection is directly responsible for many of the ills today --- women are attracted to powerful men (or in the case of Genghis Khan, who has 16 million modern men carrying his Y chromosome, were forced into bearing the children of powerful men), and power as well as money are hereditary in most patriarchical society, thereby increasing the amount of greed and avarice and rapacious treatment of the environment. In reality, however, even if women were the only gender in the population, the desire to achieve better environments for one's offspring is just as strong in the X chromosome, which imply to me that the world would be in no better shape if only women existed. I've certainly met enough short-sighted and greedy women to realize that those traits are not entirely driven by testosterone.
If you're going to buy this book, buy the updated paperback version. I read the older hardcover, but it should be the same material.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Thursday, September 29, 2005
| Advanced You scored 92% Beginner, 92% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 73% Expert! |
You have an extremely good understanding of beginner, intermediate, and advanced level commonly confused English words, getting at least 75% of each of these three levels' questions correct. This is an exceptional score. Remember, these are commonly confused English words, which means most people don't use them properly. You got an extremely respectable score.
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My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
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| Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid |
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
The Cheating of America, Charles Lewis
A so-so book about tax evasion. Rather than presenting a coherent case about tax evasion, how it happens, and what legislation went into making it possible, the book is just one series of stories after another about successful tax evasion. Sure, it makes your blood boil, but after the umpteenth story, you feel kinda defeated instead of angry.
Read Perfectly Legal instead, a much better book about the same topic.
A so-so book about tax evasion. Rather than presenting a coherent case about tax evasion, how it happens, and what legislation went into making it possible, the book is just one series of stories after another about successful tax evasion. Sure, it makes your blood boil, but after the umpteenth story, you feel kinda defeated instead of angry.
Read Perfectly Legal instead, a much better book about the same topic.
Monday, September 26, 2005
A Distant Soil 2: Ascendant, by Colleen Doran
The pace finally picks up and the story coheres. Doran steers away carefully from many adult issues, however, so the book never quite gets to the level of maturity I've seen from more seasoned writers. Again, something you should check out from the library but not buy.
The pace finally picks up and the story coheres. Doran steers away carefully from many adult issues, however, so the book never quite gets to the level of maturity I've seen from more seasoned writers. Again, something you should check out from the library but not buy.
Orbiter, Warren Ellis and Colleen Doran
A comic book that works too hard to inspire. I'm a science geek and I definitely believe that man should find a way to go to the stars. Having said that, glorifying the space shuttle is not the way to go. There are lots of other more innovative approaches (such as the Space Elevator) that deserve consideration that NASA's budget wouldn't allow if it was all spent taking care of the shuttle.
A comic book that works too hard to inspire. I'm a science geek and I definitely believe that man should find a way to go to the stars. Having said that, glorifying the space shuttle is not the way to go. There are lots of other more innovative approaches (such as the Space Elevator) that deserve consideration that NASA's budget wouldn't allow if it was all spent taking care of the shuttle.
The Search, by John Battelle
I was eager to read this book, since I joined Google just 2 years ago, when a lot of the history had already happened. (Amongst my big questions were: what happened during the experiment with traditional engineering managers?) Unfortunately, Battelle did not get that much access to Google, and hence was unable to write a complete account. Regardless, this book is worth reading, and since it is relatively short, won't take up too much of your time.
It remains for a Google old-timer to write the definitive book about Google's early history.
Eric Schmidt comes across as a man who is comfortable in his own skin. He's been a CEO or top executive for more than two decades, having been CTO at Sun, where he mad his first small fortune, then CEO of Novell, a major IT company, where he made his second. He knows when to smile, when to be gracious, when to keep quiet, and when to answer a difficult question with self-effacing acknowledgment. He brandishes subtle and humorous double entendres like a Japanese swordsman, a trait that almost offsets the superiority complex he shares with nearly every talented engineer in the Valley.
Despite these skills, one gets the impression that Eric Schmidt has yet to get entirely comfortable with his place at Google, his title as CEO notwithstanding...
I was eager to read this book, since I joined Google just 2 years ago, when a lot of the history had already happened. (Amongst my big questions were: what happened during the experiment with traditional engineering managers?) Unfortunately, Battelle did not get that much access to Google, and hence was unable to write a complete account. Regardless, this book is worth reading, and since it is relatively short, won't take up too much of your time.
It remains for a Google old-timer to write the definitive book about Google's early history.
Eric Schmidt comes across as a man who is comfortable in his own skin. He's been a CEO or top executive for more than two decades, having been CTO at Sun, where he mad his first small fortune, then CEO of Novell, a major IT company, where he made his second. He knows when to smile, when to be gracious, when to keep quiet, and when to answer a difficult question with self-effacing acknowledgment. He brandishes subtle and humorous double entendres like a Japanese swordsman, a trait that almost offsets the superiority complex he shares with nearly every talented engineer in the Valley.
Despite these skills, one gets the impression that Eric Schmidt has yet to get entirely comfortable with his place at Google, his title as CEO notwithstanding...
My 20% project makes the New York Times!
Sure, it's a short piece, and most of it quotes Hal Varian, who's much more of an expert on prediction markets than I ever will be, but WOOHOO! One would think that after 14 years in the industry, I would have gotten over something like this (after all, Mpath, HearMe, and Quake all got in the news quite a bit), but it's different when it's your personal 20% project, as opposed to something that's part of a corporate charter. (Though the Mpath will always be dear to my heart)
Sure, it's a short piece, and most of it quotes Hal Varian, who's much more of an expert on prediction markets than I ever will be, but WOOHOO! One would think that after 14 years in the industry, I would have gotten over something like this (after all, Mpath, HearMe, and Quake all got in the news quite a bit), but it's different when it's your personal 20% project, as opposed to something that's part of a corporate charter. (Though the Mpath will always be dear to my heart)
Sunday, September 25, 2005
OK, now that I've hiked half-dome, I don't have to do it again. It was crowded. The hike was long and towards the end more than a little painful. I'm still sore 24 hours later (though I'll admit I'm not in great hiking shape). It might be more fun when it's less crowded, but this hike reminded me why I always do my trips from Tuoloumne Meadows and almost never visit Yosemite Valley any more.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Patri provides more details on my 20% project
I'm so glad this 20% project was more than just me. I certainly don't have the ability to do the kind of analysis that he did, and I'm definitely happy to have someone show that the results are useful. Reminds of my TinyMUCK work, where I did a bunch of stuff for fun, but really didn't see the significance of it until much later.
I'm so glad this 20% project was more than just me. I certainly don't have the ability to do the kind of analysis that he did, and I'm definitely happy to have someone show that the results are useful. Reminds of my TinyMUCK work, where I did a bunch of stuff for fun, but really didn't see the significance of it until much later.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Now I can talk about it
Every so often I'll talk to someone who knows I work at Google. Invariably, the question will come up if they're technically savvy, "Is it true that that everyone gets 1 day a week to work on whatever they like?" I answer, "Yes." "What did you do with your time?" Unfortunately, I don't usually say much. But now I can point to this, and say, "I wrote the trading engine." (Actually, I rewrote it a couple of times before getting it right)
Every so often I'll talk to someone who knows I work at Google. Invariably, the question will come up if they're technically savvy, "Is it true that that everyone gets 1 day a week to work on whatever they like?" I answer, "Yes." "What did you do with your time?" Unfortunately, I don't usually say much. But now I can point to this, and say, "I wrote the trading engine." (Actually, I rewrote it a couple of times before getting it right)
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