Book Review: The Paladin of Souls

The sequel to The Curse of Chalion, this book deals with the Dowager Ista, a minor character in that book who was deemed insane by her family and care-takers. Having decided that she'd had enough of being hemmed in, she decides to take off on a pilgrimmage, selecting a motley group of associates and followers. On the way, she encounters demons and an invading body of warriors. She then unravels the mystery of a border keep, finds her true love, and repels the invasion all in the space of days, while recovering her sanity and self confidence.

Ista isn't nearly as interesting a character as Cazaril, and none of the other major characters in the previous novel make an appearance here. The writing is good, but the book isn't nearly as tightly plotted. As a study in a character returning from depression and loss, Ista has too many Deus Ex Machina working in her favor for me to think her a particularly strong person. Nevertheless, the book was compelling and not a complete waste of time. It's not nearly as good as its predecessor, however.

Book Review: The Undercover Economist

This is a great book, and it actually lives up to its subtitle:Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, Why the Poor Are Poor--And Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car! Tim Harford explains a lot of phenomenon through the tools and lenses provided by modern Economics, and covers the main ideas behind the phenomena very well. He has an excellent but brief explanation of adverse selection, for instance, and why it makes it difficult for a fully private health insurance system to work well. Unlike many other authors who leave it at that, he explores a solution (Singapore's) that appears to work well and shows how successful you can be if you are willing to set aside ideology and adopt an engineering approach towards economic problems. (Not that Singapore's solution can be successful in the U.S. politically, but the ideas are worth considering at the very least)

If you don't know much about economics, this is a great book to read. In the process of pondering the phenomena Harford covers (and he covers them much better than any New York Times journalist ever will), you will learn a lot of economics. If you are an economics junkie like me, you're going to enjoy this book, even more so than Freakonomics. It truly is well-written, entertaining, and accurate. I have no fault to find with this book.

Book Review: The Developers

Ellen Spertus came across this book and gave it to me since I was in a slow period, and she claimed that the book was too cynical for her. Since I'm a cynical kind of person, I thought I'd be the perfect target audience for this book.

To my chagrin, I found that the problem wasn't cynicism, but perhaps one of generation gap. I think I must have missed all the cultural references in this book, not being born in this country nor a big watcher of television. But I'm a programmer, right? So the stuff about development should be interesting to me, right?

Unfortunately, the application in question was a city-search type application with lots of UI, and boring bulletin board, chat, and personals application for a small town. It's not even a challenge for undergraduates to build, so it's hard for me to suspend my disbelief and think that an interesting startup could be built around it. The characters themselves were unappealing: most of them seem incredibly obsessed with dating and their sex life. I guess I can believe that in a dot com startup (though I've been at two dot com startups, and it certainly wasn't the case that there was a ton of dating at work) that's staffed mostly with fresh graduates. Then again, the startups I've worked at in Silicon Valley tended to be staffed with experienced people for whom work was their main obsession.

Ultimately, I cannot recommend this book unless you're a hip young developer of the sort depicted in the book. Then again, since I've never been one of those either, even if you were a hip young developer of the sort depicted in the book, my guess is that you wouldn't take book recommendations from an old fogey like me.

Book Review: The Curse of Chalion

Lois McMaster Bujold, of course, is the author of the Miles Vorkosigan series, a character-driven science fiction series about a dimunitive but incredibly bright member of the Barraya clan. Her Vorkosigan series are definitely brain candy of the type that you can't possibly put down even if you wanted to.

Here, Bujold ventures into the realm of fantasy writing and her character-driven approach is even more appropriate her than it is for science fiction.

Cazaril is a broken man: a former military general who was betrayed and sold into slavery, he barely escaped with his life and walked back to the province where he was raised to ask for a position, any position. He does not seek revenge for his betrayal; he is just hoping to stay clear of court politics. To his chagrin, he is given the job of tutoring the young princess Iselle, who is hot-headed and righteous. When the princess is recalled to the capital along with her brother the heir apparent, Cazaril is drawn back to the politics he was trying to avoid, and finds himself embroiled in affairs of state that turn out to be far darker and sinister than the mere betrayal of his trust.

The novel is a great page-turner after the first section, as history, theology, and the motivations of all the characters are teased and weaved together tightly. Then as the big reveal (what is the Curse of Chalion) happens, the reader is challenged to see if he can unravel the plot before it becomes obvious. To my satisfaction, the apparent red herring turns out to be an essential clue, and though the ending is somewhat obvious, it was not a giveaway. (There was a gratituous happy ending that was obvious to anyone --- Bujold obviously loves Cazaril, that much is obvious)

The criticisms: the lead character is just a bit too perfect. A tutor who used to be a page, a fighting man, and a military general who now has no ambitions of his own, Cazaril is just a little too self-sacrificing to be truly believable. The classic scene comes when he bargains with the leader of a foreign land --- when offered gifts and bribes, he turns them all away, saying that he's got a tumor in his stomach and is going to die anyway, so the bribes are worth nothing to him.

Nevetheless, a good read, one of the best of the year.

Matt Stanton and Katelyn on the fire road

 

View of Almaden Valley from the dirt trail betwen Bohlman & Montevina

 

Katelyn approaching the On Orbit intersection

Katelyn bought her bike from Terry Shaw last Saturday, so she had to see how it climbed today. 

At the Intersection Bohlman Road and On Orbit

This ride was 42 miles and about 4450' of climbing. Brian said, "It's expanded my horizon on what steep means." 

Pharyngula: Noted without comment

Why I no longer read the New York Times. Scarlet probably still thinks I'm arrogant for thinking the Journalism or English majors have no place trying to interpret the complex world we live in for the intelligensia (the others don't read newspapers), but that someone who wrote this gets a promotion makes a mockery out of science:
I don't consider myself a creationist. I don't have any interest in sharing my personal views on how the canyon was carved, mostly because I've spent almost no time pondering my personal views -- it takes all my energy as a reporter and writer to understand and explain my subjects' views fairly and thoroughly.

Mt Tam Hike July 2nd

I returned to Mt. Tam on July 2nd with Matt Stanton to hike Steep Ravine and Matt Davis. We took the descent on Steep Ravine at a slow pace, since I was still feeling the effect of the long ride the day before. The vegetation looked a bit sorry, and the water was definitely at a low. The view to Stintson Beach was gorgeous, though, once we were out of the woods, and the clearing made the beach visible and pretty.

We got to the beach, however, and the temperature dropped 10 degrees, and it was too cold to stay and eat more than a power bar, so we made our way to the Matt Davis trail and started climbing it. Something over took us, and we started cranking up our pace and over-taking everyone we saw. Soon enough, we burst out of the woods into the open space with the clouds below us. We walked along the hillside, ignoring the Coastal trail turn-off, and soon found ourselves on top of the knoll overlooking San Francisco. A group of 4 on a double-date were having lunch there. I pointed out most of the interesting features to Matt, and we headed down the knoll to the West to see the lone tree and to see if we could see Point Bonitas Lighthouse (we couldn't).

We then headed back to the car, arriving there at 12:30pm, meaning that we had hiked 7.3 miles in 3 hours, despite a leisurely stop. The walk across England's made me a weaker cyclist, but I can definitely still walk.

Superman Returns

I went to Superman Returns because of Bryan Singer, who proved that he could make comic books into good movies in both X-Men 1 and 2. What I got was a good movie, but disappointing considering what I had expected. The plot was shallow, and the interaction between characters more than a little stiff. There was a lot of homage to the first Superman movie, so much so that I think it hurt the movie quite a bit.

The high point was Kevin Spacey as Luthor, and the lovely special effects that provided lots of beautiful stills for the movie. The look is definitely intriguing and the images linger long after you've seen the movie. Lisa thought Brandon Routh was very cute, maybe even cuter than Christopher Reeve. I thought Kate Bosworth looked better in the publicity stills than in the movies.

Maybe we can get Sam Raimi to make the next Superman movie.

Princeton University - Link between income and happiness is mainly an illusion

Despite the weak relationship between income and global life satisfaction or experienced happiness, many people are highly motivated to increase their income," the study said. "In some cases, this focusing illusion may lead to a misallocation of time, from accepting lengthy commutes (which are among the worst moments of the day) to sacrificing time spent socializing (which are among the best moments of the day).

This study shows what I've always suspected: that Americans have been doped into accepting ridiculous work conditions (60-80 hour weeks) in exchange for a marginally higher income than the rest of the industrialized countries, all of whom get at least 5 weeks a year to spend with their friends and family. Even with the meager vacation time they get, Americans don't usually take them. I've had former colleagues brag that they took their sabbatical and started a job at another company so they got 2 salaries at once for 5 or 6 weeks.

I remember at a gathering of friends who asked me how much I would think I'd need to not worry about work again. I answered with a figure well in excess of what most Americans would see in their lifetime, but my friends expressed amazement that I would be satisfied with so little! Granted these were Google old-timers who would turn out to be incredibly wealthy, but all it showed me was that no matter how much money you have, all that does is to raise your standards and tell you that you don't have enough.

But happiness can't be bought, and this study definitely illustrates that the impact of extra money on happiness is highly exaggerated.

The Lonely American Just Got a Bit Lonelier - New York Times

I find this story simply sad. To a large extent it rings true because American friendships tend to be shallow. It's hard to call someone a friend if they won't reply to your e-mail, or simply don't have time to go cycling, sailing, or even simply shoot the breeze. All of which makes me all the more grateful to the close friends and confidants that I have.

The real problem, however, is in the public realm. People who have no friends or close confidants are much less likely to be willing to invest in public infrastructure, in social security, in public education (why educate other people's kids?) or see the world in a broader realm outside that of their limited social circles. This breakdown of social circles cannot help but become a tragedy.

A recent study by sociologists at Duke and the University of Arizona found that, on average, most adults only have two people they can talk to about the most important subjects in their lives — serious health problems, for example, or issues like who will care for their children should they die. And about one-quarter have no close confidants at all.

Mt. Tam Ride

74 miles, 6840' of climb, with Roberto, Marius, Brian Wickman and Dana Levine. Lovely views of the fog on the coast and in the inland valleys, and pleasant temperatures, but no pictures!

We met at 8:30 at the Tamalpais High School Parking lot. Dana asked if I had a first aid kit in the car, since he had crashed into a seagull while riding over to meet us! After he cleaned up and I moved the car so it wouldn't be at risk of being towed, we started off. This was my first ride with Marius Eriksen, and it soon became apparently why other riders held him in awe. He sped away on the flats and up the hills quickly. When we got to Panaromic, we turned left and then descended Panaromic to Highway 1 in the fog.

I saw Dana fish-tail in front of me, which was a signal to pare back on my descent (not fast by anybody's standards). Brian later told me that he fish-tailed behind me as well, so evidently there was a spot of oil on that section of the road that I was just lucky to miss. Highway 1 curves around Muir Woods, normally providing a lovely ocean view that was enshrouded in fog.

A few climbs later, I was climbing alone, having given up on chasing any of the faster riders. When we stopped at the bottom of Panaromic Highway Roberto asked if I could look at his bike, since he felt like it wasn't as fast as it normally was. I looked at both front and rear wheels, and they were true and in good condition, so I couldn't help him. We tweaked Dana's front deraileur, which had been pushed out of alignment with his crash, and then began climbing Panaromic. I started climbing next to Roberto, and to verify that his bike was truly OK, we pedaled to about the same speed and started coasting, and when we slowed down at the same rate, concluded that his bike was no more broken than mine was.

We climbed through the fog, but after a few switchbacks Roberto concluded that it was in fact, something wrong with the way he felt today, so he announced that he would just ride back to the car and wait. He was indeed uncharacteristically slow on both the climbs and the flats, so when we regrouped at the Pan Toll Ranger Station I gave him my car keys and he rode back. We had burst through the fog while under the shade of the Redwood Trees along Pan Toll, and now rode strongly above the clouds. The temperature had warmed to about 80 degrees once we were above the fog, and below us we could see a spread of cloud cover spreading through the trees all the way to the horizon. It was a magical view, and I regretted not having a camera, mine being on loan to my mom who was travelling through China.

Past Ridgecrest drive, we continued to the summit, where the road wound around the mountain enough to show us that San Francisco and the Bay too, was enshrouded in fog, with only the top of Coit Tower peeking out through the fog. I was again, last up the mountain, and got there to see Mt. Diablo across the Bay, with its massive base in fog.

We made a rapid descent to Ridgecrest and headed North towards Fairfax Bolinas road. This is my favorite part of the ride, where you feel like you're riding on top of the world, clouds below you. Large groups of cyclists were coming at us the other way, so there was a club ride going on, but I did not stop to inquire as to what the ride was.

The descent on Fairfax Bolinas road was rough and bumpy, with just enough traffic to keep us from taking any risks around the blind corners. Once we linked up again with Highway 1, we headed North, over a series of sharp rolling hills, down the back of which we managed 38-40mph into Olema. We pacelined our way into Point Reyes Station, where we shared a pizza at the cafe.

Past Point Reyes Station, we turned right onto Point Reyes Petaluma Road, a long flat road along gentle terrain. I found a good position behind Marius and we all hung on as best as we could and begged him to ease up a bit on the gentle inclines so we could all stay together. Past the reservoir, we turned right onto Nicasio Valley Road, where we stopped at the Old Ranchiera turnoff to relieve ourselves and take a break. Soon after that, Nicasio Valley Road entered a shaded climb whose descent would drop us onto Sir Francis Drake. Ignoring the wide road, we took San Geronimo Valley road to by pass the traffic until the pass into Fairfax. We rode the pass into Fairfax separately, agreeing to meet at the turn off to the bike path.

I survived a rude driver and the fast descent into Fairfax, and then gathered with Dana and Marius to wait for Brian. He showed up a few minutes later, having fallen due to his chain dropping off as he shifted at the top of the hill. Fortunately, the traffic was in front of him, so other than a few scrapes he was OK. We then wound our way through San Anselmo and Larkspur through bike paths and backroads before making it to Mill Valley, where we split up, Marius and I heading back to the car while Dana and Brian riding home to San Francisco. We got back to the car at 3:45pm. Brian would get an excess of 105 miles and 10,000' of climbing by the time he got home.

Roberto was waiting for us when we got to the car (fortunately, he had brought a book with him). We would find out later that he had been dehydrated prior to the ride.

Manchester Public Urinal

This got rolled out in front of our eyes as we were headed to the shopping area. Would you use this? What would the equivalent version for women look like? 

Manchester Mounted Police

It's so unfair. Not just a bike response unit, but real mounted police too! And he wasn't a loner for tourists (Manchester not being really much of a tourist town), but had 2 or 3 compatriots! 

Cycle Response Unit

Perhaps it should not be surprising that a country where 30% of trips are done by bicycle (this was in Manchester, England) would have a cycle response unit for emergency response in the pedestrain only part of town. She was wearing an NHS logo, so this was the official government unit. Her panniers has room for most first aid gear, as well as an AEB.

I'm still kicking myself for being in too much of a hurry to stop and interview her. 

Packhorse versus SherpaVan

For those who have questions about Packhorse versus SherpaVan, as far as we could tell both services were equivalent in price and service. For the first 2/3rds of the walk, the SherpaVan usually beat the Packhorse in the delivery of the lugguage. The last 2 days of the walk, the Packhorse van was faster (we actually arrived before the lugguage on the last 2 days of the walk).

Packhorse advertises that you can ride the van for free with your lugguage if you can't walk the day. SherpaVan doesn't. However, our experience was that SherpaVan would happily take you along with the lugguage without a fee as well, so in practice this is not a distinguishing feature worth choosing one service or another over. Lisa can vouch for the fact that the two services enjoy a friendly rivalry and both companies work hard for your business.

We went with SherpaVan mostly because their web-site for accomodations booking is fantastic. (I've left comments with regards to various B&Bs there) Note that they have two accomodation services. You can prepay your accomodations, or you can have them book it and pay as you go. In retrospect, I should have opted for the former to hedge against the dollar taking a dive (which it did) before I arrived in England.

Patterdale Rest Day

We woke up and had a lazy, late breakfast before packing our bags and limping out down to Glenridding, which was where Ullswater was. The lake and its environments was almost certainly the inspiration for Wordsworth's most well-known poem, Daffodils. The reason we scheduled a rest day on this otherwise tiny town was that the lake had plenty to do! You could ride on the Steamers, rent a rowboat, or as we did, rent a sailing dinghy.

It had been about 5 years since I last sailed a dinghy, in South Africa, also with Lisa as the crew. But once we got on the boat and got going, it was as though I had never forgotten how. It was a windy day with lovely sunshine, and we had a lot of fun exploring the huge lake along with its little islands. The wind was even strong enough that we had to hike out and lean against the wind, along with all the thrills that that entailed. I had hoped that I would be able to rent a sailboat like this on the trip, but didn't not dare to imagine that the conditions would be so ideal.

Two hours of sailing cost us 40 pounds, a hefty sum, but on the other hand, life is measured by the experiences you have, and the experience was worth vastly more than that.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the shops of Glenridding, where Lisa did a bit of souvernir shopping, and I bought a compass. (A tip, the visitor center has much cheaper compasses than the outdoor store!) The compass would be a good buy, since I ended up using it a lot for the rest of the trip.

We had an early dinner at a bar in Glenridding, and then walked leisurely back to the Greenbank Farm in the beautiful sunset.

Grasmere Rest Day

We woke up to our first rest day knowing that we had to do laundry. We walked down to town and found that a bus arrived right as we did, so we got onto the open top double-decker bus. We arrived in Ambleside after a lovely experience of enjoying the wind in our hair (though a number of tree branches had a lovely habit of hitting the windshield of the bus with a loud THWACK!) to find that the laundromat was closed on Thursdays! The tourist information center told us there was a laundromat at Windermere that was open all week.

There were plenty of outdoor shops and bookstores, however, so we bought a trail map, a can of wax for my boots, and gaitors for each of us. Interestingly enough, once we bought them, we only had one occasion where there was a need to even have them, but that's the price you pay for good weather.

The trip to Windermere did not take too long, and we found the laundromat with little trouble, but had to buy laundry tablets. We took the opportunity to have lunch, and replenish our cash supplies at the ATM. We also visited the local library to use the internet connection.

On the way back from Windermere, we stopped off at the Dove Cottage, which was where Wordsworth spent his most productive years. The visit was educational and the self-guided audio tour of the museum very much worth visiting. (Plus, they give a discount to bus riders if you save the ticket and show it to them!) We ended the day at the Jumble Room with a fine dinner to fuel the next day's journey up to Helvellyn.