I can (and do) read

Yesterday's blog post was a bit of a right-before-bed brain dump onto the keyboard, so I apologize if any of the recap of the last month seemed disjointed, out of context, or just plain confusing.

In the past few weeks, I have finished reading a few books, only one of which I mentioned in my post last night.  In light of that omission, I thought I would write a follow-up post describing, in slightly more detail, some of the things I have been reading in print, on the Kindle (electronic e-Reader), and online (Right here on this very laptop.  No, not your laptop, silly!  This one that I'm typing on.).

In print, I had been working on Genome - The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters before I left for the UK and Europe.  Knowing that bike equipment, winter clothing, rain gear, extra undies, various bike tools, and my passport would take up quite a lot of space and be heavy, I left this one in California while I went gallivanting on the east side of the Atlantic.  Upon returning to the US, I finished it.  In chapters 1-22 (with chapter "X and Y" inserted between numbers 7 and 8), Matt Ridley describes some of the interesting implications of various genes inhabiting our genome.  In each case, he examines a gene located in a chromosome corresponding to the chapter number (or name) and relates it to some real-life condition the reader could likely relate to (more so than a purely academic paper).   The author presented a wide range of topics in a clear but entertaining manner, such that even an electrical engineer (or somebody else who is not a biologist) could understand them.  Good work Mr. Ridley!

After finishing up Genome, I turned direction slightly and dove head-first into George Carlin's autobiography, Last Words.  I say a slight change in direction because I went from the autobiography of a species to the autobiography of a particularly unusual example of a species that most everyone reading this blog belongs to.

I saw George Carlin perform at the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs in fall 2006.  It was the first and last time we ever crossed paths, and in hindsight, I now regret not having stuck around after the show for a handshake, an autograph, or a moment of connection that George describes having enjoyed with audience members many times over the course of his career.  After reading his book, I have a new-found appreciation for the struggles he went through with substance abuse, health problems, and family upheaval.  I can only hope that his wish was granted, that after he died he would not be buried or cremated, but rather blown up.  Hats off to George and Tony Hendra, who finished up the book in George's absence.

Anyone who has journeyed the internet for more than an hour has likely encountered a Chuck Norris joke somewhere along the way.  That leads to the 3rd book I have finished recently: The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book.  It is a compilation of 101 of Chuck's favorite "facts" from the web, each one combined with a short story, quote, anecdote, or other relevant statement from Chuck.  While I disagree with some of his political and religious views sprinkled throughout the book, there is a wealth of good advice regarding honor, commitment, goal setting, hard work, perseverance, respect, motivation, and mind-set.  On top of that, there are some comic gems such as:
To eliminate obsolete pennies, Chuck Norris stretches them into $5 bills - since Lincoln is on both anyway.
And the occasional sci-fi paradox such as:
Chuck Norris was born in a log cabin that he built with his bare hands.

This one is a quick read, but could easily entertain one for a plane trip or an afternoon in line at the DMV.

The 4th print book I finished recently was Drive, the popular/practical psychology book on motivation that I described in my post yesterday.

On to the Kindle!  So far, I've downloaded a couple of the free (older) e-Books from Amazon to read wherever I take this magical e-Reader.  So far, I've finished Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, and am part way through Common Sense by Thomas Paine and the Essays - First Series by Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau questions many aspects of government, and describes an interesting "ideal" state where the state's regard for people is so high that it allows them to choose to participate, or not, as they see fit rather than as the state decides.  It is a nice idea, but likely too idealistic to be realized with the assortment of cultures that inhabit our world today.  It's always good to have a goal, though, and I think this would be a worthy goal for all governments.  That goal being, to hold the liberty and wishes of each individual person above the perceived necessities of the state entity.

Finally, I've been doing some reading online, accumulating data to help in deciding where my next career path will lead.  Over at the IDGA website, there are a couple of primer articles on electronic warfare; Electronic Warfare 101, Electronic Warfare 102, and Electronic Warfare 103.  These are real-world not-always-so-friendly applications of some of the products I have worked on at my last two jobs.  In addition to the EW articles, I read a primer on adaptive optics from the Photonics Online newsletter.  Adaptive optics have all sorts of applications from correcting for atmospheric effects in astronomy to improving the resolution for medical imaging; worth a read, and not overly technical (even an electrical engineer can understand this one).

Until next time, keep reading, keep riding, and keep writing comments.  Anyone who made it this far in a post with no pictures deserves a prize.  Whoever makes the wittiest comment will receive a prize, to be determined at an appropriate date.  The prize may or may not be appropriate (or worth anything).