Saturday, February 26, 2011
Still reading "Lord of the Rings"
Still at "Lord of the Rings", reading to my 9 year old son. He may be in university when we finish - not the easiest book to read aloud.
Wired - November 2010
Found and read the November 2010 issue of Wired - perhaps the cleavage on the cover led it to be quickly and quietly filed away.
Nice issue - cover story about breast reconstruction options through the use of stem cells harvested from fat cells in the body of the patient. Breasts are seen as a potential early use of the technology given to the relatively low risk of death in reconstruction when compared to hearts or other organs. Recovery from mastectomy and lumpectomy with few side-effects, low post-surgical trauma/recovery (same day home) and positive 6 and 12 month follow ups are all good. Long term fear of recurrence or incubation of potential cancer sites is a concern that can't be addressed given the short history of use. Heart attack and other key potential uses mean that this is a tech to watch.
Nice article on the origin of the computer - a pre-ENIAC, much smaller, binary device that was completed before the start of the ENIAC project......Background on attempts to dethrone TicketMaster for ticket sales and distribution....
Nice issue - cover story about breast reconstruction options through the use of stem cells harvested from fat cells in the body of the patient. Breasts are seen as a potential early use of the technology given to the relatively low risk of death in reconstruction when compared to hearts or other organs. Recovery from mastectomy and lumpectomy with few side-effects, low post-surgical trauma/recovery (same day home) and positive 6 and 12 month follow ups are all good. Long term fear of recurrence or incubation of potential cancer sites is a concern that can't be addressed given the short history of use. Heart attack and other key potential uses mean that this is a tech to watch.
Nice article on the origin of the computer - a pre-ENIAC, much smaller, binary device that was completed before the start of the ENIAC project......Background on attempts to dethrone TicketMaster for ticket sales and distribution....
Finished (Audiobook) - "Shoeless Joe" - W.P. Kinsella
"Shoeless Joe" is a great read, and a great listen. Very nice story, captured well in the movie "Field of Dreams". J.D. Salinger, real-life author of "Catcher in the Rye" is featured in the original, in place of the character played by James Earl Jones in the movie.
Definitely a great story to play during car trips - pretty family friendly (except perhaps the section where the main character and his twin brother, as teenagers, decide to see if there are any differences at all in their bodies, or the occassional references to lovemaking between the main character and his wife).
Definitely a great story to play during car trips - pretty family friendly (except perhaps the section where the main character and his twin brother, as teenagers, decide to see if there are any differences at all in their bodies, or the occassional references to lovemaking between the main character and his wife).
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Finished (E-Reader) - The 4 "City of Ember" Books (Jeanne DuPrau)
My daughter was reading "City of Embers" on the recommendation of her cousin, and really liked it. For Christmas, she received the 3 remaining books in the series and asked me to read them as well.
I must say they were a pretty good read. The basic storyline involves a city that has no natural light and relies upon stored food, and a hydroelectric power generation for survival. As the inhabitants are not the first generation in this city, they are unaware of the details of how the city was formed, nor how the generator works, nor do they have any knowledge of what is outside of their city (a dark zone).
The books explore what happens to this city when the generator goes wonky and the supplies run low, some history of why the city was created, and followup of where the inhabitants end up after abandoning the city.
I must say they were a pretty good read. The basic storyline involves a city that has no natural light and relies upon stored food, and a hydroelectric power generation for survival. As the inhabitants are not the first generation in this city, they are unaware of the details of how the city was formed, nor how the generator works, nor do they have any knowledge of what is outside of their city (a dark zone).
The books explore what happens to this city when the generator goes wonky and the supplies run low, some history of why the city was created, and followup of where the inhabitants end up after abandoning the city.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Finished (Audiobook) - "One More Day" - Mitch Albom
Listened (again) to 'One More Day' by Mitch Albom. A very nice book - a fantasy book where a mid-life man is contemplating suicide, after his family life falls apart - he's been in one World Series as a younger man.
The book takes a biographical tour of events in life, and focused on the relationship he had with his mother.
I'd recommend it - a fast read, or listen, very much worth the effort.
The book takes a biographical tour of events in life, and focused on the relationship he had with his mother.
I'd recommend it - a fast read, or listen, very much worth the effort.
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