CIA as organized crime

Very long conspiracy theory book with strong research, interesting facts, and bizarre speculations / conclusions. It is important to shine a brighter light on the unethical, immoral, and truly-evil activities, institutions, and individuals Valentine describes.  So I do recommend skimming the book and chasing his references for details.  However the bizarre accusations and conspiracy theories about the motivations, relationships, and higher purposes of the people and institutions is awful.  2/5 stars.​

The Power of Habit

I enjoyed this one and zipped through it quickly.  I understood some of the biology before reading it but it was great to get some more insights.  4/5 stars.
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We are Legion (We are Bob)

After a series of juvenile or weak space opera, I stumbled upon this series of books by Dennis Taylor and really enjoyed the first book.  The characters are fun.  The adventures are interesting and the science is better than usual.  I can't wait to read the next one.
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The Bishop Must Die

I seem to have landed in the middle (or end) of a large series of books by this author and it was entertaining, interesting for the historical context, dramatic, but not spectacular.  Well plotted 4/5 stars.
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eBay's billion-item inventory in the public cloud

If you are in downtown Bellevue on Wednesday 8/16/2017 and want some free food, I am giving a talk about how eBay operates on our 1.1 billion item inventory several hundred thousand times per second in the public Cloud.

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My talk is at the "Big Data Bellevue" meetup at 411 108 AV NE, Bellevue, WA (map).

madame butterfly

We saw the Seattle Opera company's production of madame butterfly on Sunday 8/13.  It was fantastic.  The production includes an international cast of stars, spectacular (literally a spectacle) of set design, costumes, sound, orchestra, and even English subtitles beamed 5 meters above the stage to enable you to catch up on the story without distractions. 5/5 stars.

You can get cheap tickets at the box office at noon before the 2pm matinee shows.  The show plays to a full-house.

Photo Album

Nachtbrenner

I have been listening to some German radio plays since the one I heard on the plane recently was so good.  This one is not good.  1/5 stars.

rogue clone

The series is disappointing; it is more teenage close-combat fantasy, sigh.  The space opera, technology, story line, politics are not good 2/5 stars.
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Dafan

​This radio play is not bad.  It is a little short and the pacing is very inconsistent but the "lotus eaters" story is a good one.  3/5 stars.

Der Zahir

I was a little disappointed by this self-indulgent, introspective philosophical monograph.  The details of the Kazakhstan Steppe were interesting.  And I enjoyed the depth into the values and culture of the characters.  The book it is very-well written.  Coelho is a fantastic writer.  But the petulant, egotistical, self-aggrandizing characters' melodramatic first-world problems seemed silly. And the bizarre, mystical superstitions  of the Kazakhs are just plain dumb.  2/5 stars.

I am considering writing a separate, German blog since I started reading a lot of German books; however I think most people who might look at this blog are not German speakers.
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