I will find you by Harlan Coben (2023)

Gritty, violent thriller with fun big hearted bad guy characters.  The story is a little bit too melodramatic but the ending makes it worthwhile. 4/5 Stars. 

Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson (2023)

Fascinating biography of Elon's life so far.  The deep horrors and darkness of Elon's internal demons that cause much of his subjective experience to be so miserable are the most interesting parts.  The reader can't help but feel sorry for him.

". . . electric cars and I'm sending people to Mars in a rocket ship. Did you also think I was gonna be a chill, normal dude?"

We don't (yet) hear much about x.ai, his 7th companyI; I personally find it likely Elon will create a half dozen more companies in the next 30 years. 4/5 Stars.

Israel in 2048: The Rejuvenated State by Michael Oren (2023)

Oren is a pragmatic politician with deep understanding of the difficult politics in the middle east. He has what most westerners might consider an odd take on informal international agreements. His concept aligns with Ibn Khaldum's The Muqaddimah (Introduction)  as well as modern middle eastern statecraft.in general. This book outlines a handful of serious issues and Oren's vision for addressing them.  I always enjoy Oren's analysis.  This book is somewhat less well researched as his history or fiction books but is good, none-the-less. 4/5 Stars.

Interstellar by Avi Loeb (2023)

Professor Loeb is a great astronomer, scientist, and organizer.  He has some interesting philosophical ideas and fun speculations about society and the nature of existence. This book sometimes drifts into odd rants unrelated to his speculations but his reformulations of the Drake equation and sci-fi ideas are fun.  3/5 Stars.

The Six types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni (2022)

I am still catching up on all the Lencioni books.  This one popped up in my queue.  I did not like it as much as most of his books.  He is over-selling this idea and the book reads like an over-hyped sales pitch.  It is obvious to most of us that we should do what we love, especially within our chosen profession.  It is somewhat less obvious, but easily understood that we should seek out others who are talented, passionate, and competent at areas our "day job" work requires so that the team we form is optimized for performing the entire mission and attaining the outcomes required.  And there is likely some strong academic literature that verifies this common sense.  But Lencioni's claims and hyperbole detract from his ideas. This is a good, short story / idea but among the worst I have read by Lencioni. 3/5 Stars.

Queen of an Alien Sun (Arc Trilogy #3) Peter F Hamilton & Elisabeth Klett (2023)

Weak, silly, 2/5 Stars.

The Coming by Joe Haldeman (2001)

In some ways Joe Haldeman correctly predicted a global reaction to first extraterrestrial contact, as military leaders and fearful politicians react with "It's a threat! Destroy it!" As they did in 2022 with Chinese surveillance balloons and several unidentified smaller objects.  In other ways, Haldeman's predictions are completely wrong and very odd.  The EU in a civil war?  Cuba emerging as a significant economic power?  Really?  The story is interesting; the characters are great but this book is not among the best Haldeman stories; 3/5 Stars.

irreparable damage from generative AI large language models

This post by Cory is worth reading. Here is the appropriate hook to get you to click:

Let's be clear here: these kinds of lawyer letters aren't good writing; they're a highly specific form of bad writing. The point of this letter isn't to parse the text, it's to send a signal. If the letter was well-written, it wouldn't send the right signal. For the letter to work, it has to read like it was written by someone whose prose-sense was irreparably damaged by a legal education.

. . .

The fact that an LLM can manufacture this once-expensive signal for free means that the signal's meaning will shortly change, forever. Once companies realize that this kind of letter can be generated on demand, it will cease to mean, "You are dealing with a furious, vindictive rich person." It will come to mean, "You are dealing with someone who knows how to type 'generate legal threat' into a search box."

Legal threat letters are in a class of language formally called "bullshit"

Please go read Cory's whole thing..

Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2022)

The story is good but the silly deus est machina contrivances to rescue our heroes from each new cliffhanger are getting lame. I like the slow reveal and mystery of the void universe. I look forward to the conclusion. 4/5 Stars. 

Measuring Developer Productivity

This analysis by Kent Beck is worth sharing. 

Measuring productivity is a complex and nuanced problem, and there is no single solution that will work for everyone. The best approach to measuring productivity depends on the specific needs of the organization, such as the goals of the measurement, the resources available, and the culture of the organization. Any attempt to measure productivity must be done carefully, as it can have unintended consequences, such as creating a culture of fear or mistrust. It is important to remember that productivity is not the only measure of success, and that other factors, such as quality and customer satisfaction, are important.

The Far Reaches Collection by various authors (2023)

Most of the stories in this collection are good; recommended. 4/5 Stars.

Three Questions for a Frantic Family by Patrick Lencioni (2008)

Our family is no longer frantic; this book would have been fantastic during the decades our family was frantic. Interestingly, the business concepts behind their application to families shines through, making the book worthwhile, so I am glad I did (eventually) read it.  I still have a bunch more Lencioni books to read. 4/5 Stars.

Back Spin by Harlan Coben

Fun! 4/5 Stars.