Into the light by David Weber & Chris Kennedy (2021)

This second book in the series provides a much-needed enhancement to the magic system with the introduction of more awe-and-wonder background mysteries. The characters, events, combat are not that great and the book spent too much time on poorly-written inconsequential details. 2/5 Stars.  I shall finish the series but I am disappointed.

A short stay in hell by Steven L. Peck (2012)

My youngest daughter told me to read this one, so I dropped what I was reading and read it in two days (it's short).  I claim to understand Georg Cantor's infinite orders of infinity and I also claim to understand the set theoretical difference between finite and infinite. I normally don't consider subjectively what it is like to live for a googolplex of years, before going on to a different existence for eternity.  This novella goes into enormous detail of one such experience.  I was obsessed with the story's concepts and even dreamed about the events in the story for a few days after reading it. The writing is not particularly good, but the ideas are well presented. 5/5 Stars.

Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson (2011)

The rich characters in this two-book story are well-developed and compelling. I also like the inscrutable awe-and-wonder magical forces and slow reveal towards the end of the story and the epilogue that wraps everything up with the cosmological end of time of our universe. 5/5 Stars.

Reentry by Eric Berger (2024)

I read Eric's articles and weekly column in Ars Technica. So I had low expectations that much new material would be in his book.  I was therefore thrilled that everything in the book was never published before.  The details of the people and events at SpaceX (not Elon), at Nasa, Spaceforce, and US regulatory bureaucracies are exciting and enlightening.  There are many deep biographical sketches of the real heroes behind the company and their successes. The book is gripping, well-written, extremely interesting for any space nerd, and highly recommended. 5/5 Stars.

Out of the Dark by David Weber (2010)

The story starts out as a standard alien invasion archetypal structure with the usual tropes of the scrappy preppers, the hero's journey, and interesting space aliens. The magic system is a typical David Weber galactic space travel until the end that I did not enjoy.  The ending and abrupt change to the magic system ruins the world building. 2/5 Stars.

Live Suit by James S.A. Corey (Ty Franck & Daniel Abraham) (2024)

I enjoy when successful authors publish  the writing exercises and cutting-room scraps that were left behind when publishing a series of books.  I remember trying to write in the early 1980s and going through an exercise to figure out how one of my characters should react to some event in my story; I wrote a short vignette about her from 10 years in her past to flesh out her personality and sensibilities so that I could understand her well enough to write the section of the story I was working on.  The expanse authors have published some of their writing that was cut from the expanse series and this short novella appears to be another writing exercise or snippet that was cut from their new series.  It's a great stand-alone story. 5/5 Stars.

Deception - The Great Covid Cover-Up by Rand Paul (2023)

The Wuhan Lab's "gain of function," including cover-ups, deception, and the people behind the odd lockdown policies are brightly illuminated in this interesting book.  The silly politics are distracting and boring, but the information about the corruption, censorship, and the conflicts of interest within government funding agencies and EcoHealth Alliance are very good.  4/5 Stars.

Raft by Stephen Baxter (1991)

I am very interested in the Xeelee sequence of books. This first book is an expanded short story with an interesting alternative universe that has a huge gravitational constant. The book is not good. I did not like any of the characters, and the gratuitous deprivations served no purpose. 2/5 Stars.

Polostan by Neal Stephenson (2024)

Fantastic!  I am so happy Stephenson is writing another immersive historical fiction series again.  Polostan is the best I have read this year (so far).  I bought extra copies for my kids. 5/5 Stars.

Screens are *still* worse than Paper for reading retention

My first published academic paper in 1987 explained an elegant experiment I ran using SAT test questions that measure retention to discover if humans retain and understand information better by reading on paper or reading from screens.  Of course the overwhelming measurements and evidence indicate that reading from paper is much better than screens.  Recently, Amy Tyson published an in-depth study about the use of books and paper versus devices (phones, tablets, computers) in classrooms and looking at test scores.  She validated my measurements in school settings.  If you have a kid in school, get them to use books and printed materials.

Icehenge by Kim Stanley Robinson (1984)

I have no idea how or why this book appeared on my stack to read.  The book holds up surprisingly well after 30 years.  I did not like the authors "Mars" books that follow this original one, but I enjoyed this story. The story explores the insane conspiracy theories, alternative facts, fake news, and other modern topics over a centuries long time line. It's interesting how human societies treat history.  The objective truth never matters.  4/5 Stars.

Starship flight 5

I am very grateful to live in a time when we have exceeded the wildest imaginative concepts of science fiction to catch the biggest rocket ship ever built with chopsticks. I have not been this excited about watching space flights since watching (live) as Neil Armstrong descended the lunar lander. Go watch the 4K videos.

Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (2003)

This high fantasy book, second in a series, deserves all the prizes it won (Hugo, Nebula, Locus). I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the consistent but mysterious magic system. 4/5 Stars.

new goal in life

My new goal in life is to get paid 2.7 gigadollars ($2.7 billion) to get re-hired at one of my previous employers. I am very grateful to live in such an interesting time.

Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen (2015)

I think David Brin pointed me to this book as an illustration of other authors who picked up David's idea of uplift.  Uplift is when an advanced species (patron) genetically modifies a pre-sapient species (client) to elevate the new species to full sapience. In this book, the author has an area of our galaxy filled with uplifted earth species. The magic system and themes in the book are a little inconsistent and the physics is terrible.  But the story is interesting and the writing is good.  3/5 Stars. I enjoyed it but won't read any others.

Rebel by David Weber and Richard Fox (2024)

Remember the Honor Harrington stories David Weber wrote in the early 1990's? This new series he is writing with Richard Fox is just as much fun.  The detailed space fleet engagements and sophisticated, consistent magic system is fun, and the vector math as explained enables the reader to visualize the engagements clearly.  The politics are intentionally similar to the Honor Harrington universe, with wicked Oligarchs and oppressed colonies. I am enjoying these books. 5/5 Stars.

SPQR by Mary Beard (2015)

Another birthday present that sat on my stack for 4 months. This book is the foundation of amateur and professional understanding of the early roman empire. Mary Beard uses wonderful examples and anecdotes to illuminate the complex ideas, opinions, and daily lives of the people of ancient Rome, their moires, customs, social interactions, and international relations.  The book explains in wonderful prose the evolving attitudes of the ancient people in all stations of life, from the starving slaves to the elite nobles. One must read it slowly to ponder the depth of the revelations and refer back to the maps and photos scattered throughout the book.  5/5 Stars.

Cursed Knowledge

This idea, to record things we learn that we wish we never knew, is great. The collection of cursed knowledge nuggets is similar to but narrower than the"WTF" collection in my bullet journals.  Thanks, Cory.

Task Force Hammer by Craig Alanson (2024)

I am surprised at how terrible the copy editing is.  A simple grammar checker could have mixed almost all of the errors.  The story ends in a cliffhanger, so if you don't like the "Perils of Pauline" style abrupt cliffhanger endings, wait for the next book to be published  before starting this one. Parts of some of the B stories in this one are a little boring, but Skippy and team are still fun. 4/5 Stars.

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee (2016)

One of my kids was reading this book and I saw the Hugo + Nebula nominations on the cover, so I picked it up and read it.  It's not long. The magic system is unfortunately extremely inconsistent and despite fantastic character building and world building, good story-telling and stylish prose, I did not like it and probably won't finish the trilogy.  2/5 Stars.

The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey (2006)

Some folks at work suggested this book so I picked it up and read it.  The over-hyped rhetoric and constant aphorisms are an embarrassing distraction from the key points that are quite good.  Here is my summary:

• Trust among individuals and teams affects speed and costs.
• Five "waves" of trust: 
• self trust, 
• relationship trust, 
• organizational trust, 
• market trust, and 
• societal trust.
• Trust is based on character (integrity and intent) and competence (capabilities and results).
• There are 13 key behaviors that build trust: Talk Straight, Demonstrate Respect, Create Transparency, Right Wrongs, Show Loyalty, Deliver Results, Get Better, Confront Reality, Clarify Expectations, Practice Accountability, Listen First, Keep Commitments, Extend Trust.
• Low trust creates a "trust tax" that slows everything down and increases costs. High trust creates a "trust dividend" that speeds things up and reduces costs.
• Trust can be built quickly through consistent behavior and delivering results. It can also be restored if lost.
• Extending "smart trust" balances trusting others with good judgment about risks.
• Building trust is a key leadership competency

The book is in six parts:

• Part 1 - The First Wave: Self Trust: Covers the "4 Cores of Credibility": Integrity, Intent, Capabilities, Results
• Part 2 - The Second Wave: Relationship Trust: Explains the 13 behaviors that build trust in relationships
• Part 3 - The Third Wave: Organizational Trust: How to create trust in organizations through alignment
• Part 4 - The Fourth Wave: Market Trust: Building trust and reputation in the marketplace
• Part 5 - The Fifth Wave: Societal Trust  
• Creating value and contributing to society
• Part 6 - Inspiring Trust: How to extend "smart trust" and restore lost trust

The ideas are worthwhile but wading through the hype is painful. 4/5 Stars.

Omega Rising by Joshua Dalzelle (2013)

A colleague at work recommended this series so I picked up and read the first book.  The writing is ok and flows well. The story is a little melodramatic and shallow. The space aliens are a little too anthropomorphic.  The plot is fun.  I am finding it hard to suspend my disbelief but I am curious what happens next in the story. 3/5 Stars.

Glory Season by David Brin (1993)

I started reading this book when it came out but I got busy and never finished.  Some of the politics, sociology, and biology are highly relevant 31 years later.  Other ideas are dated and irrelevant today.  I did not enjoy the detailed metaphors in the Conway's Game of Life variant of core wars game that took up a ot of the story.  Some of the female characters are not compelling. 3/5 Stars.

Not Till We Are Lost: Bobiverse, Book 5, Audiobook (2024)

I like the Bobiverse books.  This one rambled in too many details of too many different B plots and threads that were too esoteric.  All-in-all, the story is still a fun romp, reminiscent of  the fun light books that Robert A Heinlein wrote towards the end of his career.  Taylor introduces new technology in the bobiverse magic system and new existential threats to all life in the galaxy to keep his "space opera vibe" going.  4/5 Stars.

Less toxic & more-effective nanoparticulate MRNA vaccines & therapeutics

Everyone has personal experience with the  'miracle" vaccines used from 2019 - 2021.  The MRNA delivery mechanism for those and other MRNA medications uses nanoparticles in which the MRNA is embedded.  These nanoparticles can cross the cell membrane about 7% of the time so relatively large doses are needed for delivery.  These nanoparticles are also highly toxic and cause severe side effects that are frequently as bad or worse than the ailment they are meant to prevent or treat.  The nanoparticles also suffer from long tissue persistence, exacerbating their toxicity.  Many MRNA  therapeutics could be unlocked if the persistence and toxicity could be limited.

This new research paper, that was published in Nature, explains experiments that show promise of an approach the authors discovered to mitigating nanoparticle persistence and therefore the toxicity issues.

Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier (2020)

This book is much better than I expected. The author is a journalist who does a very good job of presenting the science through the words and interviews with the thought leading scientists themselves.  I did not appreciate or enjoy some of the social commentary and politics, but she does present highly relevant and astute observations. 5/5 Stars.

The Singularity is Nearer by Ray Kurzweil (2023)

I loved this sequel to the 2005 obook.  Kurzweil has fun, zany ideas that are very entertaining and sometimes compelling. 5/5 Stars.

Home Coming by Joel Shepherd (2024)

This new installment in the series is fantastic!  The story and character arcs are much more aligned to the overall saga than the last volume.  The action and combat are cool and exciting. The new magic system components are great.  I can't wait for the next one. 5/5 Stars.

Forgotten Ally by Rana Mitter (2013)

Great history book that fills in many gaps of what most of us outside of China were never taught about the Japanese invasion and 8-year war in China during the second world war.  The tragedies, suffering, devastation, and depravity of all of the leaders during that era in that theater of the war are eye-opening. There were no "good guys" in that conflict.  5/5 Stars.

There's a story about that

David has finally put his money where his mouth is. Well, actually, he put his time and effort where his writer's pen is.  The TASAT (there's a story about that) organization is now up and running and is associated with the Arthur C Clark Center for Human Imagination at UC San Diego.  I joined, of course.  It sounds like fun!

Wayward Galaxy 7: Wayward Earth by Jason Anspach & J.N. Chaney (2024)

Fun prequel with Brody's origin story and fresh, new characters who are the ancestors of the folks in the original series. Non-stop close combat, 5/5 Stars.

Schweigeminute von Siegfried Lenz (2016)

Das Lesen dieser Geschichte ist ein intensives und intimes Erlebnis. Die Sprache ist wunderschön. Das Coming-of-Age-Setting ist eindrucksvoll. 5/5 Sterne.

Hurrah wir leben noch von Johannes Mario Simmel (1978)

Ich mag Simmel-Bücher und habe mich gefreut, in der größten Buchhandlung der Welt in Portland, Oregon, ein Buch von Simmel zu entdecken, das ich noch nicht gelesen hatte. Simmels Geschichten sind sinnliche Dramen über Liebe, Sex, Neid, Essen und Ficken, Rastlosigkeit und Verrat, politische Korruption und den Zynismus der Mächtigen. Die Geschichten enthalten "James Bond"-Elemente, die geschmackvoll präsentiert und immer unterhaltsam sind. 4/5 Sterne.

The Mercy of g-ds by James S. A. Corey aka Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck (2024)

With many of the same story elements as the last two books in their "Expanse" series, the authors create a new space opera and build a new world for this new series.  The Hero, Dafyd Alkhor, is our plucky, "awe shucks," reluctant everyman, much like "Jim Holden" from the Expanse.  Good story line with fun themes, 5/5 Stars.

Kelwitts Stern von Andreas Eschbach (1999)

Ein junger Außerirdischer im Teenageralter besucht im Rahmen seiner Orakelfahrt das ihm zugewiesene Sonnensystem. Eine gekünstelte Erzählung führt dazu, dass er im Haus einer schwäbischen Familie landet, wo eine Komödie entsteht. Trotz des schwachen Schreibstils, der schrecklichen Erfindungen und der willkürlichen Magie hat die Geschichte ein „großes Herz". Und sie ist lustig. 2/5 Sterne.

Imperial Twilight by Stephen R. Platt (2018)

I really appreciated the style of this book.  The story-telling and drama kept my attention through the tedious details of the myriad names, dates, events, and dry, academic historiography, where conflicting historical evidence is analyzed. The interesting origins of the Opium War and the deep insights from each main character's point of view are very interesting. 4/5 Stars.

Seafair 2024

(Blue Angels Air acrobatics team)

(Racing boats)

Like many cities in the USA, Seattle has an annual summer event with an air show, boat regatta, boat racing, carnival tents and fairs.  And every year we head over to swim or float in the water under the air show to watch the festivities.  Here are my photos and here is a "delta break-out" video. This year the show included an F-35a doing acrobatics with flares, a C-5b fly-by, Fat Albert the C-130 AWACS for the blue angels, an F-35b doing the vertical take-off, landing tricks, and the blue angels.  Since I was on the water, the pictures are not as clear as my photos from previous years.  

We went to Seattle Sunday and ate lunch at the city center watching the air show again but suddenly,  an Opera broke out!   It was a great production of Pagliacci.

La commedia è finita! We all enjoyed the music and spectacular staging.

Diaspora by Greg Egan (1998)

Here is another "big ideas" book of a far flung future where intelligence has evolved into software on augmented and non-biological substrates and is trying to survive a deadly natural disaster that will eliminate all life.  The math is fun and the plot is unpredictable. The story and concepts a are a little too big for my comfort zone, 3/5 Stars.

The Daily Laws by Robert Greene (2021)

Here are some excerpts Robert Greene has collected from his earlier works on the topics of strategy, human nature, manipulating people, and stoic philosophy.  There is not much new that is not in his books, so if you (like me) have read them, don't bother with this one. As Robert and I both get closer to our inevitable deaths, the last few meditations were good reminders for me to live with more intensity. 3/5 Stars.

Charity Majors on Pragmatic Leadership

If you work in technology and care about leadership you should subscribe to Charity's blog.  She does not post frequently, but when she does, her ideas are always fantastic, even if you don't agree with her.  Here is her take on "politics" in the workplace and focusing on what matters most.

Der Schwarm von Frank Schätzing

Mit seinen tausend Seiten war dieses Buch für mich etwas entmutigend. Die Wissenschaft (Chemie, Biochemie) ist leider schrecklich. Ich bin immer fasziniert von Science-Fiction-Spekulationen über die 2,8 Gigatonnen Extremophilen, die in der Nähe von hydrothermalen Quellen leben. Sie sind 3,5 Milliarden Jahre alt, nur wenig jünger als die Entstehung des Erde-Mond-Systems. Was haben sie während dieser ganzen Zeit gemacht? Leider hat dieser übertriebene Thriller mit ständigen Explosionen, epischen Katastrophen und ständigen Nahtoderfahrungen zu viele lächerliche, konstruierte und unmögliche Situationen. Mir haben die Details der Charaktere, wie sie dargestellt werden, trotz ihrer archetypischen eindimensionalen Persönlichkeiten sehr gut gefallen. 2/5 Sterne.

Fission-powered rockets will fly!

Remember my rant about how 1950's technology is the cat's pajamas and still unsurpassed? We are finally starting serious steps to fly fission-powered rockets and I may live long enough to see magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters with a specific impulse of 10,000 seconds.

What's on the stack to read this year?

I recently celebrated another trip around the sun. My loving friends and family sent me some great books to read, along with many other thoughtful and wonderful presents that I really love. I had a great "haul" this year!  Many of my reservations at the libraries are now available as well.

Here is a partial list:

1. Der Schwarm von Frank Schatzing, Vor der Küste greifen plötzlich große Mengen Haie und Quallen Menschen an.
2. Forgotten Ally by Rana Mitter about the Sino-Japanese war of 1937 to 1945.
3. SPQR by Mary Beard, the authoritative History of the Roman Empire.
4. Hurra, wir leben noch! von Johannes Mario Simmel.
5. The Daily Laws by Robert Greene and Fred Sanders, excerpts from Greene's Power & War books.
6. Imperial Twilight by Mark Deakins, the exciting and authoritative history of the first Opium War.
7. The Art of Theft (Lady Sherlock #4) by Sherry Thomas.
8. Murder on Cold Street (Lady Sherlock #5) by Sherry Thomas
9. Kelwitt's Stern von Andreas Eschbach, Kelwitt der Jombuuraner kriegt unsere Sonne als Geschenk.
10. Icehenge by Kim Stanley Robinson
11. Barsk, The Elephants' Graveyard by Lawrence M Schoen
12. Raft by Stephen Baxter
13. Jahrestage von Gesine Cresspahl
14. Diaspora by Greg Egan
15. Biology and Human Behavior by Robert Sapolsky
16. Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
17. Hominids by Robert J Sawyer
18. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
19. Die Kinder der Finsternis von Wolf von Niebelschütz

Lost in Trans Nation by Miriam Grossman (2023)

I recently watched this Free Press interview with Steven Pinker where professor Pinker chats with Michael Moynaham on "why smart people believe in stupid things" such as conspiracy theories.  Moynahan grilled Pinker on many current events that evidence backsliding of our western societies away from rationality and enlightenment thinking, including evidence-based science. In this bit of the interview, during their discussion of Jon Haidt's book Pinker acknowledges that the political, economic, and scientific communities are retreating from science.

"The routine pathologizing of ordinary human emotion where every setback is a trauma where every difference is a neuroatypical condition and which Haidt and Greg lukanov have identified as the three great law lies: 1) whatever doesn't kill you makes you weaker 2) always trust your emotions and 3) the world may be divided into good and evil. They argue these lies are the diametric opposite to what cognitive behavior therapy tries to accomplish. And we know this therapy is one of the most successful forms of therapy of all time And the set of three great untruths may have had as much of a role as the like button on Facebook. I would add another thing. I tend to think that the Doom Mongering of mainstream media, which is easier and easier as everyone is an on-the-spot reporter.

Among the anti-science phenomena where activist bullies have destroyed evidence-based studies, enlightenment ideals, rationality, and the progress we had made in mental health treatments is the "trans" movement.  This fantastic book by Miriam Grossman is well-researched, well-written, and valuable.  The references and depth of her explanations is fantastic.  I was crying through two of the chapters as the real traumas were described in excruciating detail. All parents should read this book. 5/5 Stars.  Highly recommended.

Transcendent by Stephen Baxter (2005)

I didn't like the ending of this trilogy. The magic system and motivations became muddled and arbitrary. The theology and metaphysics were also uncompelling. 2/5 Stars.

Kingsbridge 5: The Armour of Light by Ken Follett (2023)

Having read the Pillars of Earth in 1989, and following along in the 1990s as the sequels came out, I was happy to discover another book in the series.  This story illustrates growing pains of the industrial revolution, the Napoleonic wars, and societal upheavals of the region.  The church politics are not as prevalent.  The books is good but some of the characters, especially the women, are not portrayed well and others are too one-dimensional.  4/5 Stars.

Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon by Malcolm Gladwell (2021)

Great podcast by Malcolm Gladwell describing Paul Simon's career and music.  5/5 Stars.

Thrive by Arianna Huffington (2014)

I did not particularly like this shallow survey of self-help topics but I did appreciate the feminist context.  It is a gentle reminder about why I no longer read self-help books and a good reminder to prioritize aligning my own pursuits towards what I want people to say at my funeral. 3/5 Stars.