Books I Read in 2012

As regular readers know (ha ha!), back in 2010, I made a resolution to read at least 25 books per year. I did it that year, and fell well short in 2011. In 2012 I have managed to scrape through! So here is the list, with a few words about each book.

1. Hyperspace by Michio Kaku
    This is a well written introduction to string theory with lots of historical back ground, which is something I always appreciate.

2. Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil
    A concise set of suggestions for a more wholesome living, if you ignore the somewhat tacky testimonials

3. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
    A much anticipated book - I have always wanted to read a Kahneman book. But, nine months later, what I do I remember? Not much. Not much in the form of specifics anyway. Is it a reflection on the book or me? Probably me. I'd read this book again, though. It seemed quite important.

4. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
    Great story telling, tortuously retarded philosophy. Listened to the audio book - I don't think I'd have completed it otherwise. One of the main effects of reading this book is that I'm quickly losing respect for politicians like Ron Paul. No matter how sane you may sound now, if you ever fell for this kind of BS, you need to have your head examined.

5. The End of Illness by David B. Agus
  Hardly any new revelations or ideas, but a decent summary of the state of the art of hi-tech medicine (at its infancy)

 6. God is Not Great: how religion poisons everything by Christopher Hitchens
   Take no prisoners attack on religion, mostly the three big mono-theistic ones. Hitchens' depth and breadth of knowledge is awesome. Too bad I've discovered him after his death.

 7. 1984 by George Orwell  
  I was running into so many reverential references to this novel, I had to read it. It was a little underwhelming though. Perhaps, there had been too many spoilers. But I am glad I read it - now I'll know what someone is talking about when they mention Room 101.

8. Hitch-22 a Memoir by Christopher Hitchens
   Entertaining. Good insight into the man.

9. The Startup of You by Reid Hoffman, Ben Cosnocha
  Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn and has invested in a few other successful tech companies. Most illustrations in this book are based on LinkedIn and people associated with it. I found the basic template of Plan A, Plan B and Plan Z useful in thinking about my career.

 10. Arguably : Essays by Christopher Hitchens
   Well, you can tell I was on a Hitchens frenzy earlier this year. Read about half the essays - good writing, but i have only so much time - this is one fat book!

 11. Money : A suicide note by Martin Amis
   Another Hitchens influence, actually. Amis is one of Hitchens best buddies, and I was curious how he wrote. Sure, this novel was quite different from any I have read, and the story was interesting enough. But I abandoned  it mid way - my limited reading time needs to be allocated prudently

 12. Unintended Consequences : why everything you've been told about the economy is wrong   by Edward Conard
  A defense of trickle down economics - disguised as a neutral analysis; quite informative - worth the time. The author is Mitt Romney's friend from Bain Capital. It figures, I guess.

13. Why Things go Wrong: The Peter Principle revisited by Laurence Peter
   The peter principle is the famous "in an organization, an employee will raise to his level of incompetence". This book, as the title says, is a sequel to the original that spelled out the principle. But this one reads rather like Reader's Digest; lots of jokes, quotes, etc. with a few nuggets of wisdom in between

14. The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating A Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids by Madeline Levine
   Written for affluent moms, but any parent can benefit from a read

15. A Brief History of Time by Stephen W. Hawking
  Ah, finally finished it, on the 3rd attempt, spread over 2 decades! Oh, why didn't I read it earlier? It's a gem.

16. Joseph Anton: A memoir by Salman Rushdie
   Engrossing and illuminating in patches, but long and icky as well. A lengthier review here...

 17. The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen W. Hawking
  A nice update or even a sequel to A Brief History of Time, though the author would protest this book stands by itself. Loved it.

 18. The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke
  A mixed bag of shorts. A decent collection, but not the cream of the master's work. More detailed review here.

 19. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol

20. Healing Back Pain : The Mind-Body Connection by John E. Sarno
  A very interesting book. The author contends that most back pain (along with so many other pain, auto-immune, and other disorders) is caused by repressed anger. He doesn't sound like some new-age guru - this book is quite logical, reasonable and cogent. It's worth a consideration. One obvious criticism is that the doc seems to be cherry picking his patients (and he makes no secret of it), and so it's not surprising that his percentages are so good.

 21. Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis by Sigmund Freud
  My first real exposure to Freud (other than references in articles and quotations and such). I had expected it to be obscure and jargon-laden, but was plesantly surprised by how accessible and lucid he was.

 22. Curious Behavior : Yawning, Laughing, Hiccuping and beyond by Robert R. Provine
I don't feel all that much smarter after reading this book, and that's disappointing for a science book, even one bordering on trivia and written to be popular. The last chapter on pre-natal behavior is probably the best - so if you feel bored in the middle, skip over and don't miss the last dozen pages.

23. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
  A brilliant dig at human banality, brutality and corruption

 24. How to Build a Time Machine by Paul Davies
 A quick fun book, if you are into cosmology at a superficial level

25.  Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
  Funny, original and very entertaining. Rushdie has found a quite humorous and delightful voice for this novel. Best of all, it's short! Should be a good book for an early teen - especially one with Indian background

 26. God's Debris by Scott Adams
  Adams attempt at philosphysing falls flat. He hides behind the disclaimers "these are not my views... i have mixed up facts with baloney, you figure out which is which". The contrived discussion between the two characters is full of half-baked arguments, lazy and shallow thinking, and plain old ignorance. There are patches of clever writing for sure, but they are few and far between. In all a waste of time. Had it not been this short (132 pages), I would not have bothered to read it through.

The Sentinel : book review

"The Sentinel" (short story collection) by Arthur C. Clarke

A mixed bag of shorts. From the really excellent "A Meeting with Medusa", through the interesting "Breaking Strain" and "The wind from the Sun", the boring "Refugee", to the rather irritating "Jupiter V", there is a whole range here.

Unlike say Asimov, Clarke's science fiction actually has a good dose of science in it, usually, and that's why he's one of my favorite authors. This quality is amply evident in the "A meeting with Medusa" piece. It's a story of finding life forms on Jupiter. It has its element of suspense and surprise, but is realistic as well. "The Wind from the Sun" is about solar sails - something novel at the time of its writing. Not much of a plot there, but still an interesting read. It'll be interesting to see how well Clarke's imagination has anticipated the features and problems of solar sail technology, when it actually comes to pass. "Breaking Strain" is a psycho thriller involving two space-farers facing sure, protracted death. It's probably a little too stretched out, but not a waste of time.

In all, a decent collection, but not the cream of the master's work.

Salman Rushdie's memoir "Joseph Anton"

Rushdie has had an interesting life. He has recorded copiously in his journals. And he can write. So there are all the ingredients for a very good memoir. This one almost achieves it's potential, except that it's too long, and in parts rather cheap. 

It did give me great insights into how publishing business works, how it feels to have a death sentence hanging over you all the time, the workings of high society. But, I personally didn't care for all the dirty laundry of his personal life that he's put up for display here. He seems to be getting his revenge on a lot of people who were close to him, including all his wives. That is cheap. 

And I never got used to hearing him referring to himself in third person.

November 2012 California Ballot Propositions

Here is how I am voting on the propositions this Tuesday.

Prop 30 & 38 : Education funding. YES on 30, NO on 38. Consider myself extorted. I can't let the drastic cuts (upto $6 billion) on education happen. Neither 30, nor 38 is perfect, but 30 aligns better with the governor's budget plans. If 30 fails, $6 billion cuts will happen this year, even if 38 passes. A reduction of the school year by 3 weeks is unthinkable. So I want 30 to pass. Someone pointed out that 30 and 38 will split the yes votes. So a better strategy for people yo care about education funding would be to vote YES for both, and hope at least one of them win. But I do not like 38. So I am taking my chances - YES on 30, NO on 38.

Prop 31: Two year budget cycle : NO: this budget reform proposition may be well intentioned, but it is too complicated, and according to many experts poorly fleshed out and poorly drafted. A definite no go for me is the provision to allow local governments to override state wide statutes. We can't let parochial considerations over rule hard fought state wide progressive measures relating to the environment, for example. And in principle, I am against adding complicated language to the constitution. It'll be a field day for lawyers and pundits, but the state's work will not get done.

Prop 32: Ban Union and Corporate Political donations from pay-roll deductions : NO : unfairly restricts unions while leaving big corporate political money pretty much untouched. Unions are political bodies. Unions need to collect fees from members, and payroll deduction is the convenient way. Prop 32 is a cynical play to under cut unions (corporations seldom use payroll deductions for political contributions - so it's deceptive to say this prop restricts both unions and corporations equally). If the real intention is to let union members choice of whether to contribute their money to the union's political spending or not, then a simple measure requiring a "opt out" provision for members would do.

Prop 33: Auto insurance "continuous coverage" discount. NO : Another disingenuous proposition, funded by the insurance industry. Though at first blush is seemed like it'll be a good thing for me - since I could shop around for insurance without losing loyalty discounts - in reality they are just after raising premiums for people with breaks in coverage. which might result in more uninsured motorists on the roads, which will not be cheaper for any one

Prop 34: End the Death Penalty. YES : There is both a moral and an economical argument in favor of ending the death penalty. Many innocent men are being executed, which is not acceptable. And even in air tight cases, the execution takes decades - costing many millions in legal expenditure and high security incarceration. Until the day forensics becomes 100% reliable (at least when declaring guilt, if not innocence), we can't find justification for applying the death penalty.

Prop 35: Ban on Human Trafficking and Sex Slavery : YES : The laws to combat these evils need to be tightened. This prop has been criticized for being over reaching and too broad, and not providing funding. In spite of all that, it's necessary enough that I support it.

Prop 36: Fixing the Three Strikes Law : YES : Common sense fix to a flawed law. Currently, a minor felony (like shop lifting) can send someone to 25 years in prison if they had two previous serious or violent felony convictions. This is draconian. Prop 36 fixes it, while making sure that really bad felons (who've committed rape, etc. before) aren't let off easy.

Prop 37: Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods : NO : While, I am no fan of Big Food, or Monsanto, I am also not blindly against GM food. There is a lot of fear mongering around that. In principle, we need genetic engineering to be able to feed the soon to be 9 billion human tummies. So any regulation that throws a blanket road-block on GMO is not helpful in the long run. Prop 37 in particular sounds mostly harmless. Except it may turn out practically useless. I expect to see "may contain partially genetically modified ingredients" on all packaged food and even groceries, if this passes. At which point I'll ignore the label altogether.

Prop 39 : Income tax increase for multi-state corporations : NO : Very good idea, bad proposition. Closing the tax loophole gifted by the legislature to multi-state corporations in 2009 is a very good idea. But specifying that a good chunk ($550 million) of the new revenue must go to some niches like energy efficiency and the vague "create clean energy jobs" is a bad idea. It's propositions like this that make budgeting a nightmare in California. Wasted opportunity. 

Prop 40 : Referendum on State Senate Redistricting plan : YES : I have voted in favor of the California Citizens redistricting commission before. Yes on Prop 40 would approve the commission's work. No brainer. 

Relativistic Time Dilation for a 6 year old

I had one of those extempore conversations with my nearly 6 year old son today that left me proud and hopeful.

While eating a sub for lunch, he suddenly went:

Him: it takes 8 minutes for light to go from the sun to the Earth, right?
Me: yes
Him: I am going to make a rocket that can do it in 1 minute
Me: that means, it'll go faster than light
Him: yes
Me: you know, there is a rule that says nothing can go faster than light
Him: what will happen if someone does?
Me: well, weird things will happen, according to some smart scientists
Him: like what?
Me: if you are in that rocket, to you it may seem like it took only 1 minute, but for the rest of us outside it may seem like hours or days. the clocks inside such a rocket will actually run slow, and it'll feel like it was only a short time. but outside clocks will show a much longer time
Him: what will happen if I go even faster?
Me: it'll become more weird. you may feel like you only went for an hour, say. but when you come out, your baby sister will be 15 years old, but you'll only be 6!
Him: wow. what'll happen if I go even faster?
Me: well, it can get scary. when you come out, all your friends would have become old people
Him: and if I go even faster, when I come out they all will have died?
Me: yes. the world will be very strange and lonely
Him: but, that way, someone can live a very long time!


True indeed! If you want to live a very long life (by Earth time), hitch a hike on a faster than light rocket ship.

The reason this makes me feel hopeful is, it's actually surprisingly easy to relate such very abstract and out-of-the-ordinary-experience facts to kids. It's a cliche, but it still feels very good to experience first hand the open-mindedness of a child. So I think there is hope that one day, much of humanity would have shed the medieval beliefs about miracles and prophets, and instead internalized the wonderful learning about our universe that  science has gleaned over the centuries.

Gas Furnace Repair

The home heater stopped working a week ago. With the help of some Youtube videos and ehow.com, I diagnosed (ok, guessed) that the problem should be the igniter.  So I opened up the furnace, quite reluctant to mess with a potentially explosive appliance.  






With trepidation, I went ahead to take plates and brackets apart, and got the igniter out. Now, I have never seen an igniter before, so telling if this one is functional or busted was a bit tricky. But I noticed what looked like a crack (red arrow in picture below), and if this thing worked basically by producing resistive heat from electricity, such a crack will do it.

So, I took it to OSH hoping to find a replacement. and luckily ran into a guy who services furnaces in his other job; he immediately recognized what i was holding in my hand and confirmed it was busted; he also said buying it online was my only hope. (He added, "if you called someone like me to fix this, it'll cast you several hundred dollars". That made my day!)


Back home and online, I couldn't find exact model number match - but with pictures found a visual match and ordered from an Amazon vendor. It had been almost a week since I took the thing apart, and now I had some trouble remembering which way the igniter gets attached to the frame - but figured it out in time, and put everything back, and viola! - it all works again. 


I should admit, I had the garden hose by my side just in case ;)

Books I Read in 2011

In 2010 I had made a resolution to read 25 books that year, and did it, and boy did that feel good! In fact, my goal was to read at least 25 books every year from then on. 2011 was going to be difficult, given the work situation and fact that we were having our second baby. I bravely tried anyway. I fell short, but it was worth the attempt. So here is the list of books I did manage to read:

1. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth - the Audiobook
The Dailyshow's crew brings their brand of political satire to the task of explaining human civilization to aliens. Not as engaging as "America - the book", but worth the time

2. Stiff upper lip, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse

3. The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie

4. The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us about What It Means to Be Alive by Brian Christian

5. The Game : penetrating the world of pickup artists by Neil Strauss
I read it based on a recommendation as a "self help" book, but though it was interesting and I learned about an aspect of the society about which I'd perhaps have known nothing otherwise, I didn't get any self help worth the time.

6. Cognitive Surplus - creativity and generosity in a connected age by Clay Shirkey
My review is here

7. At Home - A short history of private life by Bill Bryson

8. Bottled Lightning - Superbatteries, Electric cars, and the New Lithium Economy by Seth Fletcher

9. Influence, Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini

10. A Brief History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
I have read this book before. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and wanted to do it again. This time I listened to the audiobook read by the author - it's delightful.

11. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Read the uncut version of the proclaimed science fiction masterpiece. Liked it : not sure I'd call it a masterpiece, but it's one of the better ones I have read.

12. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Easily the best novel I have read, period. OK I didn't really "read" it - I listened to the unabridged audiobook delightfully read by John Lee. It's some 40 odd CDS - so it's LONG. But it was worth every minute of lost sleep!

13. Sex at Dawn - The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality : by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá
Fascinating book. A passage: "asking whether our species is naturally peaceful or warlike, generous or possessive, free-loving or jealous, is like asking whether H2O is naturally a solid, liquid, or gas. The only meaningful answer to such a question is: It depends. On a nearly empty planet, with food and shelter distributed widely, avoiding conflict would have been an easy, attractive option. Under the conditions typical of ancestral environments, human beings would have had much more to lose than to gain from warring against one another. The evidence - both physical and circumstantial - points to a human prehistory in which our ancestors made far more love than war."

14-17. Foundation series by Isaac Asimov
The first book "Foundation" started out unremarkably, making me wonder what all the fuss was about. Since I had bought the whole set, I read the next one "Foundation and Empire" as well, and started to get intrigued. Then I wanted to read the next one "Second Foundation", and found it unputdownable. By the time I completed the fourth book "Foundation's Edge", I was convinced that all the fuss was all well worth it. Breathtaking work in scope. Don't come looking for science - but the unfettered imagination of a master story teller is such a delight to behold. One day I'll read "The decline and fall of the Roman Empire", and I am sure it'll sound familiar.

Conversations with a 5 year old : the fairness of weather

The news on the radio mentioned this week's solar storm, and that got our guy's attention. "What are they talking about?" he demanded, and I explained. Energetic "electromagnetic" particles from the sun attacking the Earth, earth's atmosphere forming a protective shield" and so forth were pretty dramatic and exciting for him to hear.

Then I added, "you know what, when the solar wind hits Earth's atmosphere, the sky glows with amazing colors - it looks so beautiful. It's called an aurora. But only people up north, close to the arctic will see that".

"But that's not fair", he went. "Why can't we see that?"

"Well, they are suffering freezing weather most of the year, while we are enjoying beautiful sunny weather. Is that fair to them?", I countered.

"Yeah..." he said and went silent.

After about a minute, he goes: "You know what, I think we are more lucky. Their aurora weather will be for only one day. Our sunny weather is for many many days!"