Wednesday, April 4, 2012
12:54PM - Book Review: "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game" by Michael Lewis
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I've had my eye on this book for a little while, then I saw the movie and pushed it to the top of my reading list. This is a very cool book. Make no mistake, it's a baseball book, but it's also a business book. The book chronicles the real-life story of the Oakland Athletics' quest to field a winning team despite their tiny payroll. Impressively, the A's were highly successful because, under the management of Billy Beane, they were successful in purchasing players who were dramatically undervalued in the baseball market. This was largely possible because Beane quit paying as much attention to the traditional baseball offensive stats (notably, batting average) and started paying attention to on-base percentage. The tactics that the A's pioneered changed the way baseball is played, as more teams have started to adopt similar strategies.
I mentioned this is also a business book. It is, because it examines the business of baseball. It demonstrates what every business wants to do: be successful (however you define success) with the lowest possible cost. The main point the book makes about how to achieve that is to discover what the market undervalues and exploit it. It's a simple business principle, but one that is worth going back and being reminded of. Surprisingly, in baseball, as the A's were generating great success by using this method, they were laughed at and dismissed. It really did take a little while for the rest of baseball to catch on to what was happening, and in those few years, the A's were able to take advantage of their visionary strategy.
Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book, as true in "real life" as it is in baseball:
"Managers tend to pick a strategy that is least likely to fail rather than pick a strategy that is most efficient," said Palmer. "The pain of looking bad is worse than the gain of making the best move."One thing in particular that I enjoyed about this book is how the plot narrative was structured throughout the story. The book was more a case study than a plot-driven book, but there are several plot-like threads that run throughout: Beane struggling with his personal demons, the A's working to build a successful team, and the rise of the importance of different baseball statistics. The author skillfully wove all these themes together in a way that kept me engaged, providing a narrative framework that kept the reading from becoming dry.
If you love baseball, you need to read this book. If you don't love baseball, go see the movie instead.
View all my reviews
Monday, March 26, 2012
8:52AM - Book Review: "Astonishing X-Men Ultimate Collection: Book 1" by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday
Astonishing X-Men By Joss Whedon & John Cassaday Ultimate Collection - Book 1 by Joss Whedon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I got this book because I really wanted to read some stories that featured Beast. I asked my comic book store what they had, and they said there wasn't really anything currently on the shelves with Beast, but that I should take a look at what Joss Whedon and John Cassaday did in "Astonishing X-Men" and sold me a copy.
I love the serial nature of comic book reading, where issues often end in cliffhangers and you have to wait a month for the story continuation. But when the writing and art are as superb as contained in this run of "Astonishing X-Men," the waiting would become agonizing. That's why I love having twelve issues collected in one volume, comprising two main story arcs.
The main story thrust revolves around the creation of a "cure" for mutants. Understandably, this kicks off a huge ethical debate. If this is a "cure," are mutants "diseased"? Will the cure be optional or mandated? The conflict is framed universally, but explored on individual levels. Since I was specifically looking for a Beast story, this did not disappoint, as Hank struggled with whether or not he would take the cure if it proved to be viable. The X-Men titles, more so than other books, always seem to touch on weighty ethical issues as well as story lines revolving around acceptance and being different. As such, it's always a title that resonates with teens, going through the awkward stage of life. This collection of "Astonishing X-Men" delivers on that front as well.
The secondary story revolves around a new danger the X-Men are facing. Without delving into spoiler territory, I can mention that it flows directly from the "cure" story line and revolves around a situation that starts in the Danger Room. I enjoyed the "cure" story line more, but liked how the "danger" story line starts to set things up for further conflict. After getting to the end, I was anxious to read the next issue, so I will be hitting my comic book store up for Book 2 when I run by to pick up Wednesday's haul.
Oh, yeah, this collection also sees the reappearance of an X-Man believed to be dead. I didn't really see it coming, and loved how it played out.
A wonderful touch in this collection are the "extras" in the end of the book. The character design sketches that are common in these kinds of collections are here, and are nice to look at. What I particularly enjoyed were the pieces with creators Joss Whedon and John Cassady. For Joss, they included a series of email correspondence between Joss and the Marvel editorial team, giving a wink and a nod to some interesting insight into the creative process. For Cassady, they included an interview, where I was extra-thrilled to see they spent some time discussing the character design for Beast.
View all my reviews
Thursday, March 15, 2012
2:45PM - Book Review: "Area 10" by Christos N. Gage and Chris Samnee
Area 10 by Christos N. Gage
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don't read a lot of police procedural novels, but I used to watch a lot of cop shows on television. This was a really cool graphic novel, following an interesting serial murder case from partway through the investigation to the end. There were several well-placed plot twists, which helped keep the pacing particularly exciting.
The story is well-written, and the art is fantastic. I could look at Chris Samnee art all day long. His style of using a lot of dark and shadows really worked well with the tone of the story.
The main plot deals with a series of murders that include decapitation. As the investigation proceeds, the investigators learn that the murderer is also performing experiments on his victims. And it gets kinda weird. The main investigator has personal demons to wrestle with, and gets injured in the course of the investigation, which really complicates things.
I read this over the course of a couple of days, but it can easily be read in one sitting because it flows so well.
View all my reviews
Monday, March 12, 2012
4:13PM - Book Review: Return Of The Dapper Men
Return of the Dapper Men by Jim McCann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Wow. This book is amazing. The story is great: a world with no adults, where time has stood still since... forever? Then, the Dapper Men arrive, and time begins again. The children and robots that inhabit the world need to fix some things, and one of the Dapper Men helps them nudge things along. The world That Jim McCann creates is a world ripe for exploration, and when I finished the book, I wanted to read more about the next adventures that were in store for everyone.
I met the book's artist, Janet K Lee, at an event at my comic book store a few weeks ago and picked up the book. While the story is great, what really draws me in is the art. There's a lot that goes into the way Janet does it, and it's a fascinating process. The art is perfectly matched to the story, and it's easy to get lost in the fanciful details.
I'm looking forward to the sequels.
View all my reviews
Monday, February 6, 2012
1:18PM - Book Review: "Freakonomics" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book has been recommended to me several times over the past few years. I've always been interested in checking it out, so I added it to my library hold request list and when it became available, I jumped on it.
The first thing I'll point out is that the book is really only about half as long as the Kindle progress bar indicates it is. About halfway through, I found myself surprised to be reading the Epilogue, even more surprised when the Epilogue wasn't very long. It turns out that the second half of the book was devoted to Q&A with the authors, reprinting several newspaper columns by the authors, reprinting a book review, and a very extensive index of searchable terms specifically formatted to be useful in an eBook. When I had finished the book, most of the supplemental material wasn't interesting to me (the review and columns pretty much rehashed a lot of the info that was in the main text, e.g.). So all in all, it turned out to be a quicker read than I expected.
The book itself presents what I'd classify as "pop economics" (and I don't think I'm alone in that classification). That is, the authors use economic theories to address questions that are more interesting than what economics is usually used to address, and they do so in a non-threatening, non-academic fashion. For example, they present a case study related to drug trafficking to explore why if drug dealing is such a lucrative business, drug dealers still live with their mothers. One of the most "in your face" theories they present deals with how legalized abortion in the US in the 1970s is the primary cause for the dramatic decrease in crime in the US in the 1990s. The way the authors took outlandish and bizarre questions, broke them down into pieces that could be reasonably studied, and followed the trail wherever it led them made for compelling reading. I was especially intrigued by the chapter dealing with cheating, where they examined how teachers can (and do) cheat for their students on standardized tests and how cheating is apparently rampant in the sport of sumo wrestling.
More than anything, this book shows that it's worth actually taking the time to think about things, and to think about them in unconventional manners. Ask questions, don't necessarily accept that the questions can't be answered, or accept the standard pat answers. But instead, really think about the questions and explore all sorts of possible solutions. I'm not an economist, and I'm not going to spend a lot of time thinking about questions like they ones explored in this book. But I do spend a lot of time in the course of my job thinking about all sorts of questions that can stand to be examined in unconventional ways. So in addition to being an enjoyable read, this is the kind of book that helps me think about the way I think. I like that.
Should you read this book? Absolutely. The case studies are generally interesting, no matter what field of work you are in. Additionally, the writing style is compelling, keeping what could otherwise be tedious material fresh and fun to read.
View all my reviews
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
1:08PM - Book Review: "Inside Delta Force" by Eric Haney
Inside Delta Force by Eric Haney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I decided to read this book because every time I stumble across the TV show "The Unit," I really enjoy the show and I thought I would enjoy reading the book that serves as its basis. I was not disappointed, this was a very enjoyable book.
As a memoir, there's no real formal plot to follow, but Haney does a great job of creating a narrative flow that makes sense. The reader is guided through the creation of Delta Force from the perspective of a member seeking admission. Readers learn about how the selection process works gradually, just like Haney does as he's going through it. Once on the force, Haney guides the reader through the intense training required to prepare for real-world missions. Finally, Haney takes the reader through several early Delta Force missions, demonstrating how all the selection and training was essential to creating a team that was able to effectively respond to worldwide threats.
I'm not a military buff, and I appreciated that the book was written in such a way that was accessible to me. I learned enough about the military to properly frame the events described, but not so much that it was completely overwhelming and took away from the narrative. Additionally, much of what Haney describes with respect to discipline, training, honor, dedication, etc. is not limited to military life -- these principles are directly applicable in business settings or anyone's personal life. From that standpoint, there is much in that book that is generally inspirational.
As I read, I highlighted several passages. Haney's matter-of-fact observation on winning versus losing battles struck me as interesting and true:
In combat, there are no winners. The victors just happen to lose less than the vanquished.The book is full of statements like that, where Haney makes an observation and moves on without getting mired in attempting to discuss deep philosophy.
Haney's observation on how to improve an organization struck me as applicable to a business setting as to the military:
There is no better way for an organization to improve itself and move forward in a professional manner. But it is a process that must be fundamentally rooted in trust and mutual respect. The very instant it becomes a weapon rather than a lens for diagnostic analysis, the process is dead.This observation was made after describing the process of an "after-action review" where "each man's actions were gone over in complete detail... mistakes were analyzed and successful methods were noted." It seems that Delta Force was able to successfully perform self-analysis -- including detailed examination of errors -- without using that analysis as a way to punish the low performers. This is how teams are successfully built and strengthened, and is something that the business world would do well to take note of.
Finally, one of my favorite quotes from the book came as Haney discusses the problems encountered when decisions were made and/or overruled by top officials who didn't have a good understanding of what was actually happening:
Nothing is impossible for those who don't actually have to do it.I see this mentality all the time.
A note about the Kindle edition: the book contains a selection of photographs. For the print version, I don't know how the photos are presented in the book, but it's somewhat awkward in the Kindle version. They photos are stuck at the very back of the text, with no explanation or indication that they are there, and appear to simply be a direct representation of the photo page. I think the formatting of those photos could be improved. As far as the text goes, it was formatted for the Kindle just fine.
Do I recommend this book? Unquestionably yes.
View all my reviews
Sunday, January 15, 2012
11:17PM - "Daily Haiku: 2011" Now Available
I know you want to by a copy or three, so here's how you can do it. At lulu.com, they have the hardcover ($20) and paperback ($10). Use the coupon code "LULUBOOK305" (good until January 31, 2012) at checkout to get 25% off the order (which will help offset the shipping charges). I'll eventually have a Kindle version available, and the paperback version will eventually be available on amazon.com.
I'm also working on getting my Baseball Haiku put together in a book, but that's taking a little while to get organized.
Friday, November 25, 2011
2:53PM - Book Review: The Leader Who Had No Title
The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in by Robin S. Sharma
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I picked up this book because I was finding myself trapped in corporate red tape and dead ends with respect to career advancement. Someone recommended this as a good book to help with thinking about leadership outside the confines of the corporate world.
I like how the author presented this in the context of a story, instead of a typical dry business leadership book. It's all common-sense stuff, but it's nice to read it in the digestible format presented here. The author takes the position that leadership is not something that is compartmentalized to business settings. Instead, leadership characteristics are pervasive in every area of our lives. By focusing on incorporating leadership ideas into every aspect of your life, it can make you more successful all around.
The book provides a fresh inspirational take on leadership. I enjoyed reading it to help me think about a big picture view of leadership, not just trying to figure out how to get ahead army job. I plan to retread it every few years.
View all my reviews
12:51PM - Book Review: Becoming Agile
Becoming Agile by Greg Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I read this book because I recently started a new job that uses Agile, and I wanted to come up to speed with the methodology as quickly as possible. Coming from a development background focused on variations of the waterfall method, this book was a good introduction to using Agile in real-world situations.
Instead of a book of theory, this book presents a fictional case study of a team moving to Agile processes. I liked how by doing that, the book shows how to bring Agile processes to a team in an evolutionary manner. In the real world, you just can't switch processes by snapping your fingers, and this book shows examples of how to explore new processes and bring them into your team in a way that makes sense.
Reading this book has helped me come up to speed with the new (to me) methodologies I'm using ant my new job. I'm not sure that it's the kind of book I'll be coming back to often, but it was definitely a good read to help me get up to speed.
View all my reviews
Monday, October 31, 2011
10:26PM - First Day Of Work: SUCCESS!
OK, it's only been one day, so I really can't even expect to have a fair view of the new job. Even so, I can already tell that I'm going love it.
I started the day early. Not knowing what the traffic was going to be like, I wanted to give myself two hours so I'd easily have more than enough time to get there. I ended up leaving twenty minutes later than I planned, but it only took me 72 minutes to get there. I really was expecting it to take at least an hour and a half. I must have missed the traffic. At the worst, I had to slow down to 55mph before getting off the interstate. The evening commute was similar: 76 minutes. I listened to podcasts (Coverville and The Roadhouse) in the morning. In the evening, I chatted with family and friends on the phone.
The day itself was typical first day. Most of the morning was HR and company orientation. The IT department got me set up with my accounts and passwords. I had a little bit of time before lunch to start poking at the company wiki and learning.
A handful of folks went to lunch, which was nice.
After lunch, I spent more time poking through the company wiki, requesting development machine access, configuring my workspace, and meeting a few other employees. I also spent some time filling out all my HR forms. I set up my CVS access and Eclipse, and started browsing at the code. Before I knew it, it was time to head home. The time just flew by.
The environment is laid back, and the company seems to treat the employees like adults. So far, I'm not seeing evidence of overly-bureaucratic policies. The environment seems oriented to getting the work done. It's a very liberating change from what I'm used to.
I'm also hugely impressed by the break room. Free fountain sodas, fancy coffee, and fancy tea. A wii, big TV, and a couple of pinball games.
I'm hoping that I'll be able to work my schedule to shift to earlier office hours, which will allow me to get home earlier. It'll require getting up earlier, so it will take some shifting around to figure out a reasonable schedule.
I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow.
Friday, October 28, 2011
9:22PM - So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish
Today was my last day at work. I start a new job Monday.
I've worked at the job I'm leaving for about twelve and a half years. It was my first job out of college. I worked there from 1996-1999, then took a break to work for a startup for three years. In 2002, I was thrilled to be able to return to the job I left, and I've been working there ever since.
Changing jobs was a very difficult decision, primarily due to the fantastic team of people I am leaving behind now. Several of the people still working there were working there when I first started in 1996. Such longevity is extremely unusual in the software development industry. These people are more than my coworkers, they are like family. My time at the job has been highly rewarding, and I hope to be able to work with each of the people on the team again at some point.
It was difficult to make the decision to leave, but it was time to go. Over the past several years, the company has been shifting strategies with how they produce the software that I wrote for them. The more things shifted, the more obvious it became that there was not going to be a good long-term fit for me going forward. I started looking for another job, and things actually fell into place pretty quickly.
Over the past couple of weeks, I've had some great conversations with people at the old job, including several levels up the management chain. Everyone seemed interested in hearing what I had to say about how I'm seeing things change on our team, and what can be done to help ensure the future success of the team. I hope that the team continues to thrive. Who knows -- if things at the company shift back to create an environment similar to the environment there was two years ago, I'd welcome the opportunity to work with my team again.
I'm really excited about the new job. I'll be writing software that the company sells, instead of software that is used internally. I haven't done that since the startup I worked at. It's different when you write software that the business is built around than when you write software that plays a supporting role. The new company also uses a semi-agile methodology, which will be a welcome change (and challenge) from the semi-waterfall methodology that I've worked in my entire professional career. I've been reading a lot about agile lately to help prepare.
The new job is not going to be without its drawbacks, to be sure. Notably, my commute is going to change from about seven minutes to an hour fifteen or more. I'm not going to be able to meet ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=91.7){kind=small}
yarbiedoll for lunch anymore. I already told my ticket rep with the Grasshoppers that I won't be renewing my season ticket for baseball next year. I've dropped off the committee I was on at church. I'm sticking with the praise band, but pretty much everything else I was committed to that takes time, I've cut back. I'll be listening to a lot of podcasts on my commute. It's definitely going to be a different mindset, with the new commute.
As I finished out my final days at the old job, many of my coworkers came by to wish me well. I'm definitely going to miss that team. On the flip side, I'm looking forward to getting to know my new team.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
11:57PM - Writer's Block: Time for change
The elimination of Daylight Saving Time.
This is, of course, the primary plank in my "Dr. Mellow For President" election campaign.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
10:27PM - Book Review: "Water For Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really liked this book.
Several people have recommended it to me, and the Kindle version was recently on sale at a great price, so I picked it up and put it in my "to-read" pile. When it bubbled to the top of the pile, I was glad to read it. For me, it was quite a page-turner and kept my attention well. I managed to read it over the course of just a few days.
Quick plot synopsis: The book focuses on the main character: Jacob. It follows him in two timelines: the "present," where he is an old man in a nursing home, and the "past," where he is a young man who joins the circus for a season after a tragic situation completely disturbs his idea of normalcy. I like how the author goes back and forth between the timelines. In the present, Jacob is excited about the circus visiting town, which brings back a flood of memories from his past. The main story is the story of Jacob in the circus. It's a hard life, but he manages to fit in well enough. During his time in the circus, he makes friends, he makes enemies, he falls in love, he deals with success, he deals with failure. His job is with the animals, and a big part of the book (especially the 2nd half) deals with his relationship between a newly acquired elephant, the performer who works with the elephant, and her husband (who is also Jacob's boss).
What I liked: The characters were believable, as was the plot. I loved going back and forth between the two timelines, and seeing how they related to each other. There were enough twits and turns in the story to keep me engaged, but not so many to become confusing. It's pretty obvious that the author did some research on how circuses worked in the depression era, and the details that she includes provide great color to the story. It's really a behind-the-scenes look at a circus, so it's pretty raw and rough around the edges. This kept it interesting.
What could have been improved: After the book was done, there was a Q-and-A piece with the author where she indicated that the backbone of the story was based on the biblical story of Jacob. I didn't see it. After a bit of internet searching, I saw some discussions that included some explanations on the parallels. After reading them, I can kinda see it, but it's a stretch. It doesn't change how much I enjoyed the book, but it left me feeling that the author was trying to do something with the story that she wasn't quite successful doing. *shrug* If you read the book, go into it looking for those parallels. You'll be more successful finding them if you know to look for them, because it's not at all obvious.
Should you read it? Yes, it's a very enjoyable read.
One of my favorite quotes from the book: "Is where you’re from the place you’re leaving or where you have roots?"
View all my reviews
Saturday, October 22, 2011
6:29PM - Book Review: "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I read "The Help" after having it highly recommended by several people I know, and after noting that the reviews for it are generally good. After having read the book, I think my expectations were too high for it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book and am glad to have read it, but I don't think it's all that.
Quick plot synopsis: It's the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. Racial tension exists. High(ish) society white women treat their black domestic help with various degrees of respect. One young white lady decides to write a book about the relationship between the white women and the help. This is not initially received as a good idea. She has a hard time getting the help agreeing to tell real stories about their experiences, because they are afraid they will be fired, hurt, and/or killed. Eventually, she gains trust and cooperation. The book is written.
What I thought: When I finished reading it, I wished that I had read the book they were writing in the book instead of the story of writing that book. While the characters are putting the book together, the reader gets some insight into some of those stories, and they sounded much more interesting than the story of writing the book.
Is the story believable? Probably. I don't know, I was born in 1972 and had more exposure to race issues from closer to an "inner city" perspective than to a "rural" perspective. Was it a compelling story? Yes. Were the characters believable and interesting? Mostly.
What the book did right: The racial tension was appropriate and obvious throughout the entire book. The pacing was nice -- I was never bored reading it, and I never thought it left me behind. Telling the story from multiple 1st person points of view was awesome. I love how the author told the story in chronological order, but switched point of view every few scenes. The voices were distinctly different and believable. It was nice to be able to get in the head of several of the characters as the story progressed.
Where the book could have been improved: My biggest complaint is that the book wants to think it's a commentary on race relations, but it confuses the issue by throwing in some class tension in the mix. The main tension is between the white high(ish) society women and their domestic help. But they also have tension with a "white trash" lady. The whole situation seems pretty realistic, but the underlying tension gets terribly confusing because it's not explored well enough. The "white trash" storyline adds a lot to the story, especially showing that it's not as simple as black and white (haha). But it falls flat in my eyes. Also, like I already mentioned, I would have enjoyed more stories about the actual relations between the employer and employees.
Overall recommendation: It's good, but it's not all that.
View all my reviews
Thursday, August 11, 2011
2:06PM - Book Review: "Read This Before Our Next Meeting: The Modern Meeting Standard" by Al Pittampalli
Read This Before Our Next Meeting: The Modern Meeting Standard by Al Pittampalli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a quick read, and written from an interesting perspective. The author is trying to get the point across that meetings are generally a waste of time and effort. Instead, he advocates a "modern meeting" where the purpose of the meeting is to make decisions and act on them. The modern meeting is focused, only includes people who have a stake in the decision, and requires participants to be prepared. The thing that made the perspective of this book interesting to me is that it reads as if it were handed to me by someone at my company. The author talks about "our organization," and how we need to fix things. It's pretty subtle at first, but soon enough I realized what was going on. It's a nice touch.
Will my company reach a culture that supports the Modern Meeting? *shrug* I don't know. But I do know that I will be applying some of the suggestions in my daily work flow. One of the critical suggestions is to not have a meeting when a conversation will suffice. I like that -- conversations are active and not nearly as disruptive to my schedule as meetings are.
Here's a choice quote from the book:
I used to come to work with a promise to myself, a commitment to do work that matters. But having been unsuccessful in fulfilling that promise in the short windows between meetings, I now come into work with the hope of surviving the day.
Should you read this book? If you're part of a company that has lots of meetings, especially ones that appear pointless, then it's worth the read.
View all my reviews
Other Blog Entries
Missed an entry? Visit my blog to read previous entries. Thanks to LiveJournal for providing an excellent and flexible blogging system. If you would like to start your own blog, I highly recommend that you create a LiveJournal account for yourself.
