(4.0) Really enjoyed this, more for the eye-opening look at what various pieces of the executive branch actually do
Yes, there are several episodes of (4.0) Really enjoyed this, more for the eye-opening look at what various pieces of the executive branch actually do
Yes, there are several episodes of Trump transition teams never showing up, showing contempt for the government employees welcoming them and eager to teach them what they need to know to keep the country safe, fed and afloat. It’s frightening to learn both how critical some of their work is and how likely it is that Trump’s representatives will intentionally or ignorantly foul it all up. More angering to see him appoint people dead set on manipulating the government agencies to their own wealth and benefit at the detriment of the public at the public’s own expense. Very in line with Trumpian philosophy of course.
But still, that just makes one mad and afraid of what’s coming. The cool bits here are learning about many fascinating things that the DOE, USDA and the Department of Commerce do. Everything to do with nuclear (weapons, deterrence, strategizing against Iran’s nuclear program) is DOE. And we get into all sorts of interesting discussions about data, weather and weather data within Commerce. There are some cool people out there making America great, and they and their work have been tossed on their butts while looters gonna loot. Only hope is that we can rebuild back to where we were without too much disruption or catastrophe.
Keep it up, Mr Lewis! :) I’d love a more complete tour of the Cabinet...felt like we just dove into two or three areas where there’s so much more to explore. Could become high school government lesson textbook that people would actually read....more
Evidently a natural scholar, Tara rises from unschooled (not homeschooled) in Paranoid&Fundamentalist, I(4.0) Remarkable—bordering on incredible—story
Evidently a natural scholar, Tara rises from unschooled (not homeschooled) in Paranoid&Fundamentalist, Idaho to earn a PhD and find her way in a completely foreign world. The first few lucky breaks she has seem like they might be someone just trying to give a girl who had so much stacked against her a chance to escape the crazy life her twisted father has created for his family (reminds me much of Neal Stephenson's Reamde, except WAY more so). But eventually you figure she must have a natural ability to study, to work things out, and, frankly, to write to work her way into BYU, let alone Cambridge. I'm still in awe of what she's achieved. And how much she had to give up and to redefine her own identity to do so. Living in her new world, and appreciating it very much, I can't empathize with any desire to return/remain in her family's world, but I realize it must've been devastating (indeed, it nearly caused a mental breakdown and expulsion from school). I'm also so thankful and impressed that there are people who did lend her a hand and let her blossom as a scholar. It's heartwarming to see the good in humanity from time to time, and to see an intelligent woman as the deserved beneficiary to boot. :)
But also, I want to know: what's she up to now?!...more
(3.5) Perhaps unfairly a) comparing to Emperor of All Maladies and b) being disappointed by (expected) lack of clear path to cures
There's some hope th(3.5) Perhaps unfairly a) comparing to Emperor of All Maladies and b) being disappointed by (expected) lack of clear path to cures
There's some hope that there will be a single treatment that can at least halt Alzheimer's (as opposed to The Cancer, which seems to require seemingly infinite array of tools, treatments for the many varieties--even among a single tissue of origin). But sadly, we haven't found it yet. I most enjoyed the history of the disease, much as I enjoyed Mukherjee's history of cancer in The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer--do read that. I didn't know the last few decades' worth of gyrations in the hypotheses of the mechanism of Alzheimer's (plaques and tangles: cause, effect, side-effect?).
A few tips from the book, in the absence of actual proven treatment (that doesn't cause your brain to swell): get lots of sleep, eat well, get exercise, stay social. Maybe: eat lots of turmeric (?). Then see if you can convince those in charge to spend a little more on Alzheimer's (proportionally far more goes to cancer, AIDS). Trick is that a drug will probably eventually do the trick, but not many more Pharma are going to kick in a billion dollars for a possible chance of a hit. Too many have been burned in the attempt already. (Funnily enough, a couple of them were the subject of the huge insider trading scandal at the heart of the other book I just read, Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street, which was pretty durn good; I recommend it!)...more
(4.0) Fun, enlightening read (esp of you haven’t somehow adopted devops approach by now)
Very reminiscent (intentionally so) of Goldratt’s The Goal, bu(4.0) Fun, enlightening read (esp of you haven’t somehow adopted devops approach by now)
Very reminiscent (intentionally so) of Goldratt’s The Goal, but using it and manufacturing processes as analogy for development and “IT Ops”. Bill is led down the path of enlightenment by Erik, who speaks in cryptic and allegorical ways. Things kind of work out magically in a matter of weeks! :)...more
(4.0) Kind of too late, but we can try to continue tax reform. Just need a plan to safely dismantle the tax-industrial complex (and retrain Intuit/H&R(4.0) Kind of too late, but we can try to continue tax reform. Just need a plan to safely dismantle the tax-industrial complex (and retrain Intuit/H&R Block workforce to do something actually productive)
[raw notes for now]
Graduated better than flat tax. Graduated rates themselves are not a painful source of complexity. It’s all of the exceptions.
“Tax expenditures” (deductions, credits etc) are over a trillion dollars.
Americans spend billions of hours and dollars to file returns. Huge drain on productivity. IRS says it’s super efficient, but only by outsourcing all of the work to taxpayers.
Congress likes to yell at IRS. But it’s clear where complexity comes from—them.
Bblr (broad base, low rates)—eliminate exemptions, deductions, credits to tax all income
Make rates low to disincentivize cheating and to make deductions etc less valuable to wealthy
Adopt the VAT (not too far from Ted Cruz’s proposal)—key idea here is that each link in the supply chain is motivated to report taxes paid to their counter parties so government can easily spot the cheaters/underpayers. Can give some credits to make VAT less regressive (though admits that fairness is the enemy of simplicity).
Also got into Piketty territory about avoiding concentration of wealth before it leads to social upheaval/revolution. Keep the estate tax. Also: introduce global wealth tax. It’s being tried in EU (what about Brexit?).
Japan mails postcards with government assessment of taxes owed. If taxpayer agrees, they’re done. 80-85% of Japanese tax returns are competed this way. They also have dynamic rules for withholding taxes from income. It’s pretty much always correct and the right amount is withheld. Ingenious? How hard could it be? Side benefit to tax cheats: you know what the government knows! :)...more
(4.0) Anyone early in their tech career might want a read
Some good advice for anyone, especially if coming from “non-traditional” tech background, whe(4.0) Anyone early in their tech career might want a read
Some good advice for anyone, especially if coming from “non-traditional” tech background, whether gender, race, national, economic or (non-)academic backgrounds. Or even those with CS degrees from Stanford. Some anecdotes, lots of advice, not all applicable, but heaps of material to build empathy, confidence and optimism. And resilience to “failure”....more
(3.5) some good stuff about octopus and cuttlefish (wee!) behavior but a lot of fluff / repetition as well.
He tries to tackle cephalopod behavior, evo(3.5) some good stuff about octopus and cuttlefish (wee!) behavior but a lot of fluff / repetition as well.
He tries to tackle cephalopod behavior, evolutionary biology and the evolution of consciousness in mammals, birds and cephalopods. The cephalopod behavior is by far the most interesting. There are some cool anecdotes in here, some from his own experience and some from others. If you read the eBook, don't miss the color photos near the end of the book! (And I don't recommend reading on eink!)
He likes to repeat himself and to define / classify things to no end. It's at least a lot more readable than the few philosophy books I've attempted....more
(4.0) informative and practical, fair bit of science and not too dumbed down
Definitely love reading people nerd out on something they deeply enjoy. Th(4.0) informative and practical, fair bit of science and not too dumbed down
Definitely love reading people nerd out on something they deeply enjoy. That comes through and makes the book even more enjoyable. (Note: officially I took over a year to finish this, but in reality I went cover to cover in less than a week recently when I picked it back up).
Only complaints are that it’s got a fair bit of re-telling a list of past storms, and the inconsistency of data representation. Storm lore is probably engrossing talk for a meteorologist, but felt like too much of the book was his way. And the graphics and data are useful but often the same type of data are represented in very different ways/colors over varying scales of geography that you need to recalibrate for each figure. They may have been pulled from individual papers where they were internally consistent, and Cliff didn’t want/couldn’t massage the data into similar formats throughout the book.
Aside from those, definitely learned a lot about weather in general, and appreciated the primer at the end on ‘reading the skies’ to translate cloud formations into near-term local weather predictions (helpful for bike rides and hikes and such)....more
(4.0) Takes a while to get useful (if you need convincing that overparenting is A Thing, you probably need a lot more than this book), but has many co(4.0) Takes a while to get useful (if you need convincing that overparenting is A Thing, you probably need a lot more than this book), but has many concrete suggestions to better prepare your children for adulthood. Many of these start at toddlerhood or early elementary school, so get started as soon as you have a child!
Started off with 4.5, but remembered how long it took to get out of the anecdotal whining at the beginning.
Summary: 1. Most of overparenting comes from fear (of abduction, of falling behind) 2. Some of it is an attempt for parents to re-live childhood "right" with the benefit of wisdom of mistakes they made, or at least to give them "every advantage": - "opportunity for parents to demonstrate just how skilled they are at being children" -- p. 59 - "How our kids look, what they eat, how they dress, what activities the pursue, what they achieve have become reflections of us. Of how we see ourselves. Like their life is our accomplishment. Like their failures are our fault." -- p. 124 3. Smaller effect, but perhaps real: on p. 29 mentions that some of the coddling may come from the difficulty of actually having children given that many adults (especially affluent/successful) wait until their 30s 4. You should stop overparenting: - let your kids play - help them develop life skills - let them roam free out of your supervision - teach them critical thinking / think for themselves - prepare for hard work - resilience - help them choose school best for them, not necessarily The Best.
What to do to be a good parent (comes later in the book, but more valuable I'd argue than the stuff farther below): * "Don't do for your kid what your kid can already do or can almost do." -- Madeline Levine * let your kids play, let them make the rules, resolve the conflicts, best is if they do it spontaneously on their own (rather than scheduled by parents) - if you can, explicitly agree with other parents that this is the goal (so that they don't interfere/overparent, for example) - choose toys that allow free play (the more multipurpose/generic the better: blocks and LEGO rather than action heroes) - let the kids decide how and what to play - give distance between you and kids - learn to 'wince and not pounce': they're going to get hurt, but they'll be learning to take care of themselves, take appropriate risks and deal with consequences - work with other parents to build safe outdoor spaces where kids can play on their own * Life skills: - by 3 years, kid should: -- put away toys -- dress self -- put clothes in hamper -- clear plate after meal -- assist in setting table -- brush teeth and wash face with assistance - by 5 years, kid should -- know full name, address, phone number -- know how to make emergency call -- perform simple cleaning chores -- feed pets -- identify monetary denominations, understand concept of money use -- brush teeth, comb hair, wash face without assistance -- help with laundry chores -- choose own clothes to wear - by 7 years, kid can -- mix, stir, cut food -- make basic meal (e.g. sandwich) -- help put away groceries -- wash dishes -- basic household cleaners -- straighten up bathroom after use -- make bed without assistance -- bathe unsupervised - by 9 years, kid should: -- fold clothes -- simple sewing -- care for outdoor toys (e.g. bike) -- take care of personal hygiene without being told -- use broom and dustpan -- read a recipe and prepare simple meal -- help create grocery list -- count and make change -- take written phone messages -- help with lawn/garden duties -- take out trash - by 13 years, kid should: -- able to stay home alone -- go to store and make purchase by self -- change bedsheets -- use washing machine and dryer/clothes line -- plan and prepare a meal with several ingredients -- use oven to broil/bake -- read labels -- iron clothes -- basic hand tools -- mow lawn -- look after younger siblings or neighbors - by 18, kid should: -- perform sophisticated cleaning and maintenance chores (e.g. changing vacuum cleaner bag) -- fill car with gas, add air to tire -- read and understand medicine labels -- interview for and get job -- prepare and cook meals - by moving out own own, young adult should: -- make doctor/dental appointments -- basic understanding of finances (balance checkbook, pay bills, use credit cards responsibly) -- understand basic contracts (e.g. apartment lease) -- schedule oil changes and basic car maintenance * "free-range kids": teach them how to do things, then let them do them on their own completely independently. try teaching them a few and then ask them which on they want to learn to do on their own (walk/bike to school, cook meal etc.) - kids making own breakfast at 5 years :) * teach kids to think for themselves: - elementary: ask them "why" questions: why do you belief that, how do you know, can you think of other reasons/possibilities? - middle: ask them what they enjoyed about school today (and why), what they didn't (and why) - high: what did you enjoy? why? what do you think makes that interesting to you? * discuss controversial topic with them, take devil's advocate (then ask them to take opposite position from where they start on subsequent topic) * let them / force them to speak up for themselves with strangers/authority. let them know ahead of time you'll be looking to them to do all the talking and you'll be able to provide any missing info if they need it. * prepare for hard work / work ethic: - start chores at 3 years old -- toddlers: help with chores: dusting, laundry help -- elementary: bring in groceries, clean up spills (including for others), broom + dustpan -- middle: wash car, shovel snow, rake leaves, pick up stuff from the store, grunt/gross work -- high: clean refrigerator, clean kitchen, help organize attic, help out others (e.g. neighbors) - expect their help, don't apologize, give straightforward instructions, give thanks and feedback, make it routine * developing purpose: - let long-term goals and purpose become motivator (not parent, not grades, not getting into college) * resilience: - take an interest in them, what they like, how they feel - let them make their choices and how to decide them, let them take risks and make mistakes - help them learn from experience, combat perfectionism - notice them being good and comment on it - authentic feedback and criticism (criticize action, not them, don't place blame) - be good model yourself - some things your child should experience by 18 (longer list in book): -- experiencing death of pet -- breaking something valuable -- seeing tree that he/she planted die -- car trouble/accident -- not making varsity team -- being blamed for something he/she didn't do -- coming in last or being last one picked -- being hit by another kid -- deeply regretting something he/she can't take back * look at schools other than "the top" - be realistic about the odds - schools with less focus on testing - benefits of going to less selective school (and being among the best there) - fiske guide to colleges ("best buys") - niche "college prowler) (student opinion) - princeton review (student opinion) - Colleges That Change LIves - The Alumni Factor (which small colleges allow healthy development, good financial prospects as grads) - let the kid decide * convince other parents that overparenting is to be avoided: use opportunities to share with them, avoid having them overparent your child
4 shifts in childhood in the past 20-30 years: * media spread fear of abduction/injury/death * falling behind competition (e.g. from other countries) * self-esteem movement (e.g. everyone gets a trophy for existing) * emergence of playdates (vs child-initiated, spontaneous free play) -- though this is more a function of the first one plus two busy working parents. Playdates can be fun and social, but they're parent-driven, parent-supervised and typically not free play
Symptoms: * college kids, graduate students, even employed adults: - increasingly dependent on their parents to advocate for them, help them make decisions, deal with uncertainty, provide motivation and path - without purpose - unable to cope with and overcome adversity of any kind - who feel entitled to advancement, promotion, success without really trying - lacking basic life skills (feed, clothe, launder, get out of bed in time) -- "learned helplessness" - mentally weak: college students stressed out, feel no control, can't handle failure (or success), unable to deviate from parents' chosen path * parents stressed out too!
What's going on now: * fear of abduction even though children are safer now than ever (twisted devil's advocate: perhaps some of that drop in abduction/deaths is due to helicoptering) * allowing children independence, autonomy, going out alone is now criminalized at times * trying to create opportunities, give advantage to kids * "concierge parents" doing all the life skills work for kids, fixing their problems, dealing with other adults on behalf of adult children * parents doing homework * "college admissions is broken": too much reliance on SAT and US News & World Report...but doesn't really make claim that admissions offices are doing the wrong thing (other than encouraging applicants who have no shot but will pad the selectivity index) * estimated 1/4 of college applicants have used a private tutor or college consultant * many parents "game" ADHD diagnosis to get extra time for a non-affected student to get an unfair advantage (hear anecdotes from trusted source that this is very real) * ADHD recreational/frequent drug use off prescription (sounds like some peer pressure too, particularly in East Coast and boarding schools)
Examples of things kids should be able to do by 18, but often cannot: * talk to strangers * find her way around (e.g. a campus) * manage assignments, work load, deadlines * contribute to the running of a household * handle interpersonal problems * cope with ups and downs (e.g. of school) * earn and manage money * take risks
I liked this: * A parent: "I want our girls to be healthy, ethical, and to still love learning when the leave our home. Nothing else matters." -- p.216
Minor problems I have: * much of the book is recapitulation of other similar parenting/self-help books by non-scientists; not sure the original contribution contained here * claims that admissions process is "broken", but not sure what she means (reliance on SATs, US News). Which colleges are letting in people that they should not? - also: stopping overparenting doesn't 'fix' this problem at all, unless she actually means that parents are too focused on "top" schools and if they eased up things would be better? * her section on overparenting as cause of mental health problems: looks like it way overstates the problem to me, huge sample bias in the surveys and subjective reports/guesses from student affairs people/counselors at colleges (who see the problems every day) * claims that drugs (and especially extra time) for ADHD kids isn't an "advantage", but levels playing field...seems inconsistent with much of the rest of the book, but also I would expect that ADHD has a wide spectrum, and anyone in the high functioning end of spectrum very likely gets advantage
Bugs: * hardcover p. 19: "libeties" => "liberties"
(4.0) Pretty good, not terribly useful for me right now, but for those nearing age of 62, do read! Book will need an update for those further from ret(4.0) Pretty good, not terribly useful for me right now, but for those nearing age of 62, do read! Book will need an update for those further from retirement
One of the key strategies (nytimes calls it a "loophole", not sure that's apt) in this book is going away (for those not currently near retirement) :( : http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/bus... (this currently allows Spouse A to file for Social Security but suspend benefits right away, continuing to accrue delayed retirement credits (not the right term?), while also collecting retirement benefits from Spouse B's benefits)....more
(3.0) Already forgotten most of this, a lot about being a playwright, not so much about being parent
But some of the good stuff:
On melting your heart: "(3.0) Already forgotten most of this, a lot about being a playwright, not so much about being parent
But some of the good stuff:
On melting your heart: "I have an umbrella with a picture of the sky inside. My daughter Anna said, when she was three and underneath it, 'We have two skies, the umbrella sky and the real sky.' When I went out with her in the rain recently without an umbrella, she said, 'It's all right, Mama. I will be your umbrella.' And she put her arms over my head."
On plays (and art): "I would be interested in seeing a short series of plays, all called "Untitled." So that the eye might be redirected and the play might become ever more interior and private, with no recourse to a title that might restric meaning. Titles by their nature imply that the play's architecture is like a bull's-eye (and some are) with the point being in the center. Sometimes the point is in the margins, or in the experience of throwing the dart." Yeah, though I don't think I have a better experience in modern art museum when I see a piece that's Untitled # 29. :/
"It used to be in Shakespeare's time that nobodies, actors, would play royalty, somebodies. Now there is no royalty in our culture but for actor-celebrities themselves. So now the actors are somebodies in real life while on stage they pretend to be nobodies. And we no longer write about royalty on stage; we write about the common man. "What does that do to mimesis or to the sense that we are seeing something important on stage? When a nobody pretends to be a somebody, the transformation is magical. But when a somebody pretends to be a nobody, are we just watching for a glimmer of the somebody inside the nobody?" Interesting. Note: mimesis/mimetic is her pet word. Love the semicolon use: take that editors!
"Recently, my son said to me after seeing a ballet on television: "It's beautiful but I don't like it." And I thought, Are many grown-ups capable of such a distinction? It's beautiful, but I don't like it. Usually, our grown-up thinking is more along the lines of: I don't like it, so it's not beautiful. What would it mean to separate those two impressions for art making and for art criticism?
Also: she named her children after the streets at the intersection at which she met her husband. Shrug. ...more
(4.0) Enjoyed it when I realized it wasn't trying to teach us physics
Smolin's book is really a history and philosophy of science book. In that, it's r(4.0) Enjoyed it when I realized it wasn't trying to teach us physics
Smolin's book is really a history and philosophy of science book. In that, it's really good. Very open and honest about the state of physics and the degree to which string theorists had been bending the rules and expectations of science...getting dangerously close to religious science.
I had earlier some expectation that I'd 'understand' string theory (little did I know it was essentially a 10^500-size space of theories, rather than one) or it's relationship to quantum gravity, gauge fields etc. But once I got past that expectation, I really appreciated this look at a science and the sociology of it.
This was written about 10 years ago I think, but I haven't kept up with developments in the leading hypotheses in physics, so I don't even know if string theorists are still in charge, outcasts, or somewhere in between. Would be interesting to do a follow-up to see how things have progressed, whether anyone has listened to Smolin's pleas for improvement....more
(3.0) Started off poor, redeemed herself a bit toward the end
She overdid the analogies a bit, but some were fun. My most memorable one I liked was abo(3.0) Started off poor, redeemed herself a bit toward the end
She overdid the analogies a bit, but some were fun. My most memorable one I liked was about having dinner party with toddlers in attendance: by the end of dinner the gnarled mass of unfinished conversations is like an armful of electrical wires you're trying to figure out how to reconnect.
Some other good "oh it's so true" moments about SIDS (we're scared to death of it and really can't do anything other than putting them to sleep on back...as a result, we wake up every 20 minutes and check for breathing), being tired, "trying again" 6 weeks after birth seems so far from anyone's mind.
But she seems like a 'difficult' person to live with. She essentially admits to resenting her husband for being such a good husband during her pregnancy and recovery, like she dislikes herself and takes it out on him. She also seems to take out a lot of frustration on her son. Not good.
On the other hand, she gives her husband an awful lot of credit for picking up maxipads for her. Does anyone cheer for her for doing the same?...more
Brought back a lot of rowing memories for me. Captured the feel of a great boat as well as possible for non-rowers I think.
Brown cl(4.5) Engaging read
Brought back a lot of rowing memories for me. Captured the feel of a great boat as well as possible for non-rowers I think.
Brown claims that he promised Joe Rantz to write a book about the whole boat, not just Joe, but probably 75% of it turns out to be about him. His path to making it to UW--let alone the varsity boat--is pretty inspirational though.
Didn't need to add all the bits about Nazi preparation for the Olympics though....more
Loading...
