Amazon delivered my pre-ordered Spook Country by William Gibson some weeks ago, and I made time for it a few weeks ago. For Gibson, this book felt entirely too much in the present. Rather than a recognizable, but just slightly altered view of how the near future might present itself, Spook Country felt like right…

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The San Francisco summer (September) delivered another beautiful morning today. The Bridge to Bridge 12K race is a local fixture I’ve never run. Starting at the Ferry Building, the race has only one short, steep hill, as it stays along the water almost the entire race, finishing in the Presidio. The official results are not…

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I spent most of August carrying around Vietnam: A History, by Stanley Karnow. I read snippets when I could, finally finishing around Labor Day, with the brief mention of the infamous helicopter evacuation of the last Americans from Saigon. This is a popular, general history which doesn’t talk down to its readers. I learned much.…

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Metacritic condenses the reviews to an 85, quite high. I found The Bourne Ultimatum to be a worthy continuation of the character, but it’s not the best of the three (as many were saying). A few notes… First, the “edgy” camera techniques every time Bourne sprung into action spun me around a bit too often.…

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I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix a fortnight ago because I knew enough to wait for the wife for the third Bourne movie. I haven’t read all the Potters (though the boy has, several times), and I can never remember which of the previous movies I’ve seen. This one was fine,…

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Earlier this month, after an East Coast vacation, but before the rest of the family returned, I hunkered down for the entire 3+ hours of The Right Stuff. Long ago, I read Chuck Yeager’s autobiography (title: “Yeager), so I enjoyed the almost-parallel tale of Yeager’s pursuit of the speed & altitude records. But the Mercury…

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Thanks to a recommendation from my friends at CNET Networks, I found out about BikeParking.com. Great selection of bicycle racks for offices, garages and other commercial spaces. No online ordering, and the price sheet is on a PDF, but clear pictures, descriptions, and suggestions for different situations. I’m grateful that Minor Ventures is making an…

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Maybe I’m too old, but watching Napoleon Dynamite, I could only be grateful it was short. Metacritic score of 64 is far above my personal rating.

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I’ve read Robert Heinlein many times before, but never one of his most famous novels, “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.” Published in 1966, the first-person story walks us through the revolt of a colony on the moon against the earth. The colony was founded as a prison, like Australia’s origins. Right away, the dialect…

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The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman was a hoot. The accompanying blog shows the spirit of the humor. If you’ve seen Hodgman on The Daily Show, then the voice and wry straight-man tone are even more fun. This is short, which is fine, since it’s a bit repetitive after a while.

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