07.06.06
Posted in books, business at 7:21 am by mridley
Next up on my reading list is Piloting Palm: The Inside Story of Palm, Handspring and the Birth of the Billion Dollar Handheld Industry
. I’m not sure what I expect to get out of this book, I’m going in pretty open minded and just looking for entertainment.
I don’t know a lot about the history, especially the early history, of Palm Computing. They certainly did jumpstart the hand held PDA market. While the jury is still out on how that whole industry segment will ultimately look, Palm was a key force in shaping where it is today.
I’ll let you know if I learn anything interesting.
Tags: Palm Computing, PDA
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07.05.06
Posted in books, business at 7:15 pm by mridley
I finished Stealing Time : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Collapse of AOL Time Warner so I figured I should write a follow-up to my initial thoughts when I first sat down with it.
I suppose that my personal opinion that the failure of the merger was the result of being unable to realize the promised synergies was indeed backed up by the book. On the other hand, there were additional factors that I wasn’t as familiar with. The personalities involved probably made the deal unworkable from the beginning.
And if the book is to be believed, there were major accounting and ethics problems at AOL which also likely doomed the deal from the beginning. So, as in all great catastrophes, it was a confluence of factors.
As far as the book goes, it was a good read - I’d reccomend it.
Tags: AOL, Time Warner
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06.21.06
Posted in books, business at 10:55 pm by mridley
I finally updated my current reading list - picked up Stealing Time : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Collapse of AOL Time Warner. I always like business “biographies”, plus it has some interesting history about Jim Kimsey’s involvement. It’s funny cuz I used to be very plugged into the tech world, and nobody on the West Coast that I knew of had ever heard of Kimsey. I didn’t hear about him until I came back to the East Coast and met a girl he used to sleep with. And she was saying how he used to be the CEO of AOL which I had a hard time believing cuz nobody I knew ever heard of him. But it turns out he was. And apparently he also was the original owner (possibly current, don’t know) of the Madhatter in DC. Go figure.
On a more important note, I’m interested in hearing the author’s analysis (and presumably the input from involved players) in why the AOL/TW deal didn’t work out. I have my own opinions on the subject, but I’m interested to see if the people in the know agree or not.
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02.26.06
Posted in books, life, music at 10:06 pm by mridley
I was sitting at Starbucks yesterday reading Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
. I don’t normally pay attention to the music playing in Starbucks, but I remember thinking to myself, “Hm..this melody sounds so much like a Sisters of Mercy song” but the vocals were a woman and the style not at all the Sisters. I got to a chapter break in the book and set it down to take a sip of my coffee. And not being focused on the book any more, what did I notice? The song was in fact a cover of Marian by Sisters of Mercy.
I can’t be 100% sure since the music was not very loud and there were people talking. But I’m pretty sure there was some Lilith Fair girlie band playing Marian on the Starbucks speakers. How odd. I couldn’t tell if they sang the German verse or not. I’m curious who the band was (or if I’m even right)…so if you know about this cover, let me know who did it!
Tags: Starbucks, Sisters of Mercy
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01.07.06
Posted in books at 1:08 am by mridley
I finished The Supreme Court
, my current selection in the “Currently Reading” box. It took me a long time to get through the book, but only because I’ve been distracted over the holiday season. The book itself is quite a quick and easy read and really interesting. I’m no scholar of the court, but I’m not oblivious to the American judiciary yet I learned quite a bit from reading the book.
Not only was it a refresher on some major court cases that we all learn about in civics class (Marbury vs. Madison, etc.) but there were a number of cases presented that I wasn’t familiar with. Even more interesting, though, it made me think about issues relating to court procedure that I hadn’t given much consideration. For example the role of debate in conference. Or the importance of having the oral arguments at all.
So two thumbs up and all that. I’ll try to think of someting new to read soon, and update the “Currently Reading” selection.
Tags: Supreme Court
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11.05.05
Posted in books at 3:00 am by mridley
I’ve updated my current reading link on the navigation area to reflect my actual current reading. I picked up Old Soldiers Never Die: : The Life and Legend of Douglas MacArthur
from the local library. I’ve always been somewhat fascinated with MacArthur but I don’t know a lot about it. So, I figured I’d read a biography. I think there may be better or more definitive ones out there (I don’t know), but this is what the library had and so far so good. Seems fairly thorough, although I’m not that far into it yet.
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10.06.05
Posted in books, life at 11:50 pm by mridley
I’m going to update the currently reading link, as my current state of unemployment and general malaise about future career directions is making it hard for me to focus and be productive on my side projects. So I think I’m going to break out my favorite book and re-read Atlas Shrugged
to help focus me on what I know my priorities should be. I’m sure that everyone reading this has read and loved Atlas Shrugged, but if you haven’t then click the link and buy it RIGHT NOW. RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW. STOP READING THIS AND GO BUY THE BOOK.
Some people think that The Catcher in the Rye is a great coming of age story, but Holden Caulfied never had much on Dagny Taggart in my book.
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09.06.05
Posted in books at 3:04 pm by mridley
Since the new movie adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
has recently come out, I thought I’d suggest another gem from Dahl that may not be as well known.
Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes is a compliation of various classic and familiar fairy tales, re-imagined and re-interpreted by Dahl. This is pointedly not for children, but very entertaining for adults. Particularly sick and twisted adults.
Boy and Going Solo comprise the two part autobiography of Roald Dahl. While perhaps not quite as fantastic as the voyages of his fictional characters, Dahl lived quite a life himself. Learn of his childhood mishaps, his job working in Africa prior to World War II, and then his career as a pilot in the British Royal Air Force during the war. If you’re a fan of his works of fiction, you’ll certainly appreciate the story behind the author. And even if you aren’t fond of his childrens’ literature, his personal story rivals the autobiographies of most others.
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