Ubik

Ubik takes place in a very futuristic 1992, where everything from doors to appliances demand coins to perform their action. The principle character are employees of a "prudence" organization that have the ability to counteract psychic powers. The owner, Glen Runciter, communicates with his wife who resides in "half life", a post-death state that allows the dead to still communicate with the living. (However, communications gradually cause the half-life to fade.)

One day a new recruit is brought in that has a special "anti-precog" capability that allows her to go to "change" the past. She along with some of Runciter's best employees go on a mission to Luna which ends up being a trap. They find their world mysteriously regressing backwards. They also find strange communications from their boss showing up in odd places. They blame the new girl for this problems. However, they eventually discover it is another half-lifer that is "eating them". Luckily, some half-lifers have come up with a counter-measure, Ubik.

Like Dick's Flow My Tears the Policman Said, Ubik has an odd approach to "personalized" time travel. In Ubik, it initially appears somebody is purposely regressing people in the past until they whither away. However, it is later revealed that almost the entire world was created in somebody's mind, and that time period just happened to be a convenient one for them to be in.

The novel continues to build up interesting twists on existence itself, and eventually ends with a quasi-biblical quote. The "half-life" world has strong forces of good and evil that are trying to steer people to their side. They give messages and hints of the best course of action, and even occasionally try to assist. However, the end result is dependent on the will and actions of the half-lifers themselves. They eventually gain the ability to distinguish the good from the bad, and use that to be able to continue their existence. (and meanwhile, they still continue their limited ability to communicate with the "real" living.)

Ubik also provides strong contrast between an overly commercial world of the future with the "half-life" world. Each have their own challenges, and at times, people are unsure where they belong.

Altogether, it is a good science fiction book that explores many different aspects of life of the 60s when it was written as well as humanity in general.

Judy Moody Goes to College

Judy Moody's third grade teacher is in Italy and she has a substitute she doesn't like. She zones out in math, so her parents hire a tutor. This tutor is a student at the local college, and Judy Moody is thrilled to be "going to college". She gets a great enthusiasm for math and enjoys the college "scene". She decides she wants to dress and talk like her tutor. She even attends an art class, and has her picture displayed at an art show at the University.

The book is a "sassy kids book", that seems to "try" to hard to be that way. College students are portrayed as valleywag peaceniks that go to a school that more closely resembles 60s Berkeley than any school today. It makes for some third grade humor but comes out with a message that poor performance will be rewarded.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

I was interested in this book after I saw it referenced in a couple of other books I read. Perhaps it would have been better to leave it that way. The author has some good ideas; however, his delivery could use a lot of work. I found myself dozing off every time I picked up the book. The author tends to be extremely wordy, and goes out of his way to make sure he doesn't miss any minute detail. (There is even a long postscript, where he apologizes and corrects some of the details he did miss.)

The core thesis is that scientific revolutions are generally evolutionary changes to an existing paradigm. "Normal" science involves solving small problems in a narrowly defined scientific paradigm. Occasionally questions arise within the paradigm. These can eventually lead to challenges to aspects of the existing paradigm. New solutions may "improve" on it until a revolution produces a new paradigm. Old practitioners are often reluctant to adapt, but eventually they do.

Scientists working within a paradigm tend to look with the eyes of the existing system. They tend to color their results by what they expect to see. (This observational bias is present in all aspects of life and has been elucidated with a number of different studies.) A new paradigm can appear very revolutionary because it unleashes many observations that would not have been noted (or even "observed") in the prior paradigm.

When textbooks are written, the historical evolution of science is given fairly short treatment, thus making science appear to be a more logical progression than it actually is. (And conversely making the revolutionary events appear more significant than they really are.)

The arguments in this book are very convincing. However, you have to wonder if they are colored by the scientific paradigm in which they were written.

Baking pitas and apple cake

We baked an "Apple Hill Cake" from the Los Altos Stake cookbook for Sunday yummy today. It was ok. We probably overcooked it a little. (A real rarity in our oven.) The frosting also seemed to be a little lacking in sugar (1 cup powdered sugar to 8 oz cream cheese + butter and lemon juice.) However, I didn't mind the 'extra-cheesy' version of the frosting.

The cake itself was 4 cups apples, along with some sugar, flour, eggs and oil and a lot of spices. I think I like butter better in cakes. Nuts would also have been helpful. There was a nice apple coffeecake recipe we tried before.

However, it was nice to use up some of our abundant apple crop. Now we are throwing away all sorts of apples with even the slightest blemish. First we tried to save them, give them away or make applesauce, but now they have caught up with us. Just wait. In a few months, we'll be buying apples. D'oh! Too bad the pomegranate crop looks to be coming in at three fruits this year.

For dinner, I also whipped up some hummus (and finished off the tahini in the process.) I did get to use some fresh ranpor lime and lemon juice. (And managed to break the lock that locks the food processor on to the blender base. Maybe its time we got a new food processor/blender.)

After cutting up some carrots and celery, I discovered we were out of other good vegetables to serve with the hummus. It sounded like a good time to try pita bread again.

I used the king author recipe. Just flour, yeast, salt, sugar and oil. Its one of the easier breads to make. Just kneed it together, let it rise for an hour, then roll it out. After sitting for a few minutes, it goes in a really hot oven for 5 minutes and - presto - pita.

The recipe actually called for 5 minutes plus 2 minutes, but they seemed to be done after five. Our oven running hot for two recipes in a row? This is unheard of. Perhaps its the hot day causing it to act that way.

I actually used white flour in the pita because, well, its yummy. I prefer cakes and cookies with whole wheat, but pita just seems to need the white stuff to have the yummy fluffy texture.

The kids ended up making pita faces using hummus to stick the veggies on the pita. Yummy!

Mormon Stories

Card's Mormon Stories provide a diversity of "religious" themes. Two of the stories are strongly rooted in contemporary Mormon culture and are cutting, inspirational views on moral themes. The other two are more general in nature, and are "religious" only in that they use Christian characters.

The "Mormon" Stories

Christmas and Helaman's House
The humble entrepreneur builds a huge house in a ritzy neighborhood. However, he feels somewhat empty. On Christmas Eve, one of her daughters invites over a young man who has recently returned from a mission to Colombia. This man eventually runs out because he can't stand the display of such wealth. Helaman then realizes that he can't stand it either, and with his family, decide to dedicate the house to serving the poor.

It is a nice uplifting story, but it did leave me wanting to read more about how this "dedication to the poor" turned out.

Worthy to Be One Of Us
Two empty-nesters do not remain empty for long as his father dies, resulting in his mother moving in with them. Then, at Thanksgiving, their son announces they have sold their home in anticipation of a March move, and plan on moving (with two kids and pregnant wife). The grandchildren are wild and crazy, and the daughter in law comes from barely-literate "white-trash" stock (while they are the "university professor" types. The wife discovers that the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law both feel inadequate because they feel their husbands have married beneath their social status. In the end, however, they realize that they both provide the "spiritual mooring" for their families, and can point to the strength of their children as a major accomplishment in their life.

This is another nice story showing that we should look at the positive in others, rather than worry about superficial "class" attributes.

The More General Stories

Neighbors
Two seniors were discussing another woman from their town. This woman was always praising her oldest child. However, he recently was executed due to his political involvement. They then discuss some of the unsavory events in his life and how he could have fit in if he didn't seem to be seeking trouble all the time.

Though it is never explicitly stated, it becomes obvious that this is the story of Christ in his home town. This is a nice quick story that cuts at the problems of gossip and the fact that even the most lauded characters can be portrayed in a negative light.

God Plays Fair Once Too Often
God and Lucifer run in to each other at a party and discuss a "bet" which they made. Lucifer gets to destroy the world if he can convince everyone that God's social communal sharing is evil, while rampant capitalism is good. As part of the deal, God has to shut off his omniscience for 150 years. Lucifer manages to get the Stalinism installed in this world under the name of communism. This system, while it takes the name of communism is actually an atheistic monopolistic system with most of the evils of capitalism and few of the benefits. After this system falls, capitalism is seen as the true force that can benefit the earth.

This story is primarily a political critique, positing that we must not overlook the deficiencies of capitalism. Just because the Stalinists failed so miserably in their pseudo-communism does not mean that all communist principles are bad (and capitalistic ones good.) An alternate view could be that the atheistic nature of the government was its true problem.

Oh, Stanford

I should have known. Once Stanford makes it to the top 10, they're destined to lose the next game. But, I still had my hopes up. Could they even challenge for the championship? But, no. They jumped up to a big lead over Oregon in the first half, and then...

They decided not to show up for the second half. Oh well. There is still a chance for a good season.

More baffling is what happened in the rankings. Oregon turned on the quack attack for a second half pounding of Stanford. Boise State pummeled lowly New Mexico State (Boise's backups outscore NMSU on their own.) From a schedule perspective, all of Boise's previous opponents also won. Ohio State struggled with mediocre Illinois. Alabama also managed an annihilation of Florida. So it seemed obvious, Alabama, Oregon and Boise were the top three. But no, for some reason, Ohio State stays second and Oregon passes Boise for third. Oh whatever. Polls are always annoying.

Food Rules

I like Michael Pollan's books. However, I can't seem to tell them apart - except for this one. This is a "sound bite" version of his popular Defense of Food book. He narrows food choices down to a set of around 60 short "rules", some with a couple additional paragraphs, others with nothing more than the rule.

They all describe general approaches to "natural" healthy eating. Some rules include "only eat deserts you make yourself", "don't buy food you see advertised on TV", "don't buy food that makes health claims" or "don't eat something that was served through a car window." The main message is similar to the "real" book: go back to natural food that can be "enjoyed", rather than processed food that is consumed. The message is good. The presentation is extremely brief. I guess its a good way to cash in on a popular book that happens to gel with the cultural zeitgeist.

Yazoo Queen

In the afterward, Card acknowledges that Yazoo Queen is "chapter 0" of Crystal City. He wasn't kidding. When I first read Crystal City, it seemed as if I'd some how missed a chapter with some earlier events. Well, here they are.

In this story, Alvin and Arthur Stewart are taking a riverboat down the Mississippi to Nueva Barcelona (New Orleans). On the boat, they run in to Jim Bowie (who is portrayed as an amiable thug.) They catch a poorly-built raft drifting out in the river and go to rescue it. The raft is piloted by Abraham Lincoln (portrayed as an honest buffoon that everyone just can't help to like.) After they get him back and tie the raft to the riverboat, a group of slaves use the raft to sneak off to their freedom.

This story is a fun read that has fun weaving historical figures and places in to a fantasy narrative. However, it is best read in the sequence of Alvin Maker books (before Crystal City).

Mockingjay

The Hunger Games Recipe: Take a bit of Survivor (and reality in general), through in the original Star Wars trilogy add a touch of Lord of the Flies and Inspector Gadget. The overall plot is a close star wars clone. The "rebels" fight the empire (capital), they seem to get a victory in the first book. In the second the capital fights back and seems to be getting even stronger. Finally, the big fight comes in the third where, against all odds, the rebels manage to win.

Like the previous books, Mockingjay is a great page-turner that I had to plow through in one night. And like the others, I felt unsatisfied at the end.

Here she seems to try just a little too hard. She wasn't sure how to resolve the two-guys thing. So, she brings back a totally brainwashed Peeta and a Gale who gets overly bloodthirsty. Peeta works hard to overcome his brainwashing while Gale concocts massive killing machines (one of which happens to kill Katniss's sister.) Is there any doubt which boy Katniss will end up with?

And then there is the rebel leader, who gets portrayed more and more like a power-hungry villain. You could see what Katniss would do to her long before it happened.

The author was willing to suddenly kill of characters after she built up a lot of sympathy for them. I guess that makes it real. But, it also seems somewhat unsatisfying. She also seems to burn out on the narrative after a parachute explosion that injures Katniss. (Again, she's in the hospital. And again we miss a lot of narrative.) The explosion happens to kill her younger sister. The quest to save her sister was the reason she entered the games in the first place. I guess this shows that it was all for naught. Or perhaps her sister would have become the tool for the revolution instead - and more likely kept her head on.

The Hunger Games series ends as a jumbled escapist mess. It had some potential to make some great observations, but got sidetracked with some bad characters and gruesome action. Hollywood in book form.

Catching Fire

While Hunger Games could stand alone, Catching Fire is the second book in a trilogy. It relies heavily on events of the first book and leaves things in a huge mess at the end. Suddenly, the narrator realizes she has inadvertently helped to launch a revolution. She tries to do everything in her power to make things better. Alas, things just get worse.

The capital has a solution - start a hunger games just for previous champions. That will let these problem people exterminate themselves. Alas, for the capital, it just seems to make matters worse.

The storytelling here is even better than in the first book. The characters are also richer. We get a stronger impression that the capital people are the rich "playboys" and the enemies of society. Unfortunately, Katniss is still downright annoying. In some ways it is not her fault. She is being used by the revolutionaries to help advance their plot. (Though she is totally clueless.) Oh, and she has two guys that love her, though she simply uses them when it is to her advantage. It all makes for another escapist book that you can quickly read through.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games is set in a post-apocalyptic world consisting of a capital city and thirteen distracts. About 75 years before, there had been a big rebellion and the thirteenth district had been annihilated. The remaining districts were put in their place of servitude to the capital city. To help the districts remember their "place", they have an annual event called the "Hunger Games". In the event, a boy and a girl from each district (chosen at random) are brought together in a fight to the death. The winner is lauded, with their entire district receiving some of the spoils. The losers are, well, dead.

The world is a combination of reality TV and class-stratification gone totally amok. However, the book doesn't spend much time looking in to what would be an interesting civilization. Instead, the focus is on the narrator, Katniss.

As the narrative comes to the drawing for the female participant from her district, it seems certain that she will be called. However, she isn't. Instead, her younger sister is called. However, Katniss volunteers to take her place. We see how the initial part of the games turns to hero worship. She is assigned a stylist and a prep crew who help make her up for the games. She dines like a queen. Everything seems like a dream life - well, except for the part that you will likely be dead soon.

The male participant from her district has had a crush on her for years. (She discovers this on the live television announcement.) Eventually, they both go through the games, with some of their allies being killed, while they do their bit of killing themselves. The "gamemakers" make a rule change allowing a district 'couple' to win together. They then revoke it when they are the only ones left. They attempt to get around this by attempting a double suicide with the poison berries. The gamemakers don't want this, and quickly declare them both winners.

The Hunger Games seems to end clearly, with few open threads demanding a sequel. (Their 'defiance' and willingness to buck the tradition seems to be one route.)

The storytelling is top notch, making this book one that is difficult to put down. However, the story seems lacking. The characters are also ho-hum. The narrator, Katniss, could use a few good slaps to get her to stop being such a jerk. Her fellow district competitor evokes much more sympathy (as do other "enemies", such as "Fox Face") It seems like it was made for a summer tentpole movie - large cast of beautiful teens with the romance to draw in the girls, violence and techno-gadgetry to draw in the adults. Unfortunately, like most of the big summer movies, it entertains you while you are there and that's about it.

The Grinning Man

The Grinning Man is set in the Alvin Maker universe of fantasy frontier America. In this world, supernatural "knacks" are common and the politics are a little different than what we learned in history.

In this story, Alvin Maker and his sidekick Arthur Stewart run in to Davey Crocket "grinning" down a bear. Crocket does not take too kindly to them invading his turf. However, Alvin uses his "maker" skills to bend his gun and chase him away. They later visit a town where they find themselves unwelcome due to word Crocket was spreading. Eventually a miller takes them in. However, they find he is cheating his customers. Alvin and Arthur begin to set things right as Davey returns now essentially as a servant to the bear. (Alvin had used his "making" skill to help cause that outcome.) Eventually the miller runs off as his corrupt ways were found the town is happy and the bear gets elected to congress (with Davey as his interpreter.)

The story is fairly light and a fun diversion in the Alvin Maker universe. It could probably stand alone outside, but many of the inside jokes would be missed. The ending (with the bear as an elected official) is a little over the top. All told, it makes a nice addition to one of Card's best series.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

A compulsive gambler checks opts for a mental hospital as an alternative to prison. Once there he tries to stir things up. He befriends the doctor, starts regular card games and takes a number of other bets. One of his big bets is that he can "break" the "big nurse" who has an iron hold on the ward. He pretty much succeeds. However, he looses his touch after he realizes that she controls his ability to leave. (Many of the other patients are there of their own free will.) He eventually organizes a fishing trip with the inmates, and gets some girls to come in with them before he planned his escape. Unfortunately, he got too drunk, eventually got in a fight, and had to undergo electro-shock therapy and a lobotomy before he was put out of his misery.

The story is told in the first person, from the point of view of a large Native American Indian who most people thought was deaf because he never talked. (Due to his perceived deafness, he was able to eavesdrop on many conversations others would not be permitted to listen.) His narration is a strong point of the novel. It allows it to drift back to some of his reminisces (about the injustice his father suffered as their land was taken) and thoughts, before returning to the main action of the story. Thus we get some fairly objective "first hand" commentary of the action as it takes place.

The book provides a somewhat tame view of the mental hospital. The residents have their mental issues and do some crazy things. However, things are not done purely for comedy's sake. The characters come across as real people who may do some funny things, but are simply trying to live their lives.

A Grief Observed

C.S. Lewis originally published anonymously these reflections on the death of his spouse. He finds his reaction is different now that he is feeling loss than it was before he experienced something first-hand. The reflections seem to be created shortly after his loss, and are rather raw. He comes across much 'insecure' and exposed than his other writings. Unfortunately, this is also one of his weaker works.

Till We Have Faces

It took a while to get in to this book. The first part had to do something with the tale of Psyche. The narrator completes clandestine martial training, and eventually uses it to challenge a nearby nemesis. This leads to her becoming a warrior queen. She has success in her kingdom. She also always wears her veil, thus adding to her mystique. She eventually discovers a small temple that tells the mythology of the people that she has known in her life. "What many people see is real, while what one person sees is a dream."

l8r, g8r

This book shows all that is bad with sequels.
While the first book had "readable" IM conversations, this one tries to be more "authentic", with a greater use of emoticons and abbreviations. There are also text messages that are integrated in the conversation (though they appear identical, aside from the "phone" icon.) However, there is still an attempt to weave the conversations in to a book narrative. Alas, this just makes things more tedious. It reads like a novel that was poorly "translated" in to IM.

Unfortunately, for this book, the poorly implemented style is the best thing going for it. The story itself is horrid. It primarily tells of three high school seniors and their senior-year relationships. In the first book, they were somewhat developed characters. Here, they are flat, with primary interests in debauchery and vengeance-seaking (what morals, eh?) Sure there are college applications, but they are primarily a tool to illicit fights. The book also tries to be "current" by dropping in pop-culture references, which, alas, already seem really dated. This is a book that is best skipped.

The Prince

The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli

This is a no-holds barred "truthy" tome of what it takes to be a leader. Political correctness goes out the window as the focus is on what really needs to be done.

Most of the leadership points are illustrated by example (though with a book more than 5 centuries old, even the "recent" examples are now ancient history.) While some examples are of "pure" successes or failures, many also show leaders that did both good and bad things. 

Depending on how a ruler comes to power, different things need to be done. Even rulers that come to power through evil stratagems have their own advice.

As for the advice, rulers are encouraged to maintain a small coterie of counselors who are encouraged to speak truthfully when asked. All other unrequested advice should be ignored. (Ironically, Machiavelli discourages flattery, but closes with his own flattery towards the Italian leaders in hopes of securing his personal position.) Leaders should also try to consolidate all "bad" in one single event, while parceling out the "good" piece by piece. Mercenaries should not be trusted, as they have no loyalty and would just as likely turn on you. Excess 'liberality' is even worse than stinginess as it leads to bankruptcy and higher taxes. However, liberality with other people's money is to be encouraged. 

A politician who advocated the principles here would be duly castigated. However, successful leaders are likely following many of them.

Siddhartha

Siddhartha is a tale of an Indian who finds his inner peace within nature itself. He spends almost all of his life in the quest for personal enlightenment. In the process, he suffers through many of the ups and downs of life. He becomes addicted to high stakes gambling as a result of trying to show that money has no value. He is such a caring, loving father that his son runs away (because he wanted more 'discipline') He spends time in pursuit of pleasure, while at other times eschewing it all. In the end, he finds much insight from the simple people. He decides that talk and thought are hindrances to his enlightenment as he finally reaches old age truly happy.

The book is fairly short and readable. The main message that Siddhartha has in the end is that the knowledge and enlightenment is best found when one is not looking for it. By looking, one puts on blinders that put the focus on certain things. By being open to everything around, the happiness can be found in what really exists.

Reflections on the Psalms

This is C.S. Lewis's acknowledged "lawman's" take on the Psalms. As in his other religious works, he apologizes for lacking the "learning" of religious scholars, before proceeding to show his deep study and learning in the field.

Much of the work discusses the differences between the Jewish worldview as expressed in the psalms and the modern Christian worldview in the new testament. The psalms present many of the great contrasts, with "loving" poems that seem the embodiment of Christian compassion, but that end with a death wish for enemies. Many bits of insight to the culture of the bible times are given to help put these in context.

This is not one of his best religious writings, but it is a quality work.

Dead Aid

Dead Aid has an interesting thesis. However, the writing seems to be a prosification of power point slides rather than an actual book. A bunch of ideas are jumbled together, showing problems with the current African aid regime and possible alternatives. However, there is little connection between the points. The early prefaces and introductions also give some of the best points.

A key point I got from this was that western-style aid is not helpful to Africa precisely because it seeks to benefit the liberal western institutions. Providing food from western farmers to Africa temporarily alleviates hunger. However, it also weakens local agriculture. Propping up African states because they adhere to the ideological line looks nice, but doesn't necessarily benefit the Africans. (It also can confuse matters. One day a strident anti-communist dictator is preferred. Later, democratic election is the "party line.") Aid institutions also have a tendency to be more concerned with giving aid than making sure it provides the desired benefits.

Chinese aid is seen as one of the bright spots because Chinese interests mesh better with African interests. China is interested primarily in natural resource extraction and manufacturing. They need good transportation infrastructure to access these, while they don't care about the country's political ideology or who builds the facilities. However, they do care that the facilities are properly built and able to function well for the long term use of Chinese and African businessmen.

Mediocre Kids' books (Good Night Walk, Building, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, Uptown, A Perfect Name)

A Good Night Walk by Elisha Cooper
Building by Elisha Cooper 
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems 
Uptown by Bryan Collier 
A Perfect Name by Charlene Costanza and LeUyen Pham

(There were some Amazon image links, but they stopped supporting them. So much for "permanent" on the web.)

Nothing really happens in Good Night Walk. He walks around town and walks back. In Building, we do see the construction of a building. Unfortunately, the drawings don't mesh well with the story. In both, his drawings are more abstract doodles, while the content is fairly concrete. The contrast just doesn't work.

I've loved most Mo Willems book. They typically have a wit that appeals to adults and children, together with an interesting story and drawings. Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, unfortunately, falls flat. In the story, one Mole Rat likes to where clothes. Everyone teases him. Eventually they tell the Mole Rat patriarch. He decides he likes clothes, so a lot of Mole Rats start wearing clothes. That's about all there is to it. There are occasional sparks of potential humor in the drawings, but nothing that really interesting. Try something like Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards)) instead.

Uptown is a simple trip through the New York's Harlem neighborhood. If you live in, or are really intrigued by Harlem, you may find it interesting. Otherwise, there is no story to it.

In A Perfect Name, some animals attempt to give their baby a name. That's about it.

some good kids books (I Love Trucks, I Love Planes, Madeline, Madeline in London)

• I love Trucks by Philemon Sturges and Shari Halpern
• I Love Planes by Philemon Sturges and Shari Halpern
• Madeline in London by Ludwig Bemelmans
• Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

The "I love" books both follow a simple formula, with simple drawings and simple text covering a variety of different "vehicles"

For Madeline, the first book is the award winner, but the story in "London" is more original. The drawings are simple, with plenty of scenery from the "big city" (Paris or London) where they take place. The text also has a charming feel, with some "forced" rhymes that actually work.

(Original post had Amazon images that are no longer supported. Replaced with links in 2024)

Next

Next is a "dark comedy" exposing some of the critical problems that genetic advances are giving our legal system. It has some of the "thriller" qualities of other Chrichton books, complete with the "this could be possible" scariness. However, it seems to be more of a comedy, with bad guys suffering strange fates (often of their own doing.)

The novel consists of a number of distinct "stories", with the common thread being that most people are involved to some extent with biological research. Everyone has their foibles (with marital fidelity being a common challenge.) The number of characters and stories does get overwhelming, though many of them do find their way together at the end.

Bounty hunters go chasing after a man's offspring for his "stolen cells". A "whistle blower" indicts his boss for "organ harvesting" he did. A 20-something drug addict, hunts down an anonymous sperm donor to extract restitution for "bad genes". A daughter is "protected" from her mother because she is using reproductive-related drugs. A ruthless biotech businessman who has become rich on gene patents dies because the gene related to his disease has not been studied due to a gene patent. And of course, there is a chimp-human hybrid that gets in trouble at a school and a fully senescent parrot that has serious French attitude. And those are just some of the characters involved.

It does bring about some serious concerns with the speed of technology and the slowness of the law to catch up. However, the vast number of characters and their depravity can make it difficult to follow.

College Football playoff

What are the impediments to a college football playoff?
Money and ingrained interests.

College Presidents talk about academics and season length, but we all know that is bogus. After all, in the past few years, the season has increased to 12 games and conferences are adding conference playoffs. Bowl games are also being pushed out well in to January - often after classes have started.

So what can we do to maximize revenue and keep the fans happy with a playoff?
Move some games to the "early" season, especially the cold weather bowls. Detroit in late August sounds a lot better than Detroit in late December. These could be showdowns between expected powerhouses this year. (They would be scheduled after the end of the last season.)
Institute a 16 team playoff. Every conference champion gets a nod, as well as some at large teams. This way, a team can still lose an early season "show down" and make it to the playoffs. There would also still be room in the early season for low-revenue teams to be scheduled as "cupcake paydays".

Start the playoffs a week after Thanksgiving. Play games every Saturday, take a week off for Christmas, and have the championship game on New Years Day.

As an alternative, use an eight team playoff with "mega conference champions getting seeds". (This assumes Pac-10, Big-10 and SEC expand to 16 teams, with Big-12 and WAC dissolving) The seeding of the "smaller" conference playoffs could be determined prior to the season based on past performance. (Thus, the best performing conference would play the worst performing one.) The championship games would be in "known" locations, making travel planning easy for teams.
Pac-16
Big-16
SEC-16
MWC vs CUSA
ACC vs Sun Belt
Big East vs MAC
At Large
At Large

With this schedule, the two top teams would play 11 regular season games, 1 conference championship, and three playoff games for a total of 15 games. This is the same number of games typically played by bowl teams that play a conference championship and a road game at Hawaii.

One of the current regular season games could be transformed in to a "preseason" game. This would give the teams a chance to fill the stadium early in a "less stressful" environment. However, with each conference champion getting a guaranteed playoff spot, this could even be a "real" game without the negative repercussions.

Post season poll games can still be played by the non-playoff teams. (Early exiters from the playoffs may also get a chance at bowl games. These will still have the same impact on the championship as the do today.)

From a financial perspective, the 4 first round playoff games should be similar to the current non-championship BCS bowls. The championship game should be even more of a money maker than the BCS championship. The two semifinal games are pure gravy added on top. Many of the other bowls would still remain.

And finally preseason guarantee games. The early season "bowl" games could provide a heavy financial payout, and provide an opportunity for "last minute" scheduling of current big powers. With the playoffs and early season bowls, even a team stuck in a week conference could get some good games. A "minimum guarantee" based on stadium size or revenue could also be put in place to add some balance to one-off games. (Though without the BCS this is not as important as it was.)

In the end, we have all teams getting more revenue, most teams playing the same number of games, and much more exciting games during the regular season.

Out of the Silent Planet

Before listening to lectures on C.S. Lewis, I didn't realize that Lewis had ventured in to the science fiction genre. I had to try it out. It was not bad, but doesn't fit in to the typical science fiction world, either.

In the book, a professor stumbles across some other professors that have a backyard rocket. They kidnap him to take him to Mars where they think the martians will make him a sacrificial victim. However, once they get there, it turns out they are peaceful. Martians live in a world where different beings communicate together, and all interact with angel-like beings that live outside of time and space. They have little concept of the conflicts that we have on earth. The narrator gets to know them and become friends. The others, however, treat them as brutal natives. Eventually the earthlings are sent off the planet, and manage to make it back to the earth after a close call with the moon.