February 15, 2006
Recent Books
I thought I should post on some recent books.
First, a historical academic book Castles - Their Construction and History by Sidney Toy originally published in 1939. The book was a slow but intriguing read. It has rather dry text on history and castle architectural elements but also contains a few good old pictures and original layout drawings from the author - 199 illustrations. A great picture book which I saw while finding the link is Castle by David Macaulay.
Second, an easy read with great stories and examples from Philip Yancy: Rumors of Another World. The book discusses the various areas of life that provide us with rumors of another world, the rumors of a life beyond the physical.
March 10, 2005
GM and TV
Interesting article on the front page of the FT this morning regarding some of GM's employees and their activities while getting paid. Also disappointing is that the taxpayer is sharing in this agreement for the first 48 weeks.
February 16, 2005
Google Maps 2
Interestly enough Google Maps are now linked to results from the main search page even though it's still in beta. [See post from 2/08 ;)] And it's listed first in front of Yahoo and Mapquest.
February 08, 2005
Google Maps
I just saw an article about Google Maps. It's in beta, so it's not linked (yet) to address searches from their main search page. I assume it's a matter of time before Yahoo and Mapquest get dropped; Yahoo is a direct search competitor and Mapquest is owned by AOL.
Finally, I assume Keyhole will be linked to the Map site soon, similar to Mapquest's previous satellite option.
"I can see my house" - kudos to the fellow geeks who can identify the quote...
July 02, 2004
Over 30...again
A comment by Jacob regarding the Over 30 post made me think about the inter-connection of inefficient structures/systems (not in the hardware sense).
The conclusion of the Over 30 article - younger and older workers are not compensated based on their productivity - (assuming that it is generally true) has at least one significant implication for retirement provision.
In the current structure, younger workers are 'missing' a chunk of compensation that they must wait for until they are older. Essentially the structure defers income, savings, and investment.
If however, younger workers were compensated for productivity that chunk would be available at a younger age - giving them a very valuable option to invest/save more money at a younger age for their eventual retirement. The de facto deferment of 'their' productivity is both a short-term disincentive and a long-term inefficient form of saving.
Clearly changes in overall compensation would need to occur gradually in order for workers 'stuck' in the current inefficient system to adjust. But a more effective structure for younger workers would also help address their own savings needs in light of a completely trashed Social Security system.
July 01, 2004
Reading List
One of my favorite profs at 
was Dr. Julia Williams. See her website for information on her classes and a very nice picture of a southern Indiana flower. Oh and check out the page for her Utopian Thought and Literature class, of which I was a founding student.
Ok, but apart from the fact that I earned a 'Dr. Williams minor' with the number of electives I took, this post is about a reading list that she gave me. Before I graduated, I asked her if she could list a handful of books that every person should read. She responded with a two page list...I thought that appropriate for a professor of English and literature!
Here are the first 10 on the list (in no significant order). Apologies for any mis-spellings and mis-interpretations of her handwriting.
- Virginia Woolf - To the Lighthouse
- George Eliot - Adam Bede
- James Joyce - Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
- Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
- Thomas Mann - Buddenbrooks
- Charles Dickens - David Copperfield
- Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights
- Charlotte Bronte - Villete
- Samuel Beckett - Murphy
- James Agee - Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
Over 30 and over the hill
The title might be mis-leading because I am not over 30, but I read a very interesting article in the Economist this morning, during the typical Metro commute, regarding pay and productivity. The overall conclusion is that productivity and pay are not correlated. A study cited in the article showed that job performance peaked at 35. The only significant exception was female writers, who are most productive in their 50s. The following is from the Economist Print Edition, "Over 30 and over the hill," June 26th 2004
"Younger workers are underpaid and older workers overpaid relative to their productivity." - Vegard Skirbekk
"Technological change puts a premium on adaptability, and a discount on experience."
For those of you with online Economist access the article is here. For more indepth reading, see a study by Mr. Skirbekk here (PDF).