Quick Hits of the Week

• We’re well into the 21st century, now, and some people are lamenting the lack of all the really cool technological advancements we once dreamed of. That’s pretty easy to explain, though. The more rules an industry has, the harder it is to have innovation in that industry. Energy and transportation are both pretty heavily regulated, so no flying cars or pocket nuclear reactors. It’s a price we pay for safety. However, computer technology and the Interwebs are mostly free from regulation, so we do have computers in our pockets that can connect us to anywhere in the world. And think about how you would explain Lasik eye surgery to a person who lived 100 years ago. We have had a lot of really cool technological advances, but the problem is that we just take them for granted.

• After I had my say regarding the Connecticut school incident, I finally got a chance to catch up on all the articles that were in my news feed, and I came across an excellent point by Lenore Skenazy that I think adds something to the discussion. It has to do with how the immediacy of the media we take in during one of these crises affects our perspective on how to respond to them. The sooner, and more fully we are exposed to a tragedy, the closer it feels to our daily life, and that’s not always a good thing. Actually, the truth is that we (and our children) are less likely to die a violent death today than at any other time in human history. (Bonus: I learned about the 1927 Bath Township Elementary murders, which was fascinating and totally messed up.)

• In most areas of my life, I’m a fan of Occam’s Razor. Start with the simplest solution, move to the next most complex solution as needed. Not everything in life is simple though. Most things that really matter can’t be explained and understood in a 20 minute meeting. For example, learning how to create and keep a home budget for your family takes months to understand and years to master. Don’t miss out on opportunities to grow because they’re too complicated or time-consuming.

• Here’s a patent application for smart handcuffs with a Tazer built in. Better yet, they’re also designed to deliver a substance through needle or gas to “achieve any desired result.” It seems a little overkill to me, but maybe the need to shock and sedate a shackled prisoner comes up a lot more often than I could imagine.

• Finally, the best and worst media errors and corrections of 2012. Some are amazing, others are just hilarious.

Is there something valuable or important or cool or funny or weird or awesome out there I missed this week? I can’t hit it all, but you should let me know about it by dropping me a line or sharing it in the comments below! I’d appreciate the heads up.

A Merry Christmas Mind Dump: On Reading

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I’m just going to free type here for a bit. I’m really feeling the need to write something tonight. About reading. It’ll make sense, really.

I stopped reading when I was younger. It’s not that I couldn’t, but I stopped wanting to. I just got tired of picking up books and flipping through the pages for any serious reason. I didn’t enjoy the overall college experience, and I think that fighting my way through my Bachelor’s degree sucked the joy of reading from me for the better part of a decade.

Funny Story: When I (finally) graduated with my Computer Science degree, I was taken to lunch by my advisor/dean and the people in the school office I worked at. The office secretary asked me, totally deadpan, “So, when are you planning to get your Master’s degree?” I laughed so hard, I almost fell out of my chair. She looked offended, “I wasn’t joking.” “Neither was I,” I replied. It took me almost ten years to get that first degree. I had (and still have) no interest in repeating that experience. Ever.

Back to reading. About three years ago (give or take a few months) I started to once again pick up books here and there and slowly paged through them. A friend lent me Brian McLaren’s A New Kind of Christian, and the two books that followed in that series, and I really enjoyed them. (I still believe that the first book is challenging and worth reading, even if you don’t agree with McLaren in general – and I don’t). After that, the wick was re-lit and I began building up a stack of books I wanted to read. Now I’m always on the lookout for new ones to add to my stack, and I’m reading through more and more of them each year.

So, for the last couple of Christmases, my lists have been composed of pretty much nothing but books. I received five from last year’s list, and I’ve read through all of them and more. This year, I only received three books from my list…and a Kindle.

Confession Time: I’ve been really resistant to the idea of using an eReader. I enjoy the feel of having a book in my hand. Turning the pages and being able to see how quickly I’ve read through the text. Marking the sentences and paragraphs that interest me with sticky tabs. It’s all very warm and tactile and earthy and I truly feared that bringing cold technology into this newly reborn habit would cause some of the joy to trickle away again.

On the other hand, I’m a computer guy. I like gadgets. New toys. The idea of electronic books excited me. I got to play with a Kindle at my in-law’s home over Thanksgiving, and I was instantly seduced by the thing. It is seriously slick.

So, they got me one. Damn nice of them. Got an awesome cover from my brother-in-law, too.

I really want to screw around with it, now, but I’m resisting the urge to go buy a book I want just so I can read it on the thing. It feels too much like an impulse buy and that sets off alarms in my head nowadays. I have a stack of 14 books to read through on the shelf behind me. Buying another book just to page through it on the latest gizmo feels like a waste of money. I’m going to have to go look through the list of free books, I guess.

Am I still afraid of what effect the technology is going to have on my reading? Less so than I was before. Familiarity has eroded much of the fear away, as often happens, but a little still lingers. Not enough to keep me from using it, though.

Anyway, I’m closing the year with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. Next year will probably start with Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps, because I’ve been wanting to read it for several months. After that, we’ll just have to see which one grabs my attention.

So, any suggestions for interesting free books for the Kindle?