A Maryland radio station, WHFS, announced suddenly a month or two ago that they were finished. The station switched over to Latino music at noon on their last day with so little notice that even the staff didn't know it was coming. Olympia described to me that there was a lot of protest by listeners.
It occurs to me that a more effective protest than just telling them not to close would be to actually purchase advertising. Isn't the most effective protest to the closing of a business to purchase that business' goods and services?
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Last Time in the House
It's been a busy bunch of days getting everything out of the house, but I'm now done. Some things went to my new apartment, some to storage, some as donations to Value Village, and some things just went in the trash. It's always that way, I guess, as until you have to move it, it's hard to recognize things as no longer useful or otherwise desireable to keep.
It was a lot of work, and it was great that I had some help. I especially appreciated that Michael, Nathan, and Roberto were all able to come and lend a hand at one time or another. They say that when moving, you find out who your real friends are. I think I can subscribe to that notion.
I ran into the new owners today when I went out to dispose of the last of the trash that needed to go, and I gave them keys and garage door openers. I'm sure they will enjoy the house very much, and for that I'm glad.
It was a lot of work, and it was great that I had some help. I especially appreciated that Michael, Nathan, and Roberto were all able to come and lend a hand at one time or another. They say that when moving, you find out who your real friends are. I think I can subscribe to that notion.
I ran into the new owners today when I went out to dispose of the last of the trash that needed to go, and I gave them keys and garage door openers. I'm sure they will enjoy the house very much, and for that I'm glad.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Delayed Apologies for the Delay
One of our mail servers was running slow because a bad script generated tens of thousands of unintended emails and overloaded the capacity of the server. Users whose mail accounts were on that server were experiencing delays in getting their email messages. The operations team figured out the problem and set about correcting it, but first sent an email to all users on that server explaining the problem, the resolution, and the time frame for resolution.
What's particularly funny to me is that the email began with the phrase, "Apologies for the delay in getting this out...."
What's particularly funny to me is that the email began with the phrase, "Apologies for the delay in getting this out...."
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
New Apartment
I slept in my new apartment for the first time last night. The commute to work was a great side effect of the new digs. Eleven minutes door-to-door, right in the midst of rush hour!
The Apprentice
I don't watch this show, but I've heard about it a lot from friends that are truly addicted. For those that don't even get that much exposure to it, it's a "reality" show that pits two groups of people in working at various tasks for Donald Trump. At the end of each show someone gets fired, and Trump utters his new catch-phrase, "You're fired."
It occurred to me today, as I was talking with Stephanie at a local furniture rental store, that there may be a valuable societal side-effect to the show. We were discussing the recent sale of my house and how it seems to have been a good thing I fired my first realtor and put Steve Saftler on the job. Stephanie mentioned that after we'd had our first discussion about this four months ago, when I was last in the showroom, that she'd heard a lot of people talking not only about how they weren't happy with their realtor, but that they'd fired them and found someone better.
Frankly, I think most people are too nice when it comes to bad service. You arrange for a realtor, an accountant, an insurance company, a plumber, or even a babysitter, and then, when you get lousy service, you make endless excuses for the person and do no one any good. You continue to have poor service, they probably don't even realize they are giving poor service and certainly have little incentive to care, and people who are willing to do a better job don't get your business. If you fire the poor performer, sure, it hurts him in the short-term, but you do him a favor in the long-term as he learns to do better for his next client or switches to a line of work to which he's better suited.
To bring it back to The Apprentice, though, I suspect (without a shred of empirical evidence) that the show is teaching people how to fire those poor performers. This is a lesson many people need to learn and will overall help our economy. It's a good thing I've already learned this lesson, since I'm not going to start watching the show anyway.
It occurred to me today, as I was talking with Stephanie at a local furniture rental store, that there may be a valuable societal side-effect to the show. We were discussing the recent sale of my house and how it seems to have been a good thing I fired my first realtor and put Steve Saftler on the job. Stephanie mentioned that after we'd had our first discussion about this four months ago, when I was last in the showroom, that she'd heard a lot of people talking not only about how they weren't happy with their realtor, but that they'd fired them and found someone better.
Frankly, I think most people are too nice when it comes to bad service. You arrange for a realtor, an accountant, an insurance company, a plumber, or even a babysitter, and then, when you get lousy service, you make endless excuses for the person and do no one any good. You continue to have poor service, they probably don't even realize they are giving poor service and certainly have little incentive to care, and people who are willing to do a better job don't get your business. If you fire the poor performer, sure, it hurts him in the short-term, but you do him a favor in the long-term as he learns to do better for his next client or switches to a line of work to which he's better suited.
To bring it back to The Apprentice, though, I suspect (without a shred of empirical evidence) that the show is teaching people how to fire those poor performers. This is a lesson many people need to learn and will overall help our economy. It's a good thing I've already learned this lesson, since I'm not going to start watching the show anyway.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Blackmail or Business?
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050215-110442-3672r.htm
In essence, Microsoft wants to see a directive accepted in Denmark that protects intellectual property rights. Microsoft has threatened to pull an 800-person division, Navision, from Denmark if that doesn't happen. Lobbyists opposed to the directive are calling it blackmail. I call it basic business principle.
Like my earlier post about McDonald's finding alternatives to paying higher minimum wages by using a technological alternative, some people just don't see that governments hostile to businesses drive those businesses elsewhere, often to the detriment of the very people the government is supposed to serve.
I also don't doubt that the lobbyists involved in opposing the directive wish they had some leverage to counter Microsoft's threat, such as "Company X will bring a new division to Denmark if we reject this directive." If they did, they'd be using it rather than trying to cry foul and spin a practical business choice as a crime.
Update:
Statement from Microsoft
Microsoft has announced that the original story is factually false, in that no such conversation ever took place. However, my point about such a move, if it were made, being simply business for the right reasons, not a crime, still stands.
In essence, Microsoft wants to see a directive accepted in Denmark that protects intellectual property rights. Microsoft has threatened to pull an 800-person division, Navision, from Denmark if that doesn't happen. Lobbyists opposed to the directive are calling it blackmail. I call it basic business principle.
Like my earlier post about McDonald's finding alternatives to paying higher minimum wages by using a technological alternative, some people just don't see that governments hostile to businesses drive those businesses elsewhere, often to the detriment of the very people the government is supposed to serve.
I also don't doubt that the lobbyists involved in opposing the directive wish they had some leverage to counter Microsoft's threat, such as "Company X will bring a new division to Denmark if we reject this directive." If they did, they'd be using it rather than trying to cry foul and spin a practical business choice as a crime.
Update:
Statement from Microsoft
Microsoft has announced that the original story is factually false, in that no such conversation ever took place. However, my point about such a move, if it were made, being simply business for the right reasons, not a crime, still stands.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Eleanor Rigby
I stopped to get something to eat at Matt's on the way home. (I should ask them if they want help with their website, perhaps paid for in gift certificates.) When the piped in music included "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles, I couldn't help but find that kind of funny. I mean, it's Valentine's Day. Could there be a more inappropriate song for loving couples to listen to over dinner? If you don't recall the song or just don't recognize it by name, you can read the lyrics and see what I mean.
Of course, I looked around the restaurant to see if anyone else even noticed, and I think they didn't, so I guess it doesn't really matter. Maybe it's even positive, since I was amused.
Of course, I looked around the restaurant to see if anyone else even noticed, and I think they didn't, so I guess it doesn't really matter. Maybe it's even positive, since I was amused.
In the Midst of Moving
The last few days, the reality (or perhaps unreality) of moving has set in, and that's had me in a very odd state of mind, one that has not been overly conducive to blogging. Maybe that will change over the next couple days and I'll get back to it with my now more usual consistency.
I took several pieces of furniture to the new apartment today, and it has me feeling somehow... strange. Since I started living in the house alone almost eight months ago, I have occasionally gone into some of the empty rooms for a few minutes and it's kind of funny. I still think of them according to their old occupancy - this one is Elizabeth's room, that one Gregory's, that one Katerina's.
When I switched to only living downstairs (except for my computers in the loft area of the second floor), the bedroom there became mine. Despite that, I still think of it as "Yia-yia's" room, even though it'll only be a few months until it's been longer that it hasn't been her room than how long she lived there, and before that comes to pass, it'll be someone else's, either the twenty-something new owner's or his parents'.
Despite the fact that I've moved more times than I can recall without careful thinking, there's a fair amount of emotion involved in this one, and I'm not sure I can even really say for sure what it is.
I took several pieces of furniture to the new apartment today, and it has me feeling somehow... strange. Since I started living in the house alone almost eight months ago, I have occasionally gone into some of the empty rooms for a few minutes and it's kind of funny. I still think of them according to their old occupancy - this one is Elizabeth's room, that one Gregory's, that one Katerina's.
When I switched to only living downstairs (except for my computers in the loft area of the second floor), the bedroom there became mine. Despite that, I still think of it as "Yia-yia's" room, even though it'll only be a few months until it's been longer that it hasn't been her room than how long she lived there, and before that comes to pass, it'll be someone else's, either the twenty-something new owner's or his parents'.
Despite the fact that I've moved more times than I can recall without careful thinking, there's a fair amount of emotion involved in this one, and I'm not sure I can even really say for sure what it is.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Outlook Needs This Feature
Something I do fairly regularly is schedule a meeting based on an email thread and invite all the thread participants to the meeting. Unfortunately, dragging an email to the calendar only creates a calendar item with me as the sole participant and I have to retype the names. By default, I wish it adding everyone on the thread to the meeting, as deleting unnecessary attendees is way easier than typing in names or aliases.
Inaction vs. Failure
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743212126/103-1289538-4451835
The above link is for "Weird Ideas That Work", a book by Robert Sutton that I read recently. It's all about how to encourage innovative thinking in an organization by doing certain things in a different way, including a contrast with how most organizations do things in ways that encourage routine. He does point out that routine is good for many tasks, so the rules shouldn't be the only way things are done. As examples, he suggests flying airplanes and cooking fast-food hamburgers are tasks where routine is better than innovation.
Conceptually, the thoughts spurred by the book that have been most interesting to me are about failure. First is that more failures will mean more success overall because people generally have the same ratio of success to failure, so the only way to get more successes is to try more new ideas.
In conjunction with that, an organization that wants to encourage innovation should adjust reward structures to reward success and failure, and only punishes inaction. Of course, in routine work, failure should be punished, too. But punishing failures in effect takes away any incentive to try new things, since some (likely high) percentage of what is tried will fail.
At Microsoft, I've noticed that our culture is one that purports to encourage innovation, but doesn't address failure by considering rewards. I've heard second-hand that at the executive level, failures are accepted, but it's all-too-common that at the level in the company where I am, a failure ends up on a mid-year or annual review as a problem. I've been the target of this personally, especially when I was in my community lead role, which was an entirely new effort in Windows Server and required trying a lot of new things.
The above link is for "Weird Ideas That Work", a book by Robert Sutton that I read recently. It's all about how to encourage innovative thinking in an organization by doing certain things in a different way, including a contrast with how most organizations do things in ways that encourage routine. He does point out that routine is good for many tasks, so the rules shouldn't be the only way things are done. As examples, he suggests flying airplanes and cooking fast-food hamburgers are tasks where routine is better than innovation.
Conceptually, the thoughts spurred by the book that have been most interesting to me are about failure. First is that more failures will mean more success overall because people generally have the same ratio of success to failure, so the only way to get more successes is to try more new ideas.
In conjunction with that, an organization that wants to encourage innovation should adjust reward structures to reward success and failure, and only punishes inaction. Of course, in routine work, failure should be punished, too. But punishing failures in effect takes away any incentive to try new things, since some (likely high) percentage of what is tried will fail.
At Microsoft, I've noticed that our culture is one that purports to encourage innovation, but doesn't address failure by considering rewards. I've heard second-hand that at the executive level, failures are accepted, but it's all-too-common that at the level in the company where I am, a failure ends up on a mid-year or annual review as a problem. I've been the target of this personally, especially when I was in my community lead role, which was an entirely new effort in Windows Server and required trying a lot of new things.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
To Some, I'm a Rabble-Rouser
I mentioned previously that Ian’s joined the LaRouche Youth Movement. When he was first telling me about the group, he mentioned an upcoming weekend educational retreat and invited me to attend. Later, he had to uninvited me, as apparently people over 30 are not allowed to attend as they are considered too likely to be disruptive because of they have been too long steeped in the wrong kind of experience. As I’m 36, that includes me.
Ironically, I can just imagine Ian’s outrage had I invited him to something, then uninvited him due to his age. Such discrimination! It’s probably just as well I couldn’t go, because if I had, I’m sure disruptive is exactly what I would have been.
Ironically, I can just imagine Ian’s outrage had I invited him to something, then uninvited him due to his age. Such discrimination! It’s probably just as well I couldn’t go, because if I had, I’m sure disruptive is exactly what I would have been.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Break vs Renegotiate
It bothers me when people break commitments (even when I break commitments.) It does not bother me when people renegotiate commitments. Consider the recent real-life example of a commitment that "Jack" will respond to my request for feedback on some potential screenshots by 11am the next morning.
If, at 10:50am the next morning, I run into Jack in the hallway and ask about it and Jack tells me he got held up in morning traffic, then had something else to work on, so doesn't have it done, that's breaking a commitment. It's worse when Jack doesn't even give me a new time.
If, as Jack sits in traffic, concerned that he is delayed and that it will affect his ability to deliver on his commitment, he gives me a call and tells me the problem, the impact, and the proposed alternatives, that's renegotiating a commitment. While consistently renegotiating every commitment or many commitments can in aggregate still become frustrating to others, the need to renegotiate a commitment is understandable and it's appreciated when it's done.
So, to sum up, if you tell someone you're going to get something done for him by a particular time, then part of your responsibility is to renegotiate the delivery time as soon as you know that you can't meet the original one, and you should expect frustration over the missed deadline if you don't do so.
If, at 10:50am the next morning, I run into Jack in the hallway and ask about it and Jack tells me he got held up in morning traffic, then had something else to work on, so doesn't have it done, that's breaking a commitment. It's worse when Jack doesn't even give me a new time.
If, as Jack sits in traffic, concerned that he is delayed and that it will affect his ability to deliver on his commitment, he gives me a call and tells me the problem, the impact, and the proposed alternatives, that's renegotiating a commitment. While consistently renegotiating every commitment or many commitments can in aggregate still become frustrating to others, the need to renegotiate a commitment is understandable and it's appreciated when it's done.
So, to sum up, if you tell someone you're going to get something done for him by a particular time, then part of your responsibility is to renegotiate the delivery time as soon as you know that you can't meet the original one, and you should expect frustration over the missed deadline if you don't do so.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Weird Conversation
While this took place over a few days via email, here's a conversation I've had with "John." Obviously, I've cut out a lot and replaced it with shorter, meaningless phrases, but that's so I can focus on the real meat of the communication style, not the substance. As I think you'll see, the substance is largely irrelevant, because the style makes the communication largely ineffective.
Him: The modern advent of blahism is our only hope, according to Dr. Blah.
Me: I read up on blahism, and it centers on tithing income to Dr. Blah- isn't that worrisome?
Him: You have to read deep into Dr. Blah's writing to understand, as I have done.
Me: OK, I read "The Zen of Blah", and there are a bunch of problems. He bases his thoughts on the writing of Dr. Past, but Dr. Past has clearly said elsewhere that such thoughts are misinterpretation.
Him: You are too steeped in Sheepism to ever understand. It's despicable. And Dr. Past liked snuff.
Me: I don't understand how that's relevant. What about what I said?
Him: You should contemplate "Flumox in Velvet" by Brushy O'Painter.
Me: Huh? Could you try responding to just one thing I've said?
Him: You are being nasty to me, and I won't stand for it. I'm through talking to you.
Apparently, he's not really through talking to me, because the attempt at conversation continues, but this is where we were when I wrote the above to try to see if there was really something I was missing.
Him: The modern advent of blahism is our only hope, according to Dr. Blah.
Me: I read up on blahism, and it centers on tithing income to Dr. Blah- isn't that worrisome?
Him: You have to read deep into Dr. Blah's writing to understand, as I have done.
Me: OK, I read "The Zen of Blah", and there are a bunch of problems. He bases his thoughts on the writing of Dr. Past, but Dr. Past has clearly said elsewhere that such thoughts are misinterpretation.
Him: You are too steeped in Sheepism to ever understand. It's despicable. And Dr. Past liked snuff.
Me: I don't understand how that's relevant. What about what I said?
Him: You should contemplate "Flumox in Velvet" by Brushy O'Painter.
Me: Huh? Could you try responding to just one thing I've said?
Him: You are being nasty to me, and I won't stand for it. I'm through talking to you.
Apparently, he's not really through talking to me, because the attempt at conversation continues, but this is where we were when I wrote the above to try to see if there was really something I was missing.
Moose
http://www.flickr.com/photos/akakie/4373325/
The above is a link to a picture my father took off his back porch. Note the moose running across his back yard and that it is 10 degrees below zero.
The above is a link to a picture my father took off his back porch. Note the moose running across his back yard and that it is 10 degrees below zero.
Friday, February 04, 2005
A Power Grid Moment
During an evening game of Power Grid, Trevor manages to outbid me for a crucial power plant. Notice the utter glee on Trevor's face (he's on the right.) He went on to glorious victory, while I was doomed to ignominious defeat.
[photo by Tom Larson]
Microsoft Bowling Event
http://www.warpeyes.com/albums/Taranna%20Bowling%20Event/
We had an outing for our team today, bowling at a local bowling alley. I've put up an album with the pictures. I didn't do any editing, and some are kind of blurry, but I think there are some pretty good shots here.
I also managed to take a pretty good movie of Chris, David, and Ram attempting to program the bowling scoreboard by committee. I hope you enjoy my voiceovers.
There's also a shot in there of my backwards bowling (I'm in the long-sleeved red shirt, for those that don't know me by site). I'd like to point out that I was able to improve on my technique by facing away from the pins to the point I achieved a couple spares and even a strike by the end of the event. Woohoo!
We had an outing for our team today, bowling at a local bowling alley. I've put up an album with the pictures. I didn't do any editing, and some are kind of blurry, but I think there are some pretty good shots here.
I also managed to take a pretty good movie of Chris, David, and Ram attempting to program the bowling scoreboard by committee. I hope you enjoy my voiceovers.
There's also a shot in there of my backwards bowling (I'm in the long-sleeved red shirt, for those that don't know me by site). I'd like to point out that I was able to improve on my technique by facing away from the pins to the point I achieved a couple spares and even a strike by the end of the event. Woohoo!
Minimum Wage Effect
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6890092/
The article listed above is short, but here's a still shorter synopsis: Since the minimum wage is much higher in Oregon and Washington than in North Dakota, McDonald's is putting the drive-through order takers in a "call center" in North Dakota. At a difference of over $2 per hour for every order taker, that's pretty significant.
Of course the locals in Oregon and Washington are outraged and think government should step in. What they don't consider is that the government did step in, and this is the effect, rather than the other way around. Minimum wages hurt those that need jobs the most. Whether the minimum wage is $5.15 per hour (as in North Dakota) or $7.25 per hour (as in Oregon) is irrelevant to people like me with skills in developing software, but it's deeply relevant to unskilled labor. That is, those without significant education or experience.
If the value of a task is $5, and could be done by a person for $5 or could be done by a machine for $6, the business is going to employ someone. If the government steps in and says that the price of labor has a floor (in other words, a minimum wage) of $7, the business is going to use a machine and the person is going to have to look elsewhere for a job. If that person has no skills or experience worth $7, the minimum a business may now pay, he is only going to have available a job that can't be done in some other way for less than $7 and can't be foregone in favor of a more profitable alternative. With less jobs available, but more inexperienced workers competing for those jobs, some just won't get jobs. So who was helped by a minimum wage?
It's always helpful to see a real-world example of the long-term effects of a given economic policy. It's unfortunate that those expressing outrage over the problem should choose to seek more government intervention, the original source of the problem, rather than less.
The article listed above is short, but here's a still shorter synopsis: Since the minimum wage is much higher in Oregon and Washington than in North Dakota, McDonald's is putting the drive-through order takers in a "call center" in North Dakota. At a difference of over $2 per hour for every order taker, that's pretty significant.
Of course the locals in Oregon and Washington are outraged and think government should step in. What they don't consider is that the government did step in, and this is the effect, rather than the other way around. Minimum wages hurt those that need jobs the most. Whether the minimum wage is $5.15 per hour (as in North Dakota) or $7.25 per hour (as in Oregon) is irrelevant to people like me with skills in developing software, but it's deeply relevant to unskilled labor. That is, those without significant education or experience.
If the value of a task is $5, and could be done by a person for $5 or could be done by a machine for $6, the business is going to employ someone. If the government steps in and says that the price of labor has a floor (in other words, a minimum wage) of $7, the business is going to use a machine and the person is going to have to look elsewhere for a job. If that person has no skills or experience worth $7, the minimum a business may now pay, he is only going to have available a job that can't be done in some other way for less than $7 and can't be foregone in favor of a more profitable alternative. With less jobs available, but more inexperienced workers competing for those jobs, some just won't get jobs. So who was helped by a minimum wage?
It's always helpful to see a real-world example of the long-term effects of a given economic policy. It's unfortunate that those expressing outrage over the problem should choose to seek more government intervention, the original source of the problem, rather than less.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Microsoft & Doublethink
The edition of George Orwell’s 1984 that I bought (for $1 at Half Price Books) included a preface by Walter Cronkite and an afterword by Erich Frömm. In Frömm’s text he discusses how the book is not just an indictment of Stalinism, as the book is often interpreted, as reasonable as that may be as it was written in 1946. It is also a warning about totalitarianism and the trappings thereof that can come out in any society. He continues by a discussion of the concept of doublethink, i.e. the ability to hold two contradictory ideas in mind and yet believe them both. An example of doublethink that he uses as it pertains to Western society is how a person working at a corporation will fervently believe that their company’s products are the best right up until the day they change jobs to work at a competing corporation, when the new employer’s products are suddenly the best. Recalling that you once were a cheerleader for Company A, yet still acting as a cheerleader for Company B, is classic doublethink. Even without the job change, being able to read and acknowledge criticisms and unfavorable comparisons of your current company’s products to your competitor’s, yet continue to proclaim your own products as the best is still doublethink.
At Microsoft, there are people that look at our products and see where they are weak, broken, or inferior, yet work hard to make them better. There are others that profess Microsoft products as the best no matter what they are shown. I am not only in the first group, but find myself drawn more to others in the first group and repelled by those in the second.
It’s particularly fascinating how the blind praise of Microsoft products by some employees is sometimes expressed in the exact terms used by Party members in 1984. For example, when I pull out my Treo 600, a Palm-based mobile device, there are those that are not only surprised, but say things like, “Is that a Palm? You traitor!” It’s telling that most of my closest friends also use Palm devices, but continue to watch progress both by Microsoft and the competition and are prepared to use what’s best, rather than stick with blind loyalty to the corporate brand.
At Microsoft, there are people that look at our products and see where they are weak, broken, or inferior, yet work hard to make them better. There are others that profess Microsoft products as the best no matter what they are shown. I am not only in the first group, but find myself drawn more to others in the first group and repelled by those in the second.
It’s particularly fascinating how the blind praise of Microsoft products by some employees is sometimes expressed in the exact terms used by Party members in 1984. For example, when I pull out my Treo 600, a Palm-based mobile device, there are those that are not only surprised, but say things like, “Is that a Palm? You traitor!” It’s telling that most of my closest friends also use Palm devices, but continue to watch progress both by Microsoft and the competition and are prepared to use what’s best, rather than stick with blind loyalty to the corporate brand.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
A Random Blog Catches My Attention
http://ihatemyflatmate.blogspot.com/
I installed a newsreader plug-in for Outlook and a bug in it (that I've reported and the author is looking into) dropped some news from a seemingly random source into some of my folders. I read a post, though, and I'm addicted.
I installed a newsreader plug-in for Outlook and a bug in it (that I've reported and the author is looking into) dropped some news from a seemingly random source into some of my folders. I read a post, though, and I'm addicted.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Orwell’s 1984
I have just finished reading George Orwell’s 1984 for the second time. The first time I read it was probably in 1984 at 15 years old and when some impetus to read it again came along, I realized that it would be very different reading it as an adult. The impetus is that my youngest brother, Ian, has joined the LaRouche Youth Movement and in doing some reading about the group, I see that 1984 is a book that the group discourages members from reading, at least according to a former member. Since I’ve also done some reading of LaRouche’s work, reading something his group sees as dangerous seems like a good counterpoint.
As it turns out, there are many things I can say about 1984, so I’ll likely write a few posts about it in the coming days. The first is that it was, in fact, a very different read as an adult. This was especially true because I had some familiarity with the story through dim memories of the book and the movie. Unlike what I seem to recall about my first reading, I found the basic story a little slow and couldn’t wait for first Winston’s reading of the heretical history book, then his capture and subsequent breaking. It was the political discussion that I found intriguing, not the underlying love story. I also found the character of Julia much less compelling, as I was much more aware that she was far less a traitor to the Party than Winston. Her tendency to fall asleep or grow bored any time Winston began to talk about more serious topics than their (treasonous) affair showed she was far more conditioned and a far shallower person. I don’t recall picking up on that as a teenager and I don’t think I had a depth of experience that would allow me to really understand the political elements.
I also read Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World as a freshman in college, and had done a very well received book report on it for an English Composition class. I think I should go back and reread that one as well.
As it turns out, there are many things I can say about 1984, so I’ll likely write a few posts about it in the coming days. The first is that it was, in fact, a very different read as an adult. This was especially true because I had some familiarity with the story through dim memories of the book and the movie. Unlike what I seem to recall about my first reading, I found the basic story a little slow and couldn’t wait for first Winston’s reading of the heretical history book, then his capture and subsequent breaking. It was the political discussion that I found intriguing, not the underlying love story. I also found the character of Julia much less compelling, as I was much more aware that she was far less a traitor to the Party than Winston. Her tendency to fall asleep or grow bored any time Winston began to talk about more serious topics than their (treasonous) affair showed she was far more conditioned and a far shallower person. I don’t recall picking up on that as a teenager and I don’t think I had a depth of experience that would allow me to really understand the political elements.
I also read Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World as a freshman in college, and had done a very well received book report on it for an English Composition class. I think I should go back and reread that one as well.
Aanya
I had dinner at Ruby’s tonight, and my server’s name was Aanya. Why, you might ask, is this interesting? For my entire life, my first name, Aaron, has always been alphabetically first. I have found that I am no longer an edge condition.
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