Rich Walsh's posterous http://gan-ainm.com Most recent posts at Rich Walsh's posterous posterous.com Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:15:32 -0700 G's first potato harvest! http://gan-ainm.com/gs-first-potato-harvest http://gan-ainm.com/gs-first-potato-harvest

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Tue, 04 May 2010 23:38:00 -0700 'Broad Street Bullies' on HBO http://gan-ainm.com/broad-street-bullies-on-hbo http://gan-ainm.com/broad-street-bullies-on-hbo

I really enjoyed tonight's fair-minded 'Broad Street Bullies' documentary on HBO (http://www.hbo.com/#/sports/broad-street-bullies/synopsis.html). That early '70s team made me a life-long hockey fan - and a forever Flyers fan. I appreciate the honest yin/yang perspective on their tactical use of rough play but the Flyers clearly meshed elite players (particularly Clarke, Parent and Barber then) with a wild and ornery assortment of role players to achieve their first success. I think the elite part is often forgotten by critics but the blend certainly did establish the ongoing house style for the franchise. Still amazing to watch video of players who wore no helmets in front of goalies 'protected' by fragile masks and who actually had no masks not so long before. What were they thinking??

It was also nice to see Fred Shero get his props. He was definitely a uniquely motivational coach who marched to his own drummer and was well ahead of his time.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Sun, 18 Apr 2010 21:46:00 -0700 'Too Big to Fail' by Andrew Ross Sorkin http://gan-ainm.com/too-big-to-fail-by-andrew-ross-sorkin http://gan-ainm.com/too-big-to-fail-by-andrew-ross-sorkin

[Cross posting last book summary I put out on LinkedIn.]

Too Big to Fail (http://www.amzn.com/0670021253) really is a remarkable work of journalism and just a great read as well.  Though bracketed by a short introduction and a thoughtful epilogue, it is mostly a propulsive chronological account of the 2008 financial crisis starting on March 17th, the day after Bear Stearns was sold, and ending on October 13th, the day the nine remaining major banks agreed to accept the first TARP capital investments.

The author offers only the minimally necessary background on prior events and avoids editorializing in order to focus on his narrative.  What Sorkin does provide, however, is a wealth of details and anecdotes about the events in question and a brisk, cross-cutting style of writing that accentuates the flow and drama of the story.  It is as engrossing as a work of fiction and it's a pity it isn't given how much disruption and pain the facts have caused us all.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:27:00 -0800 'The Guns of August' by Barbara Tuchman http://gan-ainm.com/the-guns-of-august-by-barbara-tuchman http://gan-ainm.com/the-guns-of-august-by-barbara-tuchman

[Cross-posting latest book summary I put out on LinkedIn.]

The Guns of August (http://www.amzn.com/0345476093) is a book I've been meaning to read for quite a while and finally did.  It is approaching the 50th anniversary of its acclaimed publication and its subject, the start of World War I, will have its centennial in a few years.  (I suspect there will be many new commemorations as we approach that anniversary.)

In any case, the book is beautifully written by Barbara Tuchman and gave me a much better understanding of one of the great inflection points in modern history.  Beyond the tragedy of the war itself (over 16 million dead), the arc of the rest of the 20th century was spawned or hastened by the results of this war and the peace treaty which followed.  In a sense, Tuchman's organization of the book mirrors this ripple effect as she only focuses on the lead up to the conflict in Germany, France, England and Russia and then the first month of hostilities, where the momentum of pre-determined grand strategies mixed with specific choices and vacillations by variously flawed leaders and the effect of contingent events dictated the course of the rest of the war with its years of stalemate and killing.

It's seems hard to believe now that governments and their citizens could have so grossly miscalculated the length and severity of the war as they entered into it.  Of course, this sort of failure in perception is not unique.  Countries, companies and people do it all the time, just rarely with such fateful consequences.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:53:00 -0800 My Albums of the Decade http://gan-ainm.com/my-albums-of-the-decade http://gan-ainm.com/my-albums-of-the-decade

WXPN published their top 88 Albums of the Decade last week: http://xpn.org/allaboutthemusic/xpns-albums-of-the-decade-6146. This prompted me to compile my personal favorites list in chronological order, which I tried to restrict to less than 20 entries.

  • Sailing to Philadelphia by Mark Knopfler (2000)
  • Look into the Eyeball by David Byrne (2001)
  • Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco (2002)
  • Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips (2002)
  • Cuatros Caminos by Café Tacvba (2003)
      though Sino (2007) is also excellent

  • Feast of Wire by Calexico (2003)
      though Carried to Dust (2008) is also excellent

  • O by Damien Rice (2003)
  • Electric Version by The New Pornographers (2003)
      though I really enjoyed all four of their recordings in the decade

  • The Clarence Greenwood Recordings by Citizen Cope (2004)
  • Illinois by Sufjan Stevens (2005)
  • Plans by Death Cab for Cutie (2005)

  • Fox Confessor Brings the Flood by Neko Case (2006)
  • St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley (2006)
  • Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga by Spoon (2007)
  • Santogold by Santogold (2008)
  • Asking for Flowers by Kathleen Edwards (2008)

I probably could have included the self-titled Fleet Foxes (2008) on the list and definitely would have if I could have substituted my two favorite tracks from their Sun Giant EP released earlier that year for my least favorite tracks on the full recording.

I noticed I don't have any entries for 2009. I'm not sure if that reflects the quality of the music for the year (or more probably) my tendency like so many others to get and listen to individual tracks rather than becoming immersed in full recordings. That said, I did particularly enjoy Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle by Bill Callahan, Give Up the Ghost by Brandi Carlile, Manners by Passion Pit and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:17:00 -0800 'The Myth of the Rational Market' by Justin Fox http://gan-ainm.com/the-myth-of-the-rational-market-by-justin-fox http://gan-ainm.com/the-myth-of-the-rational-market-by-justin-fox

[Cross posting latest book summary I added to LinkedIn.]

I found The Myth of the Rational Market (http://www.amzn.com/0060598999) to be a very informative survey on the evolution of Finance - and its touch points with Economics - throughout the 20th century and into our own.  Justin Fox is a journalist by profession and he strikes a good balance between not trivializing a complex subject while not making it too dense for a reader outside the disciplines covered.
The narrative is roughly in chronological order and the author focuses each chapter on an important contributor or two in this evolution.  However, the linking theme and narrative arc to the story is the gradual rise to pre-eminence of the rational/efficient theory of markets, the impact of this theory on the actual conduct of business in securities markets (including the conceptualization and utilization of new financial instruments like index funds and derivatives) and the eventual backlash of concerns about the limitations of the theory in practice as well as flaws in its intellectual underpinnings, particularly from contributors in the field of behavioral economics.
The book was effectively completed before the most recent financial crisis, though the author does conclude with an epilogue which addresses the crisis in the context of his themes and how these events clearly underscored the concerns and limitations with the rationality of markets and its participants.  However, he does not offer any prescriptive guidance as to where to go next.
There are a *lot* of players to this story and I found the 'Cast of Characters' summary very helpful over the course of my reading.  Also, Justin Fox was a guest on EconTalk shortly after the book was published (http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2009/07/justin_fox_on_t.html) and the discussion is helpful in both complementing and amplifying his thinking.  In fact, this conversation was the reason I bought the book in the first place.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:07:48 -0800 Habaneros http://gan-ainm.com/habaneros http://gan-ainm.com/habaneros

Last chilis ripening for the season on our incredibly prolific - and super hot - habanero plant.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:38:47 -0800 Frozen Birdbath http://gan-ainm.com/frozen-birdbath http://gan-ainm.com/frozen-birdbath

This was an odd early morning sight in our San Jose backyard.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:41:00 -0800 'Nixonland' by Rick Perlstein http://gan-ainm.com/nixonland-by-rick-perlstein http://gan-ainm.com/nixonland-by-rick-perlstein

[Cross-posting latest book summary I put out on LinkedIn.]

Despite its title, this book (http://www.amzn.com/074324303X) is more a political-cultural history of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the US than a biography of Richard Nixon per se.  However, Rick Perlstein's thesis is that Nixon both stoked and gained from the 'angers, anxieties and resentments' of the time and is thus the engine of the story.  In that sense, Nixonland is the author's shorthand term for illuminating the partisan divide that he believes originated in the mid-60s and persists to this day - albeit in a less antagonistic form (which may seem surprising until you learn - or are reminded of - some of the violent events that happened during those years).

Perlstein is a vibrant writer who weaves extensive research into a propulsive narrative about a period in US history where a stew of racial, class, generational and Vietnam war tensions boiled over.  He uses an interesting organizational framework for the book, dividing it into four sections that more or less revolve around the biennial elections between 1966 and 1972.  While he clearly writes from a leftist point of view, Perlstein seems to be fairly equal opportunity in his critiques of various politicians and other luminaries, irrespective of party affiliation.  Perlstein does mostly skewer Nixon, though it is hard to argue with that judgment of a fascinating but very deeply flawed leader.

My biggest complaint is that the book is probably too long by a hundred pages or so and it could have used some tighter editing to convey the key themes without extraneous details or diversions.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:10:00 -0800 Christopher Burkett http://gan-ainm.com/christopher-burkett http://gan-ainm.com/christopher-burkett

Photographer Christopher Burkett showing some of his eye popping large format nature studies during a reception at Photography West in Carmel.  His website is: http://www.christopherburkett.com/

 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:41:21 -0700 Gettysburg Visit http://gan-ainm.com/gettysburg-visit http://gan-ainm.com/gettysburg-visit While in Philly last weekend, I took a side trip to Gettysburg. This was primarily to tour the town's College with my daughter and they have a very impressive campus. It was also to visit the battlefield once again.

I've been to Gettysburg many times over the years given my long-standing interest in the Civil War and can always look past the somewhat schlocky aspect of the tourist trade in the town there to appreciate the significance and reflective nature of the National Military Park. The landscape in that part of southeastern Pennsylvania is also quite beautiful with lots of farmland and tree covered rolling hills.

Since my last visit over six years ago, the Pennsylvania Memorial has been reopened after its lengthy refurbishment and there is a fine new Visitor's Center.

The Pennsylvania Memorial is a touchstone for me because it contains plaques for all state regiments that were present at the battle and includes the names of the soldiers enlisted in each regiment. The 61st Pennsylvania Infantry, which was the regiment of my great grandfather William J Nimon, was present there and so it is always fun to see his name. I've actually developed a strong historical interest in the regiment itself and have maintained a website devoted to its saga for over a decade (http://www.61PVI.org). I have included pictures below of the Memorial, the plaque for the 61st and William Nimon's name on it.

Of course, there is much more to see in the park as battle lines and momentum constantly shifted over the three days between the two armies and many famous moments of heroism occurred. I've always enjoyed visiting the cemetery area too where Lincoln gave his great Address. By chance, the 61st regiment was deployed to the extreme right flank of the Union lines and while their position is part of the parkland, it is somewhat inaccessible and is commonly known as the "Lost Avenue". I was able to get to their monument once and hope to do that again on a future visit. The local newspaper had an interesting article about touring that site earlier this year (http://www.gettysburgdaily.com/?p=3063).

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:31:00 -0700 'The Map that Changed the World' by Simon Winchester http://gan-ainm.com/the-map-that-changed-the-world-by-simon-winch http://gan-ainm.com/the-map-that-changed-the-world-by-simon-winch

[Cross-posting latest book summary I put out on LinkedIn.]
 
It's impossible not to learn a lot from a Simon Winchester book, not all of it directly specific to his topic to be sure but always shared in an entertaining style. However, I struggled getting through The Map that Changed the World (http://amzn.com/0060193611) which fundamentally covers the life of William Smith, known as the 'Father of English Geology' due to his insights on using fossil variations to stratify rock layers and the detailed geologic maps he developed from his field research across the country. Even at 300 pages, the book seemed long for its subject - though I'm not trying to diminish Smith's contributions and importance - and was repetitive at times. Also, I found it difficult to follow Smith's life history as the author jumped around a bit in his chronology. While the hardbound version of the book I have attempted to add value by including some color inserts of Smith's maps, they were too small to be really be appreciated. The glossary was helpful though.
 
I would recommend The Professor and the Madman (http://amzn.com/0060175966) and Krakatoa (http://amzn.com/0670911267) as more compelling books by Winchester.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:22:00 -0700 Reading List Catch-Up http://gan-ainm.com/reading-list-catch-up http://gan-ainm.com/reading-list-catch-up

I'm cross-posting below older comments I have made on my LinkedIn reading list to complement recent posts:

Watching Giants: The Secret Lives of Whales by Elin Kelsey -http://amzn.com/0520249763

This is a great short book by Elin Kelsey. It consists of twenty intertwined essays that blend current marine biology research and commentary from many scientists with the author's engaging style and personal perspective. There is lots of interesting - and fun - information about whale and dolphin behavior, their group cultures and the ecology of their breeding and feeding grounds, with special focus on the Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez. The book includes an insert with some wonderful color photos too.

In addition to the fascinating details about these remarkable mammals, there is also very sobering data on the pervasive impact of human actions on marine habitats and sea life. In that respect, the author shifts focus as the book concludes from reflections on individual species and habitats to an advocacy for the need to embrace a broad systems perspective about global ecology - with explicit acknowledgment of human impact on it - to address the scale and scope of complex environmental threats. She uses this quote from Tierney Thys, a biologist, to illuminate her point: "Our next challenge as a species, for us to survive on this planet, is to find our place in the matrix of life as we create the matrix itself"

 

Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett - http://amzn.com/0393316009

Andrea Barrett's writings cross centuries and mix a deep appreciation of science with both her particular artistic sensibility and a frequent interlocking of characters and timelines between her stories (and books).

I actually consider her Servants of the Map (http://amzn.com/0393323579) as more consistently good from end to end, but very much enjoyed this entire book and its concluding novella - for which the book is named - is simply astonishing in its beauty and emotional impact. I know this stylistic intersection of history, science and literature just topically resonates with my personal interests. That bias aside, I still believe this is a story you cannot forget once you read it.

 

The Outlaw Sea: A World of Freedom, Chaos and Crime by William Langewiesche - http://amzn.com/0865475814

All the recent press coverage about pirates had me perusing this fascinating book once again. Each chapter is pretty much a separate essay, though all revolve around the interplay of people, ships, commerce and the sea.

One chapter directly addresses modern piracy in the Straits of Malacca between Malaysia and Sumatra. The chapter that actually resonated the most with me was the description of how unneeded ships are effectively dismantled by hand on the beach of Alang in northwestern India. This is truly one of the darker crevices of globalization.

 

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh - http://amzn.com/0374174229

This is an excellent work of historical fiction in my view and it is the first part of what I believe is intended to be a trilogy. The story takes place in 1838, shortly before the first Opium War between England and China. It is mostly centered in colonial India, has many interesting characters, very inventive wordplay and an often harrowing perspective on how the poppy economy affected India. I'm very much looking forward to next installment.

 

Ruling the Waves by Deborah L. Spar - http://amzn.com/015602702X

I read this book when first published about five years ago or so but have recently revisited it and still find it worthwhile. It is a series of case studies on innovation, beginning with the rise of global navigation and ending with music on the Internet.

The author's premise is that each such cycle evolves in a predictable pattern of phases: innovation, commercialization, creative 'anarchy' and finally the establishment of generally accepted rules/governance.

 

The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald - http://amzn.com/0811213781

This is one of my very favorite books and on this list because I recently reread it and thoroughly enjoyed it again.

It is a work of fiction but not at all a novel in the usual sense. The primary conceit is that the protagonist (who seems to be much like the author) is taking a walking tour of Suffolk, England. However, that is merely a jumping off point for a series of meditations on people and history over many times and places.

It's strange but fascinating stuff. Sadly, Sebald died in a car accident a few years after he wrote the book.

 

The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier - http://amzn.com/0618242953

I've seen some criticisms that the author's writing is a little too stylized and over-wrought in its figurative language. I can see that but still think she is a beautiful writer who has provided a very readable and well-organized overview of the fundamental aspects of science.

 

The House of Morgan by Ron Chernow - http://amzn.com/0802138292

By chance, I started reading this book shortly before the now infamous Lehman collapse and all the cascading follow-on events in the economy. Overall, I liked the book quite a lot but it was a bit too long and I found the history up to and through the Great Depression more rewarding than later parts.

 

Reading the OED by Ammon Shea - http://amzn.com/0399533982

A quick read and really a lot of fun if you like words. The book is organized into a chapter for each letter of the alphabet. Each chapter contains both reflections by the author about his journey through the dictionary as well as some of his favorite words beginning with that letter (along with playful definitions/commentary).

 

The Lost Art of Walking by Geoff Nicholson - http://amzn.com/159448998X

Relatively brief and very witty in its scope and perspective. I was intrigued after reading a positive review in The Economist late last year. This was the first book I have read by this author though he as written quite a few based on his bio.

 

Wall Street: America’s Dream Palace by Steve Fraser - http://amzn.com/0300151438

I got this book after hearing the author interviewed on Fresh Air as part of the show's coverage of the financial crisis. It is a fairly quick read and basically is a subjective history of America's love/hate relationship with Wall Street and the financial markets viewed through the prism of four different perspectives: "The Aristocrat", "The Confidence Man", "The Hero" and "The Immoralist".

I enjoyed the book but perhaps not as much as I hoped I would from the interview.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:43:56 -0700 Bank Ad on ATM http://gan-ainm.com/bank-ad-on-atm http://gan-ainm.com/bank-ad-on-atm

What an offer! Really makes one's heart race. Sent from my BlackBerry

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:54:00 -0700 'The Invention of Air' by Steven Johnson http://gan-ainm.com/the-invention-of-air-by-steven-johnson http://gan-ainm.com/the-invention-of-air-by-steven-johnson
[Cross-posting latest book summary I put out on LinkedIn.]

Steven Johnson books always have a certain style about them (colloquial techie is my best description) and they consistently approach their topics from a systems perspective that incorporates multiple disciplines and frames of reference to illuminate a more connected whole.  Johnson calls this the "long zoom".  It is really this perspective rather than the individual subjects themselves that appear to be the organizing principle in all his work.

The Invention of Air (http://amzn.com/1594488525) is a short but quite thoughtful book which focuses on Joseph Priestley, who was a prominent and influential person in England, America and France during the late 18th century but less known and appreciated now.  I can certainly state that I was surprised about how little I knew regarding the broad scope and impact of his life.

Given the author's ongoing intellectual preoccupations, Priestley is surely a natural subject (and perhaps avatar) for Johnson. Between 1765 and his death in 1804, Priestley simultaneously engaged in ground breaking scientific research on chemistry and electricity, while writing and speaking widely on political thought and religious/ethical philosophy (he was a minister and founder of Unitarianism). He also had a strong - if indirect - influence on the American Revolution and the political challenges of its aftermath through his friendships with Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Rush. In his 'spare' time, he invented soda water too.

These successes did not come without their challenges as Priestley was uncompromisingly forthright in expressing his views despite sometimes violent opposition. Finally, this forced him to effectively escape from his native England for America but then he quickly become something of an outcast there as he was caught up in the post-revolution political struggles between Adams and Jefferson.  

Johnson covers this whole saga very nicely with important insights about how the capacity of at least some of America's founders to embrace/promote the expansion of scientific, political and ethical progress in a holistic and forward thinking way now appears to be lost from the country's political tradition. There is a lot of other interesting material in the book as well. I especially liked the commentary on how energy flows and their relative changes over time affect the evolution of cultures.

In addition to The Invention of Air, I would also recommend Johnson's The Ghost Map (http://amzn.com/1594489254) which examines the learnings from the 1854 cholera epidemic in London.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:30:00 -0700 'The Lives of Ants' by Laurent Keller and Elisabeth Gordon http://gan-ainm.com/the-lives-of-ants-by-laurent-keller-and-elisa http://gan-ainm.com/the-lives-of-ants-by-laurent-keller-and-elisa

I first became more interested in ants a few years ago when reading Steven Johnson's book Emergence (http://amzn.com/0684868768), where he used the social behavior of ant colonies as a natural world example of how complex and desired outcomes can arise from the actions self-organizing systems without the need for top down planning.
 
The Lives of Ants (http://amzn.com/0199541868) is a fast reading, nicely structured and engaging survey of the family of ants, who are one of the great success stories in evolution. Given its recent publication, the book incorporates current research - including the perspective of genetics and molecular biology - about these insects from a broad range of sources.
 
In their ~100 million year history, ants have been able to colonize all parts of the earth save for Greenland, Iceland and Antarctica. There are at least 12,000 species of ants and despite their small size, they are estimated to represent about 10% of the animal biomass on earth - roughly equal to all humans. There's lots of information in the book about the causes and effects of ants self-organizing social behavior as well as a wealth of fascinating details about how ants have adapted to so many ecosystems in a myriad of ways.
 
One of the things I did not realize about ants is how much variability there is between species and how they can differ greatly in the conduct and complexity of their social behavior. Also, it seems like any generalization which can be made about ants has at least one species that contradicts the norm.
 
The final section of the book, which draws parallels between the 'swarm intelligence' of ant and IT/robotics, does not work very well. Johnson's book is more effective in that regard. Also, this book was originally published in French and the translation seems a bit awkward in a few spots. That's really it for any criticisms I have.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:19:00 -0700 'A Splendid Exchange' by William Bernstein http://gan-ainm.com/william-bernsteins-a-splendid-exchange http://gan-ainm.com/william-bernsteins-a-splendid-exchange

I finally got around to reading what I found to be a remarkably interesting and instructive book - http://amzn.com/0871139790.

I had added the comments below on my LinkedIn book list but wanted to post them here too.
 
William Bernstein brightly paints the history of world trade and its impact on broad political and cultural developments over time. He more or less begins his story in Mesopotamia about 5 thousand years ago when local grain was being traded for copper and other desired materials and concludes with some of the stresses and protests increasing globalization has wrought in many countries over the past few decades - while demonstrating this is not a new phenomenon but has been a recurring subtext of free trade over time.
 
The author has a very engaging writing style and has a knack for illuminating broad themes while enriching them with many small and fascinating details as trade evolved over the centuries and the prime traders and most desired commodities varied over time.
 
While clearly pro free trade in his perspective throughout the book, Bernstein's final chapter does try to fairly address the real challenges globalization creates for specific countries or labor segments and what might be done to assist those disadvantaged by these changes.
 
My only small complaints about the book are that the author could have used tighter editing from his publisher to address a degree of repetitiveness and some factual inconsistencies and that his treatment of the 19th and 20th centuries felt a bit rushed. Also, the book is not strictly chronological but has a somewhat thematic orientation. While this was a good organizational choice, it would have been helpful to have an appendix with a timeline of key events in the history of trade as a sequential reference. However, the book does have many maps and other graphics that are quite useful.
 
As a substitute or complement to reading the book, Bernstein was a guest on the always informative EconTalk podcast last year. Here is a link to that episode:
  http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2008/04/bernstein_on_th.html

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:57:35 -0700 Yuki Sushi - Willow Glen http://gan-ainm.com/yuki-sushi-willow-glen http://gan-ainm.com/yuki-sushi-willow-glen

The much awaited new Yuki has their soft opening tonight. Good crowd (esp with no advertising) and excellent sashimi and rolls! Sent from my BlackBerry

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Sat, 01 Aug 2009 11:59:00 -0700 Roman Loranc http://gan-ainm.com/roman-loranc http://gan-ainm.com/roman-loranc Looking forward to today's Roman Loranc book signing event at Photography West Gallery in Carmel. He's an extraordinarily talented black & white photographer and we have many favorite images from both his nature and architectural work. His website is http://romanloranc.com/.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:26:56 -0700 Sunnyside - Lake Tahoe http://gan-ainm.com/sunnyside-lake-tahoe http://gan-ainm.com/sunnyside-lake-tahoe

Perfect weekend at Lake Tahoe. Have not been there in ~5 years - way too long an absence. Lake view lunch @ Sunnyside always awesome in every way. Sent from my BlackBerry

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/80429/Rich_W.jpg http://posterous.com/people/eK20pxoH73 Rich Walsh Rich Rich Walsh