Category Archives: books

book review – Daemon

August 16, 2010 – 5:03 am

A daemon (pronounced /ˈdeɪmən/ or /ˈdiːmən/) is a computer program that runs in the background, rather than under the direct control of a user. Daemon (2006), the book, by Daniel Suarez, has a cult following amongst geeks. It was recommended by Leo. Matthew Sobol was a legendary computer game designer–the architect behind half a dozen [...]

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shout out for Climate Change activists

August 11, 2010 – 5:02 am

My buddy Morgen Hartford is on the road (by bike) … … on a memorial journey through the Pacific Northwest. Honoring old friends, creating new connections. Learning about the systems that power and shape the way we live. Here he is with a broken spoke on his most recent 1200mi ride. His excellent blog – [...]

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Invictus – a review

July 7, 2010 – 5:03 am

Nelson Mandela is a great hero of mine. I can’t think of any actor better suited to play him in a Hollywood movie than Morgan Freeman. Nor any director better than Clint Eastwood. Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube. Loved it. Invictus is a 2009 biographical drama film based on events in South [...]

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The Dune Universe

June 29, 2010 – 5:03 am

The best desert planet sci-fi novel, all would agree is Dune. Here’s the original series of 6 novels by Frank Herbert, each IMHO weaker and more confusing than the last: Dune (1965) Dune Messiah (1969) Children of Dune (1976) God Emperor of Dune (1981) Heretics of Dune (1984) Chapterhouse Dune (1985) Much later Frank’s son [...]

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will humans go extinct?

June 24, 2010 – 9:15 pm

Eventually, certainly. But will we go extinct in the next 100yrs? Professor Frank Fenner thinks we will: … in an interview with The Australian, the well-respected microbiologist expressed his pessimism for our future. “We’re going to become extinct,” he said. “Whatever we do now is too late.” … I’m inclined to disagree. Even after reading [...]

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The Road – Cormac McCarthy

June 17, 2010 – 5:03 am

The world will end not with a bang, but a whimper. I just finished the audio version of Cormac McCarthy’s 2006 novel The Road. It won the the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. … a boy and his father lurch across the cold, wretched, wet, corpse-strewn, ashen landscape of a post-apocalyptic world. The imagery is [...]

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Robert Sawyer WWW trilogy – Watch

June 7, 2010 – 2:36 pm

My brother feels his friend Robert J. Sawyer from Toronto could win another Nebula or Hugo for his WWW trilogy: Wake, Watch, Wonder. SUPERB. Thought provoking. Smart. Yet accessible to all ages. The protagonist is a believable teen girl. REVIEW by C. Baker: … WWW: Watch is the second novel of a trilogy about an [...]

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review – A Fraction of the Whole

May 22, 2010 – 5:02 am

Kate insisted I get this book, though I’d not heard of it listed as part of the Dune Universe. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2008. It’s fantastic. Epic. One of the great works of literature. … At the heart of this sprawling, dizzying debut from a quirky, assured Australian writer are [...]

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Dune: House Corrino

April 29, 2010 – 5:04 am

Corrino is the 3rd in the prequel trilogy of books leading up to the original novel, Dune. Dune: House Corrino Amazon I enjoyed it so much that I’ll continue with the audio version of the master work, itself. I see a huge future film epic something like Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, the acting [...]

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Dune: House Harkonnen

April 12, 2010 – 5:40 am

Prelude to Dune is a prequel trilogy of novels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in Frank Herbert’s Dune universe. The series takes place in the years leading up to the events in the original novel Dune. * Dune: House Atreides (1999) * Dune: House Harkonnen (2000) * Dune: House Corrino (2001) [...]

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