I am reading one of his books: World Without Cancer
Also one tip for anyone who is living in places where it is hard to buy English books or want to avoid ordering from Amazon, just go to a local printing shop to print it out, simple.
Just finishing "Countdown to Socialism: The National Democratic Revolution in South Africa since 1994" by Dr Anthea Jeffery. Very informative book about South Africa's recent history, politics and economics.
We are Bellingcat, about the rise of OSINT and how they solved global crimes was interesting. I'm sure Bellingcat is busy working on that Sikh assassination in Canada.
Part of the reason I am enjoying this book is because everyone has a brief introductory sentence or two allied with a description of their job. This allows you to paint somewhat of a multi-dimensional mental image of this person. Now imagine inviting him or her to sit back, take a load off, and tell you about themselves. Fully candid and uncensored. And then imagine yourself listening to this imaginary character you just created, in whatever setting your mind conjures up, as her or she talks your ear off. You'll be able to envision their body language, tone, and voice and all in the theatre of your mind. That's sort of how the book reads.
I just finished one that I think would resonate with a lot of bitcoiners. It is about Fred Ringley, a copywriter and salesman; his wife, and 5 kids.
He says: "I realize there are only two ways to do things: work for somebody else or be an owner. There are two classes of people, the haves and the have-nots. The haves own."
Fred had it all. The family, a house in the suburbs, the country club membership, two cars, etc, and living what he thought was the American Dream. But the high taxes and ever increasing stress made he and his wife more nervous which lead to them drinking and smoking more. So they sat down one day and essentially said fuck that shit, sold everything, moved to Arkansas, bought a farm with cattle and other animals, opened a burger joint, busted their fucking asses putting in WORK, and gave themselves a life out on the ranch where they also created the one of the worlds largest man-made lakes to go fishing, picnicking, climb a mountain, or whatever else your heart desires.
He went from long, shitty days at work; fighting with his wife about bills, and barely seeing his children to opening his own business, being in the best health of his life, and spending all of his time with his family. On a humongous ranch where he sells beef.
"The IMF and World Bank were created to help countries survive financial crises and to help them develop into prosperous economic actors. But their 75-year track record shows the opposite: their loans and structural adjustment policies have plunged poor countries into impossibly large debt traps and forced the Third World to focus on producing goods for consumption in the West, instead of growing consumption and industry at home".
I watched a couple of interviews with Alex Gladstein. Some of the statistics are quite revealing, for example about a third of debt in the global south is denominated in CNY, not
USD 👀
I had started this book before and was mostly reading it while at my son's taekwondo classes, but put it down when summer arrived because why would I want to sit inside for 45 minutes during his class when I can walk by the lake and listen to podcasts for 45 minutes.
So now that we have some fall weather on the horizon, it is back to reading season for me.
Lifespan: Why we age- and why we don't have to
by David Sinclair
I probably wouldn't recommend Steps to an Ecology of Mind unless you're a particular sort of person, but it's a book to read over the course of a year.
I count myself lucky to have read Matt Haig’s “Reasons to Stay Alive” previously. Knowing how he suffered from depression and eventually prevailed through it made “The Midnight Library” a more powerful read. There were some insightful introspective thoughts on the human condition. About how one might not feel lonely if he is alone in the wilderness because he feels an acute sense of connection with the world. Whereas urban dwellers feel lonely in a busy city because they will then crave for connection with others.
I also marveled at the way he explained the difference between fear and despair by using an everyday, yet powerful analogy. I feel that only someone who has hit rock bottom emotionally before can pen such empathetic descriptions of the depressed mind.
Matt Haig doesn’t shun away from introducing complex material. I felt that my threshold as a reader was being tested. Not only did he include quotes from philosophers like David Thoreau, but he also wrote about the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, thus bringing to mind movies like “Sliding Doors”.
So I followed Nora’s journey as she ‘slided’ from one alternative life to another. She soon discovered that the lives she had always regretted not living might not be all that glamorous or blissful after all. That, upon reflection, those lives she had desperately yearned for were a result of not wanting to disappoint her family members. I thought it was satisfying to uncover how she discovered the role of agency in her life.
No points for guessing that she eventually chose her original life - the one that drove her to commit suicide.
Here, Matt Haig glosses over the triggers, making things fall into place in Nora’s life so as to give us a saccharine sweet ending. But since I’m not a cynic, I don’t mind an ending brimming with possibilities rather than one stunted by the harsh realities of life.
Lastly, these two lines might have changed my outlook on parenting: “it added a bit of challenge to what was otherwise a rather frictionless existence. No relationship stress, no work stress, no money stress.” The mere idea of accepting the pain points that parenting brings made me raise my eyebrows!
Stephen King is so uneven. In general, among the best beginnings / setups in all of fiction; in general, amongst the worst endings. Dark Tower series was a case in point.
I don't think it's so much "bored" as "doesn't know how to land the plane he's hurled into the air". Which is a weak critique, I suppose -- it's only because his imagination is so awesome, and his setups are so awesome, that his endings are so weak. But still.
No. That’s a fair critique. Rereading The Stand, having read it years ago, was an interesting experience;
the characterisations, the descriptions, the situations were all amazing… the payoff and ending meh
I'm reading 'The creature from Jekyll Island' by GE Griffin. It was recommended by @carlosfandango. He's right, very interesting read!
Terrifying as well…. great to hear you are giving it a go!
@carlosfandango gave you a great recommendation. Scary what went on, and you also get a nice introduction to the history of money.
I am reading one of his books: World Without Cancer
Also one tip for anyone who is living in places where it is hard to buy English books or want to avoid ordering from Amazon, just go to a local printing shop to print it out, simple.
Just finishing "Countdown to Socialism: The National Democratic Revolution in South Africa since 1994" by Dr Anthea Jeffery. Very informative book about South Africa's recent history, politics and economics.
We are Bellingcat, about the rise of OSINT and how they solved global crimes was interesting. I'm sure Bellingcat is busy working on that Sikh assassination in Canada.
That looks super interesting. How far are you?
Actual book is less than 200 pages. About 2/3rds done. Kindle version.
Good morning.
I am reading one by Studs Terkel called Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do.
Part of the reason I am enjoying this book is because everyone has a brief introductory sentence or two allied with a description of their job. This allows you to paint somewhat of a multi-dimensional mental image of this person. Now imagine inviting him or her to sit back, take a load off, and tell you about themselves. Fully candid and uncensored. And then imagine yourself listening to this imaginary character you just created, in whatever setting your mind conjures up, as her or she talks your ear off. You'll be able to envision their body language, tone, and voice and all in the theatre of your mind. That's sort of how the book reads.
I just finished one that I think would resonate with a lot of bitcoiners. It is about Fred Ringley, a copywriter and salesman; his wife, and 5 kids.
He says: "I realize there are only two ways to do things: work for somebody else or be an owner. There are two classes of people, the haves and the have-nots. The haves own."
Fred had it all. The family, a house in the suburbs, the country club membership, two cars, etc, and living what he thought was the American Dream. But the high taxes and ever increasing stress made he and his wife more nervous which lead to them drinking and smoking more. So they sat down one day and essentially said fuck that shit, sold everything, moved to Arkansas, bought a farm with cattle and other animals, opened a burger joint, busted their fucking asses putting in WORK, and gave themselves a life out on the ranch where they also created the one of the worlds largest man-made lakes to go fishing, picnicking, climb a mountain, or whatever else your heart desires.
He went from long, shitty days at work; fighting with his wife about bills, and barely seeing his children to opening his own business, being in the best health of his life, and spending all of his time with his family. On a humongous ranch where he sells beef.
Definitely a Bitcoiner.
I've read parts of it and loved it -- was interesting to see what work meant back then, and interesting to contrast that till now.
I always wanted to read this one! Let us know how it turns out
Edit: okay borrowed the e-book version from my local library haha
Hidden Repression by Alex Gladstein
Foreword by Jeff Booth
"The IMF and World Bank were created to help countries survive financial crises and to help them develop into prosperous economic actors. But their 75-year track record shows the opposite: their loans and structural adjustment policies have plunged poor countries into impossibly large debt traps and forced the Third World to focus on producing goods for consumption in the West, instead of growing consumption and industry at home".
I watched a couple of interviews with Alex Gladstein. Some of the statistics are quite revealing, for example about a third of debt in the global south is denominated in CNY, not USD 👀
I had started this book before and was mostly reading it while at my son's taekwondo classes, but put it down when summer arrived because why would I want to sit inside for 45 minutes during his class when I can walk by the lake and listen to podcasts for 45 minutes.
So now that we have some fall weather on the horizon, it is back to reading season for me.
Lifespan: Why we age- and why we don't have to by David Sinclair
The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future by Gretchen Bakke
https://a.co/d/3yN9evZ
Finishing up Bitcoin: A Game Theoretic Analysis. 50 pages left. good read if you want disclosure on all the varied Bitcoin attacks and edge cases.
I probably wouldn't recommend Steps to an Ecology of Mind unless you're a particular sort of person, but it's a book to read over the course of a year.
I am in the middle of: Fiat ruins everything How Our Financial System Is Rigged and How Bitcoin Fixes It By Jimmy Song
<The Midnight Library>
by Matt HaigI count myself lucky to have read Matt Haig’s “Reasons to Stay Alive” previously. Knowing how he suffered from depression and eventually prevailed through it made “The Midnight Library” a more powerful read. There were some insightful introspective thoughts on the human condition. About how one might not feel lonely if he is alone in the wilderness because he feels an acute sense of connection with the world. Whereas urban dwellers feel lonely in a busy city because they will then crave for connection with others.
I also marveled at the way he explained the difference between fear and despair by using an everyday, yet powerful analogy. I feel that only someone who has hit rock bottom emotionally before can pen such empathetic descriptions of the depressed mind.
Matt Haig doesn’t shun away from introducing complex material. I felt that my threshold as a reader was being tested. Not only did he include quotes from philosophers like David Thoreau, but he also wrote about the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, thus bringing to mind movies like “Sliding Doors”.
So I followed Nora’s journey as she ‘slided’ from one alternative life to another. She soon discovered that the lives she had always regretted not living might not be all that glamorous or blissful after all. That, upon reflection, those lives she had desperately yearned for were a result of not wanting to disappoint her family members. I thought it was satisfying to uncover how she discovered the role of agency in her life. No points for guessing that she eventually chose her original life - the one that drove her to commit suicide.
Here, Matt Haig glosses over the triggers, making things fall into place in Nora’s life so as to give us a saccharine sweet ending. But since I’m not a cynic, I don’t mind an ending brimming with possibilities rather than one stunted by the harsh realities of life.
Lastly, these two lines might have changed my outlook on parenting: “it added a bit of challenge to what was otherwise a rather frictionless existence. No relationship stress, no work stress, no money stress.” The mere idea of accepting the pain points that parenting brings made me raise my eyebrows!
My copy of Virtual Economies arrived this week, so that’s on tap for me this weekend.
Rich dad poor Dad is on great book I bumped into. I can't just get enough of it....
It’s a good read and philosophy… although a more recent version would be ‘yes Bitcoin, no Bitcoin, maybe gold’ as I’m never sure where he stands.
The Blocksize War
The dark tower 4. Wizard and glass
Best fantasy series I've ever read, such a wild ride.
I couldn’t get into book 1. I did reread (and enjoy) The Stand this summer though. I’ll give it another go at some point.
Stephen King is so uneven. In general, among the best beginnings / setups in all of fiction; in general, amongst the worst endings. Dark Tower series was a case in point.
That’s a shame. His set ups are amazing and then he seems to get bored…
I don't think it's so much "bored" as "doesn't know how to land the plane he's hurled into the air". Which is a weak critique, I suppose -- it's only because his imagination is so awesome, and his setups are so awesome, that his endings are so weak. But still.
No. That’s a fair critique. Rereading The Stand, having read it years ago, was an interesting experience; the characterisations, the descriptions, the situations were all amazing… the payoff and ending meh
Well, not sure if it counts - I read this book every weekend ?
Never ceases to soothe... it's also pink !
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56053510-the-transgender-industrial-complex
The book is cherished so much is Abduction by Dr Robin Cook.
Here's a book I stumbled upon these days, it talks about the process of how "we are gonna own nothing and be happy" https://thegreattaking.com/
And a video for the lazy ones like me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIoGu692a64
Five Tibetan Rites or "The Eye of Revelation" by Peter Kelder. https://shorturl.at/hHY56
deleted by author