* “Camouflage”:amazon by Joe Haldeman. Eh, not adding to the reputation of the haldeman name. Aliens secretly among us. Kind of silly and pointless and honestly not well thought out – really, there are just 2 aliens on earth, and they’ve both been here for millions of years? Wouldn’t that be enough time for a few others to show up? * “The Peshawar Lancers”:amazon by S. M. Stirling. Fun alternate history romp – a natural disaster in the 1800s sends the world on a very different path, and the British Raj of that world faces treachery and crisis. Lots of research into Indian culture, interesting speculation. * “Darkest Fear”:amazon by Harlan Coben. Another solid Myron Bolitar tale – an old flame, a child, a serial killer or two.

Maui Hotels: Fairmont Kea Lani - Maui Seaside Hotel at Polo Beach – okay this place is stupidly expensive and they nickel and dime you to deal (except of course nothing costs a nickel here, they $10 and $20 you to death). But…they have amazing support for people with food allergies – they strictly adhere to an ingredients list you provide, use dedicate pots and pans, your food is cooked by a sous or head chef, served by a manager, the assistant head of food service will meet with you daily to discuss menus, etc etc. Really an amazing service and has made it possible for us to stay here – recommended if you have a food allergy or allergies to deal with. And when I travel in the future, I will ask hotels if they have an equivalent program.

Been on planes a lot recently – first installment of reviews here – the Kindle is awesome while flying

* “Buckingham Palace Gardens”:amazon by Anne Perry. Period mystery set in Buckingham palace. Very good tale of ambition, murder, deception, class conflict, and passion. Great fun, worth reading more by the author. * “Off Armageddon Reef”:amazong by David Weber. “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”:amazon starts the Reformation in a backwater planet, with a lot of “Master and Commander”:amazon high seas action, set against a space opera background. Whew. Too much naval tactics at times but fun. * “Curse of the Spellmans”:amazon by Lisa Lutz. “Harriet the Spy”:amazon grows up and is a bumbling PI and somewhat of a misanthrope but in a humorous way. Entertaining.

Assign USB Drives to a Folder – great tip

Where to Find Open Data on the Web - ReadWriteWeb – useful stuff here

Toolmonger » Blog Archive » Weed-A-Pocalyspe! – I think I’ve blogged this before, this one looks even more streamlined. I have to get one of these. Probably a terrible idea to buy one, there are just so many ways this can go wrong.

Rules governing up at NWA, Hawaiian Air, UPS. Not that complicated as long as you stay under 2 kilos of dry ice. And you want some sort of insulated box, Washington Packaging has one type of box.

MAKE: Blog: National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest 2008 – oh would this have been a blast to go to. Mousetrap had to be my all-time favorite game as a kid.

2 to check out – Amahi Linux Home Server, NASLite-2. Amahi is a full featured thing with shared calendars, websites, etc. NASLite is just a file share.

I’ve said this before – A Little Ludwig Goes A Long Way » Blog Archive » Advice for College Admissions Counselors – please please please put yourself in your customer’s shoes and go sit through admissions presentations and tours at a half dozen competitive colleges. Most of what gets presented is so repetitive and undifferentiated. On a week or even a couple days of college tours, it is mind-numbing.

Amazon.com: Human Wildlife: The Life That Lives on Us by Robert Buckman. Fun book about the vast number of helpful, benign, and dangerous critters that live on and in our bodies. You really get the sense that you are a walking bag of bugs. The pictures of eyebrow mites are awesome! Not a kindle book, pictures matter a lot to the narrative.

* “The Geography of Bliss”:amazon by Eric Weiner. A solid book exploring the nature of happiness; community, sharing, connections, a sense of a greater purpose, and a laid back approach to life all seem to be key. * “The Thing About Life Is That One Day You’ll Be Dead”:amazon by David Shields. Reflections on mortality. I don’t really get it, he seems to be yelling at his readers and his father “don’t you get it? How can you be so carefree? We are all going to die” and my response is so what? How would I live differently? Am I supposed to be more dour and depressed, and how would that make things better? * “An Army At Dawn”:amazon by Rick Atkinson. The story of the US Army at dawn of WWII in North Africa – disorganized, soft, bickering, self-centered. All this was blasted away as the army learned how to fight and as the men ill-suited to war were rendered casualties. At the start, we viewed this as someone else’s war. By the end of the North African campaign, the war was deeply personal to the army with resultant changes in behaviour. * “Silver Spoon Kids”:amazon by Gallo, Gallo, Gallo. Trite examples, middle school vocab, shallow thinking. If you have no moral compass whatsoever and can’t bring yourself to engage in deep thought or true acts of compassion, I guess this book is for you. I’d personally recommend almost any classic or autobiography or meaningful nonfiction (any of the other books mentioned) as a better way to develop morality, and of course real engagement with real people in your community.