Author Archives: Harry Katz
Book Review: Outliers
Outliers: The Story of SuccessBy Malcolm GladwellLittle, Brown & Co., New York, 2008 In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell examines what makes some people extraordinarily successful, statistical outliers, in their chosen fields. He looks at Bill Gates, the Beatles, professional hockey players … Continue reading
Roller man
To paraphrase Obi-wan Kenobi, "I don’t mind rollerblading, but what this guy’s doing is suicide." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rgWl_7nH4w&feature=related
Skater in the Mist
Sunday afternoon, turkey eaten, thanks given, houseguests packed up and gone home; I tossed my gear into the trunk of my car and headed out to skate off excess consumption. I arrived at Marymoor Park a little after 4pm. Not … Continue reading
Canadian election
I watched some of the coverage on CBC and, wow, nothing much has changed in Canada. A Liberal elected in Vancouver Quadra, NDPers elected in Nickel Belt and Trinity-Spadina, Tories sweep (almost) Alberta Peter Mansbridge brought out of cryostasis to … Continue reading
Giant Pool of Money – The Sequel
This weekend, Ira Glass, host of NPR’s This American Life, ran another report from Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson, a sequel to their earlier report The Giant Pool of Money. This one, Another Frightening Show About the Economy, explores the … Continue reading
Thomas Friedman: Rescue the Rescue
Good column yesterday by Thomas Friedman of the New York Times on the bailout plan. He does a good job explaining the interconnectedness of Main Street and Wall street. I particularly liked this: "We’re all connected. As others have pointed out, … Continue reading
Credit Crisis Explained
I used to think I had a pretty fair grasp of economics and finance. The subprime lending crisis which has now mushroomed into a full-scale credit meltdown has disabused me of any such notion. It’s also shown pretty conclusively that no … Continue reading
Richard Wright, Pink Floyd founding member, dies at 65
Richard Wright, keyboardist and founding member of Pink Floyd died today at his home in England after a brief battle with cancer. The LA Times published an obituary here. I think the band said it best themselves in Time from … Continue reading
Let astrology help you find the perfect dog
This article purports to help you select a pet dog based upon your Zodiac sign. It’s unbelievably stupid. I mean, nowhere in the article do they even mention the dog’s Zodiac sign and how that might influence compatibility with its … Continue reading
Book Review: The Post-American World
The Post-American WorldBy Fareed ZakariaW. W. Norton & Co., New York, 2008 Despite its apocalyptic-sounding title, Fareed Zakaria’s latest book, The Post-American World, is actually quite optimistic. Zakaria is editor of Newsweek International, and former managing editor of Foreign Affairs. … Continue reading
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