David > Recent Status Updates

I may find it hard to be critical of some of the arguments in this book. The prologue seemed to voice my feelings about the situation in the US, both after the 2016 election and the 2020, pretty accurately. Looking forward to the author's observations.

He makes a good case for why the various theories of "normal" oddities of space-traveling bodies don't seem quite plausible for this body. Comparing the object to a person with a waist thinner than a normal wrist, for example, provides a good visual for how different this object is. And it's a good point to describe how having one characteristic be closer to "normal" would cause another trait to be more extreme.

The intro has me wondering if Lance Armstrong was disgraced yet, since he's being held up as a great example of using these kinds of training methods! Also seems clear this library book is old enough that it probably doesn't have the info that's supposed to be in the newest edition about apps that might help you with the workout analysis (like Strava that I've been using, tho I don't plan to subscribe!).

Facebook does not look, in this book, like they really care about what happens to people targeted by Facebook users, they really only care about getting as many users as possible and having them use the platform as much as possible. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but the cynicalness of some of their actions seemed even beyond how cynical I imagine them to be, even to the point of disregarding human lives.

Assume the person you're talking to might know something you don't.

Listening carefully and attentively becomes an important component of conversation, and arguably then part of self-evaluation.

Cambridge Analytica scandal is described, the data breach of over 100 million users' data. To me it sure seems like they were always more concerned at FB at getting through things without losing anything while keeping everything as secret and unknown as possible.

The rat catcher is someone looking through FB message sources (and even sources wxternalbto FB like gchat) to find sources of sensitive leaks that led to negative stories about FB. People were fired, and it may have led to the decisions regarding conservative messages on FB that supported TFG enoughbfor him to win that 2016 election.

It's doing a good job of peeling back the skin of Facebook to show some of the inner workings underneath, and it ain't necessarily a pretty picture.

Intro chapter uses the trump speech about banning Muslims as an example to illustrate the issues that could have been handled differently. Next up is a little history of the origins of the product and how it came to be the way it was.

He's thrown his hat into the ring of candidates for prez, though Michelle is not so excited about it. I'm curious to go find the speech he gave in Iowa at the JJ (?) dinner that sounds like it was one of the key moments for him in the race, before it really even began. Favs was instrumental in that speech preparation, so it must be a god window into how the young Jon Favreau thought.

Oh gloom and despair, the somewhat happy ending that I might have hoped for seems a distant memory, after Shankar has died, Avisham (Maneck's school friend and chess player) was clearly tortured and murdered, Ishvar and Om were forcibly sterilized and then Om castrated, Ishvar's resulting infection leading to the loss of his legs. It seems it would have been too obvious to have them die, they must instead suffer.

Listening to the audiobook now, after reading the print book (aloud, with Chris) earlier this year.

The story of the kittens moved into the kitchen and abandoned, then their growing up and leaving. Followed by beggarmaster's story of Shankar's mom, and how she was actually his step-mom, so he and Shankar were half brothers. But they are not to tell anyone of this story!

Trouble between the young men - after they'd grown closer during vacation time, they fight over spying on Aunty while she is bathing. Dina and Ishvar don't know the real problem, but the boys haven't resolved it yet. Also there was some dredging of Maneck's school troubles when he was teaching Om chess.

The tailors have managed to get back to their employer Dina, and she is so relieved that she's letting them sleep on her verandah and now they are cooking and eating together. The emergency orders of the government still stand, things are potentially dangerous, so letting them stay helps to ensure they are not carried off again. Because they are around more, they seem to be growing on her.

Now it's turned into a kind of screwball comedy with misdirection going every which way.