Planet TLLTS

The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a great primer to get me back into philosophy. Although I will say it is not a book one should start with if she or he would want to learn more about philosophy. As such, it does provide a great bridge from the pioneers of Western Philosophy to the more modern advocates.

The book itself is not a very easy read and one can easily get lost and have to re-read some paragraphs a few times to begin to grasp what Ruessell is saying. While most content is a pretty clear read, the topics are very deep and require the reader to have some knowledge of the ideas that he is building upon.

Critical to this book is a decent understanding of Logic. Without this, it makes the work all the more difficult to comprehend. It was clear to me that I need to go back and bone up on my Logic, that I do.

Still, a great, worthwhile and very import read. At the end of the book he provides some very worthwhile recommendations.

The book itself details Russel’s ideas on existence working through concepts of truth and knowledge and what it means to know or experience something. His hypothesis, though, by the title of the book, gets somewhat lost along the way taking a back seat to the concepts of existence, truth, and knowledge only to be summarized succinctly over the last few pages. The idea culminating in the importance and need for philosophy to continue even though some of ideas philosophical processes are put against (i.e.; religion) may never bear fruit.



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Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a refreshing change of pace from the usual story lines I started to complain about last review. Instead of the usual disaster, roam the land of oz, get rescued by Ozma or whatever we have a tale which mostly transpires outside the land of Oz on islands in the Nonenastic Ocean. In fact we don’t see any of the usual Oz protagonists until the last few chapters.

The action in this story is quick and exciting, the challenges unique and refreshing and the cast of characters were thoroughly enjoyable. I hope there are more like this casting an light on some of the different areas circling the fairy countries.



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Almost everybody knows I have ferrets, and many of you have heard me talk about the phenomena of ferret math. The downside of this is when you have to say goodbye to one of your fuzzy friends. Today was just such a day for me.

Ferrets, for those of you not in the know, are not really a creature of nature. Having been bread in captivity for eons, they do not survive on their own. Their survival traits have been almost completely bread from them and they are not much like their ancestors any longer except in appearance. This also brings with it a horrible genetic disposition to certain cancers and diseases witch are all too common in modern day fuzzies.

Today, my friend Teddy was put to sleep. Teddy mysteriously contracted something resembling cancer in his mouth, which rapidly spread into his sinuses and eyes. I am glad to see him go only in the sense that I hated to see him suffering. Teddy came into our home about 3 years ago and was a little fluffy snuggler. He was literally a little teddy bear, which is how he got his name. It was only weeks later that we found his mischievous side that he also really enjoyed pinching my wife Hey, I do too!

Teddy is survived by his life long friend Puff, our only remaining ferret, and, of course, 2 cats, a dog, 2 rats and his beloved humans.

I am gonna miss you friend. Safe journey. I promise to keep pinching my wife for you until we meet again.

The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the second book I’ve read to my daughter in the OZ series this school year. While we both enjoyed it very much, she was disappointed by the way it ended. It was very nonchalant and just basically dropped off, but not unlike many of the other books: Welcome to Oz, let’s have a party, happily ever after, etc.

Most of the books have the same formula: Somehow someone gets lost or blown to Oz, adventures ensue, welcome to the Emerald City, happily ever after. So I guess the meat of it is not the how or the end but what happens in between; those are the good parts. And that is what was fun about this story.

New characters Trot, Cap’n Bill and the Ork; along with the return of the Scarecrow and Button Bright. Of course there are more in here but those are the main events; so to speak.

The highlight for me was the return of the wicked witches. It’s great to see they have not been completely eradicated from Oz.

I have to keep reminding myself that these books were written for children. It does get somewhat tiresome that there is very little tragedy that befalls the characters and they seem to be written to cater strongly to little girls who love fairy tale endings with princesses.

What really keeps me coming back to these tales with anticipation is the cannon of characters. When the protagonist(s) turn(s) a corner and there is Tik-Tok or Billina or The Tin Man it’s just plain fun and puts a smile on both Avery’s and my faces. Great stuff!



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OOOF!

So today Dann sent me a message telling me that the LinuxPlanet.org sites hadn’t updated in like 20 days. Apparently he’s the only one that noticed.. :/

I fixed the feeds and we are all up and running now. At any rate, if you *do* actually use the service, whether ti is down or not, feel free to drop me a note and let me know how it’s doing now and again at linc dot fessenden at gmail dot com!

I plan on voting for Ron Paul in the upcoming Republican primary. While any of the current Republican candidates would be a massive improvement over President Obama I feel Ron Paul is head shoulders above the pack. First off the guy is not a career politician. He’s a trained and practicing medical doctor who’s been a congressman during three different stints totaling 24 years. Too many politicians have never worked a real job their entire lives. He knows our current system and what needs to change. He’s not afraid to go against his party if it’s the right thing to do. While I do not agree with many of his foreign policies I do agree with most of his stances on other issues. Right now this country needs Ron Paul. He’s for ending all foreign aid, especially to regimes that are outright hostile to us and bringing our troops home. This nation needs to regroup and get our house in order. Ron Paul is committed to protecting personal freedoms and limiting the overreaching powers of our government. Here’s a quick list of some of his stances (from his website):
He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.
He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program. He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

I recommend people read about Ron Paul and make an educated decision as to who they’re voting for. This next election is so important to our nation’s future. We need a president who will do what’s necessary to get us going in the right direction. I believe Ron Paul is that candidate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legislation_sponsored_by_Ron_Paul

http://www.ronpaul.org/

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/P000583/key-votes/

The Dark Tower by Stephen King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well the journey has come to the end, and what a journey it was. I loved this series from start to finish. The characters grew on me that they did and I became invested whole heartedly, much like I did with the Harry Potter series. King crafted a masterpiece all the way up to the last paragraph.

It’s hard not to reveal any spoilers to this series so if you have not read it yet I highly recommend stopping here, so as not to ruin any surprises along the way.

When I got to the end, before the epilogue, I was a bit miffed as it seems the story of Roland closed with the booming door. I so wanted to see what was at the top of the Tower before going on to the finale of Susannah’s story.

Susannah’s reuninion with Eddie and Jake was touching and a well fit for the story. Their deaths were not at all diminished by this ending. I was saddened that Oy was not present for this but the Coda hinted at his rebirth too. As Susannah’s memories of her gunslinger days started to fade I felt relieved at the closing of this epilogue.

The coda poses a challenge to the reader to stop there, enjoy this bit of respite and leave the mystery of Roland’s quest to end on a positive note. He made it to the Dark Tower, Susannah is back with her family, isn’t that enough? Do you the reader tempt fate and risk shattering this quiet ending? Or do you read on with the risk that this fairy tale may not end happily ever after, for did King say no story ever ends “happily ever after?”

I admit, I was almost willing to stop there, leave the last few steps of the journey shrouded in hopes that what transpired in the Tower was beyond the ken of the human mind and transcended life as we knew it; but as is the case, temptation won me over and I bit from that apple of knowledge.

The build up to the final door was plodding but so perfect. The slow detailed meandering through the first days of Rolands life with each level of the tower. Each step he became an locomotive increasing speed as the years peeled away. Rushing headlong to the final level as relevant moments of his life flashed past, glimpsed through doors at each landing.

When he reaching that last door, his hand on the knob and turning it realized he could not stop. The walls that had closed in like coffin walls I half expected to complete the back and the door to become the lid and he to be finally laid to rest. But no, he was caught in the rush and realized at that moment as it all turned and twisted back on itself he had come full circle again. Roland had not redeemed himself yet and was pitched back out into the desert where he chased the fleeing man in black across the wastes.

I loved this ending, and it will stick with me for many years to come. It will haunt me like Vonnegut’s Kilgore Trout at the end of Breakfast whose wish it is to go back and do it all again. Trout’s life may have been mundane compared to Rolands, yet even that life to do again was so coveted. Roland’s though, is a tragic tale of loss on many levels. His do over is more a trek through Hell, as Sisyphean challenge.

The wife posited that by his possession of the horn indicates he is closer to redemption, and while this is probably true, I wonder how many times he has retread this path? King made a point to indicate that his gunnah was full of knick knacks he had acquired on his journeys. Could these have been items returned to him with significant meaning based upon how his memories replayed those events etched in the past before the opening desert trek? And like the horn, could there be many more “items of redemption” he will have to acquire before he is finally released from his purgatory?

Such great things to ponder and now I will leave it there. I will spend the rest of my life missing that Ka-tet much like I missed the Potter family; but so glad I got to know them; and walk with them for a bit.



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I saw the news mere minutes after I got my newest mac. I just picked up a nicely used 17″ iMac. I may even have to name it “jobs”…

Much as many of my opensource cohorts are occasionally at odds with Apple, the company, I believe whole heartedly that we have lost a real visionary. He had a big hand in not only making personal computing a reality, but also beautiful. Apple has always pushed the idea that not only should functionality be a consideration but aesthetics as well. I can only hope that Apple can keep up with his legacy.

I have long held the opinion that you should not skimp on the things that you use professionally and frequently. For instance I often tell my peers to make sure they buy decent computers and not just bargain basement models. For some reason it never occurred to me to apply this reasoning to my posterior. That is, until recently.

I have been using a most uncomfortable office chair for the longest time, in fact, for the last 5 years. It’s one of those “conference room” models, which, although built plenty rugged, are not necessarily built for comfort. The real problem with this is I sit in the thing almost 8 hours a day. I even had to buy a pillow for it because I have what I like to refer to as “sysadmin’s butt”, which is essentially the lack of a posterior portion of your anatomy, due mostly to parking it in a chair 8 hours a day for many years.

A few days ago, a friend of mine who just happens to work for a great company called Knoll, got me hooked up with a review unit of the Knoll Generation chair. Let me just say I don’t know why I waited so long for a good chair!

This chair is the epitome of office comfort and has so many options to aid you in that regard it’s difficult to mention them all. Of course it offers the standard amenities such as height adjustment and a reclining back, but wait, there is more! It has these cool adjustable arms that not only raise and lower but they also have arm pads that adjust in depth, width and pivot. The back of the seat has this comfort type netting which is flexible, cool and very comfortable. The top of the back flexes almost over backwards and it a great place to rest your arm while sitting sideways in high comfort. I think the feature that threw me the most is the flex seat. Unlike most chairs with a solid unyielding seat, this seat has some degree of movement or side to side pivot. I almost thought that my chair was broken until I realized that this was intentional! This pivot to the seat allows comfort and support for how people sit. What I mean by that is people sit different ways and on different angles with their feet up, legs crossed and what have you, and this seat allows some motion in that regard to keep even support and pressure where it should be, fully on your posterior instead of on your legs when you are not seated “flat”. In addition to that, the seat depth adjusts as well.

Although this chair may be on the expensive side, I believe it’s well worth it, especially for people who are confined to such devices for much of their day. I wish they had a travel version available, I would buy it in a minute I think the best testimony is that every person in my office has now sampled the chair and ALL of them want one! If you are in need, you can’t go wrong with one of these. It’d most likely be the last office chair you would ever need to buy.

My only hope and wish is that the Knoll folks see this review and decide to send me one of their other products to test as well! Other than that, I’ll be happy to hang out in my own Genertion!