I'm a 33 Year old man who lives with his girlfriend, their daughter and their cat in Dartmouth, NS, Canada.
I am a Software Architect for a global Financial Services CI & Recruiting firm.
I enjoy reading, gaming (video and otherwise), cooking, gardening and hanging out with my girls.
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I stole this from Raquel…
- Do you snack while reading? If so, what’s your favourite snack?
Don’t really snack while reading.
- What’s your favourite drink while reading?
Water.
- Do you take notes while reading, or the idea of writing in books horrifies you?
Meh, though this is a feature of the Kindle App, I never use it.
- How do you mark the spot where you were at on your reading? A bookmarker? Folding the page corner? Leaving the book open?
Mark the spot? How Droll! My iPhone does this for me.
- Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
Fiction… specifically Fantasy & Sci-Fi.
- Are you the kind of person who reads until the end of the chapter, or do you stop anywhere?
I can stop anywhere when I’m on the bus or sitting around waiting. the iPhone remembers where I was. If I’m at home I usually finish the book (or if its too much to read, the chapter).
- Are you a reader capable of throwing the book to the other side of the room, or to the floor when the author irritates you?
No, I’m not paying $699 to replace the iPhone if I broke it.
- If you find a word you don’t know, will you stop and look for its meaning?
I have an iPhone, if the book is being read via Stanza, I’ll tap it and look it up (built in feature). If I’m reading via Kindle, I’ll Google it (though the dictionary should be built in!).
- What are you currently reading?
Nothing, trying to find another book to read… It MUST be available on the iPhone via Kindle or Stanza. Sorry, but I refuse to lug around a pound of paper when my iPhone will carry my entire collection of books.
Update: Just downloaded Reynolds’ latest: “Terminal World”.
- What was the last book you bought?
”Fool’s Fate” by Robin Hobb. It was ok. I more or less read it so I could finally finish off her series.
- Do you read just one book at once, or can you read more than one at the same time?
Usually one book at a time. Its all I can keep track of.
- Do you have a favourite spot/time of the day to read?
Not really, since I got my iPod Touch, then iPhone, I read anywhere cause my books are on it. I can read for 5 minutes or three hours.
- Do you prefer books included in series or independent novels?
Series. I like LOOONNGGG books. Well, for the most part.. the “Wheel of Time” lost me after book 6… I mean come one, get on with it already, its like watching Heroes… END THE STORY ALREADY.
- Is there a specific author or novel that you’re always recommending?
George R.R. Martin & Alastair Reynolds (depending on if you are into Fantasy or Sci-Fi)
- How do you organize your books?
I don’t understand the question… Organize? You mean where do i pile them until Rhonda puts them on a shelf?
Time recently ran an article titled “Should Kids Be Bribed to Do Well in School?”. You should read the article, go a head, click the link, it should open in a new window/tab. I’ll wait…
So the gist of the article was a researcher took a look at how paying kids to do better influenced their grades, attendance and standardized tests. I really don’t want to talk too much about this other than to say that though I don’t think rewarding kids who go above and beyond is a bad thing, rewarding them for doing what is necessary is IMO pretty bad. According to my understanding of the results, the one that worked the best was in Dallas where kids were paid $2 for each book they read (after answering a test to prove they read it). This in turn greatly increased reading comprehension, etc skills (calling Capt. Obvious…).
I have, however, been a fan of a sort of “bribery” for school kids (specifically high-school kids) where those who maintained certain levels of accomplishment would have their 1st year of university/technical/vocational school covered. Something along the lines of:
| Average Mark |
% Covered |
| 65% to 75% |
50% |
| 75% to 85% |
65% |
| 85% to 90% |
80% |
| 90%+ |
100% |
This (IMO) would encourage kids to do well. No, it would not be perfect. Yes, what about under-privileged kids from bad families who don’t have the support network… I know. We would have to try and make it fair for them too. But we SHOULD be doing that anyway. Those kids should have the social and scholastic support they need from day one. I’m one who strongly believes in parental responsibility (its your damn job to raise your kids, and well), but when parents fail, they should be held accountable and the kids should be helped by the state (its not their fault their parents suck).
My solution has to reasons for it:
- Post-Secondary Education cost too much. A student should not have to shoulder $40,000 + in debt just to earn a good living and become a good citizen.
- Rewards kids and encourages those who do well. A lot of kids out there don’t see the point of school since they can never afford post-secondary. This helps to alleviate that. Even the poorest student can afford university with decent marks.
FYI: students would be required to maintain the % average while in post-secondary to continue having the tax-payer foot their bills.
Comments?
I was at the Annual ITANS Digital Nova Scotia dinner last night and they had a speaker named Tom Turchet (VP Software, General Business, IBM). His speech was on “Ignoring the Digital Revolution”, and what it could cost us as individuals, companies, communities and a nation as a whole if we ignore it or [...]
Somehow I doubt it; my cat is a pussy. No, really, he is deathly afraid of rabbits, birds, mice, etc…
I know, in the pic I posted a few days ago he looks all bad-ass, but trust me… He’s a scaredy cat.
Yes, another mini-review. For those of you who do not know the format yet, here’s how it goes: After playing a game about 40-60% through, I write a mini-review. Its my thoughts up until this point about how the game is going. Later (if and) when I complete the game, I write up a final [...]
I took a picture of Gizmo yawning the other day…
A little while ago, Amazon made news by pulling all a publisher’s (Macmillan) books from their shelves (both physical and digital). This was in retaliation fro that publisher wanting to change the pricing scheme that Amazon has in place for its eBook store (for its Kindle Reader and kin). A lot of authors and bloggers [...]
Semi Review? Well, I’m about half way through the game (I think) and I thought I’d put down my thoughts so far. I’ll try and remember to do an 2nd half/final thoughts review once I beat it. Warning, there might be some minor spoilage below. Nothing really to do with plot, but I may [...]
So Raquel posted her thoughts on why she would probably not be buying the iPad (she is an iPhone user) over at her blog Corusca. I wrote a little reply on my thoughts, but I thought I write a larger more thorough reply here.
So Apple announced the iPad (which as many others have pointed out [...]
WEll, its has been over 2 years since my last HTPC Update:
Gotten Better:
It actually was my TV that was the issue (with not letting the TV turn off when the HTPC was on). I ended up taking the ViewSonic TV back to Costco and told them it didn’t work right. I only got half way through the [...]
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