Annals of half -finished books: I am Charlotte Simmons

I could not make myself finish this. I did finish about half and that seemed enough punishment (plus it is so huge, half is a lot of pages to read). The protagonist goes from hillbilly land to a snooty college. She meets a Jock, a Fraternity Boy, and a Geek. Everything is described so breathlessly and wordily as if narrated by a space alien getting paid by the word (sounds like any New Yorker writer, but I digress). Does this book ever get to the point? Knowing Thomas Wolfe, she probably gets gang raped by them all. Not for me. Somebody tell me whodunnit, because I am not finding out first hand. I once saw a bookstore that would let you return a book when finished and get a little something back. I would take that deal with this book.

Gadget corner: The Robo-Maid

No, this is not a wife substitute as the name might imply. This is, instead, the "as sold on TV" miracle, the "robotic vacuum for the poor masses." You can spend $300 at The Sharper Image, but the discerning gadget buff knows that for only 10.50, this amazing household gadget can be yours!
Morgan likes it, Rudy is unimpressed, and Kate has yet to see how revolutionary this will be. I have two happily cleaning upstairs and down as we speak!

Annals of Books: The Pleasure of My Company, by Steve Martin

I actually didn't read this. But I listened to the audio version on my iPod, as narrated by the author. Which is a treat, because he writes about like he talks - his books (Shopgirl was also good) have a sing-song quality as if they were translated from French.

This is a pretty amazing and at times very funny story about a fellow who is a savant with severe compulsions. He is very honest and self-aware of all of this, which makes it interesting. His journey from obsessive loner to a full participant in his world is very interesting and at times surprising. Martin has a very deft touch and his plots are good. Look forward to further writing. Another great thing about Martin the writer is that he doesn't seem to get paid by the word -- both books are novella length, perfect for finishing on a couple of flights.

William N. Aitken, R.I.P.

One of my main memories of my uncle Bill is when I first met him around the time (probably even before) he married Ada. As a bratty kid, I indoctrinated him into the extended family by stealing his cigarettes and hiding them. I have thought many times since how patient he was about that -- a good throttling would have accelerated my growth process, but I am glad he was not a person to do that. I knew early on that I in fact wanted him to like me, despite my bad start, and it made me happy that he always acted and spoke as if he did. God bless you, Bill. We will miss you.

Annals of Books: The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists : A Novel

This is a hilarious little book (would be good for a short airplane ride or a very long time, perhaps even installments, in the "Christian Science Reading Room" as my family euphemizes it) that I picked up from the bottom of the shelf at some bookstore.

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists : A Novel by GIDEON DEFOE is very very funny. Very like Monty Python meets Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. What more need be said?

The plot is simple- Our protagonist The Pirate Captain (no names for pirates on his ship are ever used, because he just forgets them) wants to get his crew out of a rut, so they follow a bad lead from another pirate looking for a reputed gold ship. However, the ship is the HMS Beagle and its hold is full of science specimens, because the ship is led by Charles Darwin. The Pirates and the Scientists join forces on an Adventure.

The book is made to look and sound like a dated children's serial or series book. With the humor. It is interesting that the book is actually quite clean, I might let my son read it. Very funny, I was surprised. Hope this guy writes more and longer next time.

Tell em I sent you:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375423214/qid=1104963853/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-5938080-6262226?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Got Spurrier? That's what my tee shirt says

I get asked a lot by people who would otherwise misplace the fact that I am a little bit of a South Carolina fan ("little" here means I rarely dream about the Gamecocks in my sleep) if I am excited about them hiring Steve Spurrier as coach.

Yep. I hope he does a good job with what is available. Obviously they will pass the ball more often than before. I have read a book or two about him to get apprised (I had studiously ignored -- if not hated as my wife claims-- his career while he was at Florida and RUTS on USC every season) and what is most impressive to me is what he did in three years at Duke. Surely they were not furtively stocked with football talent before he got there. His teams led the league in passing and scoring and won an ACC championship while he was there.

Thanks Coach Holtz for all you did, and for always responding to my letters about helmets and your books.

Technology Review -- radioSHARK

It seemed dumb to me that I can't listen to Braves games from my computer at work. They are on TV and Radio locally free, but not streamed. Of course, you can bring a TV or radio to work, but that is beside the point.

Enter the radioSHARK by Griffin Technology. It is a device that plugs into your USB port. It serves as an AM/FM radio, drawing its power from the port. Nothing wild here yet, but it also comes with software that allows time shifting and recording.

Kind of cool IMO. Obviously a radio is cheaper, but again, this is no logic to a gadget afficionado.



Click yonder for more info:
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/radioshark/