Best Books of 2009 from The Economist

Read The Economist magazine reviews of their top books of 2009 at Page-Turners or listen to the podcast. The podcast made me wish I had the time and money to read them all. Here are some of the books that caught my interest.

Their pick for the best book on "the war on terror" is The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One by David Kilcullen. OUP; 384 pages; $27.95. C. Hurst; £20

General David Petraeus’s adviser on counter-insurgency advocates mixing military theory with a deep knowledge of culture and tradition among tribal peoples to try and win the “war on terror”.

They state that most books on global warming are highly partisan but they say this one is a well thought out exception, Why We Disagree About Climate Change: Understanding Controversy, Inaction and Opportunity by Mike Hulme. Cambridge University Press; 432 pages; $28.99 and £15.99

How global warming has been transformed from a physical phenomenon that is measurable and observable by scientists into a social, cultural and political one, by a professor of climate change at the (now controversial) University of East Anglia. In the crowded and noisy world of climate-change publications, this book will stand out.

The Economist also recommends as worth reading an "absolutely terrifying" novel where climate change is central to the story. The plot takes place in the future with major coastal cities like New York and Miami under water after the polar ice caps melt.. Check out Ultimatum by Matthew Glass. Grove Atlantic; 400 pages; $24. Atlantic Books; £9.99

Politics meets the rising tide of climate change.

If you're most interested in the recent financial crisis, The Economist recommends Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System---and Themselves by Andrew Ross Sorkin. Viking; 624 pages; $32.95. Allen Lane; £14.99

A riveting fly-on-the-wall account of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and what came afterwards.

New Ways for Computers to Interact with People and Physcial Objects

This video podcast really opened my eyes to the possibilities for new ways to interact with computers. Pranav Mistry demonstrates many amazing technologies he’s developed to help us interact with the objects around us in more natural ways. Check out the video to see demonstrations of:

• Wearable computers which project the user interface onto walls, blank sheets of paper, or even skin
• The ability to place real, physical objects on computer screens and the computer interprets the object as a request for information. For example, placing an airline boarding pass on the screen would retrieve directions on how to walk to the departure gate.
• Facial recognition software that retrieves information about the person and/or their expertise and then projects information about the person onto their shirt
• The ability to use your fingers to grab text and/or images in printed material and drop it into a document you are editing by touching a touch screen.

See the video on the TED.com site or download it from iTunes.

Hip Hop Stars Who are Internet Technology and Social Media Savy

When I listened to this podcast from Stanford Technology Ventures, I was amazed to hear hip-hop artists who were articulate about the use of the internet, crowd sourcing, social media, digital branding, and more as ways of promoting themselves, their music, their merchandise (or "merch"), and more.  This is basically a panel disucssion in front of a crowd of Stanford University MBA students.   One of them makes a remark about people not taking him seriously but "five million ring tones later" he gets the last laugh.

Successful Independent Promotion: From Artist to Entrepreneur

Hip-hop artists Quincy Jones III and Chamillionaire discuss mastering the business side of the music industry. Keeping up with cutting-edge technologies, production logistics, and finding creative ways to gain direct audience contact are essential tactics for the self-produced artist in the digital age.

Be sure to check out the video or listen to the audio on iTunes.

The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age

This podcast really made me think. Today so much information about our lives is archived and stored basically forever.  However, our biological memory fades.  This podcast poses the question, "Would we be better off if our digital memories faded (or expired) over time like our biological memory?"  Would it be easier to move on and get on with life easier or quicker? to think more clearly? 

Check out Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Inbox, episode 133.

Here's a link to the book discussed, Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age

Poor Malawian Farmer Becomes an Inventor and Brings Hope to Africa

This is a truly inspiring story of how a poor Malawian teenager, a "poor farmer in a nation of poor famers" took inspiration at age 14 from science books and used parts he got in a scrap yard to change his life.  The following is a quote from his biography:

William Kamkwamba, from Malawi, is a born inventor. When he was 14, he built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap, working from rough plans he found in a library book called Using Energy and modifying them to fit his needs. The windmill he built powers four lights and two radios in his family home.

After reading about Kamkwamba on Mike McKay's blog Hactivate (which picked up the story from a local Malawi newspaper), TEDGlobal Conference Director Emeka Okafor spent several weeks tracking him down at his home in Masitala Village, Wimbe, and invited him to attend TEDGlobal on a fellowship. Onstage, Kamkwamba talked about his invention and shared his dreams: to build a larger windmill to help with irrigation for his entire village, and to go back to school.

Following Kamkwamba's moving talk, there was an outpouring of support for him and his promising work. Members of the TED community got together to help him improve his power system (by incorporating solar energy), and further his education through school and mentorships. Subsequent projects have included clean water, malaria prevention, solar power and lighting for the six homes in his family compound; a deep-water well with a solar-powered pump for clean water; and a drip irrigation system. Kamkwamba himself returned to school, and is now attending the African Leadership Academy, a new pan-African prep school outside Johannesburg, South Africa.

He shows there is hope for poor developing countries.  You really must check out these two video podcasts from TED:

•  "William Kamkwamba on building a windmill" (the original TEDTalk at age 19)
  
•  a more recent TEDTalk "William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind" (also on iTunes)

 Here's a link to William's book:

 If you enjoy this or any of my other recommendations, please leave a comment!

How the Internet Really Works and How it Encourages Random Acts of Kindness

If you've began to think of the Internet as becoming more trouble than it is worth because of phishing attempts, viruses, and other ways that one man tries to take advantage of another, this video podcast will certainly make you think again. 

Jonathan Zittrain, a professor of Internet law, first does a great job of explaining in a humorous way how low-level technology that makes the Internet possible actually works and how dependent it is on people voluntarily playing by the rules.  He gives a great example of what happens when this does not happen when he describes how Pakistani internet censorship inadvertently hijacked YouTube a couple of years back.

He then goes on to provide real-world examples of how people who do not know each other come together on the Internet to voluntarily provide value to others and even self-police themselves.

Watch "The Web As Random Acts of Kindness" on Ted.com or download the talk on iTunes.

Unpleasant "Secret Sites" and Misidentification of Criminals

This video podcast is both interesting and painful to watch but I feel like it is something people need to watch, especially conservative "law and order" types like myself.

The first half of the video will also open your eyes.  Taryn Simon provides glimpses behind the scenes at various unpleasant "secret sites" you've probably never heard of where nuclear waste is stored, where human bodies are allowed to decay to improve crime scene investigation techniques, and where the Federal Government grows marijuana for research purposes.  Also, did you know the Library of Congress puts out a braille edition of Playboy magazine?

In the second half of this video, Taryn provides a stark reminder that eyewitnesses have been wrong and victims can be wrong.  Sometimes the wrong person was sent to prison for years and exonerated later when improved DNA analysis technology became available.  Decades of lives were lost.  In one story, 13 different people identified the wrong man as being at the scene of the crime.

Check out "Taryn Simon photographs secret sites" from Ted.com.  It is also available on iTunes.

Too Big to Fail, Consumer Protection, Derivatives, and Government Regulation

I recently discovered the NPR PlanetMoney podcast and have really appreciated their fresh approach which is both entertaining and full of insight.  There is plenty of depth and not just soundbites.

Are you worried about financial institutions which are "too big to fail"?  Are you worried that financial regulators might go to far and make things worse?  In either case, you will appreciate Podcast: Planet Money Live (or click here to find on iTunes).  One of the host's dad is there to ring a bell to make sure nobody uses jargon he doesn't understand without explaining it.

- Bob Litan and Scott Talbott duke it out over what to do with financial institutions that are too big to fail.
- Adam Levitin and Diane Casey-Landry sound off on a proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
- Darrell Duffie and Mark Brickell dispute the future of derivatives.

With special appearances by Alice Rivlin, Martin Bailey, Charles Calomiris, Peter Wallison and Adam's dad, Jack Davidson.

One participant wants a "bigness tax" to discourage financial institutions from getting too big to fail.  One participants wants to go even further and force big institutions to break up.  Industry insiders and conservatives counter with their points that such regulation would have unintended consequences or that large corporations like General Electric need to do business with large financial institutions.

How to Write Clearly At Work

It may not be a popular topic of discussion, but I still think its important.

Listen to David Silverman, author of the Words at Work blog on HarvardBusiness.org and of Typo: The Last American Typesetter or How I Made and Lost 4 Million Dollars discuss better business writing (which in his mind includes writing clear emails).  Here are some good quotes I picked up:

• No writer would think of themselves as fantastic without an editor.
• We should be rewarded for fewer words instead of more.
• All first drafts are pretty terrible..... the rewriting where the effort is.
• Email has replaced the memo.
• The reason you don't get anything done is because you're responding to emails that were poorly written.
• It is not fair to mark a document "Draft" as if it excuses you from making the document any better.
  

There's a discussion on writing a resume and cover letter also for those looking for a job today.

Check it out at How to Write Clearly at Work (also on iTunes).  Here's a link to his book too.

13 Mistakes and 13 Brilliant Strokes

 There are two reasons I like this podcast.

1. I got to hear lessons learned from the successes and failures of someone who has both worked in major companies and successfully stared companies.
2. I learned why DNA sequencing could revolutionize healthcare.
   

"Hugh Martin, Chairman and CEO of Pacific Biosciences, looks back on the evolution of his career - from building computers to creating the future of medicine. Martin charts the lessons he learned working for large technology firms, as a leader in several successful start-ups, and while being courted by the VC community to launch a new wave in bioscience."

Audio Podcast:  13 Mistakes and 13 Brilliant Strokes ( also on iTunes)

How to Be an Innovator for Life

I found this great talk by Tom Kelly at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program lecture series.  I found his ideas on how to be creative and innovative very encouraging. 

"Tom Kelley, general manager at the world-renowned design firm, IDEO, presents five core practices that enhance creativity. Through entertaining stories and examples, he describes how these techniques help us all become more innovative in every aspect of our lives and lead to more success."

 Here's some interesting quotes:

• "Every child is an artist.  The problem is to remain an artist when you grow up" - Picaso
• Be childlike as often as possible but not childish.
  
• Deep expertise is extremely valuable to the organization... but they start filtering things out as distractions
• Take an anthropology course
• If you figure out you are the most productive and creative from 8-10 am whatever you do, do not look at email or attend anything resembling a status meeting during that time.
• Find out what your muse is.
• The supreme achievement in life is to blur the line between work and play.
  

Major themes for staying innovative:

• Think like a traveler all the time (as if visiting for the fist time).  See with new eyes. 
  
• Treat life as an experiment.  You must actually be willing to fail.  "Fail forward."
  
• Have an attitude of wisdom.  A balance between trusting what you know and distrusting what you know to be true just enough to keep you from "resting on your laurels."
• Use your whole brain (left and right brain)
  
• Use your "tortoise mind".  (Work on an idea "in the background" or using your subconscious mind.)  You have to take time to daydream.
  
• Follow your passion. 
  

This talk is definately worth listening to!  Check out Young at Heart: How to Be an Innovator for Life or also on iTunes,   Here's a link to Tom Kelly's book on innovation.

Clipping Coupons for Health Care

There is not hotter issue in the US right now that health care reform.  I recently discovered the National Public Radio:  Planet Money podcast (on iTunes) and they have what I think is a really good episode explaining many of the nuances of various policy decisions.

They compare today's health insurance system to an "all you can eat buffet" in which insured health care consumers don't worry too much about how much the meal costs and they take more than they can eat to try each of the side items.  They then have a very civil debate between two very different points of view.  (A civil debate on health care is very rare indeed these days!)

1. One point of view is to raise the deductible to a really high number, maybe even as high as $50,000.  This would drive premiums way down and allow employers to give employees most of the $1200 per month or so that today's healthcare costs back in the form of a raise in pay.  When health care consumers have to pay for all their prescriptions, x-rays, broken bones, etc. out of their own pocket advocates say.. they will be much more selective about treatment options and avoid unnecessary extras. This would have the effect of lowering health care costs.
2. The other point of view is that most people do not have enough good information or knowledge in which to make informed choices about healthcare options or how to choose between providers.  People in this camp fear that if too much of the cost of day-to-day health care comes out of the consumer's pocket, consumers well delay seeking the care they need.  This has the potential of allowing disease to progress further to the point where the cost to treat is much higher and where perhaps the chances of a cure are less likely.

Do I dare tell you the punch line?  They report that studies have shown that both camps are correct.  Making costs more visible does drive down costs.  People also often delay seeking treatment longer when they pay more expenses out-of-pocket. 

This particular episode can be found here on the NPR site at Clipping Coupons For Health Care
or at iTunes.

Malcolm Gladwell on Cultivating High Performance

I tucked my iPod nano in my pocket, my earbuds under my hearing protection, and made use of my yard mowing time yesterday to listen to a thought-provoking podcast interview with Malcom Gladwell. Gladwell is one of my favorite authors and wrote best sellers such as The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, and Outliers: The Story of Success.

The interview was arranged by 92Yin New York City and moderated by Robert Krulrich. Gladwell expressed some interesting views about our educational system. He addressed topics such as:.

• Should the educational system identify the gifted children and give them
  separate, enhanced educational programs?
• What is a genius?
• Does the prestige of the school granting your college degree really impact your future earning potential?

He believes much of what organizations practice today to cultivate high performance is wrong. This is a fairly lengthy listen but definitely worth your time.  Here's the video at 92Y or check it out on iTunes.

The Opening of the Evangelical Mind

Anyone who thinks that evangelical Christians cannot possibly be very smart or any evangelical Christians who won't even bother to talk to a university intellectual should listen to the Let My People Think podcast by Ravi Zacharias and the episodes The Opening of the Evangelical Mind Part 1 and The Opening of the Evangelical Mind Part 2.

Google Putting Millions of Books Online

Google's big book case is an online article from The Economist describing Google's push to put thousands and thousands of books online.  Google's plans were challenged in a big lawsuit with a settlement to be announced next month.

 

Google has been working with the libraries of major universities all over the world to digitize obscure printed media, many of them out of print.  Google's effort will make all these works available to anyone via the internet.  However, not everyone is happy about this because of the implications for existing copyright law protecting content creators and even what to do about "orphan copyright holders" who can't be located to be paid their royalties.   

"To its opponents, it is a brazen attempt by a crafty monopolist to lock up some of the world’s most valuable intellectual property. To its fans, it is a laudable effort by a publicly minded company to unlock a treasure trove of hidden knowledge. Next month an American court will hold a hearing on an agreement, signed last year by Google and representatives of authors and publishers, to make millions of books in America searchable online. The case has stirred up passions, conflict and conspiracy theories worthy of a literary blockbuster."

 

Up to 20% of any particular book will be available for free browsing.  

 

There is a very interesting podcast on the same topic. with an interview with Paul Courant, the Dean of Libraries at the University of Michigan.  Click here to get podcast from iTunes.

How We Read Minds

Rebecca Saxe provides results of her research showing there is a specific region in the brain devoted to thinking about what other people are thinking.  She shows how this capability is slow to develop and that it can be influenced by an external stimuli such as a magnetic field.  That introduces some scary possibilitites doesn't it?  Check out "How We Read Minds" (click here for iTunes link) from TED

Leading Clever People and Herding Cats

Anyone in a leadership position who has an interest in innovation could benefit from listening to the Harvard Business IdeaCast on "Leading Clever People."  (click here for the iTunes link).  Gareth Jones, coauthor of Clever: Leading Your Smartest, Most Creative People provides some interesting insight both into how much today's organizations need clever people and how much disdain those clever people have for hierarchy, titles, and office politics.

He defines someone who is "clever" as someone who adds disproportionate amounts of value to the organization.  They're capable of innovation and breakthru ideas.  However, they are not compliant employees.  They can be difficult to lead.  They think a good manager is one that "does not get in the way too much."

Inside the Mind of a Reluctant Entrepreneur

The Stanford Technology Ventures Program has a podcast series called the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Series.  I realy enjoyed listening to "Inside the Mind of a Reluctant Entrepreneur" (also on iTunes) with Jeff Hawkins as the speaker.  Jeff Hawkins is perhaps best known for founding Palm Computing, creating the Palm Pilot, and then later founding Handspring. However, in this podcast he describes how he never really set out to start corporations and how he objected to the long hours typical of startup companies.

Jeff shares an interesting story about his long-time passion for studying the brain and figuring out how the brain works as a way to create a new way of computing.  Along the way, he also developed an early passion for mobile computing before computer, display, and battery technology really made it possible. 

Jeff finally realized his dream of studying how the brain works full time when he founded a non-profit, the Redwood Neuroscience Institute.  He later merged that institute into the University of California at Berkley and then founded a fourth organization called Numenta which is "creating a new type of computing technology modeled on the structure and operation of the neocortex."

Jeff authored a book about his work on how the brain works called  On Intelligence.

Is Modern Portfolio Theory Dead?

Episode #124 of the Disciplined Investor podcast (iTunes link) by Certified Financial Planner Andrew Horowitz and his guest Harold Evensky discusses the question, "Is modern portfolio theory dead?"

Even if you don't know what modern portfolio theory means, you've probably heard the basic premise if you've invested some time in a retirement planning seminar trying to figure out how to allocate your funds in your 401K.  Modern portfolio theory dates to 1952 and earned Harry Markowitz a Nobel Prize in economics 38 years later.

The basic idea is that if you diversify your investments across different asset classes (stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.) that you can achieve similar investment returns with lower risk.   The idea is that if stocks go down, for example, perhaps bonds or real estate might go up to offset the loss in stocks.  Modern portfolio theory helps create recomendations as to the optimum mix of financial asset classes so as to minimize the risk for a given expected rate of return on your investment.

In he recent financial meltdown, many people observed that almost all financial asset classes moved in the same direction - down.  Hence, some people are suggesting that the modern portfolio theory is "dead".  If you're struggling with investment decisions for your nest egg, give this podcast a try.

Getting to Plan "B"

The title really doesn't mean what you think.  In a BusinessWeek - Innovation of the Week podcat  ( also on iTunes), Randy Komisar discusses the premise of his book Getting to Plan B: Breaking Through to a Better Business Model in which he says that the first business plan ("plan A") envisioned by the vast majority of startup companies doesn't work out.  He advocates that entrepreneurs accept that they try their plan "A" and be prepraed to quickly accept it didn't work out as planned and be ready to quickly move on to "plan B".  He says he uses "plan B" only that it is something else (something smarter) based on what was learned from plan A.  Plan B doesn't necessarily imply a less attractive alternative, just another alternative which is probably better.  He gives several examples of companies which failed to be profitable on their plan A and had to adapt quickly. 

Here's a link to Randy's book:

The Accidental Creative

I've always had an interest in creativity and whether creativity is a gift you are born with or a skill which can be learned and developed.  If you fall into the "its a skill which can be learned and developed" camp, you will perhaps enjoy a podcast I found called  The Accidental Creative  (See also The Accidental Creative on iTunes).  The podcast is put out by Todd Henry of AccidentalCreative.com who targets this podcast for people who must "create on demand."  By this he means people in creative professions who must come up with creative ideas day in and day out against real deadlines for their employer or clients.  The podcast doesn't come out super often anymore but I always enjoyed Todd's point of view.  Here's a few quotes from his website:

Accidental Creative is a new breed of consultancy. We are connecting with thousands of creative pros through our online resources and services. We teach creatives how to thrive in an organizational setting and organizations how to better lead their creative teams and structure for long-term effectiveness.

We exist to free up creatives and organizations to make great stuff. (No pressure or anything…)

Accidental Creative helps those who must create to succeed (visual artists, musicians, writers, designers, idea people) unlock their creativity. Accidental Creative helps creatives find their passion so they can once again enjoy what they do and change the world with revolutionary ideas.

Dogear Nation

Andy Piper, Michael Row, and Michael Martine have been reviewing cutting edge websites on their Dogear Nation blog and Dogear Nation podcast since April 2007.  They're all software developers at IBM on their day jobs and have produced 114 episodes.

They and their friends search the web for the coolest web 2.0, social networking, gadgets, and virtual reality action and tag those sites on Del.icio.us with the “dogear-nation”. Each week they pick the sites they find the most interesting and review them on their podcast.  Many episodes also include a guest interview with an interesting person working at one of the cool sites, a small software company, or something similar.

If you like to keep up with the latest iPhone applications, security and privacy issues, cool tools for creating web site animation, commerce in virtual worlds, augmented reality, etc. this is a site for you!

The Art of Teaching Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The podcast "The Art of Teaching Entrepreneurship and Innovation" from the Stanford University Technology Ventures Program was a really excellent podcast.  It made me wish I was a student again and working on an MBA at Stanford.  Tina Seelig, author of the entrepreneurship book What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World, presents some really amazing ideas that students have come up with when challenged to make money from next to nothing.

Examples include one class that was divided into groups and each group was given $5 and two hours to raise as much money as possible and then make a 3 minute presentation to the class.  The exercise was designed to help the students learn to challenge assumptions.  The team that made the most money was the team that realized that the most valuable thing they had was not the $5 or the two hours but the 3 minutes of class time.  They sold their 3 minute presentation time  to a company interested in recruiting Stanford MBA students.

This really is worth checking out if you like to think of yourself as a creative, out-of-the-box thinker. Check out the podcast on iTunes.

Here's Tina's book.

Emmanuel Jal - Music of a War Child

The following podcast/videocast will challenge your view of the world and how easy it is to ignore the plight of children in war zones in far away places.

“For five years, young Emmanuel Jal fought as a child soldier in the Sudan. Rescued by an aid worker, he's become an international hip-hop star and an activist for kids in war zones. In words and lyrics, he tells the story of his amazing life.”

His story will also put you in awe of people like Emma McCune , an aid worker who volunteered to go to the Sudan and is credited with personally saving more than 150 children there during the war.

Check out Emmanual Jal's story, his poetry, and his music at Emmanual Jal on TEDTalks (see also on iTunes). 

Email Bankruptcy and Other Symptoms of Information Overload

Anyone who has given up on reading all the emails that arrive while on vacation, given up on reading all the blogs that other people recommend, and given up on keeping up with every new technology that comes out appreciates the concept of “information overload”.   Coping with the overload is the subject of the podcast “Managing Information Overload”, a Harvard Businss Ideacast interview with Paul Hemp.  Paul is the author of the Harvard Business Review article "Death by Information Overload”.   

It was during this interview that I learned of some of the techniques companies are experiementing with to control email overload such as disabling the "Reply to All" button and prioritizing the contents of email inbaskets according to a user rating point system which prevents users from arbitrarily declaring all their emails as "urgent".  I also heard the phrase "email bankruptcy" for the first time to describe people who simply give up on catching up on email and simply delete all email and start over.

Check out the podcast interview. Its episode 159 at Harvard Business IdeaCast or also on iTunes.

Crossing the Chasm

If you business has anything to do with high technology, you have probably heard the expression "crossing the chasm" which is used to describe the problem of moving a new technology from the early adopters to broader adoption.  That phrase was coined by Geoffrey Moore in his classic business book Crossing the Chasm which first came out in 1991.  Phil McKinney, the CTO of Hewlett Packard's Personal Systems Group, interviewed Geoffrey Moore on his Killer Innovations podcast.  There is some good conversation about how the situation has changed and what it takes to cross the chasm now. The interview is in two parts.  Check out part one and part two.  See also part one on iTunes and part two on iTunes.  The full show notes and partial transcript is posted over at thenextbench.com.

Solving the World's Clean Water Problem for $20 Billion

This video really opened my eyes to the problem of finding clean water in the developing world and after natural disasters which contaminate the fresh water supply.


Check out Michael Pritchard's water filter turns filthy water drinkable on TEDTalks.  (See also on iTunes).  He gives a great demonstration how his invention cleans disgusting water from contaminants by drinking the purified water himself and offering it to someone else.  Very convincing.  He claims all the poor of the world could have clean water for a meer $20 billion.

Why a 50-Year Old Man Needs an iPod (or other MP3 player)

I don't profess to be the smartest guy in the world but I must admit that I like learning something new.  I like  brainstorming and discussing ideas with smart, creative people.  Even if I disagree with them, just talking about why they choose one idea or approach over another helps me be sure I'm not blind to some fact I have not considered or just too proud to back down.  Debate makes me feel like I know why I believe something to be true. 

Also, I crave new information.  I work in a career in which technology changes rapidly.  One competitor may leapfrog another.  One approach may become obsolete.  One company may change a business model or their pricing structure and make new alternatives viable.  When I flip thru the cable TV channels I often find myself choosing to watch The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, or some documentary on one of the news networks on the economy.  To me, learning is more fun most of the time than watching a sitcom or reality show. I also want information that helps me improve my life, help my family, lift my spirit, save my money, grow my investments, and protect me from scams.

Listening to podcasts on my iPod nano helps me fit these passions into the otherwise wasted time I spend commuting to work or squeezed into an airline seat.  I even listen to my iPod when I doing those necessary but mind numbing tasks like washing the car or mowing the lawn.  (I put wear my ear buds under ear muff style ear protection.  I'd love to find ear protection with a bluetooth connection to my iPod.)

If my description has a few things in common with you, I hope you'll check out my blog occassionally for recommendations for your own Apple iPod, Apple iPhone, Microsoft Zune, Creative Zen, SanDisk Sansa, or other MP3 player that could brighten your day.  Even better, leave a comment to suggest one of your own favorites.

Are Our Decisions Really Our Own?

I discovered TEDTalks and have really enjoyed it.  TED stands for a non-profit called "Technology, Entertainment, and Design" that puts on conferences devoted to putting speakers in front of audiences with "ideas worth spreading."

One of my favorite talks is one in which Dan Ariely asks, Are we in control of our own decisions? (see also iTunes)  Dan is a behavioral economist and the author of Predictably Irrational.  He uses classic visual illusions and his own counterintuitive (and sometimes shocking) research findings to show how we're not as rational as we think when we make decisions.  One of my favorite examples is comparing the percentage of drivers in Germany who agree to donate their organs in the event of their death to the percentage of drivers who do the same in Austria.  These two countries share the same language and have similar cultures.  Why does one country have a much higher percentage of organ donation than the other?  The answer, it is the paper form.  In one country the form says if you check nothing, they assume you do not want to participate and in the other country the form says if you check nothing, they assume you DO want to participate.  What does this have to say about how rational we are when we make decisions.  Its thought-provoking listening and challenges you about how you really make your decisions. 

Here's Dan's book if your interested.