The World is Flat

I'd heard about Thomas L. Friedman's The World is Flat long before I got to read it of course. Living in Singapore, a nexus of the flattening world, makes for a daily self-evident truth. Finally sitting down to read it, I was totally engaged way beyond my expectations. Friedman's views are well though out and strongly held. It's an impressive analysis, but not dry as a result. By taking us on somewhat of a travelogue with interesting characters and stories along the way, it is a neat voyage of discovery and illumination (although I must I admit to skipping some of the discussion of US domestic issues). A warning though. This can be a frightening read. Helping you see further down the road does not necessarily mean you are comfortable with the destination! It depends from whence you come, and how prepared you (and your children) are for the journey. There is one thought that increasingly niggles however. It strikes me that there is an inherent contradiction between the conventional response of developed nations to the forces flattening the world. We seek to move from sunset to sunrise industries, transform our citizens into high-value knowledge workers. But how sustainable is that? In a flattening world, increasingly it's like trying to hold back the ocean as historic educational and environmental/economic advantages are washed away. At least, this would be a contradiction if we do not lean on a "hidden assumption" that I think Friedman doesn't directly address: the regulation of people and labour that sovereign states and our tribal nature still demand as our right. To me, this seems to be the last frontier of globalisation: The freedom of financial markets. Capital can move around the globe in milliseconds. Nations may tax and regulate, but fiscal policy generally does not "control". Check The freedom of goods and services. Check Freedom of labour. Work in progress In other words: while we may invest and trade together, I will control whether you can live or work with me. This is border protection in action. The structural mechanism that maintains the "impedence" between nations. It is what helps to maintain differential standards of living, wages and opportunities. Sovereignty. Logically one would think that this is a barrier that must eventually come down as the flattening process proceeds inexorably. Utopia! ... if it wasn't for human nature. One wonders whether there is any possible future in which this could be played out peacefully. Or will politics, tribalism, and xenophobia overcome our more lofty tendencies?

Line Rider - jump the shark

I've had fun playing around with line rider before ... but this is something else!

A Different Point of View

The Jedi are terrorists, and the Star Wars saga just pulp propaganda undermining the Empire's sworn duty to protect peace and prosperity through the galaxy. Regular citizens just want to get on with life, but will the rebels let them? Hell no! That is a different point of view;-) This podcast series, presented from the point of view of standtrooper TD-0013, is a classic. If you've seen the Star Wars movies, prepare to be shocked into realising that Lucas just got totally sucked in by flimsy lies of the Rebel Alliance. I found this at podiobooks where you can subscribe to the series RSS feed for your iPod or whatever, or checkout the author's site. Highly recommended if you grew up with Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.

Hunter Killer

Patrick Robinson's Hunter Killer is another bomb-the-bastards ripping yarn. He excels in creating dire yet plausible scenarios of truly global impact. The background to this story is a revolution in Saudi Arabia, backed by the French. Forget about political correctness, and you can enjoy the story. It is somewhat predictable plot however, and lacks a strong sense of suspense. I'd previously read Scimitar SL-2 which shares many of the same charaters (set 2 years earlier), and I thought overall a better read because it plays more on suspense. (In that story, nukes are in the hands of terrorists. It's a race to see if they can be prevented from using them to trigger a major earthquake and tidal wave). Hunter Killer does provoke some interesting thoughts, if you can see beyond the gung ho antics. Firstly, the complicity of France does bring you two question some entrenched and largely invisible prejudices. Bomb Bagdhad? Sure, civilian casualties are unfortunate but can't be helped in our fight against the regime. Bomb Paris, despite clear evidence that France is acting as a renegade state? We-ell, lets think about that a bit. Surely another solution is possible? Second, there's a fairly sympathetic treatment of the Saudi revolution. EM Forster's quote quickly becomes a key theme underpinning actions on both sides of the Atlantic: "If I was asked to choose whether to betray my country or my friend, I hope I'd have the courage to choose my country." Verdict: damn good airport read!

It's a feature not a bug!

... true geek humour.
Hat tip to Paweł Barut for highlighting this from Steve Bass' blog.

My Crazy Roommate

If you've ever known or lived with someone who seems to lived in an alternate reality, you need to check out the My Crazy Roommate blog. This site is hilarious. Make sure you checkout his superpowers ..

The Ambler Warning

I remember first getting hooked on Robert Ludlum when I was about 13. Desperate for something to relieve the boredom while sick for a few weeks, I borrowed The Chancellor Manuscript from my Dad. For many years, devouring and disecting the latest Ludlum was a unique pleasure we shared. I guess my reading interests wandered, and The Ambler Warning is one of the first Ludlum books I've read for some time. I was surprised he was still writing. A quick check unfortunately confirmed that the newer books are ghost-written under the direction of Ludlum's estate, and apparently based on the wealth of notes and partially completed works he left behind. Sadly, Robert Ludlum himself died in 2001. Putting these thoughts aside however, The Ambler Warning stands up as a very engaging read in true Ludlum style. Harrison Ambler, former covert operative, escapes from a state psychiatric facility. Even as he tries to make sense of his own memories, it seems everyone is out to kill him. Finding out why is the key to his sanity, and also stopping the bad guys. Coincidentally, it proved to be an evocative counter-point to the last book I read, blink. Harrison Ambler is so successful in the field because he has the ability to instantly and accurately read people .. "the walking polygraph". At the outset, he has uber-rational CIA auditor Clayton Caston on his tail .. "..don't talk to me about feelings..". Ironically, they find that only in teaming up can they win. So in a way, this is affirming one of the central themes in blink: sometimes you can't trust gut reaction, and sometimes you can't trust rational analysis either. But if you consider both, then you have considerably increased your chances of being correct. Still more coincidences in the cameo department. As the book reaches a climax, action centers on the World Economic Forum meeting at Davos.. "A couple of yards away from him, an older, rangy American billionaire - someone whose 'enterprise software' was an industry standard across the globe..." Hmmm, ring any bells? If you don't think Bill makes 'enterprise software', then I reckon it can only be one person ... but then again, I did just read Softwar. "Another audience member - a woman Ambler vaguely recognized from pictures, a CEO of a tech company, blond and perfectly coiffed - looked distracted, as if rehersing talking points for an upcoming interview.." Got to be Carly! Favourite quote: "There's a difference between risk and uncertainty .. Risk is quantifiable. Uncertaintly isn't. It's one thing to know there's a fifty-fifty chance of something going wrong. It's another not to know what the chances are at all."

Death by Risk Aversion

/unfortunately, this is so true of much in life, love and business.

From the late, great Creating Passionate Users site