The strong would be fretted by an energy for which there was no outlet...

I'm reading H. G. Wells's The Time Machine. In the early going, it appears to have aged well. For a 111-year-old book, it still reads like good science fiction to me.
Not long after The Time Traveler's arrival in the year 802,701 A.D.:

'I thought of the physical slightness of the people, their lack of intelligence, [...]

Roxanne

While in Paris we play the Nashville Club, a seedy velveteen music hall in St. Germain, and are staying for a few nights in a flophouse behind the Gare St. Lazare. The entrance of our hotel is in a narrow and fetid alleyway off the main boulevard. In early evening it is flanked by the [...]

'Say Everything' by Scott Rosenberg

This is a great book. You should buy this book. And buy it through Amazon via that link or by clicking on the book cover image. Then I'll get a cut. But I'm not just shilling for this thing in a sordid attempt at (minuscule) personal profit. I really thought it was a [...]

James Boyle: The Public Domain

I was excited yesterday to hear about a new book, The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind. (Also mentioned in a Creative Commons blog post.)
I wasn't familiar with James Boyle and his work, which is disturbing, because it seems like I should already have been a fan of such a free culture [...]

Awaiting Anathem

Coming soon to a bookstore near you: Neal Stephenson's next book! I've been waiting with pleasant anticipation since hearing about it earlier in the year and preordered it from Amazon this month.
It's not necessary to know anything about it. I'll be at the front of the line for anything new from Neal, [...]

Randy Pausch on the World Book Encyclopedia and Wikipedia

Some or many of you have probably heard about Randy's Pauch's "Last Lecture." Randy is a professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He gave a stirring and inspirational talk on September 18, 2007, titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." I was emailed a link to [...]

Steven Levy = Awesome Writer

Hackers

Many years ago I read Hackers for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. Levy takes exhaustive research and interviews and weaves them in to a great tale. I like reading about the people behind technology and how they came to do what they do (or did what they did), and this book [...]

Goals: Learning Python and Regular Expressions

I don't want to go all 7 Habits of Highly Effective People on you, but I'll say this: I think it's good to have goals and to work towards your goals.
I like this quote, which I've seen attributed to Zig Ziglar:
"Most people fail to reach their goals not because their plans are too simple or [...]

Review: Iron Maiden Biography by Mick Wall

Run to the Hills: Iron Maiden, the Authorised Biography, by Mick Wall
I'm not sure if I should mention this, since it could affect the willingness of people to loan me books, but I do a lot of my reading in the bathroom. Some books don't grab me enough to carry out of the bathroom [...]

Thoughts on Invention, Innovation, and Patents from 'Guns, Germs, and Steel'

Originally published 17 October 2007 in Free Software Magazine.
I'm working on Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond. Good book so far, although I've ground almost to a halt halfway through. (I'd probably make better progress if it showed up in blog-sized chunks in my feed reader every day.) I like sweeping accounts of history, [...]