It really was special to see them honored in this way because they are such wonderful people. They are passionate about the subject of culinary history and have made it their lives to know and to collect material and then share it with others. Jan and Dan are great role models in our community.

He came from the University of Georgia seven years ago because he believed Genentech could help him answer a burning question: What is it that keeps caterpillars infected with bacolovirus alive for an entire seven days before they explode into a gooey puddle?

How can you not like that image? Anyway, the book is chock full of good ideas – I’ll post on it more later.

Techno thrillers are generally disappointing. Anyone who has seen Swordfish or Antitrust will understand. And by the second page of Daemon, I was already cringing on my couch. The writing is oh so painfully self-conscious. He uses brand names to introduce his cast (the reporter with her Louis Vuitton bag, the consultant and his BMW, the mastermind’s Hummer of Doom). He tells you matter-of-factly every character’s motivation and personality, leaving nothing to the imagination. Then there’s the (surprisingly few) clichés, such as the clueless experts. At one point in the story, representatives from the CIA, DARPA, FBI, and NSA are meeting to discuss the cyber crime issue on their hands. The young NSA doctor (one of the lead characters) has to explain to them how a Denial of Service attack works. Aw heck, if they don’t know what a DDOS is, we’re beyond screwed. Has no one in the room been briefed?

Heavy-handed writing aside, the technology is spot-on. Everything from database hacking to MMORPG’s to software development to WAP setup. It’s all airtight.

Halfway into the book the technology he describes turns from “current day” to more “current day if someone would just do it already.” I especially love the HUD glasses with overlay information on real world space. Imagine wearing a pair of glasses that delivers additional information on the physical space you’re moving in. You could be walking past a restaurant and see a call-out above it with its star rating. Or real-time directions superimposed on the streets. All the components already exist, so why isn’t this here yet?!

I’d recommend you wait for the movie instead, but it won’t be made. The technology  isn’t cutting edge enough to outlive the production period. So I’ll just tell you right now how it ends. It doesn’t. I hear he’s planning a sequel.

I’m totally inspired and looking forward to our next IT Dinner, 1904 style.  You can view the scanned original of this recipe and other historic Ann Arbor cookbooks at the Ann Arbor District Library’s Cookbook Collection.

How do objects and images move? How can animals move? What is motion?

How does a rainbow form? Is levitation possible? Do time machines exist? What does ‘quantum’ mean? What is the maximum force value found in nature? Is ‘empty space’ really empty? Is the universe a set? Which problems in physics are still unsolved?

Download at http://www.motionmountain.net/text.html

• topic should be related to our work
• ideally <500 pages
• should not need a dictionary on hand to read the book
• 1 book per quarter
• should be readily available
• should be affordable

Finally, we decided to rotate who picks the book, if criteria is met it would take the other 4 remaining geeks to block the book. Billie is first.

What I found particular interesting about Russell’s book is that he comes from a cultural background that I have no familiarity with and that his laws are many of the ones I live with and that I believe Zingerman’s does a good job communicating to staff. What really worked for me is that he comes from a position of humility and allows that people will come with different experiences.

I’d recommend this book for anyone who wants to think entrepreneurally (is that a word?) or even take control of their lives. It’s good advice written in an accessible and lively way.

As readers will know from past posts, the IT team took a trip to NYC a few months ago and were fortunate to be able to dine at Union Square Cafe, one of the restaurants started by Danny Meyer. It was a wonderful experience.

I have just finished reading his book, Setting the Table, and want to recommend it for anyone interested in understanding service/hospitality and the entrepreneural experience. It’s all from Danny’s experience and is a fast and casual read.

I came away with a few tidbits, some of which I had seen in other forms, some unique to me. I’ll just run through them quickly. Danny frequently questioned the assumptions of opportunities before him, asking why can’t we rewrite the rules, such as St. Louis bar-b-que in NYC, or why can’t a restaurant be high end and still have a warm feel. His questioning and then breaking of the rules was instrumental in his success. With such a strong focus on hospitality he developed a standard for hiring that looked for a mix in any person of 49% technical ability and 51% social ability. Not unlike what we do here in Zingerman’s IT department. Always on the lookout for information that could “connect the dots”, Danny focused on what he called “turning over the rocks” – in essense he looked at any situation with curiousity and thought about the patterns he was seeing and what they meant.

The only thing that I found myself questioning throughout the book was Danny’s head over heels infatuation with reviews. Personally I’m probably on the far other end of the extreme on needing positive feedback and so I had a hard time identifying with this deep need on his part.

Amazon: $17.13