[Book] Things That Make White People Uncomfortable by Michael Bennett and Dave Zirin

Book cover "We have got to make the white population uncomfortable, because that is the only way to get their attention."  That quote at the start of this book is from Bill Russell in 1964.  He was a Basketball player, but also a civil rights activist. I categorize this book as a Memoir, mostly because it follows the narrative flow of a memoir.  It starts out introducing the reader to Michael Bennett's childhood on a rural farm in the South, into college through the NFL, and discusses his own discovery of the importance of both support and activism on a number of issues of equality....

29 Aug 2018 · 2 min · Gary Allen Vollink

[Shopping] eBuyer Beware

I know this.  Read the fine print.  I didn't do that.  The rest is geeky details having to do with rack-mountable servers. I have a 12U rack.  Sort-of an end-table next to the couch.  I have two servers.  One of them is happily racked.  The other one is awkwardly sitting sideways across the top of the rack. I jumped on eBay a week ago, looking to find the rails I need....

25 Aug 2018 · 2 min · Gary Allen Vollink

[Book] Drawing The Dragon by April Adams

Book cover Imagine the universe of Battlestar Galactica but add elves, trolls and dragons, remove the religious overtones entirely.  The dragons are spaceships, a bit like the galactic whale from Jim Henson's Farscape.  Instead of Battlestar's Cylons, we have Constructs, which are a bit closer to the Nexus of Bladerunner fame. Scarlett, Jade and Blue are elite pilots of young dragons on the cruiser known as the Opal Dragon....

22 Aug 2018 · 4 min · Gary Allen Vollink

[Book] Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Book cover According to the preface, this book is a carefully researched retelling of surviving stories of the Nordic gods, Odin, Thor, Loki, Freya and others.  Where surviving versions of a story differ, artistic license allows for the best of each to be used. First and foremost, these are Nordic tales.  If you are familiar with these characters from Marvel comics or movies, be prepared to relearn a lot of what you thought you knew....

15 Aug 2018 · 2 min · Gary Allen Vollink