Experimental type by Manolo Guerrero

A few days ago I filled my reading quota for the year.  The goal is to read a book a week; 52 a year.  I must say, this is perhaps the single most beneficial practice I've taken up.  It's helped me find untold stores of perspective, empathy, passion, insight and ultimately self-development.  Though, in order to pull off such a literary feat, I had to get creative.  Audio books have nearly become an addiction.  I can "read" while getting ready in the morning, driving, walking to the bus stop, cleaning, etc.  Mundane chores have become opportunities for enrichment. 

Here are the top 10 highlights (not written, just read in 2008):

Fiction

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk - A dystopic, subtly futuristic biography of a venom-addict.  It was a slightly different style for Palahniuk, which made me appreciate it even more.

Gifts by Ursula K. Le Guin - In a world where each child develops a supernatural power, one boy's struggle with his gift is exploited.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess - Forget the mangled, redemptionless movie version.  It's a jarring social critic with wonderfully stylistic diction.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut - A heroless, post-modern war story of the Dresden fire raids.

Non-fiction

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - A romantic, creative travelogue documenting a woman's soul-searching.

The Ethical Slut by Dossie Easton & Catherine A. Liszt - An unforgiving guide to the workings of unconventional relationship structures.

Cunt by Inga Muscio - Reclaiming pride in the feminine and standing up against subtle and overt acts of misogyny. 

Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg- A verbal technique aimed at making life more wonderful by understanding what is alive in each of us.

Getting Things Done by David Allen -  A productivity and organization strategy that involves contextual list-making.

The Revolution by Ron Paul - How the now-unsustainable American government has drastically deviated from the Constitution and how to bring it back.

P.S. - I attribute these last four books to the redefinition of my thought process, an overhauling of my worldview.  They contain many challenging concepts and I was fortunately in the position to receive them.  I have spent much of my energy this year processing and attempting to apply their content.

Image by Tonyç via Flickr

Mostly just learning more about arrays in PHP.  The code is starting to make some sense.

Oh, I also finished listening to the web startup podcast. The show is called "Geeks and God".  Sure they're evangelical Christians, but they really break web development and Drupal down like no one else I've come across.  It's really been an invaluable resource. 

If anyone is in, or considering, freelance, check out: http://freelanceswitch.com  There are lots of resources and it's well put together.

A one year time-lapse of Robert Burden creating "Defensor Mundi"

Nope, it's just a meteor flying over Edmonton, Alberta.  Hundreds of people witnessed the spectacle.  Stunning capture!

Uncontained Living by DeMaria Design Associates

Image via Wikipedia

Ha, apparently these daily updates haven't been going very well so far.  Here's what's been going on in the world of web developement; my own little world at least. 

Thursday was the Seattle Drupal Users Group (SeaDUG).  It's just local Drupal users getting together, show off projects, trouble shooting, etc.  The exposure to the language and techniques, even if sometimes over my head, certainly helps me get aquanted with the software. 

I don't eve know what happened Friday. 

Today, I finished the PHP lesson on strings, and started arrays.  Also, I finished listening to a podcast on website security and began a new one about starting a web delopement business.

Marta Dahlig

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