I finished the trilogy of The Golden Age a day or two ago. While I had some reservations reading it at first because it used new terminology that I'd never heard of before, once I got into it I REALLY got into it. It was absolutely fantastic science fiction of a kind I've never read before.

I don't want to ruin it for people who haven't read the series, but how often have you thought about what rights people have when they're clones of someone. Do they have right to ownership of property since they're physically the same person? What if you're able to transfer minds? What if you can live forever?

A lot of very good questions that have very good answers in the books. It's not primarily about the questions I ask, but in the process of explaining the story the author happens to give answers to them since he's obviously thought about it a lot.

I'd highly recommend it to anyone.

Tags: books

Lawrence Lessig has long been a hero of mine and I've been reading his blog for what seems like years now. He has a spot in my heart as one of the few lawyers that I don't dislike. He fights and argues for causes that I believe in and wish were able to flourish more than they are now. Anyway, I've now read two of his books, the first being Free Culture. This book wasn't as good as that one, but still contained a lot of useful information and cemented the beliefs I have about the commons and how they're being destroyed.

I'm really thinking of e-mailing him asking how I can help in his current endeavor, which is fighting what he calls corruption in the government. He's not talking about literal money taking, but more how government has been coerced into doing things big businesses want since they're the only ones who can afford lobbyists.

I've started reading a book of Thich Nhat Hanh's essential writings and am really enjoying it so far. It's much different from the Dalai Lama's style and I think will be very interesting to read.

Tags: books

I've wonder often about alcohol, mostly because it's one of the only legal mind altering substances available in the US. I do find it funny that it is legal when things like pot aren't. It doesn't make a whole lot of logical sense, but a lot of things the government does don't make sense either.

So I was thinking about it and wondering for the people who drink (including me), do they drink because they're unhappy with how life is without the alcohol, do they drink for social reasons, or do they enjoy a change of pace every once in a while? If the answer is either the first or third, does that mean that life feels is less enjoyable without alcohol in you?

It's kind of sad to think that life isn't good enough by itself, that life can't bring the enjoyment we desire without mind altering substances.

I've been reading different books from what I typically read lately. Right now I'm reading a book called You Got Nothing Coming about a white collar worker who went to prison for manslaughter. He has to survive with gang wars, killings, drugs, and all sorts of things. It's a true story from a guy that lived in Danville, which I didn't know until half way through the book. Next on my plate is Guns, Germs, and Steel which is a history of how white people took over the western part of the world with the use of those very items. Should be an interesting read, as I hear it's a great book.

Tags: alcohol, books