Profilactic Mashup - ac4lt

Google Reader: Do the dead outnumber the living?

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:42:27 GMT

Do the dead outnumber the living - or is it the other way round?

Google Reader: Social Clicks: Sounds Associated with African Languages Are Common in English

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Some Africans click, but English speakers don’t. That’s been the conventional wisdom about click sounds, which serve as regular consonants in Zulu and Xhosa and a few other African languages but which were presumed to just be used in English for encouraging a horse, imitating a kiss, or expressing emotions such as disapproval or amazement. But researchers have recently found that clicks are far more prevalent in the world’s lingua franca than had been thought.

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Google Reader: Why we'll never find an exoplanet like Earth

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:13:00 GMT

Evidence that plant life was a primary force that shaped Earth's surface is laid out in a new issue of Nature Geoscience. Because of that, the chance we'll find a similar world with a surface like our planet's is very small.

Google Reader: Tame Theory: Did Bonobos Domesticate Themselves?

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:50:00 GMT

Time and again humans have domesticated wild animals, producing tame individuals with softer appearances and more docile temperaments, such as dogs and guinea pigs. But a new study suggests that one of our primate cousins--the African ape known as the bonobo --did something similar without human involvement. It domesticated itself.

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Bookshelves: How the States Got Their Shapes

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:03:57 GMT

author: Mark Stein
name: Linda
average rating: 3.32
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/01/19
shelves: nonfiction
review:
An interesting but often repetitive look at how the borders of each state ended up where they are today. While not exactly gripping it is interesting enough to be worthwhile for some insight into the historical events that shaped our internal and external borders.

Bookshelves: Desert Of The Heart

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:27:08 GMT

author: Jane Rule
name: Linda
average rating: 3.66
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2012/01/14
date added: 2012/01/15
shelves: fiction, lgbt
review:
I'd seen the movie, "Desert Hearts," but never got around to reading the book that was the basis for the movie. Though written in 1963, it has a 1950's feel to the story. It's kind of odd today to read characters so casually consuming large amounts of alcohol and the cavalier attitude toward smoking. But, that aside, it's an interesting picture of older woman coming out (though not in the same sense we think of today) and falling in love with a younger woman.

It's somewhat dry with none of the overt passion one might expect from the description. The relationship appears almost without any time at all. I guess the "U-Haul" stereotype was true even back then.

It's an interesting book but not a great one. Worth reading though.

Bookshelves: For Love of Mother-Not (Pip & Flinx Adventures, #0)

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:15:09 GMT

author: Alan Dean Foster
name: Linda
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1983
rating: 3
read at: 2010/01/15
date added: 2012/01/12
shelves: fiction, science-fiction
review:
The first of the Pip & Flinx stories introduces us to the characters. It's pretty innocuous but is a fun read.

Bookshelves: The Fifth Elephant (Discworld, #24)

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:26:37 GMT

author: Terry Pratchett
name: Linda
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/01/10
shelves: fantasy, humor
review:
Though full of Pratchett's humor, it's also one of the more serious Discworld novels I've read. The City Watch stories always contain interesting characters and we have quite a few old friends plus some new characters, several of which I would expect to show up again. Overall, not the best Discworld but still pretty good and worth reading.

Bookshelves: Red Planet

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:40:12 GMT

author: Robert A. Heinlein
name: Linda
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1949
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/12/29
shelves: science-fiction
review:
I first read this as a teen and just re-read it to see how it held up. Even when I first read it I knew that science had rendered the fiction in the book impossible. Mars wouldn't support human life and any Martians that did exist would likely be simple microscopic organisms. Even so, Heinlein spins a fun tale though it's full of casual 1940's sexism about the role of women. Despite that, it's a fun, quick read.

Bookshelves: Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals: Eat Healthy Without Going to Extremes

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:07:17 GMT

author: Rachael Ray
name: Linda
average rating: 3.17
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/12/28
shelves: nonfiction
review:
I haven't tried cooking anything yet but I have about a dozen recipes bookmarked. Looks like some interesting meals in there.

Bookshelves: Carpe Jugulum (Discworld, #23)

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:06:55 GMT

author: Terry Pratchett
name: Linda
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/12/28
shelves: fantasy, fiction, humor
review:
I generally like the witch stories but this one fell somewhat flat for me. It had it's moments but overall I was happy to come to the end of this one. I can't put my finger on what I didn't like but overall it was just not that great. Worth reading for die-hard Discworld fans but others should feel free to skip.

Google Reader: Homophobia: Alive and Well on the Campaign Trail

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:50:13 GMT

Newt Gingrich's recent remarks show that hatred towards gays still remains strangely acceptable

Google Reader: T Magazine: How to Saber Champagne for New Year's

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:05:01 GMT

I still can't decide if sabering Champagne is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of or one of the greatest, but here's how to do it, carefully.

Bookshelves: Bone Rattler: A Mystery of Colonial America (Duncan McCallum, #1)

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:58:57 GMT

author: Eliot Pattison
name: Linda
average rating: 3.58
book published:
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2011/12/19
shelves: fiction, mystery
review:
I thought I'd find this a lot more interesting than it was but something about the author's writing turned it into a fairly tedious slog rather than a page turner. It's a shame because it's a genre I usually enjoy but this one never connected with me.

Bookshelves: A Short History of Nearly Everything

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:37:27 GMT

author: Bill Bryson
name: Linda
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/12/08
shelves: nonfiction
review:
Bryson covers a lot of material in a relatively short stretch but manages to make the material interesting and accessible. It's a bit dated now as some questions have been answered or found out to be the wrong questions. But it's interesting subject matter and gives a good overview of the history of cosmology, particle physics, and evolution. You can think of it as a "this is where humans came from" kind of book.

Bookshelves: The Last Continent (Discworld, #22)

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:26:25 GMT

author: Terry Pratchett
name: Linda
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 2011/11/27
date added: 2011/11/28
shelves: fantasy, fiction, humor
review:
Discworld goes Down Under or at least out toward the Rim. Unfortunately, it's a Rincewind story and those aren't my favorite but I like this one better than most.It's funny but not exceptional for Pratchett.

Bookshelves: The Puppet Masters

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:00:01 GMT

author: Robert A. Heinlein
name: Linda
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1951
rating: 3
read at: 1977/05/01
date added: 2011/11/23
shelves: science-fiction
review:
Heinlein's tale of alien invasion and the human response, though dated, even when I first read it back in 1977 is still a fun read. Heinlein's characters have such a competence about them that it's hard not to like them.

If you've seen the movie that shares the same name, don't read this expecting the same story. The movie borrows the name and premise and then goes its own way. The book is great 1950's SF while the movie is mediocre 1990's SF.

Bookshelves: Artifact

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:24:54 GMT

author: Gregory Benford
name: Linda
average rating: 3.25
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2011/11/20
date added: 2011/11/20
shelves: fiction, science-fiction
review:
Benford's tale that links archaeology with modern particle physics is interesting though his characters are not particularly well drawn. Still, it was a fun read and makes for some interesting "what if" thought experiments.

Bookshelves: American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:27:45 GMT

author: Jon Meacham
name: Linda
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2011/11/16
date added: 2011/11/16
shelves: biography, nonfiction
review:
Meacham's biographical look at Andrew Jackson and those who surrounded him is fascinating. At a time when partisan politics in America seem to be at an all time record for nastiness, this look back proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Rhetoric remains constant through the centures. Not a particularly enjoyable thought but at the same time it shows that things can get better.

Jackson himself was an interesting figure, full of dichotomies. He wanted to preserve American freedoms but wanted to preserve slavery and was the architect of what became the Trail of Tears. It's hard to imagine both traits being present in one person but he apparently didn't see the disconnect between the two points of view.

It was a bit appalling to see just how much personal politics played a role in his first administration and, for me, this was the most tedious part of the book. Once we got past that, things picked up and became much more enjoyable.

Bookshelves: Jingo (Discworld, #21)

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:33:41 GMT

author: Terry Pratchett
name: Linda
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2011/10/17
date added: 2011/10/27
shelves: fantasy, humor
review:
The Watch is back and Commander Vimes is out to prevent a war. Of course, it's in typical Pratchett, tounge-in-cheek style. Lots of fun!