Diary of a Network Geek

Not the worst book I’ve read.
Well, I finally finished Numbered Account this weekend. It was okay. Not great and not terrible, but obviously a first novel and probably a “one hit wonder”. The author notes say that he was in Swiss banking for a long time and he obviously wrote what he knew. I suppose this was meant to be a kind of murder mystery/terrorist intrigue set against the fast-paced backdrop of Swiss banking. And, yeah, it’s about as exciting as it sounds. Oh, I suppose that a banker or an accountant might have found the technical details fascinating, but, frankly, at just over 750 pages, I found it mainly tedious. There was just enough to keep my resolve to finish every book I start and play it all the way through, but just barely. Honestly, most of the reversals were so obvious that I couldn’t figure out why the author took so long to reveal them. Who was sleeping with who and who was betraying who simply were NOT a mystery to me at all and that level of obviousness detracted quite a bit from the story. Anything that disturbs my willing suspension of disbelief ruins the purpose of reading fiction, for me, and the blatant exposure of clunky technique did that in this case. Frankly, I cannot reccomend anyone read this book. But, if you still feel the pull of daring-do in the fascinating world of banking, let me know and I’ll GIVE you the book.

I also read The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment this morning. Before you get all impressed, remember, this book is less than 80 pages long and is meant for a LAZY person, as the title suggests. Still, I like to reread this particular book on a regular basis to remind myself that being at peace with the world is as easy as making a decision to not let things bother me. Phrases like “Love as much as you can from wherever you are.” and ” Love is the only dimension that needs to be changed” and “Go beyond reason to love: it is safe. It is the only safety.” and “Enlightenment doesn’t care how you get there.” all remind me about what’s important and what I should be concerned with in this life. The whole attitude in this book makes life easier to live. It’s a great book and I highly reccomend it.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"One of the things that worry business men is the number of unemployed on the payroll."

Yes, there was Scotch involved in this post.
This will actually appear on a Sunday, but it was recorded Saturday night, after church and a fair amount of 15-year-old Macallan, because, believe me, that’s what it takes for me to be this goofy. I’m so uptight, sometimes, I think I should have been an accountant, or a lawyer. In any case, we launch this descent into madness with a little riff I like to call “Jim Read’s Robert Frost“. Why start there? Because I’m hoping you get bored and stop listening. Sadly, I know my audience and suspect that you will stick it out just to hear:Jim Read’s SmooveB, which is rated PG-13 and may not be safe for work.
You are sick, sick people. And, I love you all. I apologize in advance for anyone I might scar with these MP3s. Lord, I hope that second one doesn’t give my ex-wife flashbacks! It’s so close to our courtship that it gives me the willies! (Just kidding!)
Enjoy!