Book #19: Welcome to the Monkey House

Nineteenth book I read since May 2008:

Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut

A friend lent this one to me, stating that she thought Vonnegut's short fiction was more accessible than his novels. She also thought it would be easier to read short stories on the train.

She was right on both counts.

My only worry going in was that the shorter fiction might lose some of the poignancy and Vonnegut-ness woven into the longer fiction. Well, I'm happy to say that his short stories are just as interesting and semi-zany as any of his novels I've read.

He has a wonderful way of twisting the future just slightly and figuring out how human cultural and biological wants/needs/flaws would express themselves in such a world. Would the world's only telekinetic decide to rule the world or alter it for the common good? What are the family dynamics when nearly ever-lasting life is guaranteed? How would our society react if people no longer needed their bodies? And the overarching question of whether or not a longer life is worthwhile.

But wait -- there's more! He also explores romantic relations between political enemies, race relations, how dogs might actually be ruling the world, and what we might need to sacrifice to motivate apathetic youth.

As you would expect with Vonnegut, it's all done with characteristic flair and small twists. His prose is spare, though at some points frankly confounding. But a very easy read, with interesting windows into everything from the human soul to the post-Camelot Martha's Vineyard.

Highly recommended.

- Scott

Book #18: Ender's Game

Eighteenth book I read since May 2008:

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

I would hesitate to call this a joyous romp through space. After all, the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. But it is played out by children, so there is a certain playfulness about it. Though the children are often more deadly serious than the adults and play for keeps in all ways, which can be as dangerous as anything adult can be.

Ender is the nickname of the teeny kid who is apparently the savior of the human race. Chosen because he's empathetic enough to understand an enemy and brutal enough to destroy it, six year-old Ender turns accepted military strategies on their head and is thinking ten steps ahead of students twice his age. He rifles through military school faster than other tikes open their birthday presents and snaps out of a mid-life crisis in time to meet his destiny on the battlefield.

The books touches on some important topics: how young is too young for indoctrination; are leaders born, made, or both; should there be any rules of war; is it a war crime if you win; do wars/enemies unite us more than they divide us. But this book doesn't really explore them, just touches on them.

From what I understand, the rest of the Ender Saga contains deeper exploration of those questions, so I might read through some of the other books to find out. And I'm open to suggestions as to which book I should read next. There are about a dozen books and they don't follow a single through-line, so you don't have to read them chronologically.

But on its own, Ender's Game was a solid effort, with interesting characters and a lot of intrigue about motive, both seen and unseen. And it set the stage for a lot of future machinations, lots of interesting possibilities, and deeper philosophical debate. Oh, and it was also an enjoyable read, though the dialogue was a bit forced at times.

- Scott

Intuit Screws Macintosh Users

My bank just notified me that Intuit is discontinuing support for Quicken 2006 at the end of April. Normally that would be no problem, they regularly retire products about three years after they come out. I would normally just buy the latest version and be on my way.

But the timing of this decision is curious. They haven't released a new version for the Macintosh in almost two years, and they have a new Macintosh version coming out this summer. Note that the new version won't be out in time to allow Macintosh users to upgrade directly from Quicken 2006 to the 2009 version -- unless they want to go without a lot of Quicken functionality while they wait.

So to continue using the full feature set of Quicken, I have to shell out $50 for two year-old Quicken 2007, support for which would likely be cut off next year, at which point I'd have to pay to upgrade to Quicken 2009 (or whatever they are calling it now).

I never thought I'd be saying this about Intuit, but that is pretty Microsoft-like treatment of their Macintosh users.  I really enjoy their products and have always thought of them as a company that was more sensitive to consumer needs than most.  That is probably why they'd done so well over the years.

But I think they should reconsider their schedule and support Quicken 2006 until they release a stable version of the 2009 software for Macintosh users.  If they get the new version out the door in July or August, it's only another three months.

Surely they can support their Macintosh users that much longer. We've supported them for over a decade.

Just my two cents... in an effort to save $50 ;)

- Scott