F'book Stalking and More!

Book I'm reading:
...is "The Black Swan" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. It's probably the best book I've read in a while, kind of like The Tipping Point except with thought-provoking analysis and actionable insights (by this I mean, about 100x better than The Tipping Point, IMO). Everyone loves The Tipping Point, but doesn't it bother you that it's written to be as accessible to a ten year old as an adult? I found the content in The Tipping Point interesting, but it was way too anecdotal for my liking and was completely non-technical when it came to describing Tipping Points, even though I believe Tipping Point statistical analysis would have given much needed depth to the book. I find myself agreeing with most of The Black Swan, but also being challenged and actually using my brain to process what is written (and actively decided whether I agree or not), which is more than I can say for The Tipping Point. (Also recently read was 'Stumbling Upon Happiness' by Daniel Gilbert [note: an accessible summary of modern psych research, not a self-help book]. It was very similar to The Tipping Point in its anecdotal narration and lack of thought-provoking insights. And the tongue-in-cheek style got annoying with its too-cute witticisms--a very academic sense of humor). Like I mentioned, The Tipping Point (as well as Stumbling Upon Happiness) was interesting. I certainly learned new theories about how society and individuals think and act, but I just never felt like I had to critically analyze any of the stories and insights. One obvious criticism of The Black Swan is that Taleb comes across as pretty arrogant, but I think it's the right kind of arrogant--not 'I'm better than you' but more of an 'I'm right' arrogance. And when you are right, you can get away with that type of arrogance. I would theorize that Taleb does not like its comparison to The Tipping Point (since The Tipping Point is basically an example of the narrative fallacy that Taleb advocates against), but his publisher convinced him to post a review which compares it to The Tipping Point on the back cover in order to increases sales (and take advantage of the contagion of Tipping Point-like books [Freakanomics, etc.])

Fbook Stalking:
Yep, we all do it, except a couple of my friends who don't have facebook (silent protest against all the drama facebook can and has caused ['OMG why did that girl put a smiley face on your wall??' etc.]) And I'm sure you've been perusing someone's profile (or a friend-of-someone-you-know's profile) and found something funny or intriguing, and you want to bring it up with the person you know, but it's something you'd only know from fbook stalking...so you don't want to bring it up. What to do?? Hold onto this juicy piece of information and remain intrigued forever more? Or come clean and admit that, yes, I did spend my vacation time off work looking at your facebook profile, and then clicked on someone who wrote on your wall who said something funny about you on their profile? For all my wisdom, I have no answers. I suppose you just gotta hold on until the gnawing curiosity overcomes you and you reveal yourself as the fbook stalker we all knew you were. And the person can respond in feigned and disgusted shock, "That's so lame, I can't believe you actually found that." But take solace in the fact that the person who judges so harshly does the same exact thing. He/she just has the will power to restrain the curiosity (unlike you).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year:
I got some good gifts this year for Xmas--although they were mostly very practical (with the exception of a sweet handmade stein from Prague my brother bought for me there--nice!) I think the transfer from the novel and 'cool' to the practical is a sign of coming of age (...I think), so it's not discouraging at all. I got a toaster for my new apartment, a briefcase to officially look official, a sweater to look pimpin' at the office, and some other goodies. Plus, making me happy was that everyone seemed to like their gifts. I got the younger bro a Burton hoodie w/ a wireless iPod hookup system w/ remote control, the older bro a classy microsuede sportcoat, my cousin the Reef sandals that have the bottle opener on the sole (grabbed a pair for myself, also!), a Dunhill leather cigar holder for Dad, an in-drawer jewelry organizer for Mom, and some sweaters for Nana. Yep, I take pride in my gift giving skillz.

For New Year's, I'm heading up w/ my high school buddies and my cousin to the mountains of NH where we found a sick deal at a Winnepasaukee resort (w/ sauna, heated pool, proximity to ski resorts) at the last minute. Pretty happy bout that. Low key New Year's celebration tho, which is alright by me. And on Jan 1, I move into the North End! Looking forward to all of it.

Over/Out