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If you don't see a YouTube graphic above, click here for the video.
Holding a camera in video mode sideways - really dumb.
But you can see the black dot on the wheel go from right to left (top to bottom) indicating that on a hazy midafternoon in January in Vermont, I'm generating enough electricity from my photovoltaic array to drive the meter backward (not much load at this time either).
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hackoff.com: An historic murder mystery set in the Internet bubble and rubble
Hacker Dom Montain is in Barcelona in Evslin's Kindle-edition long short story. Why? and why are the pickpockets stealing mobile phones?
Kindle: Amazon's Wireless Reading Device
Not quite as good as a real book IMHO but a lot lighter than a trip worth of books. Also better than a cell phone for mobile web access - and that's free!
Andy Kessler: Eat People: And Other Unapologetic Rules for Game-Changing Entrepreneurs
Andy describes in his usual irreverent way why you need to destroy jobs (Eat People) in order to create wealth. Also asserts that entrepreneurs do more social good when making their money than when later giving it away.
Nick Gillespie: The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America
How the apparently stable political duopoly of Republicans and Democrats might be broken.
Andy Kessler: Grumby
Bet you didn't know that Grumbys caused the flash crash. Andy Kessler's new book is a great fictional description of the world of super-programmers, hacking, viral success and disaster, and flash crashes.
Jeffrey Toobin: The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
Toobin says the court is (and should be) political. At its best about Sandra Day O'Conner; at its worst about hanging chad and the supremes.
Iain Pears: The Immaculate Deception
Another light (but actually pretty dark and cynical) tale of Flavia di Stefano's search for stolen art. Murder happens.
Vito Dumas: Alone through the Roaring Forties (The Sailor's Classics #5) (Sailor's Classics Series)
Quirky self-told tail of a solo sail the "wrong way" arund the world in the roaring forties of southern latitude. Fun for sailors.
Joseph J. Ellis: American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic
A damned good attempt at an answer to the question of "why do we have to choose between Bush and Gore when, 200 years ago, people chose between Adams and Jefferson"
Nassim Nicholas Taleb: The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
A great book full of contradictions. Stories warn us against the danger of telling ourselves stories; successful trader Taleb warns us against assuming successful traders are wise; arrogance is punctured arrogantly. Read it!
Howard Frank Mosher: On Kingdom Mountain
The quirkiness of the Kingdom County people sometimes becomes cuteness in what's not Mosher's best book. But still a fun read.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb: Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
If you always suspected that those richer than you are just lucky, Taleb will show you that you're probably right. But don't get comfortable; this great book'll show you why you are wrong about much else.
Dava Sobel: Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of his Time
The story of the clockmaker who beat the astronomers to a practical solution for finding longitude at sea.
C. J. Sansom: Winter in Madrid
Sansom shifts his historical fiction from the reformation to Spain under Franco in the miserable winter of 1940. At least as good - maybe better - than his Shardlake series.
Eric Burns: Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism
Turns out the Founding Fathers were as rowdy as bunch of bloggers - and used sock puppets - when they wrote for the first American newspapers. Lots of fun here... and good and bad writing.
Peter L. Bernstein: Wedding of the Waters: The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation
Well told story. Excellent economic analysis plus understanding of the network effect in transportation.
Jared Diamond: Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Jared lays out the reasons why some past societies succeeded in dealing with their problems while other didn't. He wants us to learn how to deal with ours before they deal with us.
John Lukacs: The Duel: The Eighty-Day Struggle Between Churchill and Hitler
Very timely reading now when much of Europe and even some in the US seem once more bent on appeasing fascists.
Chris Anderson: The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More
Wired editor Chris Anderson describes how the endless shelf of the Internet makes niche products possible and profitable. The book itself, however, is a hit,
Pip Coburn: The Change Function : Why Some Technologies Take Off and Others Crash and Burn
Investors' guide to picking technology winners and avoiding the losers. Also lots of good advice for business types making product decisions.
Dan Gillmor: We the Media : Grassroots Journalism By the People, For the People
Blogging is a big part of citizen journalism and vice versa. This is THE book on Citizen Journalism. Will it save us (will we save us?) when traditional journalism has failed?
Pam Lewis: Speak Softly, She Can Hear : A Novel
An excellent thriller set in NYC and Vermont. Protagonist's character strengthens under pressure - but the pressure grows as well. What'll break first? Read the book.
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Mr. Evslin,
My name is Eric McCarthy. I live in Essex, VT and am interested in setting up a photovoltaic array at my house. Would it be possible to pick your brain in regards to this? I would appreciate any information you could provide. I am brand new to this but have a desire to learn rapidly as our electric usage has doubled, having my fiancee, sister-in-law and her boyfriend living at the house. Any direction you could point me in would be helpful at this point. Thank you.
Curiously,
Eric McCarthy
Posted by: Eric McCarthy | June 12, 2008 at 09:01 AM
Hi Mr. Evslin,
I am a Columbia University student graduate student who is writing a master's project on the telecommunication industry in emerging markets - social, cultural, and legal implications. I've been trying to get in touch with you and have been reading your blog with great interest. Are you really in the Sea of Cortez? When do you get back? If you have a moment when you do, I would really look forward to interviewing you for my paper, which is due very soon. Your knowledge and contribution will be invaluable.
Thanks very much, and enjoy your trip!
Best,
Elizabeth Dwoskin
esd2002@columbia.edu
elizabeth.dwoskin@gmail.com
Posted by: Elizabeth Dwoskin | January 16, 2008 at 06:52 PM