Jinn of Quality and Risk

Flying today to Chicago. Driving to Wisconsin a few days later. Flying to Calgary on August 1st to meet my mother and brother for our Canada trip (her birthday present). Crossing the Rocky Mountains to Vancouver, through various National Parks. And finally one week in and around Denver, visiting good friends. I intend to keep writing during the whole trip (July 20th to August 27th), planning to buy an Airport card (aka WiFi, aka 802.11b) and counting (mostly) on serendipity for Internet access. Qui vivra verra.

Update: we flew with United Airlines. The food was very bad: my dinner was compressed chicken, tasteless salad, sponge-like bread, ice-cream; then I was offered a disgusting sandwich (compressed bread, turkey, and cheese) with crisps and chocolate bars as a "snack." Junk food in the skies. I was shocked, and will henceforth request vegetarian meals for my future flights with US airlines. Why don't Americans eat properly? is it so difficult to eat non-processed food, such as fruits? European airlines serve reasonably good food, even in economy class. I also dislike the American obsession with ice — when I ask for water in a restaurant, do I need to specify that it should be in its liquid state, neither solid nor vapour? 

Roman extraordinaire écrit par Virgil Georghiu. Un livre poignant que j'ai lu très jeune (12 ans), une oeuvre et des thèmes qui m'ont marqués profondément. Un jeune homme Roumain est pris dans la tourmente nazie, emmené à tort comme juif dans un camp de concentration parce qu'un officiel de son village est jaloux de sa femme. A lire dans le même esprit, La vingt-cinquième heure, et De la vingt-cinquième heure à l'heure éternelle. Je cherchais des occupations et lisais (au hasard) les livres dans la bibliothèques de ma mère (pas toujours des réussites, dans l'ensemble, mais un "bookworm" n'a pas le choix...). J'aimerais bien savoir pourquoi elle avait ces livres de Georghiu. ce libre répondait parfaitement à mes sentiments d'injustice, d'aliénation, de révolte contre une société ignoble. 

Une aventure de Corto Maltese. Conçue et réalisée par Hugo Pratt, un des grands maîtres de la bande dessinée. Dépayisement(?), carrefours historiques, ballades salées, un marin mystérieux qui connaît les légendes, cultive ses relations (dont Raspoutine), et est aimé des femmes. Que dire de plus? le dessin est inspiré, l'histoire nous entraîne sans peine, l'auteur crée des atmosphères et des personnages plus grands que nature.

L'intrigue? tous les chemins du début du vingtième siècle mènent à Samarkand. Corto est sur la piste d'un trésor, mais la région est en ébullition, annonçant les années maudites de la Premiére Guerre Mondiale, et Corto se rend compte qu'il a un double, pour le moins agitateur. 

Finished reading Fallen Dragon by Hamilton, author of the Night's dawn Trilogy (some serious space opera). I was looking forward to reading it (waiting for the paperback to be published) and wasn't disappointed. There are elements of Hamilton's vision of the future that remain stable, such as a dystopic view of Earth development and the power of corporations, inevitable conflict with planetary and asteroid colonies, and an intriguing plot that kept me reading until I just had to sleep a little to survive. The ending, while satisfying and complete, leaves many doors open for a sequel, so one should expect it. Of notable interest in the story: a planet populated by Californian expatriates who adopt and develop genetic manipulation far beyond the taste of fellow human beings (imagine dealing with a hostile human leopard); a species that evolves to the point of valuing knowledge above all else (reminiscent of the ancient Greeks' opinion that the excellent life involves much love of wisdom); nanotechnology mastered to the point of being able to sustain and repair one's body in the face of catastrophic organ failure. All in all a very good sci-fi story. I look forward to reading the next Hamilton book, and might even buy the hardcover version...

Ah, but you ache for the essence of the book, a few words that will make you want to read it? Space travel has turned out to be too expensive to sustain exploration and new colonies. Thus major Earth-based corporations engage in "asset realisation" — a euphemism for regularly stealing resources from remote colonies, with massive force. An idealist young man dreams of space travel, falls madly in love, discovers that he has been manipulated, ends up working for these corporations, and decides to pursue his own, private asset realisation during a return expedition to a planet that seems average. But the natives have strange, hidden myths, and idealistic ambitions of their own. 

Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances lays out five conditions necessary for successful teamwork: The team must be a real team, rather than a team in name only; it has compelling direction for its work; it has an enabling structure that facilitates teamwork; it operates within a supportive organizational context; and it has expert teamwork coaching. Hackman discusses the role of leadership in establishing and fostering teams in a Harvard Business Review interview. Here is a choice quote: It is task-related conflict, not interpersonal harmony, that spurs team excellence.