Some great productivity tips here from Marc Andreessen at blog.pmarca.com.

Via Merlin Mann at 43 Folders.

Shhh...don't tell anyone, I'm at my third office in the Woodinville Barnes & Noble answering email.

John Wood worked at Microsoft in the nineties and left it all behind to found Room To Read--an organization which funds libraries, schools and also scholarships for girls in developing countries. It all began on a vacation in Nepal when he toured a school and saw their library contained so few books and even those were locked in a box. He vowed to return with books and came back the next year with 10 boxes of books and a realization that this was what he needed to do.

John used lessons he learned working at Microsoft and applied those to the non-profit world--think big and  drive for results. From that one library they've grown in a few short years they've established over 3,600 libraries.

His story and the things that are being accomplished by his organization are incredible. He details it in his book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children. This is an incredible book and I hope if you are reading this you will order the book and visit the site. At the least take a look at this video from Frontline.

This book really touched me. There are many ways to donate or volunteer. As a publishing person, I'm especially interested in this:

$12,000

Local Language Publishing: Fund the publication of a local language children's book in any of the seven countries in which we operate. Approximately 10,000 copies of each title are printed and then distributed throughout our schools and libraries - for approximately US$1 per book.

Sponsors of our local language publishing will receive copies of the book that they sponsored, which includes a dedication on the inside cover of the book (see a sample local language book).

Download our Local Language Publishing Profile (Adobe PDF, 465kB).

I'm going to look into this further--let me know if you want me to share with you what I find out. It would be great to raise $12k for a 10k print run. Hmmm...those are better cogs than we are getting for 4/c!

I had a nice little email from Netflix telling me they were dropping my subscription pricing and I could now download movies to my PC. I didn't really think I'd have too much use for downloading, but thought I'd give it a try last night. I was able to download a documentary (Maxed Out) that was already in my queue and watch it right then.

I thought it was pretty dandy, especially for something like a documentary. Not sure I would use  it for feature movies. I was able to watch it on my laptop while my daughter watched a Cailliou show from Comcast's OnDemand. I have to say as a consumer I am still really liking having content when I want and where I want it.  

It is nice to see Netflix being proactive and moving in this direction.

And the documentary was good--a look at our addiction to consumption and debt. So speaks the consumer activity consuming.

Wow. Check out this NY Times article, Microsoft Offers a Web-Based Strategy.

This statistic from the article is pretty amazing:

The company expects a billion Windows-based computers — including those running pirated copies — within the next 12 months. At that point, personal computers will outnumber automobiles worldwide.

Quilt #23 Jenny's Quilt. This is a scrappy crazy quilt in red, blue and gold for the baby of one of my coworkers. I finally got to use some red bandana cotton I've hold on to for a while--I've been collecting the fabric to make a cowboy quilt at some point. Like Anna's quilt, this one has an I Spy center--including lemons, the planet Earth, ducks and cats. Sally quilted stars all over the top. Pieced by JA Atkinson and Machine Quilted by Sally Howard.

Quilt #24 Lavender and Olive Brick Road. I've been working on this king-size quilt off and on for two years and I finally wrapped it up Sunday evening. I have a feather down comforter we use most of the year, but in the summer with no air conditioning it gets too hot to use. I made this quilt to have a light coverlet for the bed during the hotter months. I used a YBR pattern (Yellow Brick Road)  which is a very simple, fast and uses up a ton of fat quarters. The quilt used up most of my purples and greens and I think I decimated most of my stash (which just means I have to buy more!). I followed the pattern and the quilt turned out to be huge. It almost reaches to the ground on both sides of the bed! I'm not completely happy with it. On one hand, it is fun to look at the many fabrics used, on the other it may be a bit much in a king size quilt. If I were to do this one over, I would use bigger "patches" or break up the quilt with larger stretches of a base color. Sally quilted leaves all over it to go with the restful green color. Pieced by JA Atkinson and Machine Quilted by Sally Howard.

One more quilt and I'll be 25% done with my goal of completing 100 quilts! So far, I'm averaging 5 quilts a year. Meanwhile I have another top almost complete.

Report by Scholastic on Kids, Parents and Reading.

Here are some interesting stats about Harry Potter:

Harry Potter has inspired kids to read.
More than half of kids and parents say that kids did not read for fun before Harry
Potter.
More than three-quarters of Harry Potter readers say that reading the books or
listening to their parents read them has encouraged them to read other books.
Although generally kids’ reading drops off after age 8 and kids say they have trouble
finding books they like, on average Harry Potter readers begin reading the series at
age 9 and continue reading it as they mature.
More than half of all kids and parents have read Harry Potter.
Harry Potter improves performance in school, according to kids and parents.
The majority of children say they have been doing better in school since reading
Harry Potter and more than three-quarters of their parents agree that is the case.
Harry Potter readers view themselves as better students compared to other kids and
are more likely to consider strong reading skills important to future success.
The favorable effect of reading Harry Potter is particularly strong for boys.
Harry Potter readers remain loyal to the series, even after book seven.

When I was a kid I liked to put sugar outside an ant hill in our garden and then watch the ants discover the sugar and carry it all back inside. DON'T tell my mother I did this. This may be the reason thirty years later she can never leave any food container open in the house for more then 10 minutes.

Here is an interesting article on National Geographic about ants and swarm behavior.

Via Fimoculous.

Now, this is more like the summer read I was looking for. Blue Van Meer, brilliant young person lives with and travels around the country with her visiting professor widower Father. They land at a town where Blue is taken in by a teacher and her students, a clique called the Bluebloods. What happens when she finds the "cool" teacher dead by hanging and an apparent suicide?

This was an extremely impressive novel by Marisha Pessl, mainly for her prose. The kid throws up descriptions and references faster than a juggler at the Cirque de Soliel. If you like pretty prose this a book for you. But, it did take almost 200 pages before any real action started to happen (obviously I didn't follow Nancy Pearl's rule about first 50 pages). And man, I really wanted to smack Blue's dad around a bit within the first hundred---Teutonic professor blowhard. He seriously reminded me of a childhood friend's father who luckily did not mold her in the same way. I kept thinking, please run from this jerk. No wonder Blue is the way she is--brilliant but apparently socially inept. And her, I sort wanted to smack around a bit too. What good is being so damn brilliant if you can't hold a conversation with a live human. Ah, but then I've always had issues with geniuses with little or no common sense. 

But the book is good, and I look forward to reading more novels by Pessl. 

I just finished Caring for Your Parents: the Complete AARP Guide. Written by folks from the AARP and eldercare experts, this is a great resource to have on hand and I put it on the shelf where I keep books I plan on checking back through. I have one parent living on their own in another state. I read the book through, and it gave me some great advice, questions to ask myself, my brother and my parent. Thankfully, my parent is still quite independent although my biggest worry is if they fall. Another relative fell recently--someone you would have never thought this possible, and broke their hip. They are okay and recovered now, but this relative had a son living with them and was able to call her son.

I would highly recommend this book if your parent is still alive. As the book pointed out, it is better to have discussions now, and involve your parent no matter how hard they be, rather then be put in a situation where you have to make the decisions for your parent and they aren't the ones they would be happy with.

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Wow, I really like the Freakonomics guys, but I don't agree with Stephen Dubner here:

"Who could possibly hate libraries? Here’s one guess: book publishers. I am probably wrong on this, but if you care about books, hear me out."

Yeah, Stephen. You are wrong. The majority of people involved in the publishing business are there because they love books. Books in chain stores, books in independent stores, books for sale online, books for sale at a flea market or garage sale and especially books on loan at a library.

Now I do agree with you about what libraries do--train young people to be readers, expose readers to new authors, and foster a culture of reading. But I'm not sure why you are picking a fight with publishers. I suspect that the majority of people in publishing started their affair with books at a public or school library. And without publishers--what would you have in your libraries?

I think, on that day, you happened upon a very cynical salesperson. In my entire career as a bookseller or in publishing I have never once thought of or looked at the library as something that would cut into business. To me it has always been a way for more people to have exposure to the books I produce. In fact, the question I'm more likely to ask is, "Hey--how can we make sure our local libraries are carrying our books?" All I have to do is think of Abe Lincoln walking for miles to borrow a book from someone to make me a bit misty eyed about how books can improve our lives. It is extremely important that we all support and protect our libraries.

I buy a lot of books. A lot. Really, way too many. I stopped going to libraries for a few years because...well, let's just say don't tell the California library system how to find me. But I've returned recently and am a big fan of the new online search and holding capabilities. And that doesn't stop me from still buying books. Right now, my book stand is overflowing with a mix of library, B&N purchased and Amazon purchased just waiting to be read.

My favorite library memories:

• Checking out my first book from the "big kid's section" from my school library--it was a Hardy Boys mystery
• Discovering Laura Ingalls Wilder, I checked out Little House on the Prairie at school in 3rd grade and came home to find my mom had checked out Little House in the Big Woods for me on the same day.
• Going with my mom to the Rancho Cordova Public Library, the Mather AFB library and sometimes even going all the way to the way cooler Fair Oaks library
• Discovering the bound collection of Life Magazines in Sac State Library, and generally just wandering around that library looking at all kinds of books--so many!
• Discovering Edgar Allen Poe short stories in a collection of Saturday Evening Post periodicals
• Music--discovering old Joan Baez albums and musicals at the junior high library
• Hanging out with my friends in the junior high library before class and checking out all kinds of great YA novels
• Learning how the Dewey Decimal system worked and how to skim and search books for research (we had a great little lesson on this at my elementary school)
• Checking out big, gorgeous picture books on Hollywood, foreign lands, sci-fi and art--books a kid could never afford

This is very cool! A little bookmarklet--set it up so you can find a book on Amazon and then have it search your local library.

I often use my Amazon wishlist to order books from the library and this will save me some cut-and-paste time.

Via 43 Folders.

Ah, I'm back. I just spent a week traveling in a car with my extended family traveling through Yellowstone and the Tetons. I'm happy to report that no one was killed during the trip--although there were a few moments of crabbiness especially after driving through 100 degree heat in Nevada. Here are some highlights:

1. Portable DVD Players make traveling with children long-distance possible. Thank you Nick,Jr. Between Dora, Diego and the Backyardigans the adults were able to enjoy the scenery and rest in the hotel rooms.
2. The Lake Lodge on the Yellowstone Lake is a great place to stay. I highly recommend sitting on the lodge porch in a rocking chair and watching the lake. The cafeteria is wonderful. I had a seat at the best table with a view of the lake not once, but twice. Also really good ice cream at the general stores in the park.
3. Saw lots of wildlife, but thankfully no bears. Bison, elk, moose, deer, ground squirrels, pelicans (?), geese, etc.
4. Love the bison. That place is lousy with them! Everywhere you turn--buffalo, buffalo, buffalo. Watch where you step! Really. We all read "Who pooped in the Park?" so now we know how to identify animals.
5. Old Faithful--very cool, but also very crowded. The rest of the park didn't seem too crowded. We had heard rumors and expected much worse, but it was fine getting around.
6. Jackson Lake Lodge in the Tetons--also a wonderful place to stay. We paid extra for view rooms and were able to sit out on our back patios each night and watch the sunset. They also had a nice little bbq next to the pool in the evenings. Above is a picture of our view.
7. Next time, I would fly into Jackson instead of flying to Sacramento then driving to Wyoming and then driving back again to Sacramento and then flying to Seattle.