a dabbler's journal

A Town Called Immaculate by Peter Anthony: a review

joel — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:46:10 +0000

I raise this question because A Town Called Immaculate is certainly worth reading. It features a dozen well-drawn characters, a conflicted setting, and a monster Christmas storm which conspire to create a family crisis. It's a well-plotted novel which mixes strong characterization, building tension, and some surprisingly physical humor to bring everything to a boil. There are oddly-paired couples, an ex-POW, some wonderful memories, and a delightful youngster in the mix. All in all it's a convincing and intriguing portrait of a small town's quirks, and a family's love. Highly recommended.

The Extra 2% by Jonah Keri: a review

joel — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:03:08 +0000

The Extra 2% is a well-researched account of the turnaround in the (Devil) Rays fortunes when the current management team took over. It’s largely focused on baseball operations VP Andrew Friedman (essentially the GM), team president Matt Silverman, and owner Stuart Sternberg, all of whom have finance backgrounds. There’s also a lot about team manager [...]

The Baseball Analyst Issue 2: a review

joel — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:49:55 +0000

Once again, these offerings demonstrate an enormous amount of data collection and number crunching, long before Retrosheet and Baseball Reference. (Bill James comments on that in the introduction.) All in all, a useful outing, but flawed.

Baseball Research Journal 1976: a review

joel — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:06:47 +0000

The best piece is Eugene Murdock's profile/interview of 96-year-old Paddy Livingston, at that time the oldest living major leaguer. What makes the piece more than a reminiscence is Paddy's attitude about the game; all things considered, he preferred to be home in Philadelphia. Not many journeyman players sit out entire seasons because they didn't like the contract.

Stop SOPA and PIPA

joel — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:06:07 +0000

I'm talking to you, Carl Levin. And you, Debbie Stabenow. Tim Walberg, too.

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson: a review

joel — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:41:44 +0000

This is not exactly a beginner's book. The expected reader has some familiarity with photography and wants to better understand and master their camera. Advanced users may find the book useful as a review, and may find a tip or two they'd not previously seen, but may find some of the explanations annoying. That's OK, as they're not the intended audience.

Computing in the Middle Ages by Severo Ornstein: a review

joel — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:12:11 +0000

The author was involved in computing from the mid-fifties to the early eighties, and played fairly important roles in the SAGE, TX-2, and Linc projects, all of which are key to understanding how computing developed. He also was heavily involved in BBN's pioneering Arpanet efforts, and moved on to Xerox PARC in its prime, where he helped design the first laser printer. So he had a first-hand view of the development of electronic computing in the period between the pioneering efforts and the beginnings of microcomputing. This is a different, quite personal, account of what his computing projects were like, and his assessment of the issues as they looked to the participants during the period.

The Baseball Analyst Issue 1: a review

joel — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:17:38 +0000

Bill James published 40 quarterly issues of a newsletter called The Baseball Analyst beginning in June of 1982. His idea was to "provide a place where people who have research they want to do can find a place to print it." The first edition contained five articles, and was apparently edited by James:

The 1987 Elias Baseball Analyst by Seymour Siwoff, Steve Hirdt, & Peter Hirdt: a review

joel — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:31:06 +0000

The best piece of research in the book is the Cleveland essay, where they discover that teams who win from far behind (rallies of five or more runs) are fairly likely to win the next game they play, but virtually certain to lose the fifth game after the comeback win. They offer, and dismiss, the pitching rotation as an explanation. This just screams for a followup study; I don't know that it's ever been done.

Thomas Cromwell by J. Patrick Coby: a review

joel — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:12:26 +0000

This book's subtitle is "Machiavellian Statecraft and the English Reformation," which pretty much sums up the author's argument. It's an adequate overview of Cromwell's life and accomplishments, and does a satisfactory job of presenting alternative interpretations where the facts and interpretations are contested. Be aware that the author's a political scientist; this book is much more about Cromwell's politics than a proper biography. If that's what you're looking for, this book will fit your purpose.