Audiobooks are my hobby... brainfood that fills commuting and other empty hours. (Chases does too... He's listening to Orson Card's "Enders' " series). I'll recommend my favorites. This week:
The World is Flat (#3, 2006) by Thomas Friedman. Highlights:
1. Internet makes world flat and feeds multinational company growth (a very good thing)
2. Outsourcing creates middle classes in India, China, Uruguay, and other poor countries
3. This stabilizes governments, democratizes them (China isn't very communist b/c of Hong Kong and it's love of capitalism), and increases cost of war so much it promotes peace (ex. India/Pakistan nuclear showdown 2002). "There's never been a war in a country that has a McDonalds".
4. Geopolitical hot spots are places that haven't b/c part of world supply chain and info network (N Korea, Palistine, Iran, Venezuala, Saudi Arabia). Most are oil nations. Oil nations are cursed b/c they don't educate their people, distribute wealth, or culturally open societies. We'll only disarm their terrorists when we get off drinking their oil.
5. Our education system has to compete with the world, not the school district next door. Jobs of the future will all be worldwide.
There's lot more.... a good read. Changed my ideas about some thing.
Yesterday Krista and I made Mom's special cornbread stuffing. We'll be in Florida for Thanksgiving (a new tradition: camping over Thanksgiving), but we'll have our favorite stuffing! More to come!
2 comments:
Yeah!
A blogging father-in-law, who could ask for more?
Just one more reason to love you.
to chase: even better the 2nd time around! 3rd for Ender's Game - done.
also finished ender's shadow, children of the mind, speaker for the dead, and xenocide.
at this moment, listening to 2nd half of shadow of the hegemon.
OH NO! achilles is kidnapping the children! (quick, check to see whose driving the van!)
next, shadow of the giant
then shadow puppets
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