Suppose the US suddenly develops a taste for Moai: Immense stylized sculptures carved from volcanic island rock. So an industry of expert carvers develops, along with additional transport infrastructure to get them to the mainland, and then drive them to places like Nebraska (they may be too heavy for current trucks and roads ( Read more... )

Elements of Information Theory, by Thomas M. Cover and Joy A. Thomas (second edition ( Read more... )

The Accidental Theorist, by Paul Krugman ( Read more... )

The Revolution Business, by Charles Stross ( Read more... )

Making Things Happen, by Scott Berkun ( Read more... )

Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb ( Read more... )

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

This is very much a Neil Gaiman story: It's quite readable, tells an interesting story, and contains references to all sorts of things, some of which I can place. It's inspired by The Jungle Book (which, unfortunately, I haven't read), only transformed so as to take place in a graveyard instead of the jungle. ( Read more... )

Free to Choose, by Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman ( Read more... )

I've been musing about an opinion piece in Monday's Wall Street Journal, entitled "Cash From Clunkers". It's fairly short, pointing out that a lot of the "cash for clunkers" program consists of dubious wealth transfers, from taxpayers to people who might buy cars ( Read more... )

Wireless, by Charles Stross

This is a collection of short stories, along with an introduction explaining why he writes short stories. (He's a writer, and sometimes a story just wants to be written, or he has something to say, and doesn't want to spend the time on a novel, or wait that long for feedback ( Read more... )