Events

Yesterday, Chicago got up to 15°C, not a record but also not what one would expect in December. Our forecast for the next week has the temperature drifting just below freezing Sunday night but otherwise staying above 0°C, which feels a lot more like late March than New Year's Eve. It's a little unnerving. Don't forget, warm winter means warm lake means warm summer—even without the driving force of El Niño, which may not dissipate before June. Not that I'm complaining. I'm just...nervous.

Too many things showed up in my RSS feeds this morning. Fortunately, I've got a few days off this weekend and next. Jerry Seinfeld got some time with President Obama Catfish are cleaning up the Chicago River Book early to take advantage of airline schedule changes What you should ask about every new job Apollo got a pretty good review All blue-eyed people apparently have one common European ancestor And now, a conference call.

People just starting out in software often ask me what they should learn. I submit for discussion the contents of my desk: Some of these books are more valuable than others. I leave the ranking of those books as an exercise for the reader. Actually, that's not true. Anyone who wants to be a professional software developer (as loaded a phrase as has ever appeared on this blog) needs to read all of these books. Every one of them.

Duke University business professor Jordan Etkin found evidence they might: "In general, tracking activity can increase how much people do," Etkin said. "But at the same time, measurement has these pernicious effects. Enjoyable activities can became almost like a job, by focusing on the outcomes of things that used to be fun." In another study, researchers had 310 participants read for eight minutes. One group read additional text that described reading as fun an enjoyable; for another group it was...

The Apollo Chorus performed Händel's Messiah yesterday and Saturday both, which explains the radio silence here. This is my second year with the Chorus. Though last year's performances were really good, this year's were better. Here's the view from the stage to our sold-out crowd yesterday afternoon: And those who have followed The Daily Parker for a while know that I have had a troubled relationship with bow ties. For this weekend's performances, I might have gotten it right:

(There are really only three.) I saw Episode IV on its premiere day, 25 May 1977. I've waited a long time for this. In three hours...Episode VII.

Via Fallows, whose series on our "Chickenhawk Nation" should be required reading before talking about U.S. defense policy, comes a recent poll showing that 60% of young Americans believe we should send troops to fight ISIL, but only 15% say they, personally, would enlist: The disconnect in joining the fight comes down to how millennials feel about the government writ large, according to Harvard IOP Polling Director John Della Volpe. "I'm reminded of the significant degree of distrust that this...

Last night, the GOP candidates for president debated technology a little, and they just had no idea what they were talking about—or they dissembled. Take your pick: It’s not exactly clear what Trump means by “closing areas where we are at war with somebody,” and we’re not exactly sure Trump knows what he means, either. Our best guess is that he’s saying it’s possible for the US to shut down Internet access in countries like Syria. That’s problematic, not only because it would shut off millions of...

Scott Adams and James Fallows have some overlapping thoughts on Donald Trump after the GOP debate last night. First Adams, who has a pretty good outline of how to detect a lack of thinking about the election: 1. If you are comparing Plan A to Plan B, you might be doing a good job of thinking. But if you are comparing Plan A to an imaginary situation in which there are no tradeoffs in life, you are not thinking. 2. If you see quotes taken out of context, and you form an opinion anyway, that’s probably...

Both Krugman and Marshall came to the same conclusion today, and I, to quote Tom Lehrer, begin to feel like a Christian Scientist with appendicitis: Without Jeb, Marco Rubio is the guy Republicans really need to nominate. But he just hasn't shown the sort of strength or political acumen that's required for the task. In a way that doesn't surprise me. I've always found the guy unimpressive and green. But the GOP is in a position where if "Marco Rubio" didn't exist they'd have to invent him. That is one...