A Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the Struggle that Shaped the Middle East

By James Barr

The recent history of the middle east is full of wars, battles, fights, assassination, plots, terrorism, murders, duplicity, stupidity, greed, stubbornness... the list goes on.

I don't think the middle east stands a chance at a sustainable peace. There is no configuration of power, resources and culture that doesn't starve a large enough population that they won't resort to violence.

During WW2, you could blame Britain and France. They were certainly responsible for much of the chaos. Their alternative was to let the middle east fall to Germany and Russia. Also unthinkable.  

Termination Shock

 By Neal Stephenson.

A sci-fi (Speculative fiction?) set in the near future. Climate change is aggressively affecting the world and those with money and power are either doing something about it, or fighting over it.

The cast of characters is rather odd-- the Queen of the Netherlands, a mixed race southern pig hunter, oil billionaires, Sikhs,

It's a fun read. Maybe a few too many dangling ends for my tastes, but I enjoyed it overall.

There is a fun, nerdy, drones-vs-eagles battle towards the end of the book

I liked that the "bad guy" wasn't really bad. Global warming and any attempts to change it, will create winners and losers. Can you blame a looser who is just fighting to get a chair at the table?

Walking the Beach to Bellingham

By Harvey Manning.

Harvey Manning was a local author, conservationist and advocate for trails and parks. He died in 2006. Many of the parks around my home exist because of Manning's lobbying. 

He wrote a popular series of Washington Trail guides.

I decided to go over some of Manning's non-trail-guide writings. And--- he loved to walk and hike. He wanted to preserve and grow this experience for others. The urge to hike was deeply in his bones.

A Guide To the Good Life

By William B. Irvine

Be a modern stoic...

Practice living through tougher situations. From time to time, make yourself uncomfortable-- fast-- don't wear enough clothing in cooler weather.

Be clear on what you can control, what you can only influence, and what you don't control. 

You really don't control things that you can only influence, so only set yourself internal expectations and goals for these. For example, don't set a goal to win every tennis game. But do set a goal for yourself to play the best you can.