As usual, my eyes were bigger than my stomach this week. William Corbett got pushed off and I’ll add some details below. I am only 25 pages into Born-Again Dirt so that will happen next week. I’m afraid that means I didn’t complete any farm reading this week…you know…for my farm reading journal. This is due, primarily, to a lack of discipline on my part. I read Outliers Wednesday on a whim. I may have played a little Minecraft when I should have done a little reading. So next week…

Anyway.

Outliers: The Story of Success

What is this book about?
I’ll let the author tell you. Here he his at his most succinct on page 267. I’ll edit it a bit to make it even shorter.

…success follows a predictable course. It is not the brightest who succeed. […] Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities – and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them.

How does one seize the opportunity? Get up early, dedicate yourself to your purpose and just get it done. The issue he raises is that not enough people are given that opportunity and we, as a society, need to focus on providing opportunity and recognizing the value of work.

Is it a classic?
This book has been covered everywhere and by everyone for the last 5 years. That indicates it may be a classic but it may prove to be a fad. I’m leaning toward classic.

Will you read it again?
Not right away. It’s a fast read though.

Does it belong on your bookshelf?
I don’t think so. You can find it online for free, you can listen to the audiobook on YouTube or you can get it from the library. I see no need to own it. However, the audiobook could not keep my attention. I had to read the real book.

Can you relate a favorite passage?
Quite a few, actually. But we’ll stick with my favorite theme.

Lareau calls the middle-class parenting style “concerted cultivation.” It’s an attempt to actively “foster and assess a child’s talents, opinions and skills.” Poor parents tend to follow, by contrast, a strategy of “accomplishment of natural growth.” They see as their responsibility to care for their own children but to let them grow and develop on their own.

and later…

“[Middle-class kids] acted as though they had a right to pursue their own individual preferences and to actively manage interactions in institutional settings. They appeared comfortable in those settings; they were open to sharing information and asking for attention…”

…skip ahead a bit…

By contrast, the working-class and poor children were characterized by “an emerging sense of distance, distrust and constraint.” They didn’t know how to get their way, or how to “customize” – using Lareau’s wonderful term – whatever environment they were in, for their best purposes.

Skipping to the end and pulling out a few snippits…

When it comes to reading skills, poor kids learn nothing when school is not in session. … Virtually all of the advantage that wealthy students have over poor students is the result of differences in the way privileged kids learn while they are not in school.

Think back to Alex Williams, the nine-year-old whom Annette Lareau studied. His parents believe in concerted cultivation. He gets taken to museums and gets enrolled in special programs and goes to summer camp, where he takes classes. When he’s bored at home, there are plenty of books to read, and his parents see it as their responsibility to keep him actively engaged in the world around him. It’s not hard to see how Alex would get better at reading and math over the summer.

OK. That’s bananas. Julie and I exercise a decided lack of discipline when it comes to books. Books we buy, books we borrow from the library, books we borrow from friends. Come by our house unexpectedly and you’ll find piles of books on end tables, stacked on the floor or covering tables. We don’t send our kids to summer camp, we don’t drive to the museum regularly but we do work to engage our children…either in things we are interested in or we work to ferret out what they are interested in. We discuss topics at the dinner table together and talk about our plans, dreams and our limited budget. At the same time, though, they are expected to entertain themselves…find their own books or build something or go outside and try not to kill each other with swords. I guess that’s what you get when you bridge between the worlds described above. I suppose we are middle class…but we really don’t live like it. More like poor farmers with too many bookshelves, a leaky roof and one, old minivan.

Another part stuck out to me on a similar theme. A man named Terman found, followed and studied children with exceptionally high IQs throughout their lives. Ultimately, he divided them into three groups based on success. The most successful were group A.

In the end, only one thing mattered: family background.

The As overwhelmingly came from the middle and the upper class. Their homes were filled with books. Half the fathers of the A group had a college degree or beyond, and this at a time when a university education was a rarity. The Cs, on the other hand, were from the other side of the tracks. Almost a third of them had a parent who had dropped out of school before the eighth grade.

I’m going out on a limb here to suggest the books on the shelves weren’t a collection of trinkets. They were carefully chosen part of the family. The books were assimilated into and allowed to change and help define the family culture. But I’m way outside of the text here.

He had a lot to say about KIPP schools. I hadn’t heard of that before. The kids arrive at school around 7:15 and return home around 5. Homework keeps them busy until 10 or so. On Saturdays school is only until 9:30. The school is designed to immerse the kids in learning…to keep them busy, working, and moving forward. It has a high level of success in the worst neighborhoods…neighborhoods where the kids don’t receive educational support from home. They made it a point to say that test scores appear to diverge the most over summer vacations as children wealthier families tend to continue learning over the summer, children from poor families lose a little ground. The KIPP school seems to replace the family at some level…for 10 hours each day. Like Psi corps.

Who should read this book?
You should. You and anyone who has ever told me that “I’m only successful because I’m tall, blonde and male.”

Take home messages:

I have an October birthday and grew up believing I was exceptionally stupid, exceptionally clumsy, unattractive and short…but I was at least a year younger than anyone else in my class! What if I had started school later? Who would I be? Even Bastiat couldn’t say. But I don’t have any regrets and my parents shouldn’t either. I turned out OK.

Allow me to summarize the book. Opportunities abound. Work sucks. But those precious few who embrace opportunities and work hard can achieve extraordinary success. He puts a number to “work hard” saying it’s 10,000 hours of dedicated, correct practice (correct practice because if you practice incorrectly you can get really good at doing whatever badly.) But opportunities for hard work spring from family support, family culture and all kinds of things out of your control. And this is where I felt the book let me down. He seems to attempt to walk some line between simple hard work and dumb luck. Jewish immigrants became clothing manufacturers…not because there was an opening in that market and they were lucky to be prepared. They found that opening in the market because they were desperate. They could only do what they knew so that’s what they did. They identified a market opening and exploited it. It wasn’t timing, it wasn’t luck. They just did the best they could with what they had. Maybe they got a leg up by some incredible timing but…

…that’s kind of the point. His examples are extreme. The book focuses on 0.001% of people. The Outliers. Nevermind that there are lots of Millionaires Next Door who did nothing special, just worked hard, built a solid business and lived frugally after embracing whatever opportunity they happened to come across. That includes every owner of every business I have ever worked for. Well, Bill Canfield may be a truly extraordinary person.

I’m going to throw in one more quote from Outliers will reference it next week when we read Born Again Dirt.

The historian David Arkush once compared Russian and Chinese peasant proverbs, and the differences are striking. “If God does not bring it, the earth will not give it” is a typical Russian proverb. That’s the kind of fatalism and pessimism typical of a repressive feudal system, where peasants have no reason to believe in the efficacy of their own work. On the other hand, Arkush writes, Chinese proverbs are striking in their belief that “hard work, shrewd planning and self-reliance or cooperation with a small group will in time bring recompense.”

Java Programming for Kids

This is not Java for kids, it’s just intro to Java. I applaud the effort but I’m afraid there is nothing here to grab their attention and keep their attention as they work. Nothing at all. If you want to learn Java you are better off to begin at YouTube. There you can find someone who speaks your language…says things in an understandable manner. The book was OK. Not great in any way. It doesn’t belong on my shelf. It doesn’t belong on your shelf. It’s not a classic.

Let me be clear. My criticism is not with Java itself. Clearly Java is a useful solution for a variety of problems. It’s the examples in the book that I take issue with. Let’s write a little code in Java, shall we? I’m going to add 5 and 7. Ready? First we have to write our code. You can use notepad but I like Notepad++.

public class AdditionExample
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
int firstNum = 5;
int secondNum = 7;
int sum = firstNum + secondNum;
System.out.println(sum);
}
}

Now that code has to be compiled. (If you are going to play the exciting copy of our home game you’ll need to install the JDK. Just Google it. Be sure to update your PATH environment variable too.) Save your script as AdditionExample.java and remember where you saved it. Open command prompt, navigate to that location and type “javac AdditionExample.java”. That compiles your code. Now, to execute it you simply type “java AdditionExample” as below:

D:\JavaForKids>javac AdditionExample.java

D:\JavaForKids>java AdditionExample
12

Isn’t that great kids? Look. All that to make the computer say 12!

That gibberish code above is not unique to Java but it’s completely unreadable. Public class? Public static void? String[] args? What is that stuff? He briefly covers that later in the book but it is still gibberish…not meaningful. But that’s kind of the way it is. Let’s write the same thing in VBScript as an example.

Dim firstNum
Dim secondNum
Dim sum

firstNum = 5
secondNum = 7
sum = firstNum + secondNum

wscript.echo sum

Now save that to AdditionExample.vbs and double-click on the file to execute it. What happens? We get a pop-up window telling us “12”. Isn’t that neat kids?

So maybe it’s not the book’s fault. Maybe programming is just boring. Maybe I am boring. Maybe so. But even still, this book is kind of lame. The premise is you can learn to program while making your own calculator. Calculator. A text-based calculator. If you plan to teach basic programming concepts to your children I don’t think this is the place to start. If you or your children already have a handle on the jargon and concepts and are ready to move into Java this book might be OK but, again, YouTube is probably better. Heck, most of what this book covers is covered in the Java howto on the Oracle website.

But I could be totally wrong. I have a real handicap in this topic. I have no memory of learning computerish stuff. I’m sure it didn’t come naturally but I don’t remember doing it other than “Load BC.exe,8,1“. So I don’t know how to teach it. For this reason I tend to leave my work at work and my kids have no idea what I do for a living…just that I work on a computer. I don’t know how to bridge the gap.

And that’s how I excuse including this book in my farm reading journal. I’m trying to bridge the gap. My kids can manage the farm today. If I break my leg some things will need to be cut back and they may need a little instruction but I’m sure the four of them can figure out what little I know. But there is no way my kids could take over my day job…the work that currently pays for the farm. There is a portion of my life that is partitioned away from my family and I think that is a mistake. My blog is a farm blog but it focuses on involving the kids. I want my kids involved in every aspect of my life. You’ll see more programming books in the near future. I hope you understand. In fact, next week I plan to begin working through JavaScript for Kids. The first code we write puts cats on the screen. Cool. That said, Julie showed an interest in learning and teaching Python as she was reading a Minecraft book Thursday morning so we may start with Python for Kids instead.

Should you read this? Is it a classic? Will I read it again? Does it belong on your bookshelf?
No.

Cottage Economy not revisited

I had planned to read the second half of Cottage Economy this week but I just didn’t want to. There is only so much preaching on bread and beer I can take in one dose. Julie and I were laughing at the extreme level of sexism displayed in the book. A man simply can’t love a woman who can’t bake bread. I want to believe he was considered a pig in his time. Further, it is more important to God’s kingdom that a father ensure his daughter can bake bread than that she can recite scripture.

I put it down. I’ll pick it up again if I feel the need to laugh. The opening statements concerning personal responsibility are gold. The rest of the first half? Not so much.

 Article of the Week

Should we go to Mars? How can we pay for it? I know, let’s set up an interplanetary internet using satellites in space…faster than anything we have now. From arstechnica.com:

Musk’s venture will be considerably more expensive, possibly costing as much at $10 billion. It could take more than five years to get operational. “But we see it as a long-term revenue source for SpaceX to be able to fund a city on Mars,” Musk said on Friday night. “It will be important for Mars to have a global communications network as well. I think this needs to be done, and I don’t see anyone else doing it.”

What does space have to do with farming? Variety is the spice of life. I wish you could alter time, speed up the harvest or teleport me off of this rock.

And I say we farm another rock. Diversify our risks as a species. But it’s hard. Mars is a long way away. Let’s look at the solar system if the moon is just one pixel. That means the nearest star is an almost incomprehensible distance away. Just something to think about while you scoop manure as scooping manure doesn’t require much brain power.

Also consider that low Earth orbit is out of any government’s jurisdiction…for now. There is no preventing the dissemination of information. And the promise is faster internet…anywhere on Earth…for everybody. And the proceeds go to Mars. Sign me up!

This Week in Spending Money

I maintain a big line in my budget for books and education. A big line. In years past I have forked over as much as $8,000 of my own money for two weeks of tech training…not counting the loss of vacation time. That’s just what you have to do to stay current in my line of business. Sometimes I get asked, “Chris, how did you learn all this computer stuff? Why can’t I do it?” You can. Just spend 10 or 20 years learning all about it. In 20 years you will be amazed how much you don’t know. I don’t know anything so I still spend money and time learning more. This week, in an effort to increase my own understanding and spark a fire in my children, we bought 5 more books.

Now you, dear reader, may say, “Gosh Chris, you sure spent a lot of money on books this week!” Yes I did. And if just one of those books sparks something in just one of my children (or even my wife! (or even myself)) then the return on investment will far outstrip anything else I could have put that money into. And why all this computer stuff? First, because it’s what I know and do. Second because it’s something that can be done anywhere. I can sit here at my desk and code for a customer in Alaska. No big. I read the book Ranching Full-time on Three Hours a Day some years ago and shortly after spoke to David Hall (who lives near Cody). David expressed a similar amount of time was needed by his cattle operation so he also had rental property, an insurance office and, until recently, an implement dealership. Put your time to work. There are other things we can do on the farm, even if it’s not farming.

But there is something more I want to share. Something that makes me a little bit sad. My wife and children have no idea what I do when I leave here. I come home at night and I’m greeted with a kiss from Julie and hugs from the younger children. Julie asks, “What did you do today?” I realize she’s not really asking but I need you to understand I can’t really tell her. My job is something I do by myself. In absolute isolation…even from my family. I drive there alone. I work alone. I drive home alone. I can’t find an intelligible way to communicate what I do. So I don’t talk about it.

And that hurts a little bit.

There is a part of me I can’t seem to share with my family. Half of my day. Every week day. So I just say, “Oh, the usual.” and we go on about our day.

What if I told them? What if I really said it? “Well, this morning my inbox was flooded with errors. Apparently the SharePoint database backup routine failed last night and the transaction logs grew too large. We didn’t run completely out of disk space but it was a near miss. Then Mike stopped by with a query that suddenly needed a little over a minute to run. I guess the database outgrew its design so we had to tweak it a little. I added an index and got it to a little over a second. Then we had a rush job to write an XML query for a load process. That got pretty rough, let me tell you. After that it was just helpdesk tickets all day long. Nothing too exciting.”

I lost Julie at SharePoint.

But today, as I was installing the newest version of Python 3 for a book I was planning to work through, Julie asked why I wasn’t installing Python 2. The Minecraft Mod book says we need Python 2. Julie has never been more attractive.

Please give me some feedback on this post. I read a lot. Like, a lot, lot. I like to share with my readers when I find a book that helps a farmer out. But I also like to be entertained so I include links to movies and music. Fun books too. Please let me know if there are questions I can answer for you or if you have any suggestions to help make this format more meaningful.

Also, let me know if you are doing any of the reading with me…even if you are running behind. Share your favorite quotes. Tell me if I missed the point.

Click here to see all entries in my reading journal.

This was an odd week. I have included a book by Wodehouse I have been reading here and there in my free time for the last three weeks. I know that doesn’t meet the book-in-a-week theme but I include it for sake of completion.

Once again, I did some reading about gaming. Why would I include this on a family farm blog? I’m glad you asked.

I wrote about this recently but in short, I have these kid…things. Children. Small adults…just add water. They share my house. They eat my food. They help kill chickens. They beg Julie to play Minecraft on a daily basis. Now, it’s a fun game. Let’s not misunderstand. But why do I make it a point to play WITH my kids? Because I want to meet my children where they are. That’s why we play board games. That’s why we watch Star Wars and Shaun the Sheep together. Some of this is building common culture in our family but mostly it’s making an effort to be with my kids with the hope that my investment in them will be repaid. If I play Minecraft this week, maybe I can make a connection that will make a difference in morale on a long, hard day. I hope that makes sense.

One final note before I begin, I’m not having a hard time reading a single book in a week. That’s no big deal…as long as I’m somewhat selective about the book (nothing by Dumas!). The trouble I’m having is that I tend to do all of my reading on Friday and Saturday. I tend to procrastinate…then I have to force-feed myself some of these books in short order. It’s like being in college again. I didn’t like college. In fact, I didn’t learn to enjoy reading until after college. I’m worried I’m returning to some bad habits here. If you choose to do this, try to spread your reading out over several days. Doing it this way makes my head hurt on Sundays.

Cottage Economy

Cottage Economy has proven to be more than a match for me. I am shocked. Mr. Cobbett enumerates his paragraphs and thank God. I read paragraph 5 and stopped to read it aloud to Julie. Then we discussed. Then I read paragraph 6 and stopped again. Rinse and repeat. I could be justified in writing whole blog posts on just paragraphs in this book…though maybe not on this blog…

Anyway, I’ll review what I have muddled through and pick up the rest next week.

What is the book about?
Let’s let him say it. This is most of paragraph 16.

I propose to treat of brewing Beer, making Bread, keeping Cows and Pigs, rearing Poultry, and of other matters; and to show, that, while, from a very small piece of ground a large part of the food of a considerable family may be raised, the very act of raising it will be the best possible foundation of education of the children of the labourer; that it will teach them a great number of useful things, add greatly to their value when they go forth from their father’s home, make them start in life with all possible advantages, and give them the best chance of leading happy lives. And is it not much more rational for parents to […to do this stufff…] than to leave them to prowl about the lanes and commons, or to mope at the heels of some crafty, sleekheaded pretend saint, who while he extracts the last penny from their pockets, bids them be contented with their misery, and promises them, in exchange for their pence, everlasting glory in the world to come? It is upon the hungry and the wretched that the fanatic works. The dejected and forlorn are his pray. As an ailing carcass engenders vermin, a pauperized community engenders teachers of fanaticism, the very foundation of whose doctrines is, that we are to care nothing about this world, and all our labours and exertions are in vain.

Is it a classic?
Yes. No doubt.

Will you read it again?
Yes. Portions of it anyway. 10% of the book is given to the detail on brewing beer. I tend to think more modern writers have done a better job of presenting this information with current materials, weights and measures.

Does it belong on your bookshelf?
Yeah, I think so.

Can you relate a favorite passage?
In the introduction there was a paragraph I found myself returning to again and again. This is, I think, in line with the quote I read in the Bob Kleberg book about the definition of social justice: “the process of giving everyone an equal opportunity to become unequal.” There is inequality. That’s how it is. I can’t go surfing this morning. Not fair. But feeling sorry for yourself because the other person has more is bad for all of society.

Let it be understood, however, that by poverty, I mean real want, a real insufficiency of food and raiment and lodging necessary to health and decency; and not that imaginary poverty, of which some persons complain. The man who, by his own and his family’s labour, can provide a sufficiency of food and raiment, and a comfortable dwelling place, is not a poor man. There must be different ranks and degrees in every civil society, and, indeed, so it is even amongst the savage tribes. There must be different degrees of wealth; some must have more than others; and the richest must be a great deal richer than the least rich. But it is necessary to the very existence of a people, that nine out of ten should live wholly by the sweat of their brow; and, is it not degrading to human nature, that all the nine-tenths should be called poor; and, what is still worse, call themselves poor and be contented in that degraded state?

But why stop there? Later he is talking about education. He has already established that 9 out of 10 have to live by the sweat of their brow so children should be given a thorough education in how to work. Education should not stop there but it also shouldn’t start with books. I’ll let him tell you from paragraph 12. I’ll just write the whole thing out. I am tempted to add emphasis but I think you’ll get it.

Understand me clearly here, however, for it is the duty of parents to give, if they are able, book-learning to their children, having first taken care to make them capable of earning their living by bodily labour. When that object has been secured, the other may, if the ability remain, be attended to. But I am wholly against children wasting their time in the idleness of what is called education; and particularly in schools over which the parents have no control, and where nothing is taught but the rudiments of servility, pauperism and slavery.

Ho. Ly. Cow. From 1821 no less!

Who should read this book?
The first part of the book should be required reading.

The last 10 or 15 years have been a good time to pick up home brewing as a hobby. If that’s your bag, the second chapter of this book is for you. I skimmed. We have made our own hard cider but I don’t see brewing beer on my horizon any time soon.

Take home messages:
How about this? Tea has no useful strength. Men who want to be strong, vigorous and vibrant – the sort of men needed by Britain to maintain the empire – should drink beer. Tea will only keep you awake at night. It is of no use, being corrosive, gnawing and poisonous. Working folk should breakfast upon Bread, Bacon and Beer! Besides, who can afford for their wife to spend two hours each day making tea when you could just drink a beer?

Little children, that do not work, should not have beer.

I should say not. I encourage the reader to read Ben Franklin’s autobiography to see what he had to say about the drinking of beer some decades earlier in Britain. (Just search the link for the first instance of “beer” and read on.) Cobbett is encouraging economy but Franklin shows how it’s done, saying the beer brewers provide beer to workers on credit, workers buy beer desiring strength but really it’s just a drain on their finances. Franklin is (by his own account) stronger and wealthier than all because he eats bread and drinks water. That’s right. And, though Cobbett condemns Americans for drinking liver-burning and palsy-producing spirits…well, who wears the empire pants now?

Maybe that’s not a take-home message. Let’s do this one next week when I finish the book. Just wait till you read what he thinks about the evil potato!

Blandings Castle

What is the book about?
Mayhem. The aristocracy. Show pumpkins. Show pigs. Love interests.

Is it a classic?
Heck yeah! Everything Wodehouse. Even the books about cricket (And I can’t begin to understand cricket).

Will you read it again?
Yes but not right away. Too much other Wodehouse to read.

Does it belong on your bookshelf?
Wodehouse gets his own bookshelf.

Can you relate a favorite passage?
This is tricky. Wodehouse weaves jokes through his writing. Since this book is all short stories I am really having a hard time pulling one specific passage out. It just loses too much context. My favorite story is Pig-Hoo-o-o-o-ey. Let me summarize the beginning. Lord Emsworth’s pig keeper goes to jail just prior to the pig show. Empress (the sow) stops eating and Emsworth is very concerned. At the same time his niece (Angela) breaks her engagement with one man and picks up with another. Multiple characters come to Emsworth to discuss the problems with the female pronoun (her, the girl, etc.) Emsworth always assumes the conversation concerns the pig rather than his niece. The jilted fiancee appeals to Lord Emsworth.

‘I say, I’ve just ridden over to see if there was anything I could do about this fearful business.’

‘Uncommonly kind and thoughtful of you, my dear fellow,’ said Lord Emsworth, touched. ‘I fear things look very black.’

It’s an absolute mystery to me.’

‘To me, too.’

‘I mean to say, she was all right last week.’

‘She was all right as late as the day before yesterday.’

‘Seemed quite cheery and chirpy and all that.’

‘Entirely so.’

‘And then this happens – out of a blue sky, as you might say.’

‘Exactly. It is insoluble. We have done everything possible to tempt her appetite.’

‘Her appetite? Is Angela ill?’

You see where this is going. Emsworth’s character fits this role perfectly…being consistently absent-minded in each book. His first concern is his garden but after that he worries about the pig. Interpersonal problems seem to resolve themselves so…

Who should read this book?
Anybody with a little free time, a sense of humor and a desire for an increased vocabulary.

Take home messages:
I don’t know. Wodehouse’s characters are often not the most intelligent but they are generally caring and honest. Maybe that’s the most important thing. Harvest comes in due season…you reap what you sow.

Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus “Notch” Persson and the Game that Changed Everything

What is the book about?
The birth and rise of Minecraft…written as a biography of Marcus Perrson.

Is it a classic?
No. I don’t think so. Portions were very interesting though. I spent a surprising amount of time discussing it with Julie on our way to a family outing this weekend.

Will you read it again?
Probably not. The kids won’t read it either. Too many things I don’t want to explain.

Does it belong on your bookshelf?
No.

Can you relate a favorite passage?
This is from Chapter 8. It’s not breaking new ground here but this triggered some thought:

The conclusion was obvious: game players have different brains than others. The question then becomes: What causes what? No one knows if gaming makes the striatum grow or if a congenitally larger striatum makes one more inclined to play. It’s clear that certain personality traits seem to be more common among those who play a lot. They seek immediate rewards for their efforts and make decisions more quickly than others. If it could be proved that games make the brain’s enjoyment center grow then it’s logical that these characteristics are strengthened by a lot of gaming. If that’s the case, then gaming may make us more active and give us quicker reactions, but it might also lead us to tend to choose short-term rewards rather than working long-term toward something greater.

Well, maybe. I have been playing video games my whole life. My kids want to know why I am so good at Super Mario games. Well, I’ve been playing Super Mario for 30 years in one form or another. Am I a gamer? Yes. But I can still work toward long-term goals. As can the gamer who created Minecraft…the subject of the book. I mean, I don’t think the author has thought about what he is saying. But it still gave me something to chew on.

In chapter 9:

Jakob and Markus found themselves at the same crossroads that most people with entrepreneurial dreams encounter at some point in their lives. On the one hand: a secure work life, with a permanent job and a monthly salary. On the other hand: a rare opportunity to realize a dream.

There was also detail about Jeb’s initial inclusion in Minecraft development. The product belonged to Markus. Nobody worked on it but Markus. Not that it was protected, that’s just how it was. Jeb took a look at some code and spent a Christmas vacation adding a feature so players could dye sheep’s wool…even while still on the sheep. It was a little risky but Markus embraced it and promoted the programmer. I think it is cool that Markus poured his life into a project but still was free and open enough to embrace a contribution honored the spirit of the game.

Who should read this book?

Last week I read another book about Minecraft. This one got a little further into the details Markus Perrson’s personal life, his family and his motivations. Each book has its strong points. Though this book was written prior to the other one I feel this is the book that should be read…if one were inclined to read a book about Minecraft.

Take home messages:
You know that thing you think you should do? That book you should write? That blog you should start? That spreadsheet you have been meaning to design? That car you need to fix? That thing you haven’t done because everybody says it’s stupid? That thing you haven’t done because you don’t think it really matters? 

It matters.

Don’t quit your job though. Make time in your day to do whatever your thing is. I know you don’t have time. That’s why I said “MAKE” time.  There will come a time when you succeed out of your job. You won’t have an alternative. That’s your goal. Today is the day. Get started.

Favorite Blog Post of the Week

This week Matron wrote part two of a series about capturing and utilizing winter livestock bedding. I think both parts of this series are great. Just great. I look forward to a third.

In short, how much time does she spend on bedding? How much bedding does she use? What does she do with it all? Find the answers in the cleverly-named Peeing Forward Part II.

Favorite Podcast of the Week

I don’t know if podcasts will be a regular feature of my weekly (ahem…) reading journal or not but to round off my media consumption for the week, The Survival Podcast had a great episode on Thursday. Let me caution you that this is not an episode I will listen to with my children. He drops every word but F.

So let me give you the gist. The American dream is not a house. The American dream is a productive home. An asset, not a liability. A place that increases our wealth and well-being, not just a place to store our stuff. He also hits on an important idea, that we can strengthen our relationships by enduring hardship together…a concept we believe in strongly.

Just to open the window into our library, the following books arrived Friday:

• Adventures in Minecraft
• Minecraft Mastery: Build Your Own Redstone Contraptions and Mods
• Minecraft: The Complete Handbook Collection
• Java Programming for Kids: Learn Java Step by Step and Build Your Own Interactive Calculator For Fun!

Why these books? My kids are into Minecraft so I’m into Minecraft. As far as they want to go. They picked up the ball…now we run together. At some point they will move on. So will I. Believe me when I say we are doing more than playing a game here. Much more. I’ll give you an example. To build a dome with blocks you have to have a base diameter that is an odd number. What is a diameter? Why does it have to be odd?

I plan to read and work through the Java programming book this week. If you want to make it in tech you have to constantly learn new stuff. That’s just how it is. Otherwise the industry will leave you behind. There is nothing new about Java but it is new to me. I’m adding to my skill set…in large part to help my kids as they work through the same book on their way to making Minecraft mods.

I’m sure I’ll flip through the other books as well.

I am also working through so TSQL puzzles from this site as I work to train a co-worker. The most interesting part is the HUGE number of valid ways you can solve any problem. What do I do for a living? How do I pay for the farm? I tell my children I solve Sudoku puzzles all day…not far from the truth as I have no idea what kinds of issues I’ll have to solve each day…many of which are quite puzzling. But anybody else who asks gets told, “I work on a computer like a UPS guy works on a truck. I can’t fix your home PC.” I hate fixing people’s home computers. Hate. Like lasers-Shooting-Out-Of-My-Eyes-just-before-my-head-explodes hatred. “No, I don’t want to update your anti-virus. Oh, you have both Norton AND McAfee. Wow. It appears an unknown gremlin has used your browser to visit a number of sites which indicate said gremlin has certain tastes…that I’m not judging and really don’t want to know about…but I suspect those sites have a lot to do with the problems we are seeing. The gremlin also managed to install seven different toolbars in Internet Explorer. Couldn’t you just save your budget spreadsheet to Google Docs or OneDrive or Dropbox and sync your cat pictures to one of any of the online photo whatsits? Then we could just wipe and start fresh every third week.”

Anyway, this week I plan to read something related to farming besides finishing Cottage Economy. I haven’t decided what yet but I’ll keep you up to date. I’m leaning toward Native and Adapted Cattle by Kelley, though I appear to have the only copy.

Please give me some feedback on this post. I read a lot. Like, a lot, lot. I like to share with my readers when I find a book that helps a farmer out. But I also like to be entertained so I include links to movies and music. Fun books too. Please let me know if there are questions I can answer for you or if you have any suggestions to help make this format more meaningful.

Also, let me know if you are doing any of the reading with me. Would it be better if I published some sort of schedule or is it OK that I shoot from the hip?

Click here to see all entries in my reading journal.