I've posted about this before, but I have a propensity to start reading books and never finish reading them.

Today, I started reading a new book, Managing Humans by Michael Lopp. Last night, I started another book, Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource by Marq De Villiers. I already had two other books that I am reading, Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller and Fatherhood by Bill Cosby.

I think I have stumbled upon the key to why I only read part of some books, while I finish others. The secret? Some books are just not interesting. They may have some great information in them, but provide little entertainment.

Let's take a look at the four books I am currently reading. I'll describe them and give the probability of me actually finishing each one.

• Fatherhood - Bill Cosby may be the funniest man on the planet. He may be seventy something, but he's still got it. This book, however, was published in 1986, when he was in his prime. It is brilliant. I grew up in the stories that he tells. I laugh out loud often because I know exactly what he is talking about.
  • Probability of Completion: 99%


• Through Painted Deserts - I had heard Donald Miller speak a few times prior to the start of 2010, but had never read any of his books. This year I have already read Blue Like Jazz and To Own a Dragon. I flew through both. I really enjoy his style. He's another funny guy. I'd like to say that I am definitely going to finish this one, but since I haven't picked it up in over two weeks, it is in danger of becoming another tragic victim to my idiosyncrasy. Like that 4 Non-Blondes song you listened to on repeat right after you bought it, maybe I'm just a little burned out on Don, but I'm sure it will be awesome when I come back.
  • Probability of Completion: 74%


• Water - I read the preface and part of chapter one last night and I had to close it and go to sleep. It was 9:30PM. Marq, with a Q, it's not looking good, brother. I want to want to read this book, but unless I need an excuse to go to bed early, it's probably not going to happen.
  • Probability of Completion: 26%


• Managing Humans - This book was suggested to me by Matt Lavin. This book is about being a manager in a software company, something I am interested in doing. In the past, Matt has suggested a couple other books, one that I finished and one that I did not. After reading the About the Author and the Preface, I was pretty sure I was going to like this one. When I opened it up to chapter one and read the title, I knew I was hooked. Part on of the book is 'The Management Quiver'. I read that and thought quiver, like shiver, but it meant quiver, like the thing you carry your arrows in. The idea of part one is to provide management tips that you can store like arrows and pull out when you need them. Chapter one is titled 'Don't Be A Prick'. I laughed out loud when I read that. This book's going to be good.
  • Probability of Completion: 99%

What are you reading?

Labels: books

About a year ago, I subscribed to the News & Observer (N&O). I signed up to get the Sunday paper for the coupons. For whatever reason, since the beginning of 2010, they have been delivering the paper on more than just Sundays. I haven't been paying close attention, but it could be every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays.

In the year that we've been getting the paper, I bet I have read five articles. I really only signed up for the coupons. If they had an option where they would deliver just the coupons on Sunday, I would signup for that. Today, however, I actually opened the paper and started checking it out.

The headline story is titled "Utility customers say their heating bills are outrageous" with a subheading of "High costs in Wilson could be in store for the rest of the state". The number one story on this beautiful Friday is a piece selling fear.

The story with the second billing is titled "N.C. has a shot at school funding". "A shot"?!? I wouldn't call that optimism at its best.

The final three articles on the front page are about Democrats with ethics problems, Arizona closing some rest stops, and adults insulting one another. I can sort of see the two articles. I get it that people like to hear about politicians failing like normal people. The name-calling piece has to do with the school board decision being made soon so I get why people might care. But rest stops being closed in Arizona?

This is a Raleigh, North Carolina news paper. Raleigh is about 3,000 miles from Arizona. How many people in Raleigh do they think are going to be driving through Arizona any time soon?!? Not many. How many people in Raleigh do they think even know someone in Arizona that this is going to affect? I mean, I do, but I don't see this conversation coming up anytime soon. "Hey, Becky, how's Phoenix treating you? ... Yeah, I heard they were shutting down some of your rest stops. Sucks for you guys."

I can't believe this is the front page. It doesn't give me much hope for what's inside. it really doesn't even make me want to take the time to see what's inside.

Despite my better judgement, I did open up the first section. Hidden amidst the stories of the shopping habits of dictators, genocide in Turkey and violent college students, I found one article that shows me that the N&O is not just peddling fear, pessimism, conflict and violence. It seems that they occasionally find a place to spread a little hope, even if it is tucked away on page six.

The article was titled "Joy amid the rubble in Haiti". It was about a couple that had planned to get married and decided to go ahead with it despite the earthquake that ravaged the their hometown of Port-Au-Prince seven weeks ago. The groom is quoted as saying, "We're still here, no matter what the situation is, we are going to be together." They held the wedding outside the cathedral where they attended mass, which had collapsed during the quake. The article reads:

[They] pulled together many of the trappings of a normal wedding. She wore a full white gown with elbow-length white lace gloves. He wore a charcoal-gray suit. There were several hundred guests. Dozens of passers-by watched from atop piles of rubble in the dusty downtown streets. ... They had a small celebration, then went off to spend the night at a relative's home that survived the quake. - Ben Fox (AP)

Afterward, the bride is quoted as saying, "The only celebration we had was that we got to spend the night together." The article ends with this, "The next day, the coupe returned to spend the rest of their honeymoon in the family tent."

I love this. The picture of the wedding taken place outside the collapsed cathedral with by-standers watching from the tops of rubble piles is beautiful to me. Even though this couple has next to nothing, they have lost family and friends and their city is in ruins, they are able to find joy.

Beauty surrounded by chaos. Such is life.

Labels: Haiti, life, raleigh, wedding

Yesterday, the Wake County Board of Education voted "to end its long-standing diversity policy in student assignment in favor of a neighborhood schools concept." There seem to be a lot of people up in arms over this decision.

Admittedly, I know very little about the arguments for each side. This is why I decided to read this article that I found on WRAL.com. I'd like to be clear that this post is more of a reaction to that article than it is to the decision made by the board.

When I read this article I was struck by the comments of the Rev. William Barber, NC's NAACP president. The one comment that really stuck out to me was this:

Barber and supporters of the diversity policy said neighborhood schools is a move toward re-segregation.

Now, I can make an assumption that what he meant was that "neighborhood schools is a move toward re-segregation in schools", but that wasn't what he said. It's probably merely semantics, but because he did not say "re-segregation in schools", I began to think about life outside of the walls of our local schools.

I believe that all children should be afforded the same opportunity to quality education. I realize that opponents of the neighborhood schools concept believe that by moving to neighborhood schools we are putting some students at a disadvantage. I can see how that could be true, but I am not writing to comment on that.

Reading that "neighborhood schools is a move towards re-segregation" without the "in schools" bit brought it to the front of my mind that in a lot of areas of our lives. Many of us still live segregated lives. There are no laws that keep one ethnic group from another, but we choose to remain segregated.

Many of us work with diverse groups of people, which is a testament to the fact that ethnicity is not a determining factor in skills and talents. However, outside of our professional relationships, do we have the same kind of diversity in any other part of our lives? Or, do we choose to remain segregated?

Many neighborhoods in wake county are homogeneous, which, I think, is one of the chief complaints about the neighborhood schools concept. My neighbors, however, represent another diverse group in my life, but when I think about the neighbors that I interact with on a regular basis, they are very much like me. I am choosing to remain segregated.

This line of thought also reminded me of a quote that I have heard many times about how "eleven o'clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America." This quote comes from a speech the Rev. Dr. martin Luther King, Jr. gave.

Below is an excerpt from a Q&A session held after a speech given by King. The excerpt addresses this quote. The speech and Q&A took place Western Michigan University in 1963. The interviewer is University President MIller. You can read the transcript from the Q&A in its entirety here.

Miller: Don't you feel that integration can only be started and realized in the Christian church, not in schools or by other means? This would be a means of seeing just who are true Christians.

King: As a preacher, I would certainly have to agree with this. I must admit that I have gone through those moments when I was greatly disappointed with the church and what it has done in this period of social change. We must face the fact that in America, the church is still the most segregated major institution in America. At 11:00 on Sunday morning when we stand and sing and Christ has no east or west, we stand at the most segregated hour in this nation. This is tragic.

The church community I am a part of, Visio Dei, is no exception to this type of segregation. If you look out over the crowd on any Sunday morning, you'll notice that most people are sitting next to people that look very similar to them.

I'm not casting blame or offering a suggested solution to the segregation of our world. I am merely pointing out the fact that though we have no laws prohibiting our integration, we often choose to remain segregated. The fact that people are upset that a concept promoting children going to school with the people they live near because it will limit diversity displays this fact well.

Thoughts?

NOTE: I realize that the choices of those in lower socioeconomic situations are limited. However, people with the power to choose demonstrate our propensity to choose to associate with those like ourselves.

Labels: church, life, NAACP, school, Wake County

Yesterday, was my birthday. I hit the big 3-0.

Last Friday, I took the afternoon off to get some stuff ready for my birthday party, which was a murder mystery dinner.

While I was off work, some of my co-workers took the opportunity to wrap my birthday presents so that I would find them on This morning when I came in.

Below are a few pictures of the gifts they got me.







You can see all the pictures on Flickr or on Facebook.

Labels: friends, photos, pranks