Continuous Integration

An important part of any software development process is getting reliable builds of the software. Despite its importance, we are often surprised when this isnt done. Here we discuss the process that Matt has put into place on a major project at ThoughtWorks, a process that is increasingly used throughout the company. It stresses a fully automated and reproducible build, including testing, that runs many times a day. This allows each developer to integrate daily thus reducing integration problems.
http://www.martinfowler.com/articles/continuousIntegration.html

Blink

Blink has huge tie-ins with my Aikido practice. You need to train and rely upon instinct. O-Sensei once said that "budo is the education of instinct". Ive relied on this to great success in work, and to great downfall when Ive let ego override instinct. A good, solid read.
"Perhaps the most stunning example he gives of this counterintuitive truth is the most expensive war game ever conducted by the Pentagon, in which a wily marine officer, playing "a rogue military commander" in the Persian Gulf and unencumbered by hierarchy, bureaucracy and too much technology, humiliated American forces whose chiefs were bogged down in matrixes, systems for decision making and information overload."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0316172324/qid=1127754958/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-7849913-9230202?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Kingdom Of Heaven

Very good, but not as good as Gladiator. Thats an unfair comparison, however, as gladatorial games were essentially spectacles -- and this isnt. It is a good treatment of the crusades during the time of Salahadin. Good, solid movie from Ridley Scott and a good performance by all involved.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0320661/

The Upside Of Anger

An old Buddhist parable may help illuminate the issue. A young farmer was paddling his boat up the river to deliver his produce to the village. He was in a hurry. It was a hot day, and the farmer, covered with sweat, wanted to make his delivery and get home before dark. Looking ahead, he spied another vessel, moving rapidly downstream toward his boat. The vessel seemed to be trying desperately to hit him.
"Change direction, you idiot!" he yelled at the other boat. "You are going to hit me!" But his cries were to no avail. Although the farmer rowed furiously to get out of the way, the other boat hit him with a sudden thud. Enraged, he stood up and shouted, "You moron! How could you manage to hit my boat in the middle of this wide river? What is wrong with you?"
As he strained to see the pilot of the other vessel, he was surprised to realize there was no one in it. Rather, he was screaming at an empty boat that had broken free of its moorings and was just floating downstream with the current.
The next time you start angrily blaming someone else for problems you encounter, just remember, there is never anyone in the other boat. When we are screaming, we are always screaming at an empty vessel. The other person who is irritating you will not change direction in the current just for you.

http://pf.fastcompany.com/magazine/98/mgoldsmith.html?partner=rss

Rex Deus: The True Mystery of Rennes-Le-Chateau

Rex Deus is an account of a modern Grail quest with all the accouterments of mystery, cryptically coded documents and tales of secret societies, persecution and genocide. All the threads in the quest lead to Rennes-le-Chateau, a French hilltop village with a turbulent history long associated with religious and political intrigue, secrets and stories of buried treasure. Many claims have been made about its secrets but the true mystery is the most unlikely claim of all-the existence of a group of families descended from the twenty-four high priests of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Rex Deus story is the first full examination of this shadowy dynasty who have repeatedly conspired together to alter the course of history, and the key role it played in the succession of the House of David to the throne of Jerusalem after the first Crusade. It reveals the real influence of this tradition on the development of European culture and the American constitution; and shows how the true teachings of Jesus Christ have been kept in trust for our benefit in the troubled times that mark the beginning of the third millennium.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1862044724/ref=pd_bbs_null_1/104-2562964-2300703?v=glance&s=music

Gwen Stephani: Love. Angel. Music. Baby.

Kinda dissapointing, maybe 2 or 3 catchy songs on the album but thats about it. Hopefully shell go back to No Doubt soon, shes got energy and style but I dont think shell make it on her own.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00064AEJW/qid=1126107496/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2562964-2300703?v=glance&s=music&n=507846

Shallow Ground

What a stupid movie. I cant believe imdb gave it a 5.4 -- the movie didnt even make sense. Had bad acting, bad direction, bad effects and an incomprehensible plot. 2/10 and thats being generous.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369918/

Ring 2

Definately not as good as the first one. It explains someof the back storey but not enough chills to entertain. Worth a watch, but just barely. 6/10.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377109/