User Profile

Ji FU

fu@millefeuilles.cloud

Joined 2 years, 4 months ago

Trying to find a better way to track books I want to read than a random spreadsheet. I had used readinglog.info which was provided by my local public library until they shut down the program. Luckily, I regularly backed it up via their CSV export. I've used Library Thing for years, but adding books for "To Read" really screwed up a lot of the other features of the website, like recommendations, etc. I really love Free Software & the Fediverse particularly. My primary social media account is on Friendica @fu@libranet.de for now everything I post here is automatically "re-tooted" there.

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Ji FU's books

To Read (View all 7)

Currently Reading

Bernard B. Kerik: From Jailer to Jailed (Hardcover, 2015, Threshold Editions)

"Bernard Kerik was New York City's police commissioner during the 9/11 attacks, who became an …

"Reform" is not enough

I was disappointed by this book. I had been looking forward to reading it since I first heard of it, but alas.

As a prison abolitionist I should know better than to think someone who calls themselves a prision reformer is going to have the trans I'm hoping they will. Even after three years in prison Kerik still comes out as a conservative patriotic Republican. He makes some really good points that might make some lawmakers think twice. Costs to the public to lock 'em up, the dangers of solitary confinement, attack on the families that did nothing to wrong, unnecessary lengths of sentences, problems getting employment after being labeled an felon, etc. But he still comes back to the need for punishment, including for terrorist suspects awaiting trial, and he several times tries to show that he, like many other white collar criminals, not as bad as these …

Bernard B. Kerik: From Jailer to Jailed (Hardcover, 2015, Threshold Editions)

"Bernard Kerik was New York City's police commissioner during the 9/11 attacks, who became an …

According to recent figures from the government, the average cost to incarcerate a federal prisoner is $28,284 annually. A person would naturally assume that an offender sentence to 3 years in federal prison would cost the government and the American taxpayers $84,852. Wrong! The cost is only to incarcerate the prisoner. The collateral economic constant of his three year incarceration far outweigh the government's out of pocket expenses, and here's why: If the prisoner earned $100,000 a year before his arrest and incarceration, the government loses the tax income on that, snd the economy loses his cost-of-living spending.

That is a loss of $300,000 to the economy—$100,000 over 3 years—plus the nearly $85,000 for his incarceration. Then add the cost of the investigation that led to his conviction, and the total was is close to half a million.

From Jailer to Jailed by  (Page 265)

This is based on a report from 11 years ago. Costs have only gone up and value of the USD gone down. Even conservatives that only care about money should see the problem here.

Bernard B. Kerik: From Jailer to Jailed (Hardcover, 2015, Threshold Editions)

"Bernard Kerik was New York City's police commissioner during the 9/11 attacks, who became an …

Governor Perry has made some real positive criminal justice and penal changes in Texas—ironically enough the law and order capital of the United States. He has proven you can, one step at a time, create sentencing alternatives and close prisons. You can implement reforms, even in places you might think would be unmovable on the issue. If Texas can do this....

From Jailer to Jailed by  (Page 273)

Yup

reviewed Aftermath by Chuck Wendig (Star Wars: Aftermath, #1)

Chuck Wendig, Marc Thompson: Aftermath (AudiobookFormat, 2015, Random House Audio)

The second Death Star has been destroyed, the Emperor killed, and Darth Vader struck down—devastating …

Great production okay stories.

I listened to this audio book and liked it. The Star Wars audiobooks are always amazing in terms of cinematography, or whatever the right word is for audio production. This over had lots of different story lines going on at the same time that was kind of hard to follow from the reader. Some where interesting, some where not. I liked the droid BONES who was a revamped episode one battle droid, and I was most interested in the story line where Han and Chewie got a call to go save a the wookie home works with the imperial Navy running away, but then we never got back to it.

reviewed The Warehouse by Rob Hart

Rob Hart: The Warehouse (2019, Crown)

Cloud isn’t just a place to work. It’s a place to live. And when you’re …

Not that thrilling of a thriller

I like stories that wind up everything in a nice little package and the characters live happily ever after. That is not how The Warehouse ended, so it's hard to like it. I'm left not even sure if one character is symbolic only or still a real person truly in love.

The beginning was slow as they build the near future world where global warming has made it nearly impossible to be outside, where a mysterious black Friday massacre had led to the end of nearly all brick and motor stores and an Amazon-like megalith rules the market and MotherCloud is the new version of a company town where you live, work and play in a lifestyle that complety revolves around their monster regional warehouses that load your next order and deliver it via drone.

Hart had some inconsistencies in his world. For example we are informed that …

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Luisa Weiss: Classic German baking (2016, Ten Speed Press) No rating

"German baking is legendary and informs baking traditions the world over: Christmas cookies, coffee cakes, …

Apfelkuchen was not a success. It would be fascinating to know what the intended result was! But there was no picture. What I got was a thin crusty layer, some goo, and dried out apple chunks on top. I found a food blogger who made it and seemed happy with it but hers looked the same as mine (bad).

It does actually taste pretty good, but that's because sugary baked apples with lemon zest are good even when there's some goo.

Garrison Keillor: A Christmas Blizzard (AudiobookFormat, 2009, High Bridge, New York)

A short comic novel about a Hawaii-bound holiday traveler who ends up stranded in his …

A great ending that meandered to get there

I liked this book it was pretty okay. The ending was really great but boy did it take time to get there. Lots of little tiny stories throughout kind of expected for Garrison Keillor but he really isn't as great at telling stories as he was in the eighties.

I finished it in just one day so that's mostly because it was an audiobook and I had a long trip that day. If this was dead tree version i'm not sure if I ever would have made it to the end.

Rich guy from the edge of the Prairie become such through no thanks to his own hard work he hates Christmas his wife loves Christmas he wants to go to Hawaii his uncle is dying he gets there things are not as he was told he has a really strange not quite sexual experience with his cousin? …