Recently some of my colleagues recommended two other options:

• Book Depository UK: good prices, free international shipping, fast delivery, but at first glance less books than Amazon
• Booko book price comparison: compares multiple sites including Amazon and BookDepository. Presumably make money using affiliate links from search.

I'll be giving these a go and posting on the experience in future.

Near the start of the book, Garr talks about creativity requiring an open mind (child like) and a willingness to be wrong, and to experiment. He recommends exercising restraint, and focusing on simplicity, clarity and brevity. He starts presentations brainstorming using pen and paper, whiteboards or post-its rather than in front of the computer (personally I often use story cards as you can jot slide outlines on them, group, and shift the order around). He recommends grouping the ideas, and identifying the core message and sticking with that message throughout the whole presentation.

Garr highlights the importance of taking the time to slow down and really think about what to put in the presentation. He suggests that you keep two important questions in mind: "What's your point?" (what one thing do you want the audience to remember), and "Why does it matter?" (put yourself in the audiences' shoes). If bits of your content don't aid in answering these questions, "when in doubt, cut it out"! Garr also suggests an "Elevator test" - can you make your pitch in 30-45 seconds? A structure that works well is starting with an introduction which explains the issue (the pain) and the core message. Then something like 3 parts that support your assertions or solve the pain (sounds a bit like Bosworth's Solution Selling).

"Amplification through simplification" is central to Garr's design approach. He advocates lots of empty space to highlight just one or a few important elements on a slide. "Simplicity can be obtained through the careful reduction of the non-essential" and decreasing the signal vs noise ratio of the slides. Garr is a big fan of using images on slides with just a few words. The aim is to make slides which have strong, memorable impact, and enhance the presenter's spoken words. He also highlights the importance of having the audience know where to look. Eg, simplicity plus images leading the eye to the right spot (eg, people in images on the slide look towards the words on the slide). Garr is a big fan of using quotes to support his points.

Garr suggests a mix of symmetrical and asymmetrical slides. Symmetrical are more formal and static, where as asymmetrical slides are often more dynamic and interesting and activate empty space. He also suggests using a grid, such as the rule of thirds (2 horizontal and 2 vertical lines providing a grid of 9 equally sized boxes), with the main subject placed on one of the crossing points of the lines. Contrast (using colour, shape, space, etc) can be used to make an element stand out and helps the viewer "get" the point of the design quickly. Repetition can be used (eg, text on each slide in an image of a post-it) to provide a professional and unified look. Use proximity to group related objects.

Although Garr doesn't talk about it explicity, his sample slides tend to make use of clever typography. Often lower case text, with most important part in a bigger font. A mix of colours and sizes and styles and sometimes rotations to add interest to the slides. Generally sans-serif fonts.

On presenting itself, Garr says you should be completely present - enthusiastic and completely focused on presentation that you are giving, lost in the moment. Nothing else. Although you may make mistakes, don't dwell on them. Practice like mad to become confident and appear easy and natural for the presentation. However, remain flexible, aware and open to possibilities as they arise (being "in the moment").

Near the end of the book, Garr says: "It's not about us [the presenter], it's about them. And about the message.". He also suggests that shorter is better, leave the audience wanting more, not overloaded (as per Japanese proverb "eat until 80% full"). On delivery, Garr suggests standing front and centre, leaving the lights on and advancing slides with a remote.

Garr's points are much more clearly illustrated using images in the book. I would recommend Presentation Zen to anyone who is interested in making more visually inspiring and interesting presentations.

Until you get a fair way into the book, it's quite hard to work out what it is about. It is also quite wordy, and oddly organised. However, after reading it for a bit, I found it had some interesting ideas.

De Bono is not a big fan of the yes/no system or argument. He proposes that yes/no mindset that people usually use means that somebody has to be right and somebody wrong. With this mindset, an old theory cannot be replaced by a better one until it can be proven wrong by argument. For subjective subjects, this is not often possible. He proposes that when people have a "right" answer, they are happy and stop looking for a better answer, curbing creativity. Similarly, a "wrong" answer stops that train of thought - and perhaps if it had continued, then a good answer might have been found with ideas triggered from the "wrong" answer.

De Bono sets up PO as an alternative to the Yes / No system and talks about it as a way to break down established patterns and introduce discontinuity in thinking to come up with new ideas. He sees it as an alternative to the "clash" of argument and the "arrogance of logic" in the "closed and highly artificial world" of education, that in later life leads to a "need to be right". He says that this "need to be right" then leads to people "defending not the idea, but your self-esteem" and having high resistance to new ideas and change.

De Bono disputes a common idea that by choosing the best answer in a series of questions or steps leads to the optimal solution at the end. He shows several examples where choosing the most optimal answer for each step leads to a solution which is not optimal.

Arguably the most interesting part of the book describes a number of tools for lateral thinking.

PO-1: Intermediate Impossible
Rather than immediately rejecting an impossible idea, look at it longer for good points. Reconsider your framework of judgment and concept package - maybe idea is right if you consider the situation in a different way. The idea can be a stepping stone to a better idea. When other people come up with a "wrong idea" listen longer and see where it can take you. This approach can be used as a tool - turn the "idea upside down, inside out, back to front" and "say the most unlikely and outrageous thing you can about the situation - and see where it gets you".

PO-2: Random Juxtaposition
"When you have exhausted the different ways of looking at the problem from within, you bring in" a random word "in order to generate a fresh approach" through juxtaposition and connecting the words. The random word can be from opening a dictionary at random or from a list of "idea provoking" words.

PO-3: Change without rejection, by-passing old concepts to generate alternatives
"That idea is fine, but let us put it on one side and find a new way of looking at things", "this is one way of looking at things and it is perfectly valid but it does not exclude other ways, so let us try to find some" or "I wonder if there are other ways of looking at this". "Why do we have to look at things that way", lets reconsider our starting point and understanding.

The last part I want to mention is the discussion of retardant doubt. De Bono suggests that with a Yes/No, boolean mindset, you require certainty of being right before acting. If you don't have this certainty, your doubt holds you back. You may even create false certainty so that you can act (leading to problems later since you'll then defend this false certainty). However, in the Po system, there is no certainty. The premise is only that the "current way of looking at things is the best one at the moment, but may need changing very soon". This means you can act without certainty - your action might not be right in the absolute sense, but you are ready to "change it as soon as circumstances demand". With the Po approach you explore a wide range of alternatives, choose the most effective idea for now, but be ready to change it for something even better.

Overall, I enjoyed the book (though skimmed some more repetitive bits) and plan to try out some of the lateral thinking tools. If you want to get the book, a second hand bookshop is probably a good option. It is quite expensive on Amazon.

The book aims to "help Rails developers achieve Ruby mastery". The coverage of Ruby features is not complete and there are some concepts missed that I would have liked to have read more about (eg, how do instance variables work under the hood?). There are also a number of introductory chapters on Ruby and Rails and some chapters devoted to a sample Rails project (R4RMusic) which I flicked through but didn't add much value for me (they are also a little dated). By far, the most interesting parts of the book for me were on the Ruby type system, 'self' in various situations and how method look up works with modules and inheritance.

An area of Ruby that I had not previously explored was adding singleton methods to instances (like what you can do in Javascript). Eg,

o = Object.new
def o.say_hi
  p "hi"
end

>> o.say_hi
"hi"

or alternatively

o = Object.new
class << o
  def say_hi
    p "hi"
  end
end

Now, the interesting thing is that this is the basis for the whole class system in Ruby!

Classes are just a special type of object, and when you add class methods, you are really adding singleton instance methods to the class object for the type.

Ie, when you do something like:

class Cars
  def self.find_all
    ...
  end

You are actually creating a new object, of type Class which has a singleton method called 'find_all'. 'self' in the code above is the Class object, so def self.xxx is adding a singleton method to it.

This also explains the alternative syntax for adding class methods:

class Cars
  class << self
    def find_all
      ...
    end
  end

The same thing could be done by saying:

Cars = Class.new
Cars.instance_eval { def find_all; ... end; }

In Ruby, the type and class system is not very different from the normal objects you work with every day. I find this really quite cute and internally consistent.

The way the method search path works in ruby was also nicely explained in the book. Basically, finding a method starts at the top of the list below and stops as soon as a method with a matching name is found (ie, that responds to the message sent to the object):

• Singleton methods on the object
• Methods defined by the object's class
• Methods defined by modules mixed in to the class
• Methods defined by parent class
• Methods defined by modules mixed into parent class
• Repeat checking parents until get to Object
• Methods defined on Object
• Methods defined on Kernel (module mixed into Object)

This also explains why you can always call methods like 'p' from anywhere. They are coming from Kernel which is mixed in at the top of the inheritance tree for your object. Another case of internal consistency - there's no 'special' mechanism for these seeming globals.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend anyone having a read who has worked with Ruby and Rails but would like to dig a bit deeper.

The book outlines one main idea. Find your natural talents and capitalize on these, building them up into strengths. Shape your work and life in ways that use your natural talents, as this will make you more effective, productive and happy. Although anyone can learn anything, people with a natural talent in an area are going to be able to reach a higher level of capability and success. Mitigate your weaknesses by partnering with people who have complementary strengths, developing a support system to help you, improving your skills in the area just enough to stop them from detracting from your strengths or simply stop doing things that play to your weaknesses.

The core concept of playing to your strengths is covered from many angles in the book and with supporting stories of successful people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. There is then a detailed description of each of the strengths that the online personality test can highlight. The last part of the book is interesting and focuses on building organisations which play to people's strengths, management of people with different strengths and some thoughts on the staff review process in organisations.

Overall, the book was a very quick read with low information density. The online test was fun. You can see my results below. I don't think it told me anything too new - I already know that I'm pretty analytical, like to learn, focus strongly on achieving tasks etc. The core idea about playing to and building your strengths does seem a good one from the personal satisfaction and cost/benefit point of view (assuming society values the areas you have talents in, and your areas of weakness don't get in the way too often).

Please note that the following text is Copyright 2000 The Gallup Organization.

Analytical
Your Analytical theme challenges other people: “Prove it. Show me why what you are claiming is true.” In the face of this kind of questioning some will find that their brilliant theories wither and die. For you, this is precisely the point. You do not necessarily want to destroy other people’s ideas, but you do insist that their theories be sound. You see yourself as objective and dispassionate. You like data because they are value free. They have no agenda. Armed with these data, you search for patterns and connections. You want to understand how certain patterns affect one another. How do they combine? What is their outcome? Does this outcome fit with the theory being offered or the situation being confronted? These are your questions. You peel the layers back until, gradually, the root cause or causes are revealed. Others see you as logical and rigorous. Over time they will come to you in order to expose someone’s “wishful thinking” or “clumsy thinking” to your refining mind. It is hoped that your analysis is never delivered too harshly. Otherwise, others may avoid you when that “wishful thinking” is their own.
Learner

You love to learn. The subject matter that interests you most will be determined by your other themes and experiences, but whatever the subject, you will always be drawn to the process of learning. The process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for you. You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence. The thrill of the first few facts, the early efforts to recite or practice what you have learned, the growing confidence of a skill mastered—this is the process that entices you. Your excitement leads you to engage in adult learning experiences—yoga or piano lessons or graduate classes. It enables you to thrive in dynamic work environments where you are asked to take on short project assignments and are expected to learn a lot about the new subject matter in a short period of time and then move on to the next one. This Learner theme does not necessarily mean that you seek to become the subject matter expert, or that you are striving for the respect that accompanies a professional or academic credential. The outcome of the learning is less significant than the “getting there.”

Command
Command leads you to take charge. Unlike some people, you feel no discomfort with imposing your views on others. On the contrary, once your opinion is formed, you need to share it with others. Once your goal is set, you feel restless until you have aligned others with you. You are not frightened by confrontation; rather, you know that confrontation is the first step toward resolution. Whereas others may avoid facing up to life’s unpleasantness, you feel compelled to present the facts or the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may be. You need things to be clear between people and challenge them to be clear-eyed and honest. You push them to take risks. You may even intimidate them. And while some may resent this, labeling you opinionated, they often willingly hand you the reins. People are drawn toward those who take a stance and ask them to move in a certain direction. Therefore, people will be drawn to you. You have presence. You have Command.

Focus
“Where am I headed?” you ask yourself. You ask this question every day. Guided by this theme of Focus, you need a clear destination. Lacking one, your life and your work can quickly become frustrating. And so each year, each month, and even each week you set goals. These goals then serve as your compass, helping you determine priorities and make the necessary corrections to get back on course. Your Focus is powerful because it forces you to filter; you instinctively evaluate whether or not a particular action will help you move toward your goal. Those that don’t are ignored. In the end, then, your Focus forces you to be efficient. Naturally, the flip side of this is that it causes you to become impatient with delays, obstacles, and even tangents, no matter how intriguing they appear to be. This makes you an extremely valuable team member. When others start to wander down other avenues, you bring them back to the main road. Your Focus reminds everyone that if something is not helping you move toward your destination, then it is not important. And if it is not important, then it is not worth your time. You keep everyone on point.

Input
You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information—words, facts, books, and quotations—or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offers novel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and then stored away. Why are they worth storing? At the time of storing it is often hard to say exactly when or why you might need them, but who knows when they might become useful? With all those possible uses in mind, you really don’t feel comfortable throwing anything away. So you keep acquiring and compiling and filing stuff away. It’s interesting. It keeps your mind fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable.

The first part of the book focuses on the recent history of psychology and explains Seligman's research into learned helplessness and his later shift into researching optimism. He describes multiple studies performed and the results, and how they were disputed by proponents of other theories. The most memorable study he describes was designed to show learned helplessness using dogs. The experiment used three dogs. The first was placed in a box that continued to give the dog electric shocks until it pressed a bar. The second dog was placed in a box that continued to give it electric shocks until the first dog pressed the bar in the other box. The third dog sat in a box with no electric shocks. In the final stage of the experiment, all three dogs were placed in boxes which gave electric shocks until the dogs jumped over to the other side of a partition. Across a large number of repetitions, the common behaviour was that the first dog quickly jumped over the partition and escaped the shock. The second dog (with learned helplessness) just lay on the bottom of the box being shocked. The third dog (the control) jumped over the partition and escaped as well. Similar experiments were performed with people and annoying sounds with similar results. Seligman also found that a small proportion of people and dogs did not give up and seemed immune to learned hopelessness. This later became the focus of his research into optimism.

An interesting observation made in the book is that previously, people used to have faith and trust in their community, church, country and government and this provided support in times of personal failure. However, in recent times, these supports are no longer present or as strong for many people. With rising work hours etc, community and neighbours are much less important than they were previously. Religion has declined and many people do not go to church in the western world. Governments have been caught out in lies and corruption (eg, Nixon, Howard). Faith in country has been eroded by globalisation and wars like Vietnam and Iraq. Simultaneously, marketing and consumer culture has focussed on elevating the importance of the self, personal choice and success. In this environment, where self is all important, and the supports of previous generations no longer apply, personal failure is far more debilitating and depressing than it has ever been before.

Later in the book, Seligman explains that everyone, when they have a set back or failure, are stopped in their tracks at least briefly. However, optimists recover faster and are able to act again sooner due to the way they explain the failure to themselves. When something bad happens to an optimist, they expect that the bad thing will be short lived (temporary), was caused by someone else (external) and only affects a partial area of their life (specific). Pessimists are the opposite. They expect bad things to go on for ever (permanent), were caused by them (personal) and will affect their whole life (pervasive). The opposite applies for each cognitive style as well - optimists see good things as permanent, personal and pervasive. Pessimists see good things as temporary, external and specific. Seligman also mentions that turning a thought over and over in one's mind (rumination), with a pessimistic explanatory style leads to a magnification of the negative impact of the thought (often a factor in depression).

There are also a number of psychological tests in the book that aim to measure optimism. Variations on these were used successfully for selection of sales people who had to make cold calls at a large insurance company (MET Life). A high level of optimism meant that the sales people were able to keep on going despite multiple rejections.

In the last section of the book, Seligman talks about ways to dispute one's internal dialogue and explain the set backs in life in less self-damaging ways (ie, temporary, external and specific). He suggests that your internal voice should not necessarily be given any more credence than an external voice as it can often be biased. He recommends disputing internal dialog with evidence, offering alternate explanations and analysing the implications. His other suggestion is to postpone thinking about the problem by distraction or writing it down and setting a time to think on it further.

Seligman finishes by discussing when optimism or pessimism is most appropriate. His theory is that optimism is generally a beneficial outlook as it allows one to be proactive and productive in the face of failure, to lead and to inspire and encourage others. However, his studies showed that mild pessimists had a more realistic world view than optimists. Hence in life critical situations, certain types of advisory and assurance roles, mild pessimism and the resulting realism was a better mindset to employ.

Overall, there are a lot of interesting ideas in the book. After reading it, I now think a lot more about my internal dialogue and pay more attention to the way I explain good and bad events to myself. I did find that the last part of the book about "Changing from Pessimism to Optimism" was a bit repetitive as it covers the same ground multiple times with emphasis on different areas such as relationships, work and teaching children. Although I found the historical information and descriptions of studies well written, convincing and interesting, I would have preferred a few less in the interests of concision. These small complaints aside, I would highly recommend reading this book, especially if you find yourself ruminating often on the difficulties in your life rather than enjoying the good parts and taking action.

The book covers some basic Rails and version control concerns at the start, then rapidly launches into chapters devoted to Rails hosting options available from shared hosts to virtual and dedicated servers. The advice given is good and is in line with my experiences. Unix configuration is given in depth which would be very handy if you had not set up a server before. Next is a good discussion of Capistrano and automating deployments. The examples all use subversion. However, these days I expect the majority of Rails source code is pulled with Git. There is also a chapter on managing mongrels and setting up monitoring solutions. This is still relevant if you want to use mongrels, however these days Passenger is probably the best choice, and it does not have such complex management and configuration requirements. The scaling out chapter is useful and pulls together handy information including details on MySql replication/clustering. There's a chapter on deploying on Windows and also some suggestions around performance and profiling.

I haven't come across another book that brings together a structured collection of useful information to help you move from running rails locally to having a cluster of scalable production servers and the automated deployment process required to support it. Despite being too old to cover Git and Passenger, I'd still recommend having a read of this book if you're at the stage of planning to launch a Rails site or looking to scale your VPS up to a cluster.

I tried to borrow "An Island to Oneself" from the National Library on Rarotonga (there is only one library on Rarotonga!) but unfortunately all copies were out. So, I turned to Amazon (the long tail poster child), and was very happy to find they could source me a copy. I don't want to spoil the tale, but recommend you have a read if you have ever thought about what life would be like on a desert island, surviving only by your own wit and skills, hundreds of miles from civilisation!

UPDATE (22 Aug 09): Recently, Taori wrote to me to say that he had made an electronic version of the book and put it online (with a number of other pacific island works and Tom Neale photos and info). Here is the main site and also a direct link to "An Island to Oneself" eBook.

The book starts with a very brief introduction to the principles of REST, and rapidly moves on to a discussion of PHP tools frameworks. The introduction misses some important REST / RESTful web service concepts such as hypermedia, application vs resource state and the relevance of utilising HTTP headers and status codes. Some of the information in the introduction is confusing. For example, on page 12, it says "Resources can have multiple representations that reflect different application states". This does sound a little odd – resources can have multiple representations, for example, for different requested content types. Representations should reflect resource state, not application state. Also, the coverage of HTTP verbs is misleading, especially when POST and PUT are discussed.

The next couple of chapters discuss PHP support for HTTP, using libraries such as CURL, and XML parsing strategies. The author chooses realistic examples for code samples, such as Flickr and Yahoo Maps clients. The last example given is quite cool – using earthquake latitudes and longitudes from an Australian government site to plot points on Yahoo maps. The example code is generally simple and easy to follow. However, it would have been nice to see some sort of separation between view and data access logic.

The following chapter is a worked example of building RESTful services for a library lending books. It is a good example, and becomes the basis for most future chapters. The resource design and URLs are reasonable, although it may have been nice to have "loans" as resources in their own right. Using links between resources, rather than just relying on known URLs would also benefit the design.

Later chapters cover alternative frameworks such as Zend and WSO2 using the library lending system as an example for code samples. These chapters are useful as they give an idea how the frameworks look when put in practice. It does look as though PHP and frameworks still have significant limitations around routing flexibility from the examples (eg, the .php extension seems to mandatory in URLs). There is also a chapter on debugging with tips around tools and troubleshooting XML parsing issues.

The writing style is generally clear and easy to read. There are occasionally some odd turns of phrase, such as on page 10: "AJAX makes Web applications to become more interactive, faster, and more user-friendly".

Overall, I would recommend this book to people wanting to write simple URI template based web services or clients in PHP, and also to people interested in getting an overview of libraries and frameworks currently available in the PHP ecosystem. To gain an understanding of the REST architectural constraints and designing good RESTful systems, I would recommend RESTful Web Services, and if you wanted to take it further, digging into Roy Fielding’s thesis and the HTTP 1.1 Spec.

I learnt quite a bit from the book. Here are a few of the most important parts that come to mind:

• JavaScript has function scope, not block scope so it is best to declare variables at the top of functions.
• It is important to put { on the same line as the block opening keyword (eg, function, if etc) rather than on the next line. Otherwise, you may run into problems with some JavaScript implementations auto-adding ; in the wrong place.
• Using the === and !== operators are safer and better than the == and != operators as they do no coerce types.
• The 'new' operator is a bad way to make new objects in JavaScript and should be avoided. Functions starting with a capital letter should always be called with the new operator by convention. Failing to do this will add all the functionality of the object you are trying to create to the global object (thanks to the this references)!
• You can always pass any number of arguments to a function. Extra arguments are not bound to function parameters, missing arguments will be undefined. Inside the function all arguments are accessible using the 'arguments' variable which is an array-like object.
• Lots of things are false. Eg, 0, NaN, empty string, null, and undefined.
• hasOwnProperty(name) is great in for(property in object) loops to find members of your object rather inherited members.
• Object.beget(someOtherObject) allows prototypal inheritance from someOtherObject.
• JavaScript arrays are really just objects with numerical property names and the length property, so if you use a for in loop, you'll get indices in random order.
• It is a good idea to 'namespace' your code in a single global variable for your application to avoid conflicts with other libraries. Eg, myApp = {}; myApp.myVariable = 5;
• If you don't used var, a global variable is created.
• Closures let you make information private and give you encapsulation.
• Inner functions have access to the variables defined in an outer function.

Creating objects with private data:

var incrementer = function() {
  var value = 0;

  return {
    increment: function (inc) {
      value += typeof inc === 'number' ? inc : 1;
    },
    getValue: function() {
      return value;
    }
  };
};

var myIncrementer = incrementer();
 

Functional inheritance

var mammal = function(spec) {
  var that = {};

  that.getName = function() {
    return spec.name;
  };

  return that;
};

var myMammal = mammal({name: 'Fred'});
myMammal.getName() === 'Fred'

var cat = function(spec) {
  var that = mammal(spec);
  var super_getName = that.superior('getName');

  that.purr = function { /* new catty stuff */ };

  that.getName = function {
    return super_getName() + ' the Cat!';
  };

  return that;
};

var myCat = cat({name: 'Kitty'});
myCat.getName() === 'Kitty the Cat!'

// Helpers

Object.method('superior', function(name) {
  var that = this, method = that[name];
  return function() { return method.apply(that, arguments); };
});

Function.prototype.method = function(name, func) {
  this.prototype[name] = func;
  return this;
};

There were a few things that I thought could be improved in the book. First of all, although the structure was adequate, it did lend itself to repetition. For example, scope is covered on p36 (in Functions section) and p102 (Awful parts), with very similar words. Secondly, I did not find the frequent syntax diagrams added much to the narrative.

Despite these small blemishes, I'm glad to have read Crockford's book. I now understand much better which parts of JavaScript to use, and how to build good object oriented code in JavaScript.

The book has a lot of interesting stories and statistics but tends to repeat itself often. The long tail idea is probably not new to most readers these days, and I think if you're familiar with Amazon, there's little that comes as a surprise. However, I did find an interesting section in the book about the tyranny of choice. Anderson suggests that choice is good, customers want choice, and choice is only a problem if you don't know what to choose to suit your taste. Hence, an important part of a long tail business is helping people find what they want (ie, filter out noise) in all the vast array of choices. He suggests using user reviews, rankings, sorting etc as means to help people find the "best" choice for them. I also hadn't come across Lulu before - looks worth checking out, a site for mini self-publishing.

• Remember that you are not the change agent. The client personnel are the change agents. You are the catalyst, but they are accountable for enduring change. Don't be a hero...
• Cute phrases and pithy slogans don't change behaviour. Aligning people's objectives behind corporate objectives and supporting that behaviour with metrics and rewards will usually gain their attention. Rapidly.
• Is it really progress if we teach a cannibal to use a knife and fork? (from Stanislaw Lem, quoted by Weiss)
• At the outset of any change process, immediately after agreement with the buyer, identify and "recruit" these key positions [hierarchical leaders, front line management, respected leaders and experts]. Use the buyer's clout if you must. The most crucial factor in organizational change occurs prior to implementation: It's the conceptual agreement and acknowledged self-interest among the few people who actually have their hands on the controls.
• [Regarding change,] neutral is as bad as negative, since the default position for everyone else will always be the old behaviour.
• Don't be anxious to "make change". If you have a six month window, for example, invest at least the first month or more aligning your support and key sponsors and establishing their accountabilities. The more time you take with critical sponsors, the faster you will ultimately create change.
• When you find someone micromanaging, it is almost always because of a lack of trust. If you don't do the job the way he or she would do it, you must be doing it incorrectly. If the leader has trust in subordinates, simply providing the goals should be sufficient.

Audience
Despite comments on the cover, I would suggest that this book is not ideal for people new to Ruby / Rails. Ola jumps in the deep end quite quickly, and being a talented Ruby programmer, makes use of lots of shorthand, procs, code blocks etc which would likely be hard to follow for someone new to Ruby. Although there is a section at the back called "Ruby for Java programmers", I think this would not be sufficient for somebody new to Ruby to understand all the code examples.

To get the most value out of the book, it would be good to have at least a basic understanding of Ruby and Rails (eg, having read Agile Web Development with Rails or messed around with Ruby/Rails a bit) and a basic understanding of Java syntax, deployment and Java EE.

What's Covered?
The book is project based, so as to give context and useful examples of JRuby functionality. There are 4 projects:

• The Store (Shoplet) - a standard Rails app running under JRuby using Active Record JDBC.
• Content management system - general Java integration and using Java libraries for content rendering.
• Administration System - using EJBs, JMX and discussion of JRuby deployment options.
• Library System - JRuby as the "glue that never sets". Using Java Web service frameworks and JMS from JRuby.

The Good

• Teaches you how to do all those tricky bits which are half-Java and half-Ruby and can't be easily found online, such as converting between Ruby and Java types, including JAR files, implementing Java interfaces, etc
• Clever and concise Ruby code - I picked up some Ruby tricks reading Ola's code.
• Complex code snippets are generally well explained in text.
• Useful tips on when to use Java libraries and when to use Ruby ones.
• Generally good and interesting example projects which justified the use of JRuby and the techniques shown in the book.
• Helpful discussion of JDBC and database connectivity options for JRuby.
• Nice overview of the many JRuby deployment options.
• Helpful "sidebars" about Java Enterprise Edition technologies.
• Covers the strong areas of JRuby well - web applications and system integration.
• Appendices provide useful reference information.
• Nice section at the end on how you can get involved in JRuby.

The Less Good

• Example views often contain table layouts, inline styles and other layout information that would be better done in separate CSS files.
• Variable names in code could be more descriptive. This would make example code easier to follow.
• Occasional odd spelling like "sur_name" and use of deprecated Rails features, such as "start_form_tag" (to be fair though, Rails API does change very quickly).
• The title suggests that the book is about Web 2.0. There is a little token AJAX, and I suppose a content management system is a bit Web 2.0, but overall, buy the book if you want to know about JRuby, not Web 2.0.
• Although REST is only mentioned briefly in a little sidebar, and not a focus of the book, I found the description of REST and CRUD a bit misleading, especially when considering PUT vs POST.
• The discussion of JRuby deployment provides a good overview, but more in depth discussion of major options (eg, GoldSpike), and production configurations would be great.

Conclusion
As the best and only JRuby reference, I'd highly recommend you buy a copy if you are working in, or planning to work in JRuby. The book will help you to write JRuby applications which make good use of Ruby, Rails, Java libraries and Java Enterprise Edition features.

Something I've been noticing lately is that in all of the Murakami novels I can recall, the protagonist always has a lot of time. This is so different to most other novels which try to rush from one exciting event to the next. Perhaps this is part of the reason why I really like Murakami's writing so much. Anyway, here's some memorable quotes from Murakami novels that I've read recently:

From Kafka on the Shore:
"Perhaps most people in the world aren't trying to be free, Kafka. They just think they are. It's all an illusion. If they really were set free, most people would be in a real pickle. You'd better remember that. People actually prefer not being free."

"Pointless thinking is worse than no thinking at all".

From Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World:
"Huge organisations and me don't get along. They're too inflexible, waste too much time, have too many stupid people."

"It's frightening," she said. "Most of my salary disappears into my stomach."

From The Wind Up Bird Chronicles: (language warning on this one)
Show quote, although it contains 4-letter words.

With the help of my talented fiancee and flatmate, the Photoshop side of things went fairly well for a banner image. Not too hard, find a good image and apply some layers, effects and text.

When time came to hit the CSS, I felt confident. Based on my vague trial and error understanding of floats etc, I managed to spend a fair bit of time messing around, painfully, slowly getting a good layout in Firefox, only to be frustrated by an awful rendition in Internet Explorer. Then trying to make a compromise layout between the two that looked reasonable in both, only to have a slight change throw everything into disarray. Repeat ad nauseum.

Clearly, I my confidence was misplaced, and my CSS skills sucked. Time to actually learn something. I turned to my yet un-opened copy of "Beginning CSS Web Development - From Novice to Professional" by Simon Collison, recommended by a ThoughtWorks buddy, Warren. I read it pretty much cover to cover on Saturday. It was quite a good read, practical with useful examples and a light tone. Lots of good stuff within:

• Clear explanation of the basics
• Coverage of different browsers
• Some insight into a web designer's mind
• A number of useful page layouts
• Different options for form layouts
• Some advanced CSS tricks
• A nice worked example of cutting up a Photoshop mock-up and turning it into image slices, CSS and HTML.

Overall, the book was pretty much exactly what I needed to get back on track and bring my misbehaving CSS under control.

Here's a few things I learnt that solved some of the most pressing woes I was having with CSS:

• Margins collapse into each other. Ie, if you have two elements next to each other and each has a 10px margin, the total distance between the two will only be 10px. Adding 1px of padding will mean the borders of the two elements don't touch and hence won't collapse
• Generally avoid padding on fixed width elements. Instead, wrap them in another element such as a div, and put the padding on it. That way, you avoid needing to do any hacks for the broken box model in older versions of IE.
• You can put an ID on each pages' BODY, and that way, you can easily target elements on individual pages using their body's ID.
• Often a good way of doing layout with floats is to keep the document as much using the normal flow layout, and then put in appropriate margins or padding to make space for floats, rather than floating the whole document.
• The order of values in short declarations like 'margin: 1px 2px 3px 4px;' is top, right, bottom, left.
• It is a good idea to stick to the limited set of web-safe fonts, and also use a number of fallbacks for font family to cover all viewers.

My app's theme is not finished yet, but CSS has now become more a pleasure than a frustration.

From the title, I assumed the book aimed to point out the failures of economics as a science. Not so at all - it was written by an economist and provides a high level overview of capitalism in layman's terms.

Here's some interesting questions and explanations from the book:

• Why do we have money? So that we can indirectly swap our labour or goods for the things we want, even if the person with the things we want is not interested in our labour or goods. Without money, we would need to barter. That's fine if you're swapping chickens for rice. But what happens if you do web design, and you want meat for dinner, and the butcher does not want a website?
• Money has value only because we all believe it does. We have faith that if we sell something (ie, convert it to the common value unit), we will then be able to swap that money for something we want.
• Why have markets anyway? Markets produce what people want - ie, what people are willing to pay for (or at least what we are convinced into wanting through advertising etc).
• Why not set the price of everything rather than letting it get worked out in a market? Well, it would be an enormous job, and things would not reflect the cost of production. Eg, bird flu wipes out half of the chickens in the world. There are now less chickens to go around so chicken becomes more expensive. People who really want chicken can still get it, but it costs them more. People who don't care as much or can't afford it eat fish or beef instead. If the cost of chicken was a constant mandated by the state, chicken distribution would need to be mandated in some other way. If there's not enough chicken for everyone who wants it, who should get it? First come first served? Political clout? Personal connections?
• Markets destroy. A new way to mechanize weaving may make thousands unemployed and destroy towns and communities. But according to Wheelan, the country as a whole is better off as we are able to produce more for less cost, hence increasing our standard of living. Ie, as a consumer, you may now be able to buy a shirt for half the price.
• In politics, small motivated groups often drive policy. Eg, the general population does not care much one way or other on a subsidy on growing alfalfa. It might cost each person in Australia 0.01c per year. However, if the subsidy was to be removed, and the alfalfa farmers would care a lot. It may well mean their livelihoods so they would demonstrate, make campaign donations, vote as a block and generally make as much fuss as possible to make sure the subsidy was not removed.
• Why do people work in sweatshops? According to Wheelan, the pay is generally better than for other jobs available - ie, sweatshops are not the cause of the problem, rather a symptom of the general poverty and lack of opportunity in the area.
• Why is free trade good? So that everyone can do what they do best - ie, specialise to the max. The idea being that if everyone works on what they are most good at, then productivity overall is higher.
• Why are tariffs bad? Because they support local industries that are not viable - ie, a poor uses of resources.
• Why do we need governments? To provide the rails for capitalism. Eg, to enforce laws (so you can't just kill me and take my stuff), to regulate the excesses of the free market and to provide goods and services that people need but that free markets will never provide. Also, to do things that individuals cannot do alone, but are in the interest of the population as a whole - eg, build infrastructure.
• Care for the environment is a luxury good - ie, if you and your family are starving, cutting down trees to sell for food seems like a pretty good idea.
• Companies destroy the environment because the current monetary cost of environmental destruction is usually minimal. If the full cost of environmental destruction was factored into the market (eg, companies have to pay for pollution and destruction), then environmental destruction would slow dramatically.
• Who can create new money? The reserve bank, and it does it by buying bonds from banks with money that did not previously exist.
• How can the reserve bank change interest rates? It can sell government bonds at its target rate and it can buy bonds (with brand new money) or sell bonds from/to trading banks to influence the amount of cash the banks have to lend. Eg, lots of cash at a trading bank means they'll lower the interest rates so as to rent out the money.
• How come the economy can go into recession for no real reason? If people are worried, they don't spend. If people don't spend, then companies can't afford new/current investment. People get sacked and then can spend even less. People get more worried and the cycle continues.
• Why is the level of savings in a country important? Money in the bank means it can be lent out to people who want to use it to create new businesses or expand current businesses. Access to capital allows growth.

I wouldn't take these on face value, and I would certainly question some of the assumptions on which they are based. However, they provide some interesting areas for further thought.

Happiness
"If Kerenin had been a person instead of a dog, he would surely have long since said to Tereza, 'Look, I'm sick and tired of carrying that roll in my mouth every day. Can't you come up with something different?' And therein lies the whole of man's plight. Human time does not turn in a circle; it runs ahead in a straight line. That is why man cannot be happy: happiness is the longing for repetition."

Love
"The brain appears to possess a special area which we might call poetic memory and which records everything that charms or touches us, that makes our lives beautiful... Their love story did not begin until afterwards: she fell ill and he was unable to send her home as he had the others. Kneeling by her as she lay sleeping in his bed, he realized that someone had sent her downstream in a bulrush basket. I have said before that metaphors are dangerous. Love begins with a metaphor. Which is to say, love begins at the point when a woman enters her first word into our poetic memory."

A feeling of importance
"We all need somebody to look at us. We can be divided into four categories according to the kind of look we wish to live under. The first category longs for the look of an infinite number of anonymous eyes, in other words, for the look of the public...
The second category is made up of people who have a vital need to be looked at by many known eyes. They are the tireless hosts of cocktail parties and dinners...
Then there is the third category, the category of people who need to be constantly before the eyes of the person they love. Their situation is as dangerous as the situation of people in the first category. One day the eyes of their beloved will close, and the room will go dark..
And finally there is the fourth category, the rarest, the category of people who live in the imaginary eyes of those who are not present. They are the dreamers."

Kitsch
"Kitsch is the absolute denial of shit, in both the literal and the figurative senses of the word; kitsch excludes everything from its purview which is essentially unacceptable in human existence...
Kitsch causes two tears to flow in quick succession. The first tear says: How nice to see children running on the grass! The second tear says: How nice to be moved, together with all mankind, by children running on the grass! It is the second tear that makes kitsch kitsch. The brotherhood of man on earth will be possible only on a basis of kitsch...
And no one knows this better than politicians. Whenever a camera is in the offing, they immediately run to the nearest child, lift it into the air, kiss it on the cheek. Kitsch is the aesthetic ideal of all politicians and all political parties and movements...
In the realm of totalitarian kitsch, all answers are given in advance and preclude any questions. It follows, then that the true opponent of totalitarian kitsch is the person who asks questions...
From that time on, she [Sabina] began to insert mystifications into her biography, and by the time she got to America she even managed to hide the fact that she was Czech. It was all merely a desperate attempt to escape the kitsch that people wanted to make of her life."

Personally, I found the chapter on the pricing of consulting to be particularly interesting. Thinking about setting a price previously, I would have suggested it should be enough to cover costs and make a bit of a profit. Weinberg points out that price is more than this - it is a big factor in the relationship and the level of respect for the consultant.

The Weinberg's consulting "rules" are quite numerous - my personal favourites are:

• "If you can't fix it, feature it."
• "It may look like a crisis, but it's only the end of an illusion."
• "You'll never accomplish anything if you care who gets the credit."
• "If something's faked, it must need fixing."
• "The name of the thing [label] is not the thing."
• "It tastes better when you add your own egg."
• "You don't get nothin' for nothin'. Moving in one direction incurs a cost in the other."
• "Whatever the client is doing, advice something else."
• "What you don't know may not hurt you, but what you don't remember always does."
• "Clients always know how to solve their problems and always tell the solution in the first five minutes."
• "When change is inevitable, we struggle most to keep what we value most."
• "The biggest and longest lasting changes usually originate in attempts to preserve the very thing ultimately changes most."
• "Effective problem-solvers may have many problems, but rarely have a single, dominant problem."
• "Make sure they pay you enough so they'll do what you say. The most important act in consulting is setting the right fee."
• "The more they pay you, the more they love you. The less they pay you, the less they respect you."
• "Spend at least one day a week getting exposure." and "Spend at least 1/4 of your time doing nothing." and make sure your fee covers this.
• "Set a price so you won't regret it either way."
• "If they don't like your work, don't take their money."
• "Cucumbers get more pickled than brine gets cucumbered."
• "Give away your best ideas."
• "Look for what you like in the present situation and comment on it."
• "Study for understanding, not for criticism."
• "Never promise more than 10% improvement.. if you happen to achieve more than 10% improvement, make sure it isn't noticed."
• "Consultants tend to be the most effective on the third problem you give them."
• "The child who receives a hammer for Christmas will discover that everything needs pounding."

Carnegie summaries each chapter in one sentence as a "principle". Here they are:

• Don't criticise, condemn or complain.
• Give honest and sincere appreciation.
• Arouse in the other person an eager want.
• Become genuinely interested in other people.
• Smile.
• Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
• Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
• Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
• Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.
• The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
• Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong.".
• If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
• Begin in a friendly way.
• Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately.
• Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
• Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
• Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
• Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
• Appeal to the nobler motives.
• Dramatise your ideas.
• Throw down a challenge.
• Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
• Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
• Talk about your own mistakes before criticising the other person.
• Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
• Let the other person save face.
• Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be "hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise."
• Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
• Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
• Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.

Although these points give a bit of an idea what Cargnegie is advocating, I'd highly recommend reading the book. Each chapter is filled with stories - they are the valuable part as they provide examples of speeches, letters and conversations.

People have criticised the book as coldly manipulative. From reading the table of contents and the title of the book, I would be inclined to agree. Personally, from the content of chapters themselves, I find that a different story emerges. My reading is that Carnegie suggests that most people are fundamentally nice, and if they enjoy your company and you make them feel good they will reciprocate by looking out for your interests. Similarly, people will feel guilty if they are in the wrong, and will resolve their mistakes, as long as they are not angry from hurt pride or similar. Carnegie paints people as highly emotional beings, driven by pride and ego, but with huge untapped potential and happy to help others.

If I had to choose the 3 most important points from the book, I'd say:

• People desire a sense of importance. Anyone will be pleased to have their opinion sought, talk about something of interest to them or have their achievements recognised and praised.
• Use a light and indirect touch when trying to change people. Rather than criticising directly, explain a how you made a similar mistake in the past and the consequences, or give the person a good reputation to live up to.
• When you make a mistake, don't hide it or argue. Instead, admit it straight out and blame yourself in the strongest terms.

I borrowed the book from the library, but am planning to buy my very own copy. It is worth having on the bookshelf and re-reading.

Building Rapport
To build rapport, the book recommends that you pay careful attention to the person you are speaking with and match their physical posture, expressions, breathing, movements, voice and language patterns. Whole body listening is important - this means you are curious and focused on the person you are speaking with and your language is 'you' focused, rather than 'I/me' centered.

Perceptual Positions
Perceptual positions are a way of appreciating situations from different standpoints and gaining different perspectives. 1st position is when you are in your own body - this position is good for concentrating on what you want and being assertive. 2nd position is when you imagine yourself in somebody else's shoes - good for trying to understand their perspective/actions. 3rd position is when you imagine yourself as a fly on the wall looking at the scene - good for detaching yourself emotionally and considering things logically.

Setting Anchors
Anchors are particular stimuli (eg, a touch, smell or taste) that automatically trigger a linked memory or emotion. Everyone has unconscious anchors - eg, smell of food makes you feel hungry and think of eating. However, you can set anchors for yourself which you can then call up at will to change your emotional state:

1. Choose a state/feeling that you have experienced in your life that you want to be able to access whenever you choose.
2. Choose an anchor - eg, touching index finger to thumb on your left hand.
3. Recall the time when the feeling was it its strongest for you. Make sure you are seeing the memory out of your own eyes (1st position). Think about the time - what colours do you see, what do you hear, what do you feel etc.
4. Just before your emotions peak, set the anchor and then remove it at the peak of your emotions.
5. Shake yourself to break state, and then repeat the process several times.
6. Test the anchor - think of something else and trigger the anchor. You should feel the emotions/state you associated with the anchor.

I had a little bit of a play with anchoring emotions. The technique seems to work at least to some extent for me. I intend to play around with it a bit more.

Styles of Thought
Visual/Auditory/Feelings - from the way people speak (eg, "that sounds good"), you can guess what style of thought they prefer.

Eye Movements
The way you move your eyes is meant to reflect your thought patterns:

• Looking up (or straight ahead defocussed) => remembering/constructing images
• Looking sideways => remembering/constructing sounds
• Looking down => feelings/internal dialogue

As an aside, if you're talking and somebody looks away, they are probably thinking, and you should wait till they meet your eyes again before continuing.

Empowerment thought Word Choice and Questions
Empowerment means you take responsiblity for your own experience. Resolve ambiguity and abdication of responsiblity though challenging your thoughts with questions.

• Deletions: "They overlooked me in the recent promotions" - who are they?
• Vague actions: "We are going to develop Joe's ability to learn" - how are we going to do that, and when?
• Baseless comparisons: "The company is doing well" - compared to what?
• Abstraction: "It was a difficult conversation" - who was involved, and what made it difficult?
• Hidden opinion: "This is the right way to do it" - according to who? The speaker?
• Generalisations: "She never listens to me" - how do you know that? Has there ever been a time when she listened to you?
• Blame: "the company demotivates me" - how does the company demotivate you?
• Drivers: "I want to see my friend" vs "I should see my friend". The former (driven by you) empowers and motivates, the latter (forced on you) triggers opposite feelings.
• Assumptions: "he is fiddling with his pen => he is bored" - how does fiddling with his mean mean that he is bored? Maybe it is just his habit.

With this approach, you can untangle your beliefs. Eg,
"These presentations never go well" - Never? Has there ever been a time when one did go well? How do you determine if it went well?
"Giving these talks makes me feel stressed" - How exactly does giving the talks cause you to feel stressed? How do you want to feel?

The power of imagination
If you imagine something sufficiently strongly and sensually (when, where, sight, smell, touch, taste, sound, etc), your feelings will be similar to what they would be if it was really happening. Ie, your feeling do not differentiate between what is really happening, and what you imagine.

Hence, if you want to know how you would feel if you did X, simply imagine it in great detail and you'll find out. Similarly, if you want to achieve something, imagine what it would be like in detail and it will be as though you have already achieved it. Believe it is true, and you will act as though it is true, and then it will be easier for it to become true!

No negatives
The unconscious mind does not understand negatives. Hence, if you say "Don't worry" to yourself, you are in effect triggering the "worry" emotion.

Rewriting Memories / Modifying Perception
Bring up a memory in detail, and bring in as many senses as you can. Try changing the lighting, the background sound, the relative size of objects etc and see how you feel. If you do this enough, you can change how you feel in the memory, and how you will feel when something similar arises.

I think that this could be done mentally in real time in real situations as well by changing your perception. Eg, somebody is screaming at you. If mentally imagine yourself to be larger, and the screamer to be smaller and imagine a glass between you, you could avoid feeling overwhelmed or getting angry yourself. You could then respond in a better manner.

Beliefs of Excellence
What you believe will influence how you act. Hence, if you take on positive beliefs, you can become more friendly, productive and motivated. Similarly, negative beliefs (eg, "I can't do it") are often self-fulfilling. According to the book, the important beliefs for excellence are:

• Each person is unique
• Everyone makes the best choice available to them at the time
• There is no failure, only feedback
• Behind every behaviour is a positive intention
• The meaning of the communication is its effect
• There is a solution to every problem
• The person with the most flexibility in thinking and behaviour has the best chance of succeeding
• Mind and body are part of the same system
• Knowledge, thought, memory and imagination are the result of sequences and combinations of ways of filtering and storing information

Presuppose that these beliefs are true for you - try them out
Or go back into memory and imagine how you would have behaved differently had you had these beliefs.
Practice should make the belief become more fixed in you, and change your automatic behaviour.

Outcomes and Goals
What do I really want to achieve in 3 months/6m/1yr/3yrs, beyond..
List, prioritise and choose top 3. For each goal,

• Imagine it with all senses - how does it feel/look/sound
• When, where and with whom?
• What have you got now you'd need to give up?
• Is it worth the risk/pain? If not, chose another goal and start again.
• If not self-maintained, chunk up ("recession to ease", ask "what's important about that?") to find the higher level need (eg, "security")
• Ensure the outcome fits with who you are and who you want to be
• What alternative ways are there to satisfy this need that will allow you to move towards the outcome?
• How does having the outcome fit with the other people who are important in your life?
• Act by dividing what you need to do into many small steps that you can work through in a real way every day or every week, potentially with time frames.

This topic is continued in Part 2.

Language
Use precise language with dates rather than "ASAP" or "when you have time". Use simple language, and do not assume both sides hold the same assumptions and clarify often with questions.

Preparation
Prepare well by deciding your objectives (needs & wants), non-negotiables, what you can compromise on and limits. Research your opposite number - what do they need and do they have power to sign off?

Agenda
Create agenda and send to other party in advance of the meeting, emphasising that it is a draft and they can add items to it (aim to create a climate of agreement even before discussion begins). Place items that you think will be easy to reach agreement at the top to get momentum.

Place
If you are selling, you should go to the customer as you are making the most effort and people feel more comfortable/polite on their "home ground". Second meeting could be on "your territory". If there's a history of conflict, "neutral ground" may be best.

Time
Make sure you've had time to prepare. On the phone, check that now is a convenient time for the other person.

Exploration

• If person says they need or want something, ask why and encourage them to explain.
• "If I can't meet that condition, is there something else that would make this deal work for you?"
• Identify mutual interest.
• Chunk down to find out the details of what people want and also chunk up to find out the big picture of why/when. With this understanding, you can then negotiate solutions which meet the needs of both partieis.
• Show you understand the reasons that lie behind wants/needs as this may reduce resistance to alternative suggestions.
• Once understanding is reached, move to middle ground of bidding and proposing. Both sides will need to compromise to some extent. At this point, you are asking the other party to consider what a good deal is, rather than firm agreement.
• Ask "what if" questions (eg, "what if I could offer you slower delivery but lower costs"?) and ask "why not" if they do not agree. Ask direct questions if this fails (eg, "what is the minimum delivery size you would agree to?").
• Aim to uncover variables in the negotiations and come up with possibilities based on these.
• Don't concede, exchange - doesn't need to be of equal value however.

Reaching Agreement

• Summarise and restate after each point is agreed on. Eg, "We've agreed on W, X and Y. That only leaves Z to be decided".
• Ask series of questions which are closed/leading, where the answer to each is yes, leading to the final question which closes the deal.

Closing

• Always put agreement in writing (start with a draft framework for discussion).
• Agree on review and complaint handling processes.
• Agreement should be specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and time-bound.

Body Language
When interpreting somebody’s body language (or projecting your own), consider these aspects in decreasing order of importance:

• Eye contact (around 70% of the time ideal, too little suggests disagreement or disinterest, too much suggests aggression, looking up suggests thinking, looking down suggests discomfort)
• Facial expression (smile, make sure you show what you are feeling, don’t be deadpan, that’s unnerving)
• Posture (Relaxed and upright, leaning forwarding slightly, crossing legs are all signs of interest. Folding arms or turning body away suggests discomfort with the proceedings. Mirroring other person suggests agreement.)
• Hand gestures (open hand gestures suggest open mind, fiddling or doodling suggests disinterest or nervousness)

If body language is unclear, clarify. Eg, “Is this still all right with you?”

Listening

• Do make listening noises such as "uhuh" and "mmm".
• Do not finish other people's sentences for them, as they may find this irritating.
• Take notes to show you're interested and to help you summarise the agreement as you approach the close.

Respond

• Keep cool and respond, rather than react. Stay adult and detached and offer time out if the opposite part is losing it.
• Show respect at all times.

Our narrator is 34, and in many ways, leads a normal and boring life. The boring parts of his life are described in detail. If you counted the pages devoted to descriptions of his every day life such as cooking, eating etc, I think you'd count about 1/3 of the novel. Rather than making the novel boring, as you would expect, it instead makes our narrator more real and human. And since he is so real, and so like you and me, even the "boring" parts of his life are interesting and enjoyable. For example, having a good meal and reading a book are nothing "exciting" in the traditional sense. However, since the narrator is so real, and so human, you can easily remember your own feelings when doing a similar thing.

There is something so real in the mediocrity of our narrator that strikes a chord with me. Our narrator is a good, fair guy, playing his part in an "advanced capitalist society". He's not amazingly talented at anything, he doesn't fit in and he's not very socially ept. He "shovels cultural snow" writing pieces for magazines. He has a few friends and romantic interests. He tries not to hurt people but doesn't know where his life is going or what he really wants. When you look at him, and think about him, it forces you to look at yourself, in a very similar advanced capitalist society, shovelling virtual snow, or whatever you do. At the end of the day though, he's the best of the bunch. He's responsible and he cares. Maybe that's cause for hope.

Dance Dance Dance follows on from A Wild Sheep Chase, although you could probably get by without reading the earlier novel. It's a great book, go forth and read it

If you have read it, what do you think of the ending? I've read people suggesting that Toru committed suicide or similar, but I don't believe that that is the case. For one thing, he's got to live to 37 and catch a plane, as described at the start of the novel. I think the "dead centre" reference is due to Toru being dead centre of the "countless shapes of people walking by to nowhere", rather than having died. I think the ending is happy. Or maybe I just want it to be. Here's my interpretation. Toru is lost in the middle of nowhere. His old life was based around Naoko and Kizuki (plus Reiko as a link to them). They have all died or left. He is in the middle of nowhere. But Midori can rescue him from this. She is his anchor to reality and a new life. She will give his life direction and meaning - that's why he calls out to her again. If anyone in the novel is a symbol of life, it is Midori, and by calling out to her, I can only understand that Toru has chosen to keep living and to pursue happiness. Midori's silence is "the silence of all the misty rain in the world falling on all the new-mown lawns of the world". That's a positive image for me at least, pregnant with possibility.

If only I could read Japanese, perhaps I would understand better.

PS - Many thanks to my friend Jim for lending this most excellent book to me.

UML Distilled is good. It is written carefully and concisely and has been heavily revised to cover UML 2. It is a opinionated book - it presents Martin Fowler's view of UML. This is a good thing. Fowler concentrates on the parts of UML that he has found widely used in the industry, and the most useful in his own work. Fowler is not bound by the UML specification, he also describes "non-normative" diagrams (ie, variations on UML which are not standard but widely used). Fowler often provides his own view on a particular diagram or component. For example, I've often wondered when to use aggregation rather than association in a class diagram. Fowler cleared this up for me:

"Aggregation is strictly meaningless; as a result, I recommend that you ignore it in your own diagrams. If you see it in other people's diagrams, you'll need to dig deeper to find out what they mean by it. Different authors and teams use it for very different purposes."

UML Distilled starts with an introduction about UML's history and aims, and then a rapid look at different development methodologies and where to fit UML into them.

The core of the book covers the following diagrams/specs:

Class Diagrams
Sequence Diagrams
Object Diagrams
Package Diagrams
Deployment Diagrams
Use Cases
State Machine Diagrams
Activity Diagrams
Communication Diagrams
Composite Structures
Component Diagrams
Collaborations
Interaction Overview Diagrams
Timing Diagrams

Class diagrams and sequence diagrams are covered in detail, the other diagrams more briefly. The book is quite short, but gives enough information on each topic to allow you to understand and draw the diagrams. At the end of each chapter, there is a helpful "where to find out more" section and a "when to use this type of diagram" section.

There is also an appendix at the end of the book on changes between various versions of UML.

The book is surprisingly easy to read. Fowler's style is clear and friendly and examples are well chosen.

My only complaint is that perhaps the book could have been a little longer to allow a bit more detail on some of the diagram types. I would have liked to have read a little bit more on object diagrams in particular.

I'd recommend the book to anyone who wants a rapid and concise introduction to or revision of UML 2.

Rating: 9/10

Author: Chad Fowler of the Pragmatic Programmers

185 pages, Paperback

An interesting book written by Chad Fowler, who spent 1.5 years in India hiring and managing an outsourced team of developers. The book's main focus is on how you can make yourself as, a developer, more valuable to your company / community so that your job is not outsourced. There are quite a lot of valuable and interesting ideas in the book for professional development, and "getting your name out there". The book also gives the reader some idea of what development is like in India, some tips and the pluses and minuses of outsourcing.

The style of the book is conversational, and easy to read. I finished it in 2 days. I'd recommend it to developers wondering about outsourcing and looking for some tips on professional development.

Rating: 8/10