DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

This is one of the coolest uses of the web I’ve seen in a long time: a visual plot of weather data for San Francisco. Data comes from an informal network of weather stations around the city, plus published weather data.

When I lived in the City, people always talked about “microclimates.” That’s a fancy word that describes how the unusual geography of the area causes weather to differ dramatically from one neighborhood to the next. As I write this, there is a 25-degree disparity between the Zoo and the “Sunset Station,” located ~2 miles away.

Kudos to Aaron and sfweather.org for building such a useful web application!

I’m doing my part to fight recession single-handedly, by spending as much money as I possibly can. Here’s a short list of the media I’ve consumed in the past two weeks.

Three excellent works of escapist fiction: Anonymous Rex, The Truth Machine, The Best a Man Can Get

Five great albums: Transatlantic’s The Bridge Across Forever (neo-progressive rock in the Pink Floyd, Genesis, Beatles vein, as interpreted by members of Spock’s Beard, Marillion, Flower Kings, and Dream Theater!)… Attention Deficit’s The Idiot King (instru-mental monster rock featuring ex-Primus drummer Tim Alexander)… Dream Theater’s Live Scenes from New York (a concert rendition of their progressive metal magnum opus, Scenes From a Memory, a rock-opera descendent of Tommy, The Wall, etc.)… the Dave Matthews Band’s Listener Supported… The Flower Kings’ The Rainmaker (melodic progressive anthemic rock).

Still to come: Camel’s Paris Collection, a live set recorded in Paris on the band’s Y2K world tour.

This one didn’t help the economy, but helped my disposition quite a bit. Elephone is a new band in San Francisco, with a trippy sound, a great vibe, and emotive vocals. You can download their first three tunes from MP3.com for free. Check it out: elephone

Let me be the first to say it: within three years, this will be a Hugh Grant movie.

The book’s concept is brilliantly summarized in this passage from the cover flap:

Michael Adams is a composer of advertising jingles who shares a flat with three other men in their late twenties. Days are spent lying in bed, playing computer and musicial trivia games, and occasionally doing a spot of work. And then, when he feels like it, he crosses the river and goes back to his unsuspecting wife and children.

I admit that women are not as likely to find this setup humorous. But I invite any females who feel slighted by the premise to read the book anyway, as you’ll enjoy the way your gender redeems itself through the character of Adams’ wife.

If you enjoy Nick Hornby’s work, especially High Fidelity, you’re likely to enjoy this book. Also, fans of the Hitchhiker’s Guide trilogy or other books by Doug Adams, Douglas Coupland, or Carl Hiaasen, you’ll probably like this too.

Patronize these links, man:

• Amazon (hardback)
• Amazon (paperback)

This book is strikingly different from anything I’d read recently. In the world of the book, dinosaurs haven’t become extinct, but have evolved into smaller, somewhat more flexible creatures than previously. And they live among humans, disguised in rubber human-suits. And although they’re impervious to the intoxicating effects of alcohol, they get drunk on basil.

It’s ridiculous, but very enjoyably so. The narration is smooth, the dialog is snappy, the tone is breezy, and the story makes for a fast and funny read. The plot gets a bit complicated but Garcia ties it all up at the end.

The main character is a private detective, Vincent Rubio, who hasn’t recovered from the murder of his partner a year prior. Battling a nasty herb addiction as well as vicious collection agencies, Rubio has a long battle for redemption, not to mention revenge.

Garcia has announced prequels and sequels featuring some of the same characters. I will definitely be reading these too.

Patronize these links, man:

• Amazon (paperback)

At the heart of this novel is a device that can indicate with 100% reliability whether a speaker is lying. Extrapolating from this simple concept, Halperin remakes the world, imagining huge changes to politics and the judicial system. (If laywers and politicians could no longer willfully deceive, the world would be a very different place, and Halperin describes a plausible version.)

I had two minor complaints about the book. One is that the narrator is a semi-sentient journalism computer. I may have overlooked some value-add, but it seemed to me this device detracted from the flow of the story.

The other quibble is that Halperin didn’t take on the advertising industry the way he did the lawyers and politicians. I’d have liked to see marketing execs get skewered the way lawyers do.

I strongly recommend the book to legal and political scholars, sociologists, criminologists, fans of science or speculative fiction, or really anyone with a few hours and seven dollars to kill. Although the story is aware of, and even embraces technology, it is not really science fiction — although if you enjoy SF you are likely to enjoy this for its similarities to the genre.

Patronize these links, man:

• Amazon (paperback)