Category: Books

Went back to some nonfiction for my latest read. Noticed Ghost in the Wires in the new arrivals sections. Since it claimed to be about the adventures of the world’s most wanted hacker and there was a forward by Steve Wozniak it was worthy of a read.

As a web developer I found it to be very interesting. While for some reason I was expecting more of some crazy hollywood hacks (even though I know how fake they are in the movies), it was very interesting to see of off the old fashioned social engineering techniques that were used. I always tell people that most hacks are a result of human error (giving out passwords, login, etc.) and the author certainly confirmed this.

The author’s hacks were great. It’s amazing to hear of his workarounds of the phone services. Very impressive stuff. Most of it was just a little bit before my time, but I would recall hearing some of the tales as he told them.

I also really enjoyed remembering all the various tech that was so prevalent in the 80’s and early 90’s that I sometimes forget about. VMS, Sun, some really great times.

Went with a different approach with my last read. While I knew that I liked dogs, I wasn’t sure if I’d like a fiction story about a dog, a detective dog actually. Turns out this was a very enjoyable read.

Chet (the dog) and Bernie (the human) are private investigators on the case. But the book is written from Chet’s point of view, which was a nice touch. The author does a great job of thinking how I’d imagine a dog actually thinks.

For the record I did write a short story titled Dog Town for a 7th grade project, so I did almost come up with it first. Believe I got an A on it actually, will have to see if I still have it.

Back to the book, it was a solid mystery. Nothing too over the top (besides a narrative dog of course). Very solid book that appears to be a series which I’ll have to really consider reading more of. It was entertaining stuff.

While at the library I decided to peruse the non-fiction section this time out. I stumbled upon the military/war section (if there is indeed such a section) and recalled that Seal Team Six was recommended as a good book a few months back.

Growing up playing G.I. Joe and certain that I’d of killed countless Soviets by this time in my life (apparently I didn’t take that path over the years), I figured it’d be a pretty interesting read. It was very interesting to get such a great insight into the life of the elite special forces. In this case a member of Seal Team Six.

The training and preparation was pretty amazing. These guys are so prepared for almost any situation you could ever think of.

It’s very amazing to hear a first account of their heroics. They really do an amazing and dangerous job. I doubt most of the fools here even realize just how dangerous a place this world can really be outside of their suburbs and luxury cars.

Not sure what to read next, but a dog on a book cover caught my eye. I’m a sucker for dogs, even horrible dog movies. The title was Thunder Dog, and I had no idea what to expect.

The book was about a man and his guide dogs amazing escape from the World Trade Center on 9/11. It was a pretty amazing tale, how their calmness and a pretty amazing guide dog got them both to safety during the horrific event.

Being a web developer who takes accessibility very seriously, it was very rewarding to hear just how beneficial technology can be to the blind.

A very solid read, and yet again a dog hasn’t let me down.