Comments on PRACTICAL QA: SAILING THE SEVEN SEAS.....

Oh dear. Did you just compare me to a high school...

2009-07-23T11:36:57.616-04:00

Oh dear. Did you just compare me to a high school student? Do they occasionally have the attention span of a hyperactive squirrel as well? Well, if so, not to worry. It's an occasional, not a permanent condition. I've actually read "War and Peace" as well....

Really, one cannot judge the goodness of a book by it's size, Brent. Haven't you ever heard that size doesn't matter???

I've published your post, O Master of Sarcasm; no doubt there are other parents out there that would be equally horrified.

I'm currently working on the picture book cover; it has a pirate being spit upon by a clam. I can't draw worth...clam spit...but I'm procrastinating as I do not want to work on this week's timesheets.

- Linda

Linda, you make a great point saying, "I don&...

2009-07-23T11:19:16.142-04:00

Linda, you make a great point saying, "I don't get disappointed in books I can read in an hour or two, but then again, I've already confessed to occasionally having the attention span of a chicken..."

I think this is a great motivational book for high school students, too. I mean I remember when I was in high school, sometimes I just felt like, "Man! I should just quit and drop out. I hate school!" If only I had this book back then I could be wildly successful now instead of just being mildly successful. It's such a disappointment.

I think that maybe he could turn this into a picture book too. I mean I have kids just starting into school right now and I think that getting that message to them sooner rather than later is important to ensuring that they make the appropriate decisions in their public school career. I mean, sure, you could go on to high school but, hey!, if the major leagues are calling, there's no reason to stay in the minors, you know what I mean?

Joe, as usual, you focused right in on one of my w...

2009-07-22T08:27:00.651-04:00

Joe, as usual, you focused right in on one of my worst foibles; I've been crushed for time and wrote this in too much of a hurry. LOL. I actually toned that part of the blog down; my original phrase, for example, was "puling sycophants".

I found the book worthwhile; maybe my post didn't convey that - otherwise, I wouldn't buy it.

At the same time, it validated the thoughts I've had from time to time that all of us, regardless of brainpower, tend to be self-deceptive in some regards. We all have good qualities and bad qualities; it's difficult to see your own less admirable qualities, but it's part of what makes us all interesting, unique, and human.

For example, I really didn't want to see or read about the infamous lawsuit again. I saw Mr. Bach speak and later saw a video where he crowed about "Take that, (name)!". It reminded me of a Gahan Wilson cartoon with a bunch of businessman heads mounted on the wall where a guy in a lounge chair said loftily "Yes, when I beat a man in business, I like to have him stuffed.". And here we are, years later, and he's still talking about it. It turned me off then and it turns me off now. Guess my mid-US upbringing pounded the "good sportsmanlike conduct" and "grace in winning and losing" too strongly into my head. You don't jump up and down on your dead, vanquished foe. It's tacky. At least that's what Mom always told me!

And justifying procrastination made me smile. I do the same thing; I know, for example, far more about armadillos than the normal person. James Bach is now an expert on clams. But it's still just a way to not work on something we don't want to be working on, even if we should.

I suspect that, like me, he works more by inspiration than perspiration. That's not really a bad quality, but it's not a good one either. It's just a way some people operate.

I want to reread the book because when I was done with it, I thought the great truths he talked about were great truths for him, but maybe not great truths for people who don't have that level of brainpower. Some people are not thinkers. I'm not sure his book can help them become buccaneer-scholars. I identified more strongly than I care to admist with a great deal of what he had to say. It actually made me uncomfortable; I didn't think we had that much in common.

So I'll reread it and think about it some more. But I have to say that if it had this impact on me, I'd be likely to give it a thumbs-up. Most stuff I read has no impact on me at all. The sign of a good book is that it evokes some kind of response, good or bad, from the reader.

I don't get disappointed in books I can read in an hour or two, but then again, I've already confessed to occasionally having the attention span of a chicken...

Thanks for the feedback and for making me laugh, Joe! I'm occasionally quite heinous; I don't mean to be, but there you go...

- Linda

"He has a few blogs listed on his site that s...

2009-07-21T17:06:27.021-04:00

"He has a few blogs listed on his site that support people I consider deliberately, determinedly ignorant. They are, however, slavishly devoted to him. And by that, I mean they do not have thoughts of their own."

Don't hold back so much, Linda - tell us how you really feel!

I read the free download, and it was worth every penny. I agree that it had a few interesting sections, I'm still debating if I need to actually buy the book or not.

(In general, I get disappointed in books I can read in an hour or two.)

Let us know if you find it more worthwhile after you have purchased and reread it? (Might save me a few bucks)

Thanks!
-joe