Quotations Weblog

I love to read Scott Westerfeld’s books because he is so quotable. I just finished reading, Pretties, which is the sequel to Uglies. The heroine, Tally Youngblood, has been returned to the city and has been turned pretty. The operations have made her taller and more beautiful, but they have also clouded her mind and erased some of her memories. She and her best friend, Shay, are living the indolent and pleasure-filled life of the pretties where deciding which dress to wear at the party is the most important decision she will encounter. That is until her past comes visiting.

Croy, a renegade that Tally knew from her time with the Smokies, shows up at a party and provides her with a “cure” that could fix the lesions in her brain or kill her. Will she take the pills? If she does, will they kill her or will Special Circumstances get to her first?

It’s a brilliant sequel to Uglies and it leads to the third book in the trilogy, Specials. I took a long time to read this book, leaving it in the bookcase for months before picking it up to read it. I almost wish I had waited until Specials was available because now I have to sit in anticipation for the true ending of the story.

For all the quotations from Scott Westerfeld:

• Scott Westerfeld Quotes – The Quotations Page

I’ve just finished reading Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It has left me actively recognizing flow in every activity that I enjoy. I’m surprised at how often I find myself in flow doing every day things like cleaning the house, crocheting, reading or writing entries.

For flow to occur, the following things need to happen:

• We are working on tasks that we have a chance of completing.
• We are able to concentrate on what we are doing.
• The task has clear goals.
• The task provides immediate feedback.
• It is deeply and effortlessly involving. It removes us from worries and frustrations of everyday life.
• It allows us to exercise a sense of control over our actions.
• Concern for the self disappears, yet the sense of self emerges stronger after the experience.
• The sense of time is altered.

I have found myself experiencing flow while exercising, playing video games and while listening to good music. It is such and enjoyeable experience that it has been thought to be the key to happiness.

Here are my favorite quotations from this book:

For all the quotations from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi:

• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Quotes – The Quotations Page

More than he knew, Gandhi had it right. We must be doing something to be happy. There is pleasure, like eating, sex or even “relaxation”, but when we are truly at peace and joyful, we are busy doing something we love.

Tune in tomorrow when I will do a more in depth talk about happiness and doing what we truly love.

I saw the book on my bookshelf. We had bought it when it came out. I loved reading Clifford Stoll’s nonfiction book, Cuckoo’s Egg, about how he had helped the NSA catch an international spy who had been hacking into his computers at the astrophysics lab. I really thought he had a lot to say about the computer industry.

For some reason, I had never read the book.

So, over ten years since its release, I picked up Silicon Snake Oil. My Post-Bubble eyes thought that maybe Clifford had predicted the Dot-Bomb. These are the quotes I found:

Tell that to all the artists who use Photoshop as their only medium now.

Tell that to people who make more money selling products on World of Warcraft or Second Life than they do in “real” life.

Tell that to the creators of Google.

Tell that to Ebay.

Okay, Cliff, you’re a troglodyte.

While Clifford Stoll sat complaining about the Internet and how it’s not as good as “real” life, people have been ignoring him and making it better and better. Instead of sitting and grousing about why something isn’t good enough, get out there and make it better.

For all of Clifford Stoll’s Quotes:

• Clifford Stoll Quotes – The Quotations Page

For more information on Clifford Stoll:

• Clifford Stoll – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

LukeW has a nice list of quotations about design and interface. For the complete list here is a link to their site:

• LukeW: Interface Design Quotes

These are some of my favorites from their list:

So much focus has been put on “getting a website”, but very few companies have considered the reasons their customers might go to their website. We’re not there to see a silly little animation of your product. We’re there to get our questions answered. I wish more companies would design with that in mind.