Just a quick little post here folks.  I’ve been using a handy (and affordable) budgeting tool called You Need a Budget (aka YNAB).  You can think of it as an electronic version of the “envelope” method of budgeting (put money in the envelope at the start of the month, stop spending in that category when the envelope is empty), plus a nice register for keeping on top of your various accounts.

You can a try it out for free, and as an added piece of interest, they’re getting set to release version 3 (preview)  here in the near future.  If you’re in search of a budgeting tool, I’d say you should check this one out – you’ve got nothing to lose, other than your debt!

Nope, Baroque.  As in, The Baroque Cycle.  Quicksilver is the first book in this trilogy, and I just finished it up a bit ago.  Mr. Stephenson weaves an interesting tale here, setting it as a sort of historical fiction (people such as Asimov and Hooke are central figures), but it’s not dry.  He manages to pull in scientific discovery and inquiry, as well as cryptography and intrigue.

At times, I had some troubles keeping track of what was happening when (as the story jumps back and forth in time), but it was an enjoyable read.  Definitely looking forward to what happens in the remaining volumes.

Alright, I finally have another gadget to talk about.  I just installed a Netgear ReadyNAS Duo on the network.  This little box seems to pack a lot into its chassis.  The setup was an absolute breeze, and I’ve got some backups running to it right now.

Due to a deal I found on Dell, I’ve got this running with 2 x 500 GB drives, rather than the single drive most configurations come with.  This provides automatic mirroring, so even if one drive fails, I’ve got another copy there and ready to go.

Some other functionality it has (that I’ve not yet played with) includes a BitTorrent client and iTunes streaming.  One very nice feature we’ve already made use of is the fact it can act as a print server.  Just plug a USB printer into one of the three USB ports, and you’re off to the races!

This little box has a great set of features (click on the image to go to the product site), especially for the price.  If you’re looking into some network-attached storage, put this one on your list to check out.

And now we come to an interesting read – “Wisdom from the Batcave” by Cary A. Friedman.  Of course, my initial interest in this book stemmed solely from my interest in Batman.  Reading though the book, though, there are some interesting lessons.

Mr. Friedman is able to pull examples from the various Batman stories and comic books to put together some basic principles for living your life.  And while Mr. Friedman is a rabbi, this is far from being preachy.  Think of it more as a different way of looking at ol’ Bats.

Definitely recommended, especially if you’re a Bat-fan!

Duma Key Cover

And now we arrive at an author that I’ve been reading for quite some time now (I think around 18 years), Mr. Stephen King and his book Duma Key.  At this point, I find his writing style quite familiar and comfortable, and a very easy read.

This book, in particular, follows Edgar Freemantle as he recovers and rehabilitates from a quite serious accident.  Part of that recovery process sees him rediscovering his artistic abilities – and these end up blooming quite rapidly for him once he arrives in Florida, at a rental property on Duma Key.

Anyone who is familiar with King’s writings will quickly (and quite correctly) surmise that there is something more to Edgar’s art – something a bit more on the sinister side.  The revelation of what is behind it all doesn’t come until the last third or so of the book, however – up to that point, it’s just a slightly creepy (and suspenseful) story with an interesting cast of supporting characters.

While I didn’t find this quite as enthralling as the Dark Tower series, or past books set in Castle Rock, this is still a quite enjoyable read.

Karen Abbott weaves an in history out of the Everleigh Sisters, and the Chicago vice district, in her book ‘Sin in the Second City:  Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America’s Soul.’

In much the same way ‘Devil in the White City‘ by Erik Larson brought Chicago’s history to life, along with its less-desirable elements, Abbott paints a picture of what life was like in Chicago’s earlier days, how vice and corruption ran rampant through the city, and how the efforts to “clean things up” mirrored, to a degree, what was occurring throughout the country.

Far from being a dry, musty, historical commentary, Abbott definitely breathes life into her research, and you will learn as you are entertained

It just took me awhile to get another book finished.  I just completed ‘Duma Key’ by Stephen King the other night, so I’ll get a mini-review of that up soon.

Now we’ve arrived at another of my very favorite authors, Terry Pratchett, and his latest Discworld novel, ‘Making Money‘.  This novel continues the adventures of Moist von Lipwig, as he works his particular brand of influence and success on the banking systems as he did for the postal system.

For those of you not familiar with Pratchett’s Discworld series, the simplest description I can give it is to say that it is much like The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (by Douglas Adams) – but in a fantasy, not a sci-fi, setting.

Pratchett brings us an irreverent look at our own current day in world, but couched in the bright and colorful world of (most of the time) Ankh-Morpork, and it varied citizens (humans, magicians, trolls, dwarves, etc).  Not only is this a delightful fantasy setting, Pratchett can show us some very absurd things that exist in our own world.

This particular installment in the series (the latest) delves into, as you can imagine, the financial system.  It shows the teething pains as people grasp at the concept of money not being based on gold, but rather the guarantee of the government, amongst other story lines.

This book can certainly stand on its own (i.e., you needn’t have read the preceding books), and I’d say that anyone who enjoys fantasy fiction (or enjoyed the ‘Hitchiker’ series) owes it to themselves to check out not only this book, but the whole of the Discworld series.

If pets were smart enough to code T-SQL, this would show up on Letterman, no doubt.  In it’s own way, pretty nifty!

Come along, good and gentle reader, and sit beside the fire to be regaled with a well spun tale, brought to life by Patrick Rothfuss in the form of ‘The Name of the Wind.’

If you do a quick Google (or Amazon)( search on this book, you’ll see that much praise has been heaped on this book, and rightly so.  Not only is it a great fantasy story (and the first of three in the series), it’s an amazingly well-written story, plain and simple.

It’s been a long time since a book has drawn me in so deeply, getting genuinely concerned about what happens to Kvothe as the story alternates between current day and the story of his past.

As a fantasy story, it has all the necessary elements – a medieval setting (swords and inns), magic (though in a much different way), and evil creatures, just to name a few.  And as a story – I’m not entirely certain how, but this book wrapped into my imagination so well that I had a hard time putting the book down, especially when the story was hitting some critical points.

This is a book I recommend without any hesitation – and can, myself, not wait until the next in the series hits the shelves!