Reviews Written By: A2QGMISMV8DEJ3provided by Amazon.com |
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 | The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference | |
 | "Enjoyable read" | 2009-10-26 |
| The author explores in this entertaining book how certain epidemics are started. He explains that there are three agents of change:
1) Law of the Few - where a few "exceptional" people (ones well connected, accumulate information, are persuasive) spread the word 2) Stickiness Factor - ways to make the message more memorable 3) Power of Context - ways to affect human behavior by tinkering with the immediate environment He then uses this framework to explain epidemics varying from fashion trends to the dramatic drop in NYC subway crime rate during the 1990's. Those who have enjoyed Gladwell's other books will not be disappointed. | ||
 | Brawl: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Mixed Martial Arts Competition | |
| "Good overview of the development of MMA" | 2008-01-16 |
| The author does a good job providing an overview of the development of MMA in the US. He provides background on the inception of the UFC and its evolution up to the purchase by the Fertitta brothers in early 2001 (right before UFC 30). [And as MMA fans know, the Fertitta brothers and Dana White did much to get the sport sanctioned and back on cable distribution -- contributing to its rapid growth in recent years.] The book also provides some bios on the early pioneers of MMA. Good reading overall for the MMA fan. | ||
 | Now, Discover Your Strengths | |
| "An important business book" | 2007-08-16 |
| The book provides some good insights on individual performance. Given that many business managers have read the book, at minimum it is useful to understand the language and concepts introduced. A key take away is that a particular strength is developed by a combination of talent, skills, and knowledge. Talent is one's naturally recurring patterns of thought that is based on how your brain is wired. According to neuropsychology, this is pretty much fixed by the time one is in his/her teens. The other two, skills and knowledge can be learned over the course of one's life. So the key is to determine what one's talents are and develop those to achieve excellence. An interesting read overall. | ||
 | EtherFast 4-Port Cable/DSL Router - BEFSR41 | |
| "Works well after initial setup issues" | 2007-05-29 |
| I bought this router to replace a D-Link one that had intermittent connection problems. The initial setup had some issues as the router could not connect to the Internet via my DSL modem. It took a couple of calls to tech support to get it working. However, it appears to work well once it is up and running. | ||
 | Netgear SPH-200D Dual Mode Cordless Phone with Skype | |
 | "Works well" | 2007-05-17 |
| The phone works as advertised. The voice quality is almost indistinguishable from POTS. However, I did come across a peculiar scenario where the phone appeared to be functioning but actually was not. I could make Skypeout calls and ring the destination phone; however, when the other side picks up, both sides hear only silence (dead air). I initially thought this was a problem with Skype, but found I could still use Skypeout with my computer. After a long session with Netgear tech support, it turns out that a hardware reset to the phone was necessary. Apparently, something was messed up with the state of the phone due to the fact that I initially connected the phone directly to my DSL modem, and later connected it via a router. The phone worked fine after the hardware reset. | ||
 | Cesar Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu & Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Grappling Instructional Series | |
| "Good complement to live instruction" | 2007-02-21 |
| The three DVD's are organized by level of instruction - beginner, intermediate, and advanced techniques. Cesar Gracie is a very good teacher and explains the techniques in great detail. I am currently a student of BJJ myself and find this DVD set a good companion to lessons from my academy. | ||
 | Rickson Gracie: Choke | |
| "A good documentary on early years of MMA" | 2007-02-21 |
| A good look at the life inside and outside of the ring of an mixed-martial-art contestant, Rickson Gracie. His family helped popularize the concept of MMA competition for North American audiences with the debut of the Ultimate Fighting Champsionship back in 1993 in Denver, Colorado. Even though Rickson is probably the strongest Gracie in terms of physical and technical abilities, the family chose Royce to compete in UFC to demonstrate that a physically small person can defeat much larger opponents using superior grappling techniques. If you're a fan of MMA, this is a good DVD to watch to see how competition has evolved over the years. | ||
 | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory & Technique | |
| "A core text on the art of BJJ" | 2007-02-21 |
| This is a must-have book on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It is nicely organized in terms of techniques at each belt-level. The steps are concisely laid out with crisp, clear photographs. Although no book can take the place of live instruction, this is a good reference to have around if you are a student of BJJ. | ||
 | The Paypal Wars: A Startup's Battles With Ebay, The Media, The Mafia, And The Rest Of Planet Earth | |
| "A good read as told by an insider" | 2007-02-10 |
| The PayPal Wars provides a good narrative of life inside a silicon valley startup. The story starts from the humble beginnings of yet another dot-com that garnered traction via viral marketing. However, the difference was in this company's nimbleness in maneuvering around its obstacles. The author discusses the company's various competitive responses without boring the reader with too much detail. The reader gets a good appreciation of the importance of timing in the rapidly changing Internet space. Overall a brisk and informative read. | ||
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