BufferOverrun: Brian Johnson: Books

What color is your parachute?

Wed, 17 May 2006 16:07:17 GMT

I found a 1999 article by Daniel Pink at fastcompany.com that tells the story behind the book. I especially like the explanation of the title:

What Happened to Your Parachute?
What color is your parachute? Answer that riddle, and you've unlocked some fundamental secret about your work and your life.

Well, not quite, says Bolles.

"The question was just a joke," explains Bolles. "I had no idea that it would take on all this additional meaning." He first posed the question at a meeting in 1968. Somebody told him that several people in his organization were "bailing out." So to remind himself that he needed to discuss the topic, he scribbled "What color is your parachute?" on the blackboard. His colleagues chuckled. And that might have been the end of it -- another one-liner forgotten before the laughter subsided.

I honestly got more out of Chris Sells' MS interview page, but I think the book is definitely worth a look. :) I think it's interesting that when I read through the article, I thought it was recent. (It was linked to from my Live home page.)

Naked Conversations Party

Sun, 22 Jan 2006 18:45:57 GMT

I went to the Naked Conversations party last night with Duncan. We had a great time talking to people. There was a latte cart there, so we spent the night over caffinating and discussing books, programming, and technology. I was happy to see so many people that I knew there including Alex, Betsy, Josh, and Korby. It was also cool to meet some bloggers I read, but who I hadn't met in person. The house was lovely and we pretty much stayed on the back porch soaking up the view of Seattle.

I got Robert to sign a copy of the book for me, but I couldn't track down Shel after he took a break from the signing table. :) Take a look at the photos everybody took on Flickr.

The Outlook Answer Book: Useful Tips, Tricks, and Hacks for Microsoft Outlook

Tue, 04 Oct 2005 02:09:51 GMT

My esteemed colleague Tom Archer has just had his latest book published. This is a subject near and dear to my heart. :)

Quote

The Outlook Answer Book: Useful Tips, Tricks, and Hacks for Microsoft Outlook 2003
Learn how to master the world's most popular e-mail program, while avoiding its many trouble spots!

Written for Outlook users of all levels
Contains clearly explained answers to the most common and most vexing problems faced by Outlook users
The only book like this available on Outlook
Organized in an easy to navigate format, to help you to find the answer you need quickly