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About Me

I mostly write about my main obsession, tennis.   When I'm not experimenting with new tennis racquets, I love to watch a good movie or read a great book.  I'm a fan of both non-fiction (especially books on social applications of economics like Freakonomics or anthropology/sociology like Influence) and science fiction, fantasy, … more

Reviews

A brilliant autobiography of tennis's most complicated player

Open: An Autobiography
People found this review:
3 3 0 3
by ari1974
Jan 1, 2010
Rating:
+5
 Open, Andre Agassi's autobiography, received a tremendous amount of press for a few shocking revelations, including: 1.  Meth use 2.  Lying to the ATP about positive drug results due to the meth use 3.  His and Graf's hatred for tennis, stemming from their somewhat psychotic fathers 4.  His use of a hairpiece to maintain the … more

Disneyland from an engineer's perspective

Disneyland castle
People found this review:
15 8 14 11
review of

Disneyland

by ari1974
Jul 14, 2009
Rating:
+4

I hadn't been to Disneyland for more than 20 years.  I had the opportunity to go recently with my girlfriend and her 5 and 9 year old cousins.   I enjoyed the combination of shows and rides that characterizes the experience, and I had the usual complaints (expensive food, long lines).   As with most people, I enjoyed both … more

1 comment

A fun evening even for someone who isn't incredibly fond of art, music, walking, or Venice

Sign post for Abbot Kinney
People found this review:
15 5 9 3
by ari1974
Jul 7, 2009
Rating:
+4

On the first Friday of each month, the art galleries on Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice stay open till around 10 PM.  Many hire musicians and put out a bit of food, and thousands of people descend to explore the galleries and listen to some music. I'm not a huge fan of walks, crowds of people, art, music, or even Venice (though I like all of those … more

4 comments

Roddick deserved better in this epic server's duel

Federer with trophy
People found this review:
26 21 22 25
by ari1974
Jul 5, 2009
Rating:
+5
Federer in victory, Roddick in defeat

I'm not sure a player has ever been more worthy of winning a championship, and still failed to come away with the trophy, than Roddick was in his 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 loss to Federer.    Federer is widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, and he has historically presented an extraordinarily difficult … more

4 comments

Palm Pre: Not a polished product, but shows a lot of promise

Palm Pre
People found this review:
38 16 12 24
review of

Palm Pre

by ari1974
Jun 23, 2009
Rating:
+4

Positives:  Beautiful phone with a small form factor, a functional and easy to use keyboard, and a screen large enough to be able to surf the web.    Good network connectivity and the standard features you would expect from a latest gen phone (GPS, multiple applications, etc.) Negatives:   Observable and significant wait … more

3 comments
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Quick Tips
Original Sweet Potato Pie Recipe from the book

Sweet Potato Pie Recipe (as adapted fro...

Great pie -- tasty but not overly sweet, so you can eat a lot of it.
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Nobel Peace Prize

President Barack Obama Wins 2009 Nobel ...

The Nobel Prize in any field should be for actual accomplishment. It is a mistake to award it for promise, regardless of how great.
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Health Care

Universal Health Care

We should offer health coverage to everyone, but what to cover and how to offer the coverage is key. See http://lunch.com/t/hd8
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The Office

The Office

The brilliant writing and great acting make the Office. It helps that some of the writers also play characters (Kelly, Mose, Ryan, Toby).
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Latest Lists

Ari's Best of 2009 (21)

The best events and items in 2009.  
Wilson KFactor KBlade 98 Levo Bookholder Los Angeles Public Library hold system Lunch.com 2009 U.S. Open Women's Final

Favorite scifi authors on twitter (10)

Some great authors haven't really hit their groove yet on twitter, but I keep following them in the hope that their work will translate to the very, very, very short form. Sample tweets included in {} so you can make up your own mind. Note that quite a few of my favorite authors don't tweet (yet). I wonder if this is like blogging -- potentially a distraction from the type of long form writing that actually leads to novels
Neil Gaiman (neilhimself) on Twitter Cory Doctorow (doctorow) on Twitter William Gibson (GreatDismal) on Twitter Steven Gould (StevenGould) on Twitter Kate Elliott (KateElliottSFF) on Twitter

Best tennis tweets (9)

Not a huge tennis presence on twitter. I include my favorites below, with sample tweets in {}. I do wish certain players were on -- like James Blake, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andre Agassi. Especially Agassi -- his insights during the Roddick Federer match at the 2007 U.S. Open were amazing.
andyroddick (andyroddick) on Twitter Justin Gimelstob (justingimelstob) on Twitter Kim Clijsters (Clijsterskim) on Twitter Bob Bryan (Bryanbros) on Twitter tennistweet (jonstennistweet) on Twitter
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Comments
Adrianna
Thanks so much for joining the Cafe Libri Lunch Community. Hopefully, you will be inspired to write reviews, lists, or quick tips. Otherwise, feel free to sit back, relax, and enjoy others' reviews. You are also welcome to add some of your most recent reading related reviews and lists to the community, such as your list on favorite scifi authors on twitter or your review on "Open: An Autobiography." Simply edit the review, and scroll down toward the bottom where there is a drop-down menu that says "add to a community." Simply click "Cafe Libri," and you are set! Don't feel shy about rating or commenting on them either. The writers really appreciate the feedback! Let me know if you have any questions!    
On June 01, 2010
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