overidon.com Central Database for Overidon Omnimedia

Home VCR Repair Illustrated by Richard C. Wilkins is a Great book

You may have already read our extremely popular article on Subconscious reading techniques. So you should already know that you don’t need to understand everything or even comprehend everything you read on the first pass. All that matters is that you “SEE” the text on the page. It seems strange but your mind is extremely powerful, just let the words wash through your eye/brain combination. Your mind will do the rest in helping you comprehend the material.

This article is a book review on Home VCR Repair Illustrated by Richard C. Wilkins and Cheryl A. Hubbard. They did an outstanding job with the text and the informative diagrams and pictures in this book. The authors present a technically dense repair book in a casual reading format. It is filled with electronics jargon and terminology and detailed steps. But you probably already guessed that for yourself.

One question you’re probably thinking is: “Why would anyone read a 400 page repair book for a technology that isn’t even sold anymore in major stores?”

Here’s the answer: Information does not need to be relevant in order to have tremendous value.

Think about it. People learn from history all the time. It isn’t up-to-date information, but the battles, lost loves and adventures stir the heart and we learn from old stories.

The same thing goes for technical information. By allowing obsolete and “retro” technology into our hearts we can have a deeper appreciation for the scientific method of repair, and also a better understanding of step-by-step processes and troubleshooting.

In Home VCR Repair Illustrated, there is an awesome glossary at the back. It is simply filled with 2 pages of simple-yet punchy terminology that could have value to any technology enthusiast or perhaps even an aspiring electrician.

Almost every other page has a black and white picture of the insides of a VCR. Trying to find the specific thing that Wilkins is talking about in the pictures is like engaging in a cyber-punk Where’s Waldo with a 1970’s hipster twist. When I say “1970’s hipster” I’m referring to a modern hipster which is into 1970’s tech as opposed to what a hipster may have been like in the 1970’s – there’s a difference.

Do you ever repair stuff?

If not then why not? Don’t you play computer games? The repair skill is one of the most important skills in Fallout games. It’s next only to speech and healing skills. All I’m saying, is…if repairing stuff wasn’t fun, then humans probably wouldn’t be equipped with grabby little fingers.

OH! I almost forgot. The parts inside old VCR’s are actually pretty cool! Even broken ones can have neat things in them.

For example: There’s motors, metal rods and sometimes even rubber bands (not the flimsy ones but the dense ones used for motors etc.)  which can be used in other cool projects. If you’re a kid reading this then make sure and have your pop’s help you with your adventures in technology. It’s always a good bonding experience to work with technology with the parents. They have bigger and clumsier hands than you. That’s part of the reason why children were used in the industrial revolution as workers. They could get inside machinery and fix things that the adults couldn’t without sophisticated tools. But all the child issues with kids getting stuck in the large industrial machines is what was part of the general push towards workers rights in the 1900’s. That’s just a side note, but be safe!

I loved this book a great deal and I think you will too. I’m going to donate this book today but I kept the glossary for myself.

-Tyler

There’s more to economics than just simple supply and demand

This article is a book review of the late Mancur Olson’s outstanding work. His book is called, “Power and Prosperity” and it is available from fine book sellers like Amazon.com and other companies. The book is approximately 200 pages long. But I recommend reading the notes as well. Especially focus your eyes when you get to the notes on chapter four.

Power and Prosperity was a re-read for me. I originally read most of the book back when I was at San Francisco State University for an International Political Economy (IPE) class. Although I understood some of the key points for the first few chapters at the time…I didn’t get a chance to really absorb the last 80 pages of the book.

The end of the book discusses why prosperity is more likely to occur in a nation-state that protects individual property rights. It also brings together how there are several factors which can hinder a market economy from becoming a prosperous market economy.

This is not just Adam Smith regurgitation that we’re so used to reading in the economic analysis world. Mancur Olson went beyond thought experiment in his research and systematically breaks down the motivation behind economic systems thoroughly and thoughtfully. It is easy to follow along with his logic and even though there are some charts near the last quarter of the book, they don’t require a statistical mind to understand. You can simply skim the graphs and charts and still have a great experience reading the book.

Anyone who is a history buff of 20th century and wants to learn more about post WWII economics will love this book. It dives head first into the economic motivators for authoritarian corruption and diligence. Also, the way that Mancur Olson pulls apart the temptation on the part of despots to manipulate economies is absolutely entertaining. If you’re playing a simulation game that uses taxes you might learn a thing or two from Olson’s take on nationalization and taxation.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed, “Power and Prosperity” and although reading non-fiction is oftentimes draining for us in an “immediate access” world where we can just search for answers…sometimes taking the long route and enjoying a good book can allow the mind to easily generate conclusions of one’s own!

-Tyler

Tablet with the Epic of Gilbamesh on It

In a previous post, we discussed an outstanding book called, “Myths from Mesopotamia” by Stephanie Dalley. At the time of the previous post, I had only read about one-third of the book. But now that I’ve read the whole thing, we have much to discuss.

First thing’s first: You’re not ready for this book. You need to accept that. If you wait until you’re “ready” to read books like this one…you never will. The knowledge contained in this book has been proofread and dissected by Oxford-level scholars. Stephanie Dalley herself is a highly-respected professor with a doctorate degree. You can’t get more societally-legitimate than that. So take a break from the YouTube videos for a few weeks, take a break from the grim’oires, and read the stuff which won’t get people looking at you like you have lobsters crawling out of your ears.

Myths from Mesopotamia covers such a diverse number of ancient stories that it is a must-read for anyone who is interested in ancient Sumerian tales and also Akkadian myths. The included stories include, Gilgamesh, the Enuma Elish (uber-ancient creation myth), the Decent of Ishtar (this one has links to some Viking tales) and many others.

The version of the book that I read was the Oxford University Press 2008 reissue. The glossary alone has enough key terms which will make you feel like you’re a mythological name-connection pro.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is how similar versions of myths are back to back with each other. So you can see how different cultures in Mesopotamia have unique perspectives on ancient tales which are colored by their cultural traditions and geographic circumstances.

Also, you get to learn about how iconic characters in mythology like Gilgamesh have many other names and are also affiliated with other entities. For example, you’ll find out that Gilgamesh, Nergal and Erra are linked.

Although video games and computer games are extremely entertaining and they are great ways to venture through history…nothing is more efficient than reading a book. Myths from Mesopotamia is so dense in knowledge that you’ll literally find yourself just sitting and relaxing after hitting a colophon in a tablet. Before moving on to another tablet in a myth, you’ll take a second to absorb all the mind-blowing stuff that happened so far in the story. Science-fiction writers today couldn’t even come up with stranger and more action-packed stories if they tried. And guess what? THIS is part of your cultural history!

There are extremely funny things that happen in the book. And I’m not sure if Stephanie Dalley does it on purpose, but she even has some jokes in the end-notes. You even find out that Ashur-baniPal was concerned with what we would consider copyrights back even in his time period. That’s what I call a progressive-thinking leader. It’s almost as if he copyrighted the concept of using a copyright. (You’ll understand this after you finish the story of Erra and Ishum)

One of the great things about reading ancient stories like the ones in Myths from Mesopotamia, is that you’ll be resistant to manipulation if you actually take time to understand what you’re reading. I find that people all the time try and tell me what to think, and since I’ve read books like this one…they just seem like scrubs.

-Tyler