Author Archives: smellincoffee

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About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

How to win friends and influence terrorists to chill out

Posted on October 17, 2020 by smellincoffee

Gary Noesner served as an FBI hostage negotiator for decades, helping defuse many high profile incidents. Below are some of his toughts on communication and persuasian, taken from his memoir Stalling for Time. SELECTIONS Among negotiators, this process of trust … Continue reading →

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Stalling for Time

Posted on October 17, 2020 by smellincoffee

Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator242 pages© 2010 Gary Noesner Having read extensively about the Ruby Ridge and Waco debacles, I couldn’t help but be curious about the “other side’s” perspective: the state’s. How did the … Continue reading →

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A Bright Future

Posted on October 15, 2020 by smellincoffee

A Bright Future: How Some Nations have Solved Climate Change and How the Rest can Follow© 2019 Joshua Goldstein & Staffan Qvist245 pages It is past time for the global community to take climate change seriously. In order to make … Continue reading →

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Wisdom Wednesday: Know thyself

Posted on October 14, 2020 by smellincoffee

Today’s quotes are drawn from Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, by Rob Brotherton. I’m especially happy to have to finished it, because now I can get Elvis out of my head. It was a stellar book, an end-year … Continue reading →

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COVID Diary # 9: Out of Quarantine

Posted on October 11, 2020 by smellincoffee

On Thursday, September 24th, I was off work pending the results of a COVID test; I didn’t think much of it, since I only go to 4 places these days and am masked at all of them except for the … Continue reading →

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Back to Lost Heaven

Posted on October 9, 2020 by smellincoffee

Eighteen years ago (!!!!!) I fell in love with a game: Mafia, by Gathering of Developers. A third-person shooter set in 1930s America, telling the story of a young cab driver who is drawn into a crime family. The setting, … Continue reading →

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COVID Reviews #5: Star Trekkin’ Across the Universe

Posted on October 8, 2020 by smellincoffee

This week I’ve been finishing the Vanguard series, set in the Original Series timeline and unfolding concurrently with the first three seasons of Star Trek. The first novel opened with the Enterprise enroute to its “Where No Man Has Gone … Continue reading →

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Wisdom Wednesday: The gift of now

Posted on October 6, 2020 by smellincoffee

This WW is taken from a Star Trek novel, Storming Heaven by David Mack “Be glad for all the places you get to be, and everyone you meet along the way. It’s human nature to focus on beginnings or endings, … Continue reading →

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Any Approaching Enemy

Posted on October 6, 2020 by smellincoffee

France roils in revolution, its armies are opposed to most of Europe, and on the seas the Royal Navy is hunting its prey. A large French fleet is out and about — doing what, no one is sure. But they’re … Continue reading →

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COVID Reviews #4: Persians, Nukes, and Bugs

Posted on October 5, 2020 by smellincoffee

On Wednesday I will have my COVID retest, annnnd I hope to have an answer by Thursday or Friday if I am fit for public consumption. I hope so: being in quarantine is a bit like being in a nursing … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments