Hmm.... About reducing defective stuff ...

I believe Quality Management plays a more important part ... I remember reading the story of Pontiac .... For their new factory, they asked the Quality Guru, which is Edward Deming in in order to help them perfect out everything, reduce their operation cost and defective products ...

As far as I know, JIT, Lean Management, Kanban and etc ... They are similar methods to increase the productivity of a manufacturing plant by reducing the waste that are associated with their product ... To make it short, it's like to improve efficiency and maximize their cashflow ...

That's what I know Could be wrong ... hahahaha ...

i recommend;

'the saga of darren shan'

it consists of 12 books and i stayed up almost everyday to finish them. lol.
it made me cried too.

Haha, last time the Americans doesn't appreciate Edward Demings contribution and he was left out, after that he went to Japan and taught the Japanese about Total Quality Management (TQM), as a result of that, the japanese has gain so much from it and they are now the Guru of Quality. Only after that the Americans were so regret on what they have done and tried to lure him back to help them.

Hahaha... Yea, so from his interviews, you can hear that he doesn't really like the US .... But the Japs did awarded both Juran and Deming a royal award ... (Forgotten the name) ....

before deming went to japan, japan's products su(k so much that they tried to con people into buying their stuff buy setting camp at a village called Usa.. so the products that came from that place was 'Made in Usa' read that from the forture 500 special japanese innovation edition or something XD

Well, you can't deny the innovationi that the Japs have...

Before Japanese started implementing QC and TPS, it is said that their cars can rust within one year ... haha ...

Hmm, I'm thinking of borrowing the Edward Deming book "Out of the Crisis" from the library later next week when I'm having my break .. It's rather expensive to buy ... haha ...

If only u can photostat the book and sell it cheap to us..haha

Haha, I can't do that here... I'll get myself busted for photostating books ... It's illegal

Quarter way reading the book "The Secrets of Consulting" ... Very interesting, will share the details when I'm done...

---
Seriously wanted to cry here, left the bookmark on my bed, and I took a nap without knowing... Now the bookmark broken edi .... (It's a wooden bookmark with design carved on it) ... It's a gift from an old friend

Ah, recently I had the pleasure of borrowing several books written by Clive Cussler from a pal.

Several notable books from him are Sahara, Atlantis Found, Valhala Rising, Raising the Titanic (or is it Rising? - Didn't read that one) and others.

If the title of Sahara sounds familiar to you, it's because it has been made into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey, Penelope Cruz and Steve Zahn.

However, as most people would have it, reading the book would be more satisfying than watching the movie, other than the fact that most of the time filmmakers butcher and reattach the plot into their own way, making the storyline not as extravagant as the book. Sahara is an example of that.

The Synopsis

1996, Egypt. Searching for a treasure on the nile, Dirk Pitt thwarts the attempted assasination of a beautiful U.N. scientist investigating a diseas that is driving thousands of North Africans into madness, cannibalism and death. The suspected cause of the raging epidemic is vast, unprecdented pollution that threatens to extinguish all life in the world's seas. Racing to save the world from environmental catastrophe, Pitt and his team, equipped with extraordinary state of the art yatch, run a gauntlet between a bilionaire industrialist and a bloodthirsty West African tyrant. IN the scorching desert, Pitt finds a gold mine manned by slaves and uncovers the truth behind 2 enduring mysteries. Now, admist the blazing, shifting sands of Sahara, Dirk Pitt will make a desperate stand in a battle the world cannot afford to lost.

My take on this book
When I read the 1st book with Dirk Pitt as the hero with his sidekick, their skills, luck, intelligence and the way they always get out of trouble becomes so good, it's unbelievable. Makes you wonder if these 2 guys are more superhero rather than human. However, as you continue to read on, you'll marvel at the plot and the development of the storyline which is rather extensive. Clive Cussler happens to be good at that, and makes you want more of his books, even with some unbelievably good heroes.

In the end, I craved for more books written by this author from the Dirk Pitt series. Don't be fooled if the movie version of the Sahara seems a lil flat, the book version will guarantee a more extensive plot, more action and heart stopping moments.

OMG! People who speak the same language!! Thank you god!

Eddings is pretty much light stuff. Not that intricate his stories. Rather straight forward. But good for beginner fantasy readers The Belgariad and the Mallorean are really good reads. Couldn't put the book down But one would notice that both the series are somewhat close to that of the Redemption of Athalus. Characters and stuff. But not to say that it's not a good book

OMG! This is the first person i've actually heard of someone talking about the Song of Ice and Fire! Cool!

Dude, where did you get the latest book? I went to Kiniokuniya and couldn't find it. A Feast for Crows? I'm not sure i've heard it. I remember the third or fourth book got two parts to it. Right? Mind sharing where you got the book?

Erm...I noticed no one mention the Death Gate Cycle? And the Dragon Lance series?

A Feast for Crows came out like, 2 weeks ago. I don't think its even out in the US yet. Harper Collins released it in UK early. You can try ordering it from Amazon, they are already shipping it. Note that its not out in Malaysia. I've asked around and the response I get is "what? A song of what?"

Anyone here ever seen the paperback version of "The Two Swords" on sale in Malaysia? Its a Drizzt Do'Urden book by R.A. Salvatore. I've been looking for it like mad but all I see are the hardback versions. My mother always taught me that hardbacks are not worth buying because they are heavy and hard to read in bed and they are also more expensive... ok my mother didn't teach me that. I'm digressing here. Bah. So anyone seen this book yet?

Salavatore? Difficult to find. Fantasy in general is difficult to find. Heck, even Dragonlance, one of the more popular ones can't easily be found. Try kinokuniya or Borders. If they don't have it, i doubt that any other place would.

Thanks for the info bro. I just checked the site..I might order it Or get my friend to ship it back for me

Anyhow, long live fantasy! w00t!

Er.. MPH ? found about 13 on the website. Or go hang around MidValley MPH.

This post has been edited by wodenus: Oct 30 2005, 12:20 AM

I figured you might read Pratchett. You and chewxy probably Ringworld is always fun

Just finished Airframe by michael crichton. bought the book for 3 years but never touch it before. meaningful not a great story.

Crichton's new book 'State of Fear' is an extremely good read IMO, not because of the story, but because it gives you a real look at the global warming issue. Sure sure, Crichton is just trying to justify Bush's rejection of the Kyoto Agreement blablabla... you know what? He provides the facts, which are utterly believable.

Anyway I have every single book by MC. I'm a big fan of his

I am still stuck with 5 People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom. He is also the author for Tuesdays with Morrie

Both of the books are very very interesting.. unfortunately, I dont really remember much indepth infomation about Tuesdays with Morrie.

Other books I completed are Rumor of War by Philip Caputo and The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang.

Rumor of War is very interesting. It talks about Caputo's experience in the Vietnam War. Caputo was a Lieutenant and was serving in the troop as the front man also also the person who counts the dead body. He called himself "The Officer of the Dead". He draws statistics and charts out the casulties. He reports the lost of both sides of the war (VC or American). He also talked about how the war affects him psychologically. The way he compose this book is very military. The way he writes it is like how a soldier would write in a diary.

The Rape of Nanking is banned from Malaysia. I do not know why (Tell me if it is unbanned). The book is about the horror how the Japanese troop invaded Nanking (One of the last standing city). It writes how the Japanese troop torture and tricked the citizen to surrender but then have a large massacre. The way the Japanese torture the Chinese is really really gruesome. The more you read it, the more you feel the pain of the victims. It makes you wonder why does the Japanese soldier do that for? In contrast, the book also writes about 5 foreigners helped to build Nanking Safety Zone to help the citizen. Because people are so badly tortured (both male and female), no one is safe from the Japanese Soldier. Men are used as bayonet target practises and women are used for military prositution. Female from age 8-60 are raped. Women who got pregnant from the rape commit suicide. The dead bodies were so much that the Yellow River (I think) was flooded with blood.

Both book are very very eye opening. Worth the read. Really worth the read..

Sounds like fun.. but is it worth the read ? Crichton is always interesting, but after Congo (which wasn't really bad, but it lacked the magic and wonder of Jurassic Park) I stopped reading his books. It was just so flat.

Anyone read Amy Tan's "Joy Luck Club" ? does it sound familliar to you ?

This post has been edited by wodenus: Oct 31 2005, 02:18 AM

Crichton? Try timeline. Damn good read that. Brings you into a different world. And his explainations are really believable. The movie puts the book to shame though...

I thought airframe was a good read too The ending didn't have much of a twist, but heck, it's the journey that matters right?

Reading Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan. Real-life economic scenarios explained clearly for the average Joe (e.g. goverment & economy, federal reserve, trade & globalization). Easy on the brain-cells...fun read so far. Only complaint is the book's too short...I want more!! *sigh* Can't wait to get started on this pile:

Fiction
-- Sailing to Sarantium
-- Lord of Emperors
-- The Last Light of the Sun
-- Anansi Boys
-- 5 Discworld titles

Non-fiction
-- The Working Poor: Invisible in America
-- Affluenza
-- The Consumer Society
-- Dealing with People You Can't Stand
-- The Science of Vampires

Authors I like: Guy Gavriel Kay, Jack Vance, Raymond Feist, Alan Alford, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Jane Austen, The Bront� sisters and George Eliot.