Some talks that have shaped my thinking:
Richard Hamming, "You and Your Research"
Mixing Games and Applications
Preventing the Collapse of Civilization
Recent reading I enjoyed:
Season of the Witch, David Talbot
Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age, Michael A. Hiltzik
Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond, Gene Kranz