Supplies Books

So I'm at work, waiting for my scanner to do its thing, and I picked up "Hold Your Water" and started to read the introduction. As soon as I got to the sentence about Ralph filling his water balloons and taking retribution on his sister, I knew that eventually, I would read every word. Wasn't really planning on doing that. This book is not preachy at all. The writing is fun and fresh, and of course, the ideas are things we all should be doing.

(From the Lakeland Ledger newspaper, Lakeland, FL)

Book Tells of Everyday Impacts on the World's Water Supplies
By Tom Palmer
Oct. 24, 2006

If you're concerned about water, but don't want to do a lot of heavy reading, there's a recently published book that could fit your needs.

It is "Hold Your Water! 68 Things You Need to Know to Keep Our Planet Blue" by Environmental Artist Wyland and Steve Creech (Andrews McMeel Publishing, Kansas City, Mo., $9.95 185 pages ISBN 040756826).

This book is a collection of short narratives.

The topics of the narratives include simple explanations of the world's water supply (hint: most of it isn't fresh and drinkable), the impacts of everyday activities -- getting your oil changed, fertilizing your lawn, taking a shower -- on the water cycle (one of the new terms you'll learn) and other useful bits of water trivia.

Let me share a few that come right out of recent headlines.

* In an area with a 100,000 population such as Lakeland, the canine population produces 2.5 tons of animal waste every day. An estimated 40 percent of the pet owners don't clean up after their pets, which means the waste has a good chance of ending up in a local lake.

* If you want to stay cool and hydrated during the hot weather, use a reusable water bottle rather than the throwaway plastic bottle. Even after a plastic bottle breaks down enough to seem invisible, the petrochemicals (you did know plastic was made from oil, didn't you?) that make up the plastic remain in the environment and pollute it.

* With the high cost of prescription and nonprescription drugs these days, throwing them away seems like a waste of money. However, it you must get rid of your meds, don't flush them down the toilet. Pharmaceuticals are showing up in increasingly high concentrations in water bodies and appear to be affecting fish and other aquatic life in unhealthy ways.

The last item emphasizes the fact that this book not only speaks about water in terms of its usefulness to people, but also recognizes that water is the main habitat for many of the earth's plants and animals.

That's a point that sometimes would otherwise be overlooked in water planning and is certainly one of the limiting factors in the plans to siphon water from rivers and lakes to feed the demands of new development.

For an element so basic, water's looming on the horizon as the big issue of our times. Strangely, it hasn't been addressed much or weighed much on the public consciousness. I've been a fan of Wyland for a long time, so I have to applaud the artist's growing concern for raising awareness about the future of this precious resource. Hold Your Water covers a large amount of information territory in one of the most accessible, and dare I say, funny, ways I've seen in a book of this type. the graphics were clever, and some of the sources suprised me (George Bush, Sr?), but it appears that addressing environmental issues is going to require big efforts on both sides of the aisle. It still seems weird to hear from the Bushes and Mahatma Ghandi side by side. But the point is well taken. The water issue isn't going away. The question now is: will we prepared to handle it before it becomes too large to address.

If you have ever felt like you are in over your head when it comes to environmental issues, "Hold Your Water" is a book you must read. It gives you the information you need to know about clean water (and the environment in general) - and is actually fun and entertaining. Plus it provides easy tips for you to make a difference, for your local water resources and those across the world.

What can you do about the environment and clean water? Lots of things!

Did you know that helping improve the environment can be as easy as...

* Changing your dinner order at a restaurant.
* Fixing a leaky faucet.
* Putting off your laundry for one more day.

This book is serious, but surprisingly upbeat. The storytelling helps to simplify complicated environmental issues. The facts, checklists and simple math make it easy to see how each of us can make a difference.

By changing little everday habits, I will save 360,125 gallons of water this year! Wow...I feel better already.

The author really know about Jack Russell Terriers. The book is well written and full of information. Highly recommend to any new JRT owners

I bought this book for my husband who is a recent member of the JRTC and is planning on raising Jack Russel show dogs. He loved it! Thanks!

The Jack Russell Terrier Handbook is like no other book available for the breed. The emphasis is on providing the most in-depth and up-to-date informaton about subjects vital to caring for and living with a JRT, including behavior problems and training, medicine and hereditary health problems, nutrition, genetics, and breeding. Information on fun stuff to do with your terrier, such as training for earthdog competitions or even going hunting, is also included, as are tamer diversions such as agility, racing, and conformation. This is not a book of pedigrees and show-win photos, but a book for people who enjoy the JRT in every facet of its being. Intersperced in the text are lots of color photos of JRTs in action, and tidbits of technical information (Terrier Tech) and facts (Jack Fact). A book for people who want to excel at JRT ownership.

The Jack Russell Terrier Handbook is like no other book available for the breed. The emphasis is on providing the most in-depth and up-to-date informaton about subjects vital to caring for and living with a JRT, including behavior problems and training, medicine and hereditary health problems, nutrition, genetics, and breeding. Information on fun stuff to do with your terrier, such as training for earthdog competitions or even going hunting, is also included, as are tamer diversions such as agility, racing, and conformation. This is not a book of pedigrees and show-win photos, but a book for people who enjoy the JRT in every facet of its being. Intersperced in the text are lots of color photos of JRTs in action, and tidbits of technical information (Terrier Tech) and facts (Jack Fact). A book for people who want to excel at JRT ownership.

Great book!
I have read quite a few Jack Russell books and this is very informative and very well written I would recommend this book highly, especially to someone interested in Jack Russells it explains a lot about the breed, showing, feeding, training and just understanding these special dogs. It's a must read!

I found the book very informative but it did not list vendors that had the products they were referring to hence value of material was lessen.

Answered virtually all of my questions on LAN wiring and it didn't even put me to sleep in the process! Excellent book to start learning about LAN construction and as an ongoing reference. Looking forward to the next edition.

Si Ud. esta pensando en el montaje de cableado de redes en forma profesional, entonces Ud. debe comprar este libro. En verdad explica todo acerca del cableado, desde las normas hasta estrategias a segir. Siempre lo ocupo como referencia para tomar decisiones acerca de la mejor opción a seguir!

The information in "Lan Wiring" is easy to understand and very useful.

This is the best (and only) book that I have found about network cabling. It explains everything!

Most hunters and shooters have a dismal understanding of optics. For evidence, go to a shooting range or hunting camp and pay attention -- you'll see such absurdities as guys with $2K rifles toting $30.00 K-Mart binoculars, guys with short-ranged 30-30s topped with gigantic 4-14x scopes, and guys with European optics that cost more than a well-used car who can't hunt or shoot well enough to remotely take advantage of their gear. This book is the antidote to such maladies.

John Barsness is one of the two best currently active hunting/gun writers. (The other is Craig Boddington.) In this book, the best of its kind that I'm aware of, Barsness has done something incredible -- made a treatise on optics (which could easily have become a dry morass of technical info and jargon) that's also an enjoyable read.

Barsness does an excellent job of informing the curious hunter about all aspects of hunting optics -- gun scopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, and even rangefinders. He tells you what attributes to look for and why. He also dispels a lot of the myths about hunting optics (eg., that bigger is always better, that optical brightness is the single most important attribute of a riflescope, that ultra-expensive, hard-to pronounce Euro-scopes are the greatest thing since smokeless powder, etc.) Barsness, to his credit, looks not only at the Rolls Royce-level optics that few real-life hunters can afford; he also looks at middle-class and even proletarian products, and points out that many of them are better than you'd expect (just like expensive optics can sometimes be lemons.)

This is a book that I've referred back to again and again, and have found extremely helpful when shopping for scopes, binoculars, and spotting scopes of my own. I highly recommend it to any hunter.

In spite of being a little dated this study of optic basics is extremely useful. After reading this book I understood more about optics and their performance than I could have hoped. Barsness has a logical style that begins in basics, describes how American optics differ from European, and how to compare to get best value for dollar (high price doesn't neccessarily mean best). He also writes an enlightening segment on how to use binocular,rifle scope, and spotting scope as a system becoming more aware of all that goes on just beyond our sight. This was an entertaining book to read and a pleasure to learn from.

Someone explains optics without trying to sound like a NASA rocket scientist. It's written in a clear, concise, down-to-earth style that manages to explain optics without causing an onset of narcolepsy.

I found Optics for the Hunter to be educational. I learned several bits of information that helped me feel like I was making an educated decision in purchasing both a binocular and rifle scope. It does not really help you choose between the various products within a mfg line (like between the various Leupold models) you'll have to figure that out for your self.

It does provide valuable info on mounting scopes as well. I am glad I bought it.

My friend turned me on to this book. It really does have everything you need to know before buying rifle scopes and binocular. Easy to understand objective opinions on all hunting optics. If your in the market for optics or you need to know where your currently owned optics fit in, then you'll want this book. Highly Recommended. AAA+++

Before I met Party Drinks by A.J. Rathbun, I would literally host my gatherings at the bar down the street, because I was incapable of mixing anything other than vodka and orange juice in plastic cups. A.J., friend to cocktailers everywhere, took me to school with his great book, and showed me how to easily make lavish libations on a cheapskate's budget and to make 'em look like a million bucks. The Summer Beer (beer, vodka, and lemonade) is a treat, even in wintertime. The recipes have little tales about the drinks so you can really "act like ya know" when serving them up. Don't weep for the bar down the street, though. Until A.J. can fit a pinball machine in his jam-packed guide, there's always time for a occasional tavern call. Bottoms up!

I love this book! It has so much more to offer than the book I bought at Crate and Barrel for 5x the price. It's quirky and fun and filled with unusual recipes. Great selection of drinks for summer days, cold nights, casual get togethers or swanky cocktail parties. Plus it's filled with tons of hilarious footnotes that are worth quoting while you mix. My favorite drinks (not just because the names are great): the Red Carpet, the Presidential, Silk Stockings, and the Slow Comfortable Screw. You have to try the mojito. This really is the prettiest cocktail book I've seen. Perfect gift item--just tie a bow around it and add a bottle of your friend's favorite alcohol.

Ne'er have the pleasures of contemporary pleasure-drinking been so lucidly and persuasively and clearly set forth with not only the time and liver tested recipies but also the literary, social, and personal contexts of a true, rare spirit such as Mr. Rathbun, whose fine poetry is as intoxicating as the pewter cupped juleps, the spiraling highballs, and the mystifications of the orange buck, known in the southern hemisphere as le mâle orange. I am buying a copy for every (over-21) friend this Christmas.

This book is worth reading even if you don't drink! If you do, all the better. Great recipes, very inspiring commentary. Rathbun quotes Gogol on vodka, W. C. Fields on whiskey ("Always carry a large flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake") and provides plenty of good party ideas for intemperate friends.

Said friends will also find this to be a welcome gift.

I think this will be a great gift for the holidays--I plan to get several to give to family and friends. The book is slim, but packed with lots of great drinks, plus gorgeous photos! One thing I really like about the book is that it gives lots of suggestions on variations of the drinks--in case you need to mix different amounts, or don't like or have a particular ingredient. Plus, there's some good general bartending advice at the beginning of the book.

So far we've tried two of the drinks. We had some friends over last weekend and my husband made the Champagne Punch, which has light and dark rum, lemons, and champagne. It was delicious! Even one of our friends, who isn't a huge champagne fan, really loved it. We also have tried The Rebecca, another champagne drink. We actually froze the raspberries in the vodka during the day, and had the drink in the evening--the frozen raspberries were delicious, and a perfect garnish for this very pretty drink.

This product is same as described in purchase. Delivery was very quickly and good conditions. I recommend this product and provider. Sincerely. Jose Pena

This book is for the weather novice who doesn't want to get a PhD in meteorology, but still wants to stay out of trouble. While most of the information about thunderstorms is available elsewhere, his section on icing was particularly valuable. I would recommend this to any pilot who seems lost about weather reports or charts. If you know your way around surface analysis charts and lifted index charts then this book might be too simple for you.

For all pilots! I purchased this book over ten years ago and I try to reread it each spring. This book condenses need to know information into useable "bites," and makes weather interesting and understandable. You will learn things about temperature dew point relationships and many other aspects of weather and weather flying that you may never hear any other place. If you are looking for a book that will better prepare you for the dynamics of weather flying, this is one of the very best.

This is a must read book for any pilot who does serious weather flying. Dennis takes the mumbo jumbo and puts it in terms that are very easy to understand. With thirty two years of flying under my belt, this is the only book that makes practical sense of very technical issues.

Good detail, personal tips & hints that I haven't seen in any other text. Although it is US orientated, it contains a wealth of interesting information.

This is a (very brief) review of four different skateboard magazines. To make sure that previous experience was not biasing my opinion (too much), I got four issues that were out at the same time. The magazines are Transworld Skateboarding (TS), Thrasher Magazine (TM), Skateboarder (SM) and SBC Skateboard (SS).

For photography, TS probably takes the lead. For the skateboard lifestyle, the edge goes to TM. For those who like to read text, SM has the most. Surprisingly, the best is probably SS, which is a balanced combination of all three styles.

Before spending too much on any one magazine, I suggest you try the same so that you get THE magazine you want.

the magizine is very thick but a lot of it is adds. The adds have good pictures of skaters doing tricks and stuff though. It also has cool interveiws and stuff. It is the only magizine i get. If you like to skate buy this magizeine.

Transworld is worth the Money! It's the price of a regular magazine, but 3 times as thick! Sure there are a lot of adds in it, but hey, they're all just pictures of skaters doing tricks! Also, there are cool articles, interviews, and coverage of tours. Any skater with {money} should buy this. SKATEBOARDNG IS NOT A SPORT!!!!!!!!

I bought this mag at a grocery store. I'm fascinated with skateboarding. It's a really thick magazine. Probably because nearly everything in it are ads. That's annoying. Good pictures, though. Anyway, it's pretty nice. I'd recommend looking around at other magazines like "Thrasher", "Skateboarding", etc. Enjoy!

The amount of skateboarding fans are increasing rapidly in the United States. If you are one of those fans, like myself, I highly suggest this magazine. It is well worth the cost. It covers everything such as pro spotlights, action shots, ads, trick tips and more. I have been reading this magazing for quite a while now, and plan on continuing my love for skateboarding. Subscribe now, you WILL be satisfied!

Good Innovation books typically break down into two categories: consolidators and original thinkers. The consolidators create overall frameworks for innovation and make the overall topic more digestable to the general reader. The original thinkers share new knowledge and insights, focusing on much narrower topics, such as Open Innovation (Henry Chesbrough), Disruptive Innovation (Clayton Christensen), or Experimentation (Stefan Thomke). Chakravorti's book, The Slow Pace of Fast Change, is definitely for the original thinkers. His specialization is the network effect of introducing innovations, how to bring complex products into complex changing market places. For example, introducing the hydrogen fuel cell will require many economic agents and individual behaviors to change. A deep understanding of the dynamics of Network Innovation is essential to bringing certain types of innovation to life. Chakravorti draws heavily on the Nobel-prize winning game theory of John Nash to explain how self-interest guides players in the introduction of such innovations.

Unusually for an original thinker, he also provides a reasonable roadmap to allow corporate innovators to find their own path to success. This is not an easy task, but it is better to know the challenges ahead of time and take action. This is an excellent book and deserves serious attention from anyone working on breakthrough innovation initiatives or large-scale business development projects.

Mark Turrell
http://innovationBBL.blogspot.com
http://www.imaginatik.com

Many books have been published on the topic of innovation. But as rightly pointed out by Mr. Chakravorti, these studies are successful in nurturing innovations and bringing them till the gates of organizations. Many of the innovations despite being far superior solutions from powerful multinationals, fail in the market place. In other words, technological or product superiority and even the sheer muscle of giant corporations is not sufficient to ensure that these innovations are accepted by customers.

This book looks at the market as a network of players with dependencies and in equilibrium. Some entities in this network act as nodes and are the main players. Networks prefer equilibrium and it requires a good understanding of what it takes to shift this equilibrium to a new state. This is where the concept of game theory is extensively used and demonstrated through excellent case studies - Communications, Automobile Industry Supply Chains and Software are some examples. "Think Equilibrium" is the key message.

The best part of the book is that it simplifies complexity of theoretical aspects and delivers important concepts and a framework for application by managers. The other book that I enjoyed equally on the topic of game theory in business is "Co-opetition" by Barry Nalebuff and Adam Brandenburger. "How Breakthroughs happen" by Andrew Hargadon and "The Innovator's Dilemma" by Clayton Christensen will be excellent supplements if we need to trace the complete trajectory of innovation from the lab to the customer's lap.

This book is a classic. If game theory owes a lot to "A Beautiful Mind", successful innovations in future will thank this beautiful book.

I have never in my life read such an insightful book. It clearly lays out the structure of economics and helps diversify the playing field in terms of market infrastructure. Witty and well thought out, a deserved 5 star book.

This is one of the best written books I have read in a long time. The author must have pored over the crafting of every word. It is a serious book and yet it is quite a funny book. Overall it is clear he knows what he is talking about in terms of how real companies act and the game theory behind their actions. And it is about something that most people I know think a lot about. The book is on bringing innovations and new ideas to market. I read it as having much wider social and political consequences because it really does offer a way for us to understand how things work -- or don't -- in our super-connected world. With terrorism and SARS and globalization risks and the proliferation of the internet we are really connected in so many ways. I came away from the Slow Pace of Fast Change with, as the author puts it, a new "mindset" to understand and even strategize in this interconnected reality, where the network is both your best friend and your worst enemy. I know of Moore's law as the rule of the 90s--like everyone else I and everyone else I know lived and breathed it. Slow Pace...will I think give us a rule that may last even longer: Demi Moore's law. Cute, but really quite brilliant if you think about it.
Every chapter in the book helps develop a rich set of ideas interwoven with really well-told tales of strategic games among the best known companies in the world -- and even some that have since flamed out, for reasons the book helped make me understand. The tales of real world games among AT&T, the Chinese, WorldCom, Comcast, Microsoft read like a novel. Even though that particular chapter had the least new material in terms of concepts, the stories and strategic analyses alone made its presence more than worthwhile.
A deceptively easy read but it's deep stuff. I would read it again.

As the subtitle correctly indicates, Chakravorti explains how to bring innovations to market in a connected world. His contributions in this book to our understanding of both the difficulties and opportunities to do so are substantial. Acknowledging his academic roots, he acknowledges that he "developed an appreciation for a first- principles approach to strategy and decisions...how first principles translate into the framing of trade-offs and lead to timely action." Over time, he learned that true insight "comes from connecting the dots across multiple landscapes [and that] such dots lurk in the unlikeliest corners." He allows his reader to recognize those "corners" and to accompany him as he carefully but rigorously explores the connected world.

I especially appreciate his dry but delightful wit, perhaps most evident in the final chapter whose head note is a quotation from Thelonious Monk: "You know what's the loudest noise in the world, man? The loudest noise in the world is silence." Without apparent effort, he invites his reader to consider the significance of the Galton-Gould evolutionary pool table, a metaphor which suggests that a market is the polyhedron-shaped ball." perhaps recalling John Nash's insight, he suggests that when innovation arrives on the scene (i.e. in a market), it creates disequilibrium. "It is in this situation of rest [i.e. when the "ball" has stopped] which may be viewed as gridlock by some and as a stable market by others -- that innovations in a connect must pry apart."

Given the process of inquiry and exploration which has been completed in the prior chapters, I was intrigued by how Chakravorti achieves at least a temporary synthesis of so many different (sometimes contradictory) factors which interact throughout the innovation cycle: "the eureka moment; the development of technology to give life to an idea; and the creation of an organization to produce and commercialize the innovation." As we all know, few innovative ideas ever reach their intended market and fewer yet survive thereafter. There is indeed a natural selection process during any campaign to bring an innovation into the connected world. Chakravorti suggests four aspects of that campaign:

1. "Qualifying the endgame and, in the process, choosing between several strategic options at the outset;

2. "Orchestrating the changes necessary across the network of players through a mechanism that propagates the innovator's selective interventions into the wider network;

3. "Actively managing with the critical agents that will pass on the innovation's influence; and

4. "Making appropriate choices on how to commit to strategies that lead to certain endgames in the face of uncertainty -- depending on the situation, one must choose between making a bet, reserving options, and seeking insurance."

Paraphrasing an ancient aphorism, Chakravorti suggests that market imperfection is the mother of innovation because it creates the need to innovate both in terms of a given product or service and in terms of the campaign by which to guide it to market. and then through natural selection to at least temporary security....that is, until another innovation (which accommodates the aforementioned four aspects) eliminates the need for it.

I agree completely with Chakravorti that the "slow pace of change is good news for the strategic innovator. In fact, it is essential news." Obviously, when any organization plans to take a new product or service to market, it faces formidable competition and all manner of challenges, only some of which are posed by competitors. (How many innovative products or services have never survived internal barriers which may include what Jim O'Toole has characterized as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom") In this brilliant book, Chakravorti suggests a number of specific strategies and tactics to help achieve market penetration and eventual success in a connected world. There is also an important lesson to be learned from one of Aesop's fable, "The Tortoise and the Hare": At least in some situations, only a "slow pace" can achieve "fast change."

This book is fantastic! It provides a great opportunity for children to think. Most of the children in my first grade class caught on to the magic of this book, and those who weren't quite ready for it loved the illustrations.

As a person in the education field, I love this book. Thre are so man projects and writing assignments that you can do connected with the book. The pictures are great. The book is a wonderful twist on an ABC book.

This book is great to use for predicting outcomes. I just fold that second page back, read and show the first page, and then have the students guess what the second page might be. My students are 6th grade and they really enjoyed it. Some predictions were very easy, however, some really made you think.

An alphabet book that every age can enjoy, with a new twist on an old theme. Each letter represents something that will come in the future with that letter as its first in spelling. For example, "e" is for wood, tomorrow's embers." What a creative way to introduce vocabulary and thinking skills! Try to create your own Tomorrow's Alphabet and add to the book.

My 4 year old daughter loved this book when I got it from the library. I first thought that it might be a bit confusing for her but she understood it perfectly and has memorized the entire thing. This book is definately a keeper.

A great tool for any collector of British Army WW II military uniforms and equipment. I would be lost without it.

A great book for uniform buffs, lots of colour pictures. Plenty of equipment shown, although text is generally (as per the books title)related to uniforms. Captions are concise but to have expanded on them would have undoubtedly reduced the number of photographs in the book and as they say a picture is worth a thousand words. THE WW11 Brit uniform book.

Tremendous photographs and informative text, undoubtedly the best reference yet knocks spots of anything else on the market. Unfortunatly it is limited to Europe although this does not detract from an otherwise very good book for collectors and re-enactors. What next lads?

The work consists mostly of large format photographs of reenactors wearing original clothing and kit of the period. (Overall size of about 8 by 10 inches.) It goes much beyond anything else I have seen except the two volume set by Jean Bouchery (c.f.) and includes not just the ordinary battle dress worn by Tommy Atkins and his officers but the specialized kit of parachutists, mountain troops (cold weather gear), motorcyclists, and other unusual garb.
Many of the plates are done in the fashion of the French magazine Militaria which is a highly useful source as well.
Not only is ithis work an identification source; it also has some developmental history and organigrammes of front line tactical units.

I have literally memorized this book as I have poured over the pictures contained within attempting to gain a grasp of what items were used doing the period. The extent of detail in the pictures is astounding. My only negative critiques are that some rare items are only given a single photo (officer's valise and wire cutters/web pouch) and that the captions do not go into enough detail and background of many items. (I.E., the officer's valise, info on binoculars, and different manufacturers of clothing and web gear.) While I will DEFINATELY purchase their future volume on North Africa and SE Asia, I hope they go into more detail of non-uniform items. This book is a great gift idea and should be on the shelf of any WWII British militaria collector/historian's library.