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I Love My Computer Because My Friends Live in It: Stories from an Online Life
By Jess Kimball Leslie. 2017
I Love My Computer Because My Friends Live in It is tech analyst Jess Kimball Leslie's hilarious, frank homage to…
the technology that contributed so significantly to the person she is today. From accounts of the lawless chat rooms of early AOL to the perpetual high school reunions that are modern-day Facebook and Instagram, her essays paint a clear picture: That all of us have a much more twisted, meaningful, emotional relationship with the online world than we realize or let on. Coming of age in suburban Connecticut in the late '80s and early '90s, Jess looked to the nascent Internet to find the tribes she couldn't find IRL: fellow Bette Midler fans; women who seemed impossibly sure of their sexuality; people who worked with computers every day as part of their actual jobs without being ridiculed as nerds. It's in large part because of her embrace of an online life that Jess is where she is now, happily married, with a wife, son, and dog, and making a living of analyzing Internet trends and forecasting the future of tech. She bets most people would credit technology for many of their successes, too, if they could only shed the notion that it's as a mind-numbing drug on which we're all overdosing.Gravity
By George Gamow. 2002
A distinguished physicist and teacher, George Gamow also possessed a special gift for making the intricacies of science accessible to…
a wide audience. In Gravity, he takes an enlightening look at three of the towering figures of science who unlocked many of the mysteries behind the laws of physics: Galileo, the first to take a close look at the process of free and restricted fall; Newton, originator of the concept of gravity as a universal force; and Einstein, who proposed that gravity is no more than the curvature of the four-dimensional space-time continuum.Graced with the author's own drawings, both technical and fanciful, this remarkably reader-friendly book focuses particularly on Newton, who developed the mathematical system known today as the differential and integral calculus. Readers averse to equations can skip the discussion of the elementary principles of calculus and still achieve a highly satisfactory grasp of a fascinating subject.Starting with a chapter on Galileo's pioneering work, this volume devotes six chapters to Newton's ideas and other subsequent developments and one chapter to Einstein, with a concluding chapter on post-Einsteinian speculations concerning the relationship between gravity and other physical phenomena, such as electromagnetic fields.Out Came the Sun: One Family's Triumph over a Rare Genetic Syndrome
By Judith Scott. 2008
Six years into their marriage, Judith Scott and her husband Greg decided to take the next step in becoming a…
family: having a child. At first unsuccessful, they are blessed with the birth of a beautiful girl, Emily. The joy of having their first child is short lived, however; after just a few months, following numerous trips in and out of the hospital, Emily is diagnosed with a rare and disabling condition, Partial Trisomy 13. Doctors expect additional physical complications and severe learning disabilities, and say Emily will never walk, talk, or read.Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist
By Sylvia Acevedo. 2018
The inspiring memoir for young readers about a Latina rocket scientist whose early life was transformed by joining the Girl…
Scouts and who currently serves as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA.A meningitis outbreak in their underprivileged neighborhood left Sylvia Acevedo’s family forever altered. As she struggled in the aftermath of loss, young Sylvia’s life transformed when she joined the Brownies. The Girl Scouts taught her how to take control of her world and nourished her love of numbers and science. With new confidence, Sylvia navigated shifting cultural expectations at school and at home, forging her own trail to become one of the first Latinx to graduate with a master's in engineering from Stanford University and going on to become a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Simultaneously available in Spanish!Galileo and the Equations of Motion
By Dino Boccaletti. 2016
This book is intended as a historical and critical study on the origin of the equations of motion as established…
in Newton's Principia. The central question that it aims to answer is whether it is indeed correct to ascribe to Galileo the inertia principle and the law of falling bodies. In order to accomplish this task, the study begins by considering theories on the motion of bodies from classical antiquity, and especially those of Aristotle. The theories developed during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are then reviewed, with careful analysis of the contributions of, for example, the Merton and Parisian Schools and Galileo's immediate predecessors, Tartaglia and Benedetti. Finally, Galileo's work is examined in detail, starting from the early writings. Excerpts from individual works are presented, to allow the texts to speak for themselves, and then commented upon. The book provides historical evidence both for Galileo's dependence on his forerunners and for the major breakthroughs that he achieved. It will satisfy the curiosity of all who wish to know when and why certain laws have been credited to Galileo.Doctor, Doctor: Incredible True Tales From a GP's Surgery
By Dr Rosemary Leonard. 2012
In DOCTOR, DOCTOR, Dr Rosemary writes with warmth, humour and honesty as she recalls the stories of 20 of her…
most memorable patients from her 25 years working as a GP in south London. These include an eco-protestor with appendicitis, an octogenarian nymphomaniac, a teenager in labour with a baby she didn't know about, a lonely ex-coal miner with a chronic chest condition and a middle-aged man who can't quite bring himself to tell her the real problem. Funny, heart-warming and a little bit gory, DOCTOR, DOCTOR reveals the truth about day-to-day life as a GP. Heartbreaking diagnoses, challenging patients and the strong bonds that are formed, Dr Rosemary takes us from the waiting room to the consultation room and lifts the lid on what life as a GP is really like.Doctor's Notes
By Dr Rosemary Leonard. 2014
'I'm in the wrong job,' I said to our practice nurse, 'I should definitely have been a detective.' For BBC…
Breakfast's Dr Rosemary Leonard, a day in her GP's surgery is full of unexplained ailments and mysteries to be solved. From questions of paternity to apparently drug-resistant symptoms, these mysteries can sometimes take a while to get to the bottom of, especially when they are of a more intimate nature. In her second book about life in her London surgery, Dr Rosemary recalls some of her most puzzling cases... and their rather surprising explanations.From X-rays to Quarks: Modern Physicists and Their Discoveries
By Emilio Segrè. 1980
A leading figure in twentieth-century physics offers impressions and recollections of the field's development. Nobel Laureate Emilio Segrè (1905-89) knew…
and worked with many of modern physics' preeminent scientists. In this simple but elegant history, he offers compelling views not only of the milestones of scientific discovery but also the personalities involved--their attitudes and politics as well as their trials and triumphs. Highlights include a profile of Albert Einstein, from his unconventional youth to his role as science's elder statesman; the wonder year of 1932, which witnessed the discoveries of the neutron, positron, and deuterium; and the first steps in building particle accelerators.A student and colleague of Enrico Fermi, Segrè made numerous important contributions to nuclear physics, including participation in the Manhattan Project. Segrè is further renowned for his narrative skills as a historian. This book is a companion to the author's From Falling Bodies to Radio Waves: Classical Physicists and Their Discoveries, also available from Dover Publications.Popper and His Popular Critics
By Joseph Agassi. 2014
This volume examines Popper's philosophy by analyzing the criticism of his most popular critics: Thomas Kuhn, Paul Feyerabend and Imre…
Lakatos. They all followed his rejection of the traditional view of science as inductive. Starting from the assumption that Hume's criticism of induction is valid, the book explores the central criticism and objections that these three critics have raised Their objections have met with great success, are significant and deserve paraphrase. One also may consider them reasonable protests against Popper's high standards rather than fundamental criticisms of his philosophy The book starts out with a preliminary discussion of some central background material and essentials of Popper's philosophy. It ends with nutshell representations of the philosophies of Popper. Kuhn, Feyerabend and Lakatos. The middle section of the book presents the connection between these philosophers and explains what their central ideas consists of, what the critical arguments are, how they presented them, and how valid they are. In the process, the author claims that Popper's popular critics used against him arguments that he had invented (and answered) without saying so. They differ from him mainly in that they demanded of all criticism that it should be constructive: do not stop believing a refuted theory unless there is a better alternative to it. Popper hardly ever discussed belief, delegating its study to psychology proper; he usually discussed only objective knowledge, knowledge that is public and thus open to public scrutiny.Eli's Story: A Twentieth-Century Jewish Life
By Meri-Jane Rochelson. 2018
Eli s Story A Twentieth-Century Jewish Life is first and foremost a biography Its subject is…
Eli G Rochelson MD 1907 1984 author Meri-Jane Rochelson s father At its core is Eli s story in his own words taken from an interview he did with his son Burt Rochelson in the mid-1970s The book tells the story of a man whose life and memory spanned two world wars several migrations an educational odyssey the massive disruption of the Holocaust and finally a frustrating yet ultimately successful effort to restore his professional credentials and identity as well as reestablish family life Eli s Story contains a mostly chronological narration that embeds the story in the context of further research It begins with Eli s earliest memories of childhood in Kovno and ends with his death his legacy and the author s own unanswered questions that are as much a part of Eli s story as his own words The narrative is illuminated and expanded through Eli s personal archive of papers letters and photographs as well as research in institutional archives libraries and personal interviews Rochelson covers Eli s family s relocation to southern Russia his education military service and first marriage after he returned to Kovno his and his family s experiences in the Dachau Stutthof and Auschwitz concentration camps including the deaths of his wife and child his postwar experience in the Landsberg Displaced Persons DP camp and his immigration to the United States where he determinedly restored his medical credentials and started a new family Rochelson recognizes that both the effort of reconstructing events and the reality of having personal accounts that confirm and also differ from each other in detail make the process of gap-filling itself a kind of fiction an attempt to shape the incompleteness that is inherent to the story In the epilogue the author reminds readers that the stories of lives don t have clear chronologies They go off in many directions and in some ways they never end An earlier reviewer said of the book Eli s Story combines the care of a scholar with the care of a daughter Both scholars and general readers interested in Holocaust narratives will be moved by this monographWe Know How This Ends
By Bruce H. Kramer, Cathy Wurzer. 2015
2010 had been a very good year for Bruce H. Kramer. But what began as a floppy foot and leg…
weakness led to a shattering diagnosis: he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS is a cruel, unrelenting neurodegenerative disease where the body's muscles slowly weaken, including those used to move, swallow, talk, and ultimately breathe. There is no cure; ALS is a death sentence.When death is a constant companion, sitting too closely beside you at the dinner table, coloring your thoughts and feelings and words, your outlook on life is utterly transformed. The perspective and insights offered in We Know How This Ends reveal this daily reality and inspire a way forward for anyone who has suffered major loss and for anyone who surely will. Rather than wallowing in sadness and bitterness, anger and denial, Kramer accepted the crushing diagnosis. The educator and musician recognized that if he wanted a meaningful life, embracing his imminent death was his only viable option. His decision was the foundation for profound, personal reflection and growth, even as his body weakened, and inspired Kramer to share and teach the lessons he was learning from ALS about how to live as fully as possible, even in the midst of devastating grief.At the same time Kramer was diagnosed, broadcast journalist Cathy Wurzer was struggling with her own losses, especially the slow descent of her father into the bewildering world of dementia. Mutual friends put this unlikely pair--journalist and educator--together, and the serendipitous result has been a series of remarkable broadcast conversations, a deep friendship, and now this book.Written with wisdom, genuine humor, and down-to-earth observations, We Know How This Ends is far more than a memoir. It is a dignified, courageous, and unflinching look at how acceptance of loss and inevitable death can lead us all to a more meaningful and fulfilling life.Dry Water: Diving Headfirst into Africa
By Tammie Matson. 2009
When she was fifteen, Tammie Matson went on safari with her father to Zimbabwe - and it changed her forever.…
Back in Australia she turned her life upside down to build her future in Africa. Returning to the safari camps - this time as a worker - she out-ran a charging lioness, played with a cheetah, stumbled across poachers and watched with amazement as a witchdoctor struck fear into his victims' hearts. This was the adventure she was looking for and deciding to study zoology gave her a reason to stay. When the Zimbabwean war vets grew too threatening, Tammie headed to the Etosha National Park in Namibia. In that harsh, dry, devastatingly beautiful land, she has overcome the language barrier, the male-dominated society and the physical hardships to create a life she loves.Laughter is the Best Medicine
By Jean-Paul Bell. 2010
You see, I'm not really a doctor. Not a medical doctor, that is. I'm something a bit more unusual. I…
reckon I have the best job in the whole world - I'm a clown doctor.' Jean-Paul Bell Imagine being a child in hospital, away from the home and feeling sad, frightened, lonely or in pain. This is where the Clown Doctors step in to help with their own quirky style of 'medicine'. Join this very special troupe as they do their rounds in children's hospitals all over Australia, bringing laughter and joy to more than 100,000 patients and their families each year. Meet Dr B Loony and Dr Twang, Dr Know-It-All and others when they conduct their clown rounds through children's and emergency wards, intensive care, burns and oncology units, dispensing jokes and songs with skill and compassion. And always with the aim of helping families, hospital staff, and especially the children to forget their illnesses and fears for a while and return to a world that is about fun and play. Welcome to a day in the lives of the Clown Doctors, filled with special moments, courage, tears, smiles and laughter.When the fuzzy indeterminacy of quantum mechanics overthrew the orderly world of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Erwin Schrödinger were…
at the forefront of the revolution. Neither man was ever satisfied with the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics, however, and both rebelled against what they considered the most preposterous aspect of quantum mechanics: its randomness. Einstein famously quipped that God does not play dice with the universe, and Schrödinger constructed his famous fable of a cat that was neither alive nor dead not to explain quantum mechanics but to highlight the apparent absurdity of a theory gone wrong. But these two giants did more than just criticize: they fought back, seeking a Theory of Everything that would make the universe seem sensible again. In Einstein’s Dice and Schrödinger’s Cat, physicist Paul Halpern tells the little-known story of how Einstein and Schrödinger searched, first as collaborators and then as competitors, for a theory that transcended quantum weirdness. This story of their quest--which ultimately failed--provides readers with new insights into the history of physics and the lives and work of two scientists whose obsessions drove its progress. Today, much of modern physics remains focused on the search for a Theory of Everything. As Halpern explains, the recent discovery of the Higgs Boson makes the Standard Model--the closest thing we have to a unified theory-- nearly complete. And while Einstein and Schrödinger failed in their attempt to explain everything in the cosmos through pure geometry, the development of string theory has, in its own quantum way, brought this idea back into vogue. As in so many things, even when they were wrong, Einstein and Schrödinger couldn’t help but get a great deal right.The Tinkerers: The Amateurs, DIYers, and Inventors Who Make America Great
By Alec Foege. 2013
Having completed her transition from a manufacturing economy, America - it is said - has stopped making things. When there…
are breakthroughs in engineering and design, it's usually thanks to a team of corporate researchers trying to squeeze out more profit. But once upon a time, the United States was a nation of tinkerers. Amateurs and professionals alike applied their ingenuity and talent to the problems of their day, coming up with innovative solutions that at once channeled the optimistic spirit of America and kept that spirit alive. Guided by the curiosity of an inquiring mind, a desire to know how things work, and a belief that anything can be improved, they laid the foundations for the American century.When Alexander Graham Bell beat Thomas Edison to the invention of the telephone, Edison fiddled around with the transmitter and receiver until he produced an equally revolutionary machine - the phonograph. When Thomas MacDonald observed the hardship that a lack of good roads imposed on his fellow Iowans, he began a road-building project that eventually morphed into the interstate highway system. Some of the people profiled in this book attended the finest engineering schools in the world; some, like Microsoft's former chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold, had no formal training in their chosen fields. Some see themselves as solo visionaries; others emphasize the importance of working in teams. What binds them together is an ability to imagine new systems and subvert old ones, to see fresh potential in existing technologies, and to apply technical know-how to the problems of their day.In The Tinkerers, Alec Foege presents a version of American history told through feats of engineering, large and small. He argues that reports of tinkering's death have been greatly exaggerated; since World War II, it has been the guiding force behind projects from corporate-sponsored innovations (the personal computer, Ethernet) to smaller scale inventions with great potential (a machine that can make low-cost eyeglass lenses for people in impoverished countries, a device that uses lasers to shoot malarial mosquitoes out of the sky). Think tanks and companies have recognized the benefits of tinkering and have done their best to harness and institutionalize it. But as systems become more complex, budding inventors may become intimidated. Foege argues that this would be an enormous loss to a nation that achieved its strength largely thanks to the accomplishments of its innovators. He shows us how tinkering remains, in new and unexpected forms, at the heart of American society and culture.Moon Ontario
By Carolyn Heller. 2015
Professional travel writer Carolyn B. Heller shares the best ways to experience all that Ontario has to offer, from scuba…
diving shipwrecks in the Great Lakes to dining on contemporary fare at Toronto's hottest restaurants. Heller leads readers to the highlights of this fascinating region with trip ideas such as Food and Wine Touring, Active Adventures, and History and Culture-providing different approaches for different kinds of travelers. Complete with tips on enjoying more than just the falls on the Niagara peninsula, hopping a ferry to Pelee Island for wine-tasting and relaxation, and ice skating on the world's longest skating rink in Ottawa, Moon Ontario gives travelers the tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
By Graham Farmelo. 2009
Paul Dirac was among the great scientific geniuses of the modern age. One of the discoverers of quantum mechanics, the…
most revolutionary theory of the past century, his contributions had a unique insight, eloquence, clarity, and mathematical power. His prediction of antimatter was one of the greatest triumphs in the history of physics. One of Einstein's most admired colleagues, Dirac was in 1933 the youngest theoretician ever to win the Nobel Prize in physics. Dirac's personality is legendary. He was an extraordinarily reserved loner, relentlessly literal-minded and appeared to have no empathy with most people. Yet he was a family man and was intensely loyal to his friends. His tastes in the arts ranged from Beethoven to Cher, from Rembrandt to Mickey Mouse. Based on previously undiscovered archives, The Strangest Man reveals the many facets of Dirac's brilliantly original mind. A compelling human story, The Strangest Man also depicts a spectacularly exciting era in scientific history.No Better Time: The Brief, Remarkable Life of Danny Lewin, the Genius Who Transformed the Internet
By Molly Knight Raskin. 2013
No Better Time tells of a young, driven mathematical genius who wrote a set of algorithms that would create a…
faster, better Internet. It's the story of a beautiful friendship between a loud, irreverent student and his soft-spoken MIT professor, of a husband and father who spent years struggling to make ends meet only to become a billionaire almost overnight with the success of Akamai Technologies, the Internet content delivery network he cofounded with his mentor.Danny Lewin's brilliant but brief life is largely unknown because, until now, those closest to him have guarded their memories and quietly mourned their loss. For Lewin was almost certainly the first victim of 9/11, stabbed to death at age 31 while trying to overpower the terrorists who would eventually fly American Flight 11 into the World Trade Center. But ironically it was 9/11 that proved the ultimate test for Lewin's vision--while phone communication failed and web traffic surged as never before, the critical news and government sites that relied on Akamai--and the technology pioneered by Danny Lewin--remained up and running.Moon Banff National Park: Including Banff And Jasper National Parks (Moon Handbooks Ser.)
By Andrew Hempstead. 2016
Join Canadian resident and avid outdoorsman Andrew Hempstead on an unforgettable adventure. With his unique perspective and advice you can…
trust, Moon Banff National Park has everything you need to know to explore the great outdoors.Moon Banff National Park shows travelers the best way to experience all Banff has to offer-from savoring the spectacular backdrop of glacial lakes and lush forests, to spotting wildlife like black bears, elk, and bighorn sheep. Hemstead includes unique trip ideas, such as taking a sleigh ride through the snow, or riding though the sky in a mountain gondola. Complete with details on escaping the crowds at Lake Louise, camping out under the stars, and dining in Banff, Moon Banff National Park provides travelers with all the necessary tools to head outdoors.With expertly crafted maps and gorgeous photos, this full-color guidebook gives you the tools you need to have an immersive and unique experience.Moon Banff National Park includes areas such as:Town of BanffLake Louise and VicinityIcefields ParkwayNearby ParksFind the Moon guide that best suits your trip! Exploring more of Canada's National Parks? Try Moon Canadian Rockies.Moon Montréal & Québec City
By Sacha Jackson. 2014
Writer Sacha Jackson guides travelers to the highlights of Montréal and Québec City, from the trendy bars, restaurants, and festivals…
of Montréal to the original city walls and historic center of Québec City. Jackson also offers unique trip ideas like Romantic Weekend Getaways and Montréal on the Cheap. Complete with details on kayaking the Lachine canal, eating your own weight in poutine, and participating in the concerts, parades, and sleigh races of the Carnaval de Québec, Moon Montréal & Québec City gives travelers the tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.