Careening through space:
technica q&a: jim heid (the macintosh ilife '06)
technica q&a: brian d foy (intermediate perl)
technical q&a: wayne goddard (wayne goddard's $50 knife shop)
springer physics and statistics sale
carole's staff picks
history of science
new arrivals
calendar of events
doug brown's space factoid
bestsellers
Q: Why is a penguin the mascot for the Linux operating system?
A: Call it a bite made in heaven. During a visit to Australia several years ago, a penguin gently bit (if such a thing is possible) Linus Torvalds. He was rather fond of these creatures to begin with, and knew the little fellow meant no harm, so he thought the love bite was a good omen. Strange, but good. The official Penguin logo is named "Tux," and is designed by Larry Ewing.
TECHNICA Q&A: JIM HEID
Jim Heid, resident Apple expert, has been writing books since the early 1980s.
He confesses to a fondness for Scrabble, plays guitar, and finds joy in Flickr,
the photo sharing site. "Flickr has very literally changed my life for the
better," he says. Despite his aversion to video games, Heid is more than
happy to share his knowledge of the latest digital media. Read more of our Technica
Q&A and save 30% on his newest book, The
Macintosh iLife '06.
TECHNICA Q&A: BRIAN D FOY
Brian d foy thinks carefully about how technology affects our lives, for better
and worse: "Gadgets are pretty high on Maslow's Pyramid, and I tend to think
that they are, in the language of Herzberg, 'hygiene factors.' If we don't keep
improving them or taking care of them, we become unhappy." While email sometimes
vexes him, brian loves to teach Perl programming classes, and publishes a magazine
called the Perl Review. Get your geek on, read foy's thoughtful Q&A,
and save 30% on Intermediate
Perl.
TECHNICA Q&A: WAYNE GODDARD
Wayne Goddard is the real deal — an Oregon Renaissance man. He's currently
working on a knife made with deer antlers. What inspires him to teach knife-making? "There
were no books or magazines on knife-making when I started in 1963 so I had to
learn everything the hard way," says Goddard. We're lucky to have the opportunity to see him
in action at the Technical store on April 29. Read more about Wayne in our Q&A
and save 30% on Wayne
Goddard's $50 Knife Shop.
SPRINGER PHYSICS AND STATISTICS SALE
It's time to brush off the gloom of winter and jump into our Springer Physics
and Statistics sale. Dust off your tired bookshelves and make room for these
classic Springer titles at very low prices — for a limited time.
This week in 1992, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley were inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. But what about Scotty, Lieutenant Uhura, or Mr. Sulu? Well, George Takei is the new announcer for the Howard Stern Show, so maybe it all comes out in the wash.
CAROLE'S STAFF PICKS
Carole has a thing for architecture, little houses, and finding pattern languages
in nearly everything. You can also learn about her geeky fondness for design
books published by Taschen. Now, if only she could get her house up to Christopher
Alexander's utopian standards.
HISTORY OF SCIENCE
On April 12, 1961, Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin flew on board Vostok I, the
world's first manned space flight. Officials liked his amiable and outgoing personality,
but it was probably his height, 5'2", that got him the gig. He was literally
the right fit for the job. When he reached orbit, Gagarin famously said, "I
see Earth! It's so beautiful!"
NEW ARRIVALS
Got an itch for metallurgy? Richard Postman's Anvils
in America is
the reference book for blacksmiths, anvil collectors, and tool enthusiasts.
Did you know that coffee is second only to oil as the world's most valuable legally
traded commodity? Antony Wild's Coffee:
A Dark History can further
your education about your morning brew. Randy Cerveny chronicles crazy weather
in Freaks of the Storm: From
Flying Cows to Stealing Thunder. Can't
get enough of CSI? Forensic
Detective, by noted
forensic anthropologist Robert Mann, takes a look at his most difficult cases.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
It's so satisfying to make something really cool with your own bare hands. Wayne
Goddard, author of Wayne
Goddard's $50 Knife Shop, will be at Powell's
Technical Books on Saturday, April 29, at 1pm. Yes, you can make your own knife
for $50 or less. Get away from your computer and head for the garage. You'll
be better for it — and better armed.
Overheard in the stacks: "People like to use Win4Lin because that way, they can use Windows and Linux at the same time. You see, people still use Windows because some programs still don't work with Linux very well, such as Yahoo Messenger. You can't get all of Yahoo Messenger's options if you use Linux but if you use Win4Lin you can. With Windows, you have to use two firewalls, but not with Win4Lin."
DOUG BROWN'S SPACE FACTOID
There are three main components to our velocity through space: the Earth's rotation,
the Earth orbiting the sun, and the sun's movement through the galaxy. For rotation,
at our latitude we are moving at around 670 mph relative to the Earth's core.
We in Portland make a daily trip of 16,000 miles as the planet spins. Meanwhile,
the Earth is orbiting the sun at around 66,000 mph. Each day the Earth travels
1.5 million miles, with the total annual trip covering 580 million miles. On
top of that, the sun is careening through space in the direction of Cygnus/Hercules
at around 45,000 mph. The whole solar system gets around a million miles closer
to Cygnus every day.
TECH
BESTSELLERS
1. The Graphic Designer's Digital Toolkit by Alan Wood (Graphics)
2. Pocket Guide to the ADA by Evan Terry Associates (Construction)
3. Python Programming by John M. Zelle (Computer Languages)
4. Cascading Style Sheets by Eric A. Meyer (Internet)
5. The Illustrated AutoCAD by Ralph Grabowski (Architecture)
6. Sneaky Uses of Everyday
Things by Cy Tymony (Featured Titles)
7. InDesign CS2 for Macintosh
and Windows by Sandee Cohen (Desktop
Publishing)
8. Agile Web Development with
Rails by David Thomas (Computer Languages)
9. Using QuarkXPress 6 by Suzanne Thomas (Desktop Publishing)
10. Photoshop CS2 for Macintosh
and Windows by Elaine Weinmann (Internet)
Technica
By Carole
Copyright 2006 Powells.com
