Book Description
Information for the inspector, investor, appraiser, home buyer, home owner and handyman regarding heating and cooling
Customer Reviews:
HVAC for Home Inspectors.......2000-04-27
This book cuts through the chase and directs one on what is required to do a home inspection in regards to the HVAC components. The book goes into depth on such things as condensing furnaces, pulse furnaces, one and two pipe boiler systems, heat pumps, etc as it relates to the home inspection. The flow of the book makes it easy to follow and is a great reference book to use in the field.
A Practical Guide to Inspecting Heating & Cooling.......2000-03-03
Book is very vague and written in a very run around type format and not getting to the point of what is the subject matter with very limited technical information leaving a person confused as to what is this author talking about, this book is totally not recommended for someone trying to find some detailed expert technical techniques and a waste of time and money.It appears author doesn't want to share his technical expertise in his form of writing. Overall rating 0 NOT RECOMMENDED
Book Description
Information for the inspector, investor, appraiser, home buyer, home owner and handyman regarding structure
Average customer rating:
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A Practical Guide to Inspecting Exteriors
Roy Newcomber
Manufacturer: Amer Home Inspectors Training Inst
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ASIN: 1928545017 |
Book Description
Information for the inspector, investor, appraiser, home buyer, home owner and handyman regarding exteriors
Book Description
Information for the inspector, investor, appraiser, home buyer, home owner and handyman regarding electrical
Customer Reviews:
Electrical for Home Inspectors.......2000-04-27
This book provides a Home inspector with the knowledge to inspect an electrical system of a home. It takes you through what a recognized standard for the industry expects. It provides more in depth knowledge for those who want to go beyond the minumun requirements. A great reference book to have in the field. Quizzes and a final 50 question test for checking your understanding is also included.
Book Description
Information for the inspector, investor, appraiser, home buyer, home owner and handyman regarding plumbing
Average customer rating:
|
Inspecting a Home or Income Property (Inspecting a Home Or Income Property)
Jim Yuen
Manufacturer: Ten Speed Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0898151848 |
Book Description
Information for the inspector, investor, appraiser, home buyer, home owner and handyman regarding interiors, insulation, ventilation
Book Description
Information for the inspector, investor, appraiser, home buyer, home owner and handyman regarding roofs
Average customer rating:
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The Personal Home Inspection Guide
Larry McKay
Manufacturer: Distinctive Pub. Corp.
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ASIN: 0942963113 |
Book Description
Celebrity has its benefits... and its costs. Due to his status as the world's most unusual travel writer - being a thousand pounds of walking, talking rock will do that - Concrete is approached by a group of radical eco-warriors to see firsthand and write about their efforts to save old-growth forest. What begins as a lark soon turns into a harrowing struggle, and Concrete must decide whether to dispassionately observe or to join these people who would risk anything, even life itself, to save the planet. Called "the best comic being published by anyone, anywhere," Paul Chadwick's critically acclaimed Concrete is at once rousing fantasy and grounded reality, as thought-provoking and challenging as it is entertaining. Think Like a Mountain collects the 1996 Parents' Choice Award winning series along with bonus short stories, some collected here for the first time.
Average customer rating:
- A Fake Giant in a World of Pygmies?
- A Fake Giant in a World of Pygmies?
- A rare look at a fascinating composer's life!
|
Hugo Friedhofer: The Best Years of His Life: A Hollywood Master of Music for the Movies (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series)
Linda Danly
Manufacturer: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0810844788 |
Book Description
New in Paperback! Surveys the impressive career of Hugo Friedhofer, one of Hollywood's extraordinary composers of music for the movies. The composer of music for over 120 films, Friedhofer earned 9 Oscar nominations and received the award for his masterful score to The Best Years of Our Lives in 1946. His life is examined through essays, personal letters, and interviews with film historians and friends of the composer, and an oral history with Friedhofer himself. Paperback edition available July 2002.
Customer Reviews:
A Fake Giant in a World of Pygmies?.......2001-02-18
Hugo Friedhofer, one of the great Hollywood film composers, was more than the consumate musician. His wit and his loving personality are shown in this engaging book. His analysis of music, composers, producers, films, actors and actresses is captivating. Hugo worked with George Gerswhin, was close friends with Oscar Levant and had Bud Powell play piano in his living room!
In his interview for the Film Music Archive, Hugo Friedhofer tells it like it is, and the book shows that he is not fake, but was a real giant in the Hollywood that used to be littered with talent and quality. Even if you know little about film music, this book is great history of the Hollywood of yesterday.
A Fake Giant in a World of Pygmies?.......2001-02-18
Hugo Friedhofer, one of the great Hollywood film composers, was more than the consumate musician. His wit and his loving personality are shown in this engaging book. His analysis of music, composers, producers, films, actors and actresses is captivating. Hugo worked with George Gerswhin, was close friends with Oscar Levant and had Bud Powell play piano in his living room!
In his interview for the Film Music Archive, Hugo Friedhofer tells it like it is, and the book shows that he is not fake, but was a real giant in the Hollywood that used to be littered with talent and quality. Even if you know little about film music, this book is great history of the Hollywood of yesterday.
A rare look at a fascinating composer's life!.......1999-06-26
It's so satisfying to learn about the life of the film composer who wrote the score to such movies as "The Best Years of Our Lives," "The Adventures of Marco Polo" and "The Young Lions" - some of my favorite Hollywood film scores. Much of this book contains the story of Hugo Friedhofer as told by himself through interviews and his own personal correspondence. With droll and witty comments and a collection of truly wonderful photos Ms. Danly has truly presented a well-thought-out book. Hugo was well-respected by everyone in Hollywood (he had a photographic memory and a reputation for knowing the classical literature to a fault) and now with this biography we know why.
Average customer rating:
- Struggles of the jazz industry.
- I Hightly Recommend This Book
- Compelling real-life jazz stories
|
Four Lives in the Bebop Business
A.B. Spellman
Manufacturer: Limelight Editions
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0879100427 |
Customer Reviews:
Struggles of the jazz industry........2002-10-16
This book is a great resource for someone looking for words to match the music of such greats as Ornette Coleman. Not only does it look at the lives and developments of these people as musicians, but also at the constant struggles such artists faced (still face?) in the music industry. I can't imagine there was any other book of its kind back when it was first published in 1966, but that aside, its still worth a read now that such important jazz figures are more widely appreciated. Spellman has a deep respect for the musicians he writes about. More than a respect, a reverence. This is particularly true of the section dedicated to Herbie Nichols. I picked this book up simply because I'm a huge Ornette Coleman fan, but I think my favorite parts of the book were the conversations with Cecil Taylor. His perspective on Stockhausen is priceless and pretty entertaining.
I Hightly Recommend This Book.......2001-04-07
I enjoyed this book thoroughly. The four biographies were wonderful and deepened my understanding of the bebop era and what life is like for career musicians. I was at first drawn to this book because of the biography of Herbie Nichols; I own the complete works of Herbie Nichols on CD but until I read this book only knew that he was unappreciated during his lifetime. Now I really understand Mr. Nichols and my respect for him and ability to appreciate his music is much deeper. Same for Ornette Coleman, who until I read his biography here was to my mind merely an eccentric who had helped ruin the commercial viability of jazz. Thanks to this book I now understand how sincere and committed and courageous Ornette Coleman was. I bought this book on Amazon about a month ago and I do not understand why Amazon lists it, a month later, as "out of print". I urge anyone who wants to deepen his/her understanding of jazz music to read this wonderful book. People who want to learn jazz can no longer simply go to 52nd Street in NYC and learn from the masters directly. Books such as this book, videos, and CD's are the only way for the current and future generations to learn about the golden age of jazz. Thus, this book is *essential* for a sincere student of jazz. The book's high quality is worthy of the heavy responsibility it thus bears. By the way in the course of the four biographies it contains a lot of fascinating detailed insights about Theolonius Monk, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.
Compelling real-life jazz stories.......2000-02-12
Spellman, a lucid analyst of the avant garde jazz movement in the '60s (see his liner notes, for example, on the original release of Coltrane's "Ascension"), has contributed with this book four compelling portraits of musicians who gave and have given their lives to jazz.
"Four Lives in the Bebop Business" profiles two altoists, Jackie McLean and Ornette Coleman; and two pianists, Cecil Taylor and Herbie Nichols. Spellman skillfully crafts the narratives, while wisely allowing his subjects to tell large chunks of their stories in their own words.
It becomes clear as one reads the book that it took a lot of guts to be a jazz musician during the '50s and '60s (and still does). All four of the musicians faced major obstacles in pursuing their art.
McLean, who enjoyed the greatest amount of commercial success of the four, especially early on, battled drug addiction. Taylor and Coleman faced open hostility because of their challenging, groundbreaking approaches to playing their instruments. Nichols (the only one of the four who is not still alive) was just plain ignored, despite his brilliantly original playing (check out the two-disk Blue Note compilation of his music), and spent much of his all-too-brief career playing in Greenwich Village dives.
In spite of bad accommodations, poor pay, public indifference, critical hostility and difficulty finding gigs, these artists, the book makes clear, would never play anything other than jazz. In this sense, the book has an underlying inspirational message. Still, it remains for America to fully embrace its only true indigenous art form, something which to this day has not occurred.
The book also offers insights from the musicians on the creative process and about the historic changes in jazz that occurred during the '60s, from the perspective of men who were on the front lines of the battles between critics, musicians, and the listening public.
Required reading for the serious jazz listener.
Average customer rating:
|
Four Jazz Lives (Jazz Perspectives)
A.B. Spellman
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
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ASIN: 0472089676 |
Book Description
Average customer rating:
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Growing Up with Jazz: Twenty-Four Musicians Talk about Their Lives and Careers
W. Royal Stokes
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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ASIN: 0195159276 |
Book Description
A jazz writer for three decades, W. Royal Stokes has a special talent for capturing the initial spark that launches a musician's career. In Growing Up With Jazz, he has interviewed twenty-four instrumentalists and singers who talk candidly about the early influences that started them on the road to jazz and where that road has taken them. Stokes offers a kaleidoscopic look at the jazz scene, featuring musicians from a dazzling array of backgrounds. Ray Gelato recalls the life of a working class youth in London, Patrizia Scascitelli recounts being a child prodigy in Rome who became the first woman of Italian jazz, and Billy Taylor tells about his childhood in Washington, DC, where his grandfather was a Baptist minister and his father a dentist--and everyone in the family seemed well trained in music. Perhaps most exotic is Luluk Purwanto, an Indonesian violinist who as a child listened to gamelan music in the morning and took violin lessons in the afternoon (on an instrument so expensive she didn't dare quit). For some, the flame burned bright at an early age. Jane Monheit sang before she could speak and was set on a musical career by age eight. Lisa Sokolov played classical piano, sang opera and choral music, and was in a jazz band--all by high school. But Carol Sudhalter, though born into a very musical family ("a Bix Beiderbecke family"), was a botany major at Smith, and only became a serious musician after college, quitting a government job to study the flute and saxophone in Italy. From Art Blakey to Claire Daly to Don Byron, here are the compelling stories of two dozen top musicians finding their way in the world of jazz.
Average customer rating:
- Shallow
- Good book for flash games
- Well written, with a few problems
- Good introduction to physics in game applications
- Poor code examples, unfortunately
|
Physics for Game Developers
David Bourg
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
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Physics for Game Programmers
ASIN: 0596000065 |
Amazon.com
Aimed at the game developer or student/hobbyist interested in physics, Physics for Game Developers reviews all the math for creating realistic motion and collisions for cars, airplanes, boats, projectiles, and other objects along with C/C++ code for Windows. While this authoritative guide isn't for the math-averse, the author's clear presentation and obvious enthusiasm for his subject help make this book a compelling choice for anyone faced with adding realistic motion to computer games or simulations.
It's the clear, mathematical presentation here that makes this title a winner. Starting with the basics of Newtonian mechanics, the author covers all the basic equations needed to understand velocity, acceleration, kinematics, and kinetics, among other concepts. A knowledge of college math (including calculus) is assumed. (Appendices review the basics of matrix and quaternion mathematics for those needing a refresher.)
Central to this book is its presentation of modeling projectiles, airplanes, ships, and cars. The author first presents essential mathematical concepts for each kind of object (for instance, pitch, yaw and roll, and lift for airplanes; modeling fluid drag for ships; and braking behavior for cars). For many chapters, Bourg then presents Windows-based DirectX programs in C++ to illustrate key concepts. For example, you can experiment with different parameters to view a cannonball's path. (On their own, these programs make this book a great companion text to any advanced high school or college physics course since students can see the effect of each variable on the behavior of each body in motion for a variety of equations.)
Modeling collisions is a central concern here (a necessity, of course, for action games). To this end, the author provides collision detection and the mathematics of 3-D rigid bodies for simulating when bodies collide. As the sample programs get more involved, the author discusses techniques of tuning parameters for performance. A standout chapter here models a fluttering flag using particle systems.
In all, this text proves that physics and computers are a perfect match. The author's patient and clear mathematical investigations of common formulas and concepts can add realistic motion to any computer game, as well as help teach essential concepts to any student or hobbyist who's interested in physics and doesn't mind a little college-level math. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered: Mathematical formulas and sample C/C++ code for physics for simulations and games, basic concepts in physics, Newton's Laws of Motion, coordinate systems and vectors; mass, center of mass and moment of inertia; kinematics (velocity and acceleration), constant and nonconstant acceleration, 2-D and 3-D particle kinematics, rigid body kinematics, angular velocity and acceleration, force (force fields and friction, fluid dynamic drag, buoyancy, springs and dampers, torque), 2-D, 3-D, and rigid body kinetics; collisions (impulse-momentum, impact, linear, and angular impulse), projectiles (simple trajectories, drag, the Magnus Effect, variable mass), simulating aircraft (geometry, lift and drag, controls), simulating ships (flotation, volume, resistance, and virtual mass), simulating hovercraft and cars (including stopping distance and banking during turns), basic real-time simulations (integrating equations of motion, including Euler's Method), 2-D rigid body simulator, implementing collision response (including angular effects), rigid body rotation (rotation matrices and quaternions), 3-D rigid body simulator for an airplane (including flight controls and rendering), multiple bodies in 3-D (including implementing collisions), particle systems, reference tutorials for vector, matrix, and quaternion mathematical operations.
Book Description
Colliding billiard balls. Missile trajectories. Cornering dynamics in speeding cars. By applying the laws of physics, you can realistically model nearly everything in games that bounces around, flies, rolls, slides, or isn't sitting still, to create compelling, believable content for computer games, simulations, and animation. Physics for Game Developers serves as the starting point for those who want to enrich games with physics-based realism. Part one is a mechanics primer that reviews basic concepts and addresses aspects of rigid body dynamics, including kinematics, force, and kinetics. Part two applies these concepts to specific real-world problems, such as projectiles, boats, airplanes, and cars. Part three introduces real-time simulations and shows how they apply to computer games. Many specific game elements stand to benefit from the use of real physics, including:
- The trajectory of rockets and missiles, including the effects of fuel burn off
- The collision of objects such as billiard balls
- The stability of cars racing around tight curves
- The dynamics of boats and other waterborne vehicles
- The flight path of a baseball after being struck by a bat
- The flight characteristics of airplanes
You don't need to be a physics expert to learn from Physics for Game Developers, but the author does assume you know basic college-level classical physics. You should also be proficient in trigonometry, vector and matrix math (reference formulas and identities are included in the appendixes), and college-level calculus, including integration and differentiation of explicit functions. Although the thrust of the book involves physics principles and algorithms, it should be noted that the examples are written in standard C and use Windows API functions.
Customer Reviews:
Shallow.......2007-08-09
This book covers most of the physics problems that a game developer may face. From the basic laws of motion to car and aircraft simulation. It includes clear examples and formulas that can be implemented right away. On the more complex subjects, it also includes source code listings.
I read this book expecting to get an insight into game and simulation physics and was disappointed. On most cases, the book gives quick introduction to the problem and then jumps straight to the equations. Therefore, if you just want to implement physics for your game without learning all the principles involved, this is the book for you. On the other hand, if you want to get a feeling of physics and go a little deeper, it is not.
Furthermore there are some details that you may want to consider. First, the book works mainly with the imperial system of units which I find confusing. Second, all the source code is for Windows. Third, there are lot of places where statements are made without a hint of an explanation or a reference, which is annoying if you want to understand what is happening.
Overall, the book is clear and concise. It gives a good set of equations that you may need for your game programming, and is good to have around for quick reference. But if you are serious about physics I recommend getting a more advanced book.
Good book for flash games.......2007-03-24
It gives a decent coverage on 2D and math vectors before it jumps right into kinetics, rigid bodies, momentum, torque, etc. Other people complain about the junk C code used to explain things here, but I just care about the concepts and understanding them and the book meets that goal. So buy it if you are like me?
Well written, with a few problems.......2006-09-25
I would have rated this book as great, but:
1 - Why in the name of everything that is good and wholesome would anyone use imperial units when writing about physics?
2 - The code in the examples is appallingly bad. There are abundant global variables, poor comments etc...
Good introduction to physics in game applications.......2006-01-27
If you wish to add more realistic environment interaction or object behavior to your games, you will benefit from this book. This book is much better for beginners than more recent books on the subject that maybe talk in more detail about game physics, but do so from the standpoint of some specific physics engine that the author has put together. I have personally lifted several pieces of code from this book, adapted them to Java, and placed them in a multimedia application I have been writing with no trouble. The book goes over the basics of adapting Newtonian physics to games, and then uses these ideas to set up the motion of simple projectiles, cars, hovercraft, and ships. 3D issues are also discussed at length.
To be sure, you do not need to be a physics expert to learn something from this book, but it is assumed that you have a basic level of understanding of classical physics. Anyone who has taken high school or college level physics should have no trouble understanding the material. You should also be proficient in trigonometry and vector and matrix mathematics. Certain topics in calculus are also discussed, so some degree of familiarity would be useful, but is not required. However, a strong C++ programming background is required if you are to tackle integration of a physics system into your existing game engine. This book is a great starting point for readers who aspire to understand "Game Physics" by Eberly, which is far more advanced and academic in tone.
I shall talk about the details of the book in the context of its table of contents:
PART 1 - MECHANICS PRIMER
This consists of chapters 1 through 5 and starts out with simple concepts such as Newton's laws and builds up until you get to rigid body dynamics. If you are already are up to speed on mechanics, you can skip these chapters.
PART 2 - REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES
Chapters 6 through 10 focus on modeling so that you have a solid understanding of the nature of certain physical systems. The craft selected were chosen because they best illustrate the specific physical phenomenon and concepts that are relevant to a wide variety of problems. The systems modeled are projectiles, aircraft, ships, hovercraft, and automobiles.
PART 3 - REAL-TIME SIMULATION
This field is discussed as it applies to games in chapters 11 through 17. These chapters focus on the fundamentals by walking through the development of the 2D simulation of hovercraft, a 3D flight simulation, a generic multibody simulation in 3D with collision response, and a simulation of cloth using particles and springs.
The appendices show implementations in C++ of classes for vector operations, matrix operations, and quaternion operations. The book's bibliography provides information sources for mechanics, mathematics, and specific technical subjects such as aerodynamics. All of the code for the book can be downloaded from the book's website at O'Reilly and Associates. I highly recommend this fun and comprehensive book for anyone getting started in adding physics to game programs.
Poor code examples, unfortunately.......2006-01-01
If it wasn't for the poor code examples, I would have rated this book four stars.
The problem is, instead of building new examples on previous ones, author has decided to repeat same code over and over again with only minor tweaks. This lack of generalization unfortunately obfuscates the point of the examples and (besides other instances of bad programming practice like abundant use of global variables or excessive copy/paste programming) makes me grind my teeth.
However, the text portion of the book is written well. It's great introductory material to the subject.
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A Practical Guide to Inspecting Roofs
A Practical Guide to Inspecting Plumbing
A Practical Guide to Inspecting Interiors
A Practical Guide to Inspecting Structure
