Weather and Climate Extremes: Changes, Variations and a Perspective from the Insurance Industry

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Weather and Climate Extremes: Changes, Variations, and a Perspective from the Insurance Industry. (Book Reviews). (book review): An article from: Journal of Risk and Insurance

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Weather and Climate Extremes: Changes, Variations, and a Perspective from the Insurance Industry. (Book Reviews). (book review): An article from: Journal of Risk and Insurance
Franklin W. Nutter
Manufacturer: American Risk and Insurance Association, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008IJ9L0
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Risk and Insurance, published by American Risk and Insurance Association, Inc. on September 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1211 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Weather and Climate Extremes: Changes, Variations, and a Perspective from the Insurance Industry. (Book Reviews). (book review)
Author: Franklin W. Nutter
Publication: Journal of Risk and Insurance (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2001
Publisher: American Risk and Insurance Association, Inc.
Volume: 68 Issue: 3 Page: 529(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

The New Millionaire's Handbook is a tongue-in-cheek manual designed to illuminate the mysterious rites of passage that determine entry into the elite world of the jet set. The book is an exhaustive resource covering everything aspiring socialites need to know. Readers study how to select and overdecorate gargantuan mansions, exploit immigrant labor for landscaping work, and spend thousands of dollars at gourmet grocery stores.

Customer Reviews:

A 21st Century Answer to Keeping Up with the Joneses.......2003-07-09

Confused about how to spend your newly acquired dot-com era payout? Concerned that your L. L. Bean comfort clogs and vintage Cadillac are out-of-style when compared to your neighbors' Prada suede-leather two-piece pumps and matching Lexus LX 470? Embarrassed that your boy, Tommy, was passed over as captain of the local squash team, in favor of young Cooper Morgan III?

Enter, The New Millionaire's Handbook, a resource for those who have just arrived on the scene, and want to be sure of fitting in at the party. Written with a flagrant disregard for the benefactors of "Old Money" and yuppies, the Handbook is exclusively aimed at a younger generation with money to burn. Why settle for a simple $600 GE dishwasher when twin, side-by-side Mieles are available at $1,500 apiece. Granted, such extravagancies are only fully appreciated by your supernumerary staffers, but such a prominent display of your exquisite taste exudes a careful attention to detail.

Lest we forget our perfect children - the Handbook provides A to Z guidance for any new suburbanite mommy and daddy. From a list of appropriate names to the specific dimensions and prerequisites for the new arrival's living quarters, exceptional attention is spent on detail. Montessori schools are for Old Money; private boarding institutions are far more rigorous and will champion the values of winning and enduring success. College planning starts at birth with annual endowments to the college of choice - our new generation just won't take "no" for an answer. Every moment is carefully planned, often years in advance. For younger children, after-school play dates are scheduled to ensure proper social development. As they blossom into adolescence, young pre-teens will expect their own driver and credit card to enjoy quality time with their upscale friends. And certainly, following their carefully monitored early driving years in Mom's former SUV, a BMW Z-3 roadster is an appropriate high school graduation gift. Have no fear - the answers are all here!

From cars to clothing, and spas to spirituality, the Handbook can help you make a painless transition into the "good life". There is simply no better quick-reference tool available. Separated neatly into 14 topical areas, each subdivided further into detailed categories, searching for specific information is a straightforward exercise. Need to learn more about the perfect car? The Handbook has got the answer, from roof racks to rhino bars. How about personal care? Everything is easily located, from doctors to day spas. Even through the most difficult times, including death, disease and divorce, the Handbook is a well-researched carousel of knowledge.

Aptly categorized by the Library of Congress as a description of a particular social structure, this book is crucial for anyone who can actually afford to follow its every detail. And for those who cannot, it has been secondarily categorized appropriately: "humor".

-- Joshua A. Gerlick

Nothing New.......2003-06-03

I picked this book up hoping to learn some new techniques on climbing the social ladder, but a lot of this is just common sense, and the stuff that isn't I had figured out on my own within a year after graduating. Also be aware (and this isn't really the author's fault) that some of his info is dated...With the release of the Hummer H2, and G-Wagon's being so affordable now, purchasing either one of these vehicles isn't nearly as powerful a statement as the author leads you to believe. If you are truly interested in learning about what it takes to distinguish yourself from the average people out there, I would direct your attention to Bernhard Roetzel's 'Gentleman' which I found to be far more informative.

Great Book.......2001-12-14

Undoubtley The best Book I ever Read I'm Hoping There Will Be a Sequel!

People Like Us?.......2001-04-30

Have an afternoon to spend with a book that is sure to give you laughs? This is definitely the selection of choice. The funny thing about comedy, there is always a bit of truth. It's humor is timely and is definitely along the same lines as the "Preppie's Handbook" of some 20 years ago.

See how the other half lives.

A Sure-fire hit!.......2000-11-18

Hilarious! Just when I was feeling lost and alone in this new money world, I can find comic relief from this book. I'm sure everyone can relate to the absolute insanity that now engulfs this country. This will be my holiday gift to all on my list, and I can't recommend it enough.

Book Description

With a truly global perspective, this vivid and readable narrative provides a comprehensive overview of the history of electronic music. The author draws upon his combined experience as composer, performer, researcher, entrepreneur, and teacher to provide insight into every aspect of electronic music, including the music itself, the instruments, and the business. Based on more than 150 interviews with leaders in the field, this book allows readers to understand how and why the musicians, engineers and businessmen did what they did to develop the modern synthesizer to its current state.

Customer Reviews:

Pricey but worth it?.......2004-06-15

Yes, this is a steep price. But if you are deeply interested in the history of electronic music this book is essential. It covers the origins of electric music synthesis from the turn of the century experiments to fairly current commentary on the digital state of the art. Chadabe, also a fine composer and musician, writes with authority on the classical aspect of electronic music. If this book has a flaw it is that it fails to look at the influence of pop/rock culture on electronic music. But to be fair that is not his purpose and this material is covered well elsewhere.
I hesitated to purchase this book for some time due to the price but when I did get it I must say that I have no regrets. It is an extremely useful reference which I use regularly and it is well written and fun to read. In short, if you are a fanatic, get this book.

An Overpriced History of Electronic Music Technology.......2002-07-31

Although there was a spate of published historical surveys of electronic music during the early-to-mid 1970's, with the exception of Peter Manning's *Electronic & Computer Music*, there have been almost no synoptic overviews of the subject since then. Now comes Joel Chadabe's *Electric Sound*. One must admit that Chadabe's book does fill a void in the historical consideration of electronic music, and, for that reason alone, I wish that I could be more enthusiastic about it. The focus of this extremely overpriced paperbound book, however, is less on the significant achievements of composers of electronic music than it is on the technological means of creating it. One is hard pressed, indeed, to find references to more than a handful of significant compositions. Such an attitude is typical of the Post-Modern mentality (and, yes, there is such a thing, I'm sorry to say), in which artists of all stripes arrogantly offer over-intellectualized concepts and elaborate compositional and performance processes as justification for whatever results they achieve, no matter how nugatory these results may be. Here, one finds an inadvertent confirmation of that most basic critique of electronic music: That it is ultimately the soundtrack to a futuristic, technocratic nightmare in which the technology itself has become more vibrant and alive than those who create and ostensibly manipulate it. If one were to go by this book, then one would be justified in believing that, with perhaps the exception of Stockhausen's works, there have been no masterpieces of electronic music whatsoever. There has, however, been a lot of interesting hardware and software created for it. Could there be a more damning indictment of any artistic field of endeavor?

I should add that this book also suffers from the usual flaws that one might expect when a contemporary artist surveys his own field: in this case, aesthetic bias and cronyism. On the other hand, *Electric Sound* does at least cover the activities of most of the putative major figures in the field from the 1970's to the mid-1990's (although, again, it does this principally in terms of what technology they happen to be using). For this reason, I give it a provisional recommendation, simply because it is the only book I know, besides Peter Manning's also somewhat flawed, but generally far better effort, that covers this period at all. The definitive history of electronic and computer music, however, remains to be written.

A Promise Fulfilled.......2000-05-09

This reviewer considers "Electric Sound" to be an important text on the history of 'academic', 'art' or 'classical' electronic music.

The subtitle: 'The Past and Promise of Electronic Music' does indeed indicate the historical nature of the work, but the 'promise' seems to refer more to a promise fulfilled, rather than what is described in the last chapter: 'Where Are We Going?' ( which consists of less than 20 pages ).

To give you an idea of the book's scope, consider the chapter titles: The Early Instruments, The Great Opening Up of Music to All Sounds, Expansion of the Tape Music Idea, Out of the Studios, Computer Music, Synthesizers, The MIDI World, Inputs and Controls, Making Sound, Automata, Interaction, Where Are We Going?

Each chapter illustrates its subject by describing the artists and the particular works that were created using that specific approach to sound realization. The style of writing in the book is conversational in tone, rather than academic.

If you love electronic music, then "Electric Sound" will become a welcome addition to your personal library.

Book Description

Gianni Vattimo reexamines the roots of modernism and postmodernism in Nietzsche, Benjamin, and Heidegger. Exploring the links between concepts of nihilism and destiny in nineteenth-century humanism, Vattimo follows these trends in aesthetic and scientific theory from Benjamin to Bloch, Ricoeur, and Kuhn.

Customer Reviews:

Vattimo's hard to accept tesis about a weak thinking........1998-10-14

This book is important to understand postmodernism. However, i don't image american readers accepting Vattimo's tesis about weak subjet right to have a place in world. Why modern civilization has impossed to us the obligation of being strong and the first in every action as the only way to be allowed as a member of this society?

High Culture: Reflections on Addiction and Modernity (Suny Series in Postmodern Culture)

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High Culture: Reflections on Addiction and Modernity (Suny Series in Postmodern Culture)

Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Substance Abuse | Recovery | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

History | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Customs & Traditions | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History of Ideas | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0791455548

Book Description

Addresses the place of addiction in modern art, literature, philosophy, and psychology, including its effects on the works of such thinkers and writers as Heidegger, Nietzsche, DeQuincey, Breton, and Burroughs.

Modernity's Pretenses: Making Reality Fit Reason from Candide to the Gulag (S U N Y Series in Postmodern Culture)

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Modernity's Pretenses: Making Reality Fit Reason from Candide to the Gulag (S U N Y Series in Postmodern Culture)
Karlis Racevskis
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History & Surveys | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Modernity's Pretenses undermines modernity's authority through a cultural and historical examination of texts and thinkers from the Enlightenment to post-Stalinist Europe. Racevskis argues that modernity's elaborate designs for rationalizing the world have mainly functioned as covers and alibis (i.e., pretenses). Modernity's promise to liberate humanity from superstition, injustice, and want has been a tactic for making exploitation seem noble and for lending barbarism an aura of progress. Racevskis examines the mechanisms and history of the pretending that mark the modern world and surveys the critical approaches that have proven most effective in dispelling the credibility of pretenses.

THE END OF MODERNITY: NIHILISM AND HERMENEUTICS IN POSTMODERN CULTURE. Translated & introduction by Jon R. Snyder.

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THE END OF MODERNITY: NIHILISM AND HERMENEUTICS IN POSTMODERN CULTURE. Translated & introduction by Jon R. Snyder.
Gianni. Vattimo
Manufacturer: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7GN9W

Modernity and Postmodern Culture (Issues in Cultural and Media Studies)

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Modernity and Postmodern Culture (Issues in Cultural and Media Studies)
Jim McGuigan
Manufacturer: Open University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0335219217

Book Description

This is a critical introduction to claims concerning the postmodernization of culture and society. The theories of Baudrillard, Beck, Castells, Giddens, Habermas, Haraway, Jameson, Lyotard and others on the contemporary scene are discussed and specific issues concerning arthitecture, theme parks, screen culture, science, technology and the environment are examined. Jim McGuigan argues that there have been tensions between instrumental and critical reason throughout the history of modernity that are still being played out. He questions the irrationalist tendencies and, also, the accommodative attitude to prevailing conditions of much postmodern thought, and insists upon the enduring relevance of the Enlightenment tradition to social and cultural analysis.

Popular Modernity in America: Experience, Technology, Mythohistory (S U N Y Series in Postmodern Culture)

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Is popular culture fascist?

Popular Modernity in America: Experience, Technology, Mythohistory (S U N Y Series in Postmodern Culture)
Michael Thomas Carroll
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Social Aspects | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0791447146

Customer Reviews:

Is popular culture fascist?.......2002-08-28

No one should deny the boldness of the task to map out a history of esthetical technologies as driving forces in American popular modernity as M.T. Carroll does in this book. Concepts like hypermediation and Mythohistory are introduced as exciting ways to think about popular culture. But I have one major objection: I find it very hard to follow an argumentation that links almost everything, from Roosevelt to Rap music, to fascism. Heavy Metal bands, H.P Lovecraft and Freikorps homo-erotica may have something in common, but there is a chance that the word facism is being over-used here, with the danger of devoiding it of meaning. Apart from this, I think Carroll makes many good observations on popular culture, abeit most of them are based on other people's research. Further is the last chapter very good, and it gives the analysis more complexity. All in all, this book could function as an introductory text to the study of popular culture.

Book Description

An in-depth and personal look at the most popular and best-remembered local shows from the golden years of Detroit TV

Long before cable, prepackaged syndication, infomercials, do-it-yourselfers, and reality shows cluttered the television dial, there was a brand of entertainment that has today nearly vanished from the airwaves: local TV. And with its colorful and quirky cast of characters, Detroit TV arguably offered some of the best of the best of local programming anywhere in the nation-a smorgasbord of exuberant, one-of-a-kind television shows.

Based on actual interviews with the people who made Detroit TV, Gordon Castelnero's TV Land-Detroit awakens the emotional attachment and nostalgia our community has for these shows, bringing the beloved characters and memorable programs back to life.

From the glamorous Rita Bell to the insanity of the Ghoul, the zany Jingles in Boofland to the opinionated and often confrontational Lou Gordon and the gruff-voiced and somnolent George Pierrot, Castelnero reacquaints us with the talent and behind-the-scenes people, of the creative spirit in Detroit, and the intimacy they shared with the community both on and off the air.

Gordon Castelnero was a producer at WNIC radio for four years. He produced the acclaimed documentaries for WDIV and WTVS, Michigan, It Started Here! Michigan and the American Dream, and Titanic: The Final Chapter. He currently lives in Livonia, Michigan, and works at Technicolor in DVD and game media distribution. He can be contacted by e-mail at tvlanddetroit@yahoo.com

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2007-02-03

The defining moment of my memories of the past. Brought back memories of the shows that I had long forgotten about.....Once I started reading the book, I could not put it down...Excellent!

Book Description

Come on out and play

You can only surf the Net so long. You can only play so much video poker. So if you're a PC addict who's ready for some new fun, this book is your toybox. Each of the 14 projects inside includes a parts list, suggestions for finding the needed equipment, clues to the cost, helpful Web links, and complete directions. What's that? You have a few ideas of your own? Check out the suggestions in the final chapter, and start inventing your own PC toys.

The Toys

Each with a complete materials list and detailed, illustrated instructions

TiVo-like video recorder
MP3 or CD jukebox
Coffeepot controller
Telescope tracking station
Workout monitor
Home surveillance with Internet remote access
Fridge and freezer monitor
Fish tank monitor
Auto diagnostic center
In-car navigation system
Weather station
Robots
Networked video games
Model train controller

CD-ROM includes

Trial version of Pinnacle Studio
Visual GPS, freeware, and SocketWatch, shareware version
Demo versions of GoldWave and Nero Burning ROM
Unreal Tournament 2003 demo

Customer Reviews:

All of it can be found on the web for free.......2007-02-15

This is just a repackaging of info freely available on the web.

Very disappointing.......2005-05-18

I was immediately disappointed after I received this book and first browsed through it. The authors' idea of a "project" is buying some off the shelf gadget and plugging it into your PC. I don't need a book to explain THAT.

Oh, and if you don't know what an MP3 file is, HERE ARE ALL THE DETAILS. What rubbish. Of the 14 "projects" maybe 3 or 4 are easier with this book, but the chances of you're being interested in one of those seems poor.

If you get the chance to look this thing over before buying you'll quickly know if it's for you. If you have any experience interfacing PC's at all, just skip this book.

Pass this book up.......2004-10-20

It does give you step by step on how to complete these projects; but it will cost you. Example telescope tracker parts list runs about $900, then you can connect it to a PC. Build a PVR uses a P3933 with 512MB ram. I don't have one of those sitting on a shelf. This cook book shows you what software to buy, cables and plug and play modules, but does not teach anything. I guess I wanted to solder something. Please try to find a copy and flip through it before you buy it.

Very "old school" retro flavour.......2004-08-26

Ever wonder what fun things you could do with your PC, aside from playing games? Barry and Marcia Press offer some suggestions. These involve integrating your PC in some ingenious fashion to your surroundings. Quite distinct from running games or surfing the web.

Actually, while they deal with the latest PCs, there is a definite retro flavour to this book. You see, before the web arose, most PCs were standalone, or perhaps connected to a LAN if the PCs were in a workplace. But home PCs were usually on their own lonesome selves. Plus, the games of that era lacked the intensive graphics and complexity of logic of today's offerings. So quite often, PCs were used by hobbyists who were hardware buffs. This goes all the way back to the Homebrew Computer Club of San Francisco in the 1970s.

So if you try some of the book's projects, like monitoring your fish tank or your fridge or freezer, or making a control centre for model trains, you are actually indulging in an "old school" ethos.

Very Cool.......2004-04-22

I already bought Linux Toys, and had no idea that ExtremeTech would be doing one on PCs (Windows) as well, so I was very excited when I ordered this.

When it arrived, I was not disappointed. It has some very cool projects, and is written is a very easy going style. Step by step instructions are very important in a book like this, and it certainly delivers.

My only complaint is that some projects are a little "more cool" than others, but that may just be my own preferences. I thought the weather station project, for instance, could have gone a bit further, but I loved the Jukebox project. I guess with 14 different projects, everyone is bound to find something they like.

If you like tinkering, and you have an extra Windows box, pick this little gem up. You will have a blast.

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