Creative Projects with LEGO Mindstorms

Customer Reviews:

This Book is NOT for NXT.......2007-01-02

It's a great book. But the Mindstorms microproessor is now NXT -- it has been updated. Until this book is updated, you'd be better off to find a good book which is based on the NXT system.

Projects that require the solution of complex problems.......2004-01-02

In the fall semester of 2003, I taught a special topics course in robotics at Mount Mercy College with two students. A Lego Mindstorms kit was purchased and in the first segment of the class, the students built a robot and programmed it to move around the halls. We then moved on and used a more advanced robot in the remainder of the class, because I did not consider the Lego kit to be sophisticated enough. From some of my professional communications, I learned that entire college classes are being taught using only Lego Mindstorms kits.
After reading this book and evaluating the projects, I am now completely convinced that Mindstorms kits are all you need to teach a robotics class. Some of the projects in the book are a giraffe that simulates feeding, a flashlight follower, a robot painter, robots that communicate with each other, a machine that makes bubbles in response to stimulation, an infrared fax machine and even a submarine. To get these projects to work, it is necessary to solve some of the standard problems in Artificial Intelligence (AI). For example, the giraffe and all other animals require that the standard problem of getting a robot to walk be solved. The flashlight follower requires that the robot be able to dynamically process sensor input, using it to make decisions. Standard problems in machine-to-machine communication must be solved when the actions of a robot are in response to what another has told it.
The robots can be programmed using visual basic, robolab or NQC (Not Quite C). Robolab is a visual development environment where many of the actions are coded by connecting icons. The visual basic and NQC languages have many differences from their true counterparts, basically, they are stripped down versions with altered syntax.
Legos are one of the most mind-expanding toys that children can use. Applying some of the concepts in this book, they can be used as learning tools for some of the most complicated tasks that we can try to do, making a machine do intelligent tasks.

Great stuff.......2002-04-24

This book is a great introduction to the world of LEGO Mindstorms robots. I've been working with the LEGO Mindstorms kits for about 6 months, and I've often been frustrated by the lack of detail in the manuals for the kits. This book provides quite a bit of the missing information. For instance, it explains that you lose your firmware if you take your batteries out of your RCX for more than a minute or two (I wish that I'd seen that in a manual somewhere!). It provides a broad overview of alternatives to programming in RCX code, together with examples from each alternative mentioned for comparison. These coding examples are discussed in the text and they are also included on the accompanying CD. In addition to the coding examples, the CD also includes videos and stills of the robots described in the book. The book includes descriptions of a broad range of robots, from the very simple Acrobot robot featured in the Constructopedia, to robots designed by school kids, to robots designed by parent-kid teams, to advanced robots using IR communication and data logging. In each case, Erwin provides the details of the development process, how the robot was first conceived, how it was developed, and how the design problems were identified and solved. This approach makes the book much more than a simple code cookbook- -it explains to parents, teachers, and older kids how robots actually come about. Scattered throughout the book are "Asides" that explain various topics such as LEGO geometry, how to calculate gear ratios, understanding compound gear trains, programming decisions, etc. The book includes appendices of useful information, a bibliography, an excellent glossary, and an index.

Geared towards a younger audience.......2002-01-05

I've read both this book and Dave Baum's Definitive Guide and both are excellent. I enjoyed Baum's book more because it caters to an older audience: Baum seems to be writing to an older reader, there's an emphasis on the programming aspect of Mindstorms, and there are more semi-advanced projects.
Erwin's book is a thousand times better for children. The brilliant full-color pictures blow away Baum's black and white book. Erwin is a genuinely interesting author and obviously loves teaching.. Anyone who wants to teach a class with Mindstorms should take a look at the book, because it's full of great "this didn't work, but THIS did" anecdotes.
Ultimately, this never really goes above that level. Teachers and younger students should purchase this book, because it's a beautiful guide and will inspire quite a few youngsters. For the robotics engineers, programmers, and older geeks who wish that they'd had Mindstorms as a child, check out Baum's Definitive Guide - it's definitely more of what I was looking for.

More than just a ýdo thisý book!.......2001-08-27

The thing I like most about this book is the numerous "Asides" found throughout the book. The author takes the opportunity to explain scientific, engineering, mechanical, musical, etc. concepts and principals. The book includes not only how each of the 30 projects works, but he also discusses the trials and errors he made along the way. This background on how he solved different problems allows the reader to learn how to develop better machine, creations and robots of their own imagination.

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Creative Projects with LEGO Mindstorms
Benjamin Erwin
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OOK1P6

Book Description

Recently listed in the Top 100 List of the Century's Best American Journalism

Gathered in this important volume are seven newspaper articles on migrant farm workers that John Steinbeck wrote for "The San Francisco News" in 1936, three years before _The Grapes of Wrath_. With the inquisitiveness of an investigative reporter and the emotional power of a novelist in his prime, Steinbeck toured the squatters' camps and Hoovervilles of California. Here he found once strong, independent farmers—the backbone of rural America—so reduced in dignity, beaten in spirit, sick, sullen, and defeated that they had been "cast down to a kind of subhumanity." He contrasts their misery with the hope offered by government resettlement camps, where self-help committees, child nurseries, quilting and sewing projects, and decent sanitation were restoring dignity and indeed saving lives.

_The Harvest Gypsies_ gives us an eyewitness account of the horrendous Dust Bowl migration, a major event in California history, and provides the factual foundation for Steinbeck's masterpiece, _The Grapes of Wrath_. Included are twenty-two photographs by Dorothea Lange and others, many of which accompanied Steinbeck's original articles.

Customer Reviews:

A selection of seven articles that Steinbeck wrote in 1936.......2003-03-09

Readers seeking a full experience of John Steinbeck's literary style won't want to miss Harvest Gypsies, a selection of seven articles that Steinbeck wrote in 1936 about the plight of migrant farmworkers during the Dust Bowl migration. Black and white photos accompany his report on conditions and experiences, weaving a masterful selection of insights which go beyond history into personal observation.

Was It Really A Novel?.......2000-11-08

Were the "Grapes of Wrath" published today, it may like other recent books, have been classified as historical fiction as opposed to a novel. I am thinking specifically of "Artemisia" that was published as both in different countries. How the work is classified is not critical, as either way it is one of the finest pieces of literature that has been written, and for many people, Steinbeck's finest work.

"The Harvest Gypsies" is a collection of 7 articles that Mr. Steinbeck wrote as a journalist. All were concerned with the issues he dealt with in the resulting book. This small volume is greatly enhanced by the photographs of Dorothea Lange, and the introduction of Charles Wollenberg.

One of the people the book was dedicated to was "Tom", actually Tom Collins, who was a manager of a federal migrant labor camp in California. The lines of fact and fiction are eventually blurred with him, as Tom Collins was the model for the character of "Jim Rawley" manager of "The Wheatpatch Camp" in "The Grapes Of Wrath". Ms. Lange's photographs could have been illustrations for Mr. Steinbeck's book, for when viewing them you can pick out the faces that could have accounted for the members of Steinbeck's epic.

This is a very brief book, but it portrays the migratory farm workers lives, as being even worse, if that can be imagined. A novel always offers the ultimate refuge of being fiction; these 7 articles and their photographs take away that solace. The brutality, random murder, and disease that was rampant, and the State of California that allowed the behaviors, are atrocious. In the context of one of the writings, one of the large growers who sanctioned the killing and starvation that was part of the agriculture industry stated that, "without a peon population the economy of California could not function". Steinbeck takes this statement of arrogance and ignorance, that is routinely spoken by any exploiter, and logically demonstrates that were this indeed the case, the state could no longer exist. For were it to continue to exist with its fascist policies, the most basic of Democratic rights would have to be absented.

Milk, that played so prominent a role in the book is spoken of extensively in the articles. Many of the most painful parts of the book were so common in reality, that the book may seem mild at times.

No matter how many times you have read the book, once this collection of articles are read, the experience of the book will not only change, I believe it will be enhanced.

. . .a prerequisite to In Dubious Battle. . ........1999-04-15

Three of Steinbeck's social novels--In Dubious Battle, The Grapes of Wrath, and Of Mice and Men--are enhanced after reading this work. This work is the prelude to three of Steinbeck's most socially poweful novels. To fully understand what Steinbeck is striving to accomplish with Battle and Wrath, and to fully round out your history/literature lesson, it is essential to understand something about the socialist movement--birth of communisim--and the general exploitation of the fruit-pickers of California. The big businesses of that day, not much different from various big businesses of today, treated employees like machines--replacing them as needed--after being hurt on unsafe equipment, etc.--without regarding their well-being, or considering the hungry mouths of their families. The Harvest Gypsies is a crutial text in the study of California before uniouns began revolting against the machine.

Book Description

Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) provides academic and business economists, government officials, and members of the financial and business communities with timely research on current economic issues.

Contents:

Editors' Summary

Bubble, Bubble, Where's the Housing Bubble? Margaret Hwang Smith and Gary Smith (Pomona College)

The Recent Decline in the Labor Force Participation Rate and Its Implications for Potential Labor Supply Stephanie Aaronson, Bruce Fallick, Andrew Figura, Jonathan Pingle, and William Wascher (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve)

Are Successive Generations Getting Wealthier, and If So, Why? Evidence from the 1990s William G. Gale (Brookings Institution) and Karen M. Pence (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve)

Customer Reviews:

Not just a one-holer.......2006-10-10

Great little book. Fantastic pictures and short stories that give light to the art of the outhouse, it's lore & personalization. A fitting tribute to an often overlooked piece of amreicana.

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Outhouses of Alaska 2002
Harry M. Walker
Manufacturer: Another Alaskan DoDad
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Calendar
ASIN: 9675897384

Book Description

For more than two decades Harry M. Walker has tracked down and photographed unusual specimens of an Alaskan cultural icon: the outhouse. In this whimsical calendar Walker has captured colorful images of Alaska outhouses in every size, shape, and style.

Outhouses of Alaska 2004 A Wall Calendar

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Outhouses of Alaska 2004 A Wall Calendar
Harry M. Walker
Manufacturer: Another Alaskan DoDad
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Calendar
ASIN: 0967589770

Book Description

For more than two decades Harry M. Walker has been photographing unusual specimens of a singular Alaskan cultural icon: the outhouse. Based on Walker's best selling book of the same name, this whimsical calendar captures colorful images of Alaska outhouses in every size, shape, and style. A fun and memorable gift for just about everyone.

The passing of Backhouse Bill: The Alaskan classic

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The passing of Backhouse Bill: The Alaskan classic
Edward A Herron
Manufacturer: E. Herron & L. Ordway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008CBDP6

Customer Reviews:

billie's blues.......2000-07-15

i got a closer look into billie holiday's life with each band she was introduced to. this book shed some light on her personal life, but it gives more reference to her career. i still enjoyed the book

Billie's Blues: The Story of Billie Holliday, 1933-1959.

Average customer rating:

Billie's Blues: The Story of Billie Holliday, 1933-1959.
John Chilton
Manufacturer: Stein & Day Paperback
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0812870042

Billie's Blues: The Billie Holiday Story, 1933-1959

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Billie's Blues: The Billie Holiday Story, 1933-1959
John Chilton
Manufacturer: Da Capo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSTSOM

BillieÂ’s blues : the Billie Holiday story, 1933-1959 / John Chilton ; foreword by Buck Clayton

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BillieÂ’s blues : the Billie Holiday story, 1933-1959 / John Chilton ; foreword by Buck Clayton
John (1932-) Chilton
Manufacturer: Day Books/ Stein and Day
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WAUWAQ

Customer Reviews:

A Fun Read.......2003-04-07

I grew up watching Gilligan's Island, but now that I'm well into my 30s, I have a new appreciation for it. This book was very easy-to-read and entertaining. Bob Denver has a very affable writing style--you feel almost like he's sitting and having a conversation with you. I wish that he had included more about his personal life, but that was his choice, and I respect it.

Since his two most famous characters, Gilligan and Maynard G. Krebs, were not exactly brilliant, some people may be surprised to discover that Bob Denver is the exact opposite--he's very confident, intelligent, and well-read. This shows through in his book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves Gilligan, Maynard, or both.

Too much Gilligan,too little Bob.Maynard was fine........1999-10-08

I was a big fan of Dobie Gillis,and I loved seeing what Bob Denver's favorite episodes were.Some of them were my favorites too,like when Dobie and Maynard discussed their future after graduation from High school.Maynard was a great character that Bob Denver had the chance to add real depth to.

On the other hand,I ODd on Gilligan reruns and had little interest in the Island show.I'm sure those sections about Gilligan's Island would be great for superfans of the series,and there appear to be many...but I'm only marginal.

Bob Denver told little about his own personal life in the book-his upbringing,previous jobs and the like-but that was his choice and I'm sure he wrote the book more for fans of Gilligan and Maynard than those who wondered about Bob Denver himself. If there had been more about him I just might have bought the book instead of just skimming through it at a library.

Book Description

This book uses a practical, step-by-step approach to provide comprehensive instruction on basic to advanced JavaScript concepts. Author Patrick Carey's fluid writing style and thorough explanations make even the most complex topics easy for beginners to understand and apply. With this book, users will be well on their way to create impressive web sites featuring animated text, image rollovers, pull-down menus, and drag and drop menus.

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