I just received my course materials today. I was impressed with the organization of the CD. The book, which is a classic, is of course great! The book would have earned 5 stars, but I gave the whole shameel 4 stars (5 for the book & CD, 3 for the videos) because the integration between the book and video tapes isn't so great. It's difficult to see exactly how to fit the video course in with the book, and it's obvious that the videos were an afterthought. There should be difinitive instructions about the integration. Also, the "cyber" media CD is mis-named. "Cyber" implies "cyberspace", i.e. internet, so I kept looking for links from the multimedia material to the internet, and there were none. The CD is straight old-fashioned multimedia, and they can't change that fact by naming with an internet-related name.

In all, this looks like a good course, packed full of content. If I had it to do over again, I'd buy it again.

This book is a decent review of an emerging toxic tort. It includes checklists, some history, the statutory and regulatory framework and a state-by-state review of the (now dated) caselaw. Pb is spread, not as thinly as we would hope, over the entire US landscape. We ingest, respire, and expire due to the physiological and neurological effects of this dull grey metal in its many forms.

It is a shame that this fine little book does not investigate, nor comment upon, the technical mechanisms of forensic identification of lead contamination.

This element has substantial bioavailability and thereby concomitant morbidity, mortality and teratogenicity.

The nature of Pb in the environment is that there are few ways to avoid some exposure. Absent some massive change in the way we use Pb, store Pb, remediate Pb and protect our children from Pb, this is the next wave of toxic tort litigation.

Pb is an interesting element. It has many, many forms in nature. The most common forms found in the mining process are "pure" lead, lead acetate, lead oxide and lead sulfide. Bioavailability is determined by the state of the element when it is ingested.

An interesting fact about the element is that the various lead ores found in Pb mines have very different and varying proportions of lead isotopes, depending upon the nature of the deposit. Some naturally occurring lead isotopes are radioactive, and decay by emitting an alpha particle (4He nucleus). Alpha particles are positively charged and are ejected at a high velocity. They are much heavier than beta particles (electrons), and given their high velocity, have a much greater ability to penetrate materials. As alpha particles collide they can strip electrons from atoms in the adjoining matrix. Low alpha lead is the "gold" of the grey metal market and is highly sought after by the computer industry (the fewer internal nuclear interactions in a complex circuit, the more reliable it is) at a premium price.

Lead can be tracked back to the mine it came from, if the search is made with diligence and an understanding of the chemistry, ore strata and isotope state of lead. One isotope of lead (204 Pb) is "primordial", or the "low alpha" isotope; it does not result from the decay of transuranic elements. Other isotopes are "radiogenic", being either fairly stable ( 206 Pb, 207 Pb, and 208 Pb) or radioactive and unstable ( 210 Pb, 211 Pb, 212 Pb, and 214 Pb) decay products of Uranium and Thorium isotopes. Isotope ratios and chemical state are the forensic tools of the lead litigator.

If you want to prove up your damages (or defend against them) the source of the contamination must comport well with the bioreserve in the victims. As is the case in most toxic tort litigation causation is usually shown by circumstantial evidence and limited forensic proof (usually provided by a treating physician and a neurological expert). The defenses to the tort are that Pb is ubiquitous in our environment and that primary toxicity does not equate to any one mechanism of delivery. You could argue that the victim does not have Pb poisoning, but even the defense experts will have to admit the presence of the element in the tissues of the victim. For either side in litigation, having a complete analysis of the chemistry and isotope ratios of the contaminated tissue will provide either litigation team with a far higher level of confidence in the result.

The complete martial arts is a style by style review of different martial art disciplines. It includes 25 different types of martial arts and gives brief history of how it came about and its origin, gives examples by using illustrations, and answers many questions that would be asked when choosing a style for yourself. A very enjoyable read with a good balance of text and illustration to maintain high interest throughout.

Paul Laurence Dunbar was the first great Black poet; Booker T. Washington called him the "Poet Laureate of the Negro Race". Dunbar, the son of ex-slaves, grew up in Dayton, OH, where he was friendly with the Wright Brothers. He had a successful high school career--founding editor of the school paper and elected class president of the predominantly white school--but upon graduation, he was forced to work as an elevator operator. His second book of poetry was praised by William Dean Howells and by age 24, he was one of the most renowned Black literary figures in America.

Dunbar wrote in two different styles. On the one hand, he wrote straightforward classic verse that was filled with racial pride:

THE COLORED SOLDIERS

IF the muse were mine to tempt it And my feeble voice were strong, If my tongue were trained to measures, I would sing a stirring song. I would sing a song heroic Of those noble sons of Ham, Of the gallant colored soldiers Who fought for Uncle Sam!

In the early days you scorned them, And with many a flip and flout Said "These battles are the white man's, And the whites will fight them out." Up the hills you fought and faltered, In the vales you strove and bled, While your ears still heard the thunder Of the foes' advancing tread.

Then distress fell on the nation, And the flag was drooping low; Should the dust pollute your banner? No! the nation shouted, No! So when War, in savage triumph, Spread abroad his funeral pall-- Then you called the co]ored soldiers, And they answered to your call.

And like hounds unleashed and eager For the life blood of the prey, Sprung they forth and bore them bravely In the thickest of the fray. And where'er the fight was hottest, Where the bullets fastest fell, There they pressed unblanched and fearless At the very mouth of hell.

Ah, they rallied to the standard To uphold it by their might; None were stronger in the labors, None were braver in the fight. From the blazing breach of Wagner To the plains of Olustee, They were foremost in the fight Of the battles of the free.

And at Pillow! God have mercy On the deeds committed there, An the souls of those poor victims Sent to Thee without a prayer. Let the fulness of Thy pity O'er the hot wrought spirits sway Of the gallant colored soldiers Who fell fighting on that day!

Yes, the Blacks enjoy their freedom, And they won it dearly,too; For the life blood of their thousands Did the southern fields bedew. In the darkness of their bondage, In the depths of slavery's night, Their muskets flashed the dawning, And they fought their way to light

They were comrades then and brothers, Are they more or less to-day? They were good to stop a bullet And to front the fearful fray. They were citizens and soldiers, When rebellion raised its head; And the traits that made them worthy,-- Ah! those virtues are not dead.

They have shared your nightly vigils, They have shared your daily toil; And their blood with yours commingling Has enriched the Southern soil. They have met as fierce a foeman, And have been as brave and true.

And their deeds shall find a record In the registry of Fame; For their blood has cleansed completely Every blot of Slavery's shame.

So all honor and all glory To those noble sons of Ham-- The gallant colored soldiers Who fought for Uncle Sam!

WE WEAR THE MASK

We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,-- This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise. We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the mile; But let the world dream other-wise, We wear the mask!

But on the other hand, he was a master of dialect poems:

AN ANTE-BELLUM SERMON.

WE is gathahed hyeah, my brothahs, In dis howlin' wildaness, Fu' to speak some words of comfo't To each othah in distress. An' we chooses fu' ouah subjic' Dis--we 'll 'splain it by an' by; "An' de Lawd said, 'Moses, Moses,' An' de man said, 'Hyeah am I.'"

Now ole Pher'oh, down in Egypt, Was de wuss man evah bo'n, An' he had de Hebrew chillun Down dah wukin' in his co'n; 'Twell de Lawd got tiahed o' his foolin', An' sez he: "I 'll let him know-- Look hyeah, Moses, go tell Pher'oh Fu' to let dem chillun go."

"An' ef he refuse to do it, I will make him rue de houah,

Fu' I 'll empty down on Egypt All de vials of my powah." Yes, he did--an' Pher'oh's ahmy Was n't wuth a ha'f a dime; Fu' de Lawd will he'p his chillun, You kin trust him evah time.

An' yo' enemies may 'sail you In de back an' in de front; But de Lawd is all aroun' you, Fu' to ba' de battle's brunt. Dey kin fo'ge yo' chains an' shackles F'om de mountains to de sea; But de Lawd will sen' some Moses Fu' to set his chillun free.

An' de lan' shall hyeah his thundah, Lak a blas' f'om Gab'el's ho'n, Fu' de Lawd of hosts is mighty When he girds his ahmor on. But fu' feah some one mistakes me, I will pause right hyeah to say, Dat I 'm still a-preachin' ancient, I ain't talkin' 'bout to-day.

But I tell you, fellah christuns, Things 'll happen mighty strange; Now, de Lawd done dis fu' Isrul, An' his ways don't nevah change, An' de love he showed to Isrul Was n't all on Isrul spent; Now don't run an' tell yo' mastahs Dat I 's preachin' discontent.

'Cause I is n't; I 'se a-judgin' Bible people by deir ac's; I 'se a-givin' you de Scriptuah, I 'se a-handin' you de fac's. Cose ole Pher'oh b'lieved in slav'ry, But de Lawd he let him see, Dat de people he put bref in,-- Evah mothah's son was free.

An' dahs othahs thinks lak Pher'oh, But dey calls de Scriptuah liar, Fu' de Bible says "a servant Is a-worthy of his hire." An' you cain't git roun' nor thoo dat, An' you cain't git ovah it, Fu' whatevah place you git in, Dis hyeah Bible too 'll fit.

So you see de Lawd's intention, Evah sence de worl' began, Was dat His almighty freedom Should belong to evah man, But I think it would be bettah, Ef I 'd pause agin to say, Dat I 'm talkin' 'bout ouah freedom In a Bibleistic way.

But de Moses is a-comin', An' he 's comin', suah and fas' We kin hyeah his feet a-trompin', We kin hyeah his trumpit blas'. But I want to wa'n you people, Don't you git too brigity; An' don't you git to braggin' 'Bout dese things, you wait an' see.

But when Moses wif his powah Comes an' sets us chillun free, We will praise de gracious Mastah Dat has gin us liberty; An' we 'll shout ouah halleluyahs, On dat mighty reck'nin' day, When we 'se reco'nised ez citiz'-- Huh uh! Chillun, let us pray!

Inevitably, in a Reconstruction America that was both nostalgic and regionalist, his dialect poems were wildly popular & tended to overshadow his more serious verse. As a result, he has always been a figure of some controversy in Black America; alternately dismissed for popularizing a derogatory stereotype of Blacks and hailed as a great literary figure. Dunbar captures this dichotomy in his own poem, The Poet:

The Poet

He sang of life, serenely sweet, With , now ant then, a deeper note. From some high peak, nigh yet remote, He voiced the world's absorbing beat.

He sang of love when earth was young, And Love, itself, was in his lays. But ah, the world, it turned to praise A jingle in a broken tongue.

Given the perspective of 100 years, it seems to me that he deserves to be read by all Americans.

GRADE: B+

This is one of the few good books focusing on component based development. The best thing about the book is that practical examples from the realworld are used for ellaborating concepts. Although not a book for learning UML, the examples help in understanding how to apply UML. One of the things I found lacking in the book is chapters about design patterns. I think a second edition addressing components in relation to patterns should be made. In all a good resource for System architects and project leaders undertaking a project adopting a component based approach.

The literary style is a bit dry but the rhetoric and ideas are a solid read. Hindemith opens with a philosophical discussion of the nature of hearing and performing music and lays down the poles of Western thought between Boethius and Augustine, that music is considered to have moral force to shape the mind or that the mind imposes order on sound to create the mental impression of music. He tries to avoid being dogmatic about either and proceeds to an explanation of musical memory and emotional association.

Where he gets a bit cranky is explaining the American musical education establishment and the bad habits of performers. He's also very unforgiving to popular music and music made in totalitarian states (e.g. Shostakovich and music written for fascist regimes). But his comments about the shortcomings of American musical education are salient today and his critique of mass-marketing of music is also still relevant.

I've had this book for about ten years now, and I am happy to see it is still available. I've used it for design projects (a college assignment comparing American and British slang), and just for fun. Slang is fascinating!

Ever had one of those days where everything went wrong? For Larry Munro, a day to pick up his pal, Concrete, blew up (literally!) at the gas station. An innocent flirt with a girl leads to trouble as the girl's boyfriend just happened to rob the gas station and ready to runaway. Guest who the gotta be the driver? Will this change his life forever?

This collection is one of the best comicbook that takes on real life situations without letting the superheroes element disturb your attention. A nicely executed story and the ending will ask you a provoking question about the event in the book. What would you do if it actually happen to you?

I was very interested in reading more about Confucius after reading "Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus" by Karl Jaspers. Strathern's brief book reinforced some of what Jaspers said, but with much easier language. This book won't tell you a lot about Confucius and his teachings, but will let you know if you want to do any more reading. I liked his recommendation of Arthur Waley's translation of "The Analects." I do wish he had given just a little more recommended reading. He didn't suggest "The Wisdom of Confucius" by Lin Yutang, but I recommend it. This "90 minute" book is a light, quick read, which suited me at the time. Now I want to read more about Confucius (the Lin Yutang book). I like the 90 minute series and intend to read more of these volumes. Modern business just doesn't give you the luxury of time to read about philosophy. So for authors that I'm not sure I want to spend much time on, the 90 minute series is great. Strathern is a clever man. He didn't just write a book. He created a product line with a recognizable "90 minute" brand label!

This is one of those books that magic buffs can't resist buying just for the pleasure of reading (as opposed to perfming) what the pages contain. It's an old world look at the world of magic, not a serious teach-in, but the pictures are a pleasure, the text reminscent of the sort of magical instruction we used to read in those wonderful magic books of the 1930's, and just might tantalize a beginner into getting into magic. You won't be much wiser after reading this little charmer, and you won't be a performer as a result, but many of us who have loved magic for decades can put it all down to the original spell that was cast by a book that provided a little doorway of wonder. This is such a book.