ThinkGeek: The Bag of Holding

It was time for a new shoulder bag, and, after much deliberation, I chose this one, the Bag of Holding from ThinkGeek.

It is named after a "gaming item" with (supposedly) infinite capacity. This bag WILL hold a lot of stuff…

It has several nice features:

1. A handle. The strap is nice, but there are times when you just need to grab the back and pick it up.
2. The zippers. You may not be able to tell by the picture, but they are metal and should last for a long time (unlike nylon zippers).
3. The bag uses magnetic clasps. You can see the "female" part of one to the right. These work very well, and do not seem to be magnetic enough to damage electronic equipment.

The bag has several compartments. My only complaint, such as it is, is about the front compartment, which has many small pockets in it. The pockets are almost too small to be useful (I have a flashlight in one). Heavy objects might fall out. I might have preferred more slots for pens.

All in all, though, a very nice bag, and I suspect it will last for a while.

Review (c) 2011 by Patrick Jost

Calculus: A Modern Approach by Karl Menger

It is an unfortunate reality many textbooks are quite expensive-often over $100.

Karl Menger's Calculus: A Modern Approach is a welcome exception.

This book costs less than $20 (available from Dover). It has the advantage of having been written by a noted Vienna Circle mathematician. One of Menger's areas of expertise was the "explication of [mathematical] concepts" and he also trained US military personnel in mathematics during World War II.

The book suits the needs of the absolute beginner: you can start on page one and proceed with a "miniature calculus" (which is developed into a "full calculus" in the course of the book), or, if you are using the book as a reference or refresher, the book can be used for that as well-note that it includes an entire chapter on scientific applications of calculus.

Economics 101 (almost)

Adam Smith?

Thomas Malthus?

Karl Marx?

Thorstein Veblen?

John Maynard Keynes?

Maybe you've heard of them, maybe you haven't. They are key figures in economics.

Robert Heilbroner has brought them, and others, to life in his excellent book, The Worldly Philosophers, pictured here in a 1980 edition (many years before the bailouts, but you'll be surprised how timely the book still is).

Heilbroner teaches economics through the lives of prominent economists. You'll read about Adam Smith's absentmindedness, Karl Marx's boils, Thorstein Veblen's love life, and the fortune of John Maynard Keynes. You'll find out what the Wealth of Nations and Communist Manifesto are all about.

This book does not replace a course in economics, but it will get you started with what's important-the key ideas!

Michael Patrick Jost (March 2011).

Shostakovich: The War Symphonies

This is an interesting concept: a set of recordings of Shostakovich's wartime symphonies.

The result: well worth the effort.

The listener is treated to the little-performed Fourth Symphony; Shostakovich was beginning to develop his own style, and this is something of a bridge between his first three symphonies and the Fifth.

There are many recordings of the Fifth and Seventh, and these stand with the best of them.

The Eighth is a personal favorite of mine. Very heavy music, but also very, very good.

The Ninth is a lighter work; Shostakovich also feared comparisons with Beethoven's Ninth, so he took a safe way out.

Patrick Jost

The Advent of the Algorithm

I really wanted to like this book, as well as another by the same author: A Tour of the Calculus.

The battered scan should convince you that I DID read this book…some parts several times…

David Berlinski clearly knows his mathematics, and his "formula" of explaining things through historical anecdotes, should work, but it doesn't.

The problem is that the anecdotes start, very quickly, to seem forced. You just *know* that they did not happen.

In addition, there are many other books-some reviewed here-that do a much better of of accomplishing what Berlinski set out to do.

Patrick Jost

Snow Leopard UPDATE

Very minor issue: the mail database conversion lost two of my passwords.

Not a big thing, but mail says a server is "offline" when it doesn't have the password, it should ask for the password.

The improved performance and extra features of Preview more than make up for this, though.

Patrick Jost

Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard: First Impressions

I have been a Mac user since 1984, and have trouble finding fault with the company or its products.

The iMac, combined with a few pieces of software (e.g., Mellel, the world's greatest word processor) make it an unparalleled business tool.

I had no problems with Leopard but was understandably curious about what improvements Snow Leopard might bring.

When I learned of the early release of Snow Leopard (on August 28, 2009), I decided that would be "Snow Leopard" Day!

The installation was painless-put in the DVD and go, just as it should be. The installation took just under an hour. I had seen reports of problems with restoring Internet access, but I did not have any.

The only moment of concern was with Mail-it did take about 5 minutes to rebuild the mail database, but there's a lot of mail to go through!

I have used it for about 12 hours, and have noticed increased speed, especially with opening documents.

The new features in Preview are nice, and it is now the way to go for viewing documents.

I still like Firefox, but it is obvious that Safari will win any speed test, so I may be using it for intensive browsing.

The upgrade is well worth the $29.99, and confirms the iMac as the leading business productivity tool!

Patrick Jost

Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World

Bruce Schneier's 2004 Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World is still an extremely current book.

It is nontechnical yet detailed, providing information what various technologies do and their implications.

The organization is effective and interesting: Landscape, Technolgies, Strategies, with an excellent discussion of who the "bad guys" (such as they may be) are, what they want, and how to deal with them.

Highly recommended.

Patrick Jost

The Nature and Power of Mathematics

I can't say enough good things about Dover Publications. I've done business with them for years, and will continue to do so. Take a look at their site.

This book, The Nature and Power of Mathematics, by Donald M.Davis, is just amazing. Davis begins in familiar territory, covering Greek mathematics (including π), then moving into Non-Euclidean Geometry and other topics, including a very lucid treatment of cryptography.

A bargain at $19.95. Very readable, well made, with nice illustrations.

Patrick Jost

Happy Mid-2009

Sorry, I've been busy and away.

Watch this blog for recommendations on software, books, music, and more…

Patrick Jost

New for 2008

Software recommendations!

Russian Election News

You can read the latest news about the Russian Election here and here.

Lists

This blog is going to concentrate on lists; I contribute to other blogs, such as russianelection2008.blogspot.com, you can read my stuff there!