Books:
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Ansel Adams 2004 Calendar by Adams. I always have one of Ansel
Adams wall calendars on my office wall. The calendar function is strictly
secondary interest!
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Technical Books:
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Pocket PCRef by Glover. The techno-nerd's indespensible pocket handbook.
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Getting started with Linux:
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Debian GNU/Linux 3.X Bible. (Newest release, publication pending).
Debian GNU/Linux Bible. Release 2.2r2, contains distribution on CDROM.
SUSE Linux 9 Bible. contains distribution on CDROM.
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IDG's "Dummies" series:
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Windows '98 for Dummies,
Excel '97 for Dummies,
Word '97 for Dummies,
Office '97 for Dummies,
Outlook '98 for Dummies,
Powerpoint '97 for Dummies,
The Internet for Dummies,
Netscape Communicator 4.5 for Dummies,
Quicken 2000 for Dummies,
MORE Windows '98 for Dummies,
MORE Excel '97 for Dummies,
MORE Word '97 for Dummies,
MORE Office '97 for Dummies.
I do recommend the IDG "for Dummies" series. Yes, they
are basic. But we often teach ourselves to use some of this software and we
sometimes never discover some of those very basics. Don't overlook these
books out of a misplaced sense of pride.
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Recreational Reading: |
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Tao Te Ching by Feng & English. If I could only have one book...
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Everyone's Money Book by Goodman. One of the better books on
money management and investing for individuals.
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How to Make Money in Stocks by O'Neil. Learn the CAN-SLIM method.
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The Pigeon by Levi. This is the classic reference
for pigeon fanciers, a must have. Granted, it is dated in some respects, but
it is still the best there is. See my review on Amazon.
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by Douglas Hofstadter:
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Goedel, Escher, Bach, the Eternal Golden Braid.
Simply indescribable. Thought, pattern, mathematics, logic, music, formal
languages, and more. You'll never "finish" with this book.
Metamagical Themas. The sequel to EGB, an extension of the issues and
ideas.
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Alla Prima by Schmid.
Highly recommended by a painter friend.
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Gardening:
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Greer's Guidebook to Available Rhododendrons by Harold Greer (hard cover).
The best guide to rhody hybrids you can find in the nursery trade.
(paperback)
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Rhododendron Portraits by Vangelderen et al.
424 pages, over 1200 illustrations of elepidote Rhododendrons.
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How to Identify Rhododendron and Azalea Problems
by Antonelli, et al.
Full color photos and descriptive text will help you identify disease
and insect symptoms on plants and leaves of these popular landscape
plants. Includes hardiness chart for Washington state, and a list of
hybrids resistant to root weevils. No chemical recommendations.
WSU Cooperative Extension. Pub #: EB1229.
Reprinted April 1999. 32 pages. $6.00.
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Botanica's Roses, The Encyclopedia of Roses by David Austin.
The best reference for identifying roses. Over 4,000 listings, over 700 pages.
That divides out to about 6 listings per page, most with full color pictures.
That's a lot of coverage. If you like roses, you need this
book.
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Science Fiction:
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by CJ Cherryh:
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The Faded Sun Trilogy:
Kesrith,
Shon'jir,
Kutath.
The Faded Sun Trilogy is about personal freedom, commitment and
responsibilities. It's also about heirarchies and bureaucracies. And there's
just a hint of Zen.
The Chanur Quartet:
The Pride of Chanur,
Chanur's Venture,
The Kif Strike Back,
Chanur's Homecoming,
and the sequel:
Chanur's Legacy.
The Chanur series is about learning to overcome your own limitations,
and accepting responsibilities beyond your expectations.
(In hardcover:
Pride,
Venture,
The Kif,
Homecoming,
Legacy.)
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Music:
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Tastes vary, I know, but this is music I recommend to you--if you like classical
music. I'll try to bring you some favorites you don't necessarily hear everyday.
Just don't ask me to choose one!
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by Vaughan-Williams:
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Flos Campi,
Lark Ascending,
Mass in G,
Fantasia on Greensleeves
And more on one four disc set.
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Symphony 2,
the London, Rather reminds me of the Blitz.
Symphony 8,
On the same disc with the London Symphony.
Symphony 3,
the Pastorale, here with the 5th Symphony.
In the Fen Country,
here with the Lark Ascending, Fantasia on Greensleeves, and the English folk song suite.
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The Planets by Holst.
I especially recommend to you this performance by
Isao Tomita.
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by Delius:
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Florida Suite,
Over the Hill and Far Away,
Two Pieces for Small Orchestra
Definitive performances conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. All on two discs.
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Adagio for Strings by Barber.
(Along with Copeland's El Salon Mexico on this disc.)
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Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra, by Shankar.
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by Respighi:
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Pines of Rome,
Fountains of Rome,
Feste Romane
All on one disc.
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Romance from 'The Gadfly' by Shostakovich.
This lovely adagio from the Russian movie was the theme for the TV series
"Reilly, Ace of Spies".
On this two disk set with other adagios borrowed for the movies. For example:
Adagio for Strings by Barber (Platoon).
Dangerous Moonlight by Addinsell (Warsaw Concerto).
Moonlight Concerto by Beethoven (Immortal Beloved).
O Mio Babbino Caro by Puccini (Room with a View).
Claire de Lune by DeBussy (Frankie and Johnny).
Canon in D Major by Pachelbel (Ordinary People).
Un Bel Di by Puccini (Fatal Attraction).
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Caucasian Sketches by Ippolitov-Ivanov.
If the processional belongs to the bride and Mendelssohn, then the
recessional belongs to the groom, and what could be better than
Procession of the Sardar?
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In the Steppes of Central Asia by Borodin.
On this disk with Caucasian Sketches above, and Rimsky-Korsakov's Le Coq d'Or.
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Pictures at an Exhibition,
by Mussorgsky.
I especially recommend to you this performance by
Isao Tomita.
His treatment of "The Two Polish Jews" with a chorus effect is especially poignant.
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by Stravinsky:
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Rite of Spring, Firebird Suite, and Pétrouchka. Here along with Prokofiev's
Romeo & Juliet and Love for 3 Oranges (Hitchcock used the March as his theme).
3 discs for the price of 1!
I especially recommend to you this performance of Firebird by
Isao Tomita.
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Symphony 9, "From the New World" by Dvorak.
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by Copeland:
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Appalachian Spring,
Fanfare for the Common Man,
on the same disc, along with Rodéo.
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Scheherezade by Rimsky-Korsakov. (With Capriccio Espagnol on this recording.)
(With Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition
on this recording.)
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by Rodrigo:
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Concerto Aranjuez,
Fantasia para un Gentílhombre,
here on one disc, along with Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileras No 5.
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The Moldau by Smetana. (With Sibelius' Finlandia and
DeBussy's Pelleas et Melisande on this recording.)
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Canon in D by Pachelbel. (Along with some other baroque music you'll recognize.)
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by DeBussy:
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Nocturnes,
La Mer,
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,
all here on one disc.
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Songs of the Auvergne by Canteloube.
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Lux Aeterna by Lauridson.
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Ancient & Modern by Dudley.
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by Ravel:
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Rapsodie Espagnole,
Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2,
Pavane,
Ma mère l'Oye,
all on one disc, along with Boléro, La Valse, etc.
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Computer Stuff:
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Power:
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Industrial uses and lightning on your powerlines can really mess with your
computer. A UPS is the sort of protection you need. Besides cleaning up the
spikes, surges, and sags, it provides a battery to let you ride through a
momentary flicker or give you time to shut down properly. Line conditioners
will cleanup the surges and sags, but when the power goes off, even momentarily,
you're DOWN, hard. Both UPS' and line conditioners are effective EMI filters.
Surge suppressor power strips are better than nothing, barely, but realistically
they don't provide real protection to your computer. And since MOVs in the
cheap strips are sacrificial, eventually they get "used up", providing no
protection at all. The worst thing is then they can overheat causing fire if
the case is plastic .
If you must use a surge suppressor power strip, get a good one! In rough order
of what I recommend:
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Office Supplies
Computer:
