Correcting some misconceptions
341400
So to correct misconceptions by a previous reviewer-1) the mesh water pickets WILL accept standard size containers. They are tight and take a slight effort to use becausr they erre obviously designed to keep prevent your water bottle from falling out. 2) you have the option to close the fold down seal in two ways- standardie locked ino each other or on the side snaps. The bag looks very reliable and I fully intend to test how waterproof it is before my fliat trip down the Gunnuson river.
3115395
Unfortunately, this book does not appear to have been carefully fact-checked or edited. It is a nifty topic and written in an engaging style. But Dr. Denny presents at least two factual errors in Chapter 3, one which describes the development of modern firearms. There is an awful lot in this book that is very interesting that I do not have the background experience and training to evaluate. But I *do* know a good bit about modern handguns. To most trained handgunners, the two factual errors I note below might be the equivalent of getting the wrong answer on an American history test question similar to, "Who was the first President of the United States?"

I know that theoretical physics is Dr. Denny's academic discipline and not firearms or any other history. But he presents information in this book as authoritative and presents himself as a credible authority. Having found these errors calls into question the credibility of other statements he makes throughout the book, even those pertaining to ballistics. After all, conscientious, detailed fact-checking is important for non-fiction book authors, and I think most would agree it should be all the more important when presenting information outside one's area of expertise.

So here goes.

On page 56, first paragraph, he describes that a person rapid-firing a double-action revolver will, "...repeatedly pull the trigger, which cocks and fires the gun, ejects the spent cartridge and loads the next round, all from the same trigger pull." In fact, double-action revolvers do not automatically eject spent cartridges and load new rounds. The text actually describes the functioning of a semi-automatic pistol, not a revolver.

Speaking of semi-automatic pistols, on page 62, second paragraph, Dr. Denny writes that semi-automatic pistols were invented by Hugo Schmeisser in 1916. In fact, the first commercially successful semi-automatic pistol was designed by Hugo Borchardt and appeared in 1894. Moreover, by 1916, John Browning's famous M1911 .45 ACP semi-automatic pistol had already been adopted (in 1911) by the U.S. Army as its standard sidearm after several years of development and extensive competitive trials.
1890333
This will be a short review because I am writing it to correct disinformation that has been included in some comments.  I believe that most people familiar with contemporary historians know that Simon Schama is a first-rate scholar.  They realize that his opinions are not personal or made-up, but drawn from the primary and secondary documents of the Revolutionary War period.

Unfortunately, the tendency for there to be more non-scholary material about historical figures than scholarly material results in the kind of remarks made by Seth J. Frantzman.  He has embraced the myth of the founding fathers being upstanding, ethical men concerned soley about establishing a fairer and more equitable society.  So, he rejects the reality of those men -- that they were wealthy leaders of their time who believed that their elite status would be better maintained and improved upon in a country that was no longer a British colony.  Frantzman goes so far as to deny the easily provable fact that some of his heroes were slaveowners.  Slave ownership was documented in several ways, including descriptions of property in account books, diaries and wills, bills of sale and censuses.  Schama is not mistaken when, for example, he describes Patrick Henry's determination to continue to be a slaveowner.  The motivation for Southern gentry to join the revolution was mainly protecting slavery, which was the basis of their wealth.  By the time of the Civil War, the majority of the wealthiest men in America would be slaveowners.

It is offputting to see that Seth J. Frantzman is listed among the top 100 reviewers at Amazon, considering that what he has said about "Rough Crossings" is inaccurate and possibly the result of bigotry.  I hope that this situation will remind people that some commenters bring a political agenda to the site.
4714639
Thawed

This pamphlet has many excellent points going for it. It explains some of the major reasons why so many Americans reject the evidence for human-caused climate change (a political phenomena seen chiefly in the USA and Australia: people on the rest of the planet overwhelmingly accept the fact that humans have caused and are causing climate change, of which global warming is one component). The pamphlet also explains the scientific method, and why humanity can and should tentatively accept the conclusions of scientists.

The author pointed out that after scientists publish their conclusions derived by their studies, they beg and plead other scientists to disprove and to find flaws in those conclusions--- a requirement found in science, but never in religion or politics. Only after conclusions survive the relentless assault from peers within the specific science venue ("falsification" attempts), will the conclusions be tentatively accepted. (The author did not mention the fact that before scientists publish their conclusions, they work hard to refute those conclusions themselves.) This "peer review" process is not 100% successful in screening out errors, but it is the best process humanity has ever come up with so far for determining that which is false from that which is most likely correct.

Note I wrote "tentatively" and "most likely correct:" science deals with levels of confidence, and never certainty. Regarding the evidence for human-caused climate change, nearly 100% of the world's experts in the related science venues agree that humans have caused and are causing climate change, and that the change has been, is, and will be disastrous: but those conclusions are still accepted tentatively, in the extremely unlikely event that the conclusions are wrong.

When scientists want to know if a hypothesis is most likely true, they work very hard to disprove the hypothesis. They do not work to "prove" that it is true. Deniers of science, and in this case deniers of the evidence for human-caused climate change, refuse to accept the fact that the world's scientists have already tried extremely hard, for nearly 200 years, to disprove the physics involved in human-caused climate change: that falsification attempt has been going on since the 1820s, with Joseph Fourier!

If human-caused climate change had not happened and were not happening, the world's scientists would not all agree otherwise.

The pamphlet corrected debunked (not "refuted") many of the common claims made by deniers of the evidence for human-caused climate change.

For one example, the bizarre assertion that all of the world's climatologists forgot the fact that Earth has clouds: a claim I have seen made by several evidence-deniers.

For another example, the false assertion that scientists have not accounted for what is known as the "urban heat island effect:" thermometers near urban areas that are inaccurate due to improper location such as near buildings. The fact is that the effect has been measured, and globally the effect has been found to be negligible. The effect was measured to be negative (-0.19c) with the error bars being plus or minus 0.19c

This pamphlet is a good overview of the science involved. I'm not convinced the pamphlet was worth the three dollars I paid for it, since all of the facts inside are freely and readily available elsewhere.
914548
I wanted to correct a few misconceptions that other reviewers posted about this book. It's not mainly about Windows XP Home Edition: it's about both Professional and Home. We wrote it about Windows XP Pro, and then noted where Windows XP works differently.
Someone else claimed that the book omits getting a Windows XP computer networked with a Windows 98 computer. Chapter 28 is about setting up LANs, and it describes the whole process. There's a Network Setup Wizard you can run on both the Windows XP and Windows 98 system to get them both configured. The key point is that older Windows versions use the NetBEUI networking protocol, and Windows XP doesn't, unless you do some extra steps. The best solution is to switch your older machines over to TCP/IP, the networking protocol that both Windows XP and the Internet use.
Anyway, I hope that this extra information is helpful!...
696601
For the most part I like this book because it gave me some clarification on a few things I've been thinking about for a low-carb high-fat diet. However, some of her claims, particularly about calories in-calories out, make me wonder where she got her information. It runs counter to some of the other information I've been reading that is backed up by a lot of science and includes reference to the original source material and scientific studies.  Overall I got enough out of this book to make it worth it for me.
3835596
Overall, it's a pretty good book. My only complaint is a fairly major one: his assertion in the beginning that Anglicanism rejected apostolic succession is false. Not only is it false, the Anglican Communion's adherence to apostolic succession is well know. This may sound like I'm nitpicking, but if he can't get this one well known fact correct, I'm forced to question the rest of his conclusions.

EDIT: I was too harsh in my original review and rating of three stars. There is a valid case to be made for and against apostolic succession in the Anglican Communion, and more research is needed on my part. I've decided to change my rating to five stars because, while I may not necessarily agree with the author on that one point, each of his other arguments are sound and should be judged on their own merits.
2492028
Good ideas, wrong numbers.  The distance ratios in this book are off.  The modern use of computers has corrected this.  This book is however, very much still worth the read.  Other than the numbers, the handicapping  concepts are valid and useful even today.  The writing is intelligent and interesting.
3605092
It seems essential to correct misinformation in a number of the prior reviews - I myself was mislead by those incorrect statements as I shopped for a book on hacking the Tivo. I hope others who come shopping after this will be able to understand correctly.
Yes, this book is circumspect in what it discusses for Series 2 Tivo's - that seems to eventuate from what the author perceives as propriety. But despite that, all the background - in this book that overall is presented with great clarity - helps the Series 2 owner to understand the task of hacking the machine. And many of the items presented as being for Series 1 can also be used for Series 2. To say anything else is misleading to later shoppers. This book is a great boon to the Series 2 owner.
At the same time a second book - Hacking the Tivo by William von Hagen - details some of the rest of the Series 2 story. In particular you learn in complete detail the key step necessary for a Series 2 machine, that is to `gain access' or in other words to get a bash prompt. The book also devotes space to possibilities with Mac OS X. This book too shows care and attention.
Both of these books have their - great - strengths. I gather from reviews of the second book there may also be a few errata in it, which hopefully will not be too difficult to run to earth. But together these two books make a terrific matched pair. I bought both together (fortunately, despite confusion in the reviews - no, I haven't yet had the chance to look at the others out there, beyond these two). I strongly encourage anyone who is serious about the topic - hacking their Tivo - to consider buying this complementary pair together.
686261
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  The brain-teasers contained within really do take your mind off of everyday concerns, as the author states in the introduction.  However, I have found a few errors that may be of help to those who find themselves scratching their heads when they consult the answers in the back of the book.
These are errors that I have found so far:

1. Page 68, "Take a Hike": The problem is incorrectly stated or the answer is wrong.  For the answer in the back to correct, the walker's speed on the return trip must be 3 mph vice 1 mph as stated OR the correct answer must be 1/3 mile.

2. Page 21, "The Flight of the Pigeons": Contrary to the theoretcal answer posed by the author, the truck would indeed "weigh" less if the birds took flight.  The reason being that birds in flight do not produce a downward thrust to be transmitted to the truck and even if they did, it would not be fully transmitted to the truck via the incompressible air that "supports" them. The flight of birds relies on the Bernoulli principle where lift is generated by their forward motion of airfoil wings in the air.

3. Page 51, "Chickens and Ducks":  The given answer is incorrect.  Solving the simple simultaneous equations: 4C+2D=80 and C+D=25 results in C=15 and D=10.  This results in a total of (15)(5)+(10)(4)=115eggs/week.  This exceeds the authors answer of 112eggs/week.

4. Page 87, "Party Time": I have to disagree with author's answer because his answer does not include the couple giving party, although it is implied in the problem that they are indeed consuming beverages at the rate of the invited guests.  Thus a total of 11 couples are attending the party and partaking in the consumption of beverages.  Solving for n cans per man: 11n=12(n-1)+1 which yields n=11 beers apiece; thus (11)(11)=121 cans of beer were shared.

5. Page 123, "The Six Brothers": The answer given for this problem is wrong.  Six brother are given a tiangular piece of land 3000 m^2 total, the length and width of which form a right angle. The incremental area between the indivdual parcels is equal.  Thus, if A is the smallest area then A+2A+3A+4A+5A+6A=3000.  Solving for A gives 142.86m^2; which is the increment as well as the smallest parcel area.  The problem, as presented, implies that the fences separating the indivdual parcels are equal distances apart along the length of the triangular field.  This cannot be if equal incremental area is to be constant; thus the problem is incorrect in this.  Having said all that, the areas for the six brothers are 142.86, 285.72, 428.58, 571.44, 714.30, and 857.16 square meters.  As you can see, the incremental area is 142.86 not 83.33 as given.  As an aside the fences would be located at 26.186, 45.356, 64.143, 82.808, 101.410, and 120.00 meters along the 120m length of the field; not 20m equidistant as suggested in the problem.

Page 126, "A Roll of Ribbon"; The given answer is wrong.  The ribbon is a linear spiral with initial diameter of 1cm and final diameter of 3cm.  The ribbon thickness is 0.01cm.  Imagine the 1cm diameter spool rotating at 100 revolutions per minute.  The initial speed of the ribbon as it winds onto the spool is (100)(1)(pi).  The final speed of the ribbon is (100)(3)(pi).  The spool must rotate 100 times to load the ribbon, thus the total time is 1 minute to wind the ribbon onto the spool.  The speed of the ribbon is directly proportional to the diameter as it grows from 1cm to 3cm.  It follows then that the average speed of the ribbon is simply (100)(2)(pi)=628.32cm/min, which is also the length of the ribbon after 1 min or 628.32cm.  One can also tackle the problem as simple arithmetic series where the initial term is (1cm)(pi) and the final term is (3cm)(pi) with 100 terms which yields: (100/2)(pi+(3pi))=628.32cm.

As of this writing, I have only worked through about half of the book and some of the problems are still puzzling me.  I hope the above will reduce the head-scratching that may result from some of the errors in this book.  Still, the book is a lot of fun.
3300668
I finished the library book last night. I ordered the new edition from Amazon via the used book dealer Owlsbooks.  I see this book as a helpful one for lay people.  I think that it is definitely worth buying at the cheaper price.  One does need to use some caution though when reading this book.  I found one of the author's translations of an excerpt from MN 58 Abhayarajakumara Sutta to be misleading due to leaving out a key word.  I compared the two translations with each other. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi has: "Such speech as the Tathagata knows to be true and correct but unbeneficial, and which is also unwelcome and disagreeable to others: such speech the Tathagata does not utter." Ven Bhikkhu Rahula's translation leaves out the word unbeneficial.  I hope that this is just a mistake and not an intended omission of the word unbeneficial because leaving out this word changes the meaning of the sentence in a significant way.

Also, I was not able to find a couple of references that he listed. He listed AN Sona Vagga: Subhasitavaca. I find no Sona Vagga in AN. There is a Sona Vagga in Ud, but no Suhasitavaca sutta.

He uses his own translations throughout some of which are quite different from previous translations. Since he doesn't document which line he is translating it makes finding a parallel translation difficult at times.

He leaves out the category of bhikkhuni when translating an excerpt from DN 29 Pasadika in which naming all the categories of disciples of the Buddha was what the excerpt was about. So, it is a strange omission. I checked the Pali version and bhikkhuni is listed in the quote. Bhikkhuni means female monastic, so it is a significant omission.

So, all in all it is a helpful resource, but I wouldn't rely on his translation alone for understanding the discourses mentioned. I will look and see if these mistakes
are corrected in the Wisdom Publications edition. I would think that a publisher like Wisdom would not let these sorts of things slip through the editing process. I hope so at least.

I have since received the Wisdom Publications edition and the same mistakes are in it as well.
627189
Acemoglu sheds light on this puzzle that many has tried to explain but fail to go in the right direction.
3089213
Look around. We are obviously getting it wrong. In my view, John Eldredge is onto something. I don't agree with everything he says, but I'm grateful he's saying it. And I am going to make some changes in my life.
3720957
The central thesis of this book is a good one and it is interestingly written by someone passionate about the subject yet able to be objective about this highly emotive topic.  My gripe is that the book is riddled with errors of fact which could so easily have been checked and corrected. No doubt the second impression will correct these mistakes.  Well worth a read for all that.
2403791
Understanding the scientific method is the key to understanding the difference between the facts and theories of science and the (often media savvy) unsupported claims of pseudo and anti science we are exposed to every day. This book makes the case for science with enthusiasm from it's author. It does not go as deeply into some aspects as&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Bad-Science-Quacks-Hacks-and-Big-Pharma-Flacks/dp/B003VTZTU8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks</a>, but makes a good introduction. Its self published nature does show at times in some awkwardly expressed points, and is let down by some factual errors which may have been picked up by better proofreading. Overall I liked it and I have to support the authors efforts to bring scientific thinking to the forefront.
1844292
The authors have evidently devoted a lot of thought to their research and to writing this book. They tell us about unconscious biases that we may have that are inconsistent with our conscious thoughts and ideals.

An example of the authors thoughtfulness can be reflected in their use of different colours to label the various types of lies (white, grey, invisible, blue, red, etc) that we often tell, often without being fully conscious of what we are doing. The presentation is vivid, and the ideas easy to commit to memory.

I also find the authors' Implicit Association Test (IAT) to be a rather ingenious device to reflect unconscious associations or biases. As I read from a Kindle edition, I find it rather too tedious to try to produce hard copies of the tests to try out. Instead, I went online to take a couple of the tests. With the hard copies, the authors have emphasised that someone taking the test may opt to start first with the either sheet A or B. That is not possible with the online test. Because I am already in my 60s, I find that my mind has considerable difficulty adjusting to switching from the left column to the right (and vice versa) as I progressed from part 1 to part 7 of the online test. As the test relies on measures of the speed and accuracy in which the subject takes the test, I cannot help but wonder if the difficulty that I have experienced in switching time and again between left and right may not have contributed significantly, but erroneously, to what the test attempts to measure. Perhaps the test procedures can be refined to cater for such possible errors. As it stands, I think the IAT Is best taken as a good reflection of unconscious biases, instead of an accurate measure of such.

A final comment is that while the authors have done an excellent job in detailing various unconscious biases, they have made less headway in coming up with solutions. I find the few solutions discussed in the book to be much less insightful, or impressive.
4116691
I found this book very helpful, but some areas were not clear. I think that there are some assumptions of prior knowledge.