Case Studies in Realizing Green Buildings
Roy's rating:
  3.0
On Sep 21, 2014 Roy Legaard wrote: Useful information, lackluster copyediting
With low-energy/sustainable buildings becoming ever more in-demand and necessary for reducing emissions, what exactly goes into making a building 'green'? By reading Sustainability, Energy, and Architecture (edited by Ali Sayigh), it's possible to get a sense as to the many ways one can achieve a sustainable structure. Full Review >
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Implementing Security Controls into the Modern Power Infrastructure
Roy's rating:
3.0
On Sep 5, 2013 Roy Legaard wrote: Useful book but many issues with grammar
Overall, the book fulfilled my needs by providing a more detailed explanation of the services a smart grid can provide as well as some of the security challenges such a grid faces. Unfortunately, substandard writing quality in several areas of the book takes away from the important messages the authors are trying to convey. Full Review >
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Unix for the Practical Paranoid
Roy's rating:
5.0
On Aug 30, 2013 Roy Legaard wrote: Get up to speed with OpenBSD
With the ever-increasing variety of cloud-based web application platforms, the likelihood of a developer needing to deploy and administer a full-fledged server or VPS seems to be getting smaller all the time. However, situations still arise when running your own hardware is advantageous for your application. Absolute OpenBSD by Michael W. Lucas is a great way for someone who is a ‘geek-but-not-yet-sysadmin’ to get acquainted with the ins and outs of administering an OpenBSD installation. Full Review >
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Roy's rating:
4.0
On Jul 21, 2013 Roy Legaard wrote: Good supplement to the Apple docs
With developers currently busy updating their apps for iOS 7, it may be tempting to conclude that a book on iOS 6 is already outdated. However, even though iOS 7 represents a major visual departure from previous iOS versions, "Programming iOS 6" by Matt Neuburg is still a great reference. Full Review >
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Solutions for iOS Developers
Roy's rating:
4.0
On Mar 30, 2013 Roy Legaard wrote: A good first reference
While the ‘cookbook’ genre of technical books may seem increasingly outdated in a world with Google and Stack Overflow, it’s still nice to consult a discrete resource where you know someone put time into presenting a range of topics about a given subject in a logical manner. The iOS 6 Programming Cookbook by Vandad Nahavandipoor is a good example of this philosophy in action. Full Review >
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A Desktop Quick Reference
Roy's rating:
4.0
On Dec 24, 2012 Roy Legaard wrote: Great way to get acquainted with R
The book does a great job of getting you up to speed on how to read the R language, how R organizes and works with datasets, and how to perform analyses and generate visuals. Full Review >
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The Context You Need Without the Jargon You Don't
Roy's rating:
4.0
On Nov 14, 2012 Roy Legaard wrote: Great Drupal (and business) advice
If you have some web design experience but have yet to take on a larger project driven by a content management system (CMS), Drupal for Designers is a great place to start. Not only does Dani Nordin do an admirable job of introducing Drupal concepts to CMS beginners, she also provides a wealth of business advice that can be applied to any web project, regardless of the CMS one chooses. Full Review >
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Roy's rating:
5.0
On Aug 30, 2012 Roy Legaard wrote: A new O'Reilly classic
As many high school or college students could tell you, books about statistics can be rather dry. "Exploring Everyday Things with R and Ruby" turns this preconception on its head, with author Sau Sheong Chang providing a sequence of fun exercises that introduces the reader to the basics of programming and data analysis. Full Review >
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The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations
Roy's rating:
4.0
On Aug 15, 2012 Roy Legaard wrote: Occasionally gets lost in the clouds
Back in college I enjoyed reading Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds, which provided a wealth of solid design and philosophical principles about making better presentations. With this initial foundation, Nancy Duarte’s slide:ology is a great complement, picking up where Presentation Zen left off and diving into the minutiae of what makes for a great presentation. Full Review >
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Learning to Use a Digital SLR or Interchangeable-Lens Camera
Roy's rating:
5.0
On Jun 29, 2012 Roy Legaard wrote: Great book for taking better pictures
Beyond Point-and-Shoot is short, simple, and to the point, providing a no-nonsense introduction to all the baseline terminology and techniques a point-and-shoot photographer needs to jump into the world of higher-end cameras. Full Review >
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Roy's rating:
4.0
On Jun 22, 2012 Roy Legaard wrote: Good guide to the CrashPlan service
Viewed in light of a backup service’s long-term costs, Take Control of CrashPlan Backups is well worth getting as a companion guide. Being able to consult it when you’re unsure about the consequences of checking a particular checkbox or flipping a certain switch in CrashPlan should go a long way towards avoiding mistakes that might accidentally delete file version histories or old backups. Full Review >
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Real Science, Great Nutrition, and Good Health
Roy's rating:
4.0
On Jun 16, 2012 Roy Legaard wrote: Documentation for your Fitness API
Because fitness is such a nebulous concept, it’s hard to know where to start or what information to trust. Fitness for Geeks addresses this inertia by collecting and putting a lot of that information in a single place, making it easier to construct a meaningful fitness plan and, more importantly, to act upon it. Full Review >
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Roy's rating:
4.0
On May 29, 2012 Roy Legaard wrote: A good field guide to a complex app
For books like these which cover a complex app, I'm looking for two separate things: 1) an easily-digestible survey of the app's features, and 2) suggested workflows or patterns that use those features effectively. Thankfully, Kissell's book is successful at both objectives. Full Review >
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