This is easy and readable, but be very patient forming the pieces, and don't count on getting done "in a weekend." It took me about ten lunch hours - and I could wait between lunch hours for glue and paint to dry. They could also have put some more tips in on how to get things to work well.

F'r instance:

1) Have a rolling pin or something you can roll the reflector material down with onto the glue to get it as flat as possible. You might not need to do this if you can find roll mylar or you cough up for Monokote.

2) Hot glue works great but you have to go FAST: it will start to set up by the time you get the bead laid.

3) Use a permanent glue stick to fasten the edges of the reflective material. If you get a big one, you can even use it to stick the front. Rubber cement does NOT bond well to Mylar.

4) If you don't want to use foil and can't find or don't want to pay for roll Mylar or Monokote, you can get enough Mylar to do two cookers off of one of those $2 emergency "space blankets" from the camping section of K-mart/Target/Wal-Mart. It isn't flat, so you have to tape it down taut while you're gluing.

Have fun!

I teach software engineering at the University of Colorado. I have begun a 3 course graduate series and am using Solid Software as one of two texts in the first course, Software Engineering of Stand Alone Programs. (Subsequent courses cover multiprogramming and distributed systems.) I have found Solid Software to cover the right topics but not to the right level of detail for my purposes. It is hard to find a general book on software engineering that covers adequately enough development factors that contribute to robustness such as requirements and design reviews, static and dynamic testing, etc. I was pleased when I read through the table of contents and saw the 9 areas addressed by the book. However, it is written to, say, first level managers of programming teams, not to the programmers themselves. On many topics, there are excerpts from books or papers that give a high level "hit". The good news is that the reference list at the end of each chapter includes excellent references. I think it's fair to say that my students' (all with industry experience) reaction is that it's not quite detailed enough to really understand. They are not expecting a how-to guide but ... more than this level. But you *can* follow the reference trail to get to more substance. If you ARE a 1st level manager, wondering what more can be done, what is reasonable to ask for, then this may be a great book for you.

This is a wonderful introduction to spiritual disciplines by one who seems to understand that not all are "natural" saints. It is remarkably passionate, insightful and deep, especially for a Methodist (free or otherwise)!

I think even Calvin would like it.

Family Tree is good much like the first book. It is also like the first book in that more characters are added to the "family" (thus the title: Family Tree). The adding of the members is a major sub-plot to the book.

I would have liked if there had been more of the ghost conflict or some other conflict. The beginning conflict with the other group was a a fan something I didn't like (I'm a big softie when it comes to character's I like and conflict) but as a reader it was good in that it added drama and tension. The resolution of that conflict was good as a fan but as a reader it was almost too pat and nice. The ghost conflict was almost like a minor add on. Overall I gave the book a B/B- on the StuPage website.

This book is well woth the price. Well-balanced, strong characters, vicious bad guys, and a sexy lead man. Aunt Louise, with her platoon of stray youngsters, is a feisty, determined character. Ella is a strong-minded, independant, determined young woman. I had a problem with Harrigan's lack of trust, but this is clarified quite neatly later on. The love scenes are steamy, poignant and tender. I would definitely buy another of Hannah Howell's novels.

This book provided good information on various awards and grants available to students, even very obscure ones. It also provided good information on how and when to collect information towards preparing applications. It also introduced the concept of a scholarship "coach"; an idea I think worth pursuing!

A friend of mine lent me this book to read. I made it about 2/3 of the way through and had to put it down for good. Although the books is well written, engaging, and interesting, Raines can't stay away from launching political barbs. (I think many of us will all agree that Hoover was a poor president, but Raines can't keep from repeatedly driving that point home. It gives one the impression as though Hoover had it out for Raines' own family.) I'm not sure what all that has to do with fly fishing. His inability to keep his politics seperate from any other aspect of his life is quite obvious in the content of the NY Times, which he is now the Editor in Chief. If you're looking for a light read about the adventures of fly fishing, I recommend Harry Middleton or John Gierach.

I have read this book several times in the past two years and will likely read it again. It is that kind of book that offers up new nuggets each time one picks it up. Raines' particular midlife crisis is never really identified - in my first reading, it was the loss of his friend, Dick Blalock, as well as the passing into adulthood of his sons. In another reading, it was the breakup of his marriage, or was it the realization that his career didn't turn out as he had expected? Whatever, they are crises that any of us midlifers can be facing, regardless of our particular passion or political views (Even Conservatives Get the Blues!). Fly fishing, whether it was the cause or the cure, is the threads that Raines uses to tie together his passage through this time in his life. You won't learn fly fishing with this book, but you will gain some valuable insight as well as something to think about the next time you get out to the stream.

Raines has done a wonderful job in this book on several fronts. It is a very engaging story, chock full of the entertainment we long to read for. It is also a wealth of nuggets of information about flyfishing -- those nuggets you won't find in the "how-to" books, but normally only learn through long hard experience. Woven through this great tale however is something much deeper and more personal. It is a story, a fly-fishing instructional book, and practical, down-to-earth psychotherapy for men over 40, all in one compact book. It helps us to recognize those traits we've suffered through and tried to understand. All in all, Raines essentially says to save your head shrink money and go fly-fishing. I've followed his advice - and it works!

I hate to be so critical, but I must agree with my colleague who described his/her harrowing experience with this textbook. My professor for the course was terrible enough, but I thought maybe I could seek greater clarification through the text. This hope was quickly dashed when I attempted to make sense of how Howell handles even the most elementary topics. I was near tears when I approached the more advanced topics! I have two rules about learning statistics: no one is ever above a review of the most basic topics and an author/professor can never go wrong by providing a variety of examples within the same topic area.

I have been using this text for Levels 1, 2, and 3 social sciences statistics teaching in Britain and abroad for over 8 years now. Although I have tried using other introductory texts, I have yet to find a text as comprehensive and as clearly written as this.

I've been using the 3rd edition for several years now, and I just think it's an extraordinarily clear, concise, and well-written book. Howell is better at presenting the basic statistical concepts (of ANOVA, for example) than any other author I've seen.

Other introductory books (such as Runyon's "Fundamentals of Behavioral Statistics") may provide more advanced treatments or cover more material, but in general they end up being long-winded and unfocused. Howell's book is crisp.

And in case you're wondering about the title, statistical methods for the behavioral sciences are not different than statistical methods in any other quantitative discipline. It's just that Howell draws his examples from psychology, sociology, etc., and may make mention of some of the conventions used by researchers in these fields.

The United Nations' recent "inspection" of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program makes it painfully clear little has changed since Scott Ritter resigned from UNSCOM in 1998. The UN and the United States seem stuck in a time warp, which Ritter predicted in Endgame: Solving the Iraq Problem--Once and for All.

The weakest aspect of Endgame, ironically, is Ritter's envisioned endgame; his proposed detente seems unrealistic and contradictory. Even so the book makes for a good and relevant read. The author isn't anyone to be taken lightly on the subjects of Iraq, disarmament, Saddam Hussein, and war and peace. Given the recent demonization of Ritter because of his anti-war stance, it is good to remember this retired Marine intelligence officer almost lost his life while he served as an arms inspector (in fact, the passage where an Iraqi soldier prepares to shoot Ritter is stunning). Ritter's proposed solution to the Iraq question is flawed but this is a man of unquestioned patriotism, humanity and integrity. His opinions obviously were shaped by first-hand observations of the suffering of the Iraqi people under both Saddam and the UN sanctions. Ritter also seems to have been nauseated by several U.N. and U.S. officials, particularly former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The author does acknowledge the heroes who managed to emerge. Among these brave souls are former United States ambassaor to the UN Bill Richardson, who recently was elected governor of New Mexico. Another admirable character is former UNSCOM head Richard Butler, who has reached completely different conclusions from Ritter about how to deal with Iraq.

Ritter provides great insight into the tribalism and rank gangsterism that propelled Saddam to power and keeps him there. He paints a damning portrait of a dictator who uses rape as a weapon of mass personal destruction. In one particularly memorable scene, an angry Saddam torches his son's garage and 12 sports cars. Iraq's concealment policy seems a logical extension of such insanity although, as Ritter notes, the inspectors mostly found incriminating documents but few prohibited weapons.

Given the fraud and deceit Ritter details it is inexplicable that the author recommends dropping economic sanctions if Saddam promises not to develop weapons of mass destruction. Further, Ritter's suggestion that Iraq be allowed to develop a peaceful nuclear program borders on the bizarre. The author never explains why a regime with a history of compulsive lying should be trusted. Yet Ritter also makes a compelling case that war will not solve anything in Iraq, and the ultimate goal there should be disarmament. Saddam truly is just one part of the Iraq problem.

A word of caution is in order to the reader: Ritter has a military man's love of acronyms and there is no glossary for quick reference to all the letters strung together. On the other hand, he predictably likes maps and these prove useful. Another strong point is that the author manages to keep his personal role proportional to what happened.

As war drums once again sound along the Potomac, this is a good book to read. Ritter's proposed solutions clearly will not work, but he explains why war won't, either.

It isn't often that we get a "I was there" book which truly focuses on what happened "there" more than on the conflicts between the author and others - if someone thinks that the press gave him or her short shrift during a war or other intense, highly publicized endeavor, a book usually results. But Scott Ritter troubles to walk us through the labyrinthine maze of Iraqi power politics, with special attention to how Saddam Hussein got to be sole ruler of Iraq, and how Saddam manages to stay astride that tiger today. Most of "Endgame" is an extremely erudite discussion of Saddam Hussein's rise to power up to and during the UNSCOM weapons inspections of which Ritter was a part.

And Ritter succeeds in making his case, that decision makers in Washington and New York (the UN) were simply dropping the ball, failing to act resolutely when it was needed and only applying pressure when it would have a minimal effect on Iraqi leadership.

I'm more than a little puzzled at the sniping at Ritter from other Amazon.com reviewers - certainly if Ritter was pursuing a self-serving agenda while at UNSCOM, the thing for him to do would be to not rock the Clinton administration's boat on Iraqi policy, to play the game along with everyone else in hopes of getting Richard Butler's job down the line. Simply nodding stupidly and not pushing the Iraqis into allowing real inspections would have been easier than what Ritter actually did, as would relying on inadequate intelligence instead of working out deals with the Israelis for better overheads and human source intel (one of the major criticisms leveled at Ritter was that he was too "cozy" with the Israelis and did not clear his contacts with them with Washington - here, the critics conveniently forget that Scott Ritter was NOT an American officer but an employee of the United Nations. Also, the evidence, not just in Ritter's book but in other well-researched accounts of the UNSCOM work, indicates that Ritter acted well within his duties).

Ritter, in my opinion, not only vindicated himself but in his book did so in a way that allows the reader to judge intelligently whether or not to agree with Ritter and leaves the reader much better informed about the entire issue of Iraq's arsenal of weapons of mass destruction than if the reader relied on reports from television or the popular news magazines.

I have some problems with Ritter's final chapter, specifically with the course of action he recommends that we take to deal with Saddam - but I certainly agree with him that the sanctions do nothing but starve and kill children and cement Saddam's status with his people, and should be stopped as soon as possible.

I recommend Ritter's book as essential to a complete understanding of UNSCOM - together, of course, with other readings such as Andrew and Patrick Cockburn's "From the Ashes," an unsparingly critical but intensively detailed look at Saddam's survival of what should have been an ignimonious and crushing defeat in 1991, and all that has passed since then in that part of the world.

I am at pains to try and figure out which Scott Ritter book Mr. Barron actually read: the real one, or the one seen through Mr. Barron's myopic view of the world. Indeed, even a cursory examination reveals that Ritter's proposed solution to the Iraq problem is the exact opposite of what Mr. Barron contends: Ritter advocates -- in light of certain moral, political, and strategic realities -- a route of diplomatic engagement with Saddam Hussein's regime, a stance which once again has made him the target of various segments of the foreign policy elite.

As for the book itself, readers will be surprised to learn that this is not a "kiss and tell" book consumed with CIA manipulations, insider accounts of derring-do and so forth. True, a good part of that story is here -- in particular, a well-written account of a dangerous attempt to inspect Iraq's Special Security Organization. More importantly, however, Ritter provides a much needed and incisive chronicle of how Iraq really works, from tribal feuds to nearly unspeakable violence, doing so with a scholar's attention to detail and decisive moments. Agree with his conclusions or not, he paints a sophisticated picture of Iraq and how, perhaps, we might bring the country and its people back into the family of nations.

Regional experts, military professionals and even those with a passing interest in today's headlines should read this book (and believe me, you'll wind up saying, "This Marine can really write!"). Scott Ritter has once again done something that is so lacking in today's society: he has told it as he saw it.

Although i have to agree about the cat & baby on the horse i dont agree with the overall review about Hannah Howells books I have most of them and enjoy reading them over and again. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that they aren't so easy to get in Australia, I especialy like the family saga's that continue each sibling/family members story it lets you no who has children whos had more. I especialy like the fact that with highland vow it has started with the next geneartion of the family.

This was my first Hannah Howell book and it was a pleasure to read. The characters were delightful and I could not put this one down.

I've read hundreds of historical romances and this was one I could not put down. It's rare to have such a good combination of humor and excitement.

This was also my first Hannah Howell book and I am going back and buying every other one I can find. She's one of the best.