Gas or charcoal?:
technica q&a: paul halpern (what's science ever done for us?)
oscon and ubuntu live
technica q&a: phil torrone (make magazine: the first year)
event: beautiful code panel discussion
technica q&a: scott berkun (the myths of innovation)
cs3 sale
museum of contemporary craft block party
history of science
new arrivals
doug brown's factoid
bestsellers
July roars like a lion for us at the Tech store. First, there are conferences to go to. Ubuntu! OSCON! It almost sounds like a geek's tribal chant. Second, it's also a great month for author events. Hobbyist, editor, and blogger Phil Torrone from Make magazine gets crafty with us on July 22, and a who's who of software programmers (Beautiful Code) will lead a feisty in-store discussion on July 25. And if that weren't enough, Scott Berkun speaks out on The Myths of Innovation on July 26. We're going to have to loosen our proverbial belts after feasting on so much to see and do.
TECHNICA Q&A: PAUL HALPERN
If there was ever a book to get your kids to read something educational over summer break, this is it! What's Science Ever Done for Us?: What the Simpsons Can Teach Us about Physics, Robots, Life, and the Universe is the perfect book to slip between the comic books on the kitchen table. Act nonchalant and then see what happens. Then steal it back because we know you love The Simpsons, too! Want to tap into the brain of such a genius? Read Paul Halpern's Q&A and buy What's Science Ever Done for Us? at 30% off the cover price.
The first transatlantic telegraph cable connection first beeped on July 28, 1866, from Heart's Content, Newfoundland, to Valentia Island, in Western Ireland. The cable, 1686 miles long, made of copper wire and hemp, weighed 1 ton per nautical mile. Queen Victoria sent a telegram to U.S. President James Buchanan to herald the occasion. These two poetically-named towns shared a telegraphic romance for one hundred years. When Western Union realized that no one sent telegrams anymore, they cut the cable cord in 1966.
OSCON AND UBUNTU LIVE
Oh, how we love OSCON. Where else can you meet world-class programmers and watch nerds speed by on Segways? Powell's Technical Books is the official bookstore of both Ubuntu Live and the ninth annual O'Reilly Open Source Convention. Both will be held this year in Portland, Oregon, at the Oregon Convention Center; Ubuntu Live July 22-24, and OSCON July 23-27. And the savings! Enjoy discounted registration fees with Powell's promo codes for Ubuntu and OSCON. Badge wearin' Unbuntu/OSCON attendees can save 30% off all titles at the Powell's booth at the Convention Center. Or come by our store during the convention and show us your badge to save 20% off any new title (new only, no sale or used). May we suggest you bring an extra suitcase or two? Check out all the details here.
TECHNICA Q&A: PHIL TORRONE
Phil Torrone, a senior editor and webmaster at Make magazine, has little time for relaxation. "Blinking and breathing" is his idea of unwinding. We are excited to host his author event at our Tech store on July 24 at 6 p.m., where he will demonstrate how to create open source hardware. Don't miss this night of computer craftiness, tinkering, and fun. And you can enjoy his Q&A here and save 30% off the cover price of Make Magazine: The First Year.
EVENT: "BEAUTIFUL CODE" PANEL DISCUSSION
OSCON week is crazy here in Portland, but don't miss your chance to see a panel of A-list programmers discuss problems and challenges in software development, covering topics in Beautiful Code: Leading Programmers Explain How They Think. The all-star panel features Andy Oram, chromatic, Greg Kroah-Hartman, Karl Fogel, and Simon Peyton Jones. Ward Cunningham will moderate this lively discussion.
TECHNICA Q&A: SCOTT BERKUN
The Myths of Innovation, Scott Berkun's latest book, "uses the past to explain how innovation happens today." This elegant little book dispels the myth that innovation comes in "eureka!" moments. Rather, innovation is always collaborative, dependent on persuasion, and its problems are more telling than the solutions. Berkun's thoughtful, smart prose makes this book an instant classic. If you can't make it to his author event at the Tech store on July 26, read his Q&A here and save 30% on Myths.
Buckminster Fuller was born on July 12, 1895. Bucky Fuller is perhaps best known for his work on geodesic domes. He began this work at the fabled Black Mountain College in North Carolina. He produced the world's first geodesic dome in 1949. To prove its structural integrity, he and his students hung upside down from it... as would millions of kids on playgrounds all over the world years later.
CS3 SALE
When Adobe's new Creative Suite 3 was released, we heard little whoops of joy coming from aisle 34. Lucky for you, a selection of the best CS3 books are on sale — at 30% off — for a limited time. Featured titles include selections from Peachpit Press, the Sams Teach Yourself series, and the ever-popular Classroom in a Book series. Stock up before fall term begins and you'll be sitting smugly in the front row once school starts.
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFT
Mark your calendars — you won't want to miss the Grand Re-opening Celebration of the Museum of Contemporary Craft on Sunday, July 22, at 724 NW Davis in the North Park Blocks. Join them for a day-long festival from noon to 7:30 p.m. Come for the art, free tours, live music, beer garden, glass blowing demonstrations, and your chance to win a Tom Cramer "Art Car." This promises to be the block party of the summer. And check out some of the books we'll be featuring at the Tech Store, across the park blocks from the museum!
The inventor of Tupperware also celebrates a July birthday. Born on July 28, 1907, Earl S. Tupper debuted his product in 1946. Tupper worked at DuPont, where he created light, unbreakable plastic products from polyethylene slag. He modeled the famous burping seal of Tupperware products after a paint can lid. In 1958, Tupper sold his company for $16 million and bought an island in Central America. We should all have such luck.
HISTORY OF SCIENCE
Since we know you can't get enough science facts from our humble missive, Powell's has an impressive section of books devoted exclusively to the splendiferous history of science. After reading a couple, you could be the toast of your neighborhood barbeque, as you interject mesmerizing details gleaned from these pages.
NEW ARRIVALS
Our book buyer, Corie, has shelved some great techie summer reads this month. Get started with It's a Guy Thing: Awesome Real Innovations from the Underdeveloped Male Mind by Scott Seegert. Is your child tiring of blanket forts? Then check out the classic, Housebuilding for Children, in a new edition featuring a chapter on how to build an A-frame house for your tot. Looking for a summer thriller? Then Anthony Brandt's The Tragic History of the Sea, a chronicle of shipwrecks through the ages, should make you grateful to be on dry land. And if you fear the summer heat is baking your noggin, cool off and regain your edge with Floyd Bloom's Best of the Brain from Scientific American: Mind, Matter, and Tomorrow's Brain a compilation of neuroscience stories and advancements from Scientific American magazine. Check out all of our cool-as-lemonade summer reads here.
DOUG BROWN'S FACTOID
August 13 will be the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, and a new moon will provide optimal viewing conditions. The Perseid shower is caused by the Earth's atmosphere running into particles from comet Swift-Tuttle's trail. Collisions with air molecules knock electrons off the particles; as they reacquire electrons they emit photons and glow. This lasts until the particle is burnt up, usually less than a second as most are the size of a sand grain. Most meteors are 60-80 miles above the Earth's surface, and their color gives hints to their composition: sodium is orange-yellow; iron is yellow; magnesium blue-green; calcium violet; and silicon red.
TECH BESTSELLERS
1. CSS Pocket Reference by Eric Meyer (HTML)
2. Rigger's Pocket Guide by CSA of Ontario (Construction)
3. Learning Ruby by Michael Fitzgerald (Ruby)
4. Unix for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger by Matisse Enzer (Unix)
5. Maya 8 for Windows and Macintosh by Morgan Robinson (Maya)
6. Excel Pocket Guide by Curtis Frye (Excel)
7. Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications by Microsoft (Reference)
8. The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint by Edward R. Tufte (Graphics)
9. SQL by Barcharts (Study Guides)
10. Boost Your Brain Power Week by Week by Bill Lucas (Self Help)
Technica
By Carole R.
