Семки и бонбонки: юни 2009

четвъртък, 25 юни 2009 г.

Paul Krugman - The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 (2nd Edition)

In 1999, in The Return of Depression Economics, Paul Krugman surveyed the economic crises that had swept across Asia and Latin America, and pointed out that those crises were a warning for all of us: like diseases that have become resistant to antibiotics, the economic maladies that caused the Great Depression were making a comeback. In the years that followed, as Wall Street boomed and financial wheeler-dealers made vast profits, the international crises of the 1990s faded from memory. But now depression economics has come to America: when the great housing bubble of the mid-2000s burst, the U.S. financial system proved as vulnerable as those of developing countries caught up in earlier crises and a replay of the 1930s seems all too possible.

In this new, greatly updated edition of The Return of Depression Economics, Krugman shows how the failure of regulation to keep pace with an increasingly out-of-control financial system set the United States, and the world as a whole, up for the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s. He also lays out the steps that must be taken to contain the crisis, and turn around a world economy sliding into a deep recession. Brilliantly crafted in Krugman's trademark style—lucid, lively, and supremely informed—this new edition of The Return of Depression Economics will become an instant cornerstone of the debate over how to respond to the crisis.

----------------
Now playing: Dire Straits - Once Upon A Time In The West [foobar2000 v0.9.6.8]
via FoxyTunes

Michael F. Cohen, John R. Wallace - Radiosity and Realistic Image Synthesis (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics)

The first comprehensive book written about Radiosity. Features applications from the fields of computer graphics, architecture, industrial design, and related computer aided design technologies. Contains a chapter authored by Pat Hanrahan on the basic concepts of image synthesis and a foreword by Donald Greenberg.

Radiosity is a computer graphics technique which makes use a global illumination model to accurately represent the inter-reflection of light between surfaces. The technique produces view-independent results, so that most of the work is complete before viewing parameters are selected. This allows efficient interactive walk-throughs of simulated environments. However, radiosity is the most computationally expensive image generation technique. Most other image generation techniques make use of local illumination models and give faster image generation times.

The method is based on engineering techniques which were originally used to calculate radiant interchange between surfaces, for applications such as boiler and radiator design. The literature available has expanded rapidly in the past ten years and until now there has been no single comprehensive source describing the available techniques. This book is a comprehensive source and is written by respected names in the field of computer graphics.

Roderick W. Smith - Advanced Linux Networking

Roderick W. Smith - Advanced Linux Networking
Addison Wesley | ISBN: 0201774232 | 2002 | CHM | 784 pages | 3.23 MB

With an increasing number of networks and mission-critical applications running on Linux, system and network administrators must be able to do more than set up a server and rely on its default configuration. Advanced Linux Networking is designed to help you achieve a higher level of competence. It focuses on powerful techniques and features of Linux networking and provides you with the know-how you need to improve server efficiency, enhance security, and adapt to new requirements.

понеделник, 22 юни 2009 г.

Валерия Новодворская - Мой Карфаген обязан быть разрушен. Из философии истории России

Валерия Новодворская - Мой Карфаген обязан быть разрушен. Из философии истории России
М.: Олимп, 1999 | ISBN 5-7390-0691-0 | 288 с. | DJVU | 1,17 MB

"Она вызовет больше споров, чем знаменитый "Ледокол" Виктора Суворова" - так отозвался о новой книге Валерии Новодворской "Мой Карфаген обязан быть разрушен" депутат Госдумы Константин Боровой, выступивший 1 июня в редакции журнала "Новое время" на презентации издания.

Напомним, в "Ледоколе" автор выдвинул версию о том, что в июле 1941 года Сталин планировал напасть на Германию. Книга Новодворской подобных сенсаций не содержит, она отражает точку зрения автора на известные события российской истории. Выпущенный издательством "Олимп" сборник представляет собой цикл лекций, прочитанных ранее Новодворской в Российском государственном гуманитарном университете.

Сама Новодворская называет себя "катакомбным исследователем". Если же говорить об основной идее книги, то она выражена следующими словами: "В нашей истории дуют жестокие ветры и горят костры, в ней мы, наследники славянской и скандинавской традиций, сражаемся с носителями традиций византийской и ордынской".

Расшифровке этой мысли посвящены авторские размышления. Знаменитое "пришествие варягов" принесло славянам дух свободы, а главное - готовность свободу защищать. Весь менталитет скандинавов, викингов, был направлен именно на это. Их мифология трагична: Зло побеждает, защитники Добра - асы и ваны - погибают. Однако предчувствие мрачного конца не лишало скандинавов мужества и готовности противостоять Злу. Они никогда не сдавались в плен, скандинавов нет на рабских рынках раннего средневековья. Вместе с тем предки датчан, шведов и норвежцев уже тогда закладывали основы демократии. Все вопросы решались на так называемых "тингах", прообразах современных парламентов. Вот и русские князья, потомки скандинавских пришельцев, почитали за правило советоваться со своими приближёнными, не принимать единоличных решений.

Так было на Руси до тех пор, пока не пришла традиция византийская, которая подразумевает полное подчинение подданных власти, жестокое подавление личности.

Что касается начал ордынских, то Новодворская характеризует их следующим образом: "Это традиции совершенно бесполезного, бесплатного, платонического угнетения, платонического захвата. Захвата ради захвата... Уничтожим всё во имя уничтожения. Захватим всех во имя несвободы". Комментируя утверждение историка Льва Гумилёва, который в отличие от своего отца, знаменитого поэта, "западником" не был и считал монголо-русский союз весьма плодотворным, Новодворская замечает, что Лев Николаевич и попал в ГУЛАГ именно потому, что состоялось монголо-татарское нашествие. Ведь большевизм с его идеологией - логическое продолжение психологии ордынской.

Носители же благородной скандинавской традиции не выклянчивали у ханов "ярлыки", то есть разрешение на право властвовать, а боролись за свободу. Примеры чему - Евпатий Коловрат, князь Михаил Тверской, его сын Александр.

Новодворская сурово осуждает тех, в ком нет духа Сопротивления. Не должны были белые армии в 1920 году эвакуироваться из Крыма, а должны были стоять до конца. Тирания побеждает там, где ей не сопротивляются. "Концлагерь состоит из заключённых, которые соглашаются жить по тем законам, что устанавливают для них палачи. Концлагерь - это консенсус между жертвами и палачами, это их взаимное согласие на сотрудничество. Ни один лагерь ГУЛАГа, ни один немецкий концлагерь времён Второй мировой войны не мог бы существовать, если бы жертвы отказывались идти в газовые камеры или на лесоповал... если бы жертвы, которых было больше, чем палачей, просто отбирали бы у них оружие, убивали бы их, ломали бы колючую проволоку и уходили куда-нибудь подальше."

Читай дальше...

----------------
Now playing: Orhan Murad - Hiliadi Slanca [foobar2000 v0.9.6.8]
via FoxyTunes

събота, 20 юни 2009 г.

Typing Politics: The Role of Blogs in American Politics

Richard Davis - Typing Politics: The Role of Blogs in American Politics
Oxford University Press | English | 2009-05-26 | ISBN: 0195373766 | 256 pages | PDF | 1,4 MB

The power of political blogs in American politics is now evident to anyone who follows it. In Typing Politics, Richard Davis provides a comprehensive yet concise assessment of the growing role played by political blogs and their relationship with the mainstream media. Through a detailed content analysis of the most popular political blogs--Daily Kos, Instapundit, Michelle Malkin, and Wonkette--he shows the degree to which blogs influence the traditional news media. Specifically, he compares the content of these blogs to four leading newspapers noted for their political coverage: The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Times. He explains how political journalists at these papers use blogs to inform their reportage and analyzes general attitudes about the role of blogs in journalism. Drawing on a national survey of political blog readers, Davis concludes with a novel assessment of the blog audience. Compact, accessible, and well-researched, Typing Politics will be an invaluable contribution to the literature on a phenomenon that has reshaped the landscape of political communication.

----------------
Now playing: Pink Floyd - WAR OF THE WORLDS (Album Complete Rare) [foobar2000 v0.9.6.8]
via FoxyTunes

How Linux Works

“ How Linux Works describes the inside of the Linux system for systems administrators, whether you maintain an extensive network in the office or one Linux box at home. Some books try to give you copy-and-paste instructions for how to deal with every single system issue that may arise, but How Linux Works actually shows you how the Linux system functions so that you can come up with your own solutions. After a guided tour of filesystems, the boot sequence, system management basics, and networking, author Brian Ward delves into open-ended topics such as development tools, custom kernels, and buying hardware, all from an administrator's point of view. With a mixture of background theory and real-world examples, this book shows both "how" to administer Linux, and "why" each particular technique works, so that you will know how to make Linux work for you.

----------------
Now playing: Tarkan - Sikidim [foobar2000 v0.9.6.8]
via FoxyTunes

петък, 19 юни 2009 г.

Richard Wolffe - Renegade: The Making of a President

Richard Wolffe - Renegade: The Making of a President
Random House Audio | English | 2009-06-02 | ISBN: 0739385267 | MP3 | 173 MB

Before the White House and Air Force One, before the TV ads and the enormous rallies, there was the real Barack Obama: a man wrestling with the momentous decision to run for the presidency, feeling torn about leaving behind a young family, and figuring out how to win the biggest prize in politics.

This book is the previously untold and epic story of how a political newcomer with no money and an alien name grew into the world’s most powerful leader. But it is also a uniquely intimate portrait of the person behind the iconic posters and the Secret Service code name Renegade.

Drawing on a dozen unplugged interviews with the candidate and president, as well as twenty-one months covering his campaign as it traveled from coast to coast, Richard Wolffe answers the simple yet enduring question about Barack Obama: Who is he?

Based on Wolffe’s unprecedented access to Obama, Renegade reveals the making of a president, both on the campaign trail and before he ran for high office. It explains how the politician who emerged in an extraordinary election learned the personal and political skills to succeed during his youth and early career. With cool self-discipline, calculated risk taking, and simple storytelling, Obama developed the strategies he would need to survive the onslaught of the Clintons and John McCain, and build a multimillion-dollar machine to win a historic contest.

In Renegade, Richard Wolffe shares with us his front-row seat at Obama’s announcement to run for president on a frigid day in Springfield, and his victory speech on a warm night in Chicago. We fly on the candidate’s plane and ride in his bus on an odyssey across a country in crisis; stand next to him at a bar on the night he secures the nomination; and are backstage as he delivers his convention speech to a stadium crowd and a transfixed national audience. From a teacher’s office in Iowa to the Oval Office in Washington, we see and hear Barack Obama with an immediacy and honesty never witnessed before.

Renegade provides not only an account of Obama’s triumphs, but also examines his many personal and political trials. We see Obama wrestling with race and politics, as well as his former pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright. We see him struggling with life as a presidential candidate, a campaign that falters for most of its first year, and his reaction to a surprise defeat in the New Hampshire primary. And we see him relying on his personal experience, as well as meticulous polling, to pass the presidential test in foreign and economic affairs.

Renegade is an essential guide to understanding President Barack Obama and his trusted inner circle of aides and friends. It is also a riveting and enlightening first draft of history and political psychology.

----------------
Now playing: Vaya Con Dios - [The Best Of #06] Nah Neh Nah [foobar2000 v0.9.6.8]
via FoxyTunes

четвъртък, 18 юни 2009 г.

Stabilizing an Unstable Economy

Hyman Minsky - Stabilizing an Unstable Economy
McGraw-Hill | English | 2008-04-14 | ISBN: 0071592997 | 350 pages | PDF | 5,8 MB

“Mr. Minsky long argued markets were crisis prone. His 'moment' has arrived.” -The Wall Street Journal

In his seminal work, Minsky presents his groundbreaking financial theory of investment, one that is startlingly relevant today. He explains why the American economy has experienced periods of debilitating inflation, rising unemployment, and marked slowdowns-and why the economy is now undergoing a credit crisis that he foresaw. Stabilizing an Unstable Economy covers:

• The natural inclination of complex, capitalist economies toward instability

• Booms and busts as unavoidable results of high-risk lending practices

• “Speculative finance” and its effect on investment and asset prices

• Government's role in bolstering consumption during times of high unemployment

• The need to increase Federal Reserve oversight of banks

Henry Kaufman, president, Henry Kaufman & Company, Inc., places Minsky's prescient ideas in the context of today's financial markets and institutions in a fascinating new preface. Two of Minsky's colleagues, Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Ph.D. and president, The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, and L. Randall Wray, Ph.D. and a senior scholar at the Institute, also weigh in on Minsky's present relevance in today's economic scene in a new introduction.

A surge of interest in and respect for Hyman Minsky's ideas pervades Wall Street, as top economic thinkers and financial writers have started using the phrase “Minsky moment” to describe America's turbulent economy. There has never been a more appropriate time to read this classic of economic theory.

неделя, 7 юни 2009 г.

Lian Hearn - Tales of the Otori (1-3 Books)

It's over seven years since the publication of the first book Across the Nightingale Floor (2002) named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, one of Book magazine's best novels of the year. Since then the Tales of the Otori have been sold into 36 countries and have been world wide best sellers.

The Tales of the Otori trilogy tells the epic story of Otori Takeo and Shirakawa Kaede, the young lovers whose fate is played out in a mythical, feudal, Japanese land, a world both beautiful and cruel, in the midst of an enormous power struggle against a background of warring clans, secret alliances, high honour and lightning swordplay. This journey of fascinating adventure, treachery and passion - whose appeal crosses genres, genders and generations establishes Tales of the Otori as one of the most brilliant and enduring works of modern fiction.

Ben Casnocha - My Start-Up Life:What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley

Ben Casnocha discovered he was entrepreneur at age 12 and hasn′t slowed down since. In this remarkably instructive book, Ben dissects the entrepreneurship "gene," explaining that everyone has inherited it if they have an idea to make the world a better place. In Casnocha′s case, he found a better way for city governments to communicate with constituents on the Web. Six years later, Comcate has dozens of municipal clients, a growing staff, and a record of excellence. This book is the story of his start–up, but also a conversation with his mentors, clients and fellow entrepreneurs about how to make a business idea work and how to have the time of your life trying. From Pat Lencioni to Marc Benioff of salesforce.com, Ben has won over the best and brightest of the business world now it′s your turn! ...

Noel Rappin - Professional Ruby on Rails

Noel Rappin - Professional Ruby on Rails
Wrox | 2008-02-25 | ISBN: 047022388X | 483 pages | PDF | 4,39 Mb

This book bridges the gap between what you'll learn from a typical beginner book about Ruby on Rails and what you'll need to know to create a solid, professional, spectacular, complex web application. Professional Ruby on Rails is a guide to taking a beginner web site and making it great. The book covers topics of interest to a web professional who is trying to develop and deploy a complex application. These topics include:
- Using REST to structure your application cleanly
- How to test and deploy your application for maximum automation with minimal headache
- Protecting your site and your user's data
- Using Rails to create the kinds of interactions that web users are coming to expect

The current Rails books are either beginner books, cookbook-style books, or specifically aimed at Ajax development. This book will fill the void for a book that discusses in-depth the information that a developer would need in order to move from a basic site to a fully featured web application.

събота, 6 юни 2009 г.

The First Global Financial Crisis of the 21st Century. 2 vol.

The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), a registered charity founded in 1983 by Richard Portes, FBA, CBE, is a network of over 700 researchers based mainly in universities throughout Europe, who collaborate through the centre in research and its dissemination. CEPR's office is located in London but CEPR is a Think-Net drawing on academic research across Europe.

The Centre's mission is to promote research excellence and policy relevance in European economics. CEPR network of over 700 Research Fellows and Affiliates are based in over 237 different institutions in 28 countries (90% in the European Union. Because it draws on such a large network of researchers, CEPR is able to produce a wide range of research that reflects a broad spectrum of individual viewpoints and perspectives.

четвъртък, 4 юни 2009 г.

J. K. Rowling - Quidditch Through the Ages

Quidditch Through the Ages is both a fictional book described in the Harry Potter series of novels by the British author J. K. Rowling, and a real book by that author, although her name is only stated in the book as the copyright holder of the "Harry Potter"-name. The real book purports to be a reproduction of a copy of the fictional book held in the Hogwarts library, written by Kennilworthy Whisp.

J. K. Rowling - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a 2001 book written by English author J. K. Rowling to benefit the charity Comic Relief. Over 80% of the cover price of each book sold goes directly to poor children in various places around the world. According to Comic Relief, sales from this book and its companion Quidditch Through the Ages have raised £15.7 million. In a 2001 interview with publisher Scholastic, Rowling stated that she chose the subject of magical creatures because it was a fun topic for which she had already developed a lot of information. Rowling's name does not appear on the cover of the book, the work being credited under the pseudonym "Newt Scamander".

сряда, 3 юни 2009 г.

Kevin D. Mitnick - The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders and Deceivers

Publisher: Wiley 2005 | ISBN: 0764569597 | PDF | 291 pages | 3,06 mb

It would be difficult to find an author with more credibility than Mitnick to write about the art of hacking. In 1995, he was arrested for illegal computer snooping, convicted and held without bail for two years before being released in 2002. He clearly inspires unusual fear in the authorities and unusual dedication in the legions of computer security dabblers, legal and otherwise. Renowned for his use of "social engineering," the art of tricking people into revealing secure information such as passwords, Mitnick (The Art of Deception) introduces readers to a fascinating array of pseudonymous hackers. One group of friends bilks Las Vegas casinos out of more than a million dollars by mastering the patterns inherent in slot machines; another fellow, less fortunate, gets mixed up with a presumed al-Qaeda–style terrorist; and a prison convict leverages his computer skills to communicate with the outside world, unbeknownst to his keepers. Mitnick's handling of these engrossing tales is exemplary, for which credit presumably goes to his coauthor, writing pro Simon. Given the complexity (some would say obscurity) of the material, the authors avoid the pitfall of drowning readers in minutiae. Uniformly readable, the stories—some are quite exciting—will impart familiar lessons to security pros while introducing lay readers to an enthralling field of inquiry. Agent, David Fugate. (Mar.) (Publishers Weekly, February 14, 2005)

Infamous criminal hacker turned computer security consultant Mitnick offers an expert sequel to his best-selling The Art of Deception, this time supplying real-life rather than fictionalized stories of contemporary hackers sneaking into corporate servers worldwide. Each chapter begins with a computer crime story that reads like a suspense novel; it is a little unnerving to learn how one's bank account is vulnerable to digital thieves or how hackers with an interest in gambling can rake in thousands of dollars in just minutes at a compromised slot machine. The hack revealed, Mitnick then walks readers step by step through a prevention method. Much like Deception, this book illustrates that hacking techniques can penetrate corporate and government systems protected by state-of-the-art security.
Mitnick's engaging writing style combines intrigue, entertainment, and education. As with Deception, information technology professionals can learn how to detect and prevent security breaches, while informed readers can sit back and enjoy the stories of cybercrime. Recommended for most public and academic libraries.--Joe Accardi, William Rainey Harper Coll. Lib., Palatine, IL (Library Journal, January 15, 2005)

Cory Doctorow - Content: Selected Essays on Technology, Creativity, Copyright, and the Future of the Future

Cory Doctorow - Content: Selected Essays on Technology, Creativity, Copyright, and the Future of the Future
Publisher: Tachyon Publications 2008 | ISBN: 1892391813 | PDF | 224 pages | 4,01 mb

Doctorow here proves he’s smart, funny, and good at accessibly boiling down issues he’s passionate about. On topics ranging from fanfic (readers’ additions to their favorite authors’ creations, usually online) to the terrible business model Microsoft presents by treating customers like potential thieves from the beginning, Doctorow moves to the forefront of conversations likely to determine how creators and audiences are able to use new technologies. He compares Internet content-management problems to similar technological snafus—such as the transition from live performance to radio, and from manuscript to printed books—and how the established order of the day reacted, demonstrating his grasp of the ways in which history repeats itself and how we can use the lessons of history to cope with further changes in the exchange of information. Doctorow excels in writing short forms, the essay no less than the short story, making this collection a pleasure to read, not to mention thought-provoking. --Regina Schroeder

четвъртък, 25 юни 2009 г.

понеделник, 22 юни 2009 г.

събота, 20 юни 2009 г.

петък, 19 юни 2009 г.

четвъртък, 18 юни 2009 г.

неделя, 7 юни 2009 г.

събота, 6 юни 2009 г.

четвъртък, 4 юни 2009 г.

сряда, 3 юни 2009 г.

четвъртък, 25 юни 2009 г.

понеделник, 22 юни 2009 г.

събота, 20 юни 2009 г.

петък, 19 юни 2009 г.

четвъртък, 18 юни 2009 г.

неделя, 7 юни 2009 г.

събота, 6 юни 2009 г.

четвъртък, 4 юни 2009 г.

сряда, 3 юни 2009 г.