I wish I had caught on to the gladiator sandal trend sooner, because it eventually led me to these great cage heel designs. Most styles come well above the ankle like the ever-popular bootie, but they are open and flexible which makes them very comfortable too. The styles featured here are available in virtually any color or size either from Amazon.com, or their new Endless.com subsidiary, which offers better service, including free return shipping at slightly higher prices.
O'Reilly & Associates began publishing computer-related books in 1978 (before the PC revolution) with a small series of highly regarded UNIX® manuals.
Their books were frequently better than the "official" documentation, if any such documentation existed at all, and several of their animal cover books like The Camel Book and The Rhino Book became classics.
The Hacks Series is a fairly new addition to the O'Reilly family. Each book in the series highlights about 100 simple, elegant hacks for the featured technology in simple, straightforward cookbook form. There are too many volumes in this growing series to feature them all here, but here are a few representative titles:
There are times when a hard copy book is more convenient than reading online, but computer books are often used for reference, and a searchable CD version can actually be preferable -- and CHEAP!! O'Reilly's CD Bookshelf Series is an under-appreciated programmmer's goldmine. And since you don't always need the latest bleeding edge technology, older editions can be an absolute steal. Here are some favorites:
Lest you get the impression that O'Reilly caters exclusively to the terminally geeky, they also publish beginner's books including their excellent Head First Series, which assumes no prior knowledge and generally figures prominently in O'Reilly Bestsellers
Buying cheap tools is "penny wise and pound foolish." If you'd rather invest in quality tools, you want to start at Amazon's Contractor Supply Page. One of the first things you'll notice is that it says (Beta), meaning the page is still being tested. Occasionally some search results may be a little odd, but the page is fully functional otherwise.
There are quite a few brands represented at Amazon's Contractor Supply by Brand page, so I've tried to break them into meaningful groups. Of course that is easier said than done. Some companies make a broad range of products that would fit in a number of categories. Others beg to be in a "miscellaneous" category, but they can't all go there -- so don't take these groups too seriously. They're just an attempt to make things a little easier to find.
Condolences are streaming in from leaders around the world at the news that Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy has died. He expired late Tuesday night after a long bout with glioblastoma, a terminal form of brain cancer. Although the senator's passing was not unexpected, there is a deep sense of loss in the world today as we remember the ways in which, directly or indirectly, he touched so many lives.
There will be no shortage of testimonials in the coming days and weeks, but I think none will be any more heartfelt than these remarks by Vice President Joe Biden, a long-time colleague and friend of the late senator. Born to a wealthy family, Kennedy could have sided with privilege and special interests, but chose instead to fight for the common man, a champion not only of the Democratic Party, but of the principles of democracy.
During his 47-year career in the United States Senate, Kennedy authored over 2500 bills, and ironically was working on an overhaul of the 1971 National Cancer Act when his condition was diagnosed. There is no question that health-care reform was among his top priorities, not only in the current congress, but over the past 40 years. You can review his record at his official U.S. Senate site, or share your condolences at TedKennedy.org. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, mourners consider a contribution for educational programming to The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.
Kennedy will be sorely missed as a statesman who promoted true bipartisanship, unlike the Republican concept, which is to do as they say or listen to them whine. De Facto Republican point-man Rush Limbaugh even went so far as to declare that any bill coming out of the congress should be called the "Ted Kennedy Memorial Health Care Bill.".
Make no mistake: the Republican plan is to derail health-care reform at any cost, and to maintain a dysfunctional status quo that favors their fat cat insurance contributors. Tastelessness and rabble-rousing aside, their talking points make no sense: Obama is a Nazi and simultaneously a Socialist. A public insurance option would be grossly mismanaged, and simultaneously drive all private insurers out of business. A deficit-neutral health care package would ruin the economy (this from the party that drove the economy into the ditch with two completely unfunded wars and a big-pharma boondoggle prescription drug benefit.)
Economists agree that the tax cuts Republicans insisted upon as a condition for passing the desperately needed economic stimulus package have gone straight into savings, benefitting only the banking industry, and that the package was too small. The Republicans have taken your job. Do you now want to trust them with your life? If, like so many, you can't afford a cash contribution, I suggest that a fitting memorial would be to take up the torch and finish the work Kennedy started. Learn the facts about health care reform. Pick up the phone, knock on some doors, write your congressman. "Yes, we can!"
