Here in the United States, today is the day after Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving Day is a holiday where we traditionally gather together with friends and/or family and celebrate the things from the past year that make us thankful. The day after Thanksgiving Day is not officially a holiday, but many workplaces give people the day off from work, so a lot of us end up with a lovely four day weekend. Some people like to start their shopping for Christmas presents on this day, because retailers generally stay open. I think that is fine. Over the last few decades, starting…
Author: matthew
This is one of those books that is hard to categorize. It is alternately fascinating and disturbing, historically important and tragic, accessible and thought-provoking. This is a perfect mix of what I think we should feel when confronted with the history of The Manhattan Project and the world’s entry into the Atomic Age. Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb strives and succeeds at two tasks. It tells an accurate history of the facts and events leading up to the creation of the first atomic bomb through its use by the United States in the destruction of the Japanese…
I previously reviewed some books on HTML5 and CSS3, but that was back in 2011. This is a brand new book on HTML5. It doesn’t cover CSS3, but it covers the HTML specification in greater detail than the other two books. HTML5 Unleashed is part of the same series as my book, Ubuntu Unleashed 2014 (which is brand spanking new as well…just saying…). I’m stating that right up front so that everyone knows that I have a potential conflict of interest. Read my review with that in mind. I’m trying to be unbiased, and I have no direct financial or editorial…
This is a special review. This time around, I am including three books in a new educational manga series. I originally intended to produce three individual reviews, but I’m pretty excited about these books and don’t want to make you wait. The series was just published, so if it isn’t on your local bookstore shelves now, it will be soon. Survive: Inside the Human Body, Volume 1: The Digestive System, Volume 2: The Circulatory System, and Volume 3: The Nervous System are being published by No Starch Press, the same people who brought us the Manga Guide to series, several…
I don’t have diabetes. However, I know people who do. I also know people who are at risk. Some of these are kids. This book will be useful to anyone who has diabetes or is close to someone who does, especially if a child, adolescent, or teenager is involved. Diabetes and me: An Essential Guide for Kids and Parents is filled with excellent information and advice that make the book worth reading accompanied by hand-drawn illustrations that transform the information into a comic book format that is a bit more accessible for both younger and older readers. It does so with…
Back in high school, a very long time ago, I took a drama class. I also took a one-sememster drama class at the university. This means I have a very elementary foundation, but I am far from an expert in the field. However, from the moment I heard this book’s title I immediately saw the potential. Computers as Theatre, Second Edition is an update to a 20-year-old classic in the field of human-computer interaction. The author, Brenda Laurel, is an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science and Affiliated Faculty for Games and Playable Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In…
I don’t know this guy, but he and I have the same name (which is kind of cool and weirding me out at the same time) and he is doing something that deserves some publicity. Here is a link to a Facebook page about his event and a copied/pasted/gently-edited synopsis: [This other] Matthew Helmke was born and raised in Nevada, a proud Navy Veteran, having served our country in the Gulf War and now a cancer survivor. Last September, at the age of 35, he was diagnosed with Central Nervous System Lymphoma….brain cancer. After immediately having surgery to remove the…
The is the second statistics-cartoon/manga mashup book that I have reviewed. The first one was about four years ago. Both books are pretty good, but they each present the topic differently. The previous book tells one main story as the book progresses, and statistics is taught because this story exists. It contextualizes the academic topic while expressing it in a simpler way and then adds the complex mathematics at the end of each chapter of the story that fit that chapter’s needs. The Cartoon Introduction to Statistics teaches the basics of statistics using comics to illustrate various portions of the greater…
Computers are not the only thing I am interested in. Not by a long shot. I have so many interests and hobbies that I haven’t yet mentioned on this blog. One of my interests is music. Some of you know I am a musician. I play bass in a local band. I have played guitar for more than 20 years. I love music. One style of music that has been a strong influence is the blues. Not only modern stuff like post-British-Invasion bands, but the old stuff, too. I also enjoy comics and manga and I’ve reviewed several titles that…
I have a chapter in one of my books, Ubuntu Unleashed, that gives an introduction to using Ubuntu as a foundation for developing for Android. The information in that chapter barely scratches the surface of the topic. As a response to those who are interested in learning more and who ask me for book recommendations, I am writing this review. Android Programming Unleashed is part of the same series as my book. I’m stating that right up front so that everyone knows that I have a potential conflict of interest. Read my review with that in mind. I’m trying to be…