Simple Practical Guide to Using Electric Solar Panels, Designing & Installing Photovoltaic Solar PV Systems

The Solar Electricity Handbook 2009: A Simple, Practical Guide to Using Electric Solar Panels and Designing and Installing Photovoltaic Solar PV Systems
by Michael Boxwell

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Book Description
Solar electricity is a wonderful concept - take free power from the sun and use it to power electrical equipment. No ongoing electricity bills, no reliance on an electrical socket - 'free' energy that doesn't harm the planet.

Of course, the reality is a little different from that. Yet generating electricity from sunlight alone is a powerful resource with applications and benefits throughout the world.

But how does it work? What is it suitable for? What are the limitations? How much does it cost? How do I install it? This internet linked book answers all these questions and shows you how you can use the power of the sun to generate electricity yourself.

The web site that accompanies this book includes on-line solar calculators and tools to simplify your solar electricity installation, ensuring building your solar electric system is as straightforward and successful as possible.

Now is the time to get on board with this exciting technology. Whether you simply want to learn the basics of how solar electricity works or if you are planning to install your own solar electric system, then this handbook will provide you with everything you need to know.

About the Author
Michael Boxwell has designed and installed a number of solar electric systems over a number of years.

Specializing in off grid electric applications, Michael has designed photovoltaic electric systems for projects as diverse as powering on-street vending machines to charging electric vehicles.

Creating a New Old House

Versaci presents a masterful survey of the best in new, historically inspired homes and shares the techniques that architects use to achieve historical resonance and emotional impact.

Creating a New Old House: Yesterday's Character for Today's Home (American Institute Architects)
by Russell Versaci

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Book Description
At the beginning of the new century, there's a groundswell of popular nostalgia for period houses with an authentic pedigree. Regional styles of old homes in all parts of the country have captured the imagination of homebuyers who are disillusioned with the cookie-cutter sameness of new home construction. Many are turning to the history and tradition of their own neighborhoods for inspiration in old houses--themes that will inspire and inform them in building a new home that will preserve a sense of place and the feeling of "home." Creating a New Old House explores how architects, builders, and craftsmen are reinterpreting the traditional American house. Through photographs and engaging text, brief discussions of history and craftsmanship, and occasional sidelong glances at the workings of real old houses, Versaci employs his "Pillars of Traditional Design" to explain how traditional houses go together and what gives them their unique design appeal. The author explores the creative work of architects, builders, and craftsmen from all corners of America who are creating new "old" houses in a revival of the distinctive traditions of American homebuilding--and refitting them to work for the demands of modern family living.

About the Author
Russell Versaci, AIA, has built a first-class reputation as a designer of new homes in traditional architectural styles and is a principal in the firm Versaci Neumann & Partners of Middleburg, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Versaci is a founding member of the Institute for Traditional Architecture, a select guild of architects dedicated to teaching the art and craft of traditional building.

How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Hip and hopeful, The Tipping Point, is like the idea it describes: concise, elegant but packed with social power. A book for anyone who cares about how society works and how we can make it better.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
by Malcolm Gladwell

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Book Description
The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.

Editorial Reviews
"The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life," writes Malcolm Gladwell, "is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do." Although anyone familiar with the theory of memetics will recognize this concept, Gladwell's The Tipping Point has quite a few interesting twists on the subject.

For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanize the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a "Connector": he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere "wasn't just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston," he was also a "Maven" who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day--think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you.

Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell's closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, The Tipping Point is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that "tipping point," like "future shock" or "chaos theory," will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows--or at least knows by name.

About the Author
Malcolm Gladwell is also the author of the #1 bestselling Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. He was a reporter for the Washington Post from 1987 to 1996, working first as a science writer and then as New York City bureau chief. Since 1996, he has been a staff writer for The New Yorker.

Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence

Are you confident in yourself or is negativity holding you back? Do you have the faith and endurance to weather any obstacle life throws at you? Are you inspiring loved ones as much as they inspire you?

Today We Are Rich: Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence
by Tim Sanders

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Book Description
Today We Are Rich has the answers and will show you how to be rich in positivity and gratitude. You'll learn what Tim learned from his grandmother: confidence comes from within you, from your loved ones, and from your spirituality, allowing you to rise above any of life's challenges.

In Today We Are Rich, you'll join Tim on his journey as he weaves together heartwarming tales of hardship and triumph with fundamental lessons of building confidence. Tim details his own challenges and the struggles of those close to him, turning them into parables on the endurance and power of the human spirit. Not only will you be moved by his stories, you'll learn the steps you need to take to overcome any obstacle and persevere, even in the face of today's always-on media and internet society.

Through the wisdom and stories of his grandmother, Tim will teach you seven principles of confidence his grandmother lived by even in the face of personal tragedy and economic turmoil, including the Great Depression.

• Feed Your Mind Good Stuff: learn how to identify and filter out the negativity that surrounds us.
• Move The Conversation Forward: learn to break free from the negative thought cycle and communicate positivity and confidence.
• Exercise Your Gratitude Muscle: learn to practice thankfulness to build a positive outlook.
• Give To Be Rich: learn how generosity of self can combat feelings of inadequacy.
• Prepare Your Self: learn how to fully commit yourself to your goals and be ready for anything.
• Balance Your Confidence: learn to temper your self-confidence by trusting in others and believing in something greater than yourself.
• Promise Made, Promise Kept: learn the value of integrity by being accountable for your promises.

As you accompany Tim through his growing pains and successes, you'll learn and feel your way through building the confidence you need turn your life around and truly be Rich.

About the Author
Tim Sanders is a sought-after international speaker, a consultant to Fortune 1000 companies, and the author of the New York Times best-seller Love Is the Killer App. He is also the author of The Likeability Factor and Saving the World at Work, which was rated one of the Top 30 Business Books of 2008 by Soundview Executive. Tim, a former executive at Yahoo!, where he served as chief solutions officer and also leadership coach, is the CEO of Deeper Media, an online advice-content company. Tim has appeared on numerous television programs, including The Today Show, and has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Family Circle, Reader's Digest, Fast Company, and Business Week.

Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity

Disciplined Dreaming shows even the stuffiest corporate bureaucracies how to cultivate creativity in order to become more competitive in today's shifting marketplace.

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Book Description

A 5-part process that will transform your organization — or your career — into a non-stop creativity juggernaut

We live in an era when business cycles are measured in months, not years. The only way to sustain long term innovation and growth is through creativity-at all levels of an organization. Disciplined Dreaming shows you how to create profitable new ideas, empower all your employees to be creative, and sustain your competitive advantage over the long term. Linkner distills his years of experience in business and jazz — as well as hundreds of interviews with CEOs, entrepreneurs, and artists — into a 5-step process that will make creativity easy for you and your organization. The methodology is simple, backed by proven results.

• Empowers individuals, teams, and organizations to meet creative challenges posed by the marketplace

• Turns the mystery of creativity into a simple-to-use process

• Shows how creativity can be used for everything from innovative, game-shifting breakthroughs to incremental advances and daily improvements to business processes

• Offers dozens of practical exercises, thought-starters, workouts to grow "creative muscles," and case studies

Review

“In today’s fiercely competitive global marketplace the most important resource any business has is the creative thinking of its people. In Disciplined Dreaming, Josh Linkner lays out a road map that will guide individuals, teams, and companies to higher levels of creativity. It is a journey that will lead to better ideas and breakthrough thinking—and those who take it will also have a lot of fun along the way.”
—Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company

“The creativity gap is real and it’s getting worse. Josh Linkner challenges you to become a disruptive force for change, and I hope you will.”
—Seth Godin, author, Linchpin and Purple Cow

“Josh Linkner is a tremendous business leader who has established a successful and sustainable company, as well as a culture that nurtures employees to help them maximize their potential.”
—Hon. Jennifer M. Granholm, governor, State of Michigan

“At Zappos, one of our core values is to be adventurous, creative, and open-minded. Disciplined Dreaming can help spark your creative potential.”
—Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com and author, Delivering Happiness

“The world has changed dramatically, and we have now entered a new era of creativity. Disciplined Dreaming is a roadmap to new ideas, and helps business leaders at all levels unleash their creativity in order to reach their full potential. This important and thoughtful book is a must-read to compete in the next era of business, and life.”
—Charlene Li, founder, Altimiter Group and author, Groundswell and Open Leadership

“There’s a lot business people can learn from jazz musicians. The days of managing by musical score are gone—today, victory goes to the improviser. If you are not tinkering with your business every day, sooner or later the markets will begin to tinker with you—and it won’t be pleasant. Disciplined Dreaming helps you avoid these pitfalls and provides a systematic approach to becoming that winning improviser.”
—Keith McFarland, #1 best-selling author, The Breakthrough Company and Bounce

“It is often said there are dreamers and there are doers. Never before has someone connected the dots and clarified the path between ‘dreaming’ and ‘doing’ like Josh Linkner has in Disciplined Dreaming. This is a must-read for the innovators and creators who want to cross over to the execution side and make their dreams come to life.”
—Dan Gilbert, chairman and founder, Quicken Loads, and majority owner, Cleveland Cavaliers