23 September 2011

A little silly fun

I found this rocking awesome website: Wordle.com, which will take your words and create a word cloud out of them. I used the text I copied from several websites while researching Vicunas for a school project with my son, and came up with this totally neat word cloud!


Wordle: Vicuna

06 September 2011

Kindle Freebies of the day

Today's Kindle freebies include some great "how-to" books, a gluten-free eating book, a book from former Southwest Airlines CEO James Parker, and a get-real book on following Christ. Let's look!

First, a book on eating gluten-free, Gluten Free Meals: The How-to Guide. If you suffer from gluten allergies, or even if you just have unexplained digestive issues (especially gas, pain, and bloating), check out this short guide. It isn't a recipe book per se, but it is a nice introduction to eating gluten free.

Two books on drawing make our list today. First, Drawing People. This short book has 8 sections: an introduction, warm ups, and five sections on drawing various body parts. The final section is a primer on drawing full body models. There are no example drawings, but the simple explanations of drawing concepts serves to introduce you to the terminology of drawing without overwhelming you with details. A novice drawer could easily follow the (anonymous) author's instructions and produce passable results.

A second offering by the same author follows the same layout. This one is Basic Drawing Techniques. Again, there are no illustrations, but a complete novice will enjoy the brief and easily digestible introduction to art terms, pencil, paper, and eraser choices, and drawing accessories. The exercises in this brief book are simple and to the point. In just a few minutes, the novice could produce a simple outline drawing or brief sketch.

The next book for today is a book by former Southwest CEO James Parker, Do the Right Thing. In the days and weeks following the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, Parker made some tough decisions about the way Southwest was going to do business, and it paid off. In this book, Parker talks about his decisions, and how they grew from Southwest's long-standing policy of doing the right thing. Parker shares stories about situations in which problems were resolved by doing the right thing - not necessarily the most profitable thing, or the most efficient thing, or the most business-savvy thing. He has some terrific insight on how to be a leader, whether you're leading a Fortune 500 company or a Cub Scout troop. This e-book will only be free for a short time, so grab it while it's hot!

The last book for today's edition of best Kindle freebies is Buck Naked Faith: A Brutally Honest Look at Stunted Christianity. This is another limited-time freebie, so get it before the price goes up! This book, by Dr. Eric Sandras, is not a book to read if you are looking for something to reassure you about what a great Christian you are and how "good" you are. It is a hard look at the dichotomy between what the world asks us to do if we want success and what Jesus demands if we are to be true "Christ-followers" and not just lip-service believers. Sandras reveals in the first few pages his own struggle between outward Christianity and true Christianity. He uses the analogy of the Bonsai tree to beautifully illustrate his point that Jesus the one who cares for us, prunes us, trains us, and causes us to flourish. Get this book!



The opinions I've expressed are my very own. Your mileage may vary. As of today, these books are all available for free in the Amazon Kindle store. You can get a Kindle reading app for most devices. I read Kindle books on an Acer Aspire 5734 laptop computer and an Acer IconiaTab 500 android tablet. I've also read Kindle books on my Motorola Devour phone, but I don't really recommend that as it made me need stronger glasses! ;-)

Til tomorrow!

Cassie