| Ice and Wind: Standing on the Arctic Ocean [message #80125] |
Mon, 30 April 2012 22:38  |
David Fanning
Messages: 11724
Registered: August 2001
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Senior Member |
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Folks,
A number of people have sent me e-mails over the years,
after reading something on my web page, suggesting that
maybe I ought to "write a book." You will be happy to
know (or, maybe not) that I have taken your suggestions
seriously. Today I announce a new book that has nothing
whatsoever to do with IDL, except that it was an IDL
friend who got me into this mess in the first place.
In fact, it was here, in the IDL newsgroup, where I first
announced that I really needed to "get out of town." The
next thing I knew, Ben Tupper had fixed me up with a group
of oceanographers heading up to the Arctic Ocean. When I
checked the weather the day Ben called, it was -35 degrees F,
with a wind chill of -65 degrees. Good God! I meant a sunny
beach in Greece where nobody spoke English!
So anyway, the result is a long essay about the month I
spent in the Arctic Ocean with these scientists. The book
is what we call long-form journalism, which means the story
is too long for a magazine article or essay, and too short
for a book. It is fast becoming my favorite kind of reading
on my Kindle.
The book, Ice and Wind: Standing on the Arctic Ocean, is
an E-book and is formatted for the Kindle, the iPad/iPhone/Nook/Etc
and the computer (in PDF format). (The iPhone is a great place
to read these kinds of articles, while you are waiting for your
next meeting to get started.) I've priced the book at half the
cost of a cup of coffee, and you enjoy it for approximately twice
as long. It will take you about an hour to read the story, more
or less.
You can find the book (in whatever format you need) in the E-Books
section of the Coyote Store:
http://www.idlcoyote.com/store/index.php
My plan, if all goes well, will be to make this book available
at the Kindle Store and other locations where people typically
buy E-books.
I hope you buy it, and I hope you enjoy it. In any case, I'd love
to hear from you about it. I have several more books in mind if
this one strikes a chord with anyone. :-)
Cheers,
David
--
David Fanning, Ph.D.
Fanning Software Consulting, Inc.
Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.idlcoyote.com/
Sepore ma de ni thui. ("Perhaps thou speakest truth.")
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| Re: Ice and Wind: Standing on the Arctic Ocean [message #80161 is a reply to message #80125] |
Mon, 14 May 2012 13:24  |
DavidF[1]
Messages: 94
Registered: April 2012
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Member |
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Helder writes:
> Well, it is absorbing to read about people that are miles away from my research field and do their research even more miles away, and still find a lot of similarities. I'm each one of us has had "his" Christensen, Belzile and Olivo in his lab. What most researchers don't have is a "David" lending a hand and then putting down in nice words experiences that should be not forgotten (yes, that's because we mostly forget about the plots and data that come out of such research quite quickly).
Thanks for the very nice review. I appreciate it very much.
I'm still having trouble selling this book (the price has
been lowered to $0.99, on sale for $0.49 and I can still count
the number of friends and family I have on one hand. :-(
So, here is what I am going to do. I'm going to assume I am
the only one on the planet who owns an e-reader (too depressing
to assume I'm the only one on the planet who likes to read), and
I am going to GIVE AWAY this damn book to anyone willing to read
it. That's right. You heard me. I can't possible become a writer
until someone reads something I've written, so I'm willing to give
this away. (I'd offer to pay you to read it, but, you know, that's
not going to happen in my current marriage.)
So, here is your chance. You can download this book, for free,
in PDF format here:
http://www.idlcoyote.com/pdf/standing_on_the_ocean.pdf
You can also purchase the book for your iPhone, iPad, Nook, Sony or
Kindle from my web page in the E-Books section of my store for less
than half a buck:
http://www.idlcoyote.com/store
Or, you can get it from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008198GQW
Or, you can get it from Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/standing-on-the-ocean-david- fanning/1110737355
My favorite way of reading books is to use the Kindle App on my iPhone,
which gives me access to all my Kindle books, except that all the
pictures are in color. Much handier to carry my phone than my Kindle.
Happy Reading!
Cheers,
David
P.S. Did I mention that Coyote's retirement pension (basically a beer fund)
is funded *entirely* with book proceeds?
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| Re: Ice and Wind: Standing on the Arctic Ocean [message #80163 is a reply to message #80125] |
Mon, 14 May 2012 03:07 |
Helder Marchetto
Messages: 520
Registered: November 2011
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Senior Member |
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Hi David,
It took me a bit longer to read through. The reason for that are not the burning chops but hyperactive children.
Well, it is absorbing to read about people that are miles away from my research field and do their research even more miles away, and still find a lot of similarities. I'm each one of us has had "his" Christensen, Belzile and Olivo in his lab. What most researchers don't have is a "David" lending a hand and then putting down in nice words experiences that should be not forgotten (yes, that's because we mostly forget about the plots and data that come out of such research quite quickly).
I'm very jealous that I haven't had yet a David in my lab and probably will not have a proper story put down black on white for my family and friends to read about. I also find the social relationships that build up in such extreme environments very very interesting. Should have studied sociology or something that finishes with "-ology".
I found you book very well written and made me see through your eyes landscapes that I would otherwise probably never be able to see/live.
Or... does anybody need a pair of hands in the Arctic?
Essential resume': can cook (Italian... with a German attitude), have some experience with surface electron microscopes (not that anybody care up there) and I can sometimes make funny jokes (depending on the environment they may be found funny or not, but of such things David has already given a nice overview!).
Cheers,
Helder
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