The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin
Friday, October 17th, 2008One of the amazing things about the voyage of the Beagle is that Darwin survived it! On the voyage south along the eastern coast of South America and then later on the western coast he would frequently take to the land and meet the Beagle at its next port of call further south or north. He would travel the land hiring gauchos or other guides and horses and mules so that he could study the geology and the flora and fauna. The hardships and dangers he encountered and survived would in some ways put Indiana Jones to shame. In Patagonia amidst the constant gaucho and Indian wars, rife with wanton bloodshed and a kind of genocidal determinism, Darwin rode on horseback and slept on the ground and ate mostly animal flesh of all kinds, including mare’s flesh. In Tierra del Fuego the cold and barren lands were enormously forbidding, the inhabitants savage and the dangers very real. One senses in the young Charles Darwin a determination to be the kind of naturalist who leaves no stone unturned, no ridge unclimbed and no species uncollected.
What most surprised me was how well and vibrantly he described the many people he met. Here he speaks of the governor of St. Fe: his “favourite occupation is hunting Indians: a short time since he slaughtered forty-eight, and sold the children at the rate of three or four pounds apiece” (from the entry of Oct 3 and 4, 1832). And here is his description of Queen Pomarre of Tahiti: “The queen is a large awkward woman, without any beauty, grace or dignity. She has only one royal attribute: a perfect immovability of expression under all circumstances” (entry of November 25, 1835). Darwin was quite taken with the Tahitians lauding their sobriety (thanks to the temperance movement of the missionaries) while at the same time bringing a flask of spirits on his travels there. He seemed unaware of any inconsistency.
I was also surprised by Darwin’s vigor. I had thought that he was prone to being sickly, and indeed at times, he reports that he was confined to his quarters and that he suffered from seasickness and even homesickness; but when one considers all the miles he travelled on foot, on horseback, and all the mountain peaks he obtained, and the deserts he crossed, the many insects bites he endured, and the hard, cold and wet ground on which he often slept, one has to applaud his strength of body and character. Another surprise was the amount of time he devoted to geology and speculations about the how the land came to be the way he found it. When he spoke of how the land had risen and the mountains formed I had the sense of how thrilled he would have been to have had the modern understanding of plate tectonics.
At a couple of points in the narrative, Darwin speaks of how the most luxurious vegetation does not support the greatest number of animals, or the largest. He compares the plains of Africa and Patagonia with the Brazilian rainforest and speculates on why this should be. At no point does he use the term “grasslands,” and so I think we can conclude that he didn’t have the knowledge we have today about how fertile grasslands can be, nor did he realize that most of the nutrients in the rain forest are contained within the living plants and organisms above ground leaving the soil relatively poor compared to grassland soil. In the entry for September 15, 1832, he writes: “In grassy plains unoccupied by the larger ruminating quadrupeds, it seems necessary to remove the superfluous vegetation by fire, so as to render the new year’s growth serviceable.”
Another bit of modern knowledge that would have pleased him to know is that the marine iguanas of the Galapagos Islands cannot just jump into the very cold water that exists there but must warm themselves first, and even then can only stand the water for a limited period of time (an hour or two, I believe). Darwin kept tossing one of the lizards into the water only to watch it return inexplicably again and again to the land.
I was looking for hints that Darwin was already thinking about natural selection, but the text contains nothing that I could find that is directly specific although at one point he refers to the origin of species as that “mystery of mysteries.”
The book was written (and obviously rewritten and polished many times over) after Darwin returned to England after comparing notes with other naturalists. The advantage of this approach is the scientific rigor with which he is able to describe and evaluate his experiences. As a professional scientist, Darwin wanted to get all the scientific names right and avoid errors. One would expect through this approach that some immediacy would be lost, but if anything I suspect his journal gained in vividness and was made all the more intriguing for the precision of expression. It is, after all these years, still a most engaging and readable account of a most remarkable adventure–one of the best I’ve ever read, and I am surprised that it took me so many years to get to it!
The Voyage of the Beagle is also a book that will stay in print for many decades if not centuries to come, partly because it is so well written, and partly because Darwin is Darwin, but also because he was so precise in his descriptions of the animals and the people and the lands that he visited. By reading this we and future generations can learn of the changes that have taken place.
In short I was thoroughly dazzled at Darwin’s enormously wide range of knowledge. But I shouldn’t have been. In just reading this journal, one can easily see that young Mr. Darwin was already a superb naturalist and a brilliant thinker and observer.
Zip file of the entire book 629MB
Joe The Plumber
Friday, October 17th, 2008Plumber’s licensing Study Guide (Plumber’s Licensing Study Guide) by R. Dodge Woodson
The book is very comprehensive and gives a very accurate picture of what to expect on your plumbing exam. It makes learning the code fun and you will find out what you don’t know quickly. Use it in conjuction with your code book to look up areas you are weak in. If you can answer eighty percent of the questions in the “Study Guide” correctly you will probably pass your test. It’s the best book of its kind.
Plumber’s Handbook by Howard C. Massey
Whether a do-it-yourself amateur or an experienced professional, this new and updated edition of Howard Massey’s “Plumber’s Handbook” is a very highly recommended instructional reference manual. Drawing upon his many years of expertise and experience as a plumber, a plumbing contractor, an inspector and plans examiner, Massey explains in simple terms how to install plumbing systems that will pass inspection the first time! Each chapter is profusely illustrated with diagrams, charts and tables that will insure the selection of the right material and correct installation. The “Plumber’s Handbook Revised” addresses vents, waste piping, drainage, septic tanks, hot and cold water supply systems, wells, fire protection piping, fixtures, solar energy systems, gas piping, and so much more. Of special note are the chapters dedicated to the plumbing of mobile home and travel trailer parks and graywater recycling. An invaluable addition to personal, professional, school and community library reference collections, this newly revised edition is completely updated to conform to the International Plumbing Code (IPC) and the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) standards.
Plumber’s Exam Preparation Guide by Howard C. Massey
It is a wonderful book and very complete in the fields it touches. very compact and very helpful. Missing? A more updated version. I also needed help with the gas section because this book was not enough, and definitely not good at all in drafting. The rest is excellent and a must in the preparation for the theoretical journeyman exam. Without it, it would be really difficult to get the license.
The Plumber’s Troubleshooting Guide by R. Dodge Woodson
I am a property manager that has got many useful bits of help from this book. Everyone should have one.
Mathematics for Plumbers and Pipefitters by Lee Smith
First found out about this book while I was studying for my Journeyman Plumbers license exam.Found it at the library and was so impressed I ordered it from the publisher. Contains very much usefull information.Explains all about simple and compound offsets. Contains all the formulas you will need for performing plumbing tradework.I have the fourth addition and still consider it one of my best resources. I recommend it to anyone who is studying for their Journeyman or Master Plumbers exams or for anyone who would like to learn the professional way of performing tradework.
The Plumber: The True Story of How One Good Man Helped Destroy the Entire Philadelphia Mafia by Joseph Salerno and Stephen J. Rivele
An excellent book,how one small time man can bring down a large powerfull organisation,very well detailed, leaving you in no doubt as to the strugle that the plumber and his family had to go through, the court transcripts at the end are and added bonus that i enjoyed very much
The Plumber of Souls by Michael Guinzburg
i loved this book and i would definately reccommend this book; but not to everyone. the book is really four short stories tied together by the central character, an assassin priest who meets these extremely mixed up individuals on missions for the pope, hears thier story, and takes appropriate action. the stories are well constructed and expertly told, and the final story has an interesting twist to it. the author writes beautifully, with poetic turns of phrase and a fresh energy. he uses words expertly, not pretentiously, and i loved reading this book. HOWEVER, if you are easily offended or just prefer not to read books that include off color topics such as pederast priests, deviant sexual content, and liberal use of profanity, this book is not for you. the book is extremely vulgar, but almost in a cartoonish way. the vulgarity and profanity are more of a spice that adds flavor than the main ingrediant. if you can read past the explicit scenes and enjoy the story for the story, and appreciate the way the words themselves are used, you will enjoy every moment of this book. i consider this book true literature. i loved it, but i know this book isn’t for everyone.
Joe the Plumber: The Real-Life Saga of a Mafia Chieftain by Henry A. Zeiger and Signet Books
Joe DeCalvacante office gets bugged back in the 60s. Good stuff is picked up on these bugs, including behind the scene machinations of a mob boss and his family, as well as the national mob. It shows the power of the Commission, and how it holds sway over all families. But this book puts to rest Joe Bonnano’s kidknap bs once and for all. His own men admiited on tape that it was a ruse. Good read for some mob history.
Flushed: How the Plumber Saved Civilization by W. Hodding Carter
Carter, a “great sanitation scholar,” gives us an outstanding tour of the world of plumbing; several tours, actually. One is the historical tour, from classical times to the present day and beyond. Carter goes back to the Romans, whose pipes made of lead (“plumbum” in Latin) gave us the word for plumber. The trip through time make brief stops in the dark ages, where monks railed against pagan rituals of water and washing, while quietly enjoying the highest levels of sanitation around. Carter’s next historical high points come in the 18th and especially 19th century, when Europe finally recovered and surpassed the Romans’ level of engineering sophistication. The story continues into today, with recent innovations like the 1.6 gallon flush, and into some truly exciting possibilities for the future of human waste processing.
Another kind of tour lets us visit the technologies of waste removal. Up until the 1800s, that largely consisted of an open window, a shouted warning to anyone passing below, and a mighty heave of the “thunder mug,” which left the streets in a condition that beggars modern imagination. From there, Carter works up to the high-tech digesters that biologically decontaminate Boston’s sewage stream, and to practical demonstrations of recovering energy from methane given off, or even bacterial fuels cells that generate electricity directly.
It’s also a story of social progress. People live longer and fewer children die of disease spread by fecal contamination, to be sure. Carter also describes low-tech innovations in India that promise to improve the lives of the untouchable undercaste, once they are freed from the necessary but “unclean” duty of clearing away the human waste of India’s hundreds of millions.
Not least, it’s a story of Carter’s own adventures and misadventures with the maze of pipes behind his own walls. That’s part of what makes this book so enjoyable: the enthusiastic and highly personal tone of his writing. It’s a summary of his wide-ranging studies in what we do with the poo, but always light and readable. I fault his research for only one small point, his neglect of the New World before the European arrival. The Aztecs built some of the world’s most populous pre-technological cities and dealt with their excreta much more effectively than European cities of the same size and period. Still, it’s an informative and enjoyable look at what we’d usually rather not look at.
A Plumber’s Progress: Pilgrimage to the Heart of Tibet by W. J. O’Connell
I really enjoyed this poet-plumber’s trip from California to India and Tibet, learning not only about these countries but also about his quest to find spiritual enlightenment. His humour keeps the quest grounded in reality. “A Plumber’s Progress” is the male equivalent to “Eat, Pray Love”, and, indeed this is the same plumber mentioned in that book. Merely scanning the book will not reveal its poetic and philosophical gems. Dig in and read it from cover to cover!
“… He made the rest of them look like plumbers. Casey Stengel Joe‘s a man who was meant to play ball …”
“… line, and have decided to use a professional drain-cleaner or plumber 45 …”
“… trouble he got into when he flushed his favorite G.I. Joe down the toilet and his mother had to call a plumber to retrieve it (or at least try). …”
“… JOE CAMP It’s strange. If you can fix a sink, you can call yourself a plumber. Pass the state CPA exam and you can call yourself …”
“… Joe Stewart years back. She was still keeping the books for Tucker the Plumber across the street from us and she was not much …”
“… The idea was to apprentice him thereafter to plumber Joe Hogan. But as Comiskey recalled later in life, “Leaks didn’t …”
“… gotta know somebody to get in. That somebody may be Joe the Plumber (as opposed to, say, Donald Trump), but that’s how these …”
“… Pushed through by councilman and business owner Archie Poteet and plumber Joe Capps, the measure was supported by 90 percent of local …”
“… Obviously your neigh-bor Joe the plumber could fix your broken pipes, but what, then, could you …”
“… ANXIETY: JOE Joe, a plumber, owned “one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever made.” He …”
“… the ‘working class revolution’ in climbing took place, and Manchester plumbers Joe Brown and Don Whillans pushed gritstone rock-climbing to previously unheard …”
“… The Starter Wife 59 “I called a plumber,” Gracie said. “Can you tell me why you’re shaving your pubic area so I can explain it to Joe-Earle?” Joe-Earle was the plumber. …”
“… do that you really will be climbers.” It seemed impossible. “Joe Brown led it in 1952, with Belshaw. Joe‘s a plumber in Manches- …”
“… did he have a four-foot-wide scaffold? Next Liza calls up Joe the Plumber (Giovanni de Nava), who plunges into the flooded basement, wades …”
“… 24 Lilian Jackson Braun “Is Little Joe a competent plumber?” he went on. “I thought of writing a column about …”
“… to bring Scarfo down but couldn’t. Then one night, a plumber witnessed a murder-and that plumber, Joe Salerno, became a one-man wrecking crew who brought down the …”
“… whether you were Cary Grant, Nancy Regan, Mae West or Joe the Plumber. Except teachers who received a reduced fee. As they gained …”
“… Shit, Todd, could you imagine me handing Joe, the plumber, a bill for $35 for breakfast? Hell, he’d shut off …”
“… Finally, when yet another date had gone by with no plumbers I took Joe and went to the plumber‘s office, which is also an …”
The Angry Plumber and Other Woefully True Bathroom Calamities by Dr. B.M. Krysis
A friend of mine has already got this book directly from Trafford, the publisher. I read a couple of chapters, and laughed myself silly. While the “end” of each story is necessarily similar, Dr. Krysis has done a masterful job at putting incredible, situational detail into each chapter.
The other thing that’s so remarkable about this book, is that it details a truly universal issue. I mean, if you’re really honest with yourself, you’ll be able to relate pretty gosh-darn easily, and likely recall 1 or more situations where you were in the same dire straits!
If you need a good laugh, I highly recommend The Angry Plumber…you’ll chuckle your ‘arse right off!
