LEGO Harry Potter Building the Magical World Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My husband is a huge Lego fan, as well as a huge Harry Potter fan. He's been collecting the Lego Harry Potter sets since they came out in 2001. So, when I saw this book, I just had to get it for him.
PROS: The book may as well be called "Lego Harry Potter: A History." It details each individual Lego set (or, in cases such as the Knight Bus, which had two sets, details the sets together) up to the beginning of 2011 and provides interesting tidbits about the designs of the sets and the minifigures that came with them. It also highlights some of the more prolific minifigures, such as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco. It's really interesting to see how much detail is put into each set, and to see how the designs have improved through the years (The original Ginny minifigure pales in comparison to the newest one, for example). There's a "Behind the Scenes" section in the back that gives a short overview on the team that creates the Legos and on how the sets are designed, and there's a section on the HP Lego Video Game as well. It also includes a timeline of the different Lego HP sets, and a visual listing of all the minifigures. And finally, the book comes with an exclusive Harry minifigure, which appears to be "Yule Ball Harry."
CONS: Because the minifigure is imbedded in the cover of the book, the cover itself is about as thick as the pages for the rest of the book, so it gives the appearance that the book is twice as long as it actually is. The book also doesn't detail the newest Lego Harry Potter sets that were just released (e.g., the Forbidden Forest, the newest Hogwarts Castle set), though it does mention that they're coming out soon at the end of the book and has a large, two-page spread that pictures the sets.
OVERALL: This is definitely a great resource for any Harry Potter Lego collector, and is well worth the $14 we paid for it.

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The magic of Harry Potter™ and the fun of the LEGO® world, now in one incredible book!
Since it was first introduced in 2001, LEGO® Harry Potter™ has been one of the LEGO Group's most popular themes.This incredible guide gives readers an up-close look at the bricks, constructions, and minifigures of the LEGO® Harry Potter™ universe - from Hogwarts Castle to Hagrid's hut. This all inclusive book wouldn't be complete without an exclusive LEGO® Harry Potter™ minifigure!Who will it be?

You won't want to miss out on the exclusive interviews with the LEGO® Harry Potter™ team, and special sections allowing you to see, first-hand, how the bricks and figures come to be the toys we love today! The book will also feature a timeline that shows the evolution of the LEGO® Harry Potter™ construction sets, video game and board game.

LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick configuration and the Minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2011 The LEGO Group. Produced by DK Publishing under license from the LEGO Group. ™©Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights ©JKR. (s11)

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10 Cool LEGO Mindstorms Ultimate Builder Projects: Amazing Projects You Can Build in Under an Hour Review

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(More customer reviews)The following review was written by Ben, one of my 4th graders. He has used this book in class to build some of the robots:
Pros: cool robots, nice designs, easy to find most pieces
Cons: Takes a while to build them, sometimes they don't work
This book has very cool robots but I don't like the directions because it just shows you a picture of the how it is supposed to look, but doesn't give step by step instructions. My favorite robot is the Sumo Bug. This robot is basic and cool. This book includes 10 robots including the WideBot, Sumo Bug, hopper, HunterBot, Nessie, Nellie, Domino bot, Draw bridge, Candy Wrapper Compactor, and the Robo-Hominid.
All of the robots are fairly easy to build. You will find most of the pieces easy to find. However there are some pieces that might be hard to find. On the Widebot's base you will need a piece that is not included in the blue Lego Mindstorms 2.0 kits. There is also a piece on the grabber motor on the Hunter bot that does not come with the kits. Over all I give this book four stars.

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LEGO MINDSTORMS lets you design and program robots that can do just about anything!You've just purchased the LEGO MINDSTORMS Ultimate Builder Kit. Now what? Overwhelmed by the creative possibilities? The Builder Kit is targeted towards those who want to become "master LEGO builders." 10 Cool LEGO MINDSTORM Ultimate Builder Projects: Amazing Projects You Can Build in Under an Hour provides step-by-step instructions and detailed illustrations for users of all skill levels and proficiencies. This MINDSTORMS kit features many rare parts, a spare motor, a turntable, special gears, transparent beams, and even a pneumatics system-parts that can be confusing and that will be new to many LEGO builders. 10 Cool LEGO MINDSTORM Ultimate Builder Projects teaches readers how to incorporate these new features into their creations as they build 10 unique robots.From out of the box to up and running in less than an hour. This book teaches users how to create 10 amazing projects in under an hour.8-page color insert. An eight-page color insert will illustrates the complete projects in full-detail.Specifically targeted to both new users of the LEGO MINDSTORMS and experienced MINDSTORMS fans.

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The DAMA Guide to the Data Management Body of Knowledge (DAMA-DMBOK) Print Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)No doubt, assembling a "body of knowledge" for the yet emerging profession of data management was a huge task. And, recognizing this, we must salute those who obviously toiled long and hard on putting this important resource together. Of course, the work has the look and feel of something that was assembled by a committee. It should, for it was. However, acknowledging this, we mustn't despise the importance of much of the information contained within the corpus of this text. Nor should we refrain from important, constructive criticism.
The strength of this work is its comprehensive nature. It really does provide something of a "soup to nuts" treatment of the Enterprise Data Management function. And those professionals today seriously involved in that function at any level would be well served by carefully reading and understanding this important material. The weakness of the work is what might be expected from such a communal effort: There is really no coherent philosophy of data management in evidence througout the entirety of the book. In particular, I was disappointed that the author(s) of the section on Data Warehousing seem(s) to have succombed to the sophistry that, in the data warehouse environment, it is permissable to disregard the rules of normalization. This is not true now, with the tremendous advances having been made in computer processing power. In fact, it may have never been true.
On the whole, we recommend this important work. Those who commit themselves to acquiring and reading the body of knowledge will probably already be familiar enough with the nature of corporate efforts of this sort that they will smile at some of my earlier comments. In any case, the work is well worth the time and effort for those who are truly serious about Enterprise Data Management as a profession. God bless.

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Written by over 120 data management practitioners, the DAMA Guide to the Data Management Body of Knowledge (DAMA-DMBOK) is the most impressive compilation of data management principals and best practices, ever assembled. It provides data management and IT professionals, executives, knowledge workers, educators, and researchers with a framework to manage their data and mature their information infrastructure. This print edition is also available in electronic PDF format on a CD (see ISBN 9780977140084).
The equivalent of the PMBOK or the BABOK, the DAMA-DMBOK provides information on:
Data Governance
Data Architecture Management
Data Development
Database Operations Management
Data Security Management
Reference & Master Data Management
Data Warehousing & Business Intelligence Management
Document & Content Management
Meta Data Management
Data Quality Management
Professional Development
As an authoritative introduction to data management, the goals of the DAMA-DMBOK Guide are:
To build consensus for a generally applicable view of data management functions.
To provide standard definitions for commonly used data management functions, deliverables, roles, and other terminology.
To document guiding principles for data management.
To present a vendor-neutral overview to commonly accepted good practices, widely adopted methods and techniques, and significant alternative approaches.
To clarify the scope and boundaries of data management.
To act as a reference which guides readers to additional resources for further understanding.

From the Foreword by John Zachman:
The book is an exhaustive compilation of every possible subject and issue that warrants consideration in initiating and operating a Data Management responsibility in a modern Enterprise. It is impressive in its comprehensiveness. It not only identifies the goals and objectives of every Data Management issue and responsibility but it also suggests the natural organizational participants and end results that should be expected.
The publication began as a non-trivial, sorely needed compilation of articles and substantive facts about the little understood subject of data management orchestrated by some folks from the DAMA Chicago Chapter. It was unique at the time as there was little substantive reference material on the subject. It has grown to become this pragmatic practitioners handbook that deserves a place on every Data Management professionals bookshelf. There is a wealth of information for the novice data beginner, but it is also invaluable to the old timer as a check-list and validation of their understanding and responsibilities to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks! It is impressive in it breadth and completeness.
The DAMA-DMBOK Guide deserves a place on every Data Management professionals bookshelf and for the General Manager, it will serve as a guide for setting expectations and assigning responsibilities for managing and practicing what has become the very most critical resource owned by an Enterprise as it (the Enterprise) progresses into the Information Age: DATA!

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Alfred's Basic Piano Library: Technique Level 1A Review

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(More customer reviews)I don't know why people give 1 star (as the previous interviewer did) when their transaction was flawed but not the books. I know Alfred books very well and they are the best in music education! Highly recommended.

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The Technic Books provide reading and rhythm drills and exercises perfectly paced with each Lesson Book in Alfred's Basic Piano Library to improve musicianship and develop coordination of the hands.

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Building Robots With Lego Mindstorms : The Ultimate Tool for Mindstorms Maniacs Review

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(More customer reviews)I am not ashamed to admit that I am 28-going-on-29 and I absolutely love this book. It is very well written and highly detailed. As a Mehanical Engineer with 6+ years work experience I was certain that this book wouldn't live up to the expectations that the first few pages that I read in the book store led me to develop. Was I wrong!! This book's simplified expanation of engineering concepts is unmatched. From Lego block geometry to gearing setup and programming. This book has it all if you'd like to go beyond the few missions that the mindstorm kit comes with. Don't be mistaken this book has no step-by-step instructions for building robots. It only introduces "snippet" to get your creative "juices" flowing. My understanding of Legos and their use has been greatly enhanced. To make things even better, the authors includes useful information on other Lego parts that are not included with mindstorm that are very important, i.e. light sensors, hydraulics, etc. If you are looking for a reference book to help you build better Lego creations, this book is it!!

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Lego robots! Mindstorms are sweeping the world and fans need to learn how to programme them Lego Mindstorms are a new generation of Lego Robots that can be manipulated using microcomputers, light and touch sensors, an infrared transmitter and CD-ROMs. Since Lego launched Lego Mindstorms in late 1998 sales have skyrocketed - with no sign of slowing down. Mindstorms have captured the imagination of adults and children alike, creating a subculture of Mindstorm enthusiasts around the world. The kits are now a staple part of engineering and computer science classes at many high profile Universities.Building Robots with Lego Mindstorms provides readers with a fundamental understanding of the geometry, electronics, engineering, and programming required to build your own robots. Mario and Giulio Ferrari are world-renowned experts in the field of Lego Mindstorms robotics, and in this book they share their unrivaled knowledge and expertise of robotics as well as provide a series of chapters detailing how to design and build the most exotic robots. Mario and Giulio also give detailed explanations of how to integrate Lego Mindstorms kits with other Lego programmable bricks such asScout and Cybermaster,as well as with non-robotic Lego Technics models.

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Data Modeling Made Simple: A Practical Guide for Business & Information Technology Professionals Review

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(More customer reviews)For over a year I'm looking for a good book to help business analysts to understand data models drawn by others and to train them in creating basic data models needed to cover business needs. I found a lot of good books but all too heavy, too many pages, too detailed and very nice if you want to become a real heavy duty data-guru. There is absolutely nothing wrong with data gurus, every organization needs a few of those, but it needs quite a few more of the 'casual' modellers. This book .. not too big.. a good read.. and even better reread.. It contains exactly everything that is needed for those modellers.
So, if you're a Business Analyst, Information Manager and need a good understanding of Data Modelling, even occasionally need to make one yourself, without having to spend years in training: buy this book..


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Ever have a bad data day? If you're a business user, architect, analyst, designer or developer, then you've probably had some bad data days. It comes with the territory. Overcoming these problems is much easier if you have an in-depth understanding of the actual data. That's where a data model comes in handy. It's a diagram that uses text and symbols to represent groupings of data, giving you a clear picture of your business and application environment. Data Modeling Made Simple provides the tools you need to read, create and validate models of your business and applications.

This book contains everything about modeling you need to know but were too afraid to ask, such as:
-What are the traditional and nontraditional uses of a data model?
-How do subject area, logical, and physical data models differ?
-When do I build a BSAM, ASAM, or CSAM?
-What is the easiest way to apply normalization?
-Where can I best leverage abstraction?
-How do I decide whether to use denormalization or dimensionality?
-What are primary, foreign, alternate, virtual, and surrogate keys?
-What is the best approach to building the models?
-How can I use the Scorecard system to validate a data model?

Plus over 30 exercises to reinforce concepts and sharpen your skills!

Reviews:
"What a great book—and a fun read too! Steve has captured the essence of data modeling and made it simple. For those who are not data modelers but need to work with them, this book is an excellent primer. For those who model data occasionally but not routinely, it is an invaluable quick reference. And for those of us who are experienced (and incorrigible) data modelers, Data Modeling Made Simple is a terrific reminder that we really can keep it simple!"
David Wells, Director of Education, Data Warehousing Institute

"An excellent introduction from someone who knows his subject and knows how to teach it"
Graeme Simsion, University of Melbourne

"Data Modeling Made Simple is a must read for all professionals new to data modeling as well as those that want to ‘speak the language' and understand the concepts.Steve writes as though he is right there with you, walking you through the terminology, explaining the symbols, and telling you what you should consider doing before, during and after you have modeled your data."
Robert S. Seiner, President, KIK Consulting & Educational Services, LLC andPublisher of The Data Administration Newsletter, tdan.com

"Data Modeling Made Simple is an excellent training guide for anyone entering the data modeling field. Steve Hoberman takes the fundamental concepts of data modeling and presents them in an easy to understand and entertaining manner that I'm sure you will find valuable."
David Marco, President, EWSolutions

"How does one who is not a formally trained ‘data modeler' understand the basics of data modeling?Steve Hoberman has created an informative, fun, easy to follow, and practical book sharing data modeling concepts which are essential for any professional involved in information technology. Mr. Hoberman clearly answers key questions behind the what, why and how of data modeling and reinforces the explanations with appropriate examples, analogies and exercises."
Len Silverston, Best-Selling Author of The Data Model Resource Book, Volumes 1 and 2

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Creating Cool MINDSTORMS NXT Robots (Technology in Action) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you're searching for some exciting NXT projects and ideas--or would simply like to build JohnNXT, a replica of the famous Johnny 5 robot--you will enjoy Daniele Benedettelli's book Creating Cool MINDSTORMS NXT Robots. The book presents helpful ideas that you can use in your own inventions and carefully integrates them in a variety of robots with detailed building instructions. In fact, these very features are why I've given the book five stars: challenging robot projects, excellent discussions of useful concepts and ideas, and exceptional building instructions.
Most of the robots seem intended for more advanced users looking for a challenge; in other words, these are generally more complex robots. For example, there are several walking robots--including three bipeds (two-legged robots), one of the most difficult types of robots to create. And with the exception of the massive, multi-NXT robot "JohnNXT" (chapter 8) and a remote control (chapter 9), you can build all the robots from the parts in a single retail LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT set. All the programming in the book is done in NXC (Not eXactly C), an unofficial text-based language with a C-like syntax.
Along the way you'll find in-depth explanations of robotics concepts and helpful descriptions of the robots. Besides an entire "theory chapter" on building biped robots (chapter 1) and another such chapter on finite state machines (chapter 3), the robot chapters themselves include explanations of concepts such as hysteresis, writing a multitask program, and quadruped (four-legged) walking as well as information on the robots' functionality and history. The author also does a good job of presenting and explaining the programming. Although prior NXC experience is helpful, such experience is not required.
The BIs (building instructions) are outstanding, which is important since they are a major part of the book. The author used advanced BI techniques, including complete electrical cables and callouts, and Ldglite to render the images, creating BIs that are remarkably "LEGO-like." I found that the BIs were generally very easy to follow even though many of the steps were complex. Such clarity is invaluable for a book that is filled with building instructions.
I admit that I didn't build the famed JohnNXT robot. Why? For starters, I don't have all the necessary pieces! All the same, I'm glad to see that the author included the robot because a number of readers will want tackle this enormous project.
In conclusion, this book is ideal for you if you're a more experienced NXT user looking to broaden your robotic horizons--while having lots of fun. Nevertheless, even if you're new to the NXT set, you would still enjoy the book. Either way, after working through the projects and grasping the concepts, you should be well-equipped to create your very own cool NXT robots.


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This book teaches anyone interested how to build LEGO MINDSTORMS robots. He starts with an easy robot and gets to more detail in the succeeding 6 robots built in the book. The robots he presents are award winning robots, so he is giving away his secrets. He also teaches how to program the robots. If you are not a programmer, then you can use the code provided. He tells you what equipment you need and how to get it inexpensively. So everything is discussed that you will need to create these robots or modify his designs to create your own.

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