You're sitting in a windowless conference room. Twenty minutes into the meeting the presenter finally makes it to slide four of a thirty two- slide deck. At least you can read this one, unlike the others, which were crammed with numbers, graphs and charts. You look around, wondering if anyone else is following the presentation. Just about everyone these days suffers from information overload the 24/7 explosion from our computers, smartphones, media, colleagues, and customers. Information is essential to making intelligent decisions, but more often than not, it simply overwhelms us. It's like trying to drink from a fire hose. The question isn't how to stop all those e-mails, meetings, conference calls, and fat reports; that's impossible. The question is what to do with them. How do you find the truly essential nuggets of information and use them with confidence? The solution proposed by Christopher Frank and Paul Magnone sounds deceptively simple: Learn how to ask the right questions at the right time. Whatever field you're in, asking smarter questions will expose you to new information, point you to connections between seemingly unrelated facts, and open new avenues of discussion with your colleagues. The authors explain the seven questions that can help you bring a big- picture perspective to problems that often leave others buried in irrelevant details. And they show through real-life case studies- including Trader Joe's, Starbucks, Kodak, Microsoft, iRobot, and IBM-how their method can have a dramatic impact. It really is possible to convert the fire hose of information into useful insights. Consider a nonbusiness example: the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruption that sent a giant ash cloud toward Europe. Tens of thousands of flights were canceled and five million passengers stranded, leading to billions in economic losses. Europe's best scientists generated oceans of data and carefully modeled the cloud's dispersion pattern. But no one could answer the essential question: Was the concentration of volcanic ash in the air enough to damage a jet engine? Without that key answer, all the carefully gathered facts were useless to the decision makers. Once you adopt the seven questions, you'll start having more productive brainstorming sessions. You'll answer critical questions faster and find unexpected solutions to important problems. And you'll get better at communicating to your colleagues with more clarity and focus, turning down the fire hose that other people have to cope with.

Sprouted Kitchen food blogger Sara Forte showcases 100 tempting recipes that take advantage of fresh produce, whole grains, lean proteins, and natural sweeteners—with vivid flavors and seasonal simplicity at the forefront. Sara Forte is a food-loving, wellness-craving veggie enthusiast who relishes sharing a wholesome meal with friends and family. The Sprouted Kitchen features 100 of her most mouthwatering recipes. Richly illustrated by her photographer husband, Hugh Forte, this bright, vivid book celebrates the simple beauty of seasonal foods with original recipes—plus a few favorites from her popular Sprouted Kitchen food blog tossed in for good measure. The collection features tasty snacks on the go like Granola Protein Bars, gluten-free brunch options like Cornmeal Cakes with Cherry Compote, dinner party dishes like Seared Scallops on Black Quinoa with Pomegranate Gastrique, “meaty” vegetarian meals like Beer Bean– and Cotija-Stuffed Poblanos, and sweet treats like Cocoa Hazelnut Cupcakes. From breakfast to dinner, snack time to happy hour, The Sprouted Kitchen will help you sneak a bit of delicious indulgence in among the vegetables.

Summary The Joy of Clojure, Second Edition is a deep look at the Clojure language. Fully updated for Clojure 1.6, this new edition goes beyond just syntax to show you the "why" of Clojure and how to write fluent Clojure code. You'll learn functional and declarative approaches to programming and will master the techniques that make Clojure so elegant and efficient. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology The Clojure programming language is a dialect of Lisp that runs on the Java Virtual Machine and JavaScript runtimes. It is a functional programming language that offers great performance, expressive power, and stability by design. It gives you built-in concurrency and the predictable precision of immutable and persistent data structures. And it's really, really fast. The instant you see long blocks of Java or Ruby dissolve into a few lines of Clojure, you'll know why the authors of this book call it a "joyful language." It's no wonder that enterprises like Staples are betting their infrastructure on Clojure. About the Book The Joy of Clojure, Second Edition is a deep account of the Clojure language. Fully updated for Clojure 1.6, this new edition goes beyond the syntax to show you how to write fluent Clojure code. You'll learn functional and declarative approaches to programming and will master techniques that make Clojure elegant and efficient. The book shows you how to solve hard problems related to concurrency, interoperability, and performance, and how great it can be to think in the Clojure way. Appropriate for readers with some experience using Clojure or common Lisp. What's Inside Build web apps using ClojureScript Master functional programming techniques Simplify concurrency Covers Clojure 1.6 About the Authors Michael Fogus and Chris Houser are contributors to the Clojure and ClojureScript programming languages and the authors of various Clojure libraries and language features. Table of Contents PART 1 FOUNDATIONS Clojure philosophy Drinking from the Clojure fire hose Dipping your toes in the pool PART 2 DATA TYPES On scalars Collection types PART 3 FUNCTIONAL PROGRAMMING Being lazy and set in your ways Functional programming PART 4 LARGE-SCALE DESIGN Macros Combining data and code Mutation and concurrency Parallelism PART 5 HOST SYMBIOSIS Java.next Why ClojureScript? PART 6 TANGENTIAL CONSIDERATIONS Data-oriented programming Performance Thinking programs Clojure changes the way you think

Ready to earn your fix-it PhD? Then it's time to read The Art Of Troubleshooting. Combining theory and practice, you'll gain insight into the principles that underlie the diagnosis and repair of all machines. Explore the entire ecosystem of fixing things, including economics, psychology, and preventing future malfunctions by learning from current ones. Extremely practical too, you'll benefit from an entire section devoted to the bread-and-butter strategies that get you from "broken" to "fixed" in the shortest time possible. Finally, The Art Of Troubleshooting focuses on you. Understand the mindset and behaviors that can make anyone a truly powerful master of repair. Whether at home or at work, be the hero and save the day by getting things running again!

Would you drink water out of a dirty lake or stream? Even if it looks clean, untreated water can have deadly bacteria in it. Discover the nasty effects of unclean water, and learn about the process by which clean, clear water gets to your tap.

A pragmatic approach to project management Many projects fail to deliver on time or on budget, or even to deliver a workable product that satisfies the customer. While good project management goes a long way towards ensuring success, managers often fail to follow the plans they implement. This unique guide helps you understand and successfully handle project management, once and for all. Covering practical ways to solve problems you'll typically face when managing actual projects, this pragmatic book takes you through a full project management lifecycle. You'll find ample tips, tricks, and best practices--all richly illustrated with real case studies. Find out how to plan for risk, get wayward projects back on track, manage a whole portfolio of projects, and much more. Each topic in the book is mapped to the exam topics of the PMP® Certification Exam, so PMP certification candidates can also use this book for test prep. The book's companion web site offers downloadable forms, templates, and checklists. Explains project management for the real world using a pragmatic approach that includes field-tested techniques, case studies to illustrate concepts, helpful tips and tricks, and downloadable content Guides you to project management success by providing friendly advice, as if you had a friend or project management consultant at your side, discussing issues Explores how to run successful meetings, how to get wayward projects back on track, planning for risk, and how to manage multiple projects Manage your next project with a personal consultant: your own copy of Your Project Management Coach: Best Practices for Managing Projects in the Real World. (PMP is a registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.)

Ever been baffled by a wine list, stood perplexed before endless racks of bottles at the liquor store, or ordered an overpriced bottle out of fear of the scathing judgment of a restaurant sommelier? Before she became a James Beard Award—winning food and wine writer, Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl experienced all these things. Now she presents a handy guide that will show you how to stop being overwhelmed and intimidated, how to discover, respect, and enjoy your own personal taste, and how to be whatever kind of wine person you want to be, from budding connoisseur to someone who simply gets wine you like every time you buy a bottle. Refreshingly simple, irreverent, and witty, Drink This explains all the insider stuff that wine critics assume you know. It will teach you how to taste and savor wine, alone, with a friend, or with a group. And perhaps most important, this book gives you the tools to learn the only thing that really matters about wine: namely, figuring out what you like. Grumdahl draws on her own experience and savvy and interviews some of the world’s most renowned critics, winemakers, and chefs, including Robert M. Parker, Jr., Paul Draper, and Thomas Keller, who share their wisdom about everything from pairing food and wine to the inside scoop on what wine scores and reviews really mean. Readers will learn how to master tasting techniques and understand the winemaking process from soil to cellar. Drink This also reveals how to get your money’s worth out of wine without spending all you’ve got. At last there’s a reason for wary wine lovers to raise a glass in celebration. Savor the insider’s viewpoint and straight talk of Drink This, and watch your intimidation of wine transform into well-grounded, unshakeable confidence.