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Here are some reference books, that I think you will enjoy. There are many great books which can teach you more about the principals and components involved. Within this section are titles which I recommended with links to enable you to order on-line.
On this page you'll find titles related to astronomy, home theater equipment & intallation, movie reviews, reference literature and books no film-buff should be without.
See the NEW resource guides:
 Astronomy Information and Telescope Resources - Contained here are resource links for the Meade LX200 (GPS & Classic), LX90, LX50, LXD55, Starfinder, and ETX telescopes; and Pictor CCD cameras and imaging software. |
| Cadillac Resources - Links to the various Cadillac related resources available on the web. Items such as resetting the "Oil Life" indicator light, links to download your owners manual, personal webpages, photos and resources for the Service Professional: accessing the onboard diagnostic trouble codes, online service manuals, etc. |
| Scanning and Public Safety Resources - Links to the various webpages with resources such as Ham Radio and Scanning: Monitoring Police and Fire Communications, Scanner Frequencies, Law Enforcement Professional resources for Management, Guidance and Self-Help. |
| The Ultimate Resource Guide for the Home Chef! - Links to kitchen tested recipes, cookbooks and essential kitchen gadgets. |
  Burnham's Celestial Handbook:
An Observer's Guide to the Universe Beyond the Solar System
Burnham is a "given" among amateur astronomers. Until quite recently there was no work other than this that contained so much useful information in one place. It's also much more than just a reference. Despite his twenty years at Lowell Observatory, Burnham seems to have remained an "amateur" in the highest sense. His love of the night sky is plainly communicated not only in his entertaining digressions into myth and poetry but also by the obvious effort he put in before the days of PC's and word processors.
 Sky Atlas 2000.0: Deluxe
With a generous scale of 8.2 millimeters per degree, the deluxe version of this popular atlas has plenty of room for a life's worth of pencil markings. Twenty-six fold-out charts show 81,312 stars in black (magnitude 8.5 or brighter) as well as 2,700 color-coded deep-sky objects. The Milky Way is portrayed with four shades of blue that represent approximate brightness levels. In addition, two charts provide close-ups of such areas as the celestial poles and the Virgo-Coma galaxy region. A transparent overlay with grids is included.
 Atlas of the Moon
This is a great book for telescope users and a fine one for ordinary browsers. It is an up-to-date atlas of the observable part of the moon. Maps of the moon compose the bulk of the book's 224 pages. The introduction discusses history, terminology, phases of the moon, and the moon's surface. This is followed by maps of 76 sections of the near side of the moon, each accompanied by a small locator map. Facing pages include place-names and their derivations as well as map coordinates. Following the maps are photographs of interesting lunar formations (craters, ring mountains, walled plains), advice on setting up and using a telescope, descriptions of eclipses, and a glossary.
 The Planet Observer's Handbook
Fred Price has produced a wonderful guide to the inquisitive amateur astronomer who wants to undertake solar system observations. The book provides a very thorough and useful discussion of the solar system and "celestial sphere," and progresses into a fairly standard, but very informative, discussion about telescopes and atmospheric conditions. The meat of the book assigns one chapter to each planet.
 The Internet for Dummies
Even if you're not a dummy, the sixth edition of The Internet for Dummies is one of the best user's guides to the Internet now available. Many so-called Internet books are nothing more than printed collections of Web addresses, but John Levine, Carol Baroudi, and Margaret Levine Young recognize that deciding to use the Internet involves financial commitments and computer-hardware decisions as much as it does looking at neat pictures. That said, don't expect to set up your own e-commerce site with this book, and don't expect to find step-by-step instructions for starting your computer. But do expect to get some good advice about picking an ISP (Internet Service Provider), protecting your privacy (and your kids), and connecting with Windows or a Mac.
 Roots Revisited
Maceo Parker
Parker earned his reputation among R&B insiders playing alto saxophone with James Brown off and on for twenty years, and almost no one figured the sideman deluxe would one day enjoy mainstream acclaim as a bandleader in his own right.
 My Favorite Things
John Coltrane
This 1960 recording was a landmark album in John Coltrane's career, the first to introduce his quartet with pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones and the first release on which he played soprano saxophone. It also provided him with a signature hit, as his new group conception came together wonderfully on the title track. It's an extended modal reworking in 6/4 time that brought the hypnotic pulsating quality of Indian music into jazz for the first time, with Coltrane's soprano wailing over the oscillating piano chords and pulsing drums.
 Aliens
Aliens is one of the few cases of a sequel that far surpassed the original. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, who awakens on Earth only to discover that she has been hibernating in space so long that everyone she knows is dead. Then she is talked into traveling (along with a squad of Marines) to a planet under assault by the same aliens that nearly killed her. Once she gets there, she finds a lost little girl who triggers her maternal instincts--and she discovers that the company has once again double-crossed her, in hopes of capturing one of the aliens to study as a military weapon.
 DVD Demystified
Storage media may have come and gone, but the "killer" technology has finally arrived: DVD (Digital Video Disk). Its 4.7 gigabytes of storage per disk (CD offers 650) make it the imminent successor to audio CD, videocassette, laserdics, and CD-ROM. Here's the first plain-English guide to help professionals cut through the highly technical standards documents and really get to grips with working and designing with DVD, including hardware and software requirements, Internet applications, next generation technology, and much more. Includes a DVD disc with Dolby Digital and THX trailers, as well as test patterns and DVD movie previews.
 Video Essentials
You've probably noticed that no two people seem to set the TV controls the same way. To make matters worse, people often turn knobs without knowing what the individual controls will do to the picture. That's where this disc comes in... this is a must have DVD for optimizing your home theater - it will guide you through adjusting the color, hue, contrast, brightness and sharpness of the video. It also guides you through setting your speaker to THX reference level.
 Avia Guide to Home Theater
Avia, just like Video Essentials provides you with patterns that will help you in getting the most from your monitor or television. The disc is very easy to use and is much better suited for the novice then Video Essentials - all test patterns have an explaination of what they are used for and proper use. It includes red, green, & blue filters to check for color decoder accuracy, and how to compensate for any errors. Avia also contains an alternate procedure for setting black level that doesn't require your DVD player to pass the 0 IRE level. There are even a couple "hidden" Dolby Digital trailers.
 Theo Kalomirakis' Private Theaters
Gives you an inside view to some of the finest home theaters in the world. I recommend this book highly for everyone that is aspiring to achieve the highest level of home entertainment, because the book gives you a lot of ideas.
 The Home Theater Companion
A guide to audio/video and stereophonic surround sound systems. The perfect book for anyone considering a home theater or already in the process of maintaining one. The author is an experienced hand who guides readers from the shopping experience, through the installation, use, upkeep, and mainenance of audio, video, and surround-sound components. Howard Ferstler is a regular contributor to Stereo Review, Fanfare, CD Review, and High Fidelity. He is the author of High Fidelity Audio Visual Systems, and High Definition Compact Disc Recordings.
 Home Theater for Everyone
This book gives you a look in on the ABCs of home theater.The glossary page is especially good for those who know nothing about home theater. It is also useful for those starting on building a home theater for themselves.
 Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
Widely acclaimed as the biggest, best, and most authoritative book of its kind, this 18th edition features 400 new movie entries, making a total of over 19,000 entries, and has expanded coverage of films available on video for home viewing (over 14,000 videocassette, and over 6,000 laser disc listings), plus enlarged indexes of leading performers and directors, and updated lists of mail-order sources for buying and renting videocassettes and laser discs.
 Star Wars Chronicles
This is the ultimate must-have for the Star Wars fanatic. The Star Wars Chronicles covers the beloved trilogy of movies in thousands of behind-the-scenes and up-close photographs, many you've never seen before. From the creation of all the aliens to the details of Boba Fett's jet pack, you'll find fascinating facts, drawings, paintings, and photos to pore over endlessly. Each detail is lovingly presented for the appreciation of serious fans, and the whole package will be a delight to collectors.
 World Radio TV Handbook 2000
Extensive, authoritative, reliably current data on radio and TV services anywhere and everywhere in the world makes this respected guide an essential desktop partner for casual listeners and seasoned DXers alike. Now entering its fifty-fourth year, the world's original and most comprehensive guide provides updated alphabetical country listings, a section of unbiased reviews of the latest radio equipment, predictions for reception conditions, a rich variety of technical features, and other pertinent information furnished by global experts. An all-inclusive directory section lists broadcasting personnel, addresses, numbers for telephone, fax, and e-mail, plus Web details for radio and TV stations throughout the world.
 Lost Moon:
The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13
In 1970, during the glory days of the Apollo space program, NASA sent Commander Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert on America's fifth mission to the moon. Two days later, when Apollo 13 was 200,000 miles from home, an oxygen tank exploded and the crew was placed in unprecedented danger. So many things could have killed the crew, from lack of oxygen and water to the complete breakdown of communication and navigation systems. If any one of those catastrophes had occurred, the three men would have been condemned to an eternity of orbiting the earth and her pale sister entombed in the craft that failed them. Instead, ingenuity and sheer luck prevailed. Director Ron Howard and Oscar-winner Tom Hanks have made a movie (Apollo 13 DTS DVD) based on this book.
 The Last Man on the Moon
A revealing and dramatic look at the inside of the American space program from one of its pioneers - Eugene Cernan is a unique American who came of age as an astronaut during the most exciting and dangerous decade of space flight. His career spanned the entire Gemini and Apollo programs, from being the first person to spacewalk all the way around our world to the moment when he left man's last footprint on the Moon as commander of Apollo 17.
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