Roget's Illusion

Swing High

This is not going to hurt even a little bit

I see that many reviewers didnt like the noise but I am here to say its organic. The mixer drum rotates as the truck moves along and makes a noise with tiny bits of pieces moving inside. It works well on and off carpet. It is fun to drag along the truck with its vibrant colours and cute Ricky. With its size, kids will get a real feel of playing with a truck than with a tiny toy car. With the bollard, an enthusiastic parent can mimic the department of transportation realities by dynamically moving it and creating hurdles that your little tot will be challenged with in rerouting his/her journey and getting the cement mix in time to construct the awesome building. Wow, so now you have to come up with an imaginary road and a time limit for the task.
I also like the WOW line with its Lift it Luke, Dexter the digger, Dudley Dump truck, Roll it Riley. Now can I get them all in one?

Tower of Hanoi

 


Some time ago I had seen a kid play with stacked cups and I pointed out to the parents that the base of the cups had animals on it. only recently did I learn of the advantages of a stacking cups both as a play and educational toy.
These stacking cups are colourful, made from recycled milk jugs.
Not only do the cups have numbers on them based on their sizes but also add up in volume. Fun and math can go hand in hand when the kid can learn 1+2, 1+3, 1+4, 1+5, 2+3, 2+4 filling water or sand and emptying into bigger cups.

Beacon of Hope

 


When the author Nicholas Kristof sends off a request for interns in NY Times column, I wish I were still in college then. 'A path Appears' is a good look into what he does, observes and the hope he reports to those who give and those who need.
The book has many examples of lives of people which didnt begin well but with help from others, they broke the cycle of poverty, abuse, crime.
Its unusual for a book on social work to include research,study - which the authors called evidence based charity, where they bring the results from the field back to the lab and change their way of approach to solve problems. Many behavioral studies have been looked at to know the impact of situations like poverty and how they can be changed by mving from microlending to microsaving. Changes in the accountability bring about greater changes.

A Must Have

I was taken by this product in idea itself. In use too, its hassle free. I let the solar panel sit in the sun for about 5 hours. And couple of hours later, I charged my iphone connecting the solar panel with the connectors to the USB charge ports. Having this will make you prepared for a rainy day or emergency situations. Such great power in such light packing.

The Sports Strategist

Purple pricing
Uniform price multi-unit Dutch auction 

I am an unengaged sports audience. Yet this book 'The Sports Strategist' is riveting with hundreds of examples of the sports world. The lessons of branding yourself/organisation in the context of your audience can be useful for any industry with large exposure.
If you are a sports fan - you must have heard "Winning isnt everything; its the only thing" by Henry Red sanders. First that idea of winning to be successful is upended.
After that detox, you define your identity and then act to maintain that, make all decisions keeping that identity in focus. You can see that the book is serious about all this with its storyboarding techniques. Join the bandwagon of technology early or late?
How to use analytics to your advantage. How to build and then cash on customer value.

Mighty Dads

After Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site , I have anew fascination for construction site books.
This "Mighty Dads" book joins two themes of all the interesting stuff the equipment do on the construction site and Dad and kid working, learning and having fun together e.g  Lets Build which is about a father and son building a home for their dog.
The tiny machine following the big machine is a cute idea. My daughter is taken by the baby in the book and will only follow the baby and not the adults. In that case, this mini version of the toys will keep such kids fascination all along.
The color palette of the book is vibrant.

The Causes of Structural Unemployent

Toyota Vs Honda Branding
Once a professor complained about having to buy his sons different shoes for different game.

I have not come across page-turners on heavy subjects like unemployment before. I read first 70 pages of it in one go, without putting it down. Its down to the explanation of companies philosophies and comparision and how that affects the employees and the nations. Comparision of Toyota and Honda branding, how Nike built up its business, making concepts like outsourcing within the country, The book has a very hard nosed look at companies like Walmart driving down companies that dont go along with their making it cheap philosophy. Its a good look at the economics and how people slide from good to bad jobs after looking for a while. Many Studies have been used to bring across the points.

8-D inspiration for a problem

8d worksheet

If you have a problem or want one, start answering the questions in the 8 diciplines of Problem solving format.

systemigrams are wonderful

 


Starting with the power shutdown case known to everyone an analysing it after the situation cools down a bit to get into the details of what went wrong is a great hook into the book. Although the book seems very geared toward specific clients of the author and the work done with them, the idea of systemigrams of making pictures of different systems in your organisation and synthesising it into the big picture is easily adaptable for anyone. I think systemigrams will be most helpful when you are going through some transformation, so you can easily see it in the picture - the before and after, if they are as you envision.

On the Rocketship

Name Your Link

I have heard from colleagues about charter schools and the philosophy of American school education. In India, we are used to teachers rotating classes teaching only their subject of expertise. It was a surprise to know that there are self-contained classes too in America. From that zero to nothing knowledge of American school system, I was glad to get a peek at the whole launch process of a charter school system through this 'On the Rocketship' book. Recently I read a book on scalability and seeing how the Rocketship school has made some of their operation leans by introducing the Learning Lab, makes it another good example of how to scale. Having read that there are so many good charter schools based in Arizona, I am going to follow more about them.

love song

"Jagate rahe ham toh rat bhar, ek lamha ek pal bhi soyi naa najar" - Humko Sirf Tumse Pyar hai song lyrics from movie Barsaat.

lamha - moment

pal too means the same.

using synonyms in the same line for enforcement 

The line translates to

kept waking up whole night (ham toh -this is my case, what might have been with you)

eyes did not sleep for a moment or an instant

Childrens Press

Azro - SouthWest
Birdsong books
Blackrosewriting
Charlesbridge
Chicagoreviewpress activity books for kids
Children Welfare league of America
Chroniclebooks
Thecreativecompany
Crestonbooks
Dial books for young readers

Library Hour

Ike's Incredible Ink. If Ike can design a rocket so he can get the ink from the moon's shadow, you know he's capable of anything, even writing.

and

The Green Bath



The Green Bath book is interesting with the pictures and the tub with a face, but it felt a bit too long. 

All Kinds of Strong

The pictures in the book are like paintings each. It is filled with color reminiscent of Van Gogh's swirls. Islands of things. Because this book is also a way of life once, its imagined history for kids. This could have been a plain picture book too as the images are very 'strong'.
The story reveals the strength in bonds of community and helping others.

The Right Who

The topics brought up in the book about successful 'whos' are relevant in any industry. You will find yourself reviewing different examples from scenarios at your workplace. How do you find the best people? What to ask the references? How many people to interview for a position? What is the mark when you are done knowing the pool and decide already. Holding interviewers responsible.
With many examples from interesting studies, the author will load you up on technqiues to find the right people and keep them.
I am motivated to do an anonymous 360.

Egon Zehnder
Join a board
Unconventional resumes

What a long poem involves

After coming across long poem in a submission request, I was curious about them. How to write a long poem is not an accessible subject. The libraries dont have much about it. What you can about them is what you glean from the actual long poems themselves.
'The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy' has a situation that is ripe for rebellion through a long poem. Each chapter starts with a cantos summing up the events as they unfold at the Academy. The book makes such a difficult concept of long poem, easy to understand.