Tag Archives: books

How to use Ocropus to create HTML Book Scan output

May 17, 2010

Ocropus is a new book scanning software package and C++ library. I’ve compiled it on Ubuntu Linux 10.04. It’s rather easy to set up: hg clone https://ocropus.googlecode.com/hg/ ocropus cd ocropus hg clone https://iulib.googlecode.com/hg/ iulib cd iulib/ sudo apt-get install libsdl1.2-dev libsdl-gfx1.2-dev libsdl-image1.2-dev libgif-dev scons sudo scons install cd .. scons sudo scons install ocropus Then, go to your directory of appropriately named book page scan images (tiff or png). When you type ls, you should see the pages list in [...]

As We Go Marching First Edition

August 17, 2008

I ordered a first edition (1944 Doubleday) of John T. Flynn’s As We Go Marching, which is an interesting book I’m half-way through. I found a curious letter inside from one Andrew W. Wilson…

Ayn Rand’s Robin Hood

July 11, 2008

Ayn Rand brings up an interesting point about Robin Hood in Atlas Shrugged. She argues that Robin Hood is remembered for robbing from the rich and giving to the poor based on need, and that this is not the correct way to think about the tale. Robin Hood indeed did rob from the rich and gave to the poor, but not because the poor simply needed money, but because the money had been stolen from them by the rulers. This [...]

Thomas Jefferson Bookmarks!

June 29, 2008

Here’s some nice bookmarks to remind you of the beliefs of the great Thomas Jefferson: Update! An interesting turn of events – it seems you really can’t trust quote sites! See here Originally, I had this quote: A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine. This, apparently, is a false quote. I apologize. The new quote: If the American people ever allow private banks to [...]

Book Review: The Know It All

January 27, 2007

This book is about a guy who reads the entire encyclopedia. The format is a little unexpected: each section is based on a word, and may contain commentary from his life while reading the Brittanica, or the actual definition of the word with some humorous notes. I had a lot of fun reading it, and I think it’s the perfect read for people who aren’t interested in reading one large story, but about 1000 small ones. Score: 9/10

Book Review: Freakonomics

January 27, 2007

Today, I’d like to recommend a book called Freakonomics. Now, I must say that this book has lots of opinionated material, but all of it is backed with sound statistical information that is explained in detail. From abortion effects on society to the internal financial workings of crack dealing, the authors do a very good job of filling your head with tons of information you’ve probably never even considered finding out. Score: 9/10