i feel as though my skills have been lacking lately. Because i deal with databases so much, i never really practice anything else. so, i want to get better at algorithms and technique, but all the pdf books dealing with this subject are so dry. I prefer to stay away from complex math as much as possible and would rather read something more on the creative side. Knuth is an example of something i can't read. If you guys got any advice or suggestions, awesome. thanks!