Amazon.com Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, which offers him marvelous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhood experiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories, and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience. Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing, and channeling; refutes the arguments that science destroys spirituality, and provides a "baloney detection kit" for thinking through political, social, religious, and other issues. From Publishers Weekly Eminent Cornell astronomer and bestselling author Sagan debunks the paranormal and the unexplained in a study that will reassure hardcore skeptics but may leave others unsatisfied. To him, purported UFO encounters and alien abductions are products of gullibility, hallucination, misidentification, hoax and therapists' pressure; some alleged encounters, he suggests, may screen memories of sexual abuse. He labels as hoaxes the crop circles, complex pictograms that appear in southern England's wheat and barley fields, and he dismisses as a natural formation the Sphinx-like humanoid face incised on a mesa on Mars, first photographed by a Viking orbiter spacecraft in 1976 and considered by some scientists to be the engineered artifact of an alien civilization. In a passionate plea for scientific literacy, Sagan deftly debunks the myth of Atlantis, Filipino psychic surgeons and mediums such as J.Z. Knight, who claims to be in touch with a 35,000-year-old entity called Ra Read more...

List: Bartimaeus Trilogy 1 - Amulet of Samarkand.lit Bartimaeus Trilogy 2 - The Golem's Eye.lit Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1 - The Amulet of Samarkand (v3.0).pdf Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 3 - Ptolemy's Gate.pdf Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 2 - The.Golem's Eye (v3.0).pdf Jonathan Anthony Stroud (27 October 1970, Bedford, England) is an author of fantasy books, mainly for children and youths. Biography Born in 1970 in Bedford, England, Jonathan Stroud began to write his first stories at the age of seven. After he completed his studies of English literature at the University of York, he worked in London as an editor of children's books. During the 1990s he started publishing his own works and quickly gained success. In May 1999, Jonathan published his first children's novel, Buried Fire, which was the first of a line of fantasy/mythology children's books. Among his most prominent works are the bestselling Bartimaeus Trilogy. A special feature of these novels compared to others of their genre is that Stroud upends the stereotypes of the "good magician" and the "bad demon" when the sarcastic and slightly egomaniacal djinni, Bartimaeus, describes an alternate version of the modern world in which power is held by corrupt magicians. The books in this series are The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, and Ptolemy's Gate, his first books to be published in the United States. An Amulet of Samarkand movie is being made for release in 2009. Stroud lives in St Albans, Hertf Read more...

The Linux Network Administrator's Guide, Third Edition dispenses all the practical advice you need to join a network. Along with some hardware considerations, this highly acclaimed guide takes an in-depth look at all of the essential networking software that comes with the operating system--including basic infrastructure (TCP/IP, wireless networking, firewalling) and the most popular services on Linux systems. But as the follow-up to a classic, the third edition of the Linux Network Administrator's Guide does more than just spruce up the basics. It also provides the very latest information on the following cutting-edge services: * Wireless hubs * OpenLDAP * FreeS/WAN * IMAP * Spam filtering * OpenSSH * BIND * IPv6 Featuring a litany of insider tips and techniques, the Linux Network Administrator's Guide, Third Edition is an invaluable companion for any network administrator interested in integrating Linux into their Windows environment Authored by Terry Dawson, Tony Bautts, and Gregor N. Purdy, the Linux Network Administrator's Guide, Third Edition emerged from the Linux Documentation Project (LDP). The LDP's goal is to centralize all of the issues of Linux documentation, ranging from online documentation topics such as installing, using, and running Linux. Read more...

Imagine a world without eBay...unthinkable! How would you get that Farrah Fawcett poster, retired Beanie Baby, or first-edition pet rock? Handling over a gazillion (OK, we exaggerate--it's actually only 1 billion) page views each day, server-side Java makes eBay work. Isn't it time you learned the latest (J2EE 1.4) versions of Servlets and JSPs? This book will get you way up to speed on the technology you'll know it so well, in fact, that you can pass the Sun Certified Web Component Developer (SCWCD) 1.4 exam. If that's what you want to do, that is. Maybe you don't care about the exam, but need to use Servlets and JSPs in your next project. You're working on a deadline. You're over the legal limit for caffeine. You can't waste your time with a book that makes sense only AFTER you're an expert (or worse one that puts you to sleep). No problem. Head First Servlets and JSP's brain-friendly approach drives the knowledge straight into your head (without sharp instruments). You'll interact with servlets and JSPs in ways that help you learn quickly and deeply. It may not be The Da Vinci Code, but quickly see why so many reviewers call it "a page turner". Most importantly, this book will help you use what you learn. It won't get you through the exam only to have you forget everything the next day. Learn to write servlets and JSPs, what makes the Container tick (and what ticks it off), how to use the new JSP Expression Language (EL), what you should NOT write in a JSP, how to wri Read more...

Without illustrations. Based on Sagan's 13 part television series, "Cosmos" is about science in its broadest human context, and how science and civilization grew up together. Amazon.com Cosmos was the first science TV blockbuster, and Carl Sagan was its (human) star. By the time of Sagan's death in 1996, the series had been seen by half a billion people; Sagan was perhaps the best-known scientist on the planet. Explaining how the series came about, Sagan recalled: I was positive from my own experience that an enormous global interest exists in the exploration of the planets and in many kindred scientific topics--the origin of life, the Earth, and the Cosmos, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, our connection with the universe. And I was certain that this interest could be excited through that most powerful communications medium, television. Sagan's own interest and enthusiasm for the universe were so vivid and infectious, his screen presence so engaging, that viewers and readers couldn't help but be caught up in his vision. From stars in their "billions and billions" to the amino acids in the primordial ocean, Sagan communicated a feeling for science as a process of discovery. Inevitably, some of the science in Cosmos has been outdated in the years since 1980--but Sagan's sense of wonder is ageless. --Mary Ellen Curtin Read more...

* Great fun for the hobbyist but also of interest to anyone pursuing a career in security and investigation * Projects include: scanners and radios, night vision devices, telephone devices, computer monitoring, audio eavesdropping, hidden cameras, video transmitters, and more From the Back Cover 101 SPY DEVICES FOR SERIOUS SNOOPING This book offers an amazingly awesome and complete collection of professional spy tools that you can build yourself. You can build any project in this thrilling arsenal of spy devices for $30 or less! Not only that, even total beginners to electronics can construct these mind-boggling snooping tools. You get complete, easy-to-follow plans, clear diagrams and schematics, and hundreds of pictures. 101 Spy Gadgets for the Evil Genius gives you: * Illustrated instructions and plans for amazing sleuthin' 'n snoopin' devices, presented in sufficient detail to be built even by newcomers * Loads of projects simple enough for new spies to construct easily, progressing in complexity to devices that will excite investigation professionals * Explanations of the science and math behind each project * Frustration-factor removal -- needed parts are listed, along with sources 101 Spy Gadgets for the Evil Genius equips you with complete plans, instructions, parts lists, and sources for devices that let you: * Build and install a nanny cam for viewing and recording activity from afar * Hear and record what's said from great distances Read more...

* Allows the reader to quickly and easily grasp the math, fundamentals, and general concepts involved in astronomy * Covers techniques for using telescopes, the challenges of amateur astrophotography, and the special problems of observing the sky at "invisible wavelengths" * Unlike most books on the topic, it presents general concepts first and details follow * Contains quizzes, tests, and final exams Quick and easy math, fundamentals, and general concepts involved in astronomy. In this book, we'll go on a few "mind journeys." For example, we'll take a tour of the entire Solar System, riding hybrid space, aircraft into the atmospheres and, in some cases, to the surfaces of celestial bodies other than Earth. Some of the details of this trip constitute fiction, but the space vehicles and navigational mechanics are based on realistic technology and astronomical facts. Read more...

This sky atlas contains star charts and information for all those who observe the night sky with the naked eye, binoculars, or a small telescope, or who just wish to look at constellations and interesting objects. Equally useful for the beginning observer and the old hand, the atlas presents - clearly arranged charts of all the stars visible with the naked eye (limiting magnitude 6m) - enlarged chart sections for binocular observation highlighting 250 interesting nebulae and stellar clusters (limiting magnitude 9m) - data on more than 1000 sky objects - coordinates in equinox 2000.0 - distances of double stars until the year 2010 The Observer's Sky Atlas is a handy, indispensable companion for every observer. Review FROM REVIEWS OF THE FIRST EDITION "the most informative little sky guide in the business." ASTRONOMY "The more experienced observer will find this slim volume useful at the telescope andpacked with interesting observing projects." SKY and TELESCOPE Sky and Telescope, on the first edition "The more experienced observer will find this slim volume useful at the telescope and ... packed with interesting observing projects." Read more...

Beginning Transact-SQL with SQL Server 2000 and 2005 Transact-SQL is a powerful implementation of the ANSI standard SQL database query language. In order to build effective database applications, you must gain a thorough understanding of these features. This book provides you with a comprehensive introduction to the T-SQL language and shows you how it can be used to work with both the SQL Server 2000 and 2005 releases. Beginning with an overview of the SQL Server query operations and tools that are used with T-SQL, the author goes on to explain how to design and build applications of increasing complexity. By gaining an understanding of the power of the T-SQL language, you'll be prepared to meet the ever-increasing demands of programming. What you will learn from this book * How T-SQL provides you with the means to create tools for managing hundreds of databases * Various programming techniques that use views and stored procedures * Ways to optimize query performance * How to create databases that will be an essential foundation to applications you develop later Who this book is for This book is for database developers and administrators who have not yet programmed with Transact-SQL. Some familiarity with relational databases and basic SQL is helpful, and some programming experience is helpful. Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format th Read more...

Amazon.com Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, which offers him marvelous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhood experiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories, and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience. Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing, and channeling; refutes the arguments that science destroys spirituality, and provides a "baloney detection kit" for thinking through political, social, religious, and other issues. From Publishers Weekly Eminent Cornell astronomer and bestselling author Sagan debunks the paranormal and the unexplained in a study that will reassure hardcore skeptics but may leave others unsatisfied. To him, purported UFO encounters and alien abductions are products of gullibility, hallucination, misidentification, hoax and therapists' pressure; some alleged encounters, he suggests, may screen memories of sexual abuse. He labels as hoaxes the crop circles, complex pictograms that appear in southern England's wheat and barley fields, and he dismisses as a natural formation the Sphinx-like humanoid face incised on a mesa on Mars, first photographed by a Viking orbiter spacecraft in 1976 and considered by some scientists to be the engineered artifact of an alien civilization. In a passionate plea for scientific literacy, Sagan deftly debunks the myth of Atlantis, Filipino psychic surgeons and mediums such as J.Z. Knight, who claims to be in touch with a 35,000-year-old entity called Ra Read more...

List: Bartimaeus Trilogy 1 - Amulet of Samarkand.lit Bartimaeus Trilogy 2 - The Golem's Eye.lit Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1 - The Amulet of Samarkand (v3.0).pdf Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 3 - Ptolemy's Gate.pdf Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 2 - The.Golem's Eye (v3.0).pdf Jonathan Anthony Stroud (27 October 1970, Bedford, England) is an author of fantasy books, mainly for children and youths. Biography Born in 1970 in Bedford, England, Jonathan Stroud began to write his first stories at the age of seven. After he completed his studies of English literature at the University of York, he worked in London as an editor of children's books. During the 1990s he started publishing his own works and quickly gained success. In May 1999, Jonathan published his first children's novel, Buried Fire, which was the first of a line of fantasy/mythology children's books. Among his most prominent works are the bestselling Bartimaeus Trilogy. A special feature of these novels compared to others of their genre is that Stroud upends the stereotypes of the "good magician" and the "bad demon" when the sarcastic and slightly egomaniacal djinni, Bartimaeus, describes an alternate version of the modern world in which power is held by corrupt magicians. The books in this series are The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, and Ptolemy's Gate, his first books to be published in the United States. An Amulet of Samarkand movie is being made for release in 2009. Stroud lives in St Albans, Hertf Read more...

The Linux Network Administrator's Guide, Third Edition dispenses all the practical advice you need to join a network. Along with some hardware considerations, this highly acclaimed guide takes an in-depth look at all of the essential networking software that comes with the operating system--including basic infrastructure (TCP/IP, wireless networking, firewalling) and the most popular services on Linux systems. But as the follow-up to a classic, the third edition of the Linux Network Administrator's Guide does more than just spruce up the basics. It also provides the very latest information on the following cutting-edge services: * Wireless hubs * OpenLDAP * FreeS/WAN * IMAP * Spam filtering * OpenSSH * BIND * IPv6 Featuring a litany of insider tips and techniques, the Linux Network Administrator's Guide, Third Edition is an invaluable companion for any network administrator interested in integrating Linux into their Windows environment Authored by Terry Dawson, Tony Bautts, and Gregor N. Purdy, the Linux Network Administrator's Guide, Third Edition emerged from the Linux Documentation Project (LDP). The LDP's goal is to centralize all of the issues of Linux documentation, ranging from online documentation topics such as installing, using, and running Linux. Read more...

Imagine a world without eBay...unthinkable! How would you get that Farrah Fawcett poster, retired Beanie Baby, or first-edition pet rock? Handling over a gazillion (OK, we exaggerate--it's actually only 1 billion) page views each day, server-side Java makes eBay work. Isn't it time you learned the latest (J2EE 1.4) versions of Servlets and JSPs? This book will get you way up to speed on the technology you'll know it so well, in fact, that you can pass the Sun Certified Web Component Developer (SCWCD) 1.4 exam. If that's what you want to do, that is. Maybe you don't care about the exam, but need to use Servlets and JSPs in your next project. You're working on a deadline. You're over the legal limit for caffeine. You can't waste your time with a book that makes sense only AFTER you're an expert (or worse one that puts you to sleep). No problem. Head First Servlets and JSP's brain-friendly approach drives the knowledge straight into your head (without sharp instruments). You'll interact with servlets and JSPs in ways that help you learn quickly and deeply. It may not be The Da Vinci Code, but quickly see why so many reviewers call it "a page turner". Most importantly, this book will help you use what you learn. It won't get you through the exam only to have you forget everything the next day. Learn to write servlets and JSPs, what makes the Container tick (and what ticks it off), how to use the new JSP Expression Language (EL), what you should NOT write in a JSP, how to wri Read more...

Without illustrations. Based on Sagan's 13 part television series, "Cosmos" is about science in its broadest human context, and how science and civilization grew up together. Amazon.com Cosmos was the first science TV blockbuster, and Carl Sagan was its (human) star. By the time of Sagan's death in 1996, the series had been seen by half a billion people; Sagan was perhaps the best-known scientist on the planet. Explaining how the series came about, Sagan recalled: I was positive from my own experience that an enormous global interest exists in the exploration of the planets and in many kindred scientific topics--the origin of life, the Earth, and the Cosmos, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, our connection with the universe. And I was certain that this interest could be excited through that most powerful communications medium, television. Sagan's own interest and enthusiasm for the universe were so vivid and infectious, his screen presence so engaging, that viewers and readers couldn't help but be caught up in his vision. From stars in their "billions and billions" to the amino acids in the primordial ocean, Sagan communicated a feeling for science as a process of discovery. Inevitably, some of the science in Cosmos has been outdated in the years since 1980--but Sagan's sense of wonder is ageless. --Mary Ellen Curtin Read more...

* Great fun for the hobbyist but also of interest to anyone pursuing a career in security and investigation * Projects include: scanners and radios, night vision devices, telephone devices, computer monitoring, audio eavesdropping, hidden cameras, video transmitters, and more From the Back Cover 101 SPY DEVICES FOR SERIOUS SNOOPING This book offers an amazingly awesome and complete collection of professional spy tools that you can build yourself. You can build any project in this thrilling arsenal of spy devices for $30 or less! Not only that, even total beginners to electronics can construct these mind-boggling snooping tools. You get complete, easy-to-follow plans, clear diagrams and schematics, and hundreds of pictures. 101 Spy Gadgets for the Evil Genius gives you: * Illustrated instructions and plans for amazing sleuthin' 'n snoopin' devices, presented in sufficient detail to be built even by newcomers * Loads of projects simple enough for new spies to construct easily, progressing in complexity to devices that will excite investigation professionals * Explanations of the science and math behind each project * Frustration-factor removal -- needed parts are listed, along with sources 101 Spy Gadgets for the Evil Genius equips you with complete plans, instructions, parts lists, and sources for devices that let you: * Build and install a nanny cam for viewing and recording activity from afar * Hear and record what's said from great distances Read more...

* Allows the reader to quickly and easily grasp the math, fundamentals, and general concepts involved in astronomy * Covers techniques for using telescopes, the challenges of amateur astrophotography, and the special problems of observing the sky at "invisible wavelengths" * Unlike most books on the topic, it presents general concepts first and details follow * Contains quizzes, tests, and final exams Quick and easy math, fundamentals, and general concepts involved in astronomy. In this book, we'll go on a few "mind journeys." For example, we'll take a tour of the entire Solar System, riding hybrid space, aircraft into the atmospheres and, in some cases, to the surfaces of celestial bodies other than Earth. Some of the details of this trip constitute fiction, but the space vehicles and navigational mechanics are based on realistic technology and astronomical facts. Read more...

This sky atlas contains star charts and information for all those who observe the night sky with the naked eye, binoculars, or a small telescope, or who just wish to look at constellations and interesting objects. Equally useful for the beginning observer and the old hand, the atlas presents - clearly arranged charts of all the stars visible with the naked eye (limiting magnitude 6m) - enlarged chart sections for binocular observation highlighting 250 interesting nebulae and stellar clusters (limiting magnitude 9m) - data on more than 1000 sky objects - coordinates in equinox 2000.0 - distances of double stars until the year 2010 The Observer's Sky Atlas is a handy, indispensable companion for every observer. Review FROM REVIEWS OF THE FIRST EDITION "the most informative little sky guide in the business." ASTRONOMY "The more experienced observer will find this slim volume useful at the telescope andpacked with interesting observing projects." SKY and TELESCOPE Sky and Telescope, on the first edition "The more experienced observer will find this slim volume useful at the telescope and ... packed with interesting observing projects." Read more...

Beginning Transact-SQL with SQL Server 2000 and 2005 Transact-SQL is a powerful implementation of the ANSI standard SQL database query language. In order to build effective database applications, you must gain a thorough understanding of these features. This book provides you with a comprehensive introduction to the T-SQL language and shows you how it can be used to work with both the SQL Server 2000 and 2005 releases. Beginning with an overview of the SQL Server query operations and tools that are used with T-SQL, the author goes on to explain how to design and build applications of increasing complexity. By gaining an understanding of the power of the T-SQL language, you'll be prepared to meet the ever-increasing demands of programming. What you will learn from this book * How T-SQL provides you with the means to create tools for managing hundreds of databases * Various programming techniques that use views and stored procedures * Ways to optimize query performance * How to create databases that will be an essential foundation to applications you develop later Who this book is for This book is for database developers and administrators who have not yet programmed with Transact-SQL. Some familiarity with relational databases and basic SQL is helpful, and some programming experience is helpful. Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format th Read more...

Based on the authors' experiences in developing and teaching Symbian OS, this practical guide is perfect for programmers and provides a series of example-based scenarios that show how to develop Symbian applications. * Exercises walk the reader through the initial development of a console-based card game engine to a graphical user interface(GUI)-based, two player blackjack game operating over a Bluetooth connection between two mobile phones * Addresses how Symbian offers a number of different variants to allow for different user interfaces and screen savers - the most prevalent of these is S60 * Discusses how the move toward 3G technology has resulted in an increasing need for mobile application development for S60 devices. About the Author Reuben Edwards and Paul Coulton are well-established researchers in the area of mobile systems and applications. As World leading academics for Symbian education, they are part of the Nokia Symbian Educators Group, which have been trained to the same standard as all Nokia Symbian developers. They run the only MSc in Mobile Games Design and M-Commerce Systems in the World and they have formed a company, which specializes in Mobile Applications Development. Read more...