The Crossing Point

A stunning example of poetic questioning. Mary Caroline Richards - "M.C." to her friends - attended Reed College (A.B.) and the University of California (M.A., Ph.D.). Her professional life began conventionally enough, as member of the English faculty at California, Central Washington, Chicago, Black Mountain. These assignments brought her face to face with a question: "Why is it we are all so well-educated and brilliant and gifted and artistic and idealistic and distinguished in scholarship, that we are so selfish and scheming ad dishonest and begrudging and impatient and disrespectful of others?" The answer, she concluded was to be sought in arts of transformation: pottery, poetry, alchemy, spiritual self-development. Her life since then, one might say, has been just such a quest: creation in pots and in words joined with bold, original thought and with many occasions of sharing. As speaker, artist in residence, participator in conferences and seminars she has offered her search and her wisdom to hundreds of students and peer at Colby, Penn State, Antioch, Goldsmiths' College(university of London, Haystack School of Crafts, to name a few. Through her widely read book, Centering, she has reached thousands more in a less direct but possibly more lasting way, Today she lives on a farm in northeastern Pennsylvania; and from that rural center, her message rings to the world. "Richards' style is clear, often poetic, and the ideas make sense. Thinking people should treat themselves to this book; for serious craftsmen and educators it is a must"-Choice

It's hard enough for a teenager to navigate through his high school years without having to deal with a sudden, unexpected physical change, like say, two pronounced humps protruding from one's upper back. Now, imagine finding out such an oddity wasn't just some cruel courtesy of nature, but actually a pair of wings growing just beneath the skin. For Jacob Parrish, this is only the beginning of a sequence of events he suddenly faces after the death of his beloved mother, and he is visited by a mysterious visitor clad in a long, dark overcoat with eyes the color of two golden suns, who not only reveals himself to be an angel (and a fallen one at that), but informs the boy that he is the son of an angel. Naturally, the revelation is met with disbelief until his grandmother reluctantly brings forth a box, secreted away inside an old trunk, that holds the unbelievable truth long kept from Jacob - that he is indeed, a Nephilim. So begins Jacob's astonishing journey as he embarks on an incredibly perilous adventure with the mysterious Gotham as his guide. Traveling to the other side of the world, a Gate, hidden in the shadows of an ancient Turkish church, leads the way to a mystical world, where Jacob discovers a treasure trove of abilities he never knew he possessed. While struggling to find the answer to a question purposefully kept from him that has plagued him since he was a small boy, he discovers his birthright and an unforeseen destiny that will change our world.

Naturally burning coal fires and those ignited by human activities receive little attention from the media compared to other environmental hazards, but their study is gaining ground. Here, the world's leading experts present their research findings covering topics such as the gases generated in underground coal fires, the origin of gas-vent minerals and land-cover changes due to coal fires.

The International Symposium on Distributed Computing and Artificial Intel- gence (DCAI ́10) is an annual forum that brings together past experience, current work and promising future trends associated with distributed computing, artificial intelligence and their application to provide efficient solutions to real problems. This symposium is organized by the Biomedicine, Intelligent System and Edu- tional Technology Research Group (http://bisite. usal. es/) of the University of - lamanca. The present edition has been held at the Polytechnic University of - lencia, from 7 to 10 September 2010, within the Congreso Español de Informática (CEDI 2010). Technology transfer in this field is still a challenge, with a large gap between academic research and industrial products. This edition of DCAI aims at contributing to reduce this gap, with a stimulating and productive forum where these communities can work towards future cooperation with social and econo- cal benefits. This conference is the forum in which to present application of in- vative techniques to complex problems. Artificial intelligence is changing our - ciety. Its application in distributed environments, such as internet, electronic commerce, environment monitoring, mobile communications, wireless devices, distributed computing, to cite some, is continuously increasing, becoming an e- ment of high added value with social and economic potential, both industry, life quality and research. These technologies are changing constantly as a result of the large research and technical effort being undertaken in universities, companies.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the First International Conference on Simulation of Urban Mobility, SUMO 2013, held in Berlin, Germany, in May 2013. The 12 revised full papers presented tin this book were carefully selected and reviewed from 22 submissions. The papers are organized in two topical sections: models and technical innovations and applications and surveys.

Since 1999, the EU has adopted legislation harmonizing many areas of immigration law, in particular rules on borders, visas, legal migration, and irregular migration. The much-enlarged and fully updated second edition of this book contains the text of and detailed commentary upon every significant measure in this field proposed or adopted up until 1 September 2011. It includes commentary on the EU visa code, the Schengen Borders Code, the Frontex Regulation, the Returns Directive, the Directives on family reunion, long-term residents and single permits for migrant workers, and many more besides. This is the essential guide for any lawyers, academics, civil servants, NGOs and students interested in this area of law. The authors of each commentary are academic and practitioner experts in the field of EU immigration law based in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. Also available as a set of 3 volumes see isbn 9789004222304

The Yom Kippur War pitted Israel against Syria in the north and Egypt in the south in October 1973. Caught by surprise and surrounded by enemies, Israel relied on the flexibility and creative thinking of its senior field commanders. After Israeli forces halted the Egyptian troops on the Sinai Peninsula, Major General Ariel Sharon seized the opportunity to counterattack. He split the Egyptian army and cut off its supply lines in a maneuver known as Operation Stouthearted Men. Sharon's audacious, controversial decision defied his superiors and produced a major victory, which many believe helped win the war for Israel. At the Decisive Point in the Sinai is a firsthand account of the Yom Kippur War's most intense engagement by key leaders in Sharon's division. Jacob Even, deputy division commander of the 143rd Division, and Simcha Maoz, a staff officer, recount the initial stages of the Suez crossing, examine the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) response to Egypt's surprise attack, and explain Sharon's role in the transition from defense to offense. They detail Sharon's struggle to convince his superiors of his plan and argue that an effective division commander is revealed not only by his leadership of subordinates, but also by his ability to influence his senior officers. The strategic failure of the Israeli high command during the Yom Kippur War has been widely studied, but At the Decisive Point in the Sinai is one of the few works to examine the experiences of field-level commanders. Even and Maoz challenge students of military leadership by offering a case study on effective generalship.

Frontiers in Handwriting Recognition contains selected key papers from the 6th International Workshop on Frontiers in Handwriting Recognition (IWFHR '98), held in Taejon, Korea from 12 to 14, August 1998. Most of the papers have been expanded or extensively revised to include helpful discussions, suggestions or comments made during the workshop.