Cases, datasets, and examples allow for a more real-world perspective and explore relevant uses of regression techniques in business today.

    

    If the Shifter Council decides against her, Wicked could be banished from Assjacket indefinitely.The women of the town side with Wicked and are up in arms as they strike against the men of Assjacket causing chaos in wicked proportions.Welcome back to the town of Assjacket for more wickedly hilarious mixtures of paranormal personalities.

    Green's agile imagination constantly wrong-foots the reader. A delight."-Peter Ingham, The Telegraph"The work of a talented writer having lots of very smart fun"-- S F Winser, Booksquawk.comLittlestar hugely expands on the universe established in Smallworld, with an astounding story arc that follows troopers Beguiled-of-the-Serpent and Only-Begotten as they become embroiled in the second star-spanning war against the Made.Man, a bigoted species brooking no other intelligent life but him- and herself, is spread across a thousand worlds, ruled with a designer-gloved fist by Leader Ottilia Vos. The Made, intelligences both biological and technological, were engineered by human beings, then betrayed and hunted down by them. Now they are back, and this time, it's the Made who have the numbers.Some have no choice in being caught up in events - troopers Beguiled-of-the-Serpent and Only-Begotten, who took Leader Vos's shilling in order to avoid murder charges. Some don't think twice about choices - the tramp trader *Prodigal Son*, unhesitatingly ferrying war refugees back to Earth, mankind's only remaining stronghold. Some people's choices have to be thought through very well indeed - the outlawed dictator Button Humpage, wondering whether to assist the species that betrayed him.Humanity has some surprising allies, many of whom it formerly counted as its fiercest enemies. The biggest question, however, is - what is Littlestar? How did Button Humpage come to control it? And is it the secret weapon that can win the war?

    NEW, edited and updated version. (Formatting, spelling and grammar corrections made, plus some new material added) Please note, this is a politically incorrect story. It bashes the current administration. Irony is winning the Powerball lottery six months before the world's economies meltdown. The Shelter tells the story of a family who wins $27 million in the lottery, they pull roots and move to Nashville where they buy a large home bordered by three farms. With the money in hand the world's economies in the process of melting down. They 'buy the farm.' They purchase the three farms and the 7,000 square foot house. The farms are able to provide food when the economies collapse. The house is large enough to hold all of their extended family. To ensure their survival, Jay decides to build a large shelter under the farmland. Jay befriends the local Mafia 'Don', Tony, who helps him in exchange for a ticket in the shelter. Book one tells the story of Jay and Lacy, winning the lottery, their move to Nashville, buying the farms and building the shelter while the world goes to hell around them. The world starts to melt down when the people of Greece elect a new Prime Minister, who defaults on their loans to Germany. The EU falls apart when the other European Nations follow Greece's lead. China demands payment of its debt from America or the state of Hawaii. The President increases taxes to raise the $1.4 trillion needed to pay China back, putting enormous stress on the American economy. Russia adds gasoline to the fire by dumping their dollars. Russia helps destabilize the EU so they can invade by offering humanitarian aid. When the American economy collapses, distribution of food stops, starvation becomes a real problem. The cities explode in violence due to the lack of food and clean water. As the insanity spreads, Jay builds a shelter complex to house over 40 people for more than a year without surfacing. A shelter, he thinks, is an insurance policy, one he hopes he'll never have to use. A shelter complex he and his neighbors, need in order to survive an invasion of their farms. All of their winnings are worthless when the only real currency is a loaf of bread and a bottle of clean water. There's a special sneak preview of my next book, "In the Year 2050. America's Religious Civil War" included at the end of the "The Shelter."

    As if getting dumped for another woman wasn’t bad enough, she’s still waiting on her deadbeat dad to sign over her late mother’s bookstore. And when a rough-and-tumble cowboy shows up to rent her family’s homestead, she’s sure it’s a recipe for disaster.Divorcé Denny is no stranger to hard work. So when he signs a rent-to-purchase contract, he thinks his biggest challenge will be herding cattle. Instead, he finds himself suddenly saddled with a two-year-old daughter he never knew he had and sharing a roof with his feisty new neighbor.Reluctantly agreeing to help him set up the house, Evangeline starts to see the softer side of the rugged rancher. But when another offer threatens Denny’s deal, he fears his bright future with the beautiful bookworm could all fall apart.Will Evangeline and Denny find a way to keep their love alive and build their happy future?Ever After is the second book in the heartwarming Family Promises romance series. If you like opposites-attract stories, countryside settings, and old-fashioned family fun then you’ll adore Carolyne Aarsen’s home-style book.Buy Ever After to roundup a heartfelt connection today!Ever After was previously published as Unexpected Father

    Everyone was cheerful, but I was reminded of the one thing that I didn’t have, family. I had more than enough of everything, except the one thing that mattered during the holidays. All of that changed though, when I met Cara. She was smart-mouthed and not afraid to tell me exactly what was on her mind. Paired with an incredible body and eyes that called to me, she was just what I was looking for. Before I even knew I was looking. Our kisses were electric and I wanted more. Cara was reluctant at first, because of our professional relationship. But nothing was off limits to a guy like me. I am Nick Sampson; Billionaire business man and the biggest playboy in the city. I always get what I want. This year, all I want for Christmas is Cara. CHRISTMAS PRESENT She was a present that I was dying to open. Watching my friend fall for his wife was hard to see. They were so happy. It made me realize that something was missing. The women in my life were just temporary and I was looking for something more concrete. But finding that special one was hard. Then I met Celia and all of that changed. Her smile was soft and her mouth was sassy. She was everything that I was looking for in a woman. I just had to convince her that I wasn’t the man she thought I was. She was my Christmas Present from the universe and I wasn’t going to mess it up this time. I had to make her fall for me and all I needed was one chance to get my hands on her. I was going to make her scream until she was hoarse. Then there would be no running. She was going to be mine. But she did leave and I was going to need a Christmas miracle to get her back. Celia would be mine once more, wrapped up with a bow.

    The field is ready for a text that not only demonstrates how to use the algorithms that make up machine learning methods, but also provides the background needed to understand how and why these algorithms work. Machine Learning: An Algorithmic Perspective is that text.Theory Backed up by Practical ExamplesThe book covers neural networks, graphical models, reinforcement learning, evolutionary algorithms, dimensionality reduction methods, and the important area of optimization. It treads the fine line between adequate academic rigor and overwhelming students with equations and mathematical concepts. The author addresses the topics in a practical way while providing complete information and references where other expositions can be found. He includes examples based on widely available datasets and practical and theoretical problems to test understanding and application of the material. The book describes algorithms with code examples backed up by a website that provides working implementations in Python. The author uses data from a variety of applications to demonstrate the methods and includes practical problems for students to solve.Highlights a Range of Disciplines and ApplicationsDrawing from computer science, statistics, mathematics, and engineering, the multidisciplinary nature of machine learning is underscored by its applicability to areas ranging from finance to biology and medicine to physics and chemistry. Written in an easily accessible style, this book bridges the gaps between disciplines, providing the ideal blend of theory and practical, applicable knowledge."

    Many successful applications of machine learning exist already, including systems that analyze past sales data to predict customer behavior, recognize faces or spoken speech, optimize robot behavior so that a task can be completed using minimum resources, and extract knowledge from bioinformatics data. "Introduction to Machine Learning" is a comprehensive textbook on the subject, covering a broad array of topics not usually included in introductory machine learning texts. It discusses many methods based in different fields, including statistics, pattern recognition, neural networks, artificial intelligence, signal processing, control, and data mining, in order to present a unified treatment of machine learning problems and solutions. All learning algorithms are explained so that the student can easily move from the equations in the book to a computer program. The book can be used by advanced undergraduates and graduate students who have completed courses in computer programming, probability, calculus, and linear algebra. It will also be of interest to engineers in the field who are concerned with the application of machine learning methods.After an introduction that defines machine learning and gives examples of machine learning applications, the book covers supervised learning, Bayesian decision theory, parametric methods, multivariate methods, dimensionality reduction, clustering, nonparametric methods, decision trees, linear discrimination, multilayer perceptrons, local models, hidden Markov models, assessing and comparing classification algorithms, combining multiple learners, and reinforcement learning.

    The history of Tolerance (or the lack thereof) in the history of man as described by one of the best popular historians of all time

    This text provides a basic treatment of discrete-event simulation, including the proper collection and analysis of data, the use of analytic techniques, verification and validation of models, and designing simulation experiments. It offers an up-to-date treatment of simulation of manufacturing and material handling systems, computer systems, and computer networks. Students and instructors will find a variety of resources at the associated website, www.bcnn.net, including simulation source code for download, additional exercises and solutions, web links and errata.

    Not only are all of our business, scientific, and government transactions now computerized, but the widespread use of digital cameras, publication tools, and bar codes also generate data. On the collection side, scanned text and image platforms, satellite remote sensing systems, and the World Wide Web have flooded us with a tremendous amount of data. This explosive growth has generated an even more urgent need for new techniques and automated tools that can help us transform this data into useful information and knowledge.Like the first edition, voted the most popular data mining book by KD Nuggets readers, this book explores concepts and techniques for the discovery of patterns hidden in large data sets, focusing on issues relating to their feasibility, usefulness, effectiveness, and scalability. However, since the publication of the first edition, great progress has been made in the development of new data mining methods, systems, and applications. This new edition substantially enhances the first edition, and new chapters have been added to address recent developments on mining complex types of data- including stream data, sequence data, graph structured data, social network data, and multi-relational data.A comprehensive, practical look at the concepts and techniques you need to know to get the most out of real business dataUpdates that incorporate input from readers, changes in the field, and more material on statistics and machine learningDozens of algorithms and implementation examples, all in easily understood pseudo-code and suitable for use in real-world, large-scale data mining projectsComplete classroom support for instructors at www.mkp.com/datamining2e companion site

    The bullet that ripped my girlfriend away from me in Iraq, ripped a May shaped hole in my heart that I don't want to fill. The only time my lungs fully remember how to do something as simple as breathing air is when I'm with a woman who can never be mine. In a relationship? I'll take it. Engaged? Yes please. Married? Hell yeah. Then I met her. The blonde with the boyfriend who's involved with everything I hate. I don't know if she knows what he's into, all I know is that my pants aren't the only thing that tighten when I'm around her. And now history is trying to repeat itself and I'm letting it happen over my dead body. Juliana: My life is comfortable. My boyfriend is seriously good-looking and my best friend is fun, supportive and always up for having a good time. I'm content, until I'm not. My perfectly constructed life comes crashing down around me and it's a mysterious, super hunky ex- SEAL who's suddenly at the right place at the right time. Every time. But when choices I didn't make impact my life in ways I never thought possible, I'm alone. Screwed. Terrified. When everything is on the line and your life is on the wrong side of the plumbing system, what do you do? I don't know... I don't know because this wasn't my mess to clean up. I like to think I'm an optimist, but how is it possible that anything good can come of this?

    The book covers four major topics—cells, genetics, evolution/diversity, and ecology—followed by nine chapters on animal and plant physiology. Human applications and the most up-to-date information on important issues show readers how biology relates to their own lives. New Process of Science sections within the text draw readers into the material and provide real-world examples of how the scientific method is applied.Biology Today CELLS: Essential Chemistry for Biology, The Molecules of Life, A Tour of the Cell, The Working Cell, Cellular Respiration: Obtaining Energy from Food, Photosynthesis: Using Light to Make Food. GENETICS: Cellular Reproduction: Cells from Cells, Patterns of Inheritance, The Structure and Function of DNA, How Genes are Controlled, DNA Technology. EVOLUTION AND DIVERSITY: How Populations Evolve, How Biological Diversity Evolves, The Evolution of Microbial Life, Plants, Fungi, and the Move onto Land, The Evolution of Animals. ECOLOGY: The Ecology of Organisms and Populations, Communities and Ecosystems, Human Impact on the Environment. ANIMAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION: Unifying Concepts of Animal Structure and Function, Nutrition and Digestion, Circulation and Respiration , The Body's Defenses, Hormones, Reproduction and Development, Nervous, Sensory, and Motor Systems. PLANT STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION: The Life of a Flowering Plant, The Working Plant.For all readers interested in a biology text that focuses on the core concepts readers need to make scientifically informed decisions throughout their lives.

    This book is built around the idea that students must study the discipline of psychology as a whole, that the sub-disciplines are intricately connected, and that human behavior is best understood by exploring its functioning state in addition to its potential dysfunctions.