how far would you go to make sure that you and your daughter are fed? After her husband's death, Anne LaForet is alone... alone to raise her young daughter in an area of the swamp that is too foul to grow anything. Anne is no criminal, but circumstances force her to resort to theft. When an encounter threatens to put her away for her crimes, Anne accidentally discovers that she also has another skill, one that helps women who can’t conceive become pregnant. As word of her talent spreads beyond the confines of the swamp, she receives visitor after visitor, fulfilling their dreams while at the same time finally getting the food and money she needs to raise her own child. One visitor in particular promises not only the financial freedom that Anne so desperately seeks, but also a way out… the means to leave the swamp forever. But in her haste, Anne forgets about the three things that the people of the swamp hate most of all: single mothers, thieves, and witches. Anne already has two strikes against her, and it’s only a matter of time before she is accused of all three… And so begins the legend of Anne LaForet, of MOTHER, of mater est, matrem omnium, a tightly woven tale of horror and suspense that spans four centuries. WITCH is a 30,000 word prequel novella to the best-selling Family Values Trilogy that explores the depths of human suffering and how desperation shapes not only who we are, but what we do. And how, through it all, Family is the most important thing both on this Earth and beneath it.

    The only problem is, there are many people who would want the child to be killed simply out of fear. And that isn't the only problem: Argus's daughter has also been discovered. If the Minister learns that he is the father, then both of their lives are at risk. Elsewhere, a new Captain is taking over policing the Republic, and she wants to make a strong first impression. She's tired of rampant greed controlling the world, so she will do anything to make the people responsible pay. Darius Gray, a member of the Ministry and guard of the most powerful man in the galaxy, has turned his back on the Republic and is amassing an army. He intends to start a war. The entire galaxy is falling to despair. No one knows where to turn or who to trust. The future of the galaxy rests in the hands of two small children whose birth rights promise pain and suffering.

    Using sample charts, graphics, case studies, and war stories, Yankee Group Security Expert Andrew Jaquith demonstrates exactly how to establish effective metrics based on your organization's unique requirements. You'll discover how to quantify hard-to-measure security activities, compile and analyze all relevant data, identify strengths and weaknesses, set cost-effective priorities for improvement, and craft compelling messages for senior management. Security Metrics successfully bridges management's quantitative viewpoint with the nuts-and-bolts approach typically taken by security professionals. It brings together expert solutions drawn from Jaquith's extensive consulting work in the software, aerospace, and financial services industries, including new metrics presented nowhere else. You'll learn how to: - Replace nonstop crisis response with a systematic approach to security improvement - Understand the differences between "good" and "bad" metrics - Measure coverage and control, vulnerability management, password quality, patch latency, benchmark scoring, and business-adjusted risk - Quantify the effectiveness of security acquisition, implementation, and other program activities - Organize, aggregate, and analyze your data to bring out key insights - Use visualization to understand and communicate security issues more clearly - Capture valuable data from firewalls and antivirus logs, third-party auditor reports, and other resources - Implement balanced scorecards that present compact, holistic views of organizational security effectiveness Whether you're an engineer or consultant responsible for security and reporting to management-or an executive who needs better information for decision-making-Security Metrics is the resource you have been searching for. Andrew Jaquith, program manager for Yankee Group's Security Solutions and Services Decision Service, advises enterprise clients on prioritizing and managing security resources. He also helps security vendors develop product, service, and go-to-market strategies for reaching enterprise customers. He co-founded @stake, Inc., a security consulting pioneer acquired by Symantec Corporation in 2004. His application security and metrics research has been featured in CIO, CSO, InformationWeek, IEEE Security and Privacy, and The Economist. Foreword Preface Acknowledgments About the Author Chapter 1 Introduction: Escaping the Hamster Wheel of Pain Chapter 2 Defining Security Metrics Chapter 3 Diagnosing Problems and Measuring Technical Security Chapter 4 Measuring Program Effectiveness Chapter 5 Analysis Techniques Chapter 6 Visualization Chapter 7 Automating Metrics Calculations Chapter 8 Designing Security Scorecards Index

    Essentially, you are estimating a probability, but then updating that estimate based on other things that you know. This book is designed to give you an intuitive understanding of how to use Bayes Theorem. It starts with the definition of what Bayes Theorem is, but the focus of the book is on providing examples that you can follow and duplicate. Most of the examples are calculated in Excel, which is useful for updating probability if you have dozens or hundreds of data points to roll in.

    If you use Python, even as a beginner, this book will teach you practical ways to build your own machine learning solutions. With all the data available today, machine learning applications are limited only by your imagination.You'll learn the steps necessary to create a successful machine-learning application with Python and the scikit-learn library. Authors Andreas Muller and Sarah Guido focus on the practical aspects of using machine learning algorithms, rather than the math behind them. Familiarity with the NumPy and matplotlib libraries will help you get even more from this book.With this book, you'll learn:Fundamental concepts and applications of machine learningAdvantages and shortcomings of widely used machine learning algorithmsHow to represent data processed by machine learning, including which data aspects to focus onAdvanced methods for model evaluation and parameter tuningThe concept of pipelines for chaining models and encapsulating your workflowMethods for working with text data, including text-specific processing techniquesSuggestions for improving your machine learning and data science skills

    In a world saturated with marketing messages, making your offering relevant is your biggest challenge. Dentsu's Cross Switch model meets it head on.The Dentsu Way shares proven tactics for getting your message to consumers and creating scenarios to move them through calibrated Contact Points to meet whatever specific goal you set.This game-changing book:Explains Dentsu's 110-year history and unique service structure, as well as its broad range of business fieldsIntroduces ten case studies of successful campaigns, which have won international advertising awards at events such as the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and ADFESTProvides nine of Dentsu's newest original tools and analysis methodsGain broader, more meaningful customer involvement and penetrate more deeply than ever into your market by following the Dentsu Way.

    Its broad appeal lies in its interactive environment with hundreds of built-in functions for technical computation, graphics, and animation. In addition, it provides easy extensibility with its own high-level programming language. Enhanced by fun and appealing illustrations, Getting Started with MATLAB 7: A Quick Introduction for Scientists and Engineers employs a casual, accessible writing style that shows users how to enjoy using MATLAB.

    Praised for providing an engaging balance of thoughtful examples and explanatory discussion, ?best-selling author Walter Savitch explains concepts and techniques in a straightforward style using understandable language and code enhanced by a suite of pedagogical tools.? "Absolute Java "is appropriate for both introductory and intermediate programming courses introducing Java.

    The battle of wits begins and only the most devious mind will survive.  HITCHHIKER, a suspense novelette  ------------------AN EVIL MIND, a suspense novel  How do you stop a serial killer who can escape from any prison?On December 11, fifteen-year-old Helen Hinton is brutally murdered in an abandoned house.Her killer, Edward Phillips, is caught and sentenced to death. Helen's blood was on Edward's clothes and shoes, the murder weapon has his fingerprints on it.Edward claims he's innocent. He's telling the truth.Two months after Edward Phillips is transferred to death row, a murder similar to Helen's occurs in another city. The victim is eighteen-year-old Laura Sumner.On an October morning, Mark Hinton, Helen's father, visits Edward in prison to talk about Laura Sumner's case. Edward tells him that he knows who really killed Helen.What he doesn't tell Mark is that the real killer is the most dangerous criminal on the planet.------------------MANIA, a suspense novelRichard Brower has killed a dozen people. Now someone is trying to frame him for the murders committed by another serial killer.Serial killer Richard Brower buried his cheating wife, Mary, in the woods on Saturday.On Monday, Mary calls her brother's girlfriend.A few days later, she calls her mom.Then Mary bumps into her friend at a mall.Are all these people lying or has Mary actually come back from the dead?Richard has no idea, but he will get to the bottom of this. Or at least he'll try.

    There is only one rule: the temple must be made of materials only from the earth, nothing else.That won’t be a problem. Not for him. Because Rok isn’t a normal little boy. No, not at all. He is a demigod: a quarter of the blood in his veins is the blood of the gods. His heritage grants him power over the earth and its many elements—over stone and soil and the deep, dark, hidden ores. Just like his three siblings, Rok has a unique magical power.However, it isn’t all meditation and peace in Zuuland. Unknown to Rok and his family, his father’s vengeful brother Labec lurks in the shadows with his two children, Coltin and Menga. Uncle Labec is consumed by the desire to steal the greatest treasure of Rok’s father, King Nyark: the ZUKOPAL, a mysterious and powerful opal ring that shimmers with all the colors of the rainbow.But it isn’t just power Uncle Labec seeks. His motivations run far deeper. Labec is the yin to King Nyark’s yang. He seeks a balancing of light and dark, and even more—revenge for past wrongs. Will Rok and his siblings be able to bring peace between their father and uncle? Or will the Zukopal drive them even further apart?

    Lots of suspense, mystery, and romance. No cliffhangers! Bonus book included. Book 1: Alex – The Panther Alex is assigned to work with the gang’s point of contact, a beautiful, clever woman named Tony, who immediately manages to get the dark Alex to open up to her and to himself in a way that nobody ever has before. As Alex and Tony fall for each other, they do their best to take down Sanchez’s operation in the city using Alex’s dark connects, but he doesn’t know that Tony has a dangerous secret, one that could destroy them both before the end of the mission. Book 2: Nick – The Bear Nick is a bear shifter on the verge of death the day he is wheeled into Dr. Lilith Cole’s office, his body ravaged by a brutal fight with a roomful of Sanchez’s shifters. Lilith finds that she feels a connection to him before he even wakes up, and though she tries to deny it, she can’t resist how she feels about him the moment he opens his eyes. Awake and alert, Nick is determined to prove to himself and to his commander that he is capable of working the dangerous missions. Lilith finds herself irresistibly drawn to the big shifter, drawn into a conflict so deep that she might just be risking her life as well as her heart. Book 3: Noah – The Powerful Noah is a multi-shifter with the ability to change into any animal, but his remarkable, rare ability doesn’t help him when faced with one of Sanchez’s people, a beautiful witch named Fiona. Noah is surprised when Fiona saves him from the fire that he sets to free Lilith Cole from her imprisonment, especially considering the fact that shifters and witches have a blood feud that goes back for centuries. Fiona and Noah hate each other, but they can’t deny their attraction for one another, fierce and powerful in the face of their disdain for one another. Book 4: Gabriel – The Witch Gabriel is too powerful. A rare combination of a shifter and witch, he is unable to control either side of his powers. Knowing his potential and how powerful he can be, Liam sends him on a mission to search the addresses that they found to places possibly belonging to Sylvester Sanchez, along with a psychic who has the ability to read the history of places she enters. Sophie is the opposite of Gabriel in every way—excited and charming, nothing like the dark, brooding witch. Chapter 5: Liam – The Leader After they finally locate Sylvester Sanchez’s main headquarters in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, Elise insists on going on the mission with them, not convinced that Liam’s personal vendetta against Sanchez won’t get in the way of completing the mission successfully. The closer they get to the compound, the more it becomes obvious that Elise has been hiding something dark and dangerous, something that has the ability to either save the entire squad or watch them burn in front of her.

    A Step-by-Step Guide to Fluency in English ➢ How I use 7 clear steps to go from 0 to 100% in English ➢ Specific notes for learning English and its common mistakes & challenges for non-native speakers 2. Transcripts of real conversations + phrase guides ➢ How to use real conversations to improve your understanding ➢ Real examples of unscripted native conversations on common topics + phrase guides to learn from ➢ How to continue expanding your knowledge 3. How to Succeed with English – Clear & Easy Strategies ➢ Lots of exercises to improve your fluency in just 15 minutes at a time ➢ How to build your confidence and lose your shyness in English ➢ How to build a support team and how to stay fluent forever

     Before the world knew his name, Henry and his family were immigrants to America. Growing up was not easy for this young chimp but he learned to adapt. Between his love of baseball, music and his family, he learns what it takes to be the best he can be. Unfortunately life is not always kind to Henry and he soon discovers that growing up can mean learning the truth and that the truth is not always friendly. Now Henry is on a mission to expose his experience in the space program. Will running for Mayor in the APE Party help his cause, or will it simply turn him into a fugitive? A cross between Forrest Gump and Planet of the Apes, the first book in the Chimpman series is a completely unique story of the triumph and fall of an immigrant chimpanzee family. If you like The One and Only Ivan, you will love Henry Chimpman.

    During it, both Henry and Naomi lost their lives and left their seven children orphaned. Later adopted by Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, missionaries in what is now Washington, they were orphaned a second time, when both their new parents were killed during the Whitman massacre in November 1847. About 1860 Catherine, the oldest girl, wrote a first-hand account of their journey across the plains and their life with the Whitmans. Today it is regarded as one of the most authentic accounts of the American westward migration.

    This mission will have him escorting the prisoner across America. When things go awry, Mack finds himself in the middle of a forest surrounded by the plane’s debris. Initially, he believes the crash to have been the result of a mechanical error, but soon discovers that the electrical malfunction may have been the result of an EMP. As the sole survivors, Mack and Grace will have to band together to find their way to a military bunker for shelter, but she lacks the necessary skills and means to survive. Will her inexperience be too much of a cross to bear? Can they find out the truth about what caused the devastating crash before succumbing to the elements?