Her only companions. While she craves love and friendship — or even just a sense of belonging — those are the very things her presence destroys. Until . . . A mysterious stranger rescues her from a violent attack and offers her the unattainable: a safe haven. With the seductive son of Eros begging for her affection, Dahlia desperately believes she’s finally found the acceptance she’s always craved. But how can it end well — for her or the others? After all, it’s impossible to change who you are. Join Dahlia’s heart-wrenching struggle to overcome the demons of her past, as she discovers the profound truths that will grant her the power to seize her future. Dealing with universal struggles of self-worth and self-esteem, Daughter of Darkness is a heartwarming story of triumph. While it is a companion story to The Sphinx series, it can be enjoyed independently. An exclusive excerpt of Fates and Furies, book 4 in The Sphinx series, is included.

    This book describes his descent. Read about how he moved quickly from level to level, seeking power. While he thought he was moving up, he was really being dragged down.

    Once you have thoroughly covered the basics, the book returns to each concept to cover more advanced examples and techniques. This book is for web designers who want to create interactive elements for their designs, and for developers who want to create the best user interface for their web applications. Basic JavaScript programming and knowledge of HTML and CSS is required. No knowledge of jQuery is assumed, nor is experience with any other JavaScript libraries.

    

    Updated for the most recent version of bash, this concise little book puts all of the essential information about bash at your fingertips. You'll quickly find answers to annoying questions that always come up when you're writing shell scripts -- What characters do you need to quote? How do you get variable substitution to do exactly what you want? How do you use arrays? -- and much more.If you're a user or programmer of any Unix variant, or if you're using bash on Windows, you'll find this pocket reference indispensable. This book covers:Invoking the ShellSyntaxFunctionsVariablesArithmetic ExpressionsCommand HistoryProgrammable CompletionJob ControlShell OptionsCommand ExecutionCoprocessesRestricted ShellsBuilt-in Commands

    This book is indispensable for anyone who is serious about using jQuery for non-trivial applications." -- Raffaele Cecco, longtime developer of video games, including Cybernoid, Exolon, and StormlordjQuery is the "write less, do more" JavaScript library. Its powerful features and ease of use have made it the most popular client-side JavaScript framework for the Web. This book is jQuery's trusty companion: the definitive "read less, learn more" guide to the library.jQuery Pocket Reference explains everything you need to know about jQuery, completely and comprehensively. You'll learn how to:Select and manipulate document elementsAlter document structureHandle and trigger eventsCreate visual effects and animationsScript HTTP with Ajax utilitiesUse jQuery's selectors and selection methods, utilities, plugins and moreThe 25-page quick reference summarizes the library, listing all jQuery methods and functions, with signatures and descriptions.

    Not any more. Wordpress makes it possible for anyone to create and run a professional looking website.While Wordpress is an amazing tool, the truth is it does have a steep learning curve, even if you have built websites before. Therefore, the goal of this book is to take anyone, even a complete beginner and get them building a professional looking website. I'll hold your hand, step-by-step, all the way. As I was planning this book, I made one decision early on. I wanted to use screenshots of everything, so the reader wasn't left looking for something on their screen that I was describing in text. This book has screenshots. I haven't counted them all, but it must be close to 300. These screenshots will help you find the things I am talking about. They'll help you check your settings and options against the screenshot of mine. No more doubt, no more wondering if you have it correct. Look, compare and move on to the next section.With so many screenshots, you may be worried that the text might be a little on the skimpy side. No need to worry there. I have described in the minutest detail, every step on your journey to a great looking website. In all, this book has over 35,000 words. This book will cut your learning curve associated with WordpressEvery chapter of the book ends with a "Tasks to Complete" section. By completing these tasks, you'll not only become proficient at using Wordpress, you'll become confident & enjoy using Wordpress.

    You'll learn how to install, configure, operate, manage, and secure the latest release.Covers all the new features and capabilities of the much-anticipated new release of VMware vSphere Discusses the planning, installation, operation, and management for the latest release Reviews migration to the latest vSphere software Offers hands-on instruction and clear explanations with real-world examples Mastering VMware vSphere is the strategic guide you need to maximize the opportunities of virtualization.

    

    You'll see how to survey your home to determine your current household energy efficiency and use, and evaluate where solar power would best benefit you. You'll also calculate what the return on your investment will be before you make any decisions. Once you've decided on a project, you'll see whether it's best to hire a contractor or do it yourself. We leave no stone unturned--you'll also discover how to:Choose and install your best solar system Handle small to large solar projects Heat and cool your house with solar energy Install exterior solar lighting Handle swimming pool, water heater, or ventilation solar projects Create greenhouses or solar rooms Build, buy, or sell a solar home Finance your solar investments Take advantage of tax rebates and incentives associated with solar power Avoid the worst solar mistakes Featuring ten of the easiest and cheapest do-it-yourself solar projects, Solar Power For Dummies is the fun and easy way to meet your energy needs with this clean power source!

    Groovy in Action is a comprehensive guide to Groovy programming, introducing Java developers to the new dynamic features that Groovy provides. To bring you Groovy in Action, Manning again went to the source by working with a team of expert authors including both members and the Manager of the Groovy Project team. The result is the true definitive guide to the new Groovy language.Groovy in Action introduces Groovy by example, presenting lots of reusable code while explaining the underlying concepts. Java developers new to Groovy find a smooth transition into the dynamic programming world. Groovy experts gain a solid reference that challenges them to explore Groovy deeply and creatively.Because Groovy is so new, most readers will be learning it from scratch. Groovy in Action quickly moves through the Groovy basics, including:Simple and collective Groovy data types Working with Closures and Groovy Control Structures Dynamic Object Orientation, Groovy styleReaders are presented with rich and detailed examples illustrating Groovy's enhancements to Java, includingHow to Work with Builders and the GDK Database programming with GroovyGroovy in Action then demonstrates how to Integrate Groovy with XML, and provides:Tips and Tricks Unit Testing and Build Support Groovy on WindowsAn additional bonus is a chapter dedicated to Grails, the Groovy Web Application Framework.Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book.

    More than a series of fascinating case studies, To Engineer Is Human is a work that looks at our deepest notions of progress and perfection, tracing the fine connection between the quantifiable realm of science and the chaotic realities of everyday life."Alert, inquisitive, unspecialized, wholly human...refreshingly eclectic." --The Spectator"Henry Petroski is an ardent engineer, and if he writes more good books like this, he might find himself nominated to become the meistersinger of the guild. [This is] a refreshing plunge into the dynamics of the engineering ethos...as straightforward as an I-beam."--Science

    A colourfully dressed Bedouin brandishing a sword interrupts Holmes and Watson at their breakfast table. He brings a cryptic warning: stay out of the affairs of his people, or face the consequences. Just as the detecting duo begin unravelling that mystery, they are summoned to Vatican City. Cardinal Tosca, the Pope’s right-hand man, has been murdered at his desk and his translation of an ancient scroll has been stolen from the Papal palace. The great detective and his faithful Watson find themselves battling a fog of secrecy. Rumours swirl about a lost gospel and mysterious packages from Egypt, and whispers of a clandestine group known only as the ‘Unholy Trinity’ grow louder. What was the Bedouin intruder so desperate to hide? Why was Cardinal Tosca’s scroll worth killing for? To find the answer Holmes and Watson must go further than they have ever gone before to uncover a centuries old conspiracy. Does this mystery run too deep for even the world’s most famous detective to unravel? In the first part of the carefully crafted first of the Odyssey of Sherlock Holmes Trilogy, Paul D. Gilbert sends this beloved British sleuth from his native Baker Street over land and sea to solve new mysteries. DISCOVER THESE NEW ADVENTURES OF HOLMES AND WATSON. PERFECT FOR FANS OF THE ORIGINAL AND LOVERS OF CLASSIC MYSTERIES. ALSO BY PAUL GILBERT THE ODYSSEY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES TRILOGY Book 1: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE UNHOLY TRINITY Book 2: SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE FOUR-HANDED GAME Book 3: THE ILLUMINATION OF SHERLOCK HOLMES THE LOST FILES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES SERIES Book 1: THE LOST FILES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Book 2: THE CHRONICLES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Book 3: THE ANNALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES STANDALONE NOVEL SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA

    government began standardizing and regulating financial reporting in 1929 when the stock market crash made it painfully clear that businesses often made absurd claims and that investors were either gullible, unable to verify information, or both. Now, financial reports are used by a company's management to measure profitability (or lack of it), optimize operations and guide the company, by banks and other lenders to gauge the company's financial health, and by institutional or individual investors interested in purchasing stock. Unless you're financially savvy, annual reports with all those figures, frustrating footnotes, and fine print are boring and intimidating. However, once you have a fundamental knowledge of finance and its basic terminology, you can find the juicy parts. Reading Financial Reports For Dummies by Lita Epstein, a teacher of online financial courses and author of Trading for Dummies, gets you up to speed so you can:Go past the prose that can maximize the positive and minimize the negative and get information in dollars and cents Get an overview from the big three--the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows Understand the lingo and read between the lines Calculate basics like PE, Dividend Payout Ratio, ROS, ROA, ROE, Operating Margin, and Net Margin It pays for investors to be somewhat skeptical instead of gullible. Pressured to please Wall Street, companies are sometimes tempted to use "creative" accounting. You'll discover how to:Detect red flags (that, unfortunately, aren't emphasized in red) such as lawsuits, changes in accounting methods, and obligations to retirees and future retirees Understand the different reporting requirements for public companies and private companies with various types of business structures Analyze a company's cash flow, a prime indicator of its financial health Scrutinize deals such as mergers, acquisitions, liquidations and other major changes in key assets Organized so you can start where you're comfortable and proceed at your own pace, Reading Financial Reports for Dummies helps managers prepare annual reports and use financial reporting to budget more efficiently and helps investors base their decisions on knowledge instead of hype. Whether you're in business or in the stock market, knowledge is always an asset.

    But if you haven't seen the performance improvements you expected, or still don't feel confident enough to use Spark in production, this practical book is for you. Authors Holden Karau and Rachel Warren demonstrate performance optimizations to help your Spark queries run faster and handle larger data sizes, while using fewer resources.Ideal for software engineers, data engineers, developers, and system administrators working with large-scale data applications, this book describes techniques that can reduce data infrastructure costs and developer hours. Not only will you gain a more comprehensive understanding of Spark, you'll also learn how to make it sing.With this book, you'll explore:How Spark SQL's new interfaces improve performance over SQL's RDD data structureThe choice between data joins in Core Spark and Spark SQLTechniques for getting the most out of standard RDD transformationsHow to work around performance issues in Spark's key/value pair paradigmWriting high-performance Spark code without Scala or the JVMHow to test for functionality and performance when applying suggested improvementsUsing Spark MLlib and Spark ML machine learning librariesSpark's Streaming components and external community packages