According to the oft-quoted proverb: in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. But what about in the country of the merely severely myopic? What if the one-eyed man has cataracts, and the myoptics have corrective glasses? Stumbling into a world very similar yet also and very different from his own, Will must figure out how to use his figurative one eye to avoid this world's steroid-hyped version of Homeland Security, or at least impress them with a figurative wink and ogle to convince them that his cataracts are something special. Lest you get a wrong impression, the story...

With a determination born of desperation, Fels has convinced Carl to abandon their life in San Diego and build a self-sufficient little cabin high in the Cuyamaca Mountains. Carl has been wrestling with the premature termination of his blossoming musical career due to a freak accident, while Fels struggles with grief over the death of her beloved young nephew, for which she feels partly to blame. She believes that they can both find relief in the solitude afforded off the grid. Carl, though, wonders whether the isolation has begun to affect their minds when he finds an ancient Cuyamaca tribal...

A practical primer for the student and practicing engineer already familiar with the basics of digital design, the reference develops a working grasp of the verilog hardware description language step-by-step using easy-to-understand examples. Starting with a simple but workable design sample, increasingly more complex fundamentals of the language are introduced until all major features of verilog are brought to light. Included in the coverage are state machines, modular design, FPGA-based memories, clock management, specialized I/O, and an introduction to techniques of simulation. The goal is...

Space aliens have invaded the earth! Unfortunately nobody is even aware, at least until Gabe, pet-sitter by day and jump-blues bandleader by night, finds himself face-to-face with a raccoon that talks like Louis Armstrong. Ronny (he named himself after Ronald Reagan, thinking that this would elicit fond memories) explains that he needs Gabes help to thwart a full-scale invasion of evil Demon-zombies. Gabe, though, cant shake the feeling that something smells . . . fishy.

Ponderable stories about next-generation Predator drones scouting the Mexican border for illegals, a scientist whose only means of escaping certain death in the Antarctic carries him into the future, robots fooled by Groucho glasses, interstellar astronauts who draw blood over dessert snacks while the schizophrenic ship computer eggs them on, and the smartest man on Earth whos dumber than a turnip. Then, theres a whole gaggle of ponderable stories about aliens: aliens that come to Earth to claim the remains of their deceased Roswell companions, only to find the captains head is missing;...

True stories about next-generation Predator drones scouting the Mexican border for illegals, a scientist whose only means of escaping certain death in the Antarctic carries him into the future, robots fooled by Groucho glasses, interstellar astronauts who draw blood over dessert snacks while the schizophrenic ship computer eggs them on, and the smartest man on Earth who's dumber than a turnip. Then, there's a whole gaggle of true stories about aliens: aliens that come to Earth to claim the remains of their deceased Roswell companions, only to find the captain's head missing; aliens that come...

Gabe didn't go looking for the role as Earth's defender against marauding aliens; in fact, quite the opposite. Pet-sitter by day, jump-blues guitarist by night, Gabe's plate is, as they say, quite full. He has his ducks all in a row. He and life are reading off the same page. You get the picture. But fate is not some bleeding heart, Mr. Rogers do-gooder. Oh no. Once he decides that it's Gabe's turn at bat, he reaches out his gnarled hand--or in this case, raccoon paw--clutches Gabe's shoulder, spins him around and impresses in no uncertain terms that the fate of the world is in his hands....

Kiel seeks temporary refuge from his hard life on the road as a fugitive, and believes that hes found it on the Bakke farmstead. He fails to see, however, that if it were simply a safe haven he sought, he would do much better giving himself up to the police. The farm harbors tiny enigmatic creatures that are masters at cooperating towards their collective goal. As their capabilities grow, their tolerance diminishes for people who get in their way. Against an expanding threat of aggression, Kiel bands with the Bakke family to fight back. The fight, however, soon becomes a struggle to survive...

Myths of spirits and wraiths roaming a world just beyond our mortal perceptions have haunted mankind since the dawn of history. Against common sense and sane reasoning, Jordan attempts an expedition into just such a world in pursuit of his fiancee who lies senseless in an inexplicable coma. Her professor has discovered a sixth-century manuscript describing such a journey, and wielding an ancient Latin palindrome, he launches Jordan on an expedition stranger than he could have imagined. The Overlay is populated by souls both familiar and legendary, and one in particular who has determined that...