Christmas Day, 3:00 a.m., December 25, 2015 The final chapter in man's search for truth began with a single event that took place in the wee hours of Christmas morning, 2015. A crippling blizzard of epic proportion had blanketed the entire northeastern corridor with an opaque shroud of ice and wind-driven snow. All ground and air transportation was at a complete standstill as residents throughout the Atlantic coastal area hunkered down in their homes awaiting a reprieve from nature's fury. This explains why Ray Hodges was fast asleep at his desk in the air traffic control tower of Dulles International Airport. After doing absolutely nothing for the past six hours, he was bored stiff and had planned to rest his eyes for only a moment. Forty-five minutes later, Hodges was awakened by a high-pitched alarm warning him of an incoming bogey. The aircraft's radar signature was that of a TWA Constellation, a prop-driven plane that he had not seen since the early 1960s. The anonymous intruder was flying dangerously close to the high value targets in Washington DC, and Hodges was required to establish immediate radio contact with the inbound aircraft. Using multiple radio frequencies, he tried to hail the pilot, with no response. This perilous situation prompted an urgent call to the Strategic Air Command at Andrews Air Base, and within minutes of notification, a squadron of F18 jets had surrounded the aircraft. The team leader contacted Hodges and reported that he too was unable to communicate with the pilot. Then the pilot said something that made Hodges's skin crawl. "Dulles, there seems to be multiple objects protruding through the fuselage of the plane. Understand the visibility up here is marginal, but those objects look a lot like body parts." Hodges instantly felt a gnawing pain centered in the pit of his stomach. Thus began one young man's journey into the crypts of the unknown. It was a place where all reality was an illusion.

Horse racing is the Sport of Kings, but also the historical workplace of the underclass. Jockeys may inhabit both worlds and can rise, if talented and lucky, from pauper to feted royalty. Duncan Pengilly is at the peak of his powers and anointed at the top of his profession - a prince in silks. Following a fall Duncan now finds his murky past inhabiting the safe and confident place of his present. He fears for his safety - his sanity and his future - after he suffers a series of visions or hallucinations that render sitting atop a thoroughbred at full speed even more fraught with danger than it otherwise might be. At the same time his personal relationships also face the same prospects of imminent fracture. Risk and reflex are stock in trade for any successful jockey and Duncan responds to the threat by undertaking a reckless quest to find the source; to find a cure. In doing so he will be forced to confront his past in kaleidoscopic episodes and painful detail. Memories and dreams, imagination and truth. Blinkered offers a journey of discovery through the quagmire of the stable yard and glory of the racetrack, with observations and insight seen through both binoculars and Through the Looking-Glass. "Thomas Mann sat on a sumptuous black leather armchair on the business side of the desk. The only device or aid atop his desk was a cream telephone. Duncan sat uncomfortably on a chair of more humble expectations; a rigid frame perched upon a rigid frame. Duncan’s eyes darted about the room. It was sparsely decorated; a certificate of accreditation framed and set conspicuously on the wall behind the desk; a framed photograph of Mr Mann shaking hands with an unsmiling ex-Prime Minister (most widely remembered not for policy but for the manner in which he was to gain power) hung at an angle on the wall to the right. Duncan had expected a better show, piles of slow burnt ash and ample displays of flash-trash, objet d’tective: a gun, warm, though not still smoking, courtesy of Messers Smith and Wesson; knuckledusters, spotted with blood and tarnished with wear and abuse; handcuffs on the desk to be jingled and jangled at flat spots in the conversation; and there would be mug shots of criminals most vile, poor haircuts, bent and broken noses and distinguishing tattoos; a coffee crusted mug and food scraps, potato chips and various fluorescent colours of pizza toppings would brighten the desktop and floor; and where were the pornographic photographs, open files and fingerprint kits, the magnifying glass, the fucking detective stuff!? Duncan sat disillusioned and disappointed. A waste of time, he thought, preparing some excuse to leave before further embarrassing himself."

This book presents a variety of techniques that combine computer-generated images and other objects with real scenes, creating augmented reality. This work provides an excellent snapshot of the current state of augmented reality research and its latest applications to industry. Using computer vision, graphics, and signal processing, augmented reali

Climate change is real and it is man-made. We have put so many greenhouse gas pollutants into the atmosphere that we will see significant and long-term change that we need to adapt and adjust to. It is important for development practitioners to understand these impacts and the challenge of how and when to adapt to climate change. There are plenty of grim presentations of what the extremes of the possible climate scenarios will throw at us over the next 100 years, but not all change will be disastrous; some change will be beneficial, but much of the change will happen at an unprecedented rate that will require the best possible analysis and understanding of how and when we should adapt to climate change. This is important for development practitioners as we invest in ensuring that poverty is reduced and eliminated and the well-being of everyone is improved. Many countries and communities around the world are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but developing economies may on one hand be less resilient to the impact, but could on the other hand be in a better position to make their development climate smart by making the most efficient use of their economic resources. The chapters in this book shine a light on the complexity and the multi-dimensional aspects of climate change adaptation. They gather some of the experiences of addressing climate change impacts in a development context. This book was previously published as a special issue of Development in Practice.

The study of photography has never been more important. A look at today's digital world reveals that a greater number of photographs are being taken each day than at any other moment in history. Countless photographs are disseminated instantly online and more and more photographic images are earning prominent positions—and garnering record prices—in the rarefied realm of top art galleries. Reflecting this dramatic increase in all things photographic, A Companion to Photography presents a comprehensive collection of original essays that explore a variety of key areas of current debate around the state of photography in the twenty-first century. Essays are grouped and organized in themed sections—including photographic interpretation, markets, popular photography, documents, and fine art—and provide comprehensive coverage of the subject. Representing a diversity of approaches, essays are written by both established and emerging photographers and scholars, as well as various experts in their respective areas. A Companion to Photography offers scholars and professional photographers alike an essential and up-to-date resource that brings the study of contemporary photography into clear focus.