This lecture presents the perfectly matched layer (PML) absorbing boundary condition (ABC) used to simulate free space when solving the Maxwell equations with such finite methods as the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method or the finite element method. The frequency domain and the time domain equations are derived for the different forms of PML media, namely the split PML, the CPML, the NPML, and the uniaxial PML, in the cases of PMLs matched to isotropic, anisotropic, and dispersive media. The implementation of the PML ABC in the FDTD method is presented in detail. Propagation and reflection of waves in the discretized FDTD space are derived and discussed, with a special emphasis on the problem of evanescent waves. The optimization of the PML ABC is addressed in two typical applications of the FDTD method: first, wave-structure interaction problems, and secondly, waveguide problems. Finally, a review of the literature on the application of the PML ABC to other numerical techniques of electromagnetics and to other partial differential equations of physics is provided. In addition, a software package for computing the actual reflection from a FDTD-PML is provided. It is available here.

Anna Olsen knows it's time to leave her sister's increasingly crowded house and start a life of her own. Following her sisters' examples, she becomes a mail-order bride, and after a short correspondence with clock maker and jeweler Edward Parker, she moves to Denver to become his wife. Almost immediately it's painfully apparent that Anna and Edward are very different. Anna is a free spirit who would rather be painting and enjoying the company of friends than cleaning house. Edward is a consummate perfectionist who, on their wedding day, hands Anna a list of chores that need to be done around the house daily. Can this mismatched couple see past their differences to a harmonious future? Or will their disparate passions create obstacles neither is willing to surmount? Maggie Brendan closes her Blue Willow Brides series with a heartwarming tale of true love despite misunderstanding, showing readers that God's timing is always perfect.

The heat is on... When Boston psychic Lucy Valentine finds herself involved with a group of eccentric mediums trying to fine tune their abilities, she is convinced a rare spring heat wave has flushed all the local crazies out of hiding. Adding to her theory is her newest client in the Lost Loves division of Valentine, Inc., her family's lucrative matchmaking firm. He's an animal whisperer who hires Lucy to locate his soul mate?because his cat told him so. Finding his purrfect match, however, isn't as easy as it seems. But craziest of all is the Beantown Burner, a serial arsonist who is targeting private eye Sam Donahue, brother of Lucy's boyfriend, Sean. With the help of her kooky psychic group, Lucy must tap into hidden abilities to catch the firebug before the fires turn deadly. She never expected to discover that the motive behind the flames hits a little too close to home...and dangerously close to her heart.

THE MATCHMAKING CHEF COLLECTION The eight Matchmaking Chef novellas When Suzie Matthews (Bed, Breakfast & You) accidentally cooks up a scene that causes her sister to get back together with her high school boyfriend (Home for the Holidays), she wonders if she can help other singletons living in the small mountain town of Legend, Tennessee find the loves of their lives. Being a matchmaker isn't really on her list of things to do--after all, she has a bed & breakfast to run, cookbooks to write, and a television show on the Food Channel to keep up with. But baking is her thing, and perhaps matchmaking can be her thing, too. After all, there is a song going through her head that goes something like this... Matchbaker, Matchbaker, bake me a match? No wait. Make me a match. Nevermind! You get the picture, right? Welcome to Legend, Tennessee. And welcome to the matchbaking, er, matchmaking world of Chef Suzie Matthews.

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow. Look for CROSSED, the sequel to MATCHED, in Fall 2011! Watch a Video

To Janey Larkin, the blue willow plate was the most beautiful thing in her life, a symbol of the home she could only dimly remember. Now that her father was an itinerant worker, Janey didn't have a home she could call her own or any real friends, as her family had to keep moving, following the crops from farm to farm. Someday, Janey promised the willow plate, with its picture of a real house, her family would once again be able to set down roots in a community. Blue Willow is an important fictional account of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, and has been called The Grapes of Wrath for children. It won a Newbery Honor and many other awards.