NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All Over but the Shoutin', the warmhearted and hilarious story of how his life was transformed by his love for a poorly behaved, half-blind stray dog. Speck is not a good boy. He is a terrible boy, a defiant, self-destructive, often malodorous boy, a grave robber and screen door moocher who spends his days playing chicken with the Fed Ex man, picking fights with thousand-pound livestock, and rolling in donkey manure, and his nights howling at the moon. He has been that way since the moment he appeared on the ridgeline behind Rick Bragg's house, a starved and half-dead creature, seventy-six pounds of wet hair and poor decisions. Speck arrived in Rick's life at a moment of looming uncertainty. A cancer diagnosis, chemo, kidney failure, and recurring pneumonia had left Rick lethargic and melancholy. Speck helped, and he is helping, still, when he is not peeing on the rose of Sharon. Written with Bragg's inimitable blend of tenderness and sorrow, humor and grit, The Speckled Beauty captures the extraordinary, sustaining devotion between two damaged creatures who need each other to heal.

The first translation of a previously unknown Aztec codex and its initiatory teachings for 2012 • Discloses the potential for great spiritual awakening offered at the end of the Aztec calendar cycle • Presents the only existing English-language transcription of the Aztec codex, with line-by-line commentary • Contains the epic poetry and metaphysical insights of Beat poet Marty Matz (1934–2001 In 1961 an unknown Aztec codex was revealed to Beat poet and explorer Marty Matz by a Mazatec shaman in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. Originally intended for dramatic performance, this codex presents a profound metaphysical teaching describing how the end of time will bring about a visionary ascent. At the behest of his Mazatec teacher, Matz transcribed this pictorial codex into a literary form that would preserve its initiatory teachings and reveal its secret meanings to a wider audience.Pyramid of Fire is an epic poem that provides a vehicle to transport the initiate into the higher realms of consciousness. It represents a barely surviving thread of teachings that have been passed down in secret since the time of the Spanish Conquest. Revealed are the techniques by which man is transported to the stellar realm after death via the solar energy within what the ancients called the “serpent of consciousness.” Line-by-line commentary by Matz and John Major Jenkins provides insights into the perennial philosophy contained in the codex and its relevance to our times.

Optical methods are now used routinely for the measurement of velocity, concentration, temperature, and other parameters in wide-ranging areas of industrial research and design such as IC engines, turbines, and combustors. Recent advances such as the use of high-resolution CCD cameras and the extension of flow mapping to three dimensions, make optical tools such as particle image velocimetry increasingly viable for use in the industrial environment. This excellent book presents new developments in optical diagnostic techniques in heat and fluid flow and offers an unparalleled opportunity for industrialists and academic researchers to exchange ideas. CONTENTS INCLUDE: Comparison of injector sprays for gasoline direct-injection engines The design, development, and preliminary results from a high-speed, optically accessed, single cylinder engine The reflected spectrum of complex multi-layered inhomogeneous highly scattering medium Development of full volume digital holography for particle measurement Improved liquid crystal thermography by using true-colour image processing technology Development of an optical measuring technique for the study of acoustical phenomena Spatio-temporal reconstruction of the unsteady wake of axisymmetric bluff bodies via time-recording DPIV Application of particle image velocimetry to helicopter vortex interactions Pulsed laser particle image velocimetry using a fibre-optic delivery system Automated fringe analysis for profilometric mass-transfer experiments.

This engineering tool provides over 200 time and cost saving rules of thumb--short cuts, tricks, and methods that optical communications veterans have developed through long years of trial and error. * DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) and SONET (Synchronous Optical NETwork) rules * Information Transmission, fiber optics, and systems rules

"Preface -- Part I: Optoelectronic Sensors Technologies -- 1. Fiber and Integrated Optics Sensors: Fundamentals and Applications G. C. Righini, A. G. Mignani, I. Cacciari and M. Brenci -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Fiber and Integrated Optics: Fundamentals of Waveguiding -- 3. Waveguide Sensors: Basic Working Principle -- 4. Fiber Optic Sensors -- 5. Long-Period Optical Fiber Grating Sensors -- 6. Micro-structured Fiber Sensors -- 7. Integrated Optic Sensors -- 8. Conclusions -- References -- 2. Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors: Industrial Applications C. Ambrosino, A. Iadicicco, S. Campopiano, A. Cutolo, M. Giordano and A. Cusano -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Fiber Bragg Gratings History -- 3. Fiber Bragg Gratings as Sensors -- 4. Civil Applications -- 5. Aerospace Applications -- 6. Energy Applications -- 7. Oil and Gas Applications -- 8. Transport Applications -- 9. Underwater Applications -- 10. Perspective and Challenges -- References -- 3. Distributed Optical Fiber Sensors R. Bernini, A. Minardo and L. Zeni -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Linear Backscattering Systems -- 3. Non-Linear Backscattering Systems -- 4. Non-Linear Forward-Scattering Systems -- 5. Conclusions -- References -- 4. Lightwave Technologies for Interrogation Systems of Fiber Bragg Gratings Sensors D. Donisi, R. Beccherelli and A. d'Alessandro -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Operating Principle of the Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor -- 3. FBG Interrogation Techniques -- 4. An Integrated Tunable Filter using Composite Holographic Grating -- 5. POLICRYPS Filterbased FBG Sensors Interrogation -- 6. Conclusions -- Acknowledgments -- References -- 5. Surface Plasmon Resonance: Applications in Sensors and Biosensors R. Rella and M. G. Manera -- 1. Introduction -- 2. SPR Theory -- 3. Optical Sensors based on Surface Plasmon Resonance -- 4. Application of SPR in Chemical Sensors and Biosensors -- 5. SPR Instrumentation: From Traditional SPR Instrument to SPR Imaging -- 6. Future Capabilities -- References -- 6. Microresonators for Sensing Applications S. Berneschi, G. Nunzi Conti, S. Pelli and S. Soria -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Whispering Gallery Modes in a Microsphere -- 3. WGM Resonators: Applications in Sensing -- Acknowledgments -- References -- 7. Photonic Crystals: Towards a Novel Generation of Integrated Optical Devices for Chemical and Biological Detection A. Ricciardi, C. Ciminelli, M. Pisco, S. Campopiano, C. E. Campanella, E. Scivittaro, M. N. Armenise, A. Cutolo and A. Cusano -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Photonic Crystals 190; Fundamental Principles -- 3. Functional Photonic Band Gap Components and Devices -- 4. Photonic Crystals for Chemical and Biological Sensing -- 5. Photonic Crystal Fibers Sensors -- 6. Perspectives and Challenges -- References -- 8. Micromachining Technologies for Sensor Applications P. M. Sarro, A. Irace and P. J. French -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Bulk Micromachining -- 3. Surface Micromachining -- 4. Characterization of Thin Film Membranes -- 5. Conclusions and Outlook -- References -- 9. Spectroscopic Techniques for Sensors S. Pelli, A. Chiasera, M. Ferrari and G. C. Righini -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Absorption, Reflectance and Transmission Measurements -- 3. Luminescence Measurements -- 4. Raman and Brillouin Measurements -- 5. Conclusions -- References -- 10. Laser Doppler Vibrometry P. Castellini, G. M. Revel". -- OCLC.