Cassandra's Challenge


Book Description

Cassandra Chamberlain always stood out. It was hard not to at 6’1” and 165 pounds with jet black hair and sapphire blue eyes. And if that wasn’t enough, she was also brilliant, having graduated from Harvard at 15, taught at MIT at 19 and been nominated for the prestigious Magellan Award at 25. But she’d never really fit in. Not with her peers, not with her contemporaries, only with her family. But everything changed when Earth was attacked. Cassandra and her niece, Victoria, were the only survivors. Suddenly, the smartest woman on the planet had to relearn everything. Everything she believed to be true was challenged and she had to learn to survive not only for herself but for Victoria because someone wanted them dead. Admiral William Zafar is the youngest Admiral ever in the Coalition of United Planets Fleet and the hero of the Battle of Fayal. At 7’1”, he’s 325 pounds of Carinian male in his prime who is feared and respected throughout the Fleet. He is a Royal from the House of Protection, carrying its birthmark and considers its King one of his oldest friends. But when the Regulians destroy a previously unknown planet leaving only two survivors, he found he was willing to risk everything to protect the woman he loves from the Regulians and the Carinian traitor who wants her dead.




Warnings


Book Description

From President Bill Clinton's recommended reading list Publishers Weekly Bestseller Warnings is the story of the future of national security, threatening technologies, the U.S. economy, and possibly the fate of civilization. In Greek mythology Cassandra foresaw calamities, but was cursed by the gods to be ignored. Modern-day Cassandras clearly predicted the disasters of Katrina, Fukushima, the Great Recession, the rise of ISIS, the spread of viruses and many more. Like the mythological Cassandra, they were ignored. There are others right now warning of impending disasters—from cyber attacks to pandemics—but how do we know which warnings are likely to be right? Through riveting explorations in a variety of fields, the authors—both accomplished CEOs and White House National Security Council veterans—discover a method to separate the accurate Cassandras from the crazy doomsayers. They then investigate the experts who today are warning of future disasters: the threats from artificial intelligence, bio-hacking, malware attacks, and more, and whose calls are not being heeded. Clarke’s and Eddy’s penetrating insights are essential for any person, any business, or any government that doesn’t want to be a blind victim of tomorrow’s catastrophe.




Constructing Cassandra


Book Description

Constructing Cassandra analyzes the intelligence failures at the CIA that resulted in four key strategic surprises experienced by the US: the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the Iranian revolution of 1978, the collapse of the USSR in 1991, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks—surprises still play out today in U.S. policy. Although there has been no shortage of studies exploring how intelligence failures can happen, none of them have been able to provide a unified understanding of the phenomenon. To correct that omission, this book brings culture and identity to the foreground to present a unified model of strategic surprise; one that focuses on the internal make-up the CIA, and takes seriously those Cassandras who offered warnings, but were ignored. This systematic exploration of the sources of the CIA's intelligence failures points to ways to prevent future strategic surprises.




Yin Yoga


Book Description

Stretch the mindful way with this all-encompassing guide to Yin Yoga. In today's fast-paced world it's easy to lose the balance in our lives and the connection with our bodies. DK believes it's time to change that! Yin Yoga offers a remedy to the stress and hustle of everyday life. Heard of the term but don't know where to begin? No worries, we've got you covered! The same way that Yin balances Yang in ancient philosophies, the slower yin-style yoga featured in this yoga book offers an alternative to the faster more active forms of yoga. Instead, Yin yoga concentrates on holding and breathing through floor-based poses, awarding you with the time and space to clear both your mind and body. Dive straight in to discover: -Over 50 poses focusing on specific areas of the body -Each yoga pose is demonstrated with photographic step-by-step detail -20 sequences linking the poses, tailored to your physical and emotional targets -Introductory spreads covering the basic techniques behind Yin Yoga The first full-coloured step-by-step Yin yoga book on the market, this all-encompassing yoga guide is a must-have volume for individuals seeking a mindful and meditative approach to their yoga practice, as well as beginners and older yoga practitioners who are looking to adopt a slower-paced approach to yoga. You can explore gentle variations to much-loved yoga poses, from the comfort of your own home. Every exercise utilises the essential elements of Yin yoga to ensure you can gain all the physical and mental benefits, and will also allow you to perform all 20 sequences, which combine over 50 different poses into one singular experience and focus on specific health benefits each pose has on your body. For years, books on yoga have asked readers to bend over backwards (literally!) to conform to their physical demands. At DK, we believe it's time to change that! Why not allow for readers to demand that yoga conform to their individual needs instead? This is gentle yoga for the mind, body and soul. A must-have volume for those who want to take up Yoga but don't know where to begin, or simply those seeking to start a gentle low-impact exercise whilst encouraging mindfulness, Yin Yoga can be tailored to your individual fitness needs, so you make the most out of your poses! Why not stretch yourself, literally, this New Year and try something new? Perhaps your mind, body and soul will thank you!




Cassandra: The Definitive Guide


Book Description

Imagine what you could do if scalability wasn't a problem. With this hands-on guide, you’ll learn how the Cassandra database management system handles hundreds of terabytes of data while remaining highly available across multiple data centers. This third edition—updated for Cassandra 4.0—provides the technical details and practical examples you need to put this database to work in a production environment. Authors Jeff Carpenter and Eben Hewitt demonstrate the advantages of Cassandra’s nonrelational design, with special attention to data modeling. If you’re a developer, DBA, or application architect looking to solve a database scaling issue or future-proof your application, this guide helps you harness Cassandra’s speed and flexibility. Understand Cassandra’s distributed and decentralized structure Use the Cassandra Query Language (CQL) and cqlsh—the CQL shell Create a working data model and compare it with an equivalent relational model Develop sample applications using client drivers for languages including Java, Python, and Node.js Explore cluster topology and learn how nodes exchange data




Believing Cassandra


Book Description

First Published in 2010. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.




Victoria's Challenge


Book Description

Victoria Lynn Chamberlain at two, she was abducted by an alien race, the Regulians. At nine, her world literally exploded when the Regulians returned, destroying Earth. She and her aunt were the only survivors thanks to another alien race, the Carinians. Now she’s eighteen, a new graduate from their top medical school, and is ready to claim her life mate, Lucas. The handsome Carinian pilot that saved her all those years… cycles ago. Major Lucas Matthew Zafar was decorated pilot for the Coalition, who has worked hard for every promotion and earned every decoration, despite his father being High Admiral. Nine cycles ago, he crashed on an alien world and discovered his life mate, a nine-cycle girl with flame-red hair and sparkling, green eyes. She captivates everyone around her with her strength and determination. She is his world or will be once she grows up. When he’s injured in an explosion, he discovers that his wait is finally over for Victoria has more than grown up. Together they discover what it truly means to be life mates. That it is about doing what is best for the other even if it is not the best for you. That you have to do more than just love, you have to trust and be willing to sacrifice the things you never thought you would. Moreover, if you are lucky, and the ancestors are watching over you, you just might get everything you’ve ever dreamed of.




The Declutter Challenge


Book Description

#1 Best Seller in Home Decorating ─ Declutter Your Way to Happiness A guided decluttering journal. Life happens to the best of us, whether we were born with messy tendencies or not. Messes find their way into our homes and lives and we can’t seem to find the strength or time to tackle them. That’s where this motivational guided journal by Cassandra Aarssen, best-selling author of Real Life Organizing and Cluttered Mess to Organized Success, comes in. Tested methods that work. Cas Aarssen wasn’t always an organization expert. She climbed out of years of cluttered living and transformed her home and her life through organization. In this self-help journal, Cas guides you through favorite tips and tricks that she used to declutter her home and find her way to a more organized and peaceful life. Pages and pages of decluttering and organizational tools. This interactive journal is designed to help you declutter your home and life through mindfulness and self-motivation. You will learn how to navigate the chaos of clutter by taking the time to understand yourself and the underlying meaning behind your clutter. Filled with inspiration and open-ended questions, The Declutter Challenge journal will guide you onto the path to a clean and clutter-free home. Make downsizing a reality. The Declutter Challenge enables you to work through both the emotion and the physical clutter in your life; to explore your thoughts and feelings about your belongings and discover the knowledge and strength to let go of excess. Take a look inside this life-changing guided journal and find… • Insights into goal setting • Supportive prompts and writing exercises that encourage self-refection and understanding • How to achieve those short-term tasks that need to get done or the long-term dreams that you yearn to fulfill Readers of books such as The Home Edit or How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind will love Cassandra Aarssen’s The Declutter Challenge: A Guided Journal for Getting your Home Organized in 30 Quick Steps.




Cassandra: The Definitive Guide


Book Description

Imagine what you could do if scalability wasn't a problem. With this hands-on guide, you’ll learn how the Cassandra database management system handles hundreds of terabytes of data while remaining highly available across multiple data centers. This expanded second edition—updated for Cassandra 3.0—provides the technical details and practical examples you need to put this database to work in a production environment. Authors Jeff Carpenter and Eben Hewitt demonstrate the advantages of Cassandra’s non-relational design, with special attention to data modeling. If you’re a developer, DBA, or application architect looking to solve a database scaling issue or future-proof your application, this guide helps you harness Cassandra’s speed and flexibility. Understand Cassandra’s distributed and decentralized structure Use the Cassandra Query Language (CQL) and cqlsh—the CQL shell Create a working data model and compare it with an equivalent relational model Develop sample applications using client drivers for languages including Java, Python, and Node.js Explore cluster topology and learn how nodes exchange data Maintain a high level of performance in your cluster Deploy Cassandra on site, in the Cloud, or with Docker Integrate Cassandra with Spark, Hadoop, Elasticsearch, Solr, and Lucene




Change Enthusiasm


Book Description

Dynamic corporate speaker and coach, Cassandra Worthy, introduces a growth mindset practice that helps readers to view change and the emotions surrounding it as a gift. Cassandra Worthy is a highly sought-after consultant, speaker, and Change Enthusiast, who is sharing her revolutionary approach for not only embracing change but using it to propel you to heights you never imagined. Only 10 percent of successful change adoption is about know-how; the other 90 percent is centered squarely on the motivation and willingness to accept the change. Cassandra explains that if you don't address the emotions surrounding change then your transformation journey will be stopped in its tracks. In this book, Cassandra will teach you to: Redefine your relationship to change Embrace "negative" emotions and use them for epic growth and transformation Make conscious, productive choices in the face of disruption of any sort Develop your resilience muscle View change as something that happens for you vs. to you Cassandra's practical yet inspiring strategies can inspire anyone to authentically embrace change and find their own unique power of resilience during turbulent times. Using insights gleaned from her life, those of her clients, and the tools and exercises she has refined over the years, Cassandra Worthy has written the playbook for anyone leading, influencing, going through, or embarking upon change.