Horizons Unlimited

Every red-blooded motorcyclist dreams of making the Big Trip--this updated fifth edition shows them how. Choosing a bike, deciding on a destination, bike preparation, documentation and shipping, trans-continental route outlines across Africa, Asia and Latin America, and back-country riding in SW USA, NW Canada and Australia. Plus--first hand accounts of biking adventures worldwide.

Designed as a stopgap measure to provide overhead reconnaissance capability during the early years of the Cold War, the versatile U-2 has since evolved to meet changing requirements well into the 21st century. Though many authors have documented the airplane's operational history, few have made more than a cursory examination of its technical aspects or its role as a NASA research platform. This volume includes an overview of the origin and development of the Lockheed U-2 family of aircraft with early National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) involvement, construction and materials challenges faced by designers and builders, releasable performance characteristics and capabilities, use of U-2 and ER-2 airplanes as research platforms, and technical and programmatic lessons learned.

To most thirty-something women, walking across the street to get a skinny latte and the latest copy of heat in excruciating high heels is an all-terrain task in itself. But Lois Pryce isn't just any woman - nine to five and post-work white wine spritzers have never been her thing. Unafraid of a challenge - having already ridden her motorbike from Alaska to the southernmost tip of South America - she decided she could never be one to settle for a last minute package holiday in Viva Espana. So, she began the kind of adventure most of us could only ever dream of.

The infrastructure-as-code revolution in IT is also affecting database administration. With this practical book, developers, system administrators, and junior to mid-level DBAs will learn how the modern practice of site reliability engineering applies to the craft of database architecture and operations. Authors Laine Campbell and Charity Majors provide a framework for professionals looking to join the ranks of today’s database reliability engineers (DBRE). You’ll begin by exploring core operational concepts that DBREs need to master. Then you’ll examine a wide range of database persistence options, including how to implement key technologies to provide resilient, scalable, and performant data storage and retrieval. With a firm foundation in database reliability engineering, you’ll be ready to dive into the architecture and operations of any modern database. This book covers: Service-level requirements and risk management Building and evolving an architecture for operational visibility Infrastructure engineering and infrastructure management How to facilitate the release management process Data storage, indexing, and replication Identifying datastore characteristics and best use cases Datastore architectural components and data-driven architectures

Dr. Greg Zacharias, former Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force (2015-18), explores next steps in autonomous systems (AS) development, fielding, and training. Rapid advances in AS development and artificial intelligence (AI) research will change how we think about machines, whether they are individual vehicle platforms or networked enterprises. The payoff will be considerable, affording the US military significant protection for aviators, greater effectiveness in employment, and unlimited opportunities for novel and disruptive concepts of operations. Autonomous Horizons: The Way Forward identifies issues and makes recommendations for the Air Force to take full advantage of this transformational technology.

Motorcycle adventure tales, tips and opinions related to the niche of motorcycle adventure touring

Pryce spent her weekdays working at the BBC stuck in a career rut, but she also led a parallel life as a biker with overwhelming wanderlust. Follow her hilarious adventures as she travels by motorcycle from Alaska to the southernmost tip of Argentina.

“There are at least two kinds of games,” states James P. Carse as he begins this extraordinary book. “One could be called finite; the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.” Finite games are the familiar contests of everyday life; they are played in order to be won, which is when they end. But infinite games are more mysterious. Their object is not winning, but ensuring the continuation of play. The rules may change, the boundaries may change, even the participants may change—as long as the game is never allowed to come to an end. What are infinite games? How do they affect the ways we play our finite games? What are we doing when we play—finitely or infinitely? And how can infinite games affect the ways in which we live our lives? Carse explores these questions with stunning elegance, teasing out of his distinctions a universe of observation and insight, noting where and why and how we play, finitely and infinitely. He surveys our world—from the finite games of the playing field and playing board to the infinite games found in culture and religion—leaving all we think we know illuminated and transformed. Along the way, Carse finds new ways of understanding everything, from how an actress portrays a role to how we engage in sex, from the nature of evil to the nature of science. Finite games, he shows, may offer wealth and status, power and glory, but infinite games offer something far more subtle and far grander. Carse has written a book rich in insight and aphorism. Already an international literary event, Finite and Infinite Games is certain to be argued about and celebrated for years to come. Reading it is the first step in learning to play the infinite game.

A harrowing sci-fi thriller that #1 New York Times bestselling author Pittacus Lore proclaimed "Powerful and gripping." This bold and astonishing novel about identity, unnerving connections, tortured romance, and facing our worst nightmares is made for fans of Veronica Roth, Stephen King, and Justin Cronin. The Arclight is the last refuge in a post-apocalyptic world consumed by terrifying creatures called the Fade. No one crosses the wall of light that keeps the last human survivors safe. There's nothing else left and nowhere to go. Or so they thought, until Marina, a lone teenage girl, stumbles out of the Dark. Marina doesn't remember who she is, where she came from, or how she survived. And the Fade want her back. When one of them infiltrates the compound and recognizes Marina, she begins to unlock secrets she didn't even know she had. Marina knows she's an outsider, but she'll do anything to protect those who saved her. Whether they want her help or not.