Trust Works! How to build it How to keep it In this enlightening guide developed from his popular Trust Works! training program, #1 bestselling author and management guru Ken Blanchard turns his vast knowledge and insight to one of the most timely and complex issues that affects all areas of our lives. Once upon a time, a dog and a cat lived together with other animals and the humans who cared for them. But canine and feline did not trust each other a situation that led to fighting, backbiting, and sabotaging that soon affected the whole household. Unless their conflict was resolved, all of the pets would lose their home. Fortunately, a wise old parrot stepped in, teaching dog and cat the ABCDs of trust. As each became aware of the unconscious behaviors at the root of their hostility, dog and cat discovered how to change their behavior a mutual transformation that created a happy, productive environment for all. In Trust Works! Ken Blanchard applies that fable to real-life situations to show anyone how to get along better with those around them. He outlines his ABCD trust model and uses it to address the factors that lead to discord, including low morale, miscommunication, poor response to problems and issues, and dysfunctional leadership. In today polarized society, building trust and sustaining it has never been more important or seemingly elusive. Trust Works! provides a common language and essential skills that can replace dissension with peace and cooperation and help us all work together productively and in harmony.

The internationally acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Carlos Ruiz Zafon takes us into a dark, gothic Barcelona and creates a rich, labyrinthine tale of love, literature, passion, and revenge in which the heroes of The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game must contend with a nemesis that threatens to destroy them. Barcelona, 1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife, Bea, have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julian, and their close friend Fermin Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city's dark past. His appearance plunges Fermin and Daniel into a dangerous adventure that will take them back to the 1940s and the early days of Franco's dictatorship. The terrifying events of that time launch them on a search for the truth that will put into peril everything they love and ultimately transform their lives. Full of intrigue and emotion, The Prisoner of Heaven is a majestic novel in which the threads of The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game converge under the spell of literature and bring us toward the enigma hidden at the heart of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a collection of lost treasures known only to its few initiates, and the very core of Carlos Ruiz Zafon's enchanting fictional world.

Build real-world computer vision applications and develop cool demos using OpenCV for Python About This Book Learn how to apply complex visual effects to images using geometric transformations and image filters Extract features from an image and use them to develop advanced applications Build algorithms to help you understand the image content and perform visual searches Who This Book Is For This book is intended for Python developers who are new to OpenCV and want to develop computer vision applications with OpenCV-Python. This book is also useful for generic software developers who want to deploy computer vision applications on the cloud. It would be helpful to have some familiarity with basic mathematical concepts such as vectors, matrices, and so on. What You Will Learn Apply geometric transformations to images, perform image filtering, and convert an image into a cartoon-like image Detect and track various body parts such as the face, nose, eyes, ears, and mouth Stitch multiple images of a scene together to create a panoramic image Make an object disappear from an image Identify different shapes, segment an image, and track an object in a live video Recognize an object in an image and build a visual search engine Reconstruct a 3D map from images Build an augmented reality application In Detail Computer vision is found everywhere in modern technology. OpenCV for Python enables us to run computer vision algorithms in real time. With the advent of powerful machines, we are getting more processing power to work with. Using this technology, we can seamlessly integrate our computer vision applications into the cloud. Web developers can develop complex applications without having to reinvent the wheel. This book will walk you through all the building blocks needed to build amazing computer vision applications with ease. We start off with applying geometric transformations to images. We then discuss affine and projective transformations and see how we can use them to apply cool geometric effects to photos. We will then cover techniques used for object recognition, 3D reconstruction, stereo imaging, and other computer vision applications. This book will also provide clear examples written in Python to build OpenCV applications. The book starts off with simple beginner’s level tasks such as basic processing and handling images, image mapping, and detecting images. It also covers popular OpenCV libraries with the help of examples. The book is a practical tutorial that covers various examples at different levels, teaching you about the different functions of OpenCV and their actual implementation. Style and approach This is a conversational-style book filled with hands-on examples that are really easy to understand. Each topic is explained very clearly and is followed by a programmatic implementation so that the concept is solidified. Each topic contributes to something bigger in the following chapters, which helps you understand how to piece things together to build something big and complex.

Make life at the office easier for server administrators by helping them build resilient Ubuntu server systems About This Book Tackle the issues you come across in keeping your Ubuntu server up and running Build server machines and troubleshoot cloud computing related issues using Open Stack Discover tips and best practices to be followed for minimum maintenance of Ubuntu Server 3 Who This Book Is For This book is for a vast audience of Linux system administrators who primarily work on Debian-based systems and spend long hours trying fix issues with the enterprise server. Ubuntu is already one of the most popular OSes and this book targets the most common issues that most administrators have to deal with. With the right tools and definite solutions, you will be able to keep your Ubuntu servers in the pink of health. What You Will Learn Deploy packages and their dependencies with repositories Set up your own DNS and network for Ubuntu Server Authenticate and validate users and their access to various systems and services Maintain, monitor, and optimize your server resources and avoid tremendous load Get to know about processes, assigning and changing priorities, and running processes in background Optimize your shell with tools and provide users with an improved shell experience Set up separate environments for various services and run them safely in isolation Understand, build, and deploy OpenStack on your Ubuntu Server In Detail Ubuntu is becoming one of the favorite Linux flavors for many enterprises and is being adopted to a large extent. It supports a wide variety of common network systems and the use of standard Internet services including file serving, e-mail, Web, DNS, and database management. A large scale use and implementation of Ubuntu on servers has given rise to a vast army of Linux administrators who battle it out day in and day out to make sure the systems are in the right frame of operation and pre-empt any untoward incidents that may result in catastrophes for the businesses using it. Despite all these efforts, glitches and bugs occur that affect Ubuntu server's network, memory, application, and hardware and also generate cloud computing related issues using OpenStack. This book will help you end to end. Right from setting up your new Ubuntu Server to learning the best practices to host OpenStack without any hassles. You will be able to control the priority of jobs, restrict or allow access users to certain services, deploy packages, tackle issues related to server effectively, and reduce downtime. Also, you will learn to set up OpenStack, and manage and monitor its services while tuning the machine with best practices. You will also get to know about Virtualization to make services serve users better. Chapter by chapter, you will learn to add new features and functionalities and make your Ubuntu server a full-fledged, production-ready system. Style and approach This book contains topic-by-topic discussion in an easy-to-understand language with loads of examples to help you take care of Ubuntu Server. Plenty of screenshots will guide you through a step-by-step approach.

Have you ever been so desperate that you would do literally anything for moneyThis is the tragic situation Giselda finds herself in, with no money for an operation her younger brother desperately needs to save his life, and no one to turn to. Ground down by poverty she plucks up her courage to offer the only thing she has of value her purity. Choking back her pride and knowing that she is about to forfeit his respect, she approaches her wealthy employer, the handsome Earl of Lyndhurst, who is recovering from his injuries sustained in the Battle of Waterloo. Appalled that this frail and innocent young girl should be faced with such a terrible decision, he vows to find a way to help her without offending her dignity. He knows she would never accept his charity, and she refuses to confide in him the reasons for her family's poverty. Intrigued by the air of mystery about a girl of obvious quality reduced to the role of maidservant, the Earl decides to discover why a beautiful young woman of strong principles has been reduced to such extreme measures. Discovering her to have gentle hands and wonderful nursing skills he employs her as his private nurse and turns his sharp mind to uncovering her secrets and learns his own lessons in love in the process.

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Hypnotism Molly Moon is no ordinary orphan. When she finds a mysterious old book on hypnotism, she discovers she can make people do whatever she wants. But a sinister stranger is watching her every move and he'll do anything to steal her hypnotic secret...

For anyone who fears the thought of writing and giving a speech--be it to business associates, or at a wedding--help is at hand. Acclaimed presidential speechwriter Peggy Noonan shares her secrets to becoming a confidence, persuasive speaker demystifying topics including: Finding you own authentic voice Developing a text that interest you Acing the all-important first paragraph Using logic to move your audience Creating, developing, and reinventing the "core speech" for diverse audiences Strengthening your speech with a vital element: humor Winnowing your thought down to the essentials Handling professional jargon, clich s, and the sound bite syndrome Presenting your speech in the best way Collecting intellectual income--conversing your speech treasures Breaking all the rules and still succeeding Reading for inspiration--how to use the excellence of others Complete with lessons, tips and memorable examples, On Speaking Well shows us how to create forceful, persuasive, relevant speeches that will resonate with our audiences. Engaging, informative, and always entertaining, this is undoubtedly the authoritative how-to guide for anyone writing or giving a speech

A Far-out adventure! The President of the United States has chosen Stanley Lambchop and his family to become the first humans to fly in the Star Scout, a new top-secret spaceship. Stanley's most exciting adventure is about to begin. He'll meet the Queen of England, have a birthday party in outer space, and save a whole planet of aliens from danger. Oh, that Stanley!

Is Stanley flat again!Stanley Lambchop has had his share of unusual adventures. But being flat was one thing he thought he was through with forever. Then one morning, he discovers he was wrong. Still, there is so much that a boy who is only one inch thick can do that a round person can’t. Maybe this time, all it will take is one amazing event for everything to finally make sense.

Bereaved of her beloved father at sixteen, and now her mother, Belinda Wyncombe?s only comfort is that she still has the family?s home. Until she finds her irresponsible stepfather, Captain D?Arcy Rowland, has squandered their money and fraudulently mortgaged the house. This means he faces jail while Belinda faces penury, unless she complies with her stepfather?s shameful scheme to gain and ruthlessly exploit the trust of the famed adventurer ?LuckyLogan, who has made a fortune with his legendary ability to find diamonds, gold and other precious metals wherever he travels. Every fibre of Belinda?s being recoils from such deceit more so when she finds that Marcus ?LuckyLogan is not the greedy fortune hunter of her imagining but a generous, handsome and heroic man. When murderous thugs come for Marcus in the dead of night, it is Belinda who raises the alarm and saves his life. And when he kisses her,Belinda is suddenly, utterly, in love but surely her love is doomed by her deceit?

Following the sudden death of his rakish father, Seldon Burn unexpectedly inherits the title of Duke of Otterburn. Returning to the family estate, he swiftly discovers that the title is the only thing he has inherited – along with a mountain of his father’s debts and nothing to pay them with. A brave and proud soldier, nothing has prepared the new Duke for the devastation to the family coffers caused by his late father’s love of lavish entertainment, Gaiety Girls and good living. Meeting with the family Solicitor, the Duke is horrified to discover the Ducal properties are crumbling, everything of value is entailed and even the racehorses have not been schooled properly. Desperately seeking to rebuild the family fortune and honourably fulfil his duty of care to the old and infirm of the village, his cousin Edith, a sophisticated Socialite, offers a solution. She suggests that he follows in the footsteps of many an impoverished English aristocrat and marries a wealthy American heiress – she even has a fitting bride in mind from her recent visit to New York. With no viable alternative and a pressing demand for money, a wedding is hastily arranged – but will the English traditions of generations of the Burn’s family be overshadowed by the razzle-dazzle of the Duke’s mother-in-law to be, Mrs. Vandevilt, the renowned New York hostessHorrified at being married for his title and not love, the Duke is so angry that he barely considers the feelings of his young and vulnerable bride. Meanwhile, the lovely Magnolia Vandevilt, one of the richest heiresses in America, is equally disgusted and contemptuous of a man who is marrying her only for her money. Joined together in holy matrimony, can this marriage of convenience ever be more than a disappointment and battleground as both parties dream of the love they might have had?

A perilous promise Two healthy kits have just been born in RiverClan Oakkit and Stormkit. The whole Clan rejoices, and no cat is more pleased than their mother, who immediately recognizes her kits’ innate skill and bravery. But when tragedy befalls Stormkit and he is permanently disfigured, his mother renames him Crookedkit and casts him aside. As the young cat grows in strength, he dreams of becoming Clan leader. Then a mysterious cat appears in his dreams, whispering of prophecies untold and destinies undiscovered. She proclaims that Crookedkit will have all that he desires but he must pledge his undying loyalty to RiverClan. No cat could ever have imagined the terror and destruction that would lie in one hastily made, seemingly harmless, promise.

IACP Cookbook Award Winner (Culinary Travel) Part Grand Tour of France, part history of French cuisine: an irresistible journey, from Paris to Provence, to find the perfect meal An expat Paris resident for more than twenty years, John Baxter began noticing an alarming trend: just as species of plants and animals are rapidly facing extinction globally, so too are the traditional ingredients and techniques of classic French cooking and eating. Indeed, he worried that the soul of the world most revered national cuisine is in danger of disappearing, as centuries-old ways of cooking, preparation, and farming wither away. Spurred to action, Baxter set off across the country on an unforgettable quest to taste the last great French dishes before they disappear forever from Paris surviving haute cuisine establishments to the tiny local restaurants that still serve the remarkable regional dishes of Provence, Normandy, Cote d Azur, and more.

From the author of the New York Times bestselling How to Read Literature Like a Professor comes a highly entertaining and informative new book on the twenty-five works of literature that have most shaped the American character. Foster applies his much-loved combination of wit, know-how, and analysis to explain how each work has shaped our very existence as readers, students, teachers, and Americans. Foster illuminates how books such as The Last of the Mohicans , Moby-Dick , My ?ntonia , The Great Gatsby , The Maltese Falcon , Their Eyes Were Watching God , On the Road , The Crying of Lot 49 , and others captured an American moment, how they influenced our perception of nationhood and citizenship, and what about them endures in the American character. Twenty-five Books That Shaped America is a fun and enriching guide to America through its literature.

Three young heirs, imprisoned by anunscrupulous uncle, escaped to the sea,to the streets, to faraway battle awaiting the day when they wouldreturn to reclaim their birthright . . . Lord Rafe Easton may be of noble blood, but survival taughthim to rely only on himself and to love no one. Yet when he setseyes on Miss Evelyn Chambers, an earl's illegitimate daughter,he is determined to have her, if only as his mistress . . . After her father's death, Evelyn Chambers never imaginedshe would be sold to the highest bidder, yet circumstancesgive her little choice but to accept the lord's indecent proposal. Rafe is wealthy, as well as ruthless. Yet his coldnessbelies deep passion and deeper secrets. If she must be his,Evelyn intends to lay bare everything the Lord of Pembrookis hiding. But dark discoveries threaten to destroythem both until unexpected love leadsthe last lost lord home . . .

Royden Napier, Baron Saint-Bryce, is tall, dark, and ruthless and on the hunt for a dangerous beauty . . . On the eve of her escape to the Continent, bold, beautiful Lisette Colburne accepts a proposal she dare not refuse: masquerade as the future bride of the steely-eyed Royden Napier and help him solve his most dangerous case. Soon Lisette is in even greater danger of losing her heart to the one man with the power to destroy her . . . Estranged from his aristocratic family, the enigmatic Napier has forged a reputation as Scotland Yard most relentless police commissioner. He vowed to bring Lisette to justice but with every forbidden kiss and every tantalizing touch, he finds himself becoming less convinced of her guilt . . . and more certain he must have her. But when danger touches Lisette, can he save her?

The Duke of Buckhurst, handsome, wealthy, a brilliant horseman and known to everyone as ‘Buck’ has sworn that he will never marry. Cutting a swathe through the sophisticated beauties of the Beau Monde, who are drawn to his sardonic charm like social butterflies to a bright light, he has only one requirement for his amours – that they are safely married to someone else. That is until he discovers that his heir apparent, his dissolute cousin Edmund, has married an actress. Horrified that a common showgirl will become the next Duchess and bring his family name into disrepute, the Duke is forced by his family into finding a bride. Bored by the very thought of being tied to a young, inexperienced young woman, he sets his loyal sisters the daunting task of choosing a suitable wife within the month, so that he can be married before the Royal races at Ascot. With time running out, Buck’s sisters are in despair – until they meet Lady Samala Wynn, the daughter of the honorable but impoverished Earl of Kenwyn. Lovely, innocent and angel-faced, she seems the ideal bride, but can they persuade her to marry their rakish brother, BuckFor Samala is a young woman with her own ideas about marriage – and they include love and romance. But can a marriage between two strangers, built on a foundation of the groom’s resentment and the bride’s family duty, ever bring happiness and loveAs the Duke, furious at the prospect of losing his freedom, dallies with the latest married woman to fall all too eagerly into his arms and Samala worries how her beloved father will cope living alone in his crumbling estate, it seems that this is a match that is doomed to bring nothing but sadness.

Lady Loretta's father, the well-respected Lord Lieutenant of the County, is doing his best to force her into marriage with the Marquis of Sauerdun, the son of a good friend. Whilst her father thinks he is making a good match for his beloved daughter, she is aghast at the thought of an arranged marriage and vows she will only marry for love. Searching her mind for a way to stay free to pursue the kind of love she has always dreamt of, she happens upon a good plan. What if she could prove to her straight-laced father that the man he means for her is not only an unsuitable husband, but a philandering rake tooWith the Marquis’s reputation for love affairs with beautiful, seductive and preferably married women well known in Society, surely this would not prove too difficultSeizing upon this last ditch attempt to stay unmarried, Lady Loretta devises a scheme to prove to her father that her intended is an unrepentant heartbreaker. Throwing herself upon the charity and good nature of her notorious cousin Ingrid, whose scandalous love affair has already rocked polite English Society, she heads for Paris alone. Delighted at how quickly she has escaped and enjoying the freedom of her adventure, Loretta determines to find out more about the Marquis and wastes no time in seeking him out. But Fate has its own plans for this spirited English beauty and before too long she is caught up in a web of deceit that threatens to change her life forever.

Although Chandra’s father Professor Barnard Wardell is the world’s most distinguished Sanskrit scholar, his earnings are barely enough to support him, his daughter and their faithful servant Ellen. So when the dashing Lord Damon Frome invites him on a highly paid expedition to Nepal it is a Godsend. But, having spent much of his advance, the Professor is struck down by a heart attack. So, to the fury of the woman-hating Lord Frome, demure young Chandra arrives in Nepal in her father’s place. An arduous journey through Nepal’s mountains follows, during which Chandra is entrusted with a sacred treasure by a mysterious wise man. Soon the haughty Lord and the scholarly girl find another treasure that cannot be measured in money – the precious love that lies hidden in the Himalayan clouds.

This "masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of American history" (New Republic ) made history when it was originally published in 1988. It redefined how Reconstruction was viewed by historians and people everywhere in its chronicling of how Americans -- black and white -- responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and the end of slavery. This "smart book of enormous strengths" (Boston Globe ) has since gone on to become the classic work on the wrenching post-Civil War period -- an era whose legacy reverberates still today in the United States.

The time when "fashion" was defined by French designers whose clothes could be afforded only by elite has ended. Now designers take their cues from mainstream consumers and creativity is channeled more into mass-marketing clothes than into designing them. Indeed, one need look no further than the Gap to see proof of this. In The End of Fashion, Wall Street Journal, reporter Teri Agins astutely explores this seminal change, laying bare all aspects of the fashion industry from manufacturing, retailing, anmd licensing to image making and financing. Here as well are fascinating insider vignettes that show Donna Karan fighting with financiers,the rivalry between Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, and the commitment to haute conture that sent Isaac Mizrahi's business spiraling.