In this masterful collection of horror stories, George Zebrowski divides these nineteen tales into personal, political, and metaphysical terrors—stories to scare you individually, stories to frighten you as a social animal, and stories that should terrify the entire human race. In “I Walked with Fidel,” a young man encounters a once politically powerful zombie; “Jumper” focuses on a young woman with a dark and troubled past, while in “The Coming of Christ the Joker,” the lighthearted banter of a celebrity TV talk show becomes something far more serious. “A Piano Full of Dead Spiders” is an eerie story of genius, its demands, and its delusions; in “Passing Nights,” the truth behind a recurring nightmare is revealed; “The Soft Terrible Music” depicts a man who must hide his past even from himself. And in the title story, the novella “Black Pockets,” Zebrowski asks: What happens to a man when his desire for revenge becomes all-consuming? With an introduction by Howard Waldrop and an afterword by the author, George Zebrowski reveals himself in Black Pockets and Other Dark Thoughts as a writer who can play on our more disturbing emotions even as he impels us to deeper thoughts.

Black Bears presents readers with substantive yet easily digestible information on this widespread yet sometimes feared animal. Where do black bears live? What enemies do they have? How do they communicate? What issues exist in the controversial relationship between bears and humans? This book contains all the information you need to know to become familiar with these fascinating animals. Accompanied by numerous full-color photos of black bears in their natural habitat, this handy field guide makes an excellent take-home souvenir and reference for anybody interested in black bears.

Dedicated to all the African American Quarterbacks that persevered and struggled in the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s to create a level and fairer playing field that exists today in Pro Football for Black Quarterbacks. So, a ten-year-old Black youngster in his backyard throwing a football through a tire hanging from a tree limb can not only dream of being a Pro Quarterback but can do it. The struggle was real.

Unlike other pocket guides, this guide is designed specifically to address topics that the author has found to cause problems, issues, and concerns for most Black Belts over the years. As such, its primary purpose is to serve as a useful reference guide for the Black Belt throughout his or her busy day, and particularly in meetings. Though not intended to be a tool guide like other pocket guides or a preparation guide for the ASQ certifications, it will nonetheless serve as a useful reference guide for both the ASQ Black Belt and Master Black Belt certification examinations. Black belts will enjoy reading this pocket guide and find it invaluable in their daily work.

Unlike other pocket guides, this guide is designed specifically to address topics that the author has found to cause problems, issues, and concerns for most Black Belts over the years. As such, its primary purpose is to serve as a useful reference guide for the Black Belt throughout his or her busy day, and particularly in meetings. Though not intended to be a tool guide like other pocket guides or a preparation guide for the ASQ certifications, it will nonetheless serve as a useful reference guide for both the ASQ Black Belt and Master Black Belt certification examinations. Black belts will enjoy reading this pocket guide and find it invaluable in their daily work.

Six Sigma Black Belts are expected to have the skills of a good experimenter, possessing both a deep understanding of statistics and a knowledge of the industry in which they work. This book is written for the Six Sigma Black Belt who needs an understanding of many statistical methods but does not use all of these methods every day. It is intended to be used as a quick reference, providing basic details and formulas. The methods presented here are laid out according to the Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) phases in which they are typically used. Included in appendices are a flowchart that provides the correct statistical test for a given use and type; flowcharts depicting the five steps for hypothesis testing; the statistical formulas in tables to serve as a quick reference; and statistical tables.

Firefighters's Little Black Book is a compilation of descriptive behaviors that those who are currently serving in the fire service, or have already served a career in the fire service, are quite familiar with in one way or another. I wrote this quick and easy read to act as a daily reminder for everyone on the job as to what is expected of us on and off the job by our family, co-workers, and ultimately our bosses, and the citizens we are sworn to protect and serve, just what will be tolerated by all of them. It is to provoke knowing how critical it is to have our integrity, ethics, and morals in check means to our overall life's outcomes. I share my personal failures with you all in an attempt to hopefully "stop you in your tracks" and not cross over those dangerous lines. Lines that if you do cross could end your career and destroy your life.

After decades of painstaking planning, NASA's first dedicated exoplanet detection mission, the Kepler space telescope, was launched in 2009 from Cape Canaveral. Kepler began a years-long mission of looking for Earth-like planets amongst the millions of stars in the northern constellations of Lyra and Cygnus. Kepler's successful launch meant that it was only a matter of time before we would know just how many Earth-like planets exist in our galaxy. A revolution in thinking about our place in the universe was about to occur, depending on what Kepler found. Are earths commonplace or rare? Are we likely to be alone in the universe? Only Kepler could start to answer these vexing questions. Universal Life provides a unique viewpoint on the epochal events of the last two decades and the excitement of what will transpire in the coming decades. Author Alan Boss's perspective on this story is unmatched. Boss is the Chair of NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group, and was also on the Kepler Mission science team. Kepler proved that essentially every star in the night sky has a planetary system, and that most of these systems contain a habitable world, potentially capable of evolving and supporting life. Universal Life summarizes the current state of exoEarth knowledge, and also reveals what will happen next in the post-Kepler world, namely the narrowing of the search for habitable worlds to the stars that are the closest to Earth, those that offer the best chances for future ground- and space-based telescopes to search for, and detect, possible signs of life in their atmospheres. We have come far in the search for life beyond the Earth, but the most exciting phase is about to begin: we may soon be able to prove that we are not alone in the universe.