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"One of today's best popularizers of science "—Kirkus Reviews

Loyal readers of the monthly "Universe" essays in Natural History magazine have long recognized Neil deGrasse Tyson's talent for guiding them through the mysteries of the cosmos with stunning clarity and childlike enthusiasm. Here Tyson compiles his favorite essays across a myriad of cosmic topics. The title essay introduces readers to the physics of black holes by explaining just what would happen to your body if you fell into one, while "Hollywood Nights" assails Hollywood's feeble efforts to get its night skies right. Tyson is the world's best-known astrophysicist, and he's at his best here, as a natural teacher who simplifies the complexities of astrophysics while sharing his infectious excitement for our universe..
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Designed with the beginner in mind and useful to anyone interested in astronomy Star Maps for Beginners is the classic guide to viewing and understanding the heavens. Its superb maps -- drawn in the shape of two crossed ellipses -- provide the reader with a unique perspective on the sky and have been widely acknowledged as the easiest system yet devised for locating any constellation at any time of the year.

Now revised for the 1990s, with updated planet charts and a new section on spotting meteor showers. Star Maps for Beginners includes:

12 complete maps -- one for each month -- showing the positions of the constellations viewed from every direction
a synoptic table that shows how to choose the proper map for use at any time special tables that give approximate positions of the planets for the years 1992 through 1997
the most up-to-date overview of the solar system available today the latest facts about each of the planets -- orbit, size, atmosphere, internal structure, climate, and terrain
a full chapter on the history and development of the constellations, and the ancient legends and mythological lore surrounding them
a special section on meteors -- how they originate and when and where to spot them.

Initially published in 1942 and now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Star Maps for Beginners has sold more than 450,000 copies..
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Product Description
Building on the success of its storefront and fulfillment services, Amazon now allows businesses to "rent" computing power, data storage and bandwidth on its vast network platform. This book demonstrates how developers working with small- to mid-sized companies can take advantage of Amazon Web Services (AWS) such as the Simple Storage Service (S3), Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Simple Queue Service (SQS), Flexible Payments Service (FPS), and SimpleDB to build web-scale business applications. With AWS, Amazon offers a new paradigm for IT infrastructure: use what you need, as you need it, and pay as you go. Programming Web Services explains how you can access Amazon's open APIs to store and run applications, rather than spend precious time and resources building your own. With this book, you'll learn all the technical details you need to: Store and retrieve any amount of data using application servers, unlimited data storage, and bandwidth with the Amazon S3 service Buy computing time using Amazon EC2's interface to requisition machines, load them with an application environment, manage access permissions, and run your image using as many or few systems as needed Use Amazon's web-scale messaging infrastructure to store messages as they travel between computers with Amazon SQS Leverage the Amazon FPS service to structure payment instructions and allow the movement of money between any two entities, humans or computers Create and store multiple data sets, query your data easily, and return the results using Amazon SimpleDB. Scale up or down at a moment's notice, using these services to employ as much time and space as you need Whether you're starting a new online business, need to ramp upexisting services, or require an offsite backup for your home, Programming Web Services gives you the background and the practical knowledge you need to start using AWS. Other books explain how to build web services. This book teaches businesses how to take make use of existing services from an established technology leader.

Create HTML POST Forms That Allow Your Web Site Visitors to Upload Files Into Your S3 Account Using a Standard Web Browser
By James Murty, creator of the JetS3t Java S3 library and author of Programming Amazon Web Services

Amazon’s Simple Storage Service (S3) provides cheap and unlimited online data storage for anyone with a credit card and an Amazon Web Service (AWS) account. If you have an AWS account, you can interact with the S3 service using specialized tools to upload and manage your files. It is very convenient to have access to this online storage resource for yourself, but there may be situations where you would like to allow others to upload files into your account.

For this purpose, S3 accepts uploads via specially-crafted and pre-authorized HTML POST forms. You can include these forms in any web page to allow your web site visitors to send you files using nothing more than a standard web browser.

In this article, I will demonstrate how to build simple S3 POST forms. I will assume that you have already signed up for the S3 service, and that you have an S3 client program for creating buckets and viewing files in your account. Before you proceed, create your own bucket to store uploaded files — in the examples below I will use a bucket named s3-bucket.

POST Form Web Page

Here is a web page with an S3 POST Form that you can use as a template for your own forms:

                     File to upload to S3:         

This template demonstrates some important features of an S3 POST form, and the web page that contains it:

• The web page that contains the form has a meta tag in the head section that tells web browsers to use the UTF-8 unicode character encoding.
• The form’s action parameter specifies an S3 URL that includes the name of your destination bucket, in this case the bucket called s3-bucket.
• The form contains a number of input fields with parameter names and values that will be sent to the S3 service. If any required input fields are missing, or if a field has an incorrect value, the service will not accept uploads from the form.

The S3 service uses information from the form’s input fields to authorize uploads, and to set the properties of uploaded file objects. Here is a description of the most common input fields:

Field Name	Description
key	A name for the S3 object that will store the uploaded file’s data. This name can be set in advance when you know what information the user will upload, for example: uploads/monthly_report.txt. If you do not know the name of the file a user will upload, the key value can include the special variable ${filename} which will be replaced with the name of the uploaded file. For example, the key value uploads/${filename} will become the object name uploads/Birthday Cake.jpg if the user uploads a file called Birthday Cake.jpg.
AWSAccessKeyId	The Access Key Identifier credential for your Amazon Web Service account.
acl	The access control policy to apply to the uploaded file. If you do not want the uploaded file to be made available to the general public, you should use the value private. To make the uploaded file publicly available, use the value public-read.
success_action_redirect	The URL address to which the user’s web browser will be redirected after the file is uploaded. This URL should point to a “Successful Upload” page on your web site, so you can inform your users that their files have been accepted. S3 will add bucket, key and etag parameters to this URL value to inform your web application of the location and hash value of the uploaded file.
policy	A Base64-encoded policy document that applies rules to file uploads sent by the S3 POST form. This document is used to authorize the form, and to impose conditions on the files that can be uploaded. Policy documents will be described in more detail below.
signature	A signature value that authorizes the form and proves that only you could have created it. This value is calculated by signing the Base64-encoded policy document with your AWS Secret Key, a process that I will demonstrate below.
Content-Type	The content type (mime type) that will be applied to the uploaded file, for example image/jpeg for JPEG picture files. If you do not know what type of file a user will upload, you can either prompt the user to provide the appropriate content type, or write browser scripting code that will automatically set this value based on the file’s name. If you do not set the content type with this field, S3 will use the default value application/octet-stream which may prevent some web browsers from being able to display the file properly.
file	The input field that allows a user to select a file to upload. This field must be the last one in the form, as any fields below it are ignored by S3.

This overview of the form’s input fields should help you to modify the template POST form to suit your own purposes. At a minimum, you will need to edit the form’s action parameter to point to your own S3 bucket, and set the value of the AWSAccessKeyId field to your AWS Access Key credential.

To complete the form and make it acceptable to the S3 service, you will also need to generate a policy document and signature value.

Policy Document

S3 POST forms include a policy document that authorizes the form and imposes limits on the files that can be uploaded. When S3 receives a file via a POST form, it will check the policy document and signature to confirm that the form was created by someone who is allowed to store files in the target S3 account.

A policy document is a collection of properties expressed in JavaScript Object Notation, which simply means that the document’s structure and content must conform to a certain format. Every policy document contains two top-level items:

• expiration - A Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) timestamp that specifies when the policy document will expire. Once a policy document has expired, the upload form will no longer work.
• conditions - A set of rules to define the values that may be included in the form’s input fields, and to impose size limits for file uploads.

Here is a policy document corresponding to the POST form template above. This policy has an expiration date of January 1st 2009:

{"expiration": "2009-01-01T00:00:00Z",    "conditions": [       {"bucket": "s3-bucket"},       ["starts-with", "$key", "uploads/"],      {"acl": "private"},      {"success_action_redirect": "http://localhost/"},      ["starts-with", "$Content-Type", ""],      ["content-length-range", 0, 1048576]    ]  }  

To create a valid S3 POST form, you must include a policy document whose conditions section contains a rule for almost every input field in the form. At a minimum, this document must include rules for the bucket and key values of the uploaded file object. In addition to these two rules, you will need to include a rule for every other input field in the form except for AWSAccessKeyId, signature, policy and file.

Because our template POST form includes the input fields acl, success_action_redirect, and Content-Type, our policy document includes rules corresponding to these fields. Our policy document also includes an extra content-length-range rule that limits the size of files that can be uploaded.

There are three kinds of rules you can apply in your policy document:

1. Equality rule, which checks that an input field’s value is set to a given string. An equality rule is expressed as a name and value pair within brace characters, for example: {"acl": "private"}
2. Starts-With rule, which checks that an input field’s value begins with a given string. If the given string is empty, S3 will check only that the field is present in the form and will not care what value it contains. A starts-with rule is expressed as a three-element array that contains the term starts-with, followed by the name of the input field preceded by a $ symbol, then the prefix string value for comparison.
   In the policy document above, we use starts-with rules for the key and Content-Type fields because we do not know in advance the name of the file a user will upload, or what type of file it will be. The rule for the Content-Type field uses an empty string for comparison, which means it will permit any content type value. The rule for the object’s key name uses the prefix string “upload/”, which means that the key value must always start with the upload/ subdirectory path.
3. Content length rule, which checks that the size of an uploaded file is between a given minimum and maximum value. If this rule is not included in a policy document, users will be able to upload files of any size up to the 5GB limit imposed by S3.
   A content length rule is expressed as a three-element array that contains the term content-length-range, followed by integer values to set the minimum and maximum file size. The policy document above includes a content length rule that will prevent the form from uploading files larger than 1MB in size (1,048,576 bytes).

It is important to make sure that your policy document corresponds exactly to your S3 POST form. If there are any discrepancies between the input field values in your form and the rule values in your policy document, or if your form contains input fields that do not have corresponding rules in your policy, the S3 service will reject the form and return an incomprehensible XML error message to your users.

Sign Your S3 POST Form

To complete your S3 POST form, you must sign it to prove to S3 that you actually created the form. If you do not sign the form properly, or if someone else tries to modify your form after it has been signed, the service will be unable to authorize it and will reject the upload.

To sign your form you need to perform two steps:

1. Base64-encode the policy document, and include it in the form’s policy input field.
2. Calculate a signature value (SHA-1 HMAC) from the encoded policy document using your AWS Secret Key credential as a password. Include this value in the form’s signature input field after Base64-encoding it.

Almost all programming languages include libraries for performing these two steps. Here are some example code fragments to do the job with different languages, assuming you have already defined the variables policy_document and aws_secret_key.

Ruby

require 'base64'  require 'openssl'  require 'digest/sha1'    policy = Base64.encode64(policy_document).gsub("\n","")    signature = Base64.encode64(      OpenSSL::HMAC.digest(          OpenSSL::Digest::Digest.new('sha1'),           aws_secret_key, policy)      ).gsub("\n","")  

Java

import sun.misc.BASE64Encoder;  import javax.crypto.Mac;  import javax.crypto.spec.SecretKeySpec;    String policy = (new BASE64Encoder()).encode(      policy_document.getBytes("UTF-8")).replaceAll("\n","");    Mac hmac = Mac.getInstance("HmacSHA1");  hmac.init(new SecretKeySpec(      aws_secret_key.getBytes("UTF-8"), "HmacSHA1"));  String signature = (new BASE64Encoder()).encode(      hmac.doFinal(policy.getBytes("UTF-8")))      .replaceAll("\n", "");  

Python

import base64  import hmac, sha    policy = base64.b64encode(policy_document)    signature = base64.b64encode(      hmac.new(aws_secret_key, policy, sha).digest())  

Once you have calculated the values for the policy and signature input fields and included these values in your form, the form should be complete. Save the web page and form document as an .html file, open it in your favorite web browser, and test it by uploading some files to your S3 bucket.

Conclusion

The form web page and policy document templates in this article should give you a starting point for creating your own upload forms. With some minor modifications to the template documents and a little coding, you will be able to create authorized forms that make it easy for your web site visitors to upload files to your S3 account.

The S3 service’s POST support is a powerful feature with many potential uses. You could create a single upload form to allow your friends and colleagues to send you files that are too large for email, or you could modify your web applications to generate forms on-demand so your users can store their data in S3 rather than on your own server. Just remember that you will be liable for any S3 data transfer and storage fees incurred by the people who use your forms.

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A Walk through the Heavens is a beautiful and easy-to-use guide to the constellations of the northern hemisphere. By following the unique simplified maps, readers will be able to easily find and identify the constellations and the stars within them. Ancient myths and legends of the sky are retold, adding to the mystery of the stars. Written for the complete beginner, this practical guide introduces the patterns of the starry skies in a memorable way. No equipment is needed, apart from normal sight and clear skies. Milton D. Heifetz is a clinical professor of neurosurgery at the University of Southern California and visiting professor at Harvard Medical School. This is his first astronomy book. Wil Tirion is the author of numerous sky guides, including The Cambridge Guide to Stars and Planets (1997), The Cambridge Star Atlas (1996), and The Monthly Sky Guide (Cambridge, 2003). Previous Edition Hb (1998): 00-521-62513-0.
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Extract and analyze mission-critical enterprise data using Microsoft Office 2007

This authoritative volume is a practical guide to the powerful new collaborative Business Intelligence tools available in Office 2007. Using real-world examples and clear explanations, Microsoft Office 2007 Business Intelligence: Reporting, Analysis, and Measurement from the Desktop shows you how to use Excel, Excel Services, SharePoint, and PerformancePoint with a wide range of stand-alone and external data in today's networked office. You will learn how to analyze data and generate reports, scorecards, and dashboards with the Office tools you're already using to help you in your everyday work.

• Create Excel PivotTables and PivotCharts and apply Conditional Formatting
• Convert Excel spreadsheets into Excel Tables with Conditional Formatting and Charting
• Connect external data to Excel using Office Data Connections and SharePoint
• Create SharePoint dashboards that display data from multiple sources
• Add Key Performance Indicators and Excel Services reports to your dashboards
• Harness advanced SQL Server 2005 data analysis tools with the Excel Data Mining Add-In and Visio Cluster Diagrams
• Generate integrated PerformancePoint Scorecards
• Create Visio PivotDiagrams and Windows Mobile spreadsheets

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Your Passport to the Universe

The night sky is alive with many wonders––distant planets, vast star clusters, glowing nebulae, and expansive galaxies, all waiting to be explored Let respected astronomy writer Philip Harrington introduce you to the universe in Star Watch, a complete beginner’s guide to locating, observing, and understanding these celestial objects. You’ll start by identifying the surface features of the Moon, the banded cloud tops of Jupiter, the stunning rings of Saturn, and other members of our solar system. Then you’ll venture out beyond our solar system, where you’ll learn tips and tricks for finding outstanding deep-sky objects from stars to galaxies, including the entire Messier catalog––a primary goal of every serious beginner.

Star Watch features a detailed physical description of each target, including size, distance, and structure, as well as concise directions for locating the objects, handy finder charts, hints on the best times to view each object, and descriptions of what you’ll really see through a small telescope or binoculars and with the naked eye.

Star Watch will transport you to the farthest depths of space––and return you as a well-traveled, experienced stargazer..
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Understanding Global Cultures, Third Edition presents the cultural metaphor as a method for understanding the cultural mindsets of a nation, a cluster of nations, and even of a continent This method involves identifying some phenomenon, activity or institution of a culture that all or most of its members consider important and with which they identify closely. Metaphors are not stereotypes; rather, they rely upon the features of one critical phenomenon of a culture to describe the entire culture. The characteristics of the metaphor then become the basis for describing and understanding the essential features of the culture. For example, the Italians invented the opera and love it passionately. Five key characteristics of the opera are the overture, spectacle and pageantry, voice, externalization, and the interaction between the lead singers and the chorus. These features are used to describe Italy and its cultural mindset. Thus the metaphor is a guide or map that helps such outsiders as students, travelers, and managers on short-term and long-term assignments understand quickly what members of a culture consider important.

New cultural metaphors for nations added to this edition:

- The Canadian Backpack and Flag

- The Danish Christmas Lunch

- French Wine

- China’s Great Wall and Cross-cultural Paradox

- The Singapore Hawker Centers

- Australian Outdoor Recreational Activities

- The Sub Saharan Bush Taxi

A unique feature of the third edition is that it develops a cultural metaphor for the base culture of China (the Great Wall), showing how it influenced both a unifying cultural metaphor among the large Chinese Expatriate communities living in various nations (the Chinese family altar) and the cultural metaphor for Singapore (the Hawker Centers). Another unique feature is the description of cultural metaphors for two continents, Africa and Australia. The Third Edition also groups these cultural metaphors by book parts into overriding themes or general types of cultures such as Authority Ranking, Equality matching, Market Pricing, Cleft, and Torn.

There is now a Web site that the instructor can use to obtain over 100 concepts, applications, and exercises that serve to enrich the learning experience associated with the third edition. It is tailored specifically to the Third Edition. Go to: ww.csusm.edu/mgannon

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Learn cutting-edge technology from Oracle experts

Written by Oracle insiders, this comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about Real Application Clusters -- low-cost hardware platforms that can rival and exceed the quality of service, availability, and scalability of the most expensive mainframe systems.

• Concepts covered are applicable to all previous versions of Oracle
• Tuning and troubleshooting tips, providing insight on the most advanced diagnostics available
• Detailed coverage of advanced RAC concepts
• Working code for all examples available online

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The authors explain their theory that sub-atomic particles from exploded stars have more effect on the climate than manmade CO2. Their conclusion stems from Svensmark's research which has shown the previously unsuspected role that cosmic rays play in creating clouds. During the last 100 years cosmic rays became scarcer because unusually vigorous action by the Sun batted away many of them. Fewer cosmic rays meant fewer clouds--and a warmer world. The theory, simply put here but explained in fascinating detail, emerges at a time of intense public and political concern about climate change. Motivated only by their concern that science must be trustworthy, Svensmark and Calder invite their readers to put aside their preconceptions about manmade global warming and look afresh at the role of Nature in this hottest of world issues..
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The most famous guide to the stars is now the most accessible! Generations of amateur astronomers have called it simply Norton's: the most famous star atlas in the world. Now in a beautifully redesigned, two-color landmark 20th edition, this combination star atlas and reference guide has no match in the field.

First published in 1910, coinciding with the first of two appearances by Halley's Comet last century, Norton's owes much of its legendary success to its unique maps, arranged in slices or gores, each covering approximately one-fifth of the sky. Apart from being presented more accessibly than ever before, the text and tables have been revised and updated to account for the new and exciting developments in our observation of the cosmos. The star maps themselves were plotted using advanced computer techniques yielding outstanding accuracy and legibility. Every heavenly object visible to the naked eye is included--stars to magnitude 6, star clusters, and galaxies, as well as other celestial objects. Presented with an authority that has stood for generations, observation hints, technical explanations, and pointers to specialized information sources make this the only essential guide to the night sky.

The updated and revised hardcover 20th edition also has new moon maps, clearer tables, new diagrams and a section on the latest computer driven telescopes--today's perfect home reference for curious minds from beginners to dedicated star gazers!

What are people saying? ... "The unique and time-honored projection used in the Norton's star charts is particularly handy and has always been my favorite." --Professor Owen Gingerich, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

"Once in a blue moon a book appears to dramatically and forever change its subject; in short, the work becomes an indispensable resource for generations. Norton's Star Atlas is such a work." --Leif J. Robinson, Editor Emeritus, Sky and Telescope

"Ian Ridpath is one of the most dedicated and prolific writers on astronomy. His works all have clarity and authority, and he is ideally suited to infuse new life into a classic." --Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, University of Cambridge, author of Our Final Hour

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