101 Track Plans has been a classic for model railroaders since its publication five decades ago. Now, a new book follows up where the original leaves off. 101 More Track Plans for Model Railroaders evokes the look and feel of its predecessor, with a simple premise: a multitude of track plans to inspire modelers. Featuring plans from Model Railroader magazine from the '60s, '70s, and early '80s, each track plan has a newly written, informational description of the design. The track plans range in size from simple 4 x 8 foot and smaller layouts to room- and garage-sized showpieces, with the majority focusing on mid-size layouts.

Any modeler who wants to paint, decal, or weather locomotives, rolling stock and structures will find plenty of in-depth, how-to techniques in this updated edition New prototype photos, current manufacturers, and the latest products are featured along with several new projects that include making your own decals with an inkjet printer and a multi-color painting project for a locomotive.

Large surface computing devices (wall-mounted or tabletop) with touch interfaces and their application to collaborative data analysis, an increasingly important and prevalent activity, is the primary topic of this book. Our goals are to outline the fundamentals of surface computing (a still maturing technology), review relevant work on collaborative data analysis, describe frameworks for understanding collaborative processes, and provide a better understanding of the opportunities for research and development. We describe surfaces as display technologies with which people can interact directly, and emphasize how interaction design changes when designing for large surfaces. We review efforts to use large displays, surfaces or mixed display environments to enable collaborative analytic activity. Collaborative analysis is important in many domains, but to provide concrete examples and a specific focus, we frequently consider analysis work in the security domain, and in particular the challenges security personnel face in securing networks from attackers, and intelligence analysts encounter when analyzing intelligence data. Both of these activities are becoming increasingly collaborative endeavors, and there are huge opportunities for improving collaboration by leveraging surface computing. This work highlights for interaction designers and software developers the particular challenges and opportunities presented by interaction with surfaces. We have reviewed hundreds of recent research papers, and report on advancements in the fields of surface-enabled collaborative analytic work, interactive techniques for surface technologies, and useful theory that can provide direction to interaction design work. We also offer insight into issues that arise when developing applications for multi-touch surfaces derived from our own experiences creating collaborative applications. We present these insights at a level appropriate for all members of the software design and development team. Table of Contents: List of Figures / Acknowledgments / Figure Credits / Purpose and Direction / Surface Technologies and Collaborative Analysis Systems / Interacting with Surface Technologies / Collaborative Work Enabled by Surfaces / The Theory and the Design of Surface Applications / The Development of Surface Applications / Concluding Comments / Bibliography / Authors' Biographies

Modern Freight Cars, a new book by Jeff Wilson, provides an overview of freight cars from the 1960s through today. This is an essential guide for model railroaders who model the 1960s through today, as well as railfans and freight train enthusiasts. The book features more than 200 photos and covers various types of cars, including boxcars, hoppers, and gondolas, and how they evolved, as well as new car types, including intermodal cars and 89-foot auto tracks. The book also gives a deeper look into how different industries use freight cars, when cars entered service, and the dates when rules and restrictions took place. Other topics include: Freight car evolution (size and weight increases; new car types) Car components (brake systems, trucks, and couplers) Hi-cube and specialty boxcars Intermodal cars (flat, spine, and well cars) Open and enclosed auto racks Mechanical and cryogenic refrigerator cars Center-beam flatcars And much more!

This is the one-source guide modelers need to learn to install trackwork properly for smooth operation in any scale. This updated edition showcases the newest products, current manufacturers, and the latest techniques, including how to lay flextrack, how to install turnouts and switch machines, how to install roadbed, how to ballast and detail track, and much more.

Buddhism in the United States is often viewed in connection with practitioners in the Northeast and on the West Coast, but in fact, it has been spreading and evolving throughout the United States since the mid-nineteenth century. In Dixie Dharma, Jeff Wilson argues that region is crucial to understanding American Buddhism. Through the lens of a multidenominational Buddhist temple in Richmond, Virginia, Wilson explores how Buddhists are adapting to life in the conservative evangelical Christian culture of the South, and how traditional Southerners are adjusting to these newer members on the religious landscape. Introducing a host of overlooked characters, including Buddhist circuit riders, modernist Pure Land priests, and pluralistic Buddhists, Wilson shows how regional specificity manifests itself through such practices as meditation vigils to heal the wounds of the slave trade. He argues that southern Buddhists at once use bodily practices, iconography, and meditation tools to enact distinct sectarian identities even as they enjoy a creative hybridity.

A collection of Fiction and Creative Nonfiction stories as well as Poetry by promising contemporary authors from Jacksonville, FL.

In 1996, Intersal Inc. made one of the most important maritime discoveries in history when they located the infamous Queen Anne's Revenge buried in shallow water off the coast of North Carolina. While excavating the site, divers with the Underwater Archaeology Branch recovered a bronze bell, cannon and numerous eighteenth century artifacts from the former slave vessel, turned pirate flagship. They also found small amounts of gold dust, but the stolen fortune of Captain Edward Teach; aka, the notorious Blackbeard, remained a mystery. * Rose Rodriquez, a direct descendant of Henri, a former slave aboard the Queen Anne's revenge, is determined to wrap up the loose ends of her life with dignity and repair the severed relationship with her estranged daughter, Isabelle. Rose's latest project includes sorting through an old leather portfolio filled with mementos from her childhood spent searching for Blackbeard's lost treasure with her father. Rose gives the portfolio to her granddaughter, Sophie without knowing the seemingly innocuous gift would set off a chain reaction exposing family secrets of love, betrayal and murder. * As Sophie unravels the tapestry of clues to Blackbeard's real life, she also discovers the truth concerning the disappearance of her father, Alex. Immersed in a maze of adventure shrouded by a deadly curse, Sophie must decide what she is willing to risk for an opportunity at unimaginable wealth by solving the intriguing historic mystery surrounding the lost riches of the Queen Anne's Revenge.