This volume contains a unique collection of mathematical essays that resent a battery of techniques and approaches for the statistical analysis of heavy tailed distributions and processes. The articles cover a number of applications of heavy tailed modeling, running the gamut from insurance and finance, to telecommunications and the World Wide Web, and classical signal/noise detection problems.

The study of the ocean is almost as old as the history of mankind itself. When the first seafarers set out in their primitive ships they had to understand, as best they could, tides and currents, eddies and vortices, for lack of understanding often led to loss of live. These primitive oceanographers were, of course, primarily statisticians. They collected what empirical data they could, and passed it down, ini tially by word of mouth, to their descendants. Data collection continued throughout the millenia, and although data bases became larger, more re liable, and better codified, it was not really until surprisingly recently that mankind began to try to understand the physics behind these data, and, shortly afterwards, to attempt to model it. The basic modelling tool of physical oceanography is, today, the partial differential equation. Somehow, we all 'know" that if only we could find the right set of equations, with the right initial and boundary conditions, then we could solve the mysteries of ocean dynamics once and for all.

These notes, based on lectures delivered in Saint Flour, provide an easy introduction to the authors' 2007 Springer monograph "Random Fields and Geometry." While not as exhaustive as the full monograph, they are also less exhausting, while still covering the basic material, typically at a more intuitive and less technical level. They also cover some more recent material relating to random algebraic topology and statistical applications. The notes include an introduction to the general theory of Gaussian random fields, treating classical topics such as continuity and boundedness. This is followed by a quick review of geometry, both integral and Riemannian, with an emphasis on tube formulae, to provide the reader with the material needed to understand and use the Gaussian kinematic formula, the main result of the notes. This is followed by chapters on topological inference and random algebraic topology, both of which provide applications of the main results.

The raucously witty Yiddish classic about a Jewish Paradise afflicted by very human temptations and pains, in a new translation Samuel Abba is a young angel who has just been expelled from Paradise. As a result of a crafty trick, Samuel has retained his memory of his previous life. The humans around him plead for details of that other realm, but the Paradise of his mischievous stories is far from their expectations: a world of drunken angels, lewd patriarchs and the very same divisions and temptations that shape the human world. Witty, playful and slyly profound, The Book of Paradise is the only novel by one of the great Yiddish writers. Published here in a lively new translation by Robert Adler Peckerar, it is a comic masterpiece that irreverently blurs the boundaries between ancient and modern and sacred and profane.

Companies exhibit at conferences for a variety of reasons.

Some look at the process as an expense as they seek to protect their market share.

Others approach exhibiting as an investment in their business. Those are the companies that build and maintain real relationships during and after the event.

It is essential to set measurable objectives in advance of the conference, so you can determine the ROI on your investment. Just showing up, setting up a booth, and waiting for the magic to happen is not going to cut it.

Over the ten years that we've run Affiliate Summit, we've seen thousands of companies exhibit, and there are some right ways and wrong ways to represent your company.

There are three outcomes that routinely result from having a presence at an event: hitting it out of the park with all sorts of new business and plans, maintaining a presence and achieving some branding, and then having a counter-productive experience.

You know that thing from the movie, Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come"? Well, that's not true. There are strategies you should apply to make the maximum impact with your booth.

In the book, I share how you can make the most of your time at a conference, as well as pitfalls to avoid.