Best Selling Books by Lee Miller

High school senior Tom Sinclair''s journal chronicles events leading up to the disappearance of Alice, the only person he has confided in after moving from Vermont to Manhattan in an attempt to run away from his past.

Stuck in sleepy New Smyrna Beach one last summer, Raine socks away her camp pay checks, worries about her druggy brother, and ignores trouble: Cal Koomer. She''s a plane ticket away from teaching orphans in Africa, and not even Cal''s surfer six-pack and the chinks she spies in his rebel armor will derail her. The artist in Cal begs to paint Raine''s ivory skin, high cheek bones, and internal sparklers behind her eyes, but falling for her would caterwaul him into his parents'' life. No thanks. The girl was self-righteous waiting to happen. Mom served sanctimony like vegetables, three servings a day, and he had a gut full. Rec Director Drew taunts her with "Rainey" and calls her an enabler. He is so infernally there like a horsefly -- till he buzzes back to his ex. Raine''s brother tweaks. Her dream of Africa dies small deaths. Will she figure out what to fight for and what to free before it''s too late? For anyone who''s ever wrestled with her dreams.

This is a collection of the author''s poetic works that are primarily in a classical format, some similar to Roman poetry, some similar to Greek poetry, some similar to more primitive poetry that treads to the edges of doggerel or nursey rhyme. Some of the pieces are notes for other works that have taken on a life of their own. They primarily deal with issues of love and family and loyalty to lost causes, as well as religion as an enemy of faith, issues of what constitutes a false leader or even a false god. That some of the pieces are incomplete, testifies more to that they are works in progress, than that they are unfinished. Some of them will never be finished. Considering that all who currently are alive shall die while the world goes on, nothing is ever really finished. Mostly, there is emphasis on humor, generally through irony, mockery and sarcasm, which may give the impression of cynicism, but is actually rather light. Events of extreme sexuality and cannibalism are rare, and tastefully handled.

Abstract: The results demonstrate that this technique is robust, providing accurate, quantitative data independent of the set-up of the microscope. In addition, the cross-talk between filters, or bleed-through that occurs when one filter excites not only the intended fluorescent dye, but also an adjacent dye, is eliminated. However, the power of this technique is in its ability to move beyond the typical four color staining of traditional epifluorescence microscopy and image more markers simultaneously, thus allowing for more complete phenotypic characterization of rare cells, such as CTCs.

Most satellites on-orbit today are not intended to physically approach or interact with other spacecraft. However, the robotic servicing of orbiting assets will be an economically desirable (and often scientifically necessary) capability in future space enterprises. With the right set of tools and technologies, satellites will be able to autonomously refuel, repair, or replace each other. This has the potential to extend mission lifetimes, reduce orbital debris and make space more sustainable. Spacecraft may also assemble on-orbit into larger aggregate spaceflight systems, with applications to sparse aperture telescopes, solar power stations, fuel depots and space habitats. The purpose of this thesis is to address the highest risk elements associated with the docking and servicing of satellites: the sensors, actuators, and associated algorithms. First, a peripheral agnostic robotics platform is introduced, upon which a suite of technology payloads may be developed. Next, a flight qualified docking port for small satellites is presented, and the results detailing its operation in a relevant environment are discussed. In addition, we review a high precision relative sensor designed to enable boresight visual docking. The measurements from this optical camera are applied to a nonlinear estimator to provide the highly accurate sensing necessary for docking. Finally, a free-flying robotic arm is examined and modeled as an experimental payload for the SPHERES Facility on the International Space Station.