As usual, the boss had slipped out early on Friday, leaving the Cellar without a leader. The atmosphere was light and relaxed – until the red phone rang. Six pairs of eyes locked onto Steven, the closest to the phone. Hesitantly, he picked up the receiver. His eyebrows arched in surprise and concern during the brief, one-sided conversation. He hung up without a word. The room held its breath. Without explanation, Steven grabbed a thick folder from his desk and, with a resigned shrug, heade...

A lone bugler sounds the Last Post at a Festival of Remembrance. Overlapping horn arpeggios conjure up the flowing waters of the Rhine in Wagner’s opera “Das Rheingold”. Seventy-six trombones lead the big parade; trumpets sound ceremonial fanfares, and power the horn sections in jazz and funk bands. The sounds of brass instruments enrich many of our most inspiring musical experiences. But what defines a “brass instrument”? How is a stream of air blown through a small gap in the player’s li...

This book provides an in-depth account of the fascinating but far from simple actions and processes that take place when a brass instrument is played. Written by three leading researchers in brass instrument acoustics who are also experienced brass players, it draws together the many recent advances in our understanding of the subtly interrelated factors shaping the musician's control of the instrument's sound. The reader is introduced to models of sound generation, propagation and radiati...

A practical guide to vulnerability assessment and mitigation with PowerShell Key FeaturesLeverage PowerShell's unique capabilities at every stage of the Cyber Kill Chain, maximizing your effectivenessPerform network enumeration techniques and exploit weaknesses with PowerShell's built-in and custom toolsLearn how to conduct penetration testing on Microsoft Azure and AWS environmentsPurchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free P...

A futurist’s vision for a strong, economically successful and positive New Zealand The future is coming. The question is: are we ready? New Zealand Unleashed is a look at what sort of society New Zealand will need to be to best tackle an unpredictable future. It is about how New Zealand can thrive on the uncertainty of the future, rather than fear and resist it. In this book Steven Carden doesn't outline what New Zealand should do, rather he argues how New Zealan...

“Mr. Ridley’s best and most important work to date…there is something profoundly democratic and egalitarian—even anti-elitist—in this bottom-up approach: Everyone can have a role in bringing about change.” —Wall Street JournalThe New York Times bestselling author of The Rational Optimist and Genome returns with a fascinating argument for evolution that definitively dispels a dangerous, widespread myth: that we can command and control our world...

**“A primal account of an unstifled world.” —Bill McKibben“A dazzling command of science and relentless faith . . .” —Naomi KleinA wide-ranging collection of essays from leading environmental commentator on how politics and big business threaten our daily lives, our society, and the planet**Without countervailing voices, naming and challenging power, political freedom withers and dies. Without countervailing voices, a better world can never materialise. Without c...

With an election looming and criticism of the ALP now a national pastime, Mark Latham considers the future for Labor. The nation has changed, but can the party?With wit and insight, Latham reveals an organisation top-heavy with factional bosses protecting their turf. At the same time Labor’s traditional working-class base has long been eroding. People who grew up in fibro shacks now live in double-storey affluence. Families once resigned to a lifetime of blue-colla...

Praised by Entertainment Weekly as the man who put the fizz into physics,” Dr. Len Fisher turns his attention to the science of cooperation in his lively and thought-provoking book. Fisher shows how the modern science of game theory has helped biologists to understand the evolution of cooperation in nature, and investigates how we might apply those lessons to our own society. In a series of experiments that take him from the polite confines of an English dinner party to crowded s...

We live in a culture of choice. But, in an age of corporate dominance, our freedom to choose has taken on new meaning. Upset with your local big box store? Object to unfair hiring practices at your neighbourhood fast food restaurant? Want to protest the opening of that new multinational coffeeshop? Vote with your feet!What if it’s not that simple? In No One Makes You Shop at Wal-Mart, Tom Slee unpacks the implications of our fervent belief in the power of ...

For the first time in history, humans sit unchallenged at the top of the food chain. As we encroach on the wild and a vast wave of extinctions gathers force, how has our relationship with animals changed?In this dazzling essay, Anna Krien investigates the world we have made and the complexity of the choices we face. From pets to the live cattle trade, from apex predators to scientific experiments, Krien shows how we should – and do – treat our fellow creatures. As ...

Dick Smith takes on the hot topic of our times, arguing that Australian and global population growth carries enormous risks, dangers that none of our political parties is prepared to address.In 2011 the world's population exceeded 7 billion. Each year we add nearly 80 million people and by mid-century we will require twice as much food and double the energy we use today. Australia will be deeply affected by these trends - we have the fastest growing population of a...