Tales of Speculative Fiction from this century's most creative and paranoid minds. If Secret Societies exist, ILLUMINATI AT MY DOOR offers an unrestricted view of their playbook while explaining their need to control every aspect of our lives... Short Stories inspired by Secret Society rumor and folklore.

Jack Miller, the last superhero is dead. Vigilance tells the tale of a world in which superheroes exist and the war that was fought to eradicate them. Thirty years ago, Jack Miller and other Powers like him, were drawn into an all-out war with government and law enforcement agencies when the mightiest of them all went mad and killed dozens of civilians. On the run and using his unique ability to be 'unseen', Jack has been a fugitive for most of his adult life, ducking and dodging those hunting for him, and also running from his own demons. His guilt at being the only one to survive the war, when others more powerful than him were cut down, has kept him a renegade for over a quarter century. Now, having stumbled upon something that has been kept from public knowledge, Jack intends to finish the fight and expose the dirty dealings that started the war. Complicating matters is the emergence of a villain who has just been 'reborn' and who intends to exact his own kind of vengeance on an unsuspecting world.

In ancient Rome, an alter ego, or "the other I," was considered to be not only a second self but also a trusted friend. It was believed to be distinct from a person's normal personality. Collected in this book are stories of heroes who not only battle injustice, criminals and super-villains; but they also must battle their other selves. These heroes learn that sometimes the hardest foe to defeat is the one that lies within. Alter Egos is back in this second volume with sensational short stories and poems written by some of today's best sci-fi and action authors including a story by David J. Fielding, better known as "Zordon" from the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers.

The condition of high shear stress in rigid frame connections and the effect of high axial force is investigated. A yield condition is derived and verified by a test. After yielding in the test specimen, stable joint deformation was observed and the connection carried 2.75 times what is considered to be the maximum strength in shear. The current AISC design formula is shown to be conservative. (Author).