Civil Service Vocabulary: 510 Essential Words

 Civil Service Vocabulary: 510 Essential Words, JK Smith, 2022, ISBN 9798356206924

You have just applied for a job with the Federal Government. Among the requirements is the taking of the Civil Service exam. This book is here to help.

 

Each vocabulary word is followed by its pronunciation, and the type of word that it is (verb, noun, adjective). Next is a short definition of the word. Then comes a pair of sentences using the word. It is followed by synonyms and antonyms of the word. The there is a "Further Information" section (the word comes from Latin or Italian or Middle French). Review questions (with answers in the back of the book) help to solidify the learning.

 

This book is very much recommended for anyone about to take the Civil Service exam. It is also recommended for older high school or college students who need some vocabulary help.

The Luxe Life

 The Luxe Life: A Guide to Launching a Fabulous and Thriving Online Boutique, Dee D Smith, 2022

You consider yourself a fashionista, and you have decided to open an online boutique. There are many things to consider before Opening Day.

Will you have a brick and mortar store, or will it be all online? Will you sell your items through a site like Etsy or Poshmark, or will your success depend on your own website? The name of your company should be short, and catchy, and leave no doubt in the mind of the consumer as to what you are selling.

Your company needs to be registered with your local or state tax authority. While you're there, ask them about any licenses or permits that are needed; get them, ahead of time. What is your niche? Why should a person buy from you, instead of someone else? What sort of message do you want to convey with your website? Should the site have all pastel colors, or should they be more bold and vibrant?

This book is very easy to read, and very good. It is not a comprehensive book that will answer all your questions. For anyone wanting to enter the world of online retail, here is an excellent place to start.

Supreme Damages: Rescuing Representative Government from Judicial Overreach

 Supreme Damages: Rescuing Representative Government from Judicial Overreach, Thurman Leonard Smith, Independently Published, 2021

For many years, there have been complaints about the US Supreme Court. Under conservative and liberal majorities, it has been accused of judicial overreach, or simply going too far. It's job is supposed to be to interpret existing law and the US Constitution. It is not supposed to make new laws. That's what this book is all about.

Roe v. Wade is here, along with Bush v. Gore. National Federation of Independent Business et al. v. Sebelius (the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act) is also here.

Have you ever wondered how children born on American soil, even if their parents are undocumented, can automatically become US citizens? That comes from a case called Plyler v. Doe.

If a state wants to change the law about public morality, for instance, the right way to do it is to go through the state legislature, or by holding a state-wide referendum. Using the courts is not the way to do it. Lawrence v. Texas, in 2003, legalized same-sex sexual activity. That led to 2015's Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage, nationwide.

The Comprehensive Crime Control Act allows law enforcement agencies to divide seized cash and other assets. The threshold for suspicion is extremely low, and encourages law enforcement to abuse the power. It's called civil asset forfeiture. In Bennis v. Michigan, a man had sex with a prostitute in the back of his car. The car was "guilty," so it, and not the owner, was punished (the car was forfeited).

This is a very interesting book. The author sticks to the facts as much as possible, chronicling the travels of a case through the legal system. For those whose only exposure to Supreme Court cases is through TV news reports. this book is well worth checking out.  

The World in 2050

The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilizations's Northern Future, Lawrence C Smith, Dutton, 2010

This book explores the things that humanity has waiting for it in the next few decades.

The number of mega-cities (those with a population of over 10 million) will only rise, as the world's population will pass 9 billion. Some of those cities will be clean and efficient, like Singapore. It is much more likely that they will be over-crowded, polluted and crime-filled, like Lagos, Nigeria. The question is not will sea levels or the Earth's overall temperature rise, but, by how much will they rise.

As the world gets older and grayer, and as America's baby boomers start to retire, younger workers will be needed to keep the economy moving. Where will these workers come from? Water problems, and water shortages, in normally dry places like sub-Saharan Africa and the American Southwest, will only get worse.

The author spends much of the book looking at the New North, the countries that border the Arctic Circle, including America, Canada, Russia and Scandinavia. There is the potential for a lot of oil or natural gas under the ice. In Alaska and Canada, local indigenous groups have gained joint, or total, control, over the natural resources that lie under their feet. The extending of the temperate climate zone to the north makes agriculture more and more possible on formerly barren land (like growing potatoes in Greenland). The thawing of the permafrost makes building more difficult in remote northern towns. Digging foundations, or putting in pylons on which to build a building is impossible when rock-solid ice is only a foot or two below ground level. It also shortens the "trucking season," where those remote northern towns can be re-supplied by trucks, which is a lot cheaper than doing it by boat or helicopter (think of the TV show "Ice Road Truckers").

This is a fascinating book. For some people, the information here may not exactly be new, but the author does an excellent job. It is compelling, and very much worth reading.

The Return of the Sorcerer

The Return of the Sorcerer, Clark Ashton Smith, Prime Books, 2009

Here are a group of stories by an overlooked master of the science fiction, fantasy and horror fields.

First published in the 1930s, the unearthly beings in these stories are not just denizens of Hell; they come from someplace worse than Hell. Some of these stories take place in the present day. Other stories take place in the distant past, in an era of amazing cities. Still others take place on impossible worlds in some other universe.

Those who are not horror fans need not be concerned; the horror in these tales is not overwhelming. For those who are fantasy or horror fans, and have never read Clark Ashton Smith, you are in for a huge treat. This is a wonderful place to start. Few writers can reach the level of poetry in their fiction; Smith does it.

Other Dimensions

Other Dimensions, Clark Ashton Smith, Arkham House, 1970

The stories in this collection are a mixture of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Published mainly between 1910 and 1935, they represent a very different time in American fantastic fiction.

"Marooned in Andromeda" is about a trio of human mutineers kicked off a spaceship onto a semi-habitable planet. There, they have to survive in an unearthly landscape full of carnivorous beings who are far beyond the description of "strange." In "An Adventure in Futurity," Conrad Elkins looks like your average human, except for the fact that he comes from Earth of the year 15,000 A.D. Future Earth is dying, so Elkins has come to attempt to find some answers. He must return, and he takes the narrator with him. Earth has been importing slaves from Venus for hundreds of years, and the Venusians have had enough. They are rebelling, and winning. A microbe is released that changes Earth's atmosphere into the equivalent of the atmosphere of Venus. Of course, the Venusians are immune, but the humans that are left suffocate by the thousands.

Other stories take place on Earth. Explorers find an invisible city in the middle of a desert. An American rocket plane, chasing a Japanese plane, suddenly finds itself inside a strange cloud where physical laws are not the same. Once again, Earth is under attack from Venus, changing its climate into something acceptable for Venusians. Several stories take place in India, which, in the early 20th century, was the closest thing Earth had to an alien landscape. A man goes through a lot of research and preparation to kill a man who had wronged him a number of times over the years. He lures the man to his laboratory, gives him an undetectable poison and watches him die right in front of him. He then gets a call from the man's wife saying that he has just dies of heart attack at home, several miles away. The murderer rushes over there to examine the other corpse. Insanity begins to rear its head when the murderer realizes that he has two real corpses of the same man.

Smith was best known as a poet; these stories feel like poetry. Sometimes a person just needs to lose themself in a good old fashioned macabre/adventure story. If you can find a copy, start right here. These stories are different, and they are really, really good.

Zoolin Vale and the Chalice of Ringtar

Zoolin Vale and the Chalice of Ringtar, Craig Smith, Stonegarden.net Publishing, 2010

This is a fantasy story about a set of friends on two very different quests.

Disaster has struck the land of Melin; the Chalice of Ringtar has been stolen. It is a sacred relic, and its absence will make Melin look weak and incompetent in the eyes of their neighbors. A young man named Tennen, newly selected earlier that day as Lord Protector, leads an expedition to track down the chalice. Accompanying them is the wizard Rimotar, carrying a type of homing beacon, keeping them going in the right direction. When they aren't fighting off mud and stone creatures, the group hears stories of a being of great power, dressed all in black, a day or two ahead of them. Whoever stole the Chalice is not your everyday thief.

Devlin, Tyvn and Myke, friends of Tennen, are on a different sort of quest. Devlin has just learned that a long time ago, his parents were kidnapped and sold into slavery. Devlin was occupied at the time, having just escaped from an evil warlock who kidnapped and brainwashed him. On their journey, they rescue an imp named Hugen, who was tricked into going down to the bottom of a well, and was left there. The neighboring land of Welkland, where Devlin is from, is without a king. A grand contest, open to all comers, will choose the next ruler. The four are accosted by a man who says that he has given Hugen and Tyvn a special kind of poison. Only he has the antidote. To stay alive, the four must enter the contest, held at a place called Zoolin Vale. If any of them win, and become King, they are supposed to rsign in favor of their tormenter. Hugen doesn't make the cut, but the others make it to the finals. Along the way, Devlin gets closer and closer to finding his parents. When he finally finds them, things are not what he expected.

Here is a really good piece of writing. It's interesting, it has plenty of action, and it has intelligence. The reader will enjoy this.