Monad (AKA PowerShell)

Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects.

The animal on the cover of Monad is the common toad (Bufo vulgaris), a familiar European species. There are over 200 known species under the genus Bufo, all of which secrete poisonous fluid from their skin. These secretions are often highly toxic to animals when ingested and can cause skin irritations in people. Bufo toads are fairly large as far as toads go, normally reaching between 6 and 8 inches in length. Concerning habitat, toads like it warm and wet. They are found virtually everywhere in the world except the North and South poles, preferring the tropics but settling for ponds, canals, and moist backyards. Toads are cold blooded—so they hibernate during the cold parts of the year—and usually nocturnal.

All toads breathe through their skin and have superb hearing and eyesight. Toads are especially receptive to movement, which is why they don’t eat things that are already dead. Unlike frogs, most toads only leap when they are in danger; however, the common American toad leaps inordinately more often than the European species. Toads eat a lot. One toad can eat 100 flies in ten minutes using its long, sticky, lightning-quick tongue. Toad tongues are so fast that they cannot be followed with the human eye. This characteristic, ...