The secret sauce of Reinvent the Wheel is a simple, yet powerful image, the Well Being Wheel, created by the author to reinforce her revolutionary process for achieving total well-being. Created to restore her own well-being and turbo-charge her success, The Well Being Wheel is used by thousands of business high-achievers as a tool for optimizing their health, happiness and work performance. Each succinct chapter highlights a spoke of the Wheel: 6 for BODY, 6 for MIND and 6 for SPIRIT along with instructions to readers for customizing the 18 spokes for themselves. Exclusive interviews and original content from well-being fueled "Exceptional Executives," including John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, and Kevin Johnson, CEO and President of Starbucks, who excel at a specific "spoke" of the wheel, reinforce the concepts and inspire readers. These extraordinary business leaders offer a fascinating look into the daily habits and strategies that fuel their lives, and in doing so, prove that well-being does drive success.

Suggests that certain Buddhist notions may act as an antidote to the adverse effects of high-tech media.

"Reinventing the Wheel is equal parts popular science, history, and muckraking. Over the past hundred and fifty years, dairy farming and cheesemaking have been transformed, and this book explores what has been lost along the way. Today, using cutting-edge technologies like high-throughput DNA sequencing, scientists are beginning to understand the techniques of our great-grandparents. The authors describe how geneticists are helping conservationists rescue rare dairy cow breeds on the brink of extinction, microbiologists are teaching cheesemakers to nurture the naturally occurring microbes in their raw milk rather than destroying them, and communities of cheesemakers are producing "real" cheeses that reunite farming and flavor, rewarding diversity and sustainability at every level."--Provided by publisher.

What others in the trenches say about The Pragmatic Programmer... “The cool thing about this book is that it’s great for keeping the programming process fresh. The book helps you to continue to grow and clearly comes from people who have been there.” — Kent Beck, author of Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change “I found this book to be a great mix of solid advice and wonderful analogies!” — Martin Fowler, author of Refactoring and UML Distilled “I would buy a copy, read it twice, then tell all my colleagues to run out and grab a copy. This is a book I would never loan because I would worry about it being lost.” — Kevin Ruland, Management Science, MSG-Logistics “The wisdom and practical experience of the authors is obvious. The topics presented are relevant and useful.... By far its greatest strength for me has been the outstanding analogies—tracer bullets, broken windows, and the fabulous helicopter-based explanation of the need for orthogonality, especially in a crisis situation. I have little doubt that this book will eventually become an excellent source of useful information for journeymen programmers and expert mentors alike.” — John Lakos, author of Large-Scale C++ Software Design “This is the sort of book I will buy a dozen copies of when it comes out so I can give it to my clients.” — Eric Vought, Software Engineer “Most modern books on software development fail to cover the basics of what makes a great software developer, instead spending their time on syntax or technology where in reality the greatest leverage possible for any software team is in having talented developers who really know their craft well. An excellent book.” — Pete McBreen, Independent Consultant “Since reading this book, I have implemented many of the practical suggestions and tips it contains. Across the board, they have saved my company time and money while helping me get my job done quicker! This should be a desktop reference for everyone who works with code for a living.” — Jared Richardson, Senior Software Developer, iRenaissance, Inc. “I would like to see this issued to every new employee at my company....” — Chris Cleeland, Senior Software Engineer, Object Computing, Inc. “If I’m putting together a project, it’s the authors of this book that I want. . . . And failing that I’d settle for people who’ve read their book.” — Ward Cunningham Straight from the programming trenches, The Pragmatic Programmer cuts through the increasing specialization and technicalities of modern software development to examine the core process--taking a requirement and producing working, maintainable code that delights its users. It covers topics ranging from personal responsibility and career development to architectural techniques for keeping your code flexible and easy to adapt and reuse. Read this book, and you'll learn how to Fight software rot; Avoid the trap of duplicating knowledge; Write flexible, dynamic, and adaptable code; Avoid programming by coincidence; Bullet-proof your code with contracts, assertions, and exceptions; Capture real requirements; Test ruthlessly and effectively; Delight your users; Build teams of pragmatic programmers; and Make your developments more precise with automation. Written as a series of self-contained sections and filled with entertaining anecdotes, thoughtful examples, and interesting analogies, The Pragmatic Programmer illustrates the best practices and major pitfalls of many different aspects of software development. Whether you're a new coder, an experienced programmer, or a manager responsible for software projects, use these lessons daily, and you'll quickly see improvements in personal productivity, accuracy, and job satisfaction. You'll learn skills and develop habits and attitudes that form the foundation for long-term success in your career. You'll become a Pragmatic Programmer.

Get a head start on making your games efficiently by avoiding common design and development pitfalls. Video games combine art and programming; this unique position has opened up opportunities for many pitfalls. This book takes you through the fundamentals of game making and the usual mistakes and bad practices that can harm your games. We start with the common difficulties and challenges, ways to find the gaps, and game design. Next, we discuss game engines and other tools you need to choose while making a game, how you should choose them, and the design documents you need to make. We also cover simple but important tweaks in game mechanics as well as the look and feel of your game. We will also discuss conventions for naming, code structuring, project structuring, and coding. Your thought process will be guided in a way that you can look for the proper approach to make a successful game. The book sheds light upon how to improve the overall game experience and finalize the game for release. Along the journey, we will explore some interesting stories of games and mythology as well. By the end of the book, you will know about the basic life cycle of a game development process and how to not make a game. What You Will Learn Discover the fundamentals of game design See some intermediate coding tricks to make your games better Grasp the pitfalls to avoid while designing and programming games Master the different conventions and practices for file naming and structuring your projects Who This Book Is For People who want to make games. Basic programming experience is assumed.

Do you like to be wrong? Shouldn’t you? Why do you think “wrong” is “bad”? In The Very Best Bad Idea, Kirk Westwood steamrolls the long-held premise that right is good and wrong is bad. He paves the way to give anyone who sees situations differently the permission to be proud of their brilliantly unbridled “bad ideas.” In this book, you'll learn about: -- The History of Thinking, and how we might be wired incorrectly for the society we live in today. -- An in depth analysis of popular cliches like “don’t reinvent the wheel” and “build a better mousetrap” and why we might need to “make friends with the mouse”. -- Why people should start embracing their unique views of the world as they are the true genesis of innovation and creativity. And so much more! This book speaks to the entrepreneurs, the creatives, the innovators, and the outcasts as they seek out the secret to conquering innovation. It’s an unconventional look at a conventional problem. If you’re ready to release the “Kreative” and embrace your individual perspective, get ready for the The Very Best Bad Idea.

Chronicles the journey behind Dean Kamen's invention of an electric-powered human transporter, explaining the machine's innovative engineering and relationships with investors.