The Official Filthy Rich Handbook
by Christopher Tennant
from Workman Publishing Company
How the Other .0001% Live
It's looking like another banner year for America's moneyed over-class, the lucky .0001 percent sitting on $30 million-plus in liquid assets.
But sadly, most of the newcomers joining their ranks are simply not prepared to make the decisions that come with having it all. Unsure about everything—butler or majordomo? St. Tropez or St. Thomas?—they will blow their hard-earned billions on tacky houses, outrageous wardrobes, and outré diversions of various stripes. Because, while there are countless ways to make a fortune these days, there's still only one way to be Filthy Rich.
Fortunately, in the spirit of The Official Preppy Handbook—the 1.3-million-copy bestseller that taught all of us how to be WASPily top drawer—help has arrived. A dead-on, deadpan guide to living large in the land of plenty, The Official Filthy Rich Handbook yanks the monogrammed pashmina off a world few mortals ever get to see. Packed with insight and savvy, it brings this rarified universe to scandalous new life, feeding our endless fascination with the tastefully loaded, while offering practical instructions for those who dream of joining them.
In it, you'll learn not only where to live and what to wear, but about the things that really matter. How to hire a household staff. The right cosmetic surgery procedures for you...and your children. The proper way to name your houses. The sacred role of privet hedges. Why the Filthy Rich swim naked. The down-and-dirty on your fellow plutocrats (The Nerdling, The Raider, and the Grande Dame, to name a few). The moochers and scoundrels to know and avoid. How to buy a gigayacht. The right spots to party in Sardinia, Aspen, Nantucket, and St. Barts. The world's hottest tax havens. The four interior decorators worth waiting for. The Filthy Richest rehabs. Boarding schools of the rich and feckless. Why it's so hard to break into the art market and how to sound smart about Richard Serra. And much, much more. The rich "are different from you and me," F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote. Wait until you see the Filthy Rich.
Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager
by Michael Lopp
from Apress
Managing Humans is a selection of the best essays from Michael Lopps web site, Rands In Repose. Drawing on Lopp's management experiences at Apple, Netscape, Symantec, and Borland, this book is full of stories based on companies in the Silicon Valley where people have been known to yell at each other. It is a place full of dysfunctional bright people who are in an incredible hurry to find the next big thing so they can strike it rich and then do it all over again. Among these people are managers, a strange breed of people who through a mystical organizational ritual have been given power over your future and your bank account. Whether you're an aspiring manager, a current manager, or just wondering what the heck a manager does all day, there is a story in this book that will speak to you. You will learn:
- What to do when people start yelling at each other
- How to perform a diving save when the best engineer insists on resigning
- How to say "No" to the person who signs your paycheck
Among fans of Michael Lopp is the incomparable Joel Spolsky, cofounder and CEO of Fog Creek Software:
"What you're holding in your hands in by far the most brilliant book about managing software teams you're ever going to find".
This book is designed for managers and would-be managers staring at the role of a manager wondering why they would ever leave the safe world of bits and bites for the messy world of managing humans. The book covers handling conflict, managing wildly differing personality types, infusing innovation into insane product schedules, and figuring out how to build a lasting and useful engineering culture.
Penny Arcade Volume 4: Birds Are Weird (Penny Arcade)
by Jerry Holkins
from Dark Horse
OHMYGODDIDYOUSEETHAT?!? So, anyway, I'm sure you stopped by to find out what kinds of Penny Arcade goodness we will be lavishing upon you with this latest collection. Oh, and you came for the cinnamon almond biscotti, of course. But mostly you came because you can't get enough of the smash-hit web-comic Penny Arcade. Well, my friend, do we have the goods for you! All the Penny Arcade web-comics published online in 2003, a smorgasbord of commentary courtesy of Gabe and Tycho, and more bonus material than you can shake a pigeon at! Huh? Oh, sorry, did I say "pigeon?" I meant to say "stick." Sorry, but that bird is still really creeping me out. You can tell it's totally planning something. Can't you see it watching us, with its eyes!?! Man, birds are weird...
Foundation Flash Cartoon Animation (Foundation)
by Tim Jones
from friends of ED
Whether you are an experienced Flash designer or developer looking for a guide to doing animation in Flash, or a novice to Flash who is looking for an effective way to create and distribute animations, this book will prove invaluable to you. Covering every aspect of Flash animation, the book is a fast-paced yet thorough review of the Flash animation process. Written by the Emmy-Award winning team at ANIMAX, this book not only reveals the step-by-step process followed by one of today's leading Flash animation studios, it gives you valuable tips and tricks to take your Flash animation to the next level. Divided into three phases of production (pre-production, animation, post-production) this book breaks the Flash animation process into smaller, more manageable steps. And because the authors approach the animation process from various perspectives (such as producer, animator, and editor) the book balances many of the real-world issues facing today's Flash animators, from artistic to technical to financial. The book starts off by looking at planning and designing an animation project, including working out your goals, and putting together character libraries and storyboards. Next up we look at the production phase, which includes using plug-ins to make your work more efficient, implementing your animation, and adding special effects. Finally, we look at post-production work, including how After Effects can be used effectively alongside Flash for tasks such as camera mechanics, how to make Flash not look like Flash, and tips and tricks from the experts. Whatever the reason, like millions of others around the world you've become interested in Flash animation. And you've come to the right place to learn more. This book is compatible with pretty much any fairly recent version of Flash.
- Covers the full process of Flash animation, through preproduction, production, and post production
- Covers many practical techniques, including creating character libraries, using plugins, and camera mechanics with After Effects.
- Written by the Emmy award winning ANIMAX studios team
What you'll learn
- How to effectively plan an animation project
- How to put together storyboards
- How to create elegant character libraries
- How to set up your .fla file, ready for animation to commence
- How to make more efficient use of your time with plugins, where to find good plugins, and how to create your own
- How to animate, frame by frame, or using tweens
- Why After Effects can be better than Flash for some tasks.
- Effective After Effects Techniques, such as camera mechanics
- How to make Flash not look like Flash
Summary of Contents
- Chapter 1 - The Project Plan
- Chapter 2 - Character Libraries
- Chapter 3 - Storyboards and Animatics
- Chapter 4 - Setting Up Your FLA
- Chapter 5 - Plug-ins and Extensions
- Chapter 6 - Frame by Frame Animation
- Chapter 7 - Animating With Tweens
- Chapter 8 - Animation Special Effects
- Chapter 9 - Why Use After Effects?
- Chapter 10 - After Effects and Camera Mechanics
- Chapter 11 - Making Flash Not Look Like Flash
- Chapter 12 - Tips and Tricks
Penny Arcade Volume 2: Epic Legends Of The Magic Sword Kings (Penny Arcade)
by Jerry Holkins
from Dark Horse
Verily, the heroes of Penny Arcade return in the second volume of valiant chivalric deeds of brave heroism, heroic gallantry and gallant bravery! Forsooth! Sir Gabe and Sir Tycho return in Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings! Collecting all the Penny Arcade strips posted online from 2001 and 2002, Volume 2 includes creator commentary, a sketchbook section and an introduction from somebody sort of famous! If you haven't heard of Penny Arcade, the most poplular online comic ever, it might not be too late to salvage whatever reputation you have and get in on the fun all the cool people have been having. We won't tell anyone.
Manga Studio For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
by Doug Hills
from For Dummies
Love Manga? The newest features of Manga Studio help you bring your ideas to life! The tools available in the latest version of this powerful program make it easy to turn your computer into your drawing board, and Manga Studio For Dummies makes it easy to get started.
Discover how to use Manga Studio to begin creating comics in manga or Western styles, add color to your creations, and share them with your adoring public. It’s a breeze once you know your way around the program. Manga may have begun in Japan, but Manga Studio For Dummies is written in plain English, and shows you how to:
- Build and use page templates
- Rough in your comic with penciling techniques
- Work 100 0igital, or use a combination of digital and traditional tools if you prefer
- Work with layers, rulers, and panels
- Add speech bubbles and sound effects text
- Ink your work and add tones
- Prepare your creations for print or distribution on the Web
Written by a working digital artist, Manga Studio For Dummies covers both Manga Studio Debut and EX versions. As an added bonus, it even gives you a peek into the world of manga and comics in general. With the help of Manga Studio For Dummies, you just might find yourself among the comic artists whose work populates the Web and gathers thousands of fans!
Installing Linux on a Dead Badger
by Lucy A. Snyder
from Creative Guy Publishing
Installing Linux on a Dead Badger (and other Oddities) is a collection of Lucy Snyder's humorous essays, fiction and articles, some culled from places like "Strange Horizons" and "Spacesuits and Six-Guns" and some brand new. This collection of thirteen short stories, articles and essays from Lucy A. Snyder will appeal to any fan of zombies, aliens or installation manuals. Here's what Wikipedia said about Lucy, last time we checked: "Lucy A. Snyder is an American science fiction, fantasy, humor, and nonfiction writer. She grew up in San Angelo, Texas but moved to Bloomington, Indiana for graduate studies at Indiana University and currently lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband Gary A. Braunbeck. Snyder served as an editor for HMS Beagle, an online bioscience publication produced by Elsevier. She has also contributed technical articles to publications such as Electronic Products."
Nightwork: A History of Hacks and Pranks at MIT
by Institute Historian T. F. Peterson
from The MIT Press
Before the term hacking became associated with computers, MIT undergraduates used it to describe any activity that took their minds off studying, suggested an unusual solution to a technical problem, or generally fostered nondestructive mischief. The MIT hacking culture has given us such treasures as police cars and cows on the Great Dome, a disappearing door to the President's office, and the commencement game of "Al Gore Buzzword Bingo." Hacks can be technical, physical, virtual, or verbal. Often the underlying motivation is to conquer the inaccessible and make possible the improbable. Hacks can express dissatisfaction with local culture or with administrative decisions, but mostly they are remarkably good-spirited. They are also by definition ephemeral. Fortunately, the MIT Museum has amassed a unique collection of hack-related pictures, reports, and remnants. Nightwork collects the best materials from this collection, to entertain innocent bystanders and inspire new generations of practitioners.
Wan2Tlk?: Ltl Bk of Txt Msgs
from St. Martin's Griffin
Make your wishes known, your plans, your dates, in coded communication that's the wave of the future. Don't get left out of the text-message revolution.
Dave Barry in Cyberspace
by Dave Barry
from Ballantine Books
Trust Dave Barry, middle-class America's chronicler of the absurdities and inanities of daily life, to provide the authoritative funnyman's guide to life with computers. Barry is sometimes insightful, as when he notes the ridiculous number of keystrokes needed to actually write something, often hilarious, as in his sendup of technological support hotlines, and occasionally genuinely indignant. This book is the perfect gift for anyone who, like many of us, can't live with computers and can't live without them.
"RELENTLESSLY FUNNY . . . BARRY SHINES."
--People
A self-professed computer geek who actually does Windows 95, bestselling humorist Dave Barry takes us on a hilarious hard drive via the information superhighway--and into the very heart of cyberspace, asking the provocative question: If God had wanted us to be concise, why give us so many fonts?
Inside you'll find juicy bytes on
How to Buy and Set Up a Computer; Step One: Get Valium
Nerdstock in the Desert; Or: Bill Gates Is Elvis
Software: Making Your Computer Come Alive So It Can Attack You
Word Processing: How to Press an Enormous Number of Keys Without Ever Actually Writing Anything
Selected Web Sites, including Cursing in Swedish, Deformed Frog Pictures, and The Toilets of Melbourne, Australia
And much, much more!
"VERY FUNNY . . . After a day spent staring at a computer monitor, think of the book as a kind of screen saver for your brain."
--New York Times Book Review
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