Totally Useless Skills


Book Description

Provides step-by-step instructions for tricks and stunts such as spoon hanging, pencil tricks, odd finger snapping, and disappearing body parts.




Totally Useless Office Skills


Book Description

Skills for Kids" returns with ways to annoy the boss, entertain coworkers, and relieve excess occupational stress. Rick Davis shows how to acquire skills with absolutely no practical value to make the work day more entertaining--such as faxing an endless document, performing necktie magic, and singing telephone songs. 108 photos.




Useless Knowledge


Book Description

How can your tongue get you arrested? What dessert is as smart as the average adult? What's louder: A jet plane at take-off or a hippo having sex? In the form of a lively and eccentric course catalog, Useless Knowledge, the brainchild of the creator of the wildly successful Useless Knowledge website offers up loads of facts of little consequence for the hardcore trivia buff or the casual enthusiast. Inside, you'll find topics and entries like these: The Core Curriculum The Useless School of Animals The sound that a camel makes is called "nuzzing". The Useless School of Film Warren Beatty's first job in the theater was a rat-catcher...backstage. The Useless School of History Not that he was immature, but Napoleon concocted his battle strategies in a sandbox. The Useless School of Sports It takes 3,000 cows to supply a single season's worth of footballs to the NFL. There are also Useless Schools of Television, Biology, Science and Technology, Music, Geography, and Culinary Arts.




505 Unbelievably Stupid Webpages


Book Description

When sheep feel glad that they can't use computers, this is why. 505 Unbelievably Stupid Webpages reveals the Internet's weirdest, funniest and overall dumbest websites. With more than 25,000 copies sold this new edition is completely updated and revised to include the most bizarre websites to emerge in the last few years. You'll never forgive yourself if you miss these insane, laugh-out-loud sites: -Marshmallow Bunny Survival Tests -The Corn Cam -The Leonard Nimoy Should Eat More Salsa Foundation -The Virtual Stapler -Star Wars Gangsta Rap -Squirrel Hazing: The Untold Story -Poke Alex in the Eye: The Game







DIY Circus Lab for Kids


Book Description

Produce your own circus! Make your own stilts, juggling sticks, and tightrope, then learn to use them; master the human pyramid; discover how to create your own circus acts and shows; and much more with DIY Circus Lab for Kids. Companion online video tutorials for every prop and skill make learning easy. Veteran circus educator Jackie Leigh Davis takes you, step by step, through the props and skills you need to perform all the major circus arts: Acrobatics, acrobalance, and human pyramids Balance arts Clowning Gyroscopic and toss juggling You’ll learn how to make juggling balls, a hoola hoop, a rola bola, a clown nose and hat, and a pair of poi, among other circus essentials. With these props, you’ll learn how to juggle, hoop, balance, perform clown gags, and more. Photo demonstrations, numbered steps, and online tutorials ensure you’ll understand exactly how to make the props and perform the skills. Did you know that a tight rope walker in Ancient Greece was called a funambulus? Or that female jugglers can be found pictured in 4,000-year-old hieroglyphs on the wall of an Egyptian tomb? DIYCircus Lab for Kids includes the history of each family of circus skills. “Circademics” sidebars explore the science and academics behind the circus activities, like how the brain changes when you learn how to juggle. “Circussecrets” sidebars throughout connect circus arts to social and emotional skills, like listening, persistence, and asking for and giving help. Many of the skills in this book are safe enough for kids to do themselves, with a few requiring an adult “spotter” so families or classes can enjoy them together. Once you’ve learned how to create your own circus with DIY Circus Lab for Kids, you can also: host a circus prop–making party, start a juggling club at school, clown at a senior center or daycare, start a community circus meet-up in a park, or integrate circus themes into your school's curriculum—the opportunities for circus fun are endless. The popular Lab for Kids series features a growing list of books that share hands-on activities and projects on a wide host of topics, including art, astronomy, clay, geology, math, and even bugs—all authored by established experts in their fields. Each lab contains a complete materials list, clear step-by-step photographs of the process, as well as finished samples. The labs can be used as singular projects or as part of a yearlong curriculum of experiential learning. The activities are open-ended, designed to be explored over and over, often with different results. Geared toward being taught or guided by adults, they are enriching for a range of ages and skill levels. Gain firsthand knowledge on your favorite topic with Lab for Kids.




Reverse Design


Book Description

The Reverse Design series looks at all of the design decisions that went into classic video games. This is the sixth installment in the Reverse Design series, looking at Diablo II. Written in a readable format, it is broken down into three sections examining three topics important to the game: How does Diablo II borrow from different types of games like action RPGs, classical class-based RPGs and Roguelikes? What are the different types of randomness in Diablo II and how do they work? How do elaborate level-up mechanics keep players interested in a relatively short game for dozens or hundreds of hours? Key Features Comprehensive definitions of key concepts and terms, introducing the reader to the basic knowledge about the study of RPG design Summary of historical context of Diablo II, how it came to be, and how it influenced other games Extensive collections of data and data visualizations explaining how Diablo II’s systems work




How to Win Friends and Influence People


Book Description

You can go after the job you want…and get it! You can take the job you have…and improve it! You can take any situation you’re in…and make it work for you! Since its release in 1936, How to Win Friends and Influence People has sold more than 30 million copies. Dale Carnegie’s first book is a timeless bestseller, packed with rock-solid advice that has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. As relevant as ever before, Dale Carnegie’s principles endure, and will help you achieve your maximum potential in the complex and competitive modern age. Learn the six ways to make people like you, the twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking, and the nine ways to change people without arousing resentment.




Become a SuperLearner


Book Description

Develop the Skills to Learn Anything Faster, Easier, and More Effectively Written by the creators of the #1 bestselling course of the same name, this book will teach you how to "hack" your learning, reading, and memory skills, empowering you to learn everything faster and more effectively. What Would You Do If You Could Learn Anything 3 Times Faster?In our rapidly changing and information-driven society, the ability to learn quickly is the single most important skill. Whether you're a student, a professional, or simply embarking on a new hobby, you are forced to grapple with an every-increasing amount of information and knowledge. We've all experienced the frustration of an ever-growing reading list, struggling to learn a new language, or forgetting things you learned in even your favorite subjects. This Book Will Teach You 3 Major Skills:Speed reading with high (80%+) comprehension and understandingMemory techniques for storing and recalling vast amounts of information quickly and accuratelyDeveloping the cognitive infrastructure to support this flood of new information long-termHowever, the SuperLearning skills you'll learn in this course are applicable to many aspects of your every day life, from remembering phone numbers to acquiring new skills or even speaking new languages. Anyone Can Develop Super-Learning SkillsThis course is about improving your ability to learn new skills or information quickly and effectively. We go far beyond the kinds of "speed reading" (or glorified skimming) you may have been exposed to, diving into the actual cognitive and neurological factors that make learning easier and more successful. We also give you advanced memory techniques to grapple with the huge loads of information you'll soon be able to process. "This book should be the go-to reference for anyone looking to upgrade their mind's firmware!" -Benny Lewis, Language Learning Expert Learn How to Absorb and Retain Information in a Whole New Way - A Faster, Better Way The Authors' Proprietary Method for Teaching Speed Reading & Memory Improvement You may have even taken a normal speed reading course in the past, only to realize that you didn't retain anything you read. The sad irony is that in order to properly learn things like speed reading skills and memory techniques in the past, you had to read dozens of books and psychological journals to decode the science behind it. Or, you had to hire an expensive private tutor who specializes in SuperLearning. That's what I did. And it changed my life. Fortunately, my co-authors (experts and innovators in the fields of superlearning, memory improvement, and speed reading) agreed to help me transform their materials into the first ever digital course. Over 25,000 satisfied students later, we have transformed our course into a book you can enjoy anywhere. Our teaching methodology relies heavily on at-home exercises. The chapters themselves are only part of what you're buying. You will be practicing various exercises and assignments on a regular basis over the course a 7 week schedule. In addition to the lectures, there are hours of supplemental video and articles which are considered part of the curriculum. "This vital book contains all the tools needed to learn, memorize, and reproduce anything you want with the joy that ease brings. Don't take another class until you've read it!" -Dr. Anthony Metivier, Author & Memory Expert If you wish to improve memory and concentration, learn more effectively, read faster, and learn the techniques of memory champions - look no further! An awesome read that will push the limits of your brain. Levi does an incredible job of guiding you through, to bring your brain from average to UNSTOPPABLE!" -Nelson Dellis, 4-Time USA Memory Champion




Bullshit Jobs


Book Description

From David Graeber, the bestselling author of The Dawn of Everything and Debt—“a master of opening up thought and stimulating debate” (Slate)—a powerful argument against the rise of meaningless, unfulfilling jobs…and their consequences. Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs.” It went viral. After one million online views in seventeen different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer. There are hordes of people—HR consultants, communication coordinators, telemarketing researchers, corporate lawyers—whose jobs are useless, and, tragically, they know it. These people are caught in bullshit jobs. Graeber explores one of society’s most vexing and deeply felt concerns, indicting among other villains a particular strain of finance capitalism that betrays ideals shared by thinkers ranging from Keynes to Lincoln. “Clever and charismatic” (The New Yorker), Bullshit Jobs gives individuals, corporations, and societies permission to undergo a shift in values, placing creative and caring work at the center of our culture. This book is for everyone who wants to turn their vocation back into an avocation and “a thought-provoking examination of our working lives” (Financial Times).