Showing results by narrator "R. Smith" in All Categories

The new era of gamification and human-focused design optimizes for motivation and engagement over traditional function-focused design. Within the industry, studies on game mechanics and behavioral psychology have become proliferate. However, few people understand how to merge the two fields into experience designs that reliably increases business metrics and generates a return on investment.

When the Colonial Marines set out after their deadliest prey, the Xenomorphs, it’s what Corporal Hicks calls a bug hunt—kill or be killed. Here are fifteen all-new stories of such “close encounters,” written by many of today’s most extraordinary authors. Set during the events of all four Alien films, sending the Marines to alien worlds, to derelict space settlements, and into the nests of the universe’s most dangerous monsters, these adventures are guaranteed to send the blood racing—one way or another.

In this updated, companion volume to Merlin's Tour of the Universe, we visit again with Merlin, a timeless space traveler from Planet Omniscia, who answers a collection of imaginative questions about the cosmos from Earthlings of all ages. Whether waxing poetic about Earth and its environs, the Sun and its stellar siblings, the world of light, physical laws or galaxies near and far, Merlin's remarks are engaging, humorous, and clear as a starry night sky.

Explaining Postmodernism is intellectual history with a polemical twist, providing fresh insights into the debates underlying the furor over political correctness, multiculturalism, and the future of liberal democracy.

In his third book, Your Soul’s Love, author Robert Schwartz explores the pre-birth planning of challenges related to romantic relationships or their absence: infidelity, impotence, raising children alone after the death of one’s partner, being single, and celibate relationships.

In Neil deGrasse Tyson's delightful journey through the cosmos, his fictional character Merlin responds to popular questions asked by adults and children alike. Merlin, a timeless visitor from Planet Omniscia in the Andromeda Galaxy, has observed first-hand many of the major scientific events of Earth's history. Merlin's friends include the most important scientific figures and explorers of all time - da Vinci, Magellan, Newton, Einstein and Hubble.

Edgar does not cheat in flower shows. He might use a magically enhanced serum, but anyone could do that. It's not his fault the other competitors don’t know magic exists! But when the Ivy House crew goes to the pre-show to support him, it becomes clear that someone should've been watching Edgar much more carefully. What he's done is way worse than overgrown flora.

Would you like to understand the deeper spiritual meaning of miscarriage, abortion, caregiving, abusive relationships, sexuality, adoption, poverty, suicide, rape, and mental illness? In his groundbreaking first book, Your Soul's Plan: Discovering the Real Meaning of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born, Robert Schwartz brought the idea of pre-birth planning into the mainstream. Now, his brilliant sequel Your Soul's Gift delves even deeper by exploring these subjects and others, such as spiritual awakening and even the pre-birth planning we do with our future pets.

De Brevitate Vitae (frequently referred to as On the Shortness of Life in English) is a moral essay written by Seneca the Younger, a Roman Stoic philosopher, to his father-in-law Paulinus. The philosopher brings up many Stoic principles on the nature of time, namely that men waste much of it in meaningless pursuits. According to the essay, nature gives man enough time to do what is really important and the individual must allot it properly.

Ash is a walking red flag. He is domineering and always in a bad mood. Tragically widowed, yet still in love with his long-dead wife, a single dad to three mini versions of himself, and much too old for me. But I’ve wanted him since I was 16. Seeing him again more than a decade later, all those old feelings just rush back in. Every time when I look up into his deep green eyes, dark scruffy beard, and kissable dimples, all I want is to fall into his arms and never leave. Too much wine and one bed-rocking night later, everything changed.

Jason Thorpe was content living a quiet life in New Orleans. He and his best friend, Ode, opened their cozy curios shop in the French Quarter, and he was making some new, albeit interesting, friends.... Then Jason met Varic Maedoc, the prince of the vampyrs, and his life changed forever. Named the prince’s consort, Jason quickly became the most important subject in the vampyr realm, the man who holds the wolf of Maedoc’s heart - a position that comes with certain obligations and no small amount of influence.

Fixer. Bodyguard. Advocate. Brann Calder is expected to play all these roles and more as a member of Torus Intercession, a security firm guaranteed to right what’s wrong. In the military, catastrophe was his specialty. Five months out of the service, Brann is still finding his way, so a new assignment might be just what he needs. Unless it includes two things sure to make a seasoned, battle-trained veteran nervous: life in a small town, and playing caregiver to two little girls.

I used to get feelings of pure dread when Sunday night creeped up. By the time the Monday morning alarm clock went off, my heart would sink into my stomach. Every fiber in my body knew I couldn’t do that career for even one more day. Sound familiar? Yet somehow we find a way to keep going hour after hour. The only thing keeping me awake was stress induced adrenaline and pure hatred. I now wake up before my alarm clock goes off. I lay in my bed at night after work and can’t stop thinking about how much I love my career.

If you are constantly longing for love from someone else such as your parents, partner, or friends, you might want to revisit your childhood. As children, we didn’t receive the love we desire from our parents. So we are still seeking someone to fulfill this void in us. The truth is we have the capacity to love ourselves. The purpose of this book is to help you learn how to love yourself and be your own parent. What your parents failed to do for you in the past, you can do it for yourself now.

Deputy US Marshal Eli Kohn is doing fine. As the Director of Public Affairs for the Northern District, he represents the USMS in Chicago and that suits him. Yes, it’s wearing to always be on, to smile and wave even in the face of adversity, but he’s good at his job, and no one ever sees him sweat. His personal life, though, has been stagnant, and that doesn’t seem likely to change. But that’s fine too. Eli would much rather spend his free time with his best friend Cel. And lately, when they’re not together, he’s been missing him more and more….

Sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Siberia in April isn't in any tourist guidebook. But that is where Trapp finds himself. It's cold, dark, and the vodka tastes like gasoline. After brawling with half a dozen corrupt Russian cops, he's taken to the infamous penal colony marked on maps as IK-29, but known to inmates as the Black Eagle. The guards are brutes, their prisoners little better than animals. It's hell on earth.

We all tend to hold onto things that have happened in the past. It can feel like we are pulling a cart behind us with all are troubles and worries; it slows us down, and we can become tired, depressed, even jealous, as life seems so easy for others. All we need to do is let go of the cart, and we will feel lighter and free, but often we have held onto it so long that it has become part of us. Many of the people we know are also carrying carts, so it can seem normal.

There is simply no value put on words. Words, however, are the reason that one person lives a life of abundance while another person lives a life of lack. In this book, I want to share with you the correct way to harness the power of your words, so instead of holding you back, they propel you towards the life that you desire - the life that you were destined to live.

Navigating from “Hello” to “I Do” aims to help potential couples make informed choices about their future together through a qualitative and informative dating process. These conversations are presented in five stages. Each stage has clear objectives designed to help couples assess the possibilities and risks of a marital union without emotional complications and pressure from other people.

This is the number one secret to living your best life, and it’s the easiest thing you’ll ever do.... Are you fighting for the "good life", trying to break free from the rat race and push yourself into something more? More relaxation, time on the beach, travel the world, and make more money? You’re not alone. Actually, this is a life that nearly every single one of us is after, and yet in some ironic twist of fate, everybody has themselves convinced that to get there, you must work yourself to the bone.