Kevin Griffin

Build practical C# and . NET 10 projects - from games and web apps to AI chatbots and machine learning tools - while learning modern patterns, libraries, and workflows. Free with your book: DRM-free PDF version + access to Packt's next-gen Reader* Key Features Learn by building practical . NET applications for real-world use Develop cross-platform apps, games, web APIs, and AI integrations Master new C# and . NET features through creative, hands-on projects Book DescriptionToo many C# developers feel stuck building the same apps day in and day out, but learning through side projects can reignite your passion and level up your skills. This book offers a practical, hands-on approach to building confidence with . NET 10 and modern C# by building a variety of engaging applications, from interactive games and productivity tools to machine learning apps and browser-based chatbots. These projects are designed to teach practical patterns and modern tooling, with a focus on learning and experimentation over production hardening. You'll work with tools like Spectre. Console, ML. NET, Uno Platform, and more, developing everything from an adventure game and a card tracker to an AI chatbot. You’ll also build modern AI-enabled systems using Ollama, Microsoft Agent Framework, OpenTelemetry, and Aspire. Written by an experienced C# engineer and teacher, this book blends technical depth with a developer-friendly tone, helping you learn faster and retain more. You'll sharpen your understanding of core . NET capabilities and gain confidence to apply them in your own work or hobby projects. By the end of this book, you'll not only have a portfolio of practical . NET apps - you’ll also have grown as a developer and rediscovered the joy of programming. *Email sign-up and proof of purchase required What you will learn Build an adventure game console app with Spectre. Console Create infinite world simulations using procedural generation Build RESTful APIs using ASP. NET Core and Entity Framework Design a cross-platform chatbot using Uno Platform Use object-oriented programming and unit tests to recreate the Enigma machine Develop browser-based apps with Blazor and JavaScript interop Train and use ML. NET models in your own applications Explore game development with MonoGame and . NET Who this book is forC# developers eager to deepen their practical knowledge of . NET by building meaningful and creative projects. Suitable for professionals and hobbyists alike, this book is ideal for those who enjoy learning through experimentation. Readers should have a basic understanding of C# and familiarity with the . NET ecosystem.

This book introduces the reader to sustainable events management theory and practice, based on academic research and illustrated with empirical case studies. The book provides a comprehensive view of sustainable management and how it relates to the many sectors within the events industry. It emphasises the fundamental importance of local communities, businesses and stakeholders to events organisation in regional, national and international locations. It brings into focus international governing bodies, and national government strategic objectives as the corner stones for sustainable development in the events sector. The relationship between strategic objectives and on-the-ground operational responsibilities are presented using research by contributing authors and accredited organisations to add scope and depth. Best-practice case studies are used throughout the book to highlight and explain particular sustainable management issues and practices. The scope of the book is international and designed to educate undergraduate and postgraduate students and to support practitioners in their operational and administrative duties within their industry sectors.

Jake Stark. Hit songwriter for Nashville music publisher, MegaMusic. Until he's not. ​​​​​​​When MegaMusic decides to not renew his contract over a lack of hit songs, Jake is at a loss. His creative energy is down, and the bills are piling up. Enter Sir Daniel Smith-Daniels, the young, enigmatic owner of the hottest music publisher in Nashville, The Row. During a compelling initial meeting, Sir Daniel introduces Jake to his unique approach to work and life, The Method. Soon, with the help of The Row's talented roster of collaborators, Jake is creating some of the best music he's written in years. And what's more, by following The Method's five distinctive practices, Jake may finally be able to write the song he's always known has been within him, but just out of reach, The Greatest Song. From acclaimed songwriter, Kevin Griffin, The Greatest Song is a creative-nonfiction book for every profession. Through the inspiring fictional narrative of Jake Stark, Griffin shares ideas that can be used by anyone, anywhere, to transform their career and their life.

To live kindness is to express the essential Buddhist wisdom of selflessness Through stories from the ancient Pali canon of Buddhism and personal reflections on modern life, Dharma teacher Kevin Griffin reveals the richness and multifaceted nature of loving-kindness or metta on the Buddhist path. Along with the other brahmaviharas or "divine abodes" of compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, the practice of loving-kindness is not only a meditation technique--it's a radical way of life based in wisdom, ethics, and compassion for all beings. As one friend on the spiritual path speaking to another, Griffin explores the human dimension of what can sometimes seem like lofty philosophy. What would it mean to be completely free of ill will? How do we love without clinging? Can we expand our loving-kindness beyond the human realm to encompass the Earth itself? And how does loving-kindness relate to the ultimate Buddhist goal of enlightenment? Through guided practices and illuminating explorations of classical texts like the Metta Sutta, readers are invited to deepen their understanding of a core Buddhist teaching.

Buddhism & the Twelve Steps Daily Reflections offers teachings for every day of the year to support your recovery. Daily reflection is at the heart of both Buddhist practice and Twelve Step programs. With the Buddhist emphasis on staying in the present moment and the Twelve Step admonition to take things "one day at a time," the importance of not getting lost in the past or future is clear. With guidance on mindfulness meditation and thoughts on working the Steps, Buddhism & the Twelve Steps Daily Reflections provides a wide range of tools for healing and spiritual growth. The book is organized in a "Step of the Month" format making it useful, as well, as a Step study. If you want to focus on a particular Step, you can go to that month and read those pages. The book introduces basics of Buddhism, thoughts on the challenges of recovery, and guidance for a daily mindfulness practice. Each reflection offers a theme to carry into your daily life and inspire your recovery. An excellent reader for a recovery group or individual.

Merging Buddhist mindfulness practices with the Twelve Step program, this updated edition of the bestselling recovery guide One Breath at a Time will inspire and enlighten you to live a better, healthier life. Many in recovery turn to the Twelve Steps to overcome their addictions, but struggle with the spiritual program. But what they might not realize is that Buddhist teachings are intrinsically intertwined with the lessons of the Twelve Steps, and offer time-tested methods for addressing the challenges of sobriety. In what is considered the cornerstone of the most significant recovery movement of the 21st century, Kevin Griffin shares his own extraordinary journey to sobriety and how he integrated the Twelve Steps of recovery with Buddhist mindfulness practices. With a new foreword by William Alexander, the author of Ordinary Recovery, One Breath at a Time takes you on a journey through the Steps, examining critical ideas like Powerlessness, Higher Power, and Moral Inventory through the lens of the core concepts of Buddhism--the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, mindfulness, loving-kindness, and more. The result is a book that presents techniques and meditations for finding clarity and awareness in your life, just as it has for thousands of addicts and alcoholics.

Buddhism & The Twelve Steps is a workbook for people in recovery from addiction of any kind. The book is based on the 12 Steps, intertwining recovery ideas with the Buddhist teachings. Mindfulness is the fundamental tool offered for practice and is presented in the larger context of Buddhist teachings that include the elements of morality and wisdom. The material is practically oriented, and the voice is a personal. Buddhist teachings are presented in down-to-earth terms that make them accessible to the non-Buddhist reader.

The key to ongoing freedom from alcoholism or any other kind of addiction is right before us, here and now, in the ordinary and perfect present moment. The problem is that addictions are often the result of our efforts to escape living in the present in the first place. Bill Alexander's unique approach uses mindfulness (a nonjudgmental awareness of our moment-to-moment experience), story, and meditation to help alcoholics and others learn to come back to the present moment and find healing there. Emerging scientific research suggests that mindfulness can help prevent addiction relapse. "Ordinary Recovery" is a revised edition of Alexander's book "Cool Water," with a new foreword, a new preface by the author, updates throughout the book, and a new resources section.

Buddhism & the Twelve Steps: HIGHER POWER is a gift for those who struggle with the Twelve Step program's focus on the need to surrender to a Higher Power. Taking a radical departure from traditional views of God, Western or Eastern, author Kevin Griffin neither accepts Christian beliefs in a Supreme Being nor Buddhist non-theism, but rather forges a refreshing, sensible, and accessible Middle Way. Griffin shows how the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha, can be understood as a Higher Power. Karma, mindfulness, impermanence, and the Eightfold Path itself are revealed as powerful forces that can be accessed through meditation and inquiry. Drawing from his own experiences with substance abuse, rehabilitation, and recovery, Griffin looks at the various ways that meditation and spiritual practices helped deepen his experience of sobriety. His personal story of addiction is not only raw, honest and engrossing, but guides readers to an inquiry of their own spirituality. In doing so, he poses profound questions, including: - How can I understand God from a Buddhist perspective?- How can I "turn my will and my life over" as a Buddhist?- How can this idea of God "remove my shortcomings"?- How do I learn this God's "will"?