Matthew MacDonald's Blog, page 2
October 19, 2018
Cthulhu for Kids
Here’s something a bit different this Halloween: Three of H. P. Lovecraft’s cosmic horror tales (and one bonus) adapted for young readers.
There’s no snark. There’s no cutesiness. Just gothic creepiness. Recommended for ages 10+.
Download a free excerpt here or read about the book on Amazon (paperback, Kindle).
The inspiration for this project came a few years ago, when I read the classic Lovecraftian tale “The Outsider” out loud to my daughters. Many of the passages were hard for them to fol...
July 27, 2018
Take “Excel Formulas” for a test drive
Curious how Halfwit to Tutorials work? Need to learn Excel, but not sure if you should invest hours watching Excel videos or chewing over Excel theory in a reference book?
We think the H2H tutorials offer the best learning for the least effort. But the best way to know for yourself is to try a couple. To make it easy, we’re offering a free preview of Excel Formulas: Halfwit to Hero. Download the PDF here and get your Excel on!
The preview includes the full Chapter 2 (which gently introduces E...
July 19, 2018
Throwback Thursday: A free (ancient) book about VB .NET
Sixteen years ago I wrote my first tech book, The Book of VB .NET. It was a guide for beginner programmers moving to the exciting new world of .NET, with extra advice for those coming from my favorite classic environment: the clean and quirky Visual Basic 6. The book was published by the wonderful No Starch Press. Anyone who knows No Starch knows that they rarely publish books that deal with Microsoft products, but Bill Pollock liked the concept (and my writing) enough to give it an enthusias...
June 28, 2018
Official release! Excel Formulas Halfwit to Hero
Print copies are available at Amazon with a Kindle version to follow (once I get the formatting as polished in pixels as it is in print).
Still want to kick the tires? You can take a peek at the companion labs that help you practice the concepts in each chapter. And feel free to contact matthew @ prosetech.com if you’d like to fire any questions my way.
Interested in becoming an “early access” reviewer for future Halfwit to Hero books? Scroll down to the subscription box and enter your email...
May 17, 2018
“Excel Formulas” is in the pipeline!
The first H2H book is on its way! Excel Formulas: Halfwit to Hero is a compact guide to the essential art of formula writing, whether you’re using Excel to build a business, run a budget, or solve your math homework. Even if you’re an Excel newbie who has never cracked open a spreadsheet, the first chapter (“What You Should Already Know”) explains the four key Excel concepts everyone needs to get started. Then you can sail ahead to learn about these topics (and more):
Exploring Excel’s funct...
