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aro-and-tired · 3 years

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Aromantic Experiences in Fandom: Survey Results

PART 1 - PART 2 - ANALYSIS: TIME IN FANDOM - ANALYSIS: AROALLOS VS AROACES

This survey was aimed at aromantic people, to share their experiences with fandom spaces, creating fancontent, and shipping. The survey got a total of 916 responses. The questions were split into various sections.

As the survey itself was quite long, the results will be discussed into two posts. This post will outline what the demographics of the respondents were and what their general experiences with fandom aree. The remaining sections, concerning content creators, shipping and additional comments, will be discussed in a separate post. Each post will have a summary at the end.

In addition, I plan on adding a couple posts discussing results split by certain variables, as I’m curious to see if different groups express different feelings regarding a few matters.

Demographic questions

Question 1: How old are you?

15 or younger - 14.7%

16-20 - 47.1% (largest group by age)

21-25 - 25.9%

26-30 - 8.3%

31-35 - 2.7%

36-40 - 1.1%

41-45 - 0.1 % (one person)

51-55 - 0.1% (one person)

Question 2: Which arospec identities to you identify with?

Considering the identities I had given as options, from most to least used:

Aromantic - 80.5%

Arospec - 28.7%

Questioning - 11.7%

Demiromantic - 11.1%

Greyromantic - 10.9%

Quoiromantic or WTFromantic - 7.2%

Aroflux - 4.3%

Cupioromantic - 4%

Aegoromantic - 3.9%

Aroqueer - 3.3%

Lithromantic or Akoiromantic - 2.8%

Nebularomantic - 1.9%

Apothiromantic - 1.2%

Arospike - 0.7% (6 people)

In addition, to these, most commonly added identities were Freyromantic, Belluromantic and Reciproromantic. Various over identities were added by various participants.

Question 3: Which of the following do you identify with?

Aroace - 51%

Aromantic Allosexual - 16.8%

Angled or Oriented Aroace - 12.9%

Questioning - 8.2%

Non-SAM Aro or Just Aro - 6.3%

I don’t identify any of these - 4.8%

General Fandom Questions

The first question in the fandom section was a check to see whether or not the participants were currently involved in fandom spaces. 96.6% (885) respondents said they are involved with fandom. 3.4% (31) respondents said they are not involved with fandom.

Involved in fandom: yes

Question 1: For how many years have you been involved in fandom?

1 or less - 4.1%

2-3 - 20.1%

4-5 - 26.8% (largest group by time spent in fandom)

6-7 - 19.7%

8-10 - 16.3%

11-15 - 8.5%

16 or more - 4.5%

Question 2: In general, would you say fandom spaces are aro-friendly?

Unsure - 45.9%

No - 43.6%

Yes - 10.5%

Question 3: If you answered no on the previous question, can you elaborate on why?

419 people offered a comment to this question. For starters, different people meant different things when they stated that fandom spaces aren’t aro-friendly. Some said that they feel fandom is not actively aro-unfriendly, but not friendly either - aro-tolerant, is how someone put it. Others instead found fandom spaces to be actively arophobic. Some people also specified that it depends on which fandoms one considers, with some fandoms being more friendly than others.

Almost everyone mentioned shipping as the first reason why fandom spaces are not aro-friendly. This ranged from people who enjoy shipping, but still feel that there is too much emphasis on it, from romance repulsed people who feel extremely alienated due to how common shipping is. The prevalence of shipping means that gen fics are rarer and receive less attentions. In general, it feels as if platonic relationships are seen as inferior to romantic ones and not worth of being explored.

It was also commented upon that some popular tropes can have arophobic connotations. Various participants mentioned soulmate AUs and Hanahaki disease as common tropes that some aros are very uncomfortable with, or that often have arophobic themes in the way they are used.

Many people also stated that they feel as if aromantic headcanons are less respected than other kinds of headcanons. They may receive less attention, especially from alloromantic fans, and at times even get rejected from fandom. Some aro people have reported having been accused of homophobia for headcanoning members of popular M/M or F/F ships are aromantic (or even just not shipping said ships), and accused of erasing gay people’s sexuality even when their aro headcanons concern characters with no canon sexuality.

On the flip side, the rare aromantic representation that exists is often not well respected by alloromantic fans. Many aros have said that it makes them uncomfortable to see allo fans ship aro characters, but their concerns are also often dismissed by allo fans as simple drama. Some people have even reported being themselves called arophobic by those same alloromantic shippers for being uncomfortable with shipping aro characters - the logic used being, that since some aromantic people enjoy dating, it is arophobic to be uncomfortable with aro characters being shipped. It is particularly hurtful that the same fans who get up in arms about respecting the sexualities of canon gay or lesbian characters and become very angry if someone ships them with a character of the other binary gender are often the same people who happily ship aro characters and ignore any argument made by aromantic fans.

Overall, many aromantic people feel that fandoms can be fairly amatonormative, if not straight up arophobic, and that their identities are often not respected and seeing as more trivial than shipping characters together.

Question 4: Do you think it's easy to find aromantic specific content in fandom?

No - 86.9%

Unsure - 7.2%

Yes - 5.9%

Question 5: Do you think alloromantic (non-aromantic) fans are in general respectful of aromantic interpretations of characters/media?

No - 56.7%

Unsure - 34.5%

Yes - 8.8%

Question 6: Have you ever received arophobic hate or harassment over something relating to fandom (aromantic headcanons, aromantic fancontent, etc.)?

No - 82.1%

Yes - 17.9%

Involved in fandom: no

Only 31 people stated that they are not currently involved in fandom spaces and answered the following questions. This is a fairly small sample. The answers here are reported, but it’s possible that they may not reflect actual trends.

Question 1: Have you ever been involved with fandom before?

Yes - 83.9%

No - 16.1%

Question 2: Is the fact that you are aromantic part of the reason you don't frequent fandom spaces?

No - 58.1%

Yes - 41.9%

Question 3: From what you have seen, do you think fandom spaces in general are welcoming to aro people?

No - 48.4%

Unsure - 48.4%

Yes - 3.2% (one person)

Question 4: If you answered no to the previous question, can you elaborate on why?

17 people answered this question. As a general rule, people here had stronger opinions regarding the prevalence of arophobia in fandom compared to those who are currently involved in fandom. Many of them said that they were either personally harassed for being aro when they were in fandom, or that they have witnessed this harassment from the outside. They also mentioned the prevalence of discourse in fandom spaces, with many exclusionists running fandom blogs.

One again, shipping was the most common reason given for fandom spaces being potentially alienating for aro fans, both its prevalence and the existence of things such as ship wars. A few people also mentioned having seen aro headcanons being called homophobic. Soulmate AU and Hanahaki disease were also mentioned as aro unfriendly tropes, and one person also brought up the matchmaker trope.

Someone also mentioned that in addition to aro unfriendly, fandom can also be ace unfriendly, and that asexual headcanons can receive the same backlash as aromantic headcanons. Another person said that while sexual content is common in fandom spaces, most of it is fundamentally alienating to romance repulsed aros, as sexual content almost always involves a romantic component.

Part 1 Summary

Overall, nearly half of aromantic respondents, both those involved and not involved in fandom, state that they feel fandom spaces are not aro-friendly. There’s also a fair number of people who are unsure, and only a minority feels that fandom spaces are friendly to aromantic fans. The amount of shipping that occurs in fandom spaces is mentioned as primary reason why aro fans feel alienated in fandom, especially romance repulsed aros. Many people also mentioned an attitude towards dismissing aro fans, if not straight up harassing them. Fandom arophobia has been remarked upon by various people, and in some occasions led to aro fans leaving fandom entirely.

The majority of fans agree that it’s hard to find aromantic specific content in fandom. A little more than half also states that alloromantic fans are not respectful of aromantic interpretations, with less than 10% of aro fans definitely stating that they believe alloromantic fans support their interpretations.

Lastly, a little less than one fifth of respondents stated that they received harassment due to aromantic headcanons, fancontent, or the likes.

Find Part 2 here

#aromantic #arospec #fandom #survey results

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rebeccahpedersen · 6 years

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Cruel, (Cruel), Cruel Summer?

TorontoRealtyBlog

What kind of a band name is “Bananarama” anyways?

I understand that during the last decade of mainstream music, literally hundreds of thousands of bands have come and gone, and musicians need to get creative to come up with names that are not only appealing, but also haven’t been used before.

I’m pretty sure if a cool, indie band from Whitby tried to market themselves as “The Beatles,” they likely wouldn’t get very far.

I think my favourite band-name origin has to be Lynyrd Skynyrd.

As the story goes, the band members had a very tough gym teacher at Robert E. Lee high school in the 1970’s, named “Leonard Skinner,” and they wanted to mock him by naming their band after him.

So if I had a band, I’d call it Byb Myntgymry…

“Bananarama” just doesn’t seem like a name that can be taken seriously, although “A-Ha,” and “Devo” aren’t much better.

Banarama hit #1 on the U.S. dance charts in 1987 with their single, “Venus,” but I think “Cruel Summer” has been more absorbed by pop culture over the years.

As it should be.

I mean, how can you forget lyrics like this:

Hot summer streets And the pavements are burning I sit around Trying to smile but The air is so heavy and dry Strange voices are saying (What did they say?) Things I can’t understand It’s too close for comfort This heat has got Right out of hand

It’s a cruel, (cruel), cruel summer (Leaving me) leaving me here on my own It’s a cruel, (it’s a cruel), cruel summer Now you’re gone

The city is crowded My friends are away And I’m on my own It’s too hot to handle So I got to get up and go

It’s a cruel, (cruel), cruel summer (Leaving me) leaving me here on my own It’s a cruel, (it’s a cruel), cruel summer Now you’re gone

You’re always around You found yourself But now you’re by yourself, waiting for me I’m your self I am the sun (leaving me)

–

I’m no expert lyricist, but it sounds like somebody got left alone in Toronto on a long weekend without an invite from her friends to hit up the parents’ cottage on Lake Joe!

And if I’m right, the “I’ve got to get up an go” means she’s going to crash the party! That’s ballsy!

Imagine the surprise of her friends, at an epic dock-party, drinking mimosas, talking about which equestrian camp they went to as children, and BAM! Bananarama-the-left-behind, shows up, unannounced.

Or maybe I’m wrong, and this is just really crappy 80’s retro with no meaning, other than the cliché boyfriend who hurt her feelings.

Either way…

So here we sit, after the first month of a two-month summer break of sorts for the real estate market, and I figured we’d take a quick pulse check.

As I’ve written before ad nauseam, May is often viewed as the “peak” of the spring market, June is an extremely strong month (on par with April) but certainly falls below the peak of the curve, and things really, really slow down in July and August before the Fall market starts back up again after Labour Day.

In my July e-Newsletter, I noted that my expectation for the average home price, after April, May, and June averages of $804,584, $805,320, and $807,871 respectively, would fall below $800,000, simply due to the decrease in activity.

And that’s exactly what happened.

The July average home price in Toronto dipped to $782,129.

Now before we actually measure that number, and determine whether it’s more or less than expected, let me show you two headlines from last week when the TREB numbers were released:

Wait. What?

“Home sales and prices rise in Toronto region for a second straight month?”

I just said that the price dropped from $807,871 to $782,129.

I’m not wrong.

And technically, neither is that headline.

They’re talking about the second straight month of “year-over-year” increases, which holds true. But the way in which we measure the market, and the way in which we explain statistics – especially through headlines, can be oh-so-misleading!

I’m not here to cheerlead the market, and I’m also not going to fall into the bear-trap. But as I write, almost every month, surely we can clear all this up a bit, no?

How about this headline:

This one isn’t as poorly-constructed as the one above, since it doesn’t say “…for the second straight month,” referring to a monthly year-over-year number (man, that just sounds awkward). But it doesn’t specify whether the 19% refers to monthly or yearly, and again, in this case, it’s looking at year-over-year numbers.

So where does that actually leave us?

What is the public perception?

Here’s three headlines from the last 3 1/2 months, all from the Globe & Mail’s real estate reporter (keep in mind – the reporters don’t choose the headlines), and note how the sentiment changes?

Signs of firming?

Really?

Okay, well let’s take a look at the numbers.

For today’s experiment, I want to look at the drop-off (which we take as given) from June to July each year, as the market slows down for summer.

I want to look at Price, Sales, New Listings, and Active Listings.

And in order to draw any conclusions about how the month of July went, I want to compare the June-to-July drop in 2018 to the previous decade.

Sound fun?

First, let’s take a look at the average Toronto home price:

Despite what the newspaper headlines say above, we did see a drop in average home price in July, from June: $807,871 to $782,129 as previously noted!

That’s a 3.2% drop, which is significant in some ways, ie. when you consider the May-to-June increase was only 0.9%, but also insignificant if you compare against previous years.

This is what I wanted to look at: historical context.

Last year, we saw a 5.8% drop in average home price, and that was after the hammer had already hit in May and June.

The previous two years, we saw drops of 4.8% and 4.9% respectively.

And as you can see from the “average” at the bottom of (-4.0%), the 3.2% drop is trailing the decade-average.

For what it’s worth, the 3-year moving average including 2015, 2016, and 2017 was (-5.2%). So I have to conclude that the 3.2% drop in average home price that we just saw, is a sign of a healthy market.

–

I’m tempted to look at the sales figures for June and July of 2018, measure them against 2014, 2015, and 2016, and say, “Wow, are sales ever down!”

But in context here, it doesn’t tell us about the market right now.

We saw sales drop 13.9% from June to July, which pales in comparison to last year when the drop was almost double.

Once again, that 3-year moving average greatly outweighs the overall average; a 21.7% decline from 2015, 2016, and 2017, compared to the 16.6% average through the entire decade.

Either way, the 13.9% drop this year, once again, shows the market is healthier than the average market during the last decade.

–

Next, we look at the number of listings, and here’s where you could make an argument either way.

On the one hand, you could suggest that a large drop signifies a healthy market, in that the summer is usually, or “supposed to be” slower.

On the other hand, you could suggest that market activity is market activity, and that the more listings there are, the busier the market is, and that in itself, demonstrates a bullish market.

Personally, I think the former applies.

I think the market cycle exists because of differing market forces, tastes and preferences, and interactions between buyers and sellers. There are peaks and valleys, and good and bad times to list.

Here’s how the Active Listings look for the past month, and compare to the last decade:

So if you’re taking my opinion on the measure of this statistic, you’ll note that a “healthy” market would see a larger than average drop, unlike the Price and Sales statistics above.

There were a LOT of “leftover” listings in 2017 from sellers who refused to accept market conditions, and held on for dear life. So the 4.7% drop, up against the 8.0% and 7.2% drops in the two years preceding, doesn’t surprise me.

But I am surprised to only see a 5.4% drop in 2018.

It looks ‘normal’ up against the 2017 number of 4.7%, but that, as I explained, was abnormal.

A healthier number, in my opinion, would have been around the 7-8% mark.

This tells me that a lot of holdover or leftover listings still exist, and we are still seeing freehold sellers listing at prices below fair market value, not getting what they wanted on “offer night,” and then re-listing again at a higher price. They often sit on the market thereafter, for weeks or months at a time.

–

Last but not least, we look at the New Listings.

And this number surprises the most.

New listings only dropped 12.9% from June to July, after seeing this number balloon to 27.8% in 2017, off a 20.2% stat in 2016:

I’m shocked that so many sellers out there chose the month of July to list their properties.

Granted, the condo market isn’t nearly as cyclical as the freehold market, and while I would argue that I would rather list in June or September, I’m not completely averse to listing a condo for sale in the summer, as I would be with a single-family freehold.

But I would have expected this number to be way larger, at least showing a 20% drop.

–

Overall, I’d still say the month of July showed strength.

I’m always more concerned with price than I am with listings, and while I don’t make as big a deal about the number of sales as many people (especially the media who often lead with sales, over price), I do think the sales activity in July shows incredible strength when compared to the previous three years.

I wrote in a blog post a few weeks ago that you really can’t tell much about the overall health of the market from one slow summer month, and I stand by that.

But if you want a snapshot, or a proverbial “balance sheet” at a particular point in time, you can draw a very small takeaway from the numbers above, as they compare to years’ previous.

I do expect the average home price in August to dip once again, below the $782,129 number that we saw this past month.

But I would also expect the average home price in September to soar into the $820K range as sales pick up again dramatically.

The post Cruel, (Cruel), Cruel Summer? appeared first on Toronto Realty Blog.

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ssteezyy · 7 years

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Review: PetFusion ToughGrip Litter Mat and QuickScoop Litter Scoop

This post contains affiliate links*

PetFusion has long been known for making top quality modern cat products. The brand recently added three new products to its line: the ToughGrip Litter Mat, the QuickScoop Litter Scoop, and a large litter box with a non-stick coating.

PetFusion ToughGrip Litter Mat

This is a heavy duty litter mat. Made from premium FDA grade silicone, the mat is waterproof, anti-microbial, non-toxic, and hypoallergenic. It is designed with elevated inner ridges and an outer lip to contain cat litter. It is generously sized at 27 x 22 inches with a 0.25 inch lip. The mat comes with a 12 month warranty for any manufacturing defects.

This mat really does what it says: litter stays on the mat. Clean up is easy – either vacuum up trapped litter, or simply pick the mat up, fold it and pour the clean litter back in the box. We use a high-sided litter box, so we don’t usually have a lot of litter outside the box, but if you have a litter kicker, this mat could actually save you litter.

I’ll offer one caution: if you’ve never used a litter mat before, or even if you’re currently using one with a different texture, give your cats a chance to get used to the texture of this mat before you put it under the box. Allegra and Ruby did not mind the ridged texture, but some cats may not like it, and you don’t want to inadvertently cause a litter box aversion.

The PetFusion ToughGrip Litter Mat is available from Amazon with free shipping for Prime members.

QuickScoop Litter Scoop

This generously sized litter scoop measures 13.2 x 4.8 x 3.2″. It is made from ABS plastic, which is more durable and rigid than standard polypropylene. It has a non-stick anti-microbial coating that reduces sticking of litter to the scoop. The scoop’s sharp leading edge sits flush against the box floor to scoop underneath rather than into clumped litter. The high side walls prevent litter from scattering. The scoop comes with a wall mount, and a 12 month warranty for any manufacturing defects.

I’m used to a much smaller scoop, so it took me a while to get used to the feel of this scoop, but once I got the hang of it, I loved how efficient it makes scooping. The non-stick coating even worked for freshly scooped clumps (since I work from home, and one of our litter boxes sits right outside my office, I tend to scoop pretty much as soon as Allegra or Ruby deposit something in the box.)

The QuickScoop Litter Scoop is available from Amazon with free shipping for Prime members.

PetFusion Large Litter Box with Non-Stick Coating

At 22.6 x 18.1 x 8.0 inches, this litter box is pretty much everything I think a litter box should be: it’s open, it’s large enough even for big cats, at 8 inches high, it’s higher than most boxes, and it has a lower entry for older cats. Unfortunately, it’s not high enough for my vertical pee’er Ruby, so we did not test this box. The non-stick coating is said to reduce sticking of litter up to 70%.

The PetFusion Large Litter Box with Non-Stick Coating is available from Amazon with free shipping for Prime members.

*FTC Disclosure: The Conscious Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on Amazon and affiliated sites. This means that if you decide to purchase through any of our links, we get a small commission. We only spread the word about products and services we’ve either used or would use ourselves. We received the litter mat and scoop from PetFusion. Receiving the free products did not influence my review. All reviews on The Conscious Cat will always reflect my honest opinion, or, as the case may be, Allegra and Ruby’s honest opinion.

The post Review: PetFusion ToughGrip Litter Mat and QuickScoop Litter Scoop appeared first on The Conscious Cat.

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jamieclawhorn · 7 years

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One overlooked Woodford dividend stock I’d buy today

Today I’m looking for stocks with the potential to deliver a reliable dividend growth and decent capital gains.

One of the companies on my radar is a stock owned by star fund manager Neil Woodford. The other is a FTSE 250 stock where the boss owns 39% of the shares. Is either of these companies a buy?

Skin in the game

Chief executive Mark Coombs owns 39% of the shares of FTSE 250 asset manager Ashmore Group (LSE: ASHM). There’s no doubt that Mr Coombs has plenty of skin in the game, but it’s less clear to me whether the shares are attractive for outside investors.

The company’s performance in recent months has been strong. Assets under management (AUM) rose by $2.8bn to $58.7bn during the last quarter, thanks to a mix of investor inflows and investment gains. Over the last 12 months, AUM has risen by 12%.

However, this is partly a result of strengthening conditions in the emerging markets in which Ashmore invests. It’s not clear to me whether the firm’s funds have significantly outperformed their underlying markets. The firm invests in a complex mix of currencies, debt and equities. For outside investors, it’s very difficult to get an idea of how well the firm’s products are really performing.

I’d say that Ashmore definitely provides a useful service to institutional investors looking for exposure to emerging markets. But I’m not sure how attractive it is for shareholders. Although the stock offers a tempting 4.8% dividend yield, the shares have only risen by 10% over the last five years. By contrast, the FTSE 250 has gained 76% over the same period. In my view, the problem is that the firm’s performance is closely linked to macro factors beyond management’s control.

However, Ashmore seems to be on a roll at the moment. Mr Coombs said today that investor allocations to emerging markets remain “significantly underweight”. Further gains may be possible, but I don’t see this as a long-term hold.

A newcomer with potential

Neil Woodford backed the 2015 flotation of IT infrastructure group Softcat (LSE: SCT). His Equity Income Fund remains a shareholder in this FTSE 250 firm.

While it’s new to the public markets, Softcat has been trading since 1987. The group provides data centre, networking and security solutions for public sector and corporate customers.

This is clearly a growing sector of the market. Softcat appears to be benefitting from this trend. Sales have risen from £395.8m in 2013, to £672.4m in 2016. Profits have followed, climbing from £20.6m in 2013 to £33.2m last year.

The firm benefits from very strong financial foundations. Net cash was £46.6m at the end of January, and the firm has a strong track record of generating free cash flow to fund dividends and expansion.

Softcat stock currently trades on a forecast P/E of 19 with a prospective yield of 3.2%. Although that’s not obviously cheap, I think this is a good quality business that could easily grow into its current valuation. I’d be happy to buy at current levels.

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buddyrabrahams · 7 years

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10 NFL players looking to bounce back in 2017

Every year, some NFL superstars unexpectedly experience a down season. For some, the lack of production is due to injuries. For others, the disappointing year could be attributed to anything from a new coach to a new system or a new team.

Most players bounces back, though a handful don’t. And in 2017, there’s little reason to believe that either end of that spectrum will change.

While it’s nearly impossible to tell which player will drop off, it’s much easier to predict who has the potential to rebound. With that in mind, here are 10 NFL players looking to bounce back in 2017.

10. Joe Haden, CB, Cleveland Browns

Joe Haden is dominant when he’s on the field. Unfortunately, staying healthy has become a bit troublesome for the 2010 first-round pick.

Haden has missed 14 games over the last two seasons. Had he not played through a series of groin injuries last year, there’s a strong chance he’d not only have lost his job, but quite possibly be out of work. And that’s not hyperbole; that comes directly from Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

“When I first got here, I went to his office and we talked for a while,” Haden told Cleveland.com in April. “He told me, ‘If you didn’t play through your injury, I would tell them to get you out of here.'”

Although Haden managed to play through his injuries for the most part, his performance on the field clearly suffered. He was named a Pro Bowl alternate based on his resume alone, but was a shell of his former dominant self.

On the bright side, in the rare moments Haden has been healthy, he’s displayed the same elite athleticism that’s sent him to two Pro Bowls and earned him second-team All-Pro honors in 2013. And if he can overcome his recent issues and stay on the field for all 16 games in 2017, there’s little reason to believe he won’t return to the same sort of dominance we’re all accustomed to.

9. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans

Two years ago, DeAndre Hopkins was considered among the most elite wide receivers in football. He was coming off of his second consecutive season of 1,200-plus yards and had improved his touchdown numbers by crossing the goal line 11 times.

Unfortunately for Hopkins, some very legitimate issues at quarterback killed the offensive chemistry and his production dropped like a rock.

Hopkins finished the 2016 season with 78 receptions for only 954 yards and four touchdowns. Those are solid numbers, but nowhere near representative of his remarkable athleticism and talent.

In 2017, things are poised to change.

Tom Savage is expected to be the starting quarterback, but he will receive some competition courtesy of Brandon Weeden and first-round pick Deshaun Watson. And however it shakes out, Hopkins will likely benefit.

If the Texans can find some consistency at the quarterback position, it’s realistic to think Hopkins will retake his throne as one of the premiere wide receivers in the NFL.

8. Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams

Todd Gurley impressed throughout his rookie campaign in 2015, gaining 1,106 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns in 13 games. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to duplicate that production in 2016, gaining only 885 yards and scoring six touchdowns in 16 games.

The most concerning number? Gurley saw his yards per carry average drop from 4.8 in 2015 to 3.2 in 2016.

It may have been your typical sophomore slump or it could have possibly been more. What led to the dip in production is up for debate, but Rams rookie head coach Sean McVay expects the talented Gurley to bounce-back this coming season.

“A lot of times you have a tendency to just look at the stats instead of the actual tape,” McVay said via ESPN. “I think you still see a natural runner who’s got a great body lean; he has a natural feel for how to work edges on people. And I think that showed up in spurts last year. Clearly, what he did in his rookie year, I think it sets the expectations where this guy is going to be a great back year-in and year-out. And that’s what we feel, too. I think Todd’s motivated, challenged in the right way to respond, and can have a bounce-back year. But it’s going to take everybody, and Todd is going to be a big part of it.”

In an effort to help Gurley and their ground game, the Rams hired Aaron Kromer as their new offensive line coach, and later added left tackle Andrew Whitworth and Robert Woods, who is one of the best blocking receivers in the NFL, via free agency. With some experience under his belt, Jared Goff should be improved next season, which could help open things up for Gurley.

7. Tyrann Mathieu, safety, Arizona Cardinals

When Tyrann Mathieu is healthy, he’s arguably the best safety in all of football. Unfortunately, the Honey Badger has struggled at staying on the field, and such was the case in 2016.

Coming off an All-Pro season in 2015, Mathieu was expected to take the next step in his development and help solidify Arizona’s secondary. Instead, a shoulder injury cost him six games and eventually landed him on season-ending injured reserve (IR) in December.

Returning in 2017, Mathieu has a different outlook on things. Having gotten down on himself previously due to injuries, he’s chosen a new path ahead of the 2017 season. No goals, no prediction and no stress. He’s simply returning in hopes of playing well, having fun and winning.

“I’m more confident,” Mathieu told the Cardinals’ official website. “When you are injured, have injuries, have an up-and-down year, you tend to lose confidence. You’re not really having that much fun. It’s important for me to have fun this year. Not think about expectations or goals.”

So long as he can finally remain healthy, there’s no reason to believe Mathieu won’t bounce back in a major way.

6. Eddie Lacy, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Unlike many others on this list who are aiming to bounce back after one down season, Eddie Lacy is looking to do it after two sub-par seasons. He’s also mixing in a complete change of scenery.

Lacy’s battles with weight are well documented, but his recent struggles extend beyond that. The 2013 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has been battling injuries in each of the past two seasons and has not played a full 16 games since 2014.

After the Green Bay Packers opted to go in a different direction, Lacy found a new home with the Seattle Seahawks. But that came with some strings attached.

Lacy’s deal with the Seahawks was relatively minimal, but he can earn quite a bit more in incentives — many of which are tied to his weight and playing shape. So with money serving as a partial motivator, the expectation is that Lacy will remain in good health both on and off the field and, ideally, return to form in 2017.

5. Ezekiel Ansah, DE, Detroit Lions

Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah was an ascending — and nearly dominant — pass rusher heading into the 2016 season, but then things took an unexpectedly negative turn.

The 27-year-old Ansah was riddled with injuries throughout the season, and it drastically stifled his productivity. In 13 games, he finished with only 35 tackles, two sacks and four stuffs. The two sacks were a career-low.

But even beyond the box score, it was clear Ansah wasn’t right. He finished the year ranked 29th in pressure rate and 27th in sack rate. He earned a Pro Football Focus grade of 75.5 and his pass rush productivity fell to just 8.8.

Ansah now insists he’s over the injuries that limited him in 2016 and ready to put the poor season-long performance behind him. And considering he’s entering a contract year, there’s little doubt he aims to put his best foot forward. With a massive contract potentially on the line, Ansah has to bounce back.

4. Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

Russell Wilson may have thrown for over 4,200 yards in 2016 — a career-high — but precious few would argue he had a good season.

The Seahawks offense struggled to produce last year and that most certainly extended to Wilson. While his yardage may look good on paper, little else went his way. The three-time Pro Bowler threw only 21 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, and that ratio was made worse when considering he also had five fumbles. Toss in a career-low 92.6 quarterback rating and 7.7 yards per attempt, and it’s easy to see why he made this list.

But the good news is that Wilson has made a career out of bouncing back and there’s little reason to believe he won’t do it again in 2017.

Wilson has long prided himself on suffering from “amnesia” when it comes to poor performances, so he’ll need a hefty dose of it going into this season. But with a few key offensive additions and health leading up to training camp, a motivated Wilson has all he’ll need to turn things back around.

3. Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers

It’s almost surreal to think that Cam Newton had such a down season only a year removed from winning the league MVP award, but any way you slice it, he didn’t seem to be himself in 2016.

Not only did Newton see a 25-point drop in his passer rating, he also set career-lows in completion percentage (52.9%) and yards per completion (6.88), while tossing just 19 touchdowns to 14 interceptions.

Even on the ground, Newton wasn’t getting it done. He rushed for only 359 yards and five touchdowns, which were also career-lows.

It was an unexpected season to say the least, but there’s little reason to believe Newton’s poor play will become a pattern. Everyone is entitled to down years, and even the best of the best are not always immune to that. And it’s not as if Newton hasn’t experienced some lows before.

Consider 2016 an extended Super Bowl 50 hangover for Newton and the Panthers. Now they’re over it and ready to return to prominence.

2. J.J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans

J.J. Watt was limited to only three games last season as the result of a serious back injury, and it caused him to even discuss potential retirement. In his mind, if he’s not the best defensive end in the NFL, there’s no reason for him to play.

The good news? Watt is undeniably the most dominant defensive force in the NFL when healthy and right now, he’s apparently healthy.

Watt has been a full participant early on in organized team activities (OTAs). When he steps on the field in the regular season, he’ll do so with a quality counterpart — Jadeveon Clowney.

Clowney’s development has to serve as motivation for Watt, who’s won three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards, because it will mean more opportunities for him. So not only should the football world expect Watt to bounce back, but they should anticipate him being better than ever.

1. Adrian Peterson, RB, New Orleans Saints

Adrian Peterson will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame at some point in his lifetime, but here in 2017, the focus will be on his ability to bounce back after missing much of last season with a knee injury.

Peterson, 32, missed 13 games in 2016, finishing the season with only 72 yards on 37 carries (1.9 yards per carry). Those numbers represented career lows and seemed to signal that the veteran was beginning to break down.

The lost season wasn’t anything new, either. Peterson missed 15 games in 2014 and two games in 2013.

Despite the recent injury history, the New Orleans Saints thought enough of Peterson to give him a shot. They signed the veteran to a two-year, $7 million deal that’s rich with potential incentives. The belief is he’ll start out of the gate and be given an opportunity to prove he’s still among the league’s elite.

Given what we’ve already seen out of Peterson throughout his NFL career, there’s little reason to believe he won’t find success in The Big Easy.

from Larry Brown Sports http://ift.tt/2sdmPmz

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allbaytechga-blog · 7 years

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Linux Mint Cinnamon edition

Cinnamon has long felt like the leader desktop for Linux Mint, and this discharge is no special case. In spite of the fact that MATE gets generally equivalent charging—and, from what I can tell as an untouchable, level with improvement consideration—Cinnamon is certainly the flashier, more cleaned of the two.

Linux Mint 18.1 elements Cinnamon 3.2, which is eminent for two things that sound somewhat minor at first look yet open up many conceivable outcomes for outsider designers. The first is that all the different menus and boards no longer have what Mint calls "box pointers"— at the end of the day, the state of the menus used to "point" to their parent question. In Cinnamon 3.2, those are gone. Cinnamon 3.2 additionally includes the capacity to dock boards vertically on either (or both) sides of your screen instead of simply the top and base.

The last change is quickly helpful for anybody working a confined tablet screen since there's more flat space than vertical, gave the boards as an afterthought work with your propensities. Taking out the case pointers is something that will enthusiasm not far off since it opens up more alternatives for subject planners.

On account of some basic overhauls, Cinnamon 3.2 brings back some of its glimmer by re-empowering cross-blur livelinesss and blur impacts for records. These elements had both been impaired in the past couple of discharges for dependability reasons. You can likewise now have Cinnamon play a custom sound when a warning flies up. To do as such, there's another setting in the Sound board of the System Settings application; make a beeline for "Sound" and afterward "Stable Effects" to discover it.

There are additionally a couple truly decent components to Cinnamon that have been there a long time yet once in a while get said. To begin, I've generally been inspired with the way the principle menu look device gets you what you need notwithstanding when you write something that doesn't exist. For instance, I needed to test Xed, the Mint content tool, however inside Mint there's no Xed application—it's called "Word processor." Still, in the event that you open the fundamental menu and scan for Xed, the top hit will be Text Editor. Also, I can easily forget if the application to change desktop foundations is called "Desktop," "Appearance," or something else. What's pleasant is I don't need to recollect—sort "Desktop," and the top hit is Background. It's a little thing, yet this sort of tender loving care and taking care of little yet basic issues is a major a portion of why clients adore Mint.

Another exceptionally decent under-the-radar highlight that is new in Cinnamon 3.2 is that Bumblebee clients can right-click any application in the application menu and dispatch it with optirun by selecting "Keep running with NVIDIA GPU." That may be the most effortless way I've seen to exploit the all the more intense—yet more battery-depleting—design just when you truly need them (e.g. with your most loved design manager or diversion). Once more, it's a little component, however it's one that is greatly valuable.

Another piece of equipment bolster important is that notwithstanding synaptics, Cinnamon 3.2 now underpins the more current libinput touchpad driver. I've had much better fortunes with libinput on fresher equipment, especially getting "turn around" looking over working comprehensively instead of all around aside from Chromium (which is the thing that happens on the off chance that you utilize a more elevated amount technique, Xmodmap for example, or synaptics). You mileage may shift, however in any case, it's decent to have the alternative to utilize libinput with Cinnamon.

Mint keeps on cleaning its arrangement of default applications with this discharge. The Xed word processor gets a Firefox-style look bar at the base of the windows that components find-as-you-write seeking. Xed additionally now has full support for dull subjects, eminently the discretionary Mint-Y topic that dispatched with Mint 18.0. Mint's video and picture watcher applications, Xplayer and Xviewer individually, additionally observe a few changes, similar to the capacity to clear a moment screen when you're viewing a video in Xplayer.

The Mint Update Manager remains generally unaltered beside a few changes to how part redesign choices are shown (they're currently sorted by rendition, and there are proposals for both the most steady and the most secure). There's additionally another section demonstrating the wellspring of overhauls, whether it's Mint, upstream Ubuntu, or any outsider repos you've introduced.

While 99 percent of my involvement with Linux Mint has been certain, I find that the Update Manager is one place this distro falls all over. Mint clients have a tendency to get guarded about this point since Mint has gone to the inconvenience to assemble its own Update Manager (which is extremely decent; I've lauded it before, especially to link to the changelogs for each accessible bit). In any case, decent as it seems to be, an overhaul administrator turns out to be counter gainful in the event that it doesn't stay up with the latest, especially with portion level security redesigns.

In Mint 18, Mint started including an introduction screen that surfaces when you first dispatch Update Manager. Mint will ask you which settings you need to use for redesigns. The choices are "don't break my PC," "advance solidness and security," and "dependably upgrade everything." By default, the center choice is chosen. Each of those alternatives has some extra data, including a suggestion which is, in a similar request, "for amateur clients," "for most clients," and "for cutting edge clients."

I didn't call this out in the last audit, yet it merits it. Honestly, this presentation is a heap of poop.

Marking a setting "don't break my PC" infers that alternate choices will break your PC, which is nearly ensured to unnerve another clients into picking that choice. That is an immense insult to learner clients, and it's strange with whatever remains of Mint. On the off chance that Mint truly can't give a stable up and coming framework without blocking upstream upgrades, I would recommend everybody quit utilizing it. The thing is, Mint can give that, it has recently settled on some poor UI choices in its Update Manager which may misdirect amateur clients. This bit of excessively sharp dialect could bring about a more current client to wind up with a less secure framework.

Once more, Mint can be similarly as secure as some other distro. The issue is that it effectively urges clients not to esteem security by means of inadequately picked defaults and UI messages. Also, if the "dependably overhaul everything" alternative, including the bit, truly breaks Mint, I'd recommend possibly Mint needs to venture back and consider to what that says in regards to the distro. I would say, however, utilizing this setting has never brought on me any issues with Mint. It ought to be the default setting, similarly as it is in each other distro I'm mindful of.

It's significant that when I say "redesign the part," I mean the present point arrival of the portion, not real point overhauls. For Mint 18.1, that implies bit 4.4.x. This choice gets a handle on frightfully of date. It may be the case that I've invested an excessive amount of energy with Arch and have been utilizing fresh out of the plastic new equipment a great deal, yet I'd waver to utilize anything under 4.8 now, especially in the event that you have a Skylake chip.

Luckily, 4.8 is accessible for Mint, however here you may well need to regard Mint's different unnerving sounding notices. Overhauling between bit point discharges can bring about issues with your framework—particularly if your distro hasn't expressly affirmed that everything works. To the extent I can tell, Mint has not.

While Mint's Update Manager offers a lot of insight about all the different pieces accessible, it's frustratingly obscure about regardless of whether a given bit has been tried, particularly in light of all the alarm strategy notices you get when from the UI. Is bit 4.8 there in light of the fact that it works fine and dandy with Mint 18.1 and I can move up to it? Then again is 4.8 there basically in light of the fact that upstream Ubuntu has pushed it out for Ubuntu clients and Mint is lifting it up? There is by all accounts no data gave to answer that question.

Not at all like the Update Manager, the window posting accessible part redesigns doesn't utilized the shaded, 1-5 strength positioning framework. Past connecting to the changelogs (which is a pleasant component), there's no sign of what's been tried and what hasn't. The main data gave is that 4.4.0-53 is suggested for strength, and the later 4.4.0-57 is prescribed on the off chance that you think about security. Once more, security and steadiness are evidently at chances in Linux Mint.

Since at any rate part of the purpose of checking on a distro is to be the canary in a coal mine, I felt free to overhauled the bit to 4.8 and... nothing terrible happened. For the record, I do the greater part of my testing on a Lenovo x240 i5. I generally begin with a virtual machine introduce and after that likewise introduce it on real equipment utilizing a different parcel from my fundamental OS establishment. As it were, I don't have any equipment that is probably going to be influenced by hopping a couple piece point discharges. Your experience might be altogether different, and I firmly recommend doing your exploration and testing in virtual machine before overhauling your portion in Mint. What's more, truly, in the event that you need to do all that all alone, you should run Arch.

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rebeccahpedersen · 6 years

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Cruel, (Cruel), Cruel Summer?

TorontoRealtyBlog

What kind of a band name is “Bananarama” anyways?

I’m pretty sure if a cool, indie band from Whitby tried to market themselves as “The Beatles,” they likely wouldn’t get very far.

I think my favourite band-name origin has to be Lynyrd Skynyrd.

As the story goes, the band members had a very tough gym teacher at Robert E. Lee high school in the 1970’s, named “Leonard Skinner,” and they wanted to mock him by naming their band after him.

So if I had a band, I’d call it Byb Myntgymry…

“Bananarama” just doesn’t seem like a name that can be taken seriously, although “A-Ha,” and “Devo” aren’t much better.

Banarama hit #1 on the U.S. dance charts in 1987 with their single, “Venus,” but I think “Cruel Summer” has been more absorbed by pop culture over the years.

As it should be.

I mean, how can you forget lyrics like this:

It’s a cruel, (cruel), cruel summer (Leaving me) leaving me here on my own It’s a cruel, (it’s a cruel), cruel summer Now you’re gone

The city is crowded My friends are away And I’m on my own It’s too hot to handle So I got to get up and go

It’s a cruel, (cruel), cruel summer (Leaving me) leaving me here on my own It’s a cruel, (it’s a cruel), cruel summer Now you’re gone

You’re always around You found yourself But now you’re by yourself, waiting for me I’m your self I am the sun (leaving me)

–

I’m no expert lyricist, but it sounds like somebody got left alone in Toronto on a long weekend without an invite from her friends to hit up the parents’ cottage on Lake Joe!

And if I’m right, the “I’ve got to get up an go” means she’s going to crash the party! That’s ballsy!

Imagine the surprise of her friends, at an epic dock-party, drinking mimosas, talking about which equestrian camp they went to as children, and BAM! Bananarama-the-left-behind, shows up, unannounced.

Or maybe I’m wrong, and this is just really crappy 80’s retro with no meaning, other than the cliché boyfriend who hurt her feelings.

Either way…

So here we sit, after the first month of a two-month summer break of sorts for the real estate market, and I figured we’d take a quick pulse check.

And that’s exactly what happened.

The July average home price in Toronto dipped to $782,129.

Now before we actually measure that number, and determine whether it’s more or less than expected, let me show you two headlines from last week when the TREB numbers were released:

Wait. What?

“Home sales and prices rise in Toronto region for a second straight month?”

I just said that the price dropped from $807,871 to $782,129.

I’m not wrong.

And technically, neither is that headline.

I’m not here to cheerlead the market, and I’m also not going to fall into the bear-trap. But as I write, almost every month, surely we can clear all this up a bit, no?

How about this headline:

So where does that actually leave us?

What is the public perception?

Signs of firming?

Really?

Okay, well let’s take a look at the numbers.

For today’s experiment, I want to look at the drop-off (which we take as given) from June to July each year, as the market slows down for summer.

I want to look at Price, Sales, New Listings, and Active Listings.

And in order to draw any conclusions about how the month of July went, I want to compare the June-to-July drop in 2018 to the previous decade.

Sound fun?

First, let’s take a look at the average Toronto home price:

Despite what the newspaper headlines say above, we did see a drop in average home price in July, from June: $807,871 to $782,129 as previously noted!

That’s a 3.2% drop, which is significant in some ways, ie. when you consider the May-to-June increase was only 0.9%, but also insignificant if you compare against previous years.

This is what I wanted to look at: historical context.

Last year, we saw a 5.8% drop in average home price, and that was after the hammer had already hit in May and June.

The previous two years, we saw drops of 4.8% and 4.9% respectively.

And as you can see from the “average” at the bottom of (-4.0%), the 3.2% drop is trailing the decade-average.

–

I’m tempted to look at the sales figures for June and July of 2018, measure them against 2014, 2015, and 2016, and say, “Wow, are sales ever down!”

But in context here, it doesn’t tell us about the market right now.

We saw sales drop 13.9% from June to July, which pales in comparison to last year when the drop was almost double.

Once again, that 3-year moving average greatly outweighs the overall average; a 21.7% decline from 2015, 2016, and 2017, compared to the 16.6% average through the entire decade.

Either way, the 13.9% drop this year, once again, shows the market is healthier than the average market during the last decade.

–

Next, we look at the number of listings, and here’s where you could make an argument either way.

On the one hand, you could suggest that a large drop signifies a healthy market, in that the summer is usually, or “supposed to be” slower.

On the other hand, you could suggest that market activity is market activity, and that the more listings there are, the busier the market is, and that in itself, demonstrates a bullish market.

Personally, I think the former applies.

I think the market cycle exists because of differing market forces, tastes and preferences, and interactions between buyers and sellers. There are peaks and valleys, and good and bad times to list.

Here’s how the Active Listings look for the past month, and compare to the last decade:

So if you’re taking my opinion on the measure of this statistic, you’ll note that a “healthy” market would see a larger than average drop, unlike the Price and Sales statistics above.

But I am surprised to only see a 5.4% drop in 2018.

It looks ‘normal’ up against the 2017 number of 4.7%, but that, as I explained, was abnormal.

A healthier number, in my opinion, would have been around the 7-8% mark.

–

Last but not least, we look at the New Listings.

And this number surprises the most.

New listings only dropped 12.9% from June to July, after seeing this number balloon to 27.8% in 2017, off a 20.2% stat in 2016:

I’m shocked that so many sellers out there chose the month of July to list their properties.

But I would have expected this number to be way larger, at least showing a 20% drop.

–

Overall, I’d still say the month of July showed strength.

I wrote in a blog post a few weeks ago that you really can’t tell much about the overall health of the market from one slow summer month, and I stand by that.

But if you want a snapshot, or a proverbial “balance sheet” at a particular point in time, you can draw a very small takeaway from the numbers above, as they compare to years’ previous.

I do expect the average home price in August to dip once again, below the $782,129 number that we saw this past month.

But I would also expect the average home price in September to soar into the $820K range as sales pick up again dramatically.

The post Cruel, (Cruel), Cruel Summer? appeared first on Toronto Realty Blog.

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