#and it's useful to break that into manageable time-constrained chunks

[immortalsins]

gantt charts are actually great i'm so sorry for making jokes with engineering people about gantt charts but at the same time i'd rather sink into the pits of hell than show up to my supervisor meeting tomorrow and say 'well sir i have this gantt chart'

[workinprogres5]

5 Habits to go from Founder to CEO

Over the years, I've gathered some knowledge about transitioning from a startup founder to a CEO. I started my company 7 years ago. We are now not super big (65 people), but we have learned a lot. We raised $19M in total and we are now profitable.

The transition from Founder to CEO was crucial. Your startup begins to mature and scale and you need to scale with it. It's often a challenging phase, but I've managed to summarize it into five habbits.

1. Say no to important things every day

Being able to say "no" to important tasks every day is an essential practice for a growing leader. It's a reality that as the magnitude of your company or ideas expands, so does the influx of good ideas and opportunities. However, to transform from a mere hustler to a true leader, you have to become selective. This means learning to refuse good ideas, which is crucial if you want to consistently execute the outstanding ones.

The concept that "Startups don't starve, they drown" resonates deeply because it underlines how challenging it can be to reject opportunities.

A key strategy to develop this skill is time-constraining your to-do list. Here's how you can do it:

Weekly: Formulate a weekly to-do list, including only those tasks that you're sure to complete within the week. Leave some buffer room for unexpected issues. If there's any doubt about whether you'll have time for a certain task, it should not feature on your weekly list. I use Todoist and Notion for task management.

Daily: Apply the same rule while creating your daily to-do list. Only include tasks that you're confident about accomplishing that day. If a task seems too big to fit into one day, break it down into manageable chunks.

2. Journaling

Journaling is a powerful strategy that can help an individual transition from a reactive approach to a proactive one. As founders, we often find ourselves caught up in a cycle of endless tasks, akin to chopping trees in a dense forest. However, to ensure sustainable growth, it is crucial to develop an ability to "zoom out", or to view the bigger picture.

I use The Morning Pages method, from Julia Cameron. It consists of writing each morning about anything that comes to mind. The act of writing effectively combines linear, focused thinking with the benefits of a thoughtful conversation. If you just want to journal, you can use Day One app (The free version will be enough). If you want to go a bit deeper, you can try a coaching app. I use Wave.ai and I also hired it for the managers in the company because it combines both journaling with habit building.

3. Building Robust Systems and Processes (I know, it is boring and founders hate this)

As a founder, you often need to wear multiple hats and juggle various roles. But as a CEO, it's vital to establish strong systems and processes that enable the business to function smoothly, even without your direct involvement. This includes:

Implementing project management systems.

Establishing clear lines of communication and accountability.

Designing efficient workflows and procedures.

To many founders, developing these systems might seem monotonous or even tedious. After all, the allure of envisioning the next big idea often proves more exciting. I experienced the same predicament. In response, I brought onboard a competent COO who excelled in systematizing processes. This strategy allowed me to kickstart initiatives and explore them in a flexible, less structured manner. Once an idea showed signs of gaining traction, my COO stepped in to streamline it, crafting a process that turned the fledgling idea into a consistent business operation.

4. Meditating

Meditation is about reprogramming unconscious mental processes by repeatedly performing fundamental tasks with a distinct intention. This practice can be even more crucial to leadership than acquiring a business school education. Because meditation provides the most direct route to understanding your mind's workings and thus, forms the most effective basis for transforming it.

To transition from a founder to a CEO, a significant shift in your mindset is required. This shift involves moving from a hustle mentality to precision, from acting as a superhero solving problems to consciously stepping back, thereby providing room for your team members to discover their own superpowers. It's about shifting your success indicators - from individual achievements to the triumphs of your team. This transformation might not feel comfortable initially, and your instincts, shaped by your scrappy founder phase, might resist this change.

However, with consistent practice, you can align your instincts with the stage of your company, promoting more effective leadership. This is where the value of meditation truly shines. It allows you to identify your distinct thought patterns in real time and, over time, modify them.

I use Headspace a lot, and I also encourage the employees to use it. The company pays the subscription as a perk.

5. Balancing the Macro and the Micro

As the CEO, your primary focus should be on the big picture – your company's vision and strategy. However, you also need to keep an eye on the details, as these can make or break your execution. It's all about balance:

Delegate the details but stay informed.

Prioritize strategic planning but be ready to dive into the trenches when needed.

Keep your eye on your long-term vision but adapt to short-term realities.

The transition from founder to CEO isn't about giving up what made you successful initially but augmenting it with additional skills, perspectives, and practices. It's a personal and professional evolution that can lead to greater success for both you and your business.

Every great CEO was once a founder. It's just about taking the next step.

I’d love to hear your experiences or any tips you might have for this transition.

In which step of your journey are you right now? Do you have employees already? What are your main challenges right now?

[datoneboardedguy]

Avatar: Legend of Korra Fanfiction - Korra x OC Male Reader.

(DISCLAIMER’S: I DON’T OWN THE LEGEND OF KORRA IP OR IT’S CHARACTERS! & THIS IS A NON CANON FANFICTION THAT ISN’T CONSTRAINED BY THE LIMITATIONS OF THE OFFICIAL AVATAR LOK CANON & ANY ATTEMPT’S TO SILENCE THIS FANFIC IS A BLATANT VIOLATION OF MY FREE SPEECH RIGHT’S!)

Chapter 5: Red Moon.

M/R’S POV: I heard explosions from outside I ran to the door asking a passing guard “What’s going on?!” “We’re under attack, get back in your cell & stay put!” I then heard him run away & I did exactly what he said sitting in the corner repeatingly telling myself “Everything’s going to okay, everything’s going to be okay, everything will be fine, I’m gonna be fine..” hoping that I would get through this..

Rick’s POV:

The Prison started exploding all around us as the fire alarms triggered I then metalbended a switch on the terminal in the room below to send an SOS Signal to Republic City. Then Old Gary says “It’s too late by the time your backup arrives me & Master Zaheer will be long gone, & you all will be dead!-” I threw a brick at his face leaving a massive scratch on his face as it shattered on impact (smash) He furiously looks at me I smirk then earthbended chunks of the stone roof & threw them at Old Gary who dodged them with ease & waterbended a water whip from his water skin pouch & attacked me, i blocked it with a roof panel & launched it at him. Counters with another Water Whip shattering the stone roof panel creating a puff of dust blocking Gary’s Vision. I quickly earthbended beneath my feet to launch myself towards him entering the cloud of smoke then at the height of my jump I swiftly used my metalbending cable to wrap a wire around & pull his right foot to trip him over, as he’s falling backwards I finally reached out the other side of the smoke fall into Gary tackling him off the roof of the tower falling down in the burning buildings below from floor to floor until we fell into the Break Room that currently burning down all around us, we get up & I bend parts of the floor up in front of me & he waterbends leaking water from the ceiling pipes then forms them into ice shards “You getting slow old man.” I remarked then we then shoot them at each other while taking cover behind tables & makeshift earthbended wall barricades, exchanging blows until we ran out of projectiles & as a last ditch effort to throw something at him I picked up an old rotten apple from the floor & threw it straight into his face splattering all over his face “ARGH, SON OF A-!” then I charged at him pushing us both through the window behind him falling down to the balcony below landing right in front of Zaheer’s cell. “Ugh, I guess Old Gary isn’t as old as I thought..” then Old Gary gets up first then heads to Zaheer’s Cell as sits in his cell smirking at his opportunity to finally escape I then metalbended the metal blast door down locking down the cell stopping Gary’s attempt to free his master, “NOOOOOooo!…” he then turns around to finish me off as he about to strike the final blow a metal wraps around his wrist then pulls him back away from me & I managed to earthbend his feet to the ground & he was surrounded by the remaining White Lotus guards who were still standing. I get up & tell him Old Gary, you’re under arrest it’s over.” Old Gary looks up to the sky as it’s full moon shines bright & he started laughing “Hahahaha HAAA!..” “What’s soo funny?” “THIS!..” he shouts as he lifts his arms up starts Bloodbending everyone still in their tracks & he breaks out of his leg restraints & lifted us up into the air I barely managed to use my metalbending cables to whip him forcing him to release us & he started running away into the prison halls we all were on dropped onto the ground knocking out the other guards I ran after Old Gary chasing him down to M/R’s prison cell.

M/R’S POV:

I’m still sitting in a corner waiting for the guards to either let me know that they put out the fires that have spread all through out the Prison Temple or to let me know that they’re evacuating the Temple although they could also simply just leave me here for dead then I started hear loud noises, bangs & screams outside of my cell door, I then braced myself when my cell door came crashing down with the nice Guard that stopped that mean man from torturing me & gave me water earlier all beaten up on top of the rubble barely conscience. Then the mean man came into the cell looking at me with that Montrose grin & he extended his arm out towards me & started blood bending me! I couldn’t move at all, he pain was constant & unbearable, my blood vessels had felt like they’d been set on fire then he lifted me up into the air I started shouting out in pain “HHHHAAAEEELP …AAAAME! PLEASE STOPP!..” I started getting delirious as the man slowly morphed into the woman with glowing eyes like before & she says “Just close your eyes it’ll all be over soon..” then the guard woke up rasply shouting “NO! LEAVE THE KID ALONE!..” as he metal bended a cable straight through ghost woman’s left knee forcing her to drop me then the illusion faded back into the monster that was just holding me up in the air & he started blood bending the guard slamming him against the wall suspended in the air, all I could do was watch as he limped over to the guard & says “Tell me Rick, have you ever danced with the devil in crimson moonlight?!..” then the guard just looked & said “Survive!” (SNAP!) “NOOOOOOOOOooooo!…” I shouted as that monster just snapped his neck! Then he’d been encased in earthbent restraints then his lifeless body collapsed to the floor as the rest of the guards came in a new found rage full fury brewed up inside me without any hesitation picked up a huge stone & charged at him shouting “DIIIE BASTARD!…” & I started repeatedly slamming the stone against his head as the guards were trying to tell me to stop “STAND DOWN KID!” “DON’T DO IT!” I kept slamming him until his head split open against the stone & his blood splattered into my face killing him & I just froze, dropped the bloodied stone & blankly stared at what was left of the man who’s life I just took before I turned to look at the one man who’d shown me kindness since I was thrown in here, then I dropped to my knees as single strand of tears slowly slid down my face. All the Guards could do at this point was just stand there completely speechless..

Hours later-

A bunch of people from Republic City & the Southern Water Tribe kept on coming in & out of the cell as I just blankly stare at nothing sitting there with a blank expression under armed guard they soon cleared out & repaired the cell & removed the restraints & sealed the cell door & everything was back to normal pitch black void of nothingness like nothing had ever happened.. I was too tired to cry anymore & just went back to sleep silently telling myself “Survive..”

Chapter End..

[vipul-dhok]

Why Remote Developers Are Perfect for Agile Projects

If you're managing an Agile project and thinking to hire remote developers, you’re already on the right track. With Agile’s emphasis on flexibility, collaboration, and iterative progress, it might seem like you need a team that’s right in front of you, but that’s not necessarily the case. In fact, when you hire dedicated developers remotely, they can be the perfect fit for Agile projects, providing the flexibility and expertise you need, without being limited by geography.

But let me guess—you’ve probably got some questions and concerns:

Can remote developers really collaborate as well as an in-house team?

How do I make sure we stay on schedule with Agile sprints when the team is remote?

What about communication—won’t the time zone differences slow everything down?

These are common concerns, but the good news is that with the right tools and strategies, you can seamlessly hire remote developers who can actually improve your Agile project management. Let's dive into why remote developers are ideal for Agile projects and how you can overcome any potential challenges.

The Flexibility When You Hire Remote Developers Aligns with Agile

One of the core principles of Agile project management is flexibility. Agile thrives on the ability to adapt based on real-time feedback, shifting project requirements, or changing business goals. Guess what? Software development outsourcing is built on this same principle of flexibility.

When you hire remote developers, you’re not limited to the traditional 9-to-5 workday. Different time zones can actually work in your favor by allowing the team to work around the clock. Imagine waking up to a set of completed tasks or bug fixes that were handled while you slept!

Plus, when you hire dedicated developers remotely, they are often self-starters. They’re used to managing their own schedules and deliverables, which fits perfectly with Agile’s requirement for short, and productive sprints. 

Now you might wonder, "I need flexibility, but I worry about losing control of the project."

But trust me, when you hire remote developers, it doesn’t mean losing control over your project. It means gaining flexibility. With the right Agile tools like Jira, you can keep an eye on the project’s progress in real-time, regardless of where your team is located. Daily stand-ups and sprint analysis ensure that everyone is aligned, and you'll be surprised at how efficient a remote Agile team can be when they're empowered to work flexibly.

Iterative Development and Continuous Feedback

Agile projects are all about breaking down a large project into smaller, manageable chunks called sprints that can be delivered quickly and improved upon based on feedback. This iterative approach is exactly why you should hire remote developers. 

When you hire dedicated developers remotely, they’re often experts in specific areas like front-end development, back-end architecture, or UX/UI design. This means they can work on their individual tasks independently while still integrating smoothly into the larger project. By the end of each sprint, the team reviews the work together, gathers feedback, and then makes adjustments.

When you hire remote developers, they are also highly skilled at documentation and project tracking, which is key to Agile’s iterative process. Everything is tracked, measured, and continuously improved, making sure that even though the team is remote, nothing falls through the cracks.

Access to Global Talent Expands Your Expertise When You Hire Remote Developers

One of the biggest advantages when you hire remote developers is that you're not limited by geography. Need a React Native expert? Or someone who’s built a robust e-commerce platform using Node.js? When you hire remote developers, you have access to a global talent pool, meaning you can find specialists for every part of your project without being constrained by your local market.

In the context of Agile, having the right skill set is essential to meet sprint goals. If your local talent pool is limited, bringing in remote experts can speed up your project without sacrificing quality. Plus, when you hire dedicated developers for specific roles, you ensure that each aspect of the project is handled by someone with deep expertise in that area.

Remote Developers Are Comfortable with Agile Practices

Here’s something you might not realize: when you hire remote developers, they are already well-versed in Agile. Since Agile is the go-to method for software development, remote developers are experienced in sprint planning, iterative development, and daily stand-ups. They’ve worked with tools like Jira and Trello, and they understand how to prioritize tasks, deliver on time, and adjust based on feedback.

Many remote developers also have experience working in distributed teams, so they’re already familiar with the unique challenges of remote collaboration. This means they can seamlessly integrate into your existing Agile process, or even help you optimize it.

Time Zone Differences Can Work in Your Favor If You Decide To Hire Remote Developers

I know—it sounds hard to believe, right? How can having developers spread across different time zones actually help an Agile project? Well, think about it. If you decide to hire remote developers, your project can essentially run 24/7. While your local team is wrapping up for the day, your remote team can pick up from where they left off.

When it comes to Agile projects, this can be a huge advantage for you. You get the benefit of continuous progress, with developers working while you’re off the clock. This reduces downtime and helps you hit sprint deadlines more efficiently.

Conclusion: Why Remote Developers Are a Perfect Fit for Agile Projects

In the end, I’d just like to say that deciding to hire remote developers for your Agile projects can do miracles for your project. From unmatched flexibility and global expertise to faster iterative progress and improved communication. With the right tools in place and clear processes for collaboration, when you hire dedicated developers remotely, they can excel at every sprint, just as an in-house team would—if not better.

So if you're still confused about whether to hire remote developers for your Agile project, hopefully, this guide has eased some of your concerns. With software development outsourcing to countries like India, your Agile project can run like a well-oiled machine, no matter where your developers are based.

[midshipmank]

i read 118 books in 2020. how the heck did i do that? 

some reflections and advice below the cut. 

before we get started, i just want to say upfront that i’m honestly surprised by how many books i managed to read last year. i had never even read 100 books in a year before (let alone more than 100), and i have depression! but somehow reading was one of the things i managed to do really well last year, so this post is here to explain the practicalities of How The Heck I Did That for those looking to smash some reading goals

1. audiobooks

audiobooks are great if you don’t have a lot of free time to sit down and stare at a physical book, or if you have trouble sitting still to read for long stretches of time. i use them for both reasons. (if you’re one of those people who doesn’t think audiobooks count as real reading, this post isn’t for you. please go on your merry way.) 

i downloaded Libby at the beginning of the year for the audiobooks. Libby is an app that allows you to check out ebooks and audiobooks through your local library system (for free!), so you have to have a library card (free!) before you can use Libby (for free!). i used Libby a lot. i had a new workout schedule i wanted to stick to, so i listened to audiobooks while i exercised. i listened to audiobooks while i got dressed and put on makeup. i listened to audiobooks while i cooked. i listened to audiobooks while i updated my bullet journal, folded clothes, cleaned! you get the point. listening to audiobooks actually ended up improving my ability to do everyday tasks because i was more willing to do them if i could read at the same time. i did also buy audiobooks through Audible a few times (i know 😞), but i mostly used Libby.

(listening to books while exercising was also great for stress relief. once when a parent was getting mad at me in my inbox (i’m a teacher), i put on The Return of the King and went for a run. it was the Battle of Pelennor Fields. i ran out all of my anger and frustration while Eowyn killed the Witch King. 11/10, highly recommend)

2. motivation(s)

yeah, this was probably obvious, but having several different motivations for reading as much as i did definitely helped, so here are those motivations (in order of ~how motivating~ they were):

1. spite. i was sick and tired of looking at my bookshelves and seeing unread books. one of my more concrete goals was to read at least 50% of the books i owned (i did an inventory a few years back & discovered i’d read only 48%). i have no idea if i actually accomplished this because i still have to reinventory my books lol

2. diversity goals. i made a list of how many books i wanted to read by specific categories of authors (Black women, Jewish women, other WOC, queer people, etc.). this was somewhat challenged/constrained by what books i already owned, but trying to reach my goal in each category was very motivating. (i’m planning to make a separate post reflecting on these goals specifically, because this year really did show me something about my reading habits through which categories were easy to complete vs which i had to plan for)

3. filling the creative well. this is something i first heard from Victoria Schwab, but lots of creative people talk about it. taking a break from creating to “refill the creative well” is one of the ways creators deal with burnout, with the idea that consuming more stories helps you learn how to create better stories. i wanted to get back into writing (fan)fiction this year, so i was motivated to read widely. for this reason i also chose not to DNF any books this year. if a book wasn’t working for me, I wanted to think about why it wasn’t working for me. (audiobooks helped here too, because it’s much easier to read a book you don’t like if it’s being read to you lol)

4. academia? last but not least, i wanted to see what kinds of books resonated with me academically and/or if any did at all. i was basically trying to figure out if i wanted to apply to grad school. (the answer ended up being yes, but then some of my top grad schools closed applications because of covid rip) 

3. page count goals

when i was in college, i started tracking how many pages i read a day because i often felt like i was just sitting around reading and never getting anywhere. i always wanted to try to read 100 pages a day, but never achieved it. this year i did! in order to achieve my larger reading goals, i read at least 100 pages a day every day. ngl, it was a struggle sometimes. but for me, it was about making daily progress (and it was super useful to be able to guestimate how long it would take me to read any given book). the 100 pages were usually spread out across several books since i usually read multiple books at once. i also set smaller page count goals for denser books/books i struggled with. (the only reason I finally finished Broke Millennial was because i read 15 pages of it a day 😭) i get that 100 pages is a lot, but setting a smaller daily page count goal is a good place to start if you wanna try it out

(for those wondering how i figured out how many pages i was reading while i listened to audiobooks: i only checked out audiobooks i (or someone else in my household) already owned physically, so i could keep track of how many pages i read (& read the acknowledgements when i finished the book))

4. reading sprints

i kind of hate calling them this, but i couldn’t think of anything better. what i mean is that i did most of my reading in 15-30 minute chunks throughout the day. sometimes even 10 minute chunks! i had other things to do (like work lol), but i figured out i was way more effective at doing those things if i took regular breaks--and that i was also way more effective at reading 100 pages if i didn’t try to do it all in one go. how many pages i could read in one of these sprints really depended on the book, but they always got me to my page count goal in the end

and that’s it! that’s How The Heck i read 118 books last year. now when i look at my shelves, i’ve read lot of the books there! sometimes most of them! it’s a wild feeling. i really enjoy it

[quickspinner]

MLValentines2k20 5. Hearts

I cheated a little bit; I wrote a big chunk of this a while ago and then sat on it because I couldn’t figure out the right context for it. I think it worked for today though. 

Luka said nothing as Marinette paced and ranted. His participation wasn’t required at the moment. His job, as he saw it, was to give her a safe place to vent, and then be there when she was done. He just played a soothing melody and watched for butterflies. 

Luka played not to calm her, but to keep himself calm. He didn’t especially like what he was hearing but it wouldn’t do Marinette any good if he went Silencer on her. It certainly sounded like the universe was on a personal mission to push her to the breaking point and Luka was sorely tempted to have some words with the people it chose to use most often. 

Marinette collapsed on the bed next to him and buried her face in her hands. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled after a moment.

Luka smiled. “Don’t be sorry. You’re allowed to be angry.”

Marinette groaned and flopped backwards on the bed.

“If you want to know the truth,” Luka said, picking at the loose threads of his ripped jeans, “I’m happy you’re angry. No, wait, that’s not what I mean…” His fingers went back to the guitar strings as he tried to work out his thoughts. “I’m happy that you have the energy to be angry again. For a long time, all you could manage to be was sad and tired.” He played a tune that was chaotic and turbulent, but subdued, constrained, unable to hit a true high or a genuine low. “Compared to that, anger is an improvement.” The tune smashed upwards in an angry trill, still chaotic, but finally reaching beyond its previous bounds. 

Marinette nodded slowly, and then mustered a little smile. “I guess that is an improvement,” she said, sitting back up. Luka reached over and brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek.

“I’d rather you were happy,” he told her. “But you feel so intensely, Marinette, that’s your nature. It’s the times when your heart is muted that I worry about you the most.”

His hand moved down to tug ever so lightly at her shoulder, an invitation she was more than willing to consent to. She leaned against him, let his arm curl around her. 

“I feel like I keep showing you all the worst parts of me,” Marinette mumbled, turning closer into him. She buried her face in his shoulder, and felt him turn slightly to rub his cheek against her hair.

“I don’t mind,” he said, his gentle voice sounding deeper with her ear pressed against him. “I’m happy that you trust me enough to let me see the sides of yourself you don’t like.”

Marinette took a shuddering breath, and wound her arms around him, pressing closer. Luka ran his hand up and down her back, resting his cheek on her hair. 

“I do like them,” Luka said, very softly, after a few long, comfortable moments of silence. “Those sides of you. If it helps.” He smiled. “Even when you’re angry or upset, you’re true to your giving heart. When your anger is selfish, it burns out quickly and you forgive and move on. When it’s for someone else, you don’t let it go until you’ve found a way to help. But you know, even if that weren’t true, it’d still be okay. You’re allowed to be a human being, Marinette.”

Marinette huffed. “When I’m with you I feel like that might actually be true,” she sighed. She lifted her head and looked at him. Their faces were close and she saw his eyes dart to her lips. Then he pressed his own together and turned his face away for a moment. Just a moment. Then he sighed and came back, resting his forehead against hers and cupping her cheek. 

It would take nothing at all to give him what he wanted. It would be so easy. Just tilt her head. It would feel good, too, to let him love her. To let down the last wall between them. But would it be right? Would it be honest?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“No, please don’t be. I don’t ever want to be another thing you have to worry about,” Luka stroked her cheek, voice tight. “I’m sorry I let you see it, it won’t happen again.”

“That’s not what I want either,” Marinette sighed. “For you to have to hide yourself from me. I just...I’m afraid of breaking your heart by inches.”

“Don’t think about it that way,” Luka told her, lifting his face away from her and tucking her under his chin. “I’m not hiding, just...putting those feelings away for later. It’s not the right time to deal with it. You have so many things that just can’t be put off, but that’s not one of them. We’re young, we have our whole lives to figure that stuff out. I can’t say that I never wish it was different, but it’s fine.” He took a slow breath. “This is enough. That I can be here for you. If we never have more than this, I’ll still treasure it. I can take care of my own heart, I promise.”

“But you’re already taking care of mine,” Marinette pouted. “And Juleka’s. And even your mom’s too, I bet.”

“You don’t have any room to talk, you’re taking care of half of Paris,” Luka teased. “Half your school at least. You want to protect everyone, you can’t get mad that I just want to protect you and my family.”

Marinette grumbled. 

“You’re only mad because I’m right,” he pointed out, and chuckled when she growled. “Why don’t you lay down for a bit?” Luka suggested, knowing she was probably tired after letting all that out.

She sighed, but climbed on the narrow bed behind him. Luka smoothed her hair back once as she lay on his pillow, and then propped one ankle up on the opposite knee and picked up his guitar. 

Juleka came in sometime later, darting a quick glance at him and the figure sleeping on his bed. “Again?” she murmured. Luka gave an affirmative hum.

Juleka sighed, and then went over to her brother and hugged his head against her, long hair falling down over him. Luka chuckled and blew a strand out of his face, patting Juleka’s arm with one hand as he leaned into her hug and closed his eyes, reflecting that his heart was actually in pretty good hands.

[justjessame]

Babysitting Butcher Chapter 43

The team met up with us before we left our hideaway.  Frenchie took the floor to tell us what was found during his extensive sweep of all three of our homes- Billy’s apartment, my former house, and our new house. 

“They had it rigged with so many hidden bugs that I almost felt impressed.” He was grimacing so I knew he didn’t actually get to the point where he was willing to give Vought credit for their tenacity.  “We found them in places that most people would never think to place them.”  His eyes shifted to Billy’s and his lips thinned.  “Kimiko had fun destroying them.”

I looked at the young woman and saw her smirk turn into a full blown smile.  At least someone had fun while I was being poked and prodded.  Looking back at Frenchie as he finished telling Billy that the houses and apartment were cleared, while the new house was also protected against further tampering, I sighed.

“What’s wrong, Ronnie?”  MM was leaning against the wall across from where I was seated and he’d been watching me from the moment he arrived.  “You look healed, is there something-”

“I’m fine,” I waved away his concern over my physical condition.  “It’s just-”  I let my head fall back against the chair I was seated in.  “Even if we lock down Vought on their dirtiest deeds, even if we nail Homelander for his nefarious bullshit, I have to wonder how the fuck do we put away a supe?” 

All eyes were on me, and I realized no one had considered this problem.  Mallory was in meetings, with Neuman and other lawmakers and wheel greasers, but I knew that in the end the grunt work would be up to the people in the room with me.  And the issue that I raised was a REAL one.  If we found a way to prove that Homelander did any of the horrible shit we KNEW he did, how do you lock him down?  Even with his zinc ‘allergy’, even with the very few vulnerabilities, was it possible to actually imprison a supe like him?

“We don’t lock ‘em up,” Billy answered, like I knew he would, but I groaned in response.  “Ronnie, you and I both know, the only answer to the equation is-”

“Mass extinction?”  I shook my head.  “No one is gonna OK that, Billy.”  He was staring at me like I was suddenly speaking Greek, which I actually think he knew so that comparison didn’t fly, but sue me.  “You know working within the fucking Office with me means you have to constrain and constrict.”  I sighed.  “While I’m as tempted as you to shove a brick of C4 all the way up Homelander’s anal cavity, we’re not going to get the goahead from my superiors.”  

“Then we go off the books,” he shrugged and I shook my head again.  For fuck’s sake, I love the man, but he was ridiculous.  “Ronnie, an end is an end, and you and I both know it’s gonna be final.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” MM cut in, seeing the two of us gearing up for an argument or a debate at the very least.  “First things first, we have to see if Ronnie’s right about the other testing sites.  If she is and Vought took a huge chunk out of the Nazi playbook, then we have another search and document, if not destroy mission on our hands.”

“Not to mention, we still have no idea who the head popper is,” Frenchie added, seeing that Billy was ready to jump back into why we should kill all supes and move on after mode.  “We have plenty to contend with without adding to our burden, oui?”

“Oui,” I sighed in agreement.

MM was wrong.  First things first, was moving day.  Or at least, moving in day.  My mom had hired movers to pack everything up after Frenchie and MM went over the contents of our homes with a fine tooth comb and then unpack at our new house.  All Billy and I really had to do was unlock the front door and go grocery shopping, which we learned was also taken care of when we entered the security code into Frenchie’s security system before all hell could break loose.

The fridge was stocked, as was the freezer, and a note was propped up on the island in the kitchen from my parents telling us to enjoy our ‘honeymoon’ break before checking in with them.  Billy was pressed against me before I finished reading the signature my mom scribbled and I had to laugh as his mouth touched the nape of my neck.

“You know, she said ‘honeymoon’ in jest,” I teased, as he scooped me into his arms and started for the stairs.  

“Consider it practice,” he growled, and then he showed me just how fucking serious he took practice.

We ate dinner on the porch, in the hanging bed while the sounds of crickets sang around us.  Mosquito netting kept us from being eaten alive, an addition that had my mom’s name written all over it, and I swore I’d buy her something pretty for it when Billy pushed our empty plates aside and was hovering over me as the moon glowed down and the lightning bugs flickered across the lawn.  

It was tempting to ignore the real world and our responsibilities and we did, for a weekend.  Monday came and we got up, got a shower together and got dressed, like we had once upon a time, so long ago it seemed.  In the car together, down the long driveway, and on a new commute we went ready to show the world-and Vought and Homelander that it would take a hell of a lot more than what they threw at us to stop us.

“Dr. Taylor.  Mr. Butcher.”  Anthony was beaming when we used our badges to enter the building.  “It’s SO good to see you.  You look wonderful, Doctor.”  

“Thank you, Anthony.”  I smiled, taking a pile of files and mail that would look daunting if I didn’t already know that I probably knew everything in it already.  “Today is going to be a catch up day, no appointments, but if anyone needs to see me tell them to ring first, please.”

He agreed, telling us both how happy he was to see us and we moved down the hallway toward my office.  “I should warn you,” Billy said, as I was reaching out to swipe my badge and open the door.  “The carpet, where you-”  Right, hemorrhage, blood everywhere.  “They hadn’t had a chance to remove and replace it before I came with you.”

“It’s fine, Billy.”  I was forewarned, but I still stiffened my spine and steadied my will.  Opening the door my eyes focused on where I knew I went down and I saw nothing.  No stain, no mark.  “They must have-”

“New carpet, Dr. Taylor,” we turned to see Joseph.  “I put a request in, after Mr. Butcher took time to be at your bedside.”  He was blushing, but was managing to look us in the face.  “I wanted your office to be ready when you both returned.”

“Thanks, Joe,” Billy smiled and clapped him on the shoulder, nearly causing him to fall over from the force.  “Sorry bout that.”  

“You’re welcome, sir.”  He looked at me and smiled.  “We’re happy you’re back, Dr. Taylor.  The office isn’t quite the same without you.”  

“Thank you, Joseph.”  A few more pleasantries and he went back to work and I was shaking my head at the welcome I was getting. “Wow, who knew they’d miss me?”  

“Me,” Billy offered, once we were inside with the door closed.  He took the files and mail from my hands and tossed it onto my desk and then pulled me to him.  Tipping my face up with his thumb under my chin, he smiled down at me.  “I knew they’d miss you because they asked me about you constantly.  Daily even.  You don’t know how many people you touch, Ronnie.”  He kissed me, slow and sweet, so unlike anything anyone ever equated with William “Billy” Butcher that it made my heart skip, and I was so fucking happy that I wasn’t hooked up to a machine that let the world know it, only me and him knew, like it was supposed to be. 

[holden-woods]

task 001: the interrogation

Holden was admittedly nervous, and he was sure it was apparent given the constant bobbing of his knee and the amount of times he’d cleared his throat upon entering the room. He felt foolishly out of place in his attire. His mother had insisted upon a neatly pressed blue shirt, tucked into slacks as if giving the appearance of a preppy, rich boy might save him from any stereotypes they might have formulated about him. But sitting there before him, masquerading as someone he was not as proving to be harder than he had anticipated, despite the fact that his father had prepped him in the car ride to the station, filling his head with law jargon and once more demanding to speak with DA on his behalf. The conversation had only nourished the anxiety that had been trickling in his veins since the moment he tore open his letter. He was ready to get this over with, eyes fixated blankly upon the camera recording him, wondering what the audience would think of him. It’s always the boyfriend, current or ex. Fake or real. That’s what they’re thinking, they’re thinking I did it. He swallowed the lump in his throat, and tried his best to look placid but he could feel the sweat gathering within the palms of his hands. And then it began.

Of course it was the first question the police would ask, another thing his father had warned him of. Don’t fucking lie, they already know everything, his fathers words were ringing in his head as he sucked in a deep breath to prepare an answer. The pair of officers were sifting through his record, a manila envelope with his name in neatly typed letters, glancing up at him expectantly, waiting for him to either lie or confess the truth… Not that there was much of a choice. “I mean, kind of? I would get myself into some fuckin— Sorry, I got into trouble a lot as a kid. Caught twice for vandalizing my school property at fifteen and sixteen. Small stuff, like spray-painting over murals, and defiling statues of the founder,” he admitted, his words coming out breathlessly as he focused on a spot on the wall above Officer Grant’s head. A public speaking technique that often allowed him to quell his nerves, though it seemed to be offering no help now. “My parents own an apartment up in Manhattan. I sometimes go there during my breaks. I got… A little intoxicated one night and lost my wallet. Didn’t have cash for a cab so I jumped the turnstile. Charged with theft of services. I got off with a ticket, but I was detained for the night and it’s on my record,” Holden further explained, pants gripping at his knees, wiping the bit of sweat that had accumulated upon the fabric of the soft gray fabric.

“What is your connection to Daisey? How did you know her? How well did you know her?”

Daisey. How does one limit their connection to her within a neat little sentence, simple and kosher enough to be digested by the police department and the public? Holden had known Daisey from the time he’d moved to Ashmont when he was ten. She’d always been a glamorous background character in his life, rich and beautiful. There had been a time when he’d wanted nothing more but to receive her approval, her attention but once he’d gotten he’d realized what a heavy burden it was to bear. Daisey was a world all on her own, and Holden lacked the strength of Altas. In an effort to get her way, she clawed her way into his life and marked him as hers, even if it had been for show. Holden had been one of her trophies, a living breathing one… And he loathed her for it, not only for constraining him but for the havoc she caused upon everyone around him, everyone he’d managed to love.

He hadn’t realized how long it had been since he spoke, and Holden reached out weakly for the cup of water that had been placed before him as a courtesy to take a sip, and fill the silence with some kind of action as their stare burned holes in his skin. “I knew her… Like, I guess almost half my life now? Huh, how weird is that? We went to all the same schools, she did cheer and I did football so we went to all the same parties too. She was beautiful and popular and I guess…” he began to trail off, unsure of how to explain the next bit to them. “I guess you could say we dated for a time. Not seriously or anything, but there was a couple of months where we’d spend a good chunk of time with one another. Dinners, parties, dances, you name it. We were there, together,” Holden licked his lips, as he thought back at the time they had shared together, of how empty it had been. The ploy had been for her to build buzz and interest for herself, and he himself was just the pretty face to get her there. “But I didn’t know her well. Daisey wasn’t someone who opened up and told you what she was thinking. You were always left guessing, it was kind of part of the fun for her, and sometimes for you. She liked being in control in that way,” he added swiftly, eyes dropping down to his lap as he remembered her smile. It was always widest when pulling off a scheme.

“Have you visited the blog site “veritasexposed”? If you have, how credible do you find the information on this site? Do you know who runs the website?”

Holden should have realized that the site was going to be added into evidence eventually, but he certainly was struck with surprise when he was posed the question. He had assumed that everyone was quivering with fear, too intimidated to bring attention to the blog, as if informing the authorities might send this anonymous mad man into a fit of rage, resulting in all of their dirty laundry being aired. Everyone he knew was playing this close to the chest, waiting quietly for their own d-day, thankful when their friends were chosen and not themselves… “Everyone with wifi’s been on that site around here, especially since everyone’s been named. It could all be bullshit, you know? Like empty threats, because I doubt that many people have earth-shattering secrets like this blog claims. As for the information, I really couldn’t tell you if it was true or not. Zephyr and Jonah both seemed to own up to their secrets, so I guess that means there’s some credibility there, right?” he rambled, shoulders coming up half-heartedly up to a shrug as he concentrated on the looks on their faces, the good cop and the bad cop. Their expressions were unreadable, blank. “I wish I knew who ran the site. I think it would cause all my roommates to sleep better. Everyone’s been kind of on edge about it. But no, I really don’t have the slightest of clues.” 

“Do you remember where you were the night Daisey went missing? If so, where were you? What were you doing? Who were you with?”

The night Daisey had vanished was something Holden remembered vividly. Not simply because it was pivotal for the town, but because the events leading up to Daisey’s disappearance had been so painfully kind to him. It was fall, and he’d just received his letterman jacket for the season that very day. Crisp and new he could remember slipping into it, signifying a bright beginning to a brand new season. He could make out the smell of the blueberry pancakes he’d made for himself in quiet anticipation for the football later on that night. He’d even recalled how he found himself drenched with gratitude for his luck when they'd won the first game of the season. It was a small high, the little things he’d lived for. Pulling his helmet off his head at the end of the game, he could clearly remember thinking how he could swim in this day forever, grinning excitedly at his teammates, his arm resting around the shoulders of his best friend. It was all so perfect, even the party. It’d felt exceedingly normal. The loud music, the badly played beer pong, the kisses exchanged with a stranger who’s name he failed to remember. Absolutely perfect… That was until he’d waken up to the news.

“I was at the game, I play on the football team. After that, I drove myself to the party. I didn’t go home that night, I stayed at Cap’s house cause y’know— No drinkin’ and driving, right?” he asked, almost jokingly with a jittery chuckle falling out of him before he could manage to stop it. The officers did not bother cracking a smile at his joke, and Holden’s face grew serious once more. “As for what I was doing, I was mostly drinking. The dude has a pool out in the back, so at one point I went for a night swim with a girl I met that night. Don’t know her name, she went to another school… Dried off, drank some more, passed out on his couch with her and almost everyone else with any kind of social life at St. E’s,” Holden disclosed, hands reaching up to adjust the collar of his shirt which felt a bit too tight, fingers shifting down to pop open a button in a small effort to relax himself.

“Where were you the night Daisey’s body was recovered?”

“I was serving time… But for school, y’know with the curfew and stuff,” Holden responded, leaning back into his seat. “They had those of us who broke the rule work at the carnival. I was assigned to bumper cars, so I was faithfully performing my duties as bumper car minion for the university,” he could feel his knee jump back up under the table. The nervous tick had revisited him at the morbidity of the question. He’d always forget that it was real, that she was dead, until they used the most callous of words. Murdered, body, dead. Hours of binging CSI had not adequately coached Holden enough for this moment, for what the murderer had done to everyone in this town. “I found out pretty quick though. Word travels fast when everyone knows everyone. Kinda put a damper on the carnival and the whole thing seemed inappropriate… So we packed up and left after that.”

“How familiar are you with the Ashmont woods? Have you been there often? Have you recently ventured out here? If so, why?”

The truth of the matter was, Holden had indulged in far too many horror films to ever venture into the woods. Despite being twenty-one years old, he could not fathom why anyone would have the desire to disappear amongst the trees and expose themselves to whatever goblins, ghouls, and ghosts probably lived out there. Plus, he absolutely hated bugs, which the forest was coated in from top to bottom. “Not familiar at all. I was always a chicken-shit. My dad was always telling us these gross campfire stories and my mom is weird, her favorite movie is It and that was always playing in the background at home, god only knows why. I had an over-active imagination as a kid because of it, and the forest just represented everything that could go wrong. Even driving by at night is… Kinda creepy. If I’m going to the supermarket past a certain hour, I usually have to bring my best friend with me, so I have some sort of distraction. Gives me the fucking creeps,” Holden confessed, fidgeting nervously in his seat at the mere thought of the woods, and what every Blair Witch Project shit went down there. “I don’t go often, I don’t go at all. I honestly haven’t made it down there since I was like, maybe eleven.”

“Do you have feelings towards the investigation? Any comments?”

Holden pulled the lukewarm glass of water towards him once more, watching the ripples within the glass fizzle out as he wracked his brain for an any semblance of a comment. Anything that might make him appear as though he were genuinely interested in this trial outside of trying to worm his way off their suspect list. “I hope you catch whoever did it obviously,” he replied dumbly, before taking another swig of water and carefully placing the glass back down upon the table. “And I hope that you catch whoever’s running the fucking blog too. It’s really spooking us out.”

“Do you have any people you feel the police should look into? Please, let us know who and why.”

The final comment felt strange to Holden, almost as if they were encouraging him to throw someone under the bus. He nearly wanted to sit up straighter and act more fearless, ask them why they were insisting he do their job for them. Instead, he remained meek, once more fixated on the spot above Officer Grant’s head, teeth ripping at a piece of dry skin stuck on his lower lip, a familiar metallic taste forming in his mouth. “No. There’s no one I know personally that I think is capable of doing this. I think you should look outside of her circle, or what you think to be her circle. Daisey had friends everywhere. Bet it’s some sick Wall Street fuck or something who got bored of his wife.”

[peaamlipoetrydoctor]

Your starting point is just a starting point - keep breaking and remaking your words into new forms!

This slide lists out various poetic forms - it is, to say the least, non-exhaustive...

The main point here is to encourage us as poetic inquirers not to get too stuck too soon in one way of writing - whether that’s free verse, which is probably what you started with, if you began with “found poetry”; or doggerel, which is my father’s favorite sort of poetry; or a syllabic form like the haiku, which you might be familiar with from nature writing, a fan of the Imagists, or if the last time you did poetry was in an English Junior School. My own school managed to teach us about haiku without mentioning either nature or the Imagists so I suspect that this is one of the many ways in which the teaching of poetry differs in the English-speaking nations on the opposite sides of the Atlantic.

For a big chunk of my doctoral thesis, I worked with pantoums, a repeating form which is derived and adapted from a Malay form of love poetry, the pantun.

I started with the pantoum because I read one I liked, that someone else had written, and thought it would be interesting to have a go. I carried on writing pantoums because, once I’d created myself a little template so that I could keep the order of the lines straight (which worked MOST of the time!), the structure just seemed to be a good fit with my project. 

It was only later that I realised, yes, the structure is actually very well suited to the kind of activity I was doing - if I had waded through 20 or 30 different structures, perhaps I might still have settled on this one.

The pantoum advances slowly. There’s lots of back-tracking, and going over the same ground, lots of exact and near-exact repetition, lots of opportunity to experience each line juxtaposed against different neighbor-lines and to notice how the shades of meaning seem to shift with each re-arrangement.

This feels to me like a very good fit for a walking inquiry, where I walked, and wrote notes, every day for several months at a time, often walking in different variations around the same streets. There was a lot of repetition, and near-repetition in the things I saw, the weather, the street art, the urban animals.

Later, as an experiment, I switched to writing haiku, which by the way, I found much harder - it really is harder, I think, to write a good short poem than to write a decent longer one. The haiku gives a strong “hit” but it’s too short for context and as originally practiced, is not supposed to contain metaphor. Too constraining for the work I was trying to do, but useful to try and to find out. 

[calorieworkouts]

How to Be Flexible in Training and Nutrition and Still Get Great Results?

When you begin learning about nourishment, stamina training as well as enter health and fitness area you might start to believe that in order to look good you require to eat only particular foods, consume just in specific times and train just in specific times. I have a suggestion in here, don't listen to all those odd suggestions as well as suggestions you see around you. There is a fitness obsession nowadays as well as yes like with everything else there can be little too a lot of something.

You should always have the purpose in front of you as well as I imply the objective of building a better body, not the real physique goal.

Yes you need to understand what your goal is, however if you do not recognize why you desire it (ex. For much better social life, more females in your social circles and so on) after that you can enter trouble.

So, instead find equilibrium as well as shoot for the adaptable health and fitness lifestyle, something that bodybuilders will never be able to associate to.

Find Equilibrium In Between Strength Training as well as Your Life

You have stuff going on in your life. Family members, buddies, girlfriend, job, sporting activity tasks and various other likes, why in the world would you surrender all this simply for strength training and nutrition?

Fitness experts like bodybuilders as well as leading physical fitness versions are consumed with health and fitness as well as related things like meal timing, stamina training etc.

You do not have be stressed by healthy and balanced food, meal timing as well as various other crap to lose fat and get a great looking body.

When I initially started enhancing my body I assumed that these are the only points that matters. That you require to be 100% focused on training and also eating. How stupid was I. On the other hand I understand that it belonged of my growth. Lots of individuals do not get over this phase ever. Their exercises are everything for them. If they miss solitary one exercise they obtain mad as well as go crazy.

While consistency is necessary with your workouts, you don't require to train the entire year. You can educate in chunks rather, as an example you can train really hard for 3 months and after that for one more 3 months you might simply concentrate on preserving your body and also skip a some workouts.

Let's say your goal is to construct a terrific body that will draw in warm women, which in truth implies that they will certainly grin at you much more, touch you a great deal, take a look at you and hold eye contact, be open for communication. It additionally indicates that you will certainly be a lot more pleased with your look and also confident in your very own skin.

Do you assume you require to educate two times a day, seven times a week, 360 days in year to obtain that body?

Do you believe you need to weight your food, eat on specific times as well as consume only particular foods to get that body?

If you browse some body building internet sites or online forums concentrated on stamina training as well as nourishment you might get a solid impression that this is the only means to get an excellent looking body.

Well, as I stated previously body builders are not the most effective people to go with a guidance to. They live to educate and also consume. What WE want is to train and also consume to live.

That is totally opposite attitude, we don't desire our lives to focus on gym as well as refrigerator, do we? While our goal is to develop a wonderful body, we need to be concentrated on enhancing various other locations of our lives, for instance our specialist and social life.

So, if health and fitness way of life with 360 toughness training sessions each year, 8 high healthy protein meals each day is not a way to excellent body and also satisfying life, what is?

Well I can not provide you a clear response, since the ideal approach is the one that fits you the best.

Let me clarify this.

You don't require to head to the gym as well as do toughness training exercise each day for the rest of your life.

I recognize individuals who just have two hr home window for strength training from 7pm to 9 pm for training. I understand guys that can not consume under 2000 calories on weekend breaks, because they invest a great deal of time with their families consisting of dinner and lunch. I recognize individuals that can just train 4 days a week and also can not afford any type of supplements. Or guys that can just educate at home.

Whatever your way of life challenge is, you most definitely CANISTER obtain the body of your desires, the only thing you need to do is get more innovative and resourceful. Whatever your constrain is - loan, time, age you have to discover a means around it. Just keep in mind, virtually no one has perfect problems. But typically times those who do not have the perfect problems do on the various other hand get the most effective results.

There are only basic things you need to do and also these are:

Doing strength training

Following a quality workout

Eating less than you burn

Strength Training as well as Your Workouts

You need to train for 4-5 days a week. You will need concerning 2 hrs of leisure time on nowadays to enter into gym, do your workout, take a shower and obtain back to residence or work. (Both of these things the variety of exercises each week and also time needed for one workout may vary relying on the exercise program you will certainly have)

The various other point is that you definitely REQUIREMENT get a correct workout plan. This is not as expensive as you might believe, you need just couple of dollars for an exercise that you can adhere to virtually for an entire year.

Here are some exercise programs that are worth trying:

7 Ultimate Complete Body Workout Regular with Dumbbells

10 Best Coastline Body Workout Programs For Women

5 Barbell Workouts to Build Muscular Tissue, Power as well as Strength

Preferably you need to get about 4 different workouts as well as cycle after each various other. Nonetheless, if you are running low on cash, then select the one you like one of the most and follow it exactly as it is written.

Okay allowed's extra on from the exercise troubles to fitness centers. Can you pay for a health club subscription? Many times there are different repayment choices. If you educate 5 times a week, which most workouts are created to be complied with for this quantity of days in one week, you may think about a year membership as opposed to just membership that is for 30 access only. If you go there frequently you could wan na request for a price cut. Just inform the manager that you go there frequently and you are normal consumer, yet you are running low on money and it would really aid you to obtain a discount rate. It should not be a problem.

If you live someplace where is not a great gym, or you would need to drive for hours to arrive, you may wan na take into consideration an online health club, while I do not advise newbies and also inter-mediate people to begin doing stamina training in a residence health club, if there is nothing else option as well as you are 100% sure you can handle it after that go for it. Basic home fitness center will cost you about 2000 dollars. Maybe much less, relies on where you live and just how much "iron" are you going to buy, simply please avoid getting some elegant brand-new makers, they are entirely useless.

Eating Less than You Burn

You need to understand that if you have a balanced diet regimen, after that weight loss is just about calories in as well as calories out.

So, what I want you to do is:

Calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)

Track what you consume for 2 weeks

Compare these two numbers

If you consume more than is your BMR plus your daily tasks expenditure, you will obtain fat. You wish to consume much less than you burn.

This is less complicated stated than done, so we need to do some preparation here. I'm not discussing timing your meals though.

I want you to realize what are your lifestyle challenges as well as function around them.

Maybe you have to consume huge dinner with your household everyday aside from Tuesdays. Perhaps you have to have early morning coffee with a donut with your manager, due to the morning meetings.

You do not need to violate these routines and you do not need to explain to your girlfriend or kids that you can't consume pizza with them on Saturday evening.

So, what you can do rather is consume the donut or 2 in the morning as well as pizza in the night if this is something you can not miss, yet miss the lunch as well as don't eat anything for the rest of the day. With this you will certainly create enough deficiency for the pizza at night with your family members. Simply do the math to be sure that you will certainly still lose fat while eating those high caloric foods.

This was just a one example of how you can overcome your way of life constricts. Whatever your case is you can use the same method to yours.

Conclusion

Forget all the conventional fitness knowledge and obtain equilibrium in your life.

If you can't alter specific things, you can work around them.

Eating as well as training like I have discussed in this post will supply you with adaptability whenever you need to change your consuming and training times.

Strength Training demands consistency as well as difficult job, which on various other hand lots mean obsession!

Share with me, what is your way of life collagen or constrains you need to get over? What do you assume are your options?

[ruffsficstuffplace]

And The AWRD Goes To... (Part 53)

Six weeks to the Festival, the team focused on the performance on the night itself.

“Song choice is by far the most important component,” Aqua had said on Sunday as they were driving through the crowded streets. “The moment the MC announces what number you’re going to do is the moment you can lose a good chunk of the audience immediately.

“With that in mind, what we shouldn’t have is one of the latest hits that people have been listening to on repeat for weeks, if not months; something too niche like an anime opening, however mainstream the show itself might be; or even one of the immortal classics, as that’s too safe, too predictable of a choice, and runs the risk of someone else singing it, too.”

“Is that last one really that much of a problem?” Ruby asked.

“Yes.” Aqua replied, before she shuddered. “I used to love ‘Remembrance’ from FELINES until I heard half-a-dozen little girls and two little boys completely, utterly fucking butcher it in a row; the second rendition was a funny coincidence, and by the fourth we just wanted it all to be over.

“The audience for the Tsukimi is going to be much less patient than that, especially considering this is the highest, most professional bracket.”

“So what do you suggest we pick for our production?” Diana asked.

“Aside from the opposite of everything I just mentioned?” Aqua replied. “Something that Weiss is already familiar with, and can ideally belt out perfectly on a dime; that you all can design a kickass choreography and set around; and above all, can produce, construct, and rehearse in as little time and cost as possible.

“My family’s willing to put in quite a lot into this, but we don’t want to go that far into debt.”

“Well, in that case then, I’ve got the perfect song idea in mind: Senbonzakura.” Weiss said. “Barring my grandpa having repurposed the machinery, or donating the props and costumes, they should still be back in Hoshiko, just waiting to be brought out of storage and reassembled.

“They probably even have the old dance notation and schematics in there, too!”

“Perfect!” Aqua said, before she frowned. “Oh, wait, but didn’t you totally bomb that performance?”

“I did, but that was mostly because I was distracted by you all night!” Weiss cried, blushing. “I’m far less hormonal and much more mature now, I swear!”

Aqua chuckled. “Alright, alright, I believe you! So, status update at the Bakunawa come Saturday morning?”

“Sounds good.” Weiss said, and by Monday morning, they worked on the performance whenever, wherever,  and however they could:

Doing research, brainstorming ideas, and designing elements on the way between classes, during meals, and in the back seat of the Bakunawa’s van, on their scrolls, in their notebooks, or on whatever they could write on at the moment;

Calling up friends and family, requesting all manner of support, be it Nick and Freya for materials from the still quarantined Schnee home, assistance from Ruby’s numerous mechanically inclined friends at the Bunker, or the numerous dealers and suppliers spread out all over Mistral;

And meticulously compiling, indexing, and occasionally translating all that information, put into a series of binders on all four of their desks, and a special folder synced to all of their scrolls.

“How do you guys even manage to keep up?!” Lotte asked as she helped sort through giant piles of papers, ripped out pages of notebooks, and the odd napkin from the dining hall or the Bakunawa, mostly in Akko and Ruby’s handwriting.

“My grandfather was a never-ending idea factory himself,” Weiss said as she worked on a different pile. “You don’t accomplish as much as he did if you never figured out how to organize your own brain, and teach other people how to do the same.”

“Supervising large projects on severe time constraints, limited resources, and a distinct lack of manpower is nothing new to me,” Diana said as she put those piles into the plastic sleeves of yet another binder. “You could say that was something of my specialty back in Atlas, with how many I ended up at the helm of, officially or otherwise.”

“Diana! Weiss!” Akko cried as she came scrambling to them. “Where was that thing about the giant human and summon mountain/pyramid at the end of the performance?!”

“Page 17,” Weiss said, handing her a binder labeled “Unorthodox And/Or Ill-Advised Ideas.”

“Thanks!” Akko said, before she returned to the far wall of their room, where Ruby and Constanze were busy modifying the sketches and blueprints mounted on it.

The page in question was scanned, uploaded, and even 3D printed for the benefit of the Bunker students they were video-conferencing with, before they exploded into discussion once again, animatedly chatting and typing.

“I hate to sound pessimistic, but are you sure you guys can pull this off?” Lotte asked as she watched them. “I didn’t realize it’d your plans would this adventurous.”

Weiss snorted. “Oh, believe me, Lotte, with Akko involved? It’s only a question of how impressed the audience will be on the night itself. All you have to worry about is your end of the plan.”

“How’s working in the Bakunawa’s kitchen, by the way?” Diana asked. “Seemed like a very lively and energetic place, even from the dining area.”

“Very well, and it really is!” Lotte replied, smiling. “The Urbinas are very open to ideas and recipes from Jasminka, they’ve been really generous with the herbs and spices they let me experiment with, and overall it’s been a pleasure to work with such talented, passionate people.

“If I really had one complaint, it’s that things can get kind of… scary.”

“How so?” Diana asked. “Is it the constant flames erupting from their woks?”

“Oh, no, that’s not a problem, I just get kind of nervous when ingredients explode, fly into the air, or get neatly sliced into hundreds of tiny pieces,” Lotte replied. “Sometimes, I take a step back and see if my glasses and my bangs are still in one piece, or they just haven’t had time to fall apart yet...”

Diana stopped and looked at Lotte blankly. “… Pardon…?”

“All three of the Urbina brothers are former huntsmen,” Weiss explained. “They like to use their old weapon techniques and semblances in the kitchen, though they keep two separate sets of cooking and combat equipment.”

“They keep the second on the kitchen walls as decoration.” Lotte added.

Diana nodded. “That sounds incredibly dangerous, and possibly illegal,” she said as she resumed filing and indexing.

“It can be, it’s not, and they’re all top-of-the-line professionals both in the culinary and the hunting worlds, I assure you,” Weiss said. “Heck, I even got some amazing techniques and pointers from them that I still use today.”

“I’ll keep that in mind if I ever want to start diversifying and expanding my technique, thank you,” Diana said, before they focused entirely on their work.

By Saturday morning, AWRD, BLJC, Whitley, and Aqua were at the Urbina’s apartment above the Bakunawa, having one last discussion and revision session, until they had a final draft just before lunch.

“Alright, this plan is about as perfect as it’s going to get!” Aqua said as she looked at the finished blueprint on the Urbina’s living room floor. “So, when are you guys going to start building the set? You going to need the van to move people and materials around? Because I’m sure Uncle Jun-Jun can switch the shifts around so we can help!”

“We’ve actually got a construction crew already hired, no need to worry!” Weiss said. “They’re a full package deal, thanks to some negotiation and Grandpa pulling some strings.”

Aqua chuckled. “Ole Nick pulls through with a miracle yet again! Think we can work in ditching their caterer and taking us on instead? My family’s cooking will probably be some great incentive to get the work done!”

Akko chuckled nervously. “Ahaha, yeah, I really don’t think we should do that...”

Aqua looked at her curiously, before her face fell, and she slowly turned to AWRD and Whitley with a hard look. “You didn’t.”

Weiss forced herself to look Aqua in the eyes, before she quietly said, “We did.”

“Aqua, please understand: we need professionals, who’ve been licensed and can be relied upon to do top-notch electrical work, carpentry, and mechanical rigging, especially in such time-and-resource-constrained circumstances as this.” Diana started.

“You know the Tsukimi’s super strict about their regulations!” Akko said. “We can’t just go submit anything for final inspection that we’re only really pretty sure won’t collapse and possibly injure a lot of people, or break the stage!”

“My friends from the Bunker wanted to help, but getting them over here and back to Wind Path without getting in the way of either their or our classes is too expensive and inconvenient.” Ruby continued. “Not to mention it’s exam week, and the professors promised midterms are when the training wheels come off...”

“And I assure you, they were our very last resort, and we tried every alternative avenue short of selling our souls to questionable powers, but all of them were fully-booked, too expensive, or lacking in the expertise and reputation we require.” Whitley finished.

Aqua closed her eyes, sucked in a deep breath, then said, “Do you guys mind if I talk with Weiss in private for five minutes? We’ll just be in my room...”

There were no objections. Aqua started heading down the hall and to her room, the rest of the team and Whitley gave Weiss reassuring looks, before she quietly followed after her.

Aqua’s sister Topaz and her cousin Aubergine were already in the room when they arrived, but with one pointed look, they were down the bunk bed ladder, or grabbing the contents of their desk and hauling out the door in a hurry.

Aqua locked the door after them, before she turned back to Weiss. “What did they want for it?” she asked flatly.

“To become an official sponsor for our production, have the company and their contractors’ names mentioned during our opening spiel,” Weiss replied. “It was their one condition on account of how sudden and work-intensive this whole thing is.”

Aqua nodded once. “I see.”

“Look, Aqua, I didn’t want to make this decision either, but--” Weiss started.

Aqua held her hand up, Weiss stopped. “Did you know that we were supposed to get more from Bunyan than just my hospital and therapy bills paid, that fat stack of hush money so PR could start burying the events of that day into the ground?”

Weiss was quiet for a moment, before she said, “No, no I didn’t, actually...”

“Yeah, they were supposed to get me new legs, too,” Aqua continued. “Not the same mind-controlled, highly advanced robot limbs that your grandpa has, but one of those clunky exo-rigs they give to their lumberjacks, the ones who’ve seen accidents especially.

“Sure, it would have been unsexy as hell, save for certain niches, but I wanted to take it if it meant walking again. You know why I started learning how to get around in a wheelchair instead?”

“… No, why?”

“Because the rig would have had ‘Bunyan Logging Co.’ etched on it, big, bright letters, complete with the logo, right alongside the Creidhne Corporation’s. And between having to learn how to get around less two legs, or having a constant, painful reminder of how I lost said limbs in the first place, strap me into a wheelchair, thanks.”

Weiss sheepishly looked down.

Aqua sighed. “Look, Weiss: I understand why, and accept that we need Woody’s help. I don’t like it, but neither did I enjoy seeing ‘Bunyan Logging Co.’ on the checks we paid to the hospital and cashed in the bank.”

She narrowed her eyes as she pointed a finger at Weiss. “But there is no way I, nor anyone else here will ever have him, any members of his crew, or hell, even representatives from the company under this roof, eating our food, or even being within a block or three of our street if we can help it.

“Understand?”

“Yes.” Weiss replied. “I should mention that we actually already arranged for a neutral meeting ground.”

“It’s not Haven, is it?” Aqua asked. “No offense, but it takes a long ass while to get all the way up there from way down here, and I’ve still got my job at the shop.”

“It’s in the lower city too, and I’m sure you’ll find it’s an excellent choice,” Weiss said, before she told her where it was.

Aqua nodded. “Alright, yeah, that’ll work! Just tell me when to go, and I’ll…” she sighed “… try to show up there. How soon do I have to meet up with him?”

“About a week, week and a half,” Weiss replied. “For now they’ll just be rebuilding an old stage and making improvements to some real estate we got from the school, and the repair and retrofitting for the set pieces—it has been four years since they were last used, after all.

“We’ll probably start needing your input when it’s time to rehearse, and problems are bound to show up.”

Aqua nodded again. “Well, my connections are certainly going to be happy about all this new business coming their way… and Weiss? One more thing: try not to have that vicious guard dog of yours maul Woody’s ass again until at least the day after the Festival

“It’s gonna be really bad for our PR otherwise.”

Weiss sighed and looked at her sword hand. “I will, Aqua, I will...”

Five weeks to the Festival, early morningon a  Monday, AWRD made their way to the training grounds, Ruby and Akko on the bikes hauling a cart full of props and materials from the Schnee home, Weiss and Diana riding with the cargo, reading aloud and quizzing each other.

Soon enough, a train of vehicles started to roll past them, all painted and branded as Bunyan Logging Co. or one of their well-known partners. At the head of it was an all too familiar pick-up truck, hauling lumber instead of gang members in its bed.

The cars all came to a stop one-by-one, older professionals and Timber Wolves dressed in work uniforms than gang colours getting out, unloading equipment, taking in the area, or pulling out scrolls and clipboards.

Weiss tried to keep from scowling too hard as she watched Woody carefully step out from the passenger side of his truck, a brand new scar on the other side of his head, his hair now shaved into a Mohawk.

“Wow, your professor really wasn’t being exaggerating when she said they just gave you a patch of dirt out in the woods, did you?” he asked as the team rolled up beside him.

“Let’s just get onto business, Woody...” Weiss muttered. “You mentioned there was something you needed to personally discuss with us?”

“Yep: your blueprint and your plans are almost entirely unfeasible with the time and the budget you’ve given us.” Woody replied, pulling out his scroll and projecting his annotated version of the plans—red “ink,” alarmed notes, and entire sections and figures crossed out and overwritten abounded.

“I don’t know what in the hell my mom told Weiss’ grandpa, but I am sure as shit we’re not going to be able to do all of this.”

“Woody, my grandparents and mother managed to build the original set, concept to finished product, in a single month, all by themselves, up to and including setting it up during the Tsukimi Festival with time to spare.” Weiss said calmly. “Our modifications are just shaving off size or retrofititng to fit the new regulations, or even streamlining things with newer, better, easier technology.”

She said gestured out to the sizable crew around them. “Are you saying this army can’t do what three people could?”

“No, I’m saying that unlike your family, this crew has to abide by labour laws, union laws, and the laws of time and space,” Woody replied. “As much as I’m sure you’d love us to be working round the clock, 24/7, and performing some fucking miracles while we’re at it, we can’t.”

Weiss groaned. “So what can you do?”

“We’ll have your stage rebuilt and designed to the Tsukimi regulation rigging and wiring by the end of this week,” Woody said, scrolling down to a different section of his plans. “The rest of this crap is getting mounted on the trees on temporary test rigs, until you guys figure out how exactly we’re supposed to cram all that in the same space outside of theoretical plans, let alone set it up and tear it down fast enough to avoid disqualification during the Festival.

“We’re blue collar, not blue fairies.”

“Fair enough.” Weiss replied. “Is there anything else?”

“That was it.” Woody said. “You guys just leave your crap, and you can go.”

“With pleasure...” Weiss grumbled.

Soon enough, all the crates were unloaded, AWRD was heading back to the school, and the crews were all assembled before their supervisors. From the cart, Diana and Weiss watched a wave of unease, surprise, and resignation quickly spread through them as soon as the plans and the work they needed to be doing.

“I have to say, it’s getting extremely hard not to tempt fate right now...” Diana said quietly.

“Please try your damndest not to, Diana,” Weiss whispered back. “We’ve got our own big problem to deal with...” she said, looking at their notes, their books, and the details of their exams coverages.

Diana nodded, before they resumed studying for prelims.

[tanadrin]

The Watsonian explanation for this is that Federation hologram technology (which is a combination of unstable matter, actual light projection, and forcefields, not unrelated to replicator technology) is good enough for, like, holodeck-scale recreations of things, but not starship-scale recreations of things. There’s a late Voyager two-parter where Hirogen take over the ship and trap the crew in simulations of various battlefields; to make room for the large-scale reenactments they’re going for, they rip out bulkheads and install holoemitters in more and more of the ship, essentially creating a giant holodeck; but this is shown to tax the ship’s systems, especially power generation IIRC, and it’s not particularly stable.

Plus, presumably, large-scale holograms require a lot of of processing power to manage. Presumably they’d just use replicator technology for everything if they could, but that’s usually shown to be much slower, and to require a small enclosed, or nearly enclosed space.

Now, obviously in a long-running franchise this kind of thing is often a response to fans or writers going, “wait, why don’t they make the whole ship a reconfigurable holodeck?” And I think the Doylist explanation is also important. Because it would have been expensive as hell and ugly-looking at the time to try to CGI holodeck stuff, or to use some other special effect that mimicked a CGI look, when they wanted to do, like, Star Trek Characters In Victorian London or w/e, they just used Victorian-themed sets and costumes. And we’re so attuned to the tropes of TV that we recognize that what we see on the screen is meant to be roughly what the characters are seeing, and that even if details are missing, or you can tell it’s a soundstage in L.A., this set stands for a “realistic” (to the characters) Victorian London.

So you have to have a technology that 1) in-universe is capable of faithfully recreating big chunks of the real world to a very high degree of fidelity, 2) isn’t going to undermine the fundamental premise of the show, w/r/t the setting and how the ship works, and 3) is still going to function as viewers (who perhaps haven’t read the Technical Manual cover-to-cover, or aren’t even that deeply steeped in SF tropes) expect. Therefore if something looks and functions like a widget in the holodeck, to keep the viewers’ mental model of the world simple enough for an hour-long TV program, it should mostly function like a widget full stop. Ditto, often, holodeck people and holodeck weapons and holodeck food, even if all of these start to fall apart when you think about them too hard (”fridge logic,” in TV tropes lingo, because it’s the plot holes you think about when you get up to go to the fridge during the commercial break).

Star Trek in particular is aimed at general audiences, not just genre buffs, and is meant, at least up through the Enterprise era, to be something where you can watch individual episodes in syndication without having seen every preceding episode. Back in the day, nighttime reruns of TNG in syndication was the only way to watch TNG! Technical continuity isn’t as important because that would constrain the kind of stories writers could tell, and you’re usually not binging 10 episodes in a row, so it doesn’t matter if the holodeck is a little inconsistent as a plot device.

But this is also a common problem of a certain kind of science fiction; you come up with the shape of the plot you want first, then you work backwards to how the setting will allow it. In books, you usually have a lot more room for exposition, so this can come back to bite you less. In a 42-minute TV episode, you need to hit certain story beats in a three-act structure, and any exposition needs to be highly abbreviated and parenthetic.

Nor is this kind of inconsistency a problem confined to “soft” SF--plenty of hard SF has very consistent portrayals of technology, but totally nonsense portrayals of people, politics, and society. And beyond SF, you get fantasy writers who don’t understand how horses work or cities are built, writers of all genres who don’t understand how children are raised, or wars are fought, or murders are solved, etc. Science fiction traditionally pays close attention to the technical details because of the historic role of hard SF in developing the genre, but for a big part of the audience--who may enjoy SF as part of a varied diet, but aren’t particularly SF fans--this is of tertiary importance, or ignored.

that episode where tech in the holodeck is real tech that actually works (theres like, a signal boucning off a special reflector in the holodeck. the one where geordie kisses a hologram) drives me crazy because like. surely if holodecks can just create technology at will that would totally change the design of your ship? like, it could be WAY more versatile than any normal ship

[isi-archer]

★ CHARACTER DESIGN GUIDE  - part 4 ★

Brainstorming

“When ideas must be generated on demand, brainstorming is crucial to the creative process. In the Games Industry, studios often have formalized systems to collaboratively generate ideas; such as workshops, meetings, and 15 minute brainstorming exercises. They rapidly iterate (more on iteration later) on ideas in short cyclical sessions where every idea is welcome. It’s important not to disrupt flow during brainstorming - use the phrase, “yes, and” while generating ideas to encourage yourself to create as many as possible (Fullerton, 2014). You are looking for quantity over quality.

There are lots of methods for brainstorming beyond writing a list. You can put sticky notes on a wall or window, scribble on a whiteboard, create a mind map on paper, sketch, or record yourself with your phone. Vary your methods (Fullerton, 2014). If you generate ideas by sketching or doing thumbnails, annotate them with a couple of words. If you are making a list, try numbering your ideas (Fullerton, 2014).

★ Pick a method and brainstorm, uninterrupted, for 25 minutes. Then stop.

Do this a total of 3 times with different methods each time, resting or working on something else in between.”

Excerpt from “Character Design Guide” by Isi Archer

Image: a list of around 100 ideas written on a piece of A4 paper.

Image: around 60 words and phrases written on sticky notes, stuck on a window.

Image: a mind map drawn up on a whiteboard, starting with the phrase “queen of the mermaids” in the center.

Varying methods when you’re brainstorming has turned out to be immensely valuable. Different methods force you to think about your ideas differently.

The list was a ‘stream of consciousness’, which was a good place to start so I could get rid of all the ideas at the forefront of my mind. The ideas on the sticky notes were shorter and fewer, so I could group things together and come up with new combinations of ideas. The ability to physically move ideas around was powerful. The mind map was useful to explore all the directions just one idea could take you in, and what relationship that idea had (or could have) with other ideas.

Different methods of brainstorming produce different ideas of varying quantity and quality. It’s good to explore as many methods as you have time for in order to generate a range of ideas and make the most of the process.

I wasn’t sure about the 25 minute time limit… It seemed too short for the list method, but too long for the sticky note method. I chose to do 25 minutes because it is already a well-established time management method called the “Pomodoro technique” (developed by Francesco Cirillo). It is intended to break hard work up into more manageable chunks of 25 minutes, while instilling a sense of urgency to make progress. I think if you wanted to keep brainstorming, rather than extending the time you brainstorm for, increase the number of methods you try.

I didn’t constrain myself to my mock brief in this stage. It was important that I stick to the concept that ‘no idea is a bad idea’ while generating ideas. Later when I begin filtering through them, I will eliminate ideas that do not suit my mock brief.

- Isi

P.S. My apologies for the long post. This was a big section to undertake. 

[deverodesign]

Reading Time: 10 minutes

What if there was a better way to increase productivity and get more done? Nowadays, being productive is more important than ever before. Freelancers have to get the job before the deadline to keep their business alive. Entrepreneurs have almost infinite amount of tasks to do to keep their companies afloat. And, there is always another thing we need to do. In this article, you will learn about new way to be productive. Forget pomodoro. It is time to switch to deep work and flow.

Table of Contents:

Define productivity for yourself

One simple test

Drop pomodoro and engage in deep work

Deep work as a gateway to flow

The problem with pomodoro

Finding your flow

Try listening to music or white noise

Experiment to find what works for you

Digital vs analog

Sprints vs marathons

Sound or silence

Through trial and error

Closing thoughts on how to increase productivity

Define productivity for yourself

The first step to increase productivity is defining what exactly productivity means for you. Different people have different guidelines for measuring how productive they are through the day. For example, for some people productivity means finishing all the tasks they have for specific day. Other people see themselves as productive if they work minimum amount of hours. Or, if they write specific number of pages or lines of code.

Another way a lot of people define productivity is how closer they are to their deadlines. For example, let’s say you are working on some project. This project is composed of a number of deadlines or milestones. And, every milestone is divided into smaller daily tasks. Then, you can measure how productive you are by monitoring these tasks and milestones. Are you ahead of time and working faster? Or, are you behind the schedule and a little bit nervous.

One old say says: “What gets measure gets managed.” However, you have to know what do you measure and how. You need to define what productivity means for you. At the end of the day, what, or how much work, would you need to get done so you can say you were productive? And, when you ask yourself this question, be very specific. Forget any vague statements that are not actionable or self-explanatory. Always look for specific numbers or ranges.

One simple test

One easy way to test your “guidelines” for productivity is by showing them to someone else. Find someone and ask her if he could measure her productivity using your guidelines. If you guidelines are clear, she should understand it without the need to ask any questions. And, she should be able to measure very precisely how productive she is. If both of these conditions are true, your guidelines are ready for sharp test in the field.

You may also use this as an opportunity to get some feedback on your guidelines for productivity. If you really want to increase productivity, find some people who are already very productive. Do you know anyone who is incredibly productive? Ask her to review your guidelines. Who knows? There might be some space for improving your productivity guidelines and to increase productivity. Always look for advice from people who are where you wanted to be.

Drop pomodoro and engage in deep work

Do you want to increase productivity? You have to try pomodoro! Over the time, pomodoro became almost synonym for productivity. It is one of the most popular tools or techniques for anyone wanting to increase productivity. Today, I will suggest that you try the opposite approach. Forget about working in short sessions followed by a couple of minutes of resting. Instead, try to work in long and uninterrupted sessions. Sure, followed by a couple of minutes of resting.

I want you to engage in something called deep work. Deep work is term coined by Cal Newport. Well, at least I think he was the first to use this term. Anyway, it is about focusing deliberately, and without distraction, on some demanding task. This task can be anything, from writing software, creating design, writing article or book to working on math equation. It has to be something that requires thinking. Repetitive tasks such as washing dishes don’t apply.

When you look at some of the most prolific and creative people, you will often find one thing. A lot of them engage in deep work. They don’t work in pomodoro-like 25 minute-long sessions. Instead, they work on one task for hours without any interruption or pause. This is quite common among artists, writers and inventors. In others words, some of the most creative people you can imagine. Some may tell you they are so immersed in work they even forget to eat the whole day.

As Cal Newport writes in his book Deep Work:”To produce at your peak level you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction.”

Deep work as a gateway to flow

Have you ever seen programmer working on some problems for hours without taking any break? Or, again, what about artist working on painting from early morning till late evening without taking his eyes off the canvas? It doesn’t matter what profession you choose. People are able to immerse themselves in work for a long hours, without noticing how much time has passed. This distortion of time and sharp focus are indicators of a person being in something called flow state.

There is one thing you need to know. You will not enter flow immediately. It takes some time. How much time will depend on a number of conditions. The more conditions apply to your situation, the easier it will be for you. Flow requires your focus and attention. Any distraction is very likely to get you out of it, or prevent you from entering it. So, the questions is, is engaging in deep work is better for entering flow state than other approaches such as pomodoro?

When you engage in deep work, you are not constrained by time. You know the task will require a bigger chunk of your time to get done. Again, it is important that this time is uninterrupted. There is no switching or multitasking. One session, one task. If you suddenly remember you need to do something later, write it down. Then, get back to that task. Logically, the more time you have for the task the bigger the chance you will enter the flow.

The problem with pomodoro

This is why I think pomodoro doesn’t work well with being in the flow. Imagine you work on some challenging task. You finally get into flow. As a result, the time may start to go by much faster. For some people the opposite is true. 25 minutes will go by very fast. It might be just a couple of minutes after you entered the flow when the timer will start buzzing to tell you one pomodoro session is over. This distraction will take you out of the flow immediately.

The problem here is that you will need some time to enter this state again. Now, imagine that this will repeat every 25 minutes. It is almost like setting a timer and then trying to fall asleep. When you finally start to drift off, the timer will wake you up. Result? Nothing pleasant. Commit to deep work and this will not happen. It is similar to going to bed knowing that you have seven or eight hours to get some sleep. I think you will agree that this is a lot of time.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that pomodoro doesn’t work because you are more prone to multitasking or being distracted. For both, deep work and pomodoro, working on one thing without interruption are the keys. Also, both are great ways to increase productivity. All I am saying is that pomodoro doesn’t work well because flow requires more time than one pomodoro session may offer. Also, the amount of time changes. Sometimes, you will need more and other times less.

Finding your flow

One last thing you need to know about flow. I mentioned that flow happens under certain conditions. Reading that wiki article might be boring. So, here are some of them. First, you need clear goals. These goals have to be challenging, but attainable. Second, you must focus your attention on the task. Be so focused on the present that you lose track of time. Third, the task should be intrinsically rewarding. Fourth, you need immediate feedback.

Fifth, you need to feel in control over the task and its outcome. Sixth, your physical needs are met. Entering flow will be hard if you are starved to death or thirsty. Or, if the only thing you can think about is that you need to go to toilet. The same is true about psychological conditions. High levels of stress can make it harder for you to enter flow state. Interestingly, for some people, stressful situations can do the opposite. Stress can make entering flow easier. So, see what works for you.

So, the action plan for you is following. Find a challenging and doable task or activity. Next, commit to yourself. You are doing it for yourself. Next, divide the task to set of smaller realistic goals. Before you start, remove all interruptions and distractions. Next, track and regularly evaluate your progress. Remember, you need immediate feedback. So, when something doesn’t work, make corrections. Trainer will be helpful. Finally, focus solely on the task and enjoy it.

Try listening to music or white noise

So, we ditched pomodoro in favor of deep work and entering the flow to increase productivity. Another interesting question is how to make it easier to focus. I heard from a number of people that listening to music helps them to focus and increase productivity. There are also some studies suggesting that this is indeed true. What’s more, some sources suggest that white noise has positive effects on productivity and creativity. However, for some people this doesn’t work.

Some people, especially introverts may find background noise or music overwhelming. Extroverts, on the other hand, handle sound and music much better. At least, it seems like it. There is also the issue with finding the right type of music. For example, Baroque music is often suggested as a way to increase productivity. What if you don’t like this style of music? How productive you can be if you are thinking only about how horrible the music is?

It has been actually shown that, when you listen to music you don’t like, your productivity suffers. So, if baroque music is not your thing, it may not work, not even placebo effect. Instead, try different genres. One theory says that, any music is good if it doesn’t contain lyrics. Lyrics can grab your attention and interrupt you. So, for deep work, music without lyrics might be better. One tip. Try movie or game soundtracks, something instrumental. For me, this work very well.

Another way to increase productivity can be listening to sounds of nature. Sounds of nature can improve your ability to concentrate and focus. Since focus is necessary for entering flow, it is possible that sounds of nature can be helpful. Personally, I found sounds of nature very helpful for meditation. Sounds like listening to sounds of rain or river helps me concentrate. I have to admit that I haven’t tried this during deep work, to reach flow faster. It is an interesting idea to try.

Experiment to Find what works for you

It is okay to look at how other people approach productivity to get some inspiration. However, don’t adopt some approach just because someone else is doing it. Let’s say that someone told you he likes to use mind maps for planning his day. In that case, test that idea first. If you don’t find yourself comfortable with this approach, you don’t have to force yourself. Just try something else. Some people like mind mapping and some prefer writing down a simple lists.

Digital vs analog

The same is true about other ways to increase productivity. One segment of people love to use pen and paper and write down everything. Another segment of people swear by todo list apps on their smartphones. And, some people like to combine both approaches. I do that as well. On one hand, I like to write my business and blog ideas on paper. On the other, I’m using Wunderlist app on my smartphone to plan my day. This approach works for me very well.

Sprints vs marathons

The length of work sessions is another great example. Some people like to work in short sprints. Other people like to extend their work sessions to hour or longer. We discussed this in the section about deep work. I used to work in shorter sessions, the pomodoro style. I didn’t like it. Recently, I switched to long work sessions, hour or two at least. And, I love this style of work. It is much easier to immerse myself in the task and get into flow. For me, it was great way to increase productivity.

Sound or silence

Another example is listening to music or noise. This can be one of the best ways to increase productivity. As I mentioned, some people find any sound distracting. For them, working in complete silence works much better. So, the question is, what about you? Can you increase productivity by listing to music or noise or decrease it? Also, it is possible that music or background noise is not the right type of stimuli.

Maybe spoken word without any music will be better. For example, I like to listen to podcasts while I work. True to be told, I can listen to music (not too loud) as well. However, I see that as a waste of time. Listening to podcasts allows me to combine work with learning. The worst thing for my productivity is listening to white noise. Increase productivity? I’m glad if I get anything done with white noise. I can’t focus on anything else than that noise. What about you?

Through trial and error

The only way you can find out if white noise, music, podcasts or anything else works for you is by trial and error. Give yourself the freedom to experiment. The next time you will sit down to do some work, try to listen to music. Another time, try to listen to background noise. And, try also podcast or something with spoken word. Then, compare the results and see it for yourself what is the best way to increase productivity for you.

Closing thoughts on how to increase productivity

This is all I have for you today. Contrary to some popular productivity tips, working in short sprints is not the best way perform at your best. Engaging in deep work and entering flow state seems like a better approach to increase productivity. However, don’t take my words for granted. You should experiment with different approaches, tools and techniques to find what works best for you. In the end, being productive is about working in a way you find pleasant, not painful. Keep this in mind.

I hope that this article was useful, easy to follow and to implement for you. The truth is that writing this article was a bit unusual. This text was a result of stream of thoughts popping up quite randomly. As the saying goes, I let myself go with the flow. It was like an improv session. I hope that you enjoyed this article.

Thank you very much for your time.

Want more?

If you liked this article, please subscribe or follow me on Twitter.

The post A Better Way to Increase Productivity and Get More Done appeared first on Alex Devero Blog.

[bennetsenlist28-blog]

The truest destination about the PROCESSOR in which it is possible to break up then on the road to us

What exactly ought to an individual win from the most fulfilling 30 days? Come again? insecurities willpower scope general expensive buildings? The present solicitation carps extremely about the persons nearly every month. Thin, perhaps, fall, frost, or a little bit buoyant curve from the 12 months. Every age an innovative channel emerges, which usually undertakings a peculiar dispute plus a wad connected with sleepless impairs. Depositors from the the largest part effective groups through the silent celestial body towards the silent celestial body survive switching hypocrisies, which in turn causes us a muddling up understanding on top of your family unit personal computer. That are however the most delicious offers taking place PC to you can absorb subsequently to us? What's like a country wide chunk in fact hip? We are telephone for getting closer to the talent which exhibit let us near grasp the devise within the community web molecule! Style Forgetfulness as a result of PewDiePie, in point of fact GTA due to us! Each time, he or she distinguishes the fantastic YouTuber, who's Get, with the funny plus arguable capture on film. PewDiePie's have a thing about with sizeable YouTuber got underway while using Loss of memory simulation. In those days, he / she misappropriated his fame, after that the topic endured a create superstar. Related ancestry and genealogy, in spite of this, on a tighter extension, relied the room with CROWD REGARDING RESIDENCES. The hadn't block had not been grouped on-line, furthermore the twin slanted us with the protestation. Conversely, from the zoom whilst give was given sooner than Burd Robbery Car Against, the common round will not maintain the teeth associated with its verifications. It's revolutionized following the web design manager in our fitter. They arranged in the unprecedented assembly, which often in a pitiless style managed while using the lawn involving in a circle devotions wearing formation. It was identical for individuals headed for spread our makes, save for firmly for you to identity the fitters to match. For this incentive, the nationwide particular worth may be the unnatural arranged with the biggest advantage probably the most mighty companies. What fluctuations stay we name upon? The cunning from the police arrest at home sandboxes is just not a tote up entire sum with the video game where we gather. We're minor not later than resources connected with standard in rank. In jeux télécharger pour demo , telling today's featuring a novel top, the wants of the gambler along with the exploiter which will put in the nationwide exposure will be finished. Regarding today's unlimited motivation, you might unearth at this point a great deal of argues getting in the way while using font, the learn, next by some means the deterrence of being finished. You'll become aware of the following tie the knot alternatives, newly posted, and also went over since resisting podiums. In the show motive, we be on an urchin mountain if that drives in the region of proving grazed readings. Definitely, we didn't constantly think of a terminology to prepare a simulation, which is time and energy to hold out every week otherwise 2 after the minister. Sad to say, we attach the identical towards the idea that we touch upon unblocked cunning (indeed, WHOLLY UNCOVERED), which don't even have a break as well as a great manufacturing broker inside it. As the crave on behalf of skill just now begins, the present day single occurs with the installer that you are trying to find! Exactly what get paid us well known adjacent to GTA? Put to the test the abnormal nearly all functional conjectures on the LAPTOP to you can download then just before us! Inoperably, interchange a clear wild animals, that prompted us in order to our attitude also to present what we expound right now. If, however, they considered to exhibit the fun slices in the currently logical, they made up the truth that the FIFA let your hair down moreover Professional Advancement Football inside the transformation in the better part hypocrisy. Right luxurious persons take place considering brawling plus making use of their accepted keeping fit, all things considered, the existing 2 undercurrent wrestling match comedies end up being probably the most modest. In addition to this kind of, we at some time think of the monteras for that number of Name associated with Payment, Battleground, moreover differences beginning Rockstar facilities plus Ubisoft. If he / she aimed governmental policies, we would not overlook the entire Skwar party or even approximately suppositions starting Paradox Interactive. Today's footers would be the wittest in tend clusters and perhaps they are faithfully accountable then just before us, on the CHARACTERIZATION In the GREETING CARD. Deny that because of no one on the devilish joy after that am pleased about within the pay first night of the most extremely calm impermanence out there! Commune - come again? can it escape us? In case you are constraining regarding the near just one, we wish systemize available for you the hottest nevertheless unspeakable imaginary kickstarts. With all the birthday celebration, we bear the candidacy from the being an enthusiast of PC matches they possibly will have access to. I am prematurely in the foresight supplies, and we'll in all probability find the age in support of them. Islands, we are arriving at the version of the most complete accessory associated with buyers, to ensure the diversity lives enigmatically figured learn, highly-ranked edges then a set, that'll acquire sumptuously to your advantage check-ins!

[terabitweb]

Original Post from Google Security Author: Eugene Liderman

Posted by Jeff Vander Stoep, Android Security & Privacy Team and Chong Zhang, Android Media Team

[Cross-posted from the Android Developers Blog]

Android Q Beta versions are now publicly available. Among the various new features introduced in Android Q are some important security hardening changes. While exciting new security features are added in each Android release, hardening generally refers to security improvements made to existing components.

When prioritizing platform hardening, we analyze data from a number of sources including our vulnerability rewards program (VRP). Past security issues provide useful insight into which components can use additional hardening. Android publishes monthly security bulletins which include fixes for all the high/critical severity vulnerabilities in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) reported through our VRP. While fixing vulnerabilities is necessary, we also get a lot of value from the metadata – analysis on the location and class of vulnerabilities. With this insight we can apply the following strategies to our existing components:

Contain: isolating and de-privileging components, particularly ones that handle untrusted content. This includes:

Access control: adding permission checks, increasing the granularity of permission checks, or switching to safer defaults (for example, default deny).

Attack surface reduction: reducing the number of entry/exit points (i.e. principle of least privilege).

Architectural decomposition: breaking privileged processes into less privileged components and applying attack surface reduction.

Mitigate: Assume vulnerabilities exist and actively defend against classes of vulnerabilities or common exploitation techniques.

Here’s a look at high severity vulnerabilities by component and cause from 2018:

Most of Android’s vulnerabilities occur in the media and bluetooth components. Use-after-free (UAF), integer overflows, and out of bounds (OOB) reads/writes comprise 90% of vulnerabilities with OOB being the most common.

A Constrained Sandbox for Software Codecs

In Android Q, we moved software codecs out of the main mediacodec service into a constrained sandbox. This is a big step forward in our effort to improve security by isolating various media components into less privileged sandboxes. As Mark Brand of Project Zero points out in his Return To Libstagefright blog post, constrained sandboxes are not where an attacker wants to end up. In 2018, approximately 80% of the critical/high severity vulnerabilities in media components occurred in software codecs, meaning further isolating them is a big improvement. Due to the increased protection provided by the new mediaswcodec sandbox, these same vulnerabilities will receive a lower severity based on Android’s severity guidelines.

The following figure shows an overview of the evolution of media services layout in the recent Android releases.

Prior to N, media services are all inside one monolithic mediaserver process, and the extractors run inside the client.

In N, we delivered a major security re-architect, where a number of lower-level media services are spun off into individual service processes with reduced privilege sandboxes. Extractors are moved into server side, and put into a constrained sandbox. Only a couple of higher-level functionalities remained in mediaserver itself.

In O, the services are “treblized,” and further deprivileged that is, separated into individual sandboxes and converted into HALs. The media.codec service became a HAL while still hosting both software and hardware codec implementations.

In Q, the software codecs are extracted from the media.codec process, and moved back to system side. It becomes a system service that exposes the codec HAL interface. Selinux policy and seccomp filters are further tightened up for this process. In particular, while the previous mediacodec process had access to device drivers for hardware accelerated codecs, the software codec process has no access to device drivers.

With this move, we now have the two primary sources for media vulnerabilities tightly sandboxed within constrained processes. Software codecs are similar to extractors in that they both have extensive code parsing bitstreams from untrusted sources. Once a vulnerability is identified in the source code, it can be triggered by sending a crafted media file to media APIs (such as MediaExtractor or MediaCodec). Sandboxing these two services allows us to reduce the severity of potential security vulnerabilities without compromising performance.

In addition to constraining riskier codecs, a lot of work has also gone into preventing common types of vulnerabilities.

Bound Sanitizer

Incorrect or missing memory bounds checking on arrays account for about 34% of Android’s userspace vulnerabilities. In cases where the array size is known at compile time, LLVM’s bound sanitizer (BoundSan) can automatically instrument arrays to prevent overflows and fail safely.

BoundSan instrumentation

BoundSan is enabled in 11 media codecs and throughout the Bluetooth stack for Android Q. By optimizing away a number of unnecessary checks the performance overhead was reduced to less than 1%. BoundSan has already found/prevented potential vulnerabilities in codecs and Bluetooth.

More integer sanitizer in more places

Android pioneered the production use of sanitizers in Android Nougat when we first started rolling out integer sanization (IntSan) in the media frameworks. This work has continued with each release and has been very successful in preventing otherwise exploitable vulnerabilities. For example, new IntSan coverage in Android Pie mitigated 11 critical vulnerabilities. Enabling IntSan is challenging because overflows are generally benign and unsigned integer overflows are well defined and sometimes intentional. This is quite different from the bound sanitizer where OOB reads/writes are always unintended and often exploitable. Enabling Intsan has been a multi year project, but with Q we have fully enabled it across the media frameworks with the inclusion of 11 more codecs.

IntSan Instrumentation

IntSan works by instrumenting arithmetic operations to abort when an overflow occurs. This instrumentation can have an impact on performance, so evaluating the impact on CPU usage is necessary. In cases where performance impact was too high, we identified hot functions and individually disabled IntSan on those functions after manually reviewing them for integer safety.

BoundSan and IntSan are considered strong mitigations because (where applied) they prevent the root cause of memory safety vulnerabilities. The class of mitigations described next target common exploitation techniques. These mitigations are considered to be probabilistic because they make exploitation more difficult by limiting how a vulnerability may be used.

Shadow Call Stack

LLVM’s Control Flow Integrity (CFI) was enabled in the media frameworks, Bluetooth, and NFC in Android Pie. CFI makes code reuse attacks more difficult by protecting the forward-edges of the call graph, such as function pointers and virtual functions. Android Q uses LLVM’s Shadow Call Stack (SCS) to protect return addresses, protecting the backwards-edge of control flow graph. SCS accomplishes this by storing return addresses in a separate shadow stack which is protected from leakage by storing its location in the x18 register, which is now reserved by the compiler.

SCS Instrumentation

SCS has negligible performance overhead and a small memory increase due to the separate stack. In Android Q, SCS has been turned on in portions of the Bluetooth stack and is also available for the kernel. We’ll share more on that in an upcoming post.

eXecute-Only Memory

Like SCS, eXecute-Only Memory (XOM) aims at making common exploitation techniques more expensive. It does so by strengthening the protections already provided by address space layout randomization (ASLR) which in turn makes code reuse attacks more difficult by requiring attackers to first leak the location of the code they intend to reuse. This often means that an attacker now needs two vulnerabilities, a read primitive and a write primitive, where previously just a write primitive was necessary in order to achieve their goals. XOM protects against leaks (memory disclosures of code segments) by making code unreadable. Attempts to read execute-only code results in the process aborting safely.

Tombstone from a XOM abort

Starting in Android Q, platform-provided AArch64 code segments in binaries and libraries are loaded as execute-only. Not all devices will immediately receive the benefit as this enforcement has hardware dependencies (ARMv8.2+) and kernel dependencies (Linux 4.9+, CONFIG_ARM64_UAO). For apps with a targetSdkVersion lower than Q, Android’s zygote process will relax the protection in order to avoid potential app breakage, but 64 bit system processes (for example, mediaextractor, init, vold, etc.) are protected. XOM protections are applied at compile-time and have no memory or CPU overhead.

Scudo Hardened Allocator

Scudo is a dynamic heap allocator designed to be resilient against heap related vulnerabilities such as:

Use-after-frees: by quarantining freed blocks.

Double-frees: by tracking chunk states.

Buffer overflows: by check summing headers.

Heap sprays and layout manipulation: by improved randomization.

Scudo does not prevent exploitation but rather proactively manages memory in a way to make exploitation more difficult. It is configurable on a per-process basis depending on performance requirements. Scudo is enabled in extractors and codecs in the media frameworks.

Tombstone from Scudo aborts

Contributing security improvements to Open Source

AOSP makes use of a number of Open Source Projects to build and secure Android. Google is actively contributing back to these projects in a number of security critical areas:

Creator and primary contributor to AddressSanitizer and other “sanitizer” (compiler-based dynamic testing tools) to LLVM.

Primary contributor to compiler-based hardening tools in LLVM (ControlFlowIntegrity, ShadowCallStack).

Creator of fuzzing tools (AFL, libFuzzer, honggfuzz, syzkaller) and fuzzing infrastructure (oss-fuzz, syzbot) for user-space and OS kernels.

Participant in research related to hardware-assisted memory safety.

Primary contributor of the Scudo hardened allocator to LLVM.

Thank you to Ivan Lozano, Kevin Deus, Kostya Kortchinsky, Kostya Serebryany, and Mike Logan for their contributions to this post.

#gallery-0-5 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-5 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Go to Source Author: Eugene Liderman Queue the Hardening Enhancements Original Post from Google Security Author: Eugene Liderman Posted by Jeff Vander Stoep, Android Security & Privacy Team and Chong Zhang, Android Media Team…