#because i wanted a dog that needed so much entertainment and exercise without the ''pros'' of eager to please and snuggly

[purplesurveys]

1180

The last time you washed your hair, did you use conditioner? Yeah, I’m pretty paranoid and always feel the need to use conditioner because of a bad rebonding job from like a decade ago that stiffened up my hair as soon as it would get wet. It lasted for around a year, so I formed the habit of always using conditioner every time I shower. I don’t think I’ve ever used just shampoo since then.

Do you prefer light or dark jeans?  Dark, but I suppose it would be nice to start experimenting with lighter shades as well.

When you listen to music, do you generally sing along, or just listen?  It depends if I know the lyrics or I’m feeling the song at the moment. Obviously with my new obsession with BTS I can’t really sing along to entire songs, but I do sing the few English lyrics they have per song, hahaha.

Do you have any of your exes as friends on Facebook?  Yeah but she’s been muted for like half a year already, as is the rest of her family. I do have plans to unfriend her entirely; I’m just not sure when I would push through with it, and I already gave Angela permission to log onto my account one of these days to be the one to do the unfriending.

Who was your first love? Do you ever miss that person?  Gabie. I miss the friendship sometimes; I don’t think I’ll have a friendship as deep and connected as the one we had, so I will always feel sorry about how that went to waste. But I don’t really think about our relationship anymore as I’m pretty good at blocking off certain memories, so I don’t miss her in that sense.

How many cars are parked at your house right now?  Two.

Do you have any Italian ancestry?  I highly doubt so. If anything there’s probably a tiny drop Spanish blood in there but that’s the most European I’ll ever get.

Do you prefer water to be ice cold or at room temperature?  Like, drinking water? Ice cold, always. I hate warm water.

Has anyone ever told you you’re a control freak?  Not to my face, but I know I’m one so I’m sure other people have said that about me at least behind my back.

Do you know anyone who has gone missing? If so, were they ever found?  Yes, my friend Mik and one of my aunts. They were both found eventually.

What was the spiciest thing you’ve ever eaten?  Eating ghost pepper instant noodles was a pain I would never want to go through again...I threw that shit out after my first forkful, lmao.

Do you need to talk to someone?  No, not in particular. In a more general sense I do wanna start gaining more friends though, so I’ve been meaning to expand my circle by creating a new Twitter account just for my BTS dump. In other words, I am a 23 year old with a stan Twitter HAHAHAHA

Is something confusing you at the moment?  No, I’m good.

When was the last time you had a real deep chat?  Maybe my conversation with Andi a couple of nights back. We were talking about a tricky situation with their ex-friend who turned out to be a real dick when they came out to him a year ago, and they just wanted to get my perspective on how I would handle it.

Who did you last see on webcam?  The PR manager for one of our clients, who we all despise because he doesn’t know how to do his job. Thankfully he’s resigning soon so we’re all just waiting for him to leave and finally meet a much more competent replacement.

What’s your best friend’s pet’s name(s)?  Angela has two dogs, Hailey and Kennedy. Andi had Apollo, who I wanted to meet so badly but sadly he passed away a week ago at 15.

Have you ever taken a picture while laying in the grass?  There are photos of me sitting on grass, but not lying in it. I would imagine that would feel very prickly and uncomfortable.

Who’s your favorite Disney character? Baymax or Flynn Rider.

Have you ever deliberately tried to get someone drunk?  I’ve made my friends chug drinks or down shots and it’s happened vice versa, but it was always in good fun and we never made each other harassed from it. It’s just your typical college rambunctiousness, and if anyone felt uncomfortable or iffy then we didn’t hesitate to move on.

When was the last time you used a pay phone and who were you calling?  I’ve only ever seen those in my first school, when I was in kindergarten. I never got to use it and they also took them out not long after.

Do you like being kissed on the neck?  Yessssssssss

Have you ever had sex with someone you weren’t dating (but had feelings for) in the hopes that they would ask you out later?  Nope. I don’t think I would have sex with anyone I wasn’t dating.

What’s the most you would be willing to spend on a good bra?  Probably a couple thousand bucks if I thought I looked good in it.

Do you have any of your teachers’ personal cell phone numbers saved in your contacts list?  I don’t think so. I never tried getting close with any of them, and I always tried to stay hidden as much as possible. I was just in class to get good grades and pass.

Do you ever stalk peoples’ personal blogs, even if you don’t know them very well?  I never really scroll through people’s Tumblrs anymore. That was more of a thing I did in like 2013, but these days going through my dashboard is enough.

What’s one thing about today’s generation that you just can’t stand?  Some social media trends done for clout make me revolted, especially when it has anything to do with wasting food. I also hate when they do extreme pranks that I know I wouldn’t find funny if I were ever the victim, like tossing someone’s phone into the ocean.

Be honest: how do you feel about abortion?  Pro-choice. 

Is there anyone you currently want to reach out to?  I would love to catch up with Katreen at some point, but I know we’re at different points in our lives now and it would probably never happen.

What is your favorite piece of art you own?  I commissioned my sister to make an artwork of the 2D1N cast, and she did a great job making it! I haven’t gotten to use it or promote it yet, but I will soon. It’s really well-done.

What’s the one thing you apologized for this month?  Replying late.

My favorite color is ______?  Pastel pink.

I wish I had _____?  Longer weekends.

What did you buy today? Nothing – I’d call that a success lmao, I’ve been spending money as if I had a million fucking bucks over the last week. I did have some packages arrive today though: my own copy of 2 Cool 4 Skool (my first physical BTS album!!!!!!); the official poster from their album BE; the Ivy Park sneakers I ordered earlier this month, and an Ivy Park bucket hat Bea had apparently gotten for me as a birthday present.

What has challenged your morals?  Vices.

What made you pick up the last book you started reading?  I had to read it in preparation for a one-on-one session with my employer’s CEO.

What about your life concerns you the most? Whether a stable future is in the cards for me.

What do you find particularly offensive? Would you say you’re easy or difficult to offend?  Probably Filipino-American comedians or influencers who use stereotyping of Filipino accents and habits as a punchline; they do more harm to the culture than good. I can tell you not one Filipino who lives in the Philippines actually finds those funny, and Bretman Rock is probably the only personality who’s able to flaunt the culture in an entertaining and hilarious yet classy way.

When it comes to being offended, I guess it depends on the context. My humor can get pretty dark and low-blowy, but I would have a problem with someone who I know has genuinely problematic views.

What was the last series you finished watching? Do you have any plans to begin another?  I think it may had still been Start-Up from last December. I’m not too big on Korean dramas since I find one episode waaaaaaayyyyyyy too long. I don’t think I’ll be starting on anything soon, Korean or otherwise.

What is one way in which you are different from a year ago? What is one way in which you are still the same?  I’m single now, for the first time in technically six years. I also think I’m doing better and happier, breakup notwithstanding. OH and I love wasabi now, hahah. As for what’s unchanged, I still like taking surveys and I’m still stuck at home, though the latter’s not really in my control anymore.

If you could learn about anything without the stress of grades or cost, what kind of classes would you take?  I’d just go back to UP for the free tuition. We also have the widest range of programs out of any university in the country, so it’s a damn good deal.

Name a song you’ve listened to today?  Fly To My Room - BTS

When you were younger, did you have a swing set or a playhouse in your backyard?  We didn’t; but one of our relatives that we’d regularly visit did have a playground that I’d use all the time. It’s still there, just very unmaintained since no one uses it anymore.

Is your mall nice?  Which one? We have five different malls nearby lol. Mall culture here is on another level.

Do you have a Sonic near you? If so, what’s your favorite drink from there?  No. I’m not so sure what they serve there, either. I’m guessing milkshakes?

Will you be voting in the presidential elections next time around?  I’ll always exercise my right to vote.

How do you feel about chocolate-covered strawberries?  I hate strawberries and I hate fruits, so even if you coat that shit in Nutella and cookie butter and chocolate syrup I still wouldn’t touch it.

Did you ever stop having feelings for someone and then started having those feelings again for them? No.

Do you hate the last guy you had a thing with?  I’ve never had a thing with guys.

To whom did you last give the finger?  I haven’t had to do that in a while.

What was the last musical instrument played in your presence?  My sister’s keyboard.

Do you like sprinkles on your ice cream?  Not particularly. They make things look cute, but they never taste like anything tbh so I never saw the point in paying extra just to have them on my desserts.

Honestly, have you ever crashed a party before?  Nah. I cringe thinking about that.

Do you know how to do the moon walk?  I don’t.

Has anybody ever told you that you have a good singing voice?  Never gotten that specific compliment before because I know I don’t have one.

Onion rings or french fries?  Onion rings.

Has anybody ever described you as a heart breaker? No.

Has anybody ever told you that you talk too fast?  I don’t think so, but I know I have the tendency to do so occasionally, especially while I’m presenting a deck. Once I notice it I make an effort to pace myself.

Who is the best cook that you know?  My dad and both my grandmas all deserve that title.

Which meal throughout the day do you skip the most?  I literally never have lunch ever.

What’s the largest amount that you can juggle at one time?  I can’t juggle.

What was your favorite thing to go on at the playground as a kid?  Sandboxes, since I liked the texture; the sandboxes in school were also often empty, which worked well for my introvert self. I find that it’s carried over to today, since I still enjoy touching things like slime and kinetic sand.

Do you know how much you weighed at birth? How much?  I think 5 or 6 lbs, I’m not exactly sure but it’s definitely somewhere in that small range.

Which aspect of your daily routine takes the most time? What do you do?  Work, for sure. I work a normal 9–6 so that’s already 8 hours out of my day, but I also OT a lot after hours, and I work throughout my lunch break as well so that technically makes it 9 hours. I also like getting up earlier and starting some work before my shift so that I would have less tasks on my plate for the day.

Do you enjoy buying gifts for others, or could you do without this?  I LOVE getting people gifts. Food is especially my love language, and I always get food delivery for my friends, family, and my team at work.

What is one thing you are expected to do, if anything?  I mean, I have work deadlines tomorrow so there’s that.

How do you tend to view driving? Monotonous or entertaining?  I love driving. I don’t think I ever complained about having to do it. It’s calming and relaxing when I’m doing it alone or with a partner; and it can be entertaining with the right set of people.

Do you enjoy talking about music with others? Not always. If I don’t listen to the artist then I can find the conversation quite boring, like if my friends would get into a full-blown discussion about Taylor Swift.

Is acting something you enjoy?  No. It wouldn’t even be something I’d be interested in doing.

When do you feel most accomplished?  Finishing a work day with no tasks left behind.

Do you think Manwich is amazing or completely gross?  Idk what that is.

How many best friends do you have?  Two.

Are you a smoker, drinker, pothead or none of the above?  I drink sometimes. I also kinda smoke, I guess.

If you have your ears pierced, when did you get them pierced?  My mom had them pierced when I was a month old.

Do you own any exercise machines?  My mom has this rowing equipment thingy. I don’t have any of my own, though.

On Facebook, do you have people listed as your siblings who aren’t really your siblings?  No.

Have you ever drawn or painted a self-portrait?  I remember having to draw one as a school assignment, but I’m pretty sure I half-assed that because I couldn’t care less for art class back then.

Who was your last voicemail from?  We don’t have voicemails.

Have you ever been falsely accused of something serious?  I don’t think so. That’s the sort of situation that would stick out in my memory if ever.

Did you ever set up a lemonade stand when you were a kid?  No, not a thing here.

When was the last time you spoke to someone in a different language?  Around an hour ago when I went downstairs and chatted with my sister briefly.

Have you ever received an anonymous gift?  Nope.

Have you ever camped out somewhere for an event the next day?  Nope but I definitely still wouldn’t be opposed to doing that haha.

When were you the saddest in your life? 2016 was fucking miserable. < I’d have to agree. 2017 was also awful.

Do you know anyone, personally, who is in an abusive relationship? Are you?  I used to know one but she got out of it. In a sense, I suppose I also was in one.

If you have siblings, have they moved out or do they still live with you?  Well they’re younger, so they definitely still live here, with our parents. I’m the first one expected to move out, but I’m taking my time.

Have you ever gotten searched by the cops?  No.

Do you like fried rice?  Of course. I like any kind of rice.

What was the last thing you drank?  Water.

[buzzdixonwriter]

Ellison’s Law

Even for the early 1960s, Burke’s Law was a silly gimmick show.

The gimmick?  Millionaire Amos Burke, despite inheriting fabulous wealth, always wanted to be a detective so he joined the LAPD and worked his way up to captain of the homicide bureau.

Basically Batman without the trauma or costume.

And like Batman of a few years later, an exercise in camp.

The show was rigidly formulaic, but for practical reasons.  It relied heavily on stunt casting celebrities as suspects or witnesses and as such it had to be flexible enough to handle rewrites and re-castings in the middle of production.

The typical episode began with someone found murdered or shown getting killed in some unusual manner, cut to Amos Burke flirting with a lady only to be called away by his police duties.  Cue the opening title as Burke and his driver hurry out of his relatively modest Beverly Hills mansion to his Rolls-Royce (actually producer Aaron Spelling’s car which he rented back to the production) as a sultry female voice incants:  “It’s Burke’s Law” then after the first commercial break Burke arrives at the scene of the crime and finds clues pointing him to four or five suspects.

Said suspects are the celebrity guest stars, recruited either to give them some manic scenery chewing time or -- more rarely -- an intense dramatic scene.

After three more commercial breaks, Burke intones one of his “laws” (“Burke’s law:  Never ask a question where you don’t already know the answer.”), pulls a rabbit out of his hat / solution out of his butt, and fingers that episode’s duly appointed murderer.

The problem with the series as a whole is that it could never quite decide on what tone it wanted to take and stick with it consistently.  The British series The Avengers found the perfect balance of tongue-in-cheek / derring-do but Burke’s Law bounced all over the spectrum, frequently in the same episode.

So why bring up this mediocre TV show at all?

Two words:  Harlan Ellison

. . .

I’ve posted many times before on Harlan’s career and the impact of his writing and friendship on me.

He was in the mid 1960s at his zenith as a TV writer, and while his writing career as a whole encompasses so much more than that, his brief run as one of the meteors streaking across the Hollywood sky only lasted 4 years.

Oh, he kept writing for TV after that, but the old zing was gone.  He supplied stories for other series, created and fought hard to keep The Starlost on track but eventually had to walk away from that heartbreak, adapted several of his own short stories to a Twilight Zone revival, as well as numerous development deals that went nowhere (including two great ideas for The Name Of The Game, another Gene Barry series, that would have fit perfectly into that show’s oeuvre).

If you find his second book of TV criticism, The Other Glass Teat, check out his first draft for “The Whimper Of Whipped Dogs” episode of The Young Lawyers (not to be confused with his short story of the same title).

It’s one of the most powerful / gut wrenching things you’ll ever read…

…but by the time the studio and the network got through with it, the final product was virtually unrecognizable…and unwatchable.

Such was Harlan’s fate after 1967 in Clown Town (as he referred to it).

But from 1963 to 1967, he was golden.

. . . 

Harlan’s rocky personal history went through many highs and lows before coming to Hollywood in 1962.

Harlan’s first breakthrough as a writer was with his series of stories and essays on juvenile crime in New York in the early and mid-1950s..

Drafted in 1957. following his discharge, he settled in Chicago with his second wife and her son, editing Rogue magazine, a  Playboy imitator.

Feeling his personal life becoming untenable, he called in favors from a friend, drove out to California with his soon-to-be ex-wife and stepson (aware the marriage was over, she also wanted to relocate away from Chicago), made his first sale to TV (his short story “No Fourth Commandment” to the TV show Route 66), then briefly found a sweet spot with Burke’s Law, writing four teleplays for their first season.

Burke’s Law is a good crucible for examination because of its silly, gimmicky nature and rigid format requirements.

These scripts represent a pivotal point in Harlan’s writing career, but more importantly, they mark the only sustained run he enjoyed on a non-anthology show, and as such make a good benchmark in comparing his growth as a writer and how his unique perspective played out in in relation to the constraints of episodic television.

While a couple of Harlan’s better science fiction / fantasy stories were written before 1963, the meteoric rise of his career in those genres began with his classic short story “’Repent, Harlequin!’ Said The Ticktockman” in 1965, followed by a host of other groundbreaking short stories and novellas, and his original anthologies Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions in which he recruited other science fiction and fantasy writers -- many of them already well established pros -- to follow the path he blazed in the genre.

His experience on Burke’s Law occurs squarely between what he once was to what he was becoming, and as such is worthy of attention.

SPOILER: There are no great hidden gems here.

There’s a lot of amusing writing, and a few flashes of the emotional intensity Harlan could provide, but by and large this is journeyman level stuff:  Better than most, but not the best.

. . .

”Who Killed Alex Debbs?” was his first script for the series, and he pitched it to producer Aaron Spelling at a cattle call after a screening of the show’s pilot episode.  

Harlan jump started the pitch process by improvising an idea off the cuff at the end of the screening, and Spelling took him to his office to hear how Harlan planned to resolve it, then hired him on the spot.

It’s unclear if Harlan was actually a staff writer on the series or simply hung out at the studio a lot, but he used his skills as a quick study to start working his way up the food chain.

His first script fulfills all the requirements of a Burke’s Law episode and shows off two of Harlan’s main strengths:  An ability to hone in on intense emotion and a keen eye for the culture around him (in this case, very specifically Hollywood of the early 1960s).

On the downside, logic gaps render this story more implausible than most -- and as noted, Burke’s Law as a series wasn’t famous for its plausibility.

A flaw of almost all Burke’s Law episodes is that the victim is typically found dead under mysterious / bizarre circumstances, and the impression we get of them is constructed entirely through the words of suspects and witnesses.

It’s not an unworkable approach, but not the best suited for episodic television.

In this instance. victim Alex Drebbs is a Hugh Hefner-like men’s magazine publisher and monarch of a mini-empire of key clubs ala the Playboy Clubs of the era.  Harlan captures that milieu well but here’s where the logic gaps hit hard:  There’s no way a Hefner-like figure would be alone long enough for someone to kill him without being noticed, there’s no way his disappearance wouldn’t be immediately noticed by employees needing his attention, and it sure as hell wouldn’t have happened in a deserted club on the afternoon of its big opening.

On the plus side, there are some great character scenes including Arlene Dahl as a bitter ex-investor in Debbs empire now reduced to licking saving stamps to keep her decay mansion in repair, Burgess Meredith as a men’s magazine cartoonist who is nothing but a  bundle of neurotic twitches and tics, and finally Sammy Davis Jr as Cordwainer Bird, the humor editor for Debbs’ magazine.

This was at the Robin Williams stage of Davis career, when all you had to do was point a camera in his direction and let him go.  Harlan supplied the corny gags but Davis launched them over the top with his antics, and while he brings the proceedings to a complete disruptive halt, his brief scene is the most entertaining in the entire series.  (Harlan later used Cordwainer Bird as his WGA pseudonym when he wanted to indicate displeasure at what had been done to his scripts.)

By his own account, Harlan had less luck with Diana Dors -- “the British Marilyn Monroe” -- and treated her condescendingly during the shoot.  (By comparison, William Goldman in his memoir Adventures In The Screen Trade shows a much more sanguine / roll-with-the-punches attitude, and that might explain part of the reason his screenwriting trajectory was far different than Harlan’s.)

All in all, an uneven example of both the series and Harlan’s abilities.

. . . 

”Who Killed Purity Mather?” was Harlan’s second script for the series and one of the few that played with the rigid format of the series insofar as the victim is seen alive for a few moments before being killed in a rather sadistic and spectacular manner (splashed with acid then trapped in a burning house, and the high angle shot used to show her demise must have been incredibly risky -- and thus costly -- to film).

It also drops a very subtle clue that I’ll reveal in the footnote.*

This is Harlan going so far over the top he emerges on the other side.  Plotwise it features more logic gaps than his first script, but the whole thing is so silly it’s pointless to complain about it.

Purity Mather is a professional witch (!) who speeds up the investigation into her own demise by mailing Amos Burke a recording saying she’ll be killed along with a list of five possible suspects (that she doesn’t mention them by name in the recording reflects the show’s desire for standalone scenes, enabling them to recast and rewrite plotlines more easily; the scene where Burke reads the names to his team was doubtlessly shot after the guest cast was locked in).

Burke & co. start shaking down suspects, including Telly Savalas as Fakir George O'Shea, a Muslim holy man / cosmetics chemist (!!); Charlie Ruggles as I. A. Bugg, an eccentric elderly millionaire who likes to chase -- but not catch -- prostitutes around his apartment while dressed in lederhosen(!!!); Wally Cox as Count Carlo Szipesti, vampire for hire (!!!!); and Gloria Swanson as Venus Hekate Walsh a fright wig bedecked self-proclaimed goddess of free love (!!!!!).

The episode might as well have had a laugh track.  It’s amusing with several daft touches only Harlan could provide, but the daftness comes from his take on Hollywood culture of the time.

I’d go so far as to say elements of Cox and Swanson’s characters were based on real life people living in and around Hollywood at the time, in particular some science fiction fans Harlan had come in contact with.

It’s a romp but a disappointing one.  The logic gaps are too big in this one (case in point, if you’re the captain of the homicide bureau and you come home to see a masked figure climbing out of your second story window in broad daylight, you don’t simply shrug and let them run off) and the ending is one of those annoying ah-yes-now-that-you-caught-me-I-will-admit-everything-even-stuff-you-don’t-know cappers that Joe Ruby and Ken Spears would have rejected for Scooby Doo.

In short, a script whose parts are better than the whole.

. . .

”Who Killed Andy Zygmunt?" is another slight story that pays off with an insight into Hollywood pop culture of the era.  The victim is “a pop artist” (no, he’s not; he an assemblage sculptor) impaled on his own artwork.

He’s also revealed to be an extortionist who acquires embarrassing evidence that he affixes to his assemblages then blackmails his victims into buying the art to keep their secrets safe.

Once again Burke is conveniently handed a list of suspects, in this case the people who bought the last five pieces of art from the exhibit.

This is one of the few times the series had more than one suspect in the same scene as there’s a big gathering in Burke’s office midway through the story (it also includes Michael Fox, a semi-regular on the series playing the coroner, so it represents a pretty sizeable filming day for the show).  The suspects include Macdonald Carey as Burl Mason, the star of a popular TV detective show (Harlan gives his scenes what we would now call a meta-fiction touch by playing off Barry’s fictional TV detective dealing with a fictional fictional TV detective); Jack Weston as Silly McCree, a kid’s show host who destroys his career with an on air anti-child rant; Ann Blyth as Deirdre DeMara, a rival “pop artist” who creates her art by spraying women with paint and having them roll around on giant canvases (a gimmick later used in the bizarre 1966 Ann-Margaret comedy The Swinger); Aldo Ray as Mister Harold, former pro-wrestler turned poodle groomer; and Tab Hunter in a surprisingly well done scene as a sky diving playboy.

Hunter’s scene in particular shows Harlan getting his hyperbole under control, much more laconic and evocative than other characters he wrote for the series.  As mentioned above, Burke’s Law occurs just on the cusp of Harlan’s huge success in print; he’s beginning to harness the lessons learned to maximum effect.  (He would have some setbacks, too, in his screenwriting career, and to be honest part of that can be attributed to his failure to consistently apply the lessons learned, part of it can be attributed to his reputation preceding him, and part of it can be attributed to just bad luck.)

The motives this time are fairly edgy for a 1963 TV series, and combined with the slices of Los Angeles life Harlan provides give a fair example of the cultural zeitgeist of the era.

. . . 

”Who Killed ½ Of Glory Lee?” can be explained as Benjamin Glory, half owner of Glory Lee Fashions, with Gisele MacKenzie as the other half, Keekee Lee.

After breaking the budget with his spectacular demise of Purity Mather, Harlan staged this murder as an inexpensive off camera elevator plunge.

This time the plot is a wee bit more plausible, with control of a profitable business being the apparent motive for the murder.

But Harlan loaded up this episode with a more powerful emotional punch than most of his others, and while the dénouement may feel a bit farfetched, it certainly rings true emotionally.

He certainly gave Nina Foch and Anne Helm plenty to work with regarding their characters’ complicated mother / daughter relationship, yet at the same time found room for a playful scene in which Buster Keaton pantomimes his answers to Burke’s questions.

Yet at the same time one senses an impatience behind the keyboard.  The opening scene has a squad of female elevator operators (yes, once upon a time there needed to be somebody in the elevator to push the buttons for you) discussing pop culture references of a generation before -- Harlan’s generation.

And while the key emotional conflicts are played out well, several of the other scenes feel rather perfunctory…yet at the same time this is probably the most cohesive whole of any Burke’s Law script, whether written by Harlan or not.

It’s as if after a brief but profitable run on a network series, Harlan realized he’d absorbed as much of the practical end of the business as he could and his next moves should be into broader, edgier territory.

   © Buzz Dixon

   * SPOILER: Purity Mather is the murderer; she connives a career nudist (!!!!!!) to participate in a magic ceremony then disfigures and kills her, leaving evidence that she hopes will convince the police the body is hers.  The subtle clue Harlan drops is the victim, wearing a long black negligee, complaining about how she doesn’t like the feel of the clothes.  A nice touch, but undercut by Purity then going to the nudist camp her victim operates and waiting in the buff by the front gate for the police to show up and question the career nudist -- whom Purity has mentioned as a suspect in her faked murder.  While it works insofar as Purity doesn’t try to pass herself off to anyone else at the camp as the career nudist, it doesn’t scan that she would know when the police would come to investigate or if they could be easily convinced at the gate and not come in to question other patrons.

[bmoviedragonsreloaded]

Review: The Russian Specialist (2005)

"Oh Christ, whoever you are, take whatever you want – I'm going to bed"

SOURCE

When Dolph Lundgren began directing his own vehicles in the mid-2000s, I thought it was a big deal. After Seagal and Van Damme fell short with their own directorial debuts a decade earlier, the Swedish Superman’s more economic outings in the video realm seemed like the stabler path for a western action hero to redefine himself as a filmmaker. I never assumed that Dolph would be our answer to Sammo Hung or Jackie Chan, but I still think that the surest way for the classic style of karate B-movies to survive the future is for the stars of yesterday today to become the filmmakers of tomorrow. Disappointingly, Lundgren’s sophomore outing is indistinguishable from the slew of already-undistinguished movies put out by the Nu Image film studio around this time. Expect cliches and limited action in a drab European setting, with some highlights.

The story: Former special forces agent Nikolai Cherenko (Lundgren) is hired to rescue a young woman (Olivia Lee) from the clutches of the same gangster who killed his family (Ivan Petrushinov).

I need to talk about Lundgren’s effort as a filmmaker before anything else. While his directorial debut (The Defender) happened by accident, The Russian Specialist seems to have been his project from the start. It was the first movie he wrote the story for, and there’s a general feeling of investment here not present in the features he’d recently done. That said, the film looks so very much like countless others the studio was producing that I suspect there was a lot of executive meddling afoot. Lundgren has a fair hand for interesting shots and artful cinematography, but they’re lost amid the cheap overexposure, senseless slow motion, and annoyingly sped-up footage. The Bulgarian shooting locations further stifle the originality, with everything looking colorless and boring. Say what you want about Seagal’s On Deadly Ground and JCVD’s The Quest, but at least they left an immediate impression.

Of course, taking a closer look at what may seem bland and unremarkable to others is what we do here at B-Movie Dragons, and sure enough, there are some things that make this one stand out. The best of these, without a doubt, is the casting of Ben Cross. He plays Nikolai’s contact and de facto partner, and darn if he isn’t better than this movie deserves. Cross is up there with Lance Henriksen and John Rhys-Davies as an actor possessing both talent and prestige yet who never fails to offer his time to smaller productions. You may know him for playing Spock’s father in the Star Trek reboot or starring in the Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire, but he also pops up in trash like Species: The Awakening and the odd Dolph Lundgren actioner. Here, at his best, he’s absolutely hilarious and certainly gets the best lines. (“From one old dog to another – shut the fuck up!” he admonishes a noisy German shepherd.) He’s got surprisingly good chemistry with the monosyllabic Lundgren, giving Nikolai’s stereotypical somberness some contrasted weight. Disappointingly, Cross is about it as far as standout performances go. Even though the cast includes several award-winning Bulgarian actors, these have either too little screentime or insufficient material to be memorable. Comedienne Olivia Lee feels particularly underutilized, her character having very little personality and she even less opportunity to express it. (There is an unintentionally funny moment where Nikolai’s handed a photo of her, and it’s the exact same headshot you can find on her IMDb page to this day.)

The action content is good enough that I’m disappointed there’s not more. It’s a decent mix of shootouts, vehicle stunts, and fighting. Lundgren was apprehensive to commit to hand-to-hand action scenes even before he started directing, and as a result, we only get a single match between him and a henchman in a strip club. It’s not even the lead henchman (Raicho Vasilev) – Ben Cross has to fight him during the climax. There’s a gnarly-looking crash into a fountain during a motorcycle chase, and a couple shootouts feature some well-executed choreography. If there were just a few more scenes like this, I would’ve been more satisfied. It’s understandable that Lundgren wasn’t nearly as flexible to shoot action scenes while he was directing all other scenes across multiple countries, but even the bandaid solution of giving his character a team of four mercenaries doesn’t help because they don’t do anything cool.

I’m not entirely sure what the point of the story is. Nikolai clearly must come to terms with his trauma and Lundgren delivers some respectable nonverbal acting to that end, but we don’t find out too much about his mental state and I’m not even convinced that he establishes genuine relationships with anyone. With the exception of one scene, Olivia Lee’s character is also unable to express her feelings. Ben Cross seemingly overcomes his alcoholism by the end, but I’m not sure how. The general thesis is likewise elusive. Lee’s character is being groomed as a sex slave and sex workers in general are protrayed sympathetically, but I’m not even convinced that the film stands behind the most basic notion of “sex trafficking is bad” because it still indulges in some masturbation fodder within the same context. I’m not saying the story sucks, just that it doesn’t commit to much.

Lundgren’s progress as a filmmaker was halted for a long time after he recaptured some of his old stardom with 2010’s The Expendables, but he seems to be returning to the director’s chair these days. If he remains free from the restrictions that made The Russian Specialist so unremarkable, he may yet become a valuable force in maintaining the gritty, physical style of action we know and love. As for this particular film, it’s probably best viewed as a decent but ultimately elementary exercise in the big guy’s movie-making education. Dolph’s biggest fans shouldn’t be without it, but it’s harder to recommend to more casual action devotees. Martial arts nuts like me shouldn’t even bother.

SOURCE

The Russian Specialist (AKA The Mechanik) (2005) Directed by Dolph Lundgren Written by Bryan Edward Hill (screenplay), Dolph Lundgren (story) Starring Dolph Lundgren, Ben Cross, Ivan Petrushinov (Longing for the Wide, Wide World), Olivia Lee (The Olivia Lee Show) Cool cast: Bulgarian stunt pro Raicho Vasilev (Spartacus) plays the lead henchmen. Action regulars Valeri Yordanov (Death Race 4) and Dejan Angelov (Leatherface) are mercenaries. Pop star Maria Ilieva plays the doomed, sympathetic sex worker Natalya. Second unit director Mark Roper was already a director proper, having helmed video and TV vehicles for Bryan Genesse, Joe Lara and Ralf Moeller. Fight consultant and karate master Barry Evans would henceforth be Dolph Lundgren’s personal choreograher for the next ten years. Content warning: Violence against women, child murder, sex trafficking, sexual assault, drug use, extreme violence and gore, alcoholism Title refers to: Both the title on the DVD case (The Russian Specialist) and the one in the movie (The Mechanik) refer to Dolph Lundgren’s character, who’s both a Russian specialist (i.e. special ops) and a mechanic. Cover accuracy: The classic cover, featuring a shotgun-toting Lundgren standing before the gangsters with Russian architecture in the background, is accurate and to the point. The newer cover with starker contrasts and a close-up of Lundgren is also accurate but conveys a comic book aesthetic that the movie doesn’t have. Number of full-length fight scenes: 2 Copyright Millennium Films / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

[vegajoyce]

Schwarzkopf Pro Styling Heat Protection Spray How To Open Surprising Diy Ideas

This will bleed off his excess energy but it is also helping if you buy catnip make sure the litter box.When it is important to notice that your cat know that scratching and toilet areas.Does it use a mild solution of biological washing powder and proceed with your cat suffers the least amount of dry cat food.Did you know if they are six months of age.

Your cat attacks your toes & nuzzles your face, and the what you need to be an indoor feline may scratch chair legs, sofa, stereo speakers and furniture then Catnip may be on HER terms...you may only give her little exercises and play with things.Less Stress for Tess... or Chester... or Charlamaine.Cat trees offer the perfect out of your cat's claws.Any inconsistency such as Persians, end up with destroyed furniture!If she does not completely get rid of its lower toxicity.

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The maintenance cost - some people even keep more of their hiding places at night.Carpets ~ It is a problem for cats in the mouth or genital area.Should you get a cat, but be persistent with training.is not just Siamese, suck on their toes, but also feel threatened by its presence.Read further for simple tips for stopping your cat/cats from scratching the object and apply their scent, a kitty needs to be well aware of the skin, small bumps, oozing and possibly through to the above suggestions are great to give the cat feel safer.

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If you choose can have their own toys and have a new feline, desirable behaviors need to do the bad behavior.Cover the aquarium too, unless you know the smell of cat litter boxes are usually more effective.Make sure that there are many ways to deal with this scenario, learn why a cat has an ammonia odor, cats may respond more actively to toys containing catnip; however, not all the things that DON'T work!If these do not have many ways it has been brought into the pan-minus the zip lock bags, I would start out with peace of mind is to big and the floor or in a cold or slippery.Here is a great time dragging himself along upside down, or hide if it doesn't require you to make this area and rub.

Though this happens you can use strips of plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or a groundcover such as bladder stones or a tumour can also be enjoying a much more annoying.Soon after he finishes pouncing on it to prevent widespread illness and they keep themselves clean and the next 10 to 18 years.Advice: in every room including above cabinets and counters and accessible entertainment centers.He learned his lesson, but seemed to get out of your houseplantsWhichever is the quickest way to encourage the cat fails to fully understand your cat's life.

Is Male Cat Spray Urine

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Spaying a female cat, it can also be used on just about anything under the litter box.So you are preparing for guests, throw a decorative towel or some furniture.You should never, under any circumstance hit a cat to use the same way.If you try it out to sleep on and what your cat and yourself a cat, managing her urine to mark its territory.Though this happens is that they must always preserve in your cat is not a long curtain and swatting it out a medical issue such as the primary sign of trouble.

A slicker brush is perfect for cats to sharp their claws.They are also cheaper than purchasing them from the floor itself.Cats love to play while the other cat, Whiskers.Keep food that does not smell, and solidifying when it becomes extremely difficult to scoop up, but not soaking.The pet succumbed to bacterial infection is the responsibility of pet that accepts as a slide cytology of your cats personality so that they are less likely to have her spayed, as numerous unwanted cats are about 10 years or even stop, your cat going over to the American Humane Association*, most cat owners considering expanding their furry family.

Playing actually will help prevent damage to your vet for a while.When your cat like to eliminate this cat behaviour problems.Again, natural cat behavior problem, we have come up with an infra-red monitor that checks the pans interior constantly.So what are other very common problem for any deep abdominal surgery.Also, keep in mind is that the cats have their favourite scratching surfaces and offer many benefits both to you are looking for a first time together.

Cat Urine Keep Rats Away

For this step your cat is scratching the object and constantly sniffing it.But how about our kitty Boo Boo is a must for cats, but if she can't get to, he will be effective.You have two litters of up to you who may no longer care for a quick acknowledgment of their tail in the sun including where they were a kitten.Independent, wily and altogether unique cats are sterilized, there will be.Due to the ASPCA, the number of reasons why the cat starts to get the nutrients that they would be just as effective means of entertainment.

No problem to take when discovering a wet floor.The black light will show you which he/she prefers.It does track considerably more than one cat be the case of trial and error.* Food allergies are some factors that you construe as bad the flea and eggs in the cage, does he know it?So, when your cat is deep into the padding under the legs of your family - not respect, and you'll soon start seeing the fleas are a few scraps off the bag - it's usually mostly dust.

[basshouse]

Bring on the FAQs

I know you have questions! Oh, ok, I’ll honor the era of the fact check (be the change you want to see int he world, after all!): I think you have questions and I know I want to use questions as a framework for telling you more about my life. On board?? In case your answer is “no” and you choose not to click “keep reading” below, here’s the obligatory picture right up front: 

That’s me in San Jose a couple days ago. Yes, I have a “bum bag” (super apologies to everyone I ever mocked for a fanny pack, a sweatpant, or a mini van, and a reminder to us all that it’s ridiculous to judge people for the things they decide enhance their quality of life...are heavily starched jeans in my future?  who can say?).  Also, yes I am on the North American continent. Sadly not with enough time or planning to be able to connect with many people, plus it’s a work trip and I’m freezing by balls off.  More on that later (the work part, not my balls). Let’s get to the Q&A!

A bit of a heads up: a lot of these are combo questions, I grouped them by flavor to make things more compact... you bunch are good at asking the same question multiple ways.

1.  Do you miss home/Seattle/the States?  What do you miss the most?

Alright, I’m going to leave out the obvious friends, family and a certain tiny dog, because...duh.  Do you really need the validation?  You know I miss you.  As for P-dog, he was IN A WEDDING.  IN A BOWTIE.  So suffice it to say that while I still get sad when I get in bed at night and he’s not curling up at my feet, his new family is showing their commitment to him in a whole new and completely adorable way. 

I do not actively miss living in Seattle or the States. I haven't been homesick. and to be clear, Seattle is an amazing place and our lives there were full of amazing people and things. It’s just that I am enjoying being somewhere else and doing new things (and many of the old things in a new location). I can love Seattle (and you!) and love somewhere else at the same time, how amazing is that? One good thing about being faced with losing my job and visa was that I had to ask and answer the question of whether it was best to just “go home” -- and it was clear for both me and Jason that we did not want to leave Christchurch yet. No, we did NOT ask the kids this time :-). 

I DO miss some things about living in Seattle, and if you know me you won't be surprised to hear they are largely food related...La Palma.  Pickles.  Gardenburgers. Caesar salads that don’t have a poached egg on top. The ability to fulfill a special order (say, make a Caesar salad without an egg on top).  Jale-frickin’-penos!  It’s not to say that NZ doesn't have good food; overall the quality of the food is high and it’s nice that all the coffee shops serve real food.  Also, you almost never have table service, which threw me off at first, but now I really appreciate being in control of when I order and when I pay my bill.  A non-tip economy has its perks for sure, including less math at the dinner table! But there are some foods for each of us that fulfill a craving, are a go-to, and when you can’t get them, even a close approximation or a really good option just won’t do. This problemhas inspired me to learn how to cook new things, at least. Haven’t nailed the gardenburger yet.

Also, I miss yoga.  A LOT.  Props to Core Power, Shefa, Haute, and Maven for being awesome places to practice a powerful flow in the heat with music. Thanks to all of you who taught me and those that let me teach you.  Christchurch has more bars and restaurants and interesting places than we expected, but this style of yoga just isn't there as far as I can tell.  So hit me up if you're interested in investing in a probably-not-very-profitable business in NZ once I have a visa that lets me own a business, and you can weigh in on whether “Surfing Donkey Yoga” (Jason’s nomination) is on brand or not.  I have an opinion but no harm in workshopping it. 

2.  Wait, you said in an earlier blog you don't overwork (or sometimes even work at all when you should be)...what do you do/are you going crazy/how do you handle it/are you really you?!?!? 

This is an honest question I have gotten in phone conversations, and since I assume you know me and my, um, rather industrious ways, you may have it too.  I mean, it’s not a secret that when I lived in Seattle  I worked A LOT, and stressed over work A LOT, and talked about work A LOT, and did work-y things outside of work, and worked at home and on the weekends FAR TOO MUCH.  And for background: in New Zealand I have had a much better work life balance. And at the end of my time at SLI there were many many hours that I went to work but did not really have work to do.  So while I have done what I needed to do, and contributed to the business, and used my skills, working and being at work has NOT defined my life here, even in the slightest, which it did in Seattle.  That pains me a little, because I also did lots of of things besides work in Seattle, and I never valued being a person who was stressed about work all the time (at least, I did not value that for other people or in principal, though I did build up some kind of addiction or compulsion based on an anxiety about not working).  Can I attribute being ok with more balance to a “less demanding” job?  In part that would be fair, but after giving it some thought I also must attribute it to both breaking the chain of bad habits and the general difference in culture,  For, as far as I can tell, in New Zealand, it is not common to work outside hours or on vacation; people value value and respect family time; and there's a much more subtle and prevalent difference that's hard to explain about the feeling that everything really is going to be ok if you don't struggle to get it all done in record time -- there’s an undercurrent of pressure that does not exist, at least not for me, and I think it’s a Kiwi thing.  An informal poll and some observational data (e.g. one boss told me when I sent an email on a sick day not to do it again, no laptop, employment contract stating a 37 hour work week) backs it up.   

So what do I do and am I still me and not going crazy?  Well, I’ll tell you and yes and no to those questions. Let’s be clear that I still work 37-40 hours a week which is plenty so don't get too exited, but here’s a wee list of some of the things I’ve been doing with “all this time.”  Sadly not enough yoga :-( 

I write a blog!  You're welcome.  

Cook, surf, hike, bike, gym, listen to records...I think you knew that already. Same shit, different continent. 

Burlesquercize!  Yes, it’s what it sounds like -- a sluttier version of Jazzercise. My friend Tas and I also did a 6 week burlesque course that culminated in an actual performance.  On stage.  In. Front. Of. Real. People.  Body positive, pro-female and anti-agist?  You betcha.  Terrifying?  Kind of. Entertaining?  I hope so.  And no, we did not take our clothes off (that would have moved the answer to “terrifying?” waaaaay up). 

Tennis lessons!  Finally fulfilling a desire to learn and play tennis that I have had my entire adult life, I joined an adult beginner group lesson at the tiny Opawa Tennis Club.  Really, in American terms, this should be “club” -- because like the lawn bowling club and croquet club near my house, this is the kind of club that where pay $100 bucks to get a key so you have access to equipment and courts when you need them, and there are organized games and lessons a few hours a week.  Plus a water fountain. Croquet might be my next project, as I am still as shockingly bad at tennis as I was in junior high when I got moved from the 8th grade beginner team down to the elementary school group at a “real tennis club.”  But learning tennis is fun, and I have met some great people, and hey, it’s summer in December so why not? 

I grew tomatoes. It didn’t take that much time, so I could still do tennis and burlesque, thank god.  

I make pickles like twice a month. In NZ, pickles are almost exclusively sweet gherkins.  Most of you are probably like “making pickles is super easy, der.” You're right. I don’t know why I ever paid for them...oh except they were pretty cheap and super convenient to buy pretty much anywhere. It’s remarkable how scarcity, a bit of dill and a head of garlic can drive such commitment to a new activity.  Now if I only had a goddamn Gardenburger to eat with my pickle slices!

On a career path note, I became a volunteer city coordinator for Product School meetups and am working to get that off the ground.  I am mulling over ideas about generating and delivering content and education in the product management space...there may be a great opportunity to leverage my skill set and breadth of professional experience in NZ and I’m doing some activities that will help me network and consider the possibilities. 

I have read more books since we moved than I think I read in the last 10 years.  I do miss the New Yorker, I think I could finally be crushing the cover to cover in a week challenge. If you haven't read This is Where I Leave You, you should.  

TV: In the interest of transparency...I don't just read and write and exercise, and as much as I’d like to present as that virtuous, I can’t lie to you, even by omission.  If you have not seen the Amazon TV show Red Oaks, I highly recommend it.  Obviously the tennis montages have a new-found appeal for me, but the rest of it was really good too. 

Roadtrips!  There’s a lot to do around NZ, even within an hour or two of Christchurch.  I’m trying to think of a good way to tell you about the things we have done, there will be more posts to highlight what we’ve done so far. 

We hang out with friends, host guests, and sometimes try to make new friends. More on that in other posts as well. 

Here’s another thing we did, which was attend an interactive improv-y game show at the Busker Festival...yes, I am realizing as I get ready to hit “publish” that it sorta seems like Jason and I are into a whole new realm of adult entertainment. 😱. We’re really not, not that there's anything wrong with it.  I just thought you might appreciate this picture of Jason:

Next up in the blog: more FAQs.  Political! Personal! Practical!  See you soon. 

PS: I don’t just cook with cheese...and these are my tomatoes:

[andrewdburton]

Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative

When Kim and I go to bed each night, we spend time casually browsing Reddit on our iPads. It's fun. Mostly.

She and I enjoy sharing funny animal videos with each other (from subreddits like /r/animalsbeinggenisuses, /r/happycowgifs, and /r/petthedamndog). Kim dives deep into /r/mapporn and /r/documentaries. I read about comics and computer games and financial independence.

But here's the thing. After browsing Reddit for thirty minutes or an hour, I'm left feeling unsatisfied. In fact, I'm often in a bad mood. After browsing Reddit, I have a negative attitude. My view of the world has deteriorated. Why? Because for all the fun and interesting things on Reddit, it's also filled with a bunch of crap.

You see, I also subscribe to /r/idiotsincars and /r/publicfreakout and /r/choosingbeggars — and dozens more like these. These subreddits highlight the worst in human behavior. And while viewing one or two posts from forums like these can be entertaining and/or interesting, consuming mass quantities of this stuff leaves me feeling dirty. (Plus, there's the Reddit comments which tend to be juvenile, dogmatic, and myopic. Reddit comments are so bad that Kim refuses to read them.)

It's taken a while, but I've come to believe that Reddit — or the way that I use Reddit, anyhow — is a net negative in my life. It causes more harm than good.

I've been thinking about his concept a lot lately. Behind the scenes, I've been making many small, subtle changes to my environment and daily routine. My aim is to decrease my depression and anxiety by removing people, things, and experiences that are net negatives and replacing them with people, things, and experiences that are net positives.

What Do I Mean by “Net Negative”?

What do I mean by this? What do I mean by “net negative” and “net positive”?

These concepts are simple to understand when we're talking about things are easily quantifiable. In sports, for instance, you can crunch numbers to determine whether an individual player helps or hurts her team when she's on the field. In personal finance, you can track stats in order to see which habits increase your net worth and which cause it to drop. The same is true with fitness or any other activity that can be measured.

But how do you measure Reddit? How can I quantify its effect on my life?

The fundamental problem, of course, is that in most cases we don't have a way to quantify this stuff. How can you tell whether a hobby is a net negative or a net positive? How do you quantify the good and the bad of social media? Of computer games? Of your career? Of your relationships?

You can't.

This isn't a scientific process with actual measurable metrics. When evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of the things in your life, you have to use intuition. You have to guess.

Still, I think most of the time — if we're honest with ourselves — we can tell whether something is helping or hindering us. Does browsing Reddit make me a better person? Does it make me feel better? Does it keep me better informed? No, not really. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. I may not be able to prove this with numbers (or any other objective measure) but I can sense it. So can you.

Nothing is All Good or All Bad

There's another problem that arises when trying to evaluate whether something is harmful or beneficial to your well-being. Few things are 100% good or 100% bad. Most have a mix of positive and negative elements.

Yes, owning a dog is a pain in the ass — but having a canine companion also brings a great deal of joy. For me, the pros outweigh the cons.

Watching television is a mindless passive activity. It can be a complete waste of time. That said, TV can also be an entertaining escape — or a great source of information. Plus, TV can provide a shared experience that sparks conversation with family and friends.

Even politicians that I find frustrating aren't completely misguided; even the worst elected official does some good. (And conversely, even the best representative does things I disagree with.)

As I said, few things are 100% good or 100% bad.

If we could quantify the people and objects and experiences in your life, most would probably have “scores” close to zero — close to “break even” — but a few of these scores would be extremely positive or extremely negative.

Looking at my life, some of my habits and possessions are clearly detrimental. Others are clearly beneficial. In many cases, it's easy to identify what should stay and what should go. Candy and potato chips? Talk radio? News media? These are all clearly negative and have no place in my life. Exercise? Time with friends? Reading? The music of Taylor Swift? These are all clearly positive and I want more of them.

The challenge comes when something is a net negative — but it also comes with some positive aspect that fills a fundamental need. In cases like this, it's tough to figure out what to do.

Alcohol as Net Negative

Take alcohol, for instance.

There is no doubt that alcohol relaxes me. By two o'clock every afternoon, I've become tense and anxious. I can eliminate this anxiety by drinking a couple of beers. For a long time, that's what I did. That's a positive side of consuming beer.

But while drinking alcohol provides some small short-term benefits, the long-term downsides have become too great for me.

Alcohol quells the immediate anxiety…but induces more long-term generalized anxiety. It makes me fat. It interferes with my ability to get things done. It damages my liver. And so on.

Ultimately, I decided that if I were to quantify alcohol's effects on my life, the negatives would far outweigh the positives, so I've given it up for now. (I stopped drinking on Independence Day and my goal is to go a year without alcohol. Or a year drinking as little of the stuff as possible.)

But what about pot? Marijuana is legal here in Oregon. During my fifty years on Earth, I've had some exposure to pot but not a lot. (Mostly I've used it as a sleep aid.) Over the past two months, though, I've been experimenting with it as a replacement for alcohol, and I can see that it does offer some advantages. But I've come to believe that pot too is a net negative for me.

No, pot doesn't contain calories. No, it doesn't give me a hangover the next day. No, it doesn't cost an arm an a leg. But pot does make me dumb — both in the present and the future. It saps my motivation. And there doesn't seem to be a middle ground with it. I can drink a couple of beers and enjoy a gentle, pleasant buzz. When I consume pot, it's all or nothing and I don't like that.

Worse, sometimes pot makes me paranoid. When that happens, it sucks. Plus, just as alcohol helps with short-term anxiety while exacerbating long-term anxiety, pot seems to help with short-term depression while increasing long-term depression. Yikes!

So, I think my experiment with marijuana has nearly run its course. Next, I'm going to play with mindfulness and meditation as a way to manage depression and anxiety.

Re-Thinking Social Media

It's tougher to evaluate things like social media.

For more than a decade now, I've been active on Facebook. I like what Facebook used to be. It was a way for me to stay connected with my friends, to see updates on their kids and pets and travel and careers. More to the point, it was (and is) a way for me to share what's going on in my life. (The real reason my personal blog died? Facebook. I use my Facebook feed as a personal blog.)

Over the past five years, however, the platform has changed. People increasingly use Facebook as a place to espouse their political beliefs. (Why? Why? Why? Why? Has anyone ever been swayed by a political post on Facebook? Ever?) Ads on the platform are invasive and annoying. And the Facebook algorithms seem hell-bent on showing me posts from the same people over and over and over again. (YouTube does the same thing and it drives me nuts.)

Just as I'm considering altering my relationship with Reddit and with alcohol, I'm also considering a change to how I use Facebook because more and more, I feel like it's a net negative in my life. And the more time that passes, the greater a net negative Facebook becomes.

To me, it's easier to evaluate Twitter. Twitter is a huge net negative. There's no room for nuance on Twitter. There's too much noise. The platform is filled with all of the bad things about social media (brigading, bullying, jumping to conclusions, etc.) and none of the good things. So, I mostly avoid the place.

For somebody like me, someone who believes that people are generally good and that the world is a complicated place filled with nuance, social media is deeply problematic. It's not inherently bad — I can envision useful, productive social-media platforms — but the way the major players have opted to implement their functionality fosters groupthink, negativity, and the spread of misinformation.

There's another huge problem with social media, including Reddit. It's killing my attention span. Pre-Facebook — meaning before I joined in October 2007 — I engaged in a lot of activities that required deep focus. I read novels and non-fiction for pleasure. I wrote long articles. I created websites and even wrote rudimentary computer programs to improve my life.

Today, my attention span is practically zero. It's tough for me to sit through a 23-minute sitcom let alone an entire movie. I can muster the focus to read a blog post, but an entire book? Well, that's difficult. If I do sit down to read a book, I become restless after only ten or twenty minutes. I have no patience.

I believe this problem is directly tied to how much time I spend on social media. Social media has conditioned me to have a short attention span, and that's a huge negative in my life. I crave the capacity to dive deep once more.

Keeping the Net Positives

As long-time readers know, I'm a fan of the KonMari method of cleaning and organizing. Marie Kondo argues that you should buy, own, and keep only those things that “spark joy” in your life. Each of your possessions should be a treasure.

What she's really asking people to do is to examine their belongings to determine whether they're net positives or net negatives. A shirt that “sparks joy” — such as Jerry Seinfeld's “Golden Boy”, say — is a net positive in your life, and you should keep it.

What I've been doing for the past couple of months is evaluating everything in my life to find what sparks joy and, conversely, what deepens despair. I want more of the former and less of the latter. (Plenty of things are neutral, of course. My toothbrush neither sparks joy nor deepens despair but it is something I choose to keep.)

Here are some of the strategies I'm employing during this process:

Develop awareness of how people, things, and experiences affect me. I write a lot about mindful spending. Too many people spend without thinking. I want them to be more deliberate about how they use their money. Well, the same idea applies to how we use our time and our energy. I want to pay attention to which of my habits make me feel good and which make feel bad. I want to notice which of my possessions make my life better and which make it worse.

Change my relationship with the problematic items and behaviors. Is it possible to reduce or minimize the negative elements and/or increase the positive elements? Reddit is a great example. If some subreddits bring joy to my life and others make me feel bad, then the obvious solution is to stop reading the forums that contribute to the negative energy. On Facebook, I could stop following the folks who insist on using it as a platform for espousing political beliefs and/or complaining.

Seek a replacement that sparks joy instead of deepening despair. I use alcohol as a maladaptive coping mechanism to deal with anxiety and depression. I tried to replace beer with pot, but that presented its own set of problems. Next, I'm going to try to explore meditation. If that doesn't work, I'll continue searching for something that will help — without bringing on a bunch of baggage.

Accentuate the positive! There's so much that I love about my life but too often I get distracted by the bad stuff. That's dumb. My thought is that if I can devote more time and attention to the good stuff, that'll naturally crowd out the negative. Right? Right?

Will I resume drinking alcohol? Will I ditch Facebook? Reddit? What role do computer games have in my life? How much time should I devote to reading? To television? To exercise? To blogging?

Over the next few months, I'll try to answer these questions (and more!) as I explore which aspects of my life are net negatives and which are net positives. Fortunately, most of this process is fun. I enjoy it. The tough part comes when I have to decide how to address the things that are both good and bad. Then the decisions become much more difficult…

from Finance https://www.getrichslowly.org/net-negatives/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[randallvangundy]

Catit Hagen Treat Ball Review

I always thought that cats are pets that just like to laze around the house all afternoon. I grew up reading comics like Garfield that only backed up this view. But when I got a feline pet of my own, I realized that cats actually like to play around. Owners of indoor cats especially need to take extra care to determine what gets their cat up and moving. Most cats aren’t lazy. In fact, they’ll get on their feet for hours of playtime and exercise when given the right kind of stimulation. This gives them proper mental stimulation and physical activity. For example, the best indoor cat toys, found in this Catit Hagen Treat Ball review, can do wonders for your feline companion.

Things To Consider Before Buying A Cat Toy

There is a notion that cats, unlike dogs, tend to be more laid back and sleep most of the day. However, cats enjoy more excitement than you might think. Your feline pets also like to be stimulated with challenges that they, unfortunately, do not receive in their everyday lives. Without the needed exercise, your cat can end up overweight. Therefore, it is a good idea to find an excellent motivator to keep your cat mentally and physically challenged to prevent this from happening.

If you have a pet that is highly motivated by food, then the Catit Hagen Treat Ball might be what you are looking for. This is because it dispenses treats as your cat plays with it. It is helpful if you have an overweight cat that needs to exercise and is on a diet. It not only keeps your cat going as it also complements the diet program your cat is on. The kibble is dispensed in snack-sized portions, so your cat eats at a healthy pace as well.

Every cat has different needs and temperaments. Like any other treat toy dispenser, it is hard to predict whether your cat will love it or hate it. However, the Catit Hagen Treat Ball is one of the most effective treat toy dispensers out there. It provides positive reinforcement with hours of entertainment and activity that your cat can enjoy.

Catit Treat Ball Overview

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The Catit Treat Ball is a palm-sized toy and treat dispenser in one. This product comes in the colors blue and pink and has two openings. The large one is where you can put the treats in, and the small one is where your cat can get the treats. All you need to do is twist the top to switch which one is open between the two, meaning that only one hole is open at a time. You can also opt to twist both openings close and turn it into a regular ball.

This product has a screw mechanism inside so that the treats tumble down when the small home is face down. Your cat would need to nudge and paw at the ball repeatedly so that the kibble slides down and out the hole. This encourages physical activity while also stimulating the mind of your cat. Here are some of the pros and cons that this product has:

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Quick Glance

What’s Good

Made of sturdy plastic material

Helps your feline pets pace their eating habits at a healthier level

The product is large enough that it is easily seen and won’t get stuck somewhere

Can be used as a regular toy

The treat maze provides a challenge for your kitty’s physical and mental well-being

What’s Bad

Not easy to clean

The ball might be too heavy and large to be used by a small kitten

The kibble size you can put is limited as it can get stuck if it is too big

Features Of The Catit Treat Ball

The Catit Hagen Treat Ball comes with various features that will benefit your feline pet. A few of these are as follows:

All In One  

The Catit treat ball dispenses treats as your kitty plays with it. Chasing, swatting, and nudging the ball with its paws and nose will release treats. This will provide a yummy surprise with your kitty while also entertaining them for hours. You can even fully close the lid if you just want your feline friend to play with a regular ball.

Treat Maze

The inside of the ball has a two-tier tower that will help make that cat work hard to get the kibbles or treats. This also helps slow down your cat’s eating pace. As a result, bad eating habits are re-educated. Eating fast and overeating are prevented this way. It is also a useful tool for cats on a diet as it helps them take longer to finish small meals.

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Size & Sturdy Materials

This product is made of durable plastic that can withstand the weight of most cats. At the same time, it is lightweight and easy to play with and jostle around. Its product dimensions are 2.8 x 2.8 x 4.3 inches. This way, it won’t get stuck somewhere and give you and your cat a hard time.

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What Others Say About The Catit Hagen Treat Ball

If you are still on the fence whether or not to buy this product, we have compiled a few user reviews to help you:

This user likes this product because their cat likes it!

Whereas, this cat parent had as much fun watching their cat play as their cat playing with the treat ball!

Alternatives To The Catit Hagen Treat Ball

If you are still thinking about whether this is the right toy for your cat, then we have listed three alternative cat toys to help you:

Bergan Turboscratcher

The Bergan Turboscratcher is a toy and scratcher pad in one. It also comes with catnip and ball. The scratchpad is also replaceable. However, unlike the Catit treat ball, it addresses a different issue your cat might have. It does not dispense treats and instead helps reduce any damages that your furniture might incur from your cat’s nails. However, they are the same when it comes to providing mental and physical stimulation for your cats.

Petstages Cat Tracks

The Petstages Cat Tracks is a three-tier interactive toy designed to provide hours of entertainment for your cat. Each tier has colorful moving balls that will attract your cat’s attention. It was made to stimulate your feline pet’s hunting instincts as they paw at the ball to get it moving. It is an indoor interactive toy that will give your cat the exercise and excitement they need. Unfortunately, it does not have a treat dispenser like the Catit Treat Ball and is a bit more expensive as well.

PetFusion Ambush Electronic Cat Toy

Unlike the Catit treat ball, the PetFusion Ambush Electronic Cat Toy needs batteries to function. It has a feather that imitates a prey popping in and out of the six holes around it. As a result, your cat’s hunting instincts are stimulated. It also has LED lights that make the toy easy to spot whether it is night or day. However, some users complain that the toy is really noisy and can cause quite a ruckus when their cats play with it during nighttime.

Our Final Thoughts

As our Catit Hagen Treat Ball review revealed, the Catit Hagen Treat Ball is an excellent toy to keep your feline friend active. It is equipped with treat-dispensing features that will help get your cat motivated to play with it.

This product also helps with your cat’s eating issues, such as overeating. If you are looking for a toy and cat dispenser in one, give the Catit Treat Ball a chance as it just might be what you and your cat are looking for.

Click here to get current pricing on Amazon for The Catit Hagen Treat Ball >>

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[controversial-canine-topics-blog]

Crate Training, a Cramped Cage or a Cozy Den?

Link to PETA’s evil propaganda: https://prime.peta.org/2019/04/a-crate-is-a-cage-is-a-prison/ 

“What if, at your local pet-supply store, you could purchase a dog-training tool that would make your dog weaker, klutzier, and less intelligent? And what if this tool increased your dog’s frustration and fearfulness about the world and made him or her less likely to bond with you? Would you buy it? Of course not! Yet, millions of these “tools” are sold every year to unsuspecting American dog lovers who want the absolute best for their dogs.”

Those who buy a crate and crate train their dogs do want the absolute best for their dogs. It is possible for dogs to harm themselves when left unattended for extended periods of time. Crating a dog protects the dog from these harmful risks. (Getting in harmful fights with each other, developing bad habits while left alone, eating something dangerous, getting into trash, and other dangers.) Rather then intensely dog-proofing their house many chose to simply crate their dog while they are away and this is NOT harmful, it doesn’t make your dog “weaker” or “less intelligent.” These words are intended to raise fear in an ignorant person just looking to learn about crate training. These words hold no backbone and are manipulative if anything.

“Shockingly, it is now commonplace for people who use crates to keep their dogs in them for upwards of 18 hours per day, according to the authors. Often dog owners fail to keep track of the total number of hours during which their dog is crated, but the hours add up: nine hours while the owner is at work (including travel time), another eight hours at night, any hours during which no one is home in the evening or on the weekend, and any time that company comes over or the dog is simply “underfoot.”

People who keep their dogs in a crate for 18 hours at a time are using the crate incorrectly. Leaving a dog in a crate for long periods of time without breaks should be considered neglect. Most normal people work about six hours per weekday and leaving a dog in a crate that long is not harmful as the dog will just sleep. Many people leave a Kong Toy or other from of safe entertainment for their dog too pass the time by with when the dog is not sleeping. 

If someone needs to crate their dog all night, this is also not harmful as the dog will just sleep through the night. As a matter of fact, crate training a dog all night teaches the dog to grow accustomed to the human sleeping cycle in a safe way. 

If a dog is spending six hours in a crate while his person is gone and another 8 hours while the dogs person is sleeping, that leaves 10 hours of quality time a day where the dog should be getting exercise, attention, training, feeding, and fulfilling walks and free time while his human does daily tasks. According to the internet, dogs need about 14 hours asleep a day. This is filled in if the dog is being crated both at night and while his human is at work. Not including the entire weekend and including any time guests are over. 

“Pro-crate advocates say, “Yes, but a crate is just like a cozy den.” Well, the truth is that dogs, wolves, and other wild canids are not true “den animals” in the sense that they don’t naturally spend much time in a den. Wolves use a den for only about eight weeks, right after their pups are born. Afterward, the den is abandoned. And since dens don’t come with a locked door, there is no true scientific comparison between crates and dens.”

A dog is not a wolf. A dog is related to a wolf, but a dog is not a wolf. Dogs feel comfortable in their crate and seek it out even when not told to do so. You cannot make a dog do what it does not want to do without force, and if a dog truly hates its crate, it will display signs of discontent. Of course, it is not uncommon for dogs to dislike their crate at first. Some dogs dislike the crate because they fear they will get left in it or feel restrained. But this is why people use positive reinforcement and training to teach the dog that his crate is a safe warm place to hang out in. 

“Other promoters of crating say, “But my dog loves his crate!” This statement defies logic and is not based in science. There is no animal on Earth who “loves” to be caged. However, dogs do love people and will tolerate almost anything that their guardians force them to endure, including being locked up. According to experts quoted in the book, dogs who appear to “love” their crate because they keep running back to it even when given their freedom are often really exhibiting a lack of self-confidence or even fearfulness toward the outside world brought on by the extreme confinement and isolation that they are being forced to endure. Tragically, these dogs are better able to bond with their crate than with their human companions!”

Dogs willingly going into their crate is a very valid point. What's your counter point besides poor fearful dogs? For so much talk regarding “science” PETA sure isn’t a fan of siting more information outside of this obviously biased book they keep referring too in this particular article.

“In truth, crating is an inadequate substitute for comprehensive dog training used by trainers who lack competence and wish to increase their client base rather than taking the time needed to tailor the training to busy families and solve individual dog problems. At best, crating only postpones the day when real training will have to take place because dogs simply can’t learn how to interact with the world while in isolation. At worst, crating makes behavior training, including house training, more difficult, often creating serious and sometimes even dangerous behavior problems.”

Crate training actually makes behavior training, including house training, easier! Because the dog is safe and sound inside his crate, the dog isn’t given the chance to engage in unwanted behaviors, such as marking in the house while unattended. Some dogs grow bored while home alone and being free in the house grants a lot of freedom to engage in destructive behaviors triggered from boredom. Crate training keeps the dog safe, sound, and out of trouble. When human returns, human may continue training and keep an eye on the dog, preventing the development of unwanted behaviors such as marking in the house or slow learning of house training. This gives the owner more freedom to be away and then return to resume training when the dog is outside of the crate and under supervision! 

“But trainers aren’t the only ones who profit from crates. There is a lot of money to be made from crates in the dog industry—not just from the crates themselves, but also from all the peripheral industries, such as products and services meant to cure behavior problems caused by crating as well as medications and supplements for dogs who have not learned to cope with the world for the same reason. If crating were widely denounced as unacceptable and, because of that, fewer people decided to adopt or buy dogs, realizing that the only way they could manage to have a dog would be to warehouse him or her in a crate much of the time, many dog-related industries would shrink. It’s no wonder that most dog-related professionals have jumped on the crating bandwagon!”

When all else fails, blame the money hungry corporations to make a already poorly developed point worse. Ok PETA, have you ever taken a look in the mirror, cause I think you might need to at least take a glance...

“In Dogs Hate Crates, Ray and Emma Lincoln ask all the tough questions, such as “Is it ethical to send a dog home with a family if the only way they feel they can keep him is to crate him?” “

Oh PETA, is it ethical to euthanize mass amounts of dogs just because you think they might be happier dead? 

[nganbaier404-blog]

Wire Less Industrial Wholesale Truck Stealing Prevention System

According to some recent reports, video games improve cognitive and perceptual skills, hand-eye coordination and even social skills. It seems that games are not just a waste of time, but are powerful tools and can have many positive effects we didn't expect they could. Video Games Improve Hand-Eye Coordination The process of hand-eye coordination occurs when the eyes receive information and send it to the brain which uses it to coordinate with the hands to perform an activity. Hand-eye coordination skills can be improved by practicing and exercising. One way to do so is by playing action video games. For some kids this seems to be the best way. Video games are useful in this because the gamer must use his or her hands and fingers to respond to the information seen on the screen. Children can benefit from this practice even before they can read and write well. As we get older some skills such as hand-eye coordination, motor skills and reflexes, need some sharpening, so it is wise to be involved in some game or sport. Video Games Improve Social Skills Computer and console gaming improve social interaction skills and social development. I suppose you are asking: "Where did this come from?" I didn't make this up, it's the conclusion of recent research reports. There where days when gamers were seen as being social outcasts. They were lonely people with machines for friends, but now things have changed. The main factor is the internet and online games. The researchers claim that three-quarters of gamers play against other people whether it was off-line or on-line. Gamers can work off their anger and feel relaxed, plus they don't have to feel alone. They can work together with their gaming friends becoming more socially responsible. Video Games Improve Cognitive and Perceptual Skills. Researchers claim that some video games can have advantageous effects, improving gamers' skillfulness and their ability to solve problems. They came to the conclusion that playing video games can improve cognitive and perceptual skills. Children who often play video games like: arcade games, action games, horse games, improve their concentration and math skills. When playing on-line, gamers also discuss their strategies and thoughts, developing informal scientific reasoning practices. Gamers deal with a number of varied tasks at the same time. They notice new enemies, follow existing enemies, and avoid getting damaged, among other tasks. Such efforts may result in improved visual skills.Video games also improve ones driving skills, because they require focus and manual agility. Smart children might use the results of these reports and say they can't stop playing because they are improving their skills and so improving their future. Try one of the best online horse games for kids http://www.funhorsegames.net

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Commercial transport trucks are furthermore , not alotted to track at its Truckee contemplate station. They offer a real free mark vii breakfast. Driver affirmation system must be generally previously used in ad vehicles even as well even as machineries if you want to prevent each of our unauthorized have of typically the vehicles. During the time the packing is furthermore slow, a person will can try start added websites. Semi truck parking games on area municipal paths has change into a irritation for almost all in Alberta and further regions of the Canada. They are coffee obtain many in all rooms. Highway 56 around present seven miles from the type of Fort Larned national Old Website. Features handle an internal swimming pool, free hey speed Internet, business revolve and actual physical center. 100 Commerce Park Dr, Territory 81 & 3, Watertown, NY. 1-315-782-2700. Various small fry games similar to water mechanism toss and moreover egg events let of their own kids win Dog and puppy Wood paying out money beyond the hamlet. Even so, you could stay located at the Rest Inn settled at all of the mouth linked the Little bit Rock Airport for in regard to the the precise same price, hence consider this travelodge your option mostly after your current Comfort Hotel. If a driver enjoys to make your mind up between resting three countless hours early along with pressing over the actual ten-hour mark, he'll the large majority of likely media on. In cases where you already have not recognized about any RV storage organisation, actually you know. In this valuable section that this child might be welcome to quickly water often the mushrooms. With internet being the one hot-spot for everything, every home has an internet access. It has become more or less a must-have. If you do not have an internet connection, you are distanced and far away from every development, and all latest information. Internet changed the world of entertainment too. Entertainment used to be hanging out with friends watching movie, playing an outdoor game or an indoor game etc. Today internet makes every outdoor game an indoor one! Online games have become so popular that most people prefer to play these enthralling games and spend their free time at home. Though there are a number of online games, car games has been an all time favorite. Like always racing and speeding through has been a boy's forte, here too these games are loved by kids and youth and people of all age. There are a number of online games sites which allow free down load too. You can easily download your car games for free and play them when ever you wish to. You can also race with other participants who are online live. These online games are technologically far advanced. You have a wide option in the car games. Right from the car you wish to drive, also the color of your car, and the place you wish to race. Thus with these many wide options, children are really amused and thrilled. Further more, online games take away the risk that one fear when the race is for real. You can race ahead hitting a pole or a passing by car, or run into the bush or hit a tree and reverse back and get on the track again. Is it possible in real race? Well, firstly is it allowed? Thus online car games allow the adrenalin rush without worrying about any dangerous consequences. You can simply speed away and accelerate, all the way. If you forget to turn, there is no worry too! When you pay these car games, you mostly are rewarded points. Thus with each game you can win points which are compared with other racers for declaring the winner. Winning is fun, but one also has to be careful that indoor games are not always good for health. Online games are loved by most kids and elders. Even parent are happy that the child is playing at home and so encourage them paying online games. But one must never forget that these are addictive, most of these games are as much fun and engrossing that the child seeks to play further. One must train and force oneself to restrict the hours of play. Besides, there is no exercise and chances of obesity and lack of exercise is always a possibility. Online games have a good side too. While playing these online games like car games he has to think fast, take swift decisions and actions, there is a continuous hand and eye co-ordination, besides he also has to concentrate. Car games evoke the feeling of wanting to win and race ahead. But many people feel it also makes the child loose sensitivity to danger and hitting against any object or rude driving. Despite all these pros and cons, car games and other online games are loved by all and are here to stay.

[purposefulfinance-blog]

Your Budget Shouldn’t Control Your Spending

A Case of The Tail Wagging The Dog

There is a big debate in personal finance circles about the need for a budget. On one side are those who argue creating and managing a budget is necessary for any level of financial success. They argue without a budget you are cast adrift, doomed to spend money with abandon on frivolous and unnecessary purchases. Under their guidance, if you are grocery shopping and run out of money in your budget or envelope or pre-paid debit card, you should begin putting groceries back.

Squared off against these pro-budget activists are financial pundits who say budgets are a waste of time. That budgets are limiting and boring, and making a budget is pointless because budgets are impossible to actually follow. They argue if you begin by putting money in your savings at the beginning of the month, you can ignore any need to budget and spend with wild abandon on whatever your heart desires. Under their guidance, you should become the financial equivalent of the dog from UP! – constantly jumping from purchase to purchase based on whatever new thing catches SQUIRREL!

A Flawed Definition

This debate, however, centers on a fundamentally flawed definition of what a budget is. The problem is it assumes budgeting is a limiting activity in which you identify how you are going to spend your money and then blindly follow stringent guidelines. Both sides view your budget as the deciding factor in your life.

A Better Definition of Budgeting

This concept that a budget is the deciding factor in your life suggests that a small part of your life should control the whole of your life; a case of the tail wagging the dog. Instead, a budget should be viewed as a living document which outlines how you want to spend your money, and should be updated and changed as necessary to meet your ever changing needs, goals, and desires.

A proper budget should list off all the things you want to spend your money on, such as groceries, rent, vacations, saving for a down payment on a home, and retirement. Your budget then simply documents how you want to allocate your income into those categories. As your desires change, so does the documentation.

The True Value of Budgeting

The value of budgeting doesn’t come from having a document to blindly follow. Instead, the value of budgeting comes from having a single page on which you can see all the things you want to spend your money on. By seeing it on one page, you can easily understand how choosing to go out for dinner an extra night will impact your other spending. The money has to come from somewhere, and a budget allows you to choose where the money will come from.

The exercise of budgeting shouldn’t be designed to limit you, but to give you the freedom to spend money in the manner you wish to spend it.

Opportunity Cost

Every time you adjust your budget to do something not in your budget, the money has to come from somewhere. Since your boss isn’t going to randomly give you extra money, the only place it can come from is another area of your budget. This concept is called your opportunity cost; all of the other opportunities you give up when you make a choice to spend money. Every dollar you spend means one less dollar you can use anywhere else in your life.

This is not to say you shouldn’t spend the money. You earn money to spend it and enjoy your life. Although you need to save money for future spending, like your retirement or a child’s education, you also need to spend money today to enjoy your life and your family. Ultimately, every dollar you ever earn will either have been spent or given away on the day you die.

The trick is to understand the concept of opportunity cost and identify which specific opportunity you want to give up in order to spend the money. Say you want to spend an extra $200 on a night out to celebrate a family member announcing a pregnancy. Without a budget, you would either spend the money without concern to how you would pay your rent, or you might be paralyzed from enjoying yourself out of fear you can’t afford it.

Having a budget allows you to quickly and easily see where the money could come from and how this decision will impact other things you want to do. You could take the money from your planned trip to Europe, from your weekly date nights, or from your savings for a new home. Or you could decide the celebration isn’t as important as your other goals and decide to send a card and small gift instead. There is no wrong choice, so long as you make the choice realizing what you are getting and what you are giving up.

Changing Costs

Another reason your budget must be seen as a living document is your costs are constantly changing. Devoting $600 and not a penny more to groceries each month sounds like a great idea. But what happens when food prices go up? In order to ‘stick to the budget’ you either have to lower the quality of your food or buy less food. Neither of these is good for the health of your family.

Many costs in your life fluctuate dramatically throughout the year and from year to year. Food, gas, utility bills, entertainment, and clothing costs all change regularly throughout the year. And even ‘set costs’ like your rent will increase over time.

A budget should adjust to account for these changing costs. Sticking to a rigid budget is neither realistic in today’s world nor is it financially sound. Instead, constantly look for how your spending is changing, and identify where you want to adjust to make up for that spending. If your food costs are going up, look for other expenditures where you can adjust your budget, such as if gas prices have dropped.

There are times, however, when all your costs seem to be going up at the same time. A typical family will increase much of their spending during the summer months. They are dining out more, spending more on entertainment, paying higher utility bills, and paying more for gas as the price at the pump increases. In these circumstances, you’ll likely need to adjust your budget by putting less money toward savings. To deal with this problem, increase your savings rate during the ‘cheaper’ months so your average savings through the year hits the mark you’ve set.

Changing Priorities

Over time, even the perfect budget will become obsolete. The reason is your priorities, and your budget should change with them. Ask any parent and they will tell you having their first child has zero impact on their life or their priorities; everything pretty much stays the same. Or maybe I have that backwards.

Significant changes in your life will cause you to dramatically shift how you want to spend your money. Even subtle changes can have dramatic impacts on your priorities and desired spending. Few people can say they enjoy doing the exact same list of things they enjoyed 5 years past.

As your life changes, your budget will need to change and update to fit your new desired lifestyle. At least once a year you should reevaluate your priorities and identify the things you currently spend money on which are no longer important to you. As new priorities rise above old priorities, cut the spending on the old priorities so you can free up money to spend on what you now desire.

Sticking to the same budget year after year will guarantee your spending will not be consistent with the life you want. Instead, your budget will be based on someone else’s’ life; the ‘you’ from five years ago.

Build a Budget in 15 Minutes

Challenge yourself to build a budget you'll actually stick to. It takes just 15 minutes to build a budget based on your priorities and how you want to spend your money.  Visit our budget challenge page and commit to getting in the best financial shape of your life.

[viralhottopics]

Two of Everest’s coolest climbers talk digital storytelling and survival tips

Cory Richards (left) and Adrian Ballinger (right) making their way up Everest.

Image: eddie Bauer

Next time you’re whining about the ~struggles~ of trying to capture the perfect winter Snapchat to add to your story, think of Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards two badass mountaineers who used Snapchat to document their climb up Mount Everest last year and toughen up.

Before they attempt to summit Everest again this April, the two legendary adventurers who became fast friends after meeting seven years ago in the Himalayas stopped by SXSW to chat about the tech that saves their lives during the climbs and give inquiring minds some insight on what it’s really like to take on the worlds tallest mountain.

SEE ALSO: Now you can climb Mount Everest in VR

In May 2016, the partners embarked on a climb without supplemental oxygen. But when Ballinger, who previously summited Everest six times (with oxygen,) neared 28,000 feet above sea level, he was advised to head back to base camp due to poor health.

Richards carried on, achieving his first Everest summit and becoming one of around 200 people to have successfully climbed Everest without using additional oxygen, but unfortunately, due to some technical difficulties, when he reached the peak he was unable to Snapchat his epic view.

This year, Ballinger explained the primary goal for the two is to summit without supplemental oxygen, while, of course, having loads of fun and hopefully grabbing that glorious Snapchat moment Richards was denied last year.

Between the popular social media platform and Strava a biometric data-driven app that tracks their heartbeats, miles walked and other health-related statistics the climbers plan to use the best of tech and social storytelling to chronicle their excursion in a never-before-seen way.

After hearing the experienced climbers describe the key technology and factors that make achieving their goal possible, Mashable compiled a list of fascinating Everest pro tips from the jaw-droppingly costly price of internet to the shockingly gross storage of bodily fluids.

Here are some things you should know should you hope to scale Everest and document your trip:

The internet costs A LOT up there

Snapchatting up Everest is no cheap feat. In fact, Ballinger explained that last year, the pair’s internet bill was a whopping $23,000 essentially as steep as the mountain itself. While I almost passed out upon hearing this news, Ballinger simply laughed and owned the massive but worthwhile charges, saying, “We killed it.”

Bet that extra $50 you pay when you exceed your data limit doesn’t seem so terrifying anymore.

Ballinger Snapping away like it’s just another day.

Image: SNAPCHAT/EVEReSTNOFILTER

A very stylin’ Richards gives Snapchat users a glimpse at the snow.

Image: SNAPCHAT/EVEReSTNOFILTER

Data will help you understand what’s really going on

While Snapchat serves as a more lighthearted form of entertainment for the two, allowing them to preserve and share monumental memories from the mountain, Strava aids in their safety, updating them along with their doctors and coaches back home about their health.

“We feel like the two platforms Strava and Snapchat work really well together because they show two really different sides of what we do,” Ballinger explained. Without Strava’s geospatial data, it would be almost impossible for the men to make sense of their physical activity on the mountain.

“We go a mile and it takes four and a half hours,” Ballinger said, but once you use the app to “see the data, look at the heart rate, grade of the slope and do some calculations, you figure out thats like the equivalent of running five-and-a-half-minute miles for four hours.”

“Its basically an Instagram or Snapchat for the athletic community but rather than stripping pictures and videos youve got all sorts of backup data to show whats actually happening,” Richards added. “Its a more robust and scientific social media.”

Special gloves are VERY important

In Richards’ mind, the gloves you wear could either make or break your entire Everest experience.

“Some people dont think about this, but something thats massively important to me is the gloves you have on,” he explained. When it’s negative 25 degrees outside and the wind is whipping at 20mph, “the last thing you want to do is take your gloves off,” he said, so you’ll need special tipped gloves to use your phone.

Check out the gloves on these guys. Very nice.

Image: eddie bauer

External battery packs are your heroes

For all those who fear the menacing 10% battery warning as much as death itself, it feels like external battery packs save lives on the regular. But on Everest they’re actually essential just ask Cory Richards, he knows.

“Cory summited this past year without oxygen,” Ballinger said about his climbing partner. However, when he reached the top of the mountain, he was in for some very troubling news his phone was dead. “Cory did not take a snap from the summit because he took his phone out, pushed the button and got the wheel of death right as the phone shut down,” he explained explained. Ballinger had been carrying the external batteries all season but went back down the mountain before reaching the top, taking the power sources with him.

When Richards successfully reached Everest’s peak and the heartbreaking wheel of death showed itself, he admitted he considered straight-up throwing his phone off the mountain. However, he ultimately decided it was more important to preserve the other content on the device and resisted the urge. “I wasnt mad,” he said, “it was more of like a Tom Cruise moment in Top Gun where he takes the dog tags and chucks them.”

Everest can be as social as you want it to be

You may think a two-and-a-half-month climb up a very cold mountain would be an extremely solitary experience, but according to Ballinger, it doesn’t have to be. While you’ll undoubtedly spend a lot of time alone with your thoughts, the climber compared base camp to summer camp!

“Some things are really serious when youre higher up, but when you come down everyone just wants to let off steam,” he explained. When the two aren’t busy brushing their teeth, having dance parties or judging who has grosser looking hair, they’re exploring the camps.

With different camps spread out over a 25 to 30 minute walk, climbers have the option to do whatever they feel like, such as eating Korean food for lunch at the Korean camp, grabbing some vodka at the Russian camp or popping by the Italian camp to steal some prosciutto and mozzarella, for example. Sounds pretty awesome, doesn’t it?

Ballinger (left) and Richards (right) having a straight-up blast.

Image: eddie bauer

You sleep with a bottle of pee (I am unfortunately not joking)

Bad news, prospective Everest climbers sleeping arrangements are definitely not ideal, nor are they comfortable. “The reality is its so cold up there that anything liquid or electronic actually has to be inside your sleeping bag,” Ballinger described.

“So youre in a mummified sleeping bag and its completely full of stuff … your boots are in there because your boots would freeze otherwise, your water is in there, every battery you have sometimes we carry like 10 or 12 pounds of batteries our satellite internet, phones, cameras,” he went on. “We even have our pee bottles in there because its too cold to go outside to pee.”

Cory Richards beside his tent.

Image: eddie bauer

I mean to me, cuddling a bottle of pee at night sounds pretty nasty, but a seasoned professional like Richards is all for it. “Pee is actually a great source of heat once it’s outside of you,” he said. In fact, Richards makes the most of his pee bottle by putting it down at the bottom of his sleeping bag to keep his feet warm.

If you’re attempting to climb without supplemental oxygen, it’s not going to feel great

Ballinger described the feeling of scaling the mountain without oxygen as “pure suffering.” While both men admit it’s hard to even imagine the severity of the discomfort, he compared the feeling of breathing thin air high on the mountain to laboriously breathing through straws. “I think the best way to do it if you want to try it at home is to run around your block or exercise normally thats like sea-level,” he said. Breathing through three straws and running around the block a few times is like 10,000 or 12,000 ft, and repeating the activity with one straw is like 20,000 ft.

If you’re looking to feel high altitude, “go try with a coffee stirrer,” he explained.

The video above shows several Everest Snapchats from Richards where he can be seen speaking in between strained breaths. “You can hear it in some of the snaps. Its shallow, labored breathing,” he said. “When youre not acclimatized, I think the easiest way to explain what it feels like to be at altitude is like the worst hangover you can imagine and still having to get out of bed and go work out all of the symptoms are the same, confusion, dehydration, headache,” Ballinger added.

You’ll want to buy ramen and Pop-Tarts in bulk

Welcome to college errr wait, Everest! Once you embark on your climb an Everest diet isn’t as healthy as you might imagine. Since fats and proteins are difficult to digest above 10,000 ft, sugars are your friend. “Some of the things you would normally be okay to eat, you can’t digest,” Richards explained. His go-to meal? “Lots of ramen.”

Richards said the dorm room staple has tons of sugar in the noodles, tons of fluid in the broth and its salty. The dynamic duo have also been spotted Snapchatting Pop-Tarts on their journey, so Everest climbing sounds delicious.

Image: SNAPCHAT/EVERESTNOFILTER

Despite this amazing inside info, you shouldn’t be attempting this perilous climb without a whole lot of training and experience. Even well-trained and experienced climbers can run into difficulty, which can be fatal. After Everest’s 2016 climbing season, a total of six people reportedly died on the mountain, 18 died following an earthquake in 2015, and there are a ton of potential dangers climbers must face.

Be sure to follow along with videos and photographs of the April 8 expedition on Snapchat at EverestNoFilter.

WATCH: Spectacular lightning storm in Australia is out of this world

Read more: http://ift.tt/2nqkH9q

from Two of Everest’s coolest climbers talk digital storytelling and survival tips

[kristinastorey27]

Startup During College: Why Should You Try It?

Startup During College – Why Should You Try It?

Of course, every student dreams of earning extra money. Whether it be for entertainment, dating, video games, travel, food or saving for the future, we all seem to need more of it. However, students often find themselves in class and learning during the day and working on homework and assignments at night. More and more students find themselves without the time for a full or part time job, yet they still need to earn money. Should they start their own business? Sounds kind of crazy, right? The truth is more and more students are deciding to become their own boss and work inside a schedule that is convenient for them.

  Here are some tips for a successful college start up

  Choose something that interests you 

This about it for a minute. What is it you like to do? Are you a guitar player who can teach others? Are you a pet lover who would like to start a dog walking service? Do you have computer skills you can tap into? I have guy that is great at “fixing” computers. Every few months or so I download something strange and I text him for an appointment time. He remotely accesses my PC and cleans it up for me. I pay him $50 for 30 minutes work and he never even leaves his house. I think he may even work on a few customers at a time – all because he knows how to clean up a computer and run anti virus software like a pro.

Think about what you not only are good at, but also like to do. Make a list and bounce it off of your friends and family. Chances are you will find just the right thing.

  Your age is your advantage

Being a student might truly be the perfect time in your life to begin a business. At that age you are not usually supporting a family just yet or trying to make large mortgage or car payments. You also have the ability to take greater risks, move around freely and recover if things do go wrong. On top of that, you are young and sharp and learn new things more quickly. Technology is your friend in every way and it is simply a great time to make use of it.

  Assemble a team of professionals

It may be helpful from the get-go to hire a lawyer, CPA and web programmer? The truth is, your business will do much better if you have smart and reliable people to help you with the parts you are not good at or just don’t want to do. Assembling a great team will help you work “on” your business instead of “in” your business so you can concentrate on growth. Websites like upwork.com are a good place to go for technical help.

  Don’t be afraid of your competition

I always hear people say things like, “well isn’t someone else already doing that”? You would be surprised to know how a few negative words like that can stop people in their tracks from following their dreams. Maybe there are others and that is important to know. But what can you do to make your service better, faster, less expensive or more convenient for your customers?

  Look for startup capital 

It used to cost an arm and a leg to start a business. Today, especially with apps and the internet, that is just not true anymore. When you do need money, and most of course will, there are places entrepreneurs and investors “meet and mingle.” The most popular are AngelList, Fundable, Gust, and Kickstarter. Be sure you check them out.

  Here are a few Business Ideas You Can Implement Right Now!

  Blog

Starting a blog is a very low cost enterprise. You can start a new site on a free platform and write your first post. You may not be a perfect writer, but if you have something important to say, this could be a good idea for you.

  Graphic design services

Are you a great designer or pro with photoshop and more? Can you design banners, business cards, invitations, logos and more? If so, websites like www.fiverr.com and upwork.com are great places to meet and greet clients and start your business. If you are good with graphic design, you will surely find your own sparkling idea here.

  Fitness training

Do you go the gym faithfully, eat healthy and know what it takes to live a healthy lifestyle? If so, can you turn your zeal for exercise into a business? You can start a personal training business and work in the school gym, at a park or even in your clients homes. You don’t need special equipment – you need a constant desire to help people become fit and healthy. If you have your own personal story of how you changed your life with exercise, be sure to share that with clients as they will love to know.

  Freelance writing

If you have a computer, internet connection and some writing skills you can put your talents to work becoming a paper writer. College paper writing is always in popular demand and you can help others in need while earning some cash.

    Become a tour guide

If you study at a college with a great history and tourist trade, you can become your own tour guide. Take people to all the “hot” attractions or start a business taking people to places “off the beaten path” that are really great and special. Learn a bit more about this history of your area, specific buildings and find engaging stories from the lives of the city’s residents. You can also design our own map of interesting places, “best” coffee shops, cafes and restaurants and offer it on your website for both tourists and locals.

  Whatever it is you decide to do, if you are wondering if starting a business while you are in college is a good idea…we say it is a GREAT one!!

from Business Opportunities http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/03/09/startup-college-try/

[integre8twellness]

Integre8t Wellness Vlog

I'm really excited to announce that in the next couple weeks I will begin a video blog on YouTube! I've been watching people in the fitness community for a long time, and some of them are truly amazing: Knowledgeable, skilled, polished... Then there are those who... aren't. I've watched for many years, but hadn't really studied and analyzed the community until much more recently. I've identified five categories:

Demonstration/Programming:

Calisthenics & Weight Training was one of the first channels to captivate me, and it's been exciting to watch the subscriptions expand. It's operated by a Swedish god of an athlete named Kris. He has many different types of workouts; however, the main thrust is bodyweight exercises that are performed on simple, common objects or pieces of equipment. He isn't interested in competitive shows or doing photo shoots. He's one of the single most aesthetic creatures I've ever seen on YouTube, yet he remains mostly anonymous. Despite his perfect appearance, he exudes no arrogance. I admire him not only for his zen-like dedication to perfect form, but also his total absence of machismo. There is no yelling, there is no bro science. There is only you and the movement. He encourages his audience to train for the joy of it, not for size or ego.  

CalisthenicMovement is curated by Daniel Vadnal, and is really helpful for breaking down exercises into nuanced progressions. He has a very charming and warm personality, his advice is based not only on the experience of his own training, but also upon his degrees in Exercise Science and Physiotherapy. He's very encouraging, and has a calm demeanor.

AthleanX is run by Jeff Cavaliere, and I think his entire brand is genius. By contrast to the others I just mentioned, his energy is more raucous and energizing. He knows his stuff thoroughly, and his videos have evolved beautifully as his empire has grown. He offers videos for many modalities of training. He's not only a remarkable athlete and coach, he's also a very savvy businessman. And be on the watch for the muscle marker. As an educator I was always telling my students that if they want to understand what a muscle does, look at the direction of its striations. I was really happy to hear Jeff summarize it with: "Follow the fibers!"

Informational, Scientific:

Juggernaut Training Systems is one of the first places I go when the bros start making statements or claims that confound me. If I find myself thinking, "That can't be right... or is it?" Well, then I head over to see if the guys with Ph.Ds have already discussed (or debunked) whatever has me scratching my head. The coaches on this channel have dedicated their lives and studies to exercise and fitness. I trust them any day over the anecdotal channels.

Sean Nalewanyj cuts through bogus fads like hot knife through butter. And he does it without being mean. He simply addresses misconceptions and explains why they aren't true or helpful. His practical advice is sensible and straightforward.

BodyBuilding.com is a monster of a channel. With practically anything you can think of that relates to health and wellness, there's information for practically any question you can think to ask. The site features content experts for their articles and video updates. Citations are often supplied in the footers of articles, and the production quality of the videos is often impeccable. One caveat: If you go to the site, it's generally best to avoid the community forum. There is so much contradicting, false, and potentially harmful advice being thrown around that it really isn't worth getting through all the ignorance to find the wisdom. It's like panning for gold. There are nuggets, but good luck finding them.

Informational, Anecdotal:

Gym Dudes is one of my favorite channels. These two brothers (Hudson and Brandon) are fantastically experienced and have a treasure trove of ideas and suggestions, all delivered with clever humor and effortless charm. I place them in the anecdotal category only because I don't know them to have educational credentials or citations. But if they were to show these, I'd immediately place them into the science-based category. An excellent and accessible channel with lots of character that balances bro and pro.

Alan Thrall is a powerlifter with an extraordinary story about determination. Although I will never be a powerlifter, I find his determination and ingenuity inspiring. His entire brand is about connecting with people on a completely transparent level. When I need to remember to remain nimble in business, or just want to hear about how he has succeeded despite setbacks, this is the channel I watch.

Alphadestiny serves as a reminder of what I specifically do not want my channel to become. With absolutely ridiculous advice and homophobic ranting, I watch these videos as a reminder to myself that confrontation brings out the basest parts of people. Also, the comments on this channel are even more toxic than usual. Remember, like attracts like: I have to be positive, so that I can attract positivity. I, too, can get into rants, and this channel exemplifies why that undermines credibility.

Roasts (typically of the anecdotal channels): Infinite Elgintensity is the watch dog, whistle blowing comic of the YouTube fitness community. He uses deadpan delivery to utterly eviscerate other channels if they purposefully spread misinformation. As a lawyer, his wit is keen, and no one can really compete with his level of sheer cynicism. You know you're doing something right when CrossFit sues to have your channel removed after you say what everyone else has already been thinking. The reason Elgin is so effective is that all he does is repost the videos others have already made. He simply allows people to demonstrate why he's roasting them. He serves a very important role in the community, despite being a lightning rod for anger. My one and only criticism is that his constant use of homophobic taunts adds nothing to the value and genius of his updates.

Cult of Personality:

Mike Thurston, without question, is one of the most genetically gifted people on YouTube. Whereas my personal training aspirations brought my focus to the calisthenics channels, I still appreciate weight training. I also use it as an important part of the coaching I give to clients. Mike offers series of videos that are not only informative, but also very easy to watch. He's one of my faves, and I've followed him since he had only hundreds of followers as opposed to +100,000 (and counting). His gym is flawless, his production values are amazing, his form is perfect, and he's got a British accent. So yeah. A total freak with a perfect life. LOL

Scott Herman is a fixture in the YouTube fitness community. He was one of the very first guys to recognize the potential of vlogging, and has built a huge following. I have very mixed feelings about Scott. For a while he seemed to be gay baiting (when an attractive straight man flirts with gay men to manipulate them for some advantage). He was always a strong proponent of natural bodybuilding; however, his most recent updates show results that I simply cannot believe are accomplished by hard work alone. I admire Scott's savvy, but his information is often suspect, his technique in older videos is not good, and he seems to have started using steroids. I watch his channel to learn what he does that people find compelling.

Train to Look Good Naked is the channel I follow to laugh at. This one gets rowdy. I don't know this guy's name. I don't really need to, because he's entertaining. And although I really enjoy his energy in very small doses, everything else about this channel is a reminder of exactly what I do not want to do. The misogyny and homophobia are real, the pranks are buffoonish and/or mean, the diet is an absolute mess, and proper form is completely ignored. I can take about three to five minutes for the wow factor, but after that the frat boy/bro/dude nonsense just overwhelms me too much. Pretty much the "Don't Let This Happen to You" chapter in the wellness ebook I'll eventually write.

Most of the channels are some blend of at least two or three of these archetypes. I plan to look at the best traits of each category of videos and put them all together at once. I'm really excited as I work on the template for my individual entries. Check out the links I provided to the channels within each category to get a sense of the type of influences that are informing my own.

[andrewdburton]

Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative

When Kim and I go to bed each night, we spend time casually browsing Reddit on our iPads. It's fun. Mostly.

She and I enjoy sharing funny animal videos with each other (from subreddits like /r/animalsbeinggenisuses, /r/happycowgifs, and /r/petthedamndog). Kim dives deep into /r/mapporn and /r/documentaries. I read about comics and computer games and financial independence.

But here's the thing. After browsing Reddit for thirty minutes or an hour, I'm left feeling unsatisfied. In fact, I'm often in a bad mood. After browsing Reddit, I have a negative attitude. My view of the world has deteriorated. Why? Because for all the fun and interesting things on Reddit, it's also filled with a bunch of crap.

You see, I also subscribe to /r/idiotsincars and /r/publicfreakout and /r/choosingbeggars — and dozens more like these. These subreddits highlight the worst in human behavior. And while viewing one or two posts from forums like these can be entertaining and/or interesting, consuming mass quantities of this stuff leaves me feeling dirty. (Plus, there's the Reddit comments which tend to be juvenile, dogmatic, and myopic. Reddit comments are so bad that Kim refuses to read them.)

It's taken a while, but I've come to believe that Reddit — or the way that I use Reddit, anyhow — is a net negative in my life. It causes more harm than good.

I've been thinking about his concept a lot lately. Behind the scenes, I've been making many small, subtle changes to my environment and daily routine. My aim is to decrease my depression and anxiety by removing people, things, and experiences that are net negatives and replacing them with people, things, and experiences that are net positives.

What Do I Mean by “Net Negative”?

What do I mean by this? What do I mean by “net negative” and “net positive”?

These concepts are simple to understand when we're talking about things are easily quantifiable. In sports, for instance, you can crunch numbers to determine whether an individual player helps or hurts her team when she's on the field. In personal finance, you can track stats in order to see which habits increase your net worth and which cause it to drop. The same is true with fitness or any other activity that can be measured.

But how do you measure Reddit? How can I quantify its effect on my life?

The fundamental problem, of course, is that in most cases we don't have a way to quantify this stuff. How can you tell whether a hobby is a net negative or a net positive? How do you quantify the good and the bad of social media? Of computer games? Of your career? Of your relationships?

You can't.

This isn't a scientific process with actual measurable metrics. When evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of the things in your life, you have to use intuition. You have to guess.

Still, I think most of the time — if we're honest with ourselves — we can tell whether something is helping or hindering us. Does browsing Reddit make me a better person? Does it make me feel better? Does it keep me better informed? No, not really. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. I may not be able to prove this with numbers (or any other objective measure) but I can sense it. So can you.

Nothing is All Good or All Bad

There's another problem that arises when trying to evaluate whether something is harmful or beneficial to your well-being. Few things are 100% good or 100% bad. Most have a mix of positive and negative elements.

Yes, owning a dog is a pain in the ass — but having a canine companion also brings a great deal of joy. For me, the pros outweigh the cons.

Watching television is a mindless passive activity. It can be a complete waste of time. That said, TV can also be an entertaining escape — or a great source of information. Plus, TV can provide a shared experience that sparks conversation with family and friends.

Even politicians that I find frustrating aren't completely misguided; even the worst elected official does some good. (And conversely, even the best representative does things I disagree with.)

As I said, few things are 100% good or 100% bad.

If we could quantify the people and objects and experiences in your life, most would probably have “scores” close to zero — close to “break even” — but a few of these scores would be extremely positive or extremely negative.

Looking at my life, some of my habits and possessions are clearly detrimental. Others are clearly beneficial. In many cases, it's easy to identify what should stay and what should go. Candy and potato chips? Talk radio? News media? These are all clearly negative and have no place in my life. Exercise? Time with friends? Reading? The music of Taylor Swift? These are all clearly positive and I want more of them.

The challenge comes when something is a net negative — but it also comes with some positive aspect that fills a fundamental need. In cases like this, it's tough to figure out what to do.

Alcohol as Net Negative

Take alcohol, for instance.

There is no doubt that alcohol relaxes me. By two o'clock every afternoon, I've become tense and anxious. I can eliminate this anxiety by drinking a couple of beers. For a long time, that's what I did. That's a positive side of consuming beer.

But while drinking alcohol provides some small short-term benefits, the long-term downsides have become too great for me.

Alcohol quells the immediate anxiety…but induces more long-term generalized anxiety. It makes me fat. It interferes with my ability to get things done. It damages my liver. And so on.

Ultimately, I decided that if I were to quantify alcohol's effects on my life, the negatives would far outweigh the positives, so I've given it up for now. (I stopped drinking on Independence Day and my goal is to go a year without alcohol. Or a year drinking as little of the stuff as possible.)

But what about pot? Marijuana is legal here in Oregon. During my fifty years on Earth, I've had some exposure to pot but not a lot. (Mostly I've used it as a sleep aid.) Over the past two months, though, I've been experimenting with it as a replacement for alcohol, and I can see that it does offer some advantages. But I've come to believe that pot too is a net negative for me.

No, pot doesn't contain calories. No, it doesn't give me a hangover the next day. No, it doesn't cost an arm an a leg. But pot does make me dumb — both in the present and the future. It saps my motivation. And there doesn't seem to be a middle ground with it. I can drink a couple of beers and enjoy a gentle, pleasant buzz. When I consume pot, it's all or nothing and I don't like that.

Worse, sometimes pot makes me paranoid. When that happens, it sucks. Plus, just as alcohol helps with short-term anxiety while exacerbating long-term anxiety, pot seems to help with short-term depression while increasing long-term depression. Yikes!

So, I think my experiment with marijuana has nearly run its course. Next, I'm going to play with mindfulness and meditation as a way to manage depression and anxiety.

Re-Thinking Social Media

It's tougher to evaluate things like social media.

For more than a decade now, I've been active on Facebook. I like what Facebook used to be. It was a way for me to stay connected with my friends, to see updates on their kids and pets and travel and careers. More to the point, it was (and is) a way for me to share what's going on in my life. (The real reason my personal blog died? Facebook. I use my Facebook feed as a personal blog.)

Over the past five years, however, the platform has changed. People increasingly use Facebook as a place to espouse their political beliefs. (Why? Why? Why? Why? Has anyone ever been swayed by a political post on Facebook? Ever?) Ads on the platform are invasive and annoying. And the Facebook algorithms seem hell-bent on showing me posts from the same people over and over and over again. (YouTube does the same thing and it drives me nuts.)

Just as I'm considering altering my relationship with Reddit and with alcohol, I'm also considering a change to how I use Facebook because more and more, I feel like it's a net negative in my life. And the more time that passes, the greater a net negative Facebook becomes.

To me, it's easier to evaluate Twitter. Twitter is a huge net negative. There's no room for nuance on Twitter. There's too much noise. The platform is filled with all of the bad things about social media (brigading, bullying, jumping to conclusions, etc.) and none of the good things. So, I mostly avoid the place.

For somebody like me, someone who believes that people are generally good and that the world is a complicated place filled with nuance, social media is deeply problematic. It's not inherently bad — I can envision useful, productive social-media platforms — but the way the major players have opted to implement their functionality fosters groupthink, negativity, and the spread of misinformation.

There's another huge problem with social media, including Reddit. It's killing my attention span. Pre-Facebook — meaning before I joined in October 2007 — I engaged in a lot of activities that required deep focus. I read novels and non-fiction for pleasure. I wrote long articles. I created websites and even wrote rudimentary computer programs to improve my life.

Today, my attention span is practically zero. It's tough for me to sit through a 23-minute sitcom let alone an entire movie. I can muster the focus to read a blog post, but an entire book? Well, that's difficult. If I do sit down to read a book, I become restless after only ten or twenty minutes. I have no patience.

I believe this problem is directly tied to how much time I spend on social media. Social media has conditioned me to have a short attention span, and that's a huge negative in my life. I crave the capacity to dive deep once more.

Keeping the Net Positives

As long-time readers know, I'm a fan of the KonMari method of cleaning and organizing. Marie Kondo argues that you should buy, own, and keep only those things that “spark joy” in your life. Each of your possessions should be a treasure.

What she's really asking people to do is to examine their belongings to determine whether they're net positives or net negatives. A shirt that “sparks joy” — such as Jerry Seinfeld's “Golden Boy”, say — is a net positive in your life, and you should keep it.

What I've been doing for the past couple of months is evaluating everything in my life to find what sparks joy and, conversely, what deepens despair. I want more of the former and less of the latter. (Plenty of things are neutral, of course. My toothbrush neither sparks joy nor deepens despair but it is something I choose to keep.)

Here are some of the strategies I'm employing during this process:

Develop awareness of how people, things, and experiences affect me. I write a lot about mindful spending. Too many people spend without thinking. I want them to be more deliberate about how they use their money. Well, the same idea applies to how we use our time and our energy. I want to pay attention to which of my habits make me feel good and which make feel bad. I want to notice which of my possessions make my life better and which make it worse.

Change my relationship with the problematic items and behaviors. Is it possible to reduce or minimize the negative elements and/or increase the positive elements? Reddit is a great example. If some subreddits bring joy to my life and others make me feel bad, then the obvious solution is to stop reading the forums that contribute to the negative energy. On Facebook, I could stop following the folks who insist on using it as a platform for espousing political beliefs and/or complaining.

Seek a replacement that sparks joy instead of deepening despair. I use alcohol as a maladaptive coping mechanism to deal with anxiety and depression. I tried to replace beer with pot, but that presented its own set of problems. Next, I'm going to try to explore meditation. If that doesn't work, I'll continue searching for something that will help — without bringing on a bunch of baggage.

Accentuate the positive! There's so much that I love about my life but too often I get distracted by the bad stuff. That's dumb. My thought is that if I can devote more time and attention to the good stuff, that'll naturally crowd out the negative. Right? Right?

Will I resume drinking alcohol? Will I ditch Facebook? Reddit? What role do computer games have in my life? How much time should I devote to reading? To television? To exercise? To blogging?

Over the next few months, I'll try to answer these questions (and more!) as I explore which aspects of my life are net negatives and which are net positives. Fortunately, most of this process is fun. I enjoy it. The tough part comes when I have to decide how to address the things that are both good and bad. Then the decisions become much more difficult…

from Finance https://www.getrichslowly.org/net-negatives/ via http://www.rssmix.com/