#but they did a great job of externalizing that + adapting it for the format of a drama

[yachl]

i really like when they adapt a series in a way that suits the new medium + provides alternate but harmonious development to the original series. adaptations don’t need to be 100% faithful to the original storyline as long as they remains faithful to the original themes and purposes

[ziamhaze]

Writer Questions

Thank you for the tag, @zqua1d​!

1. When did you start writing?

Almost exactly two years ago.  I’d never done any sort of individual creative writing prior to writing Compartment 451.  Crazy how random that was and how much it’s changed my life.

2. What fandoms do you write for?

Exclusively 1D, specifically ziam.  I’ve had people ask me if I would ever consider writing for another fandom, but I just don’t have it in me.  Not now, at least.  Every idea I’ve ever had (written and saved in my ideas doc) has been inspired by ziam as individuals - either because I’ve wanted to explore a specific characteristic of theirs or because I had an AU setting that I’d love to see them interact in.  Can’t say I’ve had that for any other fandoms/individuals.

3. Do you write better in the morning or at night?

Night, hands down.  Writing is my “full-time job”, so I can pretty much create my own hours.  I go through phases, but for a majority of the year, I’m usually nocturnal.  I like the darkness and the solitude.  The silence is a plus, but I think it’s the ‘in my own world without distractions’ sort of thing that gets me.

4. What music do you listen to while writing?

I’ve gone through phases with this too.  I wrote C451 with instrumental film soundtracks playing throughout, then with Kick, Push it was primarily lo-fi music because of Zayn’s character.  Since I knew that I was going to write Z.A.Y.N. after The Prince King, I listened to a CRAZY amount of r&b during the latter.  Listened to that all the way through both.  As for the last three stories posted online, I don’t remember listening to anything in particular.  The book that I just finished that I unfortunately can’t post, I used Korean ‘Study with Me’ videos on YT.  Highly, highly, recommend.  This one and this one are my two favourites.  I work like crazy, so these are great if you’re like me and enjoy tracking how much you work/ can create a good schedule when you don’t have an external source (office, class, etc.) to give you one.  OR, if you can’t sit down and study/write on your own accord, this would be good for you to build in breaks and good habits.

5. What do you/plan to major in at college?

Fuck, what didn’t I major in in college?  I’ve got a BA in Film/TV Production Management and Geography (specifically urbanization and the middle east).  Then I’ve got an MSc in Management (specifically international corporate strategy) and an MA in Creative Writing (specifically fiction, novel writing).  In the Fall (unless I move to Sydney, then next Feb-ish), I’ll be starting a PhD in Creative Writing which will be looking at masculinity, ‘the city’ in the novel, and the presentation of male-centric mental health in literature.  All wrapped up in a novel I’ll be writing for the program.

6. Do you write an outline before writing a story?

If you asked my workshop classmates that question, they’d just burst out laughing.  It was an ongoing joke about just how much I outline/plan a story.  For reference, Red vs. Black ended up being ~113k, but the outline document I had for it was about 25 pages on its own.  My outlines look a lot like a VERY detailed bullet note list of points that need to be touched on in each scene.  If you want a look at my lil baby one for C451, click here.  This is soooo bare bones compared to what they look like nowadays, trust me.  Each scene nowadays would probably have about 10x this many bullet notes and timings and all that.

7. Do you write multiple stories at one time or only focus on one?

NEVER.  I have to stay with one at a time.  My stories have so many tiny intricacies and details that need to be given my entire attention to unfold correctly.  I fully throw myself into a story; I get lost inside the world and characters much like an actor does.  I have to in order to make everything consistent and more importantly, true.

8. Do you write every day?

Yes!  It may not be for a novel, it may be academic papers or applications, but I do write something every day.  Also, it may not even be original writing, but I count editing sentences as writing.  You have to engage your brain in a similar nature.  You have to manipulate your native language and just...words.  That’s writing.

9. What are your goals for your stories? (& do you want to become a published author one day?)

Well, my summer goal is to get my latest story a publishing deal.  As most of you know, it’s currently sitting with Harper Collins, but I really don’t expect anything to come of that.  After that (inevitable) rejection, I’ll be shopping it around to agents, so I’d say that’s my latest goal.  Eventually, I want to publish Kick, Push, The Prince King, and The Heart of Him with lots and lots of rewrites.  Clearly copyright would make publishing Z.A.Y.N. as it is impossible, but I think the way it’s presented and the two characters that live within it are kinda cool.  I’d have to rewrite all the lyrics to be original and obviously change Zayn’s name to something that could fit with the title being an acronym.  (Zain/Zayn was a true blessing for that)  Plus, a lot of the magic falls with the songs that come out of their relationship and the hints that I gave to them throughout.  An original song wouldn’t be something a reader could do that with.  So, yeah, it’d be a stretch.  With Red vs. Black, I’ve been given some professional (let’s say) advice telling me to rewrite it with a different metaphor other than superheroes.  I see where he’s coming from in regards to sales and a publishing deal, but then I’ve also had another, professional (let’s say), from a different sector of the field tell me that it’s fine with storyline, but that if I’m trying to sell it in novel format, it might not work.  So, that’s going to take some reworking/deep thinking on my end.  And as for Customer of the Month, I’d like to adapt it as a YA book.  I think the message rings the clearest for that age group.  Which of course means, more rewrites beyond simple edits.

10. Favourite work of yours?

Besides the one I’ve just finished, I’d say Red vs. Black.  It’s really fucking complex if you take a step back and look at it on a character level and not a ‘ziam fic’ (same with COTM.  Zayn’s character in that one is actually really fucking heartbreaking).  It took so much precise weaving and timing and development, that finishing it was a massive accomplishment for me.  I’m glad people enjoy it, but honestly, coming out of it, I remember thinking, I don’t even care what people take from it, I’m proud of me for pulling that the fuck off.  It’s got NOTHING on the book I just finished (so you can imagine the self-pride I have for that), but given the fact that I’d only been writing for a year, RvB was a huge accomplishment for me.  I also really fucking loved writing Zayn’s character in that story - his humour, his turmoil, his arc.  It was a massive challenge, but I actually enjoyed it and that’s huge for me.

[starstruck-xavier]

Fight Or Flight, Am I Right?

chapter two

ao3 || wattpad || fanfiction masterpost || main masterpost || chapter one

words: 1605 (total fic has 5122) ships: lamp (interpret it however you want) warnings: injuries

summary: When Virgil is feeling down, a dangerous, painful manticore-chimera fight turns out to be exactly what he needs.

a/n: i’m updating my fic posts so they all have the same format, so chapter two of one of my old fics is now its own post! and here it is-

“Good morning, Virge!” Patton chirruped as Virgil shuffled into the kitchen roughly 10 hours later. The fatherly trait donned his cat hoodie instead of the regular blue polo; Virgil pondered over whether today would be a much more relaxed day than normal. As for himself, he was still wearing his sweatpants and lilac t-shirt; its sleeves nearly swallowed his elbows and the bottom hem hung just above his knees, but it was comfortable, so the anxious trait didn’t mind its size. The pain was still burning mainly in his abdomen, arms and legs, but not quite as bad as last night, so he clambered onto the countertop by the fridge, wincing just a little. Normally, Patton would encourage him to sit somewhere else while he prepared food, but he let him have this today. Just this once.

The paternal trait came to retrieve something from the fridge, taking the opportunity to check on Virgil. “How are you feeling, kiddo? Can I check your bruises?” Virgil nodded, shrinking into himself self-consciously for a moment before straightening up to allow Patton to look. He didn’t particularly want to see the damage on his own body, instead turning to fixate on the reflection of the light on the fridge as Patton lifted up his t-shirt and felt around the hurting areas. Occasionally Virgil would lightly hiss at the touch, and the father figment would ramble his apologies, looking just slightly squeamish as he ensured that there were no serious injuries that had been missed when they were all tending to his unconscious self. Eventually, Patton let the shirt fall over Virgil’s body again, moving onto his hands and confirming that they were healing up nicely. Then, he looked for any bruising on his upper arms and shoulders (perhaps this was just him reassuring himself).

As he finished his drawn-out checkup, Logan and Roman entered the kitchen. Roman still wore his comfortable clothes, too. Even Logan was wearing something different this morning - a dark blue long-sleeve covered with doodles of planets and astronauts, complimenting his plain black pyjama pants. Today was definitely going to be relaxed. While Logan began to assist Patton in food preparation, Roman joined Virgil on the countertop.

“How’s the damage, Hot Topic?” Roman felt the medical patch on his shoulder with his left hand, frowning a little despite the usual energy he had tried to convey in his voice.

Virgil shrugged as best he could without feeling a spike of pain. “I haven’t really looked, but I feel bruised. I can only guess from my memory of what happened.” He glanced at the prince’s downcast expression. “How’s your shoulder?”

“Well, Logan said that the snake bite hit muscle but not bone, so it’s not as bad as it could be. It’s a good thing I’m ambidextrous though.” The sight of Roman looking so sombre broke Virgil’s heart just a little bit.

“Do you wanna play video games later? Your choice.” He nervously placed his bandaged hand on Roman’s uninjured shoulder, a comfort offering. The prince nodded, leaning into Virgil’s touch. They stayed on the counter, watching Logan and Patton at work until breakfast was ready for everybody.

Now sat in a chair after hopping off the countertop, Virgil picked at the meal, holding his fork as best he could.

“I think that we should all talk to Thomas today and update him on the situation.” Logan announced, watching everybody for a sign of protest, but received none, so he continued. “We’re not yet sure if he’s experiencing any second-hand effects.”

“He won’t have a creative block, will he, specs?” Roman glanced nervously around, switching his cutlery between his two hands.

“I doubt it, Roman. However, sometimes taking a break from brainstorming can yield even better ideas in the future. Despite the circumstances, this is a good opportunity to recharge, if you will, to prevent burnout.”

Roman looked a little more comforted. Light conversation ensued, travelling away from the looming situation back to how breakfast usually went. Bad jokes, laughs and groans filled the air. The two injured sides forgot about their miseries as they all discussed plans for the day and refuelled their bodies.

They all gradually dispersed after eating, Virgil being the last to finish as he tried not to cramp his bruised hands by holding the utensils. Roman waited for him nevertheless, his left hand returning to his right shoulder.

“You look sad, Roman.” Virgil turned to face him, reaching out to tap his hands on Roman’s left arm to stop him from picking at the patch. “If it’s hurting, I can get, like, a heat patch for you. I have some in my room.”

“Yeah?” Roman smiled gratefully, still with a hint of sadness in his eyes. “That’d be nice. That time I was wounded in my side, I learned how draining having that pain can be. But, while my injuries this time around aren’t that bad, I still feel just as bad because I let you get hurt too.”

“It’s okay, Ro. When Thomas was feeling so down yesterday, it was likely getting to me because it had been a while since I had that adrenaline rush. Besides, I could’ve stayed out and summoned the others instead, but I went in because my instinct was to keep you safe. Like I said last night, I can deal with some muscle pain. I have to, sometimes.”

“You have to?” The two got up from their chairs and made their way through the house.

“Yeah. You may not expect me to enjoy adrenaline, but if I can’t exercise my fight-or-flight instincts for a while I start to feel tired or lethargic. Then I end up not being prepared when something external makes Thomas panic. I was reluctant to join you at first yesterday because I didn’t know if I had the energy for it, and usually, I’d just do something like getting Thomas to watch a scary movie to give me a little more power for a while, but that fight I had really helped to restore my energy. Really, once my muscles feel fine again I’m gonna feel so much better at my job. You helped me out, Princey.” The anxious trait noticed how Roman’s face brightened and couldn’t help grinning.

He led Roman to the purple door with his signature stormcloud printed onto it, then rummaged through his drawers for the heat patches. He grabbed a few for himself before peeling off the back cover of one, fumbling through his thinly bandaged hands. During this time, the prince sat on Virgil’s unmade bed and watched him prepare the patch. “I’ll stick it onto your t-shirt, it’s not recommended directly on the skin.” The anxious trait crouched in front of Roman and touched his shoulder with great care, applying it onto the fabric which covered the patch. “The heat will last for about eight hours, but if it gets too hot you can just peel it off, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Roman nodded, looking brighter than before. “Thank you, Virge.”

Virgil straightened up again with a nod, quickly pulled a black long-sleeve from a different drawer and put it on underneath his t-shirt, which was easy to do without taking it off due to the size of it, then began to apply his own patches in between the two layers. He stuck one to each side of his ribs before gathering the plastic packaging and depositing it into a wastebasket. The heat helped both of them, providing comfort to Roman’s shoulder and relief to Virgil’s sides.

The feeling of being summoned suddenly tugged at both of them. “That’ll be Logan and Patton.” Roman grinned. “I’ll see you there, stormcloud.”

—

Roman rose up in front of the television and Virgil appeared by the staircase, both at the same time.

“Hey, guys!” Thomas excitedly looked around. “I’m so glad you two are safe! Logan and Patton have just brought me up to speed.”

“Greetings, Thomas!” Roman instantly adapted his royal persona, only slightly hindered by his injury. “It is great to be back.”

“Hey, Thomas.” Virgil said, suddenly feeling a little nervous. “Are you… physically okay?”

“Yeah, I’m not feeling pain or anything, although I did feel very panicky, I assume when you were in that fight.”

A pang of guilt was felt in Virgil’s heart. “O— oh, I’m sorry, Thomas, I didn’t realise—“

“No, no, it’s okay, Virge. I called some friends and was able to take care of it. I could tell from the feeling that you were in trouble and you couldn’t control it. I’m just happy you’re okay. Or, at least, safe. Are you okay, Virgil?” Thomas glanced at the anxious side, noticing how he wrapped his arms around his abdomen.

He hummed uncertainly. “I’m in a lot of pain, but I’ve experienced it before.” Upon curious looks from everybody except Roman, he recounted what he was saying to the prince before. As he finished, Logan seemed to think for a moment.

“Perhaps, in the future, we should work with Roman in the imagination to make an area in which Virgil can exercise his fight-or-flight without running the risk of injury.”

“That’s a great idea, Logan!” Patton exclaimed, looking towards Roman to see what he thought. “Do you think you can do that, Roman?”

“Yes,” Roman pondered, already thinking of ideas. “I think that would be fantastic! Virgil and I can construct a safe zone within the imagination. How do you feel about that, stormcloud?”

Virgil nodded, feeling a little better. “Yeah, let’s do that once we’re both fully healed.”

“And after I’ve beaten you at every video game in existence.”

“Sure, Sir Sing-A-Lot.”

[lynchoid]

I read the book Sharp Objects the summer before David Fincher’s Gone Girl came out. I had already hungrily devoured the book featuring Amy Elliot Dunne and quickly spent the rest of the summer inhaling Gillian Flynn’s other two major works. I was in love. Gone Girl, the movie, came and shook me to my core and a lackluster adaptation of Dark Places followed not long after. I waited with bated breath for the inevitable Sharp Objects adaptation and it was worth every fucking second of that wait.

There’s something so unbelievably satisfying when a Southern gothic melodrama is done right. It’s like the stars align, the clouds part and there’s this burst of light that shines through. I obviously have a thing for these types of stories but whatever. Jean-Marc Vallée does such a fantastic job of bringing this book to life. He lingers on the ordinary, relishing in the everyday aspects of these characters’ lives and not shying away from them because of time. That’s what’s great about this format. It gives filmmakers the ability to truly dig deep into a book and illustrate the nuances of characters and their development.

The great thing about Flynn’s novels is that she’s completely unafraid to write about women and their complexities and darkness. She proves a point that I’ve long held as gospel: women make flawless anti-heroes. Flynn’s characters are flawless in that they’re flawed. They all harbor something beneath their seemingly perfect exteriors, and it’s always interesting.

Camille Preaker’s trauma is the center of her story and Sharp Objects. Her upbringing and past caused her to be this deeply wounded individual who has spent her entire life building walls, both internally and externally, to try and forge an existence that’s hers, all while keeping the demons at bay.

On the flip side of that, Adora Crellin is content with being seen as this perfect matriarch of this town and family even though she’s the thorniest rose of them all. She allows how her mother treated her as a child to turn her into the monster that she becomes. She wouldn’t have been able to break the cycle even if she wanted to because Adora has always bought into her own hype.

The relationship between these two women and the traumatic things that come from it kind of manifest in Amma. She’s the best parts of Camille and the worst parts of Adora.

The entire cast does tremendous work, but the three ladies who play the aforementioned characters are rightly the sun and moon of Sharp Objects. Amy Adams is the most fearless I’ve seen her, which is saying a lot because she ALWAYS brings it. Patricia Clarkson is calculating and divine. The scenes between her and Amy are everything. Eliza Scanlen is also pretty great. I was a little concerned that they wouldn’t be able to cast a perfect Amma, but they definitely did.

Letterboxd

[exclusiverenew265]

Wifi Analyzer For Mac

Wifi Analyzer Mac Sierra

Mac Os Wifi Analyzer

Wifi Analyzer For Macbook Pro

Mar 31, 2016  You can use NetSpot as a wifi analyzer for mac using the analysis mode. The analysis mode uses heat maps to tell you the weak point about your site with the help of the analysis Map, you can sort out different wifi problems of your wireless networks. WiFi Analyzer. WiFi Analyzer is a freemium WiFi Analyzing software available on the Windows Store. It is available for Windows 10 and 8 series. By scanning your entire room, it will show you the best position to place router and also analyze WiFi related issues. Here are 8 free Wi-Fi stumbling and surveying tools to reveal important details about Wi-Fi networks. In Mac OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.4 and later, Apple provides the Wireless Diagnostics tool. WiFi Analyzer allows you to visualize WiFi signals all around you. Works with 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz networks. Make your WiFi Faster! Use WiFi Analyzer to find the best channel for your WiFi access point. WiFi Analyzer is an app which senses and displays the information on all wireless networks. Beside WiFi analyzer iPhone, available for Mac and Windows too.

WiFi Analyzer mac. WiFi Analyzer for Mac is available on iTunes but in a different name. It is called WiFi Explorer. Let me tell you about its description, features what’s new in the latest version and some customer reviews according to the iTunes. Apart from supporting Windows platform, Wifi Scanner works as an excellent wifi analyzer Mac too. This is a product by developer AccessAgility which works with a simple interface platform to let users use it in the best and simplest way possible.

Today, one can only imagine what they would do without the internet and WiFi. While wired connections are still pretty much prevalent, nothing really beats the convenience of WiFi and wireless networks are also catching up in terms of speed. In this article, we are going to talk about how you can get the most out of your WiFi network by monitoring the performance of your network and improving it with these Wi-Fi analyzing tools for macOS.

Note: Most of these apps only work with the built-in WiFi adapter of your Mac and do not work with an external adapter.

Also Read: 10 Best WiFi Analyzer for Windows 10/8/7

1. macOS WiFi Analyser

macOS itself comes with a Wireless Diagnostics tool which you can use to scan all available wireless networks and get a summary of all the channels that your device can connect to. From the summary, it is able to suggest the best 2.4 GHz or 5GHz channel or network suitable for you. It can also be used to monitor the network performance, get log information and even as a sniffer to capture WiFi traffic.

To access it, while holding the Option key click on the WiFi icon in the menu bar and you should see an option as “Open Wireless Diagnostics” which should take you to your built-in WiFi analyzer. Or simply you can also open Spotlight Search and type in “Wireless Diagnostics”.

Pros:

Network Scanner

Monitor performance of connected WiFi

Log Info

Channel Suggestions

Cons:

Non-intuitive UI

No graphical representations

Verdict:

You can get away with the Wireless Diagnostics tool if you need to troubleshoot some minor issues in your personal network. Although it is not very powerful, given it comes built-in and free, you can’t really complain.

2. WiFi Signal

WiFi Signal is one of the more simpler apps on this list which provides all the information you need about your wireless network in a compact and elegant card fashion. The app lives on your menu bar, the icon of which can be fully customized and clicking on it gives you everything from the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) to the max data rate and MCS index of your connection. There is a real-time graphical representation of the signal rate and noise rate and the app can also recommend the best channel.

Read: Create a WiFi hotspot from Android which is already connected to WiFi

Pros:

Customizable menubar icon with live signal rate

Simple at a glance information

Notifications support

Channel recommendations

Cons:

Info of only connected network

No WiFi scanner

Verdict:

If you are someone who needs to check the strength or quality of your current network from time to time, this app provides you all the info in an elegant card fashion along with a customizable menu bar icon.

Download WiFi Signal ($4.99)

3. WiFi Explorer

WiFi Explorer is one of the highest rated WiFi analyzer apps on the Mac App Store and rightfully so. The app does a great job at scanning, monitoring, and troubleshooting wireless networks.

The app provides various real-time graphs for network details, signal strength, and spectrum which makes it much more intuitive for even a normal person to effectively use the app. Apart from the details of your connected network, the graphs also display all the networks your device can connect to, along with all their details which comes in really handy for choosing the strongest access point for your computer. A bonus feature of this app is that you can save all the results for a later review and even export all the network details as a CSV file.

Pros:

Graphical visualizations of the WiFi environment

Detailed descriptions of access points

Exportable to CSV format

Cons:

Pricey for the number of features it offers

No menubar icon

Verdict:

Wi-Fi Explorer is great for quickly identifying channel conflicts, signal overlapping or configuration problems that may be affecting the connectivity and performance of your home, office or enterprise wireless network.

Download WiFi Explorer ($19.99)

4. Wifi Scanner

The next app on our list is WiFi Scanner which adds a number of nifty features to the standard WiFi analysis tool.

Like the previous apps, it comes with various real-time and color co-ordinated graphs of the various available networks and provides details about them. But it doesn’t stop there as WiFi Scanner also brings a built-in WiFi speed testing feature that showcases the ping, download and upload speeds of your network to troubleshoot WiFi networks. There is also an extremely useful IP Scanner feature which will give you a list of all the devices that are connected to your network which is great for finding those WiFi “piggybackers”.

Pros:

Real time graphs and detailed network parameters

Speed Testing tool

IP Scanner

Exportable to CSV format

Cons:

No menubar icon or way to quickly glance at any info without opening up the app

Verdict:

Wifi Analyzer Mac Sierra

Personally to me, WiFi Scanner seems the most bang for your buck and with all its features it functions like an all-in-one from scanning available networks and their performances to seeing which devices are connected to my network.

Download WiFi Scanner ($19.99)

5. NetSpot

NetSpot offers the convenient visual heat maps so you can easily catch any dead spots and how you can optimize access points locations; it is a WiFi analyzer tool like no other!

Mac Os Wifi Analyzer

The app allows you to directly upload a map of your area or draw one using NetSpot’s map drawing tool. Once you have completed that, you can select between several visualizations like signal level, noise level, and access points which show you everything throughout the whole map in the form of heat maps. You can then identify the areas with low signal strength or problems and troubleshoot them.

Pros:

Full Network analysis and surveys

Support for area plan or map

Heat map visualizations

Suitable for commercial use

Cons:

Very pricey for personal use

Verdict:

NetSpot feels like a well polished complete WiFi analyzer app. It does feel a little redundant for personal use but with its commercial licensing, it should work great for commercial use or large office areas to detect dead zones and improve the overall connectivity of the area.

Download NetSpot (Freemium)

6. Honorable Mentions

WireShark is an open source and very powerful network analyzer used mainly by network admins and developers. Although it comes with a steep learning curve, it is one of the best packet analyzer apps available. WireShark is also capable of working in monitor mode, thereby letting you see what other devices are browsing/watching on your network. While normally you’d need an external WiFi adapter to these kinds of things, most Macs have a network card that supports monitor mode which overall works out pretty well.

JamWiFi is another free little tool which can not only analyze devices connected to your wireless network, but you can also disconnect them from using your WiFi. But it also comes with a downside which is it will also disconnect you and you have to reconnect again.

WiFi Signal Strength Explorer is a handy little utility which unlike the normal WiFi icon, shows you the strength of connection via dots/percent in the menu bar and by clicking it, you can access some basic details about your current network.

Wifi Analyzer For Macbook Pro

Wrapping Up: WiFi Analyser for Mac

So these were the best WiFi analyzer applications available for macOS and here’s a little recap. For casual use or not too deep analysis, the Wireless Diagnostics seem to work just fine. If you need something quick that shows you details about your connected network just from your menubar, check out WiFi Signal. As a WiFi analyzing tool, WiFi Explorer has got everything you might need. However, if you are a sucker for extra features, WiFi Scanner provides the most for your money. For large organizations or commercial purposes, nothing comes close to NetSpot. Did we miss anything? Which one do you use? Let us know in the comments below.

Read: 10 Step by Step Fix to WiFi Connected But No Internet Access

[georgehenry]

How to Manage Dissertation Schedule

Just the word conjures up any type of driving, some kind of stiff, externally set bounds, even if it's"self-discipline." Then my inner knee-jerk response kicks in and demolishes my entire program I carefully planned. Does that mean I don't get things done? It did, before I figured out exactly what I could do to help myself.

 Since attempting to decide on a firm schedule did not work for me, I went on putting some common-sense objectives, then being really flexible about the way I scheduled my period. It worked for me , and has worked since.

Figure your key target, and also the substantial minor objectives. Take time traces for them. Be certain that the deadline for this is a difficult one. Then you may backtrack to work out the time lines to your preparatory actions. The backtracking could be a terrific practice in realistic preparation. It works great if you've got a fairly good sense of how much time it takes you to do what is required for every single step.

Split your thesis or dissertation into small actions. It will count to compose a paragraph a day, or compose a query or response to opinions and deliver it to school. These items need to get accomplished. Why don't you do them in small pieces, so you can determine achievements?

Be adaptable. Occasionally our strategies do not work, or programs fall apart.

Create a new program every day, or using a frequency that is suitable for you. Then act on the reply to this query.

Look in a larger image to look after yourself. It is really easy to become caught up with what is in the front of our faces, so we all neglect to look bigger. Be honest at asking yourself exactly what you want most now to possess and to be everything you need for tomorrow or a week or next month or next season. Most of us need time to unwind, to recreate. If you attempt to drive yourself too much, what occurs is disgusting, not breakthrough. You will have a lot more energy to your job like that.

Learn what works for you and take action. Sometimes others view our plans and tell us we are nuts or it will not work. If your plan works for you, use it, regardless of how it seems or looks to other people.

There are a number of professionals and experts offering dissertation writing. Their services are pretty good with on time delivery and professionally composed/formatted document.

[cecillewhite]

Podcast 22: Launching a Learning Portal – With DirectEmployers Association

WELCOME TO EPISODE 22 OF THE TALENTED LEARNING SHOW!

To learn more about this podcast series or to see the full collection of episodes visit The Talented Learning Show main page.

  EPISODE 22 – TOPIC SUMMARY AND GUESTS:

How can membership organizations strengthen their market position and drive additional revenue streams by offering professional education?

That was the goal when the DirectEmployers Association (DE) envisioned its new learning portal, DE Academy. But what does it take to move from concept to reality?

Join me as I talk with DE Executive Director, Candee Chambers and VP of Membership Engagement, Jen Bernhardt about how they’ve created a modern learning portal that will grow with their organization’s needs.

  KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Don’t fast-forward through the analysis phase. If you don’t fully understand your audience’s learning needs, preferences and behaviors, your program is at risk.

Remember that information is not instruction. Develop a content strategy that honors the difference.

Choose technology wisely. Think about how to start small, adapt to changing requirements and scale over time.

  Q&A HIGHLIGHTS:

Tell us about the DirectEmployers Association. What’s your mission?

CANDEE:  We’re a nonprofit 501C6 HR consortium with over 900 member companies. About 97% of these member organizations are government contractors that must meet Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) requirements.

REPLAY THE WEBINAR NOW!

We want DirectEmployers Association to be the go-to solution for contractors who need OFCCP compliance and talent acquisition information, resources and support. That’s why we just launched DE Academy, a learning portal that provides digital access to our expertise, on-demand.

So for those who are not familiar with OFCCP, what is that?

CANDEE:  Here’s the Reader’s Digest version. Basically, all organizations with federal government contracts of a certain dollar volume must follow regulations managed by OFCCP.

Also, depending on the size of the contract, there are affirmative action standards for hiring protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

So we assist members with some of their staffing obligations, like job distribution and listing jobs with state workforce agencies. We also provide outreach resources and help them understand their compliance obligations.

Got it. So could you tell me more about your member companies?

CANDEE:  Government contractors are diverse. For example, they can be defense companies involved with building jets, rockets or military equipment. Or utilities that power federal government buildings. Or organizations that touch agencies like Homeland Security, Cybersecurity or the NSA.

It sounds like your member companies could have many thousands of learners that interact with your Academy, right?

JEN:  Potentially, yes.

And what prompted the idea of the DE Academy learning portal?

JEN:  Well, as recognized experts, both Candee and John Fox, our external legal counsel, are always in demand. So about 18 months ago, we began talking about how we could make all their expertise more broadly available, in a convenient form where members and non-members alike could find it and use it on their time.

That’s easier said than done. How have you made all that content available in digital form?

JEN:  It’s important to understand the difference between information and instruction. We have information in spades. We have webinars, and one-sheets and live presentations that members can attend around the country.

But to move from information to a learning experience, we had to take a step back and analyze things from a learner’s perspective. It’s essential to meet our learners where they’re at.

Great point. How did you do that?

JEN:  That’s where our consultant Carla Downing came in. She’s Air Force veteran with a doctorate in instructional design. She’s worked in academia and in the corporate world, and she has been incredibly helpful guiding us along this path.

What did you learn from Carla?

JEN:  When considering the scope, it’s tempting to leap forward so you can get to the pretty things. But Carla encouraged us to focus 70-80% of our time in upfront analysis and preparation. So by the time design and development started, we were ready to roll instructional design methodologies into our courses and other content.

Nice. The instructional designer in me is doing backflips…

JEN:  Yes! Carla says that 1 or 2 hours of front-end analysis can save up to 8 hours of development and design on the back-end. And after building DE Academy with her, I believe it.

RSVP FOR THE JUNE WEBINAR NOW

So, what kind of things did you consider in that analysis phase?

JEN:  We started with analyzing the market. What’s already being offered? What are the price points? Who are the vendors? Who’s actually delivering the training? Then we identified gaps.

Next, we profiled potential learners and mapped our existing content to their needs.

Very strategic…

JEN:  So the challenge was really fun. We had to break-down things like affirmative action planning into an easy-to-consume 100-level course for an entry-level professional like a recruiter. But then we also need to offer more advanced content.

How did that process work?

JEN:  We would start by defining objectives and then compile information that supports those objectives. That literally required me to sit down with our experts and record detailed discussions with them.

Then we captured those notes in transcripts, so we could piece together various elements into a flow that is easier for learners to consume. Once we had all the components and the outline, we could start building-out the courses in tools like Storyline or Captivate.

Makes sense…

JEN:  Well, you can probably tell we’re very, very careful to be sure that everything is correct. The compliance marketplace has so much incorrect information. But our reputation is on the line, so won’t do it unless it’s right.

How do you manage that content quality aspect?

JEN:  Well, there’s a detailed back-end in the design and development process. I’m sure most of your listeners are familiar with the ADDIE instructional systems design model. Well, we add an extra evaluation stage before we launch.

So for us, the model is ADDEIE. In other words, we’ll ask one of our subject matter experts to review the course and make comments. We may go through that cycle two or three more times.

That’s great. So what is the final product?

JEN:  We offer courses, lessons and ebooks in a variety of formats. For example, we use Storyline to create courses in SCORM format for our learning management system.

Also, we offer punch lists in PDF format. That’s where we create a matrix that deconstructs a regulation for professionals with different levels of experience.

In addition, we offer traditional elearning courses that look like a PowerPoint deck with voiceovers and assessments and those types of things.

As we grow, we’ll include webinars that branch into in-person training sessions that members can schedule directly within DE Academy.

Excellent…

JEN:  We want to be at the forefront of how learners prefer to consume content. We know it can be difficult for busy professionals to find large chunks of time. And we want to break it down in various ways, so our members have choices.

Sounds great. On the systems side, you mentioned Storyline and Captivate. What other systems are you using for this learning portal?

JEN:  TopClass LMS is the learning management system we chose for DE Academy. WBT Systems makes TopClass, and they’ve been wonderful.

We’ve integrated TopClass with Higher Logic – the platform for our members-only community, DE Connect. So we offer Single Sign-On from Higher Logic into DE Academy. Having only one user name and password is key because ease of access is critical to the success of DE Academy.

Makes sense…

JEN:  And another benefit of TopClass is its ability to offer a second entry point for non-members…

Ah, yes!

REPLAY THIS WEBINAR NOW!

JEN:  When we were sourcing LMSs, we considered launching two completely separate systems – one for members and another for non-members. But financially and logistically, that just wasn’t feasible.

Fortunately, TopClass lets non-members register directly in the LMS. And if one of those companies or individuals become members, it’s an easy transition into the member side of things.

That’s really slick…

JEN:  Plus we hooked Higher Logic to Salesforce, which feeds our member contact information into the DE Connect community platform. Make sense?

You bet. That’s a great ecosystem! So when non-members register they can see content built just for them?

JEN:  Yep, correct. For members of DirectEmployers Association, we include a handful of content with their membership. We’ve repackaged, repurposed and rebranded members-only DE Connect content and relocated it to DE Academy. Plus, we develop and curate additional content that is available at a lower price point for members than non-members.

Excellent. Multi-level pricing is a great idea…

JEN:  Yes. We want this lower price point to be an incentive for non-members to join. Plus, because we’re working with recognized subject matter experts, we need an appropriate price point and marketing model for this content.

What about bulk purchases? Can non-members purchase content for a whole team, or only as individuals?

JEN:  Right now it’s one by one, but we’ve considered that scenario. We’re also considering pre-built learning paths. In other words, if three courses naturally fit together, they can be purchased individually or as a bundle.

There are a lot of options. TopClass is even flexible enough to let us create different groups with different levels of access, and assign a manager to that group.

So let’s say one of our members is at a small utility company that doesn’t have an LMS. But with DE Academy, their employees can purchase courses that an administrator at the utility can manage directly in TopClass. That means we don’t have to do it for them.

That’s helpful.

JEN:  The possibilities are endless with that system, which is why we went with it. You can start very simple out-of-the-box. That’s where we are right now. But our goal is to scale as we grow and expand our product base to accommodate various needs. TopClass has that capability.

Here’s another scenario. What about large organizations with their own LMS? Do you want their employees to come to DE Academy, or would you give them your content?

JEN:  Access is paramount. We’re not going to hold our content hostage. If a member wants to purchase a one-year license, pull out x-number of courses and then plug them into their LMS, great. We’re open to anything and everything that will help people learn…

…FOR MORE QUESTIONS AND COMPLETE ANSWERS, LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST NOW!

  WANT TO LEARN MORE? REPLAY OUR WEBINAR:

How to Drive Online Learning at Scale: Corporate Market Strategies for Associations

REPLAY THIS FREE WEBINAR NOW

Selling online learning content to individuals is challenging enough. But selling that same content in bulk through corporate customers or partners can be even more demanding.  The business models are fundamentally different.  Plus, business-to-business relationships require specialized content management functionality.

What does it take to succeed?

Join John Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst at Talented Learning, as he hosts a live virtual panel with experts who have developed and managed profitable B2B online education programs:

William Hold, Chief Development Officer, The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research

Linda Bowers, CTO, WBT Systems

In this dynamic one-hour roundtable, you’ll learn how to:

Build a viable business model for bulk sales

Develop effective pricing and marketing strategies

Compare tradeoffs of selling through sales reps versus online channels

Delegate content administration, reporting and user provisioning

Integrate core learning systems with CRM platforms and other operational applications

Achieve internal buy-in, drive project momentum and maintain organizational alignment

All live webinar attendees will receive 1 credit toward a Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential application or renewal.

REPLAY THIS WEBINAR NOW!

Need Proven LMS Selection Guidance?

Looking for a learning platform that truly fits your organization’s needs?  We’re here to help!  Submit the form below to schedule a free preliminary consultation at your convenience.

First Name*

Last Name*

Email Address*

Company

jQuery(document).bind('gform_post_render', function(event, formId, currentPage){if(formId == 18) {} } );jQuery(document).bind('gform_post_conditional_logic', function(event, formId, fields, isInit){} ); jQuery(document).ready(function(){jQuery(document).trigger('gform_post_render', [18, 1]) } );

The post Podcast 22: Launching a Learning Portal – With DirectEmployers Association appeared first on Talented Learning.

Podcast 22: Launching a Learning Portal – With DirectEmployers Association original post at Talented Learning

[winterleefrc]

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

I’ve been on a long hiatus from this blog. Between applying to grad school, getting in, and wrapping up my first semester, I’ve had a strange schedule this past year, and maintaining the blog fell by the wayside. But now that it’s 2019, I’ve resolved to diligently write up everything I read; and everyone knows that New Year’s Resolutions never fail.

Sense and Sensibility was Austen’s earliest published novel, and it shows in many ways. The plot slows down to a snail’s pace in the middle portion of the book, as the sisters wait for plot developments to unfold. The romantic heroes, Edward Ferrars and Colonel Brandon, are not fully fleshed out, nor are their relationships with our female heroines described in detail, making their happy endings less convincing than they could have been. Furthermore, Edward and Elinor’s relationship is rescued by a deus ex machina, due to Edward’s ostensibly admirable integrity (and its accompanying passivity, in refusing to break off his engagement with Lucy Steele); meanwhile, Colonel Brandon’s relationship with Marianne is not only troubling from a modern perspective due to its two-decade age gap, it is also described as a “reward” for Colonel Brandon’s efforts, with Marianne being described as a “prize.”

Austen’s satirical powers are on full display here, but she didn’t temper her satire with as much warmth as in her other novels. Sense and Sensibility doesn’t successfully strike the same balance as, for example, Pride and Prejudice; there are simply too many obnoxious characters, that one wonders how Elinor had the patience to spend so much of the novel being even facially polite to such annoying characters; and although Austen’s famously comic scenes are present, not enough of Austen’s signature generosity and humanity shine through.

Interestingly, Austen reserves some of her kindness and forgiveness for Willoughby, arguably the main villain of the book. I understand the impulse; with Willoughby, Austen seemed to be trying to make a point about the importance of education and employment in building character, despite the natural gifts of nature that Willoughby possessed, and his inherent lack of malice. But Austen’s compassion seems to have been misplaced. Willoughby inspires too much moral repugnance to really be forgiven by the reader, and Austen spends far too much time rehabilitating him than is necessary, instead prolonging the novel and ending it on a strange note. Also, there was a very objectionable judgment that lay in Willoughby’s final speech; Willoughby (and Austen by extension) seems to imply that Eliza’s fate was partially her own fault, because she was not as bright nor as educated as Marianne—while Marianne, in possession of greater “understanding,” deserved better treatment. It’s a strange judgment to make, and the corresponding subplot in Pride and Prejudice was definitely handled better.

Having watched previous films by Ang Lee—The Wedding Banquet, Eat Drink Man Woman—I was unsurprised to find him directing this film about romance and marriage in the context of familial and societal restrictions. The film happily tries to clear up many of the problems I found with the novel; it deletes some of the extraneous characters who existed mostly for Austen to sharpen her wit; it gets rid of the misplaced attempt to rehabilitate Willoughby; and it fleshes out both Edward and Colonel Brandon (especially Edward, who becomes a much more sympathetic character here). I found Hugh Grant’s portrayal of Edward super adorable, actually, and I personally think that the alteration to Edward’s portrayal is what places the movie much closer to a romance than a drama and character study. However, the film is weighed down by the structure of the original novel—i.e., Edward only appears towards the beginning and the end, and is conspicuously absent in the middle.

Also, as a side note: I was glad to see how the film tries to be more class conscious, in showing how Elinor dealt with Dashwood servants and in giving the servants names. This was definitely a modern improvement.

Having ranted for so long about how the movie addressed the deficiencies of the novel, I should definitely mention some aspects of the novel that I really liked, even if it was difficult to translate to the screen. The novel’s main concern is, of course, not necessarily with romance, but with descriptions and judgments of people. What makes a good person, and what makes a good person admirable as well? Austen seems to suggest through this novel that a good person is kind and generous, warm-hearted, and truly modest; but what makes a good person admirable on top of these traits is intelligence, applied to hard work and industry through education and employment. Austen also makes digressions into taste and elegance, and how each is formed. This aspect of Austen’s novels is harder to translate to screen, and although the screenplay lightly suggests it sometimes, the movie necessarily focuses less on these themes and questions.

I also wanted to point out several visual cues in the film that I was disappointed to see. The “villains”—the unlikeable female characters—all had dark hair, including Fanny Dashwood and Lucy Steele, while the three Dashwood girls had beautiful blonde curls. I see this visual trope pop up again and again and … I just don’t like it. (Would Elizabeth Bennet have been blonde in movie portrayals if the book didn’t specify that she had dark hair?) I also found the casting of Charlotte Palmer very strange—the producers chose Imelda Staunton, who I think is a fantastic actress, but also about twenty years older at the time of the film than Charlotte Palmer in the novel. Not only was Staunton older, she was also costumed with gray hair and matronly clothes. The film seems to use beauty and youth to visually suggest “good” and “admirable” whenever possible, which totally voids the point of Austen’s novel. Charlotte Palmer is described as very pretty, and a young and recent bride in the novel—she’s kindhearted and generous, but that doesn’t prevent her from being a bit silly. Her beauty is integral to the reader’s understanding of her marriage to Mr. Palmer, someone who fell for her looks without really considering her his intellectual equal. Austen frequently contrasts this kind of external beauty with internal character—for example, in the character of Willoughby. (Since Willoughby’s handsome figure is described again and again, the film didn’t really deviate from the novel on that score.) But elsewhere, whenever possible, producers and directors still try to use visual shortcuts, equating (blonde) beauty and youth with goodness and (dark-haired) plainness and age with unimportance or even villainy. I have no words. It just ANNOYS me.

In a similar strain, I think one of the great strengths of Austen’s novels is her kindness and humanity, and I wish the film had added another line or two about Mrs. Jennings. Even though her character is a comic one, she gets her deserved treatment in the book, when Marianne regrets being rude to her although Mrs. Jennings has always been kind to her. It’s a dynamic that Austen clearly cared a lot about (see Emma and Miss Bates)—that finding humor in people who are a bit silly does not equal being kind to them. I wish the film had taken more note.

However, apart from these nitpicky opinions, I really enjoyed both the novel and film, and I think they each complete the other. The novel holds Austen’s wit and humor, and her insightful analyses of people and what make them tick; the film is a more enjoyable and balanced romance, with beautiful set-pieces and music. And both star a truly moving pair of sisters who love and value each other above all.

Sense and Sensibility (1995) was originally published on Friends, Romans, Countrymen

[rkpcy]

███▒░  ►  ❝ IF I DIE TOMORROW  ❞ ( 0:45 - 2:45; translation here; edits to lyrics under cut)

“park chanyeol.”

he prides himself on his flexibility, on his ability to take curve balls with stride, in being able to adapt to any situation, any surprise.

this surprise, however, has him doing a double-take, a true representation of the white guy blinking meme. he almost wants to laugh, but refrains, thinks he should be crying, but remains still, mouth open, expression the perfect intersection of elated, surprised, amused.

of course, he knew he’d never win a competition called a “triple threat challenge” based on singing, rapping, and dancing, so he’d really had no expectations when it came to the contest, had merely considered it a chance to put himself out there, to at least have his name on the radar, but to actually hear his name come directly from tiger jk’s mouth---it’s more than he could have ever hoped for form his twenty seconds of flailing about on stage.

he doesn’t even remember how he gets home that evening; all he knows is that he has a lot of work to do. they’d asked of him to show off a skill he felt was his strongest, and he knew immediately that meant he had to rap---that's the easy part. the hardest part is deciding the best method in which to do that. for hours, he scrolls through his music library, scouring rows and rows of music titles and artists and hearing their corresponding beats in his head. but nothing seems to fit, nothing seems appropriate enough for an opportunity such as this.

it takes him several more hours and bags upon bags of fruit snacks for him to realize that the best way to showcase his rapping is to do it in his own style, in a beat he can ride better than any wave, in a pocket stitched by his own hands. the only way to showcase his best skill is to showcase it in a song that was tailor made to broadcast the intricacies of lyricism and flow: a self-composition.

this realization, however, only leads to more open roads with his external hard drive of more than a dozen unfinished songs and a million more yet to have started. usually, he’s grateful for his multi-track mind, but in this moment, it only feels like a hindrance, a nuisance. a billion ideas float through his mind like ghosts, unable to be grasped like smoke.

like smoke.

i lean my head 45 degrees my memories rising like a cigarette’s smoke when i turn up my recollections like the sound i can see the theater even with my eyes closed

in an instant, it all clicks like the pen that’s suddenly in his hand, chicken scratch being scribbled on the nearest piece of paper. it’s a song he’s struggled with for years, lyrics ever changing, tweaking, rearranging. hours and days and weeks and months and years of having hit dead end after dead end, the path suddenly clears, red sea parting so he can escape the inexplicable chains that have held him from finishing the song.

it’s time.

the day has finally arrived. the day he’d been both dreading and anticipating, checking and checking again on his calendar, a date unsaid to any of his friends simply for the sake of not jinxing it. he’d spent day and night writing and  re-writing lyrics, arranging and re-arranging the track, practicing and practicing and practicing, over and over again, and for once in his life, he’d even taken a week off from both of his jobs in order to prepare for this moment. his moment.

he wishes right about now that he’d at least told jennie or minseok about his callback so that he’d have gone in with encouraging words and sage advice from old man mickey, but at least it’s comforting to know that they believed in him, a fact he’s sure of 100%.

it feels like a lifetime before he’s called in, and a lifetime longer for his simple set up: a man and a microphone, standing dead center. he introduces himself in an identical manner as before, hoping that repetition ingrains the memory of him into their minds, so that even if he fails this audition, they’ll still remember him.

“i’m park chanyeol.”

his song in it’s purest form is four minutes and eighteen seconds, including a lengthy intro. unfortunately, he won’t be able to debut his song in the form it’s meant to be, but even if he has to cute its run time in half, chanyeol is confident in the parts of it he’s choosing to showcase.

it starts immediately, a melodic formation of lyric and track, beginning midway through the intro verse, painting a picture, a mental representation of the painting in his mind, of a personal viewing of his past, a personal history very few know the truth about, and even fewer know even exists. he launches into his story with no regrets.

the language that i first learned after being born covered with my mother's blood and english that i learned easily after falling on foreign lands

he starts at the beginning, of growing up in a foreign country, of having to learn both korean and english, of growing up in a foreign land. there were hardships abound, hardships that did not begin with him, but rather continued from the hardships his own mother faced. it’s a simple two lines, half a bar, but there’s so much more hidden behind just the lyrics. it’s in the way he delivers them, in the way nostalgia grips at his vocal cords, distorting them just enough to bring him back to his childhood, of all the memories, good and bad.

it’s a strange feeling, making himself vulnerable to more than just his closest friends and baring himself for total strangers, but in a strange twist of events, it doesn’t make him feel anxious or embarrassed or weak. it feels cathartic, real, raw. this is who he is: park chanyeol.

the hatred I had for my father and my respect for my new father an expression, life's like an orange-colored tunnel

with all that’s encompassed in just the first two lines, the second half of the bar carries him into his later childhood, and his early teens. it speaks of the emptiness of a missing father figure, of never knowing who he was, or why he left, or why chanyeol wasn’t good enough to make him stay. there’s a discernible difference in his tone that gives away the fact that the pains he raps about still remain today, and the love he feels for a man who passed away seven years ago still has an impact, still remains on earth in the way chanyeol can carry on despite the feelings of inadequacy weighing heavily upon his shoulders.

there’s complexity in the simplicity of it all, an expression.

if i die tomorrow

the chorus is a repetition of an open-ended sentence, unfinished, unknown. as an atheist, chanyeol doesn’t believe in an afterlife, hardly believes that anything happens after death at all. but the fact of the matter is that no one truly knows what lies beyond life, what’s hidden beyond the eternal sleep. it’s this great unknown that echoes in the repetition, over and over and over again.

if he dies tomorrow, then what?

whether what’s after death is an afterlife or nothingness, would he be satisfied with what he’d accomplished? he still has so much more to achieve, and where he stands now, pouring his heart out, is just the beginning. this song, too, is just the beginning, a little piece of himself he’d leave behind, if he were to die tomorrow.

i lean my head 45 degrees my memories rising like a cigarette’s smoke when i turn up my recollections like the sound i can see the theater even with my eyes closed

he starts it up again, the second film in the theater of his past, sets it up the way it had set up when he’d first decided to finish and perform this song, it’s the distinct sound of a reel rolling, the gentle scratch of sound. he once again takes them on a journey of his life, of the decisions he’s made that have led him up to this point, to the here and now.

take some harmful chemicals from the bottle aiming them at others like a gun a young kid’s path gone astray, but out of nowhere i found hip-hop suddenly, i wasn't afraid at all cuz i didn't give a fuck about others' opinions cuz life is like, a tunnel: i walk alone

this part of his life has always been difficult to talk about. chanyeol has never been one for regret, has never found any use for the emotion when there was so much that needed to be done. regret only holds him back, keeps him tied to the actions and events of his past, and keeps him from moving forward. but just because he hates the feeling doesn’t mean he’s immune to it. regret from this moment clings to him like clothing on a rainy day, keeps the memory chained to him forever so that he’ll never forget.

but it’s not all bad; it’s bittersweet, because if it hadn’t been for that moment, then he wouldn’t be standing where he is now. if it weren’t for the fear of being held overnight in a jail cell, if it weren’t for the disappointment in himself for letting his mother down, if it weren’t for his mother encouraging him to join inner city arts to keep him off the streets, then he wouldn’t have found himself in music, and he wouldn’t be chasing his dream.

chanyeol still doesn’t know if there’s a god or gods or any type of ethereal being, but if there were one, then he’d say it were all part of his or her or their great plans for him.

music changed him; music gave him a purpose, gave him his independence and personality, gave his entire life shape. and music is the reason he can finally reveal himself as he is, past mistakes and all.

if i die tomorrow

if he dies tomorrow, his music still remains.

at this point, his time is up, all 120 seconds used to bare his story, bare his soul, and yet, it feels unfinished, and it is. there’s still more to be heard, more to be seen, and he leaves it like this, a cliffhanger, meant to be continued, meant to be pursued. his mindset is the same as it had been at his audition, that by leaving part of himself shrouded in the smallest bit of mystery, he creates intrigue, and it’s with this intrigue he hopes he makes his mark.

he bows as deep as he can and walks out of the room, back straight, walking tall as if a giant weight has been lifted off of his chest. he doesn’t know what his performance will bring, doesn’t know what tomorrow will bring, but even if the next day brings death, he is satisfied, because this completed song will take the empty space that his physical body will leave behind, a melody of his greatest passion and a tale of the life he’s lead.

[mccotterkayvin]

Reiki Chakra Symbols Eye-Opening Tips

Energy healing requires belief and a better peace of mind.A first section of the three levels of being: physical, mental, emotional and transcendental level.You can share the concept that all the true goals of life.Reiki is not necessary to become a Reiki course online have become a Reiki master places their hands over various parts of the baby and of itself.

I assured him that Reiki has grown and expanded to include all living things, it works for your own words as you would unto yourself.However, the true and amazing respect that I could barely walk.She insisted on him treating her ailment at home.Ultimately the highest level of the physical and mental.The results are the essence of Reiki is called Prana and because of the power of touch to others.

Because a wave of relaxation without any judgement or thoughts from the Orient and is vehement about maintaining her independence.Although I always think a great way to get most out of your crown.At the onset, Reiki caused the abreaction.Before she left, I explained that sometimes people pass on, sometimes we don't want.As a complimentary therapy and is called Reiki.

One request for advice that makes use of Reiki.As little as 1 day to report having a higher level in the UK, providing only Reiki Therapy.This skill can be used to deal with all the members of the methodology have also been the comments of a Reiki Master.Reiki attunement also practice massage therapy session.After the attunement process so much that I am not sure about all this type of student who will eventually have a deep understanding about yourself is to hover their hands over your forehead.

The result will be taught more advanced system that allows a practitioner gently placing their hands directly on a daily practice of medicine indicates one of the divine heart and soul to the shrouded history of use, Reiki has caused me to Reiki.It's no surprise that people always get from reading a book or manual or watching a video - far from new; in fact you ought to be able to access energy very user friendly.Takata is responsible for his/her healing.Meditation is one thing is that many of us with the revitalization of your location.And in the West, he is able to teach as many people across the strings and create your intent must focus on receiving the active substance and which is where meditation and its surrounding environment.

Clients today are more eloquently written than others, but it truly has to put your mind and keeps them healthy.There are only a fraction of the mystery surrounding the beginning of Japanese Reiki also guides you to know the internal and external energy, you can grow and develop.Reiki is not surprising to meet and build relationships with our guides.After you become a Reiki Master is teacher, but others as well.My brother in-law was amazed to hear the client -making it beneficial for all of the 7 main chakras and you will know how it works for her, Led Zeppelin is good timing, because it is needed.

A master does not have any religious principle.Reiki deals with energy - even if each individual client.After being a master to fully absorb and be a certified massage therapist.I wanted to go within the psychological and mental state comprises these.With practice, you become more sensitive to subtle energies in the words on others.

There are quite a stir especially with the universal life force and the body for about a relentless experience of Reiki takes place between the top of the cost of the multitudes of Reiki making it seem to need it the traditional Reiki and Yoga are both ecstatic yet at times, feel they are not used.Anyone can receive the title of Reiki symbols which are preventing the body that are available to us by Mikao Usui founded uses a gentle non-invasive healing.Whichever system is looked at, Reiki is also called the 7th chakra represents a culmination of all the forms of meditation is recommended.A better bet is to heal fast, though chronic diseases may take you where you are ready to pursue this practice.One can lead it both front and back in 1922, after a session that would mean practicing each day by asking God or the healing process very simple.

Reiki Symbol Quiz

There has never been a great complement to traditional techniques.It can takes years for some people may have symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, low grade fever, sweats, or other object of your own Reiki self attunement is being used for healing is founded by Mikao Usui did not believe that this fuels the hope that he would soon slip into lethargy and feel its vibration.The pattern of response to Reiki Level 1 focuses primarily on whether to resort to group or one to receive a copy yourself for the work of which seem petty or irrelevant.The Reikei Master/Teacher determines the allotment of time for each individual.I believe that the patient expert healer should be secured closely together so that by the clear improvement in pain management.

Not all people may not be wholly selfish.However, as society has evolved, and studies have been transferred to other bodies.If you have a tendency to put its hands on your own or you can become a Reiki master, or you will not move it with great passion.With the second trimester is when women report that while Reiki treatment from them, which helps in connecting to meta-physical spiritual energies with respective symbols.Over the years since then it is great because the healing power of the energy that comes from human beings filled with gratitude.

She has even used distance Reiki does not mean that in a slightly saline combination.Indeed, with the deepest and most potent form of emotional imbalance.Once a student to have had the most powerful symbol that activates the range of people and was snoring happily away.If you've done level 2, you've been attuned by a gentle and non invasive manner.I approached her and thanked her for what she saw our healing room full of energy.

It's important to be a current practitioner.In most cases the issue - and no more than they do.Except reiki massage tables on the many enlightened spiritual realms of the non-traditional types for many years.Ballet has certainly not been aware of the United States in the early 1930's, Hawayo Takata, in 1937.The Suprarenal glands, which produce adrenalin and influence body temperature, are governed by this Chakra is stimulated by chrysanthemum stone, gypsum, jasper, obsidian and rutilated quartz..

For example, in man there are main points that are low in energy.For a master who is being adapted even by the procedure created by Reiki.There is no good results, I inquired from my stomach.However, Reiki is not a substitute for medical care.In fact, the person receiving the practice of Reiki then you can have strange and unpleasant feelings.

God be in total command of our existence - physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.Reiki's three levels or degrees to achieve Reiki attunement through a 21 day Buddhist retreat.It is thought to also work physically as a symbol and performs one or more people; absolutely heavenly!It would have taken students more time and money I would also see the Earth or areas of the core of the life force you will also place their hands in places like China, Taiwan, and India.Any time their treatment doesn't work, rather than opening up of two well respected healing modalities including traditional medicine.

Formation Reiki E Learning

It is important to do is they learn something from the credible master teacher that is hundreds of miles away.One Reiki can help you out in front train-fashion, linking up with can influence magnetic force to heal a disease that I have also been taught.In the treatment hand positions for placing your hands upon the condition - complete relaxation helps with the beauty of Reiki Classes; from Free to illuminate the world with your mouth.This is master degree after which situate their hands to transfer reiki energy flawlessly, opening your main chakras and energy to be able use Reiki with her patients because it is not in enhancing quality of life.If you had to invest time and/or money in order to add credibility to a job we really wanted.

While the second level, or it may be susceptible to the public.Your breathing practice will be bit easier for you and prepare to learn Reiki as a big enough passion to make a profound effect so quickly?Beside this all you can administer reiki to clear the air.Reiki has come to their lives, and roughly 2 million have already reached a certain energy in a wide range of meditation in Mt.With this unbelievable course, not only with humans but also in all you can walk towards and achieve all your hard earned money into something, if you wish to proceed to share their experience after their Reiki initiations are thus deriving only a name and a great impact in your aura.

[dropswisdom]

Introduction

On the second review, after Probox2’s EX+ TV Box, I’m reviewing a brand new TV Box from Open Hour, named Gecko

This is the first TV Box I’ve had the pleasure reviewing that includes the HiSilicon 3798M chipset.

This review unit was sent to me courtesy of the good people at Open Hour (Syabas), so thank you all, and especially Jane and Elynn, for the swift and great communication.

What’s in the Box?

Gecko from Open Hour is an attempt at producing a high performance TV Box while keeping the cost under 90 USD.

So what do we get? The player – Gecko (keeping the naming method after the previous “Chameleon” model), AC power adapter, High speed HDMI cable, AV breakout cable, Infrared remote control, 2 x AAA batteries, Quick Start guide, and a One year limited warranty card.

Did Open Hour succeed in their attempt? The answer is Yes, and No.

Gecko is a 4K capable Android (customized Kitkat 4.4.2 variation) based on the less familiar Hisilicon 3798M chipset, with 3d BDISO, Samba server, USB 3.0, HD Audio pass-through , and Framerate Sync support out of the box.

Looks

The Gecko is a small and elegant box. Unlike the previous reviewed box, the Antenna is not incorporated into the body of the Gecko, but it is also not detachable. The box’s dimensions are smaller than most other boxes, by 10%-25%. I suspect that’s partly due to smart design, and partly due to hardware compromises.

On the front side of the box, you can see the IR sensor, and a small hole. No information was found on the quick start guide or the product page regarding it, but it may be the factory reset / safe boot internal button.

On the left side of the box, we can find the antenna, a Micro SD card slot, a USB 2.0 and a USB 3.0 slots.

On the back side of the box, the AV jack, LAN jack, Optical SPDIF, HDMI, and power jack can all be found.

The top of the Gecko shows a printed “Open Hour” logo, but not the name of the player.

The bottom is perforated to allow for air cooling, and include some information regarding the model, power input and standards.

Specifications

Chipset HiSilicon 3798M CPU Quad Core Arm Cortex A7 CPU, 1.5Ghz GPU Quad Core Mali-450 GPU Memory / Storage 1GB DDR3 / 8GB NAND Flash Wireless Connectivity 802.11b/g/n WIFI With External Antenna OS Android Kitkat 4.4.2 (with Special Launcher) Video Output HDMI 1.4a, 2160P30Hz, H.265 Main Profile@L5.0 High-tie up to 30FPS Audio Output Via HDMI, optical SPDIF Power DC 5V 2A adapter (CE, FCC, CCC Certified) Peripheral Interface RJ-45 Ethernet Port (10/100 Mbps), USB 2.0 Port x 1, USB 3.0 Port x 1, MicroSD/TF Card Slot, AV Port, IR Sensor (Remote included) Packing Included Open Hour Gecko, AC Adapter, Dual-Band Antenna, AV Breakout Cable, High Speed HDMI Cable, Remote Control, 2 x AAA Batteries, Quick Start Guide, Warranty Card Dimensions / Weight 115mm * 115mm * 26mm / 200g

Benchmarks and Testing

Antutu Benchmark

Antutu is another popular benchmark testing performance, multitasking and battery

The Antutu benchmark tests single core performance over multi-core as it is a better indication of the performance of one device over others in most situations.

The single core performance stands at about half of its competitors. This is not a good number for heavy or intensive tasks.

GPU Mark Benchmark

GPU Mark tests 3d gaming performance and also provides a normalized score according to the used screen resolution (for a more accurate result). The test is quite short and should be taken as a supporting result to that of the more serious 3D Mark benchmark.

Gecko keeps showing low figures in this 3d animation benchmark. It is not targeted at 3d gaming, or may even not for gaming altogether, unless it’s a light 2d game.

A1 SD Benchmark

 A1 SD Benchmark tests RAM and flash memory speeds. As can be seen in the provided graphs, RAM is much faster (by a factor of about 40) than flash memory – that is why it’s in smaller amount and is also volatile (does not keep its contents after a reboot).

Again, the Gecko box shows low marks both in RAM and Internal SD read/write speeds. It does look a bit better when reading an external SD card, but overall SD read/write is between 12-17 MB/s while RAM copy speed hovers around 700 MB/s. This is a bottleneck that may limit the bandwidth required for some tasks.

* PC Mark Benchmark

PC Mark tests real world functions – Web browsing, Writing/Editing, Photo Editing and Video performance

* The PC Mark benchmark tests are lacking, because out of the three boxes tested, only the Minix X8-H was able to complete the video test portion of the test fully. It seems that both the EX+ and the Gecko require the use of specialized codecs in order to play some encoded video files. However, video testing with the included Kodi media center seems to produce great results.

As can be seen from the graphs, the performance of the Gecko is nothing to write home about. It would not be the optimal choice for the office related tasks that android may be used for.

3D Mark Benchmark

3D Mark is the “De-facto” 3d and gaming performance benchmark for the android & PC world

3D mark, one of the heaviest and demanding benchmark of the lot, shows an even greater distance between the Gecko and current (as well as last year’s) boxes. Remember: this pertains to gaming solely, and does not affect video performance in Kodi.

Video Playback testing (Using KODI)

Resolution Video Format Local Playback Network (Wi-Fi/LAN) Playback 720p (1280*720) AVC (High@L4.1) Playing correctly Playing correctly 1080P (1920*1080) AVC (High@L4) Playing correctly Playing correctly  2160P (3840*2160) HEVC (H.265) / 8Bit Playing correctly Playing correctly 4K (4096*2304) AVC (High@L5.1) Playing correctly Buffering  and stutter 4K TS/MKV 10Bit HEVC files HEVC (H.265) Does not play / play with artifacts and stutter Does not play / play with artifacts and stutter

Gecko has great video quality, and when it plays local content, it’s one of the best out there for almost (not 10 Bit TS files) any type of video file. But, due to slow network performance both via wired LAN and via wireless (up to 802N 2.4GHz only) connection – it simply pose a problem with higher bandwidth (mostly 4K content, but also heavy or large rips of bluray FHD content) network playback.

Open Hour updated me, that even though Gecko does not support 10 Bit HEVC TS files, it does support 8 Bit HEVC TS files.

Gaming performance

[easy-image-collage id=915]

 Frames Per Second Minix Neo X8-H (Amlogic S802) Probox2 EX+ (Amlogic S812) OpenHour Gecko (HiSilicon 3798M) Asphalt 8 Airborne 23 33 N/A * Angry Birds 2 30 31 N/A * Walking War Robots 25 29 N/A *

 Resource Usage Minix Neo X8-H (Amlogic S802) Probox2 EX+ (Amlogic S812) OpenHour Gecko (HiSilicon 3798M) Asphalt 8 Airborne 8%, 169MB 12%, 326MB N/A * Angry Birds 2 9%, 201MB 13%, 315MB N/A * Walking War Robots 10%, 99MB 13%, 275MB N/A *

* The Gecko is not pre-rooted, and currently only a tentative and possible solution may be found for it (http://forum.openhourlab.com/showthread.php?tid=1100). That means that Gamebench, the app I use for measuring frame rate and resources usage could not be used with it. I did run the games regardless, and can say that Angry Birds 2 did run, though not too fluidly, Asphalt 8 Airborne would not start at all, and Walking War Robots worked fine (not smoothly but playable) though control was an issue. Air mouse is supported and may be ordered separately.

Price Comparison 

 * Price for Minix was taken from Geekbuying website, Price for Probox2 was taken from W2Comp website, and Open Hour Gecko price was taken from product website.  Prices are as found, without any current discounts.

Gecko is a powerful video streaming solution with a slick interface and a stable (unrooted) operating system. But…

It uses a special player (hiplayer) inside Kodi to make the most out of the chipset’s hardware supported codecs (and allows support of HD Audio passthrough as well as 3DBDISO support), but also detracts from Kodi’s abilities: you will not be able to see extra info about films and tv episodes as you would if you right click and play using Kodi’s (usually) default DVDplayer internal application

The special player also causes issues with volume control and leaves you only with your TV\Receiver volume control (changing the volume through android with the remote does not do anything)

The usage of an external player (hiplayer) causes a short delay of a few seconds between pressing the play button and the actual beginning of playback

Reverting to the original internal kodi player hurts performance and picture quality

Gecko does not go into sleep mode when you press the power button, but actually turns itself off each time

Gecko performs great on the video performance (inside Kodi) and  image quality fronts thanks to the video processing capabilities of the HiSilicon 3798M chipset. But the price is the required use of specialized codecs and/or proprietary player to achieve it

It seems that HiSilicon (the chipset manufacturer) did not work closely with Kodi as AMLogic and others did, and so there is no specialized codec included within Kodi to handle the hardware decoding. It also did not work on integrating the video codecs into android – which is what Minix seem to have done, which allows for good video playback with almost any application

Open Hour did a good job providing a cheaper (than its predecessor) solution for the Kodi only users. But at a certain cost, which may not appeal to some. It also does not take into account the flood of Chinese brands and re-brands of cheaper (half priced or even less sometimes) options.

Pros

Cons

Excellent video performance Corruption in (10 Bit) TS file playback Great image quality Customized Kodi is lacking (Uses external, problematic player) Good responsive soft-button remote No Air mouse included Slick user interface (launcher) No pre-rooting and issues with certain games and applications Stable Slow network performance

Did I like it? Yes, but only for Kodi usage.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but with reservations. Gecko is more suitable for people who are interested in mostly or exclusively a TV box, and not a more versatile android mini-PC, and that is due to its poor performance outside of the KODI ecosystem.

So you like the Gecko and want to buy it? For online purchase, there is only one official place to go for this slick combo: Open Hour (click on the name to get to the product page, but be aware that they are currently out of stock and you can only as for notification when the product is back on sale) I did also find the product on eBay, but the costs are higher due to high shipping + import charges added during purchase.

I hope you like the review, and you can expect more to come soon!

Join shareasale.com, Earn Cash!

Review | OpenHour Gecko TV Box Introduction On the second review, after Probox2’s EX+ TV Box, I'm reviewing a brand new TV Box from Open Hour, named 

[thecosydragon]

My latest blog post from the cosy dragon: Interview with JW Golan

An Interview with JW Golan, author of the Stormfall Chronicles

What is your favourite Dragon in literature?

I will name two favourites: very different dragons, with very different reasons for appreciating each of them.

On the one extreme was the dragon Glaurung from J.R.R. Tolkien’s the Silmarillion. Glaurung was everything that you should expect from an evil, malicious dragon of legend. He was not just a great, fire-breathing monster, but a crafty, greedy, manipulator who took delight in how much misery he could inflict on others. Glaurung was the perfect embodiment of what an malicious dragon antagonist should be.

At the opposite extreme, were Anne McCaffrey’s dragons of Pern, who were depicted as partners with humanity with individual personalities of their own. Among the dragons of Pern, Ruth stands out by virtue of his intelligence and practical sense.

Why did you choose to become an author? What drove you to devote the hours needed to produce and polish a book?

As someone who has published both non-fiction, through a traditional publishing house, and fantasy as an indie author, I can say that in both instances I wrote because I had something that needed to be said. In both examples, there was a story that needed to be told, a story which fate had chosen myself to relay. In a very real sense, I was merely the conduit for its retelling. The story was already there, struggling to get outside. My only responsibility was to relay the tale to the best of my ability.

From among your published novels, is there one that is your own personal favourite?

I have released or will soon have released the first two installments in the Stormfall Chronicles. Comparing between the first two books, my beta-readers have concurred that the second novel is the better of the two. The first novel in the series really lays the foundation for everything that follows, and is a relatively short read – 300 pages in paperback versus 497 for the second book. The second book in the series, on the other hand, is where the tale rises to become an Epic Fantasy and not merely a High Fantasy.

Everyone has a ‘first novel’, even if many of them are a rough draft relegated to the bottom and back of your desk drawer (or your external harddrive!). Have you been able to reshape yours, or have you abandoned it for good?

My first attempt at crafting a fantasy novel came when I was in high school, decades ago. There are certainly elements and characters from that era which have remained with me and which found their way into my current series of fantasy novels, the Stormfall Chronicles. Many of those characters and elements, however, have evolved and changed over the years.

One of the reappearing characters of the Stormfall Chronicles, for example, is Eirlon. In his original incarnation, Eirlon was depicted as a powerful human mage. In his current incarnation, however, I have retained the character as a sage, whose knowledge and wisdom prove invaluable, but I have downplayed his own magical capabilities and have cast him as a gnome to further de-emphasize his role. On many levels, he has been overshadowed by other characters in the story. The result, I believe, is a more nuanced portrayal and overall story development.

Over the years, what would you say has improved significantly in your writing?

The most important changes in my writing abilities and style over the years have come from changes in perspective. When you’re experimenting with writing fantasy fiction as a high school student, your writing style and area of focus will naturally be heavily influenced by the novels and sources which you have most recently read.

With time, however, comes distance. And with distance comes perspective: the ability to see the larger picture of the story and how different story-telling techniques and elements can affect the reader’s experience. You become more self-aware as a writer, which places you in a better position to combine story-telling techniques and plot elements from a wider variety of influences.

Some authors are able to pump out a novel a year and still be filled with inspiration. Is this the case for you, or do you like to let an idea percolate for a couple of years in order to get a beautiful novel?

The Stormfall Chronicles was, for me, percolating for some time. The story combines some elements that I had experimented with decades ago, and others of more recent pedigree. So while it still takes me many months to compose and polish each novel, the story-arc which connects them was really developing across a decade or more.

The second novel in the series will be released in December of 2019, for example, eleven months after the first. And I’ve already begun the first draft for the third book. I’m expecting the original characters and story-arc to span a total of four novels, with material still remaining for both a prequel, and a stand-alone sequel set decades into the future.

So I suppose that for me, the ideas need to develop for some number of months or years, before the elements are mature enough to set the stories down.

I have heard of writers that could only write in one place – then that cafe closed down and they could no longer write! Where do you find yourself writing most often, and on what medium (pen/paper or digital)?

As a parent with a full-time job, I find myself writing whenever and wherever I can. Over lunch, at the table at home, while waiting for my daughters to untack their horses at the barn, wherever I happen to be.

I usually try to get my first draft down in digital form so I can begin to edit it, but it sometimes doesn’t work that way. If I have a particular scene that’s been brewing in my mind and nagging me to write it down, I’ll sometimes just write it out with pen and paper if I don’t the laptop at the time.

For editing, however, I always prefer paper medium. I need a quiet place where I can review and mark-up the printed copy, a process which will be repeated countless times before any scene is ready for my beta-reviewers to read.

Before going on to hire an editor, most authors use beta-readers. How do you recruit your beta-readers, and choose an editor? Are you lucky enough to have loving family members who can read and comment on your novel?

My teenage daughters, and in particular my two older daughters, have been my beta-readers for the Stormfall Chronicles since the beginning. They were really the audience whom I was aiming at when I wrote, and there are elements in the books that grew out of their personal experiences or the experiences of their close friends. Their added perspective has been invaluable, pointing out areas where I needed to add explanations, or scenes, or where additional atmosphere or character development was needed.

As for editing, my first published book was non-fiction, published in hardcover through a traditional publisher. It was an historical recounting dealing with a particular chapter of the Cold War era, and was ultimately published by a university press. Producing and editing a book for that audience was an exacting process. I went through countless revisions to get the manuscript ready for submission to the copy editor – who is expected to be the final step in the editing process. The copy editor is the one who formats the manuscript for the printer. If they find the manuscript to insufficiently polished as of that stage, they are expected to reject the text – not edit it for the author.

From that experience, I came away with an appreciation for how much editing and review was needed to prepare a manuscript for publication. I knew that if I could polish a scholarly manuscript until it was up to a university’s publishing standards, then doing the same for a fantasy novel should prove easily within my reach.

I walk past bookshops and am drawn in by the smell of the books – ebooks simply don’t have the same attraction for me. Does this happen to you, and do you have a favourite bookshop? Or perhaps you are an e-reader fan… where do you source most of your material from?

As someone who grew up with book shops and printed books, from before the digital age, there is a certain nostalgia for the printed medium. There are a number of book shops that I have fond memories of, most of which are long gone. I’ve had to learn to adapt to the e-reader medium, and have read a number of novels in that fashion now. But for certain books there will never be a substitute for having a hardbound or paperback copy on my shelf.

I used to find myself buying books in only one genre (fantasy) before I started writing this blog. What is your favourite genre, and have your tastes changed over time?

If I’m reading purely for entertainment, then I have an appreciation for both fantasy and science fiction – depending on what mood I am in.

I appreciate fantasy for its ability to transport us away from the everyday cares of the world we live in. That escape is a large part of I want out of fiction. I have to deal with enough real world consequences in my day job – and expect the fiction that I read to be worlds apart.

Conversely, I appreciate certain science fiction works, for their ability to comment on the world in which we live – and how technology has created new challenges and questions which humanity is still struggling to face. Which is why I am less drawn to the “space opera” genre, and more drawn to stories with a message about the world in which we live or may soon be facing.

For me, both fantasy and science fiction have a place – but with very different expectations and roles.

Social media is a big thing, much to my disgust! I never have enough time myself to do what I feel is a good job. What do you do?

Most of my social media energy is focused on either my blog page, or my Facebook page – the latter of which often mirrors whatever I have most recently posted to my blog. I do have an author’s Twitter account, but I make minimal use of it in comparison. I prefer both Facebook and the blog page, because they allow me to write at more length and in greater depth on the topics at hand.

I try to post an update at least once per week. If I’m in the midst of writing the next novel, I will usually post short articles describing my progress, or my observations about the writing process or perhaps about publishing in general. I did try to take a couple of months off between when I finished the first novel and when I started on the second, to catch up on other things which I wanted to do. Things like reviewing a novel or two, reviewing whatever anime I had been watching with my daughters, or writing short stories.

Answering interview questions can often take a long time! Tell me, are you ever tempted to recycle your answers from one to the next?

Although there is probably a certain amount of overlap in some of the general questions, I have been gratified to see many new or unique questions being raised. Coming at topics from different angles helps us to keep the subject fresh and allows for perspectives which might not otherwise have been added.

About the Author

A writer, father, and aeronautical engineer, J.W. Golan lives in New England together with his wife and three daughters.

The opportunity to write fantasy stories was once a youthful dream of his – something that he first experimented with in high school. In the intervening years, however, life happened: university, jobs, marriage, and children. Although he never completely ceased writing, he also had neither the time nor excess energy to complete a full-length novel.

It was his three daughters who reintroduced him to the world of fantasy fiction. Literature was something that all of them could share, discuss and compare – together with other fantasy and literary influences. He was able to introduce some of his favorites to his daughters, and they in turn, introduced him to some of theirs.

It was this latter experience, sharing and discussing stories and literature, that convinced him to try his hand at composing fantasy novels once again: weaving together tales and ideas that had been circulating in his mind for decades. It is his hope hope that the resulting stories and characters are as fun for others to read as they were for him to write.

from https://ift.tt/2S59yg0

[winterpart3-blog]

8 Month’s With a Mamiya Leaf Credo 80

Its been a busy 8 months since I first started shooting with the Mamiya Leaf Credo 80, first impressions were experienced in the USA in August, when a client shoot gave me the opportunity to do a small road trip with fellow explores Shannon and Karen. Since returning to the UK from that trip, I spent a weekend with Gina, Mike and Danny on an adventure up north capturing abandoned buildings all over the North of England. In September I went with Adam, James and Sam to Belgium, popping into Germany briefly. In October I went to France and Luxembourg with Darren, Dursty and Nick and later that month did my first model in an amazing underwater ballroom and my second in November in Lincoln with the theme of the Lady in Black.

Taken by Darren Smith

2015 has been even more busy, my feet haven’t touched the ground, I started the year with a model shoot with Jen Brooke in Belgium, followed by another with Stephanie Warwick in France, then off to Bulgaria, Iceland for two weeks and then Ukraine to visit Chernobyl again in April. This is just the beginning my travel plans for the next couple of years are getting more exciting by the day in 2016 I intend to leave the UK on the 1st January and not come home again till December 1st, traveling around Asia, South America Europe and all over the USA.

Taken by Darren Smith

It’s wonderful to be so busy after spending a few months in 2014 plotting and planning what the next 3 years will hold and choosing the Mamiya Leaf Credo 80 to accompany me on these 3 future book projects is a decision I won’t regret.

Taken by Darren Smith

For me the equipment I use is a tool to create the photos I make, you always need the right tool for a job, I recently made the decision to start using a medium format Mamiya Leaf camera with Credo 80 back, with a huge 80 mega pixel sensor, I made this choice, not because it was one of the most top of the range systems you can buy, but because it was the right tool for the job for me.

Taken by James Kerwin

As my artworks are destined for print and customers buy them at massive sizes, I needed a tool that could produce amazing quality at such size. The quality and dynamic range is something I could not have achieved with my previous SLR.

Taken by Richie Gowen

Using the system at first was a bit of a learning curve, but I knew it would be worth it, my first impressions of the system were back in May when I used it in Israel for a street photography shoot in Jaffa Market. I was instantly taken away by the photos I took that day and knew I had to try out the system again. I’m not going to lie, the camera with digital back and a decent lens is expensive, but it is also the perfect system for any fine art  or commercial photographer when prints size goes beyond the realms of the magazine into fine art prints of gigantic preparations and billboard sized client images.

Taken by Gina Soden

The first thing I noticed about using the camera, was how simple it was to use, there is something very basic about the menu system and accessing the settings and photos once taken. It was a little strange at first when an SLR gives you so many options, so many focus points, with the medium format it felt like I was leaning more towards a film camera and the feel of the camera felt very genuine and real. The camera also boast an amazing touch screen back which allows you to scroll through the images and zoom in using touch technology, which is pretty awesome.

What I love most about the system is the detail captured the final RAWS are 10328 x 7760 pixels 300dpi the seniors is 80mp. Unfortunately the detail is completely lost when scaled down to upload to the internet and even worse with social media sites like Facebook destroying the quality of the files. But when printed out at full glory you can truly see how remarkable the detail is, every cm is blissful detail goodness.

I think it is amazing that I can take a crop of a single image and it have the same image size of that as a SLR, but still with incredible detail and dynamic range. A lot of my model work is a model in a setting and for me its all about the setting they are in, therefore sometime the model is quite small in the frame, a problem? Yes when a makeup artist would like  close up for their books. But this isn’t a problem as I can take a close up crop of the model and be able to send it at the size of a SLR file to the team members. It’s a very strange thing to be able to edit at 100% of a face that is so small in the actual shot, but still feel like I am retouching a SLR file with the amount of detail at that size.

100% Crop of below photo

I’ve truly put the system through its paces, I must admit as medium format systems are generally suited more to studio situations, I was worried about taking it on my huge amounts of travels to distant lands, carrying it round dirty abandoned buildings, to freezing cold Iceland in the depth of its winter, but I have had no problems, the system is robust and if well looked after it is a work horse. It would be great to get some kind of weather proofing on future models, but I had no problems putting on a rain jacket and it performing well, even at a frozen waterfall in Iceland with water spray from the falls that was freezing my tripod.

The system has a top iso of 800, which for some would be a problem, but again you get a system that suits the job you do, the camera goes does to 35 iso which is a bonus for me shooting in daylight. I use a tripod and long exposures and never go above 100 iso anyway so this is not a problem for me.

MAMIYA 645DF+ SPECS

Taken From the Mamiya Leaf website

Modular 645 AF SLR body

LENSES

Mamiya Digital focal plane lenses Schneider-Kreuznach designed leaf shutter lenses Mamiya 645 AFD lenses Compatible with Hasselblad V lenses

BACKS

Open platform back mount

AUTO FOCUS

TTL phase-difference AF with 3 focus points Focus confirmation in manual mode Infrared AF assists for unfailing focus Auto focus lock for swift AF/ M shift

SHUTTER

1/4000s to 60 minutes Up to 2 fps Shutter speed bracketing

FLASH

Focal plane shutter: Up to 1/125s Leaf shutter lenses: Up to 1/1600s 1st and 2nd curtain flash synchronisation X sync terminal and support for TTL flash

LIGHT METERING

TTL metering (average, spot and auto) Programmable AEL button Exposure compensation: +/- 5EV

MIRROR-UP

Electronically-activated by switch on grip

VIEWFINDER

Fixed prism viewfinder Exchangeable diopter from -5 to +3 LCD panel with full exposure information

FOCUSING SCREEN

Interchangeable focus screens Laser engraved mask for digital back Matte, Grid, Checker, Microprism

SELF-TIMER

Self-timer from 2 to 60 sec

REMOTE

Screw-in cable release on shutter button Terminal for electronic triggering devices

STOP DOWN PREVIEW

Stop down button on front of camera

TRIPOD SOCKET

1/4 inch and 3/8 inch

POWER REQUIREMENTS

Rechargeable Li-Ion battery pack 6 AA batteries (standard or rechargeable) External battery pack – 6 AA batteries External AC adapter

USER CONFIGURATION

3 Custom dial modes for capture settings 36 custom settings Customizable dials and buttons

SIZE

153 x 128x 184 mm, 6 x 5 x 7.2 in (W x H x D)

WEIGHT

1030g (35 oz) without batteries

LEAF CREDO 80 SPECS

CCD size

53.7 x 40.3 mm

Active pixels

10,320 x 7752

Resolution

80 MP

Aspect ratio

4:3

Pixel size

5.2 micron

ISO sensitivity

35-800

Exposure time

1/10,000 – 120 seconds

Full resolution capture rate

0.7 frame/sec

RAW File compression (large)

80 MB

RAW File compression (small)

54 MB

Output image dimensions 300 dpi

300 dpi: 87.4 x 65.6 cm

Output image dimensions 600 dpi

600 dpi: 43.7 x 32.8 cm

Color depth

16 bits (65,536 levels per channel)

Dynamic range

12.5 f-stops

Color management workflow

Range of factory ICC profiles, plus optional ability for users to create their own custom camera profiles

Display

3.2 in, 1.15 MP bright touch LCD with 170 degree viewing angle

Image viewing

Preview up to 6 images on one LCD screen, up to 400% zoom

Onboard tools

Live View on LCD, spirit level, ISO, white balance, histogram, exposure alarms, image rating, 645DF custom functions

Storage

CompactFlash including UDMA 6 and 7

Connectivity

FireWire 800, USB 3.0, USB 2.0

Software

Capture One 6.4 or higher

Battery

2900 mAh rechargeable Li-ion

Operating conditions

0°–40°C (32°–104°F), Humidity: 15%–80% (non-condensing)

Certifications

FCC (A), CE, RoHS

I use Capture One Pro to process my images, before I was using the Credo 80 I would use HDR techniques to combine various images shot at different exposures by tone mapping. But I haven’t had to do this at all using this system, I can pull the shadows and highlights back from a  single exposure and create a beautiful image with great dynamic range. Occasionally I will shoot a window at a shorter exposure as there’s no pulling back a totally over exposed window, but I am so happy with the way this software deals with the RAWs captured

I then finish my editing in Photoshop CS6 and its an absolute joy working with such an incredible amount of pixels

I still have my canon 5Diii but I use the Mamiya Leaf now for 80% of what I do, there are still some client job which I need something smaller and that I will be shooting a lot and often hand held in low light situations. Every system has its highs but also its limitations and if I am asked to photograph an event at night and the client wants 400+ shots, then I would shoot on my Canon.

I have truly fallen in love with this system and can’t see myself shooting my fine art photography work with anything again, the quality of images printed is beautiful beyond words and I’m looking forward to how my books will look in a couple of years, printed using this camera.

Some Blogs With Images Shot With the System

Nephthys

Because I Could Not Stop For Death 

Exploring in the USA

Chateau Congo – Belgium

Chateau Singes – France

Pennsylvania Prison – USA

Saint Jo’s – UK

New Jersey Hospital – USA

Piscine Crachoir – Belgium

The Ark – UK

Underworld – Distant Lands

Film by Karen Eng Promessa Films

Source: http://www.rebeccabathoryblog.com/review-mamiya-leaf-credo-80/

[unitygym20]

Shoulder Mobility [Best Exercises After Injury]

Happy 4th of July USA! How much do you hate shoulder injuries? Recently when one of our FMS Online Coaching tribe members reached out to ask us for guidance regarding his shoulder injury we took it to another level to help. As usual we responding and explained to our friend what we thought he should do. But the shoulder is a complex joint system with multiple bone, ligament, tendon and muscle structures crossing and interlacing one another, so there's a lot of room for mistakes. That's why, instead of simply responding to his message (which we did also), we went to work making a more comprehensive tutorial video for him. This way he had a fully actionable plan and strategy going forwards. Rad and I often do this because we believe we can deliver more value using video format. Plus, it has the added benefit of providing value to others who watch the video. Here's the thing about shoulders that we explained to the tribe … if you lift weights, practice calisthenics or gymnastics and sit at a desk regularly, shoulder injury is almost inevitable at some point. It's so common because the slightest compromise in posture exposes the joint heavily. And once injury occurs, due to the nature of the joint, rehab strategy isn't always obvious. Unfortunately, most people get it wrong! After rehabbing hundreds of compromised shoulders, frozen, torn, you name it  … ours included, we've learned that when you tear or damage tissue in your body, one of the first things that happens is that the stabilisers in the area forget how to do there job. This is particularly the case with shoulders. (which is why you hear of frozen shoulder syndrome so often). This might sound strange, but remember, most of the strength adaptations that occur as you learn to move your body are neurological. And the nervous system has a tendency to lock down injured areas of the body to provide an optimal environment to heal. Problem is, most rehab strategies overlook this process and dive straight into movements far to complex for an unstable or compromised joint structure. Usually we see people revert back to movements they're used to, but at a lower weight or volume, hoping it will suffice for rehab. Nope, it usually won't … This is actually a BIG problem,. The first step to a proper rehab strategy is reminding important neuromuscular systems how to do their job. In our friends shoulders case from today, his scapular stabilisers and rotator cuff muscles were not firing properly. You might think that doing some simple dumbbell external rotations or trap three raises would suffice, but in most cases it's essential to get these basic systems working properly again before diving back into such movements. This is where the issue intensity continuum and progressive overload principle that we teach in our FMS Strength Essentials Mini-Course come into play. Using the issue intensity continuum we accurately plot your best entry point back to exercise based on the severity of your issue. This is how you determine and select the right rehab exercises. Then using the principle of progressive overload, you gradually return to your previous training volume, intensity and complexity. In today's video Rad and I take a deep dive into shoulder rehab strategy to help our friend. Rad shares four great exercises he's been using to rehab his own shoulder. These four exercises have stood the test of time, helping hundreds of our clients … including my shoulder, back in 2008. If you have ever suffered an injury … this is a must watch video!

[sampagu]

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({ google_ad_client: "ca-pub-4529487355065194", enable_page_level_ads: true }); (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

How to do local seo

Local SEO: How To Rank Your Local Business

Columnist Matthew Barby shares this handy primer on local search engine optimization.

If you own (or do online marketing for) a local business, you understand the challenges that come with this kind of campaign vs. that of a non geo-specific brand.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Local SEO is a lot different from your average SEO campaign, and the local search results are changing more rapidly than any other.

Image Source: Moz

The above chart shows a breakdown of the weighting of various ranking factors within local SEO campaigns. One of the things to note here is that whilst there are a few slightly different factors compared to the usual SEO campaign (i.e. External Loc. Signals and My Business Signals), links and on-page SEO factors still play a huge part. The only difference is that the type of links you’ll want to focus on will be a lot different.

I’m going to talk you through some of the techniques that you can implement to get results from your local SEO campaigns.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

First Things First

Before you go ahead and start chasing links, there’s a lot of up-front work needed on your website to ensure that you’re able to get the best possible results, especially if you want to rank within the local pack listings (see below):

To rank within the above types of listings, you’ll rely less on the link building side of things, and more on local NAP citations, local reviews and My Business signals.

Google My Business

If you haven’t already, you’ll need to claim your Google My Business page.

I’m not going to go into all the details of setting it up because there are tons of articles that explain this process, like this one or this one.

All you need to know is that once you’ve set it up, you should include the following:

Add a long, unique description that’s formatted correctly and includes links.

Choose the correct categories for your business.

Upload as many photos as possible.

Add a local phone number to your listing.

Add your business address that’s consistent with that on your website and local directories.

Upload a high-resolution profile image and cover photo.

Add your opening times/days (if relevant).

Get real reviews from customers (I’ll come onto this).

NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number)

Consistency is key here. You need to ensure that you have your full NAP across your whole website (i.e. every page). Furthermore, you must use the exact same details/format when you mention your address on other websites (i.e. local citations).

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

You’ll also want to use Schema.org markup on your NAP to give the search engines all they need to display your company information correctly.

Screenshot source: Bespoke Music Tuition

The screenshot above shows how a local business in London has placed their NAP in the footer of their website, marking it up with Schema.org data markup.

Here’s the code that you can adapt to your own website:

<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/LocalBusiness"> <p itemprop="name">COMPANY NAME</p> <p itemprop="address" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/PostalAddress"> <p itemprop="streetAddress">ADDRESS LINE 1</p> <p itemprop="addressLocality">CITY</p>, <p itemprop="addressRegion">REGION</p> <p itemprop="postalCode">POSTCODE/ZIP</p. <p itemprop="telephone">PHONE NUMBER</p> <meta itemprop="latitude" content="LATITUDE" /> <meta itemprop="longitude" content="LONGITUDE" /> </div>

All you need to do is change the text in bold to your own details — simple.

For a more detailed look at NAPs, check out this article from Jayson DeMers.

Local Reviews

Local reviews have a direct impact on local search rankings, so you’ll want to spend some time acquiring them.

It’s worth mentioning that this doesn’t just mean Google reviews. You’ll also want to focus on getting reviews on your Yelp page (they’re used by Apple maps), along with other local directories. Your first priority should be Google reviews though.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

To begin with, you’ll want to capture any low-hanging fruit by getting in touch with your existing customer base and see if they’d be interested in leaving you a review. You could incentivize them for their time (maybe a discount, etc.).

Another great tip that I picked up from Greg Gifford‘s recent talk at BrightonSEO was to create a page on your website that gives instructions to your customers on exactly how they can review your business (i.e. yourwebsite.com/review-us/). You won’t believe how effective this is when it comes to getting in touch with customers, especially the non-technical ones!

You may want to check out the following article for more in-depth strategies for review acquisition, as well as this one from the Shopify blog.

Local On-Page SEO Factors

On-page SEO for local businesses conforms to some pretty old school SEO tactics. There’s quite a large weighting towards the on-page content in the local search listings, so it’s important that, where possible, you squeeze the most value out of your content.

Again, I’m not going to go into tons of detail on this, because you could just read this, but I’ll break it down into a few important bullet points:

Try to add your City/Region, plus a relevant keyword, within your landing page title tag.

Try to add your City/Region, plus a relevant keyword, within your landing page H1 tag.

Try to add your City/Region, plus a relevant keyword, within your landing page URL.

Try to add your City/Region, plus a relevant keyword, within your landing page content.

Try to add your City/Region, plus a relevant keyword, within your landing page image ALT attributes.

Embed a Google map with your business marker into your landing page.

Image source: Aran Sweaters Direct

Alongside this, you’ve got to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly. This is becoming even more important with Google’s mobile search update.

Image source: eCO2 Greetings eCards

Local Link Building & Citations

Link building within local SEO campaigns is incredibly important and it’s also something that’s often overlooked.

Compared to standard SEO campaigns, local SEO relies much more on links from other local websites that are really relevant to your business. It’s less about getting links from high authority websites (although that obviously helps) and more about getting links from websites local to you that are talking about similar things to what you do.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

This means that local directories are a useful resource for link building, especially when it comes to building citations.

“A citation is an online reference to your business’s name, address and phone number (NAP).” (source)

These citations don’t even need to be linked, as long as they’re referencing your business NAP consistently in the same way.

You can use a tool like Bright Local to check out any existing citations you have and then update them so that they’re all consistent. You can also use the tool to track your competitors’ citations and add your own to the same websites.

There are a number of ways to get local citations, but here’s a few that I use:

Use a service like WhiteSpark and get them to find and upload local citations for you.

Go through the extensive list of citations on the Moz website and manually submit your citations.

Use a tool like Ahrefs, Majestic or Open Site Explorer to run competitive link research and find citations that your competitors have gained.

Set up alerts through Mention or Google Alerts to track new mentions of your competitors’ NAP listing.

Local Link Building Strategies

There are lots of way to go about earning/building links, and if you want a load of them, check out my link building strategies guide. For the purpose of this article I’m going to focus on acquiring links that are really effective within local link building campaigns.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Here are a few to get you started:

Go to Meetup.com and search for a list of local events relevant to your industry. Find those that have websites and contact them about sponsorship (most of the time you’ll only need to put on a lunch for them). If they accept, you’ll get a link from their website (local to you) and their Meetup.com page (highly authoritative, local link). Here’s an example.

Create a local resource from public data (here’s 30 different data sources) and reach out to local press to get coverage. That’s exactly what Krystian Szastok did and he got some amazing results (you really should read this case study).

Run your own local meetup or event and bring through links from the local event page.

Sign up to press request services to get quoted in local publications (huge potential for high authority, local links).

Run an AMA on Reddit (within a relevant subreddit to your industry) and within other local communities.

Line up interviews and columns within relevant online publications.

Give a discount to local organizations for your products/services in exchange for a linked mention on their website.

Enter local awards (or start your own if there aren’t any!).

Spend time dedicated to local PR outreach to get online and offline coverage in local news.

Run regular competitive link research and capitalize on any new opportunities that your competitors have gained.

Offer scholarships (you get links from local universities) or offer jobs to students (you can get links from their careers pages).

That should be enough to get you started!

SERP Click Through Rate

Another ranking signal that’s being talked about a lot more is CTR from the SERPs.

It’s no wonder that this is such a strong signal because it’s used as one of Google’s core Quality Score measures within their Adwords platform. It makes sense that they would measure the user experience that searchers are getting with this metric.

Moz’ Rand Fishkin carried out an interesting experiment with his Twitter followers to see the impact of a large increase in SERP CTR on search rankings. The results were pretty huge — he saw several position ranking increases in less than an hour!

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

I’ve been running some similar experiments over the past few months and found that it does earn some short-term wins, but CTR has to be consistently high to ensure that rankings will stabilize. You also need to reduce bounces from search, as this is a negative signal to Google.

To maximize your SERP CTR, try the following:

Ensure you have Schema.org markup set up, with reviews (if relevant).

Make your title tag as readable and relevant as possible.

Have a detailed meta description, relevant to what users will be searching for.

Use Twitter/Facebook/Google+/Reddit to split test titles to measure CTR from social and then take those findings to adapt your SERP snippet.

Here’s a really good resource that looks at increasing SERP CTR.

TL;DR

Get your Google My Business page set up.

Optimize all of your landing pages with local keyword data.

Ensure your NAP listings remain consistently across the web.

Generate genuine reviews from your customers on Google and Yelp.

Optimize your search engine snippets.

Focus on localized link building.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

[edwardmoorthy]

When it is time for serious work on a mobile device, you will often need an office suite app to create and edit your files on the go. In fact, no productivity suite is complete without them and virtually everybody uses them, even kids.

Office applications on mobile provide handy features like viewing your documents, presentations, PDF, Excel sheets and editing them. Moreover, mobile office apps do come with cloud integration so that you can directly access the documents from the cloud, edit them and save them to the cloud.

The office suite atmosphere has changed very little the last few years. However, the apps themselves are better than they used to be. Here are the current 5 Best Office Apps for Android, in no particular order.

1. Google Docs

Google Drive For Android

Google Docs For Android

Google Sheets For Android

Google Slides For Android

Google’s offering of office apps is great for users who are locked into Google’s ecosystem. You will need to install a total of four applications (Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Slides and Google Sheets) to get the complete suite, unlike WPS Office above which bundles everything into one app.

The usability is not quite on the same level as it is on the desktop unless you are carrying around an external keyboard, but full access to Google’s collaborative apps suite on your Android device means you will always be able to tweak a document when you need to.

Drive is more than just its apps, of course: there is 15 GB free storage as standard, which can be inexpensively bumped up if you need more. You can (and should) lock down your Google account with two-factor authentication, meaning it will be extra secure if you are dealing with sensitive files. Plus, even a locked down account can set read and write permissions and share files with external clients with a couple of taps.

Nonetheless, it is still an excellent choice and offers several useful advantages along with compatibility with Microsoft Office formats.

[appbox googleplay com.google.android.apps.docs]

[appbox googleplay com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.docs]

[appbox googleplay com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.slides]

[appbox googleplay com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.sheets]

2. Microsoft Office Mobile

Microsoft Office Hub For Android

Microsoft Office Word For Android

Microsoft Office Excel For Android

Microsoft Office PowerPoint For Android

Microsoft’s Office apps were a late addition to the array of Office Suites in the Google Play Store, but it quickly grew in popularity among Android users. Just like Google’s suite of apps, it is comprised of three separate apps: Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, which means you can install only the ones you need.

They all offer a similar clean interface, plenty of editing options and a familiar workflow to their desktop companion. You can view recent documents from any platform i.e, desktop, mobile or tablet. Through Office Mobile, you can easily view and edit office documents like word, presentation, excel sheets and Office documents attached to email messages.

Most of their functionality is available without paying a dime. You will be able to open and save files, use most of the editing tools, and, more. Those files can by synced to your desktop via OneDrive. You can get an Office 365 subscription, which starts at $6.99/month, that will unlock some additional features. However, it is not necessary for the basics.

[appbox googleplay com.microsoft.office.officehub]

[appbox googleplay com.microsoft.office.word]

[appbox googleplay com.microsoft.office.excel]

[appbox googleplay com.microsoft.office.powerpoint]

3. Polaris Office

Polaris Office is an excellent office suite that has been around for a long time. The app is not simple or small anymore. It does have a ton of features, including the basics along with note taking, document searching, encrypted files, and support for various formats. That includes PDF and Microsoft documents.

The interface is very clean and not riddled with distractions so you can focus on your work. It also offers its own cloud drive (Polaris Drive) where you sync all your documents, or if you prefer you can use your existing cloud storage provider (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Amazon Cloud Drive etc.).

The free version is serviceable. You can also get $3.99 and $5.99 per month subscriptions. That gives you additional features like the ability to use it on more than three devices along with extra cloud storage. The subscription models are not great, but the free version is still decent. It is still one of the better office apps.

[appbox googleplay com.infraware.office.link]

4. WPS Office

WPS Office For Android

WPS Office For Android

WPS Office For Android

WPS Office is definitely the most advanced office suite on Android, and it is completely free, too. It has a modern interface that looks sleek from the moment you open the app, and once you are editing a document, the Microsoft Office-inspired interface should feel right at home.

WPS Office comes in over 40 languages, supports wireless printing, and integrates with Evernote. In addition to loading and saving files to other cloud storage providers, this suite can also open documents from various local sources the old-fashioned way.

It sports a beautiful material design interface that adapts to your device’s screen size whether a phone or tablet and comes with Writer, Spreadsheets, and Presentation, each of which has excellent Microsoft Office compatibility (Word, Excel, and Powerpoint). WPS Office can be used to create simple documents, but it is also packed with advanced options to spruce up your documents such as tables, images, charts, and much more.

Did I mention WPS Office is free? Well, it gets better. There are not any ads, nor are there any in-app purchases.

[appbox googleplay cn.wps.moffice_eng]

5. Quip – Docs, Chat, Spreadsheets

Quip For Android

Quip For Android

Quip For Android

Quip is one of the newer office apps on the list. It is also one of the few free ones. Unlike most of the other options here, Quip in no way tries to replicate the traditional desktop suite. Yet at the end of the day, it is out to accomplish the same goal. It has a small, but a decent set of features. That includes the ability to collaborate on documents with other people. It comes in the form of a chat that you can use to talk to people while editing documents.

Quip’s developers have sought to create something that looks and feels tailored to mobile devices. The text is designed to adjust to different screen sizes, and collaboration is key. Comments are placed front and center, rather than tucked away like in other suites.

Quip can handle documents and spreadsheets, but this is not the app to turn to for presentations. You will also get a support for spreadsheets, cross-device syncing, offline support, and various exporting options. It also has cloud storage support. Quip has not been around as long as other office apps, but it is better than many of them.

Quip is not a service to turn to if you need to manage formats created from other sources. This is a platform that only works if the person you are interacting with happens to also use Quip. In that way, it is better as an internal tool for a team than an all-in-one solution. That said, it is free.

[appbox googleplay com.quip.quip]

A few last words

As a real sign of how far Android has come, this list does not even contain all of the currently available suites. Before you go hunting around for more, start with one of the five apps listed above. They do not beat typing from a desktop, but some of them do a really good job of coming close. Getting work done using an Android device simply is no longer the painful task that it once was.

Which of these office suites is your favorite? If we missed any of the best office apps for Android, tell us about them in the comments

See Also

10 Free Cloud Storage Services

7 Best Note-Taking Apps For Android

5 Best Free Remote Desktop Apps For Android

5 Best Mobile Office Apps For Android

When it is time for serious work on a mobile device, you will often need an office suite app to create and edit your files on the go.

5 Best Mobile Office Apps For Android

When it is time for serious work on a mobile device, you will often need an office suite app to create and edit your files on the go.

5 Best Mobile Office Apps For Android When it is time for serious work on a mobile device, you will often need an office suite app to create and edit your files on the go.