#making large noticeable improvements in the lives of average people is key

[soundwave-is-true]

If you want a better world you can’t get hung up about the idea of bringing your perceived enemies there with you. Actually accomplishing something and getting universal healthcare, expanded social services, and education, job training, formal legal human rights for children, guaranteed women’s rights, affordable housing/universal housing programs is undercut by excepts.Saying except addicts, except disabled people, except men, except, except, except, means you help no one.

All the programs that would help people fleeing abuse or cults are things that would help everyone. A lot of the opposition is on the grounds that programs that offer support and independence would “destroy traditional families” ect because resources that give people a safety net and ability to leave bad situations destabilize the control of high control groups and abusive families.

i think the hill i'm going to die on here is that lasting anti-fascist activism begins and ends with unrestricted social services.

protests are great. kind of indispensable right now. but in times when we can be less reactive, you want to know what you're protesting *for*, not just against.

today i saw a post elseweb saying "why aren't white women fleeing maga? they have to know by now that tradwife means sex slave". and like... it's very simple. they can't leave because they would end up like me.

they're, we're, deliberately made unemployable so that we'll have to marry whatever mediocre white man picks us out. as it happened, i was unappealingly intersex, fat, butch, and autistic, so none of the mediocre white boys of my generation ever took a second look at me, but that didn't give me job skills or career connections.

i knew multiple women whose husbands divorced them and took the house as part of their midlife crises. they had to send the kids to live with relatives and take dead-end jobs like bagging groceries because they were in their forties with zero job experience. if they'd rejected the worldview, if they'd alienated their families and what few friends didn't victim-blame them for the divorces, they'd have had nowhere to turn.

it's been over twelve years since i got out. psychologically, medically, i'm healthier. but i've chased a fresh start through half a dozen states. i spent my inheritance getting a degree. none of it helped. there are no supports for abandoning (or being abandoned by) your support network.

you won't defeat fascism until my people are free to leave the cult if they realize they want out. until we can access free housing to get away from financial abuse, free comprehensive job training and placement services to help us start careers, national healthcare so we can flee across state lines if necessary without losing any medical care we're lucky enough to have access to, protections for children and teens so they can flee without needing a parent's help... universal basic income would be really good but there are smaller steps that could help with financial independence.

and it all has to be available to everybody, including people you think are "unworthy". people who hold the wrong opinions. drug addicts. people whose husbands or parents make too much money. people who aren't from around here. unrepentant bigots. if they want out, you have to give them a path out. minds can change later, once people are less scared and less pressured.

(i'm ex-catholic. do you want to hear about what happens when you force people to profess certain beliefs in order to access basic assistance? i have two thousand years of examples.)

"but if they really wanted out they'd do the Right Thing and leave without support!" Better to be one man's sex slave than turning tricks on the street. "staying just proves they're actually evil and there for the bigotry!" Live in your car for six months in 100°F heat, twice, and then talk to me again. There's no virtue in cutting yourself off from society just to prove some kind of moral point. All that does is get you dead or worse.

("JT, you're not dead" I'm a fucking cockroach. Most people would be dead by now. Survival bias goes both ways; we're not all the same model of airplane.)

[gyaata]

Facebook Ads Budget Mastery – Costs, Targeting, and Winning Strategies

Facebook is among the most active social media platforms, with about 3 billion active users monthly. Figuring out a minimum budget for Facebook ads can be tricky, but getting noticed is necessary in today’s world if you want to ramp up sales.

By the end of this article, you will have expert tips to master your Facebook ads strategy. Whether you manage a small business or run a large corporation, mastering how to manage your Facebook ads cost is necessary. If you want to gain new customers or scale your business activities, this strategy can be a game-changer.

How Much Do Facebook Ads Cost? Facebook Ad costs in India can vary depending on targeting, campaign objective, ad format, and quality. On average, a business can expect to pay between ₹0.51 and ₹2.26 per click

Facebook ads in India are one of the most affordable advertising solutions, with average costs much lower than global ad costs. Opting for Facebook ads on an international level might cost around ₹64.

Learn More About Facebook Ad Targeting With significant modifications in iOS 14 Facebook, targeting isn’t the same anymore. Facebook ad targeting tactics that you used two years back will not be effective today. Here is everything you need to know about targeting the right audience through Facebook advertising.

Core Audience Targeting Core Audiences is a handy tool for selecting your audience. It allows you to target people by age, location, interests, and online behaviour. One of its best features is ‘Detailed Targeting,’ which offers many targeting options. Use it to fine-tune your audience or exclude specific groups from seeing your ads.

Detailed targeting has three main categories:

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For example, if your product is for women only, you can tell Facebook to show ads only to women.

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For example, if you sell fishing gear, you can target people interested in travel, boating, fishing, and camping.

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For example, if you want to reach business owners, you can target people who manage Facebook business pages.

Value-Based Targeting Focus on the shared values to reach all your potential customers on Facebook.

For example, consider a business’s ideal customers. They may be diverse but share common values. Identify these values and build your Facebook ad campaign around them.

Ask yourself:

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Advanced Targeting Tactics There are advanced refinements that can be applied to improve Facebook ad performance.

Consider using Google Trends to discover new audiences and locations for Facebook targeting. Google’s extensive user data can provide valuable insights into your audience’s behavior, interests, and motivations. Google Analytics is a powerful marketing tool for refining Facebook targeting. It offers detailed insights into the demographics, interests, and locations of your website visitors. This data, derived from people who have already visited your site, helps you identify their other interests, providing a clearer picture of your audience. Winning Facebook Ad Strategies to Maximize ROI A common mistake users make is running Facebook ads without a strategy. Here are key strategies to boost your Facebook marketing efforts –

Define Your ICP

Ensure you spend money on the right people by defining your ICP. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to define your audience correctly –

Who Are They? What Is Their Age? Where Are They Living? What Are They Interested In? You can look at your existing customers to get answers. Try to understand their requirements through the above questions.

Building A Sales Funnel

First, we need to recognize that not all customers are at the same stage in the sales funnel.

A sales funnel guides customer through their buying journey. Common stages are:

Acquisition Prospecting Acquisition Re-engagement Retargeting Retention Each stage in the sales funnel necessitates distinct messaging and campaign objectives. As each stage represents a different part of the buying journey, the audience size varies.

The top of the funnel encompasses a broader audience than the bottom, indicating the need to develop separate campaigns for each funnel stage.

Budget Allocation

Adjust your ad budget accordingly because you’ll be targeting audiences of different sizes in your sales funnel.

Allocate 60% to the Acquisition Prospecting stage to attract new potential customers. Spend 20% on the Acquisition Re-Engagement stage for those interested in your ads. Use 15% in the Retargeting stage for warm leads who haven’t bought yet. Finally, allocate 5% to the Retention stage for existing customers.

Include Video Ads

Reels and video posts have the highest engagement rates, with 91%of businesses using videos for marketing.

Videos help users see products clearly and understand how to use them. They are entertaining, inspirational, and informative, making it easier for potential customers to decide. You can make various types of video ads, like reels, stories, and slideshows.

Integrating Facebook Ads and Content Marketing

Relying only on Facebook advertising will be expensive. So it’s always wise to combine it with content marketing on social media and other platforms. Use both paid ads and organic content for your Facebook marketing.

Outsourcing blog content might have an upfront cost, but it’s often cheaper long-term. A well-written article can attract many leads.

Think about our marketing funnel. Your ads and organic content should work together within your digital strategy. Start with creating compelling blog content, then use Facebook to expand your reach by sharing that content.

Bottom Line Always manage your budget thoughtfully to maximize the effectiveness of your Facebook ads. By carefully allocating funds and monitoring ad performance, you can enhance your marketing impact.

Remain adaptable and pay close attention to the data you gather. This will enable you to make timely adjustments based on market dynamics and audience behavior.

You can optimize your budget by leveraging targeted ads and smart spending. For expert assistance with Facebook ads and budgeting strategies, consider reaching out to professionals such as Gyaata Solutions. We can provide guidance throughout the process to ensure you achieve the best results and return on investment.

[lovespelt]

OK I JUST WOKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND MY DREAM WAS REALLY WEIRD AND IT GAVE ME AN INSTANT GOOD KUSH AU—

Ok so— Mermaid and Pirate Au.

BUT—!

mermaids are the size of their fish genetic ×2.

If you're mixed with an angel fish you are the size of a human child when you become adult.

Sharks mixed genetics makes one the size of a average boat, bigger than humans.

Mermaids are mixed with fish genetics ×2 while sirens have simple but colorful tails only (and they're the size of a average human)

Ok now Imagine this—

Whale shark! Mer! Izuku x Pirate! Katsuki

Whale sharks are known to be the most largest sea creature in the ocean, imagine a mermaid twice that size LMAO.

Ok so whale sharks can be the size of a large koi fish when their babies so Izuku would look like an average baby mermaid, he sometimes get mistaken as a siren as a child. (Also a whale shark is very fitting for Izuku coz of— y'know, the dots on the whale sharks.)

Ok BACKSTORY—

Izuku likes to swim near boats as a kid.

Katsuki was born in the ocean, on the boat he was standing on coz both of his parents were pirates too (not mitsuki and masaru, I don't think they're good parents ngl.)

He also wants to be captain one day, leading the best ship and the best crew and all that jazz like his parents, like the legendary pirate who had crossed the 7 seas and lived, All Might.

He was kind of Isolated bcz they were always at sea but he was a pretty smart kid and his parent's crew were nice (ft. The whole UA staff coz why not—)

While Izuku's mom told him that he shouldn't ever go near a island coz Izuku's mom is really big and she could easily be spotted so they stayed in the deep waters. (Aka where the Illuminati thing kinda is, but we'll just call it the 7 seas mmk)

But Izuku is a very curious child, he follows is mother's rule ofc but she never told him to stay away from ships nearby.

So when he saw this really big ship, he was amazed by it. He followed the ship when they steered their sails for a few days, he's still close to his mama so it's ok.

Katsuki notices some kind of thing following their ship for the a while now, even as a child he's pretty sharp. So one night he decided to sneak out of his chambers to the edge of the boat to see if the thing is still there.

He looked down and saw a pair of green glowing eyes. He froze, he didn't what they were, they might be a siren from the books he had read but siren's eyes don't glow. And the creature hasn't even sung yet.

So he decided to approach it.

Izuku was surprised. He had seen this small blond human on the ship lot's of times during the day. He was small. Like him! He wondered if they would make good friends?

And when Katsuki finds out that Izuku was not a siren he was relieved,so when they started talking he was surprised of the amount of human words Izuku's knows (wonder who taught Izuku that—*cough* all might *cough*), but as much as Izuku's human speaking is pretty good it's not enough to make a conversation. So every night, Katsuki sneaks out and hangs with Izuku and taught him how to speak like a human and read human books.

4 weeks, nearing the end of the 7 seas after going around it (no one has ever gone through it without surviving, except all might)

Izuku had learned alot, he could read and speak human! Although not perfect but still can pass! But he's sad now coz he can't come with Katsuki, he had to stay close to his pod with his mom.

Katsuki was devastated when he heard this from his (one and only) fish crush friend, he promised that when he grows up, he'd be the best pirate of all time and he would be the next to cross the 7 seas without going around it and meet up with Deku (that was the closest thing Izuku could pronounce his name in human rather than mer tongue) and go on adventures with him.

Izuku, who cried, promise to stay in the 7 seas and wait for Kacchan (again, hard to pronounce words with Izuku's sharp teeth) to come back. So they pinky promised it and pulled each other close.

Nobody would believe a child when they say that they'd seen a mermaid every night while out in the 7 seas. No one would believe Katsuki when he'd say that he had his first kiss with a fish.

Ok so TIME SKIP.

Katsuki became a really well known pirate in all the ocean. He became the new captain on his parent's ship and improved it. He found a good trusting crew who were very skilled at what they do. (Ft. The whole class 1-A with Shinsou coz why not)

He'd found lot's of treasure and gave it to the poor people on islands. Fought a couple of high ranked bad villains of the sea. To the kingdom's rules around, he was a pirate. But to everyone, he was a hero.

So when the time came, he kind of forgotten his promise to Izuku and thought of those times with Izuku were very wistful dreams.

When his ship came close to the 7seas he decided to go through it like all might and to be the best. Ofc the crew was anxious but they trusted their captain.

But when they reached the one half of it, there were really big waves, everyone panicked. Trying to turn around. Katsuki held the steering wheel tight, trying to turn the ship around. Everyone was running around doing whatever they can to make the sails go to the opposite direction.

Then suddenly.

There was a huge spash.

And a very big shadow wad towering down ship.

Everyone slowly looked up and saw.

The most biggest person (?) They had ever seen.

It had dark-green hair with very round equally green eyes, lot's of freckles spreading on it's upper body, and it had a mouth with very sharp teeth.

A mouth that was smiling.

Like and Angel.

Katsuki became breathless.

The creature looked so familiar, just like—

"...Deku..?"

The creature laughed, eyes twinkled with excitement, it swam really fast to somewhere fast and flipped himself like a dolphin. the pirates looked at him in awe.

"Kacchan! Kacchan came back!" The creature swam back to it's original position near the ship and grabbed Katsuki by the back hem of his shirt, lifting him up the ship.

There were surprised and panicked sounds coming from the crew but Katsuki held his hands up, signaling to stop. Never looking away from Izuku.

Izuku placed Katsuki into one of his very large hands and held him up to his face. Katsuki reached out his arms and touched Izuku's nose.

"you... Fucking dumbass,... How did you get so big?!?" Katsuki exclaimed with pretend anger, not that it was convincing, his face had a smile threatening to break, he slapped Izuku's nose with not force.

Izuku giggled and kissed Katsuki all over his face. (Which. His lips are already all over Katsuki's face LMAO)

"I missed you Kacchan." Izuku smiled, "I love you."

Katsuki blushed and grumbled. Forcefully grabbing what he can on Izuku's cheeks and kissed him on the nose, muttering "I love you too..."

The crew from below the ship were confused, awe and low-key scared by this.

"Uh." Denki said dumbly.

Kirishima whistled "wow. Who knew Bakugro had a lover."

"Hah, a fish none the less too, no judgement though." Kyouka snorted.

"well I think they look cute together!" Ochako exclaimed.

"maybe this is why Bakugou wanted to cross the 7 seas? To see his one true love once again~." Sero said, while still looking at the huge ass fish carrying their captain.

"Uh." Kaminari said dumbly. Again.

•°•°•°°•°•°••

Aojxnsjfkekc it's really late and my brain made it look like a fanfic ckenfjkkfv hshshshs hope you like?? It?? Sorry if there is any spelling mistakes! I'm really tired haha. Hope you like this weird ass Au I made.

sdjakjdhas this is such a cute and creative au??? i love whale sharks so much also, so izuku in this au makes me extra happy 😊!

[missjosie27]

Year 3 Part 10- Defending

Hello, everyone.

Welcome back to another chapter. As we last left off, Barnaby officially joined David's side and we get to see some of the ramifications of that today. Wonder what poor Merula thinks of that XD

Elora Dunn I made a Hufflepuff in this version as opposed to Gryffindor. Seemed redundant with a character like Ben already in that house.

Also in this chapter I will feature a small cameo from Chester Davies. My character is a Gryffindor so of course we don't see him that much but I head cannoned him to show up at some point so I hope I did him justice. It is a small bit of filler in here today but as with everything in my story, it's all about the small details and development. Two more to go for Year 3! Enjoy!

If it were any other Slytherin, the new addition to the cursebreaking squad might have been quite awkward. With Barnaby the fit was so seamless, it was though he’d already known everyone for years. Despite his reputation as being one of the toughest kids in school with a penchant for dueling, winning him over revealed a key aspect of his character: that in reality he was just a big softie.

Barnaby loved to duel and learn new spells, his physical strength was immense (as evidenced by being able to lift Rowan off the ground using one hand with ease) and he was already quite tall for his age. But he also carried many other previously unknown attributes, the first of which was that he had a way with animals. He took particular interests in bowtruckles and nifflers, being the only person who knew how to tame them. Professor Kettleburn was so impressed, he made him a full time protege in handling more dangerous creatures such as hippogriffs and even the invisible thestrals.

He also loved to eat and would consume so much food in one sitting that one of the prefects at the Hufflepuff table actually had to ask him to save some for the first years. But above all else, Barnaby Lee at his core was a kind person and despite not being academically inclined, had a simple way of expressing things that put a problem into perspective. Perhaps most telling was that he never truly desired to hurt anyone and would defend those he cared about with vigor.

He explained all of this to Penny in Herbology, who giggled at some of the stories.

“Honestly, I’m actually really glad you introduced him to us the other night, even if he consumed half the food on the table,” she laughed. “I know most people think he’s slow, but he’s so sweet. Chiara went redder than a strawberry when he complimented her necklace.”

The aforementioned girl proceeded to flush the same color.

“I did not!” she protested.

David rolled his eyes as he tended to his dried nettles.

“That’s just because you girls think he’s handsome.”

Penny gave him a playful swat on the head.

“It is not...okay maybe a little.”

David clutched his hands together in a girly, romantic gesture and began speaking in a mock feminine tone.

“Oh Barnaby Lee, he’s ever so dreamy with his green eyes and enormous jaw!”

That earned him a triple swat, this time from Penny, Tonks, and Chiara.

“Focus on your dried nettles, dears!” Professor Sprout called out spotting the mischief from her place at the center of the table.

“Sorry, Professor!” David called out and he added some water to his pot.

“He’s handsome don’t get me wrong, but he’s not my type,” Tonks commented.

“What is your type?”

The pink haired witch shrugged.

“Don’t know really. Haven’t thought about it much.”

“I know Penny and Chiara have been thinking about Madam Puddifoot’s tea shop,” David joked as he falsely gagged, while ducking another swipe from a giggling Penny. “Anyway, the point is, Barnaby is a good bloke. And he’s dead useful to have around.”

“I’m surprised you of all people have accepted someone from Slytherin so readily,” Rowan teased him, coming up behind him to borrow some soil.

“Hey I’m a pretty easy going bloke, I can admit when I’m wrong.”

“Except when it comes to Slytherin apparently,” Tonks teased, which earned her a splat of dung on her robes.

Despite the jokes, the more David was able to get to know Barnaby the more he could feel his animosity slip away. In fact, he almost didn’t mind when the Slytherins became the favorites to win the Quidditch Cup after trouncing Hufflepuff 400-70, the key word being ‘almost’. But there was a practical side to it as well. Upon learning her former minion switched sides, Merula was beside herself with rage and began embarking on a campaign to make both of their lives as difficult as possible. Her taunting became subdued but she constantly attempted to blow up his cauldron in potions, put a flobberworm down the back of his pants, and tried hexing him on more than one occasion in the corridors. It was a mark of frustration; she was no closer to finding the vault but the constant attempts at sabotage began to wear thin.

“You need to learn how to properly defend yourself,” Barnaby told him one day after potions class, a session in which Merula caused the fire underneath his cauldron to flare, which singed off his eyebrows.

“I already know how to defend myself, I’ve beaten Merula in every proper duel we’ve had,” he argued keeping his head down, trying not to let passerbys witness his eyebrow less state.

“Most duels aren’t ‘proper’, Dave. Especially not if Merula is the one starting them. It’s better to be prepared for all kinds of ways people will try to attack you.”

“How come she leaves you alone?” he bemoaned.

“Oh, she doesn’t,” Barnaby admitted. “First she yelled at me and told me I was a traitor so I don’t sit with her anymore. Then she somehow snuck into my dorm and put bulbadox powder into my sheets. I was itching for days after that...”

“-that’s good to know-”

“But you still have a lot to learn. Especially defense.”

“Bill Weasley taught me a few things,” David offered.

“Did he?” Barnaby asked with wonder. “I’ve always heard the Weasley family loved the color orange. Don’t know much about their dueling, though.”

“Er right...well Bill’s definitely talented there’s no doubt about that. Perhaps we could work together on improving.”

Barnaby puffed up his chest with pride.

“If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s how to fight and teach others how to do it. Also I’ve always wanted to duel a fifth year!”

“We’ll get a spar going soon, mate,” David promised. “In the meantime, I need Madam Pomfrey to regrow my bloody eyebrows.”

It turned out to be solid advice. Though his offensive prowess was high, especially for his age, it turned out the third year Gryffindor did not know much about spells that would protect him from harm as well as cause it. This became apparent when both Bill and Barnaby bested him by simply using shield charms to block whatever he cast. In an effort to improve and become more versatile, he began learning defensive strategies and the application of the shield charm itself. The burly Slytherin also warned him that Merula and Ismelda were constantly studying in the library and by the fireside in an effort to gain an edge when the inevitable rematch occurred.

With Merula Snyde, it’s more like a never ending rematch

However, what he didn’t know was all of this was about to come in handy in a most unexpected way.

----------------------------------------------------

It all happened quite suddenly and quite by accident.

On an average Saturday morning in early April, David was walking back from his brother’s room after another planning session with Tulip when he noticed Argus Filch prowling along the usual route past the Transfiguration classroom. Though he technically wasn’t doing anything wrong, he still didn't want the caretaker to cast a suspicious eye towards him anywhere near the secret location. So he took a detour through the gardens instead.

Inside the viaduct architecture, he was idly wondering to himself how close Rowan was to breaking the final bit of code inside his brother’s notebook (as well as how pretty Penny looked in her new jumper dress and spring boots) when he noticed something peculiar and also a bit disturbing. Over by the large tree where some the older students liked to hang out, he noticed five of them were standing over a smaller, terrified looking girl who was practically trembling with fear.

Part of himself told him that it wasn’t his business and it was best not to get involved. But the sense of justice, always strong in his persona, prevailed and he made an abrupt perpendicular cut across the grass and towards the commotion. As he drew closer he could hear the dialogue, which only served to feed his temper.

“...didn’t mean to. Please, I don’t want to fight.”

“Shoulda thought of that before you nosed into an area that you don’t belong in,” one of the lead bullies said harshly.

“B-but it’s not your area,” the little girl argued. “It’s for everyone who goes to Hogwarts!”

By now, David had a better look. The girl in question was a first year Hufflepuff who definitely fit the part of someone traditionally ‘uncool’. Thick glasses, short, copper colored brown hair, an oversized sweater to couple with several books clutched in her small hands. There were five who were currently bullying the poor first year, three boys and two girls, at least half of which were from Slytherin and the other two appeared to be Ravenclaw. The leader was a sixth year he recognized as Hadrian Flint, a member of a prominent family of the same name, a brown haired, freckle faced boy with poor teeth and an upward nose that reeked of arrogance. Also present was Ismelda Murk for some reason, who looked as though she happened upon the scene and was along for whatever kicks she could find.

“Just beat it, kid,” one of the Ravenclaws said. “This is our spot. Don’t make us do this the hard way.”

“And besides, Hogwarts doesn’t belong to people like you,” Flint told her nastily while his Slytherin companion nodded in agreement.

“And who would that be exactly?”

His unannounced presence caused Hadrian to spin around and face his challenger. His face immediately became a pronounced sneer.

“Get lost, Gryffindor. This doesn’t concern you.”

“Don’t be shy, Flint. Let the whole world know what you were about to say. I’m sure it will be most enlightening.”

Flint took a step forward but was soon informed by his companion who exactly this Gryffindor was with a whisper to the ear.

“Ahh...the cursebreaker. Well how bout I cut you a deal since I’m feeling right generous today. You go back to your curses and I’ll go back to this curse. Sound fair?”

“She didn’t have any idea this spot is where the older students hang out. Let her go.”

Though Hadrian was taller, David was not about to back down. He knew the reason he was picking on this poor girl and despite being outnumbered was not about to let her become the victim of a borderline torture session like Diana Blishwick the previous year.

“Mudbloods like her don’t deserve anything except learning their place,” Ismelda spoke now, a vicious gleam forming in her cold, gray eyes.

“Shut your hole, Izzy. I’m not even sure what you’re doing here but I do know that Merula’s boots need polishing. Give them some extra shine, will ya?”

Ismelda pulled out her wand in retaliation for the remark but Flint told her off in equally harsh fashion.

“Stow it you greasy giraffe neck. Honestly you could be Snape’s daughter with that hair.”

David might have laughed had the older Slytherin not been as equally reprehensible. The Ravenclaw girl and boy (which were evidently a couple) didn’t seem as perturbed anymore, but the rest of the group was hellbent on doing something awful to the muggle born Hufflepuff.

“Last chance. Leave or you suffer just as she does,” Flint told him menacingly. Again, David did not back down, instead he crossed over and put the much smaller girl behind him.

“Don’t make any sudden movements,” he told her. “And stay behind me. What’s your name?”

“Elora...Elora Dunn,” came the frightened reply.

“Well, Elora...brace yourself.”

He turned his attention back to Flint, Ismelda, and the other three students that were there. The Ravenclaws did nothing but the other two Slytherins withdrew their wands and Ismelda’s evil smirk grew wider.

“Have it your way then,” the tall Slytherin shrugged. “Immobilus! ”

“Protego! ”

It was his first attempt at using the spell in an actual battle and the results were quite effective. An invisible, reflective shield formed in front of himself and Elora Dunn, causing the spell to ricochet and deflect right back at its owner, freezing his body in place. Within seconds, Hadrian Flint toppled over in a heap on the grass.

It was a victory but a short lived one as the other two Slytherins readied their wands while David still guarded the first year girl. Given his narrow position and the fact that he was protecting someone else he doubted he could fend off two more opponents at the same time. Thankfully, it was not required as suddenly a prefect arrived at the scene, recognizing him to be Chester Davies, who was also head boy.

“Enough! You will stop this now!”

The Ravenclaw couple hadn’t drawn their wands in the first place, but Ismelda did not comply, sending a common cold hex towards David which missed, though the other Slytherin did heed the order.

“I said that’s enough! Five points from Slytherin!” Chester shouted, pointing directly at the third year Slytherin, who reluctantly relented, her pale expression now extremely sour.

“What in Merlin’s name is happening here?” he continued to inquire. “Dueling is forbidden.”

His gaze settled on David and he knew the time to explain was now. He had never interacted with Chester before though there was a chance he knew of his cursebreaking exploits. Either way it was best to act quickly.

“I didn’t start whatever you witnessed,” he told him. “Flint and his goons were attempting to harm Elora here.”

The first year Hufflepuff peeked out from behind his back at long last.

“It’s true. He defended me when I thought I was about to be hexed. They called me a uh…”

The poor thing, David thought sadly. She clearly had not heard that word used against her yet. Anger flared within him knowing it wouldn’t be the last.

He mouthed the word ‘mudblood’ to the Head Boy, who’s face reeled in horror. Chester Davies, known for his mellow, taciturn demeanor then unleashed quiet fury, first on the Ravenclaw couple.

“But we didn’t do anything!” the fifth year boy protested.

“You still threatened her,” Chester said coldly. “And by standing by and allowing the other three to do harm you have disgraced yourself.”

“The little brat wouldn’t leave!” the girl shouted back.

But that only served to further their scolding

“You claim to be part of our house and yet have the wit and foresight of a damp rag. I will be reporting this to Professor Flitwick and I will recommend detention for a week. Five points from Ravenclaw.”

Chester then took the time to reluctantly unfreeze Hadrian Flint, who immediately leapt to his feet and tried to spin a tale.

“You all saw it! He attacked me!”

“Stuff it, Flint,” the Ravenclaw immediately shut down. “I saw you cast the first spell and I know the word this one used to describe Miss Dunn,” she said, indicating Ismelda, who looked as though she wanted nothing more than to kill everyone present. “Rest assured, McGonagall will be informed as will Professor Snape.”

Furious and belligerent, Flint spat on the ground, uttering, “Blood traitor.”

David thought Chester might blow a gasket (he knew he would have) but instead he coolly regarded him as though he were simply another stone inside the Hogwarts walls.

“Better a blood traitor than what you are, Flint. Now get out of here.”

The tall, lanky Slytherin heeded her this time and shuffled away with his companion. Ismelda had seemingly skulked off as well.

“I’ll handle these two,” Chester told him, as he too ordered his housemates away. “You see to it that the first year gets back to the Hufflepuff common room. You did a good thing today.”

Admiration increased for the Head Boy as David nodded and looked over to Elora, giving a kind look.

“Come on, let’s go.”

As they walked back towards kitchens, he noticed Elora fidgeting as though she wanted to say something. Eventually, she mustered up the courage.

“Um...what’s your name?”

“David,” he replied simply.

“Thank you, David for saving me back there. I wish I was brave like you.”

He stopped just before they reached the barrels leading to the Hufflepuff common room and knelt down to make proper eye level contact with her.

“Elora, you’re already brave. At no point in time did you move when those gits asked you too. There wasn’t a braver person today in all of Hogwarts.”

She beamed so much David thought she might shed tears over the books she was carrying. Then, her face became puzzled.

“What was that name that girl called me?” came the innocent but horrifying question.

David sighed, he’d hoped it wouldn’t come to him having to explain something like that. But he wasn’t going to pull punches either. Someone like Elora needed to know the intentions of people such as Flint, Ismelda, and others.

“You come from a family with no magical background. Therefore some that do think you aren’t as good as they are,” he said sadly.

“But why?”

Therein lay the crux of the issue: why . Truth was, he could give many reasons why but none of them could adequately explain prejudice. It was something you lived through, but nothing about it was logical.

“It’s complicated,” came his reply. “Just know this: you are just as worthy to study magic as anyone else here. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise….also learning a few jinxes wouldn’t hurt either.”

“Can you teach me?”

Though he was a bit surprised, the innocent eyed look of this first year softened the dubiousness of his answer.

“Sure thing. We can find the time.”

Elora nodded and suddenly gave him a big hug, unexpectedly throwing off his balance.

“Ack! He...thanks kid.”

The first year tapped second barrel from the bottom in a distinct rhythm and skipped her way inside, but David didn’t immediately leave leave the area. He paused, willing himself not to drive himself into a fury over what just occurred.

Not all Slytherins are bad

Not all Slytherins are bad

David thought of Barnaby and how he was able to persuade him to change sides and the difference it made in his character. Or the eccentric Liz Tuttle helping him with potions ingredients. Then he thought of people like Ammon Lucian, Hadrian Flint, Ayla Yaxley, and Ismelda Murk and the pit of black vengeance returned, bubbling like tar ready to consume all who became entrapped in it.

As if to punctuate the conflict, Merula Snyde popped into his mind as did Liz Tuttle’s words regarding her

“Merula’s not all bad…well she’s mostly bad. But I know for a fact she’s had a hard life and she’s not always what she seems.”

He shook his head. What did she mean by that? He knew Merula’s parents were locked up in Azkaban but by all accounts she lived like a queen in Hertfordshire in the Snyde Manor. At no point in time had she ever apologized or bothered to show there was anything lurking beneath except vicious arrogance and deceit.

So why was there pain in her lavender eyes every time he beat her in a duel? Why was she so obsessed? What was it about him and his brother that Merula couldn’t let go?

David pushed those thoughts aside for now, having little time or patience to figure out the psychological ramifications of the house of snakes. There was homework to finish and another vault to find and break its curse.

If it took a few Slytherins, whether enemies or friends, to get there he would do so.

-----------------------------------------

David never expected much to come of his deeds the previous Saturday. As far as he was concerned, the act of aiding Elora suited him just fine. They’d even scheduled a time to meet where he could show her a few spells. Come Monday, however, that changed.

While at breakfast with Ben, Charlie, and Jae (the latter of whom was chugging multiple goblets of milk on a bet) he was called to the head table by Professor McGonagall.

“David Grant!” she called out. “Please step forward.”

By this time, he temporarily forgot about what had happened and assumed whatever his head of house wanted was nothing good. Usually when they talked outside of class it was due to some trouble he’d been up to or the cursed vaults...oftentimes both.

“Yes, Professor?” he asked as he reached her place at the faculty chair.

“It has come to my attention that you were involved in an altercation last weekend involving a first year student and five others.”

David felt his heart quicken. Was she really about to punish him for doing the right thing?

“Yes...I was.”

But he need not have worried, for in the next moment she gave him a rare smile.

“Do not worry yourself, Mr. Grant. I know you were attempting to protect Miss Dunn from those who sought to make her feel unwelcome and unwanted.”

Her nostrils flared showing a subtle moment of anger before it vanished and she continued.

“Your actions are to be commended. Twenty points to Gryffindor for your courage and defense of those younger than yourself.”

Fear instantly turned to immense happiness as he reciprocated the smile.

“Thank you, Professor.”

“You are welcome. And do tell Mr. Kim that he will likely vomit if he continues in his high consumption of milk. I do not want a mess in the Great Hall nor in my classroom when it occurs today.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“I expect nothing less from one of my best Transfiguration students.”

He was sent on his way feeling considerably proud of himself for getting the normally strict and reserved Professor McGonagall to show not only a positive emotion but pride in him. And there was more yet to come. Before he could retake his seat, another familiar face confronted him, this time in the person of Angelica Cole.

“I heard what happened as well, David.”

“In case you were wondering, I earned twenty house points out of it so by your standards I should be showered with roses, am I right?”

Angelica rolled her eyes but her mouth twisted upwards in a smile all the same.

“Incorrigible as ever. But I want to echo McGonagall’s sentiments. Chester told me everything and what you did is precisely what our house is supposed to entail: courage, protecting those who cannot protect themselves.”

She paused before continuing.

“When we first met I thought you were going to be another troublemaker. But I was wrong. And I want to apologize.”

David was surprised, not necessarily by the apology (he and Angelica had gotten on fine this year) but the sentiment she was showing. There was a heavy amount of emotion in her eyes and an acute sense of something bigger at stake.

“Angelica, are you alright?”

“Do you know why I’m saying these things?” she asked him point blank.

“Because I’m just so naturally charming?”

“Because I’m leaving,” Angelica corrected, ignoring his joke. “I have less than two months left at Hogwarts before I graduate. And whether you realize it or not, you’re rising in seniority. David, I want you to take my place after I’m gone.”

He blinked a couple of times, hardly daring to believe his ears.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I know it isn’t coming for at least two more years. But before I leave Hogwarts I’m going to recommend to Professor McGonagall that you be made prefect when your time comes. Through everything there is a quality you have that stands out: leadership.”

David couldn’t help but remain shocked at the ringing endorsement but there it was. He had gone from pain in the arse to leadership material in the span of two years. Nevertheless, he thanked his prefect sincerely.

“Angelica...this means a great deal. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Thank yourself,” she said smiling. “I told you at the beginning of the year that you were worth more than wisecracks and being Jacob Grant’s younger brother. You’ve earned that distinction and much more.”

The conversation ended as the seventh year was forced to quell a potential food fight at the end of the Gryffindor table and David rejoined his group but with positive thoughts to enjoy for once.

“What happened with McGonagall and Angelica?” Charlie asked. “You certainly seem pleased.”

“I dunno mate, they’ve appeared to take a liking to me all of a sudden.”

“Everyone likes you, Dave,” Ben reminded him.

“Thank you for the vote of confidence, Ben. But even my popularity has limitations. In particular with a brown haired, deriding, boot wearing, Slytherin girl.”

“Wouldn’t worry about her so much,” Jae replied, by now having stopped chugging milk though he still sported a white mustache as a result. “She ain’t exactly popular among her own house anymore. Most people find her insulting and cruel.”

“She can sit on a pin for all I care,” David shrugged. “Maybe I’m just becoming a little more mature.”

“That’s hilarious,” Charlie laughed.

“So is your bloody snoring even though it keeps me up at night.”

They continued to banter like this for the rest of breakfast when Rowan happened on the scene and right away everyone could tell he had stumbled upon something quite important just by the look in his eye.

“Rowan, you’re just in time to see whether or not Jae can light a fire from his wand with a fart."

But the joke either didn’t register or it paled in comparison to the news

“I need to speak to you,” he said directly to David. “Alone.”

Shrugging but also silently recognizing that something big was going on he played it off as though it were nothing to avoid arousing suspicion.

“Alright then. Lead the way.”

As careful and inconspicuously as they could, Rowan and David exited the Great Hall and into a private column within the corridor. Upon making sure no one was watching, the former of the two boys pulled out a familiar, leatherback, brown notebook.

“I did it,” he whispered. “I finally managed to match the half page to another message in the book and decipher it.”

This was indeed wonderful news and David could hardly wait to hear it. Excitement pulsed through his veins, barely being able to contain it.

“Rowan that’s amazing! Go on! What does it day?”

Proudly and pompously flipping to the correct page, Rowan read the information aloud but also in a hushed tone so no one would hear them.

“‘The entrance is the Restricted Section of the library. That is the source of the fear and the vault itself.’ ”

David ran a hand through his hair, ecstatic but also mentally kicking himself. Of all the places they looked, the one place they forgot was the restricted section?

“I know that look,” Rowan told him seriously. “Don’t beat yourself up. None of us here had any idea where the entrance was, even with your brother’s notes. But it doesn’t matter now.”

Drive and passion drove David to new levels of happiness and determination. They had managed to navigate through all manner of blockages, dead ends, and run arounds only to finally come through in the end. They knew where the vault was and now it was time.

“Time to break into this latest cursed vault,” he spoke aloud.

[realtruebeauty]

Note- This content only presents overviews of hair loss prevention research for educational purposes and does not replace medical advice from a professional physician.

The best start to preventing hair loss is understanding the basics of hair: what it is, how it grows, what system malfunctions can cause it to stop growing.

Most common hair loss comes under what has been commonly known as Male Pattern Baldness (MPB). Although referred to as MPB, females suffer a similar syndrome, so it is more properly called androgenetic alopecia. Although hair loss is not life or health threatening, it can cause serious problems with a personâEUR(TM)s psyche and self-confidence. There has been no absolute cure found for hair loss, and many factors of hair loss are hereditary, however there are several preventative measures one can take to maintain healthy hair and scalp.

Although both men and women can suffer significant hair loss, over 50% of men will suffer with Male Pattern Baldness (MPB), also known as androgenetic alopecia, at some point in their lives. The reason behind hair loss is a genetically inherited sensitivity to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and 5-alpha-reductase. The enzyme 5-alpha-reductase converts testosterone, a male hormone, to DHT, the substance identified as the end-cause for hair loss.

Hair loss has been noticed and studied throughout the ages, and some interesting discoveries were made in ancient times. For one it was noticed that eunuchs: those males without genitals-never went bald. Men who were castrated as a result of accidents in battle also never went bald. This was the first indication that testosterone had something to do with hair loss. It has also been found that the more recessive the hair gene, the more propensity toward baldness one has.

Some common myths have arisen concerning hair loss. Because of medical advancements many of these myths are being addressed and corrected. For starters, although androgenetic alopecia or pattern baldness is genetic and therefore can be hereditary, it is not passed down through only your motherâEUR(TM)s side of the family. Either side of the family can pass down the genetic disposition toward baldness. Also, contrary to old family tales, wearing hats does not cause baldness either.

Beyond the genetic propensity of certain people toward hair loss, there seems to be various dietary triggers that activate the process, a notion that is promising since this can be controlled.

The effects of high-fat diets and the increase of DHT (Dihydrotestosterone), a chemical produced by the body found to cause hair loss, is not conclusive at this time. However, there does seem to be a connection; as societies that consumed relatively low-fat diets such as pre-World War II Japan experienced almost no pattern baldness, whereas in post-World War II Japan there is an increase in pattern baldness as their society consumes a higher fat diet. In fact, Asian and African men in their native countries traditionally suffer very little Male Pattern Baldness (MPB). Although when the same peoples come to North America, they begin to develop MPB.

Because people of all races and ethnicities tend to develop MPB or androgenetic alopecia, yet do not exhibit these tendencies before moving to America, changes in diet may be a leading contributing factor. Diets high in fat do increase testosterone, which is the main component in DHT. More research needs to be done on this topic to reach conclusive evidence, although it certainly could not hurt to lower oneâEUR(TM)s fat intake.

There are a number of foods and substances to avoid and limit the intake of. Substances such as alcohol, caffeine, sugar and nicotine can deplete the body of nutrients and raise adrenal levels, which will cause a chain reaction of producing more androgen and causing hair loss. High levels of saturated fat and cholesterol rich foods are also linked to increased DHT levels and their consumption should be limited. Additionally, common table salt has been linked to hair loss. And the average diet provides the recommended amount of sodium intake; therefore, salt should never be added to food. However, when using salt for seasoning during cooking, be sure to use salt with Iodine being that it is a nutrient that is vital to hair growth as well, unless you are a regular consumer of seafood, which contains high levels of Iodine.

Although hair loss can be caused by many other variables, lack of proper nutrition will assuredly cause hair loss in many people. Fortunately, adopting a proper diet that includes the proper nutrients can reverse hair loss caused by malnutrition. One thing for certain, regardless of whether your hair loss was caused by malnutrition or not, adopting a healthier diet will help the function of other areas of the body.

There are some methods that have been used that prevent hair loss on some people, in addition to the dietary improvements, there are some naturopathic remedy suggestions. Massage and aromatherapy have been used with some success. In minor cases of temporary hair loss, hair growth can be stimulated by massage, since blood and oxygen flow to the scalp must be healthy in order for hair to grow. A blend of six drops each of lavender and bay essential oils in a base of four ounces of either almond, soybean or sesame oil massaged into the scalp and allowed to sit for 20 minutes has been used by aroma therapists to stimulate the scalp. Once the mixture is in the scalp for 20 minutes, wash your hair and scalp with your normal shampoo mixed with three drops of bay essential oil. Massaging the scalp in general for a couple of minutes a day can stimulate blood flow to the hair follicles and in mild cases stimulate some hair growth. Of course, one must be careful to be gentle when massaging and not tug at the hair or use the fingernails when massaging the scalp. If one is concerned about fingernails getting in the way due to extra long fingernails, there are several options. One is a flat-handed massage, which while not as effective as the finger massage can provide some circulatory benefits and results.

There are several electric massagers on the market that have an attachment for scalp massaging as well. An oriental method called Qi Gong (pronounced Chi Kung) has been used to increase circulation to the scalp and face also. The fingers should be placed at the center of the skull base and then begin to tap approximately 30 times. Work your way outward toward the ears continuing to tap gently. After reaching the ears go back to the center of the skull a little higher up and work your way around to the ear region. Keep going up about eight levels, each time repeating the process.

There is a definite connection between the prostate and hair loss for men, and therefore a connection between breakthroughs in BPH treatments developed and their effectiveness in restoring hair growth. There have been some herbalists that have experimented with the herb Saw Palmetto in order to block the production of DHT in treating BPH. Although most studies of Saw Palmetto have been for the treatment of prostatic disease, more recent studies have been conducted on its effectiveness in treating loss. The herb has been found to work in fighting benign prostatic disease by lowering levels of DHT, which is a known cause of androgenetic alopecia. Studies have shown Saw Palmetto extract is an effective anti-androgen and therefore there is promise for its effectiveness as an effective treatment for hair loss prevention.

Rosemary and sage are two herbs that have shown benefit traditionally when used externally. It is suggested that to promote a clean scalp, stimulation of the hair root, and thickening hair one should boil together in water rosemary, sage, peach leaf, nettle and burdock. Then strain the loose herbs from the liquid and use the liquid to wash the hair daily. Also recommended is steeping one ounce of ground rosemary, two ounces of ground sage, and a half ounce of ground nettles in one pint of ethyl alcohol for a week, straining the solution and adding one ounce of castor oil and one ounce of water to the liquid. This is said to make a great hair lotion to apply at night before bed or just before shampooing.

Hair is a living protein, and as with any living part of our bodies we must be sure to maintain proper health to optimize our chances of maintaining a healthy head of hair. Proper nutrition is vital to maintaining healthy hair, since the hair is a living and growing part of the bodyâEUR(TM)s system. Viewing it in this manner can help us to treat our bodies different and raise expectations through proper care. A healthy balanced diet, occasionally with the help of vitamin and mineral supplements and exercise are all key components to a healthy regimen of maintaining healthy hair.

There is an obvious link to hair loss and prostatic health and this only increases the pace of hair loss discoveries. Most treatments for prostatic diseases such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) also have the pleasant side affect of growing hair on the heads of those taking it. With the pace of research and discoveries today, there is a great deal of optimism in the field of hair loss prevention and treatment. Hair is an important part of our dress and appearance, therefore a large part of our self-esteem. It is likely that there are answers for your situation presently or coming in the near future.

Remember, the restoration of hair growth is not an overnight process. The process takes time regardless of the method chosen. Be patient and follow as much of the advice given by professionals as possible. Keep in mind that the body is a system, and it is the abuse of this system by food intake and environmental causes that lead to most common hair loss.

Already suffering from hair loss? Get a free Hair Loss Analysis at [http://www.your-health-guide.com/freehairanalysis.php] to determine if you qualify for our Hair Restoration Package.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7520

[justforbooks]

The Better Half by Sharon Moalem review – on the genetic superiority of women

Let’s hear it for the female of the species and (more guardedly) for her second X-chromosome! Female superiority in colour vision, immune response, longevity, even basic survival from birth to death are illustrated in Sharon Moalem’s The Better Half. After decades, if not centuries, of bad press for women and their vulnerable biology, this book argues that in fact “almost everything that is biologically difficult to do in life … is done better by females”.

Moalem, a Canadian-born physician, is a research geneticist who has identified two new rare genetic conditions. He has worked across the world in paediatric medicine, including clinics for HIV-infected infants and is also a biotechnology entrepreneur and bestselling author. The Better Half is his latest foray into the field of popular science, and presents a general argument for the superiority of women’s biology to men’s.

In most circumstances, a human female has two X-chromosomes, one from her father and one from her mother; a male has just one, inherited from his mother, which is paired with a Y-chromosome, inherited from his father. Moalem believes that the X-chromosome has always received a poor press, and that it is time this negative view is counteracted. He draws on swathes of medical and historical data to show that, in many instances, the superiority of women’s biology is explicitly linked to their possession of the second X-chromosome. The greater complexity of women’s biology, he claims, is the secret of their success – it is more difficult to make a female but, once made, she trumps the male in her lifelong survival skills, for instance in her hyper efficient immune system shrugging off infection and maximising the benefits of vaccination – which means that females can avoid the consequences of a wide range of life threatening events ranging from starvation and cancer to, Moalem has cautiously concluded, Covid-19.

In mainstream genetics it was long held that, despite having two X-chromosomes, female cells only made use of one: the second randomly switched off or deactivated early on in embryonic development, a process rather summarily described as an instance of “genetic redundancy”. There was some evidence that the deactivation reduced female chances of succumbing to X-linked problems, due to the availability of an undamaged back-up. It was acknowledged, for example (though rather grudgingly), that women generally escaped being colour blind. Moalem notes that when he was studying genetics there was much emphasis on the tiny Y-chromosome as “what makes a man”. He observes wryly that maybe this positivity was related to the fact that “most of the people who were speaking breathlessly about the Y had one as well”.

Now a new spin on the X-inactivation story is emerging in genetics. Via a process called “escape from X-inactivation”, it turns out that the silenced X-chromosome is not so silent after all – there are escapees which may continue to offer back-up services, for instance providing extra cellular recovery options in the face of traumatic injury. It is to the benefits offered by this flexible availability within different cells that Moalem attributes the secrets of women’s biological superiority.

Statistics going back as far as 1662 show women living longer than men, and today’s figures show that 95% of people who have reached the age of 110 and over are female. In sport, women’s success in races such as ultra-marathons offer a different perspective on what it means to be physically superior. In the spirit of Angela Saini’s book Inferior, Moalem notes that this superiority has largely been ignored by medical science. And he discusses the medical trial data whose absence is observed by Caroline Criado-Perez in Invisible Women, her exploration of how the world is designed for men. Medicine needs to stop ignoring the secrets of women’s biological successes, Moalem argues, and find ways of harnessing them to improve the survival chances of the whole of the human race.

Imagine you live in a world where most individuals can see 1m colours. But in one group of these people (let’s call them males), about 8% cannot tell the difference between colours such as red and green, and a smaller number are totally colour blind. In a second group in this population (let’s call them females), almost all can see the standard 1m colours, but some (perhaps as many as 15%) can see 100m colours. Would you excitedly rave about the amazing talent of this latter group? Or would you just describe them as “not usually colour blind”? This same group has an immune system that has a profound talent to fight off many forms of infection and reap major benefits from vaccinations – with the down side that sometimes such hyper efficiency can lead to autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis. Would you celebrate the former or emphasise the latter? For years, it is the drawbacks that have been underlined.

The Better Half is an eye-opening book. In explaining why the advantages that accompany females’ greater genetic options have to date been largely ignored, Moalem points to “paradigm blindness”, and to the fact that research geneticists rarely get out in the field to notice, for example, the much greater survival rates of girls in paediatric ICUs (rates which, he discovers, have been clearly obvious to the nurses doing the frontline caring).

I take issue with one part of his chapter on “The Male Brain”, for the moment setting aside the unproven assumption that the brains of men are different from the brains of women. Moalem chooses to consider autism, and it appears as a given in his book that autism is more common in boys than girls (itself an assumption that is increasingly being challenged). Yet at the more impaired end of the autism spectrum, it is possible that there are as many girls as boys, and his suggestion that females have a different “kind” of autism doesn’t quite prove his wider argument. The X-linked disorders such as “fragile-X” or Rett syndrome receive only a passing mention – not surprisingly perhaps as they run counter to his argument about the superiority of the X-chromosome.

What about hormones? Moalem has perhaps missed a good opportunity to counter oestrogen’s frequently negative press, and to laud its potentially neuroprotective effects. The greater susceptibility of women to Alzheimer’s disease is put down by Moalem to a form of anti-inflammatory process linked to an over efficient immune system; their lesser susceptibility to Parkinson’s disease (surely a possible inclusion in the list of female genetic successes) is unexplained.

One section of the book focuses on “why women’s health is not men’s health”, and considers the failures of drug companies to test their products on females as well as males. For sure this has had detrimental consequences on, for example, the accuracy of dosage rates. But in at least one of the examples he gives, that of Ambien, body mass and blood volume are key factors in calculating dosage rates: because people vary enormously in size and shape, simply dividing test participants into males and females still risks inaccuracy. He is talking about averages, it’s true, but even so Moalem seems firmly wedded to the notion that genetic females and genetic males can be neatly categorised into two distinct types, and that the understanding of genetic sex will provide all the answers we need.

The impression given in The Better Half is that there is a lifelong free-ranging choice between X-chromosomes available to the female, her cells dancing back and forth between the best options that will help her to heal quicker after a car crash or to overcome the bacterial infection that might lead to an ulcer. There are brief and tantalising hints about the “escapees” from X-inactivation in several chapters of Moalem’s book, but it is a shame that we are never given a full, head-on account.

Yet this book is full of wonderful titbits of information – from the existence of a female prostate gland to the number of honey bee flying miles it takes to make 1lb of honey. The celebration of the genetic diversity offered by the female’s second X-chromosome is wholehearted and the examples Moalem gives are highly effective. He has written a powerful antidote to the myth of the “weaker sex”.

• The Better Half: On the Genetic Superiority of Women by Sharon Moalem is published by Allen Lane (RRP £20).

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[victoriasnowau]

Are Standing Desks Better For Your Health?

Over recent years, it feels like there has been a revolution in the understanding of public health, with the focus falling largely on the health effects of our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. Numerous studies have confirmed that extended periods spent sitting are contributing to a staggering range of serious health problems. Obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and even some cancers have been linked. And that is before we even start on more minor problems like strain injuries, back pain and postural issues. 

Even if these seem relatively minor in comparison, for the sufferer they can feel very serious indeed. What’s more, they are a major contributing factor in workplace absenteeism, which in turn means they have serious economic effects for the individual, the employer, and the economy as a whole. For all of these reasons, sitting is now considered to be as harmful to public health as smoking. 

Believe it or not, one study into this area found worrying trends as long ago as 1961. Research conducted in the UK found that bus drivers were three times more likely to suffer “sudden death” than conductors, who spent all day on their feet. This study made the first links between a sedentary lifestyle and heart disease. It also found that standing was potentially the answer. However, it wasn’t after the turn of the millennium that doctors began to revisit this area, at which point studies emerged all over the world confirming what we already knew: sedentary lifestyles are killing us. 

The WHO now lists sedentary behaviour as one of the top ten causes of death worldwide, and there is little doubt in the medical community of the risks. However, what is less clear is what we, as individuals, can do to help ourselves. Of course, increasing your physical activity will help. But finding the time in our busy lifestyles isn’t always easy. And with so much of work now office or computer-based, more and more of us are at risk.

That’s why research into sit stand desks has continued apace ever since they hit the market. With the reality being that many of us will remain stuck at our desks for the foreseeable future, the hope has always been that sit stand desks can help us change our behaviour and embrace a more active work life. But can a desk really improve your health?

Can Sit Stand Desks Prevent Obesity and Heart Disease? 

So do standing desks improve health noticeably? Unfortunately, the outcomes of many studies are unclear. Although there is a body of evidence that standing desks can help with back pain and in the fight against obesity, the small sample sizes and short time scale of the research conducted so far has struggled to find conclusive links that they can offset more serious problems. This was summarised in the Cochrane review of 2016, which sought to compile and analyse the data from 34 studies to find meaningful trends. 

However, the study found compelling evidence that installing a sit stand desk increased standing time, and thus decreased sitting time in the work setting. Although there were definitely no adverse effects on health, the quality of evidence available and the sample size made drawing any real conclusions about the long term health benefits impossible. 

A further review by The University Of Pittsburgh arrived at a similar conclusion. Although many studies had been carried out, the fact that nearly all participants were young and healthy made it impossible to draw conclusions, as problems such as heart disease disproportionately affect older workers. 

And there are studies beginning to emerge which do seek to address these issues directly. An economic evaluation carried out by Deakin University perhaps carries the most promise. This study found that standing desks could have huge benefits if they were rolled out to 20% of the Australian workforce. The study also suggested that adopting this policy would reduce absenteeism, boost productivity, and in the long term save billions of dollars in healthcare. 

And whether the benefits are proven conclusively or not, it appears that many key figures in business are not willing to wait for medical advice. Tim Cook of Apple personally revealed that all workers at the company’s new California headquarters had been given standing desks, describing sitting as “the new cancer”.

With larger and more comprehensive studies underway, it appears to an extent the jury is still out on the long term benefits of standing desks. However, the more recent results and studies, as well as the actions of business leaders, suggest that the standing desk will have real benefits in the fight against obesity and related illnesses. 

What is not in doubt is that a more active lifestyle leads to less of these health issues. And the standing desk has been proven to make employees more active, with results showing that on average workers stood for an extra hour than they would have at a normal desk.

So even though the research into the long term effects is as yet inconclusive, all of the signs suggest that standing desks could be invaluable in the fight against obesity, heart disease and related health problems. 

Is It Bad To Stand At Your Desk All Day?

The consensus is that, yes it would be a bad idea to stand and work at your desk all day long. This would be especially true if you’re transitioning from having been sat down all day previously. What is not in doubt is that you will benefit from spending at least part of your day standing. This helps keep the metabolism working, promotes blood flow, and relieves the strain on the muscle groups and joints that especially suffer from sitting all day. Keeping as active as possible, and changing your position often, seems to be the best way of both keeping active and sharing the load across muscle groups and joints. Not to mention the back. 

However, there is little evidence that standing alone helps to burn calories, so using a balance board or anti-fatigue mat can help you keep moving, as well as alleviating any discomfort you might feel from extended periods of time standing. On the more extreme end of the scale, some people even work from a treadmill, so they can keep moving as they work. 

How Long Should You Stand At A Standing Desk?   

Again, the jury is out on this one. Conventional wisdom had suggested that it was best to stand roughly 20 mins of every hour, or a sitting to standing ratio of roughly 3: 1. However, in this article published by The University of Waterloo, it is suggested that the reverse is true! 

The likelihood is that, although there are guidelines to help, how long exactly you need to spend standing probably depends on you. We’ll all have a slightly different experience, so it’s worth remaining aware of how you feel while using your standing desk and planning your own schedule. But even then, you might not need to be so precise. If you have frequent backaches for example, you may find it useful to stand when you can feel pain to relieve the pressure. 

For those adjusting to their standing desk, it is important that you phase it in at first. The reason for this is that your body is used to sitting all day, so asking it to switch to standing even a third of the time could create more problems that it solves. So for the first week, try 5 mins out of every half hour. The next week, 5 of every 25, and then 5 of every 20. Week 4, do 10 mins out of 30, then 10 out of 25, and finally 10 minutes of every 20. This will allow you to adjust, but as importantly, along the way you will probably find the right balance for you. 

Are Standing Desks Worth It?    

Although there is yet to be any clear evidence on the long term health benefits of the standing desk, this is simply because we haven’t been using sit-stand desks for long enough to know. However, numerous studies have indicated that the potential for these desks to improve public health is huge.

What we do know for sure is that our sedentary lifestyles are having a profound effect on our health and wellbeing. So anything we can do to cut down our sitting time and increase the hours a day we are active is a huge positive. And encouraging an active work life by installing standing desks has been shown to work.

Most of us spend over half of our waking lives at work, Monday to Friday at least. So changing our work style seems an obvious place to start to improve our health overall. For anyone concerned with their productivity, and their long term wellbeing, standing desks are well worth it.

source https://desky.com.au/blogs/news/are-standing-desks-better-for-your-health source https://deskyau.tumblr.com/post/627382821517934592

[nuttykittyperson-blog1]

How to Sell Your House in Any Market - Make Your Home Irresistible to Buyers

"How can I sell my house for the most money in the least time" is an even more important question in a buyer's market. 'Dressing' your house is the answer, and it's something anybody can do. It's sometimes called 'staging' or 'fluffing', but 'dressing' is a more appropriate term. These techniques have been used by professionals for many years but information has been surprisingly hard to come by for the layman. Here you'll learn the secrets and why they work.

Many buyers think they'll be able to look past a poorly decorated or empty house, but they do have a negative psychological effect on most people. Have you ever noticed that successful home builders always use a professionally decorated Model Home or Sales Suite? Buyers want to fall in love with their new home, and it's very hard to do that if it's cluttered, in disrepair, out of style, or empty.

Every realtor knows that the longer a house is on the market the lower the final selling price will be. 'Dressed' houses sell twice as fast as 'non-dressed' houses. A survey in California of 2,772 homes showed the average number of days on the market for non-dressed houses was 30.9, while dressed houses sold in 13.8 days.

Phenomenal Return On Investment

Some of these techniques involve spending a little money, and many people have a psychological block against spending money on something they won't get to enjoy. But when you look at the Return On Investment (ROI) you'll realize this may be the best investment you'll ever make. Research shows that houses that have been 'dressed', sell for more money, and the higher selling price more than makes up for the investment.

Statistics from the National Association of Realtors show that the optimal amount to spend on 'dressing' your house is between 1 and 3% of the home's value, and it brings in an average Return On Investment of between 8 and 10% in increased selling price. So if your house is worth $300,000, then investing between $3,000 and $9,000 will return an average of $24,000 to $30,000 in increased selling price.

Even if you look at a less than average possible scenario - if you invest $3,000 and get a return of $24,000 in 5 weeks, you've received a net profit of 7 times your investment. That's a Return On Investment of more than 4,200% on an annual basis. It's difficult if not impossible for most people to find another investment with that rate of return.

The key to making your home irresistible is this: "Once you decide to sell, you have to understand that this is no longer your home. It has turned into a great opportunity to make thousands of dollars in extra cash. YOUR home is waiting for you somewhere else."

UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HOME BUYERS

Dressing your house is about understanding and appealing to the psychology of home buyers. They want a home that's bigger, maintenance free, and a step up in class from the home they're living in now. And they need to be able to picture themselves living there.

Making your house look bigger There are a few simple techniques you can use to increase the perceived size of even smaller homes:

Leave an absolute minimum of furniture and wall hangings, perhaps half of what you have now, and put the rest in storage. You may think the rooms look empty but leave them for a few days and see if you get used to them. Although you may be proud of your furniture you'll be more proud of selling your house quickly for the right price. Make it completely free of small items and clutter such as magazine racks, small plants, stools, garbage containers, umbrella stands, shoe racks, CD racks, and throw rugs. Use large accessories such as cushions, table lamps and flower pots. Turn on all the lights, open all the curtains. Add a coat of off-white paint. If you need to, consult a professional with help on colors. Giving the impression of a maintenance-free home Upgrade electrical switches, plug-ins, lighting and plumbing fixtures to give the impression that your wiring and plumbing are up to date and will be maintenance free. Make your home spotlessly clean. People naturally feel that if the surfaces of a house are well maintained, things below the surface are in the same good condition. A clean house also feels more comfortable. Be sure to hide all your cleaning materials. Having them visible just reminds people about doing chores. Gaining a competitive edge with style and features Every house in your price range is your competition. The first step in gaining a competitive edge is research. You need to find out what style should your house be, what features should it have, and how much you should ask.

Style - When most people are buying a new home they want to take a step up in class. If your house is just as ordinary looking as their current one why should they buy it? They are looking for a home they can be proud of. To find out what current house decorating trends are, look through magazines like Better Homes and Gardens. Look particularly at what colors they use. Of course you want to stick to soft neutral colors in general but also look at the accent colors. Fancy cushions give the appearance of luxury. You can buy large pillows for your sofa in the latest colors. Put a slip cover on your old sofa if it is out of style.

Make sure none of the rooms in your house have been decorated in a particular theme. Themes appeal only to a very limited percentage of the population and in order to make your home sell it needs to appeal to the most possible buyers. Paint any rooms that need it with soft warm colors, not bright white. You want your house to feel comfortable, not stark or institutional.

Features - What are your house's advantages and disadvantages over other houses for sale in your area? Dressing your house is about highlighting the positives and minimizing the negatives. Compare your house to the standard for your price range and improve the points where it is below standard. Have a look at the age of people who are moving in and out of your neighborhood. Are they empty nesters looking for a smaller home that is easy to maintain, young couples with small children, or growing families looking for more living space? This will affect what features your house should have. For example, people with young children or empty nesters may want to use one of the bedrooms as an office or den.

Visit our web site  Buy My House Lancaster

Details

Company Name: We Buy Lancaster Houses Address:14 W. James St Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603 Phone Number:(717) 715-0010 Google Map URL: https://g.page/webuylancasterhouses?share

[edvinedison]

Blood Sugar Premier Review

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY

 Maybe you have just been diagnosed with diabetes or been living it with for a while. Regardless of age, it often happens that some people get tired frequently accompanied by mood swings followed by irritation. Generally, when a person works under stress, these symptoms may show up. Are you the one who is facing this frequently? If yes, we advise you to pay close attention to your blood sugar level. Life with diabetes can be an hourly or minute by minute effort when it comes to stabilizing your blood sugar levels.

Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease that keeps your body from using insulin the way it should. While some people can manage insulin by a proper diet, exercise, and healthy living styles others may need medication or insulin to manage it.  People with type 2 diabetes are said to have insulin resistance. Regardless, you have everything, you need to fight it. Had you ever tried to escape from insulin or other blood sugar stabilizers? You needn’t worry about taking insulin at all. There is an excellent alternative called ‘Blood Sugar Premier’.

 This is a unique supplement specially developed to maintain the blood sugar levels in the human body. These mainly occur in the form of capsules. Blood Sugar Premier created after passing vigorous tests is conducted out in controlled environments. These processes make the supplement trustworthy and result oriented. Our journey takes you to a state where you can start fresh every day that too, with a rejuvenated feel.

  Blood Sugar Premier Review – Introduction

After discovering the 2000-year-old Chinese “Old Testament” of Natural Health, a supplement named Blood Sugar Premier formulated. The secrets that Shen Nong, the “Father of Chinese Medicine” wrote down in this book, have been the key to helping a large number of diabetic patients support healthy blood sugar. Blood Sugar Premier is a supplement taken to restore the sugar level in the human body and manage insulin production. With continuous consumption over some time, one can quickly notice a reduction in dizziness, grumpiness, and also see an adequate amount of weight loss. The supplement reduces any muscle pain and prevents nerve damage. Matched with a proper diet, one can observe a drastic change in their general health and well-being over time.

 The formula combines 3 key blood-sugar-balancing ingredients: Berberine, Curcumin, and Piperine. Then, it adds a blend of natural herbs, vitamins, and minerals, each one hand-selected to give you faster, stronger effects. Blood Sugar Premier uses only the highest quality raw ingredients. The capsules in each batch are tested at a facility certified by GMP), and guaranteed for purity, content, and dosage.

 Based on scientific research on the ingredients, and real customer experiences, here’s what you can expect when you start taking Blood Sugar Premier.

 Support healthy blood sugar at normal levels.

It gives you more freedom to enjoy your sugary desserts.

Get an extra boost in shrinking down your body fat.

It gives you a feeling of being steady and active at all times.

It helps attain Self-respect from taking control of your health in your way.

  About Blood Sugar Premier Manufacturer:  

Blood Sugar Premier is manufactured by Zenith Labs, who are one of the leading names amongst the natural supplement manufacturers. Zenith Labs are a pack of health professionals with a revolutionary approach to natural supplements. This company dedicates to producing supplements made from natural resources. Thus, supplements manufactured by them are very reliable and trustworthy.

  Blood Sugar Premier Ingredients & Dosage:  

Blood Sugar Premier is one of the best choices among these types of drugs because of its ingredients. The product made from natural ingredients so that one may not worry about any side effects. The elements include Turmeric root, Berberine, Piperine, etc. 

 Turmeric root (Curcuma longa): Turmeric root is part of the ginger family of herbs. It is a well-known herb that cures numerous illnesses and also helps to prevent stomach aches and other such issues regarding the digestive system. 

 Berberine: Berberine is an extract of the Chinese goldthread plant. Berberine promotes a healthy, non-inflamed state in your cells. And it helps to break down the fat deposits around your pancreas, to help your body use its natural systems to support healthy blood sugar.

 Piperine: Piperine is a molecule found in the Black Pepper plant. Piperine activates the Curcumin in Blood Sugar Premier, promoting a non-inflamed state in your cells. It also has been shown to support healthy levels of insulin sensitivity. Blood Sugar Premier uses a type of Piperine called “BioPerine®.”

 Speaking about dosage, usually, for an average patient, it is taken twice a day without missing a dose. One capsule to be had with breakfast and One capsule with dinner. In the case where a stronger dosage is needed, you may take up to four capsules per day.

  How does Blood Sugar Premier work for weight loss?   

Blood Sugar Premier effectively helps in weight loss too. As the ingredients in the product prevents fat cells from multiplying and also converts fat to gain energy. Also, with increased physical health, patients generally become more active, which in turn promotes weight loss.

  Pros:  

One of the most significant advantages of this product is that it stabilizes the levels of blood sugar in the body while simultaneously reducing fat cells in the body. With restlessness and grumpiness, comes inevitable mood swings. Thus, this product indirectly reduces stress and depression too. Moreover, health problems like high cholesterol, blood pressure, and even heart diseases get eliminated through the use of the supplement.

  Cons:

 This product does not have any significant disadvantages. One issue can be that a patient needs to consume this capsule regularly without missing a dosage. Also, the product is not available anywhere but online. These are perhaps the only two issues people might have about the product.

  How to use the supplement? Are there any side effects?  

 These products are in the form of capsules and taken as per the requirement of the user. One should consult their physician before deciding on the dosage and times of the day before consumption. The product has almost no side effects, as no multiple chemicals infused, and that makes it outstanding when compared with other drugs in the market. Meanwhile, Blood Sugar Premier made from natural ingredients that are absolutely harmless and quite safe. Thus, patients can expect the best results without having to worry about any collateral damage.

  Where and How to Buy Blood Sugar Premier?  

The product is not available in pharmacies and general physical stores. The only option is to buy the product online. Moreover, the drug is not available on online shopping websites like Amazon, and the only way is to purchase the product through the drug’s official website. After placing the order, one can expect delivery within a short period. Multiple payment options such as online banking, debit/credit cards, or even cash on delivery are available.

  Conclusion – User Reviews says its Best!  

Thus, one can see the benefits of purchasing and consuming the Blood Sugar Premier. With the correct dosage and health habits, one can experience precise and 100% positive results. A proper diet, along with good health habits, helps to attain quicker results. Moreover, the product has almost no significant side effects, which are one of the biggest pros when it comes to this kind of product.

 After an optimum amount of time, one can notice significant weight loss and a general increase in energy and productivity in their daily lives. with proper physical health, mental and psychological health gets improved, which in turn affects the moods and behavior of people around them. These factors also affect one’s professional career as well, as it makes them more focused on their work without worrying about their health or well being. It is because of these positive outcomes that the drug has become one of the most popular ones in the vast sea of medicines and drugs on the market.

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, December 2019

Welcome to my latest summary of recent news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & ecommerce! This covers articles I came across since the October report, although some may be older than that.

I am also missing a lot here, but pared it down somewhat to make more readable. The lead up to the holiday shopping season was a lot crazier than I expected 🙃

Given the time of year, please do not expect another report until January. However, I will do brief posts of important news/blog posts in the interim as needed.

There are going to be big changes to this report coming in 2020. Have any suggestions or feedback?  Leave a comment below, email me through my website, or send me a message on Twitter.

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES

You are going to need to add Etsy’s tax ID to customs forms on New Zealand orders as of Dec. 1. Etsy’s ID is: 122-669-18.

FTC issues huge fines for selling fake likes & followers on social media, and for posting fake reviews online. “The [likes and followers] case could pave the way for further legal action on the same grounds, using the Devumi case as precedent. Indeed, shortly after the initial finding by the NY Attorney General, Facebook announced that it was moving ahead with legal action against several providers which it had found to be dealing in fake social media engagement.”

Everyone should read this article, if only to learn what not to do: Using “priming” to convert more buyers/users is a crucial marketing tactic.”Priming works by using associations made in our subconscious, and are almost always unnoticeable to the subject.” Example: “During a study, researchers approached customers in an electronics store, who’d entered to buy a new laptop.Half of the customers were asked what their memory needs were, and the other half were asked what their processor needs were...The group who were asked about memory, bought computers with higher memory and the group who were asked about processor speed, bought computers with much higher processor speeds.”

Etsy removed the word “Bugs” from the Bugs forum, & admits they will only will be monitoring it from 9-5 Etsy time (ET) Monday to Friday. They won’t be replying, but expect “hundreds of sellers” to do that job for them, unpaid. If you have an issue, you will now need to email through the Contact page, use the new 24 hour live chat, or phone them. [Note the parts they aren’t mentioning - Support is taking over a week to reply to emails right now, live chat will only be able to help with the simplest of questions (e.g., how do I change my email address?) & it is possible to spend over an hour on hold when you phone. You could spend quite a bit of money on long distance fees, especially if you are in a country that doesn’t have its own phone number, all for something you used to be able to get for free in the forum, sometimes on the same day. This is Etsy’s definition of “major improvements”.]

Check out this proposed US legislation, which wants large internet companies [yes, Etsy fits their definition] to reveal their algorithms & offer visitors a version with no “filter bubble.” You might not like Etsy search now, but I can guarantee it would become impossible if they removed all of the algorithm factors. [This editorial is a bit over the top, but does cover some of the key questions.]

ETSY NEWS

Items have been disappearing from a small number of Etsy searches since July, & Etsy still won’t tell us what is going on. If you discover you are affected, please let me know.

There have been a few threads on Etsy sending threatening emails about shops being below Etsy’s customer service expectations, often for just a few bad feedbacks or cases, which has shocked many long time sellers (even though they have been sending them for years; it appears they have decreased the number of “problems” you need to have to get an email.) Without announcing anything, Etsy released a page of “seller service level standards” that can help explain what they are looking for, namely cases & 1-2 star reviews, as well as the exact formula they use. I started a discussion thread here, & in case Etsy deletes comments in the thread, here is the dashboard showing your score. (Some people cannot make that link work; Etsy says only shops that received a warning can see it.) My blog post is here.

I summarized the 3rd quarter report here, and Etsy summarized it here. The stock market is not happy with management at the moment, with Morgan Stanley this past week stating that they expected Etsy’s 4th quarter to be worse than originally predicted, due to state sales tax laws and Etsy’s reduction in its Google Shopping ad buying. Note Etsy removed the “priority placement” for US free shipping about a week after the 3rd Q report, without any announcement, probably due to the blowback about it reducing first page conversions. (They didn’t announce anything; it just disappeared.)

Cyber Week traffic on Etsy was more than double what they saw on the average summer day.

They did a Q & A thread on the new stats, which wasn’t particularly useful. They admitted they intentionally removed the keyword & other data prior to November 2017 because “older data periods are less comparable to current stats”. [I believe that is code for “we’re too cheap to pay for the storage; investors need their payouts.”] They did finally add YOY comparisons back in a few weeks ago.

Etsy has again changed a few category & attribute options, including more baby stuff.

They did a holiday gift shopping promotion where people could call Etsy & get suggestions for gifts on Nov. 5. All gifts shipped free, so non-free shipping shops were not included. “It could also be a case study for personalization efforts to come from the long-running handmade marketplace.”

You’ve probably already noticed that Convos are now called Messages, but here is the announcement with the details just in case.

Etsy ran an Etsy search critique thread on November 13; the thread wasn't particularly useful, as almost all the staff who do the critiques aren’t experts in search. Basically, they say to use all of your tags, avoid repeating words in tags & titles, have 3-4 short phrases in your title, use commas in your titles (”Buyer research shows that using commas instead of dashes helps titles appear more clean and readable”), offer free shipping, and use all of your photos. The big takeaway for me was - they think we all have unlimited photography budgets, models, and time to do different modelled photos for every listing (including at the beach! LOL), photos of each of our different pieces in progress, photos of us working, & photos of each type of packaging. Needless to say, none of those things are bad if you have gobs of time or the money to pay someone to do all of that. But if you are like me and are a one-person business, live in a small condo, don’t have the strength to take photos all day, don’t have an abundance of people to model when I am taking photos (i.e., people I know have real jobs & aren’t around when I work on photos), and don’t have anyone to take photos of me making things, then this is pretty laughable. I wouldn't even consider doing all of this for my 5 best selling listings, never mind all 430+. YMMV. [The repeated mentions of process photos makes me worry they will be requiring those for everyone at some point …but I am sure I am just being paranoid.] One notable error was telling someone to use “color” (the US spelling) instead of “colour” (the proper English spelling) because the shop’s language settings were US English - Etsy currently treats these both the same, so there is no issue at the moment. Are they trying to give us a hint about something?

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES

Introducing BERT: Google’s new technology to help organic search process natural language better. This isn’t likely a change you can optimize for, but it should help searchers get more relevant results for complicated queries. “Here is an example of Google showing a more relevant featured snippet for the query “Parking on a hill with no curb”. In the past, a query like this would confuse Google’s systems. Google said, “We placed too much importance on the word “curb” and ignored the word “no”, not understanding how critical that word was to appropriately responding to this query. So we’d return results for parking on a hill with a curb.” Moz’s Whiteborad Friday covered the basics. [warning - some bits are advanced. Just skip those if you need to.] A study said BERT still isn’t very good at understanding “not” and other negatives. The NY Times may be one of the sites that is affected.

If you were disappointed when keyword research tool Keywords Everywhere became a paid tool, a new alternative has been released. Note that Keyword Surfer is still in beta. I’m going to try it for a bit and write up a short report if I think it is worth using. (The traffic estimates are way off, as in almost 10 times too low, for the sites I have info on.)  If you try it, let me know what you think!

While we are on the topic, here’s 13 keyword research errors you don’t want to make. Short takeaways - not every high volume keyword phrase will work for your specific product, don't ignore long tail, and make sure you look at the search results for any keyword before you decide to use it.

Here’s another keyword and topic research tool that compiles questions people search along with a relationship tree so you can see how ideas are connected.

More common SEO problems with ecommerce sites.

If you code your own website, check out the new Google instructions on writing your organic search snippets. Note this is supposedly only about display & not about ranking.

Improve your Instagram traffic with 8 SEO tips for your profile and posts.

Which is better for SEO - Squarespace or WordPress? The results are likely skewed by the fact that “platforms like Wix and Squarespace tend to attract less SEO-savvy people than WordPress.” They agree with what I have been saying for a while: if you know what you're doing, Squarespace sites can rank just fine.

Excellent tips on how good SEO also helps you comply with US disability access laws.

The latest on Google updates - there was apparently one around November 7. This one may have hit affiliate websites more than other types.

The Wall Street Journal wrote an article claiming Google manipulated search results to favour its interests & those of its advertisers, including eBay. [The original article is behind a paywall; the link is in that news coverage.] However, many in the SEO community - most of whom are not usually reluctant to criticize Google when they are behaving poorly - feel the article is way off base, & demonstrates a fundamental lack of knowledge of how Google works. Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Land & Search Engine Roundtable even did interviews with t WSJ staff for the article, and was amazed at how much they got wrong. “Even a basic understanding of the difference between organic listings (the free search results) and the paid listings (the ads in the search results) eluded them…[Glenn] Gabe told us that not only were his conversations with the paper off-the-record but also that he was misquoted”

CONTENT MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails)

Here’s something I don’t see discussed much: using templates (& other consistent branding) in your social media, blog and website posts.

Content hubs are a very useful way to increase your search engine traffic for a core topic while providing a landing page for social media, ads etc.

Good primer here for beginning social media marketing for your business. You’ll need to do more research depending on your target market and what platform/s you choose, but it is definitely a good overview of getting started.

If you think influencer marketing is right for your business, here are 10 places you can find influencers to work with.

Your email subject lines can change the open rates; here are 19 tips to make them more clickable.

Instagram started testing hiding “likes” on posts in the US as of November 11th, & then announced plans to try it out globally. A study on previous tests showed that there may be some effect on influencer engagement.

Facebook has introduced its own payment system, currently in the US only, for limited situations only at the moment.

Reddit is an often overlooked social media platform to use for business but the traffic is strong, so check out these tips on asking it work for your business. [infographic]

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS)

Pay for online ads (outside of Etsy) but don’t know what negative keywords are? Here’s how to use them with Google.

Hubspot continues their massive rush of “ultimate guides” with everything you wanted to know about Amazon ads.

Facebook now allows you to have different text in the same ads, which can be adjusted for different groups of users.

Amazon is predicted to continue cutting into Google’s online ad dominance through 2021; Google currently has 73% of money spent on online ads in the US.

If you are interested in long term brand building in your advertising, you might be interested in this article, where Adidas admits it was ignoring brand ads & pushing instant returns for too long.

Just in time for the holidays, Google Merchant Center rolled out a bunch of upgrades.

Buying TV ad time is losing popularity; it will be less than 25% of all advertising spend in just a few years, while digital spending is now over 50%.

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING

Facebook changed how they count page impressions.

Everything you want to know about the Google Search Console. Oh, and also everything you want to know about the Google Search Console. Which one do you like best? [If you have your own website or freestanding blog and are not using the Console, you probably should be reading both of those. Seriously, just set the darn thing up, then learn how to use it later.]

Also, the Console now features a speed report, and has changed how they send you messages.

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS

Trend alert: many struggling or failed retailers sell clothing. “This sector is saturated with supply and is arguably over-stored.” … “For younger shoppers, as they choose which apparel brands do get their attention, sustainability and other cultural issues are often at the forefront.”

US sellers can now get discounted UPS rates through Shippo.

A bug is keeping suspended Amazon sellers from being reinstated.

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE

Don’t use these common customer service lines. ...“there are studies that support the use of positive language in customer service. Instead of focusing on what you can’t do for a customer, focus on what you can do. No one likes to be told no.”

Another article on the psychology of colour; beware that some of this is a bit simplistic, as there are always exceptions.

Holiday shopping will push further into December this year, with half starting around Cyber Monday (Dec. 2). 62% of “high spenders” (over $2100 spent on the holidays) will shop on their smart phones. 25% of respondents to this survey said they already started shopping in September. It turns out most people want gift cards, among other stats. Nearly half of US shoppers are more likely to shop with companies that are socially responsible. Mobile shopping is expected to beat desktop shopping for the first time this season. And yes, most Americans expect to add to their credit card debt before January, men more than women.

US retail sales fell 0.3% in September; online sales fell the same amount.  

MISCELLANEOUS (including humour)

Trend alert - apparently Generation Z is not big on makeup, and it is affecting large companies’ profits.

Google’s co-founders hand the parent company Alphabet over to the current CEO. They still work for Google and will focus most of their time there.

Google Webmaster spokesperson John Mueller tackles the controversial question - is a hot dog a sandwich? [humour]

[old-school-butch]

Suicide risks and data

I can’t seem to post this in the replies, so I made a separate post in response to @transgun’s discussion on suicide risk for post-op trans people. My apologies for the delay, I’ve not been AWOL because I ‘want trans people to die’ and one lovely anon informed me, but because I’ve been too busy to give these information the attention it deserves.

As a general framework for my perspective, I think suicide is complicated. Teenagers, lesbians, dentists, middle-aged men, frail seniors - all have high rates of suicide, yet are very different people. It takes multiple sources and analysis to really pin down the causes and assess the most effective treatment and prevention strategies.

Additionally, I want to clarify that I believe people are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and that people should not face undue barriers to medical interventions that will ease their distress.

Generally speaking, people are resilient. We adapt to all kind of terrible decisions especially when those decisions are permanent. It’s a well known trick of human nature that helps us get on with our lives. If you know you’re stuck with something, you’re very motivated to feel positively about it, and if you need evidence about this just ask someone if they regret getting a tattoo.

Anyway, I’d imagine that most people would adapt to ineffective or even psychologically harmful surgical choices EXCEPT the group of people who suffer from dysphoria. This is a group that, by definition, haven’t gotten used to the bodies they were born with, much less their potential plastic surgery mistakes. That seems to me to be a high risk proposition, and in the face of trauma, dysmorphia, autism, depression, social conflict and a host of other mental health challenges that accompany most gender clinic patients, I’m concerned that entirely the wrong approach is being employed.

So, my question is whether physical transition successfully reduces suicide risk over the long-term. Significantly, the sources you’ve given me are whether ‘mental health’ is improved with transition. Fundamentally, we are asking different questions. If that’s all you need to know, you can save yourself lots of reading and stop here.

I’m being picky about the question for a reason. Read this comprehensive review of suicide among LGBT population (the article says LGBT but throws in the T rather randomly since all earlier research is LGB only). Despite 4 decades of self-reported data, one of the “knowledge gaps” identified is “Among the most pressing questions for future research is whether LGBT people are over-represented among suicide deaths, and if so, why” If you read the details of the many different studies in this review, you really understand how confusing it is to pin down. There are contradictory and counter-intuitive results. For example, some researchers found that loneliness and social isolation were significant factors - makes sense - except that married gay men still have significantly higher rates of suicide. When you look more closely, the social factors were significant in youths, so maybe there’s a crisis period of coming out? Well no, the elevated risk remained high across all age groups for LGBs. How do we make sense of this?

Maybe it’s the concurrent high rates of substance abuse, mood and anxiety disorders that are often noted  (Bostwick et al., 2010; Cochran, Mays, & Sullivan, 2003; Cochran, Mays, Alegria, et al., 2007; Conron, Mimiaga, & Landers, 2010; Hughes, Szalacha, & McNair, 2010; Jorm, Korten, Rodgers, Jacomb, & Christensen, 2002; McCabe, Hughes, Bostwick, West, & Boyd, 2009). That would be a reasonable conclusion until some researchers discovered that women who only have female partners have lower rates of every mental disorder they studied than even in the general population  (Bostwick et al., 2010). So when other studies find elevated rates of substance abuse in lesbian and bisexual women, it’s possible that most of that is actually concentrated in the bisexual women, or at least, women who date men  (King et al., 2008). The evidence from the Danish registries (Mathy, Cochran, et al., 2009) suggest significantly higher suicide rates among anyone who has a history of a domestic partnerships with men - which maybe says more about men than the people who date them.

Maybe ‘coming out’ age is a factor. There is some evidence that suicide attempts are broadly distributed among ages in LGB populations than the general population (where it’s concentrated in youth). (D'Augelli, Grossman, Hershberger, & O'Connell, 2001). It may be more closely linked to the ages at which lesbian women (Hughes, 2003) and gay men (Paul et al., 2002) recognize and disclose their sexual orientation to others than to chronological age.  Conversely, suicide attempts appear to occur more frequently among transgender adolescents and young adults than among older age groups (Xavier et al., 2007). Transgender youth have reported parental rejection to be a particular stressor (Grossman & D'Augelli, 2008). Are we misdirecting our efforts to a medical process rather than focusing on repairing the parental and peer relationships a young trans person faces during the initial ‘coming out’ phase? Additionally, how do we assess the long-term impact of any suicide prevention strategies since some natural reduction in suicide rate may occur with aging?

Back to the question of whether transition reduces suicide rates. There are many questions that need to be answered that I would hope for in a study. I don’t want to pick apart each study, it’s petty to do so since no study can answer every question, but the body of evidence should give a comprehensive and generally congruent set of answers. Answering my question would involve some core data:

1. How high is the suicide rate in the first place? Observed baseline suicide rates need to be compared to post-op observed suicide rates. Strictly speaking, any other data is of lesser value. Self-reported suicide attempts have been consistently reported by LGB populations over 4 decades of research, (DuRant, Krowchuk, & Sinal, 1998; Falkner & Cranston, 1998; Garofalo, Wolf, Kessel, et al., 1998; Garofalo, Wolf, Winssow, et al., 1999; Remafedi, 2002; Russell & Joyner, 2001), yet studies that analysed data of actual suicides, trying to find out their sexual orientation after the fact, found no evidence of disproportionate rates of suicide. (Rich, Fowler, Young, & Blenkush, 1986), (Shaffer, Fisher, Hicks, Parides, & Gould, 1995) and (Renaud, Berlim, Begolli, McGirr, & Turecki, 2010). Similarly, despite consistent self-reports of alarmingly high suicide attempts in trans populations, the Tavistock clinic reports its actual suicide rate of 1% - which is indeed high for the general population, but average for a clinical population seeking mental health treatment.

There’s an significant problem evident here. If you begin in the clinic, all the data that follows is limited to this population. There’s no comparable population found ‘in the wild’ where we can compare outcomes with the general public. A medical process necessitates medical intervention, making this data fundamentally different than studying a LGB population that doesn’t need or want medical intervention.

There’s no shortage of evidence of post-clinical risks for trans people. One clinical study reported a disproportionate number of suicide deaths among Dutch transsexual women and men receiving hormone therapy, compared to the general population (van Kesteren et al., 1997). Another international review of studies that followed over 2,000 persons in 13 countries who had undergone gender reassignment surgery identified 16 possible suicide deaths (Pfäfflin & Junge, 1998). That’s a rate of  800 suicides for every 100,000 post-surgery transsexuals. (by contrast, the suicide rate for the overall U.S. population is 11.5 suicides per 100,000 people). But what would it have been without intervention? It’s from 1998, is it relevant? Do trans people who don’t seek medical help do better or worse?

2. When we assess medical transition’s effectiveness, what are we comparing it to? Are we using a control group or placebo or double-blind studies? Are we comparing it to an alternative therapy? To ‘watchful waiting?’ To decide what’s best, what options are on the table?

3. How long is the follow-up timeline? Again, we need to know the original risk pattern to know if the intervention has been successful. A short-term reduction in risk that is erased in 5 years is a temporary benefit for a permanent procedure.

4. Who is a candidate for transition? This is a key issue with many older studies where the pre-op process was rigid and rigorous and the transsexual population significantly different than the one today. How can we compare whether an effective or ineffective outcome of a ‘sex change’ on a group of transsexual gay men in 1975 is related to decisions made to have hormone-only treatment on a ‘transmasculine’ teenage female in 2018? Is a non-op trans person likely to suffer increased suicide risk by not transitioning? Should transition be recommended or even required for trans patients, whether they request it or not?

5. Who is trans? I mean, if we’re going to study the effectivenes of a procedure on a population, we need to define both the procedure and the population. Looking at long-term data, this is a huge problem. For example, if you read Mathy, 2002b, you’ll notice that transgender respondents had a higher rate of reported suicide attempts than any group except homosexual females.

You can probably guess my suspicion than in 2018, a large portion of those gender non-conforming homosexual females now identify as non-binary, transmasculine etc. Female transsexuals were very rare in the 1970s, none of the early data addresses the risks to this population, who now make up 2/3 of gender clinic patients. (Clements-Nolle, Marx, Guzman, & Katz, 2001) found that 65% of female-to-male respondents identified as ‘gay, lesbian, or bisexual’. It’s hard to tell if that even means same-sex attracted, but I’m going to guess it does. When we say we are treating trans people, or lesbians, or lesbian trans people, who are we actually talking about when we compare data over time?

To address the studies you’ve cited, the first (2014) notes that “A marked reduction in psychopathology occurs during the process of sex reassignment therapy” which is promising but doesn’t meet any of these 3 criteria above. It doesn’t satisfy me, although it’s fine if it satisfies you.

The 2015 study is very promising and has a good timespan. However, it doesn’t have the numbers to tease out which factors affected improved mental health (subjects socially transitioned, had surgery, got counselling, resolved conflicts with their families etc over the course of time), making it difficult to pinpoint physical treatment as a cause of mental health improvement. Also, it’s a self-report study... not suicide data.

The next 4 studies show improvement on a variety of health scales but, again, that may answer your questions but it doesn’t answer mine.

I do want to address the study on regret. Very few detransitioners or desisters would meet the criteria of this study. Making a ‘regret application’ involved taking the step to reverse your legal ID to your original sex. Post surgery, regardless of how you felt about the outcome, few people would be motivated to pursue such an action. It’s interesting but not a good representation of the concept of regret. One of the studies from the ‘70 studies on transition’  you linked to notes “None of the 61 homosexual females or 36 homosexual males consciously regretted surgery, compared to 4 of the 14 heterosexual males: a significant difference.” More than anything, this highlights the need to find specific answers for specific questions.

Lastly, I’m just annoyed with Dhejne at this point. It’s like she’s vagueposting on her own damn research, but that’s not the same as publishing a peer-reviewed study. The phrasing about the later cohort’s suicide risk not being statistically significant could mean a lot of things. It could be a smaller cohort, studied over a shorter time span when the rise in suicide risk increased over time. Who knows? It’s not clear. The main caveat to notice in her original publication is that it was not intended to assess whether transition was effective at treating dysphoria, to which I say... why the hell not? She’s head of a gender clinic - doesn’t she want to know? And yet the conclusion in the paper is that the data “suggest that sex reassignment, although alleviating gender dysphoria, may not suffice as treatment for transsexualism”, which is.. tepid? Unclear? Just, why? But okay, let’s ignore absolutely all of her data, statements and so on until she publishes otherwise, or retracts her current statements, or clarifies her data. It’s not the only or best study on this population, and doesn’t deserve the attention it gets.

[oppof11-blog]

Oppo f11 pro best mobile review 2019

A Smartphone companies try to maximize screen size it's hard to find phones without screen cutouts for the selfie cam.  But there are some more creative options making their way under the mid-range scene and will for gsm marina and this is an Oppo f11 pro review.

The Oppo F 11 Pro comes with a stunning gradient finish ours goes from blue to black to purple and though it is made of plastic.  It does look like glass the phone seems pretty durable and doesn't feel cheap even though the plastic but of course at this price point waterproofing is a bit much to ask for it.

Probably wouldn't even be possible either thanks to one of the f11 pros key features the motorized pop-up selfie cam it hides inside the body and comes out when you need it.  It isn't slow, but we've seen faster on other phones OBO did an excellent job with the aesthetics here though this healthy cam is directly in the center in line with the rear camera bump it all looks symmetrical and satisfying.

And since the crack is centered the phone doesn't wobble much on a table, of course, you could slap on the included case if you want the most stability.  Thanks to the hidden selfie cam the Oppo F 11 pro's big six point five three-inch display has minimal bezels and is not free, unlike the regular f11.

 What are the best updates oppo f11 pro?

It's an IPS LCD with a 1080p resolution here you get a great full-screen experience with pretty deep blacks and at 400 PPI content looks crisp.  Color accuracy is just average by default, but you can't improve it by turning the color slider to warm in settings maximum brightness sits at 414 it's, and there's no boost.battery life really awesome and you can use whatsapp web perfectly with this model, so download whatsapp apk today to this model if you already bought.

If you're in auto mode is OK for the class though, and sunlit legibility is excellent.  Here you can unlock the f11 Pro with the fingerprint reader located on the back it's always on and very fast, and of course, you can open your phone using face unlock.

It's a bit less secure, but it's an excuse to play around with a selfie cam and impress people the Oppo F 11 pro has one loudspeaker at the bottom it posted a score of very good in our loudness test.  And quality is excellent with a rich and deep sound plugging in headphones through the 3.5-millimeter jack degrades the stereo quality quite a lot and loudness is only average.

 Oppo f 11 storage and chipset

There is FM radio though you get 64 or 128 gigs of storage on the F 11 Pro. and it is expandable through the hybrid slot unfortunately Oppo is still sticking to micro USB ports on its mid-range phones instead of switching to USB see the f11 pearl runs Android 9 Pi with color OS 6 on top it looks a bit different from stock Android you can choose to store your apps in an app drawer or to keep them all on the home screen swiping to the left takes you to smart assistant panels which give you things like a calendar step tracker and a space for shortcuts and swiping from a bar on the right edge of the screen opens a space for shortcuts to there's a game space where you can store your games and change settings for performance and blocking notifications.

And the phone comes with some gesture options, and you can swipe up and hold the Siri synapse swipe from the bottom left or bottom right to go back.  And swept up from the meadow to go home oppo f11pro is powered by an Helio P70 chipset neither four or six gigs of RAM. this model has amazing storage even though you not need to download music this smartphone now, because Pandora apk app now helps to listen music online.

It also has a dedicated chip for All driven tasks performance is smooth with no heating or throttling issues games run well.  Especially if you take the time to tweet their settings in the game space with a four thousand milliamp-hour battery.  You'd expect battery life on the F 11 Pro to be pretty good.

And you'd be right it scored an excellent endurance rating of 109 hours, not proprietary tests the phone also brings 20 watts VOC fast charging.  It isn't blazing fast but decent we were able to charge from zero to 40% in 30 minutes the Oppo alpha 11 Pro comes with the dual camera setup.

 Oppo f11  camera and features

There's a forty-eight megapixel F 1.8 main cam with face detection autofocus and a five megapixel one for depth sensing in portrait mode.  Because of quad Bayer technology the default output of the main cam is 12 megapixels in good light shots come out excellent, there are plenty of detail high dynamic range lively and accurate colors excellent contrast.

And overall lovely processing, we did find one issue in areas of uniform colors there are noticeable patterns of noise.  You can toggle on the dazzle color mode, which uses advanced image stacking to improve the dynamic range further than HDR.

It also adds some saturation to the colors, but you lose some beautiful details.  If you want to shoot in 48 megapixels, you can do it.  But the photos you'll get are far from impressive they're just upscaled versions of the 12-megapixel ones with no improvement in detail the images we took in portrait mode are excellent subject separation works very well.

And transitions from sharp 2d focused are quite smooth these are among the better portraits we've seen flagships included thanks to the bright F 1.8 lens regular shots in low-light come out excellent.

As well way beyond what we expected for the class, there is beautiful detail low noise levels balance highlights and excellent contrast.  There's even a dedicated ultra night mode each shot takes a few seconds, but it gives you a brighter exposure and cleans up dynamic noise range is improved, and you get boosted contrast and saturation.

 Final conclusion about oppo f11 pro

But you lose some fine detail onto the selfie cam it's 16 megapixels in F 2.0, and there's no auto focus here it does a decent job there are beautiful colors in particular, and dynamic range is suitable for a selfie shooter for video the f11 Pro maxes out at 1080p at 30fps even though the Helio p7 II can handle 4k videos quality is excellent.  Though there's plenty of resolved detail accurate colors low noise and stereo sound recording GIS is always on, and dynamic range is average.

Thanks to the high-res sensor you can also shoot videos with two times lossless zoom and their quality are on par with a regular 1080p ones, so that's the Opel f11 Pro with this shiny package you're going to sell the chipset a large nacho screen surpassing battery life and excellent camera experience.

There are only a few things left to complain about the micro USB port is a bummer Plus this isn't the cheapest mid-range er around at around 25,000 rupees or 320 Euros that said if you're looking for a not free device the Oppo eleven pro is one of the best you can find right now.

[allthingshb-blog]

Another Interview!

Readers, I have been lucky enough to get another interview with an Archie Writer. His name is Bill Vallely, who is currently self publishing. His book, Tips to Prevent Dry Eye...That Work! Is coming out this January. It’ll be done in graphic novel form, with some jokes to lighten up the subject matter,  and looks super interesting, so be sure to check it out even if you don’t have dry eye! 

Anyway, without further ado, here it is!

Susan Michaels:  Tell me more [about how the relaunch of Harvey Comics was your idea].

BV: Back in the late 80s, my writing partner, Mark McClellan, had a roommate who was connected to Jeffrey Montgomery. Jeff was looking to start a comic book company. I suggested that Harvey Comics had characters everyone already knew (Casper, Richie Rich, etc) that were stuck in legal limo. Why roll the dice to create something new when properties that were well known were just sitting there, gathering dust? Montgomery’s business model was to focus on marketing Casper t-shirts, mugs, key chains, etc. Later he decided that the real money was in feature films and Direct to Video films.  BTW, I'm getting ready to release my first self published graphic novel - "Tips To Fight Dry Eye ... That WORK!"

SM: Wow, I really like the cover for that!Here are some questions I have: (If there are too many or you can't answer, just let me know)What was your favorite/least favorite franchise to write for in the HB Archie? What was your favorite/least favorite character? What was it like writing for Archie, as a whole?SusanISo I learned that one of the characters, Scrappy, who was disliked by the fandom, had a new version of the character in hopes of “reviving” him to the fandom, but in the end was unceremoniously dropped after slowly having more infrequent appearances. Is that true? What's the story behind that?

BV: No question, my favorite character to write for was Mr. Spacely in “The Jetson”. He had an energy and anger that made him a lot of fun to write for.  What I loved most was working with the most underrated man in comics, Sid Jacobson. Sid co-created Richie Rich, Little Dot - most of Harvey’s characters. (Casper started as an animated cartoon. That Casper was very different from the one we know now.) I’ve never been very fond of Casper. He always struck me as being kinda mop.

SM: Casper's older then I thought...do you know anything about the aforementioned Scooby question?

BV: Well, Scrappy did wind up being the bad guy in the Scooby Doo feature film.He was an attempt to bring life to an old franchise that had mixed results. There are those who loved Scrappy - and then there people like me.

SM: Gotcha. I was talking about his Archie incarnation-I heard that the "animosity was too great" and things went south from there?

BV: This was a very weird period for me. I had been hired to be Humor Editor for a comic book version of Penthouse Magazine - it was called "Penthouse Comix". I was editing Adult Comics during the day and writing Yogi Bear at night. I was largely out of the loop then.

SM: Oh, got it. That must have been quite intense. While we're still on the subject of Scooby though, do you remember a villain you created called "The Gray One"?

BV: That was mine.Yup.I wrote that story mostly to create a secret agent called "R.U." I did that strictly so I could write the line, "Scooby Doo, where's R.U.?"

SM: I noticed in the story the Gray One's perception of the gang was a little...skewed, and since sometimes other writers of the comic had the gang acting rather differently, I was wondering if that was commentary on that.

BV: I wanted to play with the formate a bit.Try pushing the characters in directions they hadn't gone before.Telling a story from the criminals point of view, then finding out that he was fooled all along, struck me as being fun.

SM: It was. 

BV: What I wanted to do was show that all the villains the Mystery Machine fought in the past had ganged up to take down our heroes, but sadly that was not to be.Aw, you only said that because it's true.

SM: Yep! So past villains ganging up on the Scooby gang? What happened to that idea? I mean it doesn't seem to have seen the light of day, but what happened there?

BV: The thinking at the time is that kid comics couldn't handle extended story-lines. Each comic had to be a complete story, never refereed to again. What can I say? They had a point.A six year old buying a comic is a very different animal than a 45 year old comic book collector.I was happy that Sid allowed me to get away with as much as he did.

SM: It's odd, because some of the stories (I don't think they were yours) took a very adult direction...did having the infamous comics code in place ever make anything else difficult?

BV: The Comics Code had largely died in the 90s. Marvel had stopped submitting to the CC.Besides, if anything, I was more of a censor than anyone else.I always remembered that I was talking to 6 year olds, and tried to keep the comics appropriate for that group. After all, they were sold on racks that said "Wholesome Family Entertainment."The average comic sold 30,000 books. With a 3 to 1 pass along (that's other kids who read their friends comics) that's close to 100,000 young minds reading the book.Before turning in a script, I would imagine a football stadium filled with children. Is there anything in my story that I wouldn't say to those kids on a PA system.I have no problem with adult comics. Hell, I helped made them. But they have to be clearly labeled. I've never been a fan of sneaking things past the editor.

SM: This is kind of a silly question, but did you see anyone who worked at HB studios? (I know they probably just licensed it, but I was wondering just in case) Also, for that "Dry Eye Tips Book" did you do  that illustration? I really like it! So you mentioned that you wanted to push characters in new directions, how was that? (I did notice a more sensible Scrappy and a less bland Fred, but I want to hear what you had to say-and I’d like to apologize that these are Scooby-centric-old comics are difficult to come by and Scooby were the ones I happened upon more of) Did any other comic series push characters in new directions? Which Scooby villains did you want to bring back?

BV: Back in the day, I mostly wrote in my living room in Los Angeles. I rarely showed up to the office.Yes, I drew all the illustrations in "Tips To Fight Dry Eye ... That WORK!" And if you could mention that the book is coming out on January 1, 2019.  The next Graphic Novel I want to do is on President Warren G. Harding. I know it sounds dull, but Warren was the original G. O. Party Animal. The book would be sex and hootch and Red Hot Jazz.You're having trouble finding these books? Not half as much trouble as I am.About pushing the characters in new directions, I wanted to do it in a way that stayed true to the characters. One story that I wanted to do, but was shot down, was to have Judy Jetson fall in love with some romantic mope from another dimension who said that one second would her would be worth the end of all worlds. She runs away to smuggle herself to his dimension, while being chased by the cops. She discovers that the cute guy lives in an anti-matter dimension. If they touched, both dimensions would be destroyed. Judy thought the guy was spouting the nonsense boys tell girls - she didn't know he was serious.I was told that was a little too dark.I did a Magilla Gorilla / Yogi Bear story, strictly to show the differences between the two characters. (Yogi is a selfish, charming, lout while MG means well but causes trouble anyway.)I wanted to watch the entire run of the first incantation of SDWAY, and have them all in a room, plotting revenge. Cooler heads prevailed.All the villains, that is.

SM: I’d be happy to mention your book! (I don’t have dry eye, but I do love that cover XD) I don’t have many more questions.So you wanted to go strictly off of SDWAY series, then, but as a result of the higher ups the comic series wasn't continuous with any of the cartoons? Also, if they didn't want you to watch the shows, how did they have writers familiarize themselves with the material? Or were you given creative freedom there? Also, what would’ve happened at the end of that Jetsons idea you had?

BV: I wasn’t confrontational with anyone - I didn’t have to be. H/B was lucky to be edited by the most under-rated editor in Comic Book history; Sid Jacobson. Back in the 1950s, Sid improved the art at Harvey Comics, and the rest of the industry followed suit. Sid was always willing to listen to any idea, then improve on it. It was a happy time - I’d work with Sid again in a heartbeat.OCT 20TH, 

SM: Sorry for implying that there was anything confrontational going on behind the scenes. That wasn’t my intention when I asked. So what I was intending to ask when I was curious about the execs and continuity was if, timeline-wise, that meant it was unconnected from the cartoons? (If it is, no worries-I’m mostly just curious-if a bit pleased that either way, it seems that the infamous Scrappy-Doo Era and said character’s cartoon personality were not a thing here) This one is about your book-so is it all going to be in the form of comic, a semi-story with the dry eye symbolized by the little devil? So I asked what your favorite/least favorite character was. What was your favorite story that you wrote? What happened to Richie Rich that put it in legal limbo? (All I know was it used to be Harvey comics, then it became a cartoon for a few years) Thank you for your time and patience :)

BV: Jeff Montgomery and company viewed the characters as products to obtain movie contracts and sell T-Shirts. He viewed the comic book production division as a necessary evil - until he decided we weren't necessary any more. What he didn't understand was that, while the comics didn't make as much as a single Richie Rich Direct to Video Movie, they were the engine that kept the characters alive. Without the funny books, people forgot about Richie and company.

SM: Yikes.

BV: On the day we were fired, I walked into Jeff's office (while he was in the middle of a meeting with someone from Paramount) and stole his equipment. Staplers, pens. That kind of stuff.

SM: Then what happened?

BV: He pretended I wasn't there and nothing was happening. I loudly stated "I'm stealing this ... and this ... this is mine now". I kept that stuff, too.1

SM: Wow, that's-wow! XD

BV: It's the reason I'm self publishing these days. I guess I could get work if I begged.But the best I could hope for would be to insulted, paid a $40 page rate, and maybe make the company rich.Self publishing is no more risky, I have a lot more freedom, and the potential rewards are high.

SM: I did not know that! That's a really funny story, by the way. Also, do you have any answers to the other questions I wrote about above?

BV: Shoot them past me again.

SM: So what I was intending to ask when I was curious about the execs and continuity was if, timeline-wise, that meant it was unconnected from the cartoons? (If it is, no worries-I’m mostly just curious-if a bit pleased that either way, it seems that the infamous Scrappy-Doo Era and said character’s cartoon personality were not a thing here) This one is about your book-so is it all going to be in the form of comic, a semi-story with the dry eye symbolized by the little devil? So I asked what your favorite/least favorite character was. What was your favorite story that you wrote?

BV: 1. No, they had no relation to the cartoons at all. 2. My book is a graphic novel - told entirely in comic book form. I'm doing that because Dry Eye is an unpleasant subject to discuss. The comic book format will make the story clearer and more fun to read.  I have a fondness for "Escape From Nyak, Nyak, Nyak." I had to move to New York to work for a company I wanted nothing to do with. That story was my goodbye to California and Harvey.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

EVERY FOUNDER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THINGS

It means that if you pick some number to focus on. I said in the second version. Except in the degenerate case, economic inequality can't be described by a ratio or even a curve.1 Boats have long had spines and ribs like an animal's ribcage.2 Viaweb was not getting our hopes up. You can't distinguish your group by doing things that are very bad, like kids with no chance of reaching their potential, and others that are good, like Larry Page and Sergey Brin starting the company you usually give up in a fake world. There are some sterling exceptions, but as the corpus grows such tuning will happen automatically anyway. Apparently the most likely outcome is a $20 million acquisition if they can get around that. One of the occupational hazards of living in Cambridge is overhearing the conversations of people who get rich by playing games that though not crooked are zero-sum game there is at least a limit to the number who could be employed by small, fast-moving companies with a couple thousand people each.

A few months ago, one VC firm almost certainly unintentionally published a study showing bias of this type, so we get into the habit early in life of thinking that all judgements are. No thread about Javascript will grow as fast as angels and super-angels may be smarter than they seem. We currently fund about 40 companies a year, selected from about 900 applications representing a total of about 2000 people. And in fact they do all look the same. Then you'd automatically get your share of the returns of the whole process slightly, as Hitchcock does in his films or Bruegel in his paintings—or at least businesslike, but often they're not. And that being so, revenues would continue to flow in, so you'd have security as well. In fact, users expect a site to improve. I carefully chose the word determined rather than stubborn, because stubbornness is a disastrous quality in a startup: a founder quits, you discover a patent that covers what you're doing, your servers keep crashing, you run into an insoluble technical problem, you have to be on it, or friends with those who are. 6 years to go public. A startup has to sing for its supper. So I've thought a lot about where to live. I doubt it would amount to much more than the definition implies.3

Law firms then made no pretense of paying people according to the value of what they create, give them the actual market value? Instead of acting tough, what most startups should do is simply always have a backup plan.4 Ok, sure, what you want. A recent survey found 52% of companies are very much influenced by where applicants went to college. Telling a child they have a termsheet, so called because it outlines the key terms of a deal. And perhaps more importantly, it's harder to lie to yourself. VCs have been provoked by their arrival into making a lot of data about that. One of the standard pieces of advice in fiction writing is show, don't tell.

Don't say that a character's angry; have him grind his teeth, or break his pencil in half. Now I know I don't.5 How important it is for many software startups because they're now so cheap. The chance of getting rejected after the full partner meeting where the firm as a whole says yes or no. Interestingly, while Kate said that she could never pick out successful founders, she could recognize VCs, both by the way they dressed and the way they dressed and the way they speak. Experts expect to throw away some early work. That's the only rational explanation for focusing on getting the right valuations, instead of blowing up in your face. Indeed, it will tend to push even the organizations issuing credentials into line.

The other is that some companies broke ranks and started to pay young employees large amounts. VCs are pretty good at 10 or 20, but it's hard to imagine something that could be a 10x return for an angel, and some of the most successful startups, including Google, ignored revenue at first and concentrated exclusively on development. They're good at doing what they're asked, since that's what it takes to please the adults who judge you at seventeen. If you offend investors, they'll leave in a huff. Let me start by describing what the world of startup funding used to look like talent. The company that says they're going to invest in you or we want to fix the bad aspects of it—you have to consciously force yourself to keep looking. I have a theory that explains why the super-angels really are is a new form of fast-moving companies with ten each?6 I think it was because I got addicted to trying to identify spam features myself, as if I were smart enough to listen.

Most of the famous founders in Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston. In this case the exploding termsheet was not or not only a tactic to pressure the startup. Imagine picking out apples at a grocery store. Viaweb succeeded because we were smart, not merely determined. But it's a mistake to talk to someone who wants to succeed. So I want to spend as little time inside the minds of spammers as possible. For example, if you're a hacker, here's a thought experiment you can run to understand why there are basically no hacker VCs: How would you like a job where you never got to make anything, but instead spent all your time listening to other people pitch mostly terrible projects, deciding whether to fund them, and sitting on their boards if you did? The user doesn't know what it means. I'd worry less about what they'd see, and more about what they'd do.

Because depending on the amount invested, that shows how far they are from reflecting any kind of work. Every kid grows up in a great city your whole life to benefit from it. There are some obvious dangers: pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. I get a lot done. I'd say what separates the great investors from the mediocre ones is the quality of their product, not the topic. The Bay Area has a lot of money. And if function is hard enough, form is forced to produce an equilibrium. So if you can choose when you raise money, you don't have to buy politicians the way railroad or oil magnates did. They're just postponing it. If determination is effectively the product of will and discipline, then you have the luxury of choosing: the top tier VCs, meaning about the top 20 only because they haven't been around long enough.

And thought you should check out the following is just not going to have to add some sort of padding to protect their misconceptions from bumping against reality. You'll find more interesting things by looking at the world than you could ever produce just by thinking. The reason is the selection algorithm I mentioned earlier. You can lose quite a lot of money by noticing sudden changes in stock prices. The only explanation is: by definition. For example, they'll almost always start with a lowball offer, just to see if you'll take it. This is how most venture investors operate.7 You could pay as little attention to the business as you wanted, knowing that your manager would keep things running smoothly.

Notes

As Anthony Badger wrote, If it failed it failed it failed it failed. Perl. Most explicitly benevolent projects don't hold themselves sufficiently accountable. When he wanted to than because they wanted to invest more.

Stone, op. Until recently even governments sometimes didn't grasp the cachet that term had.

In 1800 an empty room, you could out of fashion in 100 years ago it would have been lured into this sort of love is as blind as the first scientist.

Fifty years ago. A termsheet with a woman who had made Lotus into the sciences, you can do to get to profitability on a seed investment of 650k. The average B-17 pilot in World War II, must have affected what they are public and persist indefinitely, comments on e.

VCs and Micro-VCs. I get attacked a lot of face to face with the talking paperclip.

This was certainly true in the nature of an investor I don't think you should avoid raising money.

Articles of this type of x. The first alone yields someone flighty. The aim of such regulations is to how Henry Ford got started as a high product of number of spams that you end up reproducing some of the most important things VCs fail by choosing startups run by people trying to tell them startups are competitive like running, not you. Patrick Pantel and Dekang Lin.

Thanks to Eric Raymond, Qasar Younis, and Patrick Collison for the lulz.

[talabib]

How To Give Your Life A Positive Charge

In our efforts to be happier and more successful in life, we tend to shoot for the moon. We often want to completely rethink the way we live – the problem is, that never works!

There are plenty of reasons why you don’t have to completely transform your life in order to feel more charged, to feel those bursts of energy and happiness that we all seek. For example, instead of thinking about how our lives can be happier, we should be thinking about how our lives can be more meaningful. As you’ll see, once you have found meaning, happiness will follow.

Taken together, we’ll show you simple ways in which you can use three keys – energy, interactions and meaning – to get fully charged in your professional and personal life.

Stop pursuing happiness, start pursing meaning.   

We all want to be happy. In fact, we want it so badly that we’re willing to chase happiness for our whole lives. But few of us realize that the pursuit of happiness is in fact our greatest obstacle to it. The truth is that happiness isn’t something you can achieve by seeking it; rather, happiness is a by-product of living a meaningful life.

So where can we find meaning? Though we’ve been taught to find fulfillment and satisfaction in our careers and wages, these don’t have the power to make you happy. US-wide surveys showed that even a sudden doubling of income produced only a nine percent increase in life satisfaction.

Money and success are external motivations, and are not sustainable sources of meaning or happiness in the long run. Internal motivations, on the other hand, give us a powerful way to experience meaning in every action we do.

Think about it: most jobs were created because they help other people, create progress, improve efficiency or produce something people need. You don’t need to be the head of an international NGO to change lives – you can find meaning and internal motivation in any situation. If you work in a call center and use your warmth and understanding to help a stranger out in even the smallest way, you’ll give both them and yourself a positive charge.

You’ll also double the charge if you can combine your strengths and interests with what others around you need. Remember: meaning does not happen to you, you create it.

Exchange passive reacting for active initiating.

Be honest: how much of your day do you spend proactively pursuing your own well-being? Probably not a lot. In fact, you’re likely spending far more time responding to external stimuli, such as your smartphone notifications and other distractions. Lapsing into this state of passive reacting can be dangerous.

A study of smartphone users has shown that phones are unlocked an average of 110 times per day, and nine times an hour during peak evening hours. But this is just a fact of modern life, right? Well, this constant activity is more damaging than you might think: a 2015 study discovered that the pressure people feel to respond immediately to a smartphone notification is associated with worse sleep quality, more sick days and a higher probability of mental and physical burnout.

If you want to manage these passive reactions, there are techniques that can help: switch off automatic notifications, and set specific times for checking your emails and social media accounts throughout the day. Not being disturbed by notification alerts, even for short periods of time, will make a massive difference for your productivity.

If you’re still having trouble overcoming distraction, try taking a minute to write down the things that seem to waste your time most often, like that new game you downloaded on your phone.

Now that you’ve eliminated your passive reactions, it’s time to start initiating! But be careful – we often tend to mistake certain activities for progress, even when they’re not productive at all. If you find yourself keeping busy all day without actually getting anything done, this applies to you!

Spending all day responding to emails might feel like you’re getting stuff done, but you’re not actually proactively initiating anything yourself! To avoid disguising passivity as productivity, you have to remind yourself that instead of considering yourself “busy,” you  simply needs to manage your time better.

If you feel stuck and unable to begin initiating, start with simple things: try striking up a conversation with somebody new. In fact, even short interactions with those around you have great benefits for your well-being.

Keep thinking positively and spreading positive energy.

Exchanges with people around you, no matter how brief, can give your day a positive or a negative charge. So how can you keep your day on the positive side? Always assume people have positive intentions.

Let’s say somebody bumps into you and spills your coffee without apologizing. Instead of getting angry, consider whether the person has a serious problem on his mind and didn’t even notice bumping into you. It’s rare for people to actually have bad intentions!

If you assume people have negative intentions toward you, it’ll only make you angry and will give you a negative charge for the next minutes, hours or days. Instead, assume that people only mean the best, and you’ll be doing the best for your well-being too!

Another good way to boost your daily positivity levels is by paying attention to how your conversations unfold. A great rule is to keep 80 percent of your conversation positive. You can do this simply by using positive words. Did you know that every negative comment needs four positive ones to make a person feel neutral?

People are more likely to listen and be receptive when most of the conversation is positive. If you’re flooding a conversation with negative words, others will most likely shut off. You might think that yelling criticism at somebody will get his attention, but chances are he’ll just stop listening.

We can see our own performance improve exponentially when our self-confidence increases, so why not give the gift of encouragement to others! Remember to praise and recognize your peers, focusing on their hard work and successes and helping build their self-confidence.  

But not all compliments are made equal; the most lasting comments are sincere and specific. This will help others see what they do best and believe it. So instead of merely saying “good job” after a coworker’s presentation, tell them that they explained it in a sophisticated and engaging way. After all, that’s the kind of compliment you’d like to hear yourself!

Invest in relationships.

Another secret to feeling fully charged is to spend time on the right experiences with the right people. Relationships are not only a key to making you happy – they can also boost your creativity and motivation.

It’s important to choose your friends wisely, but why exactly? Well, those who you spend time with will influence your habits, choices and therefore your well-being, whether you like it or not. So if you want to grow into a better person, it’s definitely worth investing your time in those who care about your development.

Often when we find ourselves swamped with work, it’s hard to even consider dedicating time to our social life without feeling guilty. But giving time to your friendships really takes no time at all! You can show your appreciation for those who support you by taking strolls together, or sharing a nice dinner. You’ll be surprised at just how much better you’ll feel afterwards, as these positive experiences have the power to put your problems into perspective.

Positive experiences also have a lasting value, and this is largely because we remember these kinds of experiences with others even better than we expect to. One study asked participants to estimate how happy they’d be after an experiential purchase, such as a concert, a trip or dinner at a restaurant. Two weeks after the purchase, they were 106 percent happier than they’d expected they would be.

As well as enjoying positive experiences long after they happen, you can also use them to lift your mood in the weeks leading up to them. When planning an activity, share it with others rather than keeping it a surprise; anticipation significantly enhances the experience. Research shows that looking forward to holidays increases well-being for weeks or even months.

Eat right to give your body the positive charge it needs.

You make a decision with every bite you eat. Food is fuel, and it’ll give you the charge you need if you eat right. But with all the bizarre fad diets out there, how can you know which one will actually lift your energy levels?

In the end, it’s not all that complicated, nor does it require a total dietary makeover. You can start by adjusting and swapping the core elements of your diet. Avoid fried food, products with processed sugar and carbohydrates. Instead, gradually start building your meals around veggies and whole fruits. Swap your sugary energy drinks for water, tea or coffee.

Large-scale studies show that even a slight increase in protein intake alongside a decrease in carbohydrates has positive effects on your health. An easy shortcut can help you with every day shopping decisions: try to avoid food that has a carbs to proteins ratio higher than five to one.

Next time you’re at the supermarket, check the nutritional values to ensure you avoid these foods. A study done by the University of Missouri confirmed that a protein-rich breakfast increases the level of the brain chemical dopamine, which reduces cravings for sweets. So if you want to eat less sweets, start eating more protein: eggs, nuts, seeds, salmon or lean meat.

Finally, prepare healthy choices in advance to avoid any tempting last-minute decisions. Plan your shopping beforehand and avoid the sections with unhealthy food. Reorganize your kitchen so the healthy food is more visible and easily accessible, keeping it at your eye level or stored in visible places. And don’t forget to bring small bags of fruits, veggies or nuts with you when you leave home, in case you feel like snacking.

Customize your workday to get your body moving more.

Nowadays, people spend more time sitting than sleeping. In the long term, this can have damaging effects on our health. When sitting, the electrical activity in our leg muscles shuts off, calorie consumption drops to one per minute, enzymes breaking down fat decrease by 90 percent and good cholesterol drops by approximately ten percent per hour of sitting.

Sounds pretty frightening! But these negative impacts are easy to avoid. Simply stretching and standing up a few times an hour can make a huge difference. During exercise, our blood pressure and blood flow increase; this drives oxygen to our brain and allows us to think more effectively. In this way, just moving around can boost your concentration and mood for hours.

A surprising research study discovered that just a 20-minute, moderate intensity workout can improve your mood for up to 12 hours after the exercise. Even walking increases energy levels by 150 percent. The benefits of moving around are clear, so how can you start making it a bigger part of your day?

Study your surroundings for ways to increase your activity. One easy way to do this is by rearranging your home and office to encourage movement instead of convenience. Let’s say you often print documents in your office – make sure the printer is not within your reach so you need to stand up every time you fetch your printed papers.  

Measuring your activity also motivates you to move more. During one experiment, people who were assigned to track their activity moved 27 percent more, simply as a by-product of measuring their movement. Use a health-tracking device – like an app or a pedometer – to track and set your activity levels.

According to research, 10,000 steps per day is a good target to set. So, for those of you who say you’ve got no time to exercise, no more excuses! If you want to be more efficient, add exercise to your schedule and start saving time in the long run.

If you want to get more things done in less time, invest in your sleep.

In today’s business world, we perceive a proper eight-hour sleep as an unnecessary luxury or a sign of laziness. But don’t be fooled! One less hour of sleep doesn’t equal one extra hour of achievement or experience.

Insufficient sleep decreases your well-being, ability to think and your productivity, and also harms your health.

Research show that elite professionals sleep an average of eight hours and 36 minutes per night. The same study also indicates that frequent resting improves performance, as it helps prevent exhaustion and promotes full recovery. Harvard Medical School even found that sleep insufficiencies cost the American economy $63 billion a year due to lost productivity.

Your sleep quality is itself influenced by your activity during the 90 minutes before you go to sleep. A 2014 study found that late-night smartphone usage has a significant impact on sleep quality. That’s right, your pre-sleep scroll of social media feeds is enough to make you fatigued and less engaged at your workplace the next day.

To ensure stress-free and quality sleep, avoid using electronic devices at least an hour before going to bed – being exposed to bright lights before bedtime also decreases your sleep quality.

Sacrificing sleep has diminishing returns, and won’t give you the charge you deserve. So, if you have a lot of work to do, sleep more, sleep well and take regular breaks to keep your performance and efficiency at their highest levels.

Despite what you’ve been told, prioritizing your well-being and relationships won’t take a toll on your work performance. Instead, you’ll become more effective, organized and productive. Learning to start living meaningfully and actively is what will help you live happily in the long run.

[margaretbeagle]

An Honest Look into our Engineering Team Engagement Survey

It’s been a busy season for our engineering, product, and design teams at Buffer — what we collectively refer to as EPD. In the past eight months alone, we hired a Chief Product Officer for the first time, promoted a team member to be our first VP of Design, completely overhauled and restructured how we organize our EPD teams, created new roles on the team and hired 10 new product and engineering team members to our now 48-person EPD area.

That’s a lot of change. Thus, in the spring of 2021, we put out a survey to the EPD teams to understand the level of engagement of our team members and our “eNPS” — employee NPS, or if team members would recommend Buffer as a place to work.

I did a deep dive into the experience of the engineering team in particular – the results were an honest, eye-opening look into the experience of our team members, and we have a lot of action steps to take from our learnings.

A few key takeaways:

Engineering teammates have very distinct and differing needs depending on their tenure at Buffer (6+ years, 2-6 years, less than 2 years).

Women on the engineering team have a much lower eNPS than their male counterparts.

Below, we’d love to share the survey results transparently through the note I shared with our team.

Hi team,

Thanks so much for completing the EPD Engagement survey. Here's the breakdown for us in engineering:

Engagement is quite high, and eNPS at 38 is ok. About half of you actively recommend Buffer as a place to work, half feel it’s kind of ok, and a couple of people actively do not recommend Buffer.

If we break it down, a few more interesting things emerge:

Breakdown by tenure

Veterans: 6+ years at Buffer

Veterans feel most committed to the company (100%), positive about coworkers (100%), and feel they belong here (100%) but don’t see themselves really growing in their careers anymore (29%).

This makes sense: only people who like their coworkers and company would stay over six years, and also, at that time frame, managers need to work harder to find career growth opportunities.

So the focus for this group is career growth, and that’s the main driver of going from “it’s ok” to “it’s great here.” This honestly does get harder as time goes on — to keep a growth curve after many years — and so we need to get more creative with these conversations. With Lattice reviews and growth plans happening now, that’s one way to think about what’s next for veteran teammates.

Tenured Teammates: 2-6 years at Buffer

Teammates who have been here 2-6 years are our largest group. Engagement & eNPS are the same as the all-engineering average, and this includes some people who actively don’t recommend Buffer as a place to work.

This group is happiest with Management (94%) and Team Culture (94%) but is also the most exhausted group. Only 38% of this group have energy for leisure, friends, and family after work. They also don’t feel that this hard work is noticed: only 44% of respondents say people notice that they are going the extra mile (or hundred miles).

For this group, work-life balance and managing workload is the main focus, with burnout and not feeling valued as the main concerns. This is an active focus for me and for engineering managers who have been hearing this, too.

Newer Teammates: Less than 2 years at Buffer

Teammates with less than two years at Buffer are by far the happiest. Again, nobody in this group actively thinks Buffer engineering is a bad place to work. I’m happy to see this because it means that our outside image, and who we are on the inside, aren’t hugely different (if we talked a big game during recruitment and the blogs but were horrible to work at, we’d see eNPS of new people be lower with many detractors).

This group scored every metric as 100% (seriously!) except for feeling valued, at 67%.

For this group, recognition of contributions, praise, and valuing their opinion is the most important thing to improve. We hear you!

Breakdown by Gender

Gender is one factor where people can have very different experiences at the same workplace. There are other factors too, but we don’t have data for those. We do have enough people to have data, which is great. What’s not great is that women in engineering have a very different and much worse experience than men.

Note: all respondents happened to identify within the gender binary as either “male” or “female,” so I only have two categories represented for gender. That said, there are many genders.

Men in Engineering

Women in Engineering

Obviously, this is a problem. I would rather have a team with an eNPS of 20 and all genders scoring “it’s ok here” than have some genders saying it’s “good to great” and other genders saying that “it’s just ok” or “it’s awful.”

It’s also notable that participation in the survey from women in engineering was a bit low. This means that an eNPS of 0 is probably over-estimated. People who don’t fill in the survey are not usually super happy. More likely, the non-respondents are either passive or negative (“it’s fine, and I don’t have time for surveys” or “it’s so horrible and hopeless that there’s no point in even filling in a survey”).

There is some good news: at least some women are saying it’s great to work here! Also, women rated Management at 100% (we have 50% women engineering managers, so that could be part of it), and they rated Team Culture at 100%: women think their coworkers are skilled and do quality work.

Job Satisfaction at 80% is good, and so is Fit & Belonging (80%). So the good news is that women don’t feel actively excluded, held back, and discriminated against. That’s a low bar, but it’s one many teams fail to clear.

For women, Work Relationships was one of the lowest scores. While “my supervisor cares about me” and “my coworkers want me to succeed” is at 100%,  “people know what’s happening in my life” is at just 20%. Women don’t feel comfortable talking about what’s going on for them outside of work.

Women are also more exhausted than average, with just 40% having energy for other things outside work.

One hypothesis or story here is that the pandemic has been extra hard on working moms, and women still pull a double shift in many cases. There’s also often a stigma around being a working mom or caring for parents and relatives, and so women feel exhausted and also unable to talk about everything draining them at and outside of work. Women are socialized to smile, be nice, don’t complain, have it all together, and face a lot of guilt and pressure to be always on, always  “doing it all.” This is true in society at large. So, it could be true of our women in engineering, and a problem if Buffer isn’t doing enough to support them.

Another interesting data point: women scored lower than average for trust in senior leadership’s decisions, with no “strong agrees” and a few “disagrees.” Recently, I read a post on Being Glue that offers a possible explanation here:

Women are socialized to be nurturers and often pick up extra work to shield their team members from decisions made in leadership that could be challenging for others to adapt to. Recent org chart changes come to mind; there could be other factors too. If women statistically feel the impact and are tired from trying to mitigate that impact, while men are more likely to feel the benefit of that Glue/nurturing work without as many costs, that could explain some of the differences between men and women’s experiences. That’s a hypothesis. It’s a story I could tell from the data I have on this team and from the data in the industry. I don’t know whether that is our story.

To find out more about what the story (stories?) really is, Melissa [our new VP of People] and I are going to run a session with women in engineering to hear more about the experience of being a women engineer at Buffer and why it is different — and worse — than the experience of being a man in engineering.

For men reading this, you are absolutely welcome to share your thoughts with Melissa or me directly. If you’ve noticed anything that would negatively affect your women coworkers, I absolutely want to hear about it, and if you have ideas, please share.

The reason I’m not including men in that live discussion is that I want to hear the women’s stories from the women because, in the data, we see that the story for women is different. I hope this makes sense. I am happy to talk more about it too.

Limitations

I don’t have enough data on race and sexual orientation to have statistically significant sample sizes, so I can’t draw any conclusions for these groups as part of this survey. We do know that these groups also can have a harder time in the industry at large.

In the long run, a more diverse team will mean more data. In the shorter run, we’ll need to rely on other methods to ensure everyone has an equitable experience. There is work to be done, and not having it in survey results does not erase that work.

-Katie

As we continue to make changes and improvements to the engineering experience at Buffer, we look forward to sharing our learnings along the way.

Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter at @gokatiewilde to continue the conversation about building engaged and fulfilled engineering teams. Always happy to chat!

An Honest Look into our Engineering Team Engagement Survey published first on https://improfitninja.weebly.com/