#programmer: should I keep adding years to the dash?

[is-this-even-relatable]

God bless Toyota. Their cars last a lifetime. Been driving a second-hand 2000 Toyota Avalon for the longest time. That baby is 25 years old and drives smooth. Only thing is— the date is wrong, since the years can only go up to 2020.

cant stop thinking about this video

[wzrd-wheezes]

My Jumper! Pt 1: Fred Weasley x Reader

“In her dreams there was a man. A tall man, with a pretty face and fiery red hair. His face sported a cheeky grin accompanied by some freckles dotted across his nose. When Y/N woke up from her nap, she had forgotten about her dream completely. That was until the same man appeared in her dream the next night. And that night after that…”

Fred x Reader Fluff .Warnings: swearing .1.7k words

Masterlist here

Part 2 Here

AN - I really want to do a part two of this so please let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in!

Taglist: (pls let me know if you want adding for future fics!)

@amourtentiaa

Y/N’s hands were clammy as she gripped onto the cardboard box she was carrying. She walked into the house, kicking the door shut behind her and set the box on the floor. This was it. She had finally moved out from her parent’s house and into her own place. New houses often seem eerie and daunting with their plain walls and unfurnished rooms. However, this particular house felt welcoming, like it had been lived in, but not in a bad way. In a way that made each room feel like memories had been made in it. As she walked through each room, she noted bits of furniture that had been left behind, a plush green sofa in the living room, an old closet in her bedroom, and a large dining table in the kitchen. She smiled as she looked around. She didn’t have the patience for flatpack furniture right now. Even magic couldn’t make assembling it bearable.

It took Y/N a few days to fully unpack and feel settled in her new home. She had never lived by herself before and the past few days she had fought off the loneliness by filling her time with doing jobs around the house. Luckily for her, the house didn’t need too much doing to it, just a splash of paint here and there and some new furniture. It was one night when she was laying in bed that she noticed a particularly dark stain on her ceiling. She waved her wand, trying to remove it but the mark was stubborn and stayed put.

The next morning, Y/N rolled out of bed and decided that she was going to try and tackle the stain on her ceiling. She trudged into the bathroom and rifled through the cabinet looking for some sort of cleaning product. As she searched, her hand brushed over something unfamiliar. In an attempt to pull it out to examine it, she sent the entire contents of the shelf cascading to the floor. She winced as something bounced off of her head and smashed on the tiles.

             “How the fuck did that get there?” She swore, picking up a fragment of glass and inspecting it. It was a deep purple colour, bits of what looked like an old label still stuck to a large section which lay on the floor. An earthy yet sweet smell spread through the room. Aftershave. Sighing, she grabbed a cloth out of the cabinet and began to mop up the mess. She could have sworn that the bottle of aftershave wasn’t in there when she had unpacked her things.

The scent seemed to linger in her house for days. It was almost a week later when she got another whiff of it as she lay on the sofa in the living room. The smell was strong but sweet, a sort of burnt vanilla. She didn’t mind it too much, in fact, every time the smell of the aftershave would waft through the house, it would bring a smile to her face. Y/N was due back at work in a few days, so she decided to spend her last few days of freedom lounging on the sofa in front of the television. It was while one particularly bad muggle programme playing that she fell asleep. She was dreaming as she napped, slipping in and out of consciousness as the television played on in the background. In her dreams there was a man. A tall man, with a pretty face and fiery red hair. His face sported a cheeky grin accompanied by some freckles dotted across his nose. When Y/N woke up from her nap, she had forgotten about her dream completely. That was until the same man appeared in her dream the next night. And that night after that…

             “He must have just been in that stupid Muggle programme I was watching the other day,” she grumbled as she lay in bed, staring at the mark on her ceiling that had yet to vanish, “Yeah, that’s it. That’s where I know him from.”

She drifted off back to sleep for a few moments before she jolted upright.

             “Shit.”

She had forgotten that she had her first shift back at work today. Y/N didn’t have a fancy job as an Auror or anything like that. She worked in a coffee shop a few streets away from her house and she loved it. She glanced over at her alarm clock as she stumbled out of bed, she only had twenty minutes to get to work. Rushing over to her wardrobe, she fumbled around in the dark for a few moments before pulling out a jumper. The jumper was knitted and a deep red colour, she didn’t recognise it but she didn’t have time to faff around looking for something else so she threw it on and dashed out of the door.

It was a steady day. Customers came in to get their drinks and then seated themselves at tables to read books or to work on projects or just to relax in the gentle hum of the coffee shop. The sun was beaming through the large glass windows, shining light through the petals of the flowers that sat on shelves. Y/N was leaning against the counter, day dreaming as she looked out of the window when the ringing of the bell on the door snapped her out of her thoughts. Her eyes shot up to the person that walked in, her vision was slightly blurred from looking out into the bright light.

             “Morning,” the man grinned as he approached the counter, “Could I have two caramel lattes with an extra shot, please?”

It took Y/N a few moments to reply to him, she was sure she knew his face from somewhere. She just couldn’t place him.

             “Yeah, no worries,” she smiled. Merlin, he was handsome.

             “I like your jumper,” he gestured towards it, “My Mum always knits us a jumper each for Christmas,”

             “Oh, really?” Y/N replied, “that’s really cute. What’s your name by the way?”

             “My name?” he raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.

             “Yeah…” she blushed, “For- for your drinks.” The man chuckled and shook his head.

             “It’s Fred.”

Y/N turned around to make his drinks and Fred moved to the other end of the counter to wait. It was silent for a few moments as Y/N measured out the caramel syrups into the cups.

             “My jumper!” Fred exclaimed.

             “What?” Y/N turned round quickly to look at him.

             “That’s my jumper.”

             “Is this supposed to be some sort of cheesy pick up line?” she raised her eyebrows at him.

             “No, no, no,” he laughed, “you’re literally wearing my jumper. Look, turn around,”

Y/N turned around to catch a glimpse of herself in the shiny metal of the coffee machine. A large gold ‘F’ was knitted into the wool.

             “How the..?” her face flushed red furiously.

             “Where did you get that?” Fred asked, looking amused.

             “It was just in my wardrobe this morning. I didn’t think I recognised it,” she forced out an awkward laugh, “I have no idea how it got there,”

             “Me either,” he smiled.

             “I finish in a few minutes so I can go home and change so I can give this back to you,” she was still blushing intensely, “I’m so sorry,”

             “It’s fine,” he grinned, “It looks better on you anyway.”

 His last comment lingered in her mind as she gathered her things from the staffroom and shrugged on her coat. Fred was waiting outside for her, leaning coolly against the wall. The sun was setting as they walked back to Y/N’s house.

             “Have you just moved here, then?” Fred asked, making small talk with her.

             “Yeah, I only moved in a little while ago,” she answered, “it’s just round this corner.”

 As they rounded the corner, Fred stopped in his tracks.

             “That’s why you found my jumper in your wardrobe then.”

             “What?” Y/N opened the front door and let Fred in.

             “This used to be my house. My brother and I used to live here,” he looked around the living room, “We’ve moved back above our shop now. I do miss this place though,”

             “Ah, so it’s your aftershave that’s stank my house out then?” she joked.

             “Aftershave?” he looked at her quizzically.

             “Yeah, the purple bottle?” she went to her cabinet and grabbed a fragment of the glass that she had saved. She handed it to him and he studied it, turning it over and over in his hands.

             “I have this bottle at home,” he said, still staring at it intently, “I used it this morning, so I don’t know how it’s got into your cabinet,”

             “Oh?” she frowned a little, “I’m going to go up and change,”

 She didn’t realise that Fred had followed her up to her bedroom until she had turned around to grab another shirt.

             “Merlin, you made me jump,” she said startled, quickly throwing her shirt on before he could see too much of her. He just smiled and crossed the room to where her bed was. He pointed up at the ceiling.

             “Good to know that that mark is still there,” he chuckled.

             “I can’t get rid of it. Not even with magic. How did you even do it?”

             “Well, my brother and I own this joke shop, you see. One day we were testing out some products in here and they kind of exploded…”

 Fred ended up staying with Y/N for dinner. They lost hours and hours chatting, later learning that Y/N was in the year below him at Hogwarts.

               “I should probably get going,” Fred said, getting up, “Is it okay if I keep this?”

He showed her the fragment of his aftershave bottle that she had saved.

             “Of course, it is yours after all,” she smiled.

Fred stopped for a moment as he got to her front door.

             “I know this sounds odd,” he bit his lip nervously, “but I feel like we were supposed to meet… My stuff showing up in your house, you wearing my jumper to work and me coming in. It’s just strange, don’t you think?”

             “Magic works in strange ways,” she grinned.

             “I’d really like to see you again Y/N,”

             “I’d like that a lot,”

             “Wicked.”

[bombinitribeapparel]

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[gear-project]

Hello, there seems to be tale of a new Guilty Gear installment rather than an Xrd addition from the recent anniversary interview. Honestly I'm a bit saddened by this especially considering the statement made for newer games to be simpler (I also really just wanted Testament to eventually show up in Xrd with all its crazy mechanics rather than a new game). But anyway, can you confirm how true this rumour is?. Is it really that Xrd has come to an end after what feels like a short time?.

Since Baf0’s conversation on Twitter on the Dengeki Report kinda blew it up, I’ll reiterate it here (since Dustloop posts don’t last forever… full translation courtesy of RedSilverSnake):

—The password to unlock Testament and Dizzy in the arcade version of X was “misosoup,” apparently because a programmer working on the game was overheard saying, “Now I want to drink some miso soup…”[I mentioned this earlier.  FYI GGX also had a button code in the console versions.  Look it up at GameFAQs.]

—The development team was casual with naming conventions at the time, to the extent that one of the ideas of what to call what became roman cancels was “cosmetic galaxy.” [I explained some of GGX history, Roman Cancels are wordplay for Roman Candle, a Firework… this symbolism actually transferred all the way to Revelator when Sol talks about Fireworks in one of the closing chapters of the story.]

—There was a question about Fanny from GG Petit, but Ishiwatari says he can’t answer anything about her because he wasn’t involved in her creation. [Sammy Staff were part of the people who assisted in her creation, but the GG character poll suggested that Ishiwatari wasn’t above putting her in a future game if players still wanted her to appear.]

—Advance had a unique move for Venom that Ishiwatari meant to hide, but it somehow made it into the game. [They describe it as a Bomb technique, which I think was hinted at in Night of Knives as well when Millia clashed with Venom.  There’s an item called Calvados Bomb in MOM Mode that generates poison which might have stemmed from that idea.]

—Not everyone who worked on XX knew that Bridget was a boy, which led to a shocked exclamation from a designer. [Story Mode states officially that Bridget is Male and identifies as Male, wishing to become more “manly” as part of his interests. 4chan be damned.]

—When the topic of the series’ bosses being women came up, it was mentioned that Leopaldon’s gender is unknown, but Ishiwatari says that he thinks the dog piloting it may have been female, thus keeping this tradition unbroken. [Gears can be considered “gender neutral” in some cases, because of their DNA, but yes the Dog inside Leo’s mouth COULD be Female, but we don’t know for sure!]

—Leopaldon’s designer did the effects for Jam’s new super in Xrd. [It was also said that Da Eun, Kum Haehyun’s Head Maid was the girl who appeared in Korean #Reload’s original stage.]

—Overture’s total development time was five years, so Ishiwatari says he has a lot of memories about it. [Black memories, I assume, given the reception. >_>]

—The name of Overture’s genre, melee action, has a double meaning; the “melee” part is homonymous with the Japanese word 命令/meirei, which refers to orders, like the ones you give to servants in the game. [Hopefully they’ll do something more improved in a Crusades-like setting someday ala God Eater.]

—Ishiwatari was fixated on how roman cancels could be changed in Xrd, and Pachi recalls racking his mind over the suggestion that they be possible at any time, even during a downed state. [FYI the only way to cancel a knockdown is to recover before it!  BlazBlue has Emergency Rolls and Quickrise motions for this reason, also there was a hack in Accent Core (PSP version codes) that could allow for unlimited cancels in to anything at one point, so the coding is there for it!]

—One idea that was tested during Xrd’s development was being able to roman cancel KOs, but this caused a bug among certain characters where they’d just fall right after getting up following the RC.[This is where the idea of Resurrection came from (related to the Gill boss character from Street Fighter III).]

—Bridget was #1 on the Revelator poll to decide the next playable character until the very last day, when Dizzy got a sudden boost. [Poor Order-Sol…]

—The staff had specific ideas for other characters in the poll, such as Izuna dashing rather than having a regular walk (like in Cross Tag Battle). [I’m sure he’s still in the works for the next game as Izuna was mentioned in Revelator.]

—One of Haehyun’s attendants actually debuted in the Korean version of #Reload, having been added to one of the stages. [Her name is Da Eun, and she is voiced by Elphelt’s VA in Kum’s Episode!]

—Ishiwatari also says that Xrd is probably finished as of Rev 2, and maybe hints that work has already started on the next real sequel.

Now, on to THIS:

As I said, GGXrd Revelator (excluding the add-on Rev2) is technically the SECOND of the Xrd Series… Rev2 (while it is a standalone game now), is the equivalent of “X Plus” to Guilty Gear X.

Most likely there is production for a THIRD XRD game… Revelator’s story hints at it, AFTER STORY hints at it, even the GUILTY GEAR BEGIN novel suggests something’s going to happen after REVELATOR…

So you KNOW something is gonna happen.  Basically the statement is “We’re done with Revelator Add-ons”, is what they’re saying.

So the next GG is gonna be BIG.  That’s all you guys need to know.  Keep supporting ARC System Works, and maybe (JUST MAYBE) the next GG will get a dub like BBTag has!

All we have to do is support any releases (including GG1 and Accent Core for the Nintendo Switch, Steam, and PS4 releases).  Guilty Gear The Missing Link should be coming in the next few months along with Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R.

I’m banking on this because HAPPY CHAOS (a hinted character) says so!  So you should believe in HAPPY CHAOS!

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Moffat Era Rewatch: Deep Breath

Still struggling with his regeneration, the new Doctor investigates a series of mysterious murders in Victorian London...

Warning: Spoilers Sweetie

Usually you find the dinosaurs inside parliament, not outside it. 

Unless there’s some last minute secret cameo in ‘Twice Upon a Time’, this is the last episode with the Paternosters. Why’d you retire them, Moffat? Why? 

“It's dropped a blue box marked Police out of its mouth. Your grasp of biology troubles me.”

It didn’t at the time, but Twelve with short hair just looks so wrong now. Like a caged beast, it should be allowed to roam free. 

Peter looks so good in Matt’s outfit. Why do new Doctors always look so good in their predecessors outfits? 

“Oh, you've got a dinosaur too.”

“He's not Clara. I'm Clara.” "Well, you're very similar heights.”

New titles with added eyebrows. This was based on a concept by a fan.

“You all sound all English. Now you've all developed a fault.” 

Neve gets to use her normal accent for once. 

“People are apes. Men are monkeys.”

“How do we change him back?” Clara gets a lot of flack for this, because Clara gets flack for simply existing. People argue that she should be more except of regeneration since she knows about it and has met previous Doctors. But I think there’s a big difference between being aware of regeneration and actually experiencing it first hand. Eleven was the first Doctor she knew and as far as she was concerned he was her Doctor. Even when she met other Doctors he was still there at her side. But now he’s gone and there’s this complete stranger in his place. So I can forgive her for being a little selfish here and wanting her Doctor back. 

“I don't like her, ma'am. I love her. And as to different? Well, she's a lizard.”  

Clara says like because she doesn’t want to admit that she feels the same way about the Doctor that Jenny does about Vastra. She doesn’t want to admit that she loves the Doctor. 

“I am alone. The world which shook at my feet, and the trees and the sky, have gone. And I am alone now. Alone.” That is one poetic dinosaur. 

Peter Capaldi is one of those actors who could recite washing machine instructions and make it sound like Shakespeare. 

“He looked like your dashing young gentleman friend. Your lover, even.” Clara’s blushing. 

“Jenny and I are married. Yet for appearance's sake, we maintain a pretence, in public, that she is my maid.” "Doesn't exactly explain why I'm pouring tea in private.”

I feel for set decorators when they have to do stuff like this. 

“Door. Boring. Not me.”

“I am not sure who you think you're talking to right now, Madam Vastra, but I have never had the slightest interest in pretty young men. And for the record, if there ever was anybody who could flirt with a mountain range, she's probably standing in front of you right now. Just because my pretty face has turned your head, do not assume that I am so easily distracted.” I’m not sure who is enjoying this tongue-lashing more, Jenny or Vastra.    

“She was scared. She was scared and alone. I brought her here and look what they did.” 20 minutes in and Twelve is already breaking my heart. 

“What do you all have for brains, pudding? Look at you. Why can't I meet a decent species? Planet of the pudding brains.” 

Couldn’t just walk away, he had to leap into the river. The Doctor is so extra. 

“Military tactics. The Doctor is still missing, but he will always come looking for his box. By bringing it here, he will be lured from the dangers of London to this place of safety, and we will melt him with acid.”

Jenna Coleman was just born to wear period outfits. 

How many of Britain’s most notorious killers has Vastra had for dinner? 

Did Strax get his medical training from the same school as Doctor Zoidberg? 

If this episode was the regular length, this scene, delightful as it is, would’ve been the first to get cut.     

“Deflected narcissism. Traces of passive aggressive. And a lot of muscular young men doing sport.” Since Strax has trouble telling genders apart I’m going to assume that those weren’t all men.    

This tramp is played by Elisabeth Sladen’s husband, Brian Miller.  

“It's good I'm Scottish. I'm Scottish. I am Scottish. I can complain about things, I can really complain about things.” 

“What devilry is this, sir?” "I don't know, but I probably blame the English.”

“Oh, I don't understand why I'm doing this.” "Art?” Jenny is 110% done with your bullshit, Vastra. 

“Advertisements, yes. So many. It's a distressing modern trend.” If she thinks it is bad now wait until television comes along. 

“It doesn't makes sense. He doesn't do puzzles. He isn't complicated. Really doesn't have the attention span.” Clara obviously hasn’t spent much time with Seven. 

This is the first real scene that Peter and Jenna get to have together and our first chance to see just how amazingly they play off each other. They really bring out the best in each other as actors. 

“Well, I would say that that person would be an egomaniac, needy, game-player sort of person.” Probably the most accurate description of the Master ever. 

“Nothing is more important than my egomania.” 

“If I got new hair and it was grey, I would have a problem.” Clara is so vain, it’s one of the things I love about her. 

I doubt this place has any Michelin stars.   

“Do you have a children's menu?” I really don’t want to know what is on the children’s menu. 

“Oh, it's at times like this I miss Amy.” 

I know that he doesn’t actually leave her, but it is still a shock to see the Doctor so casually abandon Clara. 

“Go on, then. Do it. I'm not going to answer any of your questions, so you have to do it. You have to kill me. Threats don't work unless you deliver.” This is one of Clara’s finest moments. Even though she is clearly terrified, she manages to turn the tables on her interrogator and get him to spill the beans instead. 

“Are you trying to scare me? Well, cos I'm already bloody terrified of dying. And I'll endure a lot of pain for a very long time before I give up the information that's keeping me alive. How long have you got?”

“I don't know. But I know where he will be. Where he will always be. If the Doctor is still the Doctor, he will have my back. I'm right, aren't I? Go on. Please, please, go on, say I'm right.” You were right, Clara. 

Twelve’s Theme kicks in at full blast. As much as I love it, it just doesn’t have quite the same blood pumping effect as ‘I Am the Doctor’.  

“Yeah, sorry. Well no, actually, I'm not. You're brilliant on adrenaline.”

“I hate being wrong in public. Everybody forget that happened.”

The squad is here. 

“Your friend is intelligent. He'll know better than to follow me.” You sure about that? 

“I've got the horrible feeling I'm going to have to kill you. I thought you might appreciate a drink first. I know I would.”

Doctor Who is the only show that could get away with having a hot air balloon made of human skin on prime time BBC One.

“Sister ship of the Madame De Pompadour. No, not getting it.” Understandable considering, from his perspective, it has been nearly a millennium since season two. 

“No, it isn't. It's just far away. Everything looks too small. I prefer it down there. Everything is huge. Everything is so important. Every detail, every moment, every life clung to.”

“Question. You take a broom, you replace the handle, and then later you replace the brush, and you do that over and over again. Is it still the same broom?” Better known as the Trigger conundrum. 

“There's not a trace of the original you left. You probably can't even remember where you got that face from.” Moments like this are why I think Peter Capaldi is the best actor who has ever played the Doctor. 

“Self-destruction is against my basic programme.” "And murder is against mine.”

It’s not a proper kiss, but I’ll take it. 

Strax was willing to kill himself just so he would’t reveal his friends. 

That glare still sends a chill down my spine. 

“I don't think I know who the Doctor is any more.”

He’s redecorated and I do like it, especially the bookshelves. Place looks so homely now. 

“I'm the Doctor. I've lived for over two thousand years, and not all of them were good. I've made many mistakes, and it's about time that I did something about that.”

By admitting that he thought he was Clara’s boyfriend he is pretty much admitting that he’s in love with her.    

She doesn’t say it, but she clearly likes the new look.

“You'd better get that. It might be your boyfriend.”

And now we know why the phone was left hanging. 

“...and I think you might be scared. And however scared you are, Clara, the man you are with right now, the man I hope you are with, believe me, he is more scared than anything you can imagine right now and he, he needs you.” Glad I didn’t watch this right after ‘Time of the Doctor’. I would not have been able to go through saying goodbye to Matt again twice in one day.  

“You can't see me, can you? You look at me, and you can't see me. Have you any idea what that's like? I'm not on the phone, I'm right here, standing in front of you. Please, just, just see me.”

The first of many awkward hugs. 

They go for coffee, not chips, so relax Doctor/Rose shippers. No one is stepping on your moment. 

Oh Missy, you're so fine. You're so fine you blow my mind, hey Missy! Hey Missy!

Next Time: Into the Dalek

[software-testing-tips]

A comprehensive guide on agile methods for modern software development

Project management is not an effortless endeavour. And since there are an excessive variety of methodologies available to choose from, organizations have become more confused than ever.

There's one trend, however, that is growing exponentially because 2015 and earlier -- Agile.

Agile methodologies have helped many businesses to react quickly to the changing marketplace conditions, boost customer satisfaction, and improve overall efficiency.

But, there are still plenty of businesses that are facing difficulties in understanding & adopting Agile.

Thus, to assist such businesses to overcome these challenges, we have included a comprehensive guide that explains everything about Agile.

This manual is meant for:

Anyone who wants to obtain knowledge on what is agile and the reason it's freakishly great.

Anybody who would like to learn ins and outs of agile project management methods.

We're a leading computer software development firm established in India. We assist startups, small-to-medium businesses, and large-scale organizations with mobile, net, and software development.

Since our inception in 2011, we have witnessed both Waterfall and nimble projects succeed and fail.

We've learned what works and what not, and after implementing both software development modalities during our journey, we've simply fallen in love with Agile.

Because most of you might already know in the last couple of years, a new project management strategy referred to as agile' has taken the software development and testing planet by storm.

94% of organizations are currently practicing nimble in a certain form.

Unlike the Waterfall strategy, where all the requirements are gathered in the start, then all the layout is done next, and lastly, the advancement part gets implemented, the Agile approach allows business analysts, designers, programmers, and stakeholders to work together concurrently.

It breaks large projects into small iterations. And, at the conclusion of each iteration, something of excellent value is produced.

Limitations of the traditional waterfall model Strategy The waterfall approach was initially presented by Winston Royce in 1970 and it was initially meant to be used in the growth of government projects.

Web applications were a perfect remedy to this issue. The two Uber and Instagram could increase their reach by placing their foot in the internet world. And that is what precisely happened.

While traditional IT managers have successfully developed lots of software with the Waterfall strategy, but there are still two huge limitations that cause a great deal of problems during the software development procedure.

Making changes will be extremely Tough As you already know, the Waterfall approach is based on following a set of stages that maintain the software development process keep moving forward. As a result of this character, this methodology leaves no room for making sudden changes.

When this occurs (and it typically does in software development), making adjustments will not be easy. It will require a lot of work and will also waste money and time.

Excludes the client from job The Waterfall approach mainly concentrates on assisting the inner team function efficiently throughout all stages of the job, while between the customer rarely from the process.

Now in the modern era, clients want to be involved during the development as often as possible for incorporating their views and clarifying how exactly they want their applications to do the job.

However,since the Waterfall approach gives very little attention to the client involvement, odds are high for receiving change requests after in the evolution.

Although, they did not understand they were practicing Agile at that time.

Modern-day agile methodologies were discovered in 2001 when a group of 17 software engineers met to explore an alternate project management approach.

All 17 engineers needed a very clear vision of producing lightweight, adaptive, and team-oriented strategy, so they formed the entire Manifesto of Agile project management which was aimed at finding better ways to develop applications.

How agile works Contrary to the conventional Waterfall strategy, the Agile methods follow an iterative approach. The agile approach basically involves a number of cycles called'sprints' that were created, developed, and analyzed individually.

Simply, consider every sprint to be a mini project using its own backlogdesign, design, development, testing, and deployment phases inside the pre-defined range of work.

At the conclusion of every sprint, a possibly deliverable product is sent. Basically, with every iteration conclusion, new features are added to the most important software which results in the applications growth.

Agile misconceptions & their real benefits Though the agile methodologies have been adopted majorly worldwide, there are still many misconceptions about Agile approach which are given below.

It's too Various "Although I am well-aware that Agile is a favorite project management strategy nowadays, but I am just scared as it'll be tricky to get my group on board ."

We are aware that the agile approach can be a completely new idea to you and your entire team.

In addition, we know it is going to require a small rewiring as to how all stakeholders will probably remain on the exact same page during the program development.

But, all companies that have adopted Agile understand this new strategy runs the software development cycle always smooth.

As you might feel that in Waterfall approach, the whole application project is under control as what's mapped out in the start phase, but in reality, the project really take way longer than expected and costs way more than should.

The largest drawback of Waterfall approach is that it doesn't allow the flexibility to make changes throughout the evolution as and when new ideas come to mind.

"I've a strict budget and that doesn't work with Agile."

Wrong! There's no such evidence demonstrating that Agile can't fulfill a stringent budget.

For those who haven't any idea how project cost is figured in agile strategy, here's how it works -- Agile supplies you dedicated resources, and there's a fixed price to each dashboard that includes a variety of staff members.

An experienced software development business may provide you with a web period estimation of how much time it will take to build specific software and on the basis of that, they can provide you with cost estimation.

Read More: Our cost estimation method to Locate your program's price

Furthermore, if your job evolves or you opt to add a new attribute, Agile also allows you to eliminate a similar-sized feature so you may stick to your initial budget.

It's unpredictable Yes! Agile could be inconsistent sometimes. But are the other application development approaches? To be honest, it's totally impossible to work out just what the software needs to be at the outset of development.

However, unlike the standard approach, Agile adopts this unpredictability and utilizes it to its advantage and generates better outputs.

Developers prioritize all of the features Some people still feel that at the agile approach, developers decide what's important and what should be implemented when.

This is far from the truth because, at the beginning of each sprint, there's always a comprehensive sprint assembly conducted where all stakeholders take part and decide which feature(s) will be delivered and developed in that dash.

This sprint meeting generally includes designers, developers, project managers, the customer, and sometimes the end-users as well.

Agile demands more teamwork True! Agile does demand a closer collaboration between designers and developers, and getting everyone on the same page may be somewhat more of a stern task. But in the end, the output signal of such close teamwork always results in better software that is developed quicker and for less cash.

[arplis]

Arplis - News: Friday, May 8, 2020 Stu Agler

"Brainstorming for New Periodicals" 17. Magazine for masseuses?: ROLF DIGEST.   GOLF DIGEST 21. Magazine for nurses?: IV GUIDE.   TV GUIDE 26. Magazine for golfers?: PAR AND DRIVER.   CAR AND DRIVER 44. Magazine for crossword constructors?: PUNNERS WORLD.   RUNNER'S WORLD 38. Magazine for beekeepers?: HONEY.   MONEY 51. Magazine for pharmacists?: MEDBOOK.   REDBOOK 60. Magazine for farmers?: HEN'S HEALTH.   MEN'S HEALTH We have another debut at the LA Times and Crossword Corner.  Welcome, Stu Agler ! Rolf Digest was the first themer to fill, but I had never heard of Rolfing.  Wikipedia tells me "Rolfing is a form of alternative medicine originally developed by Ida Rolf as Structural Integration. It is typically delivered as a series of ten hands-on physical manipulation sessions sometimes called "the recipe"   Who knew ? Consistency in changing only the first letter of the existing magazines may have made this puzzle a bit easier to solve, but it's still funny and punny.   Excepting IV / TV, they all also rhyme.  Stu probably had more choices and could probably have created a Sunday sized grid with this theme. How about "Magazine for helicopter designers?  Rotor Trend.    Or, "Magazine for practitioners of animal husbandry ?" Sired.   Maybe, "Magazine for Lumberyard professionals ? Wood Housekeeping. I'll stop now and leave it to the professionals.  Great job, Stu.  We're now going to explore that which remains.  And pardon me while I wander and reminisce. Across: 1. Cook Islands language: MAORI.     The Cook Islands are in the South Pacific ocean with 15 islands having a combined total land area of about 93 square miles.  For perspective, the city of Chicago covers about 234 sq. miles.   Los Angeles 469, and Houston 600 sq. miles.   The land area of the Cook Islands is about the size of Milwaukee (96), Sacramento (98), Lincoln, NE (89) or Tallahassee (100 sq. mi.). Spanish explorers visited the islands in the late 1500s and named one of the islands St. Bernard.  British Navigator James Cook came to the islands in the 1770s, and named one of the islands Hervey Island.  The name "Cook Islands" first appeared on a Russian naval chart in the 1820s. 78 % of the people on the island nation are Māori and another 7.8 % are part Māori.  The official languages are English and Cook Islands Māori.  The capital (and largest city) is Avarua, which might be a good answer in a crossword puzzle. 6. Place for mascara: LASH. 10. Rims: LIPs. 14. Ray __, NBAer with the most regular season 3-point field goals: ALLEN.   Retired HOF'er with  18 years in the NBA making 40 % of his attempts from beyond the line for 2973 buckets.   Active player Stephen Curry has hit 43.5 % of his 3-pointers during his 11 year NBA career, and is about 500 makes behind.  Note the consistency in the non-shooting hand. 15. Northern Oklahoma city: ENID.  Known as the "Wheat Capital" of Oklahoma for its immense grain storage capacity.  It has the third-largest grain storage capacity in the world.  Yes, that is a line of rail cars in the foreground.  The place is huge. There were some great shots on The Smithsonian Channel's Aerial America - Oklahoma the other day.  If you don't get that channel, watch for it to be shown on The Smithsonian's Aerial America YouTube channel. 16. Legal memo phrase: INRE. 19. Campus area: QUAD. 20. Place with shells: SEASIDE. 23. Informal negative: AIN'T.   Isn't wrong. 25. Chopper topper: ROTOR.   One of my part time military jobs (ODAA - other duties as assigned)) was working as part of the team at the "Can Point" when I was assigned to Coleman Army Airfield,  Coleman Barracks, 70th AVIM (aviation intermediate maintenance) Battalion, 1st Support Brigade (later, 21st Support Command), USAEUR (US Army Europe) at Sandhofen (Mannheim), Germany. My real job was in the computer vans, 3rd shift, feeding stack after stack of 80 column cards into a card reader, and then inserting magnetic ledger stock into the platen feed of an NCR 500 computer system. It was all part of the inventory control system used to keep track of orders and disbursements and stock on hand.  Occasionally keypunching new cards to replace mangled cards, and running the 088 card sorter from time to time after dropping a tray full of cards.  Tray after tray, night after night, week after week.  So monotonous.  I digress. Any rotor wing aircraft that went down in USAEUR were transported to the cannibalization point for selected salvage.  Rotor wings could not be salvaged for re-use, but were in demand by Air Cavalry battalions and companies around the country.  They would be used as art on the hangars or as gate toppers at entrances to Kasernes that housed rotor wing companies.  Most impressive and awe inspiring was when the heavy lift helicopters came in for inspection and maintenance.  The roar of the engines and sound of the rotors pounding the air was thunderous as the beasts approached and landed on the tarmac. CH-47 "Chinook" on the left and CH-54 "Tarhe" (Skycrane) on the right.   The Skycranes were being phased out of military service in Europe in the late '70s when I was there, and many passed through our airfield on their way back to the U.S. 32. Salchow relatives: AXELs.  Figure skating. 33. __-deucey: ACEY.   A card game or a backgammon game.  34. Hook partner: JAB.  Boxing. 37. Gobble (down): WOLF.  40. Coke __: ZERO.   Zero calorie, sugar free version of Coca-Cola.  Artificially sweetened.  I've never had one.  41. __-Caps: SNO.  Semi-sweet chocolates topped with nonpareils.  White ones, of course. 42. "Be there in __": A SEC.  What my wife says 10 minutes before she gets to the door as we are preparing to leave.  43. Wheel alignment: TOE-IN.   What You Need to Know About Tire Alignment 47. Weasel cousin: STOAT.  Not otter today.  A stoat (top) and a weasel (bottom) Stoat or weasel? How to tell the difference 50. "Get lost!": SHOO. 54. Pal of Barbarino in "Welcome Back, Kotter": EPSTEIN. 59. Afterthoughts: ANDs.  Oh, and the guy in the lower left is Barbarino and the guy in the top right is Epstein. 62. Leave in: STET.  Don't dele.  Obelisms.  A proofreader knows these symbols. 63. Half of Mork's sign-off: NANU.   Mork was the ET from the planet Ork on the sitcom Mork and Mindy. 64. Brew hue: AMBER. 65. __ d'oeuvres: HORS. 66. First column to add, usually: ONEs.   Units.  The first column of whole numbers to be added in a place-value numbering system.  Typically in base-10 (decimal) for most people, and the second column would be tens, the third hundreds and so on.  I know you knew that, but I'm building here. Programmers and others in technology use other place-value numbering systems, such as in base-8 (octal) where the columns would be units, eights, sixty-fours and so on, and in base-16 (hexadecimal) they would be units, sixteens, and the third column two hundred fifty-sixes. Quick, what's the first numbering system that comes to mind that is not place-value ? 67. Funny Anne: MEARA. So many roles, but perhaps best known as one half of the Stiller and Meara comedy team. Down: 1. Second-smallest of eight: MARS.  Our solar system's planets.  The "Red Planet", fourth from the sun.  Mercury is the smallest. 2. Ointment ingredient: ALOE.  Keep washing your hands and try to find a sanitizer with aloe in it. Does aloe work ?  Evaluation of aloe vera gel gloves in the treatment of dry skin associated with occupational exposure. 3. Cantina crock: OLLA. 4. Works the game: REFs.  Referees the game or bout. 5. Team with the longest World Series drought (71 years): INDIANS.   Should be championship drought.  They were in the 2016 World Series, and they were leading it 3 games to 1 in the best of 7 series over the Chicago Cubs.   The Cubs won the next two games, evening the series at 3 each. In the seventh and deciding game that many pundits have called one of the greatest game 7s (and series) in MLB history, the teams were tied at 6 runs each after 9 innings.   Then the skies opened up with a sudden downpour.  After the rain delay play resumed, and the Cubs scored two to take an 8-6 lead in the top of the tenth inning.  In the bottom of the tenth, the home field Indians plated one run with two out before the Tribe's loyal fans had their hopes squashed on a weak grounder to third baseman Kris Bryant. It was only the fifth time in World Series history that a Game 7 went to extra innings, and it was the first time the extra inning Game 7 was won by a road team.  The series and Game 7 were both dubbed "instant classics". The Cubs won and ended a 108 year championship drought of their own; the longest in professional sports history.  6. Folklore tale: LEGEND.   An example of early American literature was Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleep Hollow, but what inspired the work ?  7. Suffix with hex-: ANE. 8. "Absolutely!" in Madrid: SI SI. 9. Best Buy purchase: HDTV. 10. __ license: LIQUOR. 11. Greenland language: INUIT. 12. Madrid museum: PRADO. 13. Where the same questions are asked annually: SEDER. 18. "__ it my way": I DID.  22. Ethically uncertain, in Sussex: GREY.   I loved Dash-T's explanation a few weeks ago that, "Gray is a color, while grey is a colour".  24. Spells: TRANCEs. 26. Treat holders: PAWs. 27. Nerve impulse carrier: AXON. 28. HR dept. concern: RELO.   United Van Lines packed up my belongings and car when I was relocated from Houston to Chicago in late '87.   The company footed the bill for my relocation moving and living expenses.   Actually lived for almost two months in a new Holiday Inn that was still in the process of being constructed. Then January came, and I learned fast that my southeast Texas blood and wardrobe was ill-equipped to deal with Chicago's gusting winds and biting cold that would shiver your bones.  I ran to the mall and bought thermal underwear and the heaviest lined Burberry style trench coat I could find.  I didn't bother to ask HR to foot the bill on those items.  I know'd the answer was NO ! 29. Alien from Melmac: ALF.   Another extraterrestrial from TV land.   Anne Meara played the grandmother in occasional appearances on the sitcom. 30. __ dancing: ICE.   Like figure skating, but more freeform and interpretive. 31. "Oy __!": VEY.   Oy vey ! This crossword puzzle review has gone on too long.  But wait, there's more ! 34. Boo: JEER.  Please.  Bear with me, it'll be over soon. 35. Seed covering: ARIL. 36. M's favorite agent: BOND.   James Bond's boss and head of MI6, portrayed by Dame Judy Dench in eight of the movies.   38. 24 hrs.-per-day retail channel: HSN.   Home Shopping Network 39. Wine: Pref.: OEN.  From the ancient Greek word oinos.   "The translators of the KJV, by uniformly rendering the Greek word oinos as wine, replicated the Greek word’s reference to both fermented and unfermented juice with an English word that, in their day, was similarly general in reference." 40. Wild place: ZOO.    The nickname for Gerszewski Barracks in Knielingen (Karlsruhe) Germany, my second station while serving there.  The Zoo had an entirely different atmosphere than Coleman.   Still the military, but significantly fewer officers and Warrant Officers (mostly helicopter pilots at Coleman) and MPs than Coleman.  Definitely more relaxed.  Coleman was the home to the USAEUR Confinement Facility, where soldiers in serious trouble awaited trial, were serving sentences up to a year, or for the most serious offenses, were awaiting orders for transportation back to the U.S. to serve extended time at Ft Leavenworth, KA. 42. Jam component: AUTO.   Seriously, was I the only one that first thought of pectin ? 43. Type of fastball grip: TWO SEAM.   Baseball.   Even ardent fans may not be aware of the arsenal that Yu Darvish brings to the mound.  44. Blue Ribbons, e.g.: PABSTs.   PBRs, for short.  Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.  Not my cuppa, but it'll do in a pinch. 45. Monkey used in research: RHESUS. 46. Future junior: SOPH. 47. Big hit: SMASH.   As in an exceptionally popular TV, movie or stage show, or for tennis fans such as Sandyanon, the return shot answer to a poorly placed near-net lob shot.   48. :50, another way: TEN TO.   Me: "It's ten to five.  Are you ready yet ?  Are you coming ?"  Her: "I'll be there in a sec."   49. Stranger: ODDER. 52. "That's awful!": OH NO.   53. New Jersey university: KEAN.  Not familiar.  About   Yellowrocks, is that near you ? 55. Domesticate: TAME. 56. People Magazine's 2018 Sexiest Man Alive: ELBA.   Idris.  Hi, Lucina ! 57. Old Roman road: ITER. 58. Dragster's org.: NHRA.   The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) are the two largest sanctioning bodies for drag racing.  The Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove, Wisconsin is still going strong.  The "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday" radio commercials for drag racing events can still be heard on radio stations across the country.  Well, maybe not right now, but they'll be back. 61. Austin-to-Dallas dir.: NNE.    For some, I-35 is known as Main Street, Texas.   Almost half of the Texas population (and most of my siblings and extended family) lives along this central artery that starts in Laredo, Texas near the Rio Grande, and exits the state just north of Gainseville at the Red River.   From there I-35 travels generally NNE all the way to Duluth, Minnesota,  comparatively just shy of the border with Canada. The reconstruction and widening of I-35 that started in 2012 is the second largest infrastructure project in the history of the state for TxDOT, the state's Department of Transportation.  The first ?  Building I-35 in the first place, which started in the '50s as part of Eisenhower's Interstate System.   It will be nice, and much safer when it is finally done. Use the Zoom In, Zoom Out buttons on the map to view greater detail or a wider view, and use your mouse to move around.  "Ain't Isn't wrong" technology grand ? Finally, here's the grid: #TTP #StuAgler #Friday

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/friday-may-8-2020-stu-agler

[firstcars]

SCT SF3 Power Flash Ford Programmer Review and ScanGaugeE

An impressive product coming from a well-respected brand, the SCT SF3 Power Flash Ford Programmer is currently available on various websites today. The product offers to make the most of the vehicles for the average driver. Here I share a review on Best Car Waxes of 2019 for you.

Product Features

 Some of the features offered by this product include but are not limited to the following:

 Boosts horsepower

Improves torque

Saves up to 3 custom tunes

Improves fuel mileage

Data logging and monitoring system

Backlit display LCD

Allows reading and deletion of DTC trouble codes

Easily installation

Comes with one year guarantee

Product Pros and Cons

 The SCT SF3 Power Flash Ford Programmer helps car owners keep track of the efficiency of their vehicle. The item is capable of tapping into the hidden power of cars, allowing owners to make the most of their horsepower, torque, and various other engine capabilities. The item also helps read and clear out any DTC trouble codes that might be piling up on the car’s computer. This would help remove the annoying “Check Engine” sign found in Ford’s dash. The product is currently being sold at a reasonable price with a one year guarantee provided for all buyers.

When the SF3 Power Flash device is plugged into your vehicle, it backs up the vehicle's factory programming.

It arrives pre-loaded with dyno-proven tune files that increase torque, horsepower, and fuel efficiency. You may use it as an exhaust brake to increase engine braking while coasting towing heavier loads.

It’s not easy for first-timers to use. A manual is added in with the package through which should make it easier for new owners to install and start exploring the product. Also, note that the item is not available to car owners residing in the state of California.

 All in all, the SCT SF3 Power Flash Ford Programmer is a good purchase for those who want to invest in the function of their cars. Feedbacks for the product have all been good with buyers noting that it arrived on schedule. The device is packaged tightly and was in perfect condition upon receipt.

ScanGaugeE

The ScanGaugeE comes from the same people who introduce ScanGauge II. Considering how successful the latter was, it isn’t surprising that there are lots of people checking out the ScanGaugeE product. Currently available at a reasonable price, the item comes with a wide array of features and more.

 Product Features

 Currently being offered at $99.95, this product comes with a wide array of features designed to help car owners maximize their vehicle. For additional cable, the item can be bought for $119.98.

 Made from durable materials

Easy maintenance

Very easy to install

Helps save on gas

Pinpoints problems

Solves engine problems before they become too big to handle

Provides diagnostic trouble codes

Compatible with different types of cars designed from 1996 onwards.

Product Benefits

The ability of the product to efficiently scan the vehicle and offer feedback about its state is very beneficial for many car owners. It allows them to always be in the know when it comes to their car. This also helps non-mechanics as it lets them pinpoint the problems even before bringing them to the car shop.

 Some owners of the product are happy to prevent major repair disasters from coming their way. The presence of a ScanGaugeE lets car owners has significant savings on their car repair.

 Feedback about the Product

 Currently, feedback for the ScanGaugeE has all been good. Individuals who have used the item are perfectly happy with the results provided by the subject. Not only that but they are also satisfied with the amount they paid for the model. Taking all things into account, buyers have noted that the ScanGaugeE has already paid for itself through savings.

[extrafemi]

Applying for TEF Seed Capital.

I am going to start by saying if you have not heard about the TEF (Tony Elumelu Foundation) by now, you are probably neither Nigerian nor African. If you are, then you must have been sleeping under a rock. This year, TEF will officially 3 years old. Kudos to them. Going forward, I will refer to the Tony Elumelu Foundation (formerly Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme) as TEF.

This post is simply to answer some of the questions I have been asked about the TEF as I am privileged to be part of the class of 2016. In this post, I will mostly be sharing;

My experience signing up and going through the TEF process.

About TEF official and unofficial group forums.

What TEF is and it isn't.

Finally, managing your expectations about the TEF seed capital.

P.S: I am not a TEF staff or a brand ambassador for TEF (though I wish I was). I am an entrepreneur. So here goes:

Applying for TEF...

I first heard about the TEF in 2015 but didn't apply until 2016. When I eventually did apply. I applied my business idea- ChatClass NG. I had been working on it since 2013 and even Hotels.ng boss; Mark Essien had tried to help me with it at some point. S/O to him for his patience and time.

I didnt apply in 2015 for one reason: I said to myself “Shey iru e lonwan be?” (Translation: Is it your type they (TEF) are looking for there?).

But I finally put together my business plan and applied in 2016. The application process was simple and easy. In a couple of hours, I was done.

Lessons. (As I said, I would be sharing lessons as I go on)

1. I have been asked about my “winning edge” to get in. Unfortunately, I doubt that exists or if it does, I don’t think I have one. Ultimately, it boils down to your application. TEF has an independent screening process (Accenture) for applications and business plans to ensure transparency. So knowing TEF staff personally or sending email means nothing. Your application is basically being judged by people who don't know you, who you don't know and who you may never meet.

2. While it is okay to ask for help while applying, it is important to do it yourself. Not because TEF might find out if someone else applies for you but hey, it's your business. Doesn't it make sense to apply by yourself?

3. Parmindir Vir shared that a lot of ladies started their applications in the 2015 set and never finished for some reason. Hence the statistics of Female applicants was really poor. TEF followed up with female applicants in 2016 encouraging them to finish their applications and surprisingly, the statistics improved significantly. So this is dedicated to the ladies applying or thinking of applying: PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR APPLICATIONS! PLEASE!!

4. The fact that I got selected means anyone can get in if you apply but If you don't get in still, pick yourself up and get ready for 2019.

After applying, I waited.

Statistics.

1. Out of the 1000 entrepreneurs to be selected across Africa, 600 will be Nigerians and the remaining 400 will be split across the other 53 countries in Africa. So if you are a Nigerian reading this, good for you.

2. Of the 1200 businesses to be selected, the largest sector is Agriculture, followed closely by Education (which I am in), Health and then the others. So if you are in any of them and reading this again, good for you. Yes. The programme is not open to research institutions, faith-based organizations, value-adding trading companies, government contractors and businesses not located in Africa.  Businesses must not adversely affect the environment, lives, and property. Business ideas must be for profit and must be the original work of those making the submission.

3. In 2015, 20,000 entrepreneurs applied. In 2016, 65,000 entrepreneurs applied. It is estimated that about 85,000 to 100,000 entrepreneurs will apply in 2017. So brace up!

4. With the growing focus on driving female entrepreneurs especially in Africa, special attention will be paid to female entrepreneurs just like there was in 2016. So if you are a lady reading this, good for you.

After getting selected...

One day, an email arrived from TEF. It contained a video from Mr. Elumelu himself. I nearly deleted it and wondered why TEF would send an email to tell me I had failed to get in, more-so in a video from the Chairman himself. But I watched it and there were the first words I heard: “If you are watching this video, Congratulations you are one of the 1000 entrepreneurs selected this year…..” The email will also be the first of very many emails, webinar invitations, instructions et al from TEF. The list of the winners will also be published on the TEF website.

Lessons.

1. Sometimes, it is your type they are looking for, lol. Your idea might just be the solution Africa is looking for.

2. The answer you seek might just be in that next email. Don't be in such a hurry to hit the delete button. Read first.

3. Yeah, you will be contacted via email. Please close attention to your email.

4. Attend the webinars. It contains answers to all the questions you will have as you go on.

5. You will also be assigned a mentor to guide you through a 12-week online bootcamp. Work with him or her (I sent mine a LinkedIn connection the same day I found out his name) and don’t be worried about getting your ideas stolen (that’s just silly).

5. It is important to actually do the tasks in the 12-week online bootcamp and even more important to do it yourself. Not because TEF might find out if someone else does it for you but hey, it's your business. Doesn’t it make sense to do by yourself? I had a business running, staff to manage, a 9–5 job, was taking an online class from maestro Steve Harris and still did my tasks and assignments myself. I was waking up 3:30am and sleeping at 12 midnight. Don't worry about getting stuck, that's why you have a mentor. S/O to Future Software Nigeria Resources Ltd boss, Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho for all her encouragements during this time.

6. If you have not registered your business, it is in your best interest to do so and you would be required to submit your CAC documents and open a business account. You can, however, leave this till the latter end of the online bootcamp. You can skip the name search fees and search for yourself using this portal.

After the online bootcamp…

After the online bootcamp, we were asked to submit reports, milestones, documents, and our business plans. I should confess at this point that I had help with my financials but she and I did it together. The irony here is that the financials got rejected twice during which I was forced to redo myself before it got approved. So again, Ask for help but do it yourself. After I submitted all the required documents, we geared up for the TEF conference in Victoria Island, Lagos.

At the TEF conference….

I should duff my hat to the TEF team for pulling this one off. I am talking about logistics for at least 2000 people (TEF class of 2016- us, TEF class of 2015 who volunteered, TEF staff and other third-party services); yet it was mostly seamless! The meals were amazing, the registration desk seemed to munch up their queues like hungry lions and did I mention the speakers were on point?! Attend sessions, take notes, Ask questions…intelligently. The conference ended with a concert with one of Africa’s finest musicians- P Square. I should admit at this point that I developed a crush on one of the speakers- Somachi. Lord! She slay-ed! I am still not cured but hope she doesn't read this, lol!

Okay! Moving on! Lessons.

1. This isn't a written requirement but NETWORK, NETWORK and just when you think you have done enough, NETWORK some more. The TEF conference has entrepreneurs from all 54 countries in Africa in one place at a time and that is ah-mazing! No, I do not think anyone has ever been able to manage such a feat.

By Sunday morning, it was all over.

About TEF official and unofficial group forums.

A lot of whatsapp and telegram groups will emerge. You should know that none of them are authorized by TEF. The only recognized platform for interaction between TEF entrepreneurs 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and eventual 2019 is the TEF Connect which you will be sent logins to access.

What TEF fund is and it isn't.

What TEF gives is SEED CAPITAL to fund the business plan you submitted. You are not allowed to change your business idea after being funded or transfer the fund to other uses. It is NOT a grant or a “dash money” or a loan. It is also wise not to pay tithe on this money for our brothers and sisters in the lord. lol.

There was a story that was shared with me about some guy who was TEF 2015 alumni, got in and after getting the funds went back to his Job on the pretext of the funds not being enough. That is saddening as he has prevented someone else the opportunity of being funded. TEF will give an initial $5,000 and create the opportunity to request an additional $5,000 if the initial isn’t enough based on certain terms and conditions. There was also a story about some guy in some African country who won funds at some Microsoft business competition used the funds to marry a second wife! lord!

If this is your plan or similar to the above, it is in your best interest not to apply at all.

Finally, managing your expectations about the TEF seed capital.

The moment your name is on the TEF 2017 list, you are guaranteed of the initial funds of $5000…well, almost guaranteed. However, TEF will only pay when they are ready. As much as they intend to keep to time and work very hard to ensure funds arrive as scheduled, sometimes, things never go the way we plan. That’s life. The conference was in September 2016 but I didn't get my funds until January 2017. I have friends who have gotten into debt over money they hadn't received or spent all their savings in hope of the funds. I will simply share one lesson about money i learned from my mother when I was much younger…

“Do not spend money you have not yet seen”

Until the money enters your account, it is not yet yours and you have not yet seen it.

Are writers eligible to apply?

Honestly, I don't know but better Question: Is it a business? Is it scale-able? will it transform Africa? If yes, then, by all means, please apply.

Oh, and my business? Click here to find out all about it. Got questions I haven’t answered already? please leave a comment.

Now that I have delivered on my promise, apply here.

Be wise and all the best, Femi.

[isthisprogress]

Context of Game and Play - Reading Analysis: Week 5 (Culture)

Things of Beauty: Super Smash Bros. as Spectator Sport

Currently this has been one of the most fascinating things I have cover on this paper. This may be due to its focus on fighting games and that is what got me into video games (That game was Tekken 3). I know what Evo is and understand competitive fighting game terms. Thus, I was immediately impressed by the rapid reactions need to parry that long super art combo. This was made more impressive by the fact that Diago was unable to take a single hit. Moments like these can cause adrenaline rushes and throw the players and audience into disbelief. 

He then went on to talk about the battle between Mew2King and aMSa, where aMSa used a Yoshi to beat Mew2King’s Fox and Sheik (Innuendo Studios, 2015). Going into the battle aMSa had a lot of doubters, due to Yoshi being low tier and not being used in a competitive setting. Before, I elaborate on this; I will go over a few other points he made.

For starters, the biggest difference between a sport and competitive video game.

Sports: You can do anything that is not expressly forbidden by the rules.

Video Game: You cannot do anything except what is expressly allowed by the system.

He gives a good explanation with his Fifa example. Where in games there are some mechanics that were intentionally programmed in like shield drops (Super Smash Bros) and some that were discovered and created by the player. E.g. Wave dashing (I will talk about this later). 

Sometimes, these mechanics can relate to character potential where there exist some techniques that are yet to be discovered; which can dramatically improve the character’s standing in  the competitive scene. This can catch a professional off guard, because they have not trained against it. E.g. Pitching s knuckle ball in baseball.

From personal experience, I do not play games at a high competitive level. But, I have a strong following toward Tekken and Overwatch. i tend to follow Overwatch due to it being something that i enjoy. But, just like the speaker’s loyalty to Captain Falcon; I am loyal to Tekken for the same reason.

Some examples to mechanics that were discovered by the players in Tekken, were the wave dash and the Korean back dash.

(Xian 鉄拳, 2016)

These moves can only be done by certain characters. Basically, a wave dash is a technique to quickly close in the distance with the other player; while staying on guard and allowing your character to quickly execute an attack. On the other hand, the Korean wave dash is the same thing but done backwards and used to create distance. Neither move was intentionally designed, yet they have become a stable part of tournaments. 

After watching the video, it actually made me go and watch some Overwatch competitive matches and observe the crowd, players and commentators behaviours.  

Year In Review 

(Kunzelman, n.d.)  

So...............  this is a thing. Well where to start? No seriously, I have no idea where to start; I just don’t get it and cannot find any information online. 

For starters, all I have to do is press the “N” or “O” key to keep the character’s head above the water. Each press, adds 1 to your score. The end result is just shows a screen saying that “2015 was a (score) out of 10.”. Predominantly, the end result just says a (Large number) out of 10. The only relationship that I can draw was that 2015 was a really good year for video games, thus the character is drowning in these game.

A quick rundown on the games of 2015:

(GameSpot, 2015).

Salve Of God

This freaking game gave me one hell of a headache and ruined my sleep. I didn’t get it at all, the only thing I felt was intense anger; because of how it affect my body. As a result, I took some time off from this paper.

After an intense Muay Thai session, I felt significantly better and had a clearer perspective on the project. I realised that this project is similar to what we want to do, for our Game Jam. However, I found the game very faulty and terribly designed. I understood fuck all after watching a walkthrough and felt that was overly artsy fartsy. To be honest, I was in utter shock when I discovered there actually existed a story. The game ends once you understand it, which is just incomprehensible. 

After reflecting on my thoughts I decided to do some research and this drastically altered my perspective. I learnt that the game was about obsessive drug usage, drinking and clubbing (Ellison, 2013). The trippy atmosphere was a result of being high and reacting to all the colours and loud music in the nightclub. 

Upon further thought, it was a very well executed project. I can now see how it builds up and immerses the user in a nightclub and drugged environment. This was emphasised by the randomness yet logical actions need to complete the game.

In conclusion, the meaning itself may explain why I disliked the project so much. I do not enjoy clubbing, despise the taste of alcohol and have not done drugs before. Thus, explaining why I felt very uncomfortable in this environment. However, the only link between this and culture that I can see is probably druggie culture.

Set and Setting 

("Set and setting," n.d.).

Another reading that i struggled with. It makes sense, yet I don’t get its relationship to culture. 

Set is the mental state that a person takes with them into the experience. Setting is the physical and social environment.

Furthermore, this describes the context of certain psychedelic drugs. Where their mental state effects their setting. In the end, i just don’t get it and the importance of this toward culture. 

Cyberqueen

Well that’s enough internet for me. What the actual hell is this game? I was either invested, bored out of my mind, or weirded out. The game itself is a choose your own text adventure game with very graphic scenes implied thru text. The last few moments of the game can be summarised into 2 options you can either preform surgery or masturbate.  

Once again, I do not get the importance of this project or why it was selected as a reading. Then again it can be harder to understand foreign cultures. This would explain my outside perspective and lack of understanding on this certain culture. Therefore, the foreignness of this culture makes it harder for me to understand and relate to stories about masturbation and surgery.

Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist

(Crows Crows Crows, 2015).  

Wow just wow, this game has really gotten me thinking; about game design and new ideas for games. I ended up spending 64 minutes playing this game. It felt very interesting and open-ended, yet it was extremely linear. \

The game itself was about being someone in the background of a game and ensure that it runs properly, for the player currently in that supposed game. This made me feel like I was inside a game and was playing as a function in the code. This made sense as I had to execute certain actions and was frequently being told about the game. Furthermore, my actions hindered the process and did not break the system; due to the “programmers” implementing exceptions and counters to my random behaviour.

When playing through the game a second time, I came across the tape player that added more intrigue to the project. That referenced other ideas the supposed “designers” had. With one of the games being about getting attack by pencils, then having to take off all your clothes, run to the hills and hiding in a bush. This would explain why most rooms had at least 1 pencil. 

The project itself explores developer culture and showcasing the feedback and problems they experience. This is something that we can all kind of relate to.

Serenity Now

(VonArens, 2008), (Gibbs, Carter, Arnold, & Nansen, 2013)

This was very savage to watch and read into. I felt a bit disgusted by Serenity Now’s actions. However, I do not feel as though they are in the wrong. I felt disgusted due to moral reasons, because Illidan-US were holding a funeral and tribute to their lost friend. The fact that they were targeted and massacred at a time of grief and is bad enough.

On the other hand, the service was held in a PvP location and that killing other players is part of the game. Technically, Serenity Now was just playing the game. Everyone who purchased the game should be given equal access. Therefore, the fact that certain players were holding a funeral; should not force everyone else to stop playing the game or restrict access to said area.

Yet, there are being targeted due to taking immoral actions; even though these are programmed mechanics that the developers intended. Interestingly, the players have formed their own cultures within the world where they hold events upon certain occasions; e.g. Marriage. Nonetheless, the developers never really programmed the idea of culture; nor did the designers design it. This leads to the question as to what is more important.

What is ontology? Introduction to the word and the concept

(Löfgren, 2013).

Basically ontology is the study of what exists. These raise quiet a few questions as to are physical parts more real than their immaterial actions. E.g. Shoes and walking.  

This has an interesting link to culture, where culture itself does not physically exist. Yet, it has such a major influence on our world and is an indicator on human separation. Nevertheless, the idea and relationship to culture is dramatically self-explanatory.  

References:

Innuendo Studios. (2015, August 19). Things of Beauty: Super Smash Bros. as Spectator Sport [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qxVDOc-oV8&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=InnuendoStudios

Xian 鉄拳. (2016, January 18). Handwarmers - Korean Backdashing and Wavedashing [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3lTQMa31Uk&ab_channel=Xian%E9%89%84%E6%8B%B3 

Kunzelman, C. year in review [Web Browser game].

GameSpot. (2015, December 31). The 2015 Video Game Year In Review [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbtMT6jh7oI&ab_channel=GameSpot

increpare games. (2012). Slave Of God [Computer Software].

Ellison, C. (2013, January 4). Wot I Think: Slave Of God | Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved from https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/04/slave-of-god-review/

Set and setting. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_and_setting  

Crows Crows Crows. (2015). Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist [Computer Software].

VonArens. (2008, December 8). Serenity Now - Crash a Funeral in Winterspring Gaming [Video file]. Retrieved from https://gaming.youtube.com/watch?v=YgXW-cKI1bw&feature=share

Gibbs, M., Carter, M., Arnold, M., & Nansen, B. (2013). Serenity Now bombs a World of Warcraft funeral: Negotiating the Morality, Reality and Taste of Online Gaming Practices. Retrieved from http://marcuscarter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/AoIR-WoW-Funeral-Final.pdf

Löfgren, K. (2013, February 15). What is ontology? Introduction to the word and the concept [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTsaZWzVJ4c&feature=youtu.be

[keepitcartesian]

How to Clean Your Home Like a Pro

As the days finally get brighter, and the evenings get longer, you'll start to notice just how dusty and unclean certain areas of your home can appear which you were blinded to in the dark winters months. And I understand, at first, it can seem other whelming to tackle your entire home alone, all in the matter of a couple of days.

I have collaborated many tips and tricks that will give you infromative infromation so that you know how to clean your home like a pro.

Top 10 Spring Cleaning Tips

Now I'm no pro, I'm just a woman with a certain set of skills, skills that can make this whole spring clean season a whole lot easier for you. Although I have watched my fair share of cleaning programmes so I'm equipped with all the professional cleaning tips from Kim and Aggie which they have handed down to their viewers through the years.

Just below are my top 10 spring cleaning tips which I have personally tried and had to share them with you today to make your life a whole lot easier because trust me, cleaning turned into a delight once I started using these specific ways to get over certain house maintenance problems

When to Start Spring Cleaning

Typically, the practice of spring cleaning can be done all year round since the phrase is now widely used as a means of thoroughly cleaning a house or home. Although, if you couldn't guess it used to mean, and technically still does, to clean one's home in the springtime.

But to answer 'when to start spring cleaning', it's up to you! If you have some time spare, perhaps on a bank holiday or if you've taken some time off work, there is no better time to crack on with some housework. Since cleaning out your entire home can be a chore, it's useful to make a start whenever you can to minimise tasks in the near future.

Cleaning is also a great way to get a new look in your home without too much effort since you're just making the best of what you already feature within your interior.

House Clean Routine - Make One!

For good results, you need a good plan, and with a good plan, you need to make sure it works for you, so no copying from the internet! Seriously, your house clean routine needs to be something that is personal to you and your goals, so that you are able to work towards it more efficiently and you are more likely too if its something you drafted up yourself.

Disorganized cleaning will give you a lot of missed spots. An effective cleaner will go from room to room, top to bottom ensuring they’ve tackled all those unreachable corners.

If you've got a smart device and would much rather keep your cleaning calendar on your device, then you should probably go download Clean My House from the App Store or Google Play store.

If you're still stuck, he's an idea of how I went about drafting up mine;

How to Organize House Cleaning Schedule

I wrote down all the task I had had to do, listed them in the order from most enjoyable to least enjoyable; now I know what you're thinking "how can there really be a different" but trust me there is.

Cleaning my glass table top was far more stressful than hovering the lounge area.

Once you've created this list, you're going to want to get all the annoying things out of the way, while you are at the start of your cleaning mission where you will most likely put up with the gruelling and boring tasks at hand than if you were to leave it till last.

Then go ahead and fit everything into a daily house cleaning schedule, I'd recommend putting the easy stuff at the end of the week, again since its the end of your time cleaning you want to putt the easiest stuff off so you are able to relax more.

At this point you should be ready to start cleaning…that is until you've read all of my other spring cleaning tips further down the page!

Use Vodka for Cleaning a Mattress

Now I know what you're immediately thinking, Kerry has gone crazy.

And yes, I understand vodka is for drinking but trust me on this one, don't knock it till you've tried it.

So yes, you really can use vodka for cleaning a mattress (if you have any leftover from that party on Saturday night) along with a dash of your favourite essential oil to give it that 'clean' smell we all seek for any piece of furnishing in our homes.

Heres how you clean up your mattress;

Use a damp cloth to remove any excess debris or liquids that are still within the affected area.

Fill an empty spray bottle with your Vodka, regardless of the quality, around about 2/3 to not overflow the bottle.

Add your favourite essential oil to give your mattress a refreshing smell. (Mint is my personal favourite)

Make sure to shake the bottle well to mix the two liquids together well; ensure the lid is tight or you'll be cleaning the vodka up too!

Spray the affected areas with your new favourite cleaning solution. Make sure not to the soak the area, spray with care.

Now leave it to dry completely, don't bother making the bed just yet, be sure to double check that the mattress is dry before you dress it back up in its usual fashion.

Other Household uses for Vodka

While we're on the topic of using vodka as a cleaning product, I thought It would be worth mentioning the many other household uses for vodka I have found that doesnt include drinking.

Cleaning Windows and Fixtures: Just like with your mattress, you are able to clean your windows and lighting fixtures with a vodka-soaked cloth, which will allow you to add extra sparkle and get a streak-free shine.

Soak your feet: If you're looking to get a natural clean on your feet, perhaps after a long walk with your kids, then soaking them when you're home will give you back a natural clean.

Remove sticky glue: Every bought something with a price sticker on it? well of course you have and I bet you've tried to scratch it off too, without it inevitability breaking up on you and leaving the goo behind. Scrubbing the leftover sticker with vodka will completely remove it from the surface.

These are just to name a few of the posobilitties with vodka, I have found plenty more household uses for vodka on List25.

Cleaning with Vodka vs Vinegar

If you're interested in cleaning your home the eco-friendly way, turning your home into a 'green-clean home' then you will have no doubt also heard that people their furniture with vinegar as well as vodka as we have just established just above.

But, what actually Is the difference between cleaning with vodka vs vinegar? If there is even one, to begin with.

After some research and many cleaning sessions of tested, I've found out the difference between both cleaning your home with vodka and vinegar is that, well there is none in terms of cleaning. Both work well as solutions when mixed with there respective formulas (essential oils for vodka and water for vinegar).

Although personally, Vodka has to take the crown when it comes to being the best household cleaning simply because the smell that the vinegar cleaner emits is something you don't want to be around just after cleaning making vodka a far more ideal option…if you're cleaning something it might as well smell nice too!

Use Proper Surface Cleaning Techniques

This is one hack you could try when cleaning any surface in your house. Don’t just wipe off that dirt haphazardly, as at the end you will waste time since you may fail to hit all the dirty spots while you are cleaning.

Instead, move in a consistent direction and it will be more appropriate if you wipe the surface from left to right or top to bottom than as appose to other surface cleaning techniques.

A dull looking surface makes the surfaces look less appealing and even if you just finished cleaning it, someone else may not notice the difference. To avoid using so much energy and end up disappointed, take hold of a cloth which has a microfiber material, then dampen one half of it.

Leave the other half completely dry and then use the dampened part to wipe off the dirt. Use the dry part to clear the wetness and you will have yourself a sparkling clean home with this technique.

Another trick is using olive oil to buffer your surfaces. Other than using olive oil to cook, get a piece of cloth and grab that pan, or pot or appliance than in a circular motion, rub it to get rid off any dirty spots. Allowing you to achieve a polished look once you finish smoothening out the surfaces.

Easiest Way to Clean an Oven

Many ovens go untouched for months without a proper clean, and when people do eventually use their elbow grease they never usually do a good enough job to make a difference.

For the lazy people who can't be bothered to clean their oven on their own will instead use the self-cleaning function many ovens seem to come with these days. You'll realize just how terrible this particular function is since the smell that it produces is revolting and totally not worth it.

However, the easiest way to clean an Oven and certainly the most effective is to use a mixture of household goods. Heres how the pro's do it;

Remove everything: Whether that's the oven racks or oven thermometer, make sure to set it aside before beginning.

Create the paste: Grab a small bowl and mix 1/2 a cup of baking soda with a few tablespoons of water. Keep adding each till the ratio is as stated, it should form together like a paste.

Apply some elbow grease: Spread the paste all over the inside of your oven, BUT make sure you do not apply any to the heating elements. The paste should turn brown once set in the oven and in some cases also goes chunky, which is perfectly fine. The general rule of thumb is to make sure every inch of the oven is cleared and you should pay attention to the greasiest of spots.

Go relax: Let it sit for about 12 hours so the mixture can do its work.

Apply some more elbow grease: Now, after 12hours, take a damp cloth - anything will do - and wipe away as much of the dried baking soda paste you possibly can, this is where the real effort comes into play but its worth it. Using something like a spatula to help scrape off the bits you can't quite get off yourself may be a good idea.

Clean up: Take some vinegar and put it into an old spray bottle, this will help you get rid of the baking soda residue as this mixture reacts and the baking soda because bubbled and foam like.

Rinse and repeat: Repeat the last step until all the residue has completely gone, and you should be left with a shiny and clean oven.

Best way to clean an oven door

Similar to what I explained on the easiest way to clean an oven, the best way to clean an oven door is to use the same paste you used for inside the oven; no doubt you have a leftover mixture. You want to apply it the inner door side, allover as much as you can.

Let it sit for about half an hour and then come back and wipe it down with a damp cloth to clear off all of the baking soda, again use some vinegar to make sure you are getting rid of all the residue.

Easiest way to clean oven racks

The easiest way I've found to do them is cleaning them in a bath, and I know what you're thinking, that must be unhygienic! Well cleaning the bath before and after cleansing your oven is something you're going to want to do if that puts your mind at ease.

Simply place your oven racks in the bathtub with enough water so that the racks are covered and then add your favourite dishwashing soap to the bath, around about 1/2 a cup full. And let it sit overnight.

After about 12hours, just like last time, you're going to want to scrub away any grease that still remains as well as grime and leftover baked bits…

...And you're done!

Use coffee grounds to eliminate odors from your fridge

If you're like me, you love coffee and sometimes, yo although you try your hardest you can't get through it all. But by utilizing what you have and with your leftover beans, use coffee grounds to eliminate odors from your fridge if you're looking for an easy, eco-friendly way to emit natural orders.

This is seriously effective since coffee is a smell you are already familiar with and it is a smell that is able to effortlessly cover up the overpowering odor the collection of food from your fridge lets off.

Wash Towels with Vinegar

Eventually, whether you like it or not, your towels will begin to have a mildew smell to them, this usually comes about because of a poor drying process as well as the general age of the towels as they collectively gain bacteria that sticks to them over time causing the horrible smell.

That's why, even when they don't smell, we recommend you wash towels with vinegar to get rid of that horrible smell.

How to Wash Towels with Vinegar

Don't worry, there are no endless amounts of supplies you need to get your towels back to their fresh smell, you can sit back and let your washer to do all the work.

Heres how to wash towels with vinegar; the professional way:

Simply wash your load on the hot cycle and add 1 cup of vinegar to the load. Do not bother to use detergent or anything else, just hot water and vinegar. And that's it, you're all done, your towels should be smelling fresh and clean as if they were bought yesterday.

Although in some cases, this is not the case, if that is you and you can still smell a faint but noticeable odor, then do the same thing again without the vinegar and this time add baking soda and then you will be able to smell the freshness of your towels.

Best Dusting Techniques

Dusting might seem simple but like any tasks there are set tools and techniques that are perfect for the job, making your whole life a whole lot easier and in addition making your home even more beautiful than it was before.

There are several of the best dusting techniques further down the page, I will let you what to use and how you should be using the specific duster to help you do a professional job.

Types of Dusting Brushes

Microfiber Cloth: Best for dusting and polishing dry or slightly damp surfaces - make sure never to drench your cloth in your particular solution to ensure that you don't leave solution behind. Use the correct one for the job, fluffy cloths are absorbent and do best to hold the dust while minimising the chance to scratch a surface. Flatweave Microfiber cloths are best for glass and other hard surfaces.

Extendable Microfiber Duster: Similar to that of its cloth counterpart, the extendable microfiber duster should be used for collecting dust and other dirty stains that are up high, in places where you wouldn't normally be able to reach. Since your dusting from above, you'll most likely have dust falling on the floor, be sure to hoover this up afterwards.

Lambswool Duster: Best used when dusting large surfaces or hard to get places such as lighting or behind radiators. Ideal too if you're looking for a duster to use on your surface, since its so gentle you won't risk marking or tearing the fabric.

Disposable Electrostatic Cloth: Perfect for polishing and cleaning dust prone tablets and TV or even computer screens. It picks up pet hair great too, which always handy if you're a cat lover like I am.

Homemade Carpet Freshener with Cinnamon

Using cinnamon to freshen up your carpet is a great and cheap way of getting that disgusting smell out of your living space and replacing it with a smell that is much more welcoming.

However don't be fooled, of course, we aren't going to go to our spice rack and sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon on our carpet, we have to mix up a solution first so the carpet can properly take in the fragrance and bring a delicious smell to our nose.

Place baking soda into a jar, any jar will do and puncture holes in the top of the jar lid, so it looks like a large salt or pepper shaker. Once you've done that, you can add a few drops of cinnamon to the concoction, the amount you want in there is up to you to experiment with it for a few weeks till you find an amount that is right for you and your home.

Once your mixture is ready, spread it about the house approximately one hour before vacuuming to ensure that you give the mixture enough time to do the trick.

Clean Windows with Vinegar and Newspaper

Wayback, we used to clean windows with our daily newspaper, then soon got lost in the times since more accessible window cleaning solutions were widely available as well as the tools needed to use them. However, if you're reminiscing of how you used to clean windows with vinegar and newspaper or you just prefer to do things on a budget, you are still able to clean your windows with a trusty newspaper with this particular solution.

What you need:

1 or more dirty windows

Newspaper (preferably already read)

Vinegar Window Spray

To create the vinegar solution you need to clean your windows, try a recipe of 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap. Mix that in well enough so that the ingredients are properly together and you have your window spray all ready to use.

Dip your newspaper into the jar/cup or whatever it is you have used to contain your solution in.

Use a circular motion to wipe all of the spots on the window off. Then once, all marks are off, switch your pattern to a vertical then horizontal stroke until the liquid has fully dried and spread across the surface area and you should be left with shiny and streak free windows.

If you still wish to clean your windows with newspaper, to be a greener home, but don't want to use your own vinegar window spray, Zoro has some great products that are an alternative to windex.

How to Clean Glass Windows Without Streaks

A common mistake my friends and I used to make was that we used to clean our windows when the sun was blazing hot because it makes sense right? What other time would you ever be outside cleaning your windows?

Well every window I touched when doing this at this time of day would streak and it used to drive me crazy that was unit after I found out how to clean glass windows without streaks thanks to a recommendation from another friend.

The thing is, blaring hot sun is great for drying things, but during the day when cleaning my windows it would dry out whatever solution I was using to fast therefore the windows would be streaked ridden.

Now, I always wash my windows when there are clouds in the sky, still, I have to pray it doesn't rain but at least they come out all shiny and clean once I've finished them without the assistance of the sun.

Wash Blinds in a Bathtub

Blinds are notoriously annoying in terms of being able to wash them;

You can't leave them hung up to clean because you're wont to be able to get all parts of the blinds due to how raised they are and sometimes scrubbing isn't enough on each blind.

And in addition, you can't take them down and clean them inside due to the amount of solution you may get everywhere and even if you take them outside they may even just get dirtier than before.

However, there is a more efficient way you can get them clean, you can wash blinds in a bathtub easily with a simple soap solution, I've given informative instruction of how to wash blinds in bathtub below

How to wash blinds in a bathtub

Simply lay your blinds flat in the tub that is a few inches deep with warm water., and add a mixture of some, you favourite dishwasher soap will do the trick, along with a little vinegar.

Let them soak for about an hour after this time rinse them off with some fresh water and hang them outside to give them a chance to dry, then put them back to wherever they were in the home.

How to Clean Your Home Like a Pro was originally published to keepitcartesian

[privateplates4u]

2018 Chrysler 300 First Drive: Hip Hop Hooray

In this, its lucky 13th year of production with only one major redesign, the Chrysler 300 might not spring instantly to buyers’ minds when contemplating large cars for purchase. This quieter, more luxurious, and stoic sibling of the wilder, crazier Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger SRT Scat Packs, Hellcats, and wheelie-pulling Demons hasn’t drawn much attention to itself lately. Chrysler cancelled the 300’s high-powered SRT8 variant in 2015 just as Dodge began probing the outer limits of powertrain insanity. And although the results of a 23andMe cheek swab of the 300 will reveal DNA evidence of ancient ancestral migration from Stuttgart, Germany (thanks to some turn-of-the-century W210 E- and W220 S-Class bits), this car feels neither ancient nor the least bit Swabian. Nope, this baby’s all ate up with Detroit swagger, thanks to its strong, muscular shoulders, prominent wheel arches amply filled by big wheels and tires, and narrow greenhouse openings that almost seem designed to afford protection from stray gunfire coming from Slim Shady’s hood south of 8 Mile Road. Although the design was refined a bit for 2011, it still struts with a confidence that has helped land it starring roles in numerous hip-hop music videos and at least one song lyric reference (“Always saw you for what you could’ve been / Ever since you met me / Like when Chrysler made that one car that looked just like the Bentley”—Drake, “Keep The Family Close,” 2016). How much longer will Chrysler’s original gangsta sedan and only actual car remain in production? Scuttlebutt suggests when the LX platform gets replaced for 2021 on an Alfa-shared architecture, the 300 might be put out to pasture. That’s sad; together with the Charger, FCA’s LX sales currently dominate the full-size car segment, outselling GM (Chevy Impala and Buick LaCrosse) by 17 percent last year. Oh well. To freshen up for its three-year dash to the finish line, the 2018 300 lineup gets a bunch of detail tweaks, starting with the model series lineup. It now progresses from Touring, through Touring L, 300S, and Limited, to the ultimate—300C. That new base Touring model gets cloth seats, 17-inch aluminum wheels, and a $3,345 price drop (to $30,090) from the previous base Limited model. All but the 300C come with standard V-6 power and optional AWD. The 300S gets a more powerful V-6 and an optional Hemi V-8 (rear-drive only). The range-topping 300C now gets the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 and rear-drive as standard, along with new Mocha-colored quilted Nappa leather seating and door-panel upholstery plus natural open-pore wood trim. Two new metallic paint colors join the rainbow: Green and Ocean Blue. At the launch event, two Hemi-powered 300s were available to sample. I started off in the more luxurious 300C, which wore its quilted Mocha interior very richly. Priced at $42,090 to start, a fully decked out 300C, at $51,070, just kisses the bottom end of the midsize luxury sedan class (A5, 5 Series, XF, E-Class, et al.). Such a bedazzled 300C feels nearly competitive in terms fit, finish, and materials and offers the bonus of superior space and an intoxicating V-8 rush and roar that no entry 2.0-liter turbo in the luxe class can touch. Next up was the 300S, which in Hemi trim dons a bunch of former SRT parts: front fascia and foglamps, side sills, and rear spoiler. The S suspension is tuned a bit firmer to start with (with increased spring rates, performance-tuned steering and bushings, and larger anti-roll bars), to which the test car added $275 worth of Mopar lowering springs that drop the car 1 inch, intensifying its badassery. I feared for my kidneys and fillings, but riding on the same all-season 245/45R20 Firestone Firehawk GT tires, the S tackled the same Belgian block stretch of test surface with no trim-loosening, sharp-edged body impacts. Yes, the ride is somewhat firmer, but it’s not punishing, and the difference relative to the 300C was remarkably minimal. The difference in body roll during cornering was similarly minimal, with both variants controlling lean about as well as one should expect for a large luxury sedan. The test loop included several fairly tight corners; the Hemi could easily overwhelm the rear tire grip when exiting those corners if not for stability control intervention. And yet in the car’s Sport mode, said intervention was both late and delightfully subtle, permitting a judicious amount of slip and body rotation. This is how all manufacturers that care the least bit about making their cars’ driving experience enjoyable should program such systems. Similar praise is due the programmers of the ZF-licensed Torqueflite 8HP70 transmission’s shift logic. Here again, Sport mode held lower gears when lifting off the throttle and turning into a corner. It pre-emptively downshifted when braking hard into a corner and always seemed to be in the right gear for corner exit. Now that every Gen X or millennial engineer at a car company can be expected to have grown up mastering Xboxes or PlayStations and programming computers, it mystifies me why every transmission with a Sport mode can’t be programmed to shift exactly like this one. So if you’re contemplating a big sedan, don’t forget this Chrysler. Look, Chevy’s awesome SS is gone. If you like steering with a V-8’s throttle, we’re down to the Dodge Charger or Chrysler 300 in this price range. Drake fans who share my a fondness for quilted leather will surely choose the “car that looked just like the Bentley.” 2018 Chrysler 300 BASE PRICE/TESTED PRICE $30,090-$42,090 DRIVETRAIN Front-engine, RWD/AWD, 4-pass, 5-door sedan ENGINE 3.6L/292-300-hp/260-264-lb-ft DOHC 24-valve V-6; 5.7L/363-hp/394-lb-ft OHV 16-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 4,000-4,400 lb (mfr) WHEELBASE 120.2 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 198.6 x 75.0 x 58.5-59.2 in 0-60 MPH 5.0-6.6 sec (MT est) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 16-19/25-30/19-23 mpg ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 177-211/112-135 kW-hrs/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 0.85-1.02 lb/mile ON SALE IN U.S. Currently The post 2018 Chrysler 300 First Drive: Hip Hop Hooray appeared first on Motor Trend.

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/chrysler/300/2018/2018-chrysler-300-first-drive-review/

[robertawilliams]

Boris Johnson denounced ahead of major Brexit speech: 'Why are we taking him seriously?'

Boris Johnson faces heavy criticism ahead of his major Brexit speech as one Commons committee chair asks why he is being taken seriously following the infamous pre-referendum assertion that Britain sends £350m a week to the EU.

The comments come as the Foreign Secretary prepares to deliver a speech on what his allies claim is a liberal vision for Brexit and carries the warning that reversing the referendum result of 2016 will be a “disastrous mistake".

Yvette Cooper, the senior Labour MP and chair of the Home Affairs Committee in Westminster, said: “The problem with that is, from the point of view of a committee chair, we've got this speech being made which doesn't seem to set out any detail.

“The Government cannot keep kicking the can down the road, we've got to actually have some practical details on it."

Referring to his pre-referendum claim – one that has been discredited by the chair of UK Statistics Authority – Ms Cooper told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme: “And to be honest given that everything he said about the bus I don’t know really see why we’re taking him seriously.” 

In an attempt to reach out to pro-Europeans in Britain, Mr Johnson, a prominent Leave campaigner, will also add in his speech: “It is not good enough to say to Remainers – you lost, get over it; because we must accept that many are actuated by entirely noble sentiments.”

Extracts of Mr Johnson’s speech were also met with a lukewarm response from Thorbjörn Sohlström, the Swedish Ambassador to the UK, who warned that the Government’s Brexit red lines were “not so easy to marry with friction-free trade”. 

Stopping Brexit would be 'disastrous', Boris Johnson to warn

He continued: “It's clear that if Britain will indeed leave both the customs union and the single market and perhaps take some distance from EU rules and regulations, there will be, I think, a degree of friction in the trade.

“There are strong incentives on each side to find a good arrangement and we will try to be as constructive as possible to achieve that sort of outcome, but I don't think it will be that easy.” 

Brexit talks: Top issues facing UK on leaving EU

Brexit talks: Top issues facing UK on leaving EU

Customs union

The key issue of negotiations remains Britains access – or withdrawal from the existing EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over what exactly Brexit 'means' – would this mean a full, complete removal from he customs union, ' a hard Brexit' or adopting the rules and travel guidelines of the EU (similar to Turkey), a 'soft Brexit'. Number 10 has so far insisted that 'Brexit means Brexit' and the UK will be leaving the customs union, but after revelations of the potential economic impacts on Britain become clear, the Government may be inclined the change their position.

Alamy

Northern Ireland-Irish border

Though progress was made last year – there has still been so solid agreement on the issue of whether there will be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure border-less travel on the island, the countries must be in "regulatory alignment" – and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative party's coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish sea, due to potential of undermining the union. May has promised that would not be the case and a 'specific solution' would need to be found.

Getty

Transition period

Despite protest from a small number of Conservative MP's , the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period will need to take place in order to prepare for Brexit. The terms however, have reached a grey area. Though May hss agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier (seen here with EU Minister David Davis) has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs.

Rex

Rights of EU citizens living the UK

The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work in the UK after Brexit – but the rights of those who arrive after 'Brexit day' remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later.

Getty

Future trade agreement (with the EU)

Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position, with some MP's happy to go with a 'no deal is better than a bad deal' concept and others rallying behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining within the customs union.

Getty Images

Future trade agreements (internationally)

The Government has already begun attempting to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high-profile state visits to China, India and the Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the worlds major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transitional perio

EPA

Financial services

Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing the hopes of a special 'city deal'. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget – even after the transition period.

Getty

And Green leader Caroline Lucas, a support of the Best for Britain organisation, added: “Boris is deluded if he thinks, he of all people can 'reach out to people who voted remain'. He lied to the public to further his own political goals - and people up and down the country are now picking up the pieces.

“It may be Valentine's Day tomorrow - but the British people have well and truly fallen out of love with Boris Johnson, and have had enough of his self-aggrandising nonsense.”

The Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan, a founding member of Vote Leave, however, said Mr Johnson was aiming his speech at those who felt “alienated and angry” about the referendum result.

What could the sticking points be in the Brexit trade deal?

Mr Hannan said: “He knows that a number of people feel kind of alienated and angry about the result and that's not something that any Leaver should feel good about.

“We want to try and carry as many people with us, it was a narrow outcome, it was a 48/52 vote that means we should try and find a consensus that both sides can at least live with.”

He added: “He was one of the, arguably the chief figure in Vote Leave. I'd have thought if there is a task of reconciliation he's the person to undertake it."

Reuse content

Source

http://independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-speech-brexit-theresa-may-vision-yvette-cooper-denounced-a8209621.html

[millennia-falcon-blog]

Security in WordPress

Lately, WordPress continues to be highly targeted by hackers. Since WordPress uses MySQL and PHP, it is not tough to find a vulnerability in WordPress.

Here I'm sharing some newbie tips to secure your WordPress website. These are basic hints, but sometimes overlooking these basic ideas may result in losing your WordPress website to some hacker.

WordPress powers around 25% of those websites in the world & is now the hottest CMS apart from committed blogging software.

I can very confidently say that being an individual of the wonderful CMS for the previous 6 years, I simply love the fact that I can choose from tens of thousands of plugins in the WordPress plugin database. The plugin database hasn't failed me.

Additionally, there are endless options in regards to topics, as well, directly from the Genesis theme to Thrive topics to numerous others.

That's the wonderful part, but where there is good, there's also bad too. My site was hacked almost 6 times in the past by some Arabian and Turkish hackers (at least that's what they claim). They infiltrated my website and left it with an ugly black background featuring GIF pictures of skulls and ravens.

Most hack attacks are accomplished by something called an SQL injection.

Nowadays, it is now a requirement to execute each the preliminary safeguarding measures to maintain these hackers.

1. Configure Backups

Even though I've given a fantastic deal of proven tips below to safeguard your WordPress site, you need to make sure that if something occurs, you won't remove anything.

Not having a proper WordPress backup solution setup is the biggest error you may possibly make. When a big site such as Sony or Dropbox may be hacked, then your WordPress blog will be somewhat easy to be deciphered by a hacker.

Therefore the very first issue is to ensure you're taking a daily copy of your site.

If you're earning money from the website, I suggest using VaultPress for getting copies which just costs $5/month.

You might argue that your hosting company gives copies, however this is simply a fantastic alternative if they store the backup on another server.

2.

Your WordPress installment is merely software installed onto a server. The base of a safe website is a host that has enough protections that guarantee your site is safeguarded against hackers. An entirely free business is a big no-no & something you ought to avoid.

Be confident that your hosting company includes appropriate rules set in area and contains firewalls to prevent an attack on your website.

I know that it's Difficult to know that hosting business is reputable against hackers & That's the Reason I've created this quick list of hosting companies that offer great security on their server:

Bluehost: Certainly one of the top rated hosts that offers great security.Get Bluehost voucher Here.

InMotion Hosting: Founded in 2001 & are famous for great hardware quality and safety infrastructure. They also migrate your current website at no cost.

WPEngine: A handled WordPress hosting company that is suggested for company WordPress websites with low or moderate traffic. They provide security and copies on multiple levels.

Maintaining your WordPress software current is the most elementary safety suggestion for any WordPress programmer. This is something which you never need to miss.

Whenever WordPress is sending an update, it means they have fixed a few bugs, added some features, and above all, added some security features and fixes.

When you find the message: "WordPress x.x.x is available!"

Nowadays, with only one click updates, it is quite simple to boost your own blog.

Ensure that your theme and plugins are all compatible with this latest version of WordPress. If an upgrade was rolled out and it isn't a security upgrade, I advise that you wait around for 5-6 days until other users stop reporting bugs from the most recent edition.

4.

As I mentioned above, WordPress provides an update to repair bugs and security holes, and also the specific same goes with plugins.

Many times, a vulnerable script or plugin may result in an entry point in your WordPress site. 1 such issue which we've seen previously is that the Timthumbvulnerability. This was due to a script, and lots of plugins which were using this particular script became vulnerable too.

It's important to keep your plugins updated. Consistently use plugins that are continually upgraded and have great support. Getting dependent on plugins that are not updated is a lousy idea.

Don't you need to save your Money while buying hosting?

5.

Let's assume that you don't have those 2 minutes to update your WordPress core files. If you are running an older version of WP and everyone knows it, then trust me, then you are doomed.

Most motif designers these days eliminate it for you, but just to make sure, visit your functions.php and include this line:

Utilize A Complex Login Password

Brilliant.

Please create your passwords complicated, include a couple of special characters (%&#), and also keep changing it every 5 or 6 months.

I would also like to urge a plugin called Login Lockdown. This plugin will record all IPs and time stamps of unsuccessful login attempts. After a particular number of failed attempts from a specific IP, the IP will be blacklisted. This really will help a great deal to protect against some brute-force attack. It's also feasible to use popular WPS hide login plugin to conceal your login URL and make it hard for hackers to try brute forcing on your own login page.

read:

How Hackers Hack Your Password

Produce A Strong And Smart Password

Assess WordPress Folders File Permissions

Proceed to the File Manager on your cPanel, or log into your FTP application, and inspect the file features of your WordPress folder.

It is great if it is 744 (read only). If you find it to be 777, consider yourself extremely lucky you have not gotten crushed nonetheless.

When most bloggers alter hosting, they do not realize how their record permissions also get changed. Make sure that you confirm all file permissions after migrating own hosting.

Delete Default Admin User

This is only one of the most significant tips for those who want to create a secure WordPress blog.

After you set up WordPress, be sure you use a customized username and do not use "admin".

You are able to make a new user with "Administrator" rights, and provide this brand new secretary a nickname which will be publicly exhibited in case he writes a report.

Make sure to feature all usernames and hyperlinks to the new user that you've created.

The plugins folder / /wp-content/plugins/ shouldn't be showing the list of files and folders inside of them.

Try seeing your plugins folder (substitute domain.com with your domain):

Should you see a list of folders and files, you have to hide them.

To conceal these folders, then you want to create a fresh .htaccess document and drop it into your plugins directory.

# BEGIN WordPress RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteCond %REQUEST_FILENAME ! -f RewriteCond %REQUEST_FILENAME !

If you already have a nicely written . Htaccess file in your root directory, such as another .htaccess to an individual folder isn't likely to cause any harm.

In older versions of WordPress, if there were mistakes in the MySQL database, it may demonstrate the exact error on the browser providing the hacker invaluable information regarding your database.

To prevent this, you need to update your WordPress to the latest version, so It Will only reveal a general error message like "Database connection error" Rather than showing exactly what's wrong

Log to a WP dash and update your WordPress core files.

This isn't all; there are a number of different suggestions that you should be following to generate a secure WordPress site. One tip that I highly advise is that you just simply stop using an encrypted footer WordPress theme.

If you are really considering your blogging, then put in a motif in the official repo, or better yet, use a Premium WordPress theme.

Again, it's a smart idea to choose automatic backups of your WordPress blog at regular intervals to be certain you could always roll back your site to a wholesome condition.

Comment and Let us know what you think.

[reshopgoufa-blog]

Security in WordPress

Lately, WordPress has been tremendously targeted by hackers. Since WordPress uses MySQL and PHP, it is not hard to discover a vulnerability in WordPress.

Here I'm sharing some newbie tips to secure your WordPress site. These are basic hints, but occasionally overlooking these basic tips may result in losing your WordPress site to a newbie.

WordPress powers about 25 percent of the websites in the world & is now the most popular CMS besides dedicated blogging software.

I can confidently say that being a person of this amazing CMS for the past 6 years, I simply love the fact that I can select from tens of thousands of plugins in the WordPress plugin database. The plugin database has never failed me.

Furthermore, there are endless choices when it comes to topics, also, right from the Genesis motif to Thrive subjects to numerous others.

That's the fantastic part, but where there's good, there's also evil too. My site was hacked nearly 6 times previously by some Arabian and Turkish hackers (at least that's what they claim). They infiltrated my site and abandon it with an ugly black backdrop featuring GIF images of skulls and ravens.

Nowadays, it's now a requirement to perform each the preliminary safeguarding measures to keep these hackers.

1. Configure Backups

Though I've given a great deal of proven hints below to safeguard your WordPress blog, you want to make sure that if something happens, you won't remove anything.

Not having a proper WordPress backup solution set up is the largest error you may possibly create. Every time a big site like Sony or Dropbox could be hacked, then your WordPress blog will be somewhat simple to be deciphered by a hacker.

So the very first issue is to ensure you're taking a daily copy of your site.

If you're earning money from the website, I propose using VaultPress for getting backups that just costs $5/month.

You may argue that your hosting company offers copies, but this is simply a fantastic option if they save the backup on another server.

2.

Your WordPress setup is only software installed onto a server. The base of a secure website is a server which has enough protections which ensure that your website is safeguarded against hackers. A totally free company is a big no-no & some thing you should avoid.

Be confident your hosting company includes appropriate rules set in place and contains firewalls to avoid an assault on your website.

I know that it's Difficult to understand that hosting company is reputable against hackers & that is why I've made this quick list of hosting companies that offer great security on their host:

Bluehost: Certainly one of the top rated hosts that provides excellent security.Get Bluehost voucher Here.

InMotion Hosting: Founded in 2001 & are famous for great hardware quality and security infrastructure. They also migrate your existing website for free.

WPEngine: A managed WordPress hosting company that is suggested for company WordPress websites with low or moderate traffic. They provide security and copies on multiple levels.

Kinsta hosting: This is ideal for WordPress site with higher traffic. ShoutMeLoud.com can also be hosted on Kinsta hosting.

3. Update WordPress

Keeping your WordPress software current is the most basic security tip for any WordPress programmer. This is something that you never should miss.

Whenever WordPress is sending an upgrade, it means they've fixed some bugs, added some features, and most importantly, added some security features and fixes.

These days, with only one click upgrades, it is quite simple to improve your own blog.

Make sure your plugins and theme are compatible with this latest version of WordPress. If an update was rolled out and it is not a security upgrade, I advise that you wait around for 5-6 days until other users prevent reporting bugs in the latest version.Save your money using this bluehost voucher of 2018.

4. Update WordPress Plugins

As I mentioned previously, WordPress provides an upgrade to fix bugs and security holes, and also the exact same goes with plugins.

Many times, a vulnerable script or plugin might cause an entry point in your WordPress site. 1 such issue which we have seen before is the Timthumbvulnerability. This was due to a script, and many plugins that were utilizing this specific script became vulnerable too.

It is important to keep your plugins upgraded. Consistently use plugins which are continually upgraded and have good support. Being dependent on plugins that aren't upgraded is a lousy idea.

5.

Let us assume that you do not have those two moments to upgrade your WordPress core files. If you are running an old version of WP and everybody knows it, then trust me, you're doomed.

Most theme designers Nowadays remove it for you, but just to make sure, Go to Your functions.php and include this line:

6. Utilize A Complicated Login Password

password

ilovejesus

123123

Brilliant.

Please create your passwords complicated, include a couple of special characters (%&#), and also keep changing it every 5 or 6 weeks.

I would also like to urge a plugin called Login Lockdown. This plugin will record all IPs and time stamps of failed login attempts. After a particular number of unsuccessful attempts from a specific IP, the IP will be blacklisted. This really will help a great deal to protect against any brute-force attack. It's also feasible to utilize popular WPS conceal login plugin to conceal your login URL and make it difficult for hackers to try brute forcing in your login page.

Also read:

How Hackers Hack Your Password

Create A Strong And Smart Password

Assess WordPress Folders File Permissions

It is great if it's 744 (read only). If you discover it to be 777, consider yourself extremely lucky you haven't gotten crushed yet.

When most bloggers alter hosting, they do not realize how their document permissions also get shifted. Make sure that you confirm all file permissions after migrating hosting.

8. Delete Default Admin User

This is one of the most significant tips for people who wish to produce a protected WordPress blog.

Once you install WordPress, be sure you use a custom username and don't use "admin".

You can make a brand new user with "Administrator" rights, and also offer this brand new secretary a nickname which will be publicly displayed if he writes a report.

Make sure to feature all usernames and links to the new user that you have created.

Here is another way to change the default username:

The plugins folder /wp-content/plugins/ should not be showing the listing of folders and files inside of them.

Try seeing your plugins folder (substitute domain.com with your domain):

If you find a list of folders and files, you need to conceal them.

To conceal these folders, you then wish to create an original .htaccess record and drop it into your plugins directory.

RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteCond %REQUEST_FILENAME ! -f RewriteCond %REQUEST_FILENAME !

In the event that you already have a well composed . Htaccess file in your root directory, including another .htaccess to an individual folder isn't very likely to cause any injury.

In older versions of WordPress, if there were mistakes in the MySQL database, then it may demonstrate the exact error on the browser providing the hacker invaluable information regarding your own database.

To prevent this, you need to update your own WordPress to the latest version, so that it will only show a general error message like "Database connection error" Rather than showing exactly what's wrong

Log into a WP dash and update your WordPress core files.

This is not all; there are many other tips which you should be following to generate a secure WordPress site. One tip that I highly advise is that you simply stop using an encrypted footer WordPress theme.

If you are seriously interested in your blogging, then download an theme from the official Retailer, or even better, use a Premium WordPress theme.

Again, it's a smart idea to select automatic backups of your WordPress blog at frequent intervals to be sure that you can always roll your blog back into a wholesome condition.

Comment and Let us know what you believe.

[xsadism-blog]

Recently, WordPress continues to be tremendously targeted by hackers. Since WordPress utilizes MySQL and PHP, it is not tough to find a vulnerability in WordPress.

Here I'm sharing some newbie ideas to secure your WordPress website. These are basic tips, but sometimes overlooking these basic ideas can lead to losing your WordPress website to some hacker.

WordPress powers about 25 percent of those sites in the world & is currently the most popular CMS apart from dedicated blogging program.

I can confidently say that being a person of the wonderful CMS for the previous 6 years, I just adore the fact that I can choose from tens of thousands of plugins from the WordPress plugin database. The plugin database has never failed me.

Additionally, there are unlimited choices in regards to topics, also, right from the Genesis theme to Thrive topics to many others.

That's the fantastic part, but where there's good, there's also bad too. My site has been hacked nearly 6 times previously by a few Arabian and Turkish hackers (at least that is what they claim). They infiltrated my site and left it with an ugly black background featuring GIF pictures of skulls and ravens.

Most hack attacks are accomplished by a thing called an SQL injection.

These days, it is now a necessity to execute all of the preliminary safeguarding measures to maintain these hackers.

1. Configure Backups

Even though I've given a great deal of proven hints below to safeguard your WordPress blog, you want to ensure that if something happens, you won't remove anything.

Not having a proper WordPress backup solution set up is the biggest mistake you may possibly make. Every time a huge site like Sony or Dropbox could be hacked, then your WordPress blog will be somewhat simple to be cracked by a hacker.

So the very first thing is to ensure you're taking a daily copy of your site.

If you are earning money from the site, I propose using VaultPress for getting copies which only costs $5/month. Get Bluehost coupon here in WPshark.

You might argue that your hosting company gives copies, however this is simply a fantastic option if they store the backup on a different server.

2.

Your WordPress setup is merely software installed on a server. The foundation of a secure website is a server that has enough protections which ensure your site is safeguarded against hackers. An entirely free business is a big no-no & some thing you ought to avoid.

Be confident that your hosting company includes appropriate rules set in area and contains firewalls to prevent an attack on your website.

I understand that it is hard to understand that hosting business is reputable against hackers & that is why I've created this quick list of hosting companies that offer great security in their server:

Bluehost: One of the top rated hosts which offers excellent security.Get Bluehost voucher Here.

InMotion Hosting: Founded in 2001 & are famous for great hardware quality and safety infrastructure. In addition they migrate your existing website at no cost.

WPEngine: A managed WordPress hosting company that's suggested for company WordPress sites with low or moderate traffic. They provide security and copies on multiple levels.

3. Update WordPress

Keeping your WordPress software current is the most basic security tip for any WordPress programmer. This is something which you never should miss.

Whenever WordPress is sending an update, it means they've fixed some bugs, added some features, and above all, added some security features and fixes.

Today, with only one click upgrades, it's very easy to boost your own blog.

Make sure your theme and plugins are all compatible with this newest version of WordPress. If an update was rolled out and it isn't a security update, I advise that you wait for 5-6 days before other users prevent reporting bugs in the latest version.

4.

As I mentioned above, WordPress offers an upgrade to fix bugs and security holes, and also the specific same goes with plugins.

Many times, a vulnerable script or plugin might cause an entry point on your WordPress site. 1 such issue which we've seen previously is that the Timthumbvulnerability. This was due to a script, and lots of plugins which were using this specific script became vulnerable too.

It's important to keep your plugins upgraded. Consistently use plugins which are continually updated and have good support. Being dependent on plugins which are not upgraded is a bad idea.

5.

Let us assume you don't have those two moments to update your WordPress core files. If you are running an old version of WP and everyone knows it, then trust me, then you're doomed.

Most motif designers these days eliminate it for you, but just to make sure, visit your functions.php and include this line:

6. Use A Complicated Login Password

That I should not have to mention that, but I understand a lot of people who use ingenious and insanely Intricate passwords such as:

Brilliant.

Please make your passwords complicated, include a couple of special characters (# & %), and keep changing it every 5 or 6 weeks.

That I would also like to advocate a plugin named Login Lockdown. This plugin will record all IPs and time stamps of unsuccessful login attempts. This really helps a fantastic deal to prevent any brute-force attack. It is also feasible to utilize popular WPS hide login plugin to hide your login URL and make it hard for hackers to attempt brute forcing on your own login page.

read:

7.

Proceed to the File Manager on your cPanel, or log into your FTP application, and check the file features of your WordPress folder.

It is great if it is 744 (read only).

When most bloggers change hosting, they don't realize how their record permissions also get changed. Ensure that you verify all file permissions after migrating hosting.

8. Delete Default Admin User

This is only one of the most crucial tips for those who want to produce a protected WordPress blog.

Once you set up WordPress, be certain you use a customized username and don't use "admin".

You can earn a brand new user using "Administrator" rights, and offer this new administrator a nickname which will be publicly exhibited if he writes a article.

Make sure to incorporate all usernames and links to the new user that you have created.

The plugins folder / /wp-content/plugins/ should not be showing the listing of files and folders inside of them.

Try visiting your plugins folder (substitute domain.com with your domain name):

Should you see a list of folders and files, you have to hide them.

To conceal these folders, you then wish to produce an original .htaccess record and drop it into your plugins directory.

-f RewriteCond %REQUEST_FILENAME !

If you currently have a well composed . Htaccess file in your root directory, including another .htaccess to an individual folder is not likely to cause any harm.

In older versions of WordPress, if you can find errors in the MySQL database, then it might show the exact error on the browser providing the hacker invaluable information regarding your database.

To prevent this, you need to upgrade your WordPress to the latest version, so that it will only reveal a general error message like "Database connection error" Rather than showing exactly what's wrong

Log into a WP dash and upgrade your WordPress core files.

This is not all; there are a number of other suggestions that you should be following to make a protected WordPress site. 1 tip I highly advise is that you simply stop utilizing an encrypted footer WordPress theme.

If you are really considering your blogging, then put in a theme from the official repo, or better yet, use a Premium WordPress theme.

Again, it's a wise idea to select automatic copies of your WordPress blog at regular intervals to make sure that you can always roll your blog back into a wholesome condition.

Comment and Let us know what you think.