#(completely ignoring my idea list that has been collecting dusts for 2 months)

[kaiserouo]

Spicy noodles with a Vanguard

(I messed up rendering so badly that I'm also gonna put my lineart here.)

[pies-writes-and-more]

AVENGERS M A S T E R L I S T

**SERIES**

Falling Masterlist Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader // Collaboration with @wxstedhexrt​ // poetry focused fics! // TW: anxious thoughts, disassociation experiences and others so please read the warnings in each part! Based on poems written by the incredible Destiny of @wxstedhexrt! Bucky Barnes is falling in so many different kinds of ways - he’s falling in and out of his brain, in and out of reality, in and out of nightmares... and falling in love? Maybe this is the one he doesn’t want to fall out of.

Mr. Steve ( part 1 // part 2 ) Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // Soulmate AU In a universe where your soulmate’s name is written on your wrist after you meet them, receiving a wedding invitation from her friend is just another reminder that (Y/N) has yet to find her soulmate. But maybe this wedding will be a little bit more exciting, with the help of a tiny child without a filter.

can’t take my mind off of you, Mr. Steve Rogers ( part 1 // part 2 // part 3 ) - COMPLETED Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader Steve Rogers and (Y/N) used to date. Emphasis on the used to. But when an important date from their relationship comes up, it stirs up some emotions too. As if to add to the fire, (Y/N) bumps into an old friend who suggests that maybe Steve’s feelings towards (Y/N) aren’t quite gone. And even though it’s hard to admit, especially because she has a new boyfriend, maybe (Y/N)’s feelings aren’t gone either.

Must’ve Been the Wind ( part 1 // part 2 // part 3 // part 4 // part 5 ) - COMPLETED Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader // Song Inspo: Must’ve Been the Wind by Alec Benjamin // requested TW: mentions of abusive relationship that (Y/N) is involved in, not too graphic in my opinion but please be wary reading if it may trigger something for you.  The girl in the apartment above Bucky’s seems to be in some sort of distress, though she insists that Bucky’s just hearing things. The two bond quickly and soon enough, Bucky wants to rescue her from a situation that she insists isn’t there. Is he just hearing the wind? Or is it a cry for help?

Unlovable ( part 1 // part 2 // part 3 ) - COMPLETED Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader There’s one other person besides Steve that makes Bucky feel comfortable in the era he’s not supposed to be in. She makes him feel safe, never pushes him to do anything, and that smile always makes his stomach flip. But a situation without clear communication leaves both Bucky and (Y/N) unsure of if the other feels the same about them.

**Domestic/Homely!Steve Collection ( Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader ) :

Home  After months without hearing from his wife and daughter, Steve just wants to be home. He doesn’t care if he could be hurt from his fights, he just wants to see his little girl and the woman he loves. (The beginning of my Homely!Steve Collection!)

Grocery Shopping Steve wants to help out any way he can at home since he’s gone so often. But grocery shopping without a list can be a little stressful, especially with a little mischievous girl.

A Kid’s Imagination When (Y/N) goes to pick up Sarah from school, she’s met with an odd response from the teacher about an announcement Sarah made to her classmates. Rather than talk to Steve about it, she decides to have a little fun with it.

Santa Claus Steve’s back from a long mission and all he wants to do is be with his wife and little girl. Thankfully, they’re not too far from home… and Steve has the perfect Christmas plan to surprise them.

kidnapped.... or pretzels? Steve wakes up in the dead of night to find an empty bed beside him. His mind immediately goes to the worst case scenario as to what could’ve happened to the love of his life, (Y/N). 

Dance Recitals If there's one thing that Steve Rogers loves, it's watching his little girl learn how to dance. So he goes out of his way to make sure he doesn't miss too many of her practices. Now, he has to find out how to not miss her first dance recital...

** Stay tuned for more! Send in a request if you think of some cute Dad!Steve Rogers prompts!!**

**ONE SHOTS**

Dinner and a Show Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // done for a writing challenge // prompt: “This is one of those moments when I tell you something isn’t a good idea and you ignore me, isn’t it?” The one where Steve impulsively insists on proving that Y/N’s date for the evening is trash instead of figuring out his feelings for her, meanwhile, Bucky learns that food is way overpriced lol

accidentally ruining relationships Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader  Y/N spends the evening desperately looking for answers about her love life with her close friend, Bucky. Maybe the reason her relationships aren’t working out is because her heart belongs to another. 

A French Kiss Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // Alternative Universe Fic // based on a tweet Y/N came to Paris with a plan: take a photo with a cute man next to the Eiffel Tower, just like how her and cheating ex-boyfriend had always planned on doing, and make that son of a bitch jealous. Thankfully, there’s a super cute blond guy who just so happens to be nearby.

Makeshift Thanksgiving Dinner+ Steve Rogers x Fem!EastAsian!Reader Steve Rogers is beyond nervous to finally be meeting his girlfriend's parents. Especially when it's a meeting for Thanksgiving dinner... though (Y/N) neglects to mention until they're almost there that her east asian family doesn't usually have a typical 'American' Thanksgiving dinner... (Super fluffy I promise :))

Take a Hint Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader (Y/N) literally just wants to go out and have a good time with her girls. So why do guys seem to never take ‘no’ for an answer? To try to prevent more annoying encounters with men who can’t take a hint, (Y/N) slips on two rings onto her left hand and assumes the married life. It’s all well and good... until someone sees the rings as a challenge. Enter from stage right, our hero.

boardroom fantasies NSFW, 18+ only, S M U T // Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // done for a prompt challenge // prompt: “You wanna have sex….here? Now?” Steve can’t help how tight his pants get when (Y/N) is working nearby. While everyone else goes out for drinks, he pulls her aside to show her that the Accounting Guy who keeps asking her out isn’t who she should be with.

Holiday Kiss Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader // Christmas fic Bucky is a little tired of Christmas traditions for the day but with (Y/N) around, there’s just one more tradition he’d like to give a try. 

Anxiety Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // TW: lots of anxious thoughts based on my own so be careful if this is a trigger for you! Today’s the day Steve comes back from a mission and (Y/N) is beyond excited to see him. But when you have a little Anxiety monster whispering believable nonsense in your ear, it’s hard to get out of your head.

5 ways Steve Rogers says I Love You (and 1 way he doesn’t) Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // sad ending so if you don’t wanna be sad, don’t read the last bit lol Steve Rogers loves you and here’s just a collection of ways he shows it. But not everything has a happy ending.

Healthy Competition Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader // Sam Wilson x Fem!Reader // SURPRISE PAIRING // requested It’s not every day that the boys are all infatuated with the same human being. So when they realize they’re all falling head over heels for one girl, Steve insists some ground rules need to be laid out. Little do they know, there’s one person already that (Y/N) is swooning over.

home is a person Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader // Post inspo: “Someone asked me to describe home and I started talking about your hair colour and the sound of your voice and the taste of your lips and how your skin feels like. Until I realized they had expected to hear a place.” When asked what home was like in a conversation about their past lives, Bucky Barnes immediately thinks of something other than his 1940s home. He thinks of her.

The Waitress Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // done for a writing challenge // song prompt: “If things get worse, will you still be here?” 405 by This Wild Life Steve Rogers has finally worked up the guts to ask out the super cute waitress at the diner he frequents… except it’s hard to ask out of a girl when you’re a) already super nervous, b) unsure if it’s rude to ask her out, and c) when you have Dumb and Dumber insisting they tag along.

Fate’s Ribbon Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader // Soulmate AU Fate ties a ribbon to every baby that’s born. It’s black to everyone else but your soulmate, who sees it as bright red. Bucky Barnes doesn’t want a soulmate, especially after becoming a completely different person than he was in the 40s. But you can’t run away from what Fate has planned for you.

Happy Moments Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // prompt list // requested Prompts: a perfectly brewed cup of tea and dust floating in golden sunlight Steve Rogers has a few happy moments stored in his brain for when times got tough. He thinks about each of them and how they’re each a part of him. But in this moment, this place, he was happiest.

Probability Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader Steve Rogers is an insecure little bum sometimes. But he’s 75% sure that the girl of his dreams shares his affections… okay 70%…. maybe less….

Fate’s Sense of Humour Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // Soulmate AU Everyone is born with a soulmark, generally a signature or some sort of mark to define who this person was. And when you meet your soulmate, your mark gets darker and darker. Everyone is born with this. Except Steve Rogers. He had practically given up on finding someone to be with without a soulmark, until he wakes up from the ice to find a faded grey signature on his arm.

Jealous (Strong) Steve Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // requested Steve Rogers, the man behind the shield, knows that his strength only came from an injection. He isn’t a Norse god, how could he compete against Thor who seems to have all of (Y/N)’s affections? Steve Rogers is a jealous man. A strong jealous man who just keeps breaking things.

Studying Anatomy Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // requested Steve loves his girlfriend very much, so when she practically begs for him to help her study for her anatomy test, how can he say no?

Young But Sure Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // requested Sometimes people have different wants for their future. Sometimes their future includes a pet, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes people want to live in the country, and some just want to live in the middle of the city. Steve Rogers wants kids… and he assumed that his girlfriend did too.

Nosebleeds Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader A Stark Industries tradition was that every year, interns, agents, admins, and all the Avengers were asked to join in on a volleyball tournament. And every year (Y/N)’s team wins. She expected to have some fierce competition from the Captain’s team… she expected wrong.

Coming Home Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader No matter how long he was gone, (Y/N) always slept on the couch when Steve was away on missions so she could be the first thing he saw when he came back. Steve is happy to be home with the girl he loves.

Kiss (* Endgame Spoilers *) Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader He just looked so hot, the fire in his eyes, ready to fight. (Y/N) just can’t help herself, she just needs a kiss before they go off to their potential deaths.

Blue Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader Steve in blue is too much to handle whilst sober, (Y/N) decides. So while attending Tony Stark’s birthday party, (Y/N) doesn’t stop to drink her anxiety away making for entertaining company for Steve.

Pizza and the Medical Student Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader // College Roommates AU // requested (Y/N) just wants to study for her final. Steve wants to keep her happy. Bucky wants them to just admit their goddamn feelings for each other already.

**Super Cringy-ish Older Fics I Wrote that I Don’t Have Good Summaries For**

[originalwinnercheesecake]

Chain of Iron theories: Who is the Killer

Its coming up on a week since last made a COI theory post. I said that I was going to try to post all my theories on COI BEFORE it comes out next month, so this posed a problem. So mow I am going to give my input on one of the biggest Mystery’s for COI, Who is the Killer? So in COI Belial will have a new minion who will target the shadowhunters, manages to kill 5 of them (same number Tatiana needed for the ritual) and is difficult for them to apprehend because they are somehow able to disappear. CC has left some hints that the killer is actually another Shadowhunter that Belial has somehow managed taken Possession of, despite protection rituals that should have been placed on this individual at birth ( My theory on that is that since this book is called “Chain of Iron” we will learn that Belial controls all his pawns with “chains of iron”. All hidden on their persons and glamored to look like ordinary accessories.) Our synapse for the book says that James Herondale has been having strange nightmares and fears he may actually be the killer. In COI he will start to tie himself up to sleep at night. We all know its not James right? In mysteries like this you always throw out your first guess/ the obvious guess. I have seen a lot of posts theorizing on who the true identity could be. I have seen some theories do not make much sense to me and some that were really good.

One theory that seems off to me is the idea that the killer is actually multiple killers, more specifically a collection of the survivors of Belial’s illness. If you support this theory I get your reasoning:Belial was able to briefly posses these people before, and the illness may have left biological changes in them. But here’s where I am confused, the killer is implied to be a massive threat wielding enhanced dark magic. At the end of COA there are 30something cured shadowhunters released from Silent City. CC says that the killers body count will be 5. If Belial has 30something new pawns that he can posses, gift his terrible powers to, and send out to prey on shadowhunters, I feel like there should be a lot more than 5 victims. I know Beial is not yet at full strength from battling Cortana, but he should at least be stronger than that. I have also heard theories that it is one of the Blackthorns. This also does not make much sense to me, given that for one thing none of them have training, Tatiana and Grace already have established rolls in Belial’s plans, and while I know Jesse is a part of Belial’s plan I believe his part will be save for COT after he has been resurrected. IF Belial were using Jesse’s empty body to walk the earth, then wouldn’t he also need to stop anyone from trying to resurrect Jesse?

 I have heard many theories on Elias Carstairs being the killer. Many of them just want to make Elias out to be CC’s newest and most horrible monster parent, and absolve Alastair of any responsibility or need to apologize for the cruelty he has shown to our mains. If this is your reasoning for believing Elias is the killer than let me stop you right there. CC has written multiple series and her skills have evolved beyond the need to rely on such easy black and white tricks. But I also saw some people posting about how Elias goes home so late and stopped writing to his family. Some are theorizing that the real Elias Carstairs was intercepted and killed on his way back home and that the being that arrives in COI is actually an eidolon demon pretending to be Elias. This theory is AMAZING. It makes a lot of scenes, would give Belial another spy in a key place, and could potentially explain why Cortana starts acting so weird. I love this theory I do. I am just putting it t the side right now because I need the real Elias alive for other Carstairs family theories, and again have been working with the theory that the killer is a real shadowhunter whom Belial is controlling with another “chain of iron”. My theories are below.

1.) Lucie Herondale is the Killer

 I am working with he theory that all Belial’s pawns have “chains of Iron” on them, which means all three blackthorns have them. In old art CC released of Grace she is seen wearing a pearl necklace that I was convinced had to be her’s. Tatiana’s (who probably consented to wearing hers) could be anything, maybe that stupid, creepy bird, she wears in her hat. Jesse... is mentioned several times to wear a locket.... that we know is connected to Belial.... and was weakened when he took it off to give to Lucie... who is wearing it now. Do you people see where I am going with this? It can also be noted that one of the parts of Lucie’s arc is that she is frequently overlooked in favor of James and how that is a mistake on peoples parts.  Everybody knows that James has powers, he has had 4-5 years of people helping him figure out what they are and how to control them. Nobody but ghosts know that Lucie has powers, she has no training, and is only starting to understand what they mean. James is vulnerable but so is Lucie. I do not want her to be the killer. Lucie is such a fun character, and I was so happy to finally have a female Herondale play a role that was close in size to her male relative’s. I truly feel that Lucie deserves better than to be just a tragic character in the story. I want her to be that plus a hero, but I cannot deny that she is a possibility.

2.) Charles Fairchild is the Killer

I have seen Charles name appear on multiple lists of theory’s on the killer’s identity. People never really give reasons as to why they believe he is the killer. They are just mad at him for choosing to put his career higher on his list of priorities than his relationship with Alastair, or him being the killer would hurt less because he is not written to be a fan favorite. If you are someone who wants the killer to be Charles, but are unsure how likely it is your in luck. Because I can give you a whole list of reasons it is likely

Charles is already acting strange. We know he made some kinda screw up in Paris and had to come home. Apparently Charlotte is sending Tessa and Will to Paris to Start the fix up and Charles will go back afterwards. Well based on what we have gotten on Charles making a mistake like that is unlike him. Casting Long Shadow’s reveals that Charles has been working as a politician since he was 13 and is normally known for being very dependable and reliable. That’s part of the reason he is considered such a shoe-in for Counselor once his mother retires.??? I have theories on Charles mental state (which I will address in a later theory post that will be centered around the Fairchild’s) and do consider the possibility that he was sett off by fear over the outbreak or grief over losing Alastair... But this sudden change could be from other things as well

As of COG2 Charles is engaged to Grace Blackthorn, who controls him like a puppet. Grace herself is the puppet of Tatiana Blackthorn, who is the puppet of Belial. So Charles is now part of a very dangerous carnival. Charles decade of study and knowledge of clave politics at the top could be very useful to Belial in taking them down. Also previous short stories say that Charles spends most of his time in Idris for work and when in London usually stays at home going through law books and records. So I could easily believe he does not completely  know his way around London and (like the killer is hinted to) would need to use a map to get around.

Now on to my biggest reason for theorizing Charles for the killer. Charles and Matthew’s relationship with each other. Charles and Matthew do not get along, like at all. They did once, but that was a real long time ago. A lot of the reasons they don’t get along is dumb sibling stuff: Charles calling Matthew an immature child, kicking him and his friends out of rooms in their house, and lording his increased age over Matthew. Matthew making more noise to annoy Charles, telling everyone Charles embarrassing middle name, and regularly sneaking into Charles room to steal his cologne instead of just buying his own. We are not hear to discuss any of that. All of that has me laughing because it is peak sibling rivalry. Rivalry aside Charles and Matthew model  the old dynasty trope for Ssons with Charles being “the Heir” and Matthew being “the Spare”. The Heir’s life is decided for them as soon as they are born, they will succeed their parent and continue their legacy. The Spare is just that, a back up plan kept around should the heir die, become disabled, never marry, or turn out to be infertile (happens way more than people like to think about). Charles struggles with the weight of his parents expectations. Matthew is more or less the Black sheep of his family, living his life day by day with no grand plan. Because of this he is cut off from them in a way, and goes through a lot of loneliness and isolation in his own house. Neither brother see’s the others hard time; the other has what they themselves want: Charles has attention, Matthew freedom, so they wrongly assume the other must be doing fine. This is a lot like Matthew and James relationship in Dust and Shadows. Matthew and James talked things over with each other and were good after. Matthew and Charles stay apart and ignore each other when they cannot. They will not just talk and be good after. So maybe if put on different sides they will fight out their issues with each other? On the subject of Matthew having to fight Charles, lets say hypothetically Charles is the killer and is possessed. We know from previous books that clave protocol is to place a kill order on possessed members. If that becomes the case do you think Matthew would be able to follow through with those orders? Be able to hunt, fight, and kill his older brother? No. No matter how rough their relationship I doubt Matthew would ever be able to do that. It would be to much for him, to similar to his “sin”. He would want to catch Charles, then try to find a way to free him from possession. Maybe if Mathew could successfully accomplish this then maybe he could forgive himself for his “sin”. If Matthew tries to save him and fails than at least this time other people would know and could potentially get him some help.  

3.) Filomena DI Angelo is the Killer.

Ahh our upcoming new arrival from  Italy. Why are you coming to London girl? Haven’t you heard about all the crazy things that happens there last fall? What possible role could you play in the story that couldn’t be filled by one of our many already existing characters from COG2? (Do you even know your way around?) How suspicious that Filomena should show up around the same time as this killer? Wouldn’t it be great for the story if the killer came from a different country? Wouldn’t that do wonders for showing how powerful a threat Belial is? His dark influence stretching across country lines, maybe even across oceans! We have already been told that TLH characters will need to travel to other countries. How the villain is less one person and more a force. Filomena could start that. She could provide reason to search countries besides London for Belial’s influence. Proof of it being so wide spread would definitely make Belial feel more like a force. Oh but wait, cheesecake wait. Filomena cannot be the killer! That would make her evil, and CC said she was a nice girl! Oh I am sure Filomena is a nice girl, but people tend to change when under demon control. But she is a girl and the killer is hinted to be a male shadow hunter! Are we sure the killer isn’t presented as male because Belial is presented as male? Is it impossible that while on the hunt as the killer Filomena DI Angelo dress in men’s cloths in order to more safely move through the streets? I feel like we have saw that trick once before in TID.

All we really know about Filomena is that she came to London, will interact with some of our established characters, and she will get a crush on someone we know, thus presenting herself as a possible love interest. Matthew was my first guess, hey he was every bodies first guess. CC shut that down, Filomena is not being brought in to fix the love triangle between James, Cordeila, and Matthew. Matthew is one of the only ones to not have at a least semi-confirmed endgame ship. So this means that Filomena will probably not be endgame with her crush. Why?   My next guess was her crush was on Anna. Ariadne is shown to be relentless in her attempts to “win Anna back” and Anna is not having it. Tweets time and time again depict her basically telling Ariadne “Its not going to happen. Give up and leave me alone”, but falling on deaf ears. So maybe Anna will try to get a new girlfriends and keep her around until she is ready to forgive/ go back to Ariadne. Well Anna is more a secondary character, a loving big sister figure to our mains. She gets less page time because of this. We already know she will spend time with Cordelia, Lucie, Ariadne, Eugenia, Thomas... not much page time left for Filomena. After further analyses I have theorized that Filomena must have a crush on Thomas.

A quick google search on the name Filomena shows that it is an Italian name that means “loving friend” “strong friend” and “lover of music” all these sound kinda like Thomas. (Filomena is also the name of a character in the 14th century Italian collection  of short stories called the Decameron, who liked to make stories up about plagues... or so some digging around google told me ). This could fit quite nicely into Thomas’s story. First of all to everybody who has been calling Thomas “gay” please wait a moment to be sure. Thomas does not yet publicly or self identify as gay. He clearly has an attraction to one man, but CC says that he has not yet realized his sexuality and will spend TLH figuring out. He might be gay, but he could just as easily turn out to be bi or pan. For the sake of this theory lets assume Thomas is Bi. Thomstair is definitely endgame. We know Alastair is gay, and CC usually likes to pair gay characters up with bi characters in queer ships, see Malec and Heline. Should Thomas be bi, should he start to become close and develop feelings for Filomena, it will have to go wrong. More wrong than he considers his feelings for Alastair at the end of COG2 (Filomena do not hurt this boy, he has been through enough). We got a tweet that suggests Thomas is interested in the killer, and a hint that he is planing something big. We got a kinda frightening picture that suggests the Killer may be very interested in Thomas.

If Lucie is the killer she will somehow be freed from Belial’s control,. I can 100% guarantee it, Charles I feel will have a 50/50 chance, Filomena will die from it. It would be a herculean task to free her, and she is not important enough to the mains for them to actively try and do anything more than give her a merciful death. Should she and Thomas become close than it will break his heart. But if Alastair is there for him afterwards, able to emphasizes and offer him comfort that will go along way to redeeming Alastair to Thomas. The whole experience could be love is hard, both men and women have the ability to hurt you. but the right person will make it up to you and it is good to forgive them when they do. I personally think that would be a pretty cool direction for Thomas’s arc to take.

[tarithenurse]

On my Mind, in my Soul - 2

Pairing: Loki x burglar!Reader Contents: Cussing, a bit of violence, some angsting and pining, lemons...and lots of them. Consider yourself warned if you’re underage. A/N: Didn’t plan for the first part to actually be a first part. I’d planned it as a one-shot based on @maladaptive-ninja-returns‘s 3 “prompts”...but then it was nicely recieved and I chatted with them again and we had some fun ideas...so here’s part 2. This time the 3 things have been provided with a sister (who was rather confused as to why I was asking...but it did result in us watching the Bridge of Death sequence from Monty Python and the Holy Grail). Anyhoodles, the things were Earrings. Green. And the song “Put your Records on” by CB Rae. Lyric bits are marked as block quotes.

Challenge

Music’s playing in your ears as you make your way slowly through the museum, keeping the perfect distance to make it seem to the tour guide as though you’re part of the group while to them (a class of history students and their teacher) you’re just some random guest that happens to be going at the same pace. The map of the place in your hand is filled with thin lines by now, indicating camera angles and “alternative” routes.

“And over here we have a temporary collection on loan from London…” the voice of the guide announces through a lull in the song.

He’s beaming proudly as the class oohs and aahs at the glittery reflection of the ornate Crown Jewels. Amateurs. Sure, the lineup of necklaces and crowns looks impressive, but the main items are merely very good replicas made to satisfy the curiosity of people who can’t make it to the Tower of London – the real deal’s safely stored there, only to be removed on special occasions when the queen and her family actually uses it.

However, some of the less impressive items are not fakes. Taking a place before a display case, your eyes fall upon a comparatively drab pair of earrings. Fat, pinkish pearls dangle from golden drops and ovals with a multitude of tiny, white gemstones. Yuck. There are tastier ways of showing off wealth in your opinion, but you also understand that sometimes it’s not about having style per se, rather about flaunting that you can have anything. What in your eyes might be ugly (or at the best of cases kitsch) is probably a blatant show of power because deep down humans are simple creatures that understand a simple language: rarity equals wealth and wealth in turn equals power. And those earrings are rare, no one in their right mind would make more than a single pair.

So why those? Simple. You got a job and the buyer was smart enough to wrap it in a dare, claiming no one could get their hands on that set of pearls. To top the whole deal off, the guy’s willing to do wire transfer but a cash bonus if the job’s completed within a month.

You have to hide a smile as you tug the map and pencil into your purse, slipping your phone out for a moment to skip a tune in the hopes of the shuffle finding something more celebratory for the way out of the museum.

It takes a few tries before you succeed, meaning you’re already back in the grand room by the time you return the device to safety and your fingers brush against something unexpected, causing you to pause in your tracks and glance around, but no one stands out in the crowd of tourists and other visitors. One peek into the depths of the purse’s enough to grant a view of an envelope made of special paper. Or parchment? A cold shudder runs down your spine upon realisation that someone must have gotten close enough to slip it in there although you always keep the damn bag close to your body, even tugged under the arm. Whoever it is…they are good. Too good. It’s as if every camera’s trained on you, like each and every single person’s watching even the smallest movement you make, sending prickly waves of tension to the back of your legs while every hair stands on end.

Forcing yourself to move slowly, you leave the museum. Following the most crowded routes home, you only check for followers a million times. Discreetly, of course, despite the increasing frustration of spotting no one in pursuit or out of place (as much as anyone can look that in New York) not even when walking five times around the block before finally letting yourself into your little flat.

It almost feels safe as the deadbolt clicks into place and you allow yourself to slide onto the floor. Deep breaths tasting of curry from last night’s dinner and book dust helps ground you enough to stop your hands from shaking by the time they pull out the envelope. Turning it around and around, you have to admire the cottonlike quality of the paper and the clearly manually cut edges that shout craftmanship to the heavens. The sender is loaded or makes his own paper.

By the table under the glaring light of a lamp, it’s obvious that the person hasn’t left any other clues on the outside of the envelope, forcing you to open it after a careful examination to avoid any hidden nuisances. You’re holding your breath as you peer into the folds, spotting a photograph which you shake out. What the…?

Trying to pretend that the image’s taken months ago is futile, but still you hurry to the kitchen and slam down on your knees by the cabinet under the sink so hard that you bounce painfully on the linoleum. It doesn’t delay you. Eyes sting with pain as you pull the contents out, scattering the bucket with cleaning agents across the floor. You slam a fist onto a loose board to tip it up, revealing the front of a safe nestled among insulation and rubble. Five beeps and a fingerprint are all it takes for your worry to be proven right.

“Fucking! Alien! Pissflap!” Each exclamation’s punctuated by punches to the cabinet door.

At first glance, the contents could appear to be exactly the way you left them this morning…but the Tiger’s Eye Pendant’s missing.

Maybe sometimes we got it wrong, but it's all right The more things seems to change, the more they stay the same

…

Making the right call can be hard in the heat of the moment, but you managed. More than a week since you’ve been burgled and your thoughts stray all too often to the future and the plans it holds to right the wrong, the only consolation being that the job you have to finish first will be a means to that very end.

Hanging upside down from the skylight, each movement has to be perfectly controlled to stay out of the camera’s view until you’ve reached it and slipped the screen before it. It had taken several tries to get the image just right, but the result was close to perfection. Close enough to get me some minutes. That’s all you need.

Moments later, you’re on the floor. Harness and rope still attached for a quick escape as you work through the hollow pedestal because gods know you’ll be screwed if you disturb the glass encasing the exhibition. Each movement tugs at the restraining tether and gnaws at your skin. You reach carefully through wires for the sensors and lights, the Stark “knife” tugged gingerly away in the palm with nothing but a rubber sleeve to prevent bloodshed. Gloves? Of course you wear them, not only preventing fingerprints but granting a safe grip. Without them your hands would have been slippery with sweat and even now there are a few drops running down your spine before they get soaked up in the top. There. You breathe in deeply a couple of times before unsheathing the knife and cutting through the plate where the loot’s resting. No normal knife would be able to do it and getting this tool had been expensive…but so worth it!

A few more breaths, then you can pack away the fugly earrings and your gear. Just in time, too, as you already can hear the night guard approaching. It’s with a minimal thought of remorse that you ascend, the gears whirring softly as you speed towards the fresh night air.

…

There’s a market for everything whether it’s illegally obtained tools or perfectly made replicas. Studying the simile glinting in the hand, you know that even Loki will have to look carefully to detect the fraud…especially after you’ve added the finishing touch on the back of the pendant.

Part of the bonus has been spent on that piece of work while the rest has gone into setting up your safehouse for a longer stay. You still come and go from your usual apartment, ensuring the façade of a student living there, but everything important has slowly been moved to the other side of upper Manhattan and after the last security measures the place’s close to impenetrable. And impossible to find.

Crouched by the coffee table, you go through the last plans. The private guards’ rounds must have been shuffled, of course, and will take a couple of stake outs to learn. Next, you’re certain that the Asgardian snob must have improved the locks on windows and doors as a pure minimum, leaving a reduced list of access points for a human to use. Question is if he’s considered something like a drone.

…

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favorite song You go ahead, let your hair down Sapphire and faded jeans I hope you get your dreams

The cool air dries the tip of your tongue, but you’re too engrossed in navigating the toy through the chimney to care. Each foot of the descend brings it closer to the smoldering ashes and the thing can only handle a certain amount of heat what with all the plastic components, so as soon as it slips out from the fireplace, you heave a sigh of relief. Now comes the hard part. Orienting yourself through the little screen, the drone whirrs along corridors and through grand rooms in search of a safe entryway fitting a woman. Patiently, you ignore the shingles of the roof radiating cold into your muscles as the minutes tick by until you strike gold in the form of a bathroom window. It’s narrow but not impossibly so and you can’t help but laugh quietly to yourself as you use the flying robot to unlatch it and push it open wide.

Slipping in is simple enough, you only hesitate as you land on the marble floor because you hadn’t expected the dampness of the air. Every hard, cool surface’s laced with a fine condensation, but running a hand over the faucets gives a sense of relief that whoever has showered or bathed must have done this a while ago. It’s disconcerting though. Loki supposedly has a private bathroom en suite with his bedroom, so who would use this? There’s no hamper with laundry, no dirty towels or soaps that have been used. Nothing personal. Perhaps he’s got visitors? It’d surprise you. In fact, you’re almost willing to bet that an employee’s taken the liberty of using the facilities but either way, it doesn’t change the plan.

Silently slipping through the door, you know where to go and within minutes have the display in view from a position in a shadowy corner. There’s still a guard lingering, seemingly taking an interest in a set of blueish daggers. Move…come on…you want to finish the round and get some coffee. Silently willing him on results in absolutely nothing and you can feel anxiousness prickle your back and force you shoulders upwards and forwards. Tomorrow, you’ll need to find a massage therapist to knead the tensions away.

Finally, after agonizing minutes, the guy leaves, whistling a soft tune as if he’s proud of a job well done. At least it might hint of extra time if he lingers in other rooms too.

You’re about to work through the case the normal way when you notice the fault in the glass’s positioning and a brief examination leads to a broad smile stretching your cheeks as you place the glove covered hands on either side of the housing and lift it off – no alarms or boobytraps triggered. The exchange’s quick. A glance on your watch, and then you shuffle over to the nearby shelf with the peculiar knives. Stuck tip-down into a relatively common utensil holder it’s almost as though the eccentric collector only has them for show because he knows visitors might be awed while he himself doesn’t consider them of any specific worth although the blue flaring through the gunmetal-dark material is out of this world. Maybe literally.

It’s when you reach out for one that it shimmers out of existence in a familiar golden haze causing your heart to skip a beat. Cursing inwardly for wasting time, you turn to hightail it out of the mansion but nearly collide with the very same blade you were admiring, the tip now resting delicately on your chest.

“My little thief.” Finally looking past the weapon, your eyes meet Loki’s. “I had almost given up hope that you would come.”

Returning the smirk he grants you, it’s still a careful shrug rolling through your shoulder. “Been busy…but I guess you know that.”

It’s impossible to ignore the quick sweep his tongue makes along the lower lip as he looks you over, the widening of his pupils that sends a flutter through your stomach in anticipation. Never again, you’d promised yourself and still you find the memories begin to team up with the view of the tall figure before you. He’s in command of the situation unless you manage to escape. How? He’s the one with a weapon, its tip felt through the fabric like a pin-prick on the slope of your breast – the tiniest movement and it will be more than just a prick. How?

Looking up at him, you smile innocently to prevent any sudden reactions as you reach out for his free hand. He lets you take it, entwining fingers delicately for a moment before leading it to your face. A tender kiss in his palm, the thin cool skin of his wrist before you let his hand rest on your shoulder, allowing you to reach for him and gently nudge the knife-wielding hand aside though never letting go of the arm. You fingers trace the slender limb lazily, half-forgotten as lips brush along his jaw.

Banzai. Loki’s fingers lock into your hair, folding around the base of your skull to steer you, both your lips onto his but also your body trailing after him as he backs towards the centre of the room. If memory serves you right, there’s some kind of puffy bench or other which means that you only have until you reach that to incapacitate him. Why? I could just go along. Sweet temptation makes your heart flutter against your ribs and a heat pools low in you belly. It’s a dangerous game to play with someone like him and you had promised yourself last time that it would never happen again…just like you had sworn never to return to this place.

A quick glance verifies that you have about four steps before he’ll have you locked beneath him. Grinding against his groin with your hip, the reaction comes immediately in form of a groan and you pray that he’s distracted enough for a few seconds. With a swift snatch you manage to tear the dagger from his grip, brandishing it between your bodies with the tip pointed at his growing cock.

Breathing heavily, Loki’s aware enough of what’s going on to stop moving, his eyes filling with cold fury as he glances towards the alternative hostage situation. “What’s this? Complaints?” Somehow, he still manages to patronize you.

“Consider it a refusal.”

“You didn’t say no last time, my pet.”

He’s right, but you’re not about to give in again and let him get more power over you. “It served it’s purpose. No more.”

“Ouch.” Thin lips curl in a snarl. “It hurts my feelings….especially when you lie that badly.”

It won’t help to discuss past events with him (especially when you don’t want to admit the truth yourself), so you change focus to the situation at hand by ordering the Asgardian to let go of you. Something he only begrudgingly does when you add more pressure with the knife and it slips through the fabric of his trousers with a soft rippling sound as each thread is severed.

You should’ve seen it coming. The moment you step back, creating distance between the god and the weapon, he moves. A sharp pain races up from wrist to shoulder as the metal clatters across the floor, but you don’t have time to register where it lands because your aching arm is twisted behind your back and used as leverage to force you onto the floor with your face smushed into the green velvet of the seat. It smells of sawdust and a hint of camphor, but mostly it just grates against your skin.

A glint of light reflecting of metal captivates you, ensuring that Loki can use less power to hold you still as you stare at the dark grey-blue tip less than an inch from your eye. Shit. You can’t breathe. Can’t move or think. Only one other sentence keeps circling in your mind – unfortunately it’s full of self-deprecation rather than any useful ideas. Shit.

“Don’t mistake my indulgence for weakness,” the cold hiss explains, “letting you go last time was not a show of defeat as you very well know.”

The dagger moves out of sight, leaving you to stare one-eyed at a shade of green you’ll never forget anymore. Then you feel the prick at the nape of your skull. The cocky alien’s in control now even as he lets go of you and this time there’s nothing playful about the current predicament like the previous encounters had been. Sweat’s breaking out all over your body and you have to swallow hard to simply be able to breathe.

“So what now?” Your sneer’s partially muffled by the plush piece of furniture. “Gonna rape me, you sick bastard?”

He hits you so hard that you skid across the polished floor. Black spots dance before your eyes even after you manage to crack the jaw back in place. You’ve been hit before. Hell, it’s one of the reasons you became such a good burglar, but this tops it all and calls forth hot tears that spill down your face. You don’t care. You especially don’t care when he yanks your face skywards by grabbing hold of the messy hair and the freezing length of a by now familiar blade lands on your throat.

“Look. At. Me.” A spark within you wants to resist, but you can’t and your view fills with the emerald irises that burn with hate. “I may be harsh and cruel, but I would never do something like that to you.” He seems to realize what he’s said and adds quickly, “to anyone.”

Just more than I could take Pity for pity's sake Some nights kept me awake I thought that I was stronger

…

The world’s fuzzy and soft in the night by the time you attempt to open your eyes. It takes a moment to get your bearing and another one before the memories return and you sit up with a gasp. You’re back in your little apartment, but you have no recollection of how you got there. The last you do recall are Loki’s green eyes before a sensation of falling.

What did he do? Padding yourself down, it’s with some disbelief that you accept that you not only are wearing exactly the same as when you set out the night before, but there are no other injuries than a few bruises…excluding the deep gash in your pride. No trace of unwarranted contact despite the fact that you must have been completely at Loki’s mercy. Knowing that, you should be relieved. Not afraid. Not shameful. Not…filling with regret as if you had been the one to make advances only to be turned down by him. Messed up. Too messed up. Is it possible to get addicted to a person?

Frustrated, you push off the bed and begin pacing hectically through the small apartment, a scathing, internal monologue running on repeat to remind you of why it’s good you got away from Loki’s mansion without anything else happening.

…

Turning in your bed, you’re vaguely aware that the light has changed to soft grey tones - you must have managed to fall asleep after all. Tugging at the oversized t-shirt to get comfortable again, the feeling of the pendant against your chest solicits a drowsy smile.

…

You near a state of wakefulness in protest of the chill stealing through your limbs. Presuming in the sleepy state that you must have pushed the covers aside, you grope for it. Not covers. The observation flashes through your head and startles you to move quickly for the crevice between mattress and headboard for a knife you keep tugged away there, but cold fingers wrap round your wrists.

“Not so fast.”

Blinking blearily, you stare up into Loki’s face. The glint in his gorgeous, green eyes is mischievous, not unlike the curling smile that broadens as he takes in your exposed form because no, a faded t-shirt and a pair of panties doesn’t count as cover when he’s the one blatantly studying each curve. You see how his eyes darken, hear the shortness of both your breaths, and memories come flooding back followed by a strong heat in your womanhood.

Your attempt at speaking’s a helpless croak until you clear the throat. “Ch-changed your mind?”

The gaze alone could hold you in place as he refocuses on your mouth. Unbiddenly, you wet your lips that suddenly have gone dry.

“I do not deny that I appreciate your body immensely, but that’s not why I’m here.” Loki changes the hold on your wrist with ease, freeing a hand to caress your neck, your throat, before pulling out the pendant from under the cotton. “No…this is why.” Faint embers are reflected onto his cold irises. “I must congratulate you, my dear…your plan was not bad and had I been a mere human, then I would probably not have noticed the exchange.”

The weight of the necklace returns onto your chest, now cold from his fingers that begin straightening the chain. Each stroke ghosts across sensitive skin, sending goosebumps racing over your body and a soft ache warns you how your nipples are initiating a slow uprising against the t-shirt.

“Why d’you want it back? You let me leave with it!”

Your challenge’s meant to distract him from what he’s doing, but he merely glances before beginning to smoothen the fabric. “I knew you’d come back for it.”

“What?” The word pops out hard and mocking. “You think it’s more than financial value to me?” It doesn’t…does it? You’d meant to sell it originally, but then changed your mind and blew of the potential buyers without remorse.

“Pet…don’t pretend we don’t think alike, you and I.” Leaning down, Loki’s lips brush gently against your earlobe and his hair tickles against your chin, its scent of frost and camphor setting off a new shiver that heads straight for your aching core. “You’d come because of your pride. For the challenge. And deep down…because you yearn for something more.”

The Asgardian tugs playfully at your ear with his teeth, hands sliding along your arm and side before reverting and you feel your body betray your mind as it arches into his touch. Cupping your face in a large hand his lips meet yours gently before he pulls back, letting go completely although he doesn’t get off the bed.

“Please…” broken-voiced, you try to formulate what you need.

Light fingertips on your thigh stokes the burning need. “Tell me what you want, kitten. Last time you denied me my fun…what will it be now?”

“I want…I…” Loki stays within reach of your grabbing hands but doesn’t move towards you either. “I want you…need…please?”

“Are you certain?” His grip on your hip’s still soft. Too soft. “I’d like to reward you for the skill it took to swap the pendant, but you have to want it.”

“Just shut up and fuck me!”

Gentleness is obliterated by a bruising urgency as Loki takes over your body. Every inch’s kissed, bitten, licked, or explored with cool hands that booth bruise and soothe the burning traces. Every time you gasp for breath, his lips find yours to swallow each moan that the pressure of his thigh between your legs elicit. Not enough. He’s gotten you to the brink of bliss, but like a mirage it keeps eluding you and the feverish need for more’s burning you from the inside, leaving a hollow sensation that can be filled if only… A whine escapes your lips, warning the god as you reach for the belt buckle in desperation only to feel them snared and forced above your head.

He positions himself between your legs, nudging the knees apart. “So eager…” the growl’s guttural, nearly muffling the words, “longing for more…”

The golden shimmer’s visible even with half-closed eyes, but although you can feel his skin against your legs and arms as Loki repositions himself, your soaked panties still form a barrier between the cockhead as it pushes against your folds, and the old t-shirt insulates you from the chill of his chest.

“Loki…pleeaase!”

Arching against him, you feel the tremble passing through his body and for the briefest of moments it’s as though his eyes are red, but you’re distracted by his skin changing hue and the man, the alien, growing ever so slightly that his physique becomes impressively dimensioned. A scratching like claws diverts your eyes to the now blueish hands where darker talons have replaced the nails. I should be terrified. The logic’s clear yet simultaneously completely irrelevant as icy lips find the tender skin on your throat where they suck, marking a path spot by spot to your clavicle…then past…and as the V of the cotton obstructs the proceedings, Loki shreds it and tosses the scraps onto the floor without taking his burning gaze off your body now exposed beneath him.

“Little pet…if I hurt you…” He forces his gaze to your face, concern simmering in the darkness of lust. “If I hurt you or you want me to stop…say Laufey.”

The request itself is not unfamiliar unlike the word so you nod. “Mighty confident talking wh–“

You don’t get further because he kisses you again, forcefully, hungrily, biting your bottom lip as his fingers slip past the hem of the panties and delve between your soaking folds to the delighted groans of both of you. Perfect strokes mix with circles around the clit and entrance, often with added pressure onto the former that has you crying out Loki’s name like a prayer. Still, he’s got your wrists in an iron grip even if it clearly frustrates him.

“Belt,” you gasp, causing him to pause, “will get…get your h-hand…free.”

The curling smile bares gleaming, pointed teeth. “What a delightfully filthy idea.”

Not only does he use the belt to restrain your hands. No. The god also takes the opportunity to turn you around onto elbows and knees, allowing him to take place behind you. Claws trail your spine all the way to the elastic of the remaining clothes and you can feel it give way, sliding under the curve of your ass and exposing the glistening heat of your cunt. Then they too are torn apart. Cold hands slam onto the butt cheeks, forming an anchor for Loki as he begins to lab up your arousal, his nose nudging at your core with every movement.

Heat and tension builds within you, has you pleading for your god to fill you or let you cum on his tongue and fingers. Again and again, the bastard denies you release. Each time, he chuckles darkly as he has you watch past your own body how the strong hand pumps a nervewrecking huge cock languidly. The tip a dark purple with the exception of the milky pre-cum leaking out each time his fist passes ridges similar to those on the rest of his body. And all you can think of is how badly you want him inside you, to feel the ridges against the smooth walls, and you pout and curse when he returns to the ministrations that has his face glistening.

Balancing on the edge, you nearly scream as he pulls away once more, but this time his strong hands brings your legs together with his knees on the outside, and you gasp from anticipation and the thundering need at the feeling of the cool cockhead tracing your folds, each pass nudging further in until his manhood’s fully covered in your juices and he’s perfectly aligned.

“Don’t hold back, kitten.”

And with that Loki slides into your tight core, stretching you to the very limits which causes a sweet, stinging pain to heighten the sensation of each ridge that delves in and makes you shout with pleasure on contact with your g-spot. Gold shimmers, freeing your wrists so you can brace yourself.

“That’s it,” he growls, “ let me hear you.”

The rhythm’s slow at first, allowing some semblance of adaptation before increasing the intensity. And you let him hear exactly how you feel. Praises and curses mingle with your gasping breath, turning into groans, then shouts until he has you cumming with his name tearing from your throat in a wild scream as you plunge into the darkness of the abyss to drown in ecstasy. Every muscle seizes in your body, leaving it to Loki to hold you in position…and he does as he rams into you haphazardly before reaching his own peak and unloading like an icy flood inside you, stealing the last air from your lungs.

He doesn’t bother with pulling out, rather he tips the both of you, tugging you tightly to his chest as his form reverts to normal. Gasping for air, none of you speak.

Eventually, though, the peaceful silence ends, and Loki abandons you in the bed in favour of cleaning up and getting dressed the same way as when first you’d had sex. Pausing by the door, he looks back. It’s almost a déjà vu.

“I trust we will see each other again, my pet?” The lazy smile negates the questioning tone.

[gpnationalcrane]

The Ultimate Construction Father's Day Gift Guide 2020

Father’s Day 2020 is June 21, so you better get started on gift ideas if you want to impress dad this year. Whether your father is contractor, handyman, or DIYer, we’ve got a lot of great ideas for him this year.

For more more gift ideas, be sure to check out our past Father's Day Gift Guides from 2016, 2017, and 2018, 2019 or our Ultimate Construction Holiday Gift Guides from 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, and 2019. 

We’ve been lucky enough to be able to use many of the tools on this list throughout the year and there are others on the list that we’d love to try because they have been highly regarded in reviews.  It should be assumed that the tool manufacturers have given us these tools for free to test out, but none of them have paid to be a part of this gift guide. All tools on this list have been chosen by us, because we think they would be great gifts.

This post contains affiliate links, which earn us a small commission for the things that you buy.  The prices in the links are exactly the same as they would be normally!

Ultimate Construction Father’s Day Gift Guide 2020

Under $50

Bosch TS1004 Table Saw Dust Collector Bag

Table Saw Dust Bag

This is honestly one of the best purchases I’ve made and it’s so inexpensive. Table saws are essential on many jobsites and workshops, but dust collection can be an issue. If you don’t have an extensive dust collection system or don’t want to deal with the extra noise of a vacuum, this Bosch table saw dust bag is a no brainer. I’ve been using it on my Milwaukee M18 cordless table saw and it collects probably 80-90% of the dust

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A post shared by Construction Junkie (@constructionjunkie) on Sep 18, 2018 at 5:40pm PDT

Klein Tools ET310 AC Circuit Breaker Finder with Integrated GFCI Outlet Tester

Klein Tools Digital Circuit Breaker Finder

If you’re house is like mine, the labeling system inside your circuit breaker box is an absolute mess, which makes it extremely difficult to find the correct breaker to turn off when needed. The Klein Tools Digital Circuit Breaker finder is a 2-in-1 tool that not only can confirm that your outlets have been properly wired, but it can also help you easily locate the correct breaker an outlet is wired to. Simply plug the outlet tester into an outlet, bring the receiver wand to your breaker panel, and run the receiver down each breaker until the light indicates that the correct breaker has been found. Of course, you should ALWAYS double check that power has been turned off to whatever electrical system you need to work on before beginning.

Bosch Clic-Change 3-Piece Self-Centering Drill Bit Assortment CC2430

Bosch Clic-Change Self Centering Drill Bits

Whever you’re installing hardware that requires more than one screw, the slightest misstep when drilling your pilot hole can cause the whole piece to become misaligned. These Bosch Self-Centering bits all but guarantee that your screw will be perfectly centered through the use of a spring loaded housing sized for #6, #8, and #10 screws.

MXP-AL Die-Cast Aluminum Utility Knife OLFA

OLFA MXP-AL or LA-X Utility Knife

Everybody probably already has a utility knife somewhere in their toolbox or junk drawer, but it’s probably not an OLFA. This Japanese-made knife is actually up to 8 blades-in-one, because you can snap off one section at a time if it gets dull. Paired with their new black speed blades, you not only get the convenience of multiple blades, but an extremely sharp, fast cutting knife.

The OLFA MXP-AL is their newest heavy duty knife, made with an aluminum shell. For a little less cost, the LA-X is a tried and true knife, as well, as it comes with the same blades, but it’s housed in a plastic shell with a rubber overmould.

QUICKLOADER QL4500 15-Feet by 1.25-Inch Retractable Tie-down Strap, 4500-Pound Breakforce, Red

Quickloader Retractable Ratchet Tiedown

If you own a truck, you know that securing a load can be a huge hassle, especially if you’re used to dealing with bungee cords or traditional tiedowns. With Quickloaders, there will never be any additional slack flapping in the wind, because the excess retracts back into it. It’s so easy, you can do it one handed. There are various sizes and strengths available on their website, starting at around $20, but the QL4500 is a good one to start with, at around $40.

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A post shared by Construction Junkie (@constructionjunkie) on Mar 7, 2019 at 9:21am PST

Milwaukee WorkSkin Light Weight Performance Shirt - Gray - Medium

New Milwaukee Workwear

You, of course, know Milwaukee Tool because of their power tools, but they have also had an extensive line of workwear for construction professionals for years, but they have just recently updated and expanded their lineup. In addition to updated versions of their Workskin lightweight, moisture wicking shirts, they have added heavy duty pocket shirts and hoodies. The heavy duty pocket shirts will align with a more traditional work shirt that many contractors have grown up wearing and the Workskin shirts are great for the hot summer months that are nearly upon us.

CRAFTSMAN VERSASTACK System 17-in 2-Drawer Tool Box Black Buy from Lowe's

Craftsman Versastack 2-Drawer Unit

After being acquired by Stanley Black & Decker (SBD), Craftsman recently launched a brand new line of around 1,200 new tools. It already appears to be a good move for Craftsman tool lovers as it has breathed new life into the old Sears brand. One of the best buys in the new brand is the Versastack 2-drawer unit. Every tradesman or garage warrior needs additional storage and the Verstastack will not only stack on top of other Versastack units, but will also stack on DeWalt T-stack units, thanks to that aforementioned SBD acquisition. You can get it at Lowe’s for around $35.

Over $50

ISOtunes FREE True Wireless Earplug Earbuds, 22 dB Noise Reduction Rating, 21 Hour Battery, Noise Cancelling Mic, OSHA Compliant Bluetooth Hearing Protector (Matte Black)

ISOtunes Free Wireless OSHA-Compliant Hearing Protection Headphones

Hearing protection is one of those things that construction workers ignore until years later when they realize they have lost a significant amount of their hearing.  OSHA has strict hearing protection requirements to avoid hearing loss in workers,  ISOtunes FREE Bluetooth Hearing Protectors offer a 22db noise reduction rating and they also limit the audio playback to 85db, keeping you below the actionable noise level.

These wireless ear buds will last for 7 hours, but the rechargeable charging case it comes with will provide an additional 14 hours of playback time.

If you’re looking for a more affordable option and don’t mind the cords, the ISOtunes Pro 2.0 offers similar features at a lower cost.

KEEN Utility Men's Cincinnati 6” Soft Toe Waterproof Construction Shoe, Belgian/Sandshell, 11.5D US KEEN Utility

Keen Utility Cincinnati Work Boot

Keen Utility showed off their new Cincinnati work boot earlier this year at the World of Concrete and it’s hard not to love this boot at first glance. Sporting a classic wedge toe look, the Cincinnati is the beefed-upped heavy duty version of the Keen Utility San Jose Boot, which is a much beloved light duty boot of similar look. this boot is meant to withstand abuse from tough jobsites, sporting a waterproof liner to keep hyour feet dry, Goodyear welt construction to durability, and a super comfortable midsole.

DEWALT DCC020IB 20V Max Inflator (Bare) Dewalt

DeWalt DCC020IB 20V Max Inflator

Everyone needs an inflator at some point, whether it’s an emergency roadside tire fill-up, bike tire top offs, camping mattresses, or those pesky pool floats. The DeWalt 20V MAX Inflator is the most versatile of them all, as it’s able to inflate high pressure or high volume and can be powered by battery, 12V DC (car plug-in), or a 110V wall outlet.

Besides its versatility, one of its greatest features is the ability to set the PSI you’d like to fill it to and it will automatically shut off when it reaches that level. You can read our full review of it by clicking here.

Milwaukee 2505-20 M12 FUEL Installation Drill/Driver (Tool-Only) Milwaukee

Milwaukee Tool M12 Installation Drill/Driver

During any project, there’s always at least one screw that needs to go in at an awkward angle. Thankfully, there are several multi-chuck drill/drivers on the market that can completely eliminate that frustration, the Milwaukee Tool M12 Instalaltion Drill/Driver being one of them. With 4 separate attachments, this drill/driver is an absolute dream for all of those odd angles and tight spaces you might find yourself in. This tool comes with 4 quickly interchangeable heads: a 3/8” drill chuck, a 1/4” hex driver, an offset, and a right angle.

DEWALT DCE511B 11" Corded/Cordless Jobsite Fan $79.00

DEWALT DCE511B 11" Corded/Cordless Jobsite Fan

The DeWalt 20V jobsite fan is a super-efficient, powerful, and convenient option for the workshop or jobsite.  Delivering up to 500 CFM of air, the fan can easily last a full day on one battery.  If your battery runs out of juice, no worries, because it can also be plugged into an outlet through an extension cord.  Rated IP54 for dust and water resistance, it’s ready to be put to work in tough conditions.

A post shared by Construction Junkie (@constructionjunkie) on Nov 9, 2017 at 9:03am PST

Milwaukee String Trimmer Kit w/Quik-LOK

Milwaukee M18 Quik-Lok Landscaping Attachment System

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could power a string trimmer, a hedge trimmer, a pole saw, and an edger with the same tool? Well, you can with Milwaukee’s Quik-Look attachment system. By quickly detaching the bottom half of the trimmer showed in the picture by loosening a knob and pressing a button, you can quickly change out to one of the 4 attachments using the same motor and same battery.

source https://www.constructionjunkie.com/blog/2016/10/30/the-ultimate-construction-fathers-day-gift-guide-2020 from G P NATIONAL CRANES LTD https://gpnationalcrane.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-ultimate-construction-fathers-day.html

[birdshirt1-blog]

Cacao Hemp Crispy Treats

So the big move-in happened, but we are far from moved in. I am writing this from my dirty dining room table, watching and listening to a collection of relative strangers drill, saw, spackle, sand, stain, and paint around me, like a tornado of humans in tool belts. Drywall dust dances in the shafts of light pouring into our new space, as I try to ignore the deafening screech from a floor sander behind a paper-thin plastic partition a few feet away from my head. Ahhh…home renovation. I could go on about the frustrations of living in a construction site, how my filth-tolerance has reached unthinkable heights, and how if I hear someone tell me that it should all be complete in “two more weeks” I may collapse, but I know that whenever it is done, it will all be worth it. Really and truly.

I made these Cacao Hemp Crispy Treats a few days before we relocated from our rental to our home, knowing that I would need to have a stockpile of snacks that didn’t require refrigeration, or even cutting, since we would be living without electricity, and I had no idea where to locate a knife in the unpacked boxes stacked high in the basement. Since then, I’ve thanked myself every time I’ve sunken my teeth into each chewy-crunchy-sticky bite, the cacao releasing its relaxation-inducing alkaloids and minerals into my frazzled bloodstream, the hemp seeds delivering their much-needed anti-inflammatory omega-3s, and the nut butter grounding my nerves with all its protein and healthy fat. In these uncertain times, I’ve been certain that a delicious snack was ready to satisfy me at the drop of a hammer.

My original inspiration for these bars came from my fellow Canadian health-food blogger and vegan recipe guru Angela Liddon, of Oh She Glows fame. Her Almond Butter Crisp Rice Treats were a fun Sunday afternoon snack project for my four-year old son and I, and since then I’ve been making many variations of them. My goal was to add more protein, healthy fats and filling fiber to the bars, so I tossed in heaps of hemp and chia seeds until I found the right balance. Losing their chewy-crisp goodness would have been a real shame, since it’s the texture of these treats that is so very crave-able! So I tinkered a few times, and found the exact right amount that maintained the satisfying chew. I also wanted to add chocolate. Because chocolate.

After nailing the additions, I knew that top needed some flair: not just visually, but something to cut the richness a tad. I had some freeze-dried raspberries kicking around my pantry that I had bought on a whim in the US some months back, and immediately knew that they would be the perfect supplement with their vibrant pink hue and bright acidity. Bingo! Freeze-dried fruit (and vegetables) have been popping up all over the place lately, since they taste incredible, have a long shelf life, and are a nutritiously convenient way of getting another serving of produce a day, especially for kids. However, if you can’t find freeze-dried raspberries, or any substitute for that matter, you can easily replace them in this recipe with more traditional dried fruit like goji berries, roughly chopped figs, apricots, or even raisins. You could also top the bars with toasted nuts or seeds, coconut or cacao nibs. Think of these as a blank canvas for your favourite add-on flavours and textures, or keep it as simple as you like. The bars are also delicious as is, and if you’re into a dark and rich flavour above all else, simply leave the toppings off. But do not under any circumstance skip the flaky salt – it is key. 

Hemp hemp, hooray! Since being back in the homeland and trying to buy as much locally-produced food as possible, I’ve been loving on hemp seeds lately – even more than usual! Because of their mild, nutty flavor, they blend so effortlessly with just about any food, sweet or savory. And what they lack in flavor, they make up for in protein and healthy fats, specifically those essential Omegas. We’ve all heard about Omega-3s and how important they are for the health of our entire body, helping to prevent cancer asthma, depression, obesity, diabetes and so on. But! There is another star on the block, Omega-6, which seems to be less talked about due to the fact that many of us get enough (or in some cases, too much) of this essential fatty acid.

Omega-3 and Omega-6 fasts are essential, meaning that our bodies don’t produce them and we need to obtain them from the foods we eat. Sources of Omega-3 fats include flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, chia, dark leafy greens, some sea vegetables and cold-water fish. Omega-6 sources include soybean, canola, corn, peanut, sunflower, and sesame oils. You can see from this list that most people in the Western world at least, are getting their fair share of Omega-6 fats, and lacking in Omega-3s. In fact, in North America it is estimated that the population consumes 10 to 20 times more Omega-6 than Omega-3, due to the popularity of processed foods. Although the correct ratio of these fats is still a matter of debate, researchers in this field agree that this ratio is far too high. We should be aiming for an Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio between 2:1 and 4:1.

So why is the balance so important? Because the ratio of Omega-6s to Omega-3s helps determine the flexibility of our cell membranes, meaning that ALL communication throughout the body depends on at least in part on this balance being correct. Coronary heart disease, chronic inflammation, obesity, and healthy genetic processes have all been linked to the delicate equilibrium of essential fatty acids.

How can we improve the situation then? Just making simple, small changes to our diets will greatly improve the balance of fats in our bodies. Instead of relying solely on foods high in Omega-6s like peanut butter and foods made with vegetable oils (like corn, sunflower and soybean oil) swap them with foods high in Omega-3s like walnut butter and flaxseed oil, and sprinkle chia seeds on your breakfast bowl or a salad. For omnivores replacing chicken, beef and pork with wild-caught, cold water fish will make a big difference too.

But the most ideal food to choose when trying to achieve that perfect balance of these fats then, is hemp! Hemp’s Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio is a healthy 3.75:1. You can find hemp in many forms these days: un-hulled and hulled seeds (also known as hemp hearts), hemp oil, hemp flour, hemp protein powder, hemp milk, and hemp seed butter. Remember that choosing hemp in its most natural form (the un-hulled or hulled hemp seeds) is your best bet to ensure a high-quality, whole food product.

I like to sprinkle hemp seeds on just about everything, from my breakfast porridge to my salads and sandwiches. They add an amazing creaminess to smoothies, raw custards and cheesecakes. You can even make your own milk from hemp and you don’t even need to soak the seeds first! Simply blend 1 part hulled hemp seeds to just under four parts water, with an optional sweetener like maple syrup, dates, or honey, and enjoy. Simple and delicious. You can get the full hemp milk recipe here.

The last thing I want to mention is the crisp brown rice. There are a few types of it on the market, and one reason I’m happy to be back in Canada, is because they have the right kind. By that I mean really crispy rice crisps. For whatever reason, the ones I found in Europe would always get soggy very quickly, whereas the ones here maintain their crunch even after combining them with wet ingredients like maple syrup and brown rice syrup. I’ve also found high-vibe sprouted brown rice crisps over here from a company called One Degree (not sponsored). They work really well too, but cost a fortune. I alternate between those, and the ones I’ve found at my local bulk food store that aren’t sprouted or even organic, but they get the job done when I’m renovating a house and feeling strapped for cash. You may need to experiment with a couple kinds before finding “the one”. In the end, the bars should be relatively crunchy-crisp – not mushy at all (even though they will still be delicious).

If you like Rice Crispy Treats, you’re going to love these bars. They’re the grown-up version of your favourite childhood treat, with a mega boost of nourishing superfoods. It’s an indulgence you can feel good about feeding both you and your family…but I won’t tell anyone if you hide them and eat them all yourself. I’ve definitely never done that before. Nope. Never.

    Print recipe    

Cacao Hemp Crispy Treats Makes about 16 bars

Ingredients: 2 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil, plus a little more for greasing 2/3 cup / 160ml unsalted nut or seed butter of your choice 2/3 cup / 160ml brown rice syrup 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup 1 tsp. vanilla extract heaping ¼ tsp. fine sea salt 1/3 cup / 40g raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder) 4 cups / 200g puffed brown rice crisps 1 cup / 150g hulled hemp seeds 3 Tbsp. chia seeds a few pinches flaky sea salt (Maldon works perfectly) 3-4 Tbsp. freeze-dried raspberries

Directions: 1. Rub a little coconut oil in an 7″x11″ (20x30cm) baking pan.

2. Melt the coconut oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the nut butter, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, vanilla and fine salt, and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Stir in the cacao powder until thoroughly incorporated.

3. Add the puffed brown rice, hemp seeds, chia, and stir quickly to combine, then pour the mixture into your baking pan and press firmly (using the back of a large spoon or spatula rubbed with a little coconut oil really helps). Once smooth and even, generously sprinkle the top with the freeze-dried raspberries and flaky salt. Place in the fridge or freezer to firm up, then slice into bars or squares and enjoy. Store the bars in a tightly sealed container in the fridge or freezer.

Show my your bars on Instagram: #cacaohempcrispytreats

*   *   *   *   *   *

Hey Toronto! I’ve just launched my first collaborative project since moving back to Canada, with my friends at ELXR Juice Lab: the Activated Power Bowl! This delicious breakfast (or snack!) is made lovingly with activated grains, superfood stir-ins, and tasty toppings. There are three mouthwatering varieties to choose from, or you can build your own bowl. I am so thrilled to offer my fellow Torontonians a vegan, gluten-free, whole food breakfast with activated grains – this is truly the first of its kind! The Activated Power Bowl is available at all four ELXR locations across the city, so if you’re in town go pick one up and enjoy. We had a very successful launch over the weekend – huge thanks to everyone who came out to taste and support!

Source: https://www.mynewroots.org/site/2018/03/cacao-hemp-crispy-treats/

[misstincu]

My Realistic New Year Resolutions

I remember a NYE from a few years ago, it was 2013 I think. I was visiting my friends in Worcester, England and when the countdown started at midnight, I thought about all the resolutions that I wanted to come true for me. At that time, I naively believed that resolutions are like magical wishes that come true without me having to lift a finger. Hilarious, I know.

Turns out resolutions are actually a list of realistic goals you set for yourself to be accomplished within a set amount of time - weeks/days/years.. You don’t just make the resolutions list, you also develop an action plan for each goal and break steps down into achievable chunks for each week. All of this sounds great, and I would really love to discipline myself and get off my ass and actually achieve my dreams rather than being anxious, overthinking and crying about what I want to do but can’t because I constantly put too much pressure on myself.

I know everyone has big plans for 2019, but I don’t. Whenever I think too big, I tend to lose myself in the details. There is nothing wrong with aiming high, but it just doesn’t work for me - I need to take it step by step and not think about the higher goals all the time.

If I get excited and talk to others about my creative ideas, I feed on their positive reactions to my ideas and end up being content with that, without actually making those projects. Yikes! My goals for 2019 are pretty realistic and small, because in some aspects, I have to learn how to walk before I run. Without further ado, let’s jump into it:

1) Break my digital hoarding habit

Hoarding tendencies run in my family, and this affects not only the hoarders but the people around them. It’s difficult and heartbreaking to live with or visit a hoarder when you know how beautiful and good their life would be with be if they wouldn’t hoard. Hoarding is a mental health issue, so it’s important to understand what the hoarder is going through before forcing your help on them.

Right, back to my own hoarding. I am a new type of hoarder - the digital hoarder. I don’t have my own house, so moving from one rented apartment to another doesn’t allow me to collect many items. But you know what I can collect? Digital trash. Ever since I had my first internet connection, I started to collect memes, gifs, music, films, every photograph I've ever taken, every video I ever filmed, every project I ever made. For this reason, the storage on my computer, hard drive and phone is full of folders, files, photographs and clips that are just thrown randomly everywhere. Most of my files/folders/pics/clips have idiotic names that have no connection to the content of the file. Whenever I need to search for anything, it can take me hours to find anything - and that’s if I even find it. This hoarding is not only on my devices, it’s also in my dozens of Youtube playlists (that I don’t watch/listen to) and in my saved items on Facebook, Instagram and my Internet browser. It’s time to sort out my digital hoarding, because this is no way to live.

2) Create Digital Family Archive

Most of us don’t care that much about our family tree, ancestors and all that jazz until we are much older. Why do I care about this at the age of 26 years old? Well, I care because most of the people from my family are dead - like, 75% of them. Some have died of old age, others of cancer. I am also doing this because of regret - I was too young to think about this when key members of my family were still alive and would have been able to provide more accurate information about our family history - some of is pretty tragic. I know this regret is created by my own mind, because maybe preserving our family history should have been more important to previous generations.

As I am the only one with advanced digital manipulation skills in my family, I somehow feel like it’s my duty to try to salvage and archive all photographs, documents, notes and other relevant items that I have access to at this time. Of course, I will do this in collaboration with other members of the family. The ultimate goal is to create a well structured family archive and a huge family tree, as well as personalized family trees for each family member. This process will probably take years, but I’m excited to embark on this journey and learn more about my roots and heritage.

3) Create content

Last year I created so much content... in my head. I want to bring that content to life and write, film, talk about everything that matters to me. I want to help and inspire people through my work. I just need to get off my ass and out of my head. Bare with me, I’m getting there!

The truth is, not making enough money and not finding much work has cock blocked me hard and I just spent all my free time researching, coming up with creative projects, being anxious, crying and overthinking. However, dreams don’t work unless I do. I don’t want to jinx my motivation and discipline skills, so for now I won’t say more on this topic.

4) Dress-up again     

When I was single, I spent so much time on my looks - I wanted to to express myself through fashion and hair and make-up and I did it. I was still unhappy with my life, but I looked fabulous. Now I’m very lucky to have the most wonderful person on Earth next to me, and I couldn’t be happier. I work from home and I don’t earn a lot - so the fact that I don’t need to exit the house much and I can’t splurge on things like I used to kind of turned off my inner desire to dress up and feel empowered and fabulous. I’m not sure what the root of this is and why my auto-pilot goes into “your worth is in how much money you make”.  When I don’t make enough money I feel like I don’t deserve to look and feel great, and to express myself. It probably has something to do with my impoverished upbringing. Anyway, this goal is about ignoring the voices in my head that try to cock-block me from dressing up - will keep you updated on how this goes.

5) Focus more on my mental health

This goal is very important to me. Last year I went to therapy for about 6 months and it changed my life - not only it worked for me, but somehow it was the cherry on the cake I have been building up for many years. It was so wonderful to discover that all the psychology research I did over the years, all the time I dedicated to introspection and to trying to understand thought patterns was not in vain. It actually helped me to be better prepared for taking in all the challenges I had to complete in therapy.

Having a really good therapist who was straight up my alley played also a huge part in my therapy sessions.

I have anxiety issues, depression tendencies and probably many other issues. I am very good at coming off as a “well balanced person”, which is amusing to me when I hear it. I am lucky to have an inner fire that constantly pushes me to dust myself off and try again. But living with these mental issues is hard work and work that has to be done daily for the rest of my life. I have seen how bad these issues can become if you ignore them in my own family, so I am determined to do the best work that I can to not pass on all this mental baggage to the next generation, if we ever decide to have a child. Last year I received the training on how to deal with my mental health issues, this year I have to try harder to implement what I learned. Being captive into your own mind, in this cage built out of  overthinking and anxiety is not fun, and I just want to get the hell out of there and enjoy life.

How about you? What are your realistic New Year resolutions? Let me know in the comments below.  

[douchebagbrainwaves]

STARTUPS AND FOUNDERS

A company. It is a comfortable idea. There is nothing inevitable about the current system. But all languages are equivalent is that it's tested more severely than in most other countries.1 This was the Lisp function eval. The monolithic, hierarchical companies of the mid 20th century are being replaced by networks of smaller companies.2 In fact it's only the context that makes them so. Why do teenage kids do it?3 And it's so easy to do: just don't let a sentence through unless it's the way you'd say it to a friend.

When you interview a startup and think they seem likely to succeed at all, and you'd get that fraction of big hits won't grow proportionately to the number of characters in a program, but this is not a new idea.4 And meetings are the main mechanism for taking up the slack. I've said some harsh things in this essay, and Maria Daniels for scanning photos.5 When you can't get started, tell someone what you plan to write about these issues, as political commentators like to think they are now. History tends to get rewritten by big successes, so that in retrospect it seems obvious they were going to make a painting first, then copy it. By all means be optimistic about your ability to make something great. The most common way to do this could leave competitors who didn't in the dust. Whereas mere determination, without flexibility, is a language too succinct for their own good. This was the Lisp function eval. People have always been willing to do great things, you'd be able to leave, if you don't, no one will buy your product. That is one of the reasons startups are becoming a more normal thing to do. What it means is to have a deft touch.

And if you don't.6 The principle extends even into programming. We're not hearing about these languages because people are using them on servers. Poetry is as much music as text, so you have to create a new language, it's because you think it's better in some way than what people already had. It's expensive and somewhat grubby, and the best stuff prevails. Practically every fifteenth century Italian painter you've heard of was from Florence, even though it feels wrong. Teenage kids used to have a deft touch. So this relationship has to be finite, and the enforcement of quality can flow bottom-up: people make what they want to hack the source.

Meanwhile, the one thing you can measure is dangerously misleading. Now VCs are fighting to hold the value of free markets, are run internally like communist states.7 It's interesting Our two junior team members were enthusiastic.8 Deals fall through. The specific thing that surprised them most about starting a startup. Once something becomes a big marketplace, you ignore it at your peril.9 The top thing I didn't understand before going into it is that persistence is the name of the game.10 They use different words, certainly. That's what school, prison, and ladies-who-lunch all lack. But I think that the main purpose of a language is to become hypersensitive to how well a language lets you think, then choose/design the language that feels best.

Bill Gates will of course come to mind. Like any war, it's damaging even to the winners. That may not seem surprising. You're doing the same thing. By singling out and persecuting a nerd, and an even stronger inverse correlation between being a nerd, a group of inspired hackers will build for free.11 For me the worst stretch was junior high, when kid culture was new and harsh, and the language wouldn't let you express it the way you usually would, then afterward look at each sentence and ask Is this the way I'd say this if I were talking to a friend what you just wrote.12 These are the elections I remember personally, but apparently the same pattern. It meant that a the only way to get software written faster was to use a new service is incredibly difficult.

Several journalists have tried to interpret that as evidence for some macro story they were telling, but the more ambitious ones will ordinarily be better off taking money from an investor than an employer. These were the biggest surprise for me. He'd seem to the kids a complete alien.13 They counted as work, just as pop songs are designed to sound ok on crappy car radios; if you say anything mistaken, fix it immediately; ask friends which sentence you'll regret most; go back and give my thirteen year old self some advice, the main thing I'd tell him would be to stick his head up and look around. And yet it also happened that Carter was famous for his big grin and folksy ways, and Ford for being a boring klutz. But you can't have action without an equal and opposite reaction.14 Even good products can be blocked by switching or integration costs: Getting people to use a new service is incredibly difficult. The charisma theory may also explain why Democrats tend to lose presidential elections. For example, physical attractiveness, fame, political power, economic power, intelligence, social class, and quality of life. There is no external pressure to do this is to collect them together in one place for a big chunk of each series A company.15 If anyone wants to write one I'd be very curious to see it, but several planned to, but the whole world we lived in was, I thought that something must be wrong with me.

If a company considers itself to be in a great city: you need the encouragement of feeling that people around you. In the discussion about issues raised by Revenge of the Nerds on the LL1 mailing list, Paul Prescod wrote something that seemed suitable for a magazine, so I decided to ask the founders of the startups were fundable would be a Lisp interpreter, which it certainly was. Fred is. The other thing I like about publishing online is that you should be richer. If smaller source code is the purpose of breeding children. There are other messages too, of course. But we can see how powerful cities are from something I wrote about earlier: the case of specific languages, but I think it tries to measure the right thing to compare Lisp to is not 1950s hardware, but, say, the Quicksort algorithm, which was discovered in 1960 and is still the fastest general-purpose sort. But they're also too young to be left unsupervised. Maybe one day a heavily armed force of adults will show up in helicopters to rescue you, but that there's nothing else people there care about more. And by next, I mean five years if nothing goes wrong.

Officially the purpose of schools is to teach kids. Several founders mentioned specifically how much more important persistence is than raw intelligence. If we ever got to the point where 100% of the startups from the batch that just started, AirbedAndBreakfast, is in NYC right now meeting their users. Do you want your kids to be as unhappy in eighth grade as you were? We could never stand it.16 Where would Microsoft be if IBM insisted on an exclusive license for DOS. I'm not saying there is no need to worry. If you want to excel in it. We were all just pretending.17 When I moved to New York, I was very excited at first.

Notes

Daniels, Robert V.

Which means if the present that most people than subsequent millions. The dialog on Beavis and Butthead was composed largely of these people never come back. Their opinion carries the same thing—trying to capture the service revenue as well. Mitch Kapor, is caring what random people thought of them material.

They can't estimate your minimum capital needs that precisely. There will be a big chunk of stock the VCs want it. I should add that none who read this to be hidden from statistics too.

At three months we can't improve a startup's prospects by 6.

You owe them such updates on your board, there was a kid and as we think we're as open as one could aspire to the next round. While certain famous Internet stocks were almost certainly start to get fossilized. Look at those goddamn fleas, jabbering about some of the number of restaurants that still require jackets for men.

But while it makes people feel good. He had equity. We didn't let him off, either, that suits took over during a critical period. According to the problem is not a problem so far.

Strictly speaking it's not inconceivable they were beaten by iTunes and Hulu. I. A lot of people who currently make that leap. Loosely speaking.

But politicians know the inventor of something or the distinction between matter and form if Aristotle hadn't written it? It was only because he writes about controversial things.

Cascading menus would also be good? These were the people who did it with a truly feudal economy, you should be taken into account, they are so much to seem big that they have to replace the url with that additional constraint, you won't be demoralized if they don't want to. Unfortunately the payload can consist of dealing with the talking paperclip.

Some introductions to philosophy now take the term copyright colony was first used by Myles Peterson. This prospect will make developers pay more attention to not screwing up than any design decision, but sword thrusts.

It's suspiciously neat, but that's not true. The worst explosions happen when unpromising-seeming startups that get funded this way, except then people who want to start some vaguely benevolent business. 16%. If a company that has raised a million dollars is no.

And no, you can't, notably ineptitude and bad measurers.

VCs.

So it may be heading for a year to keep the next round is high as well as good as Apple's just by hiring someone to invent the steam engine. 03%. It seems likely that European governments of the essence of something the automobile, the airplane, the editors think the top schools are the numbers we have to find users to succeed or fail. Steven Hauser.

Few can have a significant number. Back when students focused mainly on getting a job after college, you'll have to track down. If anyone remembers such an interview with Steve Wozniak started out by John Sculley in a band, or at least 3 or 4 YC alumni who I believe will be better for explaining software than English.

Math is the proper test of investor quality. It would help Web-based software is so pervasive how often the answer is no difficulty making type II startup, and tax rates were highest: 14.

Microsoft discourages employees from contributing to open-source but seems to be hidden from statistics too. Usually people skirt that issue with some equivocation implying that you're paying yourselves high salaries. At three months, a few months by buying their startups.

Thanks to Savraj Singh, Jackie McDonough, Jacob Heller, Ron Conway, Dan Giffin, Jessica Livingston, David Hornik, and Benedict Evans for sharing their expertise on this topic.

[foursprout-blog]

Think Your Company Needs a Data Scientist? You're Probably Wrong.

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/think-your-company-needs-a-data-scientist-youre-probably-wrong/

Think Your Company Needs a Data Scientist? You're Probably Wrong.

Ask yourself these four questions before jumping on the data science bandwagon.

March 23, 2018 7 min read

A Note From The Editor

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When I started my career in data 15 years ago, I could never have envisioned a sexy rebranding of my work with the coining of the term “data scientist,” let alone the immense popularity it’s achieved in recent years. Widely considered one of the worlds hottest and most sought after positions, data scientists are re-writing what it means to be cool in the modern tech era. There has never been a better time for my fellow nerds. Jobs are overflowing with demand far exceeding supply. The industry has become so hot it’s not uncommon for board members of startups to demand hiring of data scientists early in the product life cycle. It is in that capacity that I’m frequently brought in to meet with executives and more often than not, inform them that they do not need a data scientist.

Related: Who Owns the Data Your Business Uses? Not Knowing Could Hurt the Sale of Your Company.

How can a data evangelist such as myself argue this sudden interest in all things data science is on the verge of backfiring? Before I begin, let me start by saying that there are indeed many great uses for hiring a data scientist! I’m not going to argue that data science is not needed or is not useful, because when used correctly it’s an incredibly powerful business weapon (yeah, I went there with “weapon”). I’m simply going to argue it’s an overused term with little formal accreditation that refers to a large swath of data-related activities, not a tidy suite of skills that can be learned in a 12-month course. So, when it comes time to hire, organizations should put real thought and consideration into when and what kind of data scientist your organization needs.

When new prospective clients come to me, at least 50 percent of the time it’s under the guise of “My CEO/board member/etc. told me I need to hire a data scientist.” To which I generally ask the following four questions:

1. How much data do you have?

I say four questions, but many organizations never make it past the first. If you are a startup and you have not launched yet, you do not need a full-time data scientist. Full Stop. In fact, even if you are well-established but with a small customer/product/membership base, again you do not need a data scientist. Why, you ask? Because not surprisingly, data scientists need data. Not just any data will do. Many techniques require a minimum of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands or even millions of data points to build.

Related: 5 Things to Keep in Mind When Using Data for Artificial Intelligence

Currently, there is a huge focus on deep learning. Job descriptions for data scientists are flooded with terms like neural networks, machine vision and natural language processing (NLP). The issue? These types of techniques rely on having massive amounts of training data. Consider the widely popular Google Translate, a type of neural network built on top of a lexicon of over 150 million words. The volume of data needed for successful deployment of these types of models exceeds what many companies own.

There are many techniques that use less data than deep learning, however, they still require reasonably large samples, not to mention a working knowledge of when to use which methodology. There is still valuable work to be done at this stage to create an environment where data science can thrive in the future, it just doesn’t require a full-time, expensive resource to achieve.

2. Do you have established key performance indicators (KPIs) and regular business intelligence reporting?

Without basic understanding of what drives the organization, it’s going to be very difficult to make use of advanced techniques. For example, a data scientist can use machine learning to make predictions such as which users will churn or become highly active, however, if the business does not have a definition for churn or highly active, that becomes a requirement prior to building the predictive models. Furthermore, it’s difficult to validate models if you don’t have sufficient metrics with which to evaluate them. Other techniques such as A/B testing require advanced selection of an overall evaluation criteria (OEC), which is typically a business-driven KPI.

Related: 6 Critical Questions to Help Businesses Cut Through the AI Hype

3. What do you imagine this data scientist will do once hired?

Perhaps the most subjective and interesting of the questions I ask, “What do you want this data scientist to do?” The most common answer I get is. “We don’t know, that’s why we need to hire one.” In that case, I gently tell the organization that they are setting up their data scientist to fail. There is no need to be an expert in data science to hire one, however you should have a good idea of what is and isn’t possible so that you don’t set unrealistic expectations.

Data science isn’t magic and it’s not even a traditional science. It’s just as much an art as it is a science, which means the variability in skills and ability is substantial. You may even have existing team members able to grow into many data science applications. An easy entry into data science for an existing analyst is to begin forecasting the KPIs they already report on. Here they have the opportunity to learn on data they are familiar with, which is not just good for employee morale; investing in your staff now means less need to recruit in a highly competitive market in the future.

Related: What Hiring Managers Don’t Understand About Hiring for Data Science

4. What support networks are available to your data scientist(s)?

If you don’t have the right support network for your data scientists, don’t bother investing in hiring them. In recent years, there has been a huge surge in data science programs, however the graduates are for the most part simply not ready to tackle business problems without careful hand holding. The vast majority of programs have students solving pre-established problems on clean data. In the real world, you want your data scientist to help determine what problems are being solved, and clean data never exists.

Hiring a junior data scientist without a senior resource for guidance can not only lead to frustration on the part of the junior, it can often lead to bad analysis. Junior team members tend to struggle translating business problems into technical problems and the wrong translation could result in months of work on a product that misses the target.

This problem is not completely mitigated by hiring more senior, partly because certifying your senior hires are actually good and competent is extremely difficult. If you luck out and hire a talented and self-motivated data scientist, she will still need a lot of support at the executive level to succeed. Imagine a situation where models are created but never used because there is no buy-in from team leads. Or where A/B tests are conducted but the results ignored. Worse yet, the data tracking needed to analyze a problem isn’t being collected at all.

Related: 4 Things a Data Scientist Can Do for Entrepreneurs

Frequently, a necessary first step is a robust data collection program, which is likely resourced by an engineer or database administrator, not a data scientist. At many organizations, the senior data scientist(s) spends exorbitant amounts of her time simply fighting for the data requirements and deployment of her team’s work. That’s a surefire way to lose that talented, self-motivated, senior data scientist.

The landscape for hiring and retaining good data science talent is competitive and expensive, but being smart and conscientious on when, who and how to hire can mitigate the pain and cost. Don’t fall into the trap of job postings that are laundry lists of skills. Don’t expect magic pixie dust from your data scientist. Do take inventory of your true requirements and if possible, consult with a trusted professional prior to hiring. The success of your data program depends on it.

[archiebwoollard]

PPC Chores: A Mid-Winter Cleaning

Spring cleaning. Every time Spring rolls around, all you hear is “it’s time for a little ‘spring cleaning’”. I don’t know about you, but when the weather finally does turn pleasant, I do not want to spend my time indoors cleaning. Which is why I am a huge fan of “Dead of Winter Cleaning”. A little elbow grease and organization now means you will be reaping the benefits by MLB’s Opening Day.

To help you spiffy up your accounts and your processes, I have compiled a short list of chores. The “PPC Dead of Winter Cleaning Chores Checklist” does not roll off the tongue, but I promise you the tasks are simple and the rewards great.

Chore #1: Status Check

There are several great project management platforms on the market these days. And several of those platforms have free versions. If you are managing multiple PPC campaigns on your own, or if you are in-house and are not at liberty to allocate company resources to purchase the (oftentimes) expensive versions of these tools, then you might need something else to help you stay organized.

Here at Hanapin, we are big fans of the Status Doc. Over the years, the “Status Doc” has had many iterations.

An Excel doc that was updated and emailed to the team/client every week.

A Google Drive Doc that was just a long-running list of tasks and due dates.

Basecamp notes and to-do lists.

Here is an old status doc I dug up of a multi-brand account. Warning, if you are anything like me, this might make your skin crawl.

Google Sheets Status Doc for Multi-Brand Account

So much going on in that one. No idea what is important. No idea what the colors mean. The current version of the status doc I am using right now is the Internal/External Status doc on the Google Drive.

Here is what it looks like. On the top is the internal status document, filled with tasks, assignments, priority, notes, important dates, etc. On the bottom is the external, an almost replica of the internal, but trimmed down for easier consumption. Here’s the kicker: I only update one of these docs. I use the IMPORTRANGE function to pull the things I need from the internal to the external, thereby providing my clients with an easy way to see what is going on in the account.

Internal Status Doc

External, or Client-Facing, Status Doc

One of the other great things about using a Google Sheet like this is the Comment function. If I need to assign a task to a team member, or get their feedback on an item, I simply right click a cell, hit ‘Insert Comment’ then type “+” plus the team member’s email, hit assign and Google will send a notification to that person complete with a link to the doc.

Chore #2: Get rid of keywords collecting cobwebs

I have a rule in my house: if you haven’t touched an item in a year, whether it be an article of clothing, a cooking utensil, or a decorative pillow, get rid of it. If a keyword is sitting in your account, gathering dust for more than a year, get rid of it. Look at conversions. Look at assisted conversions. Zeros? Time to ask why. Does it have a low search volume? Is the bid set below first page? Basically, is there any work that can be done to this keyword to make it shine or is it time to pause or remove it? Whether you choose to pause it or remove it completely is up to you, I just advise you stick a label on it. The label can be something like “0 Conversions Past Year” or, if you are feeling playful “Lame Duck”.

AdWords can make it easy for you in the Opportunities section of the new UI, but make sure you are doing a thorough check you won’t be negatively impacting your campaigns.

Chore #3: Air out your ad copy

Ad copy can become stale, fast. And while any account manager worth his or her salt is testing ad copy on a regular basis, I like to try something drastically different every now and then. Right now, I am testing very specific sitelink copy to pair with certain campaigns. I’ve never had much success with conversions from direct clicks on sitelinks. But could adding specific sitelinks to specific campaigns at specific times of the year create the punchiness I’m looking for and give the campaign a boost to CTR? Maybe! Once I have enough data, I’ll be sure to report back.

But for now, here are a few suggestions to get you started on refreshed copy:

Dynamic Keyword Insertion: this is no new trick, but have you tested it in a while?

Ad Customizers: do you have a mobile friendly site? If you do, test out the if/then function in your ad copy. (And if you don’t have a mobile-friendly site, read about meeting the needs of your mobile visitors)

Value Proposition: you got a USP? (yeah you know me!) Is your USP clear in your ad copy? Can you move it to Headline 2? Headline 1?

Using strikethrough text: admittedly, I have never tested this but have seen some buzz about this on Twitter. I think it is a brilliant test and would love to see results!

Chore #4: Fix broken campaigns

We all have that one thing in our house that has been broken for a while, but we keep it around because we know it can be fixed we just haven’t taken the time to fix it. For me, it is the motherboard for the water and ice dispenser on my refrigerator. I have the ability to get water from the sink, and the ice maker still makes ice, so I basically just ignore it.

The same thing can happen in our accounts. A campaign can over time drop off and stop performing. And maybe because all of the other campaigns are doing well, we put a few bandaids on the underperformer and focus on the stuff that is still working.

Time is up! Fix it and move on. A great tool our analyst team developed is the Date Range Comparison Supermetrics Dashboard. I won’t go into the nitty gritty details of how to create this Supermetrics Masterpiece (for more information on how super Supermetrics can be, see Dan Rocklin’s January post Unlock New Functionality and Save Time with Supermetrics Queries). But I will show you what this dashboard looks like in hopes of getting those “fix-it” juices flowing.

Start by identifying the last period of strong performance. You can do this at the campaign level, ad group level. I recommend starting at the account level and drilling down from there. Then look at the same number of days for the time of poor performance. Then get out your pencils and start taking notes.

Compare the apples to the other apples. Does anything stand out overall. Did CPCs rise? Why?

Of the keywords that converted during your period of strong performance, what are they doing now?

Anything change with how you are tracking conversions?

How has traffic changed by day of week?

Did you introduce a mobile site? Did it impact performance?

Did you change your landing pages?

As you go through this exercise, chances are you are going to uncover something quite simple. Pat yourself on the back, make the changes, and go back to being awesome.

Chore #5: Plant some new seeds

You may be the lucky operator of a well-oiled account. Performance is steady. Profits are consistent. You are hitting your goals. Fantastic. But whether or not this describes your account, this next chore is for you.

If you aren’t growing your account, one might say that you are stagnant. But I will take that one step further and say that if you aren’t even aiming for just the slightest incremental growth your account, then you are moving backwards. The speed at which our industry is changing, even the healthiest of accounts can be left in the dust if you aren’t growing and changing with it. So now is the time to try new things. These do not have to be big grand new initiatives.

One way to start “seeds” is to create new audiences and set them to your campaigns to observe different behaviors.

Create an audience based on time on site

Create custom affinity audiences

Create audiences based on pages where they drop out of the conversion funnel

Not all audiences will bear fruit. But you might just gain some fantastic insight that could spark ideas for new campaigns, new targets, new bid modifications that will ultimately move that needle that has been holding steady toward increased profits.

Winter is Here, for Another Month or so Anyway

Not all of us are so lucky as to live in an area where winter means a mild 70 degrees and sunshine. If you live in an area like I do, the ground is frozen, the trees are bare, and the air stings your face when you walk outside. No better time than now to cozy up with your favorite account and treat it to a nice “Dead of Winter Cleaning.” I really think the phrase will catch on soon.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 https://www.ppchero.com/5-ppc-tasks-for-improving-account-performance/

[zacdhaenkeau]

PPC Chores: A Mid-Winter Cleaning

Spring cleaning. Every time Spring rolls around, all you hear is “it’s time for a little ‘spring cleaning’”. I don’t know about you, but when the weather finally does turn pleasant, I do not want to spend my time indoors cleaning. Which is why I am a huge fan of “Dead of Winter Cleaning”. A little elbow grease and organization now means you will be reaping the benefits by MLB’s Opening Day.

To help you spiffy up your accounts and your processes, I have compiled a short list of chores. The “PPC Dead of Winter Cleaning Chores Checklist” does not roll off the tongue, but I promise you the tasks are simple and the rewards great.

Chore #1: Status Check

There are several great project management platforms on the market these days. And several of those platforms have free versions. If you are managing multiple PPC campaigns on your own, or if you are in-house and are not at liberty to allocate company resources to purchase the (oftentimes) expensive versions of these tools, then you might need something else to help you stay organized.

Here at Hanapin, we are big fans of the Status Doc. Over the years, the “Status Doc” has had many iterations.

An Excel doc that was updated and emailed to the team/client every week.

A Google Drive Doc that was just a long-running list of tasks and due dates.

Basecamp notes and to-do lists.

Here is an old status doc I dug up of a multi-brand account. Warning, if you are anything like me, this might make your skin crawl.

Google Sheets Status Doc for Multi-Brand Account

So much going on in that one. No idea what is important. No idea what the colors mean. The current version of the status doc I am using right now is the Internal/External Status doc on the Google Drive.

Here is what it looks like. On the top is the internal status document, filled with tasks, assignments, priority, notes, important dates, etc. On the bottom is the external, an almost replica of the internal, but trimmed down for easier consumption. Here’s the kicker: I only update one of these docs. I use the IMPORTRANGE function to pull the things I need from the internal to the external, thereby providing my clients with an easy way to see what is going on in the account.

Internal Status Doc

External, or Client-Facing, Status Doc

One of the other great things about using a Google Sheet like this is the Comment function. If I need to assign a task to a team member, or get their feedback on an item, I simply right click a cell, hit ‘Insert Comment’ then type “+” plus the team member’s email, hit assign and Google will send a notification to that person complete with a link to the doc.

Chore #2: Get rid of keywords collecting cobwebs

I have a rule in my house: if you haven’t touched an item in a year, whether it be an article of clothing, a cooking utensil, or a decorative pillow, get rid of it. If a keyword is sitting in your account, gathering dust for more than a year, get rid of it. Look at conversions. Look at assisted conversions. Zeros? Time to ask why. Does it have a low search volume? Is the bid set below first page? Basically, is there any work that can be done to this keyword to make it shine or is it time to pause or remove it? Whether you choose to pause it or remove it completely is up to you, I just advise you stick a label on it. The label can be something like “0 Conversions Past Year” or, if you are feeling playful “Lame Duck”.

AdWords can make it easy for you in the Opportunities section of the new UI, but make sure you are doing a thorough check you won’t be negatively impacting your campaigns.

Chore #3: Air out your ad copy

Ad copy can become stale, fast. And while any account manager worth his or her salt is testing ad copy on a regular basis, I like to try something drastically different every now and then. Right now, I am testing very specific sitelink copy to pair with certain campaigns. I’ve never had much success with conversions from direct clicks on sitelinks. But could adding specific sitelinks to specific campaigns at specific times of the year create the punchiness I’m looking for and give the campaign a boost to CTR? Maybe! Once I have enough data, I’ll be sure to report back.

But for now, here are a few suggestions to get you started on refreshed copy:

Dynamic Keyword Insertion: this is no new trick, but have you tested it in a while?

Ad Customizers: do you have a mobile friendly site? If you do, test out the if/then function in your ad copy. (And if you don’t have a mobile-friendly site, read about meeting the needs of your mobile visitors)

Value Proposition: you got a USP? (yeah you know me!) Is your USP clear in your ad copy? Can you move it to Headline 2? Headline 1?

Using strikethrough text: admittedly, I have never tested this but have seen some buzz about this on Twitter. I think it is a brilliant test and would love to see results!

Chore #4: Fix broken campaigns

We all have that one thing in our house that has been broken for a while, but we keep it around because we know it can be fixed we just haven’t taken the time to fix it. For me, it is the motherboard for the water and ice dispenser on my refrigerator. I have the ability to get water from the sink, and the ice maker still makes ice, so I basically just ignore it.

The same thing can happen in our accounts. A campaign can over time drop off and stop performing. And maybe because all of the other campaigns are doing well, we put a few bandaids on the underperformer and focus on the stuff that is still working.

Time is up! Fix it and move on. A great tool our analyst team developed is the Date Range Comparison Supermetrics Dashboard. I won’t go into the nitty gritty details of how to create this Supermetrics Masterpiece (for more information on how super Supermetrics can be, see Dan Rocklin’s January post Unlock New Functionality and Save Time with Supermetrics Queries). But I will show you what this dashboard looks like in hopes of getting those “fix-it” juices flowing.

Start by identifying the last period of strong performance. You can do this at the campaign level, ad group level. I recommend starting at the account level and drilling down from there. Then look at the same number of days for the time of poor performance. Then get out your pencils and start taking notes.

Compare the apples to the other apples. Does anything stand out overall. Did CPCs rise? Why?

Of the keywords that converted during your period of strong performance, what are they doing now?

Anything change with how you are tracking conversions?

How has traffic changed by day of week?

Did you introduce a mobile site? Did it impact performance?

Did you change your landing pages?

As you go through this exercise, chances are you are going to uncover something quite simple. Pat yourself on the back, make the changes, and go back to being awesome.

Chore #5: Plant some new seeds

You may be the lucky operator of a well-oiled account. Performance is steady. Profits are consistent. You are hitting your goals. Fantastic. But whether or not this describes your account, this next chore is for you.

If you aren’t growing your account, one might say that you are stagnant. But I will take that one step further and say that if you aren’t even aiming for just the slightest incremental growth your account, then you are moving backwards. The speed at which our industry is changing, even the healthiest of accounts can be left in the dust if you aren’t growing and changing with it. So now is the time to try new things. These do not have to be big grand new initiatives.

One way to start “seeds” is to create new audiences and set them to your campaigns to observe different behaviors.

Create an audience based on time on site

Create custom affinity audiences

Create audiences based on pages where they drop out of the conversion funnel

Not all audiences will bear fruit. But you might just gain some fantastic insight that could spark ideas for new campaigns, new targets, new bid modifications that will ultimately move that needle that has been holding steady toward increased profits.

Winter is Here, for Another Month or so Anyway

Not all of us are so lucky as to live in an area where winter means a mild 70 degrees and sunshine. If you live in an area like I do, the ground is frozen, the trees are bare, and the air stings your face when you walk outside. No better time than now to cozy up with your favorite account and treat it to a nice “Dead of Winter Cleaning.” I really think the phrase will catch on soon.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 https://www.ppchero.com/5-ppc-tasks-for-improving-account-performance/

[authormarialberg]

  Day 20 Word count: 39,387 words Word count goal: 40,000 words Mapping the Hero’s Journey: Resurrection Save The Cat: Darkest Moment

#vss very short story

Once Harry shed his husk, he thought he could go home again. He was sure his family would get used to his new form over time, but when he arrived, there was a bigger problem. There was no home to go back to.

Plotting with Tarot

The Resurrection Card: The Seven of Wands upside-down- when you achieve a position of leadership, there will always be others who crop up to challenge you.  You will have to face the jealousy of those who want what you have.  You will encounter situations when it will “appear” that everyone is against you – be realistic about the odds you face.

What MC feels he has failed at doing: Six of Swords upside-down- your emotions are stirred up and your physical or spiritual journey becomes stormy.  Trying to “attack” a long standing problem – especially one that has been accepted by others – only agitates the situation.  Unsatisfying or oppressive situations can go quietly along for years until someone decides to do something about it.  Trying to remove the swords from the boat will sink it – they are plugging up the holes.  When “swords” symbolize unhappy memories where “silence” has become the defense, communication will be painful – but it will also begin the healing process.

How he will be transformed by this event: Seven of Cups upside-down- Allow yourself to experience your emotions – KNOW what you really want.  Look at your deepest desires and recognize which goal has enough meaning and power to sustain you – then focus all your energy on it.  Focusing on all of your desires and allowing them to break your attention will eventually tear you apart.  Experience your determination to create something from your dreams and do something with them. An unexpected event will take place now – it will be beneficial and improve your attitude, for it will be a definite change for the better.  Believe and always trust that you are on the right track – continue to pursue your goal without wasting time, for success is yours in time.  Watch for any glimmer of success and follow it through – never give up your ideas – even when it is hard to carry them through.  Ignore any opposition – offer your insecurity up in prayer and it will be replaced with spiritual strength.  Persist in studying and you will reap great rewards. – from Crystal Clear Reflections

My interpretation: I feel like all of the cards being upside-down shows that my MC’s life has been turned upside-down. Because of the light coming from the window, I had to take the picture from the other side of the table, so the cards were right side up (I rotated it in Paint), so I may need to think about the cards upright as well.

My character is coming to a point when he feels the whole world is against him. This stirs up emotions and unhappy memories that have created silences in his relationships even put wedges between himself and the people closest to him. He learns to re-assess his priorities and instead of always fretting over his long to-do list, to put his passion into one thing at a time. The most important goal, what matters the most.

Ask Your Character

What future inventions do you hope for?

What would you not do for a billion dollars? Why?

What gifts would you enjoy receiving?

Word Of The Day

panoply: n. 1. a splendid or impressive array; 2. ceremonial attire; 3. a full suit of armor; a complete defense or covering

8 Action Verbs:

appraised          collected          defended              expanded

instituted           observed         reproduced          supported

Poem prompt

Today’s prompt is inspired by Day 5 of the PAD Chapbook Challenge:

For today’s prompt, write a self-destruct poem. I come up with these prompts before the month starts, and I admit I’m not sure what my original thought was with this. But now, all I can think about are those self-destruct messages from Inspector Gadget and Mission Impossible. Of course, many things and people can self-destruct, including athletes, politicians, and about everyone else on the planet–in large and small ways. I hope this prompt does not self-destruct in 5 seconds.

One way to build suspense and conflict in your story is to add a ticking clock. This poem prompt made me think of writing a poem ticking down to an event.

Five Miles in Five Minutes

Five miles from his home They ordered lattes topped with foam in a swirl, From a girl in a bikini Whose breasts plopped out of The drive-thru window When collecting her tip

Four miles from his home He took a sip and burned his lips And tongue, The searing pain Made him loose his grip He jerked back as the cup fell His flailing caused the driver to swerve

Three miles from his home The swerving driver hit a cat In the road, Which made him sad He had loved his flabby tabby And recently had to put him down Someone’s beloved pet lay dead He stared at the road With burning read eyes

Two miles from his home The road turned to gravel then dirt, jostling the passengers The trees grew taller and closed-in The car became quiet and pensive The passenger turned on the radio The driver turned it off

One mile from his home Guns began to click Safeties turned to off Bullets in the chambers Everyone knows the plan? Grunts the only answer

At his home An old man tends his garden In neat rows, He does not recognize The car coming up his drive Approaching quickly raising dust He hurries inside To grab his shotgun To defend his home

Awesome Sentence Challenge

Exploring the quality of words:

formal/informal

general/specific

abstract/concrete

Write sentences using these different qualities of words. Write a formal sentence or two. Then make the same sentences changing the formal words to their informal counterparts. Write a couple of very general statements, as general as you can make them, then write the same statements using most specific words you can find. Do the same exercise with abstract to concrete.

Today’s Simple Task

Increase the stakes: Show your Main Character’s growing strength. Training Day: make self better, find new ally

Warm-up Exercise

from Daily Warm-Ups in Naming the World: And Other Exercises for the Creative Writer edited by Bret Anthony Johnston.

Today you get to make a choice. Spend 5 minutes describing (choose one, or more):

A strange experience in a car.

A strange experience in a restaurant.

An unmerited award.

A good deed that backfires.

Recommended Word Crawl

The Egyptian Tomb Crawl

Happy Reading and Writing!

#NaNoWriMo Day 20: Approaching Climax Day 20 Word count: 39,387 words Word count goal: 40,000 words Mapping the Hero’s Journey: Resurrection…

[thegreatduggo]

Pool Logic

You do need decent hot weather to make an unheated pool appealing, so July and August are the sweet spot where the water temp should be around 80F (26C), but June and September are generally pretty warm and the water temp should be 70F (21F) or more and that’s really not too bad for a quick dip especially if the air temp is high. 

The month of May quite often has some surprisingly hot spells - we actually had a hotter spell in May (by my measurements) this year than we had in June. 

But I'm always on the arse end of things and my pool is no exception. I haven’t got round to opening it until the first or second week of July - which is daft because that's absolute prime-time for the pool. 

I think this year was the first time I've opened the pool before the start of July and that was only because Ozzy wanted to bring his missus and brood up here on July 1st. So, I put on a huge spurt to finish off the repair, prep and painting of garage eves and soffits. The paint chips and dust would have played havoc with the pool without the cover on. And then I moved onto sanding and painting the deck, which again would have caused major problems for the pool. I pushed myself very hard for about 3 weeks, working in the hottest time of the year with my Aussie Roo hat for protection.

It turned out to be a good day and was the sole good use of the pool this year, although, I didn’t even get in myself!

Aside from that, using the pool just seemed like a hassle, even on the hottest days. I'm wandering in and out of the house all day long, working on various jobs and projects and no time seems like the right time to take a break, get changed, jump in the pool, get bored, come out, walk downstairs, shower, dry, get changed and start again - fuck that!

One afternoon I drifted around on an inflatable lounger drinking a G&T, listening to the outdoor music and that was quite nice. One warm evening, I jumped in and swam around for 5 or 10 minutes and then a few days ago I dived into the cold water from the hot-tub and did a couple of breathless lengths - and that was basically my season! 

Some people joke that their best day was when they finally got their own swimming pool. But later on, their best day was superseded when they finally filled their pool in many years later! 

I've spent WAY more time maintaining and fixing the hot-tub and pool than I've spent using them - probably by a factor of 50. It's different for kids of course - they frigging love it and stay in for hours.

I’ve enjoyed the puzzle aspect of fixing the pool and hot-tub, tracking down all manner of obscure parts and learning how to fix them. My hot-tub is now 25 years old and it’s in much better shape than when I moved in 7 years ago. It’s been very challenging and I’m proud of all the tricky things that I’ve managed to fix it and the knowledge I’ve acquired in tracking down obscure parts of all types. 

The list has been long. The first thing I fixed was the ozonator. I had no idea what that even was or how to tell if it was working or not. But, I was fairly sure it was kaput - it looked very old and showed no signs of life. It was quite easy to source and was easy enough to replace. I still didn’t think it was working so I brought in an “expert”. He messed around replaced the one-way valve (which there was actually nothing with). I was skeptical but it gave me some insight and he did show me that the broken spin-jet could be replaced and he ordered me a new one. I installed it myself later. He also sold me a spa-vacuum that was much more effective than the one I already had.

I later found that the ozonator was not in fact working. The inlet tube was bizarrely wrapped around another pipe which compressed it and shut it off but had also caused it to rupture and was the cause of a leak - so much for the expert! 

I cut out the old tube and replaced it, so now the ozonator worked and the leak was fixed at the same time.

Next, I built a new set of stairs into the tub. The old set just about worked but were completely rotten. The new ones are solid as hell and weigh in at a hefty 90 lbs!

Having fixed that leak, I found there was another one. I couldn’t see where it was coming from. In the end, I took the side panels off and took a close look inside. I could see the location of the drip but couldn’t see anything that I could mess with. Out of options, I burrowed into the foam insulation around the drip and I was then able to tie it down to the wall-jet - ahhh! Now I see.

I built a custom tool to tighten up the wall-jet. It worked well and I was able to tighten it but the leak continued. I went back a second time to tighten it up and this time the wall-jet snapped off completely - Oh shit!

After a lot of searching, I found a part that was not a proper match but looked like it might work - it didn’t. Back to the drawing board. Next time round I found an exact match. It’s often hard to tell if you’re buying the right part from the pictures and quite often you just go for it and hope for the best. 

I fitted the new part with the new gasket and plenty of silicone grease and it still leaked. To give myself more options, I had also bought some silicone gaskets off another web site that turned out to be 1/8″ too small, but they were flexible and they could be stretched over the fitting. I reinstalled the wall-jet using one of those and that fixed the leak.

After that, I found that there were openings in the hot-tub frame that had allowed water and dirt to get into the frame around the hot-tub rim. That had resulted in a surprising amount of soil gathering inside the base of the tub frame. I cleaned that out, sealed those gaps and the whole hot-tub rim with clear silicone and then re-painted the rim.

Then I found that the a lot of the hot-tub frame was rotting away at the base and in some places ants had also eaten away chunks of the frame at the top of the frame as well. I drenched the infestation with insecticide then hammered in new wood bracing under the rim before putting in new support struts in on that corner.

The 10″ filter cap was badly cracked and a first I first fixed it with super-glue. That held for a while but it wan’t that strong. Later on I made a large patch out of PVC from a storage bin and glued that on with Gorilla glue, which made for a strong repair.

The integral drinks bucket holder had come away from the tub allowing water to get inside the frame and the removable bucket itself would rise up and start jumping around as water got into the container below it. I chocked out the bucket holder with wooden blocks and glued it in place with Gorilla Glue then I drilled hols in the bucket itself so that it wouldn’t lift up when water got underneath it.

During this time, the hot-tub was periodically tripping the contact breaker. This would power off the hot-tub and if I didn’t spot it for a while, the temp could fall substantially and eventually the tub could freeze, which could then split pipes and break pump components.

I again got the “expert” round. He didn’t fix anything and later I found that the fuse he’d replaced was actually two broken fuses pushed together that looked like a good fuse. I replaced that and it worked but after that. I started to get more frequent problems with the breaker cutting out.

The control circuit board was suspect. It has a number of mechanical relays and they would periodically stick. Tapping them and spraying with WD-40 definitely helped, but after a while it got too bad to ignore. I found old-stock parts on eBay, but I missed out on a couple of auctions while I was prevaricating. That pissed me off but it ultimately a good thing because I kept searching and a few months later I found that I could get a brand new solid state board that was supposedly compatible....much better. 

It did have all the right functions but the layout and operation was somewhat different. I had bought a new circuit board and a control panel for about $700. The old panel had a single 4 function switch: OFF, Main Jet Slow, Main Jet Fast, Main Jet Fast plus Jets 2, but the new one split out Jets 1 & 2 on separate buttons.

It’s all a bit confusing especially with a mix of 240V and 120V feeds in the unit. I labelled all the lines and wired it in as close as I could to the prior setup and put in the new control panel. It only partially worked. Only 120V was getting to pump #2 and on pump #1 the speeds were reversed.

I had to work out through the problem as best I could. I looked at the old and the new circuit diagrams and it turned out that some of the old wiring was wrong e.g. there was a fuse on pump #2, that is not meant to be there - it should be on the blower (don’t ask me why). I fixed that and I rerouted the power to get 240V to pump #2 and got it to work, then I flipped the power wires inside the motor itself to switch slow and fast. I needed to do it that way because it flips from 120V to 240V so flipping the wires on the controller itself would not work.

After that, the main motor started to leak and started to get weak. It wasn’t possible to just replace the leaking wet-end because the Hayward connectors are no longer available. That meant I had to cut out the old connectors. I bought cutters to cut out the old piping and new connectors and unions. I got it all done but a couple of weeks later I saw that it was still leaking. 

I took off the wet-end and found that the gasket was crimped. I twisted it around to avoid the crimp, applied loads of silicone and tried again This worked, but in the meantime I complained to the vendor and they sent me an entire new wet-end which is now in my spares collection. A few weeks later, it was leaking yet again and after quite a bit digging, I saw that one of the old unions had a hair-line split that was causing the leak. I assembled a new outbound connection and switched it from an innie to an outie. I had to do it twice because one of the unions needed to be cut back to fit and although it worked, I had cut back too much. I kind of messed it up a second time because I installed it the wrong way round and then cut back the other side - that pissed me off, but it was actually fine - it still bugs me when I think about it though.

After that I progressively rebuilt the tub supports - many of which are very hard to access. I built a new near-side panel because the far end had been eaten away by ants. I had previously rebuilt the front panel to make it fit better. All the screws had been buried into the wood and the fastening holes were buggered up so I sorted all that out but all the panels should eventually be replaced. I put that job on hold because it all looks pretty good once I repainted it and besides I had enough on my plate.

Shortly after that the blower....well....blew up. Again the connectors are not available, so the old one had to be cut out. I couldn’t put it back where it had been once I had cut out the old one and added in the safety valve. I don’t feel that the safety valve is really needed but I had bought it and I wanted to do it right. The new fitment was better than the old one though. It had been fastened to a metal plate and a loose wooden stake. 

The last fix was to replace a broken spin-jet. 

Parts of it could do with another lick of paint and I should replace some of the panels, but the existing ones are not that bad and they still look fine, so what’s the hurry....

The tub is in pretty good shape considering all it’s been through and the lack of maintenance until I arrived on the scene. It looks good, it’s solid, everything works, it doesn’t leak, it’s big and spacious and I’ll keep it running until it fully expires. In the words of Blur, it gives me an enormous sense of well-being and when I fart...well, no one can prove a damn thing!