#AAA. well. well perhaps sometime this month. it will be posted

[sanchoyo]

haha....how much effort do u have to put into a silly little Test Thing before it starts to become A Real Maybe Serious Effort Thing. no reason im asking. def not accidentally animating something 😳

[heart-forge]

I don’t know if you’ve already mentioned it, but did you perhaps have any recommendations for games in the Racial Justice bundle on Itch? I purchased it because of course, games plus a great cause is a no brained, but it’s now 1600+ games and I’m so overwhelmed! Which ones should I play first?

I’m SO glad you asked because I did shade post on my main about how annoyed I am that game journalists are covering games in the bundle like Celeste and Octodad as if we all don’t already know they exist and they didn’t all respective spend a season covering and recovering both games. They’re part of this like. Baby AAA, because they don’t have the budget or employee-power of AAA, but for some reason people still put them in direct competition with single developers working with only one or two skill sets (or the rare one that’s trying to do art, coding, writing, and sound all on their own).

So, I haven’t gone all the way through the bundle yet. Not only am I working atm so I have to get done the day before I can dig it (plus also trying to work on my own games) but I’m also on my laptop which just straight up can’t run some of these things peacefully. So this isn’t extensive but I’m happy to name a few who are getting ignored because why doesn’t anyone care about free games, small games, or games where you don’t kill someone to death as the main mechanic.

Also keep in mind that I don’t really do a lot of table top gaming. Not enough to understand a lot about the free ttrpgs included. This Tumblr user seems to know a lot more about tabletop in general (I think it’s actually his job but like I just follow him so idk) and I believe he’s gone over the bundle. He’s also Canadian. Broadly that doesn’t matter but it matters to me.

And finally, there’s a LOT of game assets included in here from music to sprites, backgrounds, etc etc. These, and I cannot express this enough, are all useful to you if you’re the sort to need them. There’s a lot of lessons to take from 2020 but one of them is definitely take what you can get and use it as well as you can use it.

It Has a Studio Budget So It Goes First Because It Doesn’t Need My Ads

Pyre

I’ve written fanfic for this one! It’s not the best story Supergiant has ever told, and is in fact kind of disappointing as a narrative. It’s got moments of incredible character high that seem sometimes contradicted or flatlined by other moments. It’s a beautiul, beautiful game, it’s super fun to play, and the story is fun to experience, but as I was playing it way back during it’s launch, there’s several character arcs that are deeply frustrating, set pieces that don’t make any sense, and an ending which is deeply obnoxious. I still recommend it. As I said in the tags of a fanfiction that became someone else’s viral tumblr post, it’s a game about taking a group of ragtag misfit political criminals and turning them into a family and a basketball team. Please note that when you meet Hedwyn, he wears that headband because he has nubby little horns underneath. A dev said that like months after it was released and I think about it once a day.

Oxenfree

Yeah I know everyone knows Oxenfree, but it’s a genuinely fun, wild experience. It’s good for exactly two playthroughs and then you’re done with it. I just see it getting sidelined in favour of Celeste and it’s frustrating because I get it mainstream loves the game that’s difficult and you can brag about being good at it and I’m positive Celeste is a great game but it’s one of those ones that were just beat to death in their season of coverage and it’s frustrating when game journalists hold them up as like the only one of their kind or similar to another super popular difficult game.

Okay Now On to Some That I Have Experience With

Night of the Consumers

The link is to a YouTube playthrough which doesn’t show any proper endings but does step through gameplay and stuff. I do like John Wolfe’s channel in general, as long as you don’t go too far past like 2015. Anyway, this game is basically, you’re trying to do your actual retail job of stocking shelves while people ferociously hunt you up in the aisles to help them find things in very clearly labelled aisles. You know, like real life. There’s also like this lowkey thread about a previous coworker going missing but the video doesn’t cover that.

Babysitter Bloodbath

Linked is another John Wolfe video, mind you he does complete the game so like...don’t watch til the end if you want a surprise? 

Babysitter Bloodbath is the answer to the question “what if instead of dying in the first three minutes, the hopelessly trapped-by-a-serial-killer babysitter told her charge to run and then proceeded to go full Rambo”. Avoid a killer while trying to gather the means to kill him and escape, with what I believe is old fashioned tank controls although I can’t be positive.

Secret Little Haven

I just finished this one last night and keep in mind that it’s a deeply upsetting game. I don’t even really have any of the associated triggers warned for and it was still upsetting, and also a little visually difficult to parse sometimes (ie chromatic aberration, screen glitching), but it’s a nice story and it’s not a tragic ending no matter how bad things get. Some story instructions (ie do this to continue) are a little difficult, but there’s guides online. Just remember, it’s LS not IS.

Democratic Socialism Simulator

This was published in Feb 2020 and it does show, but not in a terrible way but just in the way where the progressive choice is to fund police training and not just getting rid of them altogether but to be fair to the developer, it wasn’t May yet. Otherwise this is a very fun game where you’re trying to manage money, the social power of the people, emissions, and your own hold on congress. Everyone is an animal. I’m a little bit in love with the Civil Rights Leader.

Catlateral Damage

Link to a Polygon overview of the game feat Griffin and Justin McElroy. This should probably be up there with Pyre because it received mainstream coverage but I don’t want to misinterpret the actual resources of the developer so I’ll put it down here. You’re a cat, knock stuff down. Pretty straightforward, I’m not like jazzed about it, but it’s notable.

Hidden Folk

This is a very fun find-it game. The difficult varies per level and afaik there’s no like, “okay I give up find it for me” button. Each “find this” prompt comes with a clue to indicate where on the map it is. I play this before bed.

Plant Daddy

A short and fun experience with a dedicated plant community. Grow plants, complete objectives, design two rooms, name your plants, buy some more stuff...I finished it in like three days but it was a wonderful, soothing experience.

The White Door

Part of the Rusty Lake series, The White Door is a narrative puzzle game. The link is to another Wolfe video, who again completes the game so mind how long you watch the video for. It’s kind of dark and can sometimes be pretty gross, but I like that kind of game where you listen to the story and solve puzzle to send it along. The story ties in to a larger Rusty Lake narrative but afaik this is the only game of theirs in the bundle. If you want to know more about the plot, however, it’s out there. I also know that there’s some smaller scale I believe? Rusty Lake puzzle games that are free apps.

As We Know It

This one was free from the developer at the start of quarantine I believe (who can remember that far back?), so some of you may now double own it. That’s okay, because it’s a nice game about finding a place in the community and hooking up with someone while doing it. Highly replayable, narrative VN.

Game Development Cheat Sheets

These are PDFs for like...hey, do you like video games but no one ever told you how to make them or that it was a totally reasonable choice to begin making them? And you wanna do game development? Give these a review. If you’re a little more experienced they may not be super useful but if you’re just jumping in with the question “oh god what now?” then these have some advice for you.

Cardinal Chains

This is a puzzle game, you fill the whole box sequentially. So if some boxes have the number one inside, those have to be filled before the boxes that have the number two in them, and so on and so forth, Lately I find myself craving some puzzle games.

Golf Peaks

You get cards with numbers on them, which indicates how many boxes the ball can travel through. Putting those cards together, you build yourself a golf shot with the goal of sinking it before you run out of cards. Again, this is a nice relaxing puzzle game.

fugue

I like fugue. You do math, you make music. I didn’t know you did math. This game took me a long time to finish the first world. This game tricked me into doing math. One level took me thirty eight tries to get right. I’m not good at math.

Hot Pot Panic

Pretend to listen to your friend while you try to make hot pot. I was pretty good at this one but burning food is so distressing.

OH I JUST FOUND THIS ONE SKIMMING THROUGH:

The Twine Grimoire Volume 1

I haven’t looked through it but it covers some HTML and CSS for Twine so if yall were curious...

OH NO THE BUNDLE DOES INCLUDE IMSCARED. I remember being so fucking afraid of that game in high school. I watched a pt and I was less scared of it but also I wasn’t personally playing.

Play With Gilbert

Another cat simulator. I’m not their biggest fan but it can be relaxing for sure.

Anyway I’d love to do a deeper dive on all the games to pick out some real obscure ones but I haven’t had the time yet so I’ve been focusing on puzzle games that I can peacefully stop and start again.

[jeannereames]

Happy Birthday to the real Amyntor: Ed Reames

9/11 is a day of mourning in the US. But for me, 9/11 means my father’s birthday. And with Dancing with the Lion: Rise coming out next month--which is dedicated to my father’s memory--I decided I’d post here the tribute to my father that I wrote shortly after his death in February of 2017. My father (and mother) provided the model for Amyntor in the novel. So if you’d like to meet the “real” Amyntor, here he is.

Calvin Edward Reames, c. 1944

As some of you are already aware, my father’s health—physical and mental—has been failing, especially since autumn. In late January, he caught pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital. He never regained conscious awareness and was placed on palliative care. At 3:15pm, Eastern time, February 10, 2017, he died, almost exactly 92 years and 5 months since he entered this world.

Social media has become the communication currency of our time, and supposedly nothing on the Internet ever really disappears. Ergo I want to tell you about my father so HE won’t disappear. This is my own reflection.  No one’s life can be understood by any single individual in it. We’re too multifaceted. The father I knew wasn't even the father my brother knew, as we were born almost 18 years apart--he at the beginning of the Baby Boom and me at the tail end. Yet my father raised a writer for a daughter, so I feel the need to eulogize him as I knew him. Others will have other stories, more or less flattering.

Born on the now-infamous date of 9/11, 1924, in Gorham, Jackson County, (Southern) Illinois, he survived the Tri-State Tornado at only 6 months of age. With him in her arms, his mother ran for the railroad tracks and got on the opposite side from the mile-wide monster bearing down on them, then laid her own body over his; the tornado leapt the tracks and spared them. Perhaps that was an omen for a charmed life. On the face of if, his life might not seem particularly charmed, but he survived the Depression, a world war, and mostly made good on the American Dream. He even lived long enough to see his Cubbies win the World Series.

Iva Mae Gregersen Reames & Daddy, 1925

The eldest of 13 children, he grew up in a family who were poor even by Depression-era standards.  It made him generous, occasionally foolishly so. Yet if he decided someone was “his” (family or friend), he saw it as his obligation to help. That conviction stemmed less from abstract ethics than from an innate kindness arising out of his recall of what it meant to be in need. Sometimes people say, “Well, I managed …” and expect others to suffer as they had.  Daddy could do that, too, but mostly he didn't.  If he could prevent someone from suffering, that made him happy.  He just wanted a “Thank you.” When he was in the war, he sent virtually his whole paycheque home to his mother each month to help care for his younger brothers and sisters. He kept $5.  Yes, $5 went much further then, but as an unmarried corporal in the US army, he made about $65 dollars monthly in 1944.  So he kept 1/13th of his income and gave away the rest.

US Army Corporal, 126th AAA Battalion, 1943

That, perhaps better than anything, exemplifies his fundamental nature. It’s in our actions and choices that, I believe, we reveal our true selves.

He liked to laugh, and kid, but never cruelly. For some families, a disparaging jest is meant as back-handed affection, but that wasn’t heard in the house in which I grew up. When I was younger, I was frequently teased because I walked right into comments with potential double meanings. Perhaps one of the values of getting old(er) is that I’ve aged out of being an easy target. Yet I never learned to hear what others said as an opportunity for ribbing because my parents didn’t find that sort of thing funny. My father's sense of humor was devoid of sarcasm, as he thought it mean-spirited. Some of that owed to his own mother, who—to hear him talk about her—should have been beatified immediately upon her death. But I also believe it owed to having lived through real struggle himself.

To his mind, the world is mean enough. He saw no need to make it meaner via our interactions with people about whom we should care. It's partly for that reason, and a basic aversion to drama, that he was a much-desired member of the pastor-parish relations committee at our church in Lakeland, Florida. His presence tended to tamp down exaggerated crises and occasional bouts of flailing (which is actually a bit funny, given his own tendency to worry).

My father had a will of iron, and a quiet ambition easily overlooked. For instance, when he decided to stop smoking, back before I was born, he’d just received a new carton of cigarettes for Christmas. He threw them in the trash and quit cold turkey because he’d decided he was done. He took up a pipe later (I think largely for image), but decided he didn’t want to do that, either, and just put down the pipe one day. That was it.

"The Lineman," Normal Rockwell

When Daddy decided to do something, he did it. “Failure is not an option”: Apollo 13’s motto. Well, the men (and women) who got Apollo 13 home are my father’s generation. When he returned from the war, he was one of millions looking for a job. He tried on several, but finally decided to work for the telephone company because communications seemed like the future. Before the war, he’d wanted to be a pharmacist, yet circumstance had curtailed the college degree required. So he began showing up regularly in the hiring offices of General Telephone Electric (GTE), asking for work. He made himself annoying. But squeaky wheel gets the grease, and finally they sent him north as a telephone lineman … in January … during a blizzard. He was a relatively little guy (wiry, but short), and they doubted he’d last 2 days. They figured it was a good way to get rid of his terrier persistence.

Daddy on right, GTE employee award

He persisted for 40+ years, and retired as a (self-taught) senior engineer in the mid-1980s. Never tell a Reames, "You can’t do that."

The guys who’d worked under him at the end liked him so much, they kept coming to visit him for years after. He had that effect on people, whether at work, at church, or as a ham radio operator ("This is K9RWP calling..."). They sensed he truly cared about them, and responded in kind. He wasn’t a boisterous or especially outgoing person, but he was still an extrovert. He’d strike up conversations with random strangers in lines at store check-outs.

Especially if there was a baby involved.

Daddy & his great-granddaughter, Leila

See, Daddy loved babies.  And babies loved Daddy. Maybe as a result of being the eldest of 13, but he could burp them, change a diaper pronto, or make them laugh. He so enjoyed watching little kids, especially as he aged; he’d break into a grin just to see them playing at a distance. He was never among the “Children should be seen and not heard” crowd. To his mind, children should be talked to and played with. They would inherit the earth. When my son was born just a few months after my mother's death, Daddy said, “He’s my little replacement.” At the time, I worried his words were fatalistic. But he went on to survive my mother by almost 20 years, and now, I see his words as an expression of continuity. We are our ancestors.

Daddy, Grandson Ian & Licorice as a kitten

So my son, Ian, is his replacement, in the larger sense. When we look forward, we also look back to where we came from. I tried to insure that Ian got to know his Grandpa, who was there just days after he came home from the hospital after birth, and was there when he graduated from high school, even paid his first bill for books at college. Because that’s who Daddy was. If he didn’t get to attend college himself, he made sure both his kids did, and his grandkids. For him, that was an achievement.

As I said…the success of others, especially friends and family, seemed to Daddy the same as his own.

Yet his generosity and empathy extended beyond just people. Daddy was a cat magnet. We used to joke that if he sat down and there was a cat within 50 feet, pretty soon, that cat would be on his lap. He liked dogs, to be sure, but dogs (and horses) were my mother’s favorites. Daddy liked cats, and they liked him. Dogs are forgiving. They’ll stay with even an abusive owner; but cats leave. They don’t put up with crap. Daddy? Even semi-feral cats trusted him.

Daddy, me, Ian, and a completely random barn cat who decided to adopt him for the day at my aunt’s farm

So while he was raised in a time when animals were tools and food more than family members, and he certainly went hunting from a young age to help put food on the table, I think he, more than my mother, had a soft spot for animals. I remember in the ‘70s, he decided we were going to raise rabbits for food, and bought a pair of does. Well, it didn’t take long for yours truly to make pets not only of the does, but of the first litter of babies. All of them had to go to homes where they’d be pets, not dinner. And while I’d made the pronouncement, it didn’t take much to convince my father. Shooting a wild squirrel for the stew pot (especially when hungry) was one thing; killing the rabbits one fed regularly and took care of was another. So our venture in home-grown meat failed miserably (to, I’m sure, the rabbits’ collective relief). Yet it wasn’t just due to my agitating. I don’t think Daddy could have killed a one of them, even if I hadn’t protested. They had names, after all.

He wasn’t a saint. None of us are. The cliche applies: we're a mix of vices and virtues, like shadows against the backlight of the sun. Age softened some of his, while exacerbating others due to a failing filter. Among other things he did well, Daddy was a champion worrier. He worried about anything you can imagine (and then some). Perhaps that owed to growing up in such an unstable era as the Depression when it seemed anything could happen, but for instance, he would remind me constantly to hold onto handrails while going up and down stairs. It seems trivial, but he genuinely angsted over me falling at home and hurting myself when nobody might find me for days. So I (mostly) hold onto rails, because I hear his voice in my head, telling me to.

The irony, of course, is that he was in much more danger of falling, yet he didn't tend to worry about himself. Before he moved up to be near my brother, I tried to get him to buy one of those Life Alert systems. I even employed the ultimate weapon: his grandson (Ian), to beg.  He refused. He’d be fine, because he’s of that generation when all a man should need was himself, a gun, a good job, and a driver's license. And oh, boy, getting him to relinquish that driver's license as he went increasingly blind from macular degeneration was quite the battle, one my poor brother largely had to face when Daddy moved north to Kentucky in his last years. Daddy never did let go of the worrying, though.

He could be impatient, and critical, too, sometimes overly so. I never wanted to sing in front of him because he, like many of his siblings, had an excellent ear and I was, well, usually a little flat. He could hear it, and would say so. But the one he was most critical of was himself, if he failed to live up to his (very high) standards of what he thought he ought to do. Some of that, I lay at the feet of his own father, at least as my mother told it to me. Yet in contrast, as noted earlier, he delighted in the success of others. As a child and young woman I wanted to succeed not because I feared his critique (except about my singing), but because I basked in his happiness when I did well. He could be downright embarrassing in his bragging. If failure, especially his, was not an option, he didn't feel the need to build himself up by tearing down others. He was happy to share the spotlight, or even to applaud from the sidelines--and mean it. Again, maybe that owed to being one of 13, but I think it went deeper, back to his fundamental worldview: “You and me,” not, “Me or you.” He was quietly ambitious, but not especially competitive. Except at cards. Then all bets were off (sometimes literally).

Daddy with Mama, Christmas, c. 1990

One of his most outstanding virtues was his loyalty. For instance, he fell in love with my mother and stayed married to her for 51 years, then never remarried. While it might have been nice for him to remarry, I don't think it was in him; it would have felt like "replacing" her, and to his mind, she had no replacement.

After her death in 1997, I recall going through old pictures of her with him, one from just after the war, which showed them out with friends. Keep in mind that my mother, from childhood until after the birth of my brother, was…pudgy. While on the shorter side, my father was never heavy in his youth. In fact, he got quite buff during WWII: broad-chested and slim-waisted. But as we looked at that picture of my mother next to her friends, he pointed to her with tears in his eyes, and said, "She was the most beautiful of them all." Yup, the "pudgy" girl.

Idalee Brouillette, c. 1944, the picture my father carried during WWII

But he was right: Mama was a stunner. I know that, now, people say I look a lot like her, and I’m honored it’s so. But I was never as pretty as she was, especially in her youth, and I think my father felt bedazzled that this beautiful, black-haired Brouillette girl decided she was going to marry him, and that was the end of it. Her family was better off financially during the Depression, even with Indian blood; they had a farm with a full section, and a car, and enough money for my grandfather to send my mother and her sisters into town to go to school when he thought the teacher at the school on Buttermilk Hill was unqualified. So I suppose you could say Daddy "married up." But to Mama’s mind, she’d won the deal, getting the determined, smart guy.

See, long before they met in person, Mama had gone with her best friend Annie to Gorham High School for a day, visiting. In math class, the teacher put a problem on the board and asked the class to solve it. Only one student could: my father. He got up and wrote the solution on the blackboard, and Mama was enchanted. She asked Annie, “Who is that guy!?”

Some years later, she married that guy.

March 8th, 1946, wedding picture

In many ways, my parents were quite different people. My mother was progressive in thought beyond her time, naturally empathic and perceptive, a bookworm introvert with a steel spine when she needed it and the amazing ability to keep 5+ people’s business in her head without forgetting anything. Everything I know about organization (and I’m pretty good at it), I learned from my mother. My father was conservative, protective, supportive, more intelligent (in sheer IQ), but less emotionally intelligent (EQ), more driven, but less philosophical. Yet they created a unique alchemy of spirit. They didn’t share common interests—Mama loved reading novels, Daddy never read fiction, Mama loved watching murder mysteries, Daddy preferred ball games or the news. Yet they looked out on the world in the same direction, and that’s what mattered.

Ed Reames in high school

In the end, what can I say but that Daddy was the epitome of the Greatest Generation. And now he’s gone. I won’t say we’ll never see their like again, because nobody knows the future. They weren’t perfect—racism was an institutionalized assumption enshrined in segregation, women barely had the vote, LGBTQ wasn’t even talked about—but we, in our current America, could take a page from those who survived abject poverty and economic collapse without government safety nets, then went on to save the world from fascism. They did it not by grand deeds, but by the simple heroism of young men and a few women storming a beach at Normandy or Iwo Jima, a lot of whom never came home. Daddy used to joke that he chased Hitler all over Europe but never caught him.

Daddy, you did catch him. You were part of the men and women who stopped him.

You are my hero.  You are the real Captain America.

I’m privileged and grateful to be your daughter, and I love you, forever.

[lifestreamsblog]

Why Gaming is Slowly Becoming a Chore

(In this article, I’m not going to link to examples and / or articles, so you will have to use your own imagination and / or knowledge.)

It’s really hard for me to enjoy gaming these days.

And no, it’s not because of the AAA Games Industry causing their own bubble burst.  And it’s not because I don’t have access to my favourite consoles. And it’s not because I don’t have games that I love (and no, it’s not even because I have too many games that I love).

It’s because of two factors:

I prefer to play games with (or for) other people in my life

The games fandom and industry is full of nostalgia, toxicity, misogyny, mindless hatred, misdirected anger, unforgivable hypocrisy and rampant misinformation

This sort of garbage is enough to make any gamer girl completely uncomfortable...

I Prefer to Play Games with (or for) Other People in My Life:

This is perhaps one of the most difficult things about gaming for me, as what I play generally is tied to what other people in my life play.  For me, gaming is a purely social experience, whether that’s playing multiplayer games...

...or playing single-player games with other people around watching.

This is difficult when you’re truly in love with one particular console, while other people in your life drift to another console.  Forgetting the issue of console loyalty for a moment, it has to be considered that gaming is an expensive hobby.  And when interests in your social circle shift, it can be difficult to keep up, especially if you truly enjoy one console versus another.

I’m a huge fan of the Nintendo Switch.  And for a long time, so was everybody else in my life, including my fiancée, who was perhaps the single-most-important person in my life, as well as the person I played games with the most.

Recently, my fiancée has become much more interested in the XBOX ONE, which has made things difficult for me, as I was only able to get one after our household’s federal tax return came in.  This meant that for months, I wasn’t able to play games with her nearly as often as I would have liked, which really made me depressed, even though I tried--likely unsuccessfully--to hide it.

Of course, I have my own XBOX ONE now, so I should feel happier now that we’re able to play more games together, right?

Well, the truth is that there was something truly magical about our experiences together on the Switch and while the XBOX ONE has offered both of us some amazing experiences thus far, it hasn’t matched the magic I felt when we played games together on the Switch.

Another thing that doesn’t help is that the Switch almost seems like an afterthought in conversations not just with my fiancée, but with everybody else in my household.  Instead of discussing the games getting Switch versions, we’re discussing the PC and XBOX ONE versions instead. It doesn’t help that games like Octopath Traveller are no longer Switch exclusives, which leads me to feel even more alienated, as everyone seems so excited that a game that made Switch very special is--all of a sudden--going to a “more powerful platform.”

This is a lot more hurtful to me than I likely let on...and really, the only time I’ve ever discussed feeling this way is right now, here in this article.  The fact that I’m not able to articulate my feelings as well as I would like makes things even worse.  In the end, I love my new XBOX ONE, but I really wish that the Switch didn’t get all but the boot simply because we got Microsoft’s latest and greatest system...

The Games Fandom and Industry is Full of Nostalgia, Toxicity, Misogyny, Mindless Hatred, Misdirected Anger, Unforgivable Hypocrisy and Rampant Misinformation:

I don’t suppose this one needs much explanation, but I absolutely want to discuss how it’s making gaming more difficult to enjoy for me in particular.

I can’t begin to number just how many “reboots” and “remasters” of old games and franchises are being released these days.  It’s not just in gaming, but in all of mass media.  It would seem that people who grew up in the 80s and 90s would like to have those eras come back in full force, forgetting just what it means to have actual “progress.”  It’s like these people have never heard of “trying something new” before.

It’s fucking stupid and completely uncreative.

And this mindset also leads to the next set of issues:  toxicity and misogyny.  Men who think women are objects to fulfill their own needs...and people who think all Muslims are terrorists, all LGBTQ people are sick and all black people are criminals are rampant within the gaming fandom.  And these people act so entitled that they come across as if they are in the right for demanding women jump on their dicks while claiming that all people not like them are evil and criminal. It creates such a horrendous atmosphere that I dare not ever join in any kind of live chat. 

And this whole situation surrounding the misogyny, specifically, creates an aura that drives many women in gaming to extreme sex-negativity.  One of the many reasons SONY recently decided to block sexual content from all future games is in the name of not wanting to offend their women gamers.  Not only was this a disingenuous move, it shows just how this situation stifles sex-positive feminists such as myself, who have found empowerment in franchises like Senran Kagura and Hyperdimension Neptunia, both of which have sex-positive content and both of which have huge lesbian fandoms that far outnumber the male fandoms.

And both of which will now suffer content blocking from SONY because of sex-negativity rooted from misogyny-based trauma.

Way to remove representation and relatability for people like me, folks!

It makes me want to puke.

Then there are the fandoms.  The fandoms are full of people whose brains are so stuck in how long they’ve been following a particular company or franchise that they don’t often understand what’s happening right in front of their faces.

Like when Nintendo fans claim that there is no third-party support for the Switch.  Or that Nintendo may--one day--become like EA or Activision.  And how about the Nintendo fans who think the Wii U is a huge, steaming sack of shit simply because it didn’t sell an obscene number of units?  And then there are the Nintendo fans who don’t shut up about Pikmin 4, Metroid Prime 4, Animal Crossing: Where’s Our New Game? and more.  And the Nintendo fans who think Let’s Go! isn’t a real Pokémon game and that a lack of Nintendo Directs in any given month means Nintendo is ignoring their entitled asses and I could go on and on and on.

And then there are the general fans.  The general fans who complain that games aren’t hard enough and that everyone who wants easier game modes are complete and utter idiots who don’t deserve to play videogames.  And then there are the fans who think that if you don’t have the right graphics card or right PC rig that you’re a total imbecile who shouldn’t be in the same room with gamers.  And gatekeeping gatekeeping hatred hatred shittalk shittalk blahblahblah.........

And some of these fans complain about all of the above and more!  Yes, even Nintendo fans fall into the general fans category sometimes.

These people are a pure delight, aren’t they?

The games community is so unwelcoming, hostile, bitter and full of shit that it makes me feel really alienated when I’m already struggling to enjoy myself amongst other people in my life.  And it leaves me feeling as if I have no voice whatsoever.

It just makes me want to break down into sobs...

Sometimes, I wonder if things will ever improve.  Sometimes, I sit with my thoughts and let them brew inside of me for days, weeks and months on end.  People in my life can often tell I’m unhappy, but I don’t always speak up enough about how I feel.

In Grade 8, I had an English teacher who helped me with my writing, which--at the time--was atrocious.  I couldn’t even string together a proper sentence.  And my last paper I wrote for him wasn’t much better than the first.  When he gave me his remarks, I burst into tears.  He just handed me a box of tissues and waited for me to calm down a bit before saying this:

“Never stop writing.  Promise me that.  Because one day, you will improve.  And when you do, you will be able to tell the world how you feel.”

I never forgot that.  And because of him, I developed my now-strong writing skills.

Even though I have had trouble speaking up about how I feel regarding these issues previously, In the end, the most I can do is try my best to speak up now, which is why I wrote this blog post in the first place.  While some of you may stumble upon this from the broader internet, this piece isn’t for you, but rather for those in my life.

This is me trying to open up a bit more.

And I know this article isn’t my best work and that it’s full of rambling and subject-switches, but I’m very depressed and this whole piece reflects that mood, so I’m going to leave it--for the most part--in the imperfect state it’s currently in.

[spearmatch55-blog]

22 Finest Instant Individual Loan Applications In India

22 Ideal Immediate Personal Loan Apps In India

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Content

Do You Need To Borrow Money?

Deciding Whether You Need To Be Borrowing Cash

Do You Actually Need To Spend The Money In All?

Can You Save Up Or Make Use Of Some Financial Savings As Opposed To Loaning Money?

Good Cash Borrowing Versus Bad Cash Borrowing

Do You Need To Borrow Money?

Surge is an online lender that provides little finances to consumers with poor or restricted credit. Rise is special in that it might reward on-time repayments by reducing the prices it charges.

Deciding Whether You Need To Be Borrowing Cash

Quick individual financings are one choice to spend for emergency situations as well as various other short-term loaning requirements. Generally the purpose of this loan is to repay charge card debts, family holiday, wedding celebration, medical emergency situation, etc . Personal loan rates are mostly dealt with and also more than other loan types. Likewise, you need to have a plan that you can make all your repayments in a timely manner. If you have a low CIBIL score, then you must not apply in numerous banks for loan as each denial will certainly drop your CIBIL rating.

Is it OK to borrow money from a friend?

Re: Paying by Paypal without any funds in the Paypal Account If you have no PayPal balance, or not enough to cover the whole transaction, the remainder will be taken from your bank account. If you don't have a bank account confirmed with PayPal, your debit or credit card will be charged instead.

Do You Actually Need To Spend The Money At All?

How can I borrow $100?

To receive your free PayPal money, all you have to do is sign up for an account on Idle-Empire, answer a few paid surveys, watch videos, or complete offers and quickly redeem your points for PayPal balance.

If you're accepted by noontime, you might obtain your cash money the same day, making it an excellent alternative when you remain in a pinch and also need cash quick. As well as unlike cash advance lending institutions, you'll pay much less in interest rates as well as you'll have flexible payment terms to line up with your budget plan. Numerous loans are made in a rush, with little idea regarding exactly how or when it's going to be paid off. Consumers typically do not such as chatting information when requesting for money, with the focus being fixing their economic problems.

Individual financings commonly have the most affordable rates of interest of any type of technique of borrowing money, with the exception of interest-free credit cards. You will need to make an application for a loan as well as if you have a bad credit record you are not likely to obtain the best bargains. Typically, when you need to borrow money fast you'll spend for it in higher interest rates.

Low credit history are given to possible debtors who the consumer assumes will certainly be unreliable.

Ironically, perhaps, you can also draw in a reduced credit history from a lender if you have never ever borrowed money.

Financial institutions, cooperative credit union, on-line loan providers, and also peer-to-peer lenders such as Prosper all provide personal lendings.

As an example, they might have missed one or more monthly payments in the past on a charge card or an additional form of loan.

The lender performs a credit check prior to authorizing you for a loan.

You actually require to have obtained cash as well as revealed that you had the ability to pay back the loan in a timely manner in order to be given an excellent credit report.

We additionally think about the variety of issues submitted with agencies like the Customer Financial Security Bureau. This technique uses only to lending institutions that top rates of interest at 36%, the maximum rate financial experts and also consumer advocates concur is the acceptable limitation for a loan to be economical. NerdWallet does not receive payment of any kind of type for our testimonials. Sending out funds immediately to your checking account can take one to two business days.

Why you should never lend money?

How to Withdraw Money From PayPal Instantly. Open your web browser and navigate to PayPal. Select the button in the upper right corner of the screen to sign in; enter your account email address and password to access your PayPal account summary. Below your current account balance, select Transfer Money.

Sometimes, lenders have to go after and also chase after for settlement, which is demanding as well as draws in a lot of tensions. These loans are usually temporary (about two weeks) and also are created to aid cover little costs rapidly. Merely write a post-dated check and also the cash advance lending institution pays you currently however holds your check up until your next payday. Theaverage quantity of a payday advance loan is $375, yet just concerning 14% of consumers can in fact pay one back. That's since the common interest rate (APR), or therate you pay to borrow the cash, standards 400%.

However, TD Bank's express individual lendings provide some of the most affordable interest rates offered, where if you have exceptional credit you can get a rate as reduced as 6.99%. This, coupled with the adaptable loan amounts as well as repayment terms make TD Bank a clever selection for when you need cash quickly however do not wish to need to pay a higher total loan price. OneMain Financial makes it simple if you need accessibility to borrow money quickly. You can apply online or through among its branches located nationwide.

You'll require an energetic checking and also a routine earnings account to apply. No-income car loans require that you have some alternative approach of paying the loan back with passion. Lenders will certainly want to see your credit history, savings account, and evidence of any possessions to demonstrate that they will certainly obtain their cash back.

When you get a loan, on the various other hand, you dedicate to start repaying the cash every month, with passion, whether your organisation is making any revenues or otherwise. The exact same NSBA survey found that the typical rates of interest on a business bank card was 15.6%, and numerous companies were paying 20% or even more. Other kinds of financial obligation generally have reduced prices, however you're still locked into a repayment strategy that will certainly eat right into your profits. Rather than borrowing a taken care of quantity, you obtain accessibility to whatever funds you require up to an agreed quantity.

Of course, numerous temporary loans feature greater interest rates than various other kinds of finances. Typically, they provide more positive prices and terms and also higher loan limits, considering that you have greater motivation to repay your loan in a prompt fashion. And if you have bad credit, it might be easier to get a safeguarded loan than an unsafe one. If you back-pedal the loan, nonetheless, you take the chance of losing your residence, cars and truck or other collateral. One of the most common kinds of safe car loans are home mortgages, home equity car loans as well as car financings, although some lenders supply safeguarded individual financings.

When asked about obtaining more extensively, 35% of participants stated that omitting mortgages, charge card represent the biggest part of their financial obligation. Student financings are the largest proportion of debt for 19% of the UK, as well as individual finances for 11%.

The benefit of a payday advance loan is that it provides money quickly without taking credit report into factor to consider. The cost far exceeds the benefit, and we suggest you prevent these kinds of financings. Presently, lending institutions need to speak to consumers who have been in relentless financial debt for 36 months to supply them alternatives to repay their loaning faster. If they do not respond within a set timeframe, firms have to suspend their credit card.

[pixelrender]

Top 10 game I missed in 2019

This year was a weird one. Quite a few big indies came out but none of them was a massive hit. Also, Epic paying devs for exclusive rights on their games put several major releases outside of my sightline. I just can’t be bothered with it. On the other hand I got way more invested in Itch.io and the scene around it. I probably expanded my library there more than my steam Library and I was super pedant while keeping track of new releases there. There were many exciting ones! Choosing only ten releases proved to be a difficult task.

Fortunately I posted about many more over the course of 2019 and I plan to post several honorable mentions in their separate posts.

One other thing worth mentioning is that games I was hyped about at the start of the year mostly got released and mostly fell out of my radar. Some of them got enough attention from more important outlets than my lil blog or they got overshadowed by more exciting unsuspected releases.

In comparison with the 2018 list, this contains somehow less unified and probably less alternative selection of games. In other words, there isn’t a single walking sim on the list and most games are focused on gameplay. Let’s start at the bottom of the list (yes, it is ordered this time):

10. Later Alligator

Originally, this game didn’t make it in top 3 noteworthy releases of September. But opposed to at least two games on that list, It’s been popping up on my mind and I think that spending few hours with it must be a pleasant time. Reasons for that are simple. Heaven Will Be Mine, a previous game by Pillowfight, left a lasting impression on me and Later Alligator itself has a charming trailer and premise. The game not taking itself too seriously is another aspect, which makes me more interested in it right now. The graphics remind me of an old animated short or an alternative zine for kids and I like that very much.

9. Fit for a King

And another September release. This stands strong for a variety of reasons. Unique gameplay inspired by Ultima and combined with Ultima inspired graphics creates such an inspiring product, which is both fresh and nostalgic. But it’s something totally different than millions of games with Nintendo inspired graphics and so much better for that alone. Using the whole keyboard for a wide variety of regal commands is another great feature taking this game on this list.

8. Legionary’s Life

To be frank with you, dear reader, I’m not sure why I got so excited about this the moment I read a very short comment on it and watched the trailer. It’s not particularly pretty or fun. It’s about something else. You’re a regular person. It’s a life sim combined with an RPG and somehow very delightfully presented with many things to care about and to manage and it looks like a more interesting version of Paper’s, Please, actually. Now, I probably am overselling it, but that’s how excited this newest life sim made me. Gotta play it.

7.  REDO!

I love metroidvanias and this year’s harvest has been generous. One of the most interesting and different ones releases of 2019 was REDO! Released in early access only to get full release few months later this dark anime (BLAME!) inspired non-linear platformer is dripping with atmosphere and good pixels graphics, which are anime inspired but also decent about it and the result is very charming. It’s not Rain World, but the dev works really well with colours. Environments are detailed and expressive. This will be one of the first games for me to play when I return to computer in 2021.  Honorable metroidvania mentions: Outbuddies, Cathedral, Gato Roboto, Sun Wukong VS Robot, Feudal Alloy

6. Wildermyth

This game looks like a treat and from what I read on RPS, it probably is one. It’s a tactics game with some very stylized hand drawn graphics, which make otherwise somehow generic fantasy feel super unique. The story is narrated in a form of a visual novel with individual panels presenting both the continuation and choices. There’s so much good stuff in it and I’m excited to try it out one day. The game’s still in early access, so there’s no need to hurry.

5. Heaven’s Vault

This probably is the most complicated game on the list. I prefer simple experiences but sometimes something complex and sophisticated manages to capture my heart. The description of this game is one of the cases. You play as a time traveling archeologist, who is trying to figure out a lost civilization by deciphering its language. It sounds more satisfying than some of the drugs I’ve tried! It looks better than many AAA games too.

4. We Met in May

There are very simple reasons I crave this game. It reminds me of life of thing I like experiencing myself. It’s about the most basic of human interactions and yet love and dating is something fading. Like an ancient language, perhaps. Nina Freeman became my favourite dev after playing Kimmy and listening to the Tone Control podcast episode with her, so this shouldn’t be a disappointment. Also, It reminds me that my list includes zero gamer’s games and you can share these with your less violent buds.

3. Tiny Towns

Yes, I put a board game on my list. This whole year I have been following these as well and this is the only game I really wish to play. It’s simple, colorful, chunky and it uses bingo as its core mechanism. I like everything about it from presentation to relatively minimalist gameplay. 

The picture is a courtesy of my favourite board gaming blog Daily Worker Placement, originally used in their article.

2. Knights and Bikes

I wrote so many words about this game and I was genuinely excited to play it asap, when it came out, but then more important life choices happened and I haven’t played it yet and I won’t play it in 2019. I regret it a wee bit and I’m still looking forward this adorable adventure spiced up with some sad tones. There’s so much creativity and joy put into it and I believe that it might be one of the best games to play with or without children right now.

1. Art Sqool

As I mentioned before, this game’s a piece of art, a piece of critical thinking and more than many games aspire to be. It’s not there to tell a story, It present a phenomena and it allows you to use your creativity and shows you how ridiculous art schools can be. I bought this one many months ago hoping that I’d be able to play it soon. Unfortunately, the shaders don’t emulate on Linux and I will have to wait till 2021. I’m really looking forward to this and thinking about it after finishing it. It’s such a good concept and definitely something more related to other medias like art or art theory than traditional video games.

[listoriented]

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

bAUderlands: straya

Where/When/Why: Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel is the first of the series that I didn’t run through with friends at launch. Instead, I got it during a steam sale in July last year for US$16.50 as part of a finish-your-Borderlands-collection package/bundle, with an eye to playing it when I got to it. Apparently I bought Rocket League at the same time? Momentous.

What/Who: It’s in the title, hey - a Borderlands game set between Borderlands 1 and 2. I’m struggling to think of other game and movie franchises that have done this, which perhaps why there isn’t a better descriptive term for it. The newish Baldur’s Gate expansion maybe? Rogue One? Anyway, instead of being set on Pandora - the fictional frontier planet where the previous two games were set - Pre-Sequel is set on Pandora’s moon, Elpis.

Elpis is a noticeably Australian place; it’s inhabited by Australian NPCs and full of parodies of Australian animals and stories (the main characters are all still American though - don’t worry). This is probably because the game was made by the 2k Australia branch [official site], based in Canberra, and so apparently it just kind of happened that way. The Pre-Sequel came out in October 2014. Sadly, 2k Australia shut their doors in 2015, which means there’s no AAA games development happening here for the time being.

Time Spent: 23 hours.

Completed: Yep, finally - we managed one. 19 of 63 achievements ticked. Oh that’s not a lot, hey. Oh well.

Notes: We had a pretty good time. That should probably be the main takeaway. The day after we finished it, Lauren said that she missed playing it. The mindless shooting, looting and questing loop of Borderlands 2 is well repped again here. The flow of it is quietly addictive.

We found the going a bit tough for a while, though, there at the beginning. We spent a lot of time hunting for mission waypoints through the larger moonscape areas of the game, which are not intuitive to travel around in vehicles (lots of dead ends, crevices, mountains, barriers), and awful to travel around on foot (too many things that want to kill you and/or distract you). A few times we went to bed mad at each other after having our patience stretched thin (**n.b. it should be added that while we did often end up playing this in the last hour or two before bed over the past few weeks, this game, like the other Borderlands games, is not something that actually benefits from being played while tired, despite this seeming like the natural state to play it in). One particular semi-optional mission for urchin NPC Pickle nearly drove us to the brink with its arduous navigational requirements.

The quaint fugue that Borderlands draws you into can be a hindrance too: if you don’t pay attention you can be tricked into fighting scores of creeps that could easily be avoided, and which don’t offer much in the way of endorphin release or in-game reward. The next time you come past they’ll all have respawned anyway, making the intervening grind feel particularly pernicious. Things improved immensely once we had more fast travel unlocked, and as we got better at paying attention to who we were meant to be fighting. 

Pre-Sequel also has a couple of particular gameplay gimmicks. At first we were like “???”, but we came around to them. The game is set, as mentioned, on Pandora’s moon, Elpis, which being a moon has low gravity. As such, you can jump higher and further. Because the moon surface lacks breathable atmosphere, you carry oxygen tanks, referred to forever as “Oz kits” because Australia lololololol. These deplete when you’re out in the open (which you are for maybe half the game), causing you to lose health, but we found after the first half hour it’s something you only have to be slightly mindful of, so far as annoying gameplay factors go. More importantly, you can use these “Oz kits” to boost mid-air to reach far-off platforms. It’s pretty good! Any excuse to be able to jump a long way is an acceptable one: thanks, videogames.

The Australiana accents/jokes/parodies that pervade the game are, like, pretty cool...I think? I enjoyed the ironic Australia-for-market shtick tempered by its necessarily cringeworthy over-the-topness. Cliches and stereotypes can be funny too, sometimes. I’m also aware how rare representations of anything Australian are in games, good or bad, particularly home-grown ones; a feeling which is enhanced by knowing this was made by a studio arm that no longer exists. O’, state of thy industry. It’s not that I’m at all patriotic, and the construction of this nation and its cultural identity is as problematic as any other post-colonial state, and there are issues which this game, with its frontier-Western representations of “Australianness”, attempts to avoid altogether, leaving the giant wombat very much in the room. On the other hand is the essence of the game and its uncritical light entertainment sheen, a series of good-enough jokes that beg not to be looked at directly in the eye, the fact that this is what it is, the last of its kind, no more big-budget gaming in Australia or about Australia (no Forza Horizon 3 I’m not talking to you), no Australia at all; and that’s upsetting too. Lauren and I both particularly enjoyed the foul-mouthed shotgun, Boganella, who somehow never stopped making us laugh, and who I kept equipped all the way to the end. I certainly didn’t expect to get that much mileage out of it. 

Lauren played as Athena the gladiator, while I played as Nisha the lawbringer. Neither of us particularly liked the special abilities of our characters. I found the auto-aim of Nisha’s “Showdown” a bit glitchy, with it sometimes locking on outside the enemy’s hitbox. We made do anyway without relying on them too much. Neither of us had played the DLC the Athena appears in, and I hadn’t remembered Nisha from Borderlands 2, so while playing we were unaware of these character’s other roles in the series. 

One thing I did find surprising was how ‘epic’ the Pre-Sequel became in the final act. It almost seemed like it was speaking out of turn, I mean…it’s called “The Pre-Sequel”. That’s a title that screams incidental and unimportant if there ever was one. “This game is just setting the scene for the more important game that was worthy of a real number in its title”, is what it suggests. And for the most part as you play it, it feels that way too. You’re playing on the moon, for instance (and everyone knows moons rate lower than planets on the astronomical bodies ladder). And you’re helping the bad guy! Surely, none of what you do here should be as big, important or ‘epic’ as in the numbered Borderlands titles.

But then, as you approach the finish line, you find yourself fighting multiple boss battles (“surely this is it” I said, erroneously, each time), delving into a massive cavernous space with funky, brilliant colours, into a galaxy-esque background, fighting the forerunner guardians, while the stakes seem to go up and up. The ending is basically prophesy-esque, all bigger picture feels. It’s an odd match.

This is mirrored by the length of the game. We played for 23 hours, which was longer than my playthrough of Borderlands 2. Again, I find this surprising, not least because it also feels smaller at first, with the player limited to the same few compact (if difficult to navigate) areas for quite a while. I’d initially figured it for a 15 hour romp, maybe. This isn’t a complaint necessarily - the game was enjoyable enough for the most part to justify the time spent in it - it just seems structurally unsound to me that a “pre-sequel” should be as big or bigger than the game it’s foregrounding. 

As for the story itself and how it goes about setting up the Borderlands 2 plot, it seems... well I guess it seems cohesive enough, not having recalled many details about Borderlands 1 & 2. You’re basically helping Jack, arch-villain of Borderlands 2, but he’s not evil yet - maybe. He just wants to stop the moon being destroyed by a group called The Lost Legion, while perhaps finding a vault and turning a profit for Hyperion in the process. You watch him do his Anakin Skywalker -> Darth Vader transformation as the game progresses, but because the protagonist vault hunters themselves are morally suspect, they/you don’t seem to mind too much. It's an unusual situation, to be playing the bad-guy, and it’s handled pretty effectively by the writers, if you take this game in a vacuum. That being said, it's also kind of...contradictory, if we do consider background events of Borderlands 2, where Jack’s evilness is established as being a more endemic, long-term thing. Whether the whole coheres depends on what you think/who you listen to, but I've enjoyed reading some forum-posted opinions on the matter anyway. 

And so: This brings us to the end of our Borderlands sojourn. We finally finished one - hooray! Promises well kept. Paradoxically, finishing the Pre-Sequel took less time than it took to pass on Borderlands 2. All up, to sift, avoid and play through these three games has taken nearly the entire winter, which is...sub-optimal. My wish is to be done with the B’s by the end of the year. The letter grows stale; I yearn for a fresh beginning. As of now we've got fifteen games to go. Four months. Hmm.   Addendum: My multi-talented friend Caro started a Tinyletter. It doesn’t have much to do with games but I’ve been enjoying it very much. Consider signing up! It will cost you nothing except your time. 

up next is Botanicula

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Trump Extends Social Distancing Guidelines Through End of April (NYT) President Trump retreated Sunday from his desire to relax coronavirus guidelines by Easter, announcing instead that all Americans must continue to avoid nonessential travel, going to work, eating at bars and restaurants, or gathering in groups of more than 10 for at least another month and perhaps until June. The grim recommendation, which the president made in the White House Rose Garden, came just a day before the end of a two-week period in which the world’s largest economy has largely shut down with staggering consequences: businesses shuttered, schools and colleges emptied, and social life all but suspended.

Jobless filings may set another record (Bloomberg) The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits may set a record for a second straight week, following last week’s report of 3.28 million filings. The darkest prediction sees that figure almost doubling. And with so many out of work, nobody knows what will happen when $81 billion worth of rent comes due April 1. Tenants in New York City may be allowed to use existing security deposits, but it would be a temporary fix at best.

Older retail workers say they’re worried about their health--but need the money (Washington Post) The number of retirement-age Americans working in retail has increased steadily since the 2008 recession as they try to make ends meet. Nearly one-quarter of retail workers are 55 or older, and 7 percent are over 65, according to Labor Department data, which means that the demographic most vulnerable to the coronavirus is increasingly on its front lines, selling groceries, medicine and other necessities to crowds of shoppers. Although supermarkets across the country have implemented seniors-only hours and priority home delivery for their older customers, they have made few accommodations for their 4.4 million employees who are 55-plus. Many store employees say they do not have access to protective gear such as gloves or enough disinfectant to wipe down cash registers, leaving them to choose either a steady paycheck or their health.

Hay fever or virus? For allergy sufferers, a season of worry (AP) The spring breezes of 2020 are carrying more than just tree pollen. There’s a whiff of paranoia in the air. For millions of seasonal allergy sufferers, the annual onset of watery eyes and scratchy throats is bumping up against the global spread of a new virus that produces its own constellation of respiratory symptoms. Forecasters are predicting a brutal spring allergy season for swaths of the U.S. at the same time that COVID-19 cases are rising dramatically. That’s causing angst for people who never have had to particularly worry about their hay fever, other than to stock up on antihistamines, decongestants and tissues. Now they’re asking: Are these my allergies? Or something more sinister? (And bystanders are sometimes asking the same.)

Coronavirus response highlights deepening partisan divide (AP) In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti has instituted a shutdown on a city of nearly 4 million people and threatened uncooperative business owners with power shutoffs and arrest. In Mississippi, home to nearly 3 million people, Gov. Tate Reeves has allowed most businesses to stay open--even restaurants, so long as they serve no more than 10 people at a time. The divergent approaches are evidence that not even a global pandemic can bridge the gaping political divisions of the Trump era. Republican leaders have been far more likely to resist the most aggressive social distancing measures. But in the more crowded population centers on the East and West coasts where the disease first appeared, the Democrats in charge have been more willing to embrace strict steps such as curfews, sweeping business closures and law enforcement assistance. “This epidemic has been a window into our politics,” said Larry Levitt, who leads health policy for the Kaiser Family Foundation, which has been tracking responses. “Particularly over the past couple of weeks, a political divide has emerged.”

Gas is cheap, but for many motorists there’s nowhere to go (AP) U.S. gasoline prices have dropped to their lowest levels in four years, and they are almost sure to go lower as oil prices plunge. Price-tracking services put the national average Monday around $2 a gallon. Some stations were spotted charging under a dollar. But don’t expect a stampede to the pumps. Demand is weak because so many Americans are under shelter-in-place rules and businesses have been shuttered because of the coronavirus outbreak. “For most Americans who are home practicing social distancing and not driving to work or taking their children to school, you are only filling up maybe once a week, maybe every couple of weeks,” said Jeanette Casselano, a spokeswoman for the AAA auto club. “You are not reaping the benefits.”

UK’s Prince Charles, 71, out of self-isolation and in good health (Reuters) British heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, who had tested positive for coronavirus, is out of self-isolation after seven days and is in good health, his spokesman said on Monday.

EasyJet to ground fleet (Washington Post) EasyJet, one of Europe’s largest airlines, said it would ground its entire fleet as demand collapses in the face of government restrictions on travel.

British government pledges $93 million to bring stranded Britons home (Washington Post) The British government on Monday pledged up to $93 million to bring Britons stranded overseas home, saying it would pay for chartered flights if needed. Like thousands of American travelers, many Britons have found themselves marooned abroad because of the coronavirus, suddenly struggling to get home as borders and airports close or commercial flights are canceled.

Amid border closures, European couples separated by coronavirus now meet and kiss across makeshift barriers (Washington Post) It took decades to make the European Union largely borderless, but when the coronavirus spread across Europe, many of the abandoned barriers were reinstated within days, temporarily separating couples, friends and colleagues. The sudden reemergence of frontiers in Europe has led to scenes that few people could have imagined only a month ago: couples kissing across border barriers, unable to cross to the other side that was just a footstep away not long ago. Standing along a makeshift border fence between Switzerland and southern Germany--a frontier that could easily be crossed during normal times--German resident Kati Sallai-Balog saw her partner for the first time in 12 days last Friday on the other side. “It’s absurd,” she told the local Südkurier newspaper. Crossing the border can be fined. “It’s a bit like in [East Germany],” another resident was quoted as saying by the German press agency, referring to the Berlin Wall.

Hungary passes coronavirus bill giving Orban sweeping powers (Washington Post) The Hungarian parliament Monday passed a bill allowing its populist prime minister Viktor Orban to govern unchallenged for an emergency period with no clear time limit. The government has argued the measures are necessary to fight the coronavirus outbreak, but rights groups say it effectively suspends democracy in the country by removing checks and balances on the executive and allowing Orban to govern by decree. The legislation is another cause of concern for the European Union, which already launched punitive proceedings against Hungary due to concerns over the slipping rule of law in the country.

Japan prepares stimulus (Foreign Policy) After initially saying coronavirus funds would be taken from existing budgets, Japan is now preparing a stimulus package from a supplementary budget that will be put together over the next 10 days. In a press conference, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government would “lay out a stimulus package of unprecedented size that will exceed the one compiled after the Lehman crisis.”

North Korea says US clearly doesn’t want nuclear talks (AP) North Korea says “reckless remarks” by U--S-- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made it clear that Washington has no intention of resuming nuclear talks and Pyongyang warned that it is now compelled to pay back “the pains the U--S-- has imposed on our people.”

Taliban attacks continue (NYT) The Taliban on Saturday attacked several provinces in northern Afghanistan, overrunning large parts of one district even as American diplomats expressed optimism that a peace process stalled over the release of prisoners was getting back on track. The insurgents launched major assaults in three northern province--in Kunduz, whose capital was overrun by the Taliban repeatedly in recent years, as well as in Faryab and Badakhshan. The fighting rages despite an appeal for a cease-fire on humanitarian grounds to slow the spread of the coronavirus across the country.​

Crisis in the Sahel Becoming France’s Forever War (NYT) When France sent its forces into Mali, a former French colony, after armed Islamists took control of the West African country’s northern cities, their mission was supposed to last only a few weeks. That was seven years ago. Since then, the terrorist threat has spread across a vast sweep of land south of the Sahara known as the Sahel, and France’s counterterrorism fight has spread with it. As a result, more than 10,000 West Africans have died, over a million have fled their homes and military forces from West Africa and France have suffered many losses. And still, the battle is hardly finished.

Africa’s megacity Lagos braces for two-week coronavirus lockdown (Reuters) Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s announcement imposing a 14-day lockdown on sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest city triggered a last-minute rush on Monday as people hurried to stock up on food and other supplies.

Zimbabwe locks down to fight coronavirus amid economic crisis (Reuters) Zimbabwe began a 21-day nationwide lockdown on Monday, following South Africa in implementing tough anti-coronavirus measures that are likely to hurt an economy already suffering from hyperinflation and food shortages.

[oovitus]

Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems.

By his early 50s, Bob Miller was facing metabolic and cardiovascular health issues so serious that he’d already had a very close brush with death. With his weight at an all-time high and his mobility severely compromised, Bob found a way to lose nearly 100 pounds, one small step at a time.

++++

“I have vascular disease, heart disease and Stage 4 kidney disease… ”

“… I have already had an AAA repair, quadruple bypass, 8 stents in my heart, and we are beginning discussions about the inevitability of kidney dialysis and a kidney transplant.”

Those are the intake notes for Bob Miller from two years ago, when he started his Precision Nutrition Coaching journey.

Though Bob had been facing these very serious and mobility-compromising health conditions, Bob had an ambitious goal: to lose a lot of weight.

And, in fact, he already had.

“Almost seven years ago, I weighed 260 pounds,” reflects Bob, 60, of Edmonds, Washington.

Bob at his heaviest, before making a pact with himself to get healthy for his family.

“At that point, I hadn’t realized how much weight I’d gained. My grandmother had died and I needed to buy some clothes to go to the funeral. So I bought a jacket and slacks and I was just shocked at my 46-inch waist and my 48-inch coat.

“That just stunned me. So I had these brand-new clothes and I thought, ‘Something’s got to change here, this is just not going to work’.”

So, Bob made a plan.

“I immediately said, ‘Okay, I’ve got to control how much I’m eating, and low-carb diets have always worked for me to get the weight off, I’m going to do that.’ So that’s what I started to do. Over the next couple of years, I went from 260 down to somewhere in the 210 range.”

Yet after a while, Bob’s weight loss stalled. And stalled. And stalled.

At 5’7”, Bob knew he had more weight to lose. But after 18 months without any further progress, he had to concede that doing things on his own was no longer working.

And Bob wasn’t ready to give up on his own health.

“I wanted to see my grandkids, they haven’t even been born yet. And I didn’t want my wife to be a widow.”

“There are people in my life that depend on me and count on me… and I’ve already had a couple of pretty significant brushes with death.”

“When I had my heart attack, I really thought I was going to die. As my wife was driving me to the hospital, I realized I couldn’t feel my face, my arms, my legs,” Bob recalls.

“So I’ve known that we can all die at any time, but I certainly didn’t want it to be because I had not done everything I could to take care of myself. I didn’t want my legacy to be, ‘That son of a gun, if he had just taken care of himself, he would still be here.’”

Those very powerful reasons drew Bob to Precision Nutrition Coaching.

Once Bob signed up, he was determined to stay committed.

“I was going to see this program out to the end, no matter what, and just see what the results were,” Bob says.

“Even if I wasn’t seeing results on day 364, I was not going to quit before day 365.”

Of course, Bob did see results long before day 364, but admittedly, the pounds didn’t drop as quickly as he’d hoped. At first, Bob thought the program was going too slowly.

“For the first few weeks, they’re giving you anchor habits. If all else fails, you go back to these. At week four I was like, are you frigging kidding me,” Bob laughs.

But those anchor habits turned out to represent a fundamental shift for Bob’s approach to food, exercise, lifestyle habits, and even mindset. In particular, the very first habit — make time for your fitness and nutrition — turned out to make the biggest difference.

“Make time — you know what, that is the most important thing I do in my life,” says Bob.

“Making time for food prep, making time to think about my meal planning, or what I’m doing for the day and where the complications are. Making time for working out, making time for sleep, all those things. In my very busy life, I never realized how important the principal of making time was.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Bob’s health complications brought some extra challenges when it came to his workouts.

His conditions can cause Bob to have low energy, especially by mid-afternoon. But his new habit of “making time” helped him work around that barrier.

“My workouts are a top priority for my day, so I do them first thing in the morning when my energy is the highest. That way I take the ‘I’m out of energy’ excuse out of the equation.”

His combination of conditions can also cause chest pain when his heart rate is elevated from intense activity. Once again, Bob found a way.

“I’ve worked closely with my cardiologist to manage this with a combination of medication and adjustments to my exercise… missing a workout is not an option!”

While he steadily worked through these challenges, Bob also discovered the unexpected value of having someone in his corner — his PN coach. Having Coach Jonathan check in on him, reply to his messages, and just be there helped Bob stay true to his commitment.

“I needed somebody to hold me accountable, I needed somebody to be there,” he says. “There is value in just simply knowing that my coach was there.”

By the end of the PN Coaching program, Bob had lost another 45 pounds.

Bob poses in old pants after his 100-pound weight loss.

Much to his surprise — and his doctor’s — Bob’s kidneys were also functioning better.

“Before PN, my nephrologist was estimating my kidney function at about 26-28 percent, and I was losing about a percentage point every two to three months at one point,” Bob says.

“I went from being on the fast track to dialysis and transplant to stable kidney function for six or eight months now. My nephrologist is encouraged. I can’t believe it. It’s amazing.”

But perhaps Bob’s biggest transformation is internal. He’s shifted from fearing the future, to chasing new possibilities.

Bob is currently enrolled in his second round of PN Coaching — this time, to see what is possible.

“Can I get to single digit body fat? What do I look like then, what do I feel like then? What else can I do with my fitter body and better health that I’ve never been able to do? I’ve got no idea. But I’m willing to do a science experiment and see what is possible for myself.”

The very notion of exploring new possibilities marks a sea change for Bob.

“What is possible…” he reflects. “It wasn’t all that long ago where that was an impossible thought.”

“There’s no, ‘Okay, I did my diet, I’m done.’ My brain and my body and my mind and my heart have been permanently changed.”

In fact, Bob’s physical transformation has been so significant and unexpected that he’s still getting used to his new, slimmer body, and what it can do.

“One of the keys to overcoming my unique challenges was walking through it with my wife. She was, and is, awesome.”

“I had an experience recently where my dog’s ball had gone behind the television console. I was like ‘Oh, I can’t back there, I’ll have to figure something out.’

“Then I thought, ‘Wait a second, you probably can.’ And I did, and I didn’t touch the wall or the back of the console.”

Bob plans to use the final half of his second year with PN exploring the emotional issues surrounding such a big transformation.

“Sometimes I don’t recognize myself. I’ll see myself in the mirror and be surprised by the person I see looking back, or look at my pants and wonder how I’m going to fit in those tiny things! My physical changes are a bit ahead of my emotional and spiritual growth.”

But one thing is certain: As Bob pursues new possibilities for himself, he knows there’s no going back.

Want help overcoming your health and fitness barriers?

Most people know that regular movement, eating well, sleep, and stress management are important for looking and feeling better. Yet they need help applying that knowledge in the context of their busy, sometimes stressful lives.

Over the past 15 years, we’ve used the Precision Nutrition Coaching method to help over 100,000 clients lose fat, get stronger, and improve their health… for the long-term… no matter what challenges they’re dealing with.

It’s also why we work with health, fitness, and wellness professionals (through our Level 1 and Level 2 Certification programs) to teach them how to coach their own clients through the same challenges.

Interested in Precision Nutrition Coaching? Join the presale list; you’ll save up to 54% and secure a spot 24 hours early.

We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Coaching on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019.

If you’re interested in coaching and want to find out more, I’d encourage you to join our presale list below. Being on the list gives you two special advantages.

You’ll pay less than everyone else. At Precision Nutrition we like to reward the most interested and motivated people because they always make the best clients. Join the presale list and you’ll save up to 54% off the general public price, which is the lowest price we’ve ever offered.

You’re more likely to get a spot. To give clients the personal care and attention they deserve, we only open up the program twice a year. Last time we opened registration, we sold out within minutes. By joining the presale list you’ll get the opportunity to register 24 hours before everyone else, increasing your chances of getting in.

If you’re ready to change your body, and your life, with help from the world’s best coaches, this is your chance.

[Note: If your health and fitness are already sorted out, but you’re interested in helping others, check out our Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification program].

The post Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

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[shyobjectangel]

RED-TRS: Introducing the New Token Renting System

New Post has been published on http://restartenergy.net/red-trs-introducing-the-new-token-renting-system/

RED-TRS: Introducing the New Token Renting System

Restart Energy prides itself on having a unique turnkey offering when it comes to rapid expansion and new market penetration: our Restart Energy Democracy Franchise — an exclusive business opportunity available to MWAT holders that allows anyone to own and operate their own Restart Energy retail energy franchise, and bring affordable energy to their community, region, or country.

With the help of this model, Restart Energy has become the fastest growing private energy supplier within the European Union, growing by 1700% in the last two years, with over 300 franchise partners already open for business.

Moving forward, Restart Energy Democracy (RED) intends to use it’s strong franchise system to enter key deregulated energy markets worldwide in the near-to-mid term, with legislative compliance being assured in every energy market that has been deregulated, worldwide. However, recent concerns within our community regarding the potential far-future costs of our franchises, especially in the wake of bull-market highs, has led to us, as a company, to debate ways of countering such pitfalls.

The solution is perhaps the very first instance of a token renting system, specifically designed to ensure that franchises remain affordable, while also providing long-term MWAT token holders with more options for their assets, regardless of the amount of tokens owned.

We thus propose to you, dear interested potential franchisee and MWAT hodler, the TRS — or Token Renting System:

For an agreed-upon mid-to-long-term fixed rate — hereby called ‘rent’ — MWAT tokens can be rented via smart-contract escrow account to an interested party for the purposes of establishing and maintaining a RED Franchise of any tier. As this system would use smart contracts, it is by necessity an Ethereum-based one, thus transactions would be resolved in ETH.

Rented tokens will need upkeep in the form of monthly payments and will expire once the predetermined smart contract length has been reached, or when the required monthly payments have stopped.

Such smart contract escrow solutions will be available in variants of 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, or any upwards scaling contract length thereof. Once the smart contract duration expires, all MWAT tokens held within the escrow account are either returned to their owners or transferred against a residual value from the lessor to the lessee.

This system provides the solution to several issues inherent to both long-term crypto-token holding and to investments such as our franchises, especially the Master Franchise tier.

The biggest issue, predictably, is the costs associated with purchasing, up-front, over 10,000,000 MWAT (in the case of type B Master Franchises and similar amounts for type A Country Franchises), especially within a bull-market climate where prices quickly rise.

Not only can the cost be substantial, depending on MWAT value at the time, but due to the potential rapid-inflation of token prices within market exuberance periods, cost estimates can become hopelessly out of date in days, if not hours, and this presents a large problem if the potential franchisee in question had planned to use traditional financing options to acquire the funds he needed for his chosen franchise tier.

Banks can take a while to approve loans and send funds, even when it comes to AAA-rated companies, while credit unions may require rigorous vetting procedures, before giving you access to the funds you need — all the while the cryptocurrency market is on the move, throwing a wildcard into financing forecasts.

Our proposed Token Renting System (TRS) would largely mitigate the high entry costs for new franchisees in the case of a token price surge, by lowering the costs of entry via monthly installments instead of one large sum. This guarantees a smooth development of the RED Platform and ecosystem even if the MWAT tokens prices surge. Furthermore, the smart contract in question would be programmed with a fixed sum required for each token’s rent and the length of time until the expiry of said contract, thus offering a high degree of predictability once it has been agreed upon. This makes it far easier for both companies and private individuals to seek out financing options, or can even eliminate the need entirely.

It should be mentioned, however, that long-term use of such an approach would likely be more expensive for the franchisee than purchasing the tokens up-front. Whether or not franchise token renting is preferable to a higher initial entry cost, or to the interest rates and low flexibility associated with traditional financing, remains a judgement call that potential franchise partners need to be aware of.

TRS will also greatly benefit long-term MWAT holders, as they will have the opportunity to rent out their tokens and see their investment pay off in the mid-to-long term, while also retaining full ownership rights; being able to use their tokens again once the smart contract expires.

MWAT holders that do not intend or can not use their tokens for energy trading in the near future will also be able to enjoy a steady stream of passive income from the TRS, while Restart Energy, or one of our franchises, penetrates their local market and thus makes affordable peer-to-peer energy trading available to them.

Furthermore, having MWAT tokens safely set aside in an escrow account, generating income at a steady — and importantly — fixed rate, protects those MWAT owners from the periodic, crypto-market crashes and bear-market climate that tends to follow in the wake of such events.

It should be noted that even though the RED — TRS will protect against these lows, it will also prevent personal token liquidity when the market surges forward. Potentially, this can be seen as an argument against if viewed from a short-term trader’s perspective, or an argument for, from a long-term holder’s perspective.

In the end, it is up to the individual and their reasons and goals for acquiring MWAT to decide if protection from loss and a steady, predictable income, is worth more than short-to-mid term potential profits.

Everything said, this system will need to be carefully crafted by our technical and financial teams, and thus, we want to gauge our community’s interest in it before we commit our company’s resources to such a task.

Thus, we will be releasing a poll aimed towards our entire RED community to decide upon the issue. This will be a very special ‘yes or no’ type poll, as it will also be the first sneak peek of our RED Platform software, and will be launched sometime in the near future. We feel very enthusiastic about this prospect and hope that our community shares our vision as well.

We thank you for your time and for your consideration.

For more informations:Facebook   Twitter  Telegram  Restart Energy

[ultralifehackerguru-blog]

New Post has been published on http://www.lifehacker.guru/12-must-products-going-viral-2017/

12 Must Have Products Going Viral in 2017

Must Have Viral Products. . .those words bring to mind cool products, interesting items, and wacky gizmos. Sometimes, you might be tempted to spend your whole paycheck on the amazing inventions of everyday citizens. These 12 products make great stocking stuffers with Christmas only a few months away, maybe these will give you some ideas.

This is a compilation of 12 of the coolest, most innovative and most awesome products that sold out fast in 2017. Many of them are products you’d never even expect to go viral, but they sold millions worldwide! Not only can you read about them here, you can click the links provided if you want to order them, without having to pick up the phone. . .or even leaving your house.

1. TrackR Bravo – Track Anything

When you attach this coin-size tracking device to an item and lose the item, you have a 20,000-times chance of getting it back. The accompanying app enlists the network of 20,000 TrackR users to locate your lost bag, bike or dog. You can also track your lost wallet (or whatever) yourself. The TrackR app displays how far you are from your keys or purse you dropped, and it will sound the alarm to help you pinpoint its exact location. If you realize you left your bag in another location, all other TrackR users in the network are notified, and when one passes your missing article, you’ll get an update sent to your phone. What if you can’t find your phone? Use TrackR to ring it, even if it’s on silent mode, and you’ll find your phone fast. TrackR helps you keep your stuff…especially if you’re a chronic (keys/wallet/bike/car/bag) misplacer.

2. Siren Song – Personal Protection Alarm

Inspired by the Military, the Siren Song uses ear piercing sound (over 130 decibels) to deter bad guys and is quickly becoming one of the most sought after safety devices in America. It will most likely be on every kid’s keychains or backpacks by the end of the year, but it should also be carried by every woman in America. With over 100,000 units sold in 2017 alone, this product makes our 2017 viral gadgets list!

But the Siren Song isn’t just to help protect you, your kids and your grandkids from an attack. It can also be used as a life saving device to call for help if you’re having a heart attack or have some other health condition that can prevent you from yelling for help.

Don’t let your worst nightmare become your reality. Safety doesn’t happen by accident. Purchase a personal alarm for yourself, for your child, or for a loved one. The Siren Song is particularly suitable for teenagers, parents, night owls, delivery route employees, business owners, and college students, or the elderly who may need to call for help. The keychain design is perfect for use with house keys or car keys. It can also be attached to a backpack or a purse.

3. KeySmart – The Future of Keychains

You might be thinking that you already have a keychain. But it probably doesn’t compare to this new futuristic keychain. Here’s a fact everyone can agree upon: bulky keychains are both unsightly and cumbersome to handle. Not to mention, they won’t protect your pockets from getting shredded to bits by your expansive key collection.

That’s where the KeySmart comes in. This handy key organizer offers a simple, elegant solution for organizing your keys – allowing you to eliminate your keychain for good.

Let’s start with the basics: this durable key holder can hold up to 14 keys in a compact fashion, and is durable to boot. It consists of two 3mm thick plates made of aircraft grade aluminum, meaning you won’t have to worry about handling it with kid gloves.

No surprise, then, that we also guarantee that the KeySmart will take anything life throws at it. Take it anywhere – from work, to the beach, and much more – knowing it won’t get dented or scratch easily.

You won’t have to worry about the contents of your pockets getting scratched, either! For instance, you can rest assured your keys won’t scratch your phone. And as an added bonus, you’ll be able to walk around without being heard a mile away due to your keys jingling and jangling about – as they would on a conventional keychain.

And how’s this for ultimate convenience? The KeySmart boasts a built-in clip that allows you to attach it to any pocket, belt, or bag. (If you’d prefer to go without the clip, you can easily remove it.) You can even customize your KeySmart by adding accessories like USB drives and bottle openers to it, all available separately on the KeySmart website.

4. Fixd — Car Diagnostic

Have you ever gone to an auto repair shop for an oil change, only to have the mechanic say you need a new transmission? Or has the mysterious “check engine” light come on, and next thing you know the mechanic has a list of expensive engine parts that need replacing? Unfortunately, mechanics know taking advantage of people is easy, given their lack of knowledge about car maintenance needs. But there’s a new device you can carry with you in your car to tell you exactly what’s wrong with it. If you own a car built after 1996 then you can use this brilliant new device called Fixd to instantly diagnose any car problems. This means the next time your “Check Engine Light” happens to come on, you’ll know exactly what the issue is and the Mechanics won’t be able to lie to you! In the United States alone, this product has done over $50,000,000 in sales in 2017, so it definitely qualifies for our viral products list.

5. Peeps — Cleaner Glasses

This is a relatively new product that is picking up steam fast and is quickly going viral among people who own glasses. The Peeps eyeglass cleaner is designed specifically for cleaning eyeglasses, sunglasses, and reading glasses. Peeps uses a unique invisible carbon cleaning compound to safely and easily clean your glasses from oily fingerprint smudges to dust and facial oils. The Peeps glasses cleaner is the safest and most tested lens cleaning technology in the world. In fact, the technology is literally out of this world – being the only cleaners on the Space Station used for lens cleaning by NASA. It’s easy to use, compact and never expires! Their technology will clean your lenses 500 times! The perfect size eye wear cleaner to take with you – it measures approximately 4x1x1 inches and is available in 7 different colors. They are now shipping worldwide.

6. Snap SmartCam — Catch a Thief

This high quality full HD 1080p USB security camera also doubles as a smartphone charger and it’s getting a lot of attention on the web right now. It’s the perfect gift idea for someone with young kids or pets who needs to keep an eye on them while they’re out of the house. Think of it as a nanny cam that you can also use to charge your phone! In fact, this disguised HD video camera has been used to apprehend criminals in several home invasion cases. The Snap Smart Cam will automatically start recording and when it reaches full memory capacity, it will automatically overwrite the earliest videos recorded. Also, with cell phone wall chargers being everywhere these days, this item is sure to blend into any environment. Think it needs batteries? Nope, not at all, no batteries required, so you can be sure that you’re recording at all times as long as it’s plugged in. Perhaps we should be worried about this viral product though as we really don’t want to be spied on wherever we are!

7. Battle Flashlights — Long-Lasting Bright Light

A strong flashlight is something you’d never think would be a viral product. But this specific flashlight isn’t just your run of the mill ordinary flashlight. It went viral in 2017 and sold over 20,000 units in just a few months. The perfect flashlight for emergency situations is the Battle Flashlight. This was built to withstand anything! You might be thinking that you already have a flashlight. But do the U.S. Navy Seals and the U.S. Coast Guard rely on the kind of flashlight you have? The Battle Flashlight uses military-grade LED technology that can illuminate a field or blanket a work area with 800 lumens of light. It can also blind an attacker. The skin is tough aircraft-grade-aluminum. Throw it, drive over it—it’ll still work. Drop it in six feet of water—it’ll still work. This tough gadget is also versatile. It comes with a strobe setting if you are stranded and need to signal for help, and you can zoom and focus its LED beam to see far, far away. 3 AAA batteries give it 1,000 hours of life. That makes it ideal for reliable, abundant light during a prolonged natural disaster or emergency…and for lots of everyday uses. This is standard gear if you want to be prepared for anything. Keep it in your car with you or your house.

8. DashCam Pro HD

Have you ever been easin’ on down the road when BAM! Some knucklehead runs a red light and hits you? The police show up and it’s your word against Knucklehead’s. Never again! This little windshield-mounted cam’s got your back. And your front. When you turn on the car, the camera starts rolling. And if somebody rolls into you, you’ve got the video in hand to show the police. Or the judge! The DashCam Pro can save you thousands of dollars in legal fees and lawsuits when it proves the other driver was wrong—in vivid color. You can even swing it around to record inside the car as well, and it picks up audio too. With more and more distracted drivers on the roads these days, it really is important everyone has a quality Dashcam for those just in case moments. The DashCam Pro HD will keep your insurance premiums low and minimize any legal fees or charges from accidents, insurance fraud or hit-and-runs.

And if someone harasses you at your window, just turn the camera towards them to deter a potential assault or theft on the spot.

NOTE: Many parents also love DashCam Pro HD to track their teen’s driving or capture breathtaking scenery on road trips.

9. Xtra PC

If you’re tired of having a slow barely functioning computer, then this is the product you want. It’s incredibly frustrating when computers slow down or stop working for seemingly no reason at all. And even after all the diagnostics, upgrades, and money spent, the amount of time waiting for that spinning wheel or hourglass to disappear never seems to get any shorter. Your once new, lightning-fast, computer just keeps getting slower as each day passes.

That’s where this new gadget called Xtra PC can help. It works with any computer (Mac or Windows) made after 2004 and is definitely the fastest. easiest and cheapest solution to getting yourself a new computer without spending a big amount of money. It’s so easy that all you have to do is plug in Xtra PC and you’re good to go. A brand new PC on a memory stick! We can see this product continuing to sell well for the foreseeable future.

10. HD Zoom – Transform Smartphone into DSLR

What’s that in the sky? Could it be Santa and his reindeer? The only way to tell is with an HDZoom360! Get sharp, clear, precise images on your phone and see up to MILES AWAY! Capture breathtaking photos in any weather with this must have smartphone accessory. It’s waterproof, fog proof and scratch resistant with an anti-skid frosted grip so you can catch Santa in the action! Perfect for watching sporting events, concerts, or plays, with this zoom lens you won’t miss a thing! It’s small enough to fit in your pocket (or Christmas stocking), but powerful enough to compete with a $6,000 DLSR. This gadget is perfect for the photography nut on your shopping list.

11. NightSight Driving Glasses – What A Difference

Seriously, did you know that the vast majority of car accidents happen at night and right before dawn? A lot of that has to do with glare and the problems with vision many people experience. Maybe that’s the reason these driving glasses are selling by the truckload. Night Sight HD promises to reduce night driving glare and eye strain, and it will dramatically improve seeing at night during snow or rainy conditions. It lets you see enhanced colour, is durable, lightweight and is fully equipped with polarized lenses. Unlike clip-ons it protects your eyes from all sides, and you can just slide it over your existing prescription lenses. Whether driving, reading or golfing, these versatile goggles make seeing a whole new experience.

12. TV Fox Antenna — Free TV

Did you know you can pick up network TV for free? You just need the right antenna — TV Fox’s indoor antenna. No subscription fee. No installation fee. No satellite dish. Attach the sleek antenna to your wall or hide it under a cabinet or behind a picture — as long as there is a good signal — and enjoy watching leading networks, including 90 of the top 100 programs. All for free! (Yes, it’s legal.) You also get free DVR capability with an on-screen channel guide. What will you use the extra money for when you cancel your monthly cable or satellite TV subscriptions and get TV Fox? You can think about that while you enjoy free TV.

Bonus #1. Huddy – Transform Your Smartphone Into A Heads Up Display

We couldn’t have our viral product list end without including something that more and more drivers have been purchasing in the past month. This brilliant new device turns your smartphone into a heads up display for your car. It’s called Huddy – and although it was only just released, it’s taken the Internet by storm. All you have to do is take it out of the box and place it on your dash, place your smartphone on top of it and let it do all the navigating while you drive. It’s a transparent display that works in any weather, day or night. It also fits any smartphone no matter the size, and it’s slip resistant. Best of all, there are tons of apps available that you can use to see traffic conditions, a speedometer, street maps & much more. You can use it in any car – it has an ultra-grip mat that leaves no messy residue on the dash. We can see this being one of the most purchased gifts for the upcoming Holidays, so check it out while it’s still available.

(C)

[rebeccahpedersen]

Canada’s Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS)

TorontoRealtyBlog

A few weeks ago, there was a feature article in one of the national newspapers on Mortgage Backed Securities in the Canadian marketplace.

I must have had at least 4-5 clients email me this article, and the same number of blog readers asked me to comment on it.

Everybody heard “mortgage-backed securities,” and immediately conjured up images of Brad Pitt and company in The Big Short, and figured this was serious news.

But guess what?  MBS’ have been around in Canada for a long, long time…

How does that saying go?

“I know a little, about a lot.”

Or is it, “I know a lot, about a little.”

Well I’m not sure what category I fit into.  Sometimes I think it’s both.

But when it comes to blogging, and discussing complex topics that often have a loose association with real estate, but that I want to explore anyways, I’m usually up for the task.

When it comes to Mortgage Backed Securities, however, I can’t in good consicence speak to you guys about what’s going on in the industry, where we were, where we’re headed, and most importantly – the differences between Canada’s MBS’, and those that are associated with the financial crisis in the United States in 2008.

So I’ve called upon my trusted mortgage broker for his thoughts.  Although thankfully, it’s not just thoughts, but rather an entire blog post.

Thanks to Ben Sammut from Mortgage Architects for providing the following…

  Mortgage Backed Securities: Be Very, Very Afraid…….In A Way

Mortgage Backed Securities!  Deposit withdrawals!  Sub-prime mortgages!

Are you scared yet?  Well you should be.  It’s frightening that the majority of people do not know enough about these terms to know what they actually are or that they play a crucial role in a working economy.

BMO recently announced that they would be packaging their non-insured mortgages and selling bonds to the public, backed by these mortgages.  The mechanics behind this are very simple:

-A borrower with less than 20% down takes out an insurance policy on their loan.  If they ever default, the insurer (CMHC) pays the bank.  This poses zero risk to the bank.

-If the borrower has 20% or more down (or is refinancing their property), they are not required to take out insurance and the bank instead assumes this risk.  This is typically justified by charging the client a slightly higher interest rate.

-BMO has decided to double dip by charging slightly higher rates AND selling the risk to the public in the form of mortgage backed securities.

-Mortgage Backed Securities are bonds sold to the public that are backed by a large fund of combined mortgages.  Essentially, if the fund does well, the bond holders do well.  If they fund does poorly (i.e. massive defaults), the bond holders do poorly.

Now it’s worth noting that BMO’s mortgages, and the majority of mortgages in Canada for that matter, are fairly safe.

We have 6 major banks in Canada that fund a multitude of different mortgage lenders.  But the entire show is run and regulated by our Ministry of Finance as well as it’s guard dog CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation).

Yes, it is easy to obtain a mortgage today given low rates and real estate markets across the country increasing in value.  But the scrutiny through which Canadian lenders have doled out money is quite high; we have some of the lowest fraud and default rates in the developed world.

To play devil’s advocate, taking on the risk for the banks is obviously…risky.  It’s in the name!  But let’s compare numbers.

There are three components that differentiate the US housing market pre-2007 and our current housing market with respect to mortgage backed securities:

1) The size of MBS funds being traded. 2) The number of players in the game. 3) The way in which mortgages are underwritten/registered.

1) The Size of MBS Funds Being Traded

At the height of the US housing boom in 2007/08, Lehman Brother’s had amassed over $85 billion in mortgage funds from which they sold their mortgage backed securities.  This was an accumulation of their own lenders’ money as well as sub-prime loans purchased on the open market.

We’ll speak more about purchasing loans in a moment.

But in the meantime, the $85 billion was sold to pension funds, retirees, mutual funds, etc., and played a very large role in the overall investing economy of the US.  For scale, BMO has announced that they are packaging less than $2 billion of their mostly AAA loans.

Up until 2007/08, mortgage lending and home buying were rampant and loosely regulated.  The US has hundreds of banks, trust companies, and credit unions all regulated by their own shareholders and local/state regulators – whereas Canada has six.

2) The Number Of Players In The Game

Let that sink in. We have six banks in Canada that own and administer the majority of uninsured mortgages.

This obviously allows for more oversight, regulation, and government intervention. It also allows for more efficient systems as well as greater investment in security and fraud-prevention.

It’s a lot more difficult to sell a skunk loan 6 times and repackage said loan again and again until it eventually looks clean.

And speaking of repackaging loans…

3) The Way In Which Mortgages Are Underwritten

Mortgages in the US are a completely different animal than in Canada. On the northern side of the border, we originate a mortgage for a specific term (usually 1-5 years) and upon renewal of said term, both bank and borrower can part ways or renegotiate the terms of their mutual mortgage.  The repayment can take upwards of 30 years, but this time is broken up into terms.

In the US, however, a typical mortgage loan is originate as a 30 year term and traded among lenders.

For example, you may take out a 30 year loan from Sun Trust this year.  By next fall, your mortgage could be sold to Quicken Loans, Wells Fargo, or Chase Bank. But more realistically, it could be sold to the Oklahoma Teacher’s Pension, the Denver Steel Workers’ Union, or the New York Jewish College Fund.

In fact, throughout your 30 year mortgage, you could be sold to 6, 7, or 10 different creditors.  There is a degree of transparency in this but you can easily see how each seller passes the risk on to the next again and again to remove themselves from any exposure.

When we begin to package these loans again and again, and sell them into other funds, the confusion (and inability to oversee) is magnified.  So imagine the chaos when $85 billion was combined and sold from literally hundreds upon hundreds of independent sources…

Frankly, the move from BMO was an inevitability after Justin Trudeau’s government took away their ability to bulk insure their loans back in October/November.

Is it bad for rates?  A little.

Is it bad for the bank? Not at all.

Is it bad for the borrowers? Not really, it’s actually business as usual.

Is it bad for Canada’s economy?  Not in the slightest.

  If you want to read more on this, there was a great article published in May of 2016 by InternationalInvestment.net, entitled: “Mortgage Backed Securities: Time To Let Them Off The Naughty Step?”  It’s worth a read for sure.

Bottom line: I personally believe that when the first article about MBS’ popped up in a Canadian newspaper a month ago, it was the first time it garnered a lot of attention.  Those that don’t know about MBS’ (which is most people), immediately thought this was something new, and something that perhaps was delivered to the Canadian economy a decade after the United States had their financial debacle.

Now, add a slew of articles and attention to the Home Trust crisis a couple of weeks later, and now a lot of people wanted to connect the two, along with the red-hot Canadian real estate market.

The market is red hot, mortgage backed securities are being sold in Canada, and financial institutions are going under.

Put those three things together, and you’ve got the foundation for a spectacular financial crisis.

Only the MBS’ aren’t anything new.  And now Home Trust is doing business.

So while I’m not blaming the media for this one (which is rare, on my part), I think a lot of people who read headlines, but don’t delve deeper, were looking to make connections, and as a result, conclusions, that weren’t there.

I welcome your thoughts on the MBS market here in Canada.  And specifically for those in the know, how our MBS’ differ from that of the United States in 2008.

And for those of you who didn’t read any of the above, and were just skimming for something of interest, here’s Selena Gomez explaining a CDO:

The post Canada’s Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) appeared first on Toronto Real Estate Property Sales & Investments | Toronto Realty Blog by David Fleming.

Originated from http://ift.tt/2qcoLvA

[oovitus]

Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems.

By his early 50s, Bob Miller was facing metabolic and cardiovascular health issues so serious that he’d already had a very close brush with death. With his weight at an all-time high and his mobility severely compromised, Bob found a way to lose nearly 100 pounds, one small step at a time.

++++

“I have vascular disease, heart disease and Stage 4 kidney disease… ”

“… I have already had an AAA repair, quadruple bypass, 8 stents in my heart, and we are beginning discussions about the inevitability of kidney dialysis and a kidney transplant.”

Those are the intake notes for Bob Miller from two years ago, when he started his Precision Nutrition Coaching journey.

Though Bob had been facing these very serious and mobility-compromising health conditions, Bob had an ambitious goal: to lose a lot of weight.

And, in fact, he already had.

“Almost seven years ago, I weighed 260 pounds,” reflects Bob, 60, of Edmonds, Washington.

Bob at his heaviest, before making a pact with himself to get healthy for his family.

“At that point, I hadn’t realized how much weight I’d gained. My grandmother had died and I needed to buy some clothes to go to the funeral. So I bought a jacket and slacks and I was just shocked at my 46-inch waist and my 48-inch coat.

“That just stunned me. So I had these brand-new clothes and I thought, ‘Something’s got to change here, this is just not going to work’.”

So, Bob made a plan.

“I immediately said, ‘Okay, I’ve got to control how much I’m eating, and low-carb diets have always worked for me to get the weight off, I’m going to do that.’ So that’s what I started to do. Over the next couple of years, I went from 260 down to somewhere in the 210 range.”

Yet after a while, Bob’s weight loss stalled. And stalled. And stalled.

At 5’7”, Bob knew he had more weight to lose. But after 18 months without any further progress, he had to concede that doing things on his own was no longer working.

And Bob wasn’t ready to give up on his own health.

“I wanted to see my grandkids, they haven’t even been born yet. And I didn’t want my wife to be a widow.”

“There are people in my life that depend on me and count on me… and I’ve already had a couple of pretty significant brushes with death.”

“When I had my heart attack, I really thought I was going to die. As my wife was driving me to the hospital, I realized I couldn’t feel my face, my arms, my legs,” Bob recalls.

“So I’ve known that we can all die at any time, but I certainly didn’t want it to be because I had not done everything I could to take care of myself. I didn’t want my legacy to be, ‘That son of a gun, if he had just taken care of himself, he would still be here.’”

Those very powerful reasons drew Bob to Precision Nutrition Coaching.

Once Bob signed up, he was determined to stay committed.

“I was going to see this program out to the end, no matter what, and just see what the results were,” Bob says.

“Even if I wasn’t seeing results on day 364, I was not going to quit before day 365.”

Of course, Bob did see results long before day 364, but admittedly, the pounds didn’t drop as quickly as he’d hoped. At first, Bob thought the program was going too slowly.

“For the first few weeks, they’re giving you anchor habits. If all else fails, you go back to these. At week four I was like, are you frigging kidding me,” Bob laughs.

But those anchor habits turned out to represent a fundamental shift for Bob’s approach to food, exercise, lifestyle habits, and even mindset. In particular, the very first habit — make time for your fitness and nutrition — turned out to make the biggest difference.

“Make time — you know what, that is the most important thing I do in my life,” says Bob.

“Making time for food prep, making time to think about my meal planning, or what I’m doing for the day and where the complications are. Making time for working out, making time for sleep, all those things. In my very busy life, I never realized how important the principal of making time was.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Bob’s health complications brought some extra challenges when it came to his workouts.

His conditions can cause Bob to have low energy, especially by mid-afternoon. But his new habit of “making time” helped him work around that barrier.

“My workouts are a top priority for my day, so I do them first thing in the morning when my energy is the highest. That way I take the ‘I’m out of energy’ excuse out of the equation.”

His combination of conditions can also cause chest pain when his heart rate is elevated from intense activity. Once again, Bob found a way.

“I’ve worked closely with my cardiologist to manage this with a combination of medication and adjustments to my exercise… missing a workout is not an option!”

While he steadily worked through these challenges, Bob also discovered the unexpected value of having someone in his corner — his PN coach. Having Coach Jonathan check in on him, reply to his messages, and just be there helped Bob stay true to his commitment.

“I needed somebody to hold me accountable, I needed somebody to be there,” he says. “There is value in just simply knowing that my coach was there.”

By the end of the PN Coaching program, Bob had lost another 45 pounds.

Bob poses in old pants after his 100-pound weight loss.

Much to his surprise — and his doctor’s — Bob’s kidneys were also functioning better.

“Before PN, my nephrologist was estimating my kidney function at about 26-28 percent, and I was losing about a percentage point every two to three months at one point,” Bob says.

“I went from being on the fast track to dialysis and transplant to stable kidney function for six or eight months now. My nephrologist is encouraged. I can’t believe it. It’s amazing.”

But perhaps Bob’s biggest transformation is internal. He’s shifted from fearing the future, to chasing new possibilities.

Bob is currently enrolled in his second round of PN Coaching — this time, to see what is possible.

“Can I get to single digit body fat? What do I look like then, what do I feel like then? What else can I do with my fitter body and better health that I’ve never been able to do? I’ve got no idea. But I’m willing to do a science experiment and see what is possible for myself.”

The very notion of exploring new possibilities marks a sea change for Bob.

“What is possible…” he reflects. “It wasn’t all that long ago where that was an impossible thought.”

“There’s no, ‘Okay, I did my diet, I’m done.’ My brain and my body and my mind and my heart have been permanently changed.”

In fact, Bob’s physical transformation has been so significant and unexpected that he’s still getting used to his new, slimmer body, and what it can do.

“One of the keys to overcoming my unique challenges was walking through it with my wife. She was, and is, awesome.”

“I had an experience recently where my dog’s ball had gone behind the television console. I was like ‘Oh, I can’t back there, I’ll have to figure something out.’

“Then I thought, ‘Wait a second, you probably can.’ And I did, and I didn’t touch the wall or the back of the console.”

Bob plans to use the final half of his second year with PN exploring the emotional issues surrounding such a big transformation.

“Sometimes I don’t recognize myself. I’ll see myself in the mirror and be surprised by the person I see looking back, or look at my pants and wonder how I’m going to fit in those tiny things! My physical changes are a bit ahead of my emotional and spiritual growth.”

But one thing is certain: As Bob pursues new possibilities for himself, he knows there’s no going back.

Want help overcoming your health and fitness barriers?

Most people know that regular movement, eating well, sleep, and stress management are important for looking and feeling better. Yet they need help applying that knowledge in the context of their busy, sometimes stressful lives.

Over the past 15 years, we’ve used the Precision Nutrition Coaching method to help over 100,000 clients lose fat, get stronger, and improve their health… for the long-term… no matter what challenges they’re dealing with.

It’s also why we work with health, fitness, and wellness professionals (through our Level 1 and Level 2 Certification programs) to teach them how to coach their own clients through the same challenges.

Interested in Precision Nutrition Coaching? Join the presale list; you’ll save up to 54% and secure a spot 24 hours early.

We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Coaching on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019.

If you’re interested in coaching and want to find out more, I’d encourage you to join our presale list below. Being on the list gives you two special advantages.

You’ll pay less than everyone else. At Precision Nutrition we like to reward the most interested and motivated people because they always make the best clients. Join the presale list and you’ll save up to 54% off the general public price, which is the lowest price we’ve ever offered.

You’re more likely to get a spot. To give clients the personal care and attention they deserve, we only open up the program twice a year. Last time we opened registration, we sold out within minutes. By joining the presale list you’ll get the opportunity to register 24 hours before everyone else, increasing your chances of getting in.

If you’re ready to change your body, and your life, with help from the world’s best coaches, this is your chance.

[Note: If your health and fitness are already sorted out, but you’re interested in helping others, check out our Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification program].

The post Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems. published first on

[oovitus]

Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems.

By his early 50s, Bob Miller was facing metabolic and cardiovascular health issues so serious that he’d already had a very close brush with death. With his weight at an all-time high and his mobility severely compromised, Bob found a way to lose nearly 100 pounds, one small step at a time.

++++

“I have vascular disease, heart disease and Stage 4 kidney disease… ”

“… I have already had an AAA repair, quadruple bypass, 8 stents in my heart, and we are beginning discussions about the inevitability of kidney dialysis and a kidney transplant.”

Those are the intake notes for Bob Miller from two years ago, when he started his Precision Nutrition Coaching journey.

Though Bob had been facing these very serious and mobility-compromising health conditions, Bob had an ambitious goal: to lose a lot of weight.

And, in fact, he already had.

“Almost seven years ago, I weighed 260 pounds,” reflects Bob, 60, of Edmonds, Washington.

Bob at his heaviest, before making a pact with himself to get healthy for his family.

“At that point, I hadn’t realized how much weight I’d gained. My grandmother had died and I needed to buy some clothes to go to the funeral. So I bought a jacket and slacks and I was just shocked at my 46-inch waist and my 48-inch coat.

“That just stunned me. So I had these brand-new clothes and I thought, ‘Something’s got to change here, this is just not going to work’.”

So, Bob made a plan.

“I immediately said, ‘Okay, I’ve got to control how much I’m eating, and low-carb diets have always worked for me to get the weight off, I’m going to do that.’ So that’s what I started to do. Over the next couple of years, I went from 260 down to somewhere in the 210 range.”

Yet after a while, Bob’s weight loss stalled. And stalled. And stalled.

At 5’7”, Bob knew he had more weight to lose. But after 18 months without any further progress, he had to concede that doing things on his own was no longer working.

And Bob wasn’t ready to give up on his own health.

“I wanted to see my grandkids, they haven’t even been born yet. And I didn’t want my wife to be a widow.”

“There are people in my life that depend on me and count on me… and I’ve already had a couple of pretty significant brushes with death.”

“When I had my heart attack, I really thought I was going to die. As my wife was driving me to the hospital, I realized I couldn’t feel my face, my arms, my legs,” Bob recalls.

“So I’ve known that we can all die at any time, but I certainly didn’t want it to be because I had not done everything I could to take care of myself. I didn’t want my legacy to be, ‘That son of a gun, if he had just taken care of himself, he would still be here.’”

Those very powerful reasons drew Bob to Precision Nutrition Coaching.

Once Bob signed up, he was determined to stay committed.

“I was going to see this program out to the end, no matter what, and just see what the results were,” Bob says.

“Even if I wasn’t seeing results on day 364, I was not going to quit before day 365.”

Of course, Bob did see results long before day 364, but admittedly, the pounds didn’t drop as quickly as he’d hoped. At first, Bob thought the program was going too slowly.

“For the first few weeks, they’re giving you anchor habits. If all else fails, you go back to these. At week four I was like, are you frigging kidding me,” Bob laughs.

But those anchor habits turned out to represent a fundamental shift for Bob’s approach to food, exercise, lifestyle habits, and even mindset. In particular, the very first habit — make time for your fitness and nutrition — turned out to make the biggest difference.

“Make time — you know what, that is the most important thing I do in my life,” says Bob.

“Making time for food prep, making time to think about my meal planning, or what I’m doing for the day and where the complications are. Making time for working out, making time for sleep, all those things. In my very busy life, I never realized how important the principal of making time was.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Bob’s health complications brought some extra challenges when it came to his workouts.

His conditions can cause Bob to have low energy, especially by mid-afternoon. But his new habit of “making time” helped him work around that barrier.

“My workouts are a top priority for my day, so I do them first thing in the morning when my energy is the highest. That way I take the ‘I’m out of energy’ excuse out of the equation.”

His combination of conditions can also cause chest pain when his heart rate is elevated from intense activity. Once again, Bob found a way.

“I’ve worked closely with my cardiologist to manage this with a combination of medication and adjustments to my exercise… missing a workout is not an option!”

While he steadily worked through these challenges, Bob also discovered the unexpected value of having someone in his corner — his PN coach. Having Coach Jonathan check in on him, reply to his messages, and just be there helped Bob stay true to his commitment.

“I needed somebody to hold me accountable, I needed somebody to be there,” he says. “There is value in just simply knowing that my coach was there.”

By the end of the PN Coaching program, Bob had lost another 45 pounds.

Bob poses in old pants after his 100-pound weight loss.

Much to his surprise — and his doctor’s — Bob’s kidneys were also functioning better.

“Before PN, my nephrologist was estimating my kidney function at about 26-28 percent, and I was losing about a percentage point every two to three months at one point,” Bob says.

“I went from being on the fast track to dialysis and transplant to stable kidney function for six or eight months now. My nephrologist is encouraged. I can’t believe it. It’s amazing.”

But perhaps Bob’s biggest transformation is internal. He’s shifted from fearing the future, to chasing new possibilities.

Bob is currently enrolled in his second round of PN Coaching — this time, to see what is possible.

“Can I get to single digit body fat? What do I look like then, what do I feel like then? What else can I do with my fitter body and better health that I’ve never been able to do? I’ve got no idea. But I’m willing to do a science experiment and see what is possible for myself.”

The very notion of exploring new possibilities marks a sea change for Bob.

“What is possible…” he reflects. “It wasn’t all that long ago where that was an impossible thought.”

“There’s no, ‘Okay, I did my diet, I’m done.’ My brain and my body and my mind and my heart have been permanently changed.”

In fact, Bob’s physical transformation has been so significant and unexpected that he’s still getting used to his new, slimmer body, and what it can do.

“One of the keys to overcoming my unique challenges was walking through it with my wife. She was, and is, awesome.”

“I had an experience recently where my dog’s ball had gone behind the television console. I was like ‘Oh, I can’t back there, I’ll have to figure something out.’

“Then I thought, ‘Wait a second, you probably can.’ And I did, and I didn’t touch the wall or the back of the console.”

Bob plans to use the final half of his second year with PN exploring the emotional issues surrounding such a big transformation.

“Sometimes I don’t recognize myself. I’ll see myself in the mirror and be surprised by the person I see looking back, or look at my pants and wonder how I’m going to fit in those tiny things! My physical changes are a bit ahead of my emotional and spiritual growth.”

But one thing is certain: As Bob pursues new possibilities for himself, he knows there’s no going back.

Want help overcoming your health and fitness barriers?

Most people know that regular movement, eating well, sleep, and stress management are important for looking and feeling better. Yet they need help applying that knowledge in the context of their busy, sometimes stressful lives.

Over the past 15 years, we’ve used the Precision Nutrition Coaching method to help over 100,000 clients lose fat, get stronger, and improve their health… for the long-term… no matter what challenges they’re dealing with.

It’s also why we work with health, fitness, and wellness professionals (through our Level 1 and Level 2 Certification programs) to teach them how to coach their own clients through the same challenges.

Interested in Precision Nutrition Coaching? Join the presale list; you’ll save up to 54% and secure a spot 24 hours early.

We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Coaching on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019.

If you’re interested in coaching and want to find out more, I’d encourage you to join our presale list below. Being on the list gives you two special advantages.

You’ll pay less than everyone else. At Precision Nutrition we like to reward the most interested and motivated people because they always make the best clients. Join the presale list and you’ll save up to 54% off the general public price, which is the lowest price we’ve ever offered.

You’re more likely to get a spot. To give clients the personal care and attention they deserve, we only open up the program twice a year. Last time we opened registration, we sold out within minutes. By joining the presale list you’ll get the opportunity to register 24 hours before everyone else, increasing your chances of getting in.

If you’re ready to change your body, and your life, with help from the world’s best coaches, this is your chance.

[Note: If your health and fitness are already sorted out, but you’re interested in helping others, check out our Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification program].

The post Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems. published first on https://storeseapharmacy.tumblr.com

[oovitus]

Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems.

By his early 50s, Bob Miller was facing metabolic and cardiovascular health issues so serious that he’d already had a very close brush with death. With his weight at an all-time high and his mobility severely compromised, Bob found a way to lose nearly 100 pounds, one small step at a time.

++++

“I have vascular disease, heart disease and Stage 4 kidney disease… ”

“… I have already had an AAA repair, quadruple bypass, 8 stents in my heart, and we are beginning discussions about the inevitability of kidney dialysis and a kidney transplant.”

Those are the intake notes for Bob Miller from two years ago, when he started his Precision Nutrition Coaching journey.

Though Bob had been facing these very serious and mobility-compromising health conditions, Bob had an ambitious goal: to lose a lot of weight.

And, in fact, he already had.

“Almost seven years ago, I weighed 260 pounds,” reflects Bob, 60, of Edmonds, Washington.

Bob at his heaviest, before making a pact with himself to get healthy for his family.

“At that point, I hadn’t realized how much weight I’d gained. My grandmother had died and I needed to buy some clothes to go to the funeral. So I bought a jacket and slacks and I was just shocked at my 46-inch waist and my 48-inch coat.

“That just stunned me. So I had these brand-new clothes and I thought, ‘Something’s got to change here, this is just not going to work’.”

So, Bob made a plan.

“I immediately said, ‘Okay, I’ve got to control how much I’m eating, and low-carb diets have always worked for me to get the weight off, I’m going to do that.’ So that’s what I started to do. Over the next couple of years, I went from 260 down to somewhere in the 210 range.”

Yet after a while, Bob’s weight loss stalled. And stalled. And stalled.

At 5’7”, Bob knew he had more weight to lose. But after 18 months without any further progress, he had to concede that doing things on his own was no longer working.

And Bob wasn’t ready to give up on his own health.

“I wanted to see my grandkids, they haven’t even been born yet. And I didn’t want my wife to be a widow.”

“There are people in my life that depend on me and count on me… and I’ve already had a couple of pretty significant brushes with death.”

“When I had my heart attack, I really thought I was going to die. As my wife was driving me to the hospital, I realized I couldn’t feel my face, my arms, my legs,” Bob recalls.

“So I’ve known that we can all die at any time, but I certainly didn’t want it to be because I had not done everything I could to take care of myself. I didn’t want my legacy to be, ‘That son of a gun, if he had just taken care of himself, he would still be here.’”

Those very powerful reasons drew Bob to Precision Nutrition Coaching.

Once Bob signed up, he was determined to stay committed.

“I was going to see this program out to the end, no matter what, and just see what the results were,” Bob says.

“Even if I wasn’t seeing results on day 364, I was not going to quit before day 365.”

Of course, Bob did see results long before day 364, but admittedly, the pounds didn’t drop as quickly as he’d hoped. At first, Bob thought the program was going too slowly.

“For the first few weeks, they’re giving you anchor habits. If all else fails, you go back to these. At week four I was like, are you frigging kidding me,” Bob laughs.

But those anchor habits turned out to represent a fundamental shift for Bob’s approach to food, exercise, lifestyle habits, and even mindset. In particular, the very first habit — make time for your fitness and nutrition — turned out to make the biggest difference.

“Make time — you know what, that is the most important thing I do in my life,” says Bob.

“Making time for food prep, making time to think about my meal planning, or what I’m doing for the day and where the complications are. Making time for working out, making time for sleep, all those things. In my very busy life, I never realized how important the principal of making time was.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Bob’s health complications brought some extra challenges when it came to his workouts.

His conditions can cause Bob to have low energy, especially by mid-afternoon. But his new habit of “making time” helped him work around that barrier.

“My workouts are a top priority for my day, so I do them first thing in the morning when my energy is the highest. That way I take the ‘I’m out of energy’ excuse out of the equation.”

His combination of conditions can also cause chest pain when his heart rate is elevated from intense activity. Once again, Bob found a way.

“I’ve worked closely with my cardiologist to manage this with a combination of medication and adjustments to my exercise… missing a workout is not an option!”

While he steadily worked through these challenges, Bob also discovered the unexpected value of having someone in his corner — his PN coach. Having Coach Jonathan check in on him, reply to his messages, and just be there helped Bob stay true to his commitment.

“I needed somebody to hold me accountable, I needed somebody to be there,” he says. “There is value in just simply knowing that my coach was there.”

By the end of the PN Coaching program, Bob had lost another 45 pounds.

Bob poses in old pants after his 100-pound weight loss.

Much to his surprise — and his doctor’s — Bob’s kidneys were also functioning better.

“Before PN, my nephrologist was estimating my kidney function at about 26-28 percent, and I was losing about a percentage point every two to three months at one point,” Bob says.

“I went from being on the fast track to dialysis and transplant to stable kidney function for six or eight months now. My nephrologist is encouraged. I can’t believe it. It’s amazing.”

But perhaps Bob’s biggest transformation is internal. He’s shifted from fearing the future, to chasing new possibilities.

Bob is currently enrolled in his second round of PN Coaching — this time, to see what is possible.

“Can I get to single digit body fat? What do I look like then, what do I feel like then? What else can I do with my fitter body and better health that I’ve never been able to do? I’ve got no idea. But I’m willing to do a science experiment and see what is possible for myself.”

The very notion of exploring new possibilities marks a sea change for Bob.

“What is possible…” he reflects. “It wasn’t all that long ago where that was an impossible thought.”

“There’s no, ‘Okay, I did my diet, I’m done.’ My brain and my body and my mind and my heart have been permanently changed.”

In fact, Bob’s physical transformation has been so significant and unexpected that he’s still getting used to his new, slimmer body, and what it can do.

“One of the keys to overcoming my unique challenges was walking through it with my wife. She was, and is, awesome.”

“I had an experience recently where my dog’s ball had gone behind the television console. I was like ‘Oh, I can’t back there, I’ll have to figure something out.’

“Then I thought, ‘Wait a second, you probably can.’ And I did, and I didn’t touch the wall or the back of the console.”

Bob plans to use the final half of his second year with PN exploring the emotional issues surrounding such a big transformation.

“Sometimes I don’t recognize myself. I’ll see myself in the mirror and be surprised by the person I see looking back, or look at my pants and wonder how I’m going to fit in those tiny things! My physical changes are a bit ahead of my emotional and spiritual growth.”

But one thing is certain: As Bob pursues new possibilities for himself, he knows there’s no going back.

Want help overcoming your health and fitness barriers?

Most people know that regular movement, eating well, sleep, and stress management are important for looking and feeling better. Yet they need help applying that knowledge in the context of their busy, sometimes stressful lives.

Over the past 15 years, we’ve used the Precision Nutrition Coaching method to help over 100,000 clients lose fat, get stronger, and improve their health… for the long-term… no matter what challenges they’re dealing with.

It’s also why we work with health, fitness, and wellness professionals (through our Level 1 and Level 2 Certification programs) to teach them how to coach their own clients through the same challenges.

Interested in Precision Nutrition Coaching? Join the presale list; you’ll save up to 54% and secure a spot 24 hours early.

We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Coaching on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019.

If you’re interested in coaching and want to find out more, I’d encourage you to join our presale list below. Being on the list gives you two special advantages.

You’ll pay less than everyone else. At Precision Nutrition we like to reward the most interested and motivated people because they always make the best clients. Join the presale list and you’ll save up to 54% off the general public price, which is the lowest price we’ve ever offered.

You’re more likely to get a spot. To give clients the personal care and attention they deserve, we only open up the program twice a year. Last time we opened registration, we sold out within minutes. By joining the presale list you’ll get the opportunity to register 24 hours before everyone else, increasing your chances of getting in.

If you’re ready to change your body, and your life, with help from the world’s best coaches, this is your chance.

[Note: If your health and fitness are already sorted out, but you’re interested in helping others, check out our Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification program].

The post Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems. published first on

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Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems.

By his early 50s, Bob Miller was facing metabolic and cardiovascular health issues so serious that he’d already had a very close brush with death. With his weight at an all-time high and his mobility severely compromised, Bob found a way to lose nearly 100 pounds, one small step at a time.

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“I have vascular disease, heart disease and Stage 4 kidney disease… ”

“… I have already had an AAA repair, quadruple bypass, 8 stents in my heart, and we are beginning discussions about the inevitability of kidney dialysis and a kidney transplant.”

Those are the intake notes for Bob Miller from two years ago, when he started his Precision Nutrition Coaching journey.

Though Bob had been facing these very serious and mobility-compromising health conditions, Bob had an ambitious goal: to lose a lot of weight.

And, in fact, he already had.

“Almost seven years ago, I weighed 260 pounds,” reflects Bob, 60, of Edmonds, Washington.

Bob at his heaviest, before making a pact with himself to get healthy for his family.

“At that point, I hadn’t realized how much weight I’d gained. My grandmother had died and I needed to buy some clothes to go to the funeral. So I bought a jacket and slacks and I was just shocked at my 46-inch waist and my 48-inch coat.

“That just stunned me. So I had these brand-new clothes and I thought, ‘Something’s got to change here, this is just not going to work’.”

So, Bob made a plan.

“I immediately said, ‘Okay, I’ve got to control how much I’m eating, and low-carb diets have always worked for me to get the weight off, I’m going to do that.’ So that’s what I started to do. Over the next couple of years, I went from 260 down to somewhere in the 210 range.”

Yet after a while, Bob’s weight loss stalled. And stalled. And stalled.

At 5’7”, Bob knew he had more weight to lose. But after 18 months without any further progress, he had to concede that doing things on his own was no longer working.

And Bob wasn’t ready to give up on his own health.

“I wanted to see my grandkids, they haven’t even been born yet. And I didn’t want my wife to be a widow.”

“There are people in my life that depend on me and count on me… and I’ve already had a couple of pretty significant brushes with death.”

“When I had my heart attack, I really thought I was going to die. As my wife was driving me to the hospital, I realized I couldn’t feel my face, my arms, my legs,” Bob recalls.

“So I’ve known that we can all die at any time, but I certainly didn’t want it to be because I had not done everything I could to take care of myself. I didn’t want my legacy to be, ‘That son of a gun, if he had just taken care of himself, he would still be here.’”

Those very powerful reasons drew Bob to Precision Nutrition Coaching.

Once Bob signed up, he was determined to stay committed.

“I was going to see this program out to the end, no matter what, and just see what the results were,” Bob says.

“Even if I wasn’t seeing results on day 364, I was not going to quit before day 365.”

Of course, Bob did see results long before day 364, but admittedly, the pounds didn’t drop as quickly as he’d hoped. At first, Bob thought the program was going too slowly.

“For the first few weeks, they’re giving you anchor habits. If all else fails, you go back to these. At week four I was like, are you frigging kidding me,” Bob laughs.

But those anchor habits turned out to represent a fundamental shift for Bob’s approach to food, exercise, lifestyle habits, and even mindset. In particular, the very first habit — make time for your fitness and nutrition — turned out to make the biggest difference.

“Make time — you know what, that is the most important thing I do in my life,” says Bob.

“Making time for food prep, making time to think about my meal planning, or what I’m doing for the day and where the complications are. Making time for working out, making time for sleep, all those things. In my very busy life, I never realized how important the principal of making time was.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Bob’s health complications brought some extra challenges when it came to his workouts.

His conditions can cause Bob to have low energy, especially by mid-afternoon. But his new habit of “making time” helped him work around that barrier.

“My workouts are a top priority for my day, so I do them first thing in the morning when my energy is the highest. That way I take the ‘I’m out of energy’ excuse out of the equation.”

His combination of conditions can also cause chest pain when his heart rate is elevated from intense activity. Once again, Bob found a way.

“I’ve worked closely with my cardiologist to manage this with a combination of medication and adjustments to my exercise… missing a workout is not an option!”

While he steadily worked through these challenges, Bob also discovered the unexpected value of having someone in his corner — his PN coach. Having Coach Jonathan check in on him, reply to his messages, and just be there helped Bob stay true to his commitment.

“I needed somebody to hold me accountable, I needed somebody to be there,” he says. “There is value in just simply knowing that my coach was there.”

By the end of the PN Coaching program, Bob had lost another 45 pounds.

Bob poses in old pants after his 100-pound weight loss.

Much to his surprise — and his doctor’s — Bob’s kidneys were also functioning better.

“Before PN, my nephrologist was estimating my kidney function at about 26-28 percent, and I was losing about a percentage point every two to three months at one point,” Bob says.

“I went from being on the fast track to dialysis and transplant to stable kidney function for six or eight months now. My nephrologist is encouraged. I can’t believe it. It’s amazing.”

But perhaps Bob’s biggest transformation is internal. He’s shifted from fearing the future, to chasing new possibilities.

Bob is currently enrolled in his second round of PN Coaching — this time, to see what is possible.

“Can I get to single digit body fat? What do I look like then, what do I feel like then? What else can I do with my fitter body and better health that I’ve never been able to do? I’ve got no idea. But I’m willing to do a science experiment and see what is possible for myself.”

The very notion of exploring new possibilities marks a sea change for Bob.

“What is possible…” he reflects. “It wasn’t all that long ago where that was an impossible thought.”

“There’s no, ‘Okay, I did my diet, I’m done.’ My brain and my body and my mind and my heart have been permanently changed.”

In fact, Bob’s physical transformation has been so significant and unexpected that he’s still getting used to his new, slimmer body, and what it can do.

“One of the keys to overcoming my unique challenges was walking through it with my wife. She was, and is, awesome.”

“I had an experience recently where my dog’s ball had gone behind the television console. I was like ‘Oh, I can’t back there, I’ll have to figure something out.’

“Then I thought, ‘Wait a second, you probably can.’ And I did, and I didn’t touch the wall or the back of the console.”

Bob plans to use the final half of his second year with PN exploring the emotional issues surrounding such a big transformation.

“Sometimes I don’t recognize myself. I’ll see myself in the mirror and be surprised by the person I see looking back, or look at my pants and wonder how I’m going to fit in those tiny things! My physical changes are a bit ahead of my emotional and spiritual growth.”

But one thing is certain: As Bob pursues new possibilities for himself, he knows there’s no going back.

Want help overcoming your health and fitness barriers?

Most people know that regular movement, eating well, sleep, and stress management are important for looking and feeling better. Yet they need help applying that knowledge in the context of their busy, sometimes stressful lives.

Over the past 15 years, we’ve used the Precision Nutrition Coaching method to help over 100,000 clients lose fat, get stronger, and improve their health… for the long-term… no matter what challenges they’re dealing with.

It’s also why we work with health, fitness, and wellness professionals (through our Level 1 and Level 2 Certification programs) to teach them how to coach their own clients through the same challenges.

Interested in Precision Nutrition Coaching? Join the presale list; you’ll save up to 54% and secure a spot 24 hours early.

We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Coaching on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019.

If you’re interested in coaching and want to find out more, I’d encourage you to join our presale list below. Being on the list gives you two special advantages.

You’ll pay less than everyone else. At Precision Nutrition we like to reward the most interested and motivated people because they always make the best clients. Join the presale list and you’ll save up to 54% off the general public price, which is the lowest price we’ve ever offered.

You’re more likely to get a spot. To give clients the personal care and attention they deserve, we only open up the program twice a year. Last time we opened registration, we sold out within minutes. By joining the presale list you’ll get the opportunity to register 24 hours before everyone else, increasing your chances of getting in.

If you’re ready to change your body, and your life, with help from the world’s best coaches, this is your chance.

[Note: If your health and fitness are already sorted out, but you’re interested in helping others, check out our Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification program].

The post Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems. published first on