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nashta · 7 years

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Disclaimer: I'm not trying to complain or anything

I realize far too many people have it so much worse than I do, and I just need to put this out there or I'll cave in on myself. Also this post is a giant mess and I don't expect anyone to read it. So a few months ago, I started a new job where I'm working on Friday and Saturday until close (0300). My friend who will be moving in this week or next in place of my mom (oh yeah she's leaving the state) is my ride to and from work, and he refuses to pick me up from those two shifts because he works the next morning. Understandable, I guess, but Uber is super expensive like the first ride I had was almost $40. I can't afford that twice a week. Luckily, another friend of mine is saving me and will be my ride home until she goes to boot camp in February. Anyway, I feel lifeless. I'm not eating anything like I should and I have no energy and school is starting soon and I'm under immense amounts of stress and sacrificing more of myself than I have to sacrifice. He complained about the work thing, saying he won't pick me up from that shift, which I kind of get, but he also said he wants his 2 days off to be reliable so he knows that he'll have a day or two to look forward to where he doesn't have to drive or wake up or anything. Again, I get it, but here's the thing: you can't have both. You gotta either give up your guaranteed days off or a couple hours of sleep because I'm already not sleeping much/well, especially with school coming up. A full-time job on top of school that I'm fully responsible for? I will not be sleeping. A big-ass thing, a few months ago when he said he wouldn't pick me up from those shifts, I lashed out and said "how the fuck am I gonna eat with no job?" because yknow, anxiety, and he lashed back "don't you fucking dare try to guilt trip me." I wasn't trying to though, I was honestly just trying to express what my fears were. Literally ever since then, I refuse to tell him anything. I was often told I was a manipulative child, and maybe it's because I was "mature" for a child because manipulation, even after I learned what it was, was never my intent. But now, I can't tell him when something is wrong. I cry after a ton of shifts on the ride home almost the entire ride because honestly I have so much I need to just get OUT (hence this post) and so many things I'm afraid of and things I need him to do or at least listen to and understand. I need a hug and a cry and I need to know I'm safe and things will be fine and that someone gives a legitimate damn about me and my well-being because it really feels like no one in the world cares. Not enough, anyway. At this point now, someone just saying "I care" really isn't going to cut it. I'm not going to believe them, not really. I can consciously tell myself that, I can back it up with evidence and logic and things they've done to "prove" it, but I still won't feel it. He always wants to get home to his place, I understand, he's tired and wants to go, but I'm never okay. I'm so shot, during those times I'm crying in his car for 20 mins I literally just need a real fucking hug and I need to be allowed to cry because I don't make any sound. As soon as I get inside, I break the fuck down like I'm talking drop everything and fall to the floor audibly sobbing, and I'm exaggerating absolutely none of that. I've been afraid to post on this for so long because I know he follows it and reads shit and I'm afraid of what'll happen but honestly I just want to die and the more shit that happens, the more I break and the less I feel and the sooner I'll kill myself so maybe him getting pissed off and so upset with me is for the best. THIS IS A SUPER IMPORTANT BIT @ANYONE/FUTURE ME The reason I'm always crying is that I have things I need to express, but I can't. I'm constantly reminded of that "don't guilt me" thing, and every single thing I need to express is a guilt trip, all of it is a fucking manipulation, and I can't express that feeling because that is ALSO a guilt trip and a fucking manipulation. Telling him what I need and why and how it's fucking with me, that'll possibly make him feel bad, and telling him that I can't tell him shit might also make him feel bad, you see where I'm going with this? He also thinks I'm dramatic and overreacting to shit. My whole body is in pain and simple tasks seem to hurt more than they used to. FUTURE ME, THIS IS ALSO A SUPER IMPORTANT BIT I've expressed some of these things before and he just invalidates them. "Oh you're fine," "you just have hypothermia because you always have the A/C on," "your weight is fine." NO BITCH My temperature at one point hit 94.something. That's dangerous, and while I realize you can get hypothermia from too much A/C, I don't have any of the symptoms and I have too many symptoms of other things that are more likely. My mom is Type 1 brittle diabetic (autoimmune disease) which means being hypoglycemic isn't an out-there theory, I have a lot of symptoms, and it would explain the voodoo doll feeling. Plus hypoglycemia (from what I've read) is often a symptom itself of something else. Having Addison's Disease also isn't all that far off because it is also an autoimmune disease and it attacks internal organs (from what I've read. I'm not a doctor I don't know how likely or unlikely it is that I could have it). ALSO kidney disease (CKD) is another possibility because I have too many symptoms to be that much coincidence and that really freaks me out because if I'm ever so broke that I literally cannot afford food/water/other damn needs, my backup plan (honestly probably for college) is to sell one of my kidneys since you really only need one. And yes, I mean on the black market. Go ahead FBI fucking come for me. If I don't have 2 working kidneys, bye bye backup plan! Also to add to that stress, I don't know half of my biological family medical history. Never had a dad because he left, so I don't know what I'm at risk for from them. I have decent reason to fucking panic! MORE IMPORTANT THING FUTURE ME I KNOW YOU'VE NODDED OFF BY NOW PROBABLY GO FUCK YOURSELF I'm starving myself. Kind of. Ok look it's not in an ED sort of way. It's not like that, I'm not so fucking hungry that I'm clutching my stomach in pain and still refusing to eat. If I'm that hungry I'll try and fucking eat something. I have a small appetite because of stress and probably other things rn. There are usually only a few times I eat: 1) when I watch Shane Dawson videos (idk why he used to do a lot of food stuff and I'd usually watch them after work when I was hungry so maybe that's it but it's stuck now) 2) when I have to take my meds (before work and during work if it's been a while) 3) if my head is being stupid (if I have a massive headache because I've learned that that usually means I need food, or if my head is super foggy and I'm confused and slow and forgetful) My usual weight from a few months ago was like 115-118 lbs. I'm 4'11 so that's not bad BMI but I despised my body and frequently would punish myself for indulging or eating too much. My BMI was fine but too uncomfortably close to "overweight" for me. However, didn't hate my weight, just my body. Light for me was 112-115 lbs. My average-ish weight now is 100 lbs, and it's going down. I don't despise my body now (don't really like it still but I'm fine with it) and I don't want to gain my weight back but I'm also scared to lose more. I weighed myself earlier today and I WAS 98 LBS. THAT'S APPROXIMATELY A 20 LB DROP. That's still a healthy weight, but it wasn't lost in a healthy way and that's what fucking scares me. I sent him a photo of the scale at 99 lbs (he knows my normal weight and I expressed to him when I lost 10 lbs how worried I was because it was after like 2 weeks of accidental starvation) and YOU KNOW WHAT HE FUCKING SAID? "Your weight is nothing to be worried about." I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT MY WEIGHT I'M WORRIED ABOUT HOW I GOT THERE GODDAMMIT HE FUCKING KNOWS I HAVEN'T BEEN EATING. WE'VE LITERALLY TALKED ABOUT HOW IT'S A FUCKING STRUGGLE FOR ME TO GET IN MORE THAN 800 CALORIES IN A FUCKING WAKE CYCLE PLUS EVERYTHING I'M EATING IS NOT GOOD FOR ME TO BE EATING LIKE THIS Jesus fucking Christ god fucking dammit I'M FUCKING WORRIED ABOUT MY WEIGHT BECAUSE THE ONLY REASON IT'S THERE IS BECAUSE I'VE NOT BEEN EATING. I'VE BEEN FUCKING STARVING MYSELF I've been fucking starving myself. I've been fucking starving myself. I've been fucking starving myself. Because of money. That's literally the reason. I picked up my medication today and had a $1 copay. I've never had a copay before. I had an anxiety attack and bought food, plus I was hungry. I woke at 1800, ate at around 2000, ate again at 1000 when I took another dose of meds before work. This prescription thing, I got back in his car (which isn't working well and he was angry so I kind of get it) at 1700ish. I ate one small soft cookie and he asked me to not eat because chewing irritates him. So I didn't eat until 0100, after a few hours of sleep. Let me timeline this for you: 1800 - wake 2 hours later - approximately 1c rice with nooch and chili powder and a little cheese to take my meds and supplement 14 hours later- 1.5 pieces of naan with hummus to take my meds 7 hours later - 1 small cookie that I then felt bad about buying and eating because it made him angry and reinforced the "you're nothing so you don't deserve to eat" thing in my head 4 hours later - fall asleep 3.5 hours later - wake 30 mins later - half a package of soft cookies with milk 5 hours later - writing this post for 1.5 - 2 hours I don't eat 95% of the time because of money. If I eat this food, then I have to spend money to replace it. I might need that money later so don't eat too much, eat only what you need, don't be a fucking pig, eat only what you need to function, don't be greedy, eat only what you need to stay alive for now, don't piss anyone off by making a mess and being lazy just don't eat if you don't absolutely need to. Don't make anyone angry at you. Make it last. You need boots that you can work in. You need your neck worked out. You want to see Motionless In White, save your money. You can't go to Kipona this year because he won't go with you and you have no one else even though you used to go with Grandbob, maybe next year or the one after that. Save your money. Maybe Muddy Run? Save your money for that. You want to go to the Ren Faire, save all you can for that. Another thing that's fucking with me He said he'd take off work and go to last month's flute circle because I really want him to experience it, but backed out because he didn't want to take off work and left me unable to attend. I rarely go, and it's the last regular experience I have to Grandbob and it absolutely fucking destroyed me to not be there. Again. I can't go to this month's because it was 2 days ago. I don't think I'll be allowed to go back for another few years, I don't think I'll be allowed to experience anything that connects me to Grandbob for another few years and by then they'll probably all be gone. I'm not allowed to cope or lash out or cry or scream or experience emotion or eat or fucking try to have some sort of connection to Grandbob because it inconveniences everyone else and I'm not allowed to have needs or try to take care of myself because it inconveniences everyone else and makes everyone else angry and every single thing I do does that. Last week I woke up at 0200 and couldn't go back to sleep even though I had to be at work at 1100 and close the shop at 2100 and work through those hours. I couldn't get back to sleep even though I tried for hours because I was having a depressive anxiety attack and crying for hours and I was literally imagining that my availability having to change and possibly not being able to work the drunk rush anymore making my boss so angry and upset that he fires me and me being as depressed and anxious and suicidal as I am, literally taking a knife and killing myself in the bathroom and my coworker (who actually got fired irl) found me and was just so apathetic and my boss literally just being like "goddammit now I have this mess to clean up and have to close early and can't make money" and me dying having zero emotional impact on either of them because I'm not a fucking person to them and all I am is a hassle. So I'm seeing that in my head and crying for hours, then I'm also seeing potential effect that that imaginary situation has on my mom and my friend and I'm crying over THAT for hours. God, I don't even fucking know. I just want to die because no one gives a fuck and I hate this country and I don't have enough money to survive and be okay in this country and politics is killing me and money and stress and I just want to fucking die because my soul is cold and nothing feels real or genuine to me anymore and I'm just a fucking obligation to everyone I'm not a fucking person I'm not important I'm just a selfish piece of shit motherfucker that needs to die alone in a hole and I'm pretty sure this whole post is a fucking guilt trip manipulation bullshit even though I don't mean it to be and I wish I never needed anything because hugs aren't feeling genuine anymore no one fucking takes my needs into consideration it doesn't matter how thin i get or how thin I'm spread it's never enough and I can't expect anyone to spread themselves the smallest bit until I'm fucking dust please just end my earthly existence Look at me Look at this fucking post I'm fucking crazy, aren't I? Isn't this the raving of a mad person? I've literally spent 2 hours typing this WHY am I this way? WHY can't I just deal with it like everyone else?

#myposts #depression #depressing thoughts #anxiety #ravings of a madman #wes #wesley #yeah this is about you sorry for being so shitty #really really hoping you're not going to read this #really hope you don't have notifications on or something #hope you just don't #at the very least #don't fucking say anything to my mom #k cool #I am trash #personal #personal thoughts #bye

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yilinglaozuhot · 8 years

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Sherlock S4 = Act 4? Falling Action

I’ve briefly explained my idea how Sherlock can fit into the Shakespearian 5 Act Play Structure in this post and now I’m going to ramble a bit a lot about Series 4 in detail while I’ll try to keep in mind what I want to write about.

I must mention that all the following potato rambling under the cut is my reading of the events and my mere attempt to make some sense of S4.

Any coincidences with other metas show that we are all Anderson. If you know any metas about the topics below, please let me know and I’ll read them and credit them here.

First of all, it’s hard to decide where we can draw the line between Act 3 and Act 4 because in between there is TAB. We have to decide where to put it. Now, we have two three theories:

Sherlock’s journey in his Mind Palace started back in HLV, after Mary shot him (and at this point, opinions seem to differ - again)?

Sherlock goes into his MP after he got on the plane in HLV??

we are in Sherlock’s MP since TRF???

Guys, this EMP theory gets weirder and weirder, and I needed to step back and give it a go for myself to decide where I should draw the lines. I was thinking about it a lot after wiriting my starting analysis (or meta or how should I call it) and I got more confused the more I was thinking about it. It’s totally nuts.

So, I decided that I’m going to be basic and S4 = Act 4. That simple it is. Because it is what it is. Or is it?

Of course it’s not. I’m using the basic EMP theory that some time ago Sherlock dived into his Mind Palace and he’s still sinking (or falling, as you like it).

I created a shitty explanation image how I imagine the place of TAB and S4 in the structure of 5 Act Plays. I hope it helps.

(Did I mention how I hate that my dashboard stretches pictures that aren’t wide enough?)

I collected some definitions around the web that helps to understand the meaning of Falling Action.

Wikipedia: During the falling action, the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist. The falling action may contain a moment of final suspense, in which the final outcome of the conflict is in doubt.

Storyborad That: The opposite of Rising Action, in the Falling Action the story is coming to an end, and any unknown details or plot twists are revealed and wrapped up. (I used that description in my previous analysis.)

Letterpile: During the Falling Action, the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist finally comes to a head, and a clear winner and loser are determined. The main character often experiences a 'False Victory' or 'False Defeat'. As you may have deduced, a 'False Victory' is punished with a final defeat, while the 'False Defeat' is rewarded with a true victory. This is readily apparent in tragedies, action, horror, and romantic films. This Falling Action may also contain a final moment of suspense, in which one or more possible outcomes are in doubt until the Resolution.

My favourite is the description that Letterpile gives for Act 4 because it’s more detailed that the others. So, let’s examine it!

I’m explaining things with the help of EMP theory so I assume that we are still in Sherlock’s head.

“The main character often experiences a 'False Victory' or 'False Defeat'”

In Sherlock, it seems like the main character got a victory. He learns throughout S4 that emotions are not a disadvantage, they make him a better man, and with embracing his emotional side he can defeat his enemy who this time is himself his own sister, Eurus who was lurking in the shadow all in his life, apparently.

I believe (and many other people who are cleverer than me) that Eurus symbolises Sherlock’s dark, cold, rational, emotionless, logical side so she doesn’t really exist outside Sherlock’s head. Eurus is the side of Sherlock that he would have become if he hadn’t met John. It’s pretty obvious from the parallels and mirrorings... with a big fucking glass that reflects as a mirror and it suddenly disappears when Sherlock meets Eurus and their hands merge together ASDASDFF. Could they be more subtle? We don’t have to think hard about symbolism while watching TFP to understand all of this. And I assume we’re still in Sherlock’s head so it makes more sense reading S4 this way.

But why this victory is false?

Look at the picture above. That’s why. We can’t count how many loose ends we have, and what did Mycroft say about them? “Not on my watch.”

We have more loose ends after S4 than before, and the loose ends we’ve already had before S4 aired aren’t explained. (*coughs* The Reichenbach Fall *coughs* That still bugs John. *coughs* For example. *coughs*)

“I will burn the heart out of you.” resolution. We were pretty close to this during the whole S4 to see Sherlock’s heart burn out, maybe closer than any time. But Sherlock defeats himself Eurus with his emotional side, and it seems in the final minutes that everyone has got a happy ending in the surface.

According to the EMP theory, Sherlock tries to burn his own heart out but he fails and accepts his emotional side? I’m conused here a little bit. He doesn’t even need Moriarty, he wants to do the work for himself. I’m still more conused.

[Nice revisiting of the climbing-out-of-MP scene in TFP, Mofftiss. Well done.]

The lamp in Sherlock’s hand symbolises his heart, I believe. In all the darkness that is surrounding him, it’s the only light that’s flickering, the beacon light of hope. It has to burn to give light and life, and defeat Eurus the darkness.

We see how Sherlock’s MP lights up after Moriarty mentions that “John Watson is definitely in danger” in HLV, and in TFP suddenly a lamp appears when it comes to saving John Watson. Coincidence? I think not. Sherlock’s darkening MP lights up again when he thinks that he can save John again. He’s not falling anymore, he’s ascending, lighting up again the rooms of his MP which explains the brighter lighting of the final montage of the series.

He literally lets the light into his rooms that suggests a bright, happy end. But it’s a false end if we believe the description that “a 'False Victory' is punished with a final defeat” in Act 5. I really hope that this part of the description won’t fit in, and Mofftiss will turn Sherlock into a Shakespearian comedy and we’ll see marriages everywhere because our boys deserve happiness! *goes in the corner to sob for 5 mins*

But first, shit has to hit the fan... again. But that will be the problem of Act 5.

Correction, or other explanation of ‘False Victory’ or ‘False Defeat’: As @ebaeschnbliah and @isitandwonder pointed out, if we assume that Eurus is Sherlock’s cold, pure brain side he cannot really defeat her. It’s a False Defeat because he needs his brains to still be Sherlock Holmes. Yes, the defeat of Eurus is not real. He embraces her = he embraces his darker, only-brain side. We can see in the montage that Sherlock visits Eurus from time to time to play a duet, to communicate through music, which means synchronization between the two sides of him. They are playing in harmony. This ambiguity of the terms ‘False Victory’ and ‘False Defeat’ are very interesting, and I can only blame my pessimistic brain that I didn’t recognize this sooner. Thanks so much for the clarification!

Sidenote: Maybe we see the bottom of Sherlock’s MP in the mortuary in TLD when he looks like he wants to find something in his head but he cannot reach it? That bright white light flashes up, then everything falls back into these blue-grey shadows. And we can’t see any more deductions like we are in Sherlock’s head until he solves Eurus’ poem. And the contrast between cold colours and warm colours in this series means the struggle between brains and heart? But that’s colour theory.

“This is readily apparent in tragedies, action, horror, and romantic films”

Tragedy? Check.

And it looks pretty framed, huh? In every meaning.

Action? Check.

Horror? Check.

(That clown, tho... I wish Mycroft would have shot him.)

Romance? Check.

And here is Sherlock, the fairytale prince, dashing through the night, with light in his hand = hope in his heart.

Of course we can apply this to every series more or less because Sherlock operates with all of the genres above.

“A final moment of suspense “

Thank you, that’s all I wanted to show here.

They. Fucking. Freeze. Before. They. Jump.

* Also, I’ve found a cool prezi about the structure of the 5 Act Plays and guess how is it called there? NIGHTMARE STAGE! FUCKING. NIGHTMARE. STAGE. And I’m not sorry for the swearing because my mind’s just blown away by this. Because by applying this description of Act 4 to S4, all of the fuckiness makes much more sense. IT’S ALL A FUCKING LONG NIGHTMARE! Can you believe it? Because I can’t... It must be just a coincidence.

**I did some research in this particular phrase and no other sources mention Act 4 as nightmare stage. But it’s fun to play with the idea around.

P.S.: I’m a lazy ass for not explaining in more detail how the genres apply to Sherlock but it’s obvious enough with the pictures, I think...?

If you haven’t read it yet, @gosherlocked found some evidence that this idea of Sherlock being a 5 Act Play is not a theory anymore. IT’S HAPPENING!

How does exactly S4 fit into this “play within a play within a play” thing?

Phase 1:

That’s how I originally imagined the layers of The Play but I’m starting to realize it’s much more complicated than I first thought.

Phase 2: If we assume that S4 takes place within the realm of TAB and we draw parallels, we realize that they leak into each other by replicating scenes and characters, and it sometimes feels like that our characters still hold some characteristics of their Victorian selves. Just some things out of the top of my head

Though Sherlock and John call each other Sherlock and John, the distance between them is more obvious then in TAB.

Sherlock doesn’t feel he’s entitled to sit beside John in the sofa in John’s house in TFP (and in TST he’s the spectre of the baby shower and the christening).

Mary’s characterization in TST with that letter to John after she runs away. When the fuck did she call John “my darling” outside Sherlock’s head?

Mrs Hudson got more lines by demand? BAMF Mrs H. FTW! Also, can someone explain me what she means by she’s “not a civilian”? Then who are you, Martha Louise Hudson?

It looks like for me that Sherlock hasn’t really woken up from his Victorian hallucination. (I’ll create a better diagram when my schedule allows it.)

Phase 3: The circle closes and real memories start to leak through the layers of Sherlock’s MP besides the fabricated story of TAB?

Note: Thanks for the screencaps for kissthemgoodbye.net

And some people seemed interested in my previous potato post so here we go again...

@isitandwonder @loveismyrevolution @holmesianscholar @ebaeschnbliah @tjlcisthenewsexy @sofini @posh-boy-clever-boy @sarahthecoat

(My next potato will be about TAB because I go backwards if anyone’s interested in it.)

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jimmybechtel · 4 years

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Upskilling in Digital Marketing During Lockdown – Where to Start?

Where to start with upskilling in Digital Marketing?

It is quite astounding just how many people across the UK are currently on furlough or finding they have additional free time.

A very non-scientific poll of friends and family showed that on average 60% were furloughed and over 90% said they had more free time in general.

This should not really come as a surprise I guess, as even those who are still working, are mostly doing so from home and therefore they have the additional time during which they’d usually be commuting. Add to this that most clubs and leisure activities have been halted and gyms and pubs are closed and that has meant there’s also more free time in the evenings and at weekends.

This is great for catching up on sleep, binge-watching box sets and generally chin waging with friends and family, but it seems that improving skills is also on people’s minds.

Several of my circle have been baking, gardening, and doing DIY but many are also turning their attention to how they can upskill themselves in digital marketing.

For some, this is because they wish to improve their employability in the future and for others, it’s to support their own business activity.

As I work in digital marketing, I am being asked what training would be most beneficial and what to look for. I thought others may also find some of the information useful, so I’ve popped it together in this post.

Digital marketing is a large and ever-evolving subject and the pace at which things move can sometimes be phenomenal. The investment needed in training and software to keep on top of the latest updates can be significant and is one of the reasons many businesses decide to use an agency such as Koozai.

However, understanding the basics of digital marketing can really help both individuals, and businesses of all shapes, sizes, and sectors. But before you even get on to which area of digital marketing to start with, here are a few general tips.

How in-depth do you need the training to be?

First, you need to consider what you want the result to be, why you want, or need, to upskill. Is it just something you want to understand a little more about, in which case a podcast or a blog giving a broad overview may be best? Or, do you want to be able to follow some step by step instructions to manage the activity yourself?

For example, it could be that you’re a marketing manager who has had their budget dramatically reduced and it now means you’re going to have to run your company’s paid social activity yourself. How are you going to ensure you maximize the budget and that you don’t make any mistakes that could end up being costly?

Watching a 30 min overview video is not going to cut it. You will need to seek out a resource that clearly explains everything, from start to finish. Shows you in easy to follow steps what to do and identifies and illustrates how to avoid common pitfalls.

This is also an important consideration if you run a business and have some of the team on furlough, or, come July, on part-time hours and you’re considering using this time for their personal development.

Most business owners are aware of how important training is, but often commercial priorities can mean that learning and development is not always the focus it should be. So, using the time the team now has is a win-win for all.

Again, you need to work out what it is that you want the result to be – work with the team member to agree on what areas of upskilling would be most useful.

Research what resources are available and what would best suit their needs. Agree on how you’ll monitor progress and measure any outcome.

Finally, you could be self-employed or a small business owner and be finding that your usual route to market has been curtailed by the lockdown measures. So, you want to understand how to identify and target potential customers with a message that will lead them to your product or service now and in the future.

There is a myriad of reasons that someone might want to upskill, and the key is finding the right materials to suit those needs.

There will be a suitable resource out there to suit you, but you need to understand what you want the end result to be, or you could end up being disappointed and waste both time and money.

How do you learn best?

The next thing to consider is how you or your team member learn best. Some people are quite happy reading the theory in a book, whereas for others, being able to follow a step-by-step video, which they can pause, rewind and re-watch, whilst implementing the steps, works best.

A lot of us learn by doing whereas others prefer to follow written instructions. Understanding how you learn best will help you get the most from your investment, so ensure you’re getting material in a format that works for you.

Consider the value for money

There are many courses and materials currently being provided either for free or at a reduced rate. Just be mindful and do your due diligence. For example, it may be worth investing a small amount in a course that has a known brand or some proven expertise behind it, rather than a free one, which does not. Likewise, a hefty price tag does not always mean it’s a quality course either. So, ensure you research properly.

Is lifetime access offered?

As mentioned earlier, digital marketing moves at a pace and so then should the training materials. You don’t want to find you’ve paid for a course that’s then out of date within a matter of months. Or, that you have to shell out again for the latest version.

Many reputable providers will offer lifetime access. This means you pay once, and all future updates and versions are included.

On a similar note, ensure there’s no time limit on how quickly you need to start and complete the course. For some, it might not be an issue and you’ll be able to sit down and work through it all swiftly but for others, life will get in the way and you may need weeks or months to find the time to work through everything properly.

Top tips

Identify what you want to get out of the training

Understand how you, or your team member, learn best

Consider the value

Check if lifetime access is available

Where to start with digital marketing

The whole area of digital marketing is vast. There’s so much you could learn; it could easily become overwhelming.

For most people, the reason they want to upskill falls broadly into one or more of 4 categories:

To make more money

To save money

To become more employable or

Because active learning is good for mental health

I’m focusing on the top two, as they seem to be the reasons the majority of the people I’ve spoken with recently are looking to upskill. Of course, as a bonus, it will also be good for their mental health and give them additional skills to put on their CVs but that’s not their main aim, currently.

As we’re focusing on the more commercial reasons it’s important that any decisions made on the training will actually result in either making or saving money. You could, as one person suggested to me, they were considering, leave your agency and try and undertake all your digital marketing in house. This would save money. However, if the revenue being generated also drops and the saving is outweighed by the loss of revenue, then this will be a false economy. And this outcome is very likely.

This is obviously an extreme example but even if you’re starting a new business venture or looking for a new way to reach more potential customers, trying to do it all yourself from the outset is unlikely to work, there’s just too much to learn. My suggestion would be to focus on one area to begin with, and then branch out from there.

So where to start? That’s the question.

If you’re anything like me then I’m sure your screen time has increased during the lockdown. Particularly in terms of social networks. Even before all this mine was terrible (albeit I do have an excuse as it’s my job) but now it’s grown further. And I’m not alone.

According to Netimperative.com, a digital intelligence business, social network time for adults is up by more than 5 minutes compared to their pre-COVID forecast.

Everyone is glued to their screens and people are spending a lot of time on social media. With all these eyes on the social channels, it’s never been more important to ensure your brand is there too.

For this reason alone, I have recommended to most of the people I’ve spoken with to start their training there. By learning about paid social. And more specifically about Facebook Ads.

Paid Social and Facebook Ads, in particular, is focused enough that you will not be overwhelmed and is one area of digital marketing where you can see positive results quickly. Other disciplines such as SEO for example can take longer to realise returns.

This, coupled with the fact that over two billion people use Facebook each month means it’s a good place to start.

No matter what your business, in terms of the audience you’re after, you WILL find them on Facebook. You just need to know how to target them to get the best result.

The Facebook Ads Manager interface, once you know your way around, is also quite simple to navigate and can be used across different devices, meaning you can access it from pretty much anywhere.

Facebook has been created so that you don’t need to be an expert to use it. However, it does help if you’re aware of how it works and when (and when not) to use it’s built-in learning and self-service tools.

So, whether you’re an individual, a small business owner, or an in-house marketing manager, that is looking to upskill; you could do worse than start with a paid social training course that focusses on Facebook Ads.

As I mentioned earlier there are many courses and materials available in many different price brackets, so do your research and find the one that works best for you.

Clearly, as an agency with over 14 years’ experience, we have a lot of information on our own website. From an online paid social training course to blogs and whitepapers.

Hopefully, that will give you a solid place to start.

Happy learning!

The post Upskilling in Digital Marketing During Lockdown – Where to Start? appeared first on Koozai.com

Upskilling in Digital Marketing During Lockdown – Where to Start? published first on http://wascript.weebly.com/

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busbysbakery · 4 years

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Adding Water To An Oven – Learn The Best Way To Make Steam!

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Adding Water To An Oven - The Best Way

If you’re wondering “What is the secret to adding water to an oven,” “What is the science behind what goes on with steam ovens” or simply, "How to steam bread." Then like me, it’ll probably bug you for years until you find the way that works best for you.

Maybe believing a theory along your bread baking journey which turns out later to scientifically not correct...

(Yes, me)

After years of bread baking combined with a few months of intense "steam" and "adding water" research, I’ve got the problem dialled down for you.

This article shares the best way to use steam to bake the most perfect light and crusty bread.

Why is adding water important when baking bread?

Adding some water to the oven creates a moistened environment, this allows the bread to rise easier by delaying the setting of the crust. It makes bread deliciously light and crusty.

How it does this, and why, we'll cover in detail later on in this post.

Is it steam or water?

Before we begin with the juicy stuff, I’m just going to make you aware that I use the terms “water” and “steam” interchangeably.

Adding water to a hot oven creates steam. This is the point of adding water. When talking with other bakers we tend to lean on the “adding steam” phrase. So adding water or adding steam, either is good.

What professional bakers learn about baking with steam

My journey to understand baking with steam started a while back. Most professional bakers learn about using steam in the oven in a kind of backward way.

Let me share a conversation:

I was sat in a coffee shop with John, a supermarket baker of 20 years. He is one of the most passionate bakers that I’ve had the pleasure of working with. John would make spot-on bread every bake.

He never made mistakes.

I'd often wondered why he hadn't pushed himself down a more artisan route in bread baking. He was one of a few people I knew who would be able to handle the more complicated processes and techniques with ease. He was fantastic.

Anyway, enough of hosting his ego. Let’s get back to the point...

Whilst sipping my latte, naturally the conversation turned to bread. I told him I was starting to write this article, he showed an interest.

I asked him “What do you understand about using steam in the oven?”

His reply was typical to many heard before. It had not progressed.

“It makes the bread go crusty”

To be fair, I couldn't argue with him.

It is true,

but, there’s more to it than crusty.

So I fired a quick trio of more challenging questions:

“How much steam to add?”

“Why does it do what it does?”

“What are the other benefits of steam? ”

To these questions John stalled, but as we conversed, it all made perfect sense...

Many bakers including myself rely on old wives tales or assumptions when understanding how adding water to the oven works. They get passed through the ranks in every bakery establishment.

Often though (here's the thing...) they are not the full picture. My definition of adding water to the oven (to create steam) a year or two ago was very similar to Johns. Now I know that creating steam by adding water into the oven is a bigger subject.

Knowing the science behind team baking bread isn’t vital to baking a loaf of bread. All you have to do is follow a process to create steam.

Pour the water -> Close the door -> Run away (how I first learned to add water to an oven)

I’ve explored many ways to add steam to an oven over my years in bread baking. My desire to conquer it started back when I was a supermarket baker with John. The steam injectors would regularly bread in the deck ovens we were using.

Apparently we had dirty water in our pipes or something?

After the engineers had repeatedly attempted to repair, our baking team decided to learn how to create steam ourselves.

The Pour, Close & Run strategy was the technique that we used. It works by chucking a cup of tap water onto the baking stone as we dropped the bread in.

It works pretty well, it would create enough steam sometimes too much if we got carried away. There was a slight worry that the sudden attack of cold water might shatter the baking stone.

But they weren’t our ovens, so we didn't really care!

(bad I know)

I used the "Pour, Close & Run" technique hundreds of times in my career, then one day it occurred to me...

“What is actually going on?”

After many years of baking, I still don’t know, not really anyway!

... So I set out to find the truth about adding water to an oven

Having strong technical knowledge helps bakers make the best quality bread. Any extra advantage benefits home bakers, especially when starting out. The equipment used in pro bakeries is a higher quality and helps “paper over the cracks”.

It’s easier to learn bread baking as a job than studying at home. I felt I needed to learn everything about this topic so I could share it with you to give you an advantage.

How a professional baker adds water to an oven to make steam

Steam jets are fitted in the ovens. The jets are powered by a tank storing pressured water. When the oven demands it, the jets are opened and water is released into the oven. Depending on the type of steam system the oven uses it can take a few minutes after use for them to be ready to spray again.

It may sound great, but there are always issues with pipes clogging up and expensive repair charges. At least, I’ve found that in hard water areas it's sometimes not worth bothering with the repair costs.

They constantly get jammed.

I’ve not found a reliable situation. I tend to use the techniques commonly used for home use in a commercial bakery.

At least I know they work every time.

THE BEST WAY TO ADD WATER TO AN OVEN

This is a combination of methods shown below. It allows plenty of steam to get into the oven and stay there!

Domestic ovens are not as well sealed as commercial ones so you have to over-steam in most home setups to compensate for some moisture leaking out.

Here are the steps that I follow:

Heat the oven with a baking stone and a tray on the shelf below

Boil the kettle

Place the bread on the baking stone

Pour a cup of boiling water into the heated tray

Shut the door as quick as you can - without burning yourself!

For more steam or if your oven seal is not great, take these extra steps:

Wait 30 seconds then using a spray mister, spray the over walls for 5 seconds

Shut the door again and wait 30 seconds

Spray again for another 5 seconds

Open the door after 20-25 minutes to release the steam

Alternative ways (+ photos) to add water to a domestic oven:

Put water in the bottom of the oven

Heat a tray in the oven, placed below the baking stone. The tray should have a reasonable lip to hold the water.

The tray must also be strong enough to withstand the high heat of a bread oven without wilting, at least 240C (465F). Check the guidelines before you buy.

Once you place your bread in the oven, pour a cup (you can use a jug if it’s easier) of tap temperature water onto the hot tray.

This will rapidly create steam and so quickly shut the door!

You can use boiling water, or ice cubes instead of water from the tap. The boiling water way tends to exhaust the steam so quickly it flies out of the oven- before I can close the door!

So I add a bit more if I use boiling or hot water.

The ice cube way creates a steady stream of steam, but it can add too much too late on.

The issue in adding ice or cold water is it cools the temperature of the oven. Low powered oven users really struggle for their oven to regain temperature when using this method. Baking at a lower temperature will change the texture and colour of the bread.

To follow this method, you need space in the oven for the tray, baking stone, and the bread. It also needs to be in a hot area of the oven.

Bake with a water bath

Similar to method 1, but we add in more water or ice than in the previous. So much more, that it doesn’t evaporate. To build up the steam, we can put a tray of water in the oven 5-10 minutes before the bread goes in. This gives time for the oven to get back up to temperature before the bread goes in.

The tray is removed after 10-15 minutes as the oven spring has occurred and the baking now focuses on the generation of the crust.

This is can be great if the seal in your oven is not that great as otherwise the steam tends to escape. I think this is the case for gas ovens as an air circulation is needed to keep the flame going.

Letting the heat out the oven when the boiling hot tray is pulled out is desierable to avoid (whilst also trying not to burn yourself with the water).

Opening the damper

After around 20-30 minutes of baking it's best practice to open the oven door quickly to release the steam as a damper does in a professional oven. At this point, the yeast has died from exposure to high temperature. There is to be no more rising so the size of the bread is set. Releasing the moisture lowers the humidity which forces the crust to focus on gelatinization.

The spray mister way to make steam

Use a spray mister, or if you have a big oven a heavy duty pump action sprayer filled with water. After the bread is dropped spray the inside of the oven with the mister. Be careful to avoid light bulbs, glass and the baking stone, they might shatter.

It’s difficult to add enough steam for the best quality bread using this technique.

Spraying water 3 times like this (leaving 30-second intervals between each spray) allows the oven to heat up between sprays and gives time for the steam to distribute through the air inside.

This method will cool the sides of your oven down quite considerably and also doesn't always create as much steam as the previous two options.

Any water mister will do really, though you ideally want one that will throw a lot of water in a short amount of time. A water mister that has a large resvoir and which can pump the water to a high pressure is best. This is the water mister I recommend as it does everything you need to create steam in the oven:

Clicking on this link takes you to Amazon where if you decide to purchase I will receive a small commission which helps me to continue making content on this site.

Wet the bread

Don’t do this:

Just don't. You will end up with a gummy crumb, or/and blisters on the surface of the bread. Some bakers looking for the San Francisco bread look choose to wet their hands and smother them over the bread before baking.

By all means, have an experiment with this technique but I won’t be recommending it!

What does too much steam look like?

Below is a photo of the bread where I added water directly to the dough before baking. You can make out some blisters that appear when water is attached to the dough surface when it bakes.

The photo also shows the effects of too much steam:

The most notable issue of over-steaming the bread is how the cut spreads out. The flour that was on the dough when it came out of the banneton became a paste when it became wet which when baked creates a dull colour.

The crust of the over steamed bread has a flat surface, no rise from the cut can be found.

What did it taste like?

Well it made a nice bread pudding, let's leave it there!

If your wondering if you are adding too much water to your oven, look at the picture and see if your bread resembles the same traits.

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If you are enjoying this guide, please take a moment to follow Busby's Bakery on social media by clicking on the links. If you think other bread bakers can benefit from this site, please share the page with them. It just takes a second and it really helps my motivation to keep writing more articles.

What happens in the oven when we bake bread?

Artisan Bread Coach

The ovens role in bread baking is where all your hard work comes to an end. The moment of truth sits in front of you. Before loading your oven you go through the steps you took... “Did I do everything right? ...Is the dough proved perfectly? Is it strong enough? The oven, is it hot enough?”

After covering the range of methods of creating steam, including my favourite we are now going to cover why it is important, what happens during the baking process and how we can use steam to change many factors of our freshly made bread.

The dough being baked may have developed for hours, maybe days. Making a mistake in the final stages is gutting.

Getting your bake right creates endless personal satisfaction.

You’ll feel able to strive the streets in confidence, pick up new partners in the street, send your food back in restaurants….

...Ok, ok, I might have got a bit carried away

But if your bake goes wrong, you’ll probably wish you hadn’t wasted your time.

An introduction to oven spring

Once you have the ability to make a great dough you’re going to want to get the most out of your oven. Understanding oven spring is a really important bit of knowledge.

A preheated baking stone stores heat from the oven. When bread is placed on the stone the heat is conducted into the bread.

To get the best oven spring, we need to add moisture to the environment and use a baking stone.

Baking stones emulate the stones found in professional deck ovens by conducting the heat evenly into the base of the bread.

Baking stones help the bottom of the bread bake properly and help to create a good oven spring.

A good quality baking stone is vital for great quality bread. I scoured hundreds of baking stone reviews and tested a many myself and found that the stones at the lower end of the market do not last very long. They can shatter after a couple of months if you are unlucky.

A good baking stone will last a long time and retain heat well enough so you can bake doughs after each other.

The baking stone that I use is made from firebrick like the one recommended below. My firebrick baking stone has lasted for a few years, with no sign of damage.

See the baking stone I suggest for home bakers

(The link takes you to Amazon where I am a affiliate. I you do go ahead and make a purchase I receive a small commision which goes towards keeping the site going)

Oven spring explained:

As the bread hits the heat of the oven, the dough warms making the active levain work harder (levains love warmth). This reaction forces the bread to rise rapidly.

Bread springs up during the first ten minutes of baking. A typical increase is around 20% of the size it was before it entered the oven.

We call this “Oven Spring”

After approximately ten minutes of exposure to the ovens heat the internal dough temperature hits 60C (140F). This is too hot for the levain and kills its activity, preventing the bread from rising any more.

For the remainder of the bake the bread shrinks slowly as moisture escapes.

Further reading: How oven spring works

How important is adding water to an oven to oven spring?

When bread dough enters the oven, the outer surface of it is fiercely attacked by the heat. As it’s in direct contact with the hot air of the oven it feels intensity more than the core of the bread.

The heat draws the water from the surface of the bread which then evaporates. The elastic gluten at the edges of the bread will bond together (coagulate) as it dehydrates. This creates a crust.

A dough with a strong gluten network will create a stronger, more tearable crust than dough that is weak and under fermented.

But if the dough’s crust forms shortly after it goes in the oven it will prevent the oven spring from pushing up. The crust is too strong and quick to form, we need to delay it from setting so that the bread will be able to rise in the oven.

The crust is essential in bread making, we cannot remove it forms the bread, but if we can delay it setting for 10 minutes so the oven spring can do its thing we can make a nice and light loaf of bread.

Adding extra yeast speeds up fermentation time. If you do this you will have to put the bread in the oven at a smaller proof height than usual. The bread will rocket up in the oven which is pretty fun to watch, but you’ll end up with bread with poor flavour and structure.

What happens when water is used in the oven?

When we add water to the oven the water particles quickly evaporate into the air. They latch onto the air molecules to create the moist gas known as steam.

It’s steam that a kettle emits when you make a cup of tea (or whatever you use a kettle for if you live outside the UK), actually thinking about it... Do other countries have kettles??

Anyway, I'm sure you get what I mean...

Water is retained by the air inside the oven, making it dense. It also means the climate of the oven becomes moist which is another word for humid.

As the bread goes into the oven as it is cooler it attracts moisture in the air. The moisture latches to the outside surface area of the dough which creates a barrier between the hot air and the dough.

This barrier keeps the dough moist and stops dehydration, allowing oven spring to have full effect. Without adding water to the oven the dough will not spring up very much creating a dense loaf. Oven spring makes the crumb expand which makes it more light and enjoyable.

Why increase the oven humidity for bread baking?

If you’ve been to a Swedish sauna, you’ll know that adding water to a hot environment intensifies the heat. It’s doesn’t get hotter in the sauna when you add the water, you can check the dial, the thermometer doesn’t go hot desire it feeling more uncomfortable.

The water actually cools the temperature, but due to the increase in humidity it feels more intense. Water is a better conductor of heat than air is which combines with the heavy air to make a sauna experience feel more intense.

Our bread in the oven undergoes the same exposure once the moisture barrier around it disappears. The oven heat is more intense after the bread has sprung up which makes the crust form harder and thinner.

Why starch has a big role in forming the crust

If more water is added to the oven at the start of baking the humidity of the air increases. The increase leads to more moisture being absorbed by the surface of the crust.

It’s specifically starch particles that do the absorbing. Starch is a form of sugar that is created by the fermentation of flour.

This explains why bread crusts go a darker colour than the interior section of the bread. Similar to how sugar is heated to turn into syrups or caramels which are golden or darker colours.

The amount of starch created increases by the amount of fermentation activity the dough undergoes.

You may have noticed that supermarket bread has a light, bright, golden coloured crust. The simple colours are due to a short fermentation whereas artisan baked bread usually has a darker, more mature tone.

During long bulk fermentation stages, more starch and complex starches are broken down. These create more colour, aroma and flavour intense bread.

Learn more about dough fermentation with these two articles:

Further reading: Dough fermentation basics or an in depth guide on dough fermentation for bread making

What is "Singing Bread" & how do crusty loaves get that sheen?

Once crusty bread is removed from the oven it crackles rapidly. It’s as if the pops are singing to you! This is called “singing bread”.

The cracking noise is actually related to the glazed sheen that you may have noticed appear on crusty bread.

So now we know moisture in the oven is absorbed by the starch on the outside of the dough. Though there’s a thing about starch...

It has no control limits!

Not when comes to absorbing moisture anyway.

The starch particles keep absorbing water and growing in size until they finally burst.

As these particles burst, they release a gel which coats the outside of the loaf. As the bread continues to bake the gel becomes shinier and hardens.

The process continues after the bread is removed from the oven.

As the bread cools, moisture escapes from the core of the loaf or what we call the crumb. As it escapes, it goes from the inner core to the outer perimeter before passing out of the crust. The starch at the edge of the loaf latches on to the escaping moisture and continues to grow... and then burst.

The bursting starch continues to make the crust shiny and brittle and it’s the bursting starch we hear when it sounds like the bread is signing to us.

Can I add too much steam when baking bread?

Bread which is not intended to be very crusty usually requires for small amounts of steam when baking. It is also possible to add too much moisture to the oven. You can tell if this has happened as the cuts made in the bread before baking do not open out properly.

Overly steamed bread spreads outwards, is less 2D (don’t stick out) and featureless on the crust and has a dense crumb.

Should I add steam in every bread I make?

If you want your bread to benefit from oven spring fully then yes, but there are breads that you wouldn’t want to do this with. A fantastically common example is soft rolls.

Soft rolls should have a dense, soft crumb and a soft top. The opposite of what adding steam provides. Because the cells are more compact from the lack of oven spring the texture of the crumb is soft.

The absence of steam also creates a crust that is thicker. This is an important feature of soft bread as a thick crust slows down the rate which moisture can escape from the bread as it cools. The thick crust retains moisture in the crumb making it to be softer to eat.

How much steam should I add for laminated doughs

Laminated doughs are doughs that contain fats or sweeteners such as butter, eggs or sugar. Brioche is a well known laminated dough containing high quantities of butter, eggs, sugar and milk.

This includes, croissants, brioche, and other sweet breads like panettone.

In a laminated dough the temperature which starch gelatinizes s raised by the sweeteners and fats. Adding steam to delay the crust being formed is not required.

If you do choose to add steam, it will have little effect on the oven spring. It is more likely to encourage a thicker and harder crust, which can be undesired. That said, adding a little can help hydrate the starch to create a shinier, more attractive bread.

With doughs like this, it’s good to start mastering a new recipe without adding steam. Then add it in small quantities in subsequent batches if you feel the recipe would benefit.

Not too mad though, otherwise the crust will become too crusty!

Gareth Busby

"Adding water to the oven alters the texture of the crumb as it creates a thinner crust. Moisture trapped inside the bread after baking escapes easily when cooling making the crumb light and airy."

Do you add steam when making croissants?

I do find that adding a little bit of steam helps them spring up and gives croissants and danish pastries a beautiful glazed surface, giving them a wow factor.

Too much steam and they’ll be a bit crunchy.

Not enough and they will look a little dull and dry.

Do you add steam when baking sourdough?

If you want your sourdough to have a really thick crust, then yes! Add plenty of steam to the oven at the start of baking. Then drop the temperature after 25 minutes of baking (halfway) from 230c (450F) to around 210c (410F). This will slow the rate in which the starch pops and allow the crust to become nice and hard.

If you want a more chewy texture that matches the modern trend of stretch and fold sourdough then I would do it differently.

To get a nice spring in the oven I would add some steam, but only a small amount. This will allow a good rise, a nice amount of hydration for the starches, but not too great. Combine this with baking it at a constant 220c (430F) temperature for a more tearable crust.

How much water?

The amount of water to add in the oven will depend on the type of crust you want on the bread. Adding a small amount is perfect for things like croissants, focaccia or soft ciabattas. It allows them to get a nice soft crumb from the oven spring but doesn’t create too hard of a crust. To make bread with a strong crust typical of sourdough bread or baguettes, add steam in higher quantities. The usual amount is 1 cup.

Should you add steam or ice when using a dutch oven

Many bakers bake sourdough bread using dutch ovens. Some preheat the dutch oven before the bread is dropped in and baked, some don’t preheat the dutch oven, and some don’t even preheat the main oven and bake the bread from cold.

The idea of using a dutch oven is to create an enclosed space to bake the bread. Cast iron dutch ovens and usually preferred.

Having a thick base on the dutch oven generates a good oven spring and as the dutch ovens are good at conducting heat (especially the cast iron ones), the heat quickly seeps inside, locking any moisture from escape which creates an intense environment to bake bread.

Having a decent sealed lid on a dutch oven should retain enough moisture. No additional steam should be required to make a decent loaf of bread. Some bakers that don’t have a very powerful oven or tend to underproof their bread like to create additional steam.

They either spray the bread (remember method 4 - avoid at all costs!) which will help but will create blisters and an uneven colour/texture. Or they chuck a few ice cubes in the base to the side of the bread as it goes in, providing you have enough space in your dutch oven.

Some will bake the bread on a layer of parchment paper, making a barrier between the dough and the dutch oven bottom.

If you find the amount of steam a problem I would first review the dough quality, checking it is well developed and the water ratio is healthy for the flour before using one of these methods to add more steam.

How much oven spring will I get with different flours?

Well developed and well final proved breads will get a lot less spring than an underdeveloped dough.

Wholemeal flour is more complex to break down so expect less oven spring, this goes for many complex grains.

Low gluten flours and grains will not have the elasticity to spring far in the oven which is why these breads are often dense.

Rye bread requires plenty of steam in the oven to keep the crust together which prevents it from cracking.

To conclude

So, in reality, the amount of oven spring depends on the type of flour used, how well it has fermented, the heat of the oven, the amount of levain and the amount of steam.

The biggest challenge you will have is mastering how your oven reacts to your choice of steam, does it retain it well?... does it cool down too much?

Experimenting a little till you get a method that works well for you may take a few attempts but believe me it is worth it when you get it right!

All in all, having a trusted method of adding water to the oven and so creating steam is vital for every home or professional baker.

For crusty, light and airy bread - add steam

Is there anything I have missed or a topic that I have not been clear on? If so give me an email and I'll get it updated. Click here to return to the learn to make bread at home page

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topicprinter · 4 years

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I see a lot of people on this thread asking Should I start this? How does XYZ be able to do it? How do I find the motivation to do it? etc. This is part II of a two-part summary of the book Deep Work by Cal Newport that I wrote for my friend to urge him to read it during the quarantine. I categorize the essence of an entrepreneur into certain core skills. I then read up on books that teach those skills and summarize them for the benefit of my friend and mine. I plan to post the summaries here for yours as well. You can find the first part hereMy friend, the 4DX framework is not a how-to guide for deep work alone. You can apply it to anything you do. Most successful people apply this (Planning, Measuring, Execution & Feedback) in their lives to some extent but some do not realize they were doing it. (unconscious competence)As you will see, deep work is a common skill from Bill Gates, Carl Jung, J K Rowling, Walter Isaacson and every other successful person who has ever achieved something worthwhile. (Walter Isaacson is the biographer of many great 21st century personalities. As an Apple fanboy, You will particularly appreciate that Steve Jobs personally requested him to do his biography)Coming back to our deep work example, You are in IT sales. You want to earn that commission. It means financial freedom to you. If I asked you to measure it, you would probably start measuring sales deals closed/month or revenue earned/month. But as we just learned, these are lag measures. You cannot directly measure them. What should you measure? The Number of leads approached/day. The Number of clients spoken to/day. These are things that you can directly influence daily. If you work on them and do it right, your lag measures (sales deals closed/month) will increase, right? Right. And then you can get the commission you wanted.Tip #1: Plan these things in advanceWhere you'll work and for how longHow you will work once you start to workHow will you support your workAt this point, you might think, isn't this excessive? Do I need to plan out that far? Well, the answer is yes, my friend. Remember our school friend Dan? He makes it a point to start work at 7 am every day. He has a ritual. He reaches his office by 7 am, makes calls to his clients for an hour, and then schedules other work for the day and takes small breaks in between. This ritualistic habit is key to making it work. (Co-incidentally building habits is key - whether it is going to the gym, learning a new language, learning to code, etc - more on this later). Deciding where you will work and then getting there and doing it, will automatically put you in the mood for deep work.How long you will work for is also equally important. This is something you must decide after trying it. Initially, your focus muscle will be weak. So you will find yourself distracted. ( I will teach how to deal with distractions later) So it is important to set timers for yourself (say 25 minutes. I started with 25 minutes a year ago and now I can work for 90 minutes without my mind starting to wander).How will you work once you start to work? - Set rules and processes to keep your effort structured. For example, I will make 5 sales calls per hour. I will not use the internet or my phone until it is over, etcHow will you support your work - Your brain needs all the support it can get for doing deep work. It could be a cup of coffee, a light morning walk or exercise. Our friend, Dan always said that the 30-minute early morning walk kept his mind brisk and his day energetic. What worked for him may not work for you. So from now on, take stock of how clear your thinking is when you do certain activities. I start the day with guided meditation ( I use the headspace app - the free version should do just fine) and it allows me to concentrate. More importantly, it lets me realize when my thoughts have gone on a different track, even when I am not meditating!Tip #2: Make Grand GesturesIn 2007, J K Rowling was struggling to finish her final book - The Deathly Hallows. She recalled in an interview that there was a day when the window cleaner came or the dogs were barking or the kids were at home. She decided to do something extreme to finish her book. She booked a suite at the Balmoral Hotel, located in Edinburgh. And she completed her book there!Back when Bill Gates was still Microsoft CEO, he was famous for taking a 'Think Weeks' holiday. He would leave behind his work and family to stay at a cabin with research papers to think for weeks at a time. He could have done this at his office, but he chose to do it there. He arrived at his famous conclusion that the Internet was going to be the next big thing in the industry there! (seems obvious now).Walter Isaacson and Carl Jung retreat to hard-to-reach places to complete their books or to improve their thinking.You might remember that I go to Starbucks to work on the e-commerce store idea. You scoffed at me for spending so much to do my work there. I was simply using this. I didn't want to say why at the time, because I wasn't sure back then if it would work. I did my feedback sessions (from the 4DX framework) there and plan out the week ahead. It helped me stay on top of my work while leaving enough time to learn new skills. This commitment to deep work is paying off for me with the current pandemic situation, as I can stay on top of my work while learning a new language and learn content marketing as well.Tip #3: Schedule every minute of your dayPeople lack the motivation to do things because they do not know what to do (and when to do it). If you come up with a schedule full of activities focusing on lead measures, you will be very productive. Quite often, disturbances or emergencies pop-up that will ruin your plan for the day. It is important that you do not get frustrated. What you need to do instead is take some time off (after your distraction) to revise your plan for the day. I will share with you my schedule (which I revise weekly, earlier at Starbucks and now at my deep work desk at my home)Tip #4: Be Lazy - Schedule breaks tooReason 1 - Breaks help you get insights on 'stuck' problem: There is a 2008 study by Ap Dijksterhuis called Unconscious Thought Theory. In it, Ap argues that 'contrary to popular belief, decisions about simple issues can be better tackled by conscious thought, whereas decisions about complex matters can be better approached with unconscious thought'. It means that, if you are stuck with a complex problem, it's best to take your mind off of it. You might have seen it in the movies - the trope where the lead character is unable to solve his big problem. He gives in to distraction and does something else. An unrelated remark by the bumbling friend makes him sit up and think. He says - X, You are a genius! and proceeds to work out the solution.Reason 2 - Breaks help you recharge: Stephen and Rachel Kaplan proposed that walking or even looking at pictures of nature aids concentration. They called it Attention Restoration Theory (ART). They validated it through a study done by Berman, Marc & Jonides, John & Kaplan, Stephen and published it in 2009. They let a bunch of people walk through traffic and another bunch of people walk through a park. They were asked to solve problems after some time. The one that went through nature did it faster. They repeated the experiment sometime later. The same people who went on the city walk were now on the nature walk and vice-versa. Again, the people who went on the nature walk were the ones who did the tasks assigned faster.You might argue that walking through a nature park is a pleasant experience, so they repeated the conditions in freezing weather. The people who went through the park still did better than the ones who went through traffic.Reason 3 - Without recharging, you will deplete your concentration muscle: This is simply the negative statement of Reason #2. People think that concentration is simply a question of will-power. Similarly think they will be a rich man one day but it is simply a question of setting their mind to the task. They could not be more wrong! Achieving something requires deliberate practice. And just like how elite athletes schedule breaks after a training session, you must schedule breaks in between your deep work sessions.Tip #5: Embrace Boredom:Boredom is also a way to recharge your concentration. But a lot of people can only last a minute in waiting before picking up their phone. You see this in restaurant queues, grocery lines, etc. but lately, people do this even after they get seated at the table or in family dinners! People constantly crave something to look at. You might remember our mutual friend who was unable to make use of his talents. If you asked him to sit still for a minute, I bet he would crack in 10 seconds before reaching for the phone. Why is this behavior damaging? Because they deplete your concentration muscle!Tip #6: Don't take breaks from distraction, instead take breaks from deep work. Once you are rewired this way, you'll soon crave deep work activities instead of craving breaks.Tip #7: Memorize a Deck of Cards - It doesn't have to be cards, it could be anything - numbers, a new language, etc. It helps your memory and concentration.Strategies for the office worker to include deep-work in their day:Select the right network tools - People use a lot of network tools indiscriminately - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Slack, Reddit, etc. The list goes on. They justify it using the any-benefit approach:You justify using a tool if you can identify any possible benefit to its use, or anything you might miss out on if you don't use it.Cal advises you to use the craftsman approach instead: Identify the core factor that determines success in your professional and personal life. Adopt a tool only if it positively impacts these factors substantially outweigh the negative impacts.Take my case. I deleted Facebook as I decided that having both Facebook and Instagram would be redundant. De-clutter your life from tools that don't help you and eat away your time. And make sure to mute those notifications when you are busy with deep work as those pesky notifications will distract you.Turn off the internet when you work - When you check the internet, even for official things, you will come across an e-mail or an article and soon you will start to respond to the shallow work instead of continuing your deep work. You might have instances where you checked the internet for sending an e-mail and ended up on BuzzFeed's 33 ways this cat made your day article! In our 30-minute scheduling example, you'd work for 25 minutes and take 5 minutes to check the internet and resume work again.Leave the office at by a fixed time - Just as your cellphone leaves you distracted, taking a sneak peek at the e-mail after office hours, continues to work your concentration muscle. So schedule what time you will leave your office and stick to it. have a shutdown ritual - plan for whatever work is pending and move on to your home and stop thinking about work. Revise your schedule if you are unable to stick to it.Become hard-to-reach during your deep work - Due to instant messaging tools, people expect you to reply immediately. It is gratifying for them; damaging for you. Sometimes they may be offended if they can't reach you. It is easier if you tell them an important reason Eg: I was working on something that the boss (or the CEO) asked for urgently.Make people who send you e-mail do more work -Strategy 1 - Check out this contact form.Strategy 2 - If you receive an e-mail that says ' I read the article. What are your thoughts on it?' here is an example response"I will get a draft to you by XYZ date, I'll do my part and add comments for where I need your help. No need to follow up with me in the meantime or reply to the draft I send, unless of course there are issues with it.Strategy 3 - Don't respond. If it was important, they will follow back anyway. Unless of course, it is an e-mail from your boss or CEO.

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

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torentialtribute · 5 years

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Arsenal vs Tottenham Preview: Predicted lineups, match facts, odds and more

This is without a doubt one of the most anticipated Premier League matches of the season.

Love was never lost between Arsenal and Tottenham and this Sunday collision at the Emirates Stadium is guaranteed to make the pulse beat faster.

teams come to the game that needs a win after slipping last weekend – Arsenal fell 3-1 in Liverpool while Spurs at home suffered a surprise against Newcastle United . .

Neither team wants to give anything away and it could be a game of paper-thin margins.

It was an afternoon to forget Tottenham as they were beaten at home by Newcastle United

ARSENAL: Time for the Gunners to make a statement against a top six rival

The understandable dizziness surrounding Arsenal's summer transfer activities received a sobering reality check loss of 3-1 last Saturday in Liverpool.

Although there were times in Anfield when Liverpool seemed to be rattling by the speed and threat of Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, they were comfortable second best overall.

The moment of madness committed by David Luiz leading Mohamed Salah who scored Liverpool's second goal, has only confirmed the worst fears of Arsenal's supporters.

Unai Emery chose to extract the positive points in his post-match analysis, but it is clear that the gunners remain significantly shorter than the caliber of Liverpool.

David Luiz had an afternoon to forget when Arsenal crashed into a 3-1 defeat in Liverpool last week

The most accurate measure of where they return to the Champions League next season will encounter their bitterest rivals.

Luiz has often played against Tottenham for Chelsea, but any kind of foul will put pressure on his place in the team.

For the likes of Pepe and Dani Ceballos, the blood and thunder of a North London derby may be different from anything they have ever experienced.

Ultimately, Tottenham only finished one point above Arsenal in the Premier League last season

Another season spent in Spurs' rear-view mirrors is simply not acceptable, but the mood in the Emirates after their summer is that their trajectory points up again

Making a statement with a victory in Sunday's derby would confirm that.

£ 72m signing Nicolas Pepe gets his first preview of North London derby on Sunday

TOTTENHAM: Question Marks Stay While Pochettino's Men Try to Maintain Progress

While Mauricio Pochettino tries to help Tottenham move forward after several seasons of clear progress, there are more questions than answers in the opening of the season

Worrying for the Argentinian is that they have fallen behind in all three of their Premier League opening games.

The good news is that in the opening game against Aston Villa they fought back to win and in the second game they took a point from Manchester City, something that should never be sniffed at.

Son Heung-min couldn't prevent Spurs from going home to defeat Newcastle

But their resilience left them the surprise defeat of last weekend at home in Newcastle when they did not seem to be asking for an answer when they were asked to break down resolute and deep opponents.

Spurs is now at the top of the table long enough to understand that most teams take a defensive stance against them and usually have the means to break them down.

But the spark was lacking in Newcastle and Pochettino's task of ensure that the wt is a bump on the road instead of something alarming.

Despite the inherent tension, playing Arsenal must fit Spurs because there is more room to exploit in the counterattack.

The concern for the neutral player is that defeat in Sunday's game will lead to two weeks of solemn contemplation during the international break and therefore the teams can be reluctant to go full throttle and leave themselves open.

Meetings between Arsenal and Tottenham are usually spicy occasions with tackles flying in

Predicted line ups

Arsenal XI predicted: Leno; Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, David Luiz, Monreal; Xhaka, Ceballos, Guendouzi; Pepe, Lacazette, Aubameyang

Tottenham predicted XI: Lloris; Walker-Peters, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Sissoko, Winks, Ndombele, Eriksen; Kane, Son

What do the bookmakers say?

Arsenal costs around 13/10 to get one over their North London rivals, while you get 2/1 on Spurs to get away from the Emirates with victory. The draw is 5/2, while an interesting draw is a 2-2 draw on 9/1.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the strong favorite as the first goal scorer on 7/2, with Harry Kane 4 from Tottenham / 1.

Who says what?

[1945902] Arsenal manager Unai Emery: & # 39; For us to play games like last week against Liverpool, this week against Tottenham, the two Champions League finalists are great, and it's the best test, "he said.

" Every time is a good time to play against them and on Sundays with our supporters it is the best time to play and enjoy with our supporters.

& # 39; On Sunday, that game is the best football game in the world for all football supporters. & # 39;

Mauricio Pochettino rejected the theory that he is ready to stop Tottenham. He said: & # 39; I am not going to run away after the Derby in North London. I'll be here Monday and Tuesday. Then my plan is to travel, but I'm not telling you where. & # 39;

MAIN FACTS

Arsenal has won only two of their last 10 Premier League games against rivals Spurs (W2 D5 L3), with both victories in the Emirates in the previous two seasons.

Spurs won one of their last 26 Premier League visits to Arsenal (W1 D10 L15), from 0-2 down to win 3-2 in November 2010.

Spurs won last season 2-0 in the Emirates in the League Cup, 17 days after losing in the league against Arsenal; in all competitions, Spurs won consecutive away games in Arsenal only once, won in 1925 and 1926.

Five of the last 14 goals scored in Premier League matches between Arsenal and Spurs are penalty & # 39; s – in Premier League match (19, level with Everton vs Newcastle United)

Arsenal was defeated by Crystal Palace in their last home derby Premier League London derby – they have not been back-to-back home derby ever since In February 2006, when she lost to Chelsea and West Ham.

Arsenal has won more Premier League games (60) and has a higher win percentage (61%) than any other party in games played in September. They have also not lost a North London derby in any month since every competition since 1969 (2-3) won six and since then four draws.

Together with senseless Watford, Tottenham is one of only two parties to date awarded first in all three of their Premier League games so far. The Lilywhites last shipped the first goal in their first four Premier League games back in 2008-09.

Tottenham is non-profit in their last seven away games (D1 L6), who last endured a longer win-free run on the road between December 2011-April 2012 (8 games)

Harry Kane of Tottenham has scored nine goals in all competitions against Arsenal – only Emmanuel Adebayor and Bobby Smith (both 10) have ever scored in more games between the two parties in history

Arsenal boss Unai Emery has all four of his won home games against Mauricio Pochettino and won three games with Valencia against Espanyol between 2009-10 and 2011-12 and with Arsenal last season against Spurs.

Striker Harry Kane has scored nine goals in nine Premier League games against Arsenal – only Wayne Rooney (12) and Robbie Fowler (10) have scored more Premier League goals against the Gunners.

Christian Eriksen is a goal away to become the fifth player to score 50 in the Premier League for Tottenham. However, he has never scored in 11 previous games in the Arsenal competition – on the side he has faced more without a goal.

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#Arsenal vs Tottenham Preview: Predicted lineups #match facts #odds and more"

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thomasroach · 6 years

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Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection

The post Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection appeared first on Fextralife.

Capcom’s Devil May Cry 5 Review: Action game reviews are often hindered by the issue of accessibility and the skill of the reviewer, which can skew impressions depending on what fence you sit in: the casual audience or the min-maxers aiming to do flawless Hell or Hell runs. In this DMC5 review, I will aim to breach that gap between skill levels, and explain why Devil May Cry 5 is a game you really should buy and enjoy, regardless of how “good” you think you are.

Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection

Genre: Action Developed by: Capcom Published by: Capcom Release date: March 8th, 2019 Platforms: PS4 (review platform), Xbox One, PC Price at the time of the review: $59.99

Devil May Cry 5 Review Story and Setting

DMC5 follows DMC4 hero Nero and newly introduced V as they set forth to stop a dangerous demon from awakening and overtaking earth. New players are treated to a short introduction to the events so far in the form of a video, which is “just the highlights” but still provides enough context to ease newcomers into the world of Devil May Cry. I was happy to see that the horrible aberration by Ninja Theory DMC did not make it into the game’s cannon. Thank you Capcom!

The story is delivered via a complex back-and-forth that makes the player take on the role of different characters at different points in the game’s timeline. Despite the initial confusion this generates, it is not long before the player gets the hang of the storytelling method and can follow through easily. However, it does create an issue where you just learn one characters controls and then switch to another, which can be frustrating at times.

The game also provides detailed records on characters, enemies and situations that may be referenced in an internal library. This is particularly useful for those wanting to understand the actually complex lore of the series, which is an underappreciated aspect of the title as most coverage focuses on gameplay.

That’s the kind of outfit one wears to hunt demons! What? It might distract them?

Of course, Devil May Cry follows the tradition of manga titles such as Bastard! and is a demonic hard rock paradise of cocky demons who flaunt their stuff with the addition of naked girls wherever possible. The game embraces the corny and rebellious hard rock teenager feel of its origins and unabashedly commits to making you, the player, feel COOL. And that, I did, as I fancied myself an unstoppable force of awesome wrapped in a mantle of tricksy shadows with a side of several swords, all to the tune of some modernized metal. Feels good, man.

In short, the game walks the right line for an action title, delivering decent worldbuilding and over-the-top characters that match the over-the-top action, with intermittent humorous moments – mostly provided by a demon bird called Griffon who is most certainly inspired by Jafar’s parrot Iago (from the movie Aladdin). Seriously though his voice nearly sounds identical. The one-liners and punchlines had me chuckling, which only added to the giddy overall feel that results from kicking demon butt “SAVAGELY”.

Combos feel fluid and pack a satisfying punch.

Devil May Cry 5 Review Gameplay

Gameplay is the main appeal of this title, as players take on different characters and master their skills. Nero is down an arm from the previous game, but this has been replaced with a powerful Devil Breaker that adds depth to his range of actions, which are certainly not few. Players will gather Red Orbs dropped from enemies and the environment or by completing missions Stylishly, and use them to upgrade and unlock skills, adding to a veritable arsenal of combinations that make it so no encounter is likely to be the same for any two players. The complexity of move combinations are further reinforced by the fact that each playable character has their own set of moves, unlocks and weapons.

As I progressed through the encounters, I found myself wanting to redo them to get that combat rank up and showcase my moves to perfection, and that drive to keep playing comes from the fact that any frustration I felt with the fight was 100% my own fault and a result of my execution mistakes. I never felt an enemy was cheap, or an attack unwarranted, but rather that I could have done better and gotten that SSS ranking “if only I had just…”

The gameplay fun factor is simply off the charts, and the more you play the more you want to play.

And thus, DMC5 lures you into its cycle of progressing through the game’s difficulty options and replaying each mission dozens of times on all its 6 difficulties. This is where the misconception that players must be skilled to enjoy this title should be addressed: just like Dark Souls requires you to be patient and learn, so too does DMC require you to invest time learning mechanics. To enjoy the game, you don’t need FPS no scope headshot skills, but rather you need to learn the combos, figure out the counters, and be creative in your battling.

DMC5 is here and with it action games are back for real. Many players are likely eagerly awaiting the release of Sekiro Shadows Die Twice, and to them I say: go buy DMC5 now, as Sekiro will likely be your From game of the year but DMC5 is THE action game of 2019, and rightly so!

Devil May Cry 5 Review Audio & Visual

DMC5 has excellent voice acting, which is saying something when you consider how cheesy some of the lines must have felt to the actors. The music does not disappoint, bringing each demon encounter the right amount of tension and excitement, and even delivering some unique nostalgia feels as players can customize their jukebox with tunes from DMC1 through DMC4. I can hear Capcom in the idle screens, that vaguely reminded me of Resident Evil and even Dragon’s Dogma. Overall, a well-balanced and well-implemented combination of calm and quieting tunes, tension-building violins, modern techno and hardcore metal.

The game’s visuals are, without a doubt, the best that Devil May Cry has ever looked, and the most important part is that the glorious graphics do not affect performance at all. I played for hours and hours, on 4k at 60FPS and did not see 1 frame drop. There are zero stability issues and I encountered zero glitches. Combos are executed flawlessly with accurate and responsive controls that have zero input lag or deficiencies. This is where action games must deliver or they fail: both controls and performance must be perfect. Devil May Cry 5 nails it on both counts.

Griffon can act as convenient transport and give you a great view to boot

Devil May Cry 5 Review Replayability

DMC5 is a pure action game, which means that if you don’t want to play it over and over again, the game is doing it wrong. Fortunately, Capcom has delivered in the gameplay department, and provides ample reason for re-visiting missions in the form of hidden collectibles, secret missions, and of course to farm red orbs and unlock more skills. Further, the game has tons of unlockable artwork and even unlockable skins that open up as you progress in difficulty.

Each difficulty mode adds its special touch, making enemies tougher and adding different combinations of them to the mix. If you start on normal difficulty (veteran players), you’ll find yourself quite enjoying NG+ on Son of Sparda, as you get to chain longer combos and make full use of your new abilities and extended powers. If you’re new to the series, you might be surprised to learn that you can get better mission ranks on higher difficulties, and this can be incredibly satisfying.

You’ll get to pull of better combos as you unlock more abilities, face tougher enemies, and get used to the flow of combat

There’s also the new multiplayer component, that gives players both asynchronous and real time options for interacting with other players. In some missions, secrets and collectibles on “your side” of the mission depend on whether your online partner has done specific tasks that affect your progress. Multiplayer also adds the option to rate other players, and good ratings result in Gold Orbs (a continue for your mission), so we can expect new players to be able to obtain several of those from generous strangers, or even from signing in as there’s a daily login bonus. This further enhances the appeal to new players, whilst adding a fun factor for veterans.

Please note that multiplayer interactions were sparse at the time of review, so we only had limited experiences with this aspect.

You will get a daily login bonus, and daily rewards for your rankings from “Link” missions.

Devil May Cry 5 Review Price Point

DMC5 is hitting a sweet spot for a release window, as there’s a lull in all action, rpg and adventure genres in late february-march. This puts the game in a good spot as it won’t be competing for your time with other titles, but of course the question is whether it is worth your hard-earned cash. At 60USD, the game gives a basic 15 hours of content for a playthrough for a casual player. From there, the replayability kicks in and you would be looking at 70+ hours for full completionism, depending on your skill.

For the average player who enjoys action titles but doesn’t want to unlock everything and see every secret, 60USD for 30 or 40 hours of content might be steep, but the game more than makes up on it in terms of fun. The fun factor is simply off the charts with Devil May Cry 5, and playing it is an enjoyable endeavor regardless of your skill level, so long as you give yourself a chance to learn a combo or two and get satisfaction from smashing demons.

Many hours of content for the dedicated, average for the casual, but all of them packed to the brim with action

Devil May Cry 5 Review Final Thoughts

I had been waiting for DMC5 (the “real” one, not the DMC abomination) for many years. I am positively thrilled that the title is here, but as all fans I am always wary that microtransactions or modern business practices could ruin a beloved series.

Those fears were unnecessary, as Capcom (much like they did with Monster Hunter World), kept to the title’s original appeal and amplified it rather than reinvented it. Microtransactions are there for certain cosmetics such as previous title soundtracks, and there’s an option to buy Red Orbs for those who do not want to farm them, but none of this made me feel as if the base title was lacking, or if any mechanic had been tinkered with to favor an extra purchase.

All in all, Devil May Cry 5 is unexpectedly leading the pack for Game Of the Year due to great production values and an incredibly polished delivery.

I’m sexy and I know it

The post Devil May Cry 5 Review: Ssstylish Perfection appeared first on Fextralife.

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iameveryonesmom · 6 years

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Best Tactical Backpack

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Best Tactical Backpack

The 5 Best Tactical Backpacks For 2018

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1. 5.11 RUSH72 Tactical Backpack

2. 5.11 RUSH24 Tactical Backpack

3. 5.11 RUSH12 Tactical Backpack

4. REEBOW GEAR Military Tactical Backpack

5. SOG Ninja Tactical Day Pack

How do you pick best tactical backpacks?

How you doing everybody Tim here from Comm-Fab.com and yes I like backpacks versa packs I use them for hiking camping I use them for as my EDC bag this is the kind of bags I like this article is going to be about if you like these kinds of bags what my opinion is you should look for this article is about what I look for if you’re into the traditional backpacks regular hiking camping backpacks this article is probably not going to be for you I’m sorry I’m just not into those bags those kinds of bags good bags they’re just not for me I prefer something like this whether I’m making articles or not so in this article that’s what I’m going to discuss I’m going to kind of if I can help you lead you towards you know give you an idea maybe something you haven’t thought about maybe something you should look into when you’re looking to purchase something like one of these that’s what we’ll discuss today alright as I was saying if you’re into these kinds of bags whether you’re camping hiking whatever it is you go out and do I want to discuss the few things that I look for in the bag one of these kinds of bags I’m actually going to move a couple bags these all fall under what I look for they all have it if not more than what I’m looking for I’m actually just going to move a couple to kind of make a little bit of space I’m going to start with the death-dealer tactical this is the venom 48-hour backpack from death-dealer tactical it’s got everything I’m looking for and we’ll discuss that great bag I’m just going to move this for the sake of the article I’m also going to move my Maxpedition vulture to great pack it also has everything that I look for in a pact I’m going to get this one out of the way and we’ll leave these up here okay now what I have remaining is two bags 511 tactical I reason why I’m keeping to 511 because one is actually for hiking camping and going out making articles and the other one is actually my EDC bag and the same laws or theory in my opinion applies to an EDC bag which is why I’m also going to keep the Maxpedition versa pack up here this is the operate a three-day operated pack got from flashbacks calm fantastic website for survival gear bug out gear this also has and then some everything that I’m looking for so what are the things I’m looking for one is I will say a huge deal breaker is a grab handle okay whether it’s this three-day pack I need a grab handle at least one grab handle grab it off the ground in and out of the car you’re going to help somebody put it on you grab the handle a lot of times this is my EDC bag this is the 5-11 tactical rush 12 this hasn’t grabbed handle you need a grab handle Maxpedition jumbo has a grab handle I love this bag I kind of go between the brush 12 and the maximization jumbo bit of a size difference needs a grab handle now the operator pack from flashbacks comm not only has a very strong robust grab handle here but it also has a grab handle on each side right there I do have a full review coming in a week of this bag it’s got two and I really like that too on the side one on the top that’s huge I need a grab that will literally make or break buying a back or receiving a bag it really will all right now let’s discuss pals webbing all right I like pals webbing even on a versa pack the Versa pack doesn’t have much it does have some my EDC bag up and down both sides on the front my three-day backpack from 511 tad Smith is the rush 72 lots of pals webbing and also the operand pack from flash backs calm down both sides all on the front it has pals webbing I use a lot of pouches not so many pouches with the larger packs but definitely with my smaller bags versa pack small backpacks first aid kits on the outside of a spare mag or two on the outside my multi-tool on the outside of these bags I like pals webbing the more the better I’d rather be there and not need it than need it and it’s not there that is a huge plus for me looking for a bag all right now another thing is obviously I look at the shoulder straps padding is good I’ve actually had bags I don’t remember the brand with too much padding it actually felt like a flotation device padding is good 511 tactical great padding I love the yoke system that is really important obviously the Versa pack is small not going to be that heavy but it too has padding on the strap that’s important the upper impact from flashbacks calm very comfortable shoulder straps sewn into the bag I like that I like my shoulder straps to be actually a part of the bag itself and not just sewn on there because that creates a weak point the other thing is which includes which is another part of the shoulder straps is goes back to the pals webbing I need pals webbing up and down my straps now the flashbacks great bag but it doesn’t have as many as the 5-11 or my Maxpedition all the death-dealer tactical I like to put stuff on my shoulder straps I’m not really into wearing my fixed blade knife when I go into the woods hiking camping on my person I prefer it on my shoulder strap I can do that with all of these bags it must have some pals webbing up and down the shoulder strap and if not I also you don’t want it let’s discuss materials okay pretty much all these straps and pals webbing on everything I own is roughly this I mean really close it’s stiff will hold moly pouches very easily as far as the material that they’re actually made out of this 2ky actually three kinds there is Cordura the real stuff none of these bags are made with Cordura not a big deal it’s good to have but it’s not that big deal Maxpedition doesn’t use it 511 tactical doesn’t use it flashbacks calm they don’t use it on theirs and that deal a tactical does not but I try to get 1000 denier ballistic nylon I rather nothing under a thousand that goes for my backpacks my EDC bag my Versa pack Maxpedition always uses 1005 11 uses 1000 this bag is actually 1000 denier polyester which is really strong it’s more flexible this is the operator pack you can find this on flashbacks calm it’s very flexible but does not feel cheap it feels it’s thick and it feels it’s solid I don’t worry about this given way ripping and when I’m out it adds solid as the 1000 denier ballistic nylon now the 48-hour venom pack from Deb deal a tactical fantastic bag this is actually 600d not 1000 it’s 600 d but it still feels very it’s a good quality it does feel very strong and I really do not see it every giving out if it was to rip they something really bad happened I will not go below 600 I prefer 1000 I’ll settle at 600 especially if it’s well made like death deal a tactical break great bag polyester not a bad material it’s very flexible a lot more than the max edition bags in the 5-11 but it’s 1000 denier polyester that is pretty much it for that I want 1000 and nothing on the 6 if I have a say alright next something I look for is the zippers in zipper tracks these bags that I have I prefer YKK any size of YKK but I prefer YKK industrial thick zipper tracks 511 and Maxpedition they use YKK zippers and I believe zipper tracks death-dealer tactical and the operator back from that flashbacks calm they do not now I have other stuff that also does not use YKK zippers but they are large zip is very I mean one solid piece zipper and the zipper tracks are very strong and the majority of time they sell them with self-healing zipper tracks very important so these zip is on the operated pack look exactly like feel exactly like and operate exactly like YKK zip is on this bag or a Maxpedition bag are they YKK I don’t believe so they don’t say it on their website but they one solid piece and they’re very strong and I’ve never had a zipper on this on this or anything else that is not YKK come apart the majority of them I mean they’ve just very strong and understand this I’m not very easy on my gear my stuff is used it may look really good because in between trips and using and I do take good care of it but what I’m out I’m not babying my stuff very often my hands are full I’m doing stuff I’m grabbing a zipper and I’m and I’m yanking it open to get it open with one hand all right um never had one come apart break whatever as far as zipper pulls does it need a little fancy tab on it like the 5-11 not at all a paracord which you see almost on everything is fine I really I don’t care if it has a nice little doohickey a little whistle it doesn’t matter to me that’s really not that important to me but a good strong industrial zipper preferably YKK but it has to be a very strong zipper now let’s discuss compression straps all right the Maxpedition as well as death dealer tactical have the why over-the-top compression strap very nice to have not that big of a deal but if you can get it on a bag it’s nice to have all the bags I mentioned the flashbacks calm operated pack the 5-11 rush series whether it be the 12 to 24 or the 72 all the Maxpedition ones have and as well as they definitely have two on the sides not all of them have one that goes over the top none of these do the 5-11 and this one does not but depth dealer tactical does and Maxpedition does on several other bags they have the YY k the Y strap going over the top nice to have that’s not a deal-breaker but it again it’s nice to have one more thing and they have to be strong they’re all plastic to some degree fast tax buckles I mean there’s different kinds but I never had one really go actually I did have a uh my Condor the buckle got stuck in the in the door I shut the door on and it broke believe it or not it still worked even though one of the right here one of the things on the side broke it still worked flawlessly I never replaced it I want to see how long it work like that and it worked just fine I ended up getting rid of that bag in order to get something else because it really wasn’t getting much use anymore but other than that one time and it still worked I’ve never had a problem with a buckle they all worked and yeah waist straps all of these have some type of waist strap whether it’s just a thin you know nylon webbing or the raw put away or a really thick one with pals webbing on it I don’t really like waist straps they never fit on me very well providing the shoulder harness the shoulder straps work in our contoured that’s even nice to have then I don’t I don’t use them I know their purpose and yes they work I load up my bags really heavy and I just don’t like them I always have a multi-tool on me to spare magazines when I go in the woods my hand gun on me and maybe even other things on me if I have a waist strap it’s kind of pushing things around but and I have to wear it high which defeats the purpose supposed to rest on your hips I just don’t use them so if it has it great if it doesn’t have it even better as long as I can hide it and tuck it away inside the bag or remove it completely the majority of these bags they do that if I can’t hide it or I can’t remove it I’m probably not going to get the back because I don’t like to cut in and do stuff like that to my bags I’m not going to modify anything I’m not into modifying my stuff I just don’t like if you like them and you want to use them by all means great but as long as I can remove it I’ll hide it tuck it in the bag itself not a problem I’ll probably buy that back all right so I use these bags as my EDC bags my everyday and I don’t need a lot of pockets on these but when it comes to the large bags I like organization I want pockets pouches sleeves all that good stuff now I can tell you that these two three day backpacks 511 Rus 72 flash patch comm this is the operator three-day pack they have a ton of organization pockets sleeves pouches zippered nets and both of them lots of pockets on the sides of both of these this 70 ruff 72 is slightly larger than the operated pack but the side pockets are great on my EDC bags I don’t necessarily need a lot of internal organization I don’t carry while I carry quite a few things but a pocket or two I’m good that’s fine but when it comes to the large bags I really want that because I’m filling them I’m putting a lot of stuff in there so the more places I can put stuff or put pouches med kits whatever the better I will look inside of a bag when I’m researching bags it’s not that big of a deal but if I could get if it’s got everything on the outside I’m more attracted to the outside of a bag I pay more attention to what’s on the outside of the bag as opposed to the inside the inside pouches no pouches lots of pouches a couple pouches it’s not going to break the deal I’m not going to not buy it if I’m happy with everything on the outside and your mileage may vary you may want a lot of pouches last but not least let’s discuss price if I can get it back for Timmy a good bag right around the hundred dollar mark right I really start questioning do I need that bag when it starts getting well over the hundred now there are some great bags out there two three four hundred you know the names the brands I don’t need to say them I can’t afford those bags I can’t afford those bags but I still want a good bag that’s going to serve a purpose it’s going to last me many years these bags serve that purpose the Maxpedition vulture – I’ve had for years and I’ve used it many times this bag right now the last I’ve looked you look in between roughly 130 140 up to 170 is on too much for this bet honestly I’ve seen some good prices and I will buy these bags use there’s a lot that I won’t buy used like electronics when it comes to nylon gear providing it’s been taken care of but it’s not coming apart no issues I’ll buy you used bag it doesn’t bother me I’ve seen these the of the vulture – you’re looking at 140 up to 170 I would not pay 170 for this bed the rush 72 great bag this is on average a hundred and seventy dollars this is worth a hundred and sell new dolls obviously if you can get it less than that great I got this fall I think 130 I’m happy with that 130 bucks this is a great bag end up selling something to get the money to buy that that’s a long story but anyway the rush 12 this is my EDC bag you can get this roughly 70 bucks I believe maybe 80 about 70 well worth 50 60 $70 the I know not a backpack but I want to include it is my EDC one of my EDC bags this is the max position jumbo verso pack I say about 70 bucks I’ve seen them for $80 is it worth 70 or 80 bucks that’s questionable if you get it for 50 roughly good deal all right death-dealer tactical this is the 48 hour venom pack they call it great bag you can have this back if I think 55 maybe 60 bucks I got this at squid away surplus calm great website lots of cool stuff they’re owned by veteran I like to support that and good back great bag now the quality on this isn’t up there with these but it’s good quality and it’s a $50 $60 backpack that’s a great bag for 50 60 bucks if your budget is a little tight the flashbacks come this is their operator pack has everything every everybody else has it is polyester but still 1000 d all the grab handles this is a great bag you can have this bag off the asite for $90 and 80 90 bucks that shipped to your door that’s a lot of bag for under $100 it’s up there with this and the quality it’s a much lower cost but I’m not a much lower quality so you have a large number of bags different prices and the quality ranges but the price changes a lot where’s the quality a little bit these are all good bags tested very a long time use the crap out of them I’m hanging stuff eight pound tripods off the top I have camera equipment inside I got you knives I got ammo I got all these bags have done that and then some so that is it there’s a lot of choices out there there’s a lot of great bags some of them considerably more money than others but amazing quality if you can afford those bags by all means if money is really tight or a little bit tight you go after these bags and I guarantee you any one of these bags will serve you for way more years than then you’re going to need it so I like backpacks obviously thank you for reading everybody I do appreciate your time

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mikepepi · 6 years

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Best Tactical Backpack

New Post has been published on http://comm-fab.com/best-tactical-backpack/

Best Tactical Backpack

The 5 Best Tactical Backpacks For 2019

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1. 5.11 RUSH72 Tactical Backpack

2. 5.11 RUSH24 Tactical Backpack

3. 5.11 RUSH12 Tactical Backpack

4. REEBOW GEAR Military Tactical Backpack

5. SOG Ninja Tactical Day Pack

How do you pick best tactical backpacks?

Please share my content!

#best edc backpack 2018 #best edc backpack 2019 #Best Tactical Backpack #best tactical backpack 2018 #best tactical backpack 2019 #best tactical backpack 2020 #condor 3 day assault pack #military surplus backpacks #military tactical backpacks #tactical sling backpack #us army backpack #waterproof tactical backpack

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indierecords · 6 years

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Best Tactical Backpack

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Best Tactical Backpack

The 5 Best Tactical Backpacks For 2019

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1. 5.11 RUSH72 Tactical Backpack

2. 5.11 RUSH24 Tactical Backpack

3. 5.11 RUSH12 Tactical Backpack

4. REEBOW GEAR Military Tactical Backpack

5. SOG Ninja Tactical Day Pack

How do you pick best tactical backpacks?

Please share my content!

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axolotlottie · 6 years

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Best Tactical Backpack

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Best Tactical Backpack

The 5 Best Tactical Backpacks For 2019

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895

569

1. 5.11 RUSH72 Tactical Backpack

2. 5.11 RUSH24 Tactical Backpack

3. 5.11 RUSH12 Tactical Backpack

4. REEBOW GEAR Military Tactical Backpack

5. SOG Ninja Tactical Day Pack

How do you pick best tactical backpacks?

Please share my content!

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thingyoungbright · 6 years

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Best Tactical Backpack

New Post has been published on http://comm-fab.com/best-tactical-backpack/

Best Tactical Backpack

The 5 Best Tactical Backpacks For 2019

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895

569

1. 5.11 RUSH72 Tactical Backpack

2. 5.11 RUSH24 Tactical Backpack

3. 5.11 RUSH12 Tactical Backpack

4. REEBOW GEAR Military Tactical Backpack

5. SOG Ninja Tactical Day Pack

How do you pick best tactical backpacks?

Please share my content!

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l4na-banana · 6 years

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Best Tactical Backpack

New Post has been published on http://comm-fab.com/best-tactical-backpack/

Best Tactical Backpack

The 5 Best Tactical Backpacks For 2018

675

744

http://comm-fab.com">

895

569

1. 5.11 RUSH72 Tactical Backpack

2. 5.11 RUSH24 Tactical Backpack

3. 5.11 RUSH12 Tactical Backpack

4. REEBOW GEAR Military Tactical Backpack

5. SOG Ninja Tactical Day Pack

How do you pick best tactical backpacks?

Please share my content!

#Best Tactical Backpack

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