#at a tech conference again and my only goal is to hang out and maybe dance once

[aurosoul]

wheeeee

[itbethatwaysometime]

Uncharted - Part 7

Word Count : 2.5k 

Warnings: Mild swearing.

A/n: VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE PLEASE READ 

I have been having the absolute shittiest time, in life, in time, in fucking everything right now. The fucking wifi at the hospital was possibly the worst thing in the entire world and for some reason the Tumblr HTML wasn’t working. And tbh nothing was working. I do have chapters already written, but I hope the content is still going to be up to par. 

I’ve been feeling like shit lately, so I hope that can be an explanation to why I’ve been coming up with 0 content and not posting regularly....

 -

Part 6

“Me? Why?” You ask him. If anything, you’d think he’d have chosen someone Bucky has met, which is everyone but you.

 “Because he’s never met you before and I know you don’t like to hear it, but you look a little less threatening than Natasha when she’s in Widow mode or when Tony’s in his suit. He might trust you a little more. And I know you’ve volunteered with Sam at the VA, so you know how to deal with people with fragile minds.,” His voice goes quiet, “Look, Bucky, right now, is dangerous, but he’s all I have left. I only have one shot at this, and it needs to be right.” 

You look at him with a calculating gaze. Steve talked about Bucky a lot, only with you though. He told you stories about all the trouble they’d get into when they were just little boys. You could see straight away how much this man meant to Steve. 

“Alright. I will. But how’s this going to work? Fury already wants me on backup, and I’m pretty sure the guy’s on the ground need it.” You still had to make a good first impression.

“I’ve thought about that. Fury already talked me through the major details. You’re supposed to be backup only until the team breaches the second line of defence of the base and that’s quite early on. Once you’re done there, you’ll join me. I’ll give you my locations over the comms.”

“Ok, then.” You give him a small smile and reach up to your tippy toes for a hug, your arms up around his neck and his around your waist. A hug from Captain America is exactly like you’d think it’d be. You’re physically being wrapped around a thick layer of warmth and muscle, it’s a feeling of safety and comfort. “Everything’s going to be fine. I’m going to go check on Tony.”

 You let go and flash him a comforting smile. On your way to the workshop, you grab the case with your new suit and your very first mission manila folder.

 The moment you enter your favourite room in the Tower, you sense something off. Some tension lingering in the air. Even Dum-E is quiet for once. Maybe Tony’s in a bad mood. He seemed pretty ok before. 

You see Tony shoulders hunched over some metal part with a magnifying lens barely an inch away from his eye. His brow is furrowed and his neck his tense. 

 “Hey Tony, everything okay here?” You ask packing your things on a desk. “You disappeared from the conference room pretty quickly, I couldn’t catch you on your way out.” You slowly approach him at his work station. He’s upset. “Hey, come on Stark, don’t pout.” You try and lighten the mood, failing miserably. 

“Is Rogers taking you to get James?” He says quietly, with barely contained anger. It surprises you, you’ve only ever talked to him when he’s joking around or teasing. Maybe serious a couple of times, but not like this. 

 “Yes, he is.” You state simply. You flinch back as he abruptly stands up and runs a frantic hand through his messy hair. 

“You can’t”

“What?”

 “You can’t go with Rogers to get Barnes.” Now you were just confused. Why wouldn’t he want you to go? This was honestly, a fairly simple mission with many possibilities for things to go wrong, but that’s with every mission, whether it was a simple file extraction or to eliminate a threat.

 “Because he’s dangerous, that’s why.” You knew that wherever this was coming from, spouted from the incidents in Berlin. You knew little about the relationship between Tony and Bucky, just that it wasn't pretty.

 “I know he is, but it’s part of the job. The goal is to get him out and if Steve needs me for that, then so be it.” You cross your arms over your chest and look him straight in the eyes. 

 “Ya but-“

 “No but’s. I’m an Avenger now, and I’m not backing away.” He rings his hands stressfully and gives you a good look.

 “OK, but if Barnes so much as lays a finger on you, so help me God he will not live another day.” A small smile tugged at your lips because a more fatherly, protective side of Tony peaked through. 

 “Come here.”He lifts his arms up. You happily skip towards him and hug him.You’re not sure how long it lasts, but after awhile he suggests that you and him go over the mission and memories the floor plans. 

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

20 minutes until dawn

“You ready?” Steve asks you through the entrance of your apartment. You lace up your heavy duty boots and tightly adjust your wrist supports making sure the little gap between your fingers were snug. You nod and he gently leads you towards the hangar.

 Sam and Wanda were talking quietly at the bottom ramp as you approached Natasha to ask her a few questions. 

 “Is this always how it’s going to be?” You ask, almost all of you were on board, we were only missing Pietro who was injured from the last mission.

 “Most of the time, we only send half the team in, but the situation is quite fragile, I think Fury feels a bit vulnerable right now but he’s not one to do anything rash.” You nod your head and join the others in the Quinjet. 

Clint and Tony were in the cockpit, Dr. Banner talking discreetly on the phone with Dr.Cho, Thor was casually sitting in the right wing talking with Sam.  

“Alright, Avengers,” Cap interrupts the banter with his authoritative and not to mention slightly (very) intimidating voice, “2 minutes till take off.”

  Everyone scurries off to their respective seats, you’re wedged between Steve and Sam. Two impressive hunks of muscle despite Sam not being full of serum.  

“You nervous?” Sam asks, his eyes narrowing at your tightly clasped hands. You chuckle slightly, forcing yourself to lay your sweaty palms flat against your thighs. “Just a bit.” He smiles reassuringly and tells you it's normal, but you’ll get a hang of it.  Tony walks out of the cockpit and hands everyone their earpiece. 

“New tech, don’t break it. It’s off for now, but it’ll automatically turn on once we are in range of the base.” He drops the tiny piece of genius engineering into your hand. It’s barely a centimetre in width. You gently drop it into your ear and feel it expand snugly into the crevices without being uncomfortable. 

Over the sounds of the engines revving for takeoff, Clint announces the flight time, 3 hours and 22 minutes.  During the three hours you talk about nothing and everything with everyone. 

Somehow you ended up alone with Steve in the left wing while everyone else discussed what take out they wanted when they returned to the base.  You could hear them arguing in the background.

“I vote Thai Express!” You hear Sam say. 

“I think that Shawarma is way more fitting for post-mission meals.” Tony argues. 

“God! We always have Shawarma!” Everyone groans in unison. 

“I heard that there’s a nice Italian restaurant that just opened.” Vision suggests.

 “Dude, you don’t even eat.” Clint retorts. You weren’t sure if synthetic beings had feelings, but you sure as hell saw the insulted look on Vision’s face. 

“Sorry, Vision”  You giggle at their childishness, to be honest you were partial to either Thai Express, pizza or Mcdonald’s.

 “Do they always fight about what they’ll eat after a mission?” You wonder inquisitively. 

“Pretty much. That and what movie to watch on movie night.” You laugh again. But, there’s something off about Steve, his baby blue eyes aren’t giving off that happy shine he always has. 

“You’re worried about Bucky.” You say, it was more of a statement than a question. He nods looking down at an old photo of them. Arms linked around his shoulders, pre-serum Steve was smiling hard at Bucky who looked like he was the happiest boy on earth, sporting the youthful glee you only got from being happy your whole life.

 “I read up on your last encounter with him. It stated that he recognized you, called you Steve. I think he’s still in there. And I also believe that if we do this gently and coax him into recognition, this is going to be a success. But, what we need to be careful about, is how we act once we have him. He’s fragile, he’s broken, but he’s hella strong.” You lay a gentle hand on your best friend’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring shrug. 

“We’ve got this alright?” 

A small smile tugs at his lips before he goes back into Captain America mode when Clint announce 20 minutes until landing. 

 “Suit up! First group is down in 15. Iron man, you need to dismantle those defences before we get anywhere close to that base.”

 “Copy that Capsicle!”

 “Clint go high up and Thor I need you to conjure up a mighty storm over the base.” 

“Of course Captain Rogers, they shan’t see what’s coming.” He booms. 

“(Y/n) you know what to do.” He sets his intense gaze on you. “ Let’s head out.” 

Clint expertly lands the jet and opens the gate. First group immediately heads out as you and the rest of back up wait a few minutes. Over the comms you can hear a few grunts and gunshots but nothing too worrying. 

“Defences down. OW! Shit!”

 “Language” The entire team says in unison. 

“Alright, Team Two head out.” You run out, adrenaline pumping through your veins, the first line of defence has already been taken care of but the second seemed to be holding up quite well.

 Once you get there, three Hydra agents leap at you, you block their punches and send one through a portal, you land a swift kick to his sternum only to have another one yank your hair. You yelp and grab his wrists flipping him over, and render him unconscious. The last one points a gun at you but before he could fire you open a portal behind his ankle, you yank hard and send him flying. You’re breathing hard feeling the burn of your muscles and the sound of gunshots ring in your ears. You assist the team throughout the next half hour until finally breaking through.

“Ok, Natasha you’re up, Sam and Vision took care of the first two decks you should be clear.”

 “Copy that” You see her disappear in a swirl of menacing kicks and red hair.  

“(Y/n), meet me behind the base,” he grunts out, you could here the mechanical click of his shield reattaching itself to his forearm,” Bucky’s in a warehouse about a mile from here. I’m pretty sure he’s caught wind of what’s happening up here so he’ll be gone soon.”

 “Got it.”  

“Hey Tones， you think I can get a lift？” You ask through the comms, you’d get there impossibly faster which would help with the whole, Barnes getting away situation. You bat away a few other Hydra agents while waiting for a response. You were definitely feeling the burn in your tired muscles and you knew that your body would be littered in bruises for the next week. 

“Sure thing ,dear.”  You heard the loud whizzing of the suit’s propulsers; you lift one hand straight up and in seconds you’re snatched up and flying through the air. You weren’t terribly fond of heights but you trusted Tony.  

“Where to?” You hear the machine like voice that filters Tony’s own. 

“The back of the base, Cap’s waiting.” You flew up and across the battlefield and before you knew it, he gently placed you back on the ground a few feet away from Cap impatiently waiting for you on his motorcycle.

 You turn to Tony when he says,” Be careful.” You smile one last time before turning and leaping onto the vehicle, gripping Steve tightly around the waist. 

He revves the engine once then twice before speeding off onto a gravel road surrounded only by trees with snowy tops. You bury your face into his back, shielding yourself from the harsh wind. He the takes a sharp right turn and abruptly pivots and stops.  

“We’re here.” You swing your legs off the bike and place your hands up in front of you ready to attack. You decide not to pull out your hand gun just yet, again, he was unstable. His reactions were unpredictable and you couldn't imagine what he’d be like if you showed any sign of violence.

 The warehouse was a two-story broken building, clearly abandoned and very old. Rust touched every metal surface and cracks buried itself through the concrete. You and Steve cautiously approached the building, using his shield, he snaps the lock in half. You both quietly walk in, checking your blind spots and for anyone else present. For now, everything was silent.

 The first room you entered practically took up the entire warehouse. There were a few rickety chairs and machines you thought could've dated from back in the 50’s.

That’s when you heard a metal-on-metal whine followed by a pained groan. Your head shot up and you stole a glance at Cap who tensed up. You pointed towards a metal door to your right, indicating that the sound came from in there. He nodded and cautiously walked over. 

He gently gripped the handle and mouthed:” 3…2…1” He pulled the door open and rushed in. The sight before you…. 

 There he was. 

 A lone, broken man sitting on an old wooden chair. His body bowed down in defeat with dirty, greasy brown hair casting shadows over his face. He curled in on himself when hearing the harsh noise. His ratty jeans were mud streaked and his red sweater was torn in a few places.

 But, what shocked you the most was his mechanic arm clamped down between two giant metal plates, as if he was trying to contain himself. 

 You saddened at the sight. He really didn’t want to hurt anyone, the man practically trapped himself.

  He limply grasps the metal box and shifts his legs a bit. From watching all the videos of him fighting and then seeing him in real life, like this, was truly heartbreaking.

  “Steve.” He rasps, his voice, rough as sandpaper, cuts through the tension filled air. His gaze landing immediately on his long lost best friend.  

 “Which Bucky am I talking to?” Steve replies in an emotionless tone. He lifts his head up slowly and lays a long hard stare on Steve. Then shifts his intense gaze on you. Your (e/c) meet his and you’re momentarily out of breath. His eyes were these steely blue whirlpools of pain and sorrow. His long lashes cast shadows over the sapphire glaze and green hues that were burning holes through you. 

 You remained calm and met his glower with just as much tenacity. He took in a deep breath and turned towards Steve. For some reason, you had one distinct thought in mind, the rest just blended in with the mindless chatter over the comms.  

You wanted those eyes to lay upon you once more. 

Tag list:

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[shervonfakhimi]

The Annual Gasbag, Totally Wrong 2019 NCAA Tournament Bracket

The sun is out. The birds are chirping. Spring break is approaching. Gasbags on television are absolutely positive the Anteaters of UC Irvine will beat the Kansas State Wildcats despite never seeing them play. That’s right, get a whiff of it all and inhale. March is here ladies and gentlemen, which means people will finally begin watching college basketball and maintain that they have been watching all season long trying to win their bracket pools (I somehow won mine last year after years of trying. Shoutout Moe Wagner and Donte DiVincenzo!) pretending to know everything in the process, when we all know nobody knows anything at all. Who the hell is Gardner-Webb? Wait, they’re a team, not a player? What? So with that being the backdrop, let’s run through my picks and all laugh at how horribly wrong I will be in three weeks. As the late Heath Ledger said as the Joker in ‘The Dark Knight,’ “Here. We. Go.”

EAST

Round of 64

1 Duke vs 16 North Dakota State/NC Central: Zion smash. Duke wins.

8 VCU vs 9 UCF: VCU lost to Rhode Island in the A-10 tournament, losing one of their guards in the process. UCF has guards in BJ Taylor and Aubrey Dawkins to match a talented frontcourt headed by the giant Tacko Fall. Look man, I haven’t seen VCU play so I don’t have much to work with. They’re havoc style of play may work, but probably not against an experienced team. I’ll take UCF.

5 Mississippi State vs 12 Liberty: Liberty’s coach comes from the Virginia Cavalier school of strategy, playing at a snail pace and making it a halfcourt game. MSU has the guards to beat that style, and I think they’ll prevail. I’m always here for a 12-5 upset, but don’t think this is the place to look.

4 Virginia Tech vs 13 St. Louis: A Billiken is a mythical good-­luck figure who represents "things as they ought to be." That’s all I got for St. Louis. And that sounds about right because they ought to take an L to a really talented, versatile Virginia Tech getting their point guard Justin Robinson back. I’ll take the giant, ‘Family Guy’-esque fighting chickens over whatever the heck a Billiken is.

6 Maryland vs 11 Belmont: Good on the committee to put Belmont in the dance, and good on Belmont to prove them and all their supporters right, taking down Temple. They have a wide range of guards and playmakers, most notably future pro Dylan Windler. But for Maryland’s purposes, Belmont has a couple bigs to throw at Bruno Fernando to at least make him work. With Windler’s ability to rebound and good guard play, I think Belmont will keep on keeping on.

3 LSU vs 14 Yale: How remarkable is it that *these* two teams are currently embroiled in NCAA/FBI scrutiny? Hilarious. Anyway, buckle up, ya’ll. We got an upset here. Get this: Yale is 42nd and 29th in the country in 3 point field goal percentage and 3 point field goal percentage defense, respectively, per Kenpom. LSU is 276th and 179th, respectively in those areas. Add to it Yale has played the role of Cinderella spoiler before 3 years ago when Taurean Prince taught us what a rebound is, Yale arguably may have the best player on the floor in future NBA draft pick Miye Oni and LSU doesn’t have their head coach right now, this has all the makings of an upset special. I’ve never seen Yale play. Instead of watching their conference tournament championship game, I chose to watch ‘Desus & Mero’ before Tennesee-Auburn tipped off (shoutout the brand). But, I’m taking them anyway. Let’s go Yale!

7 Louisville vs 10 Minnesota: Brace yourselves, good people of Des Moines, Iowa. Wear turtlenecks, stay in bright areas, dress in layers to be extra cautious. The fact this is the first game on Thursday’s slate means it may be dark enough for a vampire named Count Pitino to sneak into the arena. No one should be bit in the process. All I want is safety for those who just want to enjoy some hoops. Is that too much to ask for? I’m taking Louisville, but that’s not what’s important here. Stay safe, Iowa. We don’t need any accidents here.

2 Michigan State vs 15 Bradley: Don’t worry, Bradley. You won’t be in the tournament long enough for any actual, respected journalists to have to worry about your supposed ‘brand.’ Sparty rolls on.

ROUND OF 32

1 Duke vs 9 UCF: The classic mentor vs mentee matchup. Mike Krzyzewski being the Obi-Wan to Johnny Dawkins’ Anakin Skywalker. While Coach K might not have the high ground since UCF has towering Tacko Fall, it still won’t matter. UCF has enough shooting and wings to make it a game, but Zion, RJ and Cam Reddish should be able to get through relatively unscathed. Duke wins.

4 Virginia Tech vs 5 Mississippi State: Virginia Tech’s versatility should be a bad matchup for MSU. VT plays 4 perimeter players around big man Kerry Blackshear, who is a big with perimeter skills with his ability to shoot 3s, attack a closeout and pass. Potential possible lottery pick Nickeil Alexander-Walker should be able to defend and attack Mississippi State’s smaller guards. Since MSU isn’t particularly gigantic on the frontcourt, Virginia Tech should be able to play their game without a ton of concern, though MSU is a good offensive rebounding team. Virginia Tech hangs on and gets to the Sweet 16.

11 Belmont vs 14 Yale: Yale may have pulled off the bigger upset, but Belmont is still the better team. I’m thinking Windler and crew slow down Oni and the Bulldogs and advance to the Sweet 16.

2 Michigan State vs 7 Louisville: These two teams met earlier this year in Louisville, with the Cardinals winning. While the Cardinals aren’t bulky in the frontcourt, they have options to throw at the multitude of bigs Michigan State trots out in Nick Ward, Xavier Tillman and Kenny Goins. Maybe I’m underestimating the chemistry and spirit of this Spartans team (one that has withstood multiple injuries), but I believe Christen Cunningham can match up well against Cassius Winston, Louisville matches up well with Michigan State as a whole, Jordan Nwora is perhaps the most talented player on the floor that Michigan State doesn’t quite have an answer for, and Chris Mack knows his way around an NCAA Tournament too. Though Michigan State is a good 3 point shooting team (38.2%), they surround the floor with shooters who teams are willing to let them beat them rather than let their bigs dominate inside and have been inconsistent hitting big shots in tense situations. I believe Louisville will be able to get better offense, though they’ll have to avoid collapsing late like they did against Duke when they blew a 23 point lead. Perhaps Louisville gets some home cooking too with this game being played in Big 10 country. Louisville ranks in the top 30 in both offensive and defensive efficiency in Kenpom, so they are more than capable of taking Michigan State down. I’m rolling with Louisville in an upset to get to the Sweet 16.

SWEET 16

1 Duke vs 4 Virginia Tech: This is a dangerous spot for Duke. VT defeated Duke in Blacksburg, while the Hokies were without Justin Robinson and Duke was without Zion Williamson. Zion aside, Virginia Tech has the length and athleticism to match up somewhat with Duke’s perimeter athletes and their 3 point shooting prowess (7th in the nation at 39.8%) could make things interesting. If Zion Williamson wasn’t on Duke, this could be a trendy and real sleeper pick. Zion could end up being the difference, thus Duke moving on to the Elite 8.

7 Louisville vs 11 Belmont: Belmont matches up with Louisville fairly well. But the same applies the other way and I think Louisville has the versatility to defend Belmont’s motion-centric offense and out-gun them with Nwora leading the way. I like Louisville to move on to the Elite 8.

ELITE 8

1 Duke vs 7 Louisville: As mentioned earlier, Duke nearly lost to this Louisville and required a colossal comeback to defeat them in Louisville. Louisville managed out-rebound Duke and hold them to 36.5% from the field. And yes, this was with Zion Williamson playing. However, Duke got 24 trips to the Free Throw line, nine of which from Zion, who made eight of them. The lack of size in the backcourt means Cam Reddish could be more of a factor should the Cardinals elect to have Dwane Sutton guard RJ Barrett, who went only 4-14 from the field in their previous affair. I’m not expecting an utter meltdown from Louisville in this rematch, but I also don’t think Reddish, RJ Barrett and Tre Jones will go 13-45 from the field either. Duke wins a close on to get to the Final 4.

SOUTH

ROUND OF 64

1 Virginia vs 16 Gardner-Webb: You want to know what I said last year about Virginia in their first round matchup? Well, here ya go: ‘UMBC is named the Retrievers. That’s about all I got here. Shoutout them & Jarius Lyles, who averages 20.2 PPG, but nah this ain’t happening. UVA wins.’ It can’t happen again, right? RIGHT?

8 Ole Miss vs 9 Oklahoma:

Could this Oklahoma team be any more of a polar opposite than last year’s squad headlined by Trae Young? Nope. Last year’s team was more of an offensive oriented team, while this year makes its hey on defense. While Ole Miss has some legit guards in Terence Davis and Breein Tyree, they’re not good defending 3s and can be had defensively. We’re going with the more tournament experienced Sooners here.

5 Wisconsin vs 12 Oregon: Ethan Happ is *still* in Wisconsin after debuting for the Badgers 10 years ago. Seriously, he’s still there? Anyway, Wisconsin drew a really bad matchup against a super hot Oregon team who has multiple bigs, primarily Kenny Wooten, to throw at Happ and stick to Wisconsin’s shooters. Louis King, who Bill Walton calls ‘Louie the King’ is a potential 1st round pick (maybe next year) with a very tantalizing skillset at 6’9” 205lbs. Payton Pritchard can control the pace and bring a scoring punch in his own right. Speaking of Bill Walton, I’ll let him announce who my pick is for this game.

4 Kansas State vs 13 UC Irvine: Similarly to Yale, instead of watching UC Irvine’s championship game, I chose to watch ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ instead. So I don’t really have much here. All I know is this game is going to be an ugly, low scoring brawl since these two teams make their hay. Dean Wade may not play for Kansas State, so I’m rolling with the Anteaters despite never seeing them play. Surely that’s a recipe for success, right?

6 Villanova vs 11 St. Mary’s: I don’t think Villanova could’ve gotten a better draw. If you sense a theme here with this bracket, St. Mary’s wants to play at a snail’s pace with scoring being at a premium. That’s good for a Villanova team without many offensive creators outside of Phil Booth and Eric Paschall, who are a little over their heads for their roles anyway while keeping this team afloat. Had Nova gotten a team that can go up and down and get buckets, I’d be a lot more pessimistic about their chances. But St. Mary’s isn’t that team, so I’m rolling with Booth, Paschall, Jay Wright and Villanova to advance.

3 Purdue vs 14 Old Dominion: I totally have never seen Old Dominion play so… yeah. Carsen Edwards should be able to get at least one game for Purdue. Boiler up!

7 Cincinnati vs 10 Iowa: If ever there were a game that will break out in an Anchorman-type brawl with brass knuckles, grenades and a trident, this would be it. Coaching staffs, players, everybody. And let me tell you, no one is more ready to fight like Mick Cronin. For that (and the fact this game will be in Columbus, Ohio) reason alone I’m going with Cincinnati.

2 Tennessee vs 15 Colgate: Tennessee should be able to *brush* off the competition in the first round. I’ll show myself out…

ROUND OF 32

1 Virginia vs 9 Oklahoma: If Oklahoma is a defensive-minded squad, then give me the team with three potential NBA 1st round picks. Virginia advances.

12 Oregon vs 13 UC Irvine: Again, another defensive-minded affair. Oregon has been locking teams down in their late season push into the NCAA tournament. Irvine can win this game, but I think Pritchard will be able to get Oregon better looks and close out another win. Cue Bill Walton again.

3 Purdue vs 6 Villanova: Villanova’s hellacious draw continues. Purdue is similar to Nova in that they have a player that has to do more offensivey than he probably should be doing. Carsen Edwards is a volume scorer, but that can lead to loud off nights as well. Without another go-to option on offense, Villanova is sound and disciplined enough to be able to take away Purdue’s complementary shooting and put multiple defenders on Edwards to tire him out. It also helps Villanova’s cause they’ll be a de facto home team in Hartford, Connecticut. As mentioned before, I think Villanova is prone to a loss here, but I’m not sure Purdue has the firepower to knock them out early. I’m guessing this will be another close, low scoring game with the defending national champs eeking out another one to get to the Sweet 16.

2 Tennessee vs 7 Cincinnati: So, it’s a little bullshit that Tennessee, a 2 seed in the *South* region will basically have a road game in the middle of Ohio. Maybe it could end up being a factor, but with how constipated an offense Cincinnati has and that Tennessee can throw multiple defenders at Cincinnati’s best offensive threat in Jarron Cumberland, I think Tennessee wins this out pretty handily.

SWEET 16

1 Virginia vs 12 Oregon: Oregon has put the clamps on teams, but the run ends here. Virginia has Ty Jerome to throw at Pritchard and De’Andre Hunter to throw at Louis King. While a fun NBA draft matchup, Oregon’s lack of explosive offensive firepower will finally come back to bite them here with Virginia’s 2nd most efficient offense in the country. I think Kyle Guy will have a field day here. Sorry Bill Walton, but I’m going with Virginia here.

2 Tennessee vs 6 Villanova: Villanova can make this interesting. Eric Paschall, Saddiq Bey, Jaylen Samuels and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree are big and versatile enough to make Tennessee’ versions of the Incredible Hulk in Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield work. However, the play of Tennessee’s guards Jordan Bone, Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner I think will be the difference and lift Tennessee into a dream Elite 8 matchup.

ELITE 8

1 Virginia vs 2 Tennessee: Virginia *beep* Tennessee *beep* collision course. That’s what it feels like in this South region, honestly. These two match up really well with each other. Either squad could take it. I think this is going to be the breakout game where everybody in the country sees how good De’Andre Hunter really is. Sure, Virginia’s got Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy, who have to play well and defend Tennessee’s guards, but Tennessee’s bread and butter is in the paint, and there may be no player better served to defend Schofield and Grant Williams than Hunter, a potential Top 5 NBA pick this upcoming draft. Not only that, but he can hit 3s at a very high clip (45.7%). Tennessee got exploited by Auburn bombing away from 3 and stretching their bigs out, an achilles’ heel for Tennessee, as they rank 151st in the country in 3 point defense. Virginia is 4th in the country in 3 point offense. Look for Hunter, Braxton Key and Mamadi Diakite to make life difficult on Tennessee’s brutes down low and for the Cavs to beat Tennessee from deep. I’m rolling with Virginia and for Tony Bennett’s squad to finally make the Final 4.

MIDWEST

1 North Carolina vs 16 Iona: The ceiling is the roof for one of these teams, and it ain’t Iona. Sorry Gaels. UNC wins.

8 Utah State vs 9 Washington: Utah State is a good team led by Sam Merrill and a future pro in Neemias Queta. Washington struggles to score, but can make things interesting playing a Syracuse-esque 2-3 zone and ballhawk Matisse Thybulle making plays. I just don’t think Washington scores enough. Utah State moving on.

5 Auburn vs 12 New Mexico State: Auburn destroyed Tennessee from 3 point range in the SEC championship game. New Mexico State can make things interesting, but think Jared Harper and Bryce Brown make enough shots to let Auburn advance.

4 Kansas vs 13 Northeastern: This is arguably the worst Kansas team I’ve ever seen. Part of it is because they’ve been hampered by injuries (Udoka Azubuike), Lagerald Vick leaving for personal reasons and the feds tapping Bill Self’s phone (Silvio De Sousa). Regardless, this team is overly reliant on Dedric Lawson, who couldn’t get the job against Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament. Northeastern can stretch Kansas out similarly to how the Cyclones did and have arguably the best guard on the floor in Serbian guard Vasa Pusica. While Devon Dotson is a solid floor general, he, Quentin Grimes and Ochai Agbaji haven’t necessarily proven to be consistent scoring threats. I already picked one Husky team to lose; I don’t think the other will. Upset alert!

6 Iowa State vs 11 Ohio State: If Ohio State big man Kaleb Wesson can stay out of foul trouble and punish the Cyclones down low, this could be a game. But Iowa State may have the best collection of guards in the entire country, and have at least 3 solid options down low to bang with Wesson in Michael Jacobson, Cam Lard and George Conditt IV. I’m betting on Iowa State’s guard play to advance.

3 Houston vs 14 Georgia State: I know D’Marcus Simonds is good for Georgia State. I’m not sure what else they got. Houston should win this game. Dejon Jarreau and the Coogs hold on.

7 Wofford vs 10 Seton Hall: I don’t think there’s a more underrated guard to go on a Kemba Walker-esque run than Myles Powell of Seton Hall. He is an unconscious chucker who won’t stop until he gets hot. I think he outguns Fletcher Magee for Wofford and Seton Hall advances with tough defense to run Wofford off the 3 point line.

2 Kentucky vs 15 Abilene Christian: Does this man look like he’s worried about Abilene Christian? Hell nah.

ROUND OF 32

1 North Carolina vs 8 Utah State: Utah State has some guys, as mentioned earlier, but I don’t think they have the firepower to deal with Coby White, Cam Johnson, Luke Maye, Nassir Little and crew. UNC goes to the Sweet 16.

5 Auburn vs 13 Northeastern: Similar to Utah State, Northeastern has some firepower and can make this interesting, but don’t think they have enough. The numerous attacking guards Auburn has runs in contrast to what Kansas has. Regardless of whether Northeastern or Kansas actually plays this game, I’m taking Auburn to move on.

3 Houston vs 6 Iowa State: Houston has some guards in Dejon Jarreau, Galen Robinson and Corey Davis Jr. They’re tough and versatile defensively and have enough to score efficiently. Had they gotten Villanova as their 6th seed, I’d be more willing to pick Houston. But Iowa State’s guard-play in the form of Virginia transfer Marial Shayok, potential first round pick Talen Horton-Tucker, Tyrese Haliburton and 6th man supersub Lindell Wigginton I think will shine through. Houston can beat Iowa State, but I don’t think they will end up beating them. Gimme Iowa State.

2 Kentucky vs 10 Seton Hall: Myles Powell and Seton Hall beat Kentucky once already. But, as all Calipari teams, this Kentucky team has improved as the season has gone on. I’m not sure Hall has enough juice to pull this off. Going with Kentucky.

SWEET 16

1 North Carolina vs 5 Auburn: This game will be the closest thing to an NBA in terms of space and 3 point shooting. Auburn can shoot themselves into a win or out of a game into a major loss. North Carolina is one of the few teams in the country that can keep up with them whether Auburn is hitting shots or not. I think Coby White and Kenny Williams would outplay and defend Jared Harper and Bryce Brown. Cam Johnson going up against Chuma Okeke makes for a nice NBA draft matchup. UNC has an answer for all of Auburn’s primary weapons. I’m taking the Heels.

2 Kentucky vs 6 Iowa State: So remember all that talk about Iowa State’s guards? Well, Kentucky has Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro and Keldon Johnson to throw at Iowa State, along with a multitude of bigs, most notably PJ Washington and Stanford transfer Reid Travis. I think Kentucky can neutralize Iowa State’s guards while simultaneously punishing them down low. It’ll be a de facto road game in Hilton south in Kansas City, but think Calipari and crew will get the job done.

ELITE 8

1 North Carolina vs 2 Kentucky: The Luke Maye avenge game! De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Bam Adebayo aren’t there, but Maye still is after debuting for the Heels 20 years ago. Ashton Hagans is a bulldog defensively who can hound Coby White all game long. Keldon Johnson can defend Cam Johnson. They have the athletes and girth in the frontcourt to not just pester Luke Maye, Garrison Brooks and Nassir Little, but get the best of them too. However, with PJ Washington in a boot, he may not be 100% if he can even play in the game. For that reason, I’m rolling with North Carolina to get back to the Final 4.

WEST

ROUND OF 64

1 Gonzaga vs 16 Fairleigh Dickinson/Prairie View A&M: Yeah, Gonzaga.

8 Syracuse vs 9 Baylor: Another should-be ugly game with a lot of zone and offenses not knowing how to deal with zones. Syracuse announced they have suspended starting guard Frank Howard. With that news, for an already struggling Syracuse offense, I’m going with Baylor to take this one.

5 Marquette vs 12 Murray State: HELL. YES. Inject this game into my damn veins. Ja Morant and Markus Howard are two of the most explosive scoring guards in the country. Ja carried the Racers into the tournament. Markus made it a habit to drop 50 on fools. The difference is: Ja is a Trae Young type of playmaker put into De’Aaron Fox’s gifted athletic frame, whereas Markus is a talented bucket getter who can be forced into low efficiency shots and turnovers. Howard is a stud, but Ja is better, and Murray State has guards in Shaq Buchanon and Tevin Brown to make Howard work offensively. Where is Ja? The round of 32, Mr. Dave Chappelle.

4 Florida State vs 13 Vermont: Vermont is good. They also aren’t very big or deep. Florida State is the exact opposite. I’ll take the Seminoles.

6 Buffalo vs 11 St. John’s/Arizona State: Regardless of who plays this game (I think it’ll be Arizona State), I’m taking Buffalo. The Bulls have good guard play headlined by CJ Massinburg and Jeremy Harris. The Sun Devils match up fairly well, but I’m thinking those two and big man Nick Perkins stretching the floor will make the difference in the Bobby Hurley revenge game.

3 Texas Tech vs 14 Northern Kentucky: Unless Thor is suiting up for the Norse of Northern Kentucky, then I’m taking Jarrett Culver and Tech. I’m told he’s being rested for load management so he can take down Thanos. Sounds like the right decision. Texas Tech wins this one.

7 Nevada vs 10 Florida: So, here’s a question: Is Nevada good? Arizona State and Utah State are the only teams worth a damn they’ve beaten this year, neither of which being a true road game. They split with Utah State and lost 2 of 3 to San Diego State. Not great for the Muss Bus. The Martin twins and Jordan Caroline are good enough to go on another one, but I’m thinking Florida puts the clamps on them and Arkansas’ own KeVaughn Allen helps close them out. Florida moves on.

2 Michigan vs 15 Montana: I have no idea why and how these two are playing in the first round again, but I’m guessing it’ll end similarly to last year. Michigan wins.

ROUND OF 32

1 Gonzaga vs 9 Baylor: I can’t think of any two players more suited to bust a 2-3 zone (yes, Baylor runs it too) quite like Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke. Well, there was Jaren Jackson Jr. last year for Michigan State but Tom Izzo somehow decided he was only worth playing 13 minutes. Yeah… Mark Few isn’t going to make that mistake (I think?). Gonzaga moves on.

4 Florida State vs 12 Murray State: I hate this draw for Murray State. Loathe it. Despise it. I just want to pick Ja Morant to go the Elite 8 at the very least, why do you have to do this to me, committee? Florida State has multiple guards in Terrance Mann, Trent Forrest, MJ Walker, David Nichols, PJ Savoy and Devin Vassell that can not only make Ja Morant work offensively but have to guard defensively. Not that he’s a bad defender, but he typically likes to chill a little bit on that end to store his energy for carrying Murray State’s offense. Ja is good enough to pull this off; I’d probably pick him to do so against any other 4 seed (or even some 3 seeds). I just don’t see it happening against this Florida State squad.

3 Texas Tech vs 6 Buffalo: Both of these teams are sized fairly evenly across the board and play similarly. Both grind defensively and let their multiple guards on the floor carry them. One team has a potential Top 5 pick in Jarrett Culver; the other doesn’t. I’m taking him to carry Tech to a victory.

2 Michigan vs 10 Florida: These two teams are similar as well. Both teams are stout defensively, but leave more to be desired offensively, to put it kindly. Without Moe Wagner (at least someone knew how to use him right), the Wolverines have been more reliant on their guards to create with less spacing. Swaggy Jordan Poole made arguably the biggest shot of the tournament last year with his halfcourt buzzer beater against Houston, so if he gets hot, all things are off. But I like the way Florida executed offensively in the SEC Tournament against Arkansas, LSU and Auburn. Think this will be another low scoring affair, and that Florida will find a way to squeak out a close one to get to the Sweet 16.

SWEET 16

1 Gonzaga vs 4 Florida State: It’s all about matchups. Gonzaga has arguably the best frontcourt in the country, headlined by future potential lottery picks Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke, along with Killian Tillie coming off the bench. So no problem, they’ll just plow through Florida State, right? Not so fast, my friends. Florida State is one of the few teams that can match up with the Zags, with ACC 6th man of the year Mfiondu Kabengele (here’s a drinking game for ya: take a sip every time it gets mentioned he’s a nephew of Dikembe Mutombo), 7’4” goliath Christ Koumadje, Phil Cofer and Raiquan Gray. Yeah, Leonard Hamilton’s team has depth for days (side note: you all realize Leonard Hamilton is *only* 70 years old? He’s 22 months younger than Coach K. It truly is amazing). We already talked about FSU’s guard play, so let’s talk about the Zags’. It was a little alarming to see Zach Norvell Jr. and Josh Perkins look shook in their championship game vs St. Mary’s. They’re going to need solid play from Perkins and scoring from Norvell to pull this off. I think FSU can match up with them and out-gun their perimeter play. I’m taking Florida State to move on to the Elite 8.

3 Texas Tech vs 10 Florida: I think this is where Florida’s lack of scoring will come back to haunt them. Texas Tech can defend just as well as Michigan and has a little more of a scoring and shooting punch. I’m taking Jarrett Culver to get the Red Raiders back into the Elite 8.

ELITE 8

3 Texas Tech vs 4 Florida State: Florida State has guards and size. Texas Tech doesn’t quite have the number of them FSU does, but they have enough in Tariq Owens, Deshawn Corprew and Norense Odiase. I think Tech has more shooting and star power to get past Florida State. I already am looking for property on Culver Island. I’m banking on him to carry Tech on a big time run, and think he’ll follow through. Tech to the Final 4.

FINAL 4

1 Duke vs 3 Texas Tech: These two already met in Madison Square Garden where James Dolan wasn’t throwing fans out for pointing his gross incompetence. Culver can go toe-to-toe with either RJ or Reddish, but (I hope you’re sensing a theme) I’m not sure they have a match for Zion. Tre Jones can pressure Tech’s guards as well and come up with the scrappy 50-50 balls Tech lives off of. I think Duke moves on to the championship game.

1 Virginia vs 1 North Carolina: These two teams met in the regular season and Virginia won in Chapel Hill. I think De’Andre Hunter proves to be the difference and Virginia moves on to the championship game.

CHAMPIONSHIP

1 Duke vs 1 Virginia: Duke isn’t a great shooting team (and it come into play as to whether or not they actually make it this far), but Kentucky isn’t either. I think Tre Jones and Cam Reddish will be big factors slowing down Jerome and Guy. While it is hard to beat a team three times in a row, it isn’t impossible. Virginia doesn’t quite have an answer for Zion and Duke’s athleticism, and I think that leads Duke to another championship.

So there you have it. It took me basically two days to write this, a shit ton of words and little research looking up guys I’ve never heard of and will likely forget the second they will be eliminated all for Duke to lose in the Sweet 16 (an outcome I surely wouldn’t mind either!). Thanks for reading this everybody. Hopefully I’ll look at least decently smart three weeks from now.

[cgsolano]

Ciao ciao 2019. Here we are, 2020.

I keep doing this on the last day of the year... I was thinking of starting yesterday, but I guess there are things that never change... So yes, here we are... at the doorstep of 2020. A new year, a new decade.

Twenty years ago I was still living in Texas, working for Motorola. Making preparations for the infamous Y2K --which was such a big disappointment. A big nothing burger. Ten years ago, I was living here in Illinois, working for Kraft. Going through the motions of their Leadership Program. And now, I am entering 2020 building software at Walgreens. More mature, growing a beard and with a lot more salt in my hair --the pepper is clearly getting overpowered.

2019 was not a bad year. Before we go into the chronicle of the year, here’s my takeaway from it...

I was able to remain healthy, the same as my family. More than ever, I realize that without health you have nothing. A friend of mine, Kim, passed away from cancer. It did hit me, because she was such a good person. Full of life, laughs, art, music, love for her daughters and her husband. I have a painting I bought from her hanging in my room. She started making these to support her cancer treatments. In the end, she passed away peacefully at her home and surrounded by her family and closest friends. Godspeed, Kimmy.

Make every effort to remain healthy. Eat well, try to squeeze in some exercise --even if it is not at a gym: park your car the furthest you can so you can walk, take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk to the store and carry your bags. If you can’t change your circumstances, don’t let the circumstances change you. Don’t let stress take over your life. Beat anxiety. And if you see that the circumstances are changing you, change them instead. Someway somehow.

I also had the chance to make significant new connections and rekindle existing ones.

One of these new connections was so unexpected and a blessing to me. She lives her life with no regrets. She lives by her beliefs and is true to herself and what’s important to her. She’s all out there. ALL! And I love that! Because not everybody is or can be --or is willing to be. And it’s such a refreshing thing to see and learn and feel. Not everybody walks the talk, and she’s passionate about walking her talk, unfiltered. This year I became a better person because of her.

So, make the effort to make interesting and new connections. There’s a whole world out there. And connecting with people just enriches your own life. Go and rekindle your interesting old connections as well. You never know what new surprises you’ll get from people you thought you know.

I also reminisced about being young (a teen), and having my own problems and challenges. Sabina turned 14, and she’s in 8th grade. Making a decision on what High School to attend, and making it happen, is such a big deal --at least here in The Chi. Studying, prepping for the placement test, taking tutoring on weekends, HS open houses, homework, practice tests, gymnastics, friends,, family. Wherever she lands, I know she’ll do great.

Support the teens in your life. It is such an emotionally fragile stage. They look up to you, adults. They really do. And I am happy to say that we were able to support her every step of the way.

Finally, I am receiving this new year with open arms. Completely open to opportunities and challenges --even if they rock the boat hard. Even if they change the life I’ve known for the last 2 decades...

And talking about boats... If I can leave you with a thought:

“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life,  having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity, and in our efforts to build a new earth,  we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim. Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, where storms will show your mastery, where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizon of our hopes, and to push us into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.”

― Sir Francis Drake

This 2020, dare more boldly. Be happy, and be well. Happy New Year!

Now, below is my personal account of 2019... So, if you’re interested, keep reading!

So, here’s the customary account of 2019...

I ended up at 50% goal, again... I tried to read 12 books this year, but I ended up at 6. Not great, but here we are... Can I read more? Sure. Do I spend inglorious amounts of time on wasteful activities? Absolutely. But you know, some of these wasteful activities also give me joy. So, are they really wasteful? Something to think about. Anyways, this is what I read this year:

Bad Blood -- This book is INSANE !!! I absolutely loved it! A story of greed, ego, tech and deceit It has everything! I’ve been in the medical devices/pharma world for a little over 5 years now, and this account of events is completely crazy. Go pick it up, now!

Netflixed -- This was another great book about our beloved streaming company. The epic battle between Netflix and Blockbuster has no equal.

The Road to Chapultepec Park -- This dystopian book was marginally ok. I picked it up because 1) it’s the end of the world and 2) because it talks about the journey from the US to Mexico City by a group of people during the end of the world as we know it due to climate change. Chapultepec Park, which I know and have walked, becomes a sanctuary during this time and people are trying to get there by any means.

Small Fry -- So, everyone who knows me knows that I am a fan of Steve (Jobs), but not an Apple fanboy. I’ve read a lot about Steve but this book, written by Lisa, his daughter, gave me a completely different view of Steve and his life. There were new things I learned about him, and I realized this book humanizes him, a lot. He had his own problems, and insecurities (!!!), and demons to exorcize, and amends to make, he bit his nails. I absolutely loved it.

Midnight in Chernobyl -- Wow. This book was such an amazing read. This book, which can be considered an end-of-the-world type book, was crazy --and more because it was REAL! This is the very well researched account of what happened before, during and after the Chernobyl catastrophe more than 30 years ago. You can’t even imagine. Go get it!

The Handmaids Tale -- This is another dystopian book. And before I watched the series, I wanted to read it. What a harsh world... and with all that’s been happening in real life, not only here in the USA but in other countries, it is such a cautionary tale. I will not spoil it, but this is a very good read about a very bad world.

I’ll try to read at least 8 books this 2020. If I can’t do 12, maybe I can do 8 since I’ve been doing 5-6 books a year for a while now. And whatever goes above and beyond that, it’s all for the win.

I also traveled a little here and there. The highlights were, in some chronological order, as follows...

Las Vegas for the Dynatrace Perform conference, staying at the Cosmo, which was amazing! I want to go again. Vegas is such an amazing place! I don’t think I did any shows or concerts this time :-( But I did go to a couple of cool places: TAO and Marquee. These were amazing venues and great experiences.

We went to Holland, MI. We were there for a bat mitzvah for one of Sabina’s friends. This was such a great experience! The small town is amazing and has great breweries and things to do.

Ah, and Mexico in the summer. Never ever disappoints. Had the chance to see family and old friends in Mexico City, Queretaro and Tequisquiapan. Great food, great chats, great activities. This time we flew directly into Queretaro instead of Mexico City. What a difference! Way smaller airport, no traffic, no waits. And the drive from Queretaro to Tequisquiapan is just 20 mins --compared to the 3+ hours we would normally drive from Mexico City due to traffic and distance.

I also went to Monterrey, Mexico. There is some very interesting stuff happening there... I will not say more, but there’s stuff happening. I had the chance to reconnect with old friends during this very short trip and to eat amazing tacos. Those norteños really know their meats.

Sports and concerts? I went to see the Rockies vs Cubs, Giants vs Cubs, Packers vs Bears on opening day, Knicks vs Bulls, Nets vs Bulls, Cowboys vs Bears for Santiago’s birthday and Bulls vs Hawks. Definitely a lot of sports this year! And I’ve really enjoyed it. Santiago absolutely loved his first football game. There was this specific run that Trubisky did and scored... Santi and I hugged and jumped and screamed. What a moment. I don’t think we did as many concerts as we should. We did go see the Chicago Sinfonietta and it was outstanding.

Other things we did... A couple of times to Steppenwolf Theater --which I don’t think we do enough. Teatro ZinZanni which we did for Adriana’s birthday and was absolutely amazing, BATL Axe Throwing which is insanely fun, Hamilton for Sabina’s birthday which she loved, Champions of Magic for Christmas Eve for the whole family, Lincoln Park Zoo to see the lights, watched Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, and had a memorable Christmas Eve dinner at Tocco in Winnetka, IL. For New Year’s we’re going to Bodega Sur, which will be amazing for sure.

Health? Well, as I mentioned, I kept myself out of trouble. Continued with the excuses to not exercise more. However, I think I ate well all things considered. I was able to maintain my weight throughout the whole year --which is a huge accomplishment in my mind. If I’m not exercising, at least I am eating well and not gaining weight. I tried to do some personal training/gym, but I almost died... I guess I need to come back little by little. I’ll try other avenues and see how it works out.

I grew a beard. And I like it.

I’ve also been learning (or trying to) some Italian. And it has been going well, I think. I listen to Italian podcasts and follow Italian people on Instagram. I use Google Translate a lot and it has definitely helped me. I listen to Italian music in my car. La dolce vita, baby!

Finally, I’ve been cooking a new tech concept with a friend of mine... Let’s see how that develops in 2020. We think there’s potential. This has to do with Blockchain... and has a social conscience. So it’s geeky, and it helps people. What else could I ask for?! Stay tuned...

Well, I guess that’s that... 2019 was a very good to all of us. And we are grateful about all things experienced and received. Let 2020 be as good, or better! Thanks for reading!

[suzanneshannon]

Everything and Nothing

I've been thinking about the question for a solid month now. What about building websites has you interested this year? The question pervaded my solitary thoughts and played in the background during my conversations. I’d love to just tell you the answer I’ve come to, but the more interesting part was my thought journey in getting there.

I jumped at the opportunity to write up my thoughts on this because in general, I am delighted to dive into a conversation about anything that gets me excited. Writing, though, is heavy with irony in my life. There are so many exciting things that I'd love to write about, but I never get asked to write about them. That is of course, until I do, and my mind goes blank.

Even when I properly sat down, cleared my desk, and got out a fresh notebook out to brainstorm and reflect... I still couldn't really come up with an answer. It worried me.

I thought that maybe my answer would be too meta. Or maybe I couldn't really notice the thing I’m interested in the most because it's already seamlessly integrated into my workflow? Nonetheless, I started by collecting thoughts by way of the insta-question-answer technique, where you rapid-fire ask yourself a bunch of questions and say the first thing that comes to mind. This is a great technique when you want to get a quick, reasonably honest answer about something. If you can go fast enough, your brain's first answer is fairly genuine and generally, the one you have, consciously or subconsciously, spent time thinking about. You also have to place an injunction on your rational brain's inherent desire to veto your real answers (what if someone sees!) and replace them with more polished ones.

Let's Play: This Year's Favorites

What's your favorite song from this year? Old Town Road. I want more black cowboys wearing yellow to exist. I didn't realize how much I wanted that to exist until I saw that performance.

What movie did you like the most? Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Obviously, even though that little girl should have died like 20 times. I know I probably should have said Avengers End Game because that movie was everything but it's Godzilla. King of the Monsters. So he has to win.

Favorite tech upgrade? Automating my lights. I was a little behind the curve on this one but it's been great.

Mobile App? Kami 2. Super fun to play.

What about building websites has interested you this year? Um...

My brain shut down. There was no answer, only silence.

I thought of the answers I should want to say. That the increased focus on accessibility is encouraging. That the new edition of Ember feels pretty nice once you get over not having magic anymore. That design systems done right, paired with a framework done right, is pure productivity bliss.

Truth is, I probably could have made any of those answers work, and no one would be the wiser. After all, they are satisfying answers. Deeply satisfying. Years of passion, patience, and persistence is yielding the fruits of our labor. But none of these answers set isInteresting to true for me. So I kept thinking. Surely the answer would come to me if I let it hang around in my sub-conscious a little more.

A week came and went, but there was still nothing.

I started to become a little anxious. What did it mean? Was I burnt out? Was I just not interested in building websites anymore? Have I lost the spark? Maybe I was just not talented enough to write an article like this? Did I say "yes" to the wrong thing? As tempting as it was to crawl into bed under my covers and continue this downward spiral into the endless black hole "what does it all mean", I decided to make a strong cup of tea and lean on the skills I have developed over the last 20 plus years of building for the web.

Problem Solving Skills

We already have everything we need. There is no need for self-improvement. All these trips that we lay on ourselves—the heavy-duty fearing that we’re bad and hoping that we’re good, the identities that we so dearly cling to, the rage, the jealousy and the addictions of all kinds—never touch our basic wealth. They are like clouds that temporarily block the sun. But all the time our warmth and brilliance are right here. This is who we really are. We are one blink of an eye away from being fully awake.

This quote is from a prominent Zen Buddhist and one that I reach for when I get stuck inside myself. I remind myself that I already know the answer, I just need to use the tools I have to bring it out and let it shine. I needed to trust the process that has worked time and time again for me: slow up, write everything down, and just ship it.

Part 1) Slow Up

I had become so engrossed in the every-day mundane I was missing the inspiration. It's easy to get bogged down in lines of code, JIRA tickets, and quarterly goals, all the while explaining ad nauseum that developers should reach for semantic HTML first. I recognize the signs now and knew what I needed to do. I needed to slow down to get faster. Sounds counter-intuitive, right? But it’s the same in software engineering: slow is fast. We have proven, time and time again, that when we rush solutions we incur technical debt that we are unlikely to ever repay.

So I took some time to catch my breath and feed my creativity.

I read a book. I watched an interview with an author. I learned from a video series about a standup comedian talking about their process in creating. I sat still and listened to some cello music.

Part 2) Write Everything Down

The next part of my process is to write things down. When creative inspiration is missing, I turn to functional discipline. I have learned that they are the yin and yang of my creative process as a whole. So, I started to make lists. I listed all of the things I have shipped so far this year. I listed all of the conferences where I gave talks and the conferences where I wanted to give talks but didn't. I wrote down the things that gave me confidence this past year and the things that made me feel like an imposter. I looked at my goals from the start of the year and made a list of the things I'd done for each goal.

Then I started writing a little more, this time in paragraphs. I transcribed one of my talks and took notes on where I would do better next time. I write a review of one of my annual goals and thought a bit more deeply about what motivates and inspires me.

Part 3) Just Ship It

Then it came to me. I knew the answer.

It was nothing, but it was everything.

Nothing specifically about building websites has specifically interested me this year - but I'm still as interested as ever in building them. The answer to "what about building websites has interested you this year" is simply a resounding "Yes".

Yes, because I still love thinking about design, components, and the perfect information architecture. Yes, because as much as I swear at my code, I keep coming back to it, keep finding new things to love about it, keep feeling energized when that idea just clicks and something great happens. Yes, because despite doing this for 22 years, I still want to get up and do it again tomorrow.

And that’s when I knew that I could just ship it.

The tech of today, the tech of tomorrow

We are at a specific time and place in tech. Those of us who are building for the web have become more aware of how the tech we create effects those around us. We are starting to accept our responsibility for the lines of code that we write, and see that we cannot merely pass the buck to our supervisors and bosses to make ethical decisions. We are demanding more of ourselves, demanding more from the code we write and the systems we use, demanding more from the giants of technology who seek to abdicate responsibility for how their tech is used.

At the same time, we are figuring out how to climb the proverbial mountain together, while recapturing the fun we had back in the days we called ourselves "webmasters". We are learning to be kinder to ourselves and others. We are figuring out how to make creating for the web easier to learn and to do and we are breaking down the walls that kept far too many people out for too long.

I was watching my son while he was absorbed in lightsaber battles in virtual reality and thinking about how his childhood is so different than mine. The tech I had back then isn’t anything near the tech I have today, and the tech he has today won’t be the tech he has as an adult. What do I imagine that will look like? Even bigger than that, what do I want to help bring into existence?

The truth is, it's all interesting to me. All of it. I can't wait to see we do next and I’m so here for it.

The post Everything and Nothing appeared first on CSS-Tricks.

Everything and Nothing published first on https://deskbysnafu.tumblr.com/

[themoneybuff-blog]

What I learned (and taught) at Fincon 2018

Greetings from sunny and sweaty Orlando, Florida! It's been a long, lovely, crazy week behind the scenes at Get Rich Slowly. I've spent the past ten days hanging out with fellow money nerds at Fincon, the annual money and media conference. Fincon started in 2011 with just 225 attendees. Now there are over 2000 attendees including nineteen of us who have been to every iteration. Here's a quick run-down of what I learned (and taught) at Fincon 2018.

Bond with Friends and Colleagues Fincon is first and foremost a chance to meet and bond with friends and colleagues. When you're a money writer (or money podcaster or money YouTuber, etc.), you spend a lot of time holed away by yourself. It's a lonely existence. It's rewarding to see each other, even if it's only once a year. It's been eighteen months since I've seen Mr. Money Mustache, for instance, but we got to be temporary roommates this week, and are now spending a couple more days together (with other friends) at a post-conference retreat in Clearwater. Plus, I got to make new connections with folks like Piggy and Kitty from Bitches Get Riches (my favorite money blog), who are even more awesome (and hilarious) in person than they are on the cyberwebs. Like me, the Bitches are huge fans of Harry Potter. Actually, they are huger fans than I am, considering I haven't yet read the final two books. (Sorry, I didn't like Order of the Phoenix.) Talking with them made me realize that although I've always self-identified as a Ravenclaw, I am actually a Hufflepuff. (You're a Hufflepuff with Ravenclaw rising, Piggy suggested, and I think she's right.) It's strange to think that although I see these people only one week each year, they're almost like family. We're able to pick up where we left off twelve months ago and continue as if we'd never been apart. Teach Everything You Know Fincon is also a chance for us to teach everything we know in order to help others improve their sites, podcasts, and channels. The unrestrained sharing of info and experience is astounding. In a lot of other fields, people would be jealously guarding their secrets. Not here. Here, folks are dropping knowledge bombs all of the time. As always, I've been involved in a couple of presentations (in addition to the bajillion casual conversations in bars and lobbies). On Thursday, I joined my pal Jim Wang (from Wallet Hacks) to give a talk on how blogging has changed during the past decade. We had fun exploring the ways in which this world has (and has not) evolved since we started in 2004 and 2006.On Friday, I moderated a panel discussion about the four flavors of FIRE. Our small group discussed the rising popularity of financial independence and early retirement. Why is the subject suddenly resonating with so many people? Is it an idea that's only applicable to tech workers without children? How does retiring early affect relationships?On Saturday, I participated in a panel about Playing with Fire, the upcoming feature film about financial independence. This project has been in production for more than a year and is finally nearing completion. In fact, Fincon saw the world premiere of the Playing with Fire trailer! (To learn more about the movie, check out the Kickstarter page.) I don't really like public speaking. I turn down a lot of requests. And when I do agree to speak, I'm often very nervous. But I'm always happy to do whatever presentations I'm asked to do at Fincon, and I'm nearly never nervous doing them. Not sure why that is. Maybe because I'm completely comfortable and in my element? [embedded content] Partner with Like-Minded Companies Lastly, Fincon is a chance to meet with potential partners, companies who want to advertise on our channels or who want to pitch their shiny new money apps. Ive never actually done this in the past and probably wont do so again in the future. This year, I over scheduled. (In fact, I nearly collapsed from exhaustion on Friday evening for real! and had to return to my room for a few hours until the empty, hollow feeling and dizziness wore off.) The real problem, however, is that many partner pitches just aren't appropriate for me or for you. Fortunately, some are. I was impressed with three companies in particular, and hope to work with them in the future (whether or not there's financial compensation involved). This year, I came to the startling realization that I, as a man nearing his fiftieth birthday, really ought to be working with AARP, the national non-profit whose mission is to empower people to choose how they live as they age. It was hilarious during my meeting with the AARP rep to watch the light switch on in both of our heads: Oh, our missions are well-aligned, and there's an opportunity here to collaborate and make the world a better place. We don't know what that collaboration would look like yet, but I'd be surprised if we didn't work together extensively in years to come.

The Future of Get Rich Slowly Perhaps the biggest Get Rich Slowly news to come out of Fincon is that I've found somebody to come on board to handle the technical side of the site. As loyal readers know, I'm a writer. All I want to do is write, to share stories and strategies for better managing money. I hate hate hate dealing with the technical and business aspects of this business. (And make no mistake, this is a business.)

Well, my friend Tom Drake from MapleMoney does not hate the technical and business side of things. In fact, he's the sort of nerd who digs this sort of drudgery. (For him, it's not actually drudgery.) We haven't hammered out the details yet, but we've agreed that some sort of partnership is in order. In fact, he's already begun working behind the scenes to clean things up around here. Yay! I still have a couple of days left here in Florida. I'll return home to Portland on Wednesday. (Then, almost immediately, Kim and I will dash off to the Oregon coast to celebrate her birthday.) Next week, things will be completely back to normal at GRS. Meanwhile, I already miss my Fincon family. I know I'll see many of my closest colleagues several times in the months ahead, but I won't see most folks for an entire year. The 2019 edition of the conference will take place in Washington, D.C. (where I've never spent any substantial time), and I can't wait. I also can't wait to resume writing for you money bosses. There won't be anything new tomorrow, but it's my goal to publish a new substantive, real article on Wednesday. See you then!

https://www.getrichslowly.org/fincon-2018/

[andrewdburton]

What I learned (and taught) at Fincon 2018

Greetings from sunny and sweaty Orlando, Florida!

It's been a long, lovely, crazy week behind the scenes at Get Rich Slowly. I've spent the past ten days hanging out with fellow money nerds at Fincon, the annual “money and media” conference. Fincon started in 2011 with just 225 attendees. Now there are over 2000 attendees — including nineteen of us who have been to every iteration.

Here's a quick run-down of what I learned (and taught) at Fincon 2018.

Bond with Friends and Colleagues

Fincon is first and foremost a chance to meet and bond with friends and colleagues. When you're a money writer (or money podcaster or money YouTuber, etc.), you spend a lot of time holed away by yourself. It's a lonely existence. It's rewarding to see each other, even if it's only once a year.

It's been eighteen months since I've seen Mr. Money Mustache, for instance, but we got to be temporary roommates this week, and are now spending a couple more days together (with other friends) at a post-conference retreat in Clearwater. Plus, I got to make new connections with folks like Piggy and Kitty from Bitches Get Riches (my favorite money blog), who are even more awesome (and hilarious) in person than they are on the cyberwebs.

Like me, the Bitches are huge fans of Harry Potter. Actually, they are huger fans than I am, considering I haven't yet read the final two books. (Sorry, I didn't like Order of the Phoenix.) Talking with them made me realize that although I've always self-identified as a Ravenclaw, I am actually a Hufflepuff. (“You're a Hufflepuff with Ravenclaw rising,” Piggy suggested, and I think she's right.)

It's strange to think that although I see these people only one week each year, they're almost like family. We're able to pick up where we left off twelve months ago and continue as if we'd never been apart.

Teach Everything You Know

Fincon is also a chance for us to teach everything we know in order to help others improve their sites, podcasts, and channels. The unrestrained sharing of info and experience is astounding. In a lot of other fields, people would be jealously guarding their secrets. Not here. Here, folks are dropping knowledge bombs all of the time.

As always, I've been involved in a couple of presentations (in addition to the bajillion casual conversations in bars and lobbies).

On Thursday, I joined my pal Jim Wang (from Wallet Hacks) to give a talk on how blogging has changed during the past decade. We had fun exploring the ways in which this world has (and has not) evolved since we started in 2004 and 2006.

On Friday, I moderated a panel discussion about “the four flavors of FIRE”. Our small group discussed the rising popularity of financial independence and early retirement. Why is the subject suddenly resonating with so many people? Is it an idea that's only applicable to tech workers without children? How does retiring early affect relationships?

On Saturday, I participated in a panel about Playing with Fire, the upcoming feature film about financial independence. This project has been in production for more than a year and is finally nearing completion. In fact, Fincon saw the world premiere of the Playing with Fire trailer! (To learn more about the movie, check out the Kickstarter page.)

I don't really like public speaking. I turn down a lot of requests. And when I do agree to speak, I'm often very nervous. But I'm always happy to do whatever presentations I'm asked to do at Fincon, and I'm nearly never nervous doing them. Not sure why that is. Maybe because I'm completely comfortable and in my element?

Partner with Like-Minded Companies

Lastly, Fincon is a chance to meet with potential “partners”, companies who want to advertise on our channels or who want to pitch their shiny new money apps.

I’ve never actually done this in the past and probably won’t do so again in the future. This year, I over scheduled. (In fact, I nearly collapsed from exhaustion on Friday evening — for real! — and had to return to my room for a few hours until the empty, hollow feeling and dizziness wore off.)

The real problem, however, is that many partner pitches just aren't appropriate for me — or for you. Fortunately, some are. I was impressed with three companies in particular, and hope to work with them in the future (whether or not there's financial compensation involved).

This year, I came to the startling realization that I, as a man nearing his fiftieth birthday, really ought to be working with AARP, the national non-profit whose mission is to “empower people to choose how they live as they age”. It was hilarious during my meeting with the AARP rep to watch the light switch on in both of our heads: “Oh, our missions are well-aligned, and there's an opportunity here to collaborate and make the world a better place.” We don't know what that collaboration would look like yet, but I'd be surprised if we didn't work together extensively in years to come.

The Future of Get Rich Slowly

Perhaps the biggest Get Rich Slowly news to come out of Fincon is that I've found somebody to come on board to handle the technical side of the site. As loyal readers know, I'm a writer. All I want to do is write, to share stories and strategies for better managing money. I hate hate hate dealing with the technical and business aspects of this business. (And make no mistake, this is a business.)

Well, my friend Tom Drake from MapleMoney does not hate the technical and business side of things. In fact, he's the sort of nerd who digs this sort of drudgery. (For him, it's not actually drudgery.) We haven't hammered out the details yet, but we've agreed that some sort of partnership is in order. In fact, he's already begun working behind the scenes to clean things up around here. Yay!

I still have a couple of days left here in Florida. I'll return home to Portland on Wednesday. (Then, almost immediately, Kim and I will dash off to the Oregon coast to celebrate her birthday.) Next week, things will be completely back to normal at GRS.

Meanwhile, I already miss my Fincon family. I know I'll see many of my closest colleagues several times in the months ahead, but I won't see most folks for an entire year. The 2019 edition of the conference will take place in Washington, D.C. (where I've never spent any substantial time), and I can't wait.

I also can't wait to resume writing for you money bosses. There won't be anything new tomorrow, but it's my goal to publish a new substantive, real article on Wednesday. See you then!

The post What I learned (and taught) at Fincon 2018 appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.

from Finance https://www.getrichslowly.org/fincon-2018/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[thegloober]

What I learned (and taught) at Fincon 2018

Greetings from sunny and sweaty Orlando, Florida!

It’s been a long, lovely, crazy week behind the scenes at Get Rich Slowly. I’ve spent the past ten days hanging out with fellow money nerds at Fincon, the annual “money and media” conference. Fincon started in 2011 with just 225 attendees. Now there are over 2000 attendees — including nineteen of us who have been to every iteration.

Here’s a quick run-down of what I learned (and taught) at Fincon 2018.

Bond with Friends and Colleagues

Fincon is first and foremost a chance to meet and bond with friends and colleagues. When you’re a money writer (or money podcaster or money YouTuber, etc.), you spend a lot of time holed away by yourself. It’s a lonely existence. It’s rewarding to see each other, even if it’s only once a year.

It’s been eighteen months since I’ve seen Mr. Money Mustache, for instance, but we got to be temporary roommates this week, and are now spending a couple more days together (with other friends) at a post-conference retreat in Clearwater. Plus, I got to make new connections with folks like Piggy and Kitty from Bitches Get Riches (my favorite money blog), who are even more awesome (and hilarious) in person than they are on the cyberwebs.

Like me, the Bitches are huge fans of Harry Potter. Actually, they are huger fans than I am, considering I haven’t yet read the final two books. (Sorry, I didn’t like Order of the Phoenix.) Talking with them made me realize that although I’ve always self-identified as a Ravenclaw, I am actually a Hufflepuff. (“You’re a Hufflepuff with Ravenclaw rising,” Piggy suggested, and I think she’s right.)

It’s strange to think that although I see these people only one week each year, they’re almost like family. We’re able to pick up where we left off twelve months ago and continue as if we’d never been apart.

Teach Everything You Know

Fincon is also a chance for us to teach everything we know in order to help others improve their sites, podcasts, and channels. The unrestrained sharing of info and experience is astounding. In a lot of other fields, people would be jealously guarding their secrets. Not here. Here, folks are dropping knowledge bombs all of the time.

As always, I’ve been involved in a couple of presentations (in addition to the bajillion casual conversations in bars and lobbies).

On Thursday, I joined my pal Jim Wang (from Wallet Hacks) to give a talk on how blogging has changed during the past decade. We had fun exploring the ways in which this world has (and has not) evolved since we started in 2004 and 2006.

On Friday, I moderated a panel discussion about “the four flavors of FIRE”. Our small group discussed the rising popularity of financial independence and early retirement. Why is the subject suddenly resonating with so many people? Is it an idea that’s only applicable to tech workers without children? How does retiring early affect relationships?

On Saturday, I participated in a panel about Playing with Fire, the upcoming feature film about financial independence. This project has been in production for more than a year and is finally nearing completion. In fact, Fincon saw the world premiere of the Playing with Fire trailer! (To learn more about the movie, check out the Kickstarter page.)

I don’t really like public speaking. I turn down a lot of requests. And when I do agree to speak, I’m often very nervous. But I’m always happy to do whatever presentations I’m asked to do at Fincon, and I’m nearly never nervous doing them. Not sure why that is. Maybe because I’m completely comfortable and in my element?

[embedded content]

Partner with Like-Minded Companies

Lastly, Fincon is a chance to meet with potential “partners”, companies who want to advertise on our channels or who want to pitch their shiny new money apps.

I’ve never actually done this in the past and probably won’t do so again in the future. This year, I over scheduled. (In fact, I nearly collapsed from exhaustion on Friday evening — for real! — and had to return to my room for a few hours until the empty, hollow feeling and dizziness wore off.)

The real problem, however, is that many partner pitches just aren’t appropriate for me — or for you. Fortunately, some are. I was impressed with three companies in particular, and hope to work with them in the future (whether or not there’s financial compensation involved).

This year, I came to the startling realization that I, as a man nearing his fiftieth birthday, really ought to be working with AARP, the national non-profit whose mission is to “empower people to choose how they live as they age”. It was hilarious during my meeting with the AARP rep to watch the light switch on in both of our heads: “Oh, our missions are well-aligned, and there’s an opportunity here to collaborate and make the world a better place.” We don’t know what that collaboration would look like yet, but I’d be surprised if we didn’t work together extensively in years to come.

The Future of Get Rich Slowly

Perhaps the biggest Get Rich Slowly news to come out of Fincon is that I’ve found somebody to come on board to handle the technical side of the site. As loyal readers know, I’m a writer. All I want to do is write, to share stories and strategies for better managing money. I hate hate hate dealing with the technical and business aspects of this business. (And make no mistake, this is a business.)

Well, my friend Tom Drake from MapleMoney does not hate the technical and business side of things. In fact, he’s the sort of nerd who digs this sort of drudgery. (For him, it’s not actually drudgery.) We haven’t hammered out the details yet, but we’ve agreed that some sort of partnership is in order. In fact, he’s already begun working behind the scenes to clean things up around here. Yay!

I still have a couple of days left here in Florida. I’ll return home to Portland on Wednesday. (Then, almost immediately, Kim and I will dash off to the Oregon coast to celebrate her birthday.) Next week, things will be completely back to normal at GRS.

Meanwhile, I already miss my Fincon family. I know I’ll see many of my closest colleagues several times in the months ahead, but I won’t see most folks for an entire year. The 2019 edition of the conference will take place in Washington, D.C. (where I’ve never spent any substantial time), and I can’t wait.

I also can’t wait to resume writing for you money bosses. There won’t be anything new tomorrow, but it’s my goal to publish a new substantive, real article on Wednesday. See you then!

Source: https://bloghyped.com/what-i-learned-and-taught-at-fincon-2018/

[racingtoaredlight]

The degenerate’s guide to 2017 college football TV watch ‘em ups: week 10

The season seems to be accelerating beyond our control at this point.

Now that CFP polls have been released and the World Series is over there’s nothing much to distract from all of the football. Yeah, there’s basketball now but the season is so young and there’s so far to go to even know who’s actually good that it seems weird to put much stock in it just yet.

This week’s watch ‘em ups are being affected by the same thing that hurt the RTARLsman last night: the ever-dreaded out of town visitors. We’ll see how much I’m even able to watch football as “friends” count on me to “host” them and make their weekend “enjoyable.” Gross.

Times are from FBSchedules and gamble talk is premature (it’s Wednesday here where I’m writing this) and from Vegas Insider. Good luck to you all, you’re going to need it.

Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017

Matchup                                                       Time (ET)                      TV

(14) Auburn at Texas A&M                          Noon                           ESPN

Baylor at Kansas                                        Noon                             FSN

RTARL Game of the Year! It’s finally here and the winless Baylor Bears are an 8-point favorite. Which means Kansas is probably the worst team in college football, yet again.

East Carolina at Houston                          Noon                            CBSSN

I wouldn’t trust Houston as a 24.5 point favorite but this could be a nice statistical opportunity for Ed Oliver. East Carolina is a very bad team that throws an average of 39 passes per game.

Florida at Missouri                                    Noon                            ESPN2

Randy Shannon has a great chance to build up his resume a little this week in his first game as UF head coach. First of many games, I presume. Hey, if Ed Orgeron can hang on at LSU then why not Shannon, who probably received some coaching from Orgeron back in 1988 and had a much better record at his previous coaching failure? Missouri is actually favored right now because Florida has been that messy but I think a slightly above average high school team from the state of Florida could beat the Tigers if they really concentrated for three straight hours.

Illinois at Purdue                                        Noon                            BTN

It turns out that Jeff Brohm might need just a touch of seasoning before he moves on to a much better job. OR!!! Maybe he really is on track to take over for Bobby Petrino in Louisville. He’s right on track for that if Petrino goes looking for greener pastures this year. Or now. Or has already accepted several jobs while trying to figure out which one he actually wants.

Kansas State at Texas Tech                      Noon                            FS1

This is a bad game between two middling Big XII teams but for gambling purposes, maybe not so bad? Over/under is at 63 right now but the weather looks pretty inviting and it is a Big XII game with Coach Heartthrob on one side of the field.

(7) Penn State at (24) Michigan State      Noon                            FOX

If Sparty can contain the nation’s 26th leading rusher, who fittingly wears #26, they might have a shot to spring the upset. I hope that anybody associated in any way with the Penn State football program spends the rest of their lives laden with guilt for whatever part they’ve played in the continued existence of said program but I really hope it’s the players and coaches who are feeling bad about themselves this week. There’s a lot of money on Penn State right now and Vegas is still trying to get people to bet Michigan State so what’s the rule here? Let’s go with stay away from the public money and put your faith in a kind universe that is also rooting for the green and white this week.

UMass at (16) Mississippi State               Noon                            SECN

The best tight end in the country takes on the worst top 20 team in the country, something’s got to give! UMass is going to get throttled. That’s what’s going to give.

(9) Wisconsin at Indiana                            Noon                              ABC

Indiana doesn’t have much, either as a state or as a football team, but they do a decent job of shutting down the run. Wisconsin is due for a reckoning. Seems like a good time for those two things to converge, no? No. Jonathan Taylor is like Rashaad Penny but twice as fast and Wisconsin should beat the spread for once even though it’s on a rapid rise throughout the week. 13.5 points right now, I’d take the Badgers up to about 18 and feel OK with it.

WKU at Vanderbilt                                      Noon                           ESPNU

Vanderbilt is a 10-point favorite playing at home but Western Kentucky might be a better team. My voice is going up at the end of the sentence in my head. Might be true? I don’t think so but it’s not crazy?

Syracuse at Florida State                          12:20 pm                      ACCN

FSU settled for a field goal at the end of the first half against Boston College last week and the players on the FSU sidelines took that as a signal the game was over. The offensive line being terrible was actually known before the season but the supposedly ultra-talented defense has looked like garbage most of the year, too. Derwin James looks like a Jabrill Peppers clone to me at this point and the QB situation is not great in Tallahassee. Now the running backs are starting to get hurt, too. Odds are that Florida State is just having extremely bad luck, similar to Notre Dame in 2016, but getting run over by Boston College isn’t really acceptable even in the midst of that.

Appalachian State at ULM                         3:00 pm                        ESPN3

Appy State as a 10-point road favorite might be a little dicey but that 61.5 O/U is interesting. It’s supposed to rain the day before so the field might be soggy but ULM has a tremendously bad defense that could easily give up 60 all on their own.

Georgia State at Georgia Southern         3:00 pm                        ESPN3

GSU is definitely going to win this. Fun Belt action at its finest!

Georgia Tech at Virginia                            3:00 pm                         RSN

UVA has turned back into UVA over the past couple of weeks but they were so good at pretending to be decent earlier in the season that this game has postseason implications! On this day, 27 years ago, UVA lost their two-week reign as the #1 team in college football when they dropped in both the AP and UPI polls following a last second loss to Georgia Tech at home. Fun fact about that game: the game was played on turf borrowed from the baseball stadium after vandals set fire to the football field’s regular turf. UVA’s season fell apart after that and Georgia Tech won half of a national championship by blowing out Nebraska in a bowl game, as was the tradition for teams winning national championships at the time. Getting back to this year’s game, if UVA loses and Miami beats Virginia Tech tonight, Miami wins the Coastal division. And UVA should lose.

New Mexico State at Texas State             3:00 pm                         ESPN3

A Sun Belt rivalry classic as the Aggies and the Bobcats battle it out for fourth worst team in the conference.

Rice at UAB                                                 3:00 pm                       CUSA.TV

My only thought on this is that I always think of Rice as a Big XII team. This is incorrect.

USF at UConn                                              3:00 pm                         ESPNU

USF blew a shot at a big, fancy bowl payout last week against Houston but UConn is a lot worse than Houston so let’s see how Charlie Strong gets his team motivated this week. If they hold it together for the rest of the year it’s still possible for them to end up as the lower conference rep in the former BCS bowls.

Army at Air Force                                         3:30 pm                        CBSSN

The Commander-in-Chief’s trophy is maybe up for grabs? Vegas still thinks Army is bad but they’ve won four in a row. Air Force has three in a row of their own and they’re favorited by 6.5 points at home but I’m not 100% clear on why AFA is that big of a favorite. 3 points maybe, just for being at home, but this is a full tilt option on option affair that should be down to the wire. Also, the O/U of 56 seems comically low to me. When Air Force and Navy played the final score was 48-45 in basically the same conditions.

Charlotte at Old Dominion                          3:30 pm                       ESPN3

Amazingly enough Baylor and Kansas is actually worse than this.

(15) Iowa State at West Virginia                 3:30 pm                        ESPN2

This will of course be the game where Will Grier looks like a future all-pro. Things never happen when you want them to happen.

Maryland at Rutgers                                    3:30 pm                        BTN

In terms of pure entertainment value this is way worse than Baylor and Kansas but I think both of these teams would be favored over either of those teams. And that’s not meant as a compliment to either of these teams.

North Texas at Louisiana Tech                   3:30 pm                    Stadium

“UNT! UNT! UNT!”

“LAT! LAT! LAT!”

This is how I’m imagining the cheering going in this game and I’ve got to let you know it’s very enjoyable as a thought.

Northwestern at Nebraska                          3:30 pm                       BTN

Nebraska is favored by 1 this week so that’s sort of like progress, right? If the Huskers can pull off a miracle win not only will they have a winning record but they will have beaten a power 5 team that has a winning record. Get that coach an extension!

(6) Ohio State at Iowa                                   3:30 pm                      ESPN

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program of hoping Ohio State fucks up and loses to a clearly inferior team.

South Carolina at (1) Georgia                      3:30 pm                      CBS

Georgia can win and clinch the SEC East but if they lose then South Carolina is in the running to steal the division. Has any SEC team in your life ever been perceived so poorly while being 6-2 as this South Carolina team? NC State, also 6-2, lost their season opener to South Carolina and it’s considered a bad loss. We are in some sort of transitional period here.

(4) Clemson at (20) NC State                        3:30 pm                      ABC

So much depends on the QB position here. Both QBs are going to have guys in their faces all game long and it’s going to be interesting to see how they each handle things. My gut says this is going to be low scoring and close until the end with Clemson not getting anywhere close to the rushing output Notre Dame got against the Wolfpack last week.

(21) Stanford at (25) Washington State       3:30 pm                      FOX

Bryce Love is a “gametime decision” again which probably means he’s not playing again and even though he’s injured I’m still blaming David Shaw for taking that little bit of sunshine away from us.

Wake Forest at (3) Notre Dame                    3:30 pm                     NBC

Another week another ACC opponent traveling from North Carolina to get blown the fuck out by Notre Dame. I have a very bad feeling about the way this season is shaping up.

Cincinnati at Tulane                                       4:00 pm                  ESPN3

I only mean I have a bad feeling about the Notre Dame being very good thing, though! I love Tulane getting to the middle of the pack on their way to conference contention in the coming years.

Coastal Carolina at Arkansas                        4:00 pm               SECN Alt.

Remember last week in the second quarter when twitter fired Bret Beilema? I liked that moment more than when they came back and won even though they were beating the racist south.

(5) Oklahoma at (11) Oklahoma State           4:00 pm                    FS1

BEDLAM!!!!!!!!! I think the matchup here actually favors OK State heavily in spite of the 2.5 point spread and the history and the fact that Oklahoma is the better overall team. I just think the Pokes have their strengths at exactly the points where the Sooners are weakest. Cue the final OU 73, OSU 12 but I’ve got a real hunch here and I’m giving it to you.

University of Mississippi, Oxford at Kentucky      4:00 pm         SECN

Mississippi was mighty impressive in blowing a 31-7 lead against Arkansas last week but for some reason I don’t think they’re a solid bet this week.

UL Lafayette at South Alabama                     4:00 pm                  ESPN3

I think USA is doing the same dumb thing they did last year where they start off terrible, win a bunch of games in a row, get some preseason hype to win the Sun Belt then maybe go through the process again.

Oregon State at California                            5:00 pm                 Pac-12N

Transitive property game of the week! The Antifa Bears will probably beat the Huckabeavs by 20 points and people will point at Stanford and laugh for last week’s stupid game but the results will really not be corollary at all.

Utah State at New Mexico                             5:30 pm                ATTSNRM

The Sheriff Lobos are favored by 4 in an extremely low stakes game that carries basically no implications for bowl bids or the MWC standings. This is what degeneracy looks like!

Hawaii at UNLV                                                6:00 pm    MWN/Spectrum PPV

Regardless of other options there is something very aesthetically displeasing about where UNLV plays and I never check on them because of it. It’s like the when the Rams were in St. Louis and the Edward Jones Dome made every game look like a high school championship being played on an Arena league field.

Colorado State at Wyoming                           7:00 pm                 CBSSN

CSU had to go and get whipped by Air Force while Bad Josh Allen went out and looked good for a week. Now my preconceptions are a shambles. I think Allen probably pulls himself together just long enough to go to the Browns at #1 or #2 next year and then reverts to form for the rest of his life.

Nevada at Boise State                                    7:00 pm                 ESPNU

Look at Boise right back in the driver’s seat for the MWC title. They were in a similar position at this point last year, too, for what it’s worth but this is probably the least likely place for them to screw up this year. At home, vs. Nevada, a 22.5-point favorite, with their 2-QB system the new talk of the conference, Boise should roll like the old days.

UTSA at FIU                                                       7:00 pm                Stadium

Butch Davis coaching against the program that Larry Coker built isn’t really an interesting storyline but I dig the fuck out of it. Both teams are surprisingly 5-2, with FIU’s version of surprise more good surprise and UTSA’s more bad surprise but here we are with HUGE!!!! CUSA title race implications. Again, more so on the FIU side than the UTSA side.

Texas at (8) TCU                                               7:15 pm                  ESPN

TCU ain’t shit. Texas isn’t, either, but Texas isn’t ranked highly. If the 7 point line and the 47 point O/U are confusing you then let me tell you that I don’t get it, either. This is nominally a defensive struggle in the making but let’s not kid ourselves on what we have here: a Big XII game happening in perfect weather under the bright lights.

(18) UCF at SMU                                               7:15 pm                  ESPN2

UCF scores a shit ton of points and Scott Frost is the anointed next great CFB coach but I’m not really ready to buy the book on them. SMU doesn’t exactly play defense but I’ve still got a feeling that they can run with UCF and at the very least keep things close. A 14.5-point line on the road for UCF seems a tad excessive given how low this program was in the very recent past.

Minnesota at Michigan                                   7:30 pm                    FOX

The posted lines for this game are hilariously B1G. Michigan is favored by 15.5 in a game with an O/U set at 41. So 28-13 or thereabouts is the expectation. I think the obits for the Harbaugh era in Michigan are crazily overblown here in year 3. If we’re still wondering why the offense sucks in 2019 then it’s probably too late for him but until then I think he’s got a shot to make his juggernaut yet.

Southern Miss at Tennessee                         7:30 pm                  SECN

Butch Jones, on the other hand... This guy is scum, an idiot, and a bad coach. That’s quite the triple threat! There was a time when UT being favored by 6.5 at home against Southern Miss would have made a lot of sense and not be an embarrassment for the Vols. 1989 was a long time ago, though, and for this program at this point in time, with all of this talk on the outside - things are looking grim.

UTEP at Middle Tennessee                             7:30 pm            beIN SPORTS

This year has been mostly a lost one for Richie James and the MTSU Blue Raiders but UTEP offers a decent shot at a blowout and could finally give James the kind of numbers he put up routinely last season.

(19) LSU at (2) Alabama                                     8:00 pm                  CBS

Leonard Fournette saw his numbers get worse every season against Alabama but Guice has a sneaky advantage over his predecessor - he’s only carried the ball twice ever against the Tide. Which seems weird considering how last season went but I don’t think anybody has considered LSU an offensive powerhouse or even nominally innovative on offense in quite some time. Matt Canada is making a bunch of money this year to be nominally innovative but there hasn’t been a lot to show for LSU’s money so far unless you count humiliating Mississippi. Big deal, though, even Bert can do that. Bama is favored by 21 and I don’t have a good reason for anyone to bet on LSU to beat the spread.

(13) Virginia Tech at (10) Miami, FL                  8:00 pm                 ABC

This gambles action, though, this one I’ve got feelings for. Miami and Virginia Tech are really close in almost every metric you can find. As far as head-to-head matchups go the objective differences between these two are as slight as is possible to get. And still, somehow, VPISU is favored by 3 on the road and the consensus is heavily with the Hokies. Is it just the UNC thing? Because their other shared matchup (Duke) produced startlingly similar results. Is Vegas counting on Miami to run out of luck? That doesn’t seem to me the way numbers are supposed to work. The Hokies are statistically better on defense and the teams are about even on offense but the Hurricanes have produced more big plays on both sides of the ball. Maybe the lines are predicated on Malik Rosier being more injured than Miami is letting on? I think the Canes take it and clinch their first ACC Coastal crown on the way to getting beat up next week by Notre Dame.

Colorado at Arizona State                                 9:00 pm                Pac-12N

Arizona State is, weirdly, still hanging around in the race for the Pac-12 South but they needed to beat USC last week for that chance to be realistic. They did not beat USC last week in any phase of the game. I hate Arizona State’s running game with a fiery passion and I hope the Buffs destroy them.

Oregon at (12) Washington                               10:00 pm                 FS1

UDub is in a precarious spot as far as national title hopes go but they can still get a Pac-12 title and major bowl bid out of this season with no help from anybody else. Chances are that the loss to Arizona State will continue to just look like a fluke that ruined loftier aspirations.

San Diego State at San Jose State                   10:30 pm               ESPNU

Rashaad Penny is still plugging away as the second most productive running back in the country but SDSU has two losses and needs a lot of help to even make the MWC championship game. That’s not a reason to give up on watching them but the Pac-12 After Dark offering that’s up 15 minutes after this one is probably a way better use of your time.

(22) Arizona at (17) USC                                      10:45 pm                ESPN

This is probably acting as the Pac-12 South championship game and with USC’s front 7 a little banged up it could also be the Khalil Tate “breakout” game. I don’t want to put my heart into Arizona too much here because the potential for USC to completely obliterate them seems credible but if Arizona does beat USC their next three games are extremely winnable.

BYU at Fresno State                                            10:45 pm               ESPN2

Fresno State was looking like a pretty good surprise team in the MWC until they lost to a very bad UNLV team last week. Now things are looking a little rough for them with Wyoming and Boise State still on the schedule. Vegas likes the Bulldogs by a lot (-14.5) but I don’t know how you trust a team that lost to UNLV against anybody.

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[our-beginnings]

Kristina Schneider, Front-end Developer & Designer

Hello! First thing’s first: tell us a bit about who you are, your background, and what you do now.

Hi! I’m Kristina, or Kriesse as most friends and the internet call me. I live in Berlin, Germany, where I work as a freelance designer who codes, or a frontend developer who designs, or sometimes both. When I’m not moving code or layouts around I’m teaching these things and organize a bunch of events, like CSSconf EU and upfront.ug.

What does your day-to-day look like?

I walk or bike to my office in Berlin Kreuzberg, where I work on an app called Cobot, a management software for coworking spaces and office hubs. I’m currently working on extending the design system and coordinating a large overhaul of the UI of the app – which means untangling 8+ year old CSS, and sitting down with my designer and frontend colleagues to discuss and identify patterns, and build out UI components.

Cobot is a bootstrapped business, which grew slowly and healthily and has developed a very open and supportive team culture. We make lots of room for learning and training, everyone is encouraged to pursue their goals. Just recently we went on a four day retreat dedicated to improving how we work as a team. The team only recently tripled in size, and the product team – developers and designers – are mostly women. That’s the opposite of all my previous jobs, and is simply fantastic. I love working with my coworkers.

The team only recently tripled in size, and the product team – developers and designers – are mostly women.

Is this what you expected to be doing when you were a kid? 

Absolutely not! I wavered between graphic design and architecture. I didn’t have an understanding of either of these professions, but I always liked painting and drawing, and as a kid, I sketched these super-detailed, fantasy-cave-like homes with cool features like swings and slides instead of stairs. But I also liked math and history and art and reading, and had a lot of conflicting ideas of what I’d do towards the end of my time in school. I half-heartedly started to create a portfolio to apply for a design program, but eventually ended up studying something quite different.

What was that?

I had lost confidence in the design/architecture idea. Writing and reading had become more important to me. I enrolled for a major in Communication Science, with Art History and German Language and Literature as minors. I pretty much picked what sounded most fascinating and most relevant to my skills, without knowing where it would lead me. I fell in love with it.

That’s definitely not front-end development. If you think back, which single moment made you fall in love with tech? 

I remember that quite clearly. Between my last year in school and starting university, I had a few idle weeks. I'd just gotten my first own computer, a heavy noisy notebook that came with an AOL CD, promising internet access. I figured out how to set up this internet thing and get unlimited access to forums and ICQ and Napster and the WWW.

Then, a friend came over one afternoon and proudly mentioned that he was building a website, which fascinated me. Until then, websites were pretty magical things built by...  super-professional grownups, maybe? With special equipment, in large offices? Definitely not by people like my friend, or me. I didn't quite believe him, so he opened up a text editor on my computer, typed a few words, saved the document as index.html, and then opened it up in a browser. I couldn't believe that he just put something on the internet, just like that! We then started to mess around with the page, adding some markup, followed by colors.

Until then, websites were pretty magical things built by...  super-professional grownups, maybe?

I was completely hooked. I always loved to create and write and style things, and this new super-fascinating outlet came with the prospect of feedback, communication— connection. But it didn’t occur to me yet that this “something with computers” I enjoyed was a career option, so I continued with my studies.

What path did your career take after that?

After graduation, I landed a trainee position as PR person for a large contemporary art exhibition. I loved working with artists and curators, but I found myself helping often with small print design tasks or website maintenance. I was working with the designers and the "IT Team" quite a lot.

Unfortunately, though, I also got to know the art world's long work hours, miserable salaries, rough competitiveness, and nepotism. A change was needed.

During my student years, I’d earned some money working as "webmaster" for my institute, building tiny websites for small businesses or designing flyers for local clubs. I missed the freedom and joy of just building and designing little projects and being my own boss. So I decided to give myself one year to build a freelance web design business.

My first large client job was in Berlin for an artist that one of my previous colleagues now was working for, Berlin was where I wanted to be anyway, so I moved there. And after a year, I wasn’t broke! I started working from coworking spaces – that just started being a thing in Berlin back then – where I met people who would refer me to new clients. One project followed the other, and soon I had gathered a solid client base, and was busy networking and learning and growing my tiny business in Berlin. I also started to do remote work for some clients on the US west coast, and one of them made me an offer to work full-time for them in San Francisco.

I was very hesitant to leave the life and work that I had just built in Berlin, but I agreed, because I was also super-curious to see what living and working in SF is actually like. I thought I’d only be there a few months, but I ended up staying almost four years.

That’s a huge step! How did you settle in?

The first few weeks were packed with paperwork, finding a place to stay, figuring out the commute, meeting new people, working long hours in the office – so I didn’t have much time to get homesick. What took me a while to be comfortable in were the little interactions and social rules: I had to get the hang of ordering a burrito without holding up the line forever. I had to accept that people start to eat before everyone’s order has arrived, and without saying “Guten Appetit”. I learned that double-dipping is a thing. Being comfortable in the language and not feeling awkward when ordering a coffee or buying a bus ticket took me while.

Living and working in the Bay Area taught me a lot about my work and the tech industry, and how it compares in the two cultures. The pace is so different: In Germany, I was used to working efficiently, spending as little time in the office as possible. Social life happens after work, not during. In San Francisco, I often arrived in the office when it was still dark outside and left late at night. I felt a much stronger (though subtle) pressure to make work your life, to socialize with colleagues and their families. Taking vacation other than a few extra days around the holidays was unusual. Even after big life events like becoming a parent or getting married people would be back at their desk the next day.

I was used to working efficiently, spending as little time in the office as possible. Social life happens after work, not during. In San Francisco, I often arrived in the office when it was still dark outside and left late at night.

After four years, I decided to return to Berlin. I did fall in love with California, though, and haven’t been able to feel 100% at home again in Berlin since. Being abroad definitely built up my ability to get along anywhere; I’m still escaping regularly and trying to find jobs that allow for travel. San Francisco also taught me that Berlin is the city where I can make the most meaningful contribution, where my network and the local community are really cool and unique and I can make an impact by organising cool stuff, and balance them in a way that feels good.

You organise a number of events. How'd you get started doing that?

Before going abroad, I worked mostly with Ruby and PHP developers, who all had places where they hung out, exchanged ideas, made friends and found jobs and clients.

I really really wanted a place like that for myself, to meet other designer/frontend developers like me. But back then (ca. 2010) there was no meetup like that in Berlin. So I started upfront.ug, a monthly talk evening in Berlin for designers and frontend devs. It's now been running for seven years, and we’ve put it on more than 75 times.

I was also involved with Open Tech School and started volunteering with JSConf EU. The tech community in Berlin is very active and has a strong ethos of DIY, free education, and mutual support. I got involved left and right, learned a lot about volunteering, team work, how to find venues, sponsors … and loved it.

San Francisco put that on hold for a while, but also introduced me to Nicole Sullivan. She was one of the first women I saw giving a talk at a tech conference, and her writing and speaking about frontend development topics had motivated and encouraged me for years! She also came up with the first conference about nothing but CSS: CSSconf US. This was novel at the time; there’s many CSS-focused events now, but just a few years ago people were actually wondering how one could talk an entire day about CSS. We became friends, and over some drinks, she asked me if I wanted to bring CSSconf to Europe. Of course I did! And from all the years helping with JSconf EU and other events in Berlin, I had the network and support to make that happen.

This was novel at the time; there’s many CSS-focused events now, but just a few years ago people were actually wondering how one could talk an entire day about CSS.

The very first CSSconf EU was the hardest and scariest thing I’ve organized, but seeing all these people come together made it worthwhile. We’ve run it four times now, and it still feels new.

Do you ever feel pressure to be a mentor or a role model for the underrepresented in tech?

Any opportunity to directly mentor or sponsor someone is actually really rewarding, and doesn’t feel like work or something that I’m pressed to do. Ongoing volunteer work is different: organizing events, workshops, and conferences can get overwhelming. Over the past few years I’ve become very conscious knowing when I need to step back and take care of myself.

That isn’t always possible, though, and that’s where I feel pressure. I can’t easily drop out of organizing a conference once it’s rolling, or look away if an attendee or volunteer needs help. I can’t stop caring when something goes against my values and goals. If I want meetups that don’t feature white male speakers only, or a safe learning group, or get rid of offensive language at my workplace, I have to fix it myself.

People from underrepresented groups are expected to fix issues of diversity and inequality, and I think that’s unfair and is a problem.

Behind the scenes, it’s usually the people from underrepresented groups who speak up, build cases and fight for more inclusivity, and then put in the work to implement it. They educate and lobby, publicise, network, and suffer the abuse, but don’t get credit for that hard work.

People from underrepresented groups are expected to fix issues of diversity and inequality, and I think that’s unfair and is a problem. Our community needs to figure out ways to share that work more fairly, and recognize and reward the work that is done by people from marginalized groups.

If you could do everything all over again, do you think your journey would be the same? Would you want it to be? What would you change?

I hope it would be the same! I can’t say I regret anything. I'm grateful for the various fields and work situations and cultures I got to experience and think it’s exactly what makes me fit to do my current job and community work. The only thing I wish I had access to earlier is a mentor, someone to ask for help and advice when I need it. This is especially true when it came to negotiating and leaving unhealthy work relationships; I wish I’d had a more experienced mentor tell me to be tougher and less naive.

I'm grateful for the various fields and work situations and cultures I got to experience and think it’s exactly what makes me fit to do my current job and community work. 

Is there anything about the internet or technology that you remember from your childhood/early years that makes you feel nostalgic?

Oh yeah– Napster. Before it, I used to wait in front of the radio, cassette ready, with the finger on the record button, waiting for a favorite song to come on. I saved my allowance to buy a record or CD, and would listen over and over to the thirteen or so songs on it. I learned the lyrics by heart, translated them word by word, and gathered every bit of information from MTV about my favorite artists.

Napster changed that, but was similarly fascinating, because you still had to wait half a day for one song to download. Obviously, the way I consume music has completely changed since and I definitely don’t want to go back to cassettes! But when I remember CDs and cassettes and loving music so much and investing many hours to craft precious little mixtapes for friends— I feel nostalgic about that.

How do you see the next five to ten years? What are you most excited about, or most afraid of?

I’m more and more interested in making people work together well in teams, and I'm trying to find projects where I can work on building and growing teams – but also stay involved in code and design and shaping the product.

I give workshops more often, and have been a guest lecturer at the University of Applied Science in Salzburg for a while now. They have a MBA programme for web development – one of the first in Europe, organized by Brigitte Jellinek. She approached me to teach a CSS deep-dive class, which is challenging but very rewarding. So that’s another direction I want to pursue. Managing teams and teaching students is fun and fascinating when it works, but not really within my comfort zone yet, which is sitting in front of the computer, happily coding along by myself.

I'm still learning a lot about dealing with responsibility for more than just myself, how to work with teams and stand in front of a class room. So I hope to be much better and more comfortable with that in five or ten years.

Thank you very much, Kriesse, for your time, perseverance, and thoughtful responses— and for inviting me to Upfront! :)  

[zaynclinic]

How To Find a Good Dermatologist

Putting your face under the control of another person is a demonstration of confidence and trust. Here are a few hints on the best way to locate a best dermatologist in pune and laser focus. I likewise give you a connection to my own rundown of incredible dermatologists everywhere throughout the nation.

The contrast between an extraordinary specialist (and laser focus) and a simply affirm one is that an awesome skin specialist in pune will get reliably great outcomes a higher level of the time. What’s more, in the event that you have an issue or inconvenience, an incredible specialist will:

know how to settle the issue and remain by their work and ensure that you get a decent incentive for your cash.

Seven Questions to Ask About the Doctor and Laser Center You’re Considering

1. Is there a specialist on location? This is controlled state-by-state and, trust it or not, a few states don’t require the Medical Director (that is, the Doctor) of a laser fixate to be on the premises any over a hour or two a month. The specialist is the specialist in name just at these facilities. There is no doctor preparing, supervision, or quality control for “experts” to guarantee that the lasers are set appropriately for the patients, that the lasers are looked after legitimately, that the medicines are done effectively, and that issues are dealt with speedily and well.

Ask: “Is the skin specialist in pune on location while the lasers are in operation, and will the specialist see me either at my interview or at my first visit for genuine laser treatment?”

2. Is the specialist Board-confirmed in dermatology? It’s stunning, yet there is no law keeping specialists from calling themselves whatever they need. Many focuses everywhere throughout the nation are being set up by specialists who have definitely no therapeutic preparing in skin however who have concluded that they need to take advantage of skin administrations.

Do you truly need an anesthesiologist or gynecologist taking a shot at your face since they’ve chosen their way of life and wage may be a superior on the off chance that they infuse Botox and get a few lasers? Truly, a pediatrician or a family-rehearse specialist can hang out their shingle and suggest or specifically express that they are a dermatologist. Furthermore, there’s nobody to prevent them from doing that!

The most ideal approach to see whether a specialist is Board-ensured in their general vicinity is to go to the site www.zyanskinclinic for best Dermatologist in pune. This is the site for the American Academy of Dermatology, and it records all the Board-affirmed dermatologists.

Skin specialists in pune are prepared essentially to work and have for the most part next to no preparation in healthy skin other at that point wound administration. In Seattle, numerous plastic specialists have included laser and injectable administrations however don’t do those methods themselves. Their primary concentration is surgery, so they enlist medical attendants to do Botox/Restylane and lasers for them. My inquiry is, “how might they manage somebody doing a system when they don’t know how to do it without anyone else’s help?” It appears to me the specialist has to know how to do the methods keeping in mind the end goal to “oversee.”

3. Have they been doing business over 5 years? This is additionally a key inquiry, on the grounds that many “skin clinic in pune” and little spas flop inside the initial 3 to 5 years. They may begin well at first, with substantial promoting to acquire clients. In any case, they frequently can’t support an abnormal state of results and wellbeing over an expansive range of their client base. So they leave business, leaving afterward a trail of claims, troubled and in some cases scarred patients, and patients who have paid cash for administrations that they never got.

On the off chance that the specialist and laser focus have been doing business over 5 years and are outstanding in the group, odds are they are working to a higher standard of solution and are treating their patients reasonably. Costs are regularly shockingly tantamount, so the inquiry is, “Who do you trust with your face?”

Ask “To what extent have you been doing business in this area?”

4. Do they promote? Specialists who are great and have been doing business for a short time are occupied. It’s costly to promote. The main purpose behind a specialist to publicize is whether they don’t have enough patients. In the event that the specialist doesn’t have enough patients, the inquiry is “The reason not?” Frequently the appropriate response is not something you truly need to know.

Best skin specialist in pune normally don’t publicize in light of the fact that they have every one of the patients they require. Their referrals originate from their patients and different specialists. Or, then again they may have been seen on TV or radio as a specialist (a paid commercial doesn’t check). In the event that you hear or see a ton of print ad, radio or TV promoting, be concerned.

Ask “Do you publicize on TV, radio, or print?”

5. Who does the lasering? I think it is exceptionally sensible for a Board-ensured dermatologist who is laser prepared and experienced themselves to appoint lasers or injectables to enlisted RNs, ARNPs, or PA-C (all mid level suppliers) who are specifically prepared and managed by skin specialist in pune . Mid-level suppliers have the restorative preparing, background, and judgment to work lasers and handle complexities in conjunction with a doctor, with the objective of giving their patients phenomenal quality laser medicines in a sheltered situation.

Very regularly in shady centers the lasering is being finished by a “tech” who is a person with definitely no medicinal instruction at all and who is working with next to zero preparing in an unsupervised situation.

Once more, Ask “Does the individual doing the lasering on me have any therapeutic instruction? What is their degree or authentication?”

6. Try not to purchase or focus on anything at the counsel. Corrective strategies are extravagances. Nobody is biting the dust, and no quick surgery is required. Great laser focuses that work morally will never attempt to “hard offer” you or motivate you to confer your cash before you exit the entryway.

A brilliant focus needs you to thoroughly consider what’s included, perused every one of the materials they’ve given you, and have some an opportunity to choose if that is truly what you need to do. Try not to be tricked by smooth business people or deals that are offered on the off chance that you book today as opposed to later. Try not to resolve to administrations or purchase more than $100 worth of items at your first visit to an office.

Ask “Do I feel forced to purchase items or to book medications at my first visit?”

7. Try not to be influenced by previously, then after the fact photos. Profoundly instilled in us is the possibility that witnessing something first hand is the only way to accept something that’s difficult to believe. In this day of present day photography, we should be suspicious of photographs. There are two issues with previously, then after the fact photos.

The main issue is that organizations and specialists will dependably put their completely best previously, then after the fact photos on a site or utilize them in their office. When you take a gander at that photograph, you don’t know whether 1 out of 100 individuals who had the system got that sort of result or whether 95 out of 100 individuals who had that technique got that outcome. It’s anything but difficult to hit a grand slam with the infrequent patient. What is important, however, is getting reliably awesome outcomes over a wide range of patients. You simply don’t know whether that photo is illustrative or not.

The second issue is that with current capacity to change computerized pictures, you truly don’t know whether that photo is exact or speaks to something that has been modified.

Ask, “Am I prone to get an outcome that resembles the one I’m finding in the photo?” That answer is just in the same class as the genuineness and morals of the workplace.

Three Things to Ask Your Friends

Companions can likewise be a decent wellspring of data. Make sure to consider the source. Some of your companions might be precise wellsprings of data. Others might be sure about practically everything or incredulous of nearly everything (perpetually discontent).

Ask particularly what your companion preferred about the skin specialist in pune and their office. More particular data is more useful than the more broad. Ask “was the specialist’s staff useful and benevolent?” “Was it simple to get all the data about whatever they were having done?” “Did they have enough time with the specialist and their staff?” “Did the specialist of dermatologist in pune run basically on time?” If your companion had addresses later on, “were they addressed speedily and affably by telephone?” This equitable gives you a thought. There might be different things that are imperative to you.

How long have they been seeing that skin specialist in pune and around what number of visits have they made? In the event that your companion has been seeing that specialist over a time of numerous years and has many visits, you ought to measure that data more intensely than somebody who’s just been to an office maybe a couple times.

Know that many individuals who get corrective administrations are delicate about that issue and see it as private data. Some of my patients tell essentially everybody everything that they are doing. I have different patients on the inverse end of the range, who don’t enlighten their nearest family and companions concerning what they are doing. Simply recall that your companion may not feel great examining restorative techniques and that might not have anything to do with the nature of the outcomes from that specialist.

Take a gander at your companion’s face. Outstanding amongst other proposals for a corrective dermatologist in pune is the manner by which their patients look. Is your companion’s skin step by step showing signs of improvement and better? Does their skin quality and appearance appear to be enhancing gradually while yours is most certainly not? Does their skin have a solid shine? Are injectables like Botox and Restylane utilized with a light and delicate hand (instead of giving the solidified or over-stuffed look we so regularly observe).

[themoneybuff-blog]

What I learned (and taught) at Fincon 2018

Greetings from sunny and sweaty Orlando, Florida! It's been a long, lovely, crazy week behind the scenes at Get Rich Slowly. I've spent the past ten days hanging out with fellow money nerds at Fincon, the annual money and media conference. Fincon started in 2011 with just 225 attendees. Now there are over 2000 attendees including nineteen of us who have been to every iteration. Here's a quick run-down of what I learned (and taught) at Fincon 2018.

Bond with Friends and Colleagues Fincon is first and foremost a chance to meet and bond with friends and colleagues. When you're a money writer (or money podcaster or money YouTuber, etc.), you spend a lot of time holed away by yourself. It's a lonely existence. It's rewarding to see each other, even if it's only once a year. It's been eighteen months since I've seen Mr. Money Mustache, for instance, but we got to be temporary roommates this week, and are now spending a couple more days together (with other friends) at a post-conference retreat in Clearwater. Plus, I got to make new connections with folks like Piggy and Kitty from Bitches Get Riches (my favorite money blog), who are even more awesome (and hilarious) in person than they are on the cyberwebs. Like me, the Bitches are huge fans of Harry Potter. Actually, they are huger fans than I am, considering I haven't yet read the final two books. (Sorry, I didn't like Order of the Phoenix.) Talking with them made me realize that although I've always self-identified as a Ravenclaw, I am actually a Hufflepuff. (You're a Hufflepuff with Ravenclaw rising, Piggy suggested, and I think she's right.) It's strange to think that although I see these people only one week each year, they're almost like family. We're able to pick up where we left off twelve months ago and continue as if we'd never been apart. Teach Everything You Know Fincon is also a chance for us to teach everything we know in order to help others improve their sites, podcasts, and channels. The unrestrained sharing of info and experience is astounding. In a lot of other fields, people would be jealously guarding their secrets. Not here. Here, folks are dropping knowledge bombs all of the time. As always, I've been involved in a couple of presentations (in addition to the bajillion casual conversations in bars and lobbies). On Thursday, I joined my pal Jim Wang (from Wallet Hacks) to give a talk on how blogging has changed during the past decade. We had fun exploring the ways in which this world has (and has not) evolved since we started in 2004 and 2006.On Friday, I moderated a panel discussion about the four flavors of FIRE. Our small group discussed the rising popularity of financial independence and early retirement. Why is the subject suddenly resonating with so many people? Is it an idea that's only applicable to tech workers without children? How does retiring early affect relationships?On Saturday, I participated in a panel about Playing with Fire, the upcoming feature film about financial independence. This project has been in production for more than a year and is finally nearing completion. In fact, Fincon saw the world premiere of the Playing with Fire trailer! (To learn more about the movie, check out the Kickstarter page.) I don't really like public speaking. I turn down a lot of requests. And when I do agree to speak, I'm often very nervous. But I'm always happy to do whatever presentations I'm asked to do at Fincon, and I'm nearly never nervous doing them. Not sure why that is. Maybe because I'm completely comfortable and in my element? [embedded content] Partner with Like-Minded Companies Lastly, Fincon is a chance to meet with potential partners, companies who want to advertise on our channels or who want to pitch their shiny new money apps. Ive never actually done this in the past and probably wont do so again in the future. This year, I over scheduled. (In fact, I nearly collapsed from exhaustion on Friday evening for real! and had to return to my room for a few hours until the empty, hollow feeling and dizziness wore off.) The real problem, however, is that many partner pitches just aren't appropriate for me or for you. Fortunately, some are. I was impressed with three companies in particular, and hope to work with them in the future (whether or not there's financial compensation involved). This year, I came to the startling realization that I, as a man nearing his fiftieth birthday, really ought to be working with AARP, the national non-profit whose mission is to empower people to choose how they live as they age. It was hilarious during my meeting with the AARP rep to watch the light switch on in both of our heads: Oh, our missions are well-aligned, and there's an opportunity here to collaborate and make the world a better place. We don't know what that collaboration would look like yet, but I'd be surprised if we didn't work together extensively in years to come.

The Future of Get Rich Slowly Perhaps the biggest Get Rich Slowly news to come out of Fincon is that I've found somebody to come on board to handle the technical side of the site. As loyal readers know, I'm a writer. All I want to do is write, to share stories and strategies for better managing money. I hate hate hate dealing with the technical and business aspects of this business. (And make no mistake, this is a business.)

Well, my friend Tom Drake from MapleMoney does not hate the technical and business side of things. In fact, he's the sort of nerd who digs this sort of drudgery. (For him, it's not actually drudgery.) We haven't hammered out the details yet, but we've agreed that some sort of partnership is in order. In fact, he's already begun working behind the scenes to clean things up around here. Yay! I still have a couple of days left here in Florida. I'll return home to Portland on Wednesday. (Then, almost immediately, Kim and I will dash off to the Oregon coast to celebrate her birthday.) Next week, things will be completely back to normal at GRS. Meanwhile, I already miss my Fincon family. I know I'll see many of my closest colleagues several times in the months ahead, but I won't see most folks for an entire year. The 2019 edition of the conference will take place in Washington, D.C. (where I've never spent any substantial time), and I can't wait. I also can't wait to resume writing for you money bosses. There won't be anything new tomorrow, but it's my goal to publish a new substantive, real article on Wednesday. See you then!

https://www.getrichslowly.org/fincon-2018/