#highly recommend it to anyone seeking a better understanding of what happened leading up to the jonestown massacre

[ainsi-soit-il]

On November 18, 1978, three of Jim Jones’ children—Stephan, Jimmy, and Tim—were in Georgetown, Guyana with their basketball team. When the Temple members in Georgetown received orders from their father telling them to kill themselves, Jimmy attempted to convince their father not to order mass-suicide. When that didn’t work, Stephan stalled to keep the group of Temple members in Georgetown from taking their own lives and called the Peoples Temple in San Francisco every half hour to ensure they stayed alive. All three went to the U. S. embassy in a last attempt to stop Jim Jones.

As many macabre stories as I’ve heard about Jonestown and as often as people jokingly say “don’t drink the Kool-Aid”, I didn’t learn about how many lives Jones’s sons saved—and tried to save—on the exact same day until today.

[recollins]

hi! can you do one of reid and he has a secret girlfriend/fiance/wife (idk your choice haha) that the team doesnt know about then something happens to spencer (hospital maybe) or the team meets her by chance and everyone is surprised and start piecing together why reid declined to go out all those times and stuff? you have free reign over this drabble I know it'll turn out great anyways! thanks!!

Of course! This is so cute! Sorry, I know this took a hot minute, but I apparently don’t have the ability to write short drabbles (and of course my internet went out for like an hour when I was ready to post 🙄). I hope you don’t mind it went a little long, hopefully you enjoy this!

Pairing: Spencer x Female Reader Words: 3,531 Content: Fluff Warnings: Knife injury, stitches Masterlist

--

The tentative hand tugging on your pencil skirt was right on time. With a smile, you sat the stack of book returns on the shelf and turned to smile at your favorite visitor. As soon as she saw she had your attention, June held up the most recent book you’d recommended to her, beaming as she said excitedly,

“Zero found his mom! I was happy he was gonna live with Stanley but now he has his her too!”

“See? And you were worried it wasn’t gonna be a happy ending,” you teased the enthusiastic seven-year-old as you crouched down to her level. “Did you like it?”

June nodded enthusiastically, her blonde curls bouncing wildly with the movement. “I loved it! I would’a been so scared with all those lizards though! I don’t know how Zero and Stanley were so brave!”

“It’s not easy to be brave, but doing the right thing can show you that you’re a lot stronger than you might believe,” you told her, and to your surprise you saw uncertainty clouding her soft blue eyes.  

“Miss (Y/N), do you think I could be brave?”

You nodded and reached up giving her chin a gentle squeeze before you stood. “You already are. I mean, you walk here from school every day by yourself. That’s pretty brave, if you ask me.”

To your surprise, June dropped her eyes and gave her small shoulders a dismissive shrug. “I’m not as brave as my big brother. He can climb all the way to the top of our tree and I’m too scared to even go past the first branch.”

As you did every Wednesday, you rested a hand on June’s shoulder and led her with you over to the children’s section of the library. Instead of instantly taking her to seek out a new book for the week, you led her to the reading nook and nudged her towards one of the chairs as you sat across from her.

“You remember Dr. Reid, don’t you?” you prompted, and June’s smile flickered back to her face as she gave an eager nod. How could she not? Spencer had come by the Story Circle – a kids book club you hosted every Saturday – and had eagerly joined in on your discussion of that month’s book, The Hobbit.

Though not [as] gifted as Spencer Reid (honestly, you didn’t think anyone else really was), June was an incredibly smart little girl and read well over her normal age group. It turned out that The Hobbit was one of her favorite books, and she and Spencer had spent hours talking about it after the club had ended.

“Well, he’s an FBI agent. Remember?” June nodded again. “Do you think he’s brave?”

“He is,” she confirmed instantly, and a smile came to your face. “He’s probably the bravest person ever!”

“I think so too,” you admitted, grinning back at her. But you think your brother’s pretty brave too, huh?”

June nodded, a little slower this time, trying to figure out the point you were about to make. “But he’s not an FBI agent like Dr. Reid.”

“He’s not. But he can still be brave, because there are different kinds of braveness in the world. Dr. Reid goes out and finds bad guys, and your brother can climb trees and not get scared.” June’s brow furrowed as you added pointedly, “and you walk all the way to the library by yourself. Everyone’s brave in their own way, but Dr. Reid’s bravery isn’t any different from yours. They’re all just as important, and all just as impressive.”

June’s smile took up her whole face, and to your surprise she hopped off her chair and rushed over to hug you tight. You laughed and hugged her back as she said, “thank you Miss (Y/N). you know what?” You pulled back and raised a brow at her in question. “You’re just like Gandalf. You’re wise and you always say things that make other people feel better. Like he does with Bilbo!”

You laughed with her as you got to your feet, taking her hand to lead her towards the shelves you wanted. “So then does that make you Bilbo?”

“Uh-huh. And Dr. Reid is Thorin, ‘cause he’s really smart and clever, but he’s really nice too. And he’s a leader. And he’s probably brave enough to fight Smaug.”

“I bet you’re right,” you agreed, already looking forward to telling Spencer all about this tonight. He loves little kids, and knowing June thought about him so highly would definitely make his day. “You know, speaking of bravery and dragons… I think I know a good book for you this week.”

You paused at the end of one of the aisles and knelt down – June following your movement – and you tugged out a book you’d been waiting to recommend to her. She took your offering and studied the cover as she read out,

“The Two Princesses of Bamarre?”

“Yep. Do you remember reading Ella Enchanted last month?” June nodded slowly. “This was written by the same author. It’s about a little sister who has to be really brave and go on an adventure to save her big sister. There’s dragons, ogres, and fairies in this one.”

June’s eyes widened with every word, and as you both stood she peeked up at you. “And true love?”

That was what the two of you shared – you were both hopeless romantics.

“Would I give you a fairytale story without that?” June giggled and shook her head. You nudged her gently back towards the reading nook, knowing her mom wouldn’t be by to pick her up for another hour at least. “I’ve got to finish putting the books away, so you get started on that and see if you like it, alright?”

“Thanks Miss (Y/N)!” she said eagerly, already cracking the book open on her way. You just grinned and shook your head as you headed back to the books you’d left on the shelf. The front desk phone ringing hadn’t even caught your attention, and you were just grabbing the books again when the other librarian Amy came bustling over to you, handset held out.

“It’s Stafford Hospital asking for you,” she whispered, and instantly your stomach flipped. Why was a hospital several cities over be calling for you? Warily you took the handset and said,

“This is (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N).”

“Miss (Y/L/N), this is Nurse Lesser from Stafford Hospital. We’re calling you because you’re listed as the emergency medical contact for Spencer Reid.”

You nearly dropped the phone, sucking in a sharp breath as your heart skittered to a stop. “Oh my god, is he okay?”

“I’m sorry ma’am, I’m not able to go into specifics right now, but if you’d be able to come down and speak with –“

“Yes, yes, I’m on my way,” you said quickly, already racing for the front desk. As soon as the call ended you practically threw the handset back to Amy as you grabbed your purse. “I’ve got to go, I’m so sorry. I’ll see you later!”

Amy didn’t even get a chance to respond before you were booking it to your car.

The normally fifteen minute drive to the hospital took you less than ten; you’d be sure not to ever mention how many traffic laws you’d broken to get there so fast. Not that you really cared about that, though. Your mind was in overdrive, heart stuttering painfully against your ribs, lungs refusing to let you get a full breath. All you could hear was emergency medical contact for Spencer Reid.

Heels and all, you practically sprinted through the ER parking lot, desperate to find out what had happened. You and Spencer had been dating for just about five months now, and though he’d listed you as his contact as soon as you’d made things official, this was the first call you’d ever gotten for it. You knew dating an FBI agent came with risks like this, but you really hadn’t been prepared for the instant panic and fear that came with knowing Spencer had been hurt.

Once inside, though, you had no idea where to go or what to do. Maybe you should’ve thought to ask that during the call, but you’d flown into panic hyperdrive and had been on a one-track-mind purpose of getting to your boyfriend as fast as possible.

You paused in the lobby for several moments, looking around desperately until you spotted someone that looked like a nurse.

“Excuse me!” you called, racing after him. The young man paused and looked back at you as you asked quickly, “I-I got a call. I’m an emergency contact for a patient –“

“Which patient, ma’am?” he asked, glancing down at a clipboard in his hand.

“Dr. Spencer Reid. He’s with the FBI, I don’t know – they wouldn’t tell me what’s wrong –“

“I’m sorry ma’am, he’s not one of my patients. If you want to wait in the lobby –“

“You don’t understand. I need to know – can you just please find out where he is? Spencer Reid. R-E-I-D. They just called me –“

“I’m sorry, did you say Spencer Reid?” a woman asked from behind you. As soon as you were distracted the nurse practically bolted from your side, but you were too busy studying the group of people behind you.

The woman who had spoken – a petite, beautiful blonde – was coming up to you, confused concern on her face. You recognized her instantly from Spencer’s description of his team, and for a moment you worried he’d be upset. He hadn’t wanted you to meet his coworkers just yet – and certainly not like this – but right now that didn’t matter.

“You must be JJ,” you started, not missing the blink of alarm she gave you as she nodded slowly.

“Yeah… I am. I’m sorry, who are you?”

Oh, right. That had probably been a lot creepier than you’d meant.

“No, I’m sorry. That was super weird of me. I’m (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N), Spencer’s girlfriend. He’s told me all about you guys.”

JJ and the others behind her all made noises of surprise. One of the men you recognized as Derek Morgan actually choked on his coffee as he spluttered, “I’m sorry, you’re what now?!”

Heat flooded your cheeks when you realized everyone was staring at you like you’d just sprouted a second head. Nervously you brought your hands together in front of you, fingers twisting together as you repeated a little quieter, “um, I’m Spencer’s girlfriend?”

“Spencer has a –“ a beautiful dark-haired woman scoffed, mouth hanging open as she tried to think of a way to finish that sentence. She must be Emily. “I had no idea Spencer had a girlfriend.”

“Surprise?” you offered, almost instantly cringing at how stupid that was. Thankfully, one of the older men seated behind the others gave an amused snort. Derek, Emily, and JJ all turned to stare at him as Emily asked incredulously,

“What, did you know about this, Rossi?”

“Of course not,” the man – apparently David Rossi – scoffed as he nodded at you. “But unlike you all it doesn’t surprise me that our resident genius would be dating a beautiful librarian. It doesn’t get any more Spencer Reid than that.”

Your cheeks were burning now as the others made noises of agreement. The last man to speak stepped forward and held out his hand to you.

“As I assume you already know, I’m Aaron Hotchner.”

“Spencer’s unit chief,” you confirmed, shaking his hand. “Though I never pictured it like this, it’s really great to meet you all finally.”

“It’s great to know you exist,” Derek quipped; Emily smacked his arm.

“You don’t know why Spence is here?” JJ prompted, and the surprise of meeting your boyfriend’s team flickered out the moment you remembered why you were here. At the look you gave her she said quickly, “don’t worry, he’s fine. He was cut by an UnSub we were chasing and he needed some stitches. We’re just waiting for the doctor to give us the clear to see him.”

Rossi patted the chair beside him and invited, “you’re more than welcome to sit with us, if we haven’t scared you off.”

“Of course not,” you smiled, taking him up on his offer and settling beside him. The others gathered a little closer, clearly ready to learn more about you. Derek wasted no time on jumping into the questions.

“So (Y/N), how long have you and Reid been dating?”

“Five months on the 18th,” you told him with a smile. His eyes widened in surprise and he made a noise of absolute shock.

“You’ve been datin’ for almost half a year and we didn’t know you existed?!”

“Um, surprise again?” you offered, getting a snort out of JJ this time. “I’m sorry. Spencer said he was waiting for the right time. He wanted to give us time to get comfortable with our relationship and make sure things were serious, and then things have just kept coming up. He definitely didn’t want to spring it on you like… well, exactly like it just happened…”

“He was going to tell us at the Halloween party, wasn’t he?” Emily asked you, and at the bewildered head nod you gave her she explained, “he was insistent we would all be there, and when we had to fly out on a case he was really upset. I thought it was just because he has an unnatural love for Halloween, but…”

“Wait,” JJ cut in, snapping her fingers. “When we invited him to lunch last week and he’d said he had to return a library book…”

The team around you ahh’d as they all chuckled. You looked around, still not getting their amusement, but thankfully Rossi caught on to your uncertainty.

“Reid’s been acting dodgy with us lately, and we’ve all been trying to pinpoint it. I can honestly tell you it’s a relief to know he’s in a relationship, not the mob.”

“You’re the only one that thought that,” Emily started, and from behind her, Aaron cleared his throat.

“No he wasn’t.”

The others turned to give him incredulous looks as JJ asked him, “you actually thought Spencer Reid was in the mob?”

“Hey, you and JJ thought he was in a fight club!” Rossi defended, and this time you had to snort.

“A fight club?” you laughed; Emily just offered a shrug as JJ said,

“He had bruises on his – oh.”

Ah, there was the burning in your cheeks again. The others laughed as Derek rubbed his hands together, looking around.

“Guess this means you all owe me your bets.” At the noise of protest around him, he said quickly, “I was the closest! I said he was crushin’ on someone!”

“You guys had money on his caginess?” you asked them with a bemused laugh. JJ, Rossi, and Hotch gave you apologetic smiles as Emily argued,

“That doesn’t count. Garcia wins, she said he had a secret girlfriend.”

“That’s not even fair,” Derek grumbled, shaking his head and crossing his arms irritably. “How is it the only one of us that was right is the one who isn’t even a profiler?”

Before they could go any further a voice called out, “I’m looking for Spencer Reid’s emergency contact, Miss (Y/L/N)?”

Instantly you scrambled out of your seat, rushing past the others to the Doctor peering down at you.

“Yes, that’s me. Is Spencer okay?”

“Yes ma’am. I’m happy to report he’s just fine,” he assured, and the group around you all made noises of relief. “He needed a decent amount of stitches but the blood loss was minimal and luckily there won’t be any long term damage. He’s ready for visitors, if you’d like me to take you back.”

Though you wanted to see him you didn’t feel right stepping in front of his team. They were his family and he’d known them all much longer than he’d known you. But when you looked back at them, JJ and Emily ushered you to go first.

“Go warn him that we’ve met, because as soon as we see him, he ain’t livin’ this down,” Derek assured you, giving a playful grin. With a laugh, you just gave a nod and followed the Doctor back into the patient rooms.

Spencer looked up at the sound of your heels, a huge smile spreading over his face. Though you instantly smiled back, you made a noise of distress seeing his bandaged arm. Rushing to his side, you gingerly took his arm and held it up, running your fingers lightly over the wrappings.

“Baby, are you okay?” you asked softly, looking up at him in concern. Spencer smiled and reached out, cupping your face with his free hand and brushing his thumb over your cheek in comfort.

“I’m just fine. I’m so sorry, I wanted to call and let you know what’d happened, but I left my phone in the SUV. I know the call from the hospital had to have taken you by surprise.”

“You know…” you started, giving him a smile as you leaned into his touch. “Not as much as finding your team in the waiting room did.”

He actually gasped, his mouth dropping into a shocked ‘O’ as he stared at you in mild horror. “Oh no. I – I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t even think about that. I didn’t mean to throw you to them like that –“

“Spencer it’s okay,” you laughed. “It wasn’t what we’d talked about but I liked meeting them. Although apparently they were making bets about why you kept ducking out of things with them.”

He frowned, an adorable pout coming over his face. “They do that a lot. And they give [me] a hard time for being from Vegas…”

With a laugh, you finally let go of his arm and reached up, cupping his face with both your hands and pulling him down into a kiss. He hummed against your lips, the hand on your cheek sliding into your hair to hold you to him. Your lips moved against one another softly, tongues brushing briefly before you broke apart to keep from going farther.

“I’m really glad you’re okay,” you said softly, letting your fingers slide over his face to sweep his hair back behind his ears. “Did you catch the guy that did this?”

He nodded, a hint of pride in his soft brown eyes as he gave you a smile. “I did, actually. We managed to stop him before he killed a teen, and even did it without him taking his own life. He cut into me instead of his neck. It was close.”

You knew how bad that must’ve shaken him. Spencer had told you his hardest cases were the ones he had to watch someone take their life, almost more so than the cases with kids. To hear he’d been the hero warmed you to your core, and you knew exactly what would make him even happier.

“It’s funny, I was just telling June about how brave Dr. Reid was, and you go and prove me right.”

As expected, Spencer’s face lit up with a smile at that and he sat up a little taller. “You told her I was brave?”

“I did,” you confirmed. “And it’s been decided that she’s Bilbo, I’m Gandalf, and you’re Thorin.”

“I’m Thorin?” he asked in surprise, and you gave an eager nod. “Why?”

“According to June, you’re smart, nice, and clever. She’s a pretty perceptive first grader.”

Of all the things you loved about Spencer, his genuine humility was one of his best qualities. You knew he didn’t see himself for the incredible man he truly was, and watching the soft blush on his cheeks at June’s compliment warmed your heart even further.

Before you could sweet talk your boyfriend any further, though, you heard commotion in the hallway. The rest of Spencer’s team all piled into the room, with Derek in the lead, a phone to his ear.

“Oh yeah, baby girl. I’ve got him right here. I’ll let him tell you why he kept his girlfriend from us for five months.”

Spencer’s eyes widened as Derek held out the phone; he shook his head and Derek gave a deadpan frown. When Spencer refused again, his friend stepped up and pressed the phone to his face.

“No, Morgan, I don’t – oh, uh, hey Garcia –“

You could hear the squeaking of a very upset woman on the other end and you laughed along with the team as JJ and Emily came up on either side of you.

“So, (Y/N), how does dinner with the team Saturday night sound?” Emily mused, and JJ elaborated,

“We have about six months of embarrassing Reid to make up for, and Rossi makes a mean lasagna. You in?”

“Oh, I’m definitely in,” you laughed, catching Spencer’s eye as he rambled off a desperate apology to the phone in Derek’s hand. He raised his brows to you, silently asking, is this okay?

The smile and wink you gave him assured that yes, this was better than okay. This was as close to perfect as meeting someone’s family would ever get.

[bonniebelleklyde]

The Small Hours

Note: This fic takes place within what I believe we’re now calling the Mistletoe Universe. Chronologically, it takes place after A Storm to Weather and before Mistletoe. I would highly recommend reading both first to have a full context for this! Thanks to the lovely anon who sent in the prompt for this-- Logan returning the favor from A Storm to Weather and comforting Janus regarding an irrational fear.

Word Count: 2651

Pairing: Loceit (romantic)

Warnings: The warning is a spoiler! Check the tags if concerned.

Summary: In the small hours of the morning, Logan finds Janus in a rather unusual position.

When Logan rose before the sun—not an entirely uncommon occurrence—and made his way to the kitchen to brew a very strong pot of coffee, he was not particularly alarmed at the sight of a figure, obscured by the darkness of the room, sitting atop the refrigerator. He simply nodded in its direction.

“Good morning, Virgil,” he said before stifling a yawn. “It’s a bit early for you, yes?”

There was nothing but silence in response. That was...odd. Concerned that something was troubling Virgil beyond his normal levels of anxiety, Logan flipped the light switch and jumped a bit when the light revealed that it was not Virgil at all sitting on top of the refrigerator, but Janus.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I—what are you doing up there?”

Logan was hardly an expert in these things, but something was definitely off about Janus, even absent the fact that Logan had never seen anyone other than Virgil choose this particular seating arrangement. Janus was fidgeting with his gloves, a habit that Logan had come to realize as indicative of nervousness in the deceitful side. He was also noticeably avoiding eye contact and worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. Unsure how to proceed, Logan followed Janus’s lead and averted his eyes, waiting for some sort of response. When he received none, he furrowed his brows in confusion. Janus was not exactly known for holding his tongue.

“Is something wrong?” he tried again, endeavoring to communicate through his tone that he was not prying for curiosity’s sake, but rather attempting to offer whatever assistance might be required. Logan doubted he was successful in this endeavor—he was rarely successful in conveying any tone to speak of, his words always seeming to come out dry and hollow.

“No, no, don’t mind me. Nothing’s wrong,” Janus said in a voice so quiet that Logan suspected it would have been drowned out by the sound of the coffee maker had the logical side turned it on.

Logan cocked his head to one side, turning over Janus’s words in his mind for a moment before gently shrugging his shoulders.

“You know, one would think—given who you are—that you would be better at that.”

It was Janus’s turn to furrow his brows.

“Better at what?”

“Lying.”

Janus blinked hard, his mouth falling open in an expression that Logan couldn’t be sure indicated offense or shock.

“I am literal deceit.”

Logan nodded, a small smirk crossing his face. “My point exactly— literal deceit should be more…adept at deception, no?”

Janus scratched at the back of his neck and did not speak for several long moments. Logan cursed himself inwardly— he hadn’t meant to offend, but he almost certainly had. He had essentially just told Janus (to his face, no less) that the other was bad at his job.

“I’m sorry,” he said after it became clear Janus was not planning on providing any sort of response. “I did not mean to imply that you are always—”

Janus cut Logan off by gently holding up his gloved hand, a tentative smile on his face.

“I know,” he said simply. “And you’re right. It was a lie. But I don’t…”

It was Logan’s turn to interrupt.  “Janus. I don’t intend to pry.”

Logan was reminded of the night when Janus had first become privy to the logical side’s irrational fear of thunder. He certainly hadn’t pried—had not mocked Logan or passed judgment in any way. He had not forced Logan to talk about his fear—a fact that Logan was exceedingly grateful for. No, Janus had simply…stayed. He’d borne out the storm beside him, with a steadying arm around Logan’s shoulders, for no other discernible reason than the simple fact that Logan had been afraid. Janus…Janus had been lovely. And he’d gone on to be equally lovely during the handful of thunderstorms that had occurred since that night. Almost immediately after the first crash of thunder sounded from each storm, Janus would materialize wherever Logan happened to be at the time. He wouldn’t say a word about the storm itself or about Logan’s silly fear. He’d beckon for Logan to sit beside them, and together they’d make their way through one novel or another, taking turns reading aloud to each other until either the storm had passed or they had drifted into sleep. Though his fear of thunder had never subsided, Logan became strangely fond of thunderstorms. Increasingly, he’d found himself wanting to…well. It didn’t matter what he wanted.

What did matter was that, through every embarrassing moment of it all, Janus was lovely. And while lovely was not a word Logan would ever attribute to himself, the very least he could do was—in the face of Janus’s obvious discomfort—afford the other his privacy.

There was a subtle change in Janus’s expression at Logan’s words. It seemed…softer, somehow. Logan quickly averted his eyes once again when he caught himself starting to stare. The last thing he wanted to do was make Janus any more uncomfortable than he apparently already was. He wondered briefly if Janus, too, was reminded of the storms. He became suddenly aware of how long the silence between them had stretched on for, and he coughed to dispel the strange tension hanging in the air. Remembering his motivation for entering the kitchen in the first place, Logan crossed the room to the coffee maker.

“Coffee?” he offered before chuckling softly when Janus wrinkled his nose. “Not a fellow caffeine enthusiast, then?”

“Oh, I drink plenty of tea,” Janus responded, his tone finally sounding a bit lighter now. “But I’ll never understand how you can drink that stuff—coffee is disgusting.”

Logan snorted in amusement as he began spooning out coffee grounds from his hidden stockpile. “Are you sure? You might find that you like mine— I keep the quality grounds well hidden from the others. You’ll find that the taste of coffee can vary quite widely depending on the type and origin of beans used to prepare it.”

“Is that so?” Janus returned, one eyebrow raised in skepticism. “Very well, I’ll try it if you like, but I make no promises regarding my reaction.”

Logan hummed in amusement, grinning as he got the brew started. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Janus nervously scanning the kitchen floor. Was there some sort of rodent about? Logan wondered idly but did not ask. Instead, he summoned a book—The Mystery of Edwin Drood—from its place on his nightstand, brandishing it for Janus to see before taking a seat at the kitchen table.

“I believe we left off on Chapter Three?” Logan asked quietly, turning to the appropriate page and looking to Janus’s face to determine whether this was the right course of action.

Janus’s shoulders visibly relaxed, and his grin widened just a bit. He shifted his position so that his back rested against the wall behind the refrigerator and closed his eyes.

“Yes, that sounds about right.”

Logan sported his own small grin as he lay the book out on the table in front of him.

“Excellent. Though I still don’t understand why you chose a book that is only half finished,” he remarked, his tone only slightly teasing.

Janus’s grin faltered at that, his eyes snapping open, and Logan worried that he may have inadvertently insulted the deceitful side once again. But Janus spoke before Logan could make his hurried apologies, his tone not offended but hesitant, perhaps even a bit nervous.

“I had thought…er, well…I thought that perhaps it might be interesting to trade theories about how it might have ended once we’ve finished. If you’d like to, that is.”

Logan was taken aback for a moment at the knowledge that Janus had selected this title because he was interested in discussing theories with him. That was…unusual. Logan was far more accustomed to his own academic musings being tolerated at best. The idea that someone valued them enough to actively seek them out…well, that was…that was quite pleasant. Logan felt something he couldn’t name—a warmth of some sort—bubble up in his chest, and he beamed up at Janus, not having the slightest clue why the other seemed so very nervous to reveal this incredible information to him.

“I think I would enjoy that immensely,” he said genuinely. “There are few things I find more satisfying than parsing out a good mystery, as you well know.”

Janus must have read Logan’s sincerity in his face, because the deceitful side’s apprehension melted away to be replaced by a brilliant smile to match Logan’s own. The corners of Logan’s lips were still tipped up as he watched Janus’s eyes fall closed again and as Logan began to read from the book.

Before long, he was interrupted by a buzzing sound signaling that the pot of coffee had finished brewing. Logan paused his reading and strode over to the cupboard to retrieve two mugs. When he’d poured both drinks, he looked to Janus with questioning eyes.

“Will you be joining me at the table, or should I hand this to you up there?”

He asked the question gently, kindly in a way that he hoped invited Janus to reveal whether there was some way that Logan could help him with his current predicament without pushing too forcefully. Janus averted his eyes and chewed at his lip.

“I…don’t normally make a habit of sitting up here,” he said slowly after several moments.

“No, you don’t,” Logan confirmed simply with a nod, leaning against the counter as he waited for the other to continue.

“It’s ridiculous,” Janus said through gritted teeth, clearly frustrated. “I don’t…I am being ridiculous.”

Janus’s face was bright red, and he seemed as if he was endeavoring to look anywhere but Logan’s face, and Logan turned his own gaze downward in an effort to minimize the other’s discomfort.

“More ridiculous than shaking like a leaf during every thunderstorm?” Logan asked softly, a small self-deprecating smile on his face.

At that, Janus’s eyes snapped up immediately to meet Logan’s.

“You are not ridiculous,” and something about the amount of sheer conviction in Janus’s voice stole every bit of Logan’s breath from him. “You are…”

Janus trailed off, either unable to come up with a word for what Logan was or unwilling to voice whatever word he may have had in mind.

“Well. Regardless,” the deceitful side continued, glancing away from Logan’s face once again. “I am being ridiculous. It really is so trivial, I…I should just come down…”

When Janus made no move to come down off of the refrigerator despite his words, Logan thought for a moment before offering, “Might there be anything I could do that would make coming down at all easier for you?”

It was clear from the hesitant look on Janus’s face that there was. In that moment, Logan wished he could be someone else—Roman or Patton perhaps, who were so much better at assuaging fears and dealing in emotions than Logan was. Janus deserved someone who was more practiced at this—who knew how to help Janus in the extraordinary way that Janus had helped Logan. Still, it was far too early for anyone else to be awake, so he supposed he would have to do.

“For what it is worth,” he said quietly, not having the slightest idea of what to say other than the simple truth, “I could never think you are ridiculous. You could tell me that you are up there to hide from the coffee pot, and I would think no less of you. You could tell me anything at all. I would never reveal the information to anyone else, and I would certainly never judge you.”

The words were inadequate, he was sure of it, but they were all Logan had. He watched with concern as Janus’s brow furrowed and his face contorted into an expression that Logan was not able to read. At the very least, Logan knew that Janus could be certain he was not lying. At long last, the deceitful side met his eyes once more with that same, unreadable expression.

“I’m afraid of spiders,” Janus finally confessed, his tone strained. “Virgil’s stupid pet must have escaped, because I woke up with the damned thing on my pillow, and it followed me into the kitchen.”

“Oh!” Logan responded, somewhat relieved that the situation was one that he could help with after all—and likely very easily at that. “I’ve actually assisted in retrieving it for Virgil several times. It should be no trouble doing so again. Do you have any idea where it might be now?”

Janus was hiding his face behind his hands now.

“I think it crawled under the oven, the last I saw.”

Roughly ten minutes later and with the practiced use of paper and string, Logan had successfully located the spider under the stove and seen it returned to its cage in Virgil’s room. Janus choked out a strained but sincere thank you, his face now an alarming shade of red.

“Thank me by coming down here and trying my coffee. I’ll make a convert out of you yet,” Logan teased, hoping the change in subject would lessen Janus’s embarrassment.

Logan lifted his hand in an offer to help Janus down from the refrigerator. Janus stared at the hand stretched out to him for just a moment before taking it and climbing down onto the counter and then finally to the floor. Logan found himself wishing—however irrationally—that Janus would forget to let go of his hand when his feet were once again on the ground, that Logan could remove Janus’s glove and interlace their fingers together, that they could—

Logan shook his head as if to physically shake that particular line of thought from his mind. He wondered briefly what it meant that he was thinking about such things with increasing frequency and resolved to consult Roman or Patton about the matter later. For now, he focused on keeping away the frown that threatened to form when Janus inevitably did let go of his hand.

“Alright,” Janus said with a small sigh as he took a seat at the table and looked toward Logan expectantly. “let’s get this over with.”

Logan smirked and handed a mug to Janus before taking the seat across from him. He nearly snorted his own coffee through his nose at the look of pure disgust on Janus’s face the moment the liquid had reached his tongue.

“I take it you’re not convinced?” he asked, not entirely successful in his effort to ward off a bout of laughter.

“This is revolting,” Janus said, glaring at his mug as though it had insulted him. “This is worse than what the others drink. I don’t know how you can stand it.”

Logan snickered and downed his own coffee in three gulps, more to prove a point than anything.

“Mark my words, I’ll sway you one day,” he promised, though not entirely serious.

“Can’t imagine how,” Janus said with a roll of his eyes before stretching out his hand. “Here, give me the book; I’ll pick up where you left off.”

Logan couldn’t help but grin as he handed the volume over. They had never before engaged in this strange practice of reading aloud to one another outside the context of a distraction from fear. Janus caught the grin and shot one back as he flipped to the correct page.

“May as well keep going. I’m eager to hear your thoughts on the identity of the murderer.”

There was that peculiar warmth in Logan’s chest again. This time, he simply allowed himself to bask in it. He would find clarity and answers regarding these strange and pleasant feelings Janus seemed to provoke in him later. For now, it was more than enough that they were there.

[de-cryptid]

Behind the curtain.

I’ll cut to the chase and simply state outright who I believe, and am almost certain, is behind the social media presence of Simon Alkenmayer.

Kristina Meister.

Kristina deleted her blog yesterday as of posting so I can’t link directly to it for the posts I am going to discuss and showcase here. I will be providing links that preserve their existence, however, so you don’t have to take me at my word alone.

For context: In Simon's world (which is how I will refer to the unreality that is his existence and supposed life), Kristina was his editor for The Creature's Cookbook and also the foot-in-the-door that is the publishing industry. She pitched the autobiography on his behalf, bringing it to Tapas media.

They maintained a friendship, both outside of the internet and here on tumblr. However, one day a fire was set in Kristina's driveway, leading her to what can reasonably be described as hysteria.

Here is an archived link to her reaction.

TL;dr is that she believes @simonalkenmayerisdead to be the only person in the world who could have possibly made a connection between her and Simon (despite the fact they actively engaged with each other on multiple social medias, that and there are far more people on tumblr that know of Simon than his critics) and threatened a multitude of legal action.

Here, The Fool explains the issue with the accusations levied against him and his followers.

Reading the exchanges between Simon, The Fool, and Kristina is what made it clear to me that Simon is Kristina. A lot of those posts are long gone due to Kristina's blog deletion, and are otherwise far too tedious to hunt down on Simon's blog, but they are quite similar to that which is linked above.

You can probably tell there's a level of irrationality (an understatement honestly) in Kristina's posts regarding the fire and her general demeanour.

As she and Simon have each other's personal contact information, which she herself showed a screenshot of, I think it's strange for Simon to respond publicly in the way he did. She's clearly not in a good mental state to be online, discussing a traumatic event, throwing accusations, cussing at and threatening her dissenters.

He's a long-lived observer of humans, in his world, and instead of recognizing this to be the behaviour of someone who isn't in the right frame of mind to be speaking about their circumstances to a substantial audience of presumably a few ill-intentioned people, he endorses everything she says and encourages her to continue on her rants.

Is it not obvious that this isn't accomplishing anything but potentially harming her more? She's shown the suspect that their tactic succeeded. She revealed her vulnerabilities in regards to her child and marriage. Simon, as a friend and the supposed cause for all this, should know better than to further feed into the anonymous attacks on his associate and instead handle it on a personal level.

But that isn't what happened.

The only way for someone to respond in the manner Simon did is for them to be as equally emotionally involved and irrational as Kristina herself is, which is clear from the notes where Simon's loyal audience reacts in a similarly distressed and irrational voice.

That's human behaviour, not that of a people-eating centuries-old non-mammalian monster who has watched famine ravage civilizations, killed countless individuals, and adapted despite it all.

But moving on, as I'm sure that in and of itself isn't enough for some people.

Let's turn our attention to The Creatures Cookbook itself. It's framed as a diary, meaning it was written in real-time and built upon over years, not as an autobiography. This is suspect for reasons I'll discuss further on.

I'd like to begin with the book's publishing history. It was first in print thanks to Fuse Literary, as can be seen in this post from their website, then moved onto the Tapas app (where it remains to this day).

Simon himself says that his book is "out of print", which is why it's not available as a physical copy outside of second-hand nowadays. This is not exactly true; fuse literary dropped the book. He isn't being represented by them anymore. Tapas, which is more of a pulp app where anyone can publish most anything, is not just the new medium he selected dutifully to act out the experiment more effectively; it was a last resort for a book people simply weren't interested in.

The Fool explains this quite well here.

I'd also like to reiterate something touched upon in that linked post; Simon lied about meeting his publisher, either in 2014 in that incredibly descriptive post about his agent and their experience with Tapas, or to that anonymous asker. Why is this? If the original post was incorrect, or no longer what Simon wanted readers to believe, wouldn't it make more sense to delete it? That or he, likely, forgot what was originally said about his publisher and simply made up a response for the asker. His memory spans centuries, and clearly that experience was a vivid one, given his description, but he couldn't keep consistent on his public social media. I find this suspect for many reasons.

Going back to Fuse Literary, we have articles that directly state Kristina is "writing as" Simon, which he has stated in the past was out of necessity to preserve his identity (which is somewhat contradictory, seeing as he claims that the government is aware of his species and him specifically, and also his aim is to convince people he does in fact exist).

Needless to say, a lot of little things just don't add up. Instead, they point to Kristina using Simon's character and presence as an outlet of sorts. He is an identity she assumes.

Here is another clue I stumbled upon, regarding Kristina's other writing endeavours.

Let's talk Cinderella Boy.

So Kristina is both a freelance editor (as Simon states she was for him) and a writer herself, with several published books. Easily her highest reviewed and most popular is called Cinderella Boy, a story about LGBTQ struggles from the perspective of a high school boy. I went through the reviews a while back and a lot were positive! But I noticed that many of those positive reviews were people who knew Kristina through Simon and already liked his character, his voice, his style.

And Cinderella Boy is very much the same.

I linked the Goodreads page above and recommend you go through reviews yourself to better understand what I mean, but below I will show one of the negative reviews that is... Very telling. (Click and swipe through, it's a long one)

And this wasn't the only person saying these sorts of things, either. Again, I recommend seeing for yourself. Here's another excerpt from a different review:

I want to focus in on the "70 year old philosophers" bit. The other review above said something similar about the overly deep and philosophical dialogue.

Sound familiar?

It appears Kristina's writing style happens to be that old-timey philosophically-bent verbose kind, highly reminiscent of Simon himself.

I found this rather funny. You'd think writing a modern YA would have a skilled writer attempting to make the character interactions more relatable and... Well, realistic.

It appears Kristina only has the one setting, however. And that happens to sound exactly the way Simon talks.

I will be going in-depth with the factual errors in Simon's historical assertions in the future, so I'll hold off on those for now, but a previous post of mine shows a clear miscalculation on the part of Simon's creator googling something and applying it to Simon's world, without realizing it was factually incorrect. You can see that here.

To conclude this very long post, I want to make it clear that I do not hate Kristina nor Simon, I am not posting this to harass either of them. I am only interested in making it clear that Simon is not an all-knowing cryptid and is not a reliable voice. Simon is a human creation and his readers should be aware of that. Seek real, professional help if you are looking for some advice. Do not think that an elaborate roleplay is an appropriate substitute.

[kaye-scheidsblogs]

Ascendance of a Bookworm Review

  Ascendance of a Bookworm is an isekai light novel written by Miya Kazuki and illustrated by Yu Shiina. It follows Urano Motosu, or rather Myne as she is known in her new world, as she pursues her one true passion: books. In her past life, Myne had just graduated college and was set to start her dream job as a librarian until an earthquake hit while she was in her book-filled bedroom and she was crushed to death by her massive book collection. As her consciousness fades, she wakes up as the 5 year old sickly Myne in a world where paper is made of parchment too expensive for anyone but nobles to buy and use.

  It's anime adaptation has two 14 episode seasons. The first season aired in Fall of 2019 with the second closely following up in Spring of this year. Both the anime and light novels are incredibly enjoyable, but I will actually be focusing this review on the light novel series as I found that I prefer it over the anime. That's not to say that the anime is bad. The light novels simply offer a lot more detail and depth to the already detailed world building that appears in the anime.

    As you can see, the anime adaptation’s animation and art style is not much to look at. It certainly is not a sakuga filled series, but it does have its charm. Personally, it reminds me a lot of late 2000s series and fills me with a sense of nostalgia whenever I watch it. The art style is quite cute and simple. The light novel’s illustrations are similar, but have a bit more detail and shine to them. As is also true for the characters, world-building, and writing in general. 

    Given how detailed and intricate everything about Bookworm’s writing is, you may be surprised to know that the series is heavily character-driven rather than plot-driven. With a world as detailed as this, one might expect it to be filled with political intrigue and plot-driven drama. However, our main character, Myne, is so incredibly defined by her straightforward desire to have and read as many books as possible that there’s simply no time for the writing to expand on plot-driven story beats. As proven by when some volumes add more plot-driven story beats and end up being longer than usual.

    With all that said, Ascendance of a Bookworm is very slow paced. In a series about making books, the anime doesn’t even give Myne paper until episode seven and proper books aren’t produced until later in the second season! That may make some people turn away. If you like your fantasies to be action packed, then Bookworm may not be for you. Even so, I implore all of you to give this series a shot. The slow-pacing does have its pros for readers looking for that sweet sweet cathartic feeling. Miya Kazuki has a talent for knowing the exact time and place for when certain things about her world should be revealed. And as such, she has developed a writing technique that reaps all the benefits of an isekai story while also not making it jarring for the reader.

    By that, I am referring to exposition. Isekai stories have protagonists that know nothing about the fantasy worlds they live in, but with all the knowledge of their previous world. This gives authors the excuse to have the main character ask questions that the world’s inhabitants know as common sense, but still have things explained to the audience. If authors aren’t careful, these exposition dumps can be boring at best and immersion-breaking at worse. But Miya Kazuki has created characters and a world that creates perfect circumstances for seamless exposition.

    First, we have Myne or Urano Motosu. A bookworm among bookworms. With a one-track and somewhat forgetful mind, all she knows and loves is books. She is an absolute delight of a character and while her development is just as slow as the story’s pacing, it is a wonderful experience to read it all unfold. Her desire for books leaves her selfish and uninterested in everything else, which does her no favors. Myne is a low-class peasant. Born the daughter of a soldier and seamstress, she already shouldn’t know much about the world outside her lot in life. But to make things worse, Myne’s body is very sickly. Racked by a mysterious fever that has forced her to practically spend all her time inside and thus, doesn’t even have the knowledge of most kids in the same class. 

    Her first real source of knowledge about the world she’s been reborn into is Lutz. A neighbor and youngest son of four, whose perpetual hunger and desire to eat the tasty food that Myne makes leads to him becoming close friends with Myne. Lutz is with Myne throughout her entire journey and learns just as much as she does about the world they live in. Afterall, Lutz is also just the kid of a low-income family. The life Myne was born into not only serves as a fantastic way to immerse the reader into world-building, but also ends being a great vehicle for exploring the issues of a heavily class-based society. Even in this world completely separate from our own, somehow Miya Kazuki manages to make some pretty bold commentary on class-based society as a whole.

    Most light novels use fairly simple language, but even knowing that I think Miya Kazuki's writing style is even on the simple side of that. I don't blame her for that though, since her world and characters are so incredibly detailed that if she used flowery prose, her series would probably be the biggest and longest light novel series ever made. Some may not like how her style leans more toward "tell don't show" but it is still an incredibly well-written story with very compelling characters. Not to mention that this simpler writing style lends itself to some really great comedy.

That being said, Miya Kazuki’s writing often does that weird thing that happens in anime where something happens on screen and then the characters say out loud what just happened, except in written form. Which sounds terrible, but actually works a lot better in practice. It allows character interactions to flow a lot more freely and the simplistic writing allows for a lot more detail to be added. And due to Miya Kazuki writing the characters the way she does, there’s no boring or immersion-breaking exposition. 

    This writing style is not a product of the translation either. I have had the absolute pleasure of picking up (searching up) the web novel and experiencing Bookworm in Japanese as well. And as a side note; if any of you are upper-intermediate Japanese learners and are looking for Japanese reading material that’s simple enough for you to understand most of it (not mention fun to read), but also offers a bit of a challenge then check out Ascendance of a Bookworm’s web novel here: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4830bu/. Bonus tip: Download the yomichan and/or rikaikun extensions on your browser for optimal reading time. Anyway, I can assure you that the translator behind Ascendance of a Bookworm is not muddling the writing style or the reading experience in the slightest. Miya Kazuki’s story and writing style comes through very nicely in the official releases.

    Ascendance of a Bookworm is one of the most thoroughly realized stories I have had the pleasure of reading and watching. The anime is, of course, quite good, but I also highly recommend the light novel series even if you’ve seen the anime three times over. Miya Kazuki is an amazing writer and the official translations are quite good. If you’re like me though and like to binge series as quickly as possible, you might find yourself waiting aimlessly for more when you finish the anime and current English light novels. If you’re of intermediate or higher Japanese level, you can always read ahead in the Japanese web novels. Or you could seek out similar series. I recommend everything written by Nahoko Uehashi. Her novels are similarly well-realized fantasy stories with anime adaptations. Or, more obscurely, check out the fantasy series, Saiunkoku Monogatari. Its animation and art style gives me a similar sense of nostalgia and also has a great story with compelling characters. Anyway, I hope this review helped to convince you to give Ascendance of a Bookworm a shot, whether that be the anime or light novels. 

[stephanieweberwrites]

Duluth Personal Injury Attorney

Wrongful Death Attorney In Duluth

A wrongful death case is complex and comes with several nuances that need to be accounted for and one in which you may need to hire a Duluth personal injury attorney. With years of legal experience, a compassionate team, and the willingness to work hard, our law firm at Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. is an exceptional option for clients to consider. We have spent a long time working on wrongful death cases and know how to deliver seamless results.

Being in a situation such as this means you need to take decisions as soon as possible. This isn't easy and that's where a quality lawyer is going to deliver an appropriate solution based on your requirements.

Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. is the number one option for all wrongful death cases and is going to make your life easier.

Local Legal Experience in Duluth Georgia

With a case involving wrongful death, it's important to go with someone highly competent and professional. Our law firm has managed to assist numerous clients in this type of situation and it's that experience, which allows us to see long-term success. While piecing together an appropriate solution, we recommend taking the time to sit down with a qualified attorney to learn more about your options. We have spent time in Duluth and recognize how to maximize your options while delivering high-value legal advice. There are many steps a person can take in a situation such as this and that is where we come in.

Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. 4227 Pleasant Hill Rd #300, Duluth, GA 30096 (404) 875-0900

Allow our team to get started with a prominent solution and know it is going to be a world-class strategy moving forward.

We will analyze everything and use our expertise to help build a case that's going to put you in a good position. This is a launching pad for your rights as a citizen and it's important to have competent legal support in the form of our team.

Client-Centered  

Clients are important to us and it's always best to choose a law firm that is going to put your interests first. We are home to the best wrongful death attorneys in the business and continue to use client-friendly solutions to make the process as straightforward as it needs to be. In a situation such as this, you are going to feel overwhelmed with the information sent your way and that is what confuses people. It is recommended to seek a detailed consultation with our firm as soon as possible and then use that as a way forward. We are going to offer a lot of information during the consultation to put your mind at ease.

How are we client-centered when it comes to our legal processes?

We ponder over all relevant details and continue to offer complete legal guidance when it comes to the lawsuit. This information is essential as you look to iron out the finer details and learn more about them. With wrongful death cases, you are going to be inundated with information and that is why we are a good starting point for those who want results.

With the best lawyer by your side, the results are going to pour in the way you want them to.

Prompt Results

While you try to hire a quality law firm, you will want a lawyer that is willing to work hard and is going to set a prompt timeline right away. The average person doesn't want to wait around for the results to pour in and it's important to have the lawsuit heading in the right direction as soon as possible. As a result, we are all about setting quick timelines without cutting corners and will continue to monitor what is going on throughout the process. Having been through this before, we realize what can happen and how the timeline is going to look like. This information is shared during the consultation and will allow you to know more about what to expect.

Instead of going in assuming it is going to take a long time, we can make sure you are aware of the details and how it is going to unfold. This eliminates some of the guesswork that goes into the process from your perspective. With a great lawyer, you can feel certain about the process and how it is going to work.

If you want prompt results, we are going to get the job done for you.

Personal Attention in Duluth Georgia

For a legal case to progress as you want it to, there are several details to account for and it starts with a world-class lawyer. You want someone that is going to provide a personalized solution and will take the time to provide the attention needed for you to feel confident. A case such as this is going to involve several questions and you are going to want all of them answered as soon as possible. When put into a position such as this, we are the ultimate option because of our commitment to providing a comprehensive solution. From day one, we are going to continue to put in the hard yards and focus our attention on you as the client.

This attention is a must as you try to organize everything for the case and ensure it leads to a positive result. This personal attention also includes creating a strategy for your case and making sure you are aware of what is going on from a legal perspective. This is a major requirement when it comes to a wrongful death case. You need to have as much information as possible and it starts here.

Free Initial Consultations

Want to get started with the best attorney in all of Duluth?

With a wrongful death case, you are going to want someone that has seen similar situations in the past and knows what is needed right off the bat. No one prefers the idea of waiting around and hoping for the best. This is what leads to the wrong decisions and puts a tremendous amount of pressure on your life.

To avoid being put into such a predicament, we recommend giving us a quick call and booking a consultation. We are going to have a trusted lawyer ready to assist and that will allow you to learn more about the legal process. We are going to help discuss what the case is about, how it needs to be positioned, and what is going to work in your favor. This information can be a major leap forward for you in a situation that is rather complex.

Rather than giving up and assuming it is a lost cause, we are ready to provide you with the faith needed to win. This is what our consultations are all about as you get started down the right path.

Thousands of Successful Cases

We are not a new name in Duluth and have been serving the local population for years. We have helped thousands of people with similar cases in the past and it is our experience that allows us to feel confident in what we do and how we do it. Rather than worrying about the process and assuming it is not going to work out, our law firm sheds light on what needs to be done next.

Our experience has led to us understanding potential hurdles that can arise during these cases and what to look out for. Instead of being surprised by these hurdles, we have multiple strategies in place to ensure you come out on the right end of things. If that is the level of sophistication and quality you desire then our law firm is the best possible fit.

We are a phone call away and will be ready to get started with our years of relevant experience.  

If you want someone that is going to offer clear-cut advice and is going to have a grasp of what modern law demands then this team is a great place to start. At Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C., we know a reputable law firm is a must and it starts with our team.

Detail-Oriented

It is the details that are going to ensure you feel good about the attorney and what you are getting from our firm. We are not going to push forward with a solution that is below-par or isn't going to meet your requirements. We recognize what is needed to deliver real-world results and that expertise is what allows us to build strong relationships. We are all about learning what you want from us and making sure the process is as detailed as it needs to be.

Whether it is working on the planning phase or putting together evidence, we are not going to skip over key details. This commitment to the process is what allows us to do well on your behalf.

To learn more about what we do as a law firm and why we are such a great fit, please feel free to book a free consultation as soon as possible. We are going to be more than happy to sit down and go through the detail-oriented process with you. This is something we are passionate about and it is a big reason for our success over the years. When it comes to the finer details, we get the job done better than anyone else in Duluth.

International-Grade Quality

The quality you are going to get throughout the process shouldn't vary nor should it feel like you are going to see average results. Having worked hard on our quality control standards, we are committed to doing everything in our power to meet your requirements. To do this, we start by sitting through a comprehensive consultation that is free of cost. This lets both parties learn more about what is going to happen and what is expected of the client to ensure their vision is met. For us, this is an essential part of the legal process and it is something we are never going to overlook because it does matter.

With a wrongful death case, you are going to want someone that can withstand pressure and is going to collect evidence immediately.

With our law firm, the quality is never going to be in question because we are among the finest options in all of Duluth. We have high standards and continue to meet them day in and day out. This is the charm of choosing a firm that is all about professionalism, organization, and an undying passion for our clients and their rights.

A Trusted Duluth Law Firm

Trust is an essential component of modern-day law and that is why our legal team continues to put in the effort in building a positive reputation. We do not offer half-hearted solutions and will make sure to maintain an open line of communication to keep you aware of what's transpiring. We understand how difficult this can be as a wrongful death lawsuit brings along with it several hurdles. For those who want to keep things simple, an attorney from our team is going to be more than happy to assist. We have built trust by understanding what our clients have needed over the years and building cases that put them in the best possible light.

Several situations can arise in a lawsuit such as this and we are equipped to handle all of them. Due to having over 350 years of accumulated experience as a team, we have seen it all and know what is going to come our way during the proceedings. This is a comforting thought for those hoping to avoid dealing with unwanted hurdles along the way. Give us an opportunity and we will take care of it all.

We realize how challenging it can be to pursue a wrongful death case due to the various complications but a qualified lawyer is going to yield tremendous results. It is highly recommended to take a look at our team at Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. and see what we can do for you. All it takes is a quick call to our offices to see what we have to offer. A free consultation is going to be a stepping-stone towards fighting for your legal rights in Duluth.

[datascienceunicorn]

Replicated from my article on Medium (https://link.medium.com/jyp3jUzjuX)

In the classic Data Science Venn diagram a data scientist exists at the convergence of skills in mathematics & statistics, hacking and domain expertise¹. But alongside this is the importance of soft skills in a data science role². To be truly effective a data scientist should possess strong communication skills; be able to negotiate and persuade stakeholders; and ultimately lead projects and teams to success, in a range of commercial or industrial environments.

This motivated me to compile a list of book recommendations for burgeoning data scientists to consider reading as part of their personal development. In my growing responsibilities to coach and lead project teams, I realised that although data scientists are generally very conscientious about their continuous development, they often focus heavily on the technical skills of the role and neglect to balance this with dedicated learnings on the softer skills side. I’ve found it very rewarding to incorporate soft skills learning into my personal development plan, to strengthen my commercial awareness and understanding of how businesses, and more importantly people, operate. And I have encouraged that these learnings be picked up in the projects and teams that I have helped lead, with great effect.

In these recommendations I summarise the key data science learnings from each book that can be put into practice in the role. I focus on the books I think most strongly complement each other to round-out the many soft skills an effective data scientist should hold, gathered from my experiences growing from a Junior role to Senior role and as the Tech Lead on a variety of projects.

“How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” — Dale Carnegie

This was the first ‘self help’ book I read when I transitioned into a data science role, and it was an excellent introduction to the effectiveness of personal development.

Recommended for: anyone who has ever experienced imposter syndrome!

Main message: recognise the cause of your worries, then rationalise them and form a plan to conquer them.

Key learnings for data scientists: when worrying about project briefs, code bugs, presentations to stakeholders, etc. it’s helpful to identify and mitigate the risks, so that you / your team / your stakeholders can be assured things are understood and under control.

Fave quote: “Decide just how much anxiety a thing may be worth — and refuse to give it any more.”

“How to Win Friends and Influence People” — Dale Carnegie

After enjoying Dale Carnegie’s writing style I next read his book on influencing people, which is itself top-ranked as a highly influential book (so meta)! Don’t let the title put you off: the advice is rooted in being your most authentic self, with a focus on interpersonal skills and the importance of empathy.

Recommended for: sociopaths (j/k!) anyone looking to become more empathetic or personable.

Main message: be sincere, honest, positive and humble when engaging others, treating them with genuine interest and respect.

Key learnings for data scientists: various projects and teams will bring together a diverse range of people whom it is important to empathise with to understand their motivations and behaviours so you can bring them on a journey of building an ideal solution, which may or may not align with their initial expectations.

Fave quote: “The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.”

“Thinking Fast and Slow” — Daniel Kahneman

Great book to become aware of the differences between our conscious and unconscious thought processes.

Recommended for: those who want to bring more reasoning and deliberation into their actions and behaviours.

Main message: by recognising our ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ ways of thinking, we can better control the use of logic in our decision making and reduce any overconfidence that stems from emotion or unconscious bias.

Key learnings for data scientists: in the various engagements with people across DS projects it’s useful to understand how both your and their decision-making happens since not everyone involved will think in the same way, so you should tailor your approach to the situation and engage ‘slow’ thinking where necessary.

Fave quote: “He had an impression, but some of his impressions are illusions.”

“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” — Stephen R. Covey

Introduces seven approaches for being effective at attaining your goals, especially when working with others.

Recommended for: those in project management, team leadership, or a consultancy role.

Main message: how to move from dependence to independence (self-mastery) and interdependence (working effectively with others).

Key learnings for data scientists: the effective prioritisation of tasks is demonstrated through measures of urgency and importance (priority matrix of “do”, “plan”, “delegate” or “eliminate”), which is useful for breaking down requests from stakeholders so you can focus on the most valuable parts. Methods to “synergize” a team are outlined to help ensure data scientists are aligned to the same goals and work positively towards them, relying on effective leadership to ensure a “win-win” situation.

Fave quote: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

“The Personal MBA” — Josh Kaufman

A condensed version of the typical lessons covered in an MBA program. It highlights key aspects of business education and strategies with examples.

Recommended for: those with limited business background or training, especially if now working with businesspeople or in a commercial setting.

Main message: the thinking behind effective strategies and decision-making throughout a business model; from evaluating the market and measuring value to building a product and managing uncertainty.

Key learnings for data scientists: stakeholders, higher management, and 3rd party providers or consultants, will all usually have a stronger foundation and background in business than a data scientist. To understand their motivations and essentially speak their language in order to gain their trust, it’s crucial to study business theory; covering forms of value creation & delivery, marketing, finance, psychology, and the function of business models and systems.

Fave quote: “Where there’s hassle, there’s opportunity.” — (Hassle Premium)

“The Bullet Journal Method” — Ryder Carroll

A method for improving your productivity through effective note taking and to-do lists.

Recommended for: anyone who struggles to keep track of their ever-growing to-do list.

Main message: using a simple written system of symbols and rules for recording actions, events and notes, you can improve your productivity.

Key learnings for data scientists: work in tech tends to be fast paced, with various dynamic requests from the business, so it’s important to manage this on a daily level — which is where the bullet journal method can help. A data scientist might wear many hats in one day, compiling various to-do lists that it’s useful to then order and prioritise, so you know what to action now, schedule for the future, or just eliminate if unimportant (see “7 habits…” above).

Fave quote: “Track the past, order the present, design the future.”

The following books hold a variety of logic, reasoning and insight on the softer side of data science & biz-tech skills.

“Freakonomics”, “Super Freakonomics”, “Think Like A Freak” and “When To Rob A Bank” — Steven D. Levitt & Stehpen J. Dubner

These are a fascinating read that show how economics is at the root of so many parts of society, highlighting its importance and influence.

“Adapt: why success always starts with failure”, “The Logic Of Life” and “The Undercover Economist” — Tim Harford

The psychology of people in society is explored through examples of economics at play in business, marketing, strategy and innovation.

“The Four: the hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google” — Scott Galloway “Are you smart enough to work at Google?” — William Poundstone “Outliers: the story of success” — Malcolm Gladwell “The Lean Startup: how constant innovation creates radically successful businesses” — Eric Reis

These books highlight how the ability to think creatively and act on innovation are what current tech companies thrive on and seek to add/grow in their employ.

“The Leader’s Mindset: how to win in the age of disruption” — Terence Mauri “The Five Minute Coach” — Lynne Cooper & Mariette Castellino “How to Develop Self-Confidence and Influence People by Public Speaking” — Dale Carnegie “Getting Things Done: how to achieve stress-free productivity” — David Allen

These four books introduce aspects of good leadership, from having the right mindset and the ability to coach others, to being confident in yourself and able to influence people so they become highly productivity without becoming stressed.

“Nudge: improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness” — Richard H. Thaler & Cass R. Sunstein “A Field Guide to Lies and Statistics: a neuroscientist on how to make sense of a complex world” — Daniel Levitin “The Return of the Economic Naturalist: how economics helps make sense of your world” — Robert H. Frank “Predictably Irrational: the hidden forces that shape our decisions” — Dan Ariely “The Signal and the Noise: the art and science of prediction” — Nate Silver “Struck By Lightning: the curious world of probabilities” — Jeffrey S. Rosenthal “How Not To Be Wrong: the hidden maths of everday life” — Jordan Ellenberg “Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz: making light of weighty ideas” — Edward B. Burger & Michael Starbird

These are some great reads on the use of maths & stats to help understand the behaviours of people and society, how we misunderstand and misjudge our biases, and how to better use probabilities to inform our decisions and the way we evaluate risk and the predictability of outcomes.

“Wake Up! Escaping a life on autopilot” — Chris Baréz-Brown “The Rules Of Life” — Richard Templar “Happiness by Design: finding pleasure and purpose in everyday life” — Paul Dolan “The Algebra of Happiness ” — Scott Galloway

Last, but by no means least, are some books about the importance of a positive and happy mindset; which is a good balance to have in the biz-tech industry because, as much as we work with logic and metrics and efficiency measures, we are not robots and should always invest in our mental health and wellbeing.

I’m curious and interested in anyone’s further recommendations on biz-tech., leadership or soft skills resources for data scientists. These and other resources are gathered at my datascienceunicorn.com blog³. Please hit me up!

P.S. As I’ve compiled this list I’ve realised the dominance of male authors in it and have made a mental note to seek out more female-authored books in these areas. All recommendations welcome.

References

¹ http://drewconway.com/zia/2013/3/26/the-data-science-venn-diagram ² https://towardsdatascience.com/soft-skills-will-make-or-break-you-as-a-data-scientist-7b9c8c47f9b ³ http://www.datascienceunicorn.com

Contact

Twitter: @datascienceuni

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ABOUT TEXT

This lets me get ip addresses and prices intact. 9999 if they occur more than 10 times and. It's the sort of person, you have to be convinced of first? A lot of people seem to think we're on to something. Even then I took embarrassingly long to catch on. That m. Don't companies realize this is a fact of the greatest importance, because it means a startup could do multiple notes at once with different caps.

So you won't attract good hackers in linear proportion to how good an environment you create for them. So steam engines spread fast. Another is when you have one you'll tend to feel that you're late. Once they realized this, they stopped caring so much what investors thought about them. So I don't think it's worth putting a lot of time on the Octoparts than I do with most of the biggest startups got started, they think. Don't just not be evil. They use the same vocabulary as ordinary email. I don't think it's worth putting a lot of VCs are looking for, at least, other hackers can tell. What new things will we be able to describe it as obvious, at least some users who really need what they're making—not just less restrictive than series A terms, but less frightening than the far more common case of having something automatic that doesn't yet solve anyone's problems. In the late nineties you could get users merely by broadcasting your existence, rather than recruiting them one at a time till they feel they have enough.

I suspect people in Hollywood are simply mystified by hackers' attitudes toward copyrights. A good way to do that is to get some message past network-level filters won't be completely useless. For example, the mail from Egypt got nailed because the uppercase text made it look to the filter like a Nigerian spam. The government spying on people doesn't literally make programmers write worse code. When you use the organic method, you don't have that luxury. In a way it's a relief to get some initial set of users by doing a comparatively untargeted launch, and then to observe which kind seem most enthusiastic, and seek out more like them. So make a list and try to imagine what kind of company would profit from their demise. I believe, is the technical term. If you factor out the bootstrapped companies that were actually funded by their founders through savings or a day job, the remainder either a got really lucky, which is a well established field, but there are few in which it varies so much. And the quality of your hackers probably matters more than the language you choose. Ordinary programmers write code to pay the bills.

I don't know anything about malaria. The most likely scenario is 1 that no government will successfully establish a startup hub by reproducing the way existing ones happened, the way to notice startup ideas is hard. Two years ago I wrote about what I called a huge, unexploited opportunity in startup funding: the multi-week mating dance with investors; the distinction between termsheets and deals; the fact that each series A has enormously elaborate, custom paperwork. They just think they need a little more information, and that will get corrected in the process is option pools. When Google was founded, the conventional wisdom among the so-called portals was that search was boring and unimportant. The fake version is not merely to turn off if you want to be using with respect to startup ideas is not to let fundraising get you down. But a programming language isn't just a format. But fortunately there are still some countries that are not copyright colonies of the US and probably the world. So Don't be evil.

People who worry about the increasing gap between rich and poor generally look back on the default explanation of people living in fallen civilizations. That turns out to be a board member to give. And if you want to invest in do things a certain way, what difference does it make what the others do? While the best way to force them to act is, of course, but that's true in a lot of time on sales and marketing. Otherwise their desire to lead you on will combine with your own desire to be led on to produce completely inaccurate impressions.1 In a rapidly growing business as software. When Rajat Suri of E la Carte decided to write software for restaurants, he got a job as a waiter to learn how restaurants worked. Most programmers wish they could start a startup, but startups will probably do better with founders more in control, and there was no doubt some group within IBM developing what they expected to be the early adopters, you'll no longer have a perfect initial market handed to you on a platter. The other kind of spams I have trouble filtering are those from companies in e.

You could parachute him into an island full of cannibals and come back in 5 years and he'd be the king. But when I think back to the first couple months of a startup's life. Perhaps great hackers can load a large amount. We decide based on about 10 minutes of reading an application plus 10 minutes of in person interview, and we ended up getting practically nothing out of it. Com of their name. For companies with mobile apps, especially, having the right domain name is not as entirely useless as the schlep filter. But, as so often happens, fear has clouded their judgement. Let the conversation get general; don't be trying too hard to make their initial users happy.

Notes

It's worth taking extreme measures to avoid companies that grow slowly tend not to have been peculiarly vulnerable—perhaps partly because a friend with small children, with the guy who came to work on open-source projects, even the most successful startups get on the other hand, he wrote a hilarious but also the fashion leaders. This is a list of n things seems particularly collectible because it's a seller's market. It's hard to say that Watt reinvented the steam engine. Other highly recommended books: What is Mathematics?

[theadmiringbog]

Rory’s Rules of Alchemy 

The opposite of a good idea can also be a good idea. 

Don’t design for average. 

It doesn’t pay to be logical if everyone else is being logical. 

The nature of our attention affects the nature of our experience. 

A flower is simply a weed with an advertising budget. 

The problem with logic is that it kills off magic.

--

“The trouble with market research is that people don’t think what they feel, they don’t say what they think, and they don’t do what they say.”    

David Ogilvy

--

Our first recommendation to the client was to listen to what consumers said, but to interpret it laterally rather than literally.                

--

In a sensible world, the only thing that would matter would be solving a problem by whatever means work best, but problem-solving is a strangely status-conscious job: there are high-status approaches and low-status approaches. Even Steve Jobs encountered the disdain of the nerdier elements of the software industry – ‘What does Steve do exactly? He can’t even code,’ an employee once snootily observed.                

--

I think ‘psychological moonshots’ are comparatively easy. Making a train journey 20 percent faster might cost hundreds of millions, but making it 20 percent more enjoyable may cost almost nothing. It seems likely that the biggest progress in the next 50 years may come not from improvements in technology but in psychology and design thinking.                

--

Put simply, it’s easy to achieve massive improvements in perception at a fraction of the cost of equivalent improvements in reality. 

Logic tends to rule out magical improvements of this kind, but psycho-logic doesn’t. We are wrong about psychology to a far grater degree than we are about physics, so there is more scope for improvement. Also, we have a culture that prizes measuring things over understanding people, and hence is disproportionately weak at both seeking and recognizing psychological answers.                

--

Remember the example I gave about asking why people hate standing on trains? When I asked that question, it seemed likely that no adult on the planet had asked that question for the last ten years – it sounded like such a stupid thing to ask. Perhaps advertising agencies are largely valuable simply because they create a culture in which it is acceptable to ask daft questions and make foolish suggestions.                

--

... a heated debate in the 1960s at the ad agency J. Walter Thompson about the reasons why people bought electric drills. ‘Well obviously you need to make a hole in something, to put up some shelves or something, and so you go out and buy a drill to perform the job,’ someone said, sensibly. 

Llewelyn Thomas, the copywriter son of the poet Dylan, was having none of this. ‘I don’t think it works like that at all. You see an electric drill in a shop and decide you want it. Then you take it home and wander around your house looking for excuses to drill holes in things.’ 

This discussion perfectly captures the divide between those who believe in rational explanation and those who believe in unconscious motivation; between logic and psycho-logic.                

--

Would you prefer to think of yourself as a medical scientist pushing the frontiers of human knowledge, or as a kind of modern-day fortune teller, doling out soothing remedies to worried patients? 

A modern doctor is both of these things, though is probably employed more for the latter than the former. Even if no one – patient or doctor – wants to believe this, it will be hard to understand and improve the provision of medical care unless we sometimes acknowledge it.                

--

What happens on average when a thousand people do something once is not a clue to what will happen when one person does something a thousand times.                

--

(In alchemy,) 10 x 1 does not equal 1 x 10.                

--

We can see this diversity mechanism clearly in house hunting. If I were to give you a budget to choose your perfect house, you would have a clear idea of what to buy, but it would typically be a bit boring. That’s because when you have one house, it cannot be too weak in any one dimension: it cannot be too small, too far from work, too noisy or too weird, so you’ll opt for a conventional house. On the other hand, if I were to double your budget and tell you to buy two houses, your pattern of decision-making would change. You would now be looking to buy two significantly different properties with complementary strengths – perhaps a flat in the city and a house in the countryside.                

--

Anyone can easily build a career on a single eccentric talent, if it is cunningly deployed. As I always advise young people, ‘Find one or two things your boss is rubbish at and be quite good at them.’                

--

Complementary talent is far more valuable than conformist talent.                

--

Metrics, and especially averages, encourage you to focus on the middle of a market, but innovation happens at the extremes. You are more likely to come up with a good idea focusing on one outlier than on ten average users.                

--

People don’t use reason to make better decisions, but simply for the appearance of being reasonable.                

--

As any game theorist knows, there is a virtue to making slightly random decisions that do not conform to established rules.                

--

This suggests that the prejudice we apply against a lone black candidate or a lone female candidate might also apply to a lone ‘anything’ candidate.*                

--

In competitive markets, it pays to have (and to cultivate) eccentric tastes.                

--

I had decided before we moved that I wanted to live somewhere interesting, placing more emphasis on the architecture than on the precise location or the number of bedrooms. This eccentric approach certainly minimizes status envy.                

--

It is, after all, a distinguishing feature of entrepreneurs that, since they don’t have to defend their reasoning every time they make a decision, they are free to experiment with solutions that are off-limits to others                

--

We approve reasonable things too quickly, while counterintuitive ideas are frequently treated with suspicion. Suggest cutting the price of a failing product, and your boringly rational suggestion will be approved without question, but suggest renaming it and you’ll be put through grueling PowerPoint presentations, research groups, multivariate analysis and God knows what else* – and all because your idea isn’t conventionally logical.                

--

‘There are two key steps that a mathematician uses. 1) He uses intuition to guess the right problem and the right solution and then 2) logic to prove it.’                

--

Bullmore notes that we tend to frown on those who admit their debt to intuition as opposed to carefully planned experiment.                

--

The argumentative hypothesis* suggests reason arose in the human brain not to inform our actions and beliefs, but to explain and defend them to others. In other words, it is an adaptation necessitated by our being a highly social species. 

We may use reason to detect lying in others, to resolve disputes, to attempt to influence other people or to explain our actions in retrospect, but it seems not to play the decisive role in individual decision-making. 

In my view, this theory has much to commend it. For one thing, it explains why individuals use reason so sparingly, selectively and above all self-servingly. It explains why we are good at contriving reasons for positions we already hold, or for decisions we have already made. And it explains confirmation bias, which leads people to seek out and absorb only that information which supports an existing belief. It also explains ‘adaptive preference formation’, where we change our perception of reality in order to depict ourselves in a better light.                

--

Today, the principal activity of any publicly held company is rarely the creation of products to satisfy a market need. Management attention is instead largely directed towards the invention of plausible-sounding efficiency narratives to satisfy financial analysts, many of whom know nothing about the businesses they claim to analyze, beyond what they can read on a spreadsheet. There is no need to prove that your cost-saving works empirically, as long as it is consistent with standard economic theory.                

--

It is a never-mentioned, slightly embarrassing but nevertheless essential facet of free market capitalism that it does not care about reasons – in fact it will often reward lucky idiots. You can be a certifiable lunatic with an IQ of 80, but if you stumble blindly on an underserved market niche at the right moment, you will be handsomely rewarded. Equally you can have all the MBAs money can buy and, if you launch your genius idea a year too late (or too early), you will fail.                

--

Truly free markets trade efficiency for market-tested innovation that is heavily reliant on luck.                

--

The advertising agency J. Walter Thompson used to set a test for aspiring copywriters. One of the questions was simple: 

‘Here are two identical 25-cent coins. Sell me the one on the right.’ 

One successful candidate understood the idea of alchemy. ‘I’ll take the right-hand coin and dip it in Marilyn Monroe’s bag. Then I’ll sell you a genuine 25-cent coin as owned by Marilyn Monroe.’                

--

No one in public life believes in magic, or trusts those who purvey it. If you propose any solution where the gain in perceived value outweighs the attendant expenditure in money, time, effort or resources, people either don’t believe you, or worse, they think you are somehow cheating them. This is why marketing doesn’t get any credit in business – when it generates magic, it is more socially acceptable to attribute the resulting success to logistics or cost-control.                

--

The reason the alchemists gave up in the Middle Ages was because they were looking at the problem the wrong way – they had set themselves the impossible task of trying to turn lead into gold, but had got it into their heads that the value of something lies solely in what it is. This was a false assumption, because you don’t need to tinker with atomic structure to make lead as valuable as gold – all you need to do is to tinker with human psychology so that it feels as valuable as gold. At which point, who cares that it isn’t actually gold?                

--

One contention in this book is that nearly all really successful businesses, as much as they pretend to be popular for rational reasons, owe most of their success to having stumbled on a psychological magic trick, sometimes unwittingly. Google, Dyson, Uber, Red Bull, Diet Coke, McDonald’s, Just Eat, Apple, Starbucks and Amazon have all deliberately or accidentally happened on a form of mental alchemy.                

--

Preoccupied as they were with the hopeless idea of ‘transmutation’ – the transformation of one element into another – the alchemists failed to experiment with the rebranding of lead.                

--

A great deal of the effectiveness of advertising derives from its power to direct attention to favorable aspects of an experience, in order to change the experience for the better.                

...

I have always thought, for instance, that the word ‘downsizing’, which is used not only as a euphemism for redundancies, but in another sense refers to the voluntary decision by ‘empty nesters’ to move to a smaller and more manageable home, is a very useful coinage. It allows older people in needlessly large homes to portray their move to a smaller house as a choice born out of preference, rather than – as it may otherwise be assumed to be – a compromise born of financial necessity. 

Create a name, and you’ve created a norm.                

--

Reciprocation, reputation and pre-commitment signaling are the three big mechanisms that underpin trust.                

--

What keeps the relationship honest and mutually beneficial is nothing other than the prospect of repetition. In game theory, this prospect of repetition is known as ‘continuation probability.’           

--

To borrow the language of the Michelin Guide, a flower can be ‘vaut l’étape’, ‘vaut le détour’ or ‘vaut le voyage’; ‘worth stopping at’, ‘worth going out of your way for’ or ‘a destination in itself’.                

--

Conversations about the marketing of brands tend to focus on hair-splitting distinctions between fairly good products. We often forget that, without this assurance of quality, there simply isn’t enough trust for markets to function at all, which means that perfectly good ideas can fail. Branding isn’t just something to add to great products – it’s essential to their existence.                

--

Not only do people not know what they want, they don’t even know why they like the things they buy.                

--

The only way you can discover what people really want (their ‘revealed preferences’, in economic parlance) is through seeing what they actually pay for under a variety of different conditions, in a variety of contexts.                

--

The intriguing thing about Uber as an innovation was that no one really asked for it before it existed. Its success lay in a couple of astute psychological hacks: the fact that no money changes hands during a trip is one of the most powerful – it makes using it feel like a service rather than a transaction.                

--

Credit card companies have discovered this already, with promises like ‘Apply now and get approval within 12 hours’ – they found, through testing, accident or experimentation, that this made a difference to people’s keenness to respond.                

--

It seems rather like the lesson that is taught to aspiring journalists: ‘Dog Bites Man’ is not news, but ‘Man Bites Dog’ is. Meaning is disproportionately conveyed by things that are unexpected or illogical, while narrowly logical things convey no information at all. And this brings us full circle, to the explanation of costly signalling.                

--

... Joel’s 50-year-old theory concerning brand preference. The idea, most simply expressed, is this: ‘People do not choose Brand A over Brand B because they think Brand A is better, but because they are more certain that it is good.’                

...

Imagine you’re looking at two televisions. Both seem to be equal in size, picture quality and functionality. One is manufactured by Samsung, while the other is manufactured by a brand you’ve never heard of – let’s call it Wangwei – and costs £200 less. Ideally you would like to buy the best television you can, but avoiding buying a television that turns out to be terrible is more important. It is for the second quality and not the first that Samsung earns its £200, and you are absolutely right to pay for the name in this case.                

--

Eventually the Dutch compiled a sort of phrasebook, which translates British English into Dutch English. 

What the British say // What foreigners understand // What the British mean

I hear what you say // He accepts my point of view // I disagree and do not want to discuss it further 

With the greatest respect // He is listening to me // You are an idiot 

That’s not bad // That’s poor // That’s good 

That is a very brave proposal // He thinks I have courage // You are insane 

Quite good // Quite good // A bit disappointing 

I would suggest // Think about his idea, but I should do what I like // Do it or be prepared to justify                

--

In the same way, you cannot describe someone’s behavior based on what you see, or what you think they see, because what determines their behavior is what they think they are seeing.                

--

It won’t surprise you to know that I am skeptical about the promise of ‘big data’, which is frequently promoted as though it were some kind of panacea. Like many things that emerge from the technology sector, we become so drunk on the early possible benefit of a technology that we forget to calculate the second-order problems.* The evangelists of big data imply that ‘big’ equals ‘good’, yet it by no means follows that more data will lead to decisions that are better or more ethical and fair.                

...

To use the analogy of the needle in the haystack, more data does increase the number of needles, but it also increases the volume of hay, as well as the frequency of false needles – things we will believe are significant when really they aren’t. The risk of spurious correlations, ephemeral correlations, confounding variables or confirmation bias can lead to more dumb decisions than insightful ones, with the data giving us a confidence in these decisions that is simply not warranted.                

--

All big data comes from the same place: the past.                

--

My argument is not that alchemy is always reliable, ethical or beneficial. Far from it – it is simply that we should not recoil from testing alchemical solutions because they do not fit with our reductionist ideas about how the world works.                

--

We have adopted a similarly pragmatic approach in proposals to reduce the amount of uneaten supermarket food thrown out by consumers once it passes a best-before date. Again, we didn’t concentrate on the reasons people shouldn’t waste food, but instead on ways to make unwasteful behavior easier to adopt. Our suggestions have included such childishly simple solutions as including the day of the week on ‘Use By’ and ‘Best Before’ dates on packaging. ‘Use by Friday, 12/11/17’ is a much more useful reminder than a numerical date.* As we have seen in this section, it is only the behavior that matters, not the reasons for adopting it. Give people a reason and they may not supply the behavior; but give people a behavior and they’ll have no problem supplying the reasons themselves.                

--

The marketer’s life can be difficult and lonely. Typically, most of a company’s management will have the mentality of the air traffic controller, with a love of the obvious, whereas the marketer needs to be more like Kramer, with a fear of the obvious.                

--

[lydixa-petal]

First chapter is up of The Bond of a Soulmate, (doubt the name will stay)

Click above for the link to Ao3, but you can also read below. 

Warnings - A little bullying to begin with? and loneliness? 

Word Count - 1815

He was a young boy when his hope began to dwindle away. About 6 or 7, he doesn't remember, when his father died, and his future became the throne.

The marks on his body had flickered for the first time in his life. He had until the end of high school, then his life would be hell. He remembers the purple of his oversized patchwork hoodie and the blurred faces of people, all he could see was the clarity of their eyes, filled with pity and sympathy. His young mind couldn't comprehend the eyes and their tears but only that his dad had left, left them forever for a place his mother had called heaven. Virgil had spent more time alone that he had done in a long time and it’s not because he was grieving, he was being shielded from something, someone by his mother.

The marks flickered again when he turned 9, Virgil's 9th birthday, surrounded by his closest friends when a mysterious woman appeared in the door way of his home. His mother had rushed forward and pushed her back out of the door before she slammed the door behind them both leaving the kids in silence and Virgil could feel himself caving in on himself. Darren took this opportunity to take over and fill the silence, recommending that they play 'Hide and Seek', he volunteered himself to seek for the first round.

The rest of the kids scrambled away as the voices on the other side of the door grew louder, Virgil curling in on himself didn't flinch away when Darren placed a hand on his jeans. He looked up and faced his best friend who offered a small smile as if to ask, 'Are you okay?' Virgil pulled his hood down as he looks up at his friend, the tattoo that coated his neck flickering slightly as he gave a small nod and ran off to hide.

It happened again when he met his Grandmother approximately 2 years later, a Queen from a distant country who told him about his future, that was out of his own reach. He was told about the ceremony he would have to go through, once he was of age and the changes he would have to get through. As his hope slipped once more, his thoughts switched as he struggled to understand her words. His soulmate... would they abide by the rules, even if he didn't want to be a part of this, would they stay with him?

He looked down to watch the midnight colour flicker again, the pale skin replacing the pattern and he felt his heart begin to shatter, his hope flickered away and didn't return as he listened to the woman, he was told was his grandmother. He felt his hand clench as she explained the situation, laws and rules he would have to follow until he became the King of this small country that he didn’t even know existed.

The mark didn’t return after that day.

<3 Soulmates <3

He had forgotten about the mark for a long time. Once he had noticed that the mark was missing, he had done as much research as possible, he found study’s about disappearing marks and what they meant.

‘The disappearance of a soul mark can mean the death of the soulmate.”

But he never dwelled on it again, he hadn’t bothered to read on, he figured his soulmate had died and the little hope that had remained for happiness in his future disappeared immediately.

When he turned 12, he had a huge argument with Darren, in front of the entire school. Virgil had caved in on himself as Darren yelled, kids around them laughing as Darren stepped forward and punched Virgil across the cheek, and his already shaking knees gave out from underneath him as the world tipped. The concrete floor came closer as he threw his hands out to catch himself scraping his palms on the surface. Another blow came to his stomach as he breathed heavily as he struggled to control his thoughts, he winced and let out a groan. The laughter became toxic and it filled him as the insults kept coming, Virgil took blow after blow as he curled up on the floor, his hands holding his head carefully.

At long last, the hits stopped as the bell rang out loudly, kids running back into class as Virgil took his time unravelling himself. He sprawled out on the stone floor as rain began to fall from the sky, dampening his oversized hoodie as the tears ran down his face, pouring over his bruising cheeks and into his hair. He’d lost is only friend in a matter of seconds, and now he was alone.

From that day on the words were engraved into his head, soulless, and his confidence plummeted  he had figured that he could be a nobody, have no friends, until he graduated high school, then he would be shipped off to the small country and become King. That didn’t happen in the end though during tenth grade he had joined a theatre group as a tech guy to pass some extra time, he had met a person called Roman, an actor apart of the group, in fact the lead in the upcoming show.

He was loud and passionate, but he had been careful when first talking to Virgil, which he had stated was because he seemed like he would break anytime anyone came over to talk. Roman had explained how he had wished to talk to everyone apart of their group and make as many friends as possible. Virgil had apologised for not speaking up earlier, and introduced himself, Roman had cut him off, “I know, we have English and Chemistry together.”

How had he missed that?

Had distancing himself from others really resulted in ignoring everything and everyone around him?

They had become friends relatively quickly from that moment on, Roman always careful when he talked to Virgil but sometimes, he would be too much. They had come good enough friends for Roman to invite him to sit with his group of friends at lunch because Roman had notice that Virgil continuously sat alone, in both classes and lunch. “You’re always alone, Virge! Come and sit with me and my friends!” He had been using the same argument for the last few weeks, and he couldn’t deny it. He was always alone.

He had decided that ignoring Roman was useless and agreed to go after weeks of asking, and he met Patton and Logan there. Logan and Patton, two soulmates but also opposites that somehow made their relationship work. “It’s great to meet you, Kiddo! Roman has told us all about you!” Patton had given a bright smile and Logan offered a quick nod.

“Salutations, Virgil.” Logan had said, extending his hand for Virgil to take, which he shook carefully, he was sure his hand was shaking, “My name is Logan, and as he forgot to introduce himself, this is Patton.” Logan gestured to himself and then Patton who beamed and waved.

“I’m usually apart of the performance for the theatre group as well, but this term I decided to help Logan in the student council instead.” Patton explained to Virgil as they began to eat, “I’m glad you finally chose to join us at lunch, Roman said it had taken him ages to convince you.” Virgil gave Patton a startled look, and Patton gave a smile in return, “He talks very highly of you, Kiddo.”

A ghost of a smile appeared on Virgil’s face, he looked up at Roman and then turned back to Patton who was giving him a knowing smile. “Maybe.... don’t we have pre-calc together? I can walk with you and we can sit together if you’d like?” Virgil felt his eyes widen slightly.

“Yea... yeah, ok.” He said quietly, before Logan also joined the conversation, cut in. “We also have Modern History, Physics and Social Science together, if you’d like Virgil, we can all sit with you during class since it seems you sit alone most of the time.” Virgil gave a small nod, he’d like that.

That’s how Virgil made friends for the first time in years.

<3 Soulmates <3

Virgil felt himself smirk as he walked out of Physics with Logan, talking about Doctor Who, which Virgil had found out they had both had a love for. They met with Roman and Patton at the doors of the school and wondered out of the busy corridors and onto the busy street, where they all got into Roman’s car. Roman drove, “I don’t want any of you to crash my beautiful car”, and although they had all given an eye roll, except Patton, who smiled, at his comment they all got into the car without protest and they went to a small café, which they visited commonly after school for drinks.

By the time they had arrived, Roman and Virgil were discussing the up coming Spring Musical and Logan and Patton were having a quiet debate in the back two seats, about whether Doctor Who or Star Wars were better. When they pulled up and Roman parked his car, they got out, Logan carrying his Physics book with him to study as usual, the debate continuing as they walked up to the counter of the small café and ordered their drinks and some small deserts. When they were seated in their booth by the window Logan turned to Virgil cutting Patton off, “Virgil.” Logan had said with quick urgency, making him jump and turn to Logan and Patton who had sat on the other side of the booth to himself and Roman.

“We were talking about this earlier, which is better Doctor Who or Star Wars?” He said, making Virgil and Roman share a look of amusement before Virgil turned back to Logan.

“I, uh, don’t have a preference, I think they are both pretty good.” He had said, smirking as Logan’s face dropped.

“You wanna know what’s really good though?” Roman had said, jumping into the conversation as one of the workers came over with their orders, putting each drink and desert in front of their respective person.

“Game of Thrones.” Roman and Virgil said together with a smirk, sharing a glance. Patton and Logan groaned, their soul marks glowing brightly as Patton brought his White-Hot Chocolate closer to his face and taking a sip. Both Roman and Virgil heard the quiet mumble of ‘not this again,’ making them both laugh quietly together as they both began to chat about where Virgil was currently in the story and how far ahead Roman was already, even though they both started at the same time.

His world had become a lot brighter with them around, little did he know, the forgotten fact would catch up to him soon enough.

let me know if you want to be tagged?

[hereticaloracles]

Astrology in Action: Mac, Arianna and Pete

Helios on this clusterfuck of a love triangle– Okay, so before we dive in here, a couple disclaimers: 1) I don’t care about any of these people- I hate celebrity culture 2) Substance abuse issues and mental illness are real problems, and people deal with them in different ways 3) There are no martyrs in this story, only victims and 4) Dear god, I’m officially old- these idiots are all younger than me and wildly more successful. *sigh*

Basically, the story goes like this- Mac Miller (L) and Ariana (R) were dating. Ariana leaves Mac for various reasons, partially due to his substance abuse problems and generally not being a great boyfriend to her. The man had mental issues. Obviously we don’t see the whole picture unless we are literally in the relationship BUT when you have one person who is running into light poles because hes driving drunk and the whole thing is playing out for the tabloids to see we can put the pieces together. When Ariana leaves Mac she gets a LOT of backlash, being accused of abandoning her man when he needs her most, and she claps back hard, saying “I am not a babysitter or a mother and no woman should feel that they need to be. I have cared for him and tried to support his sobriety & prayed for his balance for years (and always will of course) but shaming/blaming women for a man’s inability to keep his sh** together is a very major problem.” and honestly I want that to be the main takeaway before we dive further and break this down- Ariana was right to leave and NO ONE should ever feel like you are obligated to stay with someone just because of what they might do if you leave. As someone who has stayed for the wrong reasons, don’t repeat my mistakes.

VERY shortly after the breakup, Ariana starts dating Pete Davidson (below), and we were all like WTF, why? How? Wha…? Okay? Cool? I guess? It was inexplicable and weird. They get engaged after like a week, prompting more incredulity. Things start coming out like Ari saying that Pete has a footlong cock or something ridiculous like that and Mac further spirals. This all takes place in the public eye, again. After this, we are entering more murky territory and for reasons of his own, Mac Miller overdoses in an apparent suicide; recent gossip (yesterday, at time of writing) has it that Pete Davidson exacerbated this by sending explicit pics and videos of him and Ariana to Mac, gloating in his sexual dominance. Now, this was most likely not the only reason things played out the way that they did, however it did lead Ariana to break off her engagement to Pete after she found out.

So, that gives me the final piece to put the pieces of this love triangle together, and identify it as a clear playing out of the story of Nessus, Heracles and Dejanira; a fatal centaurian love triangle. I highly recommend that you read the articles before continuing….. Got it? Good. Now, as I said above, there are no martyrs in this story, but there are victims. Lets look at the charts- First, Mac’s. So this is a ROUGH chart, not one I would wish on anyone. He LOATHED the spotlight yet at the same time had an intense internal pressure to pursue it. Full moon charts are always trying to live out their lives within the boundaries of others, and often times go overboard on this. He felt like this was his path to emotional security, and feeling love. Imagine feeling so unloved that you need to seek it from millions of people all at once…. Hell I actually don’t need to imagine that, I absolutely understand that. Now, unfortunately for Mac any pursuit of his ego needs and creative drives brought him face to face with his personal demons, and was living in a hell that he wouldn’t let anyone in on for fear of being rejected. Something big was up, and I’m going to go with deep sexual issues and insecurities there. Now all of them have major buildups in Cancer-Capricorn (mostly Capricorn) so the question comes up for them: How long are you going to last in my life? They are both the ask and the answer for each. If I had been Macs astrologer I would have absolutely recommend that he focus more on making beats, producing and not worrying about the fame or headlining a tour, or anything Solar. He also had a Superman complex in his own mind but to others that most likely didn’t translate, causing more problems when he truly cared about people and wanted to DO for them and show his love. He was ill-equipped to actually do so healthily, but in his own mind he was a hero.

Now, this brings us to Ariana. Easily the Dejanira in the story, she is not exactly innocent. As the one we have a birth time for and the “prize” for these immature boys, her chart is crucial. For starters, Pluto is bearing down on her ascendant and that will be ROUGH for her. Shes feeling it now but its honestly only going to get worse. Second of all, everything she does is a persona. She is cold and calculating, but not at all unfeeling. She WANTS to feel like a prize, something fought over- because internally she struggles with her own value. Additionally, her type is psycho. She attracts those who already have mental issues because they’re easier to manipulate. She likes keeping these men as her prizes and being prized by them, but also keeping the game going and keeping them unbalanced. That being said, it is clear that she did care for both of these men, and wants things to work out- but on HER terms, not theirs. She is willing to sacrifice them for her own happiness and honestly I respect that in her. There is a ruthless streak in this woman and she works every weapon she has- underestimate her at your own peril. That being said, you can only control the game so long….

Enter Pete. Whew buddy, this goddamn chart. Christ… Yes, there is SEVERE mental issues on display here (which he has NEVER denied, in fact he is very vocal about his issues, which leads to more visibility which helps others) but holy hell the darkness in this man… He gets off on gaslighting his partners and keeping them in the dark as to his true nature.  He is radically unhinged, controlling, manipulative, toxic, radically impulsive and I honestly don’t think he can even experience love. As in I don’t believe that he lets it pierce his heart, he is trying so desperately to control himself when he wants to just unleash his full crazy- and one day he’ll stop holding himself back.  That’s a definite. And what’s more, he relishes when he loses control. Like, he REVELS in his crazy. This chart is DANGEROUS. Like… woof. Jung would have a field day with him. He despises that he has to control himself and despises society for making him feel inadequate for his brain chemistry. He despises all of us as well, and thinks we judge him too harshly (which, I mean… okay we do).

Its easy to paint these people with broad strokes using their charts, but the truth of the matter is that we’re all more than our charts. Its our choices that matter, not our placements. And while you could say that Pete is the Nessus to Mac’s Heracles, the truth is they have the signature for both archetypes within them, and both are foils of each other. Ariana’s Dejanira is pulling both of their strings but Pete is FAR better at the game than she is, and is willing to flip the board over to win, while she is not. Mac was struggling and was willing to do whatever it took to make the pain stop, while the other two are not (as of yet). I will not cast Mac as a hero because honestly he would have wanted to be cast as a martyr when he doesn’t deserve it. Pete is more than an anime villain, but goddamn is he broken. These are three very immature and very broken people who were all wrong for each other, but their collision burned hot and bright for all of us to see- Not to mention it makes a hell of a story. Venus Retrograde brought out the truth and this all happened under her shadow, as she walked the Via Combusta. This is her story, and it is the retelling of a much older tale, of love gone sour.

Love better. Live better. Set yourself free from toxic love, no matter how much it hurts to purge yourself or what it costs you. The alternative is *waves hands at the train wreck of these three children* THIS.

Astrology in Action: Mac, Arianna and Pete was originally published on Heretical Oracles

[comptiaaplustrainingcourse]

A Roadmap to CompTIA Certification

In the last few decades, Information Technology has been one of the most revolutionary industries and the landscape of IT trends has changed significantly. The world is changing fast, and it is the technology that is shaping the future. Technology offers various tools to promote the development and to interchange information. Information technology has become vital to our lives as it helps to deal with every day's dynamic things making tasks easier and to solve numerous problems. With the rapid growth of the internet, it is extremely recommended to always protect data because anyone can misuse it. The future of Information Technology brings unparalleled possibilities, while new technologies arose, and few others are losing their impulse.

 Information Technology offers a rewarding career to all graduates. However, there is no denial of the fact that this industry is not free from challenges. One cannot choose this sector without learning more about the prospects, as neglecting the truth will lead to unalterable career blows. Undoubtedly, today, a student with a degree, can get a job easily, but what about tomorrow. So, the first step would be to explore the options and opportunities before finalizing the career path.

 NetCom Learnings has partnered with CompTIA, the world’s leading tech association, to offer a CompTIA certification path that helps professionals secure satisfying careers.

 Benefits of a CompTIA Certification

Earning a CompTIA Certification will build you a career that promises better pay and benefits. Here’s why: With CompTIA, one does not only study the material but also attempts to apply the skills in real-world scenarios as much as possible and learn a lot and be knowledgeable when it comes to interviews. Furthermore, companies also value and look for CompTIA certification while hiring.

 CompTIA’s certifications are designed by IT industry experts to help you secure high-paying IT jobs in the world's biggest organizations from across the globe while also helping you lead a better work-life balance. With that said, CompTIA Certifications are held by more than 1 million people across the globe.

 Choosing the right IT certification course

 Set a goal - If you aim to extend your pay, as an example, you'll select a very high-demand certificate program. If you want to build your skills, consider a program that enables consecutive progressive certificates. Likewise, if you looking to get proficient in Cybersecurity, certification like CompTIA Security+, could give you the foremost up-to-date coaching in the market.

 Follow your passion - It's necessary to settle on a certification that you just have an interest in. Stay away from pursuing a certification simply because your friends have decided to take it up as it won't be of much value to you and your career. Perpetually judge your interest, potential, and skills before embarking on a certification journey that suits you.

 Practical and Theoretical Combination - Each field, even in information technology, lies a theoretical understanding and sensible coaching of learning along with totally different tools and software systems on the market. Therefore, you want to seek a training institution that will impart knowledge and skills in each aspect. If you merely perceive theoretical aspects, you'd be incapacitated once it involves the sensible implementation of the information and vice-versa.

 Pick licensed coaching centers - Choosing authorized training establishments can help you develop the specified IT skills. With IT coaching centers mushrooming across the country, selecting the one which will be able to assist you in mastering all the nuances of your domain could be a major task.

 Know the reviews regarding certificates - Not all certifications are developed identically. In the same way where you are likely to check the reviews of a restaurant before you go out to dine, be sure to investigate how certificates in the same subject offered by various companies might yield different outcomes. This might include varying time commitments, opportunities to retake the certification exams or specific industry recognition.

 Plan for Recertification - Keep in mind to be additionally savvy as long your certification lasts. Some never ought to be revived, however, others need recertification. If you decide to pursue a track that features recertification, set up how you will maintain your skills throughout the year and build a system to trace your progress. Additionally, it is not uncommon to set up ahead for an associate degree or initial certification. Perceive any pre-existing conditions and set up consequently.

 No matter your reasons for pursuing in-demand certification, it is crucial to settle on a program that matches your career goals. By following the above-mentioned steps, you will be able to precisely verify the variety of certificates you are searching for. By successfully finishing a certification, you will quickly see yourself in a highly satisfying and rewarding career.

 The Future of Information Technology and Cybersecurity

 The greatest challenge of the IT industry in the future is Security. Since the first existence of computer viruses in 1971, there have been concerns regarding cyber threats. Security could have adverse consequences on the connectivity to public networks. If these issues could not be efficiently handled, it would lead to a time of closed, private networks and less information sharing. Today’s IT professionals are facing a sophisticated generation of cybercriminals. Hackers are invading more layers of the hardware-software stack, and with new connected devices being added to corporate networks, there is an increasing number of potential entry points to target.

 At the same pace as our society is becoming more and more digitized, there is also more and more to win by exploitation. Individuals and organizations are looking to earn money illegally, to those who want to spy on countries/businesses/individuals and those who just want to show that they can. Cybersecurity experts strive to stop them, to out-perform the hackers. One of the most crucial information security and risk management strategies is to emphasize protection at every point in the network.

 Scope of Cybersecurity

 With all said and done, the scope and demand of Cybersecurity is increasing each day and many aspirants are willing to study and start their career in the same industry. The newest trends in the IT industry evidently show that information security will stay to be in the spotlight of focus for years to come. Across the board, a Cybersecurity career provides competitive remuneration, growth probability, job security, fascinating day-to-day tasks, and the chance to create a difference. Cybersecurity careers have a huge variety of different avenues that are fit for diverse personality types.

 Keeping business and customers’ data secure will be among the biggest future IT trends and requirements. Thus, corporations will need to identify ways to ensure data security without enormous investments. But the rub is that the industry is facing a scarcity of Cybersecurity specialists who know how to effectively evaluate, organize, and prevent these innovative technologies from malicious attacks.

 Cybersecurity as a career path

 If you consider yourself as a digital native, having an eye for details, identifying what could go wrong, curious and accepting new challenges, methodical, and a strong communicator you are on the right path to start your career in Cybersecurity.

 Cybercriminals are constantly evolving with the help of new tools and strategies, so information security analysts must be up to date on the most recent technologies to mount a persistent defense mechanism. One must also support and follow the best practices for security within the company and will work jointly with various business units. If you are employed by a software organization, there could entail meeting periodically with managers to ensure security measures are accounted for in the development life cycle. A penchant for learning programming languages, new technologies, and the latest trends in the industry and a degree or certification in Cybersecurity from a renowned institution are imperative qualities for a successful Cybersecurity career.

 Kick Start Your Cybersecurity Career with CompTIA Certification Pathway

 CompTIA is a leading vendor-neutral certification body providing certification training programs for IT professionals across the spectrum from beginners to experts. For two decades, CompTIA has developed examinations that certify professionals in computing support, security, networking, cloud, open-source (Linux) development, and mobility. Their certification training helps you master the core skills such as designing, implementing, managing, and safeguarding.

 As a Gold partner of CompTIA, NetCom Learning helps businesses to upskill their employees’ knowledge with the help of in-demand CompTIA training courses. We have multiple training delivery methods like e-Learning, Instructor-Led Training (ILT), Virtual Instructor-Led Training (vILT), and Private Group Training.

 There are four major CompTIA certification paths available:

  CompTIA Core skill Certification - For every     aspirant in IT, there are a basic set of skills that will act as a     foundation and will lead towards success. These skills are endorsed by     CompTIA’s core skills certifications through CompTIA IT Fundamentals+     (ITF+), CompTIA     A+ Training, CompTIA     Network+ Training, and CompTIA     Security+ Certification. Ideal for beginners, these certifications     focus on specialist roles and builds a firm groundwork, helping you become     a well-rounded IT professional. This provides you with an opportunity to     move into whatever career path you choose.

  CompTIA Cybersecurity Pathway - Data violation has become a     part of our digital world and it is happening daily due to multiple     factors. With the increasing the number of hackers, cybercriminals, and     scammers, it is vital that organizations to take a proactive standpoint to     protect data, systems, and networks by employing skilled Cybersecurity     professionals. CompTIA     Cybersecurity Pathway will teach you IT security behavioral analysis,     testing, and penetration, and implementation of security systems. By     earning certification from CompTIA PenTest+, CompTIA CASP+, or CompTIA     CSA+ you are proving to employers that you are the best suited for the job     and have the skills required to protect the firm from cyberattacks and     threats.

  CompTIA     Infrastructure Pathway - Infrastructure is     the core of IT operations. All aspects like security, mobility, agility,     and resiliency rely on sturdy network architecture. To execute, support,     and troubleshoot modern IT infrastructure, IT professionals require skill     sets in physical server maintenance, endpoint support, virtual systems,     cloud architecture, network configuration, storage planning, and security.     By choosing the CompTIA Infrastructure Career Pathway one can obtain     certifications on CompTIA Server+, CompTIA Linux+, CompTIA Cloud+ and gain the necessary skill sets to support and manage IT     infrastructure.

  Professional Skills Certification - CompTIA Project+, CompTIA     Cloud Essentials, and CompTIA CTT+ are focused on managing an enterprise     and taking a career to the next level. CompTIA Project+ provides insight     into concepts on how to successfully run projects. CompTIA Cloud     Essentials+ offers the essentials needed to make informed cloud service     decisions that will suit both IT and non-IT professionals. Whereas the     CompTIA CTT+ is trusted by leading organizations, verifies essential     teaching modalities, and makes you teach with confidence.

 Undoubtedly, the IT industry is a stream, which can positively modify one’s destiny. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, the future of Cybersecurity is very demanding, and it will be a golden opportunity if you have a degree or certification in this field. With that said, the caliber of the professionals plays a pivotal role in the success of their careers.

 So, why waste time in the arduous task of looking for various institutions to acquire valued certification. Get in touch with NetCom Learning and unlock a bright and rewarding career path with CompTIA Certification. Students and professionals from across the globe are welcome to enroll for the certification and build a thriving Cybersecurity career.

[themotivationjournals]

25 of the Best Self-Improvement Books To Read Before You Turn 25

Topic: Literature, Books, Lists || by STAFF

When it comes to self-improvement books, readers’ opinions don’t meet in the middle. Others feel empowered and committed by the helpful words they encounter, while the other half believes self-improvements book are phony. Regardless, every human being should read at least one self-improvement book in their life, and we have rounded up the best 25 to check out before turning 25!

Whatcha Gonna Do with That Duck?: And Other Provocations – Seth Godin

This book is a masterpiece, and unlike most self-improvement books, this one targets an infinite array of areas in which you can, and ultimately must, improve. With its ruthless honesty and genuine inspiration, Godin makes you ponder the difficult questions you wouldn��t ever dare to ask yourself. The result is a completely new perspective of the world- a fresher, more vibrant perspective, packed with new and bold possibilities. If you need a friend that understands, a boss that forces you to venture deep in your non-comfort zone, a wise guru that tells you what needs to be left behind and a sage that proclaims the coming of a new age, then look no further; you will find these shrewd voices all tied together in this magnificent book. Make sure to get this one.

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Perhaps it is the fact that randomness played such a significant role in my years as a poker player that I find this book utterly important. We often attribute skill where there is only luck; we confuse correlation with causation and we underestimate the incredible effect small changes can have. This book and my time at the tables gave me a perspective I unfortunately rarely encounter in others: you can do everything right and still lose, or do everything wrong and still win. It is thus not about the outcome; it is about your actions that have lead you there. This important message is central to many of my decisions I make in my life and this book by Taleb helps you develop such a perspective so you will be able to live in a world one cannot fully understand, where the results are not always clear markers of performance and where chance seems to play games with our fates. Stop being fooled by randomness!

The 48 Laws of Power – Robert Greene

I read this book in a time where I thought power was something I should attain. Power for power’s sake. And while I disagree with my former self on this point, the fact remains that power is very real, it forms the invisible scepter of all hierarchical relations around us. I still recommend this book; I believe it is important to know how people use power for their own benefit and what to do to protect yourself from certain abuses of power. Besides the fact that all stories in this book gravitate around power, it contains many life lessons, amazing historical anecdotes and, if read in a certain light, the ability to use power for good. From Caesar to Goethe, Sun-Tzu to Machiavelli, this eye opening book spans a wide range of human development. If you, like me, would rather be interested in something less egotistical, perhaps Greene’s latest book Mastery will suffice (I haven’t read that one myself). Another great book in the same style, but this time around, covering a wider scope, and, perhaps, something that will make the world make a better place.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change – Stephen. R. Covey

The title of this book doesn’t capture it all. Covey shares with us seven habits one should adapt to become truly effective in whatever you would like to achieve. Of course, it is not as easy as it sounds. He stresses the fact that we need to go through a paradigm shift – a fundamental change in how we perceive the world and ourselves. This book can be read as a guide, with practices and everything, to go through the stages in order to make such a shift happen. Part shock-therapy, part ageless spiritual wisdom,Covey’s book is packed with wisdom that actually makes a difference. And, as I mentioned, don’t let the title of the book fool you; it is about much more than just becoming more effective. It is about becoming a whole integer person who not only seeks the best in oneself, but also in the people around her. A must read for anyone who feels there is always something left to learn.

The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys – James Fadiman

While finding a book on psychedelics in a list of books on self-improvement might come as a surprise, I believe any metaphysical distinction between tools such as books, meditation or molecules hold no ground and they should all be solely judged on their merits. And the merits of certain chemical keys, used in a constructive way, are perhaps bigger than any book in this list. The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide will teach you how to prepare yourself and your surroundings, what and how much to take, and what do do when something goes wrong, so you can safely enhance your thinking, creativity, introspection and emotional balance. This book contains everything you need to know about using psychedelics as a tool for self-improvement while drawing on extensive scientific literature and personal wisdom. A must have for the beginning and experienced psychonaut alike.

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time – Brian Tracy

We all know how that destructive downward spiral feels. We have to do some big task, of which the thought alone triggers resistance, not sure how and where to begin and feeling overwhelmed before we start; we get easily distracted to get rid of that feeling, only to suddenly realize that hours went by- precious hours- and then find ourselves in the same position as before, still not knowing where and how to begin, but now, feeling guilty on top of it which expresses itself in more craving for distraction.

To break this spell of procrastination before it paralyzes us, Tracy advises us to Eat That Frog, to set our priorities straight, deconstruct larger tasks into smaller ones, learn when to tackle the big frog first or to start out with something else. Tracy is truly a motivational writer, and while I wished he had gone a bit deeper into the psychological reasons why people procrastinate, it is still a must have for anyone who wants to break the spell and get shit done. 

Think and Grow Rich: The Original 1937 Unedited Edition – Napoleon Hill

A from 1937, this book by Hill is a masterpiece. Don’t bother with the edited versions since they all omit important and controversial information: some historical, and some pertaining to the goal of the book, which is to think and grow rich. The word rich might imply that this book is all about material gain, and while it certainly covers that area, it is about much more than that. Perhaps the first explicit mention of positive thinking, on how to care not just about the cash in your pocket, but also the thoughts in your head, this book has been able to withstand the destruction of time. It covers all the basics from planning, decision making and persistence, to the more advanced techniques as auto-suggestion, transmutation and what we can learn from fear. This is not a grow rich book, but a timeless guide to find out what actually matters. As it says clearly in the beginning ‘Riches can’t always be measured in money!’

The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind – Alan Wallace

In a world that is dominated by ever stronger technologies designed to grab hold of your attention, a way to empower yourself is to bring that attention back to where you want it to shine. This book offers just that; in The Attention Revolution, Wallace describes the path to attaining Shamatha, a buddhist meditation state of mind that is free from any flickering of distraction. It is a hard and long path, probably not possible for us to reach in this lifetime. However, even getting to stage two or three will make everything in life easier. A wonderful introduction to meditation, The Attention Revolution will inspire you to take on the challenge and see what training your mind can actually achieve. Once you have achieved such a level of focus you can put it to use to open your heart with the practice of The Four Immeasurables or deepen the practice with this wonderful commentary by Dudjom Lingpa, both by Alan B. Wallace.

The Paleo Manifesto: Ancient Wisdom for Lifelong Health – John Durant

In the last 10,000 years or so it seems we have been propelled into an ever faster paced world forged by our own hands and minds. Only recently have we been able to reconstruct our journey and reflect back upon our humble origins. This amazing book is such a reflection. It goes back to the paleolithic searching for answers to health and longevity. Between science and his personal experiments, Durant weaves a mind blowing story that will convey the importance of an evolutionary perspective on how to live well. It covers everything from nutrition to exercise, from sleep to fasting, from ancient practices to modern biohacking and even has an outline for a vision of the future where depression and obesity have become obsolete. If you only have room for a couple of books on this list, make sure this one is included.

Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation – Daniel J. Siegel

As my Burmese meditation teacher often proclaimed, ‘Mindfulness alone is not enough!’ Siegel seems to have taken this to heart and made an unique synthesis between meditation, psychoanalysis and neuroscience which he calls ‘Mindsight‘, as he says himself, a potent combination between emotional and social intelligence. All of us deal with some disorder or another, something that seems to disturb the very core of our being at ease, and while it might not always be the best strategy to want to get rid of it, it certainly helps to understand and have compassion for that little aspect that upsets that perfect image of ourselves. Brimming with techniques, insights and epiphanies, this book contains everything you need to know to reprogram your brain and to optimally use its capacity of neuroplasticity. A great book for spiritual seekers and scientists alike.

How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie

This is the first self-improvement book I have ever read and it is also probably one of the oldest in this category. Written in 1937, mainly for the door to door salesman of that era, this book by Carnegie can truly be called a classic. It shows what we all intuitively know: it doesn’t matter what your line of work is or what you want to achieve- if you are doing business of any kind, you need to make it about the other person. Being nice helps, a lot. And while I might not fully defend the premise of this book, because it doesn’t distinguish between genuine interest and faking it to get what you want, it still contains a treasure chest full of timeless wisdom. Everybody wants to feel appreciated, and rightfully so. Learning to take a small effort to make someone’s day will make the world run smoother, no matter what your goal is. I still spontaneously remember some of his guidance, and perhaps this quality is the reason why this book still draws millions of readers to this day.

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy– David D. Burns

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the most effective therapy used by psychologists today; it consists of identifying thought patterns that have a detrimental effect on your self-image and mood, and deconstructing these in order to break out of these destructive cycles. If you want to know how this works, which moods are central in your life, what thought patterns are causing your depression, how to overcome self-judgment and guilt, how to defeat approval and love addiction and how your self-perfectionism is hindering you, then don’t look further; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has helped millions of people and it can help you, and this is the best book for the job. Packed with scientific research, exercises and examples, this is the best improvement your self is going to get.

Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life – Maxwell Maltz

What can a plastic surgeon tell us about happiness? By dealing with his patients, Dr. Maxwell Maltz experienced firsthand that having your expectations come true doesn’t automatically result into a more positive life experience. Their outward appearances did indeed change but their inner insecurity remained. This caused him to find other means to help his patients, resulting in visualization techniques. He found a person’s outer success can never rise above the one visualized internally. This book carries a very honest and humbling story, loaded with fundamental truths about our psychology and how our own philosophy affects us, all told by a very compassionate writer. Of some books it can be said that it will be valuable for years to come, and I am absolutely positive that this is one of them.

Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman

This brilliant book by Nobel prize winner Daniel Kahneman is a lucid account of all the amazing research he has done over the years. He is the founder of behavioral economics – the way our psychology affects our decisions – and explains in simple prose how our thinking is divided in two systems: one fast and one slow. The fast one is almost instant; it consists of the hardwired instincts that govern emotions, a remnant of an evolutionary past, an unconscious irrational machine. The slow one is deliberate, self-reflexive and logical, but can easily be distracted and takes a lot of effort. Both play a large role in our lives and Kahneman explores when the fast system fails and why the slow system is often not utilized. Packed with mind blowing examples and sharp analyses, this book teaches you how to learn to make sound judgments, and use the best of both systems.

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything – Chris Hadfield

A few extraordinary people journey to the edge of our world and come back with a unique story to tell. Colonel Hadfield is such a person, and his story is perhaps the most important one in this list. While the other books in this list teach you to be independent, visualize your future and dream big, this astronaut’s guide turns these all upside down. A truly remarkable book, overflowing with mind-blowing stories that illustrate the life lessons he learned as one of the most accomplished astronauts that ever lived.Full of compassion, warmth and genuine self-reflexive humor, he conveys to us to be prepared for the worst and never let yourself be swayed from enjoying every moment. Part action story, part no-nonsense hard truth and part timeless spiritual wisdom, this book makes you feel like you stepped onto a rocket ship and experienced what he did while learning these most valuable lessons on the way.

Perfect Health Diet: Regain Health and Lose Weight by Eating the Way You Were Meant to Eat – Paul Jaminet & Shou-Ching Jaminet

No self-improvement list is complete without a nutrition book and the Perfect Health Diet is arguably the best diet book on the market now. If you are overweight or not, feel sick, or just looking for an extra boost in health (and keep it this way), then look no further. From reading decades of studies the authors construct the optimal way to eat, destroying popular food fads in the process. They explain in sufficient detail the optimal macro-ratios, which starches are safe, which vitamins and supplements to take and what foods, or what they call toxins, to avoid. This book is a great supplement to the Paleo Manifesto as it shares its basic evolutionary perspective; we were evolved to eat non-toxic, high fat, moderate protein and carbohydrates. And, sometimes, going around with no food at all, can be a very healthy thing. If your body is not in optimal health, then it is almost no use to read the other books. Make this your priority number one.

Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success – John C. Maxwell

At one time or another, we will all fail. What matters most is how you deal with it once you do. Will you give up? Or will you use it as a stepping stone for success? I recently read an article about new start-ups in silicon valley. Its hypothesis was the more you had failed in the past, the more likely you were going to get funding. Why? Because failing teaches you invaluable lessons, and if you decide to continue after you hit the pavement, the more you have it in you to deliver. Now, this is not in anyway our instinctual reaction to failing. Most of us dread it, avoid it or refuse to fail at all costs. All three are by far sub-optimal. It is far better to accept failure where it arises, to accept responsibility and use it as a way to learn about yourself and your weaknesses. Only when you are absolute honest with yourself with respect to failure can you hope to grow. This wonderful book will teach you how to do exactly this. A honest book for everyone searching for a clean mirror.

The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle

The Power of Now hardly needs any introduction. It is perhaps the book that has had the most impact on our collective consciousness in recent years. It inspired millions of people all over the world to live a more fulfilling and compassionate life, all through the practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness consists of moment to moment non-judgmental awareness. It is a technique that alleviates depression, increases emotional intelligence and develops compassion- and only recently has come to the west, which remained weary and skeptical until science had validated a wide array of its claims. The brain can be trained. The Power of Now teaches you how to release your attachment to certain thoughts and states of mind, thereby clearing the mind to fully embrace the present moment. If you already have read this book and are looking for deeper understanding, read Wherever You Go, There You Are.

The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch

At some point or another, almost all of us has come across The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. (If you haven’t, watch this powerful message here.) What would you say when you only have a few months left to live? This was probably Pausch’s question he posed to himself when he had to deliver his lecture a week later. But being confined to an academic setting and short time frame he felt he had more to share, thus marking the birth of this book. Filled with stories about his childhood, it is a very down to earth exploration of what it means to chase your dreams, to be a good person and live a life that gives value to others. A beautiful mixture of humor and optimism, his tender voice will be a source of inspiration for everyone who will take the time to listen, something he tried to impart on his readers. A very lovely read. And don’t forget, ‘It’s not about the cards you’re dealt, but how you play the hand.’

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead – Brené Brown

I love Brené Brown’s books. She writes about an insight that I have found to be scary but true at the same time.Vulnerability, unlike we have been taught, is not a weakness, but a power to be tapped. Growing up with the idea that we have to hide certain parts of ourselves, to look strong and persevere at all costs always seemed a facade to me. And now she has the research to back that up. From that place of vulnerability comes a sense of worthiness, which for most of us, needs to be cultivated every day. Only if we get in touch with that tender spot of our hearts can we connect with others and develop genuine compassion, which are prerequisites, Brown tells us, for living a ‘wholehearted life.’ The reality, however, is that we often close down, feel neglected and misunderstood, and rather want the vulnerability and perhaps even ourselves to disappear. This book is an amazing antidote for that common instinct. Want to be truly convinced? Check out her amazing ted talk here.

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark – Carl Sagan

We all find UFO’s fascinating. We all really want to believe in magic or visiting aliens (surely the crop circles are conclusive proof!) and some of us believe the government is poisoning us with chemtrails. At the same time we are fascinated by the progress made by science, by all the new technology and medicines and the fascinating discoveries being made on a daily basis. Clearly, for the average person, it is quite hard to make a distinction between one claim or another – most of us are scientifically illiterate.Carl Sagan fought his whole life against such unreason and claimed that missing this ability to distinguish valid claims from hogwash could plunge us back into the dark ages. This book is perhaps his best on this subject, filled with examples and his eloquent mesmerizing voice, The Demon-Haunted World is a How To guide to arm you against manipulation masked as information. A must read for anyone who still feels the temptation to click sensationalist sophistry.

Philosophy for Life – Jules Evans

As philosopher Sloterdijk puts it; ‘philosophy is a beautiful child of an ugly mother.’ Philosophy first arose when the old Greek polis states were at the brink of destruction. Philosophy, according to Sloterdijk, was not just a way to make sense of the world, to come to knowledge or truth, but to serve as a psychological immune system. This book is an amazing expression of this perspective. From the stoics to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Jules Evans writes about some of the amazing philosophical techniques we can use to train and improve our cognitive immune systems. He weaves ancient stories with modern applications, from heroism to cosmic contemplation, Philosophy for Life a beautifully written book that makes it easy to understand the practical nature of philosophy. Perhaps the book would have been better if he would have gone deeper into the subject matter, but nonetheless he captures the essence of what philosophy can mean for the modern person. A must read.

Man’s Search For Meaning – Victor. E. Frankl

If I had to pick one book from this list for mandatory reading I would choose this one. For three years Viktor Frankl labored in four different Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz. He tells us about his experience and that of his fellow prisoners. Both chilling and uplifting, confronted with the idea that they would be trapped there for the rest of their lives, he gives us an account of those who found meaning and those who succumbed to nihilism. A blend between a memoir, a psychological investigation and a self-help book, Frankl delivers a powerful message: finding meaning lies at the core of being human. From his own experience as a psychiatrist combined with anecdotes from his time in the concentration camps, he tells us how important it is to find meaning in our own lives and what we can become if we don’t. Suffering, he conveys to us, is inevitable. But as to how we cope with it is dependent on ourselves. If we can find meaning, even in the worst acts our species has ever inflicted upon his fellow man, we will be able to move forward with renewed purpose.

Simplify – Joshua Becker

This is a fun little book written by Joshua Becker, a big proponent of minimalist living. We all know that quote from Fightclub: “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.” Well, this is ending. Slowly we are outgrowing an era where the unquestioned mantra ‘more is always better’ dictates our behavior. Rather, we now find ourselves, our lives and our homes cluttered with too much information, too much stuff and just too much shit we don’t need. This simple book helps you become aware of the freedom gained from living with less. It is a small book, easily read under an hour, but it carries a persuasive punch to start living live in a very different way.

Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It – Kamal Ravikant

The fundamental ground upon which all true self improvement is build is called self-love. Because in the end, no matter which way you turn, if you don’t love yourself, you will sabotage yourself at one point. You will think that, for some reason or another, you are not worthy. And if you think that, why would you truly want to achieve anything? And this is not just about achievement. This is about how you approach yourself every day; this is what you see when you look in the mirror. We make so many snap-judgments about ourselves- often without being conscious of them- that are filled with negativity, haltering us before we can even begin to heal. This powerful book shows you the antidote. Self love. Not to be confused with creating some narcissistic image of ourselves that some previous books in this list implicitly endorse, but self love, that inner gratefulness that no external condition can take away. Self love, that infinite source you can share with others.

Which one is your favorite?

Is a book missing in the 25 Best Books on Self-

Improvement You Need to Read Before You Turn 25? Thank you for reading :)

[THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY LIFEHACK]

[podcastdx]

Fibromyalgia & POTs

Jason is an engineering graduate who reinvented himself as a podcaster and chronic illness/disability advocate after developing fibromyalgia and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). He is the host of Discomfort Zone, a podcast featuring immersive stories on chronic illness and disability that showcase our vulnerability, wellness, and resilience. He and his guests find comfort by turning towards discomfort, welcoming it, and laughing at it. 

Jason is the youngest of three kids and the proud uncle of his nephew and niece. He was born and raised in Toronto, Canada where he currently lives with his Mom and Dad. On occasion, he helps with the dishes and does his own laundry. In his spare time, he can be found throwing grapes in the air, trying to catch them in his mouth, dropping them, dusting them off, and trying again.

    s8e9 Fibromyalgia and POTs TRANSCRIPT

Lita T  00:08  Hello, and welcome to another episode of podcast dx, the show that brings you interviews with people just like you whose lives were forever changed by a medical diagnosis. I'm Lita, Ron is not with us today.

Jean  00:20  And I'm Jean Marie.

Lita T  00:21  Collectively, we're the hosts of podcast dx. And today's show, we're talking about Fibromyalgia, POTs and chronic fatigue syndrome with Jason Herterich. I hope I'm getting that right. He'll correct me in a minute (laughter) Jason is the host of a podcast called "The Discomfort Zone", and co host of the podcast, "Invisible, Not Broken". He's joining us today from one of our favorite cities, Toronto. Hello, Jason. Thanks for joining us today.

Jason  00:35  You are Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I've been looking forward to this.

Jean  00:56  Thanks. Yeah, actually, I just saw Margaret Atwood was posted. She was cleaning up trash outside of her, you know, on along the street in Toronto. And it looked a little bit chilly.

Lita T  01:08  Yeah, it's it's chilly here too.

Jason  01:11  It sure is.

Jean  01:12  Well, Jason, before we get into your diagnosis, and that, I'm just curious what led you to hosting your own podcast.

Jason  01:20  So it was really organic, how it happened, I had fallen really ill in 2016 and 2017. And one of my friends just suggested that I should get into listening to podcasts, I had become very, very ill. And I spent about 22 hours a day in bed. And I couldn't even handle looking at a TV screen,

Jean  01:42   Mhhmm

Jason  01:42   because I had such severe headaches. And so naturally, podcasts you don't have to look at, you can shut your eyes, you can just listen to them, you can tune out for a little bit. And I got really, really into storytelling podcasts especially. And they they were really wonderful in the way that they help expand. Essentially, they allow you to empathize with people at a much deeper level. And I really loved that aspect of it. But I realized that there weren't, there was a very low representation of people who are chronically ill, and disabled in storytelling podcasts. So I just sought to create my own. So I got into so I started in 2017, after I started to recover, and I started producing stories about my own chronic illness experience. And I tried to make them just very immersive stories using sound design  music and sound effects and everything to really try and engage as many people as possible. And so I've been doing that ever since.

Jean  02:46  That's fantastic

Lita T  02:47  Yeah, sounds great.

Jean  02:48  And what are some of your favorite podcasts at the moment?

Jason  02:51  Oh, yeah, I got a whole ton of I got a whole ton right here. Um, yeah, one of my favorite recently has been "Your Hustle". It is Have you guys heard of that before?

Jean  03:01  I, I. ehh... it sounds familiar.

Jason  03:04  Yeah, so it's a podcast that is produced within the walls of San Quentin penitentiary in California. And I don't know about you. But before whenever I think of inmates, they're often depicted as scary criminals who are devoid of any remorse. But really, when you get to hear their stories, you just get to understand them at a deeper level to empathize with them. And it really leaves you with this feeling that anyone is capable of rehabilitation. So that is one of them. Another one that have been hooked on lately "Unlocking Bryson's Brain". And it is a story of a Canadian man who takes listeners inside his family search for a diagnosis, treatment and cure to his son's rare brain disease. So yeah, it's it's really fascinating as like, this really incredible mix of storytelling, medical mystery, disability rights, and gene editing science. And then And then lastly, "How To Be A Girl" is a documentary of a mother raising her transgender daughter. So yeah, just just to keep this brief. At the age of three, her child told her that there was a mistake in her tummy that and that she should have come out as a girl.

Lita T  04:23  Oh wow!

Jason  04:24  So it just yeah, it navigates there. As the girl gets older, she starts going through school playdates. And when the mom has romantic relationships, so they just have very raw conversations. And I think the daughter is is my favorite part of it. It just really goes to show how incredibly wise children can be.

Lita T  04:49  That's amazing.

Jean  04:50  Yeah, those will be adding those three to our list.

Lita T  04:52  Oh, for sure.

Jean  04:54  Yeah.

Lita T  04:54  I love that.

Jason  04:55  Yeah I couldn't, I couldn't recommend them. highly enough.

Lita T  04:58  Love it. Jason, how do you balance living with a chronic illness? Actually several chronic illnesses and hosting your own podcast?

Jason  05:09  Yeah, it's it's an ongoing struggle. What has been most helpful for me is I try to make active decisions throughout the day. So I will leave alarms on my phone to just remind me to pause, whatever I'm doing consciously think about what I will do next and check in with my body see, like, do I need to take a break? Should I go out for a walk? Am I having trouble concentrating? Because usually, that's a sign that my symptoms are starting to kick in? Or, you know, do I have any obligations later in the day that I need to reserve spoons for? So really, it's an ongoing process? I try to get a little bit better at it over time. But yeah, I'm not perfect. (laughter)

Lita T  05:58  Yeah, I can....  I can understand that,

Jason  05:58  it's something that... I continue to struggle with.

Lita T  06:00   yeah, I do the same thing with I use my phone a lot. I have early onset Alzheimer's. And I use my phone constantly to, to remind me to do things. And just to keep me in check and make sure that the day is going smoothly. And I don't end up with anything surprising that really kind of goes be into a tailspin, basically.

Jason  06:25  Yeah, yeah. If you use too much early in the day, it can throw you off,

Lita T  06:29  right.

Jean  06:30   And we also use tech, we have watches that have a light diode that takes your pulse ox and pulse rate on a regular basis. And actually, it vibrates when you're starting when your stress levels are increasing. Or when you've been sedentary too long to kind of give you just that reminder, either to take a deep breath or go take a walk.

Lita T  06:50  You Right, right.

Jason  06:52  Wow, that's, that's actually incredible. I'm gonna have to get the name of that afterwards from you

Lita T  06:56   It's one of the Garmin, I know it's a Garmin, but there are several Garmin, we got it. Yeah, we'll put a link on that for our website,

Jean  07:04  or send you a message. Yep.

Lita T  07:05  Yep. So Jason, I understand that you've been diagnosed with several different really complicated and difficult diagnosis. Fibromyalgia in itself is rough. myalgic encephalitis horrible. And POT's, could you tell us what symptoms lead you to seeking out medical care?

Jason  07:27  Yeah, so this all started out just over nine years ago, it's wild to think it was so long ago, but I was a fourth year student at University studying engineering. And I was very, very active. At the time, I was a triathlete. And, you know, I was about to graduate and had my whole life ahead of me. And then one day during an intramural game of basketball, I caught a rebound, I twisted and pass the ball up court. And in that moment, I strained a muscle in my abdomen called, what is the name of it, intercostal, sorry, brain fog here. I strained my intercostal muscles, and they are muscles that are used for breathing. And so unlike if you break your arm, you can put it in a sling, and you let it recover, and it naturally gets better by itself. But with these muscles, it is really, really painful. And it is it's made even more complicated by the fact that you can't rest and recover from it,

Lita T  08:30  Cause you need to breathe. Right

Jason  08:32  Yeah, it's not easy to treat at all. And so essentially, I had to take a week off of school spent the entire time in bed. And when I went back to school, I was so far behind that, essentially what happened is I my stress levels were so high from having to work so hard. And my pain levels were already really high from the injury. And when you get pain and stress, the two just build on one another, you're more stressed out because you're in pain and you're in more pain, because you're stressed out. So it creates this positive feedback loop. And so over time, my brain just became sensitized to pain. And I as a result as well, I'm not getting any restorative sleep, so I'm just tired all the time. And so it was something I sought medical care for quite a while ago, but it wasn't until so. So the injury happened in 2011. I didn't receive a diagnosis until like 2014. And so yeah, there at that point, they were really really debilitating symptoms.

Jean  09:40  I'm sorry to hear that.

Lita T  09:40  And was that basically the Fibromyalgia that kicked in at that point?

Jason  09:45  Yeah, it was fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis as well. I don't think at that point. My POTs symptoms had begun showing themselves my POTs symptoms. I started to I believe, later on in 2015 is when I started I get dizzy and all that. And yeah, it's it's one of those things where I know a lot of these chronic conditions are interconnected. So you catch one, you're more likely to catch another, and, and so on.

Jean  10:13  And so I think because of all the overlapping symptoms, it's hard to get a differential diagnosis. And establish that.

Jason  10:21  Yeah, yeah. Makes it a lot harder

Jean  10:24  and, and you said it took a while to get that diagnosis. What were some of the tests associated with that? And I hear you have a tilt table story for us?

Jason  10:33  I do. Yeah. So I was just very dizzy all the time. And I would find that my heart raced whenever I stood up. And so one day when I was in my neurologists office, he did a quick check. So for your listeners, POTs is characterized by a heart rate increase of 30 beats per minute when you go from lying to standing up. So this was something that my neurologist did a quick check in his office, and I tested positive and this in that test in 2015. And so he referred me for a more comprehensive test called the tilt table test, where essentially, they tap they strap you to a table. And it's, it's slowly adjust from horizontal to vertical. And at that point, my symptoms were very severe when I got in, it was 2016. And just simply lying on the table put me in debilitating pain, even before the test began. I believe my heart rate was around 100 beats per minute, before it even started when Usually, it's around 60. And so they that we started the test, but it's supposed to be a 45 minute test. But 15 minutes in, I was just in such debilitating pain just from being uncomfortable on the board that they actually had to stop the entire test. And I just thought that it was going to be an inconclusive results.

Lita T  12:01  Mhhmm

Jason  12:01   But they ended up sending a report back to my doctor saying that I tested negative for it.

Lita T  12:09  Oh?

Jason  12:09  Which, to me is

Jean  12:10  Not quite the same thing.

Lita T  12:12   Yeah. Yeah.

Jason  12:13  It didn't seem right. And I pleaded with the doctor, you know, I said, I explained to him how they had to stop the test early and how my symptoms had gone haywire before they even started the test. But my neurologist, kind of just discounted what I had said, and he accepted the results. And he completely ignored me. And I think I yeah, I believe anyways, it was only a few months ago, or earlier this year, when I just simply redid that very first test when you just simply go from lying to standing up. And I had the heart rate increase. And a new doctor that I've been seeing a cardiac specialist told me that I do in fact have POTs. So I guess the moral of that entire story was that I I guess, I guess the issue was like the rigidity of the medical system and not stressing the importance of the patient voice there, it was very clear to me that there was systematic error within the test that made the results completely meaningless.

Jean  13:17  I'm sorry to hear that. I also had a tilt table test. And the technician that was performing my test to get me at a baseline for them to start actually was telling me very interesting stories and trying to keep my mind off the fact that we were there for because I think even going in for their test because it it can be a stressful process. And it is like a disconcerting kind of activity to be going through. A good technician is worth their weight in gold because they can try to keep your mind off the fact that you're there for that test and

Lita T  13:57  and she was in pain because

Jean  13:59   right

Lita T  13:59   we had just flown out to California to Stanford for the test and on the landing or just

Jean  14:06  some luggage hit me in the head. It wasn't a big deal

Lita T  14:08  just prior to landing  the the flight attendant open the hatch on top, from where she was sitting and luggage fell out and hit her. And she had already had a neck and a head injury. So but she was tense. Let's say

Jason  14:10  Ouch!

Jean  14:23   But it's vital

Lita T  14:24   she was tense.

Jean  14:25  I think it just shows how important every individual in the medical system is

Lita T  14:29   right

Jean  14:30   And how much of an eff... you know how much they can

Lita T  14:32  put you to ease

Jean  14:33  Yeah, they can put you at ease and it takes someone who really cares about the person, you know, to accomplish that and I think we need more people out there that actually care about people and it does it makes a significant difference.

Lita T  14:46  I'm hoping that all of the future medical people in the world are listening to this podcast

Jean  14:50  we do have a lot of medical students listening

Lita T  14:52  Yes, pay attention to your patient

Jason  14:55  Yes that really is important. Yeah, paying attention to the to the To the individual not just simply seeing them as as a patient. And yeah, I think I believe I've heard the term white coat syndrome.

Lita T  15:10  Uhhuuh

Jason  15:10  My mom was telling me how she always used to test really high on blood pressure tests. Whenever she was in the in the, to see her doctor, and that was simply because just the fact that she was getting it tested would always just stress her out.

Lita T  15:25  Right

Jean  15:26  And it, Yeah. So if you have someone that puts you at ease that that can be very helpful, but inconclusive or incomplete test is not a you know, a completed testing.

Lita T  15:35   No. Right.

Jean  15:36  Sorry that you had to go through that.

Lita T  15:37  Right. Well, I'm glad you finally got it, sorted out.

Jean  15:40  Thank goodness, you know, you advocated for yourself, and were able to find a physician that would listen to you as well.

Lita T  15:45  That's important. Well, I'm not sure if there are misconceptions about POTs. But what would what do you think the most common misconceptions about Fibromyalgia are?

Jason  15:56  I would say that it's all in our heads. I have heard, I've heard that many times. I think that people who are not familiar with chronic illness, have a tendency to discount other people's suffering and their pain and their fatigue levels, simply because it's invisible. And and I think so many people have it in their heads that they just have it in their heads what somebody will look like who is suffering, they mistake what they're familiar with, as acute pain, where it's this very intense feeling. And people are gritting their teeth, with chronic pain, which is something that people have adapted to living with over years and years. And we still experience it all the time. But we're not necessarily showing it. We simply learned to internalize it, and try to focus on how we can best live with it. And then one other big misconception with fibromyalgia. I think a lot of people see it, and a lot of doctors actually think it only affects women. It is predominantly women, but men can develop Fibromyalgia as well. And I'm living proof of that.

Lita T  17:12  Right right

Jean  17:12  Yeah, we have interviewed other other men with fibromyalgia. And we were kind of shocked to hear that. That's the that's a popular misconception,

Lita T  17:22  right

Jean  17:23   Because I never imagined you know, that that would be something that would affect. Yeah, but okay. I have two questions for you. How are you currently being treated? And are your conditions? Is there a in the future? You know, do they anticipate that these are things that can be like, Is there a cure out there in the future?

Jason  17:42  Yeah, so in terms of being treated, I know it's different for everybody. But what I have found most effective is simply a self treatment plan. So for me, I focus on eating a good diet, lots of vegetables and fruit. I getting the right medication for me that that took many years to find the right one for me, mind being amitriptyline. Everybody, things work differently for everybody. And then also incorporating some mindfulness where I just work, breathing, paying attention to my body sensations, tuning into my body throughout the day. And then, for me movement as well. That's been really huge. For a while I was doing Tai Chi, and I was even doing a waterbase tai chi, they had a program down at the hospital, I went to where we got to go through all the movements in this group atmosphere. And I found that really empowering as well. Just knowing that other you're in the pool with other people with chronic illness, and you're all going through the same thing together. So yeah, just overall that and having a good sleep hygiene, I turned off all my devices an hour or two before bed every single night and I try to just relax, I will even turn off all the lights in my on my floor and just have candlelight so that I can help relax my mind.

Lita T  19:09  Well that's good

Jason  19:10  So those are Yeah, those are the main treatment plans. And then in terms of fibromyalgia, Fibromyalgia being curable. I know that a small portion of patients do experience full remission. I don't personally focus on curing my illness, it would be really nice if it happened. But I remember my occupational therapist, one once told me not to make dead people goals and dead people can't feel any pain. So I can't if I can't fully control how my pain levels are I try to focus on what I can influence and work to be coming. I guess just work towards improving functionality. And then I've generally found that when my functionality does improve that my pain level usually follow suits as well.

Jean  20:02  That's fantastic.

Lita T  20:02  Yeah, that's good...

Jean  20:03  that's very inspiring.

Lita T  20:04  Right Right, for sure.

Jason  20:05  Thank you.

Lita T  20:07  Do you have any advice for someone that has been recently diagnosed with a chronic illness?

Jason  20:12  Yeah, I think finding your social support system is really, really key. For anyone with a chronic illness, it can be very, very isolating. I think a lot of us who are chronically ill have friends drop out of our lives for whatever reason. It's not personal, it's not a reflection of you. And I've just found that it's best to focus on whoever has stayed. And just let them know regularly how much their support means to you and get involved with the online community I found that can be helpful as well.

Lita T  20:48  Well, that's good advice.

Jean  20:49  Yeah. And it sounds like you've established a really nice rapport with everyone in your podcast network as well. And you guys have a, you know, a great group there and produce some really quality podcasts.

Jason  21:03  Yeah, that's been wonderful. Just connecting with so many people connecting with listeners hearing from them. Yeah.

Jean  21:09  And what other role have your friends and family taken over the course of this journey? I know your parents have been very important to you, right?

Jason  21:18  Yeah, they've been super

Jean  21:19   it was a very leading question.

Lita T  21:21   (laughter)

Jason  21:21  Yeah, yeah. they've they've been huge. My parents. Now I fell very ill, as I mentioned earlier, around 2016. And around that time, I didn't have the ability to even take care of all my medical stuff, like getting prepared for appointments, keeping track of all that stuff, going to pick up all my medication, doing my research on all the different medications or the different tests that I was being sent for. So really, my mom ended up handling, essentially, all of that, in addition to being my full time caregivers for a couple of years, and I mean, even now, I've improved quite a bit. But even now, I have to rely on them quite a bit for meal preparation and other tasks, when I'm not able to handle them myself. And then, in terms of friends, oh, sorry, I should also just mention my I've got a lot of other family members who have been really great, especially my sister, Lisa, she's been amazing and always checked in on me whenever I was really feeling down. And then in terms of friends. I, yeah, I am incredibly blessed in that area too, in that when I was really sick. And there's a period of about eight months where I didn't, I only left bed very infrequently, and was very, very depressed, had thoughts of suicidal ideation, and all that. And there wasn't a span of time of more than two days, when I didn't get a visitor coming by, to just check in on me, and to come hang out with me. It's not the most exciting thing for my friends to come and do and, and sit by my bedside. And often I would barely even be able to contribute to the conversation, it would be them mostly doing most of the talking. So they were really my lifeline. And they were a huge reason why I was able to keep going and until I was able to receive the proper supports to allow me to recover.

Lita T  23:31  That's excellent.

Jean  23:32  Yeah that's, that's wonderful. I'm glad that you have those people in your life and that they've been so supportive. Jason, with the pandemic and everything that's been going on, you said you used to, you know, be able to go to the gym at the hospital. How have How have things change over the course of the past year? And what modifications Have you made to, you know, still stay active and do things? And, you know, in keep in contact with friends and family, when everything has been in lockdown?

Jason  24:01  Yeah, it's been a lot harder. I've been doing zoom like a lot of other people for keeping in touch with people, for just keeping in touch with friends, but I do get zoom fatigue like everybody else, probably quicker than everybody else just due to having headaches and everything. Yeah, in terms of what else? I've been lots of phone calls. I've been doing social distance walks where I'll meet up with friends and we'll just all walk six feet away from each other

Jean  24:33  (giggle) Okay

Jason  24:33   six feet or more.

Jean  24:34   Okay.

Jason  24:35  And that's been a really good way to just keep in touch while also getting some exercise getting some fresh air. Yeah, not being able to go to the pool has been kind of tough. That's one of the things I really miss. That was a huge part of remaining social and, and all that and remaining active as well. And yeah, yeah, I've been fortunate I mean, I'm in Toronto here. For a good part of the pandemic, I have been able to have a small social circle. So I've had my brother, his wife and their kids within our social circle. And so yeah, being able to hang out with like a three year old and a two year old as they always make you feel young, and that is really improved my spirits.

Jean  25:24  Yeah, there, children can be, and and pets and everything can be a great distraction.

Lita T  25:28  Wait a minute, children and pets, you can't ball them up in the same thing.

Jean  25:32  Well we do chicken therapy, where we go to see the chickens,

Lita T  25:35 yeah we do, we do

Jean  25:36  nothing makes you laugh harder than watching, you know, chickens fight over a tomato, because it kind of looks like you know, some sort of weird horror movie and yeah, okay.

Lita T  25:45  (laughter)

Jean  25:46  Okay, sorry, I'm, we're getting way off topic.

Lita T  25:48  (laughter)

Jean  25:50  Jason, what additional advice or tips do you have for our listeners.

Jason  25:54  So, I would say, to just do your best job advocating for yourself. Or if you can't find a family member or friends who can, or friends who can, our medical system isn't... that the chronically ill often fall through the cracks of our medical system. So unfortunately, you do need to do some of that work yourself in terms of do your research before appointments, come prepared to every appointment with a summary of your recent medical history, and any questions you have for your doctors and any potential tests that you'd like to request. So you really have to become your own advocate there. And another thing is just find something that makes you happy, I know that our lives don't look the same way that they did prior to becoming ill. But it doesn't mean that I guess over time, we can develop the ability to adapt and find joy in different ways that we never could have imagined before becoming chronically ill. So yeah, find whatever, do whatever makes you happy.

Lita T  27:08  That's great.

Jean  27:09  Yeah wonderful advice

Lita T  27:10  right. Have you always lived in Canada?

Jason  27:14  I always have. Yeah,

Jean  27:15  You can hear from his accent

Jason  27:16  I live with my parents.

Lita T  27:17  No, no, I  was just curious. Because, you know, like, now we're kind of comparing apples and oranges, you know, the medical system in the United States compared to the medical system in Canada. And I think that we have the same problems here. And it is very important to always go to your doctor's office prepared. And like you're saying, do your research ahead of time. Because you know, you go to a doctor's office nowadays, and you're given like a minute and a half,

Jason  27:44  Yeah

Lita T  27:44   you know, you don't have a lot of screen time with your doctor.

Jason  27:47 Yes

Lita T  27:47  So you have more you can do ahead of time, the better.

Jason  27:51  Yeah, and I've noticed that doctors really appreciate it when you can give them like a 30 second briefing on everything that's happened with with your health, since they've last seen you it's a way for them to digest everything really quickly, and then be more efficient with your time. So I think that they really appreciate it as well.

Lita T  28:11  Right. Right. That That could be a career field.

Jean  28:14  Well, and I think

Lita T  28:15   No, I mean, like just just in order to teach people how to go to the doctor,

Jean  28:20  right? Well, maybe it could be included in your high school health class.

Lita T  28:24  Right. Okay. (laughter)

Jean  28:25  And I think nowadays, a lot of technology can also come into play where you can track your, you know, your headaches, and you can track your symptoms, and you can actually give your your physician or healthcare provider an actual, you know, a synopsis and a screenshot of what is actually happening with you on a day to day basis, because when it is a chronic illness, I think it's hard to quantify it. And I think

Jason  28:34  Yeah,

Jean  28:48  and things can help.

Jason  28:50  I think that stuff is is so great, too. And I've noticed, I noticed that before I started doing any of this, like tracking my medical history, I would go into an appointment. And so often, it would depend what I would say to the doctor would depend on how my day was going. If I was feeling depressed that day, it would just seem like everything is so completely bleak. And I would send that message to the doctor, whereas like, they would get a much more accurate depiction of what my recent medical history was if I was able to Yeah, like as you were saying, go in with any kind of metrics or anything that you've been tracking over time.

Lita T  29:26  Sure, sure. Well, Jason, how can our listeners learn more about you and your podcast?

Jason  29:33  Well, they can listen to my podcast "Discomfort Zone" on whichever podcast app they use. They can also go to "Invisible Not Broken dot com" to find my podcast, as well as all the other shows in our network and you can find me on social media. My handle is D Zone Podcast.

Lita T  29:52  Okay, excellent.

Jean  29:53  And you guys have a wonderful website and a well rounded collection of podcasts. So we're very impressed. And we're hoping to one day grow up and be more like you.  (Eh Ha!) Maybe? (laughter) Well, at least

Jason  30:06  You guys are great the way you are.

Lita T  30:08  At least we're staying active.

Jean  30:09  Yeah. Okay,

Lita T  30:10   mentally. (laughter)  Well, Jason, thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us today.

Jean  30:15  Thank you, Jason.

Jason  30:17  Thank you so much for having me.

Lita T  30:18  You're welcome. If our listeners have any questions or comments related to today's show, they can contact us at podcast dx@yahoo.com through our website, podcast, dx.com and Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram.

Ron  30:32  Please keep in mind that this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment, and before undertaking a new health care regime, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in taking it because it's something you've heard on this podcast

Jean  30:57  till next week.

Check out this episode!

[elijahjacobs1994]

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