#i had to submit a request 5 times for you to look at my dryer

[i-am-a-fan]

when i submit maintenance to you, i promise im not doing it because i think you’re soooo pretty when you look at my pipe system.

[airbnbfestivals]

The Magic Is Gone

I have been an AirBnb host for almost six years and I've met amazing people through the platform. But because of changes in the company's policies, my relationship may be ending. To wit, I am about to post this on their site: (Please share if you feel it appropriate.)"I have been an AirBnb host since 2013. At that time, AirBnb (at least publicly) defined itself as a matching service for "hosts" with an extra room and "guests" looking for a personal stay. As with a dating site, both parties were required to submit profiles (school, work, interests, photographs) and there was no punishment if a host declined a guest because they felt the guest would not be a good fit. Guests expected to be housed not in a subway-tiled apartment with a digital keypad, a Keruig, and minimal with-host interaction, but in a child's former bedroom sharing a morning cuppa with a good-hearted guide to the neighborhood.As the company "matured," the "entrepreneurial" as opposed to "sharing" model lost out. AirBnb encouraged (though it demurred from saying so directly) hosts to buy properties expressly to rent them. The human connection was discounted and the “consistent experience” was encouraged. Someplace along the line, the profile requirement was eliminated and the algorithm started punishing hosts who refused to embrace Instant Booking. If a host has to cancel a reservation (except for a death, for which a certificate is required) not only are they shamed online, but also lose Superhost status for an entire year. If a host turns down a request, they are required to fill out a form saying why they did so, or may even be subject to an accusatory phone call from one of AirBnb’s live employees.Recently AirBnb initiated a policy of not releasing a guest’s photo until approved by a host. At this this point in the process, hosts are goaded into accepting all comers.In my opinion, these actions hurt hosts who bought into AirBnb’s original save-the-planet message—and I was one of them. I love hosting visitors, but I also know only a certain demographic will enjoy what I have to offer. I should be able to control who I invite into my house—with my belonging and valuables—and me. (I had one guest-from-hell who broke not only my clothes dryer but also several antique mementos, but AirBnb made the process of filing a claim so onerous, I let it slide.)A year ago, after a dearth of booking requests, I noticed that my listing—which has Superhost status and 73 5-star reviews--had been demoted to the second-last page of listings in my city. When I was able to get through to a live person at AirBnb I was given a vague answer about being unable to explain how the algorithm worked.And two last things: Taking a cue from the airlines, AirBnb now lets hosts fudge the prices on their listings by not taking “cleaning fees” and “service fees” into account until check out. I could play this game, too, but it’s cynical. In the world I want to believe in, what you see is what you get….no games: pricing transparency from the get go.Similarly, by encouraging off-site hosts into the market, AirBnb drives down the income of it's long-standing members. Of course this works in their favor. 3% of two $50 rents nets AirBnB the same profit as 3% of one $100 rent--plus they get the added kick (from guests) of two booking fees.It bums me that I may have to sever my relationship with AirBnb. Over the years I’ve met individuals who have become friends and colleagues. I’ve made a little extra income. I’ve enjoyed the experience. But in the way of all tech companies (it seems) idealism has given way to cover-your-ass profit-making. It breaks my heart." Get $20 off your first AirBnB stay.

[drmarkwrites-blog]

“SHE’S THE ONE WHO DID IT!” (5/9/19)

“She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.  She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and bless her; her husband also, and he praises her…” (Proverbs 31:26-28 NASB)

Most days I spend a majority of my time downstairs in the lower level of my home. I start out with writing the daily meditation and then, on most days, I make coffee and a cook up a light breakfast for my spouse and myself.   Since my study is adjacent to the laundry room and my wife is still working full-time plus serving as a volunteer in several community initiatives, I don’t mind doing the laundry.  I’m getting pretty good at it, evident by a reduction in of shrunken clothes that stayed in the dryer too long, as well as a void of kind expressed observations, spoken in “wife language:”   “Seems like these are getting smaller.”  Translation: “You are leaving them in the dryer too long!  Check your setting!”  I prefer the “wife language.”  On my daily agenda is the task of going to the grocery, taking a break to buy the dinner meal and some other kindly expressed requested items, submitted via “wife language.” Such requests do not mandate or order me to pick up anything.  I just get a kind reminder like, “We are almost out of dish detergent.”  Again, I admit that I like the “wife language;” the language that a Christian, considerate mate speaks!  Thank God I have one of those!

When repair or remodeling people are coming somewhere between an enormous window of time, “Between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.”, which incidentally almost always ends up being the latter, I am the person who is available so I wait for them. If a grandchild is dropping something off, you guessed it, I am the one to wait for their arrival.  So, I asked two questions the other day at the dinner table, “How did all this stuff get done before I left the private sector?” “Who did all this PLUS took care of the children’s appointments when they were younger and we were both working?” “Wife language” spoke kindly again, without any criticizing comments at all, not a one: “I did.”  You notice there is no exclamation mark, right?  At the dinner table, I had a new appreciation for all she did in addition to her work.  In a state of awe and amazement, not a complaint came out of my mouth about what I do in the present days.  She still helps, but my commitment to continue carrying on my tasks was enlivened! I owe her some more thanks this morning!

Now move from my story to your life story.  Look back at how you used to take for granted the multiple things done by the woman in the house!  To be clear, when I say woman, I’m talking about the wife and the mother or mother figure in the home!  Do you know the expression that we use in church, referring to the goodness of God and His acts of compassion toward us?  Oh, yes you do!  We say, “If I had a thousand tongues, I could not thank Him enough for all He has done for me!”  We say that not realizing just how much He has done, seen and unseen for our benefit! Well, the same is true for the wife, mother, or mother figure in your life!  If you had a thousand tongues, you could not thank her enough!  The laundry – she did it!  The grocery shopping – she did it!  The giving of advice in a loving voice – she did it!  The sacrifices she made to help you in countless ways – she did it!  Hanging in there, putting her own problems aside as they never existed so she could deal with your problems – she did it!  Being, in most cases, the light of the world and the salt of the earth in your house – she did it!  Making big meals out of a few morsels – she did it!  Like I just said, if you had a thousand tongues, you could not thank her enough!  So, why wait until the Sunday designated as Mother’s Day to remember her with a spirit of gratitude if her soul is already at home with the Father, or if she is still in the land of the living, why wait to start thanking her for all she has done! You can’t thank her enough!  Don’t look for a fancy card!  Use a blank card or even a blank piece of paper to express your gratitude in a great way!  How great? To the extent that she can feel a great big hug from your words!

I’m done, but I have some helpful advice for some readers.  Since there are more female recipients than male recipients of these daily meditations, I suggest that you print this one out and say in “wife language” adding a smile instead of a smirk; a friendly face instead of a frown, “This was interesting reading today.  Take a look at it!”

“Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.” (Exodus 20:12 AMP)

Still committed to the climb,

Mark L. King

[bestnewsmag-blog]

New Post has been published on Bestnewsmag

New Post has been published on https://bestnewsmag.com/xiaomi-india-offers-discounts-in-exchange-for-recycling-your-old-electronics/

Xiaomi India Offers Discounts in Exchange for Recycling Your Old Electronics

Xiaomi has introduced an e-waste management program called Mi India Product Take-Lower back & Recycling Software for u. S .. Because the call of the program shows, the enterprise will be taking non-operational electronic merchandise, no matter their emblem, for recycling Offers functions and, in exchange, offer them with Rs. a hundred discount coupons, which may be used at organization’s online shop at a minimum purchase of Rs. 1,000.

Notably, the recycling program is most effective mean for the End of Life merchandise and Xiaomi will no longer be offering repairs or replacements for the broken or faulty merchandise. “To behave responsibly in the direction of the surroundings, we’ve got pledged to recycle digital items, which includes mobiles, power banks, audio system, headphones, and many others. that are intended to be discarded as waste with the aid of the client,” the employer stated in a submit. Xiaomi said that e-waste control answers are currently offered with the aid of TES-AMM India.

Which will give up your product, you need to fill in employer’s online form after logging into your Mi account. After filling the form, Mi India’s authorized recycler will touch you within 7 days and the products could be accumulated within 15 days of raising the pickup request. Customers will not be charged any rate to get their merchandise recycled thru this program.

This can be seen as a very nice and an f6ba901c5019ebe39975adc2eb223bef step taken by the Chinese phone maker and we would love to inspire all our readers who own non-operational electronic merchandise to participate on this program and hand over their devices to the organization in preference to throwing them away in rubbish. E-waste is considered to be a severe problem around the world and it is ideal to look Xiaomi taking this responsibility in India

Why Electronics and Technology Are Important

  People today live in a world that relies greatly on electronics and gadgets to make our everyday activities easier and faster. Most of us could not fathom what life we be like without computers, cell phones, iPods, televisions, or electronic toys. Over the years, technology has continued to advance, improving the quality of life for people who use electronics and gadgets to make their lives more convenient.

When we wake up in the morning, we are often greeted by our alarm clocks. How many people would be late for work if they had to rely on their internal body clocks to wake them up at the same exact time every weekday morning? Once up and out of our bed some people may enjoy a cup of coffee or espresso from the convenience of their own kitchen coffee making appliance. Others may head to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day. This may include using a hair dryer or curlers to style their hair, or maybe an iron to de-wrinkle their clothes. All the while, people may be catching up on the day’s news by watching their local news station on television. All this use of technology and electronics and they haven’t even left for work yet!

The list goes on and on. The advancement of technology has allowed us to enjoy our favorite music while we exercise via the use of an MP3 player, warm our food in seconds with the convenience of microwaves, and even read our emails from anywhere in the world with the use of smart phones and laptops. This is just the tip of the iceberg. While most people understand that electronics and gadgets are important, they don’t take the time to really comprehend just how much we use this type of technology in all aspects of life. Certain electronics and equipment have made medical procedures easier, not to mention just plain possible. Life expectancies have increased with the advancement in technology and suffering has lessened due to the invention of medical equipment and technologies.

Whether it’s the coolest new GPS gadget to help you located and get to your favorite vacation destination along with every restaurant, store, and gas station in the area, or the newest sonar machine that can allow a doctor to see any possible development issues with a mother’s unborn baby, technology and electronics means more to us than we can realize. New products are developed every single day and the more people shop for fun gadgets and electronics, the easier and more fun life will become!

Cash For My Phone Revolution – The Expansion Of The Recycling Industry

  The recycling industry is the fastest growing industry in the world with millions of people getting employed in it almost every day. Electronics recycling among the recycling industry is growing at an even rapid pace. The industry has turned into an almost $20.6 billion industry and is growing rapidly. Not just this, the number of employees has also increased at a rapid pace from 6,000 to 45,000 within a span of 10 years. The phenomenon has transformed into an industry within a decade. There are several factors determining the rapid pace of development within the industry. The industry almost represents a revolution in movement.

Some of the Major Reasons for the Revolution

Even a decade back so many consumers used to ask- “how to get cash for my phone?”But now the system is known to all. With the development of recycling as an industry people have found several reasons to know more about it. The rapid growth of the industry depends on various factors. They are:

Growth of rapid consumption of electronic goods

Awareness brought by laws enforced

Various kinds of initiatives and programs relating to recycling

Investment in technology and equipment

All these factors have influenced the rise of recycling as an industry. Though many experts believe that there is enough room for growth within the industry and it has not yet reached its potential development. Over 2.4 million tons of electronic waste has been recycled last year in the world. But, almost around 2 million tons of e-waste is generated every year. Most of this is sent to the landfill thus contributing to the accumulation of e-waste. Also, a new side to this discovery is that, the majority of the waste is derived from the businesses; the corporate houses playing a major role in that. Surprisingly, only a quarter of the waste is generated by the residential consumers.

Formulating the Law for It

There are certain states where recycling has taken a huge turn while in others it has not been really successful. The reason is that people are enlightened in the states where it has taken off and on the contrary where people are not enlightened enough, the movement hasn’t taken off properly. Apart from the size of the state and the number of citizens, another important factor in determining the success of the movement is the law regulating the disposal of electronics. According to stringent laws in certain states, the manufacturer must take back the old existing gadgets and make them reusable. Under this program, consumers can recycle their items without charge.

These laws meet with success when millions of tons of computers, phones and laptops are collected for recycling. It just does not stop here; the goods must be made reusable too. Even 5 years back very few states had any laws regarding recycling promotion and protection. At the present times, the number has increased manifold and several states all around the world have appropriate laws regulating recycling.

Efforts Put by Environmental Groups

Even before governments formulated laws regarding recycling, there were environmental groups and non-profit organization which served the same purpose of enlightening people regarding the same. These groups took care of creating awareness among people not to end up in landfills. The landfills had become the breeding ground for toxic gases, wastes polluting the environment and natural resources. Some of these groups tied up with manufacturing companies to establish systems like picking up the e-waste for a minimal fee to deposit them at the recycling centers.

The amount of pounds or dollars received by these groups or companies influenced their small businesses a lot. Though many of the companies lost a good amount of money, some of them actually garnered profit. However, they expanded at a triple rate and hence their income enhanced. Profit comes with volume and it is not easy to make money in this market. However, people are making money and businesses are expanding within this industry. In fact, the scope for getting employment in this industry has increased with its expansion and people taking it seriously. Eventually, recycling has become a successful industry appointing and recruiting people from all walks of life. It is expected to reach its potential by the next decade.

Beware of Mystery Shopper Offers

    Frequently, people ask me how they can make some extra money and I’m always happy to share what I do with them. Some just need a few extra bucks to make it through the month and others are looking for life altering, job replacing type income. From the comfort of your home, the internet can be utilized to accomplish either of these tasks. All it takes is a little bit of searching and a bit researching to find legitimate opportunities. Once discovered, the application of ideas and lessons learned need to be implemented or they will be worthless to you.