#the last 4 hours couldn’t been done in 1 if my ipad wasn’t freezing after every. second. movement.

[theythemmer]

who up thinking abt the implications of dnp being controlled by and sacrificing themselves for demons

[elevenhoursinfront-blog]

9th August 2017

I woke up 0830 after a fairly rubbish night sleep. I had a nightmare about a group of people that were about to take my eyes out with a spoon. How odd. Steve jumped into my bed with me but said I stank too much of garlic and got out... Us three went to have breakfast with Soph around 1000. I only had yoghurt again because my throat was hurting. (Again, I do apologise about my spelling. I have taken about 2 days to try and figure out how to spell yoghurt. Is it with a H or without? Who knows. I tried to google it but my laptop is in Australia so it said Yogurt. I think that's wrong but I can't be sure anymore. I'm brainwashed!) We sat chilling for a while before going back to the room. Mel was still stressed out about what to do - where to go. She got into the shower so she could start flicking through her ipad again. Steve and I got showered too, ready to face the day. 

Sophie wanted to book her Great Barrier Reef tour today for Friday so she went off to do that. I was so jealous - I told Steve to do it with her but he wants to wait until I can do it with him. The main trips here are so expensive - the reef tour is about $150-$200. You do get lunch and stuff like that included I guess. After sitting around chilling for a while, we all met for lunch. Time went by really quickly and we were peckish before we knew it. Steve and Mel had their leftover pizza from yesterday, Sophie had a toasted roll and I had some apple with peanut butter. We only sat for about 30 minutes before we went off to do our own thing. Sophie needed to go to the bank and to post a card, Mel wanted to go back into the room to find a farm and Steve and I wanted to go to the lagoon. Steve and I got ready and left. It was fairly cloudy and quite windy so we didn't want to go into the water. We took our swimmers with us just in case as we're both water babies and want to go in as soon as we smell/see water. We found a sunbathing spot, laid down and chilled out. It was only 5 minutes before Steve decided he wanted to move because of 3 ants that he saw. We were allegedly in an ants nest and he had to be elsewhere. We got up, moved and laid back down again. He said that he got bit by one of the ants but ants don't even bite, do they? He likes his tiara, our Steve. Sophie joined us after a while and chilled out next to us. Steve fell asleep on his flipflops as a pillow and Sophie was reading her book. I tried to read my new book but I was far too tired, my eyes kept shutting. The sun went down quite quickly and we were in the shade before we knew it. We moved into the sun again but it wasn't long before we were cold again. We left the lagoon and walked back for a cup of tea. Mel had stayed indoors as she was quite frustrated about the farm situation. She's being told about a 2-3 week waiting list at every farm she can get through too. Most aren't answering her calls. She only wants it for the experience and to save up more money, she isn't fussed about her second year which is a good thing. We got back to the hostel and put the kettle on. I found Mel in the kitchen who was just on the phone to Jack. Jack had been fired after his first day as the farmer did not believe he was quick enough for the job. Jack told Mel that it was the hardest work he had ever done and he didn't feel like he had stopped all day. He worked from 0630-1530 non stop. I feel so sorry for him, that's two knock backs he has had now. We sat down, had our tea and cookies. Mel was clearly in a really bad mood and we were trying to talk to her about it. She wants to go to a farm that she has found tomorrow. It's two hours away by bus journey that'll cost $25. She's scared but she wants to do something on her own. It's a difficult situation here with farm work. 90% of travellers want their second year and to get it, 88 days farming have to be completed. Farm work isn't guaranteed and you could end up on a really bad one. Poor Cherry is on a farm earning $2 an hour. There are plenty of 'horror' stories out there about farm work. There are loads of people getting petitions going because it's far too dangerous for us to do to get a second year visa. I would only go to a farm that has been recommended which is why we're lucky with the Kookaburra. God know's what'll happen when we arrive though. There might not be work, I might get fired on day 1, who knows. Mel got overwhelmed by the conversation and started crying. She left the table quickly and ran to the room. I left her for 5 minutes to have a moment alone and then I went upstairs to talk to her. I went down to chat with Sophie and Steve for a bit longer after I left Mel feeling much better which an episode of Love Island on. We are all meeting around 1900 for dinner tonight as we're going to PJ O'Brian's. Sophie got 4 discount dinner tickets from Peter Pans so we get dinner and a drink for $10, to celebrate Mel's last night. We got ready and Soph came up to our room. Mel was feeling a hell of a lot better and seemed to be in a much better mood already. Earlier on she said that she couldn't even pretend to be in a good mood which I could clearly see. Make up on, nice outfits on, flipflops at the ready and we left. We walked the whole 5 minutes around the block to the pub which was packed. There wasn't a table in sight. After about 10 minutes of waiting around, Sophie jumped at a family that looked like they were leaving. She apologised and sat down. We all ordered separately and waited for a buzzer to go. The menu was pretty good considering it was a deal. Mel managed to get a vegetarian burger with chips and us three had the same cajun chicken burger with chips. We're very basic. Steve had my free drink as I was on the hard stuff - water. The girls had wine with theirs. After our food, it was happy hour so they all got 2-4-1 spirits. We sat for ages chatting, laughing and drinking away. At one point, Mel asked Steve "how old was you when you turned 18?" and we all died. She was mortified that it had come out of her mouth, she felt like an idiot. We could not stop laughing for ages. By 2200, we were freezing as we were outside and decided to leave. Sophie was really quite drunk and I was very tired. I couldn't wait for bed. I'm sure Mel was drunk too as she's a lightweight these days also. Steve was just Steve.

We got back, make up off and into bed by 2230. I just can't be tamed these days...

[socmedsean]

Blogger’s Block – 10 Tips To Identify And Combat It

Writer’s block sucks. Blogger’s block sucks more..and believe me, there is a difference.

For me, writer’s block doesn’t mean I can’t write, it means that I can’t write about what I want to write about. No matter what I type, it’s just not right.

In my days of writing technical books, the easiest way for me to navigate writer’s block was to just take a break from my project, spend some time resting my brain, and then write something non-technical.

For instance, I’m a sucker for a good Haiku. Something about the formal structure, combined with the possibilities for wordplay and blended concepts draws me to this form of poetry.

Look, I’m not saying I’m good at it…I just enjoy the process and how it often challenges me to think in a different way, while relaxing my brain and allowing me to think peripherally about how to make my next technical chapter flow better.

Sometimes, the best way to alleviate a blogging brain freeze is just to write something you would never publish on your blog. Click To Tweet

Blogger’s Block Isn’t The Same Thing As Writer’s Block?

Blogger’s block is a bit more challenging. Blogging entails a lot more than technical writing.

Blogging requires writing, graphic design, search engine optimization, relationship building, social media promotion, time management, and a lot more. And for me, blogger’s block occurs when I not only can’t write on my own blog, but often stops me from being able to do all the other activities that come with blogging.

When I’m that stuck, and I mean REALLY stuck, I can’t even digest ideas from other people’s blogs, I find it challenging to create new graphics, or even say something constructive when commenting on other people’s blogs.

Basically, Bloggers block comes when I am completely burned out on reading, writing, creating and commenting.

Blech!

What Brings On Blogger’s Block?

I can’t speak for everyone, but after blogging for more than 12 years and experience blogger’s block more than a handful of times, I figured out what brings it on for me.

Some people tend to think that writer’s block or blogger’s block come from not having enough ideas to formulate into articles, tweets, posts, videos, etc… In my experience, though, blogger’s block often comes when I’m tired, both from blogging and from other things going on my personal life.

It’s a combination of mental fatigue that just makes it difficult to concentrate, so I can’t seem wrap my head around one good post that I think my readers might like.I can’t get that image that I want to look exactly how I want it. I convince myself that not promoting my latest post on Facebook is OK, because it’s not that good anyway.

Blogger's block is different from writer's block. With writer's block, you just can't write. With blogger's block, you can't write, create images, promote, etc... Click To Tweet

For me, blogger’s block is like writer’s block combined with information overload combined with a feeling of frustration that makes me just want to throw my hands up and stop blogging altogether. It’s rough.

For Me…The Answer Is Overly Simple

When that time comes, I find it’s just time to power down the computer, put the iPad away, put my phone on airplane mode and venture out into the great outdoors to get some inspiration from life.

You know…that thing that occurs when we’re not online? Trees, rivers, beavers, squirrels….outside. Sometimes, a good long walk (and I mean loooong) can help clear my head and crystallize an idea that I’ve been working on. Sometimes, it takes an extended break and a bit of a vacation.

I have done for as long as 6 months without publishing a single blog post because I just didn’t feel like the juice was worth the squeeze. The good news is I always find my mojo again. Something reminds me that I love to write. I love to help other people solve problems.

I enjoy the community and collaboration that social media offers. So, I come back to blogging.

Can You Recognize Blogger’s Block Before It Hits?

I can recognize it for me.

Not everyone is going to experience Blogger’s block in the same way. But I thought that maybe if I share a few of the triggers that I recognize, maybe it might help someone else identify when it’s looming for them.

For me, it’s jut a few things that occur:

Trigger #1 – I have more than 3 or 4 blog articles in the works, and I can’t seem to finish any of them.

This doesn’t mean I have 3 or 4 posts in draft format. Heck, at any given time I probably have 15-20 posts in draft format. Some of them will never be published. What this means is I have 3 or 4 posts that I am actively trying to get published and I’m frustrated because I can’t find the right angle, words, images, whatever…

I just keep bouncing between the posts and trying to shape them, which causes even more frustration.

Trigger #2 – I don’t want to talk about my blog.

Ask my friends and family…they usually can’t get me to shut up about social media and blogging. So, when I just don’t want to talk about it anymore, it’s a good sign that I’m frustrated. Sometimes, I’m just embarrassed by how crappy my writing feels.

Sometime, I read what I spend the last 45 minutes on and wonder whether I should be writing at all…This is usually the look.

It’s those times that self-doubt starts to creep in and I start wondering whether the time I spend writing is worth it.

Trigger #3 – My social media engagement drops.

This isn’t a given that I’m experiencing Blogger’s block. I tend to run hot and cold on social media. I’ll tweet, post, and pin like mad for a few months and then take a month off. These breaks often have a direct correlation with political/election season. The garbage that surfaces during these times makes it a bit useless to try to promote a helpful message, so it’s not rare to see my tweets, posts, and pins drop while the political fervor rages.

It’s Usually Not One Thing…It’s A Combination

Just one of those things doesn’t necessarily trigger my Blogger’s block. It’s usually a combination of things. Frustration with a few posts that I can’t get right, divisive posts on my Facebook and Twitter, and a desire to “not want to talk about it” all combine to a level of frustration that leads to Blogger’s block.

Powering Through The Block

There’s some real good news about Blogger’s block, though:

First, It’s not permanent. Let me repeat that….it’s NOT permanent.

Most of the time, it just requires a break. How long? That’s entirely up to you. A couple hours? A day? A month?

You’re going to have to figure out what amount of time you need to clear through the clutter and find your voice.

Second, in my experience it often leads to a breakthrough and a flood of good content.

Not that Blogger’s block is something to look forward to, but if you take some time away and really think through what you are trying to accomplish with your content, you might just get some clarity and find a good way to express your thoughts and opinions.

Third, you will probably end up with more ideas than you started with.

My Blogger’s block is sometimes triggered by trying to pack too many ideas into a single post. If I walk away and think it through, I sometimes find that that post wasn’t coming together because it’s actually 3 or 4 blog posts that I was trying to jam together into 2,000 words when it really requires 8,000 words to full explore the topic or topics.

The end result? Figuring out how to break that non-functional post into 3 or 4 different posts that work together in a series.

Just A Few Tips To Help Alleviate Blogger’s Block

Look, I’m not trying to sell rainbows and unicorns. Like I said at the beginning of this post, Blogger’s block sucks.

Here are few of my tips to plow through blogger's block. What are yours? Click To Tweet

However, if you are aware of it and you address it, you can come out on the other side with a positive out come. Here are a few tips that I think help:

1) Know when it’s just not coming together – Chris Brogan once said that a blog post shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to write. While I disagree with the arbitrary number, his point was that a well-formulated idea should come out pretty easily.

For most of us, it takes a bit longer, but if you’ve been working on the same post for more than 90 minutes…stop. Take a break. Think through whether you are on the right track. If you are…keep going. If not, figure out why.

2) Asses your attitude while you’re writing – If you don’t like what you’re writing, it’s likely no one else will either.

Stop writing, read what you have and determine whether maybe you just don’t have the passion right now. It’s okay…it will come back.

Writing should feel like it’s flowing out of you. It shouldn’t feel like you are having to yank ideas out of your head.

3) Get a second opinion – Ask your spouse, significant other, or friend to read your work. Do they think its coming along?

Maybe you’re just being overly self-critical. Remember, as authors we are our worst critics.

4) Recognizing that a break is okay – Breaks are good. Take a vacation from social media altogether! I have had dry spells that lasted months because I just couldn’t come up with anything I felt was worth posting.

Was it the end of the world? No.

Did my readers all leave and flock to new blogs? Probably not, but if taking a week off from posting means the death of my blog, then I have bigger issues to worry about.

5) Give your brain a break from the screen – Not only do I find it valuable to take some time off from writing, I take time and reduce my reading/interaction on Twitter and Facebook. I read physical books (yes…those paper things that pre-dated tablets and eReaders).

I spend a little more time having lunch and coffee conversations with friends and family. A lot of the time, those conversations end up as inspiration for blog post topics.

6) Focus on a source of inspiration – There is nothing like a good Muse. Find a person or a few people who inspire you to write. Read their stuff, but don’t focus on their content, focus on why they are writing. Read their “About Me” page. Find out why they like to write.

Remind yourself why you like to write. Reach out and ask others how they get their mojo back. Be social on social media…

7) Write some drafts – Write just to write. Write some poetry. Write a love letter to your significant other. Write with a paper and pen.

Put something on paper or type something electronically that you never intend to publish. Just get the words out.

They might be junk, but more likely they will become the starting points for future posts.

8) Try Commenting – Maybe just reading a few articles and leaving some comments will help you get going. Be cautious, however, if you’re grumpy about your own writing, resist the temptation to stir the pot and engage in online arguments or flame wars.

Instead, contribute your knowledge. Help someone solve a problem. Share a solution. It’s amazing how quickly I find “my value” when I’m helping other people.

9) Help someone else write – Show them how gratifying it is to write. Share the passion.

Remember why we do this and help someone else in their writing journey. It’s amazingly fulfilling to see the light in someone eyes, knowing that you were a part of growing the passion.

10) Get some perspective – Unless you are writing for a living, taking a break doesn’t really hurt anything.

Let your readers know you’re going to take a break, then check back periodically with a short update on where you’re at. Who knows, your break might just turn into a series about taking a break.

Like mine did….

So, what do you think? Have you ever experienced a serious case of Blogger’s block and had to take a break from writing? Why? How did you handle it? I’d love to hear some experiences in comments!

Cheers!

–Sean

This post originally posted at SocMedSean.com - SocMedSean – Social.Media.Sean http://bit.ly/2EslUtc

[touristguidebuzz]

Review: Hawaiian Airlines (A330) First Class From New York to Honolulu

Hawaiian Airlines has been flying between its Honolulu (HNL) hub and New York’s JFK airport since 2012, and with flights between the two cities clocking in at about 11 hours, it’s unfortunate that the flag carrier of the Hawaiian Islands failed to have a more modern, lie-flat product up front, especially considering United offers lie-flat nonstop service from Newark (EWR) and typically from Washington, D.C. (IAD) and Delta offers lie-flat seats seasonally from JFK and other major hubs.

Thankfully, that’s all ancient history now that Hawaiian Airlines has given its Airbus A330s major upgrades to better establish itself as the best option for getting to Hawaii from the continental US. Several months ago, we got an an early look at the carrier’s retrofitted A330s, featuring its brand new, fully lie-flat First-Class product, which just began flying between HNL and JFK a few days ago. Yesterday, I had the chance to try it out for myself.

Booking

As soon as I learned that Hawaiian Airlines’ retrofitted A330s would be flying to JFK this month, I searched Google Flights and bought a one-way ticket to Honolulu for $1,153.28 using my Amex Platinum card — I ended up earning almost 5,800 Amex points since the card gives you a 5x bonus on airfare when tickets are booked directly with an airline or through Amex Travel.

If you want to use points to book this flight, Hawaiian charges a minimum of 40,000 HawaiianMiles for a one-way saver award in First Class, though availability for saver awards is extremely rare. American Express Membership Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest are both transfer partners with Hawaiian if you don’t already collect HawaiianMiles. Since I don’t have a practical use for HawaiianMiles, I decided to credit this flight to JetBlue’s TrueBlue program. My ticket was booked in the ‘A’ fare class, meaning I earned 1 TrueBlue point for every 2 miles flown — a total of about 2,500 points.

Airport and Check-In

Hawaiian Airlines operates out of JFK’s Terminal 5, which is also home to JetBlue, Aer Lingus and TAP Portugal. The departures hall at T5 is overwhelmingly JetBlue-focused, and Hawaiian Airlines occupies only a few desks at the far end.

Considering the ridiculous security lapse that happened at JFK over the weekend, I was very curious to see how the TSA was handling things. Agents definitely seemed to be making an extra effort to contain passengers in line and keep a a closer eye on those passing through the terminal — they were not at all amused when I pulled out my camera and tried to snap a few pictures.

Since I’d arrived after the early morning rush, I was through security within 15 minutes and on my way to the gate, which was located far away from the security checkpoint at the opposite end of the terminal. There were a few food options throughout the concourse, but I knew that I had a large meal waiting for me on board, so I headed straight to the gate. I was already running late due to traffic on the way to JFK, but if I’d had more time before my flight, I would have stopped by the Airspace Lounge, which Amex Platinum cardholders have complimentary access to.

Cabin and Seats

Hawaiian’s retrofitted A330s now sport a first-class cabin with 18 lie-flat seats arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration. Each seat has 76 inches of pitch and is 21 inches wide.

Hawaiian Airlines added more Extra Comfort seats to the main cabin in the retrofit, so these planes now feature 68 of them, up from the original 40 on the carrier’s non-retrofitted A330s. Each Extra Comfort seat is 18 inches wide and features 36 inches of pitch. There are also 192 seats in regular economy arranged in a 2-4-2 layout, and each of them is 18 inches wide with 31 inches of pitch.

There are several rows of Extra Comfort seats on either side of the aircraft — not in the middle, as you can see in the photo below, since the airline found passengers were more open to paying for extra legroom seats if they had access to a window or aisle. That makes perfect sense to me.

Another interesting feature of this specific aircraft is the two rows of Extra Comfort seats located directly behind First Class. This mini-cabin is very private, especially if you’re seated on either side of the plane.

Up front, the first-class cabin is bright and airy, with each ‘pod’ of two seats giving off tropical vibes. As a whole, the cabin looks totally fresh, its color scheme a constant reminder that you’re going on vacation. It’s a unique design that makes the space more fun than the typically buttoned-down business-class cabin you’d find on most other carriers.

My seat, 3H, was located in the last row of the first-class cabin, adjacent to the aisle, which was great for this long flight. At each seat, decked out in very attractive dark leather, was a small pillow attached to the headrest, as well as a large pillow and pink blanket that added to the fun, vacation vibe of the cabin.

Each seat had a fixed ottoman that acted as a foot rest while it was in the upright position — it then became part of the bed when the seat was in lie-flat mode. As you can see below, there’s a small space between the ottoman and the pod of seats in front of it, which is supposed to be a pass-through so the person sitting at the window seat can sneak by without disturbing your sleep. I was skeptical of this at first, but actually found it to work well in practice — the extra bit of space also allowed flight attendants to serve the window passenger without having to lean over me.

While the seats are operated by a simple toggle switch and recline into a fully-flat bed, they aren’t the widest.

If you like to spread out, you might find yourself a bit squished, but I thought the bed was perfectly comfortable and was able to take an excellent nap after a few hours of watching movies and getting some work done.

Another great feature of these seats was the availability of power ports — you can plug into one of the two USB ports or the full AC power port. Having the ability to charge more than one device, especially on such a long flight, was a huge perk and something more airlines should emulate.

Since I was traveling alone, the privacy divider was important and I think Hawaiian Airlines did it right with these new seats, despite having the 2-2-2 arrangement. The divider was substantial enough to make the seat feel private, but also looked great and since it was light-colored frosted plastic, I didn’t have to worry about feeling like I was deliberately blocking out the person next to me — it’s basically the best of both worlds.

These particular seats don’t feature an in-seat IFE system (more on that later), so in-flight entertainment is provided via iPad Pros that were distributed shortly after takeoff. The airline installed an interesting holder for the iPads, which consisted of a metal arm that pops out of the seat and has an indentation designed for the tablets to fit and stay (mostly) secure. I didn’t have too much trouble with this setup, but if you tend to move around a lot and don’t want to adjust the iPads, you’re going to have a problem.

The first-class cabin had one lavatory and featured some additional toiletries, but other than that, it was a standard, small airplane restroom.

Food and Beverage

A few minutes after boarding, the extremely friendly flight attendants offered me a pre-departure beverage — a choice of pineapple juice, Prosecco or a Mai Tai. The passenger next to me had a very healthy-looking açai bowl that made me hesitate when ordering a cocktail at 9:30am, but I just couldn’t pass up the chance to get into the Island spirit with a Mai Tai. I don’t regret my decision one bit either.

Shortly after takeoff, the flight attendants distributed small water bottles as well as the menus for our flight. They came around again a few minutes later to distribute the iPads, allowing me to get set up with my entertainment before having lunch.

After handing out hot towels, the FAs asked for my choice of beverage — there were several beers, wines and cocktails, including the excellent Mai Tai that I had before. I settled on a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, which appeared moments later with a dish of salted macadamia nuts. Both were delicious.

Next, I got to choose between two appetizer salads and two main course dishes. For the appetizer, there was either a crab meat salad or a burrata and tomato salad. Being a total cheese head, I went for the Caprese salad and it didn’t disappoint. Another thing that impressed me was that the butter was served at room temperature instead of as the freezing cold brick you’d end up with on other airlines.

For the main course, there was a choice of a tofu noodle bowl with vegetables or chicken with caper sauce and roasted vegetables. I chose the chicken and once again, it was delicious.

Pineapple upside down cake was served for dessert. I was so impressed by the first two courses that dessert ended up being my least favorite course — then again, I’m really not a dessert person anyway so I may be biased. Either way, I had no trouble eating the entire piece.

Shortly before landing, I was served chicken with sticky rice and chicken with rice noodles, scallions and broth. The sticky rice was phenomenal, but the soup was a bit bland.

Amenities

When I boarded the plane, I wasn’t offered an amenity kit and didn’t notice any in the overhead bins either. According to a press release from Hawaiian Airlines I’d received, passengers were supposed to receive newly-upgraded amenity kits on this JFK-HNL flight. I’ve since reached out to the carrier for clarification.

Another important thing to note is that this aircraft is not equipped with Wi-Fi (at this point). To some, that’s a huge drawback, but for those looking to totally unplug and relax, this could a great thing. But if you want to stay connected at all during the 11-hour flight, don’t plan on it if you’re on this plane.

In-Flight Entertainment

As I mentioned above, Hawaiian Airlines supplies entertainment to the first-class cabin via iPad Pros that are pre-loaded with content — if you’re seated in coach, though, you’ll still have a seat-back IFE monitor in front of you. The iPads in first class come in a smart-looking leather case, which you can see in the photo below.

Inside the case, there’s also a power cable so you can plug into the USB port that’s part of the seat, as well as a microfiber cloth for cleaning the screen. The airline offered over-the-ear headphones but I brought my own to use instead.

If you don’t want to hold the iPad in your lap or on the tray table, a metal arm folds out from the seat and is designed to hold the tablet in place. I already mentioned this, but the design makes it difficult to move from your seat while keeping the iPad in place, which could get annoying if you — or worse, your neighbor — moves around a lot during the flight.

As for the entertainment itself, the selection was decent. I had no trouble picking out two movies to watch, but if you’re planning on staying awake the entire time, you might tire of these options. In addition to movies, there are a number of TV shows, music and games to keep you busy.

The interface was simple, intuitive and featured sharp graphics thanks to the iPad Pro. However, some features that you’re likely used to seeing from other business-class products, such as the Airshow or point-of-view cameras, are lacking (though technically, the airshow is shown on screens mounted to the front wall of the cabin).

Overall Impression

Hawaiian Airlines’ new first-class product is a supremely comfortable way to travel between New York and Hawaii. The seats are brand new and comfortable, the cabin is fresh and fun and the food is excellent. Combine all of that with extremely attentive and friendly crew members and it becomes an experience that’s unique and hard to beat these days.

Does anyone have a flight booked in Hawaiian Airlines’ new first-class cabin? What are you looking forward to the most? 

All photos by the author.