#they have to at least talk to each other for 30 minutes per day

[skriblee-ksk]

JacKiyuu relationship dynamic thing i saw someone do on tumblr(i forgor) WAIT NVM i think it was ryllen

ITS MY QPR!! and! fun fact: my first actual oc x canon. that’s crazy. i had some in the past but i was never rlly feeling it. BUT THIS TIME I GET BRAINROT OF THEM which may be bad but it’s summer break so it’s better. maybe.

genuinely struggled w Jack’s color because like. What is it. His hair lighting in chibi form is like. a teal. but within first years it’s yellow-orange. but like. his shirt. is dark pale green. idk man.

anyways headcanon of aroace-spec jack because i love aroace-beaming my favs SORRY. KINDA. IM PRETTY COMFORTABLE W IT BUT LIKE. IDK. SORRY. gender wise i got nothin tbh but also jackiyuu yuri’s kinda cute i think. IDK LIKE AU?? WHO KNOWS. HAPPY PRIDE MONTH. I WILL BE POSTING MORE OF THEM. HOPEFULLY.

tag list (ask to be added!!): @kathxrat-01

[softtdaisy]

heyyyy i was wondering if you could use these two prompts for mick :)

"is the pillow wall really necessary?"

“can i come over tonight? is that stupid to ask?”

Pairing: Mick Schumacher x female!reader

Words: 1296

A/n: I'm so sorry it took me so long!! I was waiting for the perfect inspo for this story and i’m actually proud of it so i hope you will love it 

“I can’t believe you want me to watch that movie, again.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at Mick’s desperate tone through the phone. You knew he would be mad that you wanted to watch 13 going on 30 for the second time this week. But you also knew he wouldn’t say no. Mick never said no to anything that wasn’t a real problem. And let’s be honest, watching a romcom with you was never a problem. 

Mostly because you were alternating every movie night. And he made you watch an action movie the other night.

You’ve been doing this for weeks now. You knew Mick for several years but never really got to know him. Or even talk to him, actually. Your father was a mechanic and you loved going to the Grand Prix with him. That was how you met most drivers and Mick has always been such a sweetheart with you. You still couldn’t understand why you never talked more before.

Then, the last time you went to the Grand Prix, the weather was terrible. You were supposed to go for a drink with some friends but ended up staying at your hotel bar. Luckily, Mick was in the same situation. You spend the whole evening together talking about movies and cinema. Hours flew by and you both couldn’t stop adding something to the conversation. You never wanted it to end. It was like meeting your soulmate.

“We should watch movies together.” Mick offered. You immediately accepted. It was quite the perfect opportunity for you both. You were living alone and being by yourself every single night started to be a burden. Mick was still traveling a lot and he was feeling homesick most of the time. Especially because, even if he loved the team, he was also by himself.

Basically, that was how it started. At least three times per week, you were watching a movie with Mick without being together. Sometimes you were just commenting by messages and then calling each other to discuss it. Sometimes you watched the movie with a video call so you could chat and see each other’s reaction.

Nothing builds a relationship better than a shared passion. Mick slowly became one of your closest friends. But it would be a lie to not admit he was becoming more than a friend. There was something intimate in sharing your favorite movies with someone, with calling them almost every day and knowing everything about them. 

There was something intimate in falling asleep while still on the phone and waking up with the image of Mick sleeping in his hotel room too.

“It’s my night!” you replied to Mick’s complaint. “You can’t disagree with my choice.”

“We should have a rule that we can’t watch the movie two times in a week.”

“Well it’s too late for tonight.”

You put Mick on speakers while making dinner. You were cooking your favorite meal. One that happened to be Mick’s one too. What a coincidence. Maybe he could feel it through the phone. Or maybe he added some secret cameras in your apartment the one time he came. But he took you by surprise when he said “Are you cooking what I think you’re cooking?”

“Yes I am, Schumacher.” you laughed. 

“Can I come over tonight? Is that stupid to ask?” you heard him say. It wouldn’t be the first time Mick came to your place. He helped you after a Grand Prix weekend, which also happened to be your birthday weekend, and you came back with more bags that you could handle. He offered to make a detour and help you instead of letting you round trips in the stairs.

But you never did a movie night at your place. Or his. When Mick was in town he was often occupied and you couldn’t ask to steal a night or two with him. It would be a first. A good first.

And less than thirty minutes later, Mick was standing in your kitchen. He helped you with the dinner. Not specially with the cooking, no. More with the laughing either with the jokes or the mistakes he made. “I’m a terrible assistant, right?” he asked with some sauce on the nose. God knows how he managed to get that.

“Well, at least I don’t have to watch TV when you’re here.” 

After dinner, and while you were cleaning, Mick offered to prepare your room for the movie night. You imagined he would just look for the movie, hoping he wouldn’t trick you with it, and wait for you. But when you arrived in your own bedroom, you were surprised to see a literal pillow wall in the middle of your bed. You laughed for the situation as much as for the proud face he made.

"Is the pillow wall really necessary?" You asked when you reached the bed.

“Well, I know for sure that you take a lot of places in bed so…” he didn’t even finish his sentence before you hit him with the pillow.

The real excuse behind his architecture construction was that Mick was scared he might react, laying by your side. You had always been the girl he had a crush on since he entered F1. You were always there somehow, either close to him or on the other side of the paddock. But you were always sweet and he always felt like he was part of your world if you barely talked until a few months ago.

When this all started, he felt like living a dream. How lucky could he be to get to spend so much time with the girl he loved? But there were inconveniences too. Like listening to you speaking about your previous relationship or how you imagined the perfect one for you. Feeling so close and so far away from you at the same time. Accepting that, maybe, he won’t ever be more than just a movie friend for you.

He was glad that you didn’t break everything immediately and accepted to lay on your favorite side. He felt protected. Nothing could go wrong like this, he won’t let his love show without any warning.

Having no idea that you were struggling with the same issue, by your side. And watching one of your favorite rom coms with the man of your dreams next to you wasn’t as you expected it to be. In a perfect world, you would be in his arms, living your own favorite.

But nobody said you couldn’t make your life a perfect world.

You were blind either. And you noticed how Mick was fighting with own arm, like he wanted to put it around you but was containing himself. So pillow after pillow, you broke the wall between you. He didn’t notice immediately, or he was pretending not to see. It wasn’t until you put a hand on his arm that Mick turned his head. “Where is the wall?”

“Destroyed.” you answered with a sweet smile. 

There was something intimate with spending so much time with someone, even through screen. You both could read each other like an open book. And Mick knew that you were waiting for him to make a step, after you made the first one. 

So he did.

He finally let his arm around your shoulder so you could cuddle against him. When he felt like you were comfortable enough, which wasn’t hard because that man was a living pillow, he put his lips on your forehead to kiss you. “Now you don’t have any excuses to start watching horror movies,” he whispered.

But to be fair, you could watch the worst movies in the entire world that it wouldn't matter anymore. Not as long as you have Mick by your side.

[pure-ablution]

Can you talk about the exercises/sports you do?

I’d be glad to!

I don’t do every single one of these classes every day, so although it looks like quite a lot, it really isn’t as much as it seems. I’m a very active sort of person, I always have been, and I like to have at least one exercise class booked for each day of the week, but almost all of them are low-impact and focus on precision and awareness in movement, grace and flexibility, and bodily control. These are the exercises and sports that work best for me and give me the physical and mental results I like best, but you can take whatever is helpful to you from this list. I’m happy to talk about any of the exercises I do in more detail if you’re interested, just send another ask or message me privately.

0–5–45. This is my adaptation of the very popular treadmill workout, and I do it every single day as soon as I arrive at the gym. I’ve adapted it to have 0% incline because I find that inclines build up my legs too much, I’ve sped it up to 5 mph (8 kmph) because I like a brisk powerwalk, and I do it for 45 minutes instead of 30 because 30 just isn’t a challenge for me anymore. I love this little workout because it doesn’t require any thought so early in the morning, it’s low impact but it still warms me up and gets me going, and it helps maintain my preferred body fat percentage without building unwanted muscle and requiring a lot of undue effort.

Resistance workouts. I like to switch these up so that I don’t get bored, but every day after the treadmill, I like to do some combination of a workout with calisthenic and resistance-based exercises. I avoid purposeful ab workouts because I don’t want to build up my waist accidentally—the only exercise I really do for my abs are stomach vacuums and nauli kriya—but aside from that, pretty much anything goes. Using a resistance band helps me improve my flexibility as well as my strength, and bodyweight exercises build up my strength without overloading or bulking up any of my muscles. My workout usually lasts about 20–30 minutes and I tried to find a single video demonstrating what I do, but I couldn’t find one—it’s basically just a random mixture each day of calisthenics and resistance bands.

Stretching. Stretching my muscles properly isn’t exactly an exercise or a sport per se, but it’s definitely the most important aspect of my workout routine so I’m going to include it here. Improving and maintaining my flexibility, especially as I grow older, is very important to me, and stretching not only keeps my joints and muscles supple, but it also helps to keep my muscles long and lean instead of short and bulky. I’m hypermobile and so I have my own stretching routine which gives me the proper deep stretch that my body needs whilst maintaining good joint support—it’s based on the stretches and exercises I was taught to do when I trained in rhythmic gymnastics as a child. Again, I mix it up, but you can find basically every stretch and exercise I do amongst the videos on this playlist.

Weightlifting. I only started weightlifting relatively recently, and I have to admit that I’m still a bit hesitant about it, but it’s definitely given me much more of a rounded figure and boosted my natural shape—my butt looks a million and one times better now! I really don’t like the typical ‘strong curves’ kind of look and it just doesn’t suit me, so I stick to using very low weights and high repetitions to build strength without overly increasing my muscle volume. Weightlifting has helped improve my shoulder strength in particular, which was always a huge issue for me, and it’s helped to better sculpt my arms and lift my butt better than any other exercises I do. I try to do an hour of weightlifting every evening after I’ve finished with my things to do that day, and I focus mostly on my form and ensuring that I execute each exercise correctly for the best impact. I do things slowly and carefully, and I think that it’s this super-slow pace and precision that’s given me the results I like best, because it still really tests my muscles and pushes me further each time without overloading anything.

Ballet. Ballet is the one dance that I’m totally devoted to. I’ve been in ballet classes since I was 2 years old—so almost 20 years now—and I just love it, it does wonders for my body and for my sense of physical grace. Since starting at uni, I’ve gone down to one class a week with one extra conditioning class on a Saturday, and although it’s nowhere near enough for me to be considered a ‘serious’ ballerina, it fits into my schedule and allows me to keep up my skills to a reasonable degree. I’ve always studied ballet with the Vaganova Method, and again, this has really emphasised the importance of precision and lightness in the way I dance and move in my everyday life. Ballet has given me the most overall control over my body and the way I move, I think, out of everything I do, and it’s taught me the importance of discipline and routine when it comes to looking after your health.

Ballroom/Latin dancing. I switch this one up much, much more because it’s not so serious for me. I love social and partnered dancing, and I’m lucky in that the ballroom and Latin dance classes near me allow me to switch up each week and not remain loyal to one single dance or style. Partnered dancing, for me, is about knowing the right dances in the right circumstances, and connecting with your body and your partner’s body, and that’s what my classes give me, nothing more and nothing less. Alajos is much better than me in this respect because he’s always danced much more seriously than I have, but I love going out for our weekly dance class together and perfecting the steps of a foxtrot or samba. Both ballroom and Latin social dance styles help most with tapping into sensuality and understanding how your body can relate to another in the context of music, and they’ve given me a lot to work with in terms of body language and physical social skills.

Traditional folk dancing. This is much more informal and I don’t take classes in it anymore, although I used to, when I lived back home. Nowadays, me and a few other girls set up an informal folk dancing troupe and we teach one another our native dances, it’s just something fun and silly and we only meet up every couple of weeks or so, but it helps us keep in touch with our roots and traditions, I think. I like folk dancing in particular because not only is it fun and lively, but it also really exaggerates the difference between the sexes and the nature of femininity, so in that way, you can learn a bit more about how your ancestors might have thought women ought to behave and move, and water this down for your everyday life. It’s interesting and strangely anthropological in that sense, and some folk dances in particular place a huge emphasis on facial expressions in dance, which I like—it’s a fun and helpful change from focusing mostly on the body, and enables you to gain control over your facial muscles, too.

Rhythmic gymnastics. This used to be the bane of my life when I was a child, but I’m grateful for it now. RG probably evokes some traumatic response for most, if not all, post-Soviet girls out there, and I’m no exception. I’ve done rhythmic gymnastics for as long as I’ve done ballet, but I don’t do it nearly as frequently now because I’m much older and I was never especially amazing at it in the first place. I mostly help out with teaching younger girls these days, work on my flexibility in my free time, and go back to training briefly but intensively if I’m going in for a student competition or something—I take conditioning classes more often than I actually train in gymnastics now. At this point, it’s more about my flexibility and strength than anything else, and I can’t name a sport which has better improved my flexibility to almost freakish levels than gymnastics.

Reformer pilates. I take reformer classes twice a week at the studio near me, and I like it a lot, although I think that mat pilates gives much more potential for a harder and more advanced workout. The nice thing about the reformer is that it adds some resistance to my workout, and my studio offers both traditional reformer classes and ‘power’ classes which seem to be more of a mix between pilates and strength training, with a heavy focus on form and posture. The power classes have helped me hugely with my understanding of form in weightlifting especially, and the traditional classes allow me to stretch my muscles deeply and in ways that are more difficult to do without the help of equipment. I also really like reformer pilates as a rehabilitation exercise if I’m recovering from an injury, because the reformer offers a lot of support, better enables isolated exercises, and you can take it as gently and as slowly as you need.

Mat pilates. My studio offers a classical mat pilates class and I take it twice a week. Pilates these days seems to be associated more with aerobic exercise, but traditional pilates focuses much more on posture and functional movement, and our classes follow the original method of Joseph Pilates and a few of his students, though my instructor isn’t super rigid about this and likes to teach us the history and development of pilates when we’re exercising. Classical mat pilates uses only a few exercises in a very specific sequence, and I could probably skip my classes and just do it at home if I wanted, but I like my instructor’s commentary and the way that she pushes us to stretch and strengthen much further each time we go. I’ve tried contemporary mat classes, too, and they definitely ‘feel’ harder because they get my heart rate elevated much more, but I prefer the classical method because of its focus on detailed, precise movement and correct posture, and how it seems to work each muscle of my whole body.

Qigong/tai chi. I take one qigong class and one tai chi class each week, and I really love them for their meditative focus and how they allow me to feel so much more in-touch and in-control of my body. Qigong is a set of exercises purely for health purposes, and focuses a lot on very slow, intentional movement along with breathing and internal awareness. I like it better than tai chi; it gives me a strange but very beneficial, almost spiritual sort of awareness of my body that I haven’t experienced with any other exercise. Tai chi falls under the bracket of qigong but it’s actually a martial art, although my instructor leans away from the grappling aspect of the art and prefers its interpretation as a low-impact and mindful exercise. In my experience, tai chi is a little more mentally draining, and helps a lot with understanding intention and resolve in thought and movement, as well as improving my posture and reflexes.

Barre. Barre is simply a workout style derived from ballet conditioning classes, and it’s intended for fitness rather than any kind of grace or bodily awareness. I like it, because the small, precise movements help to tone my body in the way I like, and it’s more of an aerobic exercise and cardio workout than most of the other exercises I do, but I would recommend that you find an instructor with a ballet background and avoid any of the chain/branded barre classes—in my opinion and experience, they only really teach bad habits and poor form whilst bulking up the leg muscles, and aren’t much in themselves beyond a bit of weighted pilates. My instructor combines traditional barre exercises with floor-barre workouts, and the classes are designed in a way that’s thoughtful and fitness-intentioned without inadvertently hurting or hindering actual dancers. Proper, well-informed barre classes will help you a lot with improving aerobic fitness, stamina, and awareness of individual muscles, without bulking you up unnecessarily or accidentally damaging your joints and muscles.

Step aerobics. This is super ’80s but I love the step aerobics class at my gym, I’m the youngest there by about 30 years but I don’t really care because it’s fun and it gives me results. My instructor keeps it low-impact, there are no jumps or jogging required, and it’s just a really fun way for me to get in some cardio without it feeling like a chore. I don’t think that step gives me serious physical results in any way, but I do it mostly for my heart health and overall fitness and stamina, and it definitely helps in that respect without building up my muscles in the slightest. You could definitely do step aerobics at home if you wanted—I do it sometimes if I haven’t been able to book onto my usual class, using one of Jane Fonda’s old video workouts—but I like the social aspect of it and the silliness. It’s important to keep sport fun, I think, and I look forward to my step classes every week.

Callanetics. This is another super ’80s workout but it’s one that actually does give physical results, in my opinion. Callanetics tightens up my body in a way that I think is quite unique, and it works really fast. It works with repetitions of small movements and isometric exercises, and was developed from classical ballet conditioning classes. It’s super boring because you don’t really do anything major, and you don’t feel as though you’re working out, but whatever it is, it definitely works in some capacity and I really notice if I haven’t been keeping up with my schedule! Callanetics just seem to draw you inwards somehow, as though someone’s taken the strings and pulled them tightly—my waist seems much, much tighter, my legs are sculpted and shapely, and my butt and breasts are lifted upwards. This is one of those workouts which needs precision in form and movement, so if you can find a class near you, then I recommend going for at least a few sessions to make sure that you’re doing each exercise correctly. Otherwise, use a mirror and the original books and videos.

Gyrotonics. This is a bit esoteric, but my ballet instructor recommended that I start taking gyrotonic classes for my posture and range of movement, and they actually work wonders. It’s not easy to find a gyrotonic class because it requires specialist training and equipment, but if you do find one, then I really recommend that you go. It’s sort of like classical reformer pilates in 3D, if that makes any kind of sense, and focuses on enhancing your spinal movement in every direction whilst simultaneously building up functional strength and muscle tone. I take a gyrotonic class every few weeks or so just to realign myself and remind my body of its proper skeletal positioning, and I think it’s worked wonders for my posture, flexibility, and joint support. I don’t dislocate my joints anywhere near as frequently anymore, and I can move much more supply and smoothly.

Somatics. Somatic techniques sound like total quackery and I think that some of them are, but others actually do work and help a lot with posture and bodily awareness. Things like the Alexander Technique aren’t complete snake oil, but they are relatively obscure and only really popular amongst dancers, actors, and musicians. I saw a posture therapist for almost a year and she drew upon the Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais, and other biomechanical theories to help me understand how posture isn’t only about spinal positioning but actually awareness and positioning of every joint, muscle, and nerve in your body. The exercises are very slow and meditative, and more internal than external, with a lot of focus on the training of the nervous and respiratory systems; they basically just teach your body, very slowly and methodically, the healthiest way of aligning itself within physical space, and teach you how to be aware of your body’s positioning so that you can notice and realign yourself when necessary. I’d recommend finding a serious teacher who isn’t some kind of witch doctor—one who works a lot with performing artists would probably be best. I don’t attend actual somatics classes anymore, but I still use a lot of the exercises and theory in my everyday life, and it really enhances my experience and results from the other exercises I do, like pilates.

Iyengar yoga. I’ve tried lots of different varieties of yoga but iyengar is my favourite by far. It has a lot less ‘flow’ than other types of yoga, and so can seem a bit disjointed or overly regimented at first, but I love its focus on detail and precision, and how it’s truly a taught class with exercises to take away and practise, instead of something looser and more intuitive. Iyengar is very intense, it’s more mentally than physically taxing because of its demands with precision, and focuses almost completely on perfecting alignment and technique, and it’s a favourite amongst the ballet dancers I know because of this—although actually, it’s accessible for almost anyone, and my class is mostly full of retirees. Iyengar was designed to rehabilitate and teach yoga to people with physical limitations, and it’s a regimented sort of system which makes you reliably strong over an extended and planned period of time.

Swimming. I love swimming so much, I’m a total waterbaby and I feel so happy in the water. Swimming is an excellent sport for pretty much anyone, I think, because you become almost weightless in the water and all of your joints are completely supported. It works out the whole body and you can take it as far or as little as you feel you need, and even the most poorly-coordinated body moves gracefully in water. I try to go swimming for a couple of hours each week, and I prefer swimming in the lake or river near me, but if it’s too cold or polluted then I use the pool at my gym centre. I’ve been swimming for as long as I can remember; I grew up next to the Caspian Sea and every child in my town could swim before they started at school. I don’t take any classes or anything like that anymore, I just turn up and swim lengths until my time is up, and I think that swimming is a skill that everyone should learn because you never know when you’ll need it. It’s a perfect entry sport for people who are unfit or embarrassed about how they look or move, and I’d recommend signing up for a few adult classes if you feel in any way unsure or worried about your safety in the water.

[detailtilted]

hi! I'm sorry if you've talked about this before, but I've been wondering how you enhance the spn con videos. like, how does it work? cause your videos look amazing, especially in comparison to the previous footage!

Thank you so much for being interested enough to ask!

At a very high level, the visual enhancements to the original videos themselves are made by running an upscaling program and then manually adjusting color-related settings in my video editing software. Sometimes I also fix aspect ratios if the original videos are squished.

Below are way more details than you probably ever wanted. 😅 I’ll put my very long answer after a break...

Upscaling

The very first thing I do when I start a new video is to take all the video sources I can find, pick out the ones I think I'm most likely to want to use, and see if I can get them to upscale. This is actually one of the easiest parts of the whole process, at least in terms of the actual time that I myself have to put into it. The computer does most of the work.

The upscaling is done through a software program. I don't actually have any idea, but I imagine it might be a dumbed down version of the type of software that movie studios use when they create upscaled Blu-ray releases of older films. I know the obvious question is, “What’s the software program?” I’m a little scared to say it without some explanation first, because it has “AI” in the title. I know and understand (and agree with) why AI is such a hot button today. However, this is not generative AI where it generates a new work out of nothing, and it’s performing a function that a human could not reasonably do.

The way I understand it, it runs an algorithm to analyze all the frames in the video and figure out how it can remove some of the visual “noise” and also add missing details to some frames based on what it finds in other frames. It then updates every single frame in the video. The videos I’m currently working with have 30 frames per second. A 30-minute video would therefore have 54,000 frames. For a human to compare 54,000 frames and make all the tiny changes required to each one would be… impossible I think. So anyway, after that long preamble, the name of the software I’m using is “Topaz Video AI”.

There are a variety of settings you can tweak, so I focus on upscaling one video source at a time because the same settings that work with one source may not work for a different source recorded with different equipment. I try different combinations of settings to small sections of the video until I find settings that seems to return noticeably improved results without adding any weird distortions. Sometimes I have to give up and proclaim the task impossible. If the video has too much noise and/or not enough good detail already there for it to work with, then it won’t upscale well. I get much, much better results with original video files than I do with files from YouTube. I think the videos were compressed when they were uploaded to YouTube and lost some of their quality.

If I find a setting that works, I tell the software to apply those settings to all of the videos from the source I'm currently working on and then leave my computer to crunch through them. That can take hours, and it makes my computer sound like it's preparing for liftoff, but it doesn’t require my involvement. I’ll often let it run overnight, then check it the next day to see if it came out ok. Sometimes I have to go back to the drawing board because I find parts of it didn’t come out well at all, but usually if the sample looked good then the full result also looks good.

Then I take my next video source (another set of videos recorded by a different person on different equipment) and repeat the process.

Color Corrections

This is all done in my video editing software. I’ve been using Adobe Premiere Pro. There’s free software out there that might be a better choice. I tried one early on and didn’t do very well with it, but I had no idea what I was doing. Video editing is new to me. So for me, the advantage of using a very popular software program was that there are tons of answers out there for just about every question I’ve ever thought to ask. Now that I have more experience, maybe I’ll give some of the free options another try. I have to decide whether or not to renew my current license at the end of the year and the price is pretty crazy, especially considering it's only for a limited period of time.

So… back to color corrections. My original attempts at this did not start out well. My first set of videos were the CHICON 2007 videos and those colors looked fine to me, so it never even occurred to me to adjust colors. When I moved on to Comic-Con 2008, I was confronted by a bunch of badly red-tinted and green-tinted videos and I thought, “Hmm, I wonder if this video editing software can do anything about that.”

And I tried. I drove myself absolutely mad. I’m not good with colors in general, I’d never worked with color adjustment settings before, and my eyes were going crazy trying to figure out if I was making things better or if I was just creating a new variety of bad. I put out a plea for opinions/advice here on Tumblr with some screen shots showing what I’d done so far, and sensitivehandsomeactionman came to my rescue. They took one of my screen shots and adjusted the colors in their own software to show me what could be achieved. And it looked amazing. Having that example to reference was a huge help. It was still a challenge for me, but I eventually got pretty close to what they did.

I’m not as good at it on my own, but I learned a lot through that process that I’ve been able to apply to my subsequent videos. I think every video I’ve worked with since then has had at least slightly wonky colors, so I've had a lot more practice. There are a bunch of complicated color-related settings in Adobe, but eventually I found the “Lumetri Color” panel which has a simpler set of set of controls consisting of a few sliders that let you adjust between two opposites until you find the right balance.

One slider is for Exposure and it basically changes the lighting from darker to lighter. Then there are two color-related sliders. One shifts between blue and orange and the other shifts between green and purple. I play around with those sliders until I think the colors look more natural, focusing mostly on their skin tone. Then if needed, I’ll adjust the Saturation slider a little to tone things down. For the most part, playing with those 4 sliders usually gets me something that I think looks decent.

Some videos are more difficult than others though, and I still consider this to be very much outside my wheelhouse. When I announce a new video on Tumblr, I usually display a comparison image of the original video versus the enhanced. Those help me see that the end result does in fact look at least a little better than the original. Sometimes after staring at the video for hours on end, I start to doubt.

If there are any wonky aspect ratios making the video look squished, that’s a really easy fix by just changing the scale percentages for that video in my video editing software.

All The Rest of the Work

All those things I just babbled about probably take up only 25% of the time I spend on each video. Less if the videos don't give me much trouble with upscaling or color adjusting. I could write another book about the rest of the process, but what I've already typed is probably overkill as it is so I'll try to be brief since this stuff isn't as much about the visuals anyway.

This is when I move on to the process of choosing which videos to display at which times and editing everything together into one (hopefully) cohesive video. I also try to choose the clearest audio that covers most of the panel. Audio changes are very noticeable, so I try to minimize them and use a single audio throughout the whole video as much as possible. Often the audio you’re hearing was from a different video than the one you’re seeing.

Once I have all the footage edited together, that’s when I start adding the subtitles and the extra content. These things are by far the most time-consuming part of the process, especially the subtitles.

I hope this answered your question. Thanks again for asking! If I didn't answer your question and if you want to risk having another book typed to you, let me know. 😅

[lisablack000]

Alternative Sleep Schedules

Polyphasic sleep refers to sleeping in more than two segments per day. Following a polyphasic sleep pattern doesn't necessarily reduce the total number of hours you sleep, but many people adopt polyphasic sleep as a way to reduce their overall sleep time and maximize their wakeful hours.

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Studies have shown that a polyphasic sleep pattern can fight the negative effects of sleep deprivation by allowing for short naps throughout the day. These naps replenish lost nighttime sleep as well as boost brain function. Polyphasic sleep has also been found to increase alertness.

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To understand polyphasic sleep, it's important to understand our culture's current ideal for optimum rejuvenation. The traditional eight hours of shuteye we hear about most often today is referred to as monophasic sleep - just one sleep session and then you're awake for the day.

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Conversely, polyphasic sleep is about segmenting your slumber into multiple phases. Different sleep schedules such as Biphasic, Dymaxion, Everyman, and Uberman each consist of several naps and/or core sleep sessions (deep sleep and REM) a day.

Biphasic: Consists of a split sleep schedule with two sessions. Often a five to six hour "core sleep" and then a one and a half hour nap.

Dymaxion: Commonly consists of four 30-minute naps during the day. Two hours of sleep total.

Uberman: Usually consists of six to eight 20-minute naps during the day. Generally, two hours of sleep total.

Everyman: Commonly consists of four sleep sessions. Often a three to four hour core sleep followed by three naps throughout the day.

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Historical Sleep Patterns

Now labeled as an "alternative" sleep schedule, polyphasic sleep was once the norm.

The dominant pattern of sleep, arguably since time immemorial, was biphasic... Humans slept in two four-hour blocks, which were separated by a period of wakefulness in the middle of the night.

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These weren't brief phases either. Many times people would actually get up and take on their daily (or in some cases nightly) tasks, visit with neighbors, talk with their family, etc. Sleep schedules changed drastically as the Industrial Revolution brought forth an artificial sense of extended daylight with the advent of the light bulb. Too much bright light stops our bodies from releasing melatonin, a hormone responsible for regulating sleep.

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Some famous advocates of polyphasic sleep, were Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, and Nikola Tesla. Both da Vinci and Tesla followed the extreme polyphasic Uberman method, requiring only 2 hours of sleep a day, segmented into 20-minute naps.

Salvador Dali, had his own sleep method. He would sit with a key in one hand, poised above a metal plate placed on the floor, and let sleep take him. As soon as he began to slumber in earnest, the key would slip from his fingers and clang against the plate – waking him immediately. Dali felt as though sleep was a waste of time.

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Around 85% of mammalian species are polyphasic sleepers.

Ultimately, the vast majority of people are not built to sleep in patterns other than monophasic or biphasic sleep schedules. Biphasic sleep, which deviates the least from the contemporary eight-hour model, has been shown to have some significant benefits. Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that biphasic sleep can actually maximize creativity and alertness in highly innovative individuals. It is now suspected that the creative genius of historical figures such as Tesla or da Vinci, who were said to have ascribed to the "Uberman" model, actually may have been caused by mania or insomnia.

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Possible Dangers of Polyphasic Sleep

Significant hormone imbalance (especially in young adult males)

Lower cognitive functioning

Trouble operating cars or heavy machinery

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Naps are Still Good

If you take a nap during the day, don't worry. Naps are safe, healthy, and sometimes all you need to stave off your sluggishness. A study on sleepy military pilots and astronauts found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34% and alertness 100%. In addition to performance, a short session of shuteye can help with:

Alertness

Relaxation

Physical rejuvenation

Stress

Tension

Depression

Research found that only 5% of the population can get by on just six hours of sleep. Regardless of which sleep schedule you choose, the importance of good sleep cannot be underestimated.

[queerdraws]

i love your postcard artwork for the zolu playlist SO much!! the colours are so so good and i love the brushwork! i think my favourites are a tie between the one for chikai and the one for simple song <3 also, I was wondering if you could share what brushes you used + how long they took you! looking at your art makes me want to draw again after not doing it for so long

Thank you!! and wow i think this is the first time someone's asked me for my brushes, this is like a digital artist rite of passage!

Answers n screenshots n stuff under cut (I went a little to ham on this oops)

While we're talking settings I want to give a quick PSA to all digital artists:

CHECK UR ASPECT RATIO!!!: (MOST IMPORTANT SETTING BY FAR)

DO NOT DRAW WITH THIS ALL MESSED UP, IT WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY. It's probably good to check this after every system update (I don't, but, you know...). Windows likes to mess w your shit when it updates.

If you have a really tiny tablet you might need to trace outside a bottle lid or something.

Okay now on to the meat of the post

-- Brush Stuff --

I use Clip Studio Paint. For my playlist drawings I think I only used these brushes (these are my main 3 in general) (p.s. they're all default brushes! but i've adjusted the settings):

1) Gouache This is most of what i used for the postcards. I nuked Color Stretch because i hate it (it blends colors together as you're painting, like painting over wet paint. I prefer things to look more crisp)

2) Real G-Pen Used this as little as possible, to keep the painterly effect. My preferred fine-detail pen, has a nice crunch to it. I've fine-tuned my setting further in the thickness dynamics / brush size dynamics settings because I mostly use this brush for linework and wanted it to handle really, really naturally and precisely

The random box is checked by default, probably to make this brush feel more like handling a real inkdip pen (I don't like that)

3) Mapping Pen Least used. I generally keep this brush at the 50-70px range. It's unpleasant to use for detail work (the taper is really fiddly at my tablet pressure settings) but good at filling in large areas very opaque very quickly, with a crisp edge (Also, doesn't lag as much as the gouache brush at large-ish sizes). Has enough wiggle room that it can be used to approximately fill tighter spaces at large brush sizes. Used for when I needed to quickly color over an area that wasn't working or quickly fill in background color that didn't need paintbrush texture. Did not realized the stabilization was set to 10 until just now. I usually turn that waaay down to prevent lag (my laptop isn't very old but it's a sensitive beast)

Other stuff that'll help:

General pen pressure: (under File -> Pen Pressure Settings)

tweaking how CSPaint handled my pen pressure helped a lot with making lineart look more natural. It's worth messing around with this and trying out different settings for a while to see how they feel.

-- How Long it Takes 2 Draw --

I don't really keep track of how long art takes me from start to finish, and making the playlist drawings was kinda nonlinear 😅 sorry!

-> I started out sketching really quick composition and color ideas as the songs were playing, limiting myself to just the duration of each song (so like, 5 minutes for this part) -> i did that again at least 2 more times per song -> after that, idk. I would work on one pic then get stuck and move to another. Some I could hammer out in like... 5 hours? Some took me upwards of 20 (30?) hours for no real reason (I have "will graham clock" days, where I'll try to draw a face over and over and it'll look really strange, like will graham's clock drawing every time) (this seems to be either a vitamin deficiency or a brainfog inflammation type thing 4 me 😵‍)

I'll use ur two favorites as specific examples: -> Chikai was one that went pretty quickly (with the exception of their arms and the clothing folds there giving me trouble). Probably took 4-6 hours? -> Simple Song had a couple different versions, partially because I initially had the cards all laid out landscape-style, and I decided I actually wanted them all portrait-style & repainted it after it was already done. That aside, the colors /atmosphere on that one gave me trouble and the general composition / perspective had a lot of tweaks (I was trying to figure out if I wanted it to be a kinda flat stylistic perspective or if I wanted it to make more literal sense, trying to figure out what to do with luffy, trying to make him not look Too baby boy sweetie pie). Probably took 7-10 hours...?

In-progress landscape versions: (varying levels of in-progress)

Misc in-progress of Chikai and Simple Song:

Simple song looks kinda sequential like this lmao. Luffy looks like he's A-posing and floating away to the boat and then sitting down pleasantly in it. Wonderful. --

Anway -- hope any of that was helpful!

[foster-the-world]

More info

I'm watching autism documentary #3. In a different key - it's interesting. Listened to five or six embracing autism podcast today. Talked to the special ed consultant. She was helpful.

She said they will recommend:

1. A SEIT (Masters degree special ed teacher) to do individual time with him for up to ten hours a week in his current class. She said all public schools should also have an OT, PT and a speech pathologist that he could see.

2. A 8:2, 10:2, or a 12:2 special ed class. They will provide all services including ABA therapy. The evaluator mentioned this on Friday so its mostly what I'm expecting they recommend.

Special ed consultant recommended if they give us the special ed school we should take it. They would bus him there. We will try to do a tour before our IEP meeting.

Unless the tour is super impressive at this point I would prefer to keep him in his current setting with the SEIT support. Our family prioritizes community/family highly. Both things would be given up/down played if we send him out of our community and without his sisters. Of course, we will do that if he really needs it but I don't see why we wouldn't at least try keeping him here. Everything says the least restrictive placement is best.

It helps that when I asked the assistant teacher how he is doing today she got a big smile on her face and said "He is doing great. He's playing, eating and sleeping. He's so funny." It made my heart so happy. Of course, he would still be great even if his teacher didn't see it. It's just really nice to know he's showing off his amazing self to others. He's high maintenance but he's so, so, so great.

It feels like whiplash going from fighting for two forty five minutes of OT per month for over a year to discussions of 10-30 hours of individual therapy at a special ed school to his gen ed teacher saying he's doing great.

Even if we don't follow her advice I appreciate the special ed consultants information. The only thing I didn't like was when she brushed off my questions about diversity of the student body in school options. She said it didn't matter. She did go on to say the priority at age three needs to be getting him the services he needs. Which makes sense. I would have appreciate that explanation with a "I know it really sucks but right now you can't prioritize that need because the special ed services are currently more important." Instead of claiming it doesn't matter. At some point we may not be able to prioritize finding a place with kids/teachers that look him, or a place in our lovely community or a place with his sisters. That doesn't mean those things aren't important. Those needs don't go away because he has special needs. The documentary is now featuring African American families of kids with autism. It's validating my concerns.

Researching ABA therapy. I don't even know what they would try to get him to do. He's not safe when he runs full speed without looking forward. When he's in a big crowd he gets all amped up and his body gets out of control in unsafe ways. I'm attaching a picture of the first day of school as an example. He was super excited to see everyone so he's movements increased tenfold. I would love to get him help with those things. I watched videos of ABA and don't know what they would do to help him through either of those issues? I'm reading the criticism's. I would like to see how its implemented in schools. I want to better understand what they are offering.

Let's see how the speech appointment goes tmrw. Its an hour train commute each way. Blah.

It's supposed to rain during Bee's park Birthday party. We can move it inside but its not ideal. Not really enough space for fifty people.

[illustratorintheprocess]

WEEK 23: Card Cutting & Monday Group Session

Let's start by appreciating the clean cut cards. All dry and shaped up they feel amazing and expensive in my hands. The hope is that they are interesting to touch and memorable in design so that they won't be thrown out as easily as some flimsy, cheap alternative. And if someone does throw one of these away I think they'd feel at least a little bit bad about it. I'll probably bring them with me to networking events and job interviews to be able to give people a little something to remember me by and make it easy to find my work + get a feel for what my style looks like.

Scott did an amazing job in cutting the cards with care and great attention to detail. As per Tony's request I left some behind for the technicians to use for teaching future generations of students. So if any prospect UAL, LCC students read this - you might see these again if you're trying to litho print some business cards yourself, haha!

*definitely DM me if you do see them irl though! That'd be CRAZY!!*

Now to the Monday Group Session. I have a love-hate relationship with them for a number of reasons but first, let's look at my attendance: Before the Spring Break I attended 4 or 5 Monday sessions (to be honest I lost track but I wasn't there for all of them):

-I'm pretty sure I was there for the FMP official brief but at that time I was still working on my EC dissertation submission so it's a haze and I had no time to think about the FMP at that point yet.

-On the 16th of January a few of us were waiting in the usual room only to get an email by our year leader 30 minutes into when our session should have started saying the following:

Everyone who was waiting in D305 left after we saw that email, myself included but as it turns out later a substitute tutor apparently came to get us but we were gone at that point. Very odd how that all went. I think we should have been contacted sooner and actually been made aware that there was a substitute tutor in the email they sent out. Kind of annoying cuz I have a 1.5h journey (one-way) to uni and that day I wasted the travel expenses basically. But oh well, scheduling errors happen. [I was also using a temp pass at the time cuz it was right when I had lost my student ID]

-There was one time I attended and the session was with our regular tutor, where we shared our FMP ideas in small groups and gave feedback to each other. At that point I was sharing my idea-mind map with the group and making up my mind about whether or not I should make my projects on Cryptids.

-The next session was with VJ instead of our usual tutor. At that point I was playing with the idea of making a comic book for the FMP in which the Cryptids were everyday-people in our society. Remember the idea of Mothman as a window cleaner? That was also when VJ told me better not to try out smth new for the big project and rather to stick to something familiar - print making in my case.

- The last Monday session I attended before the Spring Break was with our year leader, substituting for our usual tutor, and at that point I had pretty much figured out what I wanted to make for the FMP:

- a Cryptozoology Zine including 2 cheesy quizzes(Digitally Printed)

- Cryptid Posters A3 or A2 (Digitally printed)

- Criptid T-shirts (Screen Printing on fabric)

Our year leader liked the idea, which was great and I felt motivated.

I know there is at least one Monday session right before the Spring Break that I missed because of my stomach issue, that had me going to a walk-in clinic, as mentioned in previous posts. And I think another Monday session might have been cancelled because of the OXO exhibit or smth.

I don't have a 100% attendance rate but when I show up, I'm participating and enjoying talking about my work with the tutors.

Now let me tell you why I have a love-hate relationship with Monday sessions: On one hand I love seeing and hearing about everyone else's projects and work because it's really motivating to hear other people who love the same stuff you do talk about what they are doing and how and why. On the other hand, there have been times where the amazing work of everyone around me left me feeling like a damn failure. I think it's a double edged sword. Because you are rooting for your peers and boosting each others inspiration but at the same time they are your future competitors and if you don't thing you're measuring up, you're left feeling like garbage. So there have been times where I nervous cried on the way home or on a quick bathroom break because I was feeling like my work was waste.

Secondly I love talking about my projects but I know I am slow to find a grip and get started (especially in case of EC submissions, other projects deadlines are cutting into new projects beginning and you're starting out on a delay). So when I talk about my projects I am excited but also super anxious, thinking I should have done more, I have nothing to show and everyone is judging me and it can get all very overwhelming. With the Cryptid project especially I have run into issues of people in my group and tutors not really knowing the topic and I can explain what Cryptids are and bring examples like Nessi and Bigfoot, which most people recognize, but it's still unfamiliar territory and so the feedback sometimes reflects the unfamiliarity of the others with the topic. Thats fine. It just adds to my insecurities of - oooh maybe this is a bad idea.

My third point is the PDFs and briefs we are being presented on some Mondays. Because I'm a terribly anxious bean I am always on moodle, looking around and re-reading briefs so by the time we are being briefed in person I most likely have read the document like twice before. So during the briefing I am doing work on my ipad or smth and that can make me look quite unapproachable, which brings me to my 4th point: I can seem like a dick. Because I am anxious about the quality of my own work compared to others, intimidated by everyone's amazing work and selfconscious about being behind, I'm usually quiet until asked to speak. I don't think I come across as very likeable in class because I keep to myself and am nervous. But I like helping people with questions in the group chat and giving and getting feedback in group rounds is great. I just never really found a friends group in my course.

Now, why am I going about such a rant on Mondays?

This Monday I felt really overwhelmed by the amount of work that has yet to be done for the FMP and I emailed my tutor that I'd rather just return home after my appointment with Print Finishing (cutting and picking up my cards) so I can work for the rest of the day rather than stay for the group session between 2-6pm.

My tutor said she hasn't seen me in a while and I should come to the session so we could catch up. I mean I'm not NOT going if she tells me I should. So I went.

My appointment for the cards was at 2 so I came to the session about 40minutes late but it was alright because the brief that was going on was about PDFs and slides I had found on Moodle and read over the Spring break already. Then there was a 10min break and our tutor went around talking to everyone. I sat kind of secluded so it took her a little while to get to me, which made me nervous on one hand because I was freaking out about the work I needed to do but on the other hand it gave me some down time to sketch and I enjoyed that very much actually.

When it was my turn with our tutor she opened the conversation saying she hadn't seen me since before Christmas break and that she knew nothing about my project, which threw me off because I remembered clearly the session where I was narrowing down my ideas and I explained Cryptids to her. As I mentioned Cryptids she remembered the session and agreed I had seen her once since. Maybe I was overthinking it but I felt put on the spot and low-key called out for not attending more. I was however at meetings with other tutors and made an effort to attend at least once more, the day we got that email and all went home because after a 30minute wait still no one had come to get us (this is not meant to be salty, it was a scheduling mistake I'm sure, but I made the effort to show up that day and I want to note that). Also the doctors appointment on a Monday right before Spring break was annoying but I'm glad I went there instead of to uni in pain.

Anyway, I don't want to linger any longer on my attendance.

I told her my project idea, showed her my business cards and told her about the matching tissue paper i had printed. They aren't exactly final outcomes that fall under the Viable Practice brief but they are part of it and she agreed that i should mention them in connection to the Viable Practice chapter in my final PDF. We discussed how much space each of us would have at the end of year exhibit (max 2 x A2 sizes on a wall OR smth to put on a table) and I a bit sad I wouldn't be able to show off both, my Cryptozoology zine AND a few posters. Most likely it'll be have to be a singular Cryptid poster and one of the Quizzes only. This brings me to our next talking point, the quizzes. She liked the idea of them but we had a quick back and forth about whether or not it should be one or 2 quizzes. I am heart-set on 2 separate quizzes but because we didn't quite agree I will whip up 3 options (2 separate and 1 full one) for her to review next Monday. My concern is that if i make one tree-diagramm quizz for 8 cryptid-outcomes the writing would be too small on an A5 sized page. She said I could have the quizz fold out but that would complicate the whole Zine layout and finishing process and with the lack of time I really don't want to overcomplicate things. She liked the idea of the screen printed t-shirts and agreed that if I couldn't print them in time, I could make online mock-ups to put in my submission PDF instead. - Glad to have that solution work, otherwise it'd mean more stress!! Regarding the posters I came up with the idea of adding descriptive arrows, which would describe their features, to the creature Illustrations so that they'd be a bit different to the zine illustrations. Now to the illustrations themselves I told her I hadn't decided on a color palette yet and she gave me the homework of finishing at least 2 Cryptid illustrations and in 3 different palettes each so next week we could decide on one combo. She asked for a zine mock-up and i told her i had made one for each, the research zine and Cryptid zine already but hadn't brought them in that day. I had however layout sketches on my iPad but I didnt end up showing them because our conversation drifted off to the research zine and it turns out I misunderstood that a bit. The focus was more on the resaerch methodology we used than the fruits of our research. A different approach than what I was going for with my mock-up. I was focusing on the research outcome, not HOW I WAS DOING THE RESEARCH. A shift of focus and I had understood what was asked of me. Still I think the research zine is the scariest part of all the FMP.

To conclude my homework for next week is:

- 2 Cryptid illustrations in 3 different color palettes each

- Write 3 Quizzes

- Don't forget to bring the Zine Mock-ups

+ I want to make a list of different research methodologies I used so I can check with my tutor if it's enough for the research zine.

As panicked as a I was about this Monday session, it was helpful. The start was a bit rocky because I felt kind of put on the spot and and indirectly accused of not attending enough, which added to my anxiety in that moment but we had a productive discussion and I'm glad my tutor took the time to go over everything with me. I like talking to her and the other tutors, even if it's scary sometimes.

[lovelylovelyartist]

Hi! Adding some advice/Wish I Knew That knowledge from a 30 year old depressed disabled Sad Boi :)

Hair

- if you have hair long enough to be up(like pony tail bun etc) don't sleep with it up. That also causes frizz and breakage (I'm still trying to train myself out of this one 😅)

-look up what type of hair you have and what kind of brush/shampooing you should use. Different types of hair have different cares, and you'll feel better for it.

Menstrual:

- if you leak/bleed into your underwear, use COLD water in the sink to wash it out. Hot water will cause the hemoglobin to basically bind up and stay in the fabric. But if you clean the undies while they're still fresh, usually it won't stain.

- track your cycle. Not on an app (not with the USs byzantine laws. It could come back to bite you) but on a calendar, with a journal, something. It's just very helpful to know your typical cycle, when it should happen, when ovulation happens so you know when NOT to have sex (if applicable), and sometimes you need to schedule OBGYN appointments at certain points in your cycle

- don't wait to take the ibuprofen/midol/whatever. There's no bravery in pushing through it. Just take the ibuprofen. (Not specifically menstrual related just kinda in general)

Safety in the public world:

- tell a friend your travel plans/about what you plan to do that day. If something happens to you, if you're not home by when you thought you'd be because something happened, it could help someone get a jump on finding you/saving you.

- when you drop off a friend somewhere, have them flash a porch/house light when they get in to let you know they're safe. Yes, even the big strong people that can handle themselves.

- if you're being confronted/harassed/etc, make a scene. Scream, yell, cry, make direct eye contact with someone and talk to them. If something happens to you, you have witnesses that saw something happen.

- when you're administering first aid or CPR and there are other people around, pick someone out specifically to call 911 (ie, "you with the green jacket, call 911"). Too often a group will assume someone else has and not call

- when giving first aid or cpr, accept help when it's offered. If someone else knows cpr, trade off with them. Shits exhausting, and having someone to help could make a world of difference.

Safety at home:

- LEARN THE SELF HEIMLICH. If you are disabled and can't do it in a traditional way, ask a doctor/paramedic/fireman how to do it safely.

- make yourself a Bug Out Bag. A gym bag, backpack, suitcase, whatever you can easily pick up and walk out the door if you have to leave that minute. Keep it as close to the door or fire exit as you can (or even at a secondary location if you make it in anticipation of escaping abusive family/partner), and make one for each resident of your home. Make sure it has:

Non perishable foods you can safely eat (granola bars, small cans, etc)

A gallon of water, per person per day (recommended a 14 day supply, but for a bug out bag one or two is fine)

A change of clothes that fit, with extra socks and underwear

A Hoodie, and cold weather clothing if appropriate

A three day(minimum) supply of medications (prescription, but also some OTC Tylenol/ibuprofen/etc)

Money, whatever you can spare from daily life

Phone charger, power bank, emergency burner phone if you think that's pertinent

Flashlight and batteries

A written list of in case of emergency contacts

Spare glasses if necessary

If you have pets, a leash, a toy, and enough food and water for them

Updated pictures of your pets/family/other people in your household. If you get separated in a natural disaster, this can be a linchpin in helping you find them.

Important documents, or at least copies- birth certificate, Social Security card, green card, passport, etc

A small radio, with batteries or whatever it needs to be operational.

Something non electronic to do! Book of crosswords, sketchbook, rubix cube, coloring book, knitting supplies, whatever! You may need to conserve power for phones.

I lived in Southern California where we had fire evacuations almost every other week, so this has definitely been a boon. Make sure to maintain it as necessary! (Changing the food and water, replacing expired medications, updating photos, making sure the clothes still fit)

Pets safety:

- if you have small spaces you can't easily reach, block them off. Cats will run to those when they're scared, and if you can't easily reach them if there's a fire/natural disaster, it's not good.

- try to keep a kennel or carrier on hand for each small animal in your household if space allows. Alternatively, try to acclimate your cats to car rides

- learn the heimlich manuver for cats and dogs! It is a thing!

Mental health

- if you can do nothing else that day, try brushing your teeth and changing your underwear. You only get one set of teeth in your adult life, and shit sucks to deal with when they're unhealthy

- in that same vein, if you feel up to it do at least one small change. Change your clothes, or change your sheets, or change where you're sitting. Sometimes the most important thing is to break up the monotony of depression.

-play with your pets. They love it, you feel better for it, win win

- feed your cat at the same time you take your medications. I promise you your cat will never let you forget.

- get a pill box. I stg this is the one thing that's made sure I actually remember to take my meds, even when it was just a single pill a day.

- if you start feeling like you're dissassociating or unreality, make yourself a hot or a cold drink. Focus on it, focus on the temperature, on the contents, on the sounds it makes.

- or eat something very pungent or visceral feeling. Cronch a carrot, or a pickle, or a pepper. Lick a salt block, put vinegar on your hand and lick it off. Crunch an ice cube. Something with texture or bite to it, as long as it's safe for you to eat

- make a safety plan. Even if you never share it with others, or never need to use it, make it. There's samples online, but the gist of it is an If Then type thing- If im feeling suicidal, then I follow these steps. If im feeling Unreal, Then these are coping skills. It's basically meant to be a "if you want to kill yourself, do these things first to see if they make you feel less suicidal." My safety plan has shit like "brush your teeth", "feed and cuddle the cats", "listen to a podcast", "give yourself a hug for a few minutes", "have a snack". As well as the other stuff like "make sure you've taken your meds", and "go somewhere you won't have means to do something". If you go through your safety plan and still want to kill yourself, it's sad but I understand. But if you go through your safety plan and feel better enough you can stand another day, then it's done its job. (Then recommend contacting a mental health professional or someone that can help you talk through what you are/were feeling

- give other people compliments in your head (or out loud, but It's deffo less socially anxious to do it mentally). Eventually it starts making you feel better too

-look up bloopers for shows you like. No really. MASH bloopers are my favorite, but I think muppets/sesame street bloopers are fucking ART and are hysterical to me. (Nothing quite matches elmo voice yelling "I ONLY HAD THREE LINES...")

- force yourself to smile. Not in a performance way, not for other people. Smile when there's no one around, even when you have no reason to. The muscle memory of smiling can trigger your brain to release the chemicals it would when you're actually happy.

- follow compassionate reminder or daily affirmation style blogs on Tumblr, or recovery for ED or addictions/etc. It sounds stupid but god it really helped me sometimes when I've felt like shit.

- instead of body positivity, first strive for body neutrality. Not "my body is beautiful and perfect as it is". Instead try things like "I have hands for petting cats, and making art." "My stomach provides me nourishment, to keep me through the day" "I have legs for dancing, and running, and kicking". Take the things you hate about yourself, and try thinking about them in a neutral way. It's hard to go from Hating your body directly to loving it. But Hating your body to being neutral to it, that's a little easier.

- high school is not the same as college, or real life for that matter. This is good and bad. Good because Jesus christ high-school sucks. But bad because whether you know it or not, the routine is important and when it goes away, you can find yourself lost.

- plan a weekly/biweekly/monthly hangout with friends. Same time, same place, same day (with some allowance for variance, but generally the same) And keep it, sometimes even when you're not always up to human contact. Sometimes Adulthood is such that scheduling time to hang out with people is the only way you can maintain contact with people lol I have 6 people that I see almost every week that I never talk to the rest of the week, and the simple act of getting together once a week has ensured that I see people other than my partner. Otherwise maintaining friends is hard (doesn't have to be irl either! Watch a movie with your mutuals, play an online game with buds! Just hanging out is enough!)

Some things I wish I knew and internalized 20 years ago, hopefully the fact that tumblr has so many young people on it means that posts like this reach them.

In case no one told you growing up

Bras last longer if you let them air dry. Don’t put them in the dryer.

If you have a problem with frizzy hair, don’t dry your hair with a towel. It makes the frizzies worse. (I recently read an article that said to use a t-shirt? I brush mine out and let it air dry.)

Whites wash best in hot water. Everything else can be in cold - save on your electricity bill.

You can kill 99.9% of germs in a sponge by putting it in the dishwasher for a cycle or by microwaving it for 2 min (be sure to make the sponge damp before microwaving and to put a cup half full of water in with it and please DO NOT squeeze the sponge until it has cooled off)

Airing out your room/house and letting sunlight in every so often can decrease the number of household pests like silverfish and ants.

Black underwear is best during your period as stains are less likely to be visible.

To save money, put aside 10% of each paycheck into a savings account. It’ll add up.

Unless your hair has something on/in it (like grease or mud or something), using conditioner first can actually be the better choice. The conditioner holds in the good oils that help you hair look sleek and beautiful, which shampoo would otherwise wash away.

Speaking of shampoo - if you have long hair, washing just the bits that touch your scalp is generally enough. The rest of your hair gets cleaned with just the run off from your scalp.

If you put a tampon in and it’s uncomfortable/you can feel it, you didn’t do it quite right. A properly placed tampon is virtually unnoticeable by the wearer.

Apply deodorant/antiperspirant a couple hours in advance of when you need it. This gives the product the chance to block your sweat glands. Using deodorant just before going somewhere where you’ll sweat (this means walking outside for people in high humidity places) results in your sweat washing the deodorant off and starkly limiting its usefulness.

After running the dryer, use the dryer sheet from that load to brush out the lint catch - it gets everything off in a fraction of the time it’ll take you to get it clean with your bare hands. Paper towels also work well.

Wash your face everyday, or as often as possible. Forget which brand of cleanser is best. Just washing your face everyday will guarantee you clearer skin. And do you best not to pop pimples, as tempting as the urge may be.

Fold laundry asap after taking it from the dryer to avoid wrinkles. This may seem obvious for dress shirts and silly for things like t-shirts, but you’ll notice the difference even then once your shirts stop looking like unfolded paper balls.

[granthjain]

Essential Health Concerns PhD and Master's Students Should Be Aware of Irrespective of Their Tight Schedule

HI,

Graduate studies for a PhD or Master's degree are one of the most rigorous phases in an academic curriculum. Between coursework, research, teaching assignments, and writing, the overwhelming pressure for success pushes the student. Under such rigorous schedules, health—both physical and mental—often suffers at its cost. On the other hand, neglecting one's health has a dangerous effect on academic performance, productivity, and overall wellbeing. PhD and Master's students should make their health a priority even in the wake of their busy schedule.

Following are the vital health points that graduate students need to be aware of and practical ways to maintain a balanced lifestyle even while juggling with academic and research responsibilities.

Mental Health: Coping with Stress and Anxiety

Not to generalize, but graduate students are no strangers to stress. Deadlines, experiments that do not go as planned, mountains of reading, and the pressure to publish can all contribute to high anxiety levels. In a 2019 survey by the American College Health Association, more than 40% of graduate students reported having had difficulty with academic tasks due to stress.

Why It Matters: These can be stress, anxiety, or depression, which impair a student's ability to concentrate, problem-solve, or remember things. Chronic stress weakens the immune system, and that places students at greater risk for getting sick. Furthermore, the cumulative effects of mental health can result in burnout, which could set a student off totally off course in his academic track.

How to address it: Practice mindfulness through meditation, which helps to ease the stress of students and keeps them focused: apps like Headspace or Calm provide guided sessions that only take 10-20 minutes per day. Take breaks: A series of short breaks throughout the day help someone stay mentally clear and not get overly burnt out. Work in a cycle using the Pomodoro technique: work for 25 minutes, then break for 5 minutes.

Seek Help: If you feel overwhelmed, definitely talk to your advisor, peer support groups, or a counselor. Most colleges and universities have available complimentary mental health services for graduate students only.

Habit Management: Understand that you cannot do it all at once. Set realistic goals for each day and accept the fact that you don't have to be perfect.

A little bit of mental clarity goes a long way towards enhanced productivity and overall well-being.

Physical Health: Exercise and Movement

Seated for hours writing papers or simply analyzing data, may contribute to a bad posture and pains in the back, or even worsen some of the musculoskeletal problems. Moreover, a sedentary lifestyle is indirectly associated with diseases like cardiovascular disease and diabetes besides obesity.

Why It's Important: Physical health is closely bound to psychological health. Regular exercise has been shown to reduce anxiety, improve mood, and enhance cognitive functioning. It also builds up energy levels, which is very helpful when you have to put in long hours.

How to Address It:

Integrate Movement Into Your Daily Routine: Even busy students can find ways to incorporate physical activity into their schedule. Walking up the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to your lab, or even just stretching between a series of tasks.

Physical Exercise: Be under a program that ensures at least 30 minutes of physical exercise most days of the week, though one may not need to use the gym; cycles, dancing, or even brisk walking can be fulfilling.

Posture Check: Invest in an ergonomic chair and a standing desk. Switch your seating position a few times a day. It is incredibly helpful in saving the overall pressure on your back and neck.   Minute small changes make a big difference in keeping you fit, healthy, and at your best in class.  

3. **Sleep Hygiene: Prioritizing Rest

Generally, graduate students are highly prone to sleep deprivation. Many graduate students spend many sleepless nights writing papers, conducting experiments, and developing presentations. Enough time must elapse before they can finally get some sleep. Poor sleep, however, clouds cognitive functions, creativity, and productivity. Sleep is the means for memory consolidation, problem-solving, and emotional regulation. Chronic lack of sleep impairs a person's concentration and decision-making ability; hence, he is more susceptible to stress and anxiety. A study from the National Institutes of Health shows that people who sleep less than 6 hours per night have lower academic performance and functioning abilities as compared to those persons who sleep between 7 and 8 hours.

What to Do to Prevent It:

Keep a Sleep Schedule: Wake up and sleep at relatively consistent times, even on weekends. This will help your body keep track of the time more effectively and ensure better-quality sleep.

Create a Restful Environment: Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. Limit screen time before bed, as the blue light from phones and computers can interfere with melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep.

Naps: Short naps (20-30 minutes) can help recharge your energy without disrupting nighttime sleep.

Making sleep a priority is one of the easiest and most effective ways to boost productivity and cognitive function.

4. Nutrition: Fueling Energy and Concentration

Taking care of your diet can work to maintain good energy levels, which can enhance your concentration as well as sustain your general health. Students often depend on quick fast food like instant noodles, sometimes even snacking or ordering takeout when they face heavy tasks. Unhealthy eating habits can result in low energy and mood swings, as well as lower cognitive acuity.

Why It Matters: The brain needs the right nutrients to work as effectively as possible. Proper diet balances good mental acuity, concentration, and memory-probably the most important factors for success in graduate school.

**How to do it

Balanced Diet: Be sure that your meals contain a balance of complex carbohydrates (whole grains), lean protein sources (chicken, tofu, beans), and healthy fats (avocado, nuts, olive oil), all of which provide your body with a steady source of energy throughout the day.

Snack Wisely: Keep healthy snacks like fruits, nuts, yogurt, or hummus on hand. Don't rely on foods that are full of sugar or energy drinks that will give a sudden kick but then crash and burn.

Hydration: Dehydration impacts cognitive performance and mood. Aim to drink at least 8 cups of water a day. Avoid too much caffeine or sugar drinks, as they can affect sleep and energy crashes.

Good nutrition is essential for good physical health and academics, so try to make it fit into your tight schedule.

5. **Social Connections: Building a Support System

Graduate students often tend to detach themselves, which is made even easier when deadlines seem to pop up left and right. But social contacts are essential for mental and emotional health.

Why It Matters: Social support can alleviate stress, combat feelings of isolation, and foster a sense of community. Healthy relationships with friends, family members, and colleagues can supply the psychological nourishment needed to achieve success in the long run.

How to Do It:

Create Space for Social Engagement: It doesn't matter if it's one hour a week; make time to get out with friends, join a study group, or participate in activities outside the classroom.

Tap into Your Classmates' Experience: Other graduate students can often be empathetic about what you are going through. Building a support network within your department or school can be incredibly helpful.

Staying in Touch with Family and Friends: This will lighten even the hardest times if proper emotional expression is received in order to reduce loneliness or stress.

You're not alone on the academic road. A strong support network will help you through the inevitable knocks that graduate school will have lined up for you.

6. Avoiding Burnout: Knowing When to Rest

Pushing the envelope without resting has been a challenge and problem for graduate students as they have been inclined to accept burnout seriously. The pressure to succeed, publish, and meet deadlines all create a situation of chronic exhaustion and emotional detachment.

Why It Matters:

Burnout affects more than productivity. Mental health and even physical health are affected. Signs are emotional exhaustion, cynicism, decrease in performance, and lack of motivation.

How to Fix It: Recognize the Signs: If your fatigue is always present, you begin to feel disconnected from your work, or if you feel emotionally drained, take a break. Take Time Off: It is more than okay to take a day or two off to relax, do something you enjoy, or simply spend time with friends. This helps restore your energy and motivation. Set Boundaries: Know how to say no when necessary, especially when additional work will interfere with your well-being. It's important to know your limits and protect your mental health.

Rest is not a luxury—it's essential for long-term success and health.

Conclusion

Most graduate school experiences are in fact times of major intellectual growth and academic achievement. It is important to remember this, however your health should never take a back seat. Take control of your mental health, get enough physical activity, sleep enough, eat well, stay in touch with others, learn to rest well, and you will find a space in a balanced lifestyle that still meets all your academic goals and health-related needs.

By taking small but consistent steps to care for your health, you’ll not only perform better in your studies but also set yourself up for a successful and fulfilling career post-graduation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION LIKE THIS VISIT OUR WEBSITE

https:researchpro.online/upcoming

[tallmantall]

James Donaldson on Mental Health - 10 Effective Ways to Manage Anxiety in Daily Life

In today's fast-paced world, managing anxiety is crucial for maintaining mental health and overall well-being. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults every year. However, anxiety is highly treatable, and there are numerous strategies to help manage it effectively. In this blog post, we will explore 10 practical and effective ways to manage anxiety in daily life. 1. Practice Mindfulness and Meditation Mindfulness and meditation are powerful tools for reducing anxiety. By focusing on the present moment and observing your thoughts without judgment, you can create a sense of calm and clarity. Studies have shown that regular mindfulness practice can significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. Consider starting with just a few minutes of meditation each day. Apps like Headspace and Calm offer guided meditations that can help you get started. 2. Exercise Regularly Physical activity is a natural anxiety reliever. Exercise releases endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers and mood elevators. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, such as walking, jogging, or yoga, most days of the week. Even small amounts of physical activity can make a big difference. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that just 15 minutes of exercise can reduce anxiety symptoms. 3. Maintain a Healthy Diet Your diet plays a significant role in your mental health. Consuming a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains can help stabilize your mood. Avoid excessive caffeine and sugar, as they can exacerbate anxiety symptoms. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon and flaxseeds, have been shown to reduce anxiety. Additionally, probiotics found in yogurt and other fermented foods can support gut health, which is closely linked to mental health. 4. Get Enough Sleep Sleep is essential for mental health. Lack of sleep can increase stress and anxiety levels. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night. Create a calming bedtime routine, such as reading a book or taking a warm bath, to help you unwind before bed. Establish a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Avoid screens and caffeine close to bedtime to improve your sleep quality. 5. Limit Alcohol and Caffeine While alcohol and caffeine may seem to provide temporary relief from anxiety, they can actually worsen symptoms over time. Caffeine can increase heart rate and trigger anxiety attacks, while alcohol can disrupt sleep and affect mood regulation. Opt for herbal teas like chamomile or peppermint, which have calming effects and can help reduce anxiety. If you enjoy coffee, try to limit your intake to one cup per day and avoid drinking it in the afternoon. 6. Practice Deep Breathing Exercises Deep breathing exercises can help activate the body's relaxation response. When you feel anxious, take a few minutes to focus on your breath. Inhale deeply through your nose, hold for a few seconds, and exhale slowly through your mouth. Techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing or the 4-7-8 breathing method can be particularly effective. These exercises help reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety, such as rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath. 7. Stay Connected with Loved Ones Social support is crucial for managing anxiety. Talking to friends and family about your feelings can provide comfort and perspective. Don't hesitate to reach out to loved ones when you're feeling overwhelmed. Joining a support group can also be beneficial. Connecting with others who understand what you're going through can help you feel less isolated and more supported. 8. Set Realistic Goals Setting realistic and achievable goals can help reduce anxiety. Break tasks into smaller, manageable steps and celebrate your progress along the way. This approach can prevent feelings of overwhelm and boost your confidence. Use tools like to-do lists or planners to stay organized and prioritize tasks. Remember to be kind to yourself and recognize that it's okay to adjust your goals as needed. 9. Seek Professional Help If your anxiety becomes overwhelming or interferes with your daily life, consider seeking professional help. Therapists and counselors can provide valuable support and teach coping strategies tailored to your needs. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a highly effective treatment for anxiety disorders. It focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to anxiety. #James Donaldson notes:Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticleFind out more about the work I do on my 501c3 non-profit foundationwebsite www.yourgiftoflife.org Order your copy of James Donaldson's latest book,#CelebratingYourGiftofLife: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy www.celebratingyourgiftoflife.com Link for 40 Habits Signupbit.ly/40HabitsofMentalHealth If you'd like to follow and receive my daily blog in to your inbox, just click on it with Follow It. Here's the link https://follow.it/james-donaldson-s-standing-above-the-crowd-s-blog-a-view-from-above-on-things-that-make-the-world-go-round?action=followPub 10. Engage in Relaxation Techniques Relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and aromatherapy can help reduce anxiety. These practices promote a state of relaxation and can be easily incorporated into your daily routine. Experiment with different techniques to find what works best for you. For example, you might enjoy listening to calming music, using essential oils, or practicing gentle stretching exercises. Conclusion Managing anxiety in daily life is possible with the right strategies and support. By incorporating these 10 effective ways into your routine, you can reduce stress, improve your mental well-being, and lead a more balanced and fulfilling life. Remember, it's important to be patient with yourself and seek help when needed. You're not alone in this journey, and there are many resources available to support you. Read the full article

[esigners]

Instagram vs. Pinterest — A Comprehensive Platform Comparison

Instagram and Pinterest are two names that always come up the most when you talk of social media platforms. Both these platforms have become rather popular these days and are used a lot by both businesses and individuals from around the world. Both Instagram and Pinterest can be described as social networking platforms that focus primarily on visuals where users are allowed to discover, share, and curate content. They might appear to be similar at first glance but they are different – and distinctively so – in terms of their purpose, user base, and functionality. They are also unique in terms of their strengths and features.

Difference in terms of user base

Instagram has a huge user base – it is estimated that at least a billion users are on it actively every month. It is especially supposed to be popular among the younger people with most of its users being in the age group of 18 to 34 years. On the contrary, the user base of Pinterest is a bit smaller at almost 400 million active users a month. Instagram is more appealing to female users with women comprising a lion’s share of its user base.

Difference in terms of functionality and purpose

Instagram is meant primarily for sharing videos and photos with people around the world. It provides you with a wide variety of editing tools and filters that help you augment the visual content that you put out onto it. Users can engage easily with it by way of likes, direct messages, and comments. Pinterest, on the other hand, is a platform that allows its users to discover ideas and curate them. It plays the role of a visual search engine, if you will, by letting its users organize and bookmark content into boards which are collections with a definite theme.

Difference in terms of kind of content

The content that you get on Instagram can be described as dynamic and diverse in the truest sense of the words. Videos and photos are the primary forms of content on the platform but you also have options such as Stories, Reels, and IGTV. Pinterest, on the contrary, stresses mainly on exploring ideas and inspirations. Images – also referred to as Pins in this particular context – are the predominant form of content on the platform along with the likes of step-by-step guides and infographics.

Difference in terms of reach and engagement

Instagram enjoys rather high rates of engagement, and it is well-known for that as well. The biggest evidence of this is the statistic that the average time spent per day for each user on this platform is an astounding 30 minutes! The feed here is powered by an algorithm and this makes sure that you get to see content from accounts that you engage with more often than others. Instagram also provides you with features such as hashtags and Explore that let users find content they had not seen earlier. This way, they also get to discover accounts that may be of interest to them. On the contrary, Pinterest emphasizes more on long-term engagement. The lifespan of Pins is much higher than that of Instagram posts. This way, they continue to generate engagement and traffic even months after they have been shared originally.

Difference in terms of options for advertisement

Both these platforms provide individuals and businesses with the option to advertise so that they can reach more people. On Instagram, you get various ad formats such as photo ads, carousel ads, video ads, shopping ads. Advertisers can also make the most of the targeting capabilities that they get on Instagram to get across to certain interests and demographics. Pinterest, on the contrary, offers you Promoted Pins that are capable of blending in seamlessly with the organic content the platform has. The shelf life of these Pins is longer and they can indeed assist you with driving organic traffic with time.

Difference in terms of e-commerce capabilities

Instagram has gotten a whole lot better in this particular regard with the likes of features such as Shoppable Posts and Shopping Tags. Thanks to these features businesses can now tag products in their posts and make sure that users have a seamless shopping experience. As far as Pinterest goes, shopping has always been an integral part of the platform. It has a feature named Buyable Pins that lets users buy straight away from Pins thus making it such a valuable platform as far as e-commerce businesses are concerned.

Difference in terms of influencer marketing

Both these platforms are rather popular as far as influencer marketing is concerned. Instagram has features such as Reels and Stories that combine with the platform’s focus on visuals to make it a preferred option as far as influencers are concerned. Brands often collaborate with these individuals to connect with their target audience and promote their products and services. Pinterest is not on the same level as far as influencer culture goes. Nonetheless, so many content creators use the platform to share content that appeals visually and thus drive traffic to their blogs and websites.

Difference in terms of insights and analytics

As far as analytics and insights are concerned, Instagram offers you detailed data by way of Instagram Insights, its native analytics tool. This tool provides you with valuable metrics like impressions, engagement, reach, and follower demographics, to name a few. You can also get  analytics from Pinterest that provides you with insights into how well your Pins are doing as well as audience engagement.

So, the one that you choose between these two platforms depends on who you are target audience are and what your goals are. If you are looking to share visuals with people around the world and engage by way of comments and likes you should focus on Instagram. However, if you are looking to curate content, discover ideas, and drive engagement in the long term you should look at Pinterest. In such cases, it can be a worthy inclusion in your social media strategy.

[chukpzo]

How Often Should You Exercise? Expert Tips for Maximum Results

Introduction

Have you ever started a workout routine only to wonder, “Am I doing this often enough to see results?” You’re not alone! One of the most common questions in fitness is how frequently we should exercise to achieve our goals. Whether you’re aiming to lose weight, build muscle, or simply stay fit, finding the right balance is crucial. In this article, we’ll talk about expert tips and guidelines to help you determine the optimal workout frequency for your needs. Let’s get started on the path to seeing real results!

Understanding Your Fitness Goals

Before you lace up your sneakers, it’s essential to understand your fitness goals. Are you looking to shed a few pounds, bulk up with muscle, or just maintain overall fitness? Each goal requires a different approach to workout frequency.

The Role of Consistency

No matter your fitness goal, consistency is the magic ingredient. It’s not just about how often you work out, but also about maintaining a routine. Consistent workouts lead to incremental progress, and over time, these small gains add up to significant results.

Consider your workout schedule like brushing your teeth. You don’t skip it just because you’re not seeing immediate results, right? The same principle applies to exercise. By sticking to a consistent routine, your body adapts and becomes stronger, and you’ll start to notice those sought-after changes.

Expert Recommendations for Workout Frequency

So, how often should you actually be hitting the gym or unrolling your yoga mat? Experts suggest the following guidelines:

For Beginners: If you’re just starting with exercise, aim for 3–4 days a week. This allows your body to adapt to new stressors without overwhelming it. Aim for a mix of cardio and strength training, with each session lasting around 30–45 minutes.

For Intermediate Levels: If you have some fitness experience, 4–5 days a week is a good target. You can split your workouts into more specialized sessions, such as upper body, lower body, cardio, and flexibility days. Each session can range from 45–60 minutes.

For Advanced Levels: If you’re an experienced fitness enthusiast, you might be working out 5–6 days a week. Advanced routines often involve more intense training, longer sessions, and a greater focus on specific muscle groups. Just remember to keep recovery in mind to avoid burnout.

Cardio Recommendations: For cardiovascular health, the American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio per week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardio. This can be broken down into manageable chunks, such as 30 minutes of moderate activity five days a week.

Listening to Your Body

While expert guidelines are valuable, it’s equally important to listen to your own body. Everyone’s fitness journey is unique, and your body will provide signals about what it needs.

Signs of Overtraining: If you’re experiencing chronic fatigue, persistent muscle soreness, decreased performance, or frequent injuries, you might be overtraining. It’s essential to dial back and allow your body more time to recover.

Signs of Undertraining: On the flip side, if you’re not seeing any progress despite consistent effort, you might not be pushing yourself hard enough. Consider increasing the intensity or frequency of your workouts to challenge your body.

Adjusting Based on Feedback: Notice how your body reacts to different workout schedules. Some people thrive on daily workouts with varying intensities, while others need more rest days to recover. Tweak your routine to see what suits you best.

The Importance of Recovery

Recovery is often an overlooked aspect of fitness, but it’s just as crucial as the workouts themselves. Without adequate recovery, your body can’t repair and grow stronger, which can hinder your progress.

Types of Recovery

There are two main types of recovery: active recovery and rest days. Active recovery involves low-intensity activities like walking, stretching, or yoga, which promote blood flow and muscle repair. Rest days, on the other hand, are days when you completely rest, allowing your body to fully recover.

Incorporating Recovery into Your Schedule

Aim to include at least one or two rest days in your weekly workout schedule. If you’re working out intensely, consider incorporating more active recovery days to help your muscles recover without being completely sedentary.

Creating a Personalized Workout Schedule

Designing a workout schedule that fits your goals and lifestyle is essential for long-term success. Here’s how to create a personalized plan:

Step 1: Assess Your Goals and Current Fitness Level: Determine what you want to achieve and where you currently stand. This will help you set realistic targets and choose appropriate workouts.

Step 2: Plan Your Weekly Routine: Figure out how many days you can realistically work out each week. Make sure to include a good mix of cardio, strength training, and flexibility exercises. For example:

Monday: Cardio

Tuesday: Strength (Upper Body)

Wednesday: Active Recovery (Yoga)

Thursday: Strength (Lower Body)

Friday: Cardio

Saturday: Full Body Strength

Sunday: Rest

Step 3: Adjust as Needed: Monitor your progress and how your body feels. Adjust your schedule if you’re not seeing the desired results or if you’re experiencing signs of overtraining or undertraining.

Step 4: Stay Flexible: Life happens, so be ready to adjust your workout plan when needed. Consistency is important, but flexibility will help you stay committed in the long run.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Avoiding common pitfalls can help you stay on track and achieve your fitness goals more efficiently.

Overtraining: Overdoing it without enough rest can lead to burnout and injuries. Remember, more isn’t always better. Quality and recovery are key components of a successful fitness routine.

Undertraining: On the other hand, not challenging yourself enough won’t yield the desired results. Make sure you’re progressively increasing the intensity of your workouts to continue making gains.

Ignoring Recovery: Skipping rest days or not incorporating active recovery can hinder your progress. Recovery is when your body repairs and strengthens itself, so make sure to prioritize it.

Tracking Your Progress

Keeping track of your workouts and progress is vital for staying motivated and making necessary adjustments to your routine.

Tools and Methods: Use fitness apps, journals, or even simple spreadsheets to log your workouts, track improvements, and set new goals. Recording your progress helps you see how far you’ve come and keeps you accountable.

Adjusting Based on Data: Regularly review your progress. If you notice a plateau or decline in performance, it might be time to tweak your workout frequency, intensity, or type of exercise. Use the data to make informed decisions about your fitness routine.

PrimeShred: Boost Your Results

As you work towards your fitness goals, consider incorporating supplements that can help enhance your efforts. One such product is PrimeShred, a powerful fat burner designed to accelerate weight loss, increase energy levels, and improve focus. PrimeShred is formulated with natural ingredients that boost metabolism, enhance fat burning, and support overall physical performance.

Integrating PrimeShred into your fitness regimen allows you to maximize your results and achieve your goals more efficiently. Remember, supplements should be an addition to a balanced diet and regular exercise, not a replacement for them.

Final Thoughts

In summary, finding the right workout frequency to see results depends on understanding your fitness goals, maintaining consistency, and listening to your body. Expert recommendations provide a valuable starting point, but personalizing your workout schedule and incorporating adequate recovery is key to long-term success. Avoid common mistakes like overtraining or undertraining, and track your progress to stay on course.

Don’t forget to consider supplements like PrimeShred to boost your results and support your fitness journey. Stay committed, be patient, and you’ll soon see the fruits of your hard work.

[vedamgastrohospital]

Diet and Lifestyle Tips From the Best Colorectal Surgeon In Surat for Maintaining a Healthy Colon

Maintaining a healthy colon is vital for overall well-being. The colon, or large intestine, plays a crucial role in the digestive system, absorbing water and nutrients from food and expelling waste. A healthy colon helps prevent digestive issues, reduces the risk of colon cancer, and promotes overall health. Here are some diet and lifestyle tips to keep your colon in top shape. Experts at Vedam Gastro Hospital, one of the best gastro hospitals in Surat, have shared diet and lifestyle tips for maintaining a healthy colon in this blog.

1. Eat a Fibre-Rich Diet

One of the most important steps to maintain a healthy colon is to consume a diet high in fiber. Fiber adds bulk to the stool, making it easier to pass and helping to prevent constipation. It also helps to keep the colon clean by moving waste through the digestive tract more efficiently.

According to the Gastrosurgeons at Vedam Gastro Hospital, the following are good sources of Fibre:

- Fruits and Vegetables: Apples, pears, berries, broccoli, and carrots are excellent sources.

- Whole Grains: Choose whole grain bread, oatmeal, brown rice, and quinoa.

- Legumes: Beans, lentils, and chickpeas are fibre powerhouses.

Aim for at least 25–30 grams of fibre per day to support colon health.

2. Stay Hydrated

Drinking plenty of water is essential for colon health. Water helps to dissolve waste products and fibre, making stool softer and easier to pass. Experts from Vedam Gastro Hospital, one of the best stomach hospitals in Surat, advise drinking at least 3 litres of water per day. If you’re active or live in a hot climate, you may need even more.

3. Exercise Regularly

Regular physical activity stimulates the muscles in the intestines and colon, helping to move waste through your system. Exercise also helps maintain a healthy weight, which reduces the risk of colon cancer.

The best colorectal surgeons in Surat at Vedam gastro hospital, suggest doing these effective exercises:

- Walking: A simple 30-minute walk each day can make a big difference.

- Jogging or Running: More intense cardio can also benefit colon health.

- Yoga: Certain yoga poses aid digestion and promote colon health.

4. Limit Red and Processed Meats

Studies have shown a link between high consumption of red and processed meats and an increased risk of colon cancer. Limit your intake of red meats like beef, pork, and lamb, and avoid processed meats such as bacon, sausages, and deli meats.

5. Incorporate Probiotics

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that support a healthy gut flora, which is essential for a well-functioning colon. These good bacteria help to balance the gut microbiome, aid digestion, and prevent harmful bacteria from taking over.

Sources of Probiotics:

- Yogurt: Look for those with live and active cultures.

- Kefir: A fermented milk drink rich in probiotics.

- Sauerkraut and Kimchi: Fermented vegetables that add beneficial bacteria to your diet.

6. Reduce Alcohol and Quit Smoking

Excessive alcohol consumption and smoking can both damage the colon and increase the risk of colon cancer. Limiting alcohol intake and quitting smoking can significantly improve your colon health.

7. Maintain a Healthy Weight

Being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing colon cancer. Combine a balanced diet with regular exercise to maintain a healthy weight, suggest the best gastro surgeon in Surat at Vedam gastro hospital. Even a modest weight loss can have a positive impact on your colon health.

8. Get Regular Screenings

Regular screenings are crucial for early detection of colon cancer and other issues. If you are over 50, or have a family history of colon cancer, talk to your doctor about the appropriate screening schedule. Our experts, being one of the best colorectal surgeons in Surat, suggest that procedures like colonoscopies can detect precancerous polyps, which can then be removed before they develop into cancer.

9. Limit Sugar and High-Fat Foods

A diet high in sugar and unhealthy fats can lead to weight gain and poor colon health. Processed foods, sugary snacks, and fast foods often lack the nutrients your colon needs and can promote inflammation. Focus on whole, nutrient-dense foods instead.

10. Manage Stress

Chronic stress affects the entire digestive system, including the colon. Techniques such as mindfulness, meditation, deep breathing exercises, and yoga can help manage stress levels. Reducing stress not only benefits your mental health but also supports a healthy colon.

11. Get Enough Sleep

Adequate sleep is essential for overall health, including your colon. Poor sleep can disrupt the digestive system and negatively impact gut health. Aim for 7–9 hours of quality sleep each night to allow your body to repair and maintain healthy bodily functions.

Conclusion

Maintaining a healthy colon involves a combination of a balanced diet, regular exercise, adequate hydration, and other lifestyle choices. By making these adjustments, you can support your digestive health, reduce the risk of colon-related diseases, and enhance your overall well-being. Remember, your colon plays a crucial role in your body’s health, so treat it well with mindful eating and living habits. Take proactive steps today to ensure a healthy colon and a healthier you.

[drarorasclinic1]

Effective Strategies to Reduce Excessive Anxiety and Improve Mental Well-being

Anxiety is a common emotional response to stressors, but when it becomes excessive or overwhelming, it can significantly impact daily life and overall well-being. Fortunately, there are numerous strategies and techniques that individuals can employ to manage and reduce excessive anxiety. This article will explore evidence-based approaches to help alleviate anxiety symptoms and promote mental wellness.

Understanding Excessive Anxiety:

Excessive anxiety often manifests as persistent worry, fear, or apprehension that interferes with daily activities and relationships. It can lead to physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, trembling, and difficulty concentrating. Chronic anxiety may contribute to various health issues, including cardiovascular problems, digestive disorders, and weakened immune function.

Identify Triggers and Stressors:

Recognizing the specific situations, thoughts, or events that trigger anxiety is the first step toward managing it effectively.

Keep a journal to track anxiety symptoms and identify recurring patterns or triggers.

Once identified, work on developing coping strategies to address these triggers proactively.

Practice Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques:

Mindfulness techniques, such as deep breathing exercises, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation, can help calm the mind and reduce anxiety.

Incorporate mindfulness practices into your daily routine, dedicating a few minutes each day to quiet reflection and relaxation.

Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and improve overall well-being significantly.

Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle:

Regular exercise is a powerful tool for reducing anxiety and improving mood. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week.

Eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Avoid excessive caffeine, sugar, and processed foods, which can exacerbate anxiety symptoms.

Prioritize adequate sleep, aiming for 7–9 hours of quality sleep per night. Poor sleep can increase feelings of anxiety and stress.

Establish Healthy Coping Mechanisms:

Engage in activities that bring you joy and relaxation, such as hobbies, spending time in nature, or listening to music.

Practice assertive communication and boundary-setting to reduce stressors in your relationships and work environment.

Seek social support from friends, family members, or support groups. Talking about your feelings and concerns with others can provide validation and perspective.

Challenge Negative Thought Patterns:

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques can help challenge and reframe negative thought patterns that contribute to anxiety.

Keep a thought diary to track negative thoughts and their associated emotions. Then, work on replacing irrational or distorted thoughts with more balanced and realistic ones.

Practice self-compassion and cultivate a positive self-image. Treat yourself with kindness and understanding, especially during times of heightened anxiety.

Limit Exposure to Stressful Stimuli:

Identify sources of stress in your environment, such as news media, social media, or certain people, and limit your exposure to them when possible.

Set boundaries around technology use and designate specific times for checking email, social media, or news updates.

Create a calm and organized living space that promotes relaxation and reduces sensory overload.

Seek Professional Help if Needed:

If anxiety symptoms persist or significantly interfere with daily functioning, consider seeking help from a mental health professional.

Therapy, such as CBT, exposure therapy, or mindfulness-based interventions, can provide effective tools and strategies for managing anxiety.

Medication may be recommended in some cases, particularly for severe or persistent anxiety. Talk to your healthcare provider about the potential benefits and risks of medication options.

Conclusion:

Excessive anxiety can be challenging to navigate, but with the right tools and support, it is possible to reduce anxiety levels and improve mental well-being. By implementing strategies such as mindfulness practices, healthy lifestyle habits, and cognitive-behavioral techniques, individuals can regain control over their anxiety and lead fulfilling lives. Remember that progress takes time, patience, and persistence, so be gentle with yourself as you work toward greater peace of mind.

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[thedavesnews]

Didneyland Debut

Disney Resort #3 in the books. Still funny to me California came after Paris. Then again, had Covid not shut the world down it still world have been 3rd as I was training to run the Castle to Chateau (a half-marathon in both Paris and one of the US Disney parks in a calendar year). I guess I was just destined to visit Paris 1st.

Both Paris and Anaheim versions of the Disney Resort have 2 parks built in walking proximity from each other and a central shopping/hotel area. It's a great design if you are staying on property. The transportation within Anaheim on a regular business day was very manageable. Our hotel provided a heads up on the bus system which we didn't use the 1st day opting to walk to the nearest Disney parking lot (Toy Story) and taking that shuttle as many other local non-Disney hotel guests were doing.

The rides themselves for the most part were better in Disneyland except for Big Thunder Mountain and Jungle Cruise. California's Jungle Cruise was short. This doesn't make it bad per say but it makes it not the best version although our skipper was funnier than some I've had in other parks. I was pleasantly surprised for the most part regarding the resort itself. For all the heads up I got that Disneyland was small and both days were half days I really don't know what you're doing in the parks. We missed things and we spent FULL days in both with Genie+ getting us expedited access to rides.

Here's the other part of that...the lines in DL were SHORTER than anything we see in WDW these days. 30 minutes seemed to be the average longest time I saw. Obviously there were outliers but those notwithstanding lines were reasonable, IMO. Had we more time Genie would have been an after thought likewise to WDW where we have AP and can do a single ride here and there as we want.

For all the goods DL has over WDW their app and physical security are just awful, truly and abysmally awful. The scanners at the entrances are most likely from the original opening. Do the parks not share technology updates? I'm legitimately asking. This caused so many issues on run day (that update coming in a different post) and having to take things out of pockets, including my medal, was kind of embarrassing since I know there are better ways.

Also, the app. Why is the app so bad. You can't add friends/family without having to know their ticket numbers which is an incredibly cumbersome way to link your party together. That and you have to scan barcodes instead of tapping the turnstile. DL does at least use Magicbands so that's a plus over Paris. I'm assuming for the app it's a privacy law thing? I can't explain why it's so bad other than it's not allowed to have the connections allowed in other states. Even the race announcers talked about it on the stage. I love the mouse but I'm also fair in pointing out the flaws.

Obviously there we positives from the visit as noted above but let's see what else we enjoyed! The Incredicoaster was so amazing. Perfect theming and the queue video talking about the retheme was 4th wall breaking but also really funny. Violet seemed miffed and Edna was just taking it stride which kind of seems against her don't look back mantra. Honestly, the entire Pixar Pier was gorgeous. I got to see it at night and lit up my words will not do it proper justice but you can find photos online of it I'm sure.

Characters just roam around in DL and that was something that we're not used to seeing. At WDW those handlers are extremely tethered keeping everyone back until the character reaches the proper location for the official line to get their moment. I liked the random encounters we had and the characters just took it in stride. Maybe it's the culture at DL. Maybe it's just a different clientele? I never saw any issues with it in DL like I've seen in WDW. Then again, Photo pass was few and far between in DL as well. Most cast members took personal photos with your own phone/camera for free. Refreshing but also odd. It's not like Disney to miss out on a way to monetize guests. They sure as hell don't miss that in WDW.

Anaheim doesn't allow fireworks during the week. If Orlando tried to enforce we'd riot. DL was dumb enough to have a mug that said "It's all about fireworks" when they don't even have them. So dumb. If they won't do fireworks they should consider going the route of Paris and have drone shows. Honestly, the drone shows in Paris were killer. It was innovative and fit a culture that isn't obsessed with blowing shit up.

All the said I want to see if I can compare the parks I've been to thus far and update once park 4 happens. Which park would be #4? Shanghai is the currently leader. All because of Zootopia. If you didn't know that and you're reading this...you either don't know me or haven't read enough of my entries :P

Best of from my current experiences at 3 Disney Resorts

Big Thunder - Paris Pirates - DL Space Mountain - Paris (did not get to ride Land's version) Security - WDW Shopping - WDW Nighttime Show - WDW (Happily Ever After) Hotel - WDW (Polynesian cause Moana...) Castle - Paris Haunted Mansion - DL with Nightmare overlay Philharmagic - WDW Soarin - WDW (over the world) This is just one person's opinion but I'd like to think it's valid since I've done 3 parks and have seen the various cultures that go with them. In either event I'm going to do a post on the return of RunDisney to Disneyland. Make sure to come back and give it a read!

-Dave

Adventure awaited