Jumat, 31 Mei 2019

5 Ways to Challenge Your Perfectionism

Perfectionism: it’s more than just high standards or wanting to excel. Instead, perfectionism is the setting of unattainable standards and making self-worth contingent upon meeting those standards. In other words, it’s like constantly running a race where the finish line can never be crossed.

We’ve talked about perfectionism on the podcast before (here and here), but thanks to social media, the issue has been turbocharged to the point that it bears another look.

Interestingly, imperfection is hot right now. Fitness gurus are posting their belly rolls on social media, “fails” videos attract way more attention than perfectly executed performances, and the otherworldly, filtered version of life on Instagram has been declared over.

But unrealistic goals and extreme expectations still permeate society like a single drop of ink colors a glass of water. We’re always looking to be even more productive, attractive, high-achieving, wealthy, or famous. 

Indeed, sometimes perfectionism can seem to work for us. A study in the Journal of Research in Personality found that self-oriented perfectionism, which, as the name implies, is focused on reaching one’s own sky-high standards, can actually go along with better physical health.

By contrast, with socially prescribed perfectionism, which is when we behave as if everything is a performance for a harshly critical audience, our health suffers.

So, which type of perfectionism is the real troublemaker? And if perfectionism is bad, why? After all, perfectionists are hard workers, have high standards, and often look fabulous. What’s so bad about that? 

The problem is that perfectionism isn’t necessarily about striving for perfection. Instead, it’s the nagging feeling of never being good enough.

The problem is that perfectionism isn’t necessarily about striving for perfection. Instead, it’s the nagging feeling of never being good enough. Perfectionism has many causes, but the end result is a creeping, constant feeling of inadequacy and fear of failure.

At the end of the day, everyone is looking for security, connection, and a bone-deep feeling that we are really, truly enough as we...

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Kamis, 30 Mei 2019

Cryptids, Kaiju, and Godzilla, Oh My!

In April, Merriam-Webster added the word “cryptid” to its dictionary. And in May, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” hits theaters. With those two events happening back-to-back, it seemed like a good time to talk about a few monster words and to answer an important question: Is Godzilla a cryptid?

Godzilla vs. Gojira

Let’s start with Godzilla. I’m sure you know who he is: that fictional, dinosaur-like monster who walks on two legs, destroys cities, and breathes not fire—but atomic radiation. He first appeared in the 1954 Japanese movie “Gojira.” In the movie, he’s awakened from a peaceful life beneath the sea when he’s dosed with the radiation from an atomic bomb. He destroys the city of Shinagawa and irradiates many of its citizens before finally being destroyed. 

Just nine years before this movie was made, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been bombed, closing the final chapter of World War II. Godzilla thus serves as both a symbol of nuclear holocaust and a metaphor for the devastation these bombings caused.

By the way, you might have noticed I pronounced the name of the 1954 movie as “go-JHI-ra,” not “god-ZILL-uh.” That’s because “Godzilla” is an anglicized version of the Japanese word “Gojira.” And “Gojira,” in turn, is a combination of two other words: “gorira,” meaning “gorilla,” and “kujira,” meaning “whale.” Regular Grammar Girl listeners might recognize this as a portmanteau—words like “spork” and “smog” that combine two parts of others words to make something new.

Now, when I picture Godzilla, I don’t necessarily think, “Wow, he kind of looks like a gorilla and kind of like a whale!” But I can see where the filmmakers were coming from.

‘Kaiju’ Means ‘Strange Beast’

“Gojira” was one of the first examples of what’s called a tokusatsu kaiju movie. Let me break that down. 

“Tokusatsu” is a Japanese word meaning “special effects.” It tends to refer to live-action movies that were made in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. CGI hadn’t yet been invented back then, and special effects were pretty remedial. Think of men wearing monster suits, flying saucers being dangled on a string, and stop-motion monsters made of clay.

“Kaiju” is a Japanese word meaning “strange beast”; in other words, what English speakers would call a monster. Super-powerful kaiju are sometimes called “daikaiju.” The “dai-“ prefix refers to their great...

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4 Quick Ways to Reduce Clutter

Make a Small Kitchen Go Further

Think vertical! Stack small appliances. Also, store what you use frequently more prominently. Your counter should only contain items you use regularly—or what makes you happy. Since your cabinet space is so valuable, make sure to go through it frequently and get rid of what you don’t need (keep a close eye on expiration dates!). Using space can help you save space when it comes to drawer dividers, so spend a little to go a long way with drawers.

Use Shoe Organizers

One of our favorite organizational tools is a hanging shoe organizer. These canvas contraptions are made to allow you to store your shoes on the back of a door, but their individualized compartments make them perfect for storing anything. Keep one in the bathroom for bobby pins, make-up, and lotion; one in the garage for gardening supplies; one in your kitchen for spices; and one in the TV room for rarely used remotes and video game controllers. We also keep one in each of our children’s rooms, so that when we tell them to clean up their room, they have a handy place to stow toy cars, action figures, and the million other little things that find their way onto their floors.

Pillowcase It

Our closets are kind of a mess, but we manage never to misplace part of a sheet set. That’s because after washing and folding the pieces, we put the whole set right inside one of the pillowcases, which is a convenient way to make sure everything stays in one place.

Plastic Bag Storage

An empty tissue box is great for holding plastic shopping bags that are waiting for their chance at a second life. As you place each bag in the box, make sure its handles are poking up through the hole. Then thread each new bag through the previous bag’s handles. That way, when you pull a bag out of the box, the next one will pop right up.

These tips are even better on our podcast, which you can listen to on the top right of this page or on iTunesStitcher, or Spotify. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook!

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Rabu, 29 Mei 2019

7 Facts You Should Know About Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

You may have heard about the lucky Morehouse College students who received a massive graduation gift from their commencement speaker, Robert F. Smith. The billionaire casually mentioned that he's picking up the tab for the entire 2019 graduating class's student loan debt.

That's the largest individual donation ever made to a historically black college. What an amazing gift! Smith made it possible for more than 400 students to begin exciting new chapters in their lives without being weighed down with the burden of education debt.

If you weren't as fortunate as the Morehouse grads and still have student loans, it's essential to understand how to pay them off quickly and for the least amount possible. Hands down, one of the best ways to say goodbye to student loans is having them forgiven.

I received a question about this topic from Tamara W., who says, "Talk to me about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. I've qualified, and they say my loans will be forgiven in five years, but I'm not so sure. I'm on the recommended income-based repayment plan and make the lowest qualifying payments, but my interest is skyrocketing and freaking me out. Should I also apply for the teacher forgiveness program?"

Thanks for your question, Tamara. In this post, I'll give you an answer and review seven facts you should know about student loan forgiveness. You'll learn the types of loans, borrowers, debt amounts, and payments required to qualify. Plus, we'll cover key considerations for anyone who'd like to have their education debt wiped out by a forgiveness program.

7 Facts to Know About Student Loan Forgiveness

1. Private student loans don’t qualify for forgiveness.

Unfortunately, unless you have a rich uncle or generous friends, there aren’t any forgiveness programs for private student loans. Private lenders are in business to make a profit, and they expect you to repay every penny that you borrowed.

But don’t make the assumption that every type of federal student loan is eligible for forgiveness. Keep reading to learn which borrowers and what types of loans qualify.

If you’re having trouble paying private student loans, there may be options to make your payments more affordable. For instance, you may qualify to refinance at a lower interest rate, which could reduce your monthly payment.

Some private lenders may offer deferment or forbearance to temporarily reduce or halt payments when you’re dealing with a financial hardship. For instance, SoFi offers unemployment protection that suspends your monthly payments for up to 12 months if you lose your job and your loan is in good standing.

Always contact your lender if you have...

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Selasa, 28 Mei 2019

Can You Be Healthy at Any Size?

Is carrying a few extra pounds really as big a deal as everyone makes it out to be?

It’s true that body weight is strongly correlated with the risk of various diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. But there are numerous other indicators as well, including blood pressure, blood sugar, blood fats, and inflammation. Some have argued that you can be overweight and still be considered “metabolically healthy” if these other risk factors are normal.

Not true, according to a new study. Even for those with normal blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels, simply being overweight increased the risk of heart disease by 28%. “We conclude that there is no such thing as being healthy obese,” said lead researcher Camille Lassalle.

This was a bit of a setback for those who advocate an approach known as Health at Every Size.

What is Health at Every Size?

The Health at Every Size movement promotes acceptance and appreciation of one’s body, even if you’re overweight. It encourages overweight people to shift their focus from losing weight to other healthy habits, such as eating healthy foods and getting more exercise. I’ve noticed more nutrition professionals getting on board the Health at Every Size bandwagon and I think I understand some of the reasons why.

Weight is Just a Number

First, it is true that the number on the scale does not tell the whole story about your health.

Body weight and body mass index (BMI) doesn’t take into account body composition. A very muscular person may have a BMI that’s considered overweight or obese, when they are no such thing. On the flip side of the coin, someone with a low BMI may still have a high amount of visceral fatthe so-called “skinny-fat” phenomonen...

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Make the Most of Your Online Reading With a Learning Plan

Think that you should read that well-written, high-quality article your friend just shared on social media? Think again. It might be a huge waste of time. Rather than reading any interesting article that crosses your path, make a conscious learning plan. 

I lost my own clickbait virginity to Upworthy. They were great at hijacking my mind. They would send me ten psychologically manipulative headlines an hour, and you’ll be shocked when you hear about #6!

These days, the problem isn't clickbait, it's high-quality content. Too much of it. Way too much. When you find articles on topics you love, you read them: Science, health, wellness, fitness, cooking, the politics you follow as a concerned citizen … and all your other hobbies and interests.

You may have learned to resist low-quality dreck like Billy Bob’s “The Real Truth” conspiracy blog, but that doesn't mean that what you do read is the best use of your time.

6 Ways to Make the Most of Your Online Reading With a Learning Plan

1. Separate quality writing from useful writing

When clickbait tricks you, you know you're being hijacked. But high-quality content feels meaningful. You read articles about the Big Bang. Someone's around-the-world diary blog. An essay on poultry farming conditions. (Maybe there is such a thing as too much roast duck). Each is fun when it shows up. But after ten years of reading, I’ve found it adds up to nothing.

The articles informed you, but they were chosen to get you to "engage," not to help you become who you want to become.

What if you chose your own topics, like in the olden days of yore? It’s a bit more work, but then you get to decide who you become.

Billy Bob’s “The Real Truth” conspiracy blog? Low-quality. Anything you read—no matter how well written—so you can feel outraged? Also low-quality.

2. Choose a higher purpose

Take back control. Choose a purpose and then get reading. When articles, videos, or books cross your path, pursue the ones that fill that purpose. 

Take back control. Choose a purpose and then get reading.

Are you concerned about the politics in Nauru? (And who isn’t?) Just read articles on Nauru. You don’t even need to wait until they cross your feed. Search for many sources to get a rich understanding of Nauru’s complex dynamics. Not only will you be a hit at cocktail parties, but your impressive knowledge might give you a shot at the Ambassadorship. 

4. Set a learning agenda

If you want to learn...

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20 Small Acts to Fight Climate Change

An estimated tens of thousands of people showed up in Washington, DC this past weekend—in solidarity with an additional nearly 400 sister marches spreading across the globe—to have their voices heard in support of taking bigger steps toward protecting our planet – and our future - from the now inevitable onset of climate change. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, spanning back over the past 150 years, the United States is the number one cumulative producer of carbon dioxide worldwide and still produces 16% of the current CO2 emissions despite making up just 4% of global population. China currently produces the most CO2 of any country (with the US in second) but the US more than doubles those emissions per capita.

Despite our dominating role in CO2 emissions, the U.S. as a nation has been slow to adopt firm and lasting measures to address the realities of climate change. The large and diverse participation in the Climate March suggests that people are ready for that change.

This readiness perhaps comes in part because people in the US and worldwide are already starting to notice first hand the changes brought on by a warming climate. According to the National Climate Assessment, a 2014 report produced by more than 300 experts together with a 60-member Federal Advisory Committee and reviewed by the public, experts, federal agencies, and a panel of National Academy of Sciences, US residents are already regularly observing longer, hotter summers,  more intense rain storms, more acidic oceans (sea water which is more corrosive), longer, more severe seasonal allergies, and differences in plants species that thrive in their yard or neighborhood.

Given how steeply global average temperatures are already rising, large-scale policy changes and solutions are necessary to move toward a cooler climate. But does that mean that there’s nothing we can do as...

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Senin, 27 Mei 2019

What is Metabolic Profiling and Can it Help You?

Scientifically speaking, "metabolism" describes all the chemical reactions involved in being a living organism. Or, as Get-Fit Guy guest Angelo Poli of MetPro says, "The source of all frustration and agrivation in life." Does your metabolism prevent you from maintaining a healthy weight? If so, can metabolic profiling help?

Like your thumbprint, your metabolism is unique to you based on your genetics, lifestyle, dietary history, and general health and fitness levels. Metabolism is an elusive thing that gets blamed again and again as the reason you can't wake up when your alarm rings, keep your eyes open during a business meeting, or stay up late on weekends. But most often, it's thought of as the villain that makes you struggle to lose weight and keep it off.

In this episode of the Get-Fit Guy podcast I delve into a thing called metabolic profiling. Metabolic profiling analyzes a person’s specific response to diet and activity. Then, with the help of a coach, that diet and exercise routine gets a makeover based on that individual's personal responses, lifestyle and goals.

How Your Metabolism Gets Broken

A few years ago the Nutrition Diva (Monica Reinagel) wrote an article dissecting the publication of what was dubbed the “Biggest Loser” study. In that article, Monica dove into research that tracked the progress of 14 contestants on the reality show The Biggest Loser. Each contestand had lost a massive amount of weight during the course of the show.

Six years later, all but one of the contestants had regained a significant amount of weight. Four are now heavier than before the show began. And before you jump to conclusions, the study demonstrated that this struggle was not simply a failure of willpower. In large part, the poor folks who spent so much time getting yelled at on a treadmill in front of millions of television viewers regained weight because they had experienced a dramatic slow-down in their metabolisms. That slow-down meant that even if they did keep up a daily caloric intake aimed at maintaining their new lower weight, they gained weight anyway.

And this in not the only study to describe this phenomenon. The New England Journal of Medicine published essentially the same findings a few years earlier, which led to a popular New York Times article ...

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Introducing a New Education Podcast: Science Rules!

Grammar Girl is a show designed to make education accessible and entertaining. So today I wanted to share some information about a new podcast with a similar mission. It's called Science Rules! with Bill Nye. 

You might know Bill Nye as the Science Guy the way you know me as Grammar Girl. On Science Rules, Bill Nye takes calls from listeners and answers all their science questions, whether they're weird, funny, embarrassing, or serious. 

He'll answer questions like: What's going on in your brain when you listen (to a podcast, for example)? Will you ever be able to upload your brain to a computer? Can you harvest energy from all those static-electricity shocks you get in the winter?

The show is co-hosted by science writer and editor Corey S. Powell. You'll also hear from field experts and celebrity guests like Margaret Cho. 

Tune in to find out how Science Rules everything in the universe. Or click the red audio player above to hear a preview. 

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8 Essential Tips to Make Your Summer Road Trip a Blast

Finally! Summer has arrived and the chaotic, overscheduled lives we lead during the school year have come to a close. It's time to kick off our shoes and enjoy that easy, summer living that we dream of when we're up to our eyebrows in school-lunch peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It's time to plan a summer road trip!

Road trips are a great way to keep the troops entertained for ten weeks without the expense of a 5-star vacation. This summer, take advantage of some awesome, family-friendly excursions when you plan a ridiculously fun road trip for your gang. Mighty Mommy's got essential tips that can make this summer an unforgettable one when you pack up the family truckster and hit the road for a mini adventure. 

As you prepare for a memorable trip with your kids, keep the following essentials in mind. You’ll have a journey that your family will remember for years to come.

#1 - Embrace a positive summer road trip attitude.

When school lets out and your kids hunker down for their 10-week summer vacation, the first thing all parents and caregivers need to adjust is their attitude.  I experienced many a summer break with a gaggle of kids under the age of ten. As the last day of school approached, my anxieties tripled because I simply didn’t have the right mindset to embrace a carefree, fun-in-the sun kind of summer.

Rather than looking forward to lying low and enjoying unscheduled time with my kids, I got completely hung up on trying to keep them occupied 24/7 throughout the summer. Because of that, I veered away from my usual go-with-the-flow attitude and totally overthought those weeks that the kids were out of school.

One of the best tips I can offer parents this summer is to let go of pre-conceived notions that you have to be your children’s cruise director. Instead, jump in and feel great that you have the opportunity to spend some quality time with your kids without an agenda.

Years ago, my pediatrician offered this great advice—don’t set yourself up to feel you “have to.” Instead, embrace the notion that you “get to.” By tweaking these two words, you can bring on a much more positive mindset.

Don’t set yourself up to feel you have to. Instead, embrace the notion that you get to.

So as summer unfolds realize that you get to spend quality time with your kids while they’re still young and living under your roof. You get to...

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Jumat, 24 Mei 2019

Amounts: Majority or Plurality?

Many writers and speakers toss quantities around with great imprecision.

How many, though, is “many” authors and speakers? How great is “great imprecision”?

In casual conversation we might toss around quantities with reckless abandon. Our intent might be to emphasize or de-emphasize a preponderance of something. 

‘Majority’

Consider the word “majority.” In an election, a true majority means one vote or more over 50% of the voters. That’s different from a plurality: the highest total or percentage in a contest of three or more candidates. For example,

If Candidate A got 13% of the votes, Candidate B got 47%, and Candidate C got 40%; Candidate B wins, with a plurality of 47%.  (If you’re wondering why those numbers don’t add up to 100%, Mickey Mouse got some write-in votes. He always does.)

‘Most’ or ‘the Majority of’?

Most of the time, you can write or say “most” rather than “the majority of.”  It’s quicker and clearer.  When precision counts, as in the election described above, it’s best to make it clear whether you mean “majority” or “plurality.” 

Approximating Words

Often—and again, how often is “often”—we talk about small numbers of people or things. Still, that can be vague: Is “several” more than or fewer than “a few”? What about “quite a few” as opposed to “quite few”?  Is “a bunch” less than “a lot”? 

Fortunately, we have modifiers that make things even more nebulous: “approximately,” “about,” “around” and good old “roughly.”

And if you’re talking about an approximate date and want to make an academic impression, you can dust off “circa,” a Latin word that means “round about.” Latin scholars love that one.

Those do come in handy, however, when the alternative is to make a flat-out guess.

In “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” Pseudolus asks, “How many geese in a gaggle?” Erronius shrugs and says, “Seven?”

A light dawns on Pseudolus, who then sends the old man on a journey—seven trips around the seven hills of Rome. 

Such is the price of precision. 

‘Some’ and ‘Any’

As for “some” and “any”: These two stand alone as vague quantifiers.

Do you have some sense about what...

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How to Stop Worrying

IN THIS ARTICLE YOU'LL DISCOVER

  • Why we worry and how worrying can seem like the good guy
  • Why constant low-level stress is exhausting emotionally and physically
  • Three strategies for how to stop worrying

Worry makes us miserable and uncomfortable, but many worriers claim it keeps them prepared and safe from harm. And in a way, it does, but not in the way you’d think. Is it possible to stop worrying? What if worry is part of who you are?

You know you’re a worrier if you live by Mad Eye Moody’s exhortation for “constant vigilance!” Or if you identify with the heroes of Disney’s oddly recurring theme of anxious fish: Flounder from The Little Mermaid or Marlin from Finding Nemo. Or if you relate to Fear from Inside Out. But that one’s almost too easy.

Regardless of which worrier you relate to, you’re in good company. One-third of Americans will struggle with an anxiety disorder in their lifetime. That’s over 100 million of us.

For something so common, worry is somewhat of an enigma. Sometimes worry can seem like the good guy—we credit it with helping us to get motivated, stay on top of things, and have a plan B and C and D ready to go. Indeed, for those of us wired to worry, anxiety is familiar and oddly reassuring.

But more often, anxiety is the bad guy. We can’t turn off our brain. We lie awake long after it’s time to wind down, get stuck in our heads when we should be in the moment, and overthink everything from our career path to whether or not we should pay thirty cents extra for an organic onion.

Worry is also exhausting. Worry’s partner in crime is physical tension—show me someone who worries and I’ll show you someone with back pain, GI problems, a clenched jaw, or chronic headaches. 

If that isn’t enough, the way we cope with worry can exacerbate the problem: stress eating, bugging our partner for reassurance, frantic attempts to distract ourselves. Even our healthy coping can get hijacked by worry: “Am I doing meditation right?” “Does this pacing count as exercise?”

So why on earth do we bother? Why does your mother-in-law fret about everything? Why does your boyfriend freak out over nothing? Why do we worry so much? 

Why We Worry

No one would call worrying a hobby, but it’s definitely an activity. An invisible activity, but something we do nonetheless. It’s hard to get stuff done if we’re worrying. You might do it instead of sleeping, or you might do it instead of being present in the moment.

So why do we put so much time into it? Well, worry serves a...

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Kamis, 23 Mei 2019

6 Easy Tips for Cooking with Greens

Clean Greens

To wash spinach, Swiss chard, or any other leafy vegetable, fill a large bowl with cold water and add a teaspoon of baking soda. Move the vegetables around in the water, soaking them for three minutes, then rinse. All the dirt will fall to the bottom of the bowl and you’ll have clean greens.

Long Live Lettuce

When you bring lettuce home from the supermarket, take it out of the plastic bag it came in and store it in a paper bag. That way, excess moisture will be able to evaporate, and it will last longer.

Clean Vegetables Easily

If you’re having a hard time trying to get the last pieces of grit off of leafy vegetables or herbs, add a pinch of two of salt to the water.

Reduce Green Odors

Kale, cabbage, and collard greens are delicious to eat, but can sometimes smell stinky when they’re being prepared. Make sure not to overcook them—that's what makes them release odors. Also try placing a few unshelled pecans in the saucepan while cooking, which will help absorb any scents.

The Perfect Use for Unwanted Lettuce Leaves

Don’t throw away the outer leaves from a head of lettuce! They come in handy when you need to cover foods in the microwave. You won’t have to use up a paper towel, and the leaves will keep your food moist.

Sprightly Spinach

When cooking spinach, always do it in an uncovered pot. The steam that builds up when a pot is covered causes the plant’s volatile acids to condense on the lid and fall back into the water. Keeping the lid off will make sure your spinach keeps its lovely green color.

For more food tips from all over the internet, check out our In the Kitchen Pinterest board. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram!

Image by Shutterstock.

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The Spelling Bee Kids

In honor of Bee Week, today we have an interview with Shalini Shankar, a professor of anthropology and Asian American studies at Northwestern University and the author of “Beeline,” a new book about kids who participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

You can listen to the entire interview by clicking the player above or by finding the podcast on any podcasting app, but if you prefer to read it, we also have a complete (rough) transcript.

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Rabu, 22 Mei 2019

Do You Qualify for a FICA Alternative Retirement Plan?

A voicemail caller named Jamie says, “I have a mandatory Social Security alternative plan at work where I save about 7 percent. But my goal is to save a total of 15 percent for retirement. Does that mean I should save 15 percent on top of what I’m putting into my existing plan?

Also, I can choose a 457(b) or a 403(b), which both come with a Roth option. Can you explain which type of retirement account would be more beneficial?”

Thanks for your question, Jamie! In this post, I’ll explain what a Social Security alternative plan is, who qualifies for one, and the differences between a 457(b) and a 403(b).

What Is a FICA Alternative Plan?

A Social Security Alternative Plan is more commonly called a FICA Alternative Plan or a FICA Replacement Plan. It’s a private retirement account created for certain workers who are temporary, part-time, or employed by the government and are not eligible to pay into the Social Security system.

Other employees are required to fund the Social Security system by paying FICA payroll taxes, which I’ll explain in a moment. Employers must deduct these taxes from your paychecks and send them to the government on your behalf.

So, think of a FICA plan as a substitute when you don’t pay Social Security taxes. Instead, you’re required to contribute a minimum of 7.5 percent of your wages to a FICA plan account.

Think of a FICA plan as a substitute when you don’t pay Social Security taxes. Instead, you’re required to contribute a minimum of 7.5 percent of your wages to a FICA plan account.

Contributions to a FICA Alternative Plan can come from an employee, employer, or both. It sounds like Jamie is putting in the entire 7.5 percent on her own, which is the most common scenario.

No matter who funds a FICA alternative plan, the employee owns it and controls how the funds are invested. If you leave your employer or move to a position that makes you ineligible for a FICA alternative plan, you can always take the money with you.

Since Jamie’s goal is to save fifteen percent for retirement, one option that her FICA plan may allow is to raise her contribution from 7.5 percent to fifteen percent. Another option is to also contribute 7.5 percent of her income to another retirement account, such as a Roth IRA.


What Is FICA?

Let’s back up for a brief explainer of FICA. FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. This law mandates the Social Security and Medicare taxes that are deducted from many workers’ wages.

Most employees fund these programs by paying FICA tax of 7.65 percent up to a certain amount of earned income. What many people don’t realize is...

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Selasa, 21 Mei 2019

Can You Change Your Habits? An interview with Gretchen Rubin

Can you change your habits? Let's find out!

This week, I talked with Gretchen Rubin, best-selling author of Happier and Better than Before, and co-host of the wildly popular Happier podcast. Gretchen's new book Outer Order/Inner Calm talks about how to declutter and organize your life to make more room for happiness.

Our discussion focuses mostly on the work Gretchen has done on habit change. Gretchen outlines four basic tendencies or personality types that determine how we respond to inner and outer expectations. Understanding your tendency can help you identify the most effective strategies and tactics for creating sustainable, healthy change. 

You can find out your tendency by taking the free quiz at quiz.gretchenrubin.com.

Listen to the entire interview to learn: 

  • Is there one personality type that is inherently more successful at changing habits? 
  • Can you change your tendency, or might it change all by itself over time? 
  • Does your tendency depend on the context (for example, are you an Upholder at work but a Questioner at home?)
  • Why abstaining completely often takes less willpower than exercising moderation
  • The value of planned exceptions

Gretchen also gives us a sneak peak into the likely subject of her next book.

You can find more about Gretchen's books, podcast, and speaking tour on her website, gretchenrubin.com.

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10 Surprising Uses for Banana Peels

Banana Peels for Pimples

Want to get rid of acne? Try using a banana peel! Simple rub the pulpy side of the peel onto clean side like it's lotion. It has both anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties that will prevent pimples.

All-Natural Teeth Whitening

Before you spend a small fortune on teeth whitening strips or procedures, try a banana instead. The inside of their peels contain both citric acid (a bleaching agent) and salicylic acid (an astringent that fights plaque). Rub one on your teeth after brushing for two minutes and they’ll lighten stains naturally without harming your enamel.

Polish Silver with a Banana Peel

Instead of throwing away a banana peel, get out your tarnished silver and put it to work—the inside of a banana peel can be used to polish silver jewelry! Just rub the peel against the piece and then buff with a dry cloth. The tarnish will come right off.

Restore Shine to a Plant’s Leaves

Easily dust your houseplant by rubbing the inside of a banana peel on each leaf. Not only will it remove dust and nourish the leaves, but it will leave them even shinier than before.

Bananas for Burns

If you sustain a burn in the kitchen, reach for a banana. Press the inside against the burn and it will help ease the pain.

Wart Remedy

Get rid of warts with banana peels! At the end of each day, place a small piece of banana peel, pulp side down, on top of the wart and hold down with some medical tape. Remove in the morning and repeat for about two weeks. A chemical called mucilage in the bananas will kill the wart over time.

Banana Itch Reliever

Every summer, many families go through gallons of that disgusting pink calamine lotion. Not anymore! The next time your kids come home with poison ivy or bug bites, skip the pink stuff and pick up a bunch of bananas instead. Rub the inside of a banana peel over the rash to ditch the itch—banana peels contain polysaccharides, which quickly reduce inflammation.

Ease Bruises with a Banana

Bananas to the rescue yet again! A simple way to help bruises fade fast is with a banana peel. Just apply a piece of banana peel, flesh side down, to the bruise, cover with a bandage, and leave on overnight. By the morning, the bruise will have faded slightly.

Fertilize Your Plants

Banana peels are excellent natural fertilizers, and the minerals they provide are not readily found in many synthetic fertilizers. Cut your banana peels into pieces and bury just on the soil for a treat your plants will love. (Here are some of our other...

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6 Ways to Use Smell as Your Secret Weapon

When my children were young, we had a dog. He could smell when they were arriving home, half a block before they arrived—the same way he knew from the other side of the house when I dropped a crust of bread on the kitchen floor. On our morning walks, the world he perceived through his nose was far more complicated than anything I could imagine.

We humans are used to ignoring our noses. We prioritize seeing or hearing, even touch. But our sense of smell is always there, affecting us subliminally even when we aren’t paying attention. It is all the more powerful for being the one sense that goes directly to the emotional part of our brain, bypassing the intellectual filters.

But we can teach ourselves to be more perceptive. Master perfumers are not simply olfactory savants. They go through rigorous training for years. When I was writing The Scent Keeper, my brain was playing with a puzzle: what would it be like for a child who had been raised with smell as her primary sense? How would our world appear to her? How would that training change for life?

[Scent] is all the more powerful for being the one sense that goes directly to the emotional part of our brain, bypassing the intellectual filters.

In the years I spent researching for The Scent Keeper, I came to more fully appreciate this underestimated sense of ours. My life became richer as a result.  Below are 6 life hacks I learned that you can easily employ yourself:

Scent Lifehack #1: Do Better on Tests

Want to retain facts or words better? Learn them in the presence of a particular scent—preferably something you don’t already have a lot of associations with. When you take the test, take the scent with you. Inhaling will help bring back the memory of what you learned.

Note: a subtle, natural scent like rosemary is fine; you don’t need perfume.

Scent Lifehack #2: Shop Smarter

Studies have shown that people will underestimate the amount of time they spent shopping by up to 26% if they are in the presence of a pleasant smell like clementine or vanilla. (They will overestimate by up to 40% if the odor is foul.) When our noses are happy, our tendency to buy increases as well, by as much as 45%.

Many stores these days have signature scents. Inhale as you walk into a store—and be conscious of how you react. Buy the product, not the fragrance.


Scent Lifehack #3: Remember Special Days

Our brains are wired to associate memories with smells. The more memories associated with a particular fragrance, however, the more diffused its impact will be. You can use this to your advantage. Andy Warhol was said to have kept a personal scent museum.  He would wear a fragrance for only a few months,...

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8 Barbell Complex Tips to Build Strength and Muscle Mass

IN THIS ARTICLE YOU'LL DISCOVER

  • What makes up a barbell complex
  • Why this simple weight lifting process is so effective
  • 8 pro tips to maximize your barbell workout
  • 4 sample workouts

Istvan Javorek is said to be the brains behind this type of barbell training. It's fabled that he first brought his complex routines to North America in the 1980s after he defected from Romania. Word has it that he initially developed it as a way to “find an efficient and aggressive method of performance enhancement that saves time and makes the program more enjoyable.” Let's take a look at barbell complexes and see if he hit the mark.

What is a Barbell Complex?

A barbell complex is any series of movements done back-to-back using a barbell. A set number of repetitions (or reps) is completed for each movement before shifting immediately on to the next. What makes a barbell complex unique, difficult and effective is that the weight never leaves your hands until the entire series is complete.

What makes a barbell complex unique, difficult and effective is that the weight never leaves your hands until the entire series is complete.

For example, a simple and very common barbell complex is called a clean and press. In this exercise, the ending movement of the clean (pulling the barbell up to your chest) is the starting movement of the press (pressing the barbell over your head and straightening your arms and legs.)

One of the biggest reasons people include barbell complexes in their workout regimen is that they are a great way to include some cardio in your training program without the need to do traditional cardio (like running, cycling, or aerobics). Cardio is something most weightlifters and bodybuilders see as their enemy. Complexes allow you to raise your heart rate, get out of breath, do a series of movements that last a few minutes each, and throw some heavy weights around ... all at the same time.

Another reason people like them is that barbell complexes are quick and do not take a lot of time to bust out. All you need is 20 to 30 minutes to do an effective barbell complex workout. They can take longer, but with this type of high output workout, it is often true that less is more.

Because of their ability to effectively boost your heart rate, barbell complexes make “doing cardio” more interesting and less repetitive. If you are tired of your usual heart-rate-raising routine, this can be an exciting way to mix it up.

If you are tired of your usual heart-rate-raising routine, this can be an exciting way to mix it up.

Also, when you do a barbell complex,...

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Senin, 20 Mei 2019

Breast Milk Uses - Does Science Support These Home Remedies?

When I sat down to research this episode, it was supposed to be different. Since becoming a mom, I’ve heard other mothers claim that breast milk can fix anything from rashes to congestion to eye infections. So I planned to dig into the scientific literature and report back on lab-tested breast milk uses that have nothing to do with feeding a baby. I looked for evidence that using breast milk—topically, not by drinking it—could heal acne, diaper rash, poison ivy, ear infections, eye infections, sunburn, bug bites, and eczema. 

The anecdotal evidence for each of these breast milk uses is strong, but the more I investigated, the more I discovered that there isn't much research out there that has put these claims to the test.

Now, I’m not here to advocate that “breast is best.” Mothers get enough pressure on just about every aspect of mothering. (Honestly, fed is best.) As a scientist I want to know what else breast milk can do besides feed a baby. Why are so many convinced of its healing properties? 

Breast Milk Changes With Baby’s Needs

Although formula companies may try, breast milk is impossible to replicate. The nutritional contents change to meet the baby’s changing needs as it grows. The contents even change during a single nursing session, starting with watery foremilk and transitioning to denser, fattier milk. This change in calories accommodates babies who like to snack frequently throughout the day as well as those who prefer longer, less frequent feedings. 

Although formula companies may try, breast milk is impossible to replicate.

There is even evidence that the contents of breast milk change when a breastfeeding baby is sick. Specifically, levels of leukocytes (cells that help the body’s immune system fight off infections) in breast milk jump up when a breastfeeding baby is sick and then return to base levels once the infection is gone. 

How do the mammary glands even know the baby is sick? Well, that part is still not completely understood, but scientists think the addition of the extra leukocytes may be triggered by the baby’s backwash. How glamorous! Scientists have actually caught this backwash process in action by watching fat globules from breast milk move farther back in the breast via ultrasounds...

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Don't Micromanage: 6 Tips to Keep Your Team Happy

Management! I just love management! At least, I love it when it’s done right. 

My good friend Pat Productive led a team of 12 happy employees for over a decade. Through good times and bad, they delivered rock-solid products to happy customers. Pat was the rock star of the division. The team delivered concrete results. They never rocked the boat.

Then the reorg happened.

Pat was transferred to report to Bossy McManager. Bossy McManager cared. Bossy cared a lot. Cared too much. About every single detail, no matter how unimportant. Bossy would re-examine the team’s every decision and offer helpful corrections. By “corrections,” I mean Bossy would dictate a different way of doing things.

Despite 12 years of a super-happy career, in just three months, half the team had quit. Morale plummeted. Pat asked for my help. I suggested giving Bossy McManager a peace offering, like a full-grown carnivorous Audrey II as a tasteful office decoration. Pat didn’t like that suggestion and quit instead. 

Just like that, the company’s most amazing 12-year team was destroyed. All by Bossy McManager’s micromanaging. So, here are my six tips to help you avoid micromanaging.

#1 - Understand That Management Happens at Many Levels

A lot of people think that managers are bosses; they think a manager’s job is to boss people around. And who doesn’t like to be bossed around, right? Wrong. When your shmoopie asks what you want for your birthday, you don’t say “I want to be bossed around.” (Well, some of you do, but that has nothing to do with work.) People don’t want to be bossed around. But they do want managers who provide direction. 

Different people need direction at different levels of detail. If Erin Expert has run a dozen project launches, you probably just need to say, “Hey, Erin, please launch our latest line of Play-Doh-based electronic erector sets.” They can take it from there. When you check in on them, you can ask big-picture questions. “Where will our initial launch be? What is our media mix? Is computer scientist Grace Hopper available for an endorsement?” 

People don’t want to be bossed around. But they do want managers who provide direction.

The less-experienced Norton Newbie may need more detailed direction. “First, you choose the cities where we’ll sell the erector sets. Next, schedule a launch party. Finally, invite the press, to get favorable media coverage.” You’ll check in on Norton with lots of detailed questions. You might make specific recommendations...

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Amounts: Majority of Plurality?

Many writers and speakers toss quantities around with great imprecision.

How many, though, is “many” authors and speakers? How great is “great imprecision”?

In casual conversation we might toss around quantities with reckless abandon. Our intent might be to emphasize or de-emphasize a preponderance of something. 

‘Majority’

Consider the word “majority.” In an election, a true majority means one vote or more over 50% of the voters. That’s different from a plurality: the highest total or percentage in a contest of three or more candidates. For example,

If Candidate A got 13% of the votes, Candidate B got 47%, and Candidate C got 40%; Candidate B wins, with a plurality of 47%.  (If you’re wondering why those numbers don’t add up to 100%, Mickey Mouse got some write-in votes. He always does.)

‘Most’ or ‘the Majority of’?

Most of the time, you can write or say “most” rather than “the majority of.”  It’s quicker and clearer.  When precision counts, as in the election described above, it’s best to make it clear whether you mean “majority” or “plurality.” 

Approximating Words

Often—and again, how often is “often”—we talk about small numbers of people or things. Still, that can be vague: Is “several” more than or fewer than “a few”? What about “quite a few” as opposed to “quite few”?  Is “a bunch” less than “a lot”? 

Fortunately, we have modifiers that make things even more nebulous: “approximately,” “about,” “around” and good old “roughly.”

And if you’re talking about an approximate date and want to make an academic impression, you can dust off “circa,” a Latin word that means “round about.” Latin scholars love that one.

Those do come in handy, however, when the alternative is to make a flat-out guess.

In “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” Pseudolus asks, “How many geese in a gaggle?” Erronius shrugs and says, “Seven?”

A light dawns on Pseudolus, who then sends the old man on a journey—seven trips around the seven hills of Rome. 

Such is the price of precision. 

‘Some’ and ‘Any’

As for “some” and “any”: These two stand alone as vague quantifiers.

Do you have some sense about what...

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The Spelling Bee Kids Transcript



Minggu, 19 Mei 2019

Fun Ways to Boost Your Child's Summer Reading With Grammar Girl

In just a few weeks, classrooms across the country will let out for summer vacation. Students and parents are definitely ready for some much-needed fun in the sun, but before we hide those backpacks and other school reminders away for the next ten weeks, there's something important to keep on your radar—summer reading.

Teachers of all grade levels highly recommend reading throughout the summer so students don't experience the summer slide—the loss of academic skills when school is out. A University of Tennessee, Knoxville, research study shows that children who don't read over the summer lose at least two months of reading development.

Mignon Fogarty, the founder of the Quick and Dirty Tips network and creator of the award-winning Grammar Girl podcast, joins Mighty Mommy to share some fun ways to engage children of all ages, including incoming college freshman, with summer reading and writing. As the author of the New York Times best-selling book "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing" and six other books on language, Mignon knows how to add a fun element to summer reading so it doesn't seem like a chore.

Here are some of the things you'll learn about in this podcast.

  • How to keep non-readers engaged throughout the summer.
  • Some fun word games, recommended by Grammar Girl, that you can play with your kids during summer and the rest of the year.
  • Tricks to help kids retain certain grammar rules.
  • Tips to give your college-bound freshman a head start this summer.
  • Grammar Girl's best advice, which will serve students well both during the vacation months and into the new school year.

For more great advice and tips, visit the Grammar Girl website at Quick and Dirty Tips.

You can listen to the entire interview by clicking the player above or by following Mighty Mommy on Apple Podcasts,...

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Jumat, 17 Mei 2019

7 Home Remedies for Burns

Ginger for Burns

If you sustain a minor burn in the kitchen, reach for some ginger. Cut off the end and press the exposed area against your burn. Many say ginger works even better than a piece of aloe plant at soothing burns.

Burn An-Tea-Dote

If you’ve burned yourself in the kitchen, help is close by. Researchers at UCLA found that the tannins found in tea can soothe burns in as little as five minutes. After rinsing and cleaning a minor burn, place a cool, wet teabag directly on the area for relief.

How to Ease a Burned Mouth

Ow! If you or your child bites into a piece of pizza that’s too hot to eat, reach for a glass of milk. Drinking milk will soothe the roof of your mouth better than drinking cold water will, because the protein in milk will create a protective film over any burns. Now let the pizza cool a bit before you take another bite!

Baking Soda Bath for Burns

A cup or two of baking soda poured into a bathtub full of warm water will relieve burned skin and is a fantastic soak for those unfortunate enough to be burned over large areas of their body. You can also create a paste with baking soda and water and apply it as a compress.

Help Burns with Salt

Once a blister forms over your minor burn, you can help it heal with a salt water compress. Mix together 2 tablespoons salt with a tablespoon water, and transfer this paste to a clean, dry cloth. Press it against the burned skin for up to an hour. As anyone who has spent time by the ocean knows, salt water helps speed the healing of minor wounds.

Vitamin E Treatment

If your burn is on the mend, help it on its way with some vitamin E. Just pop open a capsule (the same kind you’d take as a dietary supplement) and rub the contents on your skin. Vitamin E is thought to prevent scarring.

Natural Remedies from Your Kitchen

If you don’t have any of the above on hand, don’t fret! A number of common kitchen staples can help relieve the inflammation of a burn. Good choices include honey, tofu, cucumber, a banana peel, grated carrot, raw potato, and even yogurt. These cool foods will give you quick relief of your symptoms.

Want some more natural remedies for everyday health problems? Check out our Health and Beauty Pinterest board or like us on ...

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Introducing Science Rules! with Bill Nye

Everyday Einstein will be back next week. But today, I'm excited to bring you something extra. It's a preview of a brand-new podcast called Science Rules! with Bill Nye. Or you might know him better as Bill Nye the Science Guy. 

On Science Rules, Bill Nye takes calls from listeners and answers all their weird, funny, sometimes embarrassing science questions. Like how often do we need to wash our pillowcases? Should we stop eating cheeseburgers to combat climate change? And how does air conditioning work? 

The show is co-hosted by Corey S. Powell, a science writer and one of Bill’s closest friends. You’ll also hear from field experts and celebrity guests like Margaret Cho.

Bill is on a mission to explain how science rules everything in the universe.

Check out the first episode now. Just search Science Rules! with Bill Nye in your podcast app and make sure to subscribe. But first, click the audio player above to listen to a preview.

 

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3 Secrets to Beat Performance Anxiety

IN THIS ARTICLE YOU'LL DISCOVER

  • How the language you use can help to eleviate performance anxiety
  • The case for pre-performance rituals
  • A movement hack that can give your affirmations more impact  

Listener Adeel from England wrote in to ask how he can perform better under pressure. Adeel has spoken English as a second language for many years and has excellent communication skills. But he notes that in high-pressure situations, he sometimes gets anxious and the words don’t come, plus his accent becomes more pronounced. What can he do to remedy this?

Performance Anxiety Is Universal

Anyone who’s ever been in a similar situation—and that’s all of us—can empathize. Even with tasks we've done a million times—like speaking a second language, walking up stairs, or navigating the grocery store—under pressure or observation, we get psyched out. We lose the most basic skills. A friend told me that once, during a lunch interview, she overthought how to swallow and had to sit for a few moments with a mouth full of iced tea before she could collect herself and figure it out.

It’s universal: pressure, whether it’s pushing down on me or pressing down on you, makes us second-guess how to hold the putter, work the laser pointer, or pronounce niche (is it “neesh?” Or “nitch?”), even though we usually do it without a thought.

It’s universal: pressure, whether it’s pushing down on me or pressing down on you, makes us second-guess ourselves.

So what can you do in the moment? Whether you’re trying to ace an audition, nail a presentation, shoot a free throw, or spell “koinonia” for the win at the National Spelling Bee, how can you pull out all the stops without losing your cool?

This week, let’s get it done with these three tips.

Tip #1: Get excited

The researchers behind a hilarious but solid study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology made participants sing the opening lines of Journey’s "Don’t Stop Believin'." 

But right before the small town girl took that midnight train, each participant was assigned to say a statement at random, and—importantly—to try their best to believe it. They were assigned: “I am anxious,” “I am excited,” “I am calm,” “I am angry,” “I am sad,” or no statement at all.

Next, voice recognition...

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Kamis, 16 Mei 2019

Dangling Participles

What Is a Participle?

Before we talk about what it means to dangle a participle, we have to answer the question What is a participle?

It’s a tough question because participles have a few different jobs. Today, we’re only going to talk about their job that makes them look like adjectives. They tell you more about the noun that follows.

Participles can be in the present tense or the past tense, and the present participle always ends with "ing." For example, "dream" is a verb, and "dreaming" is its present participle. "Speed" is a verb, and "speeding" is its present participle. To use the verb, you could say, "He will speed on the freeway."  "Speed" is an action, a verb.

To use "speeding" as an adjective-like participle, you could say, "Follow that speeding car." "Speeding" acts something like an adjective modifying the noun "car." It tells you what the car is doing—what kind of car it is—a speeding car.

Here's another example: "hike" is a verb, and "hiking" is the present participle. To use the verb, you could say "Let's hike the trail." To use the participle, you could say, "Wait for the hiking campers to get back.”  "Hiking," the participle, tells you what the campers are doing—what kind of campers they are—hiking campers.

Participles have another role too: They help form the perfect and progressive verb tenses, but we won't talk about those here. (See this article for information on verb tenses.)

What Is a Participial Phrase?

So now I trust that you understand how to use verbs and their participles, but to understand dangling participles, we need to talk about participial phrases. These are just phrases that contain a participle and modify the subject of the sentence.

They can include words besides the participle, such as prepositions, pronouns, and nouns, but for now, we'll just focus on the idea that they contain a participle like "speeding" or "hiking." The way they modify the subject isn't as straightforward as a single adjective modifying a single noun, but the participial phrase is still modifying a noun or noun phrase—the subject.

Here are some examples to help make it more clear:

Floating in the pool, I marveled at the clouds....

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Rabu, 15 Mei 2019

Nauseated/Nauseous: The Prescriptive vs. Descriptive Debate

When I received the copyedited manuscript of my novel, "Pigs," I was dismayed. "I know how to write," I thought. "I know I do." But, suddenly, faced with all those queries, I wasn’t so sure.

I went through the pages, my heart sinking as I realized that, yes, my copyeditor was right. Commas have a place in writing, and I hadn’t been using them to the best of their ability. And all those run on sentences? Well, some of them seemed important rhythmically, but so many on every page? Some of my words definitely needed to be trimmed.

I gratefully typed “accept” to query after query until I stopped short at a different kind of request: permission to turn “the girls felt nauseous” into “the girls felt nauseated.”

I’d hit up against the prescriptive/descriptive debate, and it was time to pick a side.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the debate:

Linguists, those folks who study the way language is used, tend to take what’s called a descriptive approach to grammar. They look at how we speak, and take as “correct” the idiosyncrasies of usage. They understand language to be mutable.

Grammarians, on the other hand, those folks who look at the way language itself is constructed, tend to take what’s called a prescriptive approach. They ask people to shape writing to the existing rules. They understand language to be fixed.

Should they write the way their characters think...or should they write the way we all wish we thought?

Novelists (and their copyeditors) come up against this debate all the time. Should they write the way their characters think, with all the grammatical messiness of incoherent thought, or should they write the way we all wish we thought, clearly and without breaking any rules?

Sometimes the answer is easy. You’re writing a scene, and your narration moves inside your character’s head. Your character happens to be a twelve-year old girl who has grown up without books, without school, without anyone teaching her the niceties of grammar. Would she think, when stumbling upon a boy in a barrel, “I wonder 'whom' he belongs to?” or would she think, “I wonder 'who'...

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13 Surprising Storage Tricks to Help You Throw Away Less Food

1. Keep Food Safe in the Fridge

Store cooked foods above uncooked meat in your fridge. This minimizes the risk of food poisoning caused by drips from uncooked meat and other foods. While you’re at it, wrap any food with strong odors and avoid storing it close to dairy foods, which can become easily tainted.

2. How to Save Egg Yolks

Yes, you can save the egg yolks if you just used only the whites for a recipe—at least for a day or two. If you have intact egg yolks, slide them into a bowl of water, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator. The water keeps oxygen away and you can still use them for a couple days. 

3. Why Do Reheated Burgers Taste Bad?

Even noticed a weird “off” taste when you reheat leftover hamburgers? That’s because when you refrigerate cooked beef, its fat oxidizes quickly, which will often give day-old burgers an “off” taste. That’s why it’s better to just refrigerate or freeze the uncooked patties—or try this method from Real Simple that makes it easier to break off frozen chunks of ground beef from a larger mass. If you can’t avoid cooking tomorrow’s burgers today, discourage fat oxidization in the ground beef by not adding any salt to the burgers until after you’ve reheated them. That weird taste won’t be as prevalent.

4. Keep Cookies Fresh and Chewy

To keep your cookies tasting chewy until the last one is eaten, add a slice of white bread to the cookie jar before you put the lid on. This will provide just enough moisture to keep the cookies from becoming hard. If crisp cookies are what you’re after, skip the bread and simply affix the jar loosely. This allows air to circulate and evaporates any moisture.

5. How to Keep Leftover Cake Moist

If you have leftover cake, you have more self-control than we do! One of the best methods of keeping the insides of a cake from drying out is to place a piece of fresh white bread next to the exposed surface. The bread can be affixed with a toothpick or a short piece of dry spaghetti.

6. Keep Your Cheeses Lasting Longer

Before you store semi-hard cheeses like Cheddar, Swiss, or Gruyère, rub the cut edges with a little bit of butter. You’ll never notice the taste difference, and the cheese will be less likely to dry out or become moldy.

7. Leftover Rice, Longer

Rice can be stored in fridge for a longer amount of time if you store a slice of toast on top of it. The toast will absorb excess moisture and keep...

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5 Key Roth Retirement Account Rules You Should Know

IN THIS ARTICLE YOU'LL DISCOVER

  • What the Roth five-year rule is
  • Who qualifies for a Roth IRA
  • Five key rules for using a Roth account at work or on your own

Debra H. says, “I really enjoy learning about retirement topics on your podcasts. Would you please explain how the 5-year rule applies to transferring a Roth 401(k) to a Roth IRA in an upcoming podcast? Thanks for the valuable information you provide.”

David R. is also interested in learning more about Roth accounts. He says, “My employer offers a Roth 401(k) option, but I don’t think I qualify due to my income. I like the idea of paying tax for my contributions now. Can you explain if there’s a way for me to participate?”

Thanks for your questions, Debra and David! Roth accounts have nice benefits that cut taxes. But like anything governed by the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), they have a sea of rules, which can be confusing to navigate.

What Is a Roth Retirement Account?

Most retirement plans—such as a traditional IRA, a 401(k), and a SEP-IRA—allow owners to make tax-deductible contributions if you meet certain requirements.

For instance, if you earn $60,000 and contribute $5,000 to a workplace 401(k), you pay income tax on $55,0000 not on $60,000. However, when you retire and take withdrawals of contributions and earnings, Uncle Sam catches up with you by imposing income tax on any distributions.

Contributions to any type of Roth are taxed in the year you make them. However, your account earnings and all future withdrawals are completely tax-free if you meet certain rules.

But Roth accounts—such as a Roth IRA, a Roth 401(k), or a Roth Solo 401(k)—have the opposite taxation. Contributions to any type of Roth are taxed in the year you make them. However, your account earnings and all future withdrawals are completely tax-free if you meet certain rules, which we’ll cover.

If you invest for decades and your Roth account mushrooms in value, it’s really nice to know that you’ll never have to pay income tax on those earnings. And if income tax rates increase down the road, that could make having a Roth especially sweet. 

Now, let's look at some things you need to know about Roth retirement accounts.


5 Things You Should Know About Roth Retirement Accounts 

1. You can withdraw original Roth contributions without penalty.

Besides tax-free income in retirement, one of the best parts about having a Roth...

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Selasa, 14 Mei 2019

Is A2 Milk Really Better for You?

IN THIS ARTICLE YOU'LL DISCOVER

  • What A2 milk is and what makes it different from regular milk
  • The health claims made about A2 milk
  • Whether the science behind those claims holds up

This week’s show was suggested by Nutrition Diva listener Leslie Ghiringhelli, who wrote:

“I was recently at my local health food store and overheard a salesperson from a company that sells A2 milk touting its superiority over regular milk. She was saying that the protein that’s in regular milk (but not A2 milk) causes everything from diabetes to autism to autoimmune disease. As an RN and science-minded person, I was immediately skeptical. Could you do a show on this topic?”

I have to applaud Leslie’s skepticism. A2 milk is about twice the price of regular milk. But is it really better for us? Perhaps the more pressing question is whether there's any truth the claim that regular milk is linked to these scary diseases.

What's the Difference between A1 and A2 milk?

A1 and A2 are both types of casein, which is one of the major kinds of protein in milk. Proteins are made up of individual amino acids strung together into long strings. There are only a couple dozen different amino acids, but they can be combined in different sequences to form thousands of different proteins. It's sort of like the way the twelve tones in a musical scale can be combined into an infinite number of melodies.

The only difference between the A1 and A2 milk protein is that the 67th amino acid in the chain is different. Your body digests casein (and all proteins) by snipping these long strings of amino acids into shorter segments called peptides, some of which may have biological activity. Collagen and insulin are both peptides, for example.

The only difference between the A1 and A2 milk protein is that the 67th amino acid in the chain is different.

The slight difference in the amino acid sequence of A1 and A2 casein results in the creation of slightly different peptides when these milk proteins are digested. When we digest the A1 form of casein, it produces a peptide called BCM-7. This peptide is not produced in the digestion of A2 casein....

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Do Amino Acids Build Bigger Muscles?

Let’s start with the basics. The most common muscle-building supplement there is can be found right in your fridge. It's called protein.

When you eat protein, your body breaks the protein down into amino acids. Those amino acids are then used to repair and grow new muscle fibers. When you consume an adequate amount of protein, your body will experience something called a positive balance of nitrogen.

Nitrogen balance is a measure of protein metabolism. That may sound complicated, but it simply means that if the intake of nitrogen into your body is greater than the loss of nitrogen from your body, there is an increase in the total body pool of protein. This positive balance signals your body to get itself into an anabolic, or muscle-building, state.

Here's an interesting aside: Periods of growth in children, hypothyroidism, tissue repair, and pregnancy are also associated with a positive nitrogen balance.

People who don’t have access to sufficient amounts of protein can experience muscle atrophy and muscle wasting. The US Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.36 grams per pound. You've probably heard reports saying that Americans eat far more protein than required. But, as my fellow Quick and Dirty Tipper, the Nutrition Diva, pointed out in an article, that isn’t exactly true.

Most Americans are not tearing down muscle under a barbell regularly. But for an active person who works out, a protein intake of approximately 0.45 grams per pound of body weight is adequate.

But before the higher number I just gave gets you thinking that more protein must be better, keep in mind that many studies have found that protein intake above 1.2 grams per pound of bodyweight provided no additional muscle-building benefits. In fact, in extreme cases, excess protein consumption could increase the risk of dehydration and kidney damage.

We need to consume adequate protein to build muscle, but don’t go overboard.

So yes, we need to consume adequate protein to build muscle, but don’t go overboard. Researchers recently measured the effects of protein on muscle synthesis by feeding people steaks and then measured the rate at which their bodies built new muscle tissue after the meal. They found that muscle synthesis went up by 50% after eating some beef. But 4 ounces of beef worked just as well as 12 ounces.


Amino Acid Supplements

Now that we've sorted out how much protein we need, let's look at amino acids supplements. Think of these supplements as the building blocks of protein. In...

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Real-Life Zombies

IN THIS ARTICLE YOU'LL DISCOVER ...

  • Some scientific truths behind zombie lore
  • The horror of zombie ants
  • How reanimated pig brains could help us better understand brain function

Hi I’m Dr. Sabrina Stierwalt, and I’m Everyday Einstein, bringing you Quick and Dirty Tips to help you make sense of science.

Maybe the zombie apocalypse starts with a virus or a supernatural event. Maybe the resulting zombies can move quickly but are more easily incapacitated, or maybe they're slow and can be only taken out by a blow to the brain. Are these zombies cunning? Or are they awkward and uncoordinated, as I would argue any proper zombie must be? 

Zombie lore may give us a lot of variety, but one thing every zombie scenario has in common is reanimation of the body after death. The body’s movements are slave to a brain that is no longer in control. But what do these differences matter? It's all just science fictional horror movie fodder, right? Well, we’ve previously discussed scientific studies on how fast a zombie-like virus could spread, as well as neurobehavioral disorders in humans that leave their sufferers mimicking some key zombie traits. And it turns out, science has even more to say about zombies. 

Zombie Carpenter Ants

In the Brazilian jungle, at a height of just about 10 inches off the ground, carpenter ants can be found with their jaws permanently locked on a leaf, frozen in a never-ending dance as an alien stalk grows through their head. These ants are the victims of ophiocordyceps unilateralis, also known as the zombie ant fungus. 

The fungus first enters an ant’s bloodstream as single cells, but those cells soon begin copying themselves and, importantly, building connections so that those individual cells can share nutrients. These connections set the ophiocordyceps fungus apart from other fungi that simply kill off their host and eventually form networks that wrap around the ant’s muscles.

In the Brazilian jungle, at a height of just about 10 inches off the ground, carpenter ants can be found with their jaws permanently locked on a leaf, frozen in a never-ending dance as an alien stalk grows through their head.

As the fungal network grows, the ant’s body succumbs to the fungus’s control. Interestingly, this network doesn’t appear to reach the ant’s brain. Entomologists are not sure whether the fungus releases chemicals that affect the ant’s...

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Senin, 13 Mei 2019

Networking Tips for New College Grads - Part 2

Today’s episode is Part 2 of my series on Networking for New College Grads. In Part 1, we learned about why networking is super-important. We covered where to meet people with similar interests and how to start building a connection once you’ve met. Today, we’re all about building an even stronger foundation. 

When you attend a conference or presentation where you meet a lot of new people, you need to keep them sorted out in your brain. Collecting their business cards and writing what’s memorable on the back won’t always do it. Let's look at a few more tips for making your connections stick.

6 More Networking Tips for New College Grads

#1 - Take pictures together

If you’re going to make a new friend, it’s always a fine idea to remember what they look like. Your smartphone can help. If you’re at a conference, take a selfie together with your new contact and make sure your nametags are visible. Voila!—instant visual reminder.

If you have good rapport so far, ask for a selfie. Send your new contact a copy if they want one.

If you're somewhere where nametags aren't a thing, take the selfie holding up your business cards so they’re in view. Now you have picture and contact info in one image. Even though you’re relying on technology to make and preserve a connection, the dynamic is “We’re in this (this picture, that is) together!” 

Not many people gather contacts this way … yet. When I’ve asked people to take a selfie with me, they’ve always liked the idea and gone for it. If you have good rapport so far, ask for a selfie. Send your new contact a copy if they want one. You’ll remember each other better and even have a picture you can paste into your address book entry.

#2 - Have a place to keep cards

Decide where you’re going to put the business cards you receive, and then always put them there. Maybe it’s your right jacket pocket. Maybe it’s your wallet. Or in the little pocket at the back of your Moleskine notebook. Just make sure they’re in one place so you can review them later and put together your followup.

At the sustainability summit I attended last week, I met a college senior who gave me his card. I was so impressed with his networking savvy that I put his card right in my jacket pocket. Or maybe it was in my program. Or my Moleskine? Because I hadn't chosen a place to store business cards, the card was gone when I got home. Undoubtedly stolen by aliens.

(If you’re the person I met at the sustainable mobility summit...

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What's It Like to Be a Book Editor and Translator?

 In this interview, Mignon Fogarty and Elisabeth Dyssegaard talked about

  • The difference between fiction and nonfiction editing. 
  • How Elisabeth acquired the book "Tears We Cannot Stop."
  • Why sometimes it's easier to write when you have another job.
  • Why couples often make the best translations.

You can listen to the entire interview by clicking the player above or by finding the podcast on any podcasting app, but if you prefer to read it, we also have a complete (rough) transcript.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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A Graduate's Guide to Adulting

Everyday Einstein | Making a Career of Combining Art and Science

The gorgeous space images NASA shares combine science with the art of data visualization. Everyday Einstein chatted with Dr. Robert Hurt to learn how he made a career of bringing celestial objects to life visually.

Get-Fit Guy | How to Stay Fit After College

Are you prepared to stay fit after college? The average North American works more than 47 hours a week and sits for an average of 9.3 hours a day. Compare that to the five hours a day that students are sitting and the problem is clear: new grads moving into the workforce need to find ways to stay active.

Get-It-Done Guy | Networking Tips for New College Grads - Part 1

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. You know? Get-It-Done Guy has six must-have tips to get you started on building your professional network.

Grammar Girl | Advice for New College Grads: How to Find Work as a Freelance Writer

Just getting started on a writing career? Read these tips for success.

Mighty Mommy | What College Seniors Are Really Thinking as Graduation Approaches

Seniors might be graduating, but that doesn't mean they're feeling ready to tackle the real world just yet. Mighty Mommy chatted with upcoming college grads to learn what's on their minds and help you, their parent, prepare them for life after college.

...

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