Senin, 30 November 2020

7 Ways to Make Frugality a Joyful Choice, Not a Burden

While circumstances can force us into frugality, and that’s not much fun, you can also enjoy life while being frugal. Here are some great ways to make a thrifty lifestyle a joyful choice and not a burden.

First, clarify your why

Why do you want to be a frugal person? What benefits will a frugal lifestyle bring that you can’t find any other way? To make your frugality a joyful choice, you need to have a solid reason for it.

Most of us don’t live frugally for the sheer fun of it—at least not at first. You probably have a reason to be frugal. Perhaps you’re saving for a downpayment on a home, paying off student loan debt, or reducing your budget to enjoy greater career freedom.

You must have a reason for being frugal that is greater than your desire to spend money.

Clarify why you're planning to be more frugal. (You might have several reasons). Every time you struggle with forgoing a purchase to save money, remind yourself of the purpose behind it. You must have a reason for being frugal that is greater than your desire to spend money.

Your reasons are likely things that will add to your happiness one day. Buying a home, becoming debt-free, or cutting back on work hours may significantly improve your life, so those goals are worth the effort to be frugal.

7 strategies to make frugal living more enjoyable

1. Try a frugality challenge

Join a no-spend challenge where you only spend money on essentials for a month to see how much money you might save. This kind of thing isn’t meant to be a long-term change in habits, although some people might continue after the challenge is over.

The point of a frugality challenge or no-spend month (or year) is to reset your baseline. Change the default of how much money you spend each month. You may struggle at first, but it gets easier the longer you avoid spending.

When the month of extreme frugality is over, don’t automatically resume spending at your former levels.

When the month of extreme frugality is over, don’t automatically resume spending at your former levels. Take some time to evaluate how you felt, what triggers tempted you, and what things you discovered you don’t really need or want anymore.

It’s OK if you start spending a bit more again, but be mindful about what you purchase. It’s like the Konmari method of decluttering your house, except with your finances: Let go of what is no longer serving you, and joyfully spend on the things that matter.

2. Focus on gratitude

Gratitude can make you a happier person. When you think about what you’re grateful for, it’s pretty hard to dwell on what...

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What are Numerators and Denominators?

In the last article, we discovered that integers alone are not sufficient to fully describe the world around us—we need the fractions existing between the integers too. (In learning that, we also learned that fractions are not integers.) In fact, eventually, we’re going to discover that even fractions won’t fully satisfy our needs! But we’ll leave that for a future article—there’s still much to learn about the fractional world first.

In particular, today we’re going to take a deeper look at fractions and learn a few quick tips to help you understand exactly what numerators and denominators tell you.

What are fractions?

Before we get too far into the details of what the various parts of a fraction mean, let’s briefly review their anatomy. First, a fraction is made up of two integers—one on the top, and one on the bottom.

The top one is called the numerator, the bottom one is called the denominator, and these two numbers are separated by a line. The line can be horizontal or slanted—they both mean the same thing and simply serve to separate the numerator from the denominator.

How to pronounce fractions in English

If you’ve known about fractions for a while, it’s probably been some time since you’ve contemplated the names we use to describe them. But they aren’t exactly obvious, so it’s worth spending a minute or two thinking about them.

Here’s the quick and dirty tip to help you remember how to pronounce them all: The numerator is always spoken first, and you pronounce it exactly as you pronounce the number. For example, in 1/2 the numerator, 1, is just pronounced “one;” or in 45/77 the numerator, 45, is simply pronounced “forty-five.” Easy enough. But denominators are a bit trickier. They use the following convention: 

  • 2 is pronounced “half”

  • 3 is pronounced “third”

  • 4 is pronounced “fourth” (or “quarter”)

  • 5 is pronounced “fifth”

  • 6 is pronounced “sixth”

  • 7 is pronounced “seventh”

  • 8 is pronounced “eighth”

  • 9 is...

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Minggu, 29 November 2020

Parenting a Strong-Willed Child: 5 Positive Tips

My second child arrived two weeks early. It was clear from the moment I held him that stubborn persistence would dominate his personality. Between colic, reflux, and his desire to sleep only for short snippets at a time, I had to adjust quickly to his strong-willed temperament. Otherwise, I would've cried all day, myself!

Although he outgrew the projectile vomiting and began sleeping through the night, one thing that didn't change was his stubborn tendencies.

Tenacity and the persistence to exert one's robust personality is the mark of a gifted being, not a sign of defiance.

I've been a people-pleaser my entire life, I found it difficult to fathom how any child of mine could be testing boundaries at the wee age of six months. But I soon realized that a strong-willed child is a blessing. Tenacity and the persistence to exert one's robust personality is the mark of a gifted being, not a negative sign of defiance.

In her article in Advanced Psychology, Dr. Tali Shenfield captures my second child's essence perfectly:

When appropriately nurtured, these spirited young people often grow up to be great leaders and visionaries—possessing a great deal of creativity, passion, and drive—but conversely, when harshly disciplined, they can turn into distraught and rebellious individuals.

Dr. Tali Shenfield, How to Nurture a Strong-Willed Child

Don’t let a stubborn child wear you down. Embrace her spirit with these smart, positive parenting tips, and you’ll pave the way for a positive outcome.

Make routines work for you

As the mom of eight kids, all with different needs and personalities, the one constant that keeps our large family glued together is our clearly defined rules and expectations. Not every child of mine was necessarily happy to be a rule-follower, but the consistency we put in place, primarily with our daily routines, was a game-changer.

Strong-...

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‘Regime’ Versus ‘Regimen’

Today I'll answer a question from Regina in Ecuador:

"I very much enjoy every email I get from you, and now I have a question. Can you explain the difference between the usage of the word 'regime' and 'regimen'?  There are many times when I read either word and wonder if the writer is using it correctly. This is Regina in Ecuador. Thanks a lot. Bye.”

Regime

A regime, sometimes spelled with an accented E (“rĂ©gime”), is a type of government or ruling structure.

Squiggly didn’t want to live under a totalitarian regime.

Regimen

A regimen is a course of behavior or treatment. Your doctor may recommend a diet or exercise regimen.

Squiggly struggled to set up a regimen, and he never knew what he should eat for dinner.

Both “regime” and “regimen” come from the Latin word for “guidance.” Since the root won’t help you remember the difference between these two words, look at it this way: 

“Regimen” is just the word “regime” with the letter N tacked on to the end. Think of the N as a doctor putting you on notice—N for “notice”— that you’d better follow a healthy regimen.

Regiment

Even though Regina didn’t ask, I’ll add another noun that gets mixed up in here: “regiment.” A regiment is a group of military forces. And it comes from a different Latin word that means “government.”

Don’t punish the whole regiment for the mistakes of one.

How can you remember this one? Well, this might be a stretch, but “regiment” is just “regimen” with a T tacked on to the end. When I was a kid, I loved the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” and Sir Galahad wore a costume that had a bold and memorable big red cross on it, which looks like the letter T. He was one of the Knights of the Round Table, so he was part of a regiment. So you can think of that red T on Galahad’s shield as the T on the end of "regiment," a group of military forces. I warned you that it is a stretch, but it works for me, so I hope it will work for some of you!

Thanks for the question, Regina.

Image via...

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Sabtu, 28 November 2020

What Really Happens When Food Goes Down the 'Wrong Pipe'?

Your average person isn’t expected to be well-versed in the linguistics of human anatomy, which is how we wind up with "guns" for biceps and "noggins" for heads. So when swallowing something is followed by throat irritation or coughing, the fleeting bit of discomfort is often described as food “going down the wrong pipe.” But what’s actually happening?

You want your food to take the esophageal route, which leads to the stomach.

When food is consumed, HuffPost reports, more than 30 muscles activate to facilitate chewing and swallowing. When the food is ready to leave your tongue and head down to your stomach, it’s poised near the ends of two "pipes," the esophagus and the trachea. You want the food to take the esophageal route, which leads to the stomach. Your body knows this, which is why the voice box and epiglottis shift to close off the trachea, the “wrong pipe” of ingestion.

Since we don’t typically hold our breath when we eat, food can occasionally take a wrong turn into the trachea, an unpleasant scenario known as aspiration, which triggers an adrenaline response and provokes coughing and discomfort. Dislodging the food usually eases the sensation, but if it’s enough to become stuck, you have an obstructed airway and can now be officially said to be choking.

The “wrong pipe” can also be a result of eating while tired or otherwise distracted or the result of a mechanical problem owing to illness or injury.

You might also notice that this happens more often with liquids. A sip of water may provoke a coughing attack. That’s because liquids move much more quickly, giving the body less time to react.

Coughing tends to get the food moving back into the esophagus.

In extreme cases, food or liquids headed in the “wrong” direction can wind up in the lungs and cause pneumonia. Fortunately, that’s uncommon, and coughing tends to get the food moving back into the esophagus.

The best way to minimize the chances of getting food stuck is to avoid talking with your mouth full—yes, your parents were right—and thoroughly chew sensible portions.

If you experience repeated bouts of aspiration, it’s possible an underlying swallowing disorder or neurological problem is to blame. An X-ray or other tests can help diagnose the issue.

A version of this article was originally published on Mental Floss as "...

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Jumat, 27 November 2020

Anyone Can Practice Mindfulness (Yes, Even You!)

What is mindfulness, really?

What are you doing right this moment as you're reading this? Listening to music? Eating? Half-watching TV? If you had to make an estimate, what percentage of your attention are you giving to this task? 

Now think in general. When was the last time you were 100% focused on the one thing you were doing?

You might think that just because driving is the only thing you’re doing, you must be giving it all of your attention. Or maybe at least 90% of it—we have to allow for a little bit of normal mind wandering. But ask yourself: What types of trees are found as you leave your neighborhood? Have you been noticing?

When was the last time you were 100% focused on the one thing you were doing?

When you fold laundry, what do the sheets smell like? (And don’t cheat by answering “Like fresh laundry!”) When was the last time you truly and fully experienced that smell, not just with a general sense that it’s nice but with all of your awareness invested in the experience?

That focusing of your awareness is called mindfulness.

Last week, we talked about what mindfulness can and can't do. Practicing mindfulness can improve your well-being and performance, decrease stress and pain, and help you to be more connected with yourself and your surroundings. But that doesn't mean you can use mindfulness as a band-aid in a moment of crisis. It's a philosophy, not a tool. It cannot cure all of your ills, and it cannot replace standard medical treatments.

Mindfulness shouldn't be a crash diet—it’s a lifelong relationship with yourself and the world around you.

This week, let’s talk about how we can incorporate mindfulness into our daily lives in a way that’s feasible and sustainable. Because mindfulness shouldn't be a crash diet—it’s a lifelong relationship with yourself and the world around you. Whether you've been working on mindfulness for a while or you're totally new to the idea, these tips...

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Kamis, 26 November 2020

Where Are You At?

Grammar Girl here, and today I’m going to tell you where it’s at!

'Where It's At'

Just kidding. I used the phrase “Where it’s at” in an episode a few years ago, and a listener called me on it. How embarrassing, given that I always give the same advice about phrases like “Where it’s at” or “Where are you at?,” whether it’s in a radio interview, in a podcast episode, or in a book, I always say that because phrases like “Where are you at?” and “Where are you?” mean the same thing, you should omit the “at.” I’m standing by that advice, but today we’re going to talk about why this redundant phrasing exists.

First, I want to make one exception to my advice about “where” and “at” when it comes to the phrase “where it’s at.” By now, this particular phrase, meaning that something is really cool, is an established idiom of American English. If you take out the “at” and say something like, “Ballroom dancing is where it is,” that’s nothing but a tautology: It’s located where it’s located. But if you say “Ballroom dancing is where it’s at,” that’s something else entirely, and in a not-so-serious context, it’s acceptable. Having said that, I hereby retract my apology for using the idiom “where it’s at.”

Now let’s talk about a more typical case of “where” used with “at”: The question “Where are you at?,” which means the same thing as “Where are you?” To understand how this “at” got into the picture, we need to look at the history of “where” and its relatives in English.

Where: Location

In present-day English, the word “where” can be used in several ways. Of course, you can use it to ask about a place where something is or something happens, as in “Where are you?” or “Where do you live?” I’ll call this the “where” of location. This is the “where” that’s always redundant when you add an “at” to it.

Where: Origin

You can also use “where” to ask about an origin, in questions like, “Where are you from?” The preposition “from” isn’t redundant, because “Where are you from?” does not mean the same thing as “Where are you?” I’ll call this the “where” of origin.

Where: Destination

Furthermore, you can use “where” to ask about a...

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Rabu, 25 November 2020

How Come We Say "How Come"?

A listener named Barbara wrote in wondering about the phrase “how come.” She wrote:

The other day I was formulating a question for a Google search in my mind and started out with the phrase "How come...." I then quickly realized that I should probably use the word "Why" instead. Then I noted to myself that my natural tendency was to say "How come..." instead of "Why..." and this made me wonder how common that is. Is it a regional kind of thing, where people in certain parts of the world would tend to say one more than the other? Or is it a speaking vs. writing issue? Formal vs. informal? Or what?

Well, that’s a great set of question, Barbara!

'How come' is more common in the United States than in Britain

The oldest reference for "how come" in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is an entry in Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms published in 1848.  Now although the OED says "how come" was invented in the United States, the entry in Bartlett's indicates it originated in England. The entry reads, "Doubtless an English phrase, brought over by the original settlers." 

Regardless of whether "how come" truly originated in the United States, a search of the text in books scanned by Google Books show that at least in those book, it is still more common in American English than British English. So there are regional differences, at least at the country level.

A Google Ngram chart showing that "how come" is more common in American English.

'How come' is more informal than 'why'

“How come” is considered to be more informal than “why.” The OED labels it as colloquial, and you’re more likely to see it on Twitter than in a corporate annual report.

As for speaking versus writing, this is getting a little bit beyond my research skills, but if I control for how big the databases are, it looks like “how come” appears more often in a corpus of spoken English than in a corpus of written English, and that matches what my guess would be. Since it’s informal, I’d expect it to be more common in spoken English than in written English. ...

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What To Do If You Contribute Too Much to an HSA, IRA or 401k

Amanda M. says:

I contributed to my Roth IRA for 2020, but now I realize that my income will exceed the allowable annual limit. Can I fix this error and use the money to contribute to a traditional IRA instead, or do I have to pay a penalty?

Thanks for your question, Amanda. And congrats on earning too much to qualify for a Roth IRA! That’s a significant milestone that I’ll explain here.

While overcontributing to various tax-advantaged accounts—such as a retirement account, health savings account (HSA), and 529 college savings account—isn’t allowed, it can be easy to do by mistake.

I'll answer Amanda’s question and explain the contribution limits for various accounts and what happens when you over-contribute to them. You’ll learn how to easily correct an excess and avoid costly penalties.

What is an IRA?

IRA is short for Individual Retirement Account or Individual Retirement Arrangement, a tax-advantaged savings vehicle designed for individuals. It’s one of my favorite retirement accounts because anyone with earned income qualifies to contribute, even minors. It also offers more flexibility for taking withdrawals compared to other retirement accounts.

No matter how much you earn, you can max out a traditional IRA. However, as Amanda mentioned, there are annual income limits to qualify for a Roth IRA.

Note that the Roth IRA is the only type of retirement account that comes with an income threshold. Other types of Roth accounts, such as a Roth 401(k) or a Roth 403(b), don’t have an annual income limit.

You can only contribute to a Roth IRA when your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is below the following annual limits for 2020:

  • Single tax filers can’t make contributions when you earn $139,000 or more and increases to $140,000 for 2021. 
  • Married couples filing taxes jointly can’t make contributions when your household income is $206,000 or more and increases to $208,000 for 2021. 
  • Married couples filing separate taxes can only make reduced contributions with MAGI less than $10,000 and are ineligible when you earn more.

What happens if you over-contribute to an IRA?

Now that you know who qualifies for a traditional and a Roth IRA let's discuss how much you can contribute and ways to correct an excess. 

For 2020 and 2021, you can contribute up to $6,000 to a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, or a combination of both. If you're age 50 or older, you can contribute an additional $1,000, for a...

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Selasa, 24 November 2020

What's the Best Time to Eat Dessert?

Anita writes:

When is the best time to eat dessert? I've heard it is better to eat it immediately following a meal because the protein in the meal will help stabilize the blood sugar. But I'm often too full after my meal to enjoy dessert. I'd prefer to wait a couple of hours. In fact, I often crave a sweet bite a couple of hours after eating. Is that my blood sugar plummeting?

How does dessert affect your blood sugar?

Our blood sugar does go up after we eat, but that's not necessarily a problem—it's actually how the system is designed.

Most of the carbohydrates we consume are broken down into glucose, which is then absorbed into the bloodstream. When blood sugar levels go up, it triggers the release of insulin from the pancreas, which ushers the glucose out of the bloodstream and into the cells of the body. There, the glucose is used as fuel or, if no more fuel is needed, stored for future use.

Regardless of how quickly or slowly its absorbed, eating an excessive amount of sugar can be a problem.

It's also true that carbohydrates cause a faster rise in blood sugar when they're eaten by themselves. This is also not necessarily a problem. If it's not a huge amount of carbohydrate, then no matter how fast it's absorbed, your blood sugar can only get so high. And then, assuming that your body is capable of producing insulin and your cells are reasonably responsive to its effects, your blood sugar will return to normal. 

Regardless of how quickly or slowly its absorbed, however, eating an excessive amount of sugar can be a problem. For one thing, no matter how slowly it's taken up into your bloodstream, it all gets in there eventually. If you're consuming more calories than you can use, the excess will be stored as fat. 

What causes insulin resistance?

But what happens if your body is not able to efficiently clear the sugar from your blood into your cells? The cells can become resistant to the effects of insulin.

Insulin resistance is often the first step in developing Type 2 diabetes.

When this happens, the sugar isn't cleared as effectively from the bloodstream. Not only is it not available as an energy source for cells but chronically high blood sugar can lead to a number of serious health issues. Insulin resistance is often the first step in developing Type 2 diabetes.

A lot of us worry that if we eat too much sugar, too often, it will lead us to develop insulin resistance or diabetes. And now, we understand it's more the other way around: Insulin resistance (or poorly controlled diabetes) results in chronically high blood sugar.

It turns out that eating a lot of sugar,...

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When to Worry About Abdominal Pain

In previous articles, I’ve given mystery symptoms and shown how doctors make the diagnosis. But something needs to happen before the doctor can make a diagnosis: the patient has to come in. Deciding when to worry about symptoms is one of the hardest decisions. On the one hand, you don’t want to feel foolish coming in for something small; on the other, you don’t to want sit at home with a serious problem.

According to a prior study, over a third of abdominal pain complaints in the emergency room are discharged without a known cause. How can doctors send a patient home without finding the specific cause of a patient’s abdominal pain? The truth is that we are trained to search for “red flags,” or more serious symptoms. 

So what are these red flags? When should you worry about any sort of upper abdominal pain or middle stomach pain?

When to worry about abdominal pain

In my series, “When to Worry….” I try to give you guidelines as to when a symptom is worrisome, and when it is OK to wait to seek help. Let me emphasize, however, that this is general advice that doesn’t apply to all circumstances. It is far better to be seen for a problem that ends up not being serious than to sit at home with a dangerous condition.

It’s two in the morning and you wake up with pain in your abdomen, or perhaps your child wakes you up with a stomach ache. When should you seek immediate help, when should you make a doctor’s appointment, and when is it OK to wait? 

When the pain is accompanied by any of the following systems, it's a good idea to call your doctor:  

  1. Severity
  2. Persistence
  3. Tenderness
  4. Loss of appetite
  5. Vomiting
  6. Blood in bowel movements
  7. Melena
  8. Dizziness

Let's discuss why. 

Anatomy of the abdomen

The abdomen is divided into five sections. 

  1. Upper right quadrant
  2. Upper left quadrant
  3. Upper middle section
  4. Right lower section
  5. Lower left quadrant

The location of the pain can sometimes help doctors tell whether pain is worrisome or not. Here are descriptions of the main regions:

Upper right quadrant: The...

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How to Get a Super-Defined Chest

A while ago, a listener named Jock wrote in and asked:

You know those pecs that go all the way up to the neck and look like two giant squares with nipples? How do I get those?

This is an interesting way of describing defined chest muscles, but it's also not all that inaccurate, when I think about it. The muscles in the pectoral region do form a square (or rectangle) on either side of your sternum if you combine all four of them equally.

The four muscles that we call our “pecs” include:

Pectoralis major

The pectoralis major is a large fan-shaped muscle composed of a sternal head and a clavicular head. It's also the muscle that is closest to the skin. It's used to adduct and medially rotate the upper arm.

Pectoralis minor

The pectoralis minor is just under the pectoralis major and forms part of the anterior wall of the axilla region. It mostly stabilizes your scapula by drawing it against your thoracic wall.

It should be noted that even though the pec is divided into these two parts, there are actually six separate sets of muscle fibres in the pectoralis muscle. This is important because these sets of fibres allow separate portions of the muscle to be moved independently by our nervous system. This is one of the reasons why our arms are so useful and powerful at many different angles and in many different positions. 

Serratus anterior

The serratus anterior originates at the first to eighth ribs (at the side of the chest) and inserts along the entire anterior length of the medial border of the scapula. It is used to rotate the scapula, which basically allows us to raise our arms over 90 degrees. 

Subclavius

The subclavius is a small muscle located directly underneath the clavicle, running horizontally. It is mostly used to anchor and depress the clavicle.

Why a strong chest is important

Every day you also use the pectoral muscles to do things like pushing a heavy door open, washing your hair, or simply getting out of bed.

As you can guess, your chest muscles are important for many everyday things including flexing your upper arm when you swim, moving your arm inward when you ride a bike, rotating your arm bone toward your body while you walk or run, and also simply helping you take a deep breath.

Every day you also use the pectoral muscles to do things like pushing a heavy door open, heaving a heavy load of laundry over your head, washing your hair, or simply getting out of bed. Even though they're not exerting the primary force, your pecs are even active when you pick a bag up off the floor, throw a ball, or push a grocery cart.

Because of those everyday actions (and more), getting a stronger chest is advantageous whether...

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Senin, 23 November 2020

Here's Why Giving Is the Secret to Getting Ahead

With the approach of the American Thanksgiving holiday, many of us are focused on being thankful right now. And being thankful is something we should all do. Gratitude can give our minds and hearts a boost, especially when times are tough.

But "Thanksgiving" is a compound word that combines "thanks"—the gratitude I just mentioned—and "giving." So, let's give giving some air time today. And I'm not talking about the giving that involves financial donations to charitable causes (although, of course, do that if you can!) but the giving of yourself—your spirit, time, wisdom, and insight. Because as it turns out, being a giver at work is actually a competitive advantage. Research shows givers are the real winners.

Today we’ll talk about the why, what, and how of being a professional giver. We’ll cover strategies you can put to work today. Or at least after the turkey is fully digested.

Giving in action

Years ago, I started a new job. On day one, I met a giver named Ann. She took one look at my deer-in-headlights expression and invited me to lunch. She was generous and candid, sharing tips on how things really got done, offering to make introductions, and advising which pre-packaged items in the cafeteria were likely to induce salmonella.

That lunch was the first of many. Ann showed me the same generosity of spirit throughout my five years at that company. And my time wouldn’t have been the same without her.

I’ve since left that job, but Ann remains a dear friend. She still works there her career has sky-rocketed. She’s a senior, highly respected executive who still gives her time generously. Now, she’s also, of course, excellent at what she doe—giving alone doesn’t ensure success. But in a sea of high-performers, being a giver can offer just the competitive edge you need to win.

If this sounds squishy, rest assured ... I've got data.

What defines a giver?

Research conducted by Wharton professor Adam Grant (as described in this Fast Company interview) shows that people who are givers at work ultimately achieve the greatest long-term professional success. Grant defines success broadly and across industries, looking at measures like productivity and revenue production in business, and patient outcomes in healthcare.

Grant identifies three types of people.

  1. Givers are those who "want to help others independent of an easily foreseeable payback. They...
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Why Am I Still Getting Sick in Lockdown?

Some of us who've had the option to stay home during the pandemic have managed to avoid more than just Covid-19. We’ve also avoided other cold and flu bugs that come with having school-age kids or working in a crowded office or just generally being human. I, for one, am dreading the onslaught of germs that will most likely find a safe haven in our out-of-practice immune systems when we return to more in-person operations.

Not everyone stuck at home has managed to escape completely illness-free.

But not everyone stuck at home has managed to escape completely illness-free. I’ve heard the same question from many friends: How am I still getting sick? I don’t do anything anymore! Where are these germs coming from?

We're (mostly) not staying home as much as we think we are

We may feel like our efforts to stay at home are complete because they represent such a drastic reduction in the activities we're used to. But the truth is that we're not really completely isolated. We likely all have that friend who says he's not venturing out when, in fact, he went for that one quick meal on a restaurant patio or ran to the mall to get some new sneakers or just met up with that one other person.

Psychologists have also documented what’s known as a “risk perception gap,” which suggests that we as a species don’t always worry about the most pressing threats. In other words, we are terrible at risk assessment, especially in the short term. So, it is likely that in most cases, the germs get in from the outside because we give them the opportunity. 

Can you get sick without outside contact?

But it is also possible to make ourselves sick without an outside impetus.

Sometimes bacteria living in our body get into the wrong place and make us sick. For example, bugs like staphylococcal or streptococcal bacteria live in our nose, but if they infect our skin through an opening like a cut or a scrape? Boom! You’ve got impetigo.

RELATED: What's the Difference Between Germs, Bacteria, and Viruses?

And it’s not just skin infections. Ear infections, pneumonia, urinary tract infections—these are all cases of bacteria finding themselves in the wrong place.

There are some viruses that live inside us rent-free for years.

There are also some viruses that live inside us—rent-free!—for years...

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15 Little Everyday Ways to Show Your Family Love

You don't need a special holiday to show your family love. Sure, it's great to fuss on special occasions by going all out with confectionary delights, greeting cards, parties, and the like ... but love is for the ordinary times, too. Here are fifteen simple ways to show your family love all year 'round!

  1. Admit when you are wrong. It’s important for family members, especially your kids, to know you're OK with owning your mistakes. Not only that, showing them that it's important to acknowledge when you mess up, and then make an effort to make things right, is a great way to model integrity!  
  2. Smile at your kids when they walk into the room. Showing love to your family means letting them know you're happy to see them.  
  3. Catch your child (and partner) doing something good and praise them in public for it. Nothing makes a person's day by being recognized and praised!  
  4. Share as many family meals together as possible throughout the week. Maybe it can’t always be dinner, but kicking off the day together by enjoying breakfast as a family is equally as important.  
  5. Don’t compare your child to others. Every child is an individual and needs to know that you support them for who they are, not for who they are not.  
  6. Tell your family members you love them every day. You may think it's understood that you love your family, but there's nothing like having that validation.  
  7. Give your kids and family members a hug every day. Aside from just feeling good, research shows hugs can actually provide stress relief and keep us from getting sick!  
  8. Be as involved as your schedule permits. Show your kids you care by getting involved with the things that affect their life and education like going to PTO meetings, attending parent-teacher...
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Does Your Child Act Entitled? 5 Sensible Ways to Curb It

Grocery shopping for eight kids is not for the faint of heart! I strategize my mission to swiftly get in and out in less than, say, a week (Ha!) only to drive home and spend hours putting it all away. I purposely shop in another town so I won't get distracted chatting with neighbors and friends. (No, I'm not kidding!)

It takes a lot to veer me off course, but last week's encounter with an adorable child, probably six years old, did just that. She was having an animated cell phone conversation with her grandmother while shopping with her dad. When the chat was over, the little girl tucked what turned out to be her phone into her backpack. Then, without asking, she hurried down to the candy aisle and shoved several bags of goodies into her dad's shopping cart. When Dad reminded her to put her phone in its case before they left the store, she shook her head and declared that she was too tired. He patted her head indulgently and said he'd take care of it himself when they got to the car.

I want to say I was stunned by this little exchange, but honestly?—I wasn't. Kids behaving entitled (and parents indulging them) seems to be more of the norm these days than the exception.

Amy McCready, founder of Positive Parenting Solutionswrites in the article, 9 Signs That a Child Has Entitlement Issues:

When children receive everything they want, we feed into their sense of entitlement—and feelings of gratitude fall by the wayside. ...The entitlement epidemic usually begins with over-parenting—over-indulging, over-protecting, over-pampering, over-praising, and jumping through hoops to meets kids' endless demands. Today's generation of parents are overly invested in their child's happiness, comfort, and success.

Whether you've inadvertently given your child a sense of entitlement (hey, it happens to the best of us!) or you're not quite sure what created the entitlement monster, there are ways to put a stop to the behavior. Here are five simple strategies to help your child realize important values beyond the material.

5 strategies to help curb your child's sense of entitlement

1.  Instill a work ethic deserving of big-ticket items

Kids and chores—this can be a controversial parenting hot button. Some homes thrive because they have an organized system where kids routinely help out with tasks. Other families don't want to burden their kids with scheduled chores because they...

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Jumat, 20 November 2020

12 Fascinating Facts About Crows

Crows often get a bad rap. In many Western cultures, they've historically been associated with death, disease, and bad omens; reviled as crop-stealers by farmers, and condemned as nuisances by city dwellers. But the birds are fascinating creatures, adaptable and brainy to an extent that's almost scary. Here are a few facts about these crafty corvids that might surprise you.

1. All crows and ravens belong to the same genus

Members of the genus Corvus can be found on every continent except Antarctica and South America (although other close relatives live there). To date, scientists have named 40 species. Colloquially, some of them are referred to as ravens while others are called crows, rooks, or jackdaws.

Historically, the name raven has been given to several of the big-bodied Corvus birds with shaggy feathers on their necks. Mid-sized members of the genus are usually called crows, while the very smallest species go by the name jackdaws. There's also a large-beaked outlier known as the rook, which was named after the unusual sound it makes. But pervasive as these labels may be, they're not scientific and do not reflect the latest research. Despite its informal name, the so-called Australian raven is more closely akin to the Torresian crow than it is to the common raven.

The common raven is much larger than the American crow, about the size of a red-tailed hawk.

In the U.S., when people talk about crows and ravens, they're usually referring to the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and the common raven (Corvus corax). Telling them apart can be tough, but it is possible for eagle-eyed birders. One big indicator is size: The common raven is much larger, about the size of a red-tailed hawk. It also has a more wedge-shaped tail. As Kevin J. McGowan of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology writes on his crow FAQ page, ravens soar longer than crows, and you can see through their wing feathers as they fly (among other differences). And the birds' calls are substantially different. "American crows make the familiar caw-caw, but also have a large repertoire of rattles, clicks, and even clear bell-like notes," McGowan writes, whereas common ravens have "a deep, reverberating croaking or gronk-gronk. Only occasionally will a raven make a call similar to a crow's caw, but even then it is so deep as to be fairly easily distinguished from a real crow."

You can hear crow vocalizations here and raven...

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How to Easily Clean a Fish Bowl or Fish Tank

How to “age” your fishbowl’s water

Don’t add fresh tap water straight to a new bowl for your fish—you have to “age” the water first to remove gases and chemicals that come from treated water. To this, simply leave it overnight and/or treat it with chemicals from your petstore.

Remove your fish to a temporary bath

Remove any decorations, as well as your fish. Some recommend putting your fish in a temporary bath that’s filled with the same water from your tank (even if it’s dirty). If the tank or bowl has been filthy for awhile, you might want to also prepare a saltwater bath to kill off any germs your fish has picked up. Even though goldfish are freshwater fish, salt will help your fish absorb much-needed electrolytes and kill any parasites on his fins. To get the saltwater ready, run tap water into a separate bowl and let it sit for a day as stated above. Add a teaspoon of non-iodized salt and mix until it dissolves. Then let your fish go for a swim in the salt water for approximately 15 minutes.

SEE ALSO: Everything Reptile's Four Low-Maintenance Pets for Children

Easiest way to clean a fish tank

If you have a water siphon, use it to get out the dirty water and clean the gravel. If you don’t have one, you can also use a wet/dry shop vac, along with some old pantyhose. Place two or three layers of pantyhose over the nozzle of the hose and secure it with a rubber band. After removing your fish to its temporary bath, stick the hose in the tank and turn the vaccum on to start sucking. The dirty water will find its way into the vacuum, but the rocks won’t make it through the nylon. If you have a small fish bowl, dump out the gravel into a strainer and run water through them, then dry with towels before adding them back to the bowl.

How to get the sides of your tank clean

If your fish tank is marked with hard-to-remove deposits, just rub the tank with a cloth dipped in vinegar while you’re cleaning it, then wipe with a cloth dampened with water and allow to dry. The spots should disappear. Just make sure you rinse the tank thoroughly and let it dry (use towels, if necessary) before putting your fish back in.

RELATED: Mighty Mommy's ...

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What Are We Getting Wrong About Mindfulness?

Recently, a friend of mine discovered mindfulness meditation. She’s now as close to being a “fanatic” (her word) as a person can be to something so gentle. She told me that meditating every day has not only made her happier and more productive, it’s even helped her heal injuries.

This last part definitely caught me off guard. Heal injuries? How?

My friend offered an example. She explained that she recently scraped her knee. To help with healing, she just stopped and meditated with her full attention on the scrape twice per day. The knee scabbed over and healed within a couple of days. She felt that was a lot faster and less painful than usual.

“You also cleaned the scrape to prevent infection, right?” I asked.

“No, no, you don’t need that," she said. "Your body will always heal itself if you really meditate mindfully.”

I’m certainly happy that my friend is in good spirits and experiencing less discomfort. But her mindfulness-is-a-cure-all stance had me scratching my head. And that stance isn't limited to my friend. A lot of people seem to be jumping on the mindfulness-fixes-everything train.

The well-earned popularity of mindfulness

In the past decade or so, mindfulness seems to be exponentially growing in popularity. Everyone and their mom is getting into it! Neuroscientists, doctors, corporate executives, lifestyle gurus ... they're all excited about its potential for improving our lives.

And there's good reason for the hype. Research shows that mindfulness can help to reduce cancer-related symptoms, improve the childbirth experience, reduce stress and increase empathy, and promote healthier eating habits.

It’s hard to talk to a therapist without mindfulness coming up.

The US Army is investing in research to see if pre-deployment mindfulness training can make soldiers more resilient. Tech giants like Google and Intel are offering mindfulness training to...

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Kamis, 19 November 2020

How to Start Your Novel

Take a moment to consider the importance of your opening sentences.

After all, if the first few lines in this post don’t grab your attention, you’ll probably ‘X’ right out of it without another thought — right?

The same goes for books. The first few pages of a book are do-or-die: get it right, and readers will be intrigued enough to stick around for more. Get it wrong, and they’ll skedaddle right outta there. If the vast majority of readers start judging a book by its cover, then they make their final rulings by the book’s opening scenes. 

Especially for writers who are off to the NaNoWriMo races right now, it’s more crucial than ever to know how to put your best foot forward with your novel. Here are seven steps that will help you pull off the perfect opening scenes. 

Step 1: Think about your novel as a whole

Imagine yourself as a painter in front of a blank canvas. You may not be able to envision the entire composition yet! But you should know roughly when to reach for yellow paint, or blue. 

This is exactly the kind of grip you want to get on your novel before you begin. In other words: you don’t need to plan out every single plot point in your book before you start writing. But you should start seriously thinking about how you want the sum of the parts to come across. This way, you’ll be able to write an opening that effectively sets the tone for the rest of your book. 

To make sure that you’re striking this perfect tone right from the onset, ask yourself:

  • What genre am I writing? A fast-paced spy thriller with a shootout in every other chapter, for example, might jump into an action sequence right off the bat. 
  • What kinds of expectations do I want to set? For example, the opening chapter of “Pride and Prejudice” tells the reader to expect a witty comedy of manners through the strength and acuity of Jane Austen’s prose and dialogue. 

Step 2: Pick a point of view

So now you know the tone you want to strike in your novel. How are you going to execute it? 

A big part of that execution will come down to three words: point of view. Broadly speaking, there are four major types of POV: 

  • First person uses “I” and “we” pronouns (e.g., “The Hunger Games” and “Huckleberry Finn”).
  • Second person uses...
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‘Hilarious’ Versus ‘Hysterical’

When you're rolling on the floor laughing, describe the joke as hilarious, not hysterical. 

‘Hilarious’

“Hilarious” means roughly "super funny"; it comes from a Greek word meaning "cheerful." 

Pandas are hilarious. I love to watch videos of them rolling down hills. They make me laugh every time.

And if you listened to last week’s episode about ‘continuous’ versus ‘continual,’ you’ll note that “hilarious” ends with the same “-ous” suffix we talked about at the end of “continuous,” which means nonstop. Panda videos are continuously hilarious, at least to me.

‘Hysterical’

“Hysterical” means “excited.” It comes from the same root as “hysteria," from a Greek word meaning "womb" (coming from the idea—hrumph—that only women were emotionally excitable). 

And, I love this, we also used to have the adjective “hystericky” in American English. Here’s an example the Oxford English Dictionary lists from the novel “The Thin Red Line”: “He had had a strange hystericky encounter with his clerk Fife on the march.”

Some kinds of laughter truly can be hysterical. If people are so uncomfortable they laugh in an inappropriate situation, like at a funeral or while they are being robbed, that is most likely hysterical laughter.

Etymonline reports that people started using “hysterical” to mean “funny” in the late 1930s from the idea of people having “uncontrollable fits of laughter.” But some sources tag this use as informal or even sexist when applied to women.

‘Hilarious’ Versus ‘Hysterical’: A Memory Trick

Think of the word 'hysterectomy' when you think of 'hysterical' to remember the root means from 'womb.'

If you decide you want to avoid using the word “hysterical” to mean “funny,” you can remember the difference between the words by thinking of the word “hysterectomy” when you think of “hysterical” to remember the root. And a woman who needs a hysterectomy is likely to be worried, so that’s not funny.

‘Histrionics’

Finally, while researching this topic, I started wondering about the...

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Surprise! People in This Country Read the Most Books

Have you wondered how other people have been spending their time in 2020 while at home?

While Netflix, Facebook, and YouTube have seen a huge spike in usage, and online education platforms such as MasterClass have grown, one age-old pastime has also become more popular—reading books.

Global English Editing pulled together a fascinating infographic that explores the world’s reading habits in 2020. Here’s a taste of what you’ll find in the infographic:

  • Reading was up by a whopping 35% across the world in 2020
  • Printed books still drive more revenue than ebooks and audiobooks (though the gap is closing)
  • While social isolation has kept some couples apart, we’re reading more romance novels than ever.

No doubt, it was a great year for having your nose in a book whether you were looking for a distraction, to lower your stress levels, or probably a bit of both.

Check out the fascinating stats below to see how your reading in 2020 compares to the rest of the world.

world-reading-habits-2020

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Rabu, 18 November 2020

What Are Sine, Cosine, and Tangent?

Do you know what two angles living inside the same right triangle said to each other? The first angle goes, "Hey Thelma (or is it Theta?), I don't mean to go off on a tangent here, but what's your sine?" To which the second angle replies, "Phil (or is it Phi?), I don't know why you even bother to ask, my sine is obviously the same as your cosine!"

Okay, so maybe that's not the best joke in the world, but once you understand sines and cosines, it is kind of funny. Of course, that means that if you don't know the difference between a sine and a cosine, you're currently left out in the metaphorical cold.

Clearly we can't let that happen—and we won't! Because today we're going to learn all about sines, cosines, and tangents.

Recap: trigonometry and triangles

When we talked about the world of trigonometry, we learned that the part of math called trigonometry deals with triangles. And, in particular, it's the part of math that deals with figuring out the relationship between the three sides and the three angles that make up every triangle.

Sides of a Triangle

Of particular interest to us is the special type of triangles known as right triangles. Every right triangle has one 90-degree angle (like the corner of a square or rectangle), and two angles that each range between anything larger than 0 degrees and smaller than 90 degrees (with, as we'll talk about in the future, the sum of all 3 angles being 180 degrees).

For our discussion of sine, cosine, and tangent (which, don't worry, are not as complicated as they sound), it's important that we have a way of labeling the sides of right triangles.

As we learned last time, the longest side of a triangle is known as its "hypotenuse." The side opposite the angle we're looking at is known as the "opposite" side (logically). And the side adjacent to the angle we're looking at (the one that isn't the hypotenuse) is known as the "adjacent" side.

Sine, cosine, and tangent

With all of these preliminaries now happily splashing around inside our growing pool of mathematical knowledge, we're finally ready to tackle the meaning of sine, cosine, and tangent. Here's the key idea:

The ratios of the sides of a right triangle are completely determined by its angles.

The ratios of the sides of a right triangle are completely determined by its angles.

In other words, the...

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How Many Credit Cards Should You Have for Good Credit?

Have you ever wondered, "How many credit cards should I have? Is it wise to have a wallet full of them? Does having multiple credit cards hurt my credit score?"

If you’ve been following this blog or the Money Girl podcast, you know the fantastic benefits of having excellent credit. The higher your credit scores, the more money you save on various products and services such as credit cards, lines of credit, car loans, mortgages, and insurance (in most states).

Even if you never borrow money, your credit affects other areas of your financial life.

But even if you never borrow money, your credit affects other areas of your financial life. For instance, having poor credit may cause you to get turned down by a prospective employer or a landlord. It could also increase the security deposits you must pay on utilities such as power, cable, and mobile plans.

Credit cards are one of the best financial tools available to build or maintain excellent credit scores. Today, I'll help you understand how cards boost your credit and the how many credit cards you should have to improve your finances.

Before we answer the question of how many credit cards you should have in your wallet, it's important to talk about using them responsibly so you're increasing instead of tanking your credit score.

5 tips for using credit cards to build credit

  1. Make payments on time (even just the minimum)
  2. Don’t rely on being an authorized user
  3. Never max out cards
  4. Use multiple cards
  5. Keep credit cards active

A common misconception about credit is that if you have no debt you must have good credit. That’s utterly false because having no credit is the same as having bad credit. To have good credit, you must have credit accounts and use them responsibly.

Having no credit is the same as having bad credit.

Here are five tips for using credit cards to build and maintain excellent credit scores.

1. Make payments on time (even just the minimum)

Making timely payments on credit accounts is the most critical factor for your credit scores. Your payment history carries the most weight because it’s an excellent indicator of your financial responsibility and ability to pay what you owe.

Having a credit card allows you to demonstrate your creditworthiness by merely making payments on time, even if you can only pay the minimum. If the card company receives your payment by the statement due date, that builds a history of positive data...

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Yes, Lab-Grown Meat (Without Animals) Is for Real

Plant-based meat alternatives like the Impossible Burger or the Beyond Burger are capturing a growing share of the market. Consumers are attracted to these products for a variety of reasons. Some believe that plant-based diets are a way to reduce their risk of disease. Others are concerned about the environmental impact of animal agriculture or the welfare of the animals themselves. A lot of people who enjoy meat or value its nutritional profile are nonetheless reducing their consumption.

RELATED: The Problem with Vegan Alternatives

But new technology may soon deliver the best of both worlds to our plates: real meat that can be produced without using any animals. Paul Shapiro recently joined me on the Nutrition Diva podcast to talk about this brave new world of meat without animals. 

Paul is the author of the national bestseller Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World, the CEO of The Better Meat Co., and the host of the Business for Good Podcast.

Below are some highlights from our conversation. Please click on the audio player to hear our entire interview.

Nutrition Diva: Let’s start by clarifying for everybody what we're not talking about here. We're not talking about taking gluten and pea protein and soybeans and fashioning them into a darn good imposter for hamburger. We're talking about something very different.

This is a way of producing meat that uses far less land, far less water, and [creates] far fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Paul Shapiro: That's exactly right. When we talk about clean meats, we're not talking about a meat substitute. We're talking about real meat that is simply divorced from the process of raising and slaughtering an animal. So instead of having to go through that months- or years-long process, a clean meat simply involves taking a tiny biopsy from an animal, maybe the size of a Sesame seed.

And within that little biopsy, there are millions of cells that when you put them into a cultivator outside of the animal's body makes them think that they still are in the body. And they do exactly what they would do if they were in the body, which is to produce muscle, which of course is what we eat as meat.

So this is a way of producing meat that uses far less land, far less water, [and creates] far fewer greenhouse gas emissions. And of course, spares animals the cruelty of...

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Selasa, 17 November 2020

Pandemic Paunch? Stay Active with 'Movement Snacks'

The International Journal of Exercise Science published a study titled The Acute Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in University Students and Employees recently. It highlighted the need for more daily movement—something I call "movement snacks"—now more than ever.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, most universities across the United States closed campuses, sent students home, and transitioned from face-to-face classes to remote learning. Such changes, coupled with physical distancing guidelines, and various levels of quarantine, have altered social interactions and limited our access to fitness facilities, studios, and gyms. 

It’s not just university students, either—younger children have had more sedentary time during the pandemic. In fact, the CBC (Candian Broadcasting Corporation) reports that just five percent of Canadian children met basic physical activity guidelines early in the pandemic. 

And another study on older adults, called The COVID-19 pandemic and physical activity, reported "Unfortunately, modern lifestyle behaviors promote physical inactivity and sedentariness. These poor lifestyle behaviors are intensified by social distancing and self-imposed or government-mandated quarantine measures intended to reduce COVID-19 spread."

Spending some time in a gym or at a fitness class is great, but it should take a backseat to making regular movement a part of daily life.

I probably don’t need to even say this, but I believe this is a big problem. Both social interaction and access to exercise facilities promote physical activity. But many people still are of the mind that a gym, club, or studio is the best (and perhaps the only) way to get physical movement into their day. And worse yet, they believe that once they've checked that workout off their to-do list, they're free to loaf about for the remainder of the day.

If you have been following me for any amount of time, you know that I believe in the importance of living an active lifestyle. Spending some time in a gym or at a fitness class is great, but it should take a backseat to making regular movement a part of daily life.

The past few months have made it even more evident than ever that more of us need to adopt this philosophy. 

Science looks at how the pandemic changed our physical activity

Recently, a group of Kent State University researchers took a close look at the...

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How to Conceive a Boy or a Girl (According to Science)

As someone who never found out the sex of my babies until they joined us on the outside, I’m not sure I fully understand our fascination with the sex of unborn babies. We even have gender reveal parties (which—ahem—should be assigned-sex-reveal parties) so elaborate that they cause acres of wildfire damage.

Total strangers would stop me on the street to say things like 'Oh wow, you're carrying low; that's definitely a boy.'

During my pregnancies, total strangers would stop me on the street to say things like “Oh wow, you're carrying low; that's definitely a boy.” Hmm. I’m pretty sure the low-hanging belly just means I had no ab muscles to speak of when we started on this pregnancy journey, so the muscles that were there just gave up.

But what does fascinate me is whether or not there's any scientific evidence to back up the common lore surrounding how women might influence the sex of their baby. I’ve heard many times that eating a lot of salty snacks and red meat while you’re trying to conceive will produce a boy. Or, if you have a lot of chocolate and yogurt in your diet when you get pregnant—and who doesn’t?—you’re destined to have a girl.

Sometimes advice like this gets passed along without any backing, but sometimes it’s based on convincing anecdotal data. 

How is a baby's sex determined?

The sex of a fetus is determined by its X and Y sex chromosomes. Very simply put, the provider of the egg typically also provides an X chromosome while the sperm can either contribute another X chromosome or a Y chromosome. Two X chromosomes (XX) make a girl, and an X and Y (XY) chromosome combined make a boy. There are rare instances when a sperm may have both an XY which creates a boy with Klinefelter syndrome (an XXY boy) or no sex chromosome to create a girl with Turner syndrome (an X girl). 

Two X chromosomes (XX) make a girl, and an X and Y (XY) chromosome combined make a boy.

There are ways to use technology to essentially choose the sex of the baby. An embryo with a known sex can be implanted through in vitro fertilization (IVF) via a process called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. 

Sperm can also be sorted into X and Y carriers before being used in artificial insemination. One such sperm sorting technology, called ...

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Senin, 16 November 2020

Prepare Yourself for the Future of Work

The future of work has been on our collective minds for some time.

Technically, you never arrive in the future. It’s always, by definition, ahead of you. Yet months into a global pandemic that has triggered major changes to how we work, many experts are saying the future of work is hurtling towards us.

I sat down with Vice President of People and Communities at Cisco Systems, Elaine Mason. Elaine is a well-read deep thinker on the subject of the future of work, and I invited her to share her own research-based reflections on the changes we’ve seen so far, and what may still be to come.

And no matter what your job, career stage, or aspiration, Elaine shared plenty of tangible advice you can put to work today to prepare for your future professional success.

We focused our conversation on four trends that have been particularly relevant in 2020. These were:

  1. The remote workforce
  2. Diversity and Inclusion as part of corporate strategy
  3. Movement in the gig economy
  4. Shifts in corporate structure and hierarchy

The future of work and the remote workforce

Remote work could be here to stay

As I write this piece in my dining room—while my kids homeschool in their bedrooms—I’m aware that working virtually has become the norm for many across the globe.

Prior to the pandemic, company philosophies on remote work were all over the map. Some organizations have worked virtually for years. Many others resisted the trend.

The world of work has probably fundamentally changed.

But as Elaine describes the current state of virtual work, “With the rare exceptions of lab work, manufacturing, healthcare, [and other frontline professions] the majority of us are now [commuting]... seven feet from our beds to our offices.”

“The world of work has probably fundamentally changed,” she says.

Companies that had previously been cynical of virtual work have been forced to acknowledge that things are getting done. In many cases, executives report higher levels of productivity than ever.

But Elaine warns that studies on productivity are not yet conclusive. Some show productivity is up. Others, however, contend that work time is up, but actual productivity is down. The jury remains out.

So what’s next in the world of virtual work and productivity?

The purpose of the traditional office will evolve

Elaine predicts that virtual work is here to stay ... sort of. The way we use the traditional office will likely shift.

"Workspaces will be used more like community service centers," she said. "What you're [likely] to see is those large campuses for a lot of...

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5 Fresh Ways to Celebrate Thanksgiving

The holiday season is probably the most popular time for family traditions. Traditions are the glue that keeps a family together. We all have busy lives, and adding a small tradition here or there can make all the difference in maintaining and strengthening your family bonds. Every family has their own way of celebrating and with Thanksgiving on tap, it can be the perfect time to add a new twist to existing holiday rituals or to start a brand new one this year.

Mighty Mommy has 5 fresh ways you can make your family’s Thanksgiving holiday even more special.

Switch up the turkey and fixings

Turkey and stuffing has long been the focal point of most Thanksgiving menus across the country.  According to a survey by the National Turkey Federation, an outstanding 88% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day. The average weight of turkeys purchased for Thanksgiving is 16 pounds, meaning that approximately 736 million pounds of turkey were consumed in the United States during Thanksgiving in 2015. Gobble gobble! 

If you’re like my family, you can’t wait to smell the heavenly aroma of the traditional roasted turkey on Thanksgiving Day, accompanied by the combination of homemade rolls, sweet potato casserole, and of course, a succulent pumpkin pie. However, this year you might try an entirely new way to prepare Tom Turkey, such as deep frying it in the backyard (we did this last year and it was simply one of the best turkeys we’ve ever eaten!) or even grilling it (think of all that room you’ll save in your oven that day).   In this article written by Tyler Wells Lynch, 10 alternative ways to cook a Thanksgiving turkey, you'll find some tasty ways to get creative with your bird!

And don’t stop there!  Even if you have a beloved stuffing recipe that’s been handed down for generations, you can even kick that up a notch if you’re willing to think out of the box (and if you do make stuffing right from the box, that’s OK too!).  Ever have stuffing made in a waffle iron?  In addition to deep-frying our turkey last Thanksgiving, we changed up many of our side dishes, including my grandmother's stuffing.  Check out this list of innovative ways to prepare your stuffing this year in this article called Turkey Day Hacks, 7 Alternatives to Traditional Stuffing.

Send thanksgiving cards

Sending holiday cards is a tradition I’ve loved...

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Jumat, 13 November 2020

Why Do Cats Like to Chill Out in Sinks?

Cat owners know the scene well. They enter their bathroom to wash their hands, only to find a giant ball of fur engulfing the sink. Their cat has commandeered the fixture, treating the porcelain like a concave mattress. Why do cats do this?

The short answer is similar to what else science knows about cats—not a whole lot. But there are theories. Speaking with Reader’s Digest, Dr. Rebecca Greenstein, a vet expert with Rover.com, said that cats are attracted to sinks because they offer a pleasing curvature, making them feel nestled and safe. This “denning” resembles how they sleep as part of a litter, with pressure against their bodies.

There are other benefits, too. If a cat has been in a warmer area of a house, like a windowsill, a cool sink surface might be just what they need. Sinks are also typically in a quiet part of the home, giving the cat some much-needed relief from the stresses of their day. Because sinks are raised, cats may also enjoy the feeling of dominance and security that comes with surveilling from a higher vantage point.

There’s no harm to cats filling your sink with their listless, shiftless bodies, but if it’s bothersome, you can always try keeping the bathroom door shut. Otherwise, you’re likely to continue being greeted by a rather large hair clog every morning.

A version of this article was originally published on Mental Floss as "Why Do Cats Like to Chill Out in Sinks?" Read more from Mental Floss.

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Learning to Name Characters from Dickens

“How do you choose their names?” a young writer recently asked me, referring to the host of characters populating my historical novel "Murder in Old Bombay," to be published shortly by Macmillan Publishers. That got me thinking about names.

Names are powerful! They contain the seed of the character’s personality, the time and place, their ancestry, and even how they see themselves.

Recall Dickens’ infamous character Uriah Heep? “Humble we are, and humble we shall always be!” he’d say, rubbing his hands. What a vivid impression of falsehood! We know he’s pretending to modesty because both his body language and his very name elicit suspicion. Names are subtle signposts.

In my current manuscript I had named a character Blake Baldwin. He’s an operative, a detective who is killed when he uncovered an anarchist plot. But something about his presence just didn’t work, until I realized the anachronism! Blake is a rather modern name—and my book is set in 1893! Renaming him Arnold Baldwin allowed him to fit into the scenes much better.

Names also direct us to a character’s ancestry and ethnicity. In "Murder in Old Bombay," a young rascal called Birju (a Hindu name) was a pivotal minor character from a mountain village near Pathankot in northern India. Readers may not know that in 1947, when British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan, border villages with predominantly Hindu populations remained with India and those which had mostly Muslim populations were given over to Pakistan. Pathankot stayed in India.

I wanted a racial balance in the book—representing positive characters in all religions, all races, all cultures. To paint one group as villainous exacerbates preexisting prejudices, and that should be contrary to a writer’s role.

Now here’s the problem. In the 1890s, the period in which my book is set, Hindus and Muslims co-existed amicably in villages, so while I wanted to show Birju’s family was Hindu, much of the village life reflects a rural Muslim culture. However, when we sent out electronic copies of my book, an early reviewer complained that it was...

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5 Ways to Deal with Entitled People

Lately, for whatever reason, I’ve been hearing a lot about entitled people.

Earlier this week, a journalist emailed me and told me they were working on a piece on sleep. They requested detailed answers to a bunch of questions. They didn't ask whether I had time to answer them, nor did they say "please" or "thank you." They just expected my answers by the end of the day.

The next day, I heard from a coworker she'd waited three hours for a client who stood her up. This was after the client had demanded to meet in person, even though everyone else was doing virtual appointments. Then, for a whole afternoon, he continually texted that he was running late ... before finally no-showing because the appointment turned out to be inconvenient for him.

Entitlement is a person's belief that they are inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.

Finally, I’ve been lending an ear to professor friends who are in the midst of a semesterly ritual—dealing with students who haggle for grades. One friend said that a Freshman attended her virtual office hours and said, “You gave me a B on my paper. I don’t get Bs. I need you to change this to an A.”

What do all these people have in common? Entitlement.

Entitlement is a person's belief that they are inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment. Some people wear their entitlement like a crown—they’re rude, demanding, contemptuous, and they get resentful, not just disappointed, when things don’t go exactly their way. But sometimes it’s more subtle—all you’re left with is a gut feeling that you’re being manipulated.

4 signs that a person is acting entitled

Not sure if you’re facing a reasonable request or an entitled demand? Don’t let an entitled person gaslight you into thinking that you’re the one way out of left field. Look for these four signs.

1. They think they're better than you

Let’s start with the big one. Entitled individuals genuinely think they're better or more important than others. Making a request at someone else’s expense, with no sense that their request might be inappropriate, definitely qualifies as entitled.

2. They hold double standards for themselves and others

Entitled people think nothing of inconveniencing others. They'll do things like canceling at the last minute, no-showing appointments, or requiring lots of others people’s time and effort to get a task done.

Entitled people think nothing of inconveniencing others.

But turn the tables and it’s a different story. Entitled people accept favors without returning them. They freeload. They...

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Kamis, 12 November 2020

‘Continuously’ Versus ‘Continually’

Last week, I had to remind myself of the difference between the words “continuously” and “continually” when I was writing about the word “chronic” because it has the same root as the word “crony.”

Is a chronic disease something that is with you continuously or continually? There is a difference even though the two words come from the same root.

Continuously

Something that happens continuously happens all the time—nonstop. If a piece of electrical equipment in your house is making a nonstop buzzing sound, and you can’t find it, you can tell an electrician that something is continuously buzzing.

Continually

On the other hand, something that happens regularly, but not all the time, happens continually. For example, if you have a smoke alarm that goes off at random times every day, when you tear it off the wall and throw it away, you can tell the person you hire to patch the drywall that the alarm was going off continually. (Just be sure to replace it. Smoke alarms are important.)

‘Continuous’ or ‘continual’?

If you have a chronic disease, is it something that affects you continuously or continually? Well, maybe it’s both. For example, many type I diabetics have to give themselves shots multiple times a day. They are continually giving themselves shots. Multiple times a day.

But some diabetics use insulin pumps instead that deliver insulin all the time (although the amount can vary throughout the day). They’re getting insulin continuously. Nonstop.

I think the real answer is that because the underlying disease is always there, the disease is continuously with people. It’s something that continuously affects them all the time.

The ‘-ous’ suffix will help you remember

Now, how can you (and I) remember the difference between these two words that sound so similar and have such similar meanings?

I’m going to think of something that happens continuously as being a state. Something that “is.”  And the “-ous” suffix is the key. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it means “abounding in something, being full of something, characterized by something.” 

You can see it in other words that end with “-ous” that also describe a state or describe being full of something: “pompous,” “glamorous,” “courageous,” “dangerous,” and “hideous.” 

All those...

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Rabu, 11 November 2020

How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt Faster

I've received several questions from Money Girl podcast listeners about paying off credit card debt. It's a fundamental goal because carrying card balances come with high interest, a waste of your financial resources. Instead of paying money to card companies, it's time to use it to build wealth for yourself.

7 Strategies to Pay Off Credit Card Debt Faster

1. Stop making new card charges

If you're carrying card balances from month-to-month, it's essential to understand what it costs you. As interest accrues, it can double or triple the original cost of a charged item, depending on how long it takes you to pay off.

The first step to improving any area of your life is to acknowledge your mistakes, and financing a lifestyle you can't afford using a credit card is a biggie. So, stop making new charges until you take control of your cards and can pay them off in full each month.

As interest accrues, it can double or triple the original cost of a charged item, depending on how long it takes you to pay off.

Yes, reining in your card spending will probably require sacrifices. Consider ways to earn extra income, such as starting a side gig, finding a better-paying job, or selling your unused stuff. Also, look for ways to cut costs by downsizing your home, vehicle, memberships, or unnecessary expenses.

2. Consider your big financial picture

Before you decide to pay off credit card debt aggressively, look at the "big picture" of your financial life. Consider any other debts or obligations you should prioritize, such as a tax delinquency, legal judgment, or unpaid child support. The next debts to pay off are those already in default or turned over to a collection agency.

In many cases, not having a cash reserve is why people get into credit card debt in the first place.

Assuming you don't have any debts in default, focus your attention on your emergency fund ... or lack of one! I recommend maintaining a minimum of six months' worth of your living expenses on hand. In many cases, not having a cash reserve is why people get into credit card debt in the first place.

3. Make more than the minimum payment

Many people who can pay more than their monthly minimum card payment don't do it. The problem is that minimums go mostly toward interest and don't reduce your balance significantly.

For example, let's assume your card charges 15% APR, you have a $5,000 balance, and you never make another purchase on the card. If...

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