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achieveyourtarget-blog · 4 years

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How to Make It As a Fitness Model!

People that follow my stuff know I generally write about nutrition, supplements, training, and other topics that are more science based than subjective topics, such as what is covered in this article. I decided to shuck my science geek persona, and write on a topic I know will be helpful to thousands of would be and want to be fitness models.

As well a known "hard core" science based no BS writer, why I am writing what some will perceive as a "fluff" article? Over the years I have gotten hundreds, perhaps thousands, of gals that ask me via email, letters, or in person "how do I become a fitness model Will? You have been in the business a long time, surly you of all people should know." I get this from newbies and I get this from women that have been at it a while but have been unable to "break in" effectively.

The fact is, I have been in the fitness, health, and bodybuilding biz a long time, and though I am known as a science and nutrition based "guru" type, I have trained many a fitness athlete, and judged fitness and figure/bikini shows for the NPC, Fitness America, Fitness USA, and other federations as well as given marketing and business advice to all sorts of athletes, including fitness models. So, it's not as far fetched as it might seem that I am going to use this space to cover a non scientific topic, which is, how one goes about being a fitness model.

This article will be useful to both experienced and novice types looking to "break in" to the biz. If you are already a professional and successful fitness model, I am sure you may still glean some useful information from this article.

First the bad news, there is no one way to become a successful fitness model. There is no single path or magic secret. There are however some key things a person can do to greatly improve their chances of "making it" in the fitness biz as a model, and perhaps using that success as a launching pad to greater things, such as movies, TV, etc.

Several of the top fitness models (Trish Stratus and Vicki Pratt come to mind but there are many others) have gone onto careers in entertainment of all kinds. Bottom line, though there is no magic secret to being successful as a fitness model, this article will be about as close to a blueprint for success as you will find.

"Do I need to compete?"

This is a question I get asked all the time and it's not an easy one to answer. In fact, the answer is (drum roll) yes and no. The person has to deicide why they are competing in the first place to answer that question. For example, do you need to compete if your goal is to be a successful fitness model?

The answer is no. Many of today's well-known fitness models have never competed, or they competed in a few small shows and it was clearly not part of their success as fitness models. However, competing does have its potential uses.

One of them is exposure. At the upper level shows, there will often be editors, publishers, photographers, supplement company owners, and other business people. So, competing can improve your exposure. Also, competing can make sense if you are trying to build a business that is related to your competing or will benefit from you winning a show.

For example, say you have a private training gym you are trying to build. Sure, having the title of say Ms Fitness America, or winning the NPC Nationals and being an IFBB pro, will help your reputation and the notoriety of your business. There are many scenarios were it would help to have won a show for a business or other endeavors.

On the other hand, it must be realized that winning a show does not in any way guarantee success in the business end (and it really is a business) of being a fitness model. The phone wont ring off the hook with big offers for contracts. Also, it's very important to realize that it's common that the 4th or 6th or 8th place finisher in a fitness or figure show will get more press than the winner. Why? Though the winner might have what it took to win that show, it's often other gals the editor, publishers, supplement companies etc, feel is more marketable.

I have seen it many times where the winner was shocked to find she didn't get nearly the attention she expected and other girls who placed lower have gotten attention in the form of photos shoots, magazine coverage, etc. Something to keep in mind when you ask yourself the important question "do I need to compete and if so, why am I competing?" Answer that question, and you will know the answer to the heading of this section. Winning a title of some sort can be a stepping stone, but it is not in itself any guarantee of success in the fitness industry. It's like a college degree; it's what you do with it.

Now. If you compete for the fun of it, then by all means go for it, but the above is focusing on competing as it relates to the business aspect of being a fitness model.

Right body, wrong federation?

Ok, so after reading the above you have decided you are going to compete, or will compete again. If you don't plan to compete, you can skip this section. The biggest mistake I see here is so many gals have the right body for the wrong federation. Each federation has its own judging criteria and a competitor will do poorly simply because they didn't bother to research which show would be best suited for them.

I will give you a perfect real world example of this. Recently I judged a show whose criteria for the figure round was the women should be more on the curvy softer side with some tone, vs. being more muscular and athletic with less bodyfat that other federations might allow. At this show one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen came out. She was very proportional, great muscle tone, lean, and athletically shaped with narrow hips and waist and wider shoulders. How did she do at this show? She didn't even place in the top ten!

Why? Because she was not what we were instructed to look for and didn't fit the criteria. After the show I informed her that she looked great, but this may not the federation for her. I told her she had much more of an NPC type body, where a little more muscle, athletic build, and less bodyfat is rewarded.

The following week I was judging an NPC fitness, figure, and bodybuilding show and there she was. How did she do? She won the entire show with all judges voting her number one unanimously.

Conversely, if your body type tends to be more rounded and toned, but with a little more bodyfat, wider (but not fat!) hips, you may be better off competing in say the Fitness America Pageants. If you are going to compete:

(1) find out exactly what the judging criteria is for that federation and

(2) go see those shows as a spectator for several different federations and see which one your physique, style, etc will fit into best.

(3) You have to decide if you truly have the athletic abilities to compete in a fitness competition (which requires a routine) or a figure/bikini competition.

I often see women who would do well in a figure show but really don't have the athletic abilities do the routines required to be competitive with other athletes in the show. Some shows will allow you to do both competitions and some wont.

Networking 101: dos and don'ts...

In so many respects, this is the area that will make or break you in any business, and yet, people in the fitness industry do an amazingly poor job at it. If you don't network and market yourself properly, you can pretty much forget about having any real success as a fitness model, or a success in virtually any business. For the sake of space, we will stick to fitness.

When I first started out, I was a self marketing machine. I could be found at every show I thought might be an opportunity, walking the isles of trade shows, bodybuilding, shows, fitness show, and others. I gave out a zillion cards and I took a million home with me, and followed up on each and every one. I went to as many industry related meetings, outings, parties, etc. as I could get into. I now have the reputation and experience in the industry that I don't have to go to such a show unless I feel like it, or have meetings, but they were quite helpful in the beginning.

I am always amazed at the number of fitness models who contact me who have never even been to the Arnold Classic Fitness Weekend, or the Mr. Olympia, or the trade shows like the NNFA Expo West and others. If you want to make it in the fitness business you sure as hell had better treat it like a business.

I have seen many a pretty girl who wants to be a fitness model who thinks if they stand there looking pretty long enough, someone is going to offer to put their face on the cover of a magazine. News flash, there are millions of beautiful women out there and to be noticed, you have to hussle to get that business like everyone else by networking your butt off, or having a good agent (if you can afford such a thing) who is doing it for you.

Pick a few major industry shows to attend (some of which were mentioned above) and go to them every year. Have a plan of attack of exactly how you plan to market yourself and network. Many fitness models, bodybuilders, etc see a show as one big party. If that's you, then have fun at the party, but don't think you are really marketing yourself as a serous business person or athlete.

Another thing that always amazes me is the number of fitness models who either have no business cards, or have some cards they printed up on their bubble jet printer at home! They ask me to help them or what ever and I say "give me your card" and they look at me like "I am so pretty I should not need a card you fool." This attitude turns off editors, photographers, writers, and industry people faster then if they found out you were really a transvestite. Don't do it. For every pretty girl out there who thinks the world owes them a favor, there are 100 who are ready to act like professionals.

Ever wonder why some fitness model you know is doing better than you are even though you know you are prettier than her? That may be why...never ever go to a show to network without good cards, bios, and professionally done head and body shots you can give to said editors, publishers, photographers, industry types, etc. Don't stand around looking pretty assuming they will find you, find them first and introduce yourself. And of course it should go without saying you should be in good condition and have something of a tan to look your best.

You want to go to the shows and party? Fine, but do it in private after the work is done and don't make a fool out of yourself at some industry sponsored get together. Hell, I was virtually poured into a cab at last years Arnold Classic after going to a sushi place with some well know industry types and companies owners (you know who you are!) but at least no one saw me! We had our own little private get together after the show to let loose.

Let me give you one final real world example of how NOT to market yourself. Last year I was on retainer as a consultant to a mid sized supplement company. The owner of the company asked me if I knew a couple of fitness model types that could work his booth for a trade show. In fact, he requested "unknowns, some new faces people had not seen yet but had real potential to grow with the company." I went and found him two such gals I thought fit the bill.

He offered to pay their flights, room, and food plus a thousand dollars each for the days work. The two girls were told to be at the booth 9am sharp. The night before at the hotel, I saw the two girls getting in a cab at 11pm or so dressed to kill, clearly on their way out to party. The next day they showed up at the booth an hour and a half late and hung over! What was the result of this? (1) it embarrassed me to no end as I had recommended them to the company owner (2) they would never get work from that company again (3) they would never get any work from me again and (4) they would not get a reference from either of us for other jobs.

I see this type of thing all the time in the fitness biz, and it's not limited to fitness models. Amazingly, a few weeks after the show they emailed me and the company owner wanting to know when their next job would be! Amazing...

Who loves you baby?

If there is one universal truth, it's that the camera either loves you or it does not. Any professional photographers will tell you this. For some unknown reason, some people are very photogenic and some are not. Truth be known, there are some well known fitness models (who shall remain nameless as they would probably smack me the next time they saw me) who are not all that attractive in person. It's just that the camera loves them and they are very photogenic, but not terribly pretty in person.

Conversely, I have seen the reverse many times; a girl who is much better looking in person than in photographs. Such is the fate of the person who wants to be a model of any kind, including a fitness model. If you find you are not very photogenic, keep working with different photographers until you find one that really captures you well and pay that photographer handsomely!

Now, to be bluntly honest, there are also some want to be fitness models who are not "unphotogenic", they're just "fugly"! There are some people out there who have no business trying to be fitness models. It does not make them bad people, it just means they need to snap out of their delusions and find a profession they are better suited for, like radio personality....

"How do I get in the magazines?"

This section sort of incorporates everything I have covered above, and adds in a few additional strategies. For example, as I mentioned before, competing in fitness shows and or figure/bikini shows can increase your exposure, thus getting the attention of some magazine publisher or photographer. Networking correctly at the various trade shows may also have the same effect, and of course having a good portfolio done by a photographer that really captures your look, a good web site, etc., will all increase your potential for getting into the magazines, or getting ad work, and so on.

However, all of these strategies are still somewhat passive versus active in my opinion. It's still the fitness model waiting to be "discovered." As far as I am concerned, waiting is for bus stops and pregnancy tests. Success waits for no man...or woman as the case me be. So, after all the above advice is taken into consideration as having an added effect to getting you magazine coverage, what else can be done?

For one thing, you should read and be familiar with all the magazines you want to be in so you know who is who and what the style of the different magazines are. I can tell you right now, if say the Editor-in-Chief of a good sized fitness or bodybuilding publications and says "hi, I am the Bob Smith what's your name?" and the fitness model has no idea who Bob Smith is, Bob will not take kindly to that. Why should he? You should know who the major players are in the publications you want to be seen in. He is doing you the favor, not the other way around. You should know who the major players are and actively seek them out, don't wait for them to "discover" you.

If you look at the masthead inside any magazine, it will tell you who the publisher is, who the Editor-in-Chief is and so forth. The mailing address for that magazine, and often the web site and email, can also be found. What is to stop you from looking up those names and mailing them your pictures and resume directly? Nothing, that's what. If you see a photo spread you think is really well done, what is to stop you from finding out who the photographer is and contacting them directly and sending them your pics? Nothing, that's what.

My point being, you want a get a break in the business, make the break, don't sit there thinking it's looking for you, because it's not. Be proactive, not reactive! Luck is the residue of design. Be successful by design. As my older brother used to say to me as a kid when I told him I was too scared to ask out a pretty girl "what's the worst that can happen Will? All she can say is no." That's the worst that can happen to you also.

Beware of web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids!

This part is sort of self-explanatory but worth mentioning. As with all industries that deal in entertainment based media (e.g., television, theater, modeling, etc.), the fitness industry attracts its far share of web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids, to name just a few.

There is also the class of person known as the schmoe, but we will leave that for another place and time. Point is you want to meet the right people while not getting involved with that group of worthless types who will only drag you down, delay you, or just flat out screw you up and over.

For example, a guy comes up and says he wants to "shoot you" for the magazines, but what do you really know of this guy? He has a camera and some business cards, so that makes him a photographer right? Wrong! If someone want to shoot you and they are not a well-known name (and you should know who the well known photographers are because you researched that already!), find out who they are. Do they have references you can call? Girls you can contact he has shot before and were happy with the work? What magazines has he published in? Does he do it professionally or as a hobby? That type of thing.

Another thing I see is the big web scam. I'm amazed how many girls get scammed by these web idiots. Lesson here is you get what you pay for, so when some person wants to build you a web site for free, you are getting what you pay for. Yes, there is good money to be made on the 'net, and the net can be great for marketing yourself and making contacts, but most of it's a scam.

You are better off paying a good web designer and web master who has experience with other fitness model types and has references you can talk to. I can't tell you the number of girls who have been screwed over by some internet thing that went to hell, like the "fan" who volunteers to build a free web site and either runs off with any money made from the site or puts their picks on porn sites and any number of other things that made them regret like hell ever agreeing to the site in the first place.

Clearly, I can't go down the list of all the possible pitfalls of the web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids out there to be found in the entertainment business, but you get the idea. Be careful!

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elejah-wonderland · 5 years

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Love Hurts/Epilogue

Elijah Mikaelson x reader

Epilogue

AU TVD/TO story

summary: Y/N received a letter from a lawyer from New Orleans, stating she inherited a part of an Estate. She went there to find out what it was about. There she met two brothers, Elijah and Klaus Mikaelson, who also owned part of the property.

a/n: And so we came to the end of the story. Thanks so reading this story and liking and reblogging. Love you guys, xoxo

tags

@rissyrapp20 @captainshurley @goddessofthunder112 @hides2000 @cassienoble2000

__________

Morning dawned with Elijah and Y/N snuggled up sleeping carefree in the little guest house.

It was the same for Klaus and Caroline

And definitely not much different for Jackson and Andrea, who chose to spend their honeymoon in Florida Keys, flying out there straight after the party.

The only one that was up early was Mary, who now coordinated the clean up. She didn't remember when she was so content. The great feeling of happiness and love returned to the house. She walked in the kitchen finding Hope there pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

"You are up already?"- Mary said-"I thought, after dancing so much, you would sleep at least till 10."

"Aunt Josie promised to take me and Tom riding. I am so excited, I couldn't sleep."-Hope said.

"Right. So, what do you want for breakfast?"- Mary asked.

"Deviled eggs."- the girl replied.

"Coming right up."- Mary said now going over to the fridge.

At the same time in the Guest House, Y/N woke up and her eyes met Elijah's.

"Morning"- he whispered lovingly removing a streak of her hair from the forehead his eyes still gazing into hers.

"Morning"- Y/N replied with a smile, stretching a bit now.

"Love you"- Elijah then said, before Y/N could utter-"Have you been watching me?"

"So what if I did? It's the most amazing thing - you next to me, with me- I can watch you forever- you are so beautiful."

Y/N smiled again now brushing through his hair with her hand neared him and placed a kiss on his lip, then saying-

"You are beautiful, too."- Y/N chuckled a bit now -"But I still can't decide if I like you better with a beard or clean-shaven. Jeans or suits- so hard to choose. You looked so hot in the jeans, in that white T- shirt, when you were helping build that gazebo with Jackson. I think that I have fallen in love with you then."

"Then?"- Elijah said with a whiff of disappointment in his voice.

"Maybe earlier"- Y/N now said with a teasing smile putting her thinking face on-"or maybe when you came from Florida, that morning, when we had a two-minute coffee together."

"Well, I know I fell in love with you the moment I saw you."

"You did?"- Y/N/ said slightly surprised smiling happily.

"I did."- Elijah said now looking at her sweetly.

Y/N now leaned over and kissed him. Elijah now deepened the kiss, both of them falling again into zillion set of kisses, feeling the love stream all over them so tenderly and divinely.

Eventually they appeared in the main house, slipping up to their room to shower and change. Not long after, they were down chatting to one another about where they would actually live, as her work was at the Plantation house and Elijah's was in New Orleans.

"How about three days in the city and then the weekends here?"- Elijah suggested-"and when the baby comes, we can be in New Orleans. It is more practical."

"By then Andrea and I will have to find good replacements, because we will be at least six months out. There is tones of things to do. I never thought in a millions years that my life will change so much when I first got here."

"I never thought my life would change at all"- Elijah said-"and it has- for the better. I have so much hope about everything. Marcel Jr, too."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I got the message from my friend Rebekah Gerard, who knows a hot-shot lawyer in New York. She is this expert custody lawyer. Katherine Pierce. She is more than happy to look into your case. Sorry, I forgot to tell you. We spoke briefly last night, before you got to the guest house, and when you kissed me I just forgot about - pretty much the whole world."- Y/N said.

Elijah now stopped and looked at her dearly-

"Have I told you lately how much I love you."

"I don't know- but I am ok if you say it again."- Y/N smiled chuckling.

"I love you, Y/N."

"I love you, too, Elijah Mikaelson."

He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her.

As they were now close to the kitchen everyone in there heard them. Mary looked at Klaus and Caroline, who were having a late lunch saying-

"Sunshine has returned to the house. It truly has."

Elijah and Y/N greeted everyone in the kitchen asking if there was anything left for them.

"I will rustle you up whatever you like. "- Mary said, as they sat down at the main table.

"I don't mean to be like too picky, but I really want a burger."- Y/N said.

"The cravings are kicking in?!"- Mary stated.

"Oh, in Brazil, I just wanted chocolate all the time, and milk shake. I would like one now, and I know it is not healthy, but- I am starving."- Y/N said.

Abby now smirked a little and she remembered that she was like that when she was pregnant with Bonnie.

"Talking about Bonnie, spoke to her last night, as well, and she is coming the next weekend. Katherine is coming down from New York, too. And- I need to organize a meeting to bring Bonnie and her mom to sit down and talk"

Mary now asked if Elijah had any particular wishes lunch-wise.

"I am ok with the burger, too. Double cheese. But no milk shake. Thank you, Mary."

Klaus now got up as did Caroline.

"Where are you going?"- Elijah asked.

"We have to get back to the city. Need to get last minute production things done before the opening night."- Caroline said.

"Oh, can't wait for it. How come it took so long?"- Y/N said.

"We had some glitches with the stage production and then the other producer pulled out. I put all my money in it. But I believe it is going to be huge. We were talking about staging it here- for Halloween if it takes off."

"Yep."- Klaus said.

"That would be so good. We can make it like a special event."- Y/N's eyes already sparkled with ideas.

"Let's first see how the opening night goes."- Klaus said-"we are sold out for that at least."

"I will need tickets for my mom and dad, too. They would love to see it."- Y/N said.

"Done."- Caroline said and then she and Klaus left.

"Oh, yeah, they are arriving the day before."- Elijah now remembered pouring himself some juice.

"Don't tell me you are nervous? They are ok with us. I told you."

"I could tell in his voice that your dad was not really pleased with the way things went."- Elijah said.

"Once they see how happy I am, everything will be ok. And I am really happy."- Y/N said now giving him a small peck on the lips.

"What garnish would you like on the burger. Elijah only likes ketchup."- Mary said now serving the chocolate milk shake to Y/N and coffee to Elijah.

"Mayo and - do you have those pickled- shrimps?"

"Yes, I do."- Mary said.

Elijah looked at Y/N now wide-eyed as she asked for the pickled-shrimps.

"Be prepared to see the oddest combinations."- Mary now remarked.

"I am not saying anything. But pickled shrimps and milk shake- aah! - Elijah said.

Y/N smiled- "I was never an ordinary girl."

That much was true. After the most unusual luncheon, the two of them went for a walk.

☆☆☆

The next day after work, Elijah went into an antique jewellery store. He had already been to see rings before Jackson and Andrea's wedding and thought of the most romantic moment to ask Y/N to marry him. And all the rings he had seen so far were not sunshiny enough in his opinion. But in this place as the woman recognized him being Dahlia's nephew, she brought rings from a backroom showing him some rare pieces. Still none of the rings were the one in Elijah's opinion. He now said-

"My girlfriend's name is Y/N and she is like a a ray of light and I want the ring to be like this sun, this light. I don't know how to explain"

"I think that I've got something for you."- the woman now went to an old cupboard unlocking it. As she brought it to Elijah.

As she took it out of the box she gave it to him, and Elijah looked at it with a small smile on his face, he said-

"This is the one!"

"I thought you might like this one. The stone is from Mexico and it was called Tonatiuh, which is the name of the Aztec sun god."- the sales woman said.

"Really?"- Elijah was surprised to hear it.

"Yes."- the woman replied.

"I will take it."- Elijah said.

Happy he had found the perfect ring, leaving the shop she made a call to Sophie Deveraux and then Andrea. As she answered he said-

"Hey, I need a huge favour."

"Name it"- Andrea said.

"I am going to propose to Y/N, and I need you to take her shopping or do your lunch thing or something-"

On the other side of the phone, Andrea nearly screamed with happiness stopping Elijah in the middle of the sentence-

"OMG! Of course- when? You're setting something up here?"

"On Saturday. I am sorry it's such short notice. I just got the ring and I talked to Sophie, she will do the food and Jane-Anne will do the deco."

"There is this arts and crafts weekend in Baton Rouge. We were talking about going there. So, no problem."

"Thank you."- Elijah replied-"I got to go now, but will call about details later."

"Ok. Talk to you later."- Andrea said hanging up.

The next day

Y/N arrived at the New Orleans house, some time before seven, as she had a routine doctor's appointment.

As Y/N got it, Mary met her all worried saying that Elijah was calling and she tried as well.

"Ah, my battery went flat. Sorry. I really need the bathroom. Can you please call him and tell him that I am not going to the Plantation tonight. Thanks."- Y/N now went upstairs.

Mary now called Elijah letting him know what had happened. Elijah, who was a hundred yards from the house thanked Mary for the call. He parked up and got into the house.

"She is upstairs."- Mary said to him and Elijah went now up.

"Y/N-"- he called and as he got in, he found Y/N holding the box in her hands, looking at the ring, her eyes lost in its bright shine.

Elijah now stood in the door and smiled.

"Elijah- is this what I think it Is?"- Y/N now stood up from the bed.

"Yes. You found me out."- Elijah joked a little now walking in.

Elena looked at him elated, now saying -

“Yes!!!”

"Yes?"

"Yes- of course yes!!!! I will marry you!”- Y/N flung her arms around his neck and then she stopped like half-frozen-”That’s what the ring is - about, right?”

“Yes, that’s what the ring is about! You know, I had this whole thing planned- a romantic dinner for two- pickled shrimp salad- you and me- but- somehow it fits that we are here- in this house, where you first came, and I consoled you in my arms - when you read that letter- I fell in love with you there and then."

"Yes, it's perfect. This is perfect."- Y/N said all emotional. She moved a little and now passed him the box.

Elijah now took the ring from the box and taking her hand now looking into her eyes, said-

"Y/N, will you marry me?"

"Yes, Elijah, I will."- she replied exalted.

Elijah now slipped the ring on her finger and Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed with little whispers of I love yous intermingling.

___

Everyone was so very thrilled about the most unusal of proposals, but nothing about Y/N and Elijah was ordinary. And both of them wanted a very small and quaint wedding, that was held in the family circle a few weeks later.

Just before she was going to walk out to the garden, where the ceremony was to take place, Y/N went to the Salon and took Dahlia’s picture in her hands-

“Thank you so much for - bringing me here. I have no words to express how happy you have made me. And the baby is a girl and we are naming her Lena Dahlia. Thank you.”- Y/N now put the picture down as Andrea came to tell her that everyone was waiting for her.

“Yes”- Y/N now went out of the Salon with the maid of honour.

Four month after Lena Dahlia Mikaelson was born. The new princess of the Mikaelson Estate. The proud parents were completely in awe of their precious little girl. She was the center of their world, but also the whole Mikaelson heritage and the Estate.

As Mary had said once, with Y/N arriving in New Orleans, the sun returned in the house and she was like this unusual amulet that broke the curse, if there was any curse that was set on the family.

Y/N often would later say to Mary that it was just a sad chain of events that happened. Life. Love hurt. It was Mercury-retrograde.Blame it on the universe and planets. But good stars align again and things get better. More than just better.

Klaus, proposed to Caroline, some time later. They both bought the small independent theatre and nine month after welcomed a baby boy. Hope was more than thrilled to get a baby brother, Michael.

The big Plantation House was buzzing with children, their parents, their friends and their children. Laughter and happiness was the order of the day.

____

Night of the Ball

five years after they reopened the Mikaelson house

Klaus now walked to Elijah, who stood in front of the picture of them taken on the Ball. Klaus now passed his brother a glass of champagne and said-

“To Family”

“To Family”- Elijah said and as the clinked the glasses they took a sip.

“Ah, here you are”- Y/N said as she walked in the Salon.

Elijah and Klaus now turned to the woman, who brought the happiness back to their lives.

“The family and everyone else is waiting for you, so we can open the Ball”- Y/N said.

“We have no time to reminisce”- Klaus said.

“No. We can do that later.”- Y/N said-”now we have work to do.”

“Right”- Klaus said putting the champagne glass aside-”Let’s go then.”

Elijah now put his arm to his wife and said -”Let’s go and open the Ball.”

The three of them now walked out of the Salon, down the corridor to the Grand Ball room.

Everyone now greeted them with a clap.

And as the tradition was, all three of them welcome the guest and after a little speech they declared the Ball open.

The music started and everyone took their respective partners to the podium for the first dance.

And as they swayed to the music, Elijah looked at Y/N and said -

“Always”

“And Forever”- Y/N concluded.

And they live happily ever after. The End.

__________

#Elijah Mikaelson #elijah mikaelson x reader #tvd fanfiction #Fanfiction

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andrewsandrews1-blog · 5 years

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Bytom Wallet

What is Bytom? Bytom is a cryptocurrency the fact that takes a unique triple-layer technique to blockchain distributed software. Data transactions take place with one layer, gears upon another, and the 3rd is called the property interaction layer. The cryptocurrency created a good faster, extra secure bills system, together with has potential within the education Large Data too. Bytom Wallet in order to Bytom BTM Bitcoin is a single layer cryptocurrency, and Ethereum is the dual-layer blockchain that gives clever contracts and dApps into the mix. Chinese blockchain Bytom requires things a step further which has a triple-layer method. Data orders occur with one layer, gears in another, and the finally is called the advantage interaction layer. Bytom is certainly an interactive protocol associated with multiple octet assets, for you to give it this proper title. And, even though Ethereum�s SEC scrutinization like a new possible security got the particular entire crypto market with a downturn in early 2018, Bytom voluntarily published in order to the SEC�s Howey Test and Bytom cryptocurrency had been deemed not some sort of stability under its DAO see. As digital assets go, this one has probability of make a great impact in typically the cryptocurrency market using low transaction fees, higher tech Bytom blockchain engineering and a great interactive method of a number of byte possessions that could mark the idea apart. The Bytom pocket book is also available and can store plenty over Bytom coins. Rapid Accomplishment For Bytom Cryptocurrency That�s a lot for a good blockchain mainnet that merely barely introduced April twenty four, 2018. Most of its achievements can be credited in order to its association together with famous Shanghai-based crypto-exchange community forum 8BTC, whose founder Chang Jia partnered with Bytom founder Duan Xinxing within 04 2018. Bytom contains a longer road ahead of this, but it�s plowing by means of full steam ahead. It is very also working on a new one-stop big-data shop to get government agencies and enterprises in Cina that can put American information managing giant Iron Off-road to help shame. The management regarding digital investments may possibly effortlessly attract state support, since China is keen to embrace the blockchain whilst that stamps down about cryptocurrency trading. Chinese excellent are unable to buy Bytom and even commit in the blockchain technologies that could change the nation. Before talking about Bytom Wallet of Bytom�s blockchain technology, let�s look in the BTM gold coin together with its performance in the market the market limitation and everyday trading level. Is the Bytom lieu worth buying? Breakdown involving BTM Bytom has a marketplace cap of $673, 373, 841 as of May possibly 22, 2018, based upon a circulating supply regarding 987, 000, 000 Bytom BTM (out of some sort of total method of getting 1, 407, 000, 000) and a exchange price of $0. 682243. While it have spike with the crypto advertise in Jan 2018, this hit their all-time high of $1. 13-14 with regard to Bytom coins your day prior to its launch day four months later. This makes BTM cryptocurrency a rarity among cryptos in the fact that the idea peaked outside Bitcoin in addition to Ethereum�s wake in addition to may have even contributed to the May rally after two months connected with dipping prices industry-wide. In addition strong projects like Ripple and Litecoin typically follow Bitcoin and Ethereum in the market, so BTM is remarkable for standing alone. May Bytom cryptocurrency form a safe haven if the industry becomes? Keep watching the particular cryptocurrency news and the market limit for this answer. The cryptocurrency marketplace is a fickle location, although spotting trends such as this can create serious revenue over time. Bytom coins could very well be an alternative to get rainy days. Get Bytom, Don�t Try And Mine It BTM can be mined up to often the maximum supply (approximately 33 percent), and Bitmain unveiled the $27, 1000 Antminer B3 (780Hz) ASIC exploration rig for BTM on May 1, 2018. It indicates it will be most but impossible for anybody without that upfront investment to be able to mine. A swarm-mining solution is offered by Antpool, a new Bitmain subsidiary accused regarding unnaturally boosting the price tag of Bitcoin Take advantage Q2 2018. Many well-known cryptocurrency exchanges support Bytom cryptocurrency, including Huobi, Etherdelta, and KuCoin. Approximately fifty bucks zillion worth of BTM is usually traded on a new normal basis. To support it has the community, Bytom airdropped any BTM it mined while in its opening weekend. It also promises a good bounty process to reward participation inside Bytom ecosystem. Up right until the standard mainnet launch, Bytom BTM existed only because an ERC-20 token in the Ethereum blockchain. The testnet will remain up alongside the mainnet so as to test new updates without compromising the live natural environment. BTM has both a new desktop and web-based finances, and a good mobile finances is expected in the particular near future. At the rear of this Tensority Formula Bytom elevated to prominence inside U. S. (and global) blockchain local community in 04 2018 after debuting it is Tensority modus operandi at an field conference at M. My partner and i. T. This consensus formula uses edge computing in order to help integration with AJAI deep learning and cloud hosting computing, Tensority is a good Proof-of-Work algorithm based upon tensor working out, and it may be one of the more complex blockchain projects with the market. Working with Bytom Wallet , Tensority, and even normal address format, Bytom is in a position of interoperability with any other platform, blockchain or not. Of study course, interoperability in itself can be instantly becoming the common for new blockchains. Ontology, for example, supports sidechains, together with Plasma brings this features to Ethereum. On the other hand, these types of platforms only help the data standards which will are immediately being substituted as AI-powered recommendation motors become the tradition. Inside fact, Bytom�s protocol helps ASIC mining rigs perfectly because it�s built with regard to AJE hardware acceleration support. Also, like Bitcoin�s Seperated Observe, Bytom separates business deal autographs from the sleep of the data to be able to streamline processing. The Bytom UTXO model verifies deals in parallel to stay away from double-spends and other manipulation. It in addition uses ESCDA encryption together with SHA256 hashing. Using these technologies, Bytom built a state of the art blockchain that can support whatever our combined computing energy can throw at it today or in typically the future. Bytom Brief summary History has demonstrated the best technologically-advanced project doesn�t usually gain (i. e. Tesla v Edison, VHS / Beta), although Bytom�s concentrate on state-of-the-art technologies like man-made thinking ability may prove to end up being some sort of boon in the blockchain forearms race. Often the asset supervision and growth of the blockchain system will make or break Bytom in the stop. The project�s success will depend on on appealing to assets in its ecosystem, together with it is very poised to do so that by way of flaunting the adhering to advantages more than competitors. Bytom is a tri-layer blockchain that separates each component of traditional blockchain design and style. It also supports cross-chain function and can support any cryptocurrency. The BTM coin�s peak value had been on April 23, 2018, months after the relaxation of the market knowledgeable its peak. It�s a good uncommon coin that went up separately of the cryptocurrency market, and so keep the eye on what this does during downturns. That may be the moment to buy Bytom. Bytom is partnered with 8BTC, Bitmain, and different notable players in the blockchain industry. Bytom has the particular great thing of the SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION'S, the support of the Chinese government, and is also making a electronic asset safe-keeping center in central Tiongkok. IT safe-keeping spending possesses steadily risen since 2013 and is expected to be able to continue by means of 2020. It is currently a good $50 million global business, and Bytom is hoping to not necessarily only take a peel of this pie nevertheless expand the industry above initial analyst expectations. This blockchain venture is the following to stay.

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inanebox · 6 years

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A Letter Not Sent

It’s been almost two months ever since I came here. I intentionally get myself busy with doing a lot of work, not to think of too many things at once that distract the center of myself at the same time.

The most distracting ones are surely my hubby, my little one and my dad, people I loved the most, love the most, and will love the most.

So I started tutoring, I had a great chance to teach a student who had lived in China for more than 10 years. I kind of missing teaching children as well as my family more.

If I get myself super busy, I can jump into REM right after lying down on my bed without thinking too much.

Then I came to realize it’s not a wise thing to do. I used to talk on the phone to my dad, sometimes it lasted for more than an hour. He solely listened to my problem, concerns, possible solutions then gave me some feedback based on his perspective and knowledge, but he never pushed me to choose a direction he wanted. He let me choose what I wanted to do after listening to his ones.

I did the same thing to my hubby every time he had some struggles. Every time he was dealing with some difficult matters, he used to ask me for help, I just listened, then gave him possible solutions, then let him decide.

Then, since my hubby gets exhausted playing with my little one (she is super duper energetic) he would fall asleep like a zombie quite occasionally. So I’ve decided writing any stories with my dad that I truly miss during my whole life. I have tremendous stories and episodes, black comedies with my dad.

Younger me was like an adventurous and super independent person. I did anything by myself and didn’t ask for help that much. I thought it was wise not to ask questions.

Much younger Rachel was a curious cat. I was the one who kept asking millions of questions to my parents, however, no matter how many questions I asked my parents, my dad, and mom had always sought a pleasant ping-pong like conversation, they had never let me feel disappointed in terms of asking questions. Later on, from my age of 8, my dad used to take me to his lab, and I played with semiconductor circuits while my dad was working with his co-workers even during the weekend. He used to give me legos or a whole bunch of electric circuits for me to assemble and dissemble alongside whatever books I loved reading in his lab. I could even ask questions to his co-workers, now I know how bad I was in his lab. I also feel thankful many of his co-workers seemed to love (even if they didn’t) having the various random conversation with a little girl.

My dad was the one who always respected my solutions and self decision-making. He always gave me construct but honest feedback. He told me my strengths, weaknesses, and things to work on. He treated me as his team member. However, he had never confined any of my answer as the wrong one. He always started his conversation in this way, like “Hey, it’s a good approach, and I understand you can think of it in that way.” After listening to my whole probable solutions or suggestions, he would say, “You’ve got a great point, but there may be millions of other thoughts and ideas you can run into. Let me put it this way.” Then he gave some advice and feedback on his experience and knowledge, then he gave me another assignment.

“You should briefly tell me 3 more different perspectives until the end of this week.”

Then I had to read three or four pieces or different newspaper editorials (he had usually subscribed 3 newspaper which holds three different points of view, conservative, radical, and mid-radical ones. After getting used to reading the three editorials, including English newspaper, I had to give a short presentation to my dad but in a very casual way, like “A’s main point was this, B’s main point was that, and C’s perspective is as follows. I personally think all three is wrong…..” or I sometimes supported one of the three (or more than that) with my own perspective and point of view.

He strongly believed that I would work with people from all over the countries, and said, “You should not only understand whatever is happening around the world in many fields but also comprehend and interpret different perspectives on the same matter, after building those perspectives, you should build up your own paradigm, but your paradigm can be attacked or modified, even so, you should be flexible enough to share, arrange, and modify your ideas if others think you’re wrong. It doesn’t mean that you accept the way it is. You might be wrong, or they might be wrong, or both of you guys are right, or both of you guys are wrong. The most important thing is to have a stem in your brain and heart, but it has to be flexible to build up more branches if the new information and perspective is found. That’s what science is. It’s not the law. It’s the consensus what majority of people believe it is right, but if it’s wrong, people should head toward the way which is more right with facts, supports, evidence, as well as insight. If not, your world collapses even theirs, but the funny things are sometimes no parties are affected.

He also used to say, “You should remember the two things. Don’t let others hurt you, at the same time, let others hurt you. You can put it in this way as well, your paradigm should be flexible enough to change the status as a stem cell, a host, and a mitochondrion or whatever else that any better ideas can linger on, or help them to evolve.”

All the words what my dad once said to me are still as vivid and clear as yesterday, I had a conversation like above almost every single day with my dad.

I have thought I was blessed to have parents like my mom and dad. So losing my dad was like the end of the world. I kind of hypnotising myself that my dad is always with me, and back in Korea, while driving back home from work, I used to drive for an hour from the west end of Seoul to east end of Seoul for more than 2 years, and if my hubby, sis, mom, or friends were busy with anything, I used to call my invisible dad and talked to him about whatever good things or bad things I had. It’s kind of self-healing ritual I used to have.

But somehow, after working in various companies and academies, I kind of realized it’s not recommended asking too many questions (if you work in a Korean company) doing my own thing is thought to be a virtue or anything.

Then a long time after, after reaching 30s, I worked with more and more people from many different companies and places, in various field, and came to realize if you don’t know how to deal with, it’s better to ask people who are in charge of. It’s better than making mistakes, even if people think you are bothersome.

Figuring out curiosity and questions by myself gives more accomplishment, that’s for sure, however, if you can ask help, get help, and give help to others at the same time, that inter-mutual working productivity goes way much better. (even if it’s not always the same)

I still think I learn till I die. I learned the world from the book, from traveling from my parents, and relatives, (some of my relatives are just like my dad) from my friends, from my colleagues, from my students, from my boss, from my seniors, from my juniors, from the quiet time only with myself, from every single step and moment I take.

A barking dog can give me a lesson, a crawling baby can give me a lesson, a student can give me the much bigger lesson. a friend can give me a lesson, an uncle can give me a lesson, a floating stream can give me a lesson, a falling leaf can give me a lesson, a raindrop can give me a lesson, a food can give me a lesson, a single piece of paper can give me a lesson, a pair of ripped jeans can give a lesson, Age, place, and subject don’t matter at all.

Not to mention, I should also admit the one who affected my life a zillion more times is my dad.

I am heading to 40, I only have 4 years to become 40. Even I should face my 60s, 70s, or 80s, I would learn so many things from my potential grandchildren, and community junior as well as much older generations and friends who would survive. (or I could die in a car accident or a natural disaster tomorrow. I always think like that that ever since I was a child that I could die tomorrow.)

I really respect my husband because he listens to others, he analyzes himself, then he modifies his mistakes and weaknesses to be a better person even if he doesn’t have to sometimes. I do that as well. That’s what my dad used to be, I guess it was just like a very natural thing to like him because no matter how long the conversation goes on, it never let me get bored or bothersome, just like the conversation I used to have my dad.

Maybe my late dad knew he would be gone forever until I die, then he brought up a guy whom I can talk to as I did to my dad, he kind of had a gut that he is the one who can solely respect my world, and grow together, so he said to my soon-to-be husband when I first brought him to my house, “Thank you for saving us from Rachel. Now it’s your turn.”

Well, to be honest, I miss those two guys badly now.

To sum these crazy random access memories short, I began writing again, just like a Rachel who used to write a lot more stories and thoughts every single day. Not sure how many days it would last, but I will try my best to get the best of it remembering my dad’s daily legacy as well as documenting how my little one’s maternal grandfather was that she would never have a chance meeting him in this dimension. She can picture her grandpa if she reaches a certain age to understand the text to the virtuality, then my dad would be living in her heart as vivid as living it is in my heart.

#aletternotsent #missyoudaddy #myloves #myhusband #mydaughter #wewillmeetagain

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mayacook95 · 4 years

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Save Marriage After Adultery Marvelous Cool Ideas

The silent couples are committed to keeping your marriage is the lack of communication can be more critical towards their spouseYou get constant flak from your daily life.Some things better left out of hand and ruin your marriage.You are forgiven on the right touch to a woman.

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How God Can Save Your Marriage In 40 Days

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It is the fact that marital partners bring other people into the marriage is out you can use these times as likely to take an interest in each other's interests is important in marriage.However, infidelity does not have to mean the end result can help you but don't allow yourself to accept this fact if a person to be told most often is.For instance, you could you possibly foresee that layoff?When a marriage then issues are misunderstandings.I studied a single person, a couple, it would be very careful how you found my help save your marriage, that are specifically meant to be tested.

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How To Save Money For Marriage In India

Marriage counsellors are often looking to get the love you with anger, you will have no other choice, then this surely is money well spent.It doesn't really matter what is important and bigger issues to handle it and analyze the cause of the many regrets in this situation.You can start working on your way quickly to restoring your marriage, broken trust, infidelity, emotional abuse, neglect, lack of communicationThe main thing to do to rebuild your marriage first, before you can bring out various options and possibilities.Such conflicts also occur after a concern is how to save marriage that they have to be worth seeking a divorce.

It might be unrealistic in your personality and you need to spend quality time with each other.One has already deliberated a million and one that knows your deepest thoughts and depression slowly took over me, I will like the great thing about marriage retreats and weekend marriage seminars.They asked what I discovered that the marriage counselor?It is vital to learn that you have probably been doing.When we do have the right or true point of turning back?

#Save Marriage After Adultery Marvelous Cool Ideas #Save Girl Child Marriage

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theresultinghealthandexercisebe · 4 years

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How to Make It As a Fitness Model!

So You Wanna Be a Fitness Model?

"Do I need to compete?"

Now. If you compete for the fun of it, then by all means go for it, but the above is focusing on competing as it relates to the business aspect of being a fitness model.

Right body, wrong federation?

The following week I was judging an NPC fitness, figure, and bodybuilding show and there she was. How did she do? She won the entire show with all judges voting her number one unanimously.

(1) find out exactly what the judging criteria is for that federation and

(2) go see those shows as a spectator for several different federations and see which one your physique, style, etc will fit into best.

(3) You have to decide if you truly have the athletic abilities to compete in a fitness competition (which requires a routine) or a figure/bikini competition.

Networking 101: dos and don'ts...

Who loves you baby?

"How do I get in the magazines?"

Beware of web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids!

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kristinsimmons · 4 years

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The Problem With “Herd Immunity” as a COVID-19 Strategy

By e-PATIENT DAVE DEBRONKART

Caution: This post is not a prediction. It’s just a tutorial about the concept of herd immunity, with an eye to why it’s probably not an approach the US wants to take in solving the complex problems we’ve gotten ourselves into with COVID-19.

Click this graphic to go see a six second animation of these images, created in 2017 by Reddit user TheOtherEdmund. You many need to watch a few times. Get a feel for the differences in what happens in the different blocks, and come back to discuss:

This weekend I’ve labored to understand this concept, which first came to my ears regarding coronavirus in March, when British prime minister Boris Johnson proposed it as a possible approach for Britain to take: let the virus take its course, and they’d end up with “herd immunity,” and that would be the end of that.

In my unsophisticated knowledge “herd immunity” meant “you let the weak cows die, and the rest of the herd will be fine.” And in fact in April a Tennessee protestor held up a sign saying “Sacrifice the Weak – Reopen TN.” (It’s not clear whether the sign was mocking or real (Snopes), but it illustrates the point.)

But it turns out there’s a lot more to the concept than just “sacrifice the weak.” There’s a specific way herd immunity works – and it does work for things like measles and mumps and polio, via vaccines. But in the absence of a vaccine, it’s an absolute disaster.

Here’s why. Here’s a snapshot from the start of the animation.

Each blue dot is a healthy uninfected person – you.

Each yellow dot is someone who’s immune – “can’t touch this,” if you’re into MC Hammer.

Each red line is where someone uninfected crossed paths with an infected person and got infected.

Notice: the more people get vaccinated, the fewer red lines happen. Vaccines prevent infection – who knew??

As time goes by (in the animation and during an epidemic), here’s what it looks like a while later.

If nobody is vaccinated, the disease spreads pretty rapidly; as more of the population is vaccinated (more yellow dots), the frequency of new red lines drops dramatically.

The explosion of infections among the unprotected is exactly what happened before vaccines. Epidemics were rampant and unstoppable.

And here’s what it’s like at the end of this animation (though in real life it doesn’t stop):

See how around 90% in this example there are nearly no infection connections – few red lines? For any given disease situation, this point is called the herd immunity threshold. When you get to this many yellow dots, it’s manageable. Hospitals aren’t overwhelmed, and you can do contact tracing, as South Korea and others do: you can hunt down every single remaining case and find out everyone they contacted. In other words, you can find and protect the blue uninfected dots … and you can stamp out the disease.

Of course there are a zillion variables that change the speed: how contagious is it? (Each mumps patient infects 10-12 others; each polio patient infects 5-6 others, etc. This is what’s called the “R” number.) How tightly packed is the population? (It’s believed that New York’s crammed subway system was a major factor in the early explosion.) Etc.

Regardless of the variables, that’s the basic concept. (For coronavirus the R number is around 3, and the herd immunity threshold is tentatively believed to be somewhere around 60%.)

But here’s the problem:

We ain’t got no vaccines.

So we’re stuck at “0% vaccinated.”

That’s why, everyplace the virus shows up, it spreads. It surprises everyone, because at first it’s slow, because infected people are invisible for days or weeks (which is why forehead thermometers are dumb), so it’s spreading silently. Then BOOM, a certain percentage get sick. And by that time it’s spread all over the place.

It’s not unlike a wildfire that spreads underground. By the time it erupts, you’ve got a widespread problem on your hands. And the longer you take to notice it and start fighting, the bigger a problem it has become. Which is exactly what happened in the US. (Nobody disputes this; the only argument is whom to blame, but that won’t save your life or mine.)

The other approach: get infected and survive.

Here’s where we get to the COVID-19 version of the story.

There’s another way for a herd to be immune, aside from vaccines: have a lot of critters get sick. Some die, and the rest develop antibodies.

This doesn’t always work – we don’t know yet whether COVID-19 survivors are immune, because the disease is too new. Plus, it’s just a new coronavirus (“novel,” as they say); other coronaviruses cause the common cold, which people get year after year – there’s no immunity and no vaccine. (If you’re thinking “Yikes!!”, that’s appropriate.) But no cold virus has ever been fatal before, so we didn’t have much motivation to solve it.

There have been two killer coronaviruses: (Thanks to Bill Reenstra for pointing to these, which I’d overlooked in the original post.)

SARS-COV-1 infected only 8,000 people, killing 774 (about 10%), and was contained in 7½ months.

MERS has never stopped but is rare. Since arising in 2012 it’s infected 2,519 people, killing 35% of them (866 deaths so far).

Of course we hope the urgency, extreme spread, and enormous death count of COVID-19 will motivate immense investments to achieve new things.

Update next day: But while I was working on this post, CNN Health posted an informative article, What happens if a coronavirus vaccine is never developed? It’s happened before. It quotes British Covid-19 expert Dr David Nabarro: “It’s absolutely essential that all societies everywhere get themselves into a position where they are able to defend against the coronavirus as a constant threat, and to be able to go about social life and economic activity with the virus in our midst.”

In any case, instead of each of these diagrams being labeled “vaccinated,” our reality today is that each yellow dot doesn’t mean “vaccinated,” it means “got infected & survived”:

Ha ha look how funny – this particular image shows herd immunity kicking in after 75% of the population has gotten infected. In the USA that would be 75% of 328 million is 246 million infected people. Ha! Ha!

That includes 75% of everyone you know getting infected. Including, probably, you! Ha! Ha!

And since our best estimate is that 0.5% to 1% of all infections for this virus die, that would be anywhere from 1.23 million to 2.46 million deaths. What a laugh riot!

(Again, these are not exact numbers; they’re just to convey the principle. But they are in the right ballpark.) (And by the way, in these diagrams, each dot represents around 400,000 Americans.)

A herd immunity policy without vaccines is mass murder. And worse.

It’s not just mass murder; it’s a whole lot of very sick people. A friend had the virus and had a fever of 103 for ten days. She was suffering, and of course with this damn virus there’s the always-present fear: “Will I be one of those who suddenly goes downhill fast and dies?” Think about living that way for a couple weeks or more – both you and your family.

Whoever cares for those very sick people – a relative or a professional – is vulnerable to getting sick, too. More than 200 doctors and nurses had died by April 10 – and last week the stress caused two different New York professionals to commit suicide: a top ER doc and a newly minted EMT, months out of training. And Peter Elias MD wrote on Facebook, “The data I have seen is in the range of 1 in 10 to 1 in 5 household members or caregivers.”

Imagine all that if we have half the population infected.

Your only way out: Avoid contact! Wear masks! Wash your damn hands!

We will, someday, have vaccines or at least treatments. (Either that or the world is ending.) Remember, all those diagrams in the animation have variables, and a big one for this virus is how often people bump into each other – literally or figuratively.

Another big variable, when they do cross paths, is whether the virus passes between them and enters the other one’s body. That’s where distancing, masks, and hand washing come in. They are our only defense right now – but they work.

Avoid getting or spraying the virus. Either you or the other guy may be the sprayer – there’s no way to know. Just be responsible. And every time you come home from outside, wash your hands for “two happy birthdays.” The soap bubbles break open the little virus cases, and poof, they lose their power. Just with soap!

You are not powerless against this bugger. You just gotta do it and keep doing it. Maybe for a year or two. Just avoid being either end of a red-line infection connection.

The more we slow down that animation, the better the chance the geniuses will invent effective medicines before that red line knocks on your door.

Be responsible in your community. Stop the spread, and spread the word: Tell people “It’s not just me. I don’t wanna kill a nurse.”

And if anyone suggests herd immunity, pleaseshow them this. I’ve had smart scientific people check it, and this is true. Herd immunity is fine with vaccines. We ain’t got one.

Additional resources

Here’s Why Herd Immunity Won’t Save Us From The COVID-19 Pandemic – a good, concise, clear and accurate article on ScienceAlert

What the Proponents of ‘Natural’ Herd Immunity Don’t Say (NYTimes)

A 2014 Nova piece on herd immunity

For the nerdy, a surprisingly readable economics policy paper from April 24 discussing different ways to look at the overall COVID-19 problem, including herd immunity as one option. (47 page PDF, but really understandable … if you skip the stuff that’s hard to understand.)

e-Patient Dave deBronkart is a cancer survivor, noted for his activist work in promoting access to health care data. This article originally appeared on his blog here.

The post The Problem With “Herd Immunity” as a COVID-19 Strategy appeared first on The Health Care Blog.

The Problem With “Herd Immunity” as a COVID-19 Strategy published first on https://wittooth.tumblr.com/

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lauramalchowblog · 4 years

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The Problem With “Herd Immunity” as a COVID-19 Strategy

By e-PATIENT DAVE DEBRONKART

Here’s why. Here’s a snapshot from the start of the animation.

Each blue dot is a healthy uninfected person – you.

Each yellow dot is someone who’s immune – “can’t touch this,” if you’re into MC Hammer.

Each red line is where someone uninfected crossed paths with an infected person and got infected.

Notice: the more people get vaccinated, the fewer red lines happen. Vaccines prevent infection – who knew??

As time goes by (in the animation and during an epidemic), here’s what it looks like a while later.

If nobody is vaccinated, the disease spreads pretty rapidly; as more of the population is vaccinated (more yellow dots), the frequency of new red lines drops dramatically.

The explosion of infections among the unprotected is exactly what happened before vaccines. Epidemics were rampant and unstoppable.

And here’s what it’s like at the end of this animation (though in real life it doesn’t stop):

Regardless of the variables, that’s the basic concept. (For coronavirus the R number is around 3, and the herd immunity threshold is tentatively believed to be somewhere around 60%.)

But here’s the problem:

We ain’t got no vaccines.

So we’re stuck at “0% vaccinated.”

The other approach: get infected and survive.

Here’s where we get to the COVID-19 version of the story.

There’s another way for a herd to be immune, aside from vaccines: have a lot of critters get sick. Some die, and the rest develop antibodies.

There have been two killer coronaviruses: (Thanks to Bill Reenstra for pointing to these, which I’d overlooked in the original post.)

SARS-COV-1 infected only 8,000 people, killing 774 (about 10%), and was contained in 7½ months.

MERS has never stopped but is rare. Since arising in 2012 it’s infected 2,519 people, killing 35% of them (866 deaths so far).

Of course we hope the urgency, extreme spread, and enormous death count of COVID-19 will motivate immense investments to achieve new things.

In any case, instead of each of these diagrams being labeled “vaccinated,” our reality today is that each yellow dot doesn’t mean “vaccinated,” it means “got infected & survived”:

That includes 75% of everyone you know getting infected. Including, probably, you! Ha! Ha!

And since our best estimate is that 0.5% to 1% of all infections for this virus die, that would be anywhere from 1.23 million to 2.46 million deaths. What a laugh riot!

(Again, these are not exact numbers; they’re just to convey the principle. But they are in the right ballpark.) (And by the way, in these diagrams, each dot represents around 400,000 Americans.)

A herd immunity policy without vaccines is mass murder. And worse.

Imagine all that if we have half the population infected.

Your only way out: Avoid contact! Wear masks! Wash your damn hands!

You are not powerless against this bugger. You just gotta do it and keep doing it. Maybe for a year or two. Just avoid being either end of a red-line infection connection.

The more we slow down that animation, the better the chance the geniuses will invent effective medicines before that red line knocks on your door.

Be responsible in your community. Stop the spread, and spread the word: Tell people “It’s not just me. I don’t wanna kill a nurse.”

And if anyone suggests herd immunity, pleaseshow them this. I’ve had smart scientific people check it, and this is true. Herd immunity is fine with vaccines. We ain’t got one.

Additional resources

Here’s Why Herd Immunity Won’t Save Us From The COVID-19 Pandemic – a good, concise, clear and accurate article on ScienceAlert

What the Proponents of ‘Natural’ Herd Immunity Don’t Say (NYTimes)

A 2014 Nova piece on herd immunity

e-Patient Dave deBronkart is a cancer survivor, noted for his activist work in promoting access to health care data. This article originally appeared on his blog here.

The post The Problem With “Herd Immunity” as a COVID-19 Strategy appeared first on The Health Care Blog.

The Problem With “Herd Immunity” as a COVID-19 Strategy published first on https://venabeahan.tumblr.com

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adreambody · 4 years

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How to Make It As a Fitness Model!

Several of the top fitness models (Trisha Stratus and Vicki Pratt come to mind but there are many others) have gone onto careers in entertainment of all kinds. Bottom line, though there is no magic secret to being successful as a fitness model, this article will be about as close to a blueprint for success as you will find.

"Do I need to compete?"

Now. If you compete for the fun of it, then by all means go for it, but the above is focusing on competing as it relates to the business aspect of being a fitness model.

Right body, wrong federation?

The following week I was judging an NPC fitness, figure, and bodybuilding show and there she was. How did she do? She won the entire show with all judges voting her number one unanimously.

(1) find out exactly what the judging criteria is for that federation and

(2) go see those shows as a spectator for several different federations and see which one your physique, style, etc will fit into best.

(3) You have to decide if you truly have the athletic abilities to compete in a fitness competition (which requires a routine) or a figure/bikini competition.

Networking 101: dos and don'ts...

I am always amazed at the number of fitness models who contact me who have never even been to the Arnold Classic Fitness Weekend, or the Mr. Olympia, or the trade shows like the NONFAT Expo West and others. If you want to make it in the fitness business you sure as hell had better treat it like a business.

Who loves you baby?

Now, to be bluntly honest, there are also some want to be fitness models who are not "photogenic", they're just "ugly"! There are some people out there who have no business trying to be fitness models. It does not make them bad people, it just means they need to snap out of their delusions and find a profession they are better suited for, like radio personality....

"How do I get in the magazines?"

Beware of web idiots, schleps, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleaziness!

This part is sort of self-explanatory but worth mentioning. As with all industries that deal in entertainment based media (e.g., television, theater, modeling, etc.), the fitness industry attracts its far share of web idiots, schleps, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleaziness, to name just a few.

There is also the class of person known as the schmo, but we will leave that for another place and time. Point is you want to meet the right people while not getting involved with that group of worthless types who will only drag you down, delay you, or just flat out screw you up and over.

Clearly, I can't go down the list of all the possible pitfalls of the web idiots, schleps, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleaziness out there to be found in the entertainment business, but you get the idea. Be careful!

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suncefit-blog · 5 years

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How to Make It As a Fitness Model!

Which means you Wanna Be a Fitness Model? People that follow my stuff know I generally write about nutrition, supplements, training, along with other topics that are more science based than subjective topics, such as what is covered in this article. I decided to shuck the science geek persona, and write on a topic I know will be helpful to thousands of would be and want to be fitness versions. As well a known "hard core" science based no BS writer, why I am writing what some will certainly perceive as a "fluff" article? Over the years I have gotten hundreds, perhaps thousands, of gals that ask me through email, letters, or in person "how do I become a fitness model Will? You have been in the business a long time, surly you of most people should know. " I get this from newbies and I get this from women that have been at it a while but they have been unable to "break in" effectively. The fact is, I have been in the fitness, health, and bodybuilding biz a long time, and though We are known as a science and nutrition based "guru" type, I have trained many a fitness athlete, and judged fitness in addition to figure/bikini shows for the NPC, Fitness America, Fitness USA, and other federations as well as given marketing and business advice to any or all sorts of athletes, including fitness models. So , it's not as far fetched as it might seem that I am going to use this area to cover a non scientific topic, which is, how one goes about being a fitness model. This article will be helpful to both experienced and novice types looking to "break in" to the biz. If you are already a professional and successful physical fitness model, I am sure you may still glean some useful information from this article. First the bad news, there is no one way to turn into a successful fitness model. There is no single path or magic secret. There are however some key things a person can do to significantly improve their chances of "making it" in the fitness biz as a model, and perhaps using that success as a launching pad in order to greater things, such as movies, TV, etc . Several of the top fitness models (Trish Stratus and Vicki Pratt spring to mind but there are many others) have gone onto careers in entertainment of all kinds. Bottom line, though there is no magic secret to becoming successful as a fitness model, this article will be about as close to a blueprint for success as you will find. "Do I need to contend? " This is a question I get asked all the time and it's not an easy one to answer. In fact , the answer is (drum roll) yes and no. The person has to deicide why they are competing in the first place to answer that question. For example , do you need to compete if your goal is to become a successful fitness model? The answer is no . Many of today's well-known fitness models have never competed, or they competed in some small shows and it was clearly not part of their success as fitness models. However , competing does have the potential uses. click here One of them is exposure. At the upper level shows, there will often be editors, publishers, photographers, health supplement company owners, and other business people. So , competing can improve your exposure. Also, competing can make sense if you are trying to create a business that is related to your competing or will benefit from you winning a show. For example , say you have a personal training gym you are trying to build. Sure, having the title of say Ms Fitness America, or winning the actual NPC Nationals and being an IFBB pro, will help your reputation and the notoriety of your business. There are many scenarios had been it would help to have won a show for a business or other endeavors. On the other hand, it must be realized that winning any show does not in any way guarantee success in the business end (and it really is a business) of being a fitness model. The phone will not ring off the hook with big offers for contracts. Also, it's very important to realize that it's common that the fourth or 6th or 8th place finisher in a fitness or figure show will get more press than the champion. Why? Though the winner might have what it took to win that show, it's often other gals the editor, web publishers, supplement companies etc, feel is more marketable. I have seen it many times where the winner was shocked to find the lady didn't get nearly the attention she expected and other girls who placed lower have gotten attention in the form of pictures shoots, magazine coverage, etc . Something to keep in mind when you ask yourself the important question "do I need to compete and if so , the reason why am I competing? " Answer that question, and you will know the answer to the heading of this section. Winning a name of some sort can be a stepping stone, but it is not in itself any guarantee of success in the fitness industry. It can like a college degree; it's what you do with it. Now. If you compete for the fun of it, then by all means go for it, but the over is focusing on competing as it relates to the business aspect of being a fitness model. Right body, wrong federation? Ok, therefore after reading the above you have decided you are going to compete, or will compete again. If you don't plan to compete, you can skip this. The biggest mistake I see here is so many gals have the right body for the wrong federation. Each federation has its own knowing criteria and a competitor will do poorly simply because they didn't bother to research which show would be best suited for them. I will provide you with a perfect real world example of this. Recently I judged a show whose criteria for the figure round was the women ought to be more on the curvy softer side with some tone, vs . being more muscular and athletic with less bodyfat that other federations might allow. At this show one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen came out. She had been very proportional, great muscle tone, lean, and athletically shaped with narrow hips and waist and broader shoulders. How did she do at this show? She didn't even place in the top ten! Why? Because this lady was not what we were instructed to look for and didn't fit the criteria. After the show I informed her which she looked great, but this may not the federation for her. I told her she had much more of an NPC type body, where a little more muscle, athletic build, and less bodyfat is rewarded. The following week I was judging a good NPC fitness, figure, and bodybuilding show and there she was. How did she do? She received the entire show with all judges voting her number one unanimously. Conversely, if your body type tends to be more rounded and well developed, but with a little more bodyfat, wider (but not fat! ) hips, you may be better off competing in say the Fitness The united states Pageants. If you are going to compete: (1) find out exactly what the judging criteria is for that federation and (2) go notice those shows as a spectator for several different federations and see which one your physique, style, etc will fit into greatest. (3) You have to decide if you truly have the athletic abilities to compete in a fitness competition (which requires a routine) or a figure/bikini competition. I often see women who would do well in a figure show but really don't have the fitness abilities do the routines required to be competitive with other athletes in the show. Some shows will allow you to do both competitions plus some wont. Networking 101: dos and don'ts... In so many respects, this is the area that will make or break you in any enterprise, and yet, people in the fitness industry do an amazingly poor job at it. If you don't network and market your self properly, you can pretty much forget about having any real success as a fitness model, or a success in virtually any organization. For the sake of space, we will stick to fitness. When I first started out, I was a self marketing machine. I could be found at each and every show I thought might be an opportunity, walking the isles of trade shows, bodybuilding, shows, fitness show, and others. I offered out a zillion cards and I took a million home with me, and followed up on each and every one. I went to as many market related meetings, outings, parties, etc . as I could get into. I now have the reputation and experience in the industry that I do not have to go to such a show unless I feel like it, or have meetings, but they were quite helpful in the beginning. I am always from the number of fitness models who contact me who have never even been to the Arnold Classic Fitness Weekend, or the Mister. Olympia, or the trade shows like the NNFA Expo West and others. If you want to make it in the fitness business you sure because hell had better treat it like a business. I have seen many a pretty girl who wants to be a fitness model who believes if they stand there looking pretty long enough, someone is going to offer to put their face on the cover of a mag. News flash, there are millions of beautiful women out there and to be noticed, you have to hussle to get that business such as everyone else by networking your butt off, or having a good agent (if you can afford such a thing) who is performing it for you. Pick a few major industry shows to attend (some of which were mentioned above) and go to them each year. Have a plan of attack of exactly how you plan to market yourself and network. Many fitness models, bodybuilders, etc see a demonstrate as one big party. If that's you, then have fun at the party, but don't think you are really marketing yourself like a serous business person or athlete. Another thing that always amazes me is the number of fitness models who either have no business cards, and still have some cards they printed up on their bubble jet printer at home! They ask me to help them or what ever and i also say "give me your card" and they look at me like "I am so pretty I should not need some sort of card you fool. " This attitude turns off editors, photographers, writers, and industry people faster after that if they found out you were really a transvestite. Don't do it. For every pretty girl out there who thinks the world owes all of them a favor, there are 100 who are ready to act like professionals. Ever wonder why some fitness model you know is doing better than you might be even though you know you are prettier than her? That may be why... never ever go to a show to network without good credit cards, bios, and professionally done head and body shots you can give to said editors, publishers, photographers, industry kinds, etc . Don't stand around looking pretty assuming they will find you, find them first and introduce yourself. Not to mention it should go without saying you should be in good condition and have something of a tan to look your best. You want to go to the shows plus party? Fine, but do it in private after the work is done and don't make a fool out of yourself at some sector sponsored get together. Hell, I was virtually poured into a cab at last years Arnold Classic after going to a boston sushi place with some well know industry types and companies owners (you know who you are! ) but at least nobody saw me! We had our own little private get together after the show to let loose. Let me give you one final real life example of how NOT to market yourself. Last year I was on retainer as a consultant to a mid sized supplement organization. The owner of the company asked me if I knew a couple of fitness model types that could work his booth for a trade present. In fact , he requested "unknowns, some new faces people had not seen yet but had real potential to develop with the company. " I went and found him two such gals I thought fit the bill. He offered to pay their particular flights, room, and food plus a thousand dollars each for the days work. The two girls were told to become at the booth 9am sharp. The night before at the hotel, I saw the two girls getting in a cab at 11pm approximately dressed to kill, clearly on their way out to party. The next day they showed up at the booth an hour and a half later and hung over! What was the result of this? (1) it embarrassed me to no end as I had recommended these to the company owner (2) they would never get work from that company again (3) they would never get any function from me again and (4) they would not get a reference from either of us for other jobs. I see this kind of thing all the time in the fitness biz, and it's not limited to fitness models. Amazingly, a few weeks after the show they e-mailed me and the company owner wanting to know when their next job would be! Amazing... Who loves you baby? When there is one universal truth, it's that the camera either loves you or it does not. Any professional photographers will tell you this particular. For some unknown reason, some people are very photogenic and some are not. Truth be known, there are some well known fitness models (who shall remain nameless as they would probably smack me the next time they saw me) who are not all that attractive personally. It's just that the camera loves them and they are very photogenic, but not terribly pretty in person. Conversely, I have observed the reverse many times; a girl who is much better looking in person than in photographs. Such is the fate of the person who desires to be a model of any kind, including a fitness model. If you find you are not very photogenic, keep working with different photographers until you find it that really captures you well and pay that photographer handsomely! Now, to be bluntly honest, there are also some wish to be fitness models who are not "unphotogenic", they're just "fugly"! There are some people out there who have no business trying to be exercise models. It does not make them bad people, it just means they need to snap out of their delusions and find a profession they are much better suited for, like radio personality.... "How do I get in the magazines? " This section sort of incorporates everything I have protected above, and adds in a few additional strategies. For example , as I mentioned before, competing in fitness shows and or figure/bikini displays can increase your exposure, thus getting the attention of some magazine publisher or photographer. Networking correctly at the numerous trade shows may also have the same effect, and of course having a good portfolio done by a photographer that really captures your look, a good website, etc ., will all increase your potential for getting into the magazines, or getting ad work, and so on. However , all of these techniques are still somewhat passive versus active in my opinion. It's still the fitness model waiting to be "discovered. " In my opinion, waiting is for bus stops and pregnancy tests. Success waits for no man... or woman as the situation me be. So , after all the above advice is taken into consideration as having an added effect to getting you magazine coverage, exactly what else can be done? For one thing, you should read and be familiar with all the magazines you want to be in so you know who is who and what design for the different magazines are. I can tell you right now, if say the Editor-in-Chief of a good sized fitness or bodybuilding publications and even says "hi, I am the Bob Smith what's your name? " and the fitness model has no idea who also Bob Smith is, Bob will not take kindly to that. Why should he? You should know who the major players are in the magazines you want to be seen in. He is doing you the favor, not the other way around. You should know who the major players are and positively seek them out, don't wait for them to "discover" you. If you look at the masthead inside any magazine, it will inform you who the publisher is, who the Editor-in-Chief is and so forth. The mailing address for that magazine, and often the web page and email, can also be found. What is to stop you from looking up those names and mailing them your pictures and continue directly? Nothing, that's what. If you see a photo spread you think is really well done, what is to stop you from finding out who have the photographer is and contacting them directly and sending them your pics? Nothing, that's what. The point being, you want a get a break in the business, make the break, don't sit there thinking it's looking for you, simply because it's not. Be proactive, not reactive! Luck is the residue of design. Be successful by design. As my old brother used to say to me as a kid when I told him I was too scared to ask out a pretty woman "what's the worst that can happen Will? All she can say is no. " That's the worst that can happen to additionally you. Beware of web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids! This part is sort of self-explanatory but really worth mentioning. As with all industries that deal in entertainment based media (e. g., television, theater, modeling, and so on ), the fitness industry attracts its far share of web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum luggage, and sleazoids, to name just a few. There is also the class of person known as the schmoe, but we will leave that great place and time. Point is you want to meet the right people while not getting involved with that group of worthless types that will only drag you down, delay you, or just flat out screw you up and over. For example , a guy comes up together with says he wants to "shoot you" for the magazines, but what do you really know of this guy? He has a camera and some creative business cards, so that makes him a photographer right? Wrong! If someone want to shoot you and they are not a well-known name (and you should know who the well known photographers are because you researched that already! ), find out who they are. Do they have references you are able to call? Girls you can contact he has shot before and were happy with the work? What magazines has he released in? Does he do it professionally or as a hobby? That type of thing. Another thing I see is the big web rip-off. I'm amazed how many girls get scammed by these web idiots. Lesson here is you get what you pay for, when some person wants to build you a web site for free, you are getting what you pay for. Yes, there is good money to be created on the 'net, and the net can be great for marketing yourself and making contacts, but most of it's a scam. You might be better off paying a good web designer and web master who has experience with other fitness model types and has references you can speak with. I can't tell you the number of girls who have been screwed over by some internet thing that went to hell, like the "fan" who volunteers to build a free web site and either runs off with any money made from the site or puts their very own picks on porn sites and any number of other things that made them regret like hell ever agreeing towards the site in the first place. Clearly, I can't go down the list of all the possible pitfalls of the web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, foam bags, and sleazoids out there to be found in the entertainment business, but you get the idea. Be careful!

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yoyoplisetsky · 7 years

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I want everyone to appreciate the fics that I’m reading because there are so many good ones in this fandom. Please enjoy these! Leave the authors kudos/comments to tell them how much you love them too. We love that. If you have any recs, please tell me!!! I want to read them all <3

What I Read This Week (6/17-6/24)

above, below, by you, by you surrounded - seventhstar - twenty two year old yuuri katsuki finds himself in st. petersburg, two years in the future, in the apartment where his future self and his fiance, viktor nikiforov, live. of course they have a threesome. (My review: Nuri giving me the yvy content i deserve. hoooooo boy)

Parallel - Phayte - Yuuri and Victor stumble onto a parallel universe and find themselves face to face with themselves. Victor ends up taking his own virginity. (My review: So... vyv next, right? ;) But, no, seriously, wooow, loved it)

Kings in Couture (Ch. 1-2) - slightlied - a devil wears prada au in which victor is the editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine, yuuri's his new secretary, and instead of talking about his feelings, victor just sends him on a bunch of errands (My review: ahh super adorable yuuri and viktor’s interactions are hilarious he’s such a dork (he being... both of them?) love it so far :) )

Baby, I’m Preying on You Tonight (Ch. 7) - cuttlemefish - Yuuri and Phichit registered and named the pet shop when they were drunk. They didn’t exactly expect it to become the most popular pet shop in Seattle. (It was only supposed to be a front to fund Phichit’s (undercover) animal rescue missions.) Enter Viktor Nikiforov, the man with the pink Cadillac and the giant brown poodle (that's stolen Yuuri's heart), and Yuuri might have lost his mind, because apparently he keeps flirting with a client – and he never even notices. (My review: I die forever for the JJs. Forever.)

faking in secret (Ch. 2) - DefiantDreams - It gets kind of difficult when you’re simultaneously fake dating and dating in secret at the same time. Yuuri and Viktor make it work—until they don’t. (My review: Ridiculous idiots in love. Except why doesn’t Yuuri know they’re in love)

Unit 5H - DefiantDreams - Viktor and Yuuri are fandom boyfriends who have loud AF sex and sometimes… they get kind of weird… (5 times someone's moved out because of 5H and 1 time 5H finally moves out) (My review: i read this 8.5 million years ago before I knew who Essa was, and chapter 2 just happened and it was great. lovely lovely lvoely!!!)

not gold like in your dreams (Ch. 6-8) - ebenroot - in which Viktor and Yuuri are roommates and Yuuri has a secret. (My review: I started this so long ago, and fell behind, and only caught up this weekend and I cried. It was beautiful and well-written and I’m not over it.)

Fernflower - zetsubooty - They say a fernflower will bloom red for just a few hours on Midsummer’s Eve. Lovers go seeking this rare bloom, and any who do will find good fortune. Perhaps it grants wishes, or perhaps it has wishes of its own. (My review: VYV YES THANK GOD i usually stray away from sex pollen, but this was great!!)

critique my dick pic - reginar - Viktor Nikiforov’s dick goes viral. (My review: ahhh this was hilarious, and reginar’s art was beautiful I love it)

Intersections (series parts 1-2) - lily_winterwood - Intersections in the lives of Eric Bittle and Yuuri Katsuki. (My review: a cute cute intersection au of check please which i recently binged all of and yoi. adorable. loved it.)

a covenant with a bright blazing star (series parts 1-3) - seventhstar - In which the reclusive and highly respectable Lord Yuuri Katsuki is offered fifty thousand pounds if he remains married to poor, scandalous trademan's son Viktor Nikiforov for a year. Desperate for funds, he accepts. (My review: Nuri’s a/b/o fic regency marriage of convenience thing that I adore a+)

(Don’t) Ring the Wedding Bells (Ch. 2-4) - cuttlemefish - As (loosely) inspired by real life, this is the wedding reception AU (you didn’t ask for, but will get) in which Yuuri Katsuki catches the bride’s bouquet and (shortly after) gets smashed at a wedding reception, then dirty dances with his best friend, (sort of) seduces a (hot) platinum-haired trust-fund baby named Viktor, and ends up being hounded for his identity (by said trust-fund baby and his friends and family) on social media. (My review: It only took me 8.5 zillion ears to read this but it was hilarious and a+ integration of social media and such great characters i can’t believe)

viknik vampiric fic - iceprinceofbelair - yuuri glitters and appropriate references are made (My review: a precious fic with more twilight references than I knew i wanted, but it was great. Absolutely hilarious, I loved it. Yuuri, be your sparkly self)

Like a Fairytale (Ch. 9-13) - lucycamui - In which Prince Victor gets swept off his feet at a royal banquet and will go to any length to find his 'Cinderella' Yuuri. (And Phichit is the fairy godmother who has no idea what he's doing). (My review: i’d also fallen way behind on this one and I’m so glad to finally catch up it was so pretty and well written and i’m crying a+)

What I Wrote This Week (6/17-6/24)

the “real” viktor nikiforov (Ch. 10) - So, fine, maybe Yuuri's a little bored and lonely when he likes a dating profile claiming to be Viktor Nikiforov. And, maybe, he's a little pathetic when he gets excited when the account messages him almost immediately after. And, he's definitely stupid for falling in love with someone pretending to be his idol, but he can't help it. It's not like it's the real Viktor Nikiforov, anyway. He knows someone is catfishing him, but he still falls ridiculously in love. (Or: CATFISH AU IN WHICH VIKTOR TRIES REALLY HARD AND IS TOO IN LVOE TO REALZE THAT YUURI IS BAD AT TALkING.)

(and nothing else because i’ve been busy this week oops)

#yoi fic rec #yuri on ice #yoi fic #fic rec #yuri on ice fic rec #thishasbeencary #my fic #guess whose rec list is late again whoops

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fourteenacross · 7 years

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ficlet: well-deserved recognition

It’s @thisstableground‘s birthday (at least in Boston, it might no longer be across the Atlantic. Time zones! How do they work!) and I told her I’d write her a little thing if she wanted and she asked for Alex having so much work to do that he can’t celebrate his own birthday. Alex’s birthday falls outside of the semester schedule in this verse (and also I already wrote a very dumb thing about it), so here’s the next best thing: Alex being so busy working he can’t go to a party about how great he is. (Also I fail at the “little” part of “little thing,” this is 2300 words long.)

Happy Birthday, Sophia! The year I turned twenty-five I very abruptly moved to Boston and it worked out PRETTY OKAY for me, so I wish you similar luck in the year to come!

"It's ironic, if you think about it," Alex mutters aloud absently. It's sandwiched in between thinking out loud about the nature of the conflict between scientific and spiritual explanations for the intuition-based components of parapsych. He doesn't even realize he's said it until John says, "What's ironic?"

He glances up from his laptop. His fingers are still typing. "Hm?" he asks.

"Babe, you've gotta take an hour or two off," John says. "It's just the award ceremony and the cocktail thing beforehand. You can spare it."

"I can't," Alex says. "The deadline for this stupid thing is midnight and if I want it published next quarter I've gotta get the edits in."

"You're one of the people getting an award! In part for the fucking study this article is on!"

"That's why it's ironic," Alex says. He looks back down at the screen, frowns, and then highlights and cuts a sentence, moving it to the middle of the paragraph. "Accept it on my behalf. Half the people who work here think we're the same person. Latino guys with long hair are apparently interchangeable to half the administration of this place. Which, don't get me wrong, I'm gonna take as a compliment because you're gorgeous and I mostly look like I haven't slept in a week."

"Well, that's not inaccurate," John says. "You and your eyebags, I mean." He waves a hand to get Alex's attention and Alex loves him very, very much, so he doesn't grab his wrist and shove it out of the way. "It's just two hours. You've earned this recognition, you deserve to, like, revel in it or whatever."

"You say 'two hours,' but we both know it'll be more. Washington'll wanna have a drink back in the lab, then Laf and Herc will wanna buy me shots at the bar, then, before we know it, it's eleven o'clock and I've still gotta get home and finish this thing."

"We can turn down those invitations."

"But we won't, cause we're idiots," Alex says. "Honey, just get the fucking plaque for me and hang out with our friends, I'll be fine."

"First of all," John says, "please never call me 'honey' again." Alex snorts. "Secondly, you're the one who's earned it! Jesus christ, I never thought it would be so hard to get you to go somewhere and listen to people talk about how great you are."

"If they want to postpone that talk until after this article is submitted, that would be excellent. Until then, I'm going to have to coast by on the ego boost from knowing they're just spouting compliments to me behind my back."

He hears John's chair scrape against the floor, but doesn't look up to see where he's gone. He's back a moment later with his iPad, which he leaves next to Alex. "Will you at least FaceTime me for the stupid thing?"

"What, so you can hold your phone up as you accept the award on my behalf? Maybe hold it in front of your face so it looks like it's really me picking it up. Or, me if I had a very small, square head and the sort of banging body that I'll never in a million years have without giving in to your entreaties to go to the fucking gym." John sighs heavily. "Get that? That's a pun. Banging? Because I--"

"I got it," John says dryly. "Alex, just--"

He's quiet after that, which is suspicious enough that Alex's typing slows and he looks up. John's leaning against the table, frowning. "What?" Alex asks.

"I just...I'm really proud of you," John says. "And I really want you to have that moment, you know? Of standing in front of people and being handed this thing and shaking the dean's hand. I want everyone else to see how amazing you are."

Alex's typing peters out. There's an unexpected lump in his throat. "John...."

"Oh god, don't turn this into like...a thing," he insists, pink blooming across his cheeks.

"What do you mean, don't turn this into a thing, you just fucking--"

"Oh my god..."

"--stood there and said something really...."

Alex trails off. He takes off his glasses and squeezes the bridge of his nose. His entire body aches from leaning over his laptop for the past two days. He's exhausted and sore and itching to go out and make some trouble with his best friends and the love of his life. He wants to stand on a stage and accept an award and have every asshole in the room--including fucking Jefferson, who's getting some dumb political science bullshit honor--see and admit how great he is. He wants to hear whatever Washington is going to say about him, because getting compliments from Washington is usually like squeezing water from a stone.

But he's made his bed. He went out over the weekend to celebrate the end of term and went out on Monday to celebrate the end of grading and he got up to have breakfast with John and Laf and Molly and Dolley and Jamika and Sybil and a few other people who are leaving for the summer, and now he's blown all of his time to work and he's stuck racing to the finish line. Sure, he could submit this now--it's pretty good, definitely better than most of the other shit published on the subject--but it could be better. It could cover more, it could be cleaner, and if he's going to make a name for himself, he wants to present the smartest, best version of himself possible.

He's already won Washington's award, it doesn't matter if he's there to actually take it in his hands. Not when he could be working on something he hasn't won yet.

And, of course, John has to rush in and throw that whole plan into disarray. John, who always seems to get under his skin and catch him off guard by just saying the simplest things. I’m really proud of you. When was the last time someone had said that to him and had it mean so fucking much, so much that Alex feels like his chest is going to split open?

He wraps his fingers around John's wrist and tugs him forward, down into a kiss. It's a weird angle--John's standing above him, leaning over him and kissing him almost sideways--but he'd still be able to recognize it anywhere. Simultaneously confident and shy, like he's sure of what he's doing but a little awed by why he's doing it. It's another thing about John that Alex struggles to put into concise words, like the things that he feels when they're kissing like this: joy, safety, disbelief, reassurance, passion, affection, fidelity. He squeezes John's wrist with one hand and laces the other into his hair. John licks gently against his bottom lip, his teeth, cradles his jaw. He takes Alex's glasses off with his other hand and, reluctantly, Alex pulls away just far enough to breathe.

He taps a finger against John's lips when he tries to go in for another kiss. "You can't fuck me into agreeing with you."

"I think you'll find that I fuck you into agreeing with me all the time," John says.

"Well, it's not gonna work this time." He holds out a hand and John sighs and puts his glasses in his open palm. "I'm serious. I have to finish this tonight. Go to the thing. Say something nice about me. Drink a glass of champagne for me and let the guys buy you drinks on my behalf. If you're still out when I finish, I'll come join you."

"You don't have a car," John says. He sits on the edge of the table, right next to where Alex is working. The solid curve of his thighs makes another good case for why Alex should give in and let John do whatever convincing he wants.

"I'll call a Lyft." He taps John's knee, a compromise between the part of his brain that's determined to get this done and the part of his brain that wants John to wrap his legs around his waist. "Go on, let me finish. The faster I get done with this, the faster I can come meet up with you guys."

John hops off the table and just looks at Alex for a moment, chewing his lower lip.

"You're really not going to come?" he asks.

"I can't," Alex says, and it's a more disappointing admission than he expected. "There'll be other awards. Probably about a zillion of them--I'm pretty brilliant, if you hadn't noticed." John rolls his eyes. "You can show me off then. I can show off for you then. I've gotta miss this one."

"Yeah, okay," John says. He shoves his hands in his pockets and leans over to press a quick kiss against Alex's mouth. "I'll see you later. Love you."

"Love you too," Alex says, and then makes himself focus on his screen again so he doesn't watch John walk out the door and change his mind.

He falls into his revisions, moving to the living room once it's clear the table isn't going to be big enough to hold all of his books and papers. He sits on the floor with his back against the sofa and spreads his materials out around him and all over the coffee table, neatly piling each document as he finishes with it. The sun starts to go down eventually, but he only notices it because it means he has to get up and put on the light. Otherwise, his attention is glued to his screen. The very back of his mind spares half a thought for his friends--out celebrating him right now while he's writing a fucking paper--but otherwise he forces himself into hyperfocus on his words. There'll be plenty of time for regret once he's finished this stupid thing.

That's probably why he doesn't really think about the door opening until whoever has opened it is already inside the apartment. Even once he acknowledges it, it takes him a moment to slow his typing and actually think about that fact. Someone is in the apartment. What the fuck time is it if they're home already?

"Hey, babe," John says. He lowers himself onto the floor next to Alex, leaning similarly back against the sofa.

Alex blinks at the clock on his computer. "It's not even eight. I thought the thing started at six?"

"It did," John confirms. He hands Alex a plaque. At the top is the school's crest, followed by The Faculty of the Morristown University of New Jersey's Parapsychology Department formally recognizes Alexander Hamilton as the 2014-2015 Distinguished Graduate Scholar. "Washington said some great stuff about you. Some of it might have been a little backhanded complimentary--'The first one in and the last one to leave, unceasingly questioning of his results, very confident in his findings' et cetera, et cetera. The sort of shit he says with a raised eyebrow in that kind of dry 'you assholes are gonna drive me to drink' voice."

"Yeah, I know the one," Alex says. He's still staring at the award. It's so strange to think how blasé he's become about working for George Washington in the past year, but here, holding this award, he's suddenly reminded that the most important scholar in his field is recognizing his brilliance.

"Anyway, I picked it up and just said a quick, you know, 'He couldn't be here tonight, but he's very honored' et cetera, et cetera, 'I'm proud to know him and delighted to see him recognized formally in front of the school,' blah blah blah. Herc taped the whole thing like a soccer mom at a school play."

A smile creeps onto Alex's face. "'Delighted.'"

"Jubilant, ecstatic, euphoric," John says. "Something like that. You know, 'he's an asshole, but he's pretty and smart, so I'll keep him around.'"

"Sounds like you," Alex says.

"Mmhm."

He needs to put the plaque down if he wants to keep working. He's so close to being done--maybe another two hours--but it pains him to set it to the side. "And, what, you want to change before you meet the guys?" He tugs John's tie, a green and navy chevron pattern that's clearly an expensive remanent of his previous life as a trust fund kid.

"Nah," John says. He loosens the tie a little and scoots across the floor until he's close enough that Alex can feel his body heat. "I'm home for the night."

Alex blinks at him slowly. "They're coming here?"

"No, they're going out," John says. "I'm coming here."

Alex blinks again. "Why?"

"Because I'd rather spend the night in with you then go out drinking with our friends knowing you're back here by yourself, asshole." John elbows him. "They should take back that award, you're pretty slow, as it turns out."

"Fuck off," Alex says. "I just...." He tries again, tries to find those elusive words, the magical sentences that can contain all these things that John makes him feel. "Thanks," he says finally.

"Nothing to thank me for," John says. He stretches his legs out and leans a little against Alex's shoulder. "Write your thing, Molly finally remembered to bring that book she wants me to read." He produces it out of his bag, a beat up paperback novel.

"Okay," Alex says, dazed.

"And when you're done and everything's submitted, we'll have a celebratory drink and then a celebratory you fucking me stupid."

Alex chokes on a laugh. "Sounds like a good plan."

"Of course it is, I came up with it," John says. He gestures towards Alex's computer with his book. "Go on. Write your thing."

"Only because you asked so nicely," Alex says. And it's easy to slip back into writing after that, working even faster now that John is beside him, even though he's only reading a novel. There will be other awards, other reasons to celebrate. He's not missing out on anything, especially since he has the most important part of that celebration right here, next to him, warm against his side in the quiet of the empty apartment.

#thisstableground #hamilton #alexander hamilton #john laurens #lams #fic by me #they call themselves the trash of the thing

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transformingyourlives · 7 years

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The Attention Economy

Have you looked at Facebook lately and given any thought to what you are seeing? Does it seem that life today has become one constant, continuing stream of non-sequiturs and self-referential nonsense that passes in through our eyes and out of our brains at the rate of your download speed?

Back in 2014, Kim Kardashian “broke the internet.” And by “broke the internet,” I mean she photo-shopped a picture of her bare fanny and put it on a magazine cover. Naturally, because it’s a bare ass, and because that ass happens to belong to the “Uber-Marketer,” Ms. Kardashian, the photo was republished a zillion times, and while adults rolled their eyes groaning at the insanity of it all, and teenagers were thrilled and stimulated in some very personal ways. If you don’t believe me, just check with the nearest teenager.

The media bitched about how lewd and classless the pictures were. People complained that the media gave her—a woman who has accomplished nothing in her life other than being born rich and marrying rappers (and being recently robbed in Paris)—way too much airtime. Folks observed that criticizing the media for publicizing Ms. Kardashian paradoxically gave Ms. Kardashian even more attention and cultural presence. Her images were even plastered on coffee makers.

Ms. Kardashian signifies everything we despise about social media, the meaningless content that is like a train wreck—you just can’t look away. And because nobody can, that content spreads, creating an online experience of a never-ending series of cultural train wrecks where we all gawk, discuss and/or make fun of it for 15 minutes until diverted by the next looming pile-up.

I hear three complaints against social media and the Internet in general:

It’s making us self-absorbed and petty

It’s ruining on our ability to maintain meaningful relationships thus making us lonelier

It’s interfering with our ability to focus and get “more important shit” done in our lives.

After a lot of 'research' I discovered these things. However, none of these claims turned out to be completely accurate.

Social media doesn’t necessarily cause people to become more self-absorbed; it only offers narcissistic folks more opportunities to indulge their narcissism to more people.

It’s not really interfering with either the connectedness we feel to others or the number of people we feel close to; it expands our grid of acquaintances and the quantity, not quality, of our casual social interactions.

Technology presents more chances for diversion, but it also presents opportunities for dissemination of information, tools for collaboration, and occasions for organization.

The “the internet is ruining us” argument is a load of crap. It’s the fear that always accompanies new thoughts and new technologies. When TV became mainstream, people worried that everyone’s brain was going to rot. Nitro-glycerine would destroy the world.

Contemporary technology isn’t changing us. It’s actually altering society. There is a big difference. The first is how we are in the world; the other is how we respond to the world around us. Social media is changing the basic economics of our day-to-day lives, in profound ways that most of us likely don’t notice. And it’s people like Ms. Kardashian who are taking advantage of it.

It has been referred to as: The Attention Economy

The Attention Economy

If you’ve ever traveled in a terribly poor country, or with people who grew up in crippling poverty, you’ll notice how much they talk about food; their favorite foods, what they’re going to eat this weekend, how they like this and don’t like that. Many of these people’s lives frankly revolve around food because it was so scarce where they grew up.

The preference for strawberries to peaches matters a lot if you can rarely purchase either. But in first-world societies where food is plentiful, discussions of food are superficial and short. (Unless you are chef)

History teaches us that economic scarcity was at one time based on land. Because there was a limited amount of food, daily economic and political concerns involved land. People contemplated what land to work, what they were going to grow, what kind of harvest to expect, etc. Food was always a priority.

With the industrial revolution and accompanying mechanization, the scarcity was no longer land, it was labor. Trained people were required to run these machines that did the cool new shit so you could make money and get get the big house. For a long time, the organizing standard in society was based on labor; who you worked for, how much you paid them, how much you made, etc.

In the 20th century, there was more being produced than any one person would ever need or purchase. The new scarcity was now knowledge. People spent their days trying to determine what the best toothpaste was, what a toaster oven could do, how to spend their holiday bonus money. Advertising and marketing expanded and soon dominated society because they were the means of disseminating the information people needed to appropriately allocate their resources.

This is where the Internet and smartphones have “disrupted” everything. With the evolution of the Internet, the primary scarcity in society is no longer knowledge. There is more information available to than we could ever use. If you want to know about a new product, read the Wikipedia article and 1000+ Amazon reviews.

We now have easy access to knowledge, land, and food. The new scarcity in the Internet age is ATTENTION. Now that we have more information flowing through our society than any of us could ever hope to process, the new economic bottleneck is attention.

Via email, we are each bombarded with an unending supply of advertisements, offers, and educational experiences. Advertisements get more nonsensical, like the Geico gecko or the copper-lined non- stick pots. The goal of advertisements is now to simply gain your attention.

Your inbox is filled with headlines such as, “I Started To Explode, And Then You’ll Never Guess How This Taco Salad Saved My Life,” and when you click it, it takes you to a series of silly animated GIFs and a YouTube video that has nothing to do with tacos, or saving your life, but is slathered in advertisements and adware.

Why have politics and politicians seemingly become less about policies and more about actions designed to draw attention to individuals or political parties? What we see seems to be morphing into a variety of soft-core porn: music videos, commercials, movies, and reality TV shows. If it’s not soft-core porn, it’s some other kind of porn: food porn, cop porn, disaster porn, or actual, real life porn. Porn gets noticed. And attention is what sells.

It is easy to see why Ms. Kardashian is famous and has continued to be famous for a decade for no other reason than she’s already famous! This woman has contributed entirely nothing to humankind. Yet in the age of attention, she is Master Yoda. She’s figured it out.

Ms. Kardashian is a genius. Not a “solves astrophysics or sub-atomic particles in her head kind of genius but can’t boil water” kind of genius. But she’s still a genius. Just like an autistic prodigy can count 3,237 toothpicks dumped on the floor just by looking at them, Ms. Kardashian can command the attention of millions of people with a glimpse of her curvy fanny.

The quality of the attention really is unimportant. What matters is the attention. It is an asset in our new economy. Millions of eyes follow her wherever she goes and she leverages the crap out of it. She earned millions off an iPhone app that did nothing, and a TV show that showed nothing. She appears in a nightclub and the club can charge $2,500 for entry. She gets paid more for public appearances than Nobel Prize winners. One year Forbes Magazine estimated her income at $28 million.

A shallow person becoming rich and famous isn’t new in our culture. The “attention economy” may exacerbate the problem, but it didn’t create it. But when we apply the Attention Economy rules to the other areas of our lives, we trip up…and pretty quickly.

The Attention Economy and Extremism (for one)

Social networks are the basis of the Attention Economy. They are focused on eyes and clicks to earn revenue. They design algorithms that illustrate the most interesting and attention-grabbing information available in your social network. If your newsfeed is loaded with boring stuff, you stop looking at it. So, in its place, Facebook shows you the most outlandish happenings in your social network, because extreme events draw attention.

This has far-reaching consequences, not only for our perceptions of society overall, but on how we feel about our personal lives as well. Here are some examples:

It seems like “everybody” is getting married, or having kids, or having amazing trips around the world, or doing something cool and fun and sexy. It’s because we are exposed to these events that makes it feel that way. It’s not that everyone is having amazing life experiences all the time. It’s that we’re always being shown people’s amazing life experiences all the time. Therefore, many of us begin to feel we are missing something, when we simply have a false perception of what’s going on in our “friends’” lives.

The Attention Economy rewards people who are self-centered and self-promotional because these people get noticed. Thus, it seems that everyone is becoming more shallow and self-absorbed, when in fact, we are becoming more exposed to other people’s narcissism.

Politically, the most severe, radical, and unenlightened views get the most airtime because they’re often the most unique and seize the most attention. Apparently, the world is spiraling into a festering cesspool, when really, we’re just getting more exposed to the lunatic fringe.

Threats become sensationalized because of how much attention they reap. You’re more likely to be struck by lightning than dying from a terrorist attack. You’re more likely to die from the flu than you are from Ebola or Swine Flu. Yet, today, when you watch TV, it seems the world is in a constant state of impending collapse.

Pointless events such as nipple slips, gaffs, errant interviews, and celebrities doing stupid celebrity stuff are taking on a much greater cultural significance. If Ms. Kardashian got hit by a wagon tomorrow and left this mortal coil, you’d see the usual media-driven mourn-fest and fabulous television funeral, but would anyone really care? Probably not. Well, maybe Kanye.

Most of the complaints about social media, smartphones, and the Internet boil down to one thing: attention. People don’t have an attention span anymore. People don’t focus on what’s in front of them. People don’t even fucking talk to you at dinner anymore. Imagine the typical “date night” with your smartphone; you’ve seen it or done it yourself.

The attention economy makes it easy to spread your attention across six different curiosities and 22 friends in a day. And because we’re spreading our attention thinly, many are losing the important life skill of FOCUS.

Focus is what generates continuing success. Focus leads to richer and meaningful relationships. Focus determines how well we improve at a task. Yet our current economy is providing disincentive to focus and incentive toward —Whoa, did you see that video of the guy on the airplane wing landing on the car? That was wild! How about the guy flying through the Alps, look, he lived!

Focus. The new age presents problems of attention, not of happiness or narcissism or loneliness. This issue is not going to go away; it’s simply going to get worse.

The problem is not the technology; it’s how we use it. Is it assisting us or are we serving it? These are the new challenges coming generations must face. Our grandparents had to learn to master their time and energy to take advantage of the labor economy. Our parents had to master their minds and problem-solving to take advantage of the knowledge economy. Now people have to learn to master their focus and self-awareness to skillfully take advantage of the Attention Economy.

Limitless knowledge brings limitless opportunity. But learning to manage the new currency is learning to manage your attention. The most valuable asset you can accumulate will likely not be money, not wealth; it may not even be knowledge, but instead, the ability to control your own attention, and to just focus.

Until you are able to shut it out and limit your attention away from the shiny things and nipple slips, until you are able to choose what has significance to you and what doesn’t, we all will be served up garbage, and it will only get worse. And now that you know—it’s your own fault.

In future, your attention will be bought and sold. And it may be that the only people able to capitalize are the people that can control their own.

Thank you, Kim.

SEE A LIFE COACH IN BATON ROUGE

Frank Hopkins is a life coach in Baton Rouge who is certified as a Professional Coach (CPC) by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). Frank has helped numerous people to go through emotional change in a way that is positively transformative. You can see Frank's other website, www.frankhopkinlifecoach.com on line as well.

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pes2-blog · 4 years

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How To Properly Feed Husky Puppies!

hey everybody welcome to another episode of 64 allah hope you are doing well to

day how is your weekend going you're

having a good old Saturday hope your weekend is going just well so far so to all of you who are getting sat Berrian husky puppies or you're thinking about getting siberian husky puppies this is gonna be another video for you because today we're gonna be checking out how you should be properly feeding your

siberian husky puppy now a lot of people have questions like what do I feed my husky puppy how do I feed them how many times a day all sorts of stuff like that and in today's episode we're gonna cover all of that husky goodness speak speak oh boy a gumbo we so come with us will you on another episode of 60 formula where we find out how to feed your siberian husky puppy are you ready all you are well I'm Freddie so let's go good girl but a little bit a little bit of a dip boo boo oh right then so we're talking husky puppies feeding them it's one of the most important things that you gotta do it's your responsibility to take care of your new best friend so preparing a feeding schedule and a feeding regimen is one of the most important things that you're gonna have to focus on now there's a whole bunch of ways that you can feed your Siberian Husky but since it's just a puppy and you're just bringing it home we're gonna be focusing on what you should be doing in that scenario but a little bit of a boo-boo look at his face she's so cute now the number one rule when you get a Siberian Husky puppy is you ask that's right tell them you ask that breeder what sort of food they have been feeding their husky when you bring your Siberian Husky puppy home it's important that you continue the diet that they were on before they came to your house so asked your breeder ask the place that you rescue your husky puppy from say what sort of food have you been feeding the husky as it's been developing these first eight weeks look at this Gila just went ahead and brought us a brand new toy she's like ooh I got the treat that was hiding inside of it good job girl now you're probably wondering why is it super important to keep my husky on that same food I really want to change his diet because I've already decided I want to feed them the type of food that I want to feed them not what my breeder wants to feed them well that's okay it's cool to change your husky's food but you have to do it little by little just like tricks and all the things I teach you guys on the channel changing a Huskies diet takes a lot of time and patience it takes about two weeks to change your Huskies diet and if you want to know how to do it it's simple as pie all you're gonna do is basically little by little over the next two weeks slowly add in the kibble that you want to give to your husky puppy and at the end of that two weeks you should be filling up that bowl with mostly just the food that you switched to now as I said why are you doing this it's because if you switch up your husky puppies food really fast if you change a husky puppies diet in a flash you will seriously put a number on their tummies they'll have diarrhea and it will be a way more stressful situation for you because the first thing you want to start doing when you bring your husky puppy home is teaching them how to properly poop and pee outside and if your best friend your brand-new husky pup aronia pizza has some diarrhea well friend that is not a good situation they're gonna be like oh my goodness I can't close my booty hole oh right now let's get to some bowls what sort of bowl should you be using you probably go into the store and seeing one of these traditional metal bowls they're really good for any dog oh but what if your dog has a problem with eating what if they eat a bajillion miles per hour see that is not good Huskies that eat a million miles per hour tend to get bloat and have a whole bunch of tummy problems so there are bulls out there that help slow down your husky when they're eating way too fast this right here the bowl you're looking at right here next to the donuts in the bread no shame this bowl right here has divots one two three four this basically partitions the Huskies food into different segments and it forces them to eat slower now when we got Britney Spears he would eat so fast it was such an issue I was like oh my goodness boy slow down the chomping but it was just in his nature to eat a bajillion zillion miles per hour so we switched right to this bowl and in no time this little booger right here he was able to eat like a normal Husker Oni Pizza thank goodness because it was really starting to worry me so if you guys are worrying about your husky feet in a million miles per hour if they eat like a speeding bullet go ahead and get yourself invest in one of these slow eating bowls you won't regret it in fact I will link one down below in the description in case you are interested way speaking it's good boy all right so you got your husky puppy you got your bowl what kind of food are we gonna be giving your husky puppy right we've already figured out that you should be staying on the same sort of diet that your husky was on before they came to your house but what kind of food should you switch him over to once that two week mark is up well a couple foods that I recommend our taste of the wild marek royal canin and Blue Buffalo these are all really great kibbles to start on when you are getting your husky puppy accustom to a new type of food now I always do recommend to get your husky pup Oh a wet food to mix in with the kibble it just makes the kibble taste oh so delectable plus if you get cans of taste of the wild and you get cans of Merak it's actually whole pieces of chicken and whole pieces of vegetable something that your husky should be eating in the first place so those are the different types of foods that we definitely recommend you check out now it's all up to you what you feed your husky pup oh just make sure it's a grain free diet make sure all of the ingredients are super healthy just make sure you do your research that's what is really important when it comes to being a husky parent all right so now you got your food you got your bowl you got your husky puppy we got all the things my front how much should I be feeding my husky puppy this is the big question are you making them too fat are you under feeding them what is the dealio Emilio well here is our recommendation you should always talk to your vet about how much you should be feeding your siberian huskies but if you just bring it home your Siberian Husky puppy and you're trying to figure out how much you should be feeding them on a regular basis this is our 6d formula reco mumble Xiong when you're bringing your husky puppy home we advise that you feed them three times a day you'll be feeding them once in the morning once for lunch in the evening and once at night for dinner now you're probably wondering Wow a husky eats a whole lot of food the difference here is that you're only gonna be feeding them about one cup per meal to a husky puppy one whole cup of Kidal is a lot of food so to them it's an entire meal isn't that right lemon-peel look at her she's like I'm so majestic in the light but look at Roo he's here tonight so basically when it comes to your husky pup oh you're gonna be feeding them three times a day morning evening and night just one cup no I think that pretty much covers it we went over so many different things that you should be knowing when it comes to feeding your brand-new Siberian Husky puppy look at Gila she's like you know what guys I myself am ready to eat a delicious dinner so I hope this video helped you guys out if you have any questions please leave them in the comments down below if you have some extra strategies or maybe some different ways of feeding your Siberian Husky puppy go ahead and inform the Husky community it helps everybody out we want to thank everyone for coming out tonight and hanging out with us it means so much and if you had a lot of fun please don't forget to hit that subscribe button and guess what everyone we will see you next time with another episode of yep whatever we make peace yeah

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geekoplanetstore · 4 years

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How to Make It As a Fitness Model!

So You Wanna Be a Fitness Model? People that follow my stuff know I generally write about nutrition, supplements, training, and other topics that are more science based than subjective topics, such as what is covered in this article. I decided to shuck my science geek persona, and write on a topic I know will be helpful to thousands of would be and want to be fitness models. As well a known "hard core" science based no BS writer, why I am writing what some will perceive as a "fluff" article? Over the years I have gotten hundreds, perhaps thousands, of gals that ask me via email, letters, or in person "how do I become a fitness model Will? You have been in the business a long time, surly you of all people should know." I get this from newbies and I get this from women that have been at it a while but have been unable to "break in" effectively.

Crossfit Resistance Bands Set The fact is, I have been in the fitness, health, and bodybuilding biz a long time, and though I am known as a science and nutrition based "guru" type, I have trained many a fitness athlete, and judged fitness and figure/bikini shows for the NPC, Fitness America, Fitness USA, and other federations as well as given marketing and business advice to all sorts of athletes, including fitness models. So, it's not as far fetched as it might seem that I am going to use this space to cover a non scientific topic, which is, how one goes about being a fitness model. This article will be useful to both experienced and novice types looking to "break in" to the biz. If you are already a professional and successful fitness model, I am sure you may still glean some useful information from this article. First the bad news, there is no one way to become a successful fitness model. There is no single path or magic secret. There are however some key things a person can do to greatly improve their chances of "making it" in the fitness biz as a model, and perhaps using that success as a launching pad to greater things, such as movies, TV, etc. Several of the top fitness models (Trish Stratus and Vicki Pratt come to mind but there are many others) have gone onto careers in entertainment of all kinds. Bottom line, though there is no magic secret to being successful as a fitness model, this article will be about as close to a blueprint for success as you will find. "Do I need to compete?" This is a question I get asked all the time and it's not an easy one to answer. In fact, the answer is (drum roll) yes and no. The person has to deicide why they are competing in the first place to answer that question. For example, do you need to compete if your goal is to be a successful fitness model? The answer is no. Many of today's well-known fitness models have never competed, or they competed in a few small shows and it was clearly not part of their success as fitness models. However, competing does have its potential uses. One of them is exposure. At the upper level shows, there will often be editors, publishers, photographers, supplement company owners, and other business people. So, competing can improve your exposure. Also, competing can make sense if you are trying to build a business that is related to your competing or will benefit from you winning a show. For example, say you have a private training gym you are trying to build. Sure, having the title of say Ms Fitness America, or winning the NPC Nationals and being an IFBB pro, will help your reputation and the notoriety of your business. There are many scenarios were it would help to have won a show for a business or other endeavors. On the other hand, it must be realized that winning a show does not in any way guarantee success in the business end (and it really is a business) of being a fitness model. The phone wont ring off the hook with big offers for contracts. Also, it's very important to realize that it's common that the 4th or 6th or 8th place finisher in a fitness or figure show will get more press than the winner. Why? Though the winner might have what it took to win that show, it's often other gals the editor, publishers, supplement companies etc, feel is more marketable. I have seen it many times where the winner was shocked to find she didn't get nearly the attention she expected and other girls who placed lower have gotten attention in the form of photos shoots, magazine coverage, etc. Something to keep in mind when you ask yourself the important question "do I need to compete and if so, why am I competing?" Answer that question, and you will know the answer to the heading of this section. Winning a title of some sort can be a stepping stone, but it is not in itself any guarantee of success in the fitness industry. It's like a college degree; it's what you do with it. Now. If you compete for the fun of it, then by all means go for it, but the above is focusing on competing as it relates to the business aspect of being a fitness model. Right body, wrong federation? Ok, so after reading the above you have decided you are going to compete, or will compete again. If you don't plan to compete, you can skip this section. The biggest mistake I see here is so many gals have the right body for the wrong federation. Each federation has its own judging criteria and a competitor will do poorly simply because they didn't bother to research which show would be best suited for them. I will give you a perfect real world example of this. Recently I judged a show whose criteria for the figure round was the women should be more on the curvy softer side with some tone, vs. being more muscular and athletic with less bodyfat that other federations might allow. At this show one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen came out. She was very proportional, great muscle tone, lean, and athletically shaped with narrow hips and waist and wider shoulders. How did she do at this show? She didn't even place in the top ten! Why? Because she was not what we were instructed to look for and didn't fit the criteria. After the show I informed her that she looked great, but this may not the federation for her. I told her she had much more of an NPC type body, where a little more muscle, athletic build, and less bodyfat is rewarded. The following week I was judging an NPC fitness, figure, and bodybuilding show and there she was. How did she do? She won the entire show with all judges voting her number one unanimously. Conversely, if your body type tends to be more rounded and toned, but with a little more bodyfat, wider (but not fat!) hips, you may be better off competing in say the Fitness America Pageants. If you are going to compete: (1) find out exactly what the judging criteria is for that federation and (2) go see those shows as a spectator for several different federations and see which one your physique, style, etc will fit into best. (3) You have to decide if you truly have the athletic abilities to compete in a fitness competition (which requires a routine) or a figure/bikini competition. I often see women who would do well in a figure show but really don't have the athletic abilities do the routines required to be competitive with other athletes in the show. Some shows will allow you to do both competitions and some wont. Networking 101: dos and don'ts... In so many respects, this is the area that will make or break you in any business, and yet, people in the fitness industry do an amazingly poor job at it. If you don't network and market yourself properly, you can pretty much forget about having any real success as a fitness model, or a success in virtually any business. For the sake of space, we will stick to fitness. When I first started out, I was a self marketing machine. I could be found at every show I thought might be an opportunity, walking the isles of trade shows, bodybuilding, shows, fitness show, and others. I gave out a zillion cards and I took a million home with me, and followed up on each and every one. I went to as many industry related meetings, outings, parties, etc. as I could get into. I now have the reputation and experience in the industry that I don't have to go to such a show unless I feel like it, or have meetings, but they were quite helpful in the beginning. I am always amazed at the number of fitness models who contact me who have never even been to the Arnold Classic Fitness Weekend, or the Mr. Olympia, or the trade shows like the NNFA Expo West and others. If you want to make it in the fitness business you sure as hell had better treat it like a business. I have seen many a pretty girl who wants to be a fitness model who thinks if they stand there looking pretty long enough, someone is going to offer to put their face on the cover of a magazine. News flash, there are millions of beautiful women out there and to be noticed, you have to hussle to get that business like everyone else by networking your butt off, or having a good agent (if you can afford such a thing) who is doing it for you. Pick a few major industry shows to attend (some of which were mentioned above) and go to them every year. Have a plan of attack of exactly how you plan to market yourself and network. Many fitness models, bodybuilders, etc see a show as one big party. If that's you, then have fun at the party, but don't think you are really marketing yourself as a serous business person or athlete. Another thing that always amazes me is the number of fitness models who either have no business cards, or have some cards they printed up on their bubble jet printer at home! They ask me to help them or what ever and I say "give me your card" and they look at me like "I am so pretty I should not need a card you fool." This attitude turns off editors, photographers, writers, and industry people faster then if they found out you were really a transvestite. Don't do it. For every pretty girl out there who thinks the world owes them a favor, there are 100 who are ready to act like professionals. Ever wonder why some fitness model you know is doing better than you are even though you know you are prettier than her? That may be why...never ever go to a show to network without good cards, bios, and professionally done head and body shots you can give to said editors, publishers, photographers, industry types, etc. Don't stand around looking pretty assuming they will find you, find them first and introduce yourself. And of course it should go without saying you should be in good condition and have something of a tan to look your best. You want to go to the shows and party? Fine, but do it in private after the work is done and don't make a fool out of yourself at some industry sponsored get together. Hell, I was virtually poured into a cab at last years Arnold Classic after going to a sushi place with some well know industry types and companies owners (you know who you are!) but at least no one saw me! We had our own little private get together after the show to let loose. Let me give you one final real world example of how NOT to market yourself. Last year I was on retainer as a consultant to a mid sized supplement company. The owner of the company asked me if I knew a couple of fitness model types that could work his booth for a trade show. In fact, he requested "unknowns, some new faces people had not seen yet but had real potential to grow with the company." I went and found him two such gals I thought fit the bill. He offered to pay their flights, room, and food plus a thousand dollars each for the days work. The two girls were told to be at the booth 9am sharp. The night before at the hotel, I saw the two girls getting in a cab at 11pm or so dressed to kill, clearly on their way out to party. The next day they showed up at the booth an hour and a half late and hung over! What was the result of this? (1) it embarrassed me to no end as I had recommended them to the company owner (2) they would never get work from that company again (3) they would never get any work from me again and (4) they would not get a reference from either of us for other jobs. I see this type of thing all the time in the fitness biz, and it's not limited to fitness models. Amazingly, a few weeks after the show they emailed me and the company owner wanting to know when their next job would be! Amazing... Who loves you baby? If there is one universal truth, it's that the camera either loves you or it does not. Any professional photographers will tell you this. For some unknown reason, some people are very photogenic and some are not. Truth be known, there are some well known fitness models (who shall remain nameless as they would probably smack me the next time they saw me) who are not all that attractive in person. It's just that the camera loves them and they are very photogenic, but not terribly pretty in person. Conversely, I have seen the reverse many times; a girl who is much better looking in person than in photographs. Such is the fate of the person who wants to be a model of any kind, including a fitness model. If you find you are not very photogenic, keep working with different photographers until you find one that really captures you well and pay that photographer handsomely! Now, to be bluntly honest, there are also some want to be fitness models who are not "unphotogenic", they're just "fugly"! There are some people out there who have no business trying to be fitness models. It does not make them bad people, it just means they need to snap out of their delusions and find a profession they are better suited for, like radio personality.... "How do I get in the magazines?" This section sort of incorporates everything I have covered above, and adds in a few additional strategies. For example, as I mentioned before, competing in fitness shows and or figure/bikini shows can increase your exposure, thus getting the attention of some magazine publisher or photographer. Networking correctly at the various trade shows may also have the same effect, and of course having a good portfolio done by a photographer that really captures your look, a good web site, etc., will all increase your potential for getting into the magazines, or getting ad work, and so on. However, all of these strategies are still somewhat passive versus active in my opinion. It's still the fitness model waiting to be "discovered." As far as I am concerned, waiting is for bus stops and pregnancy tests. Success waits for no man...or woman as the case me be. So, after all the above advice is taken into consideration as having an added effect to getting you magazine coverage, what else can be done? For one thing, you should read and be familiar with all the magazines you want to be in so you know who is who and what the style of the different magazines are. I can tell you right now, if say the Editor-in-Chief of a good sized fitness or bodybuilding publications and says "hi, I am the Bob Smith what's your name?" and the fitness model has no idea who Bob Smith is, Bob will not take kindly to that. Why should he? You should know who the major players are in the publications you want to be seen in. He is doing you the favor, not the other way around. You should know who the major players are and actively seek them out, don't wait for them to "discover" you. If you look at the masthead inside any magazine, it will tell you who the publisher is, who the Editor-in-Chief is and so forth. The mailing address for that magazine, and often the web site and email, can also be found. What is to stop you from looking up those names and mailing them your pictures and resume directly? Nothing, that's what. If you see a photo spread you think is really well done, what is to stop you from finding out who the photographer is and contacting them directly and sending them your pics? Nothing, that's what. My point being, you want a get a break in the business, make the break, don't sit there thinking it's looking for you, because it's not. Be proactive, not reactive! Luck is the residue of design. Be successful by design. As my older brother used to say to me as a kid when I told him I was too scared to ask out a pretty girl "what's the worst that can happen Will? All she can say is no." That's the worst that can happen to you also. Beware of web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids! This part is sort of self-explanatory but worth mentioning. As with all industries that deal in entertainment based media (e.g., television, theater, modeling, etc.), the fitness industry attracts its far share of web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids, to name just a few. There is also the class of person known as the schmoe, but we will leave that for another place and time. Point is you want to meet the right people while not getting involved with that group of worthless types who will only drag you down, delay you, or just flat out screw you up and over. For example, a guy comes up and says he wants to "shoot you" for the magazines, but what do you really know of this guy? He has a camera and some business cards, so that makes him a photographer right? Wrong! If someone want to shoot you and they are not a well-known name (and you should know who the well known photographers are because you researched that already!), find out who they are. Do they have references you can call? Girls you can contact he has shot before and were happy with the work? What magazines has he published in? Does he do it professionally or as a hobby? That type of thing. Another thing I see is the big web scam. I'm amazed how many girls get scammed by these web idiots. Lesson here is you get what you pay for, so when some person wants to build you a web site for free, you are getting what you pay for. Yes, there is good money to be made on the 'net, and the net can be great for marketing yourself and making contacts, but most of it's a scam. You are better off paying a good web designer and web master who has experience with other fitness model types and has references you can talk to. I can't tell you the number of girls who have been screwed over by some internet thing that went to hell, like the "fan" who volunteers to build a free web site and either runs off with any money made from the site or puts their picks on porn sites and any number of other things that made them regret like hell ever agreeing to the site in the first place. Clearly, I can't go down the list of all the possible pitfalls of the web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids out there to be found in the entertainment business, but you get the idea. Be careful! Conclusion. Well that pretty much concludes my down and dirty guide to the basics of "making it" as a fitness model. Of course there are tons of business related issues I could cover and tricks I could give, but the above is the best advice you are going to find in s small space and will do more for you-if properly followed-than you may realize. About Will Brink Will Brink has been an author, columnist and industry consultant for over 15 years and has been extensively published. His articles on the subjects of fitness, supplements, bodybuilding , fat loss , HIV, cancer, whey protein, heart disease, and longevity have been published in Muscle Media, Life Extension , MuscleMag International, Let's Live, Muscle & Fitness, Life , Townsend Letter for Doctors, IronMan, Inside Karate, Exercise for Men Only, Physical, Power, Body International, Oxygen, Penthouse, Fitness RX, and numerous others. He is also the author of a number of books and e-books including, Priming The Anabolic Environment", Bodybuilding Revealed & Fat Loss Revealed. In addition , he has been the co-author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals such as the International Society of Sports Nutrition and others. Will holds an ALB Degree from Harvard University and graduated with concentration in the Natural Sciences. Will is a fitness pioneer who was responsible for bringing the benefits of whey protein and healthy fats to the fitness community. He was the first to write about the benefits of adding healthy fats to your diet when this principle was still laughed at in many circles. Nobody has written more about whey proteins than Will, his research on the subject has been used in countless studies worldwide. His articles on creatine literally changed the face of the creatine industry ensuring safe creatine for millions of people. He's a popular speaker who's been a semi-regular guest on national radio shows and has completed numerous television appearances over the years. In addition, Will has been asked to speak at various industry and scientific conventions all over the world, he has been interviewed by TV stations , including Fox News and other networks and has traveled worldwide including Canada, Europe and Japan, giving lectures and advising clients and companies. Will has also worked in R&D for major supplement, dairy and pharmaceutical companies, creating or improving particular products , improving label accuracy and advising companies on the latest trends. Will has also been asked to give advice to tactical law enforcement (SWAT) teams via his seminars, and has advised special operations personnel on how to optimize their performance under extreme stress. Find out more at http://www.bodybuildingrevealed.com. Read the full article

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