#my savings account that’s supposed to get me through college versus the start date on my big-kid job - who’s gonna win

[stellar-stag]

The Problem With Tech

Disclaimer: The opinions reflected in this essay are my own and do not represent LinkedIn, Inc. For any questions regarding LinkedIn, please direct inquiries to [email protected].

(don't wanna be sued or fired, so...)

Juicero is the hot new joke right now. A startup offering a $400 juicer (or juice bag squeezer, I suppose) that has an internet connection and QR scanner to keep you from drinking anything that's spoiled or recalled, with the distinct side effect of being legally unable to obtain your juice if the scanner breaks, your internet or Juicero's server goes down, someone hacks the juicer, etc etc. When a company has to issue a statement asking people to not manually squeeze their product despite it being both easy and the purpose of the product, something has gone horribly awry.

And we laugh and we mock, but underneath it all I feel that this is an issue that's perfectly representative of some of THE crucial issues in West Coast Tech right now (I would say Silicon Valley, but Seattle and Los Angeles companies are equally guilty). Some of you must be wondering how this could have possibly gotten through four rounds of investing, extensive design and user testing, and release before these issues came up.

It's not that they didn't know. It's that they didn't care.

There's a lot of factors that led us to this point, but I'm going to narrow it down to what I think are the four biggest: An idolization of "intelligence" as a supreme moral good, a conflation of success with intelligence, a lack of personal responsibility for consequence, and a widespread sense of complacency.

To start off: I am a software developer working for LinkedIn, and I currently live with three other software developers: two of them work for Google, one works for Facebook. Our broader local social circle consists almost exclusively of developers, mostly Google but also Uber, Infer, Palantir, and the like. And while I can't claim this is a universal attitude amongst tech, at least amongst this group, everything is an optimization problem. Playing board games, especially euro games, is an excruciating process where they can take upwards of twenty minutes to take a single turn, taking the time to analyze decision trees and modeling other players strategies and decisions. But they also seem to be completely ignorant of board games as a social function. My roommate who optimizes most is, as a direct result, very good at board games. But when players act against him to prevent him from winning because he always wins if we don't stage intervention, he protests. When someone makes a move he's deemed suboptimal, and it ends up being a benefit to them over what he thought was optimal because he didn’t anticipate it, he still couches it in language of "the wrong choice" or "what they should have done".

Because this group values optimization, efficiency, and intellect above all else. Obviously, this has a lot of issues, as "intelligence" as a quality has a long and storied history of being used to denigrate others and justify oppression, despite it being, just as anything is, a collection of unrelated skills that people can have varying amounts of practice at, and in practice far less important than dedication and willingness to practice and learn. Intelligence, as the public regards it, seems to mean "skill at mathematics, logic, memory, and reading comprehension, as well as rate of skill acquisition in these areas". But when you treat it as a general marker of value, we start getting problems.

This ties into the next point: Tech regards success as a marker of intellect, and therefore a moral good. When Elon Musk joined Trump's advisory board, there were arguments about whether or not it was good or bad, if it was lending legitimacy to Trump and cozying up versus an attempt at harm minimization. Regardless, people protested and boycotted, and I saw a former classmate respond that we "mustn't shame the smartest people in the country". And that really stuck with me. Putting aside the Tesla, which is admittedly a massive advancement towards renewable energy vehicles, and the advisory board debate, Musk has made some intensely strange causes as his goals, such as brain uploading and other transhumanist causes, which some might argue shows a disregard for accessibility or practicality, while simultaneously disincentivizing those who work in the Tesla manufacturing plants from unionizing by attempting to placate them with frozen yogurt. He also claimed that the unions were an unjust tyrant over a powerless oppressed company by likening it to the tale of David and Goliath. Panem et circenses, indeed.

In short, there is much about Musk to criticize. To claim he should receive immunity from this criticism by virtue of intellect is concerning to say the least, but it's an idea that's present in the tech community at large, from the rationalists at LessWrong.org to the Effective Altruism movement, and on down to the people who, in complete seriousness, advocate for Silicon Valley to lead the world, with Elon Musk as CEO of the United States. The form differs, but the underlying idea remains the same: the best thing one can be is smart, and since we are successful, we are the smartest and therefore the best.

However, despite feeling responsible enough for the well-being of the world to oh-so-magnanimously offer to take the reins and save the common masses from themselves, tech has a consistent problem with personal accountability. Facebook was, and remains, a prime means of spreading misinformation. But it took massive outcry for them to cop to their complicity in this matter or to take action. And this manifests in so, so many ways. One of my roommates refuses to act as though the rising costs of living in the Bay Area are detrimental, claiming that the influx of tech into SF is harmless because "cities are made to house people" and "tech has buses to get employees to work, so that lower income workers are driven further away from work isn't a problem" (ignoring the historical and cultural issues at play in gentrification, a rising sense of entitlement, and the fact that most tech companies only offer such luxurious benefits to their salaried and full time employees, not the contractors or part time workers, a.k.a. the workers who make the least, have the most trouble securing consistent transportation to work, and are most necessary to the upkeep of the offices and the benefits they provide while receiving the least respect and compensation. But hey, at least the buses have WiFi so you can work while you commute!)

And that's not the worst example. An acquaintance, who has thankfully moved very, very far away, once attended our weekly board game nights. He was a software engineer for Facebook. For those unaware, ad revenue is the prime, and essentially only, stream of revenue for Facebook. As part of compensation, workers receive ad credits, to be used for ads on Facebook. And this acquaintance once had an idea. He convinced his fellows to pool their credits together, and with it, he purchased an advertisement with the following stipulation: This ad would be served to all women in the Bay Area within the age range of roughly 23-30 or so. The content of the ad was simply his picture and the phrase "Date <acquaintance's name>" (at least, as he related it to me. I thankfully never witnessed the ad directly).

Now, given the fact that tech is incredibly male dominated and hostile to women, one would think this ad is at best tone-deaf and at worst horrifying. And yet, he related this to me in candor, treating this all as a joke that had gone awry. When I raised the possibility that this was literally harassment, regardless of any potential joking intent, I was met with blank stares and an insistence that it was hilarious and not serious (of which I remain unconvinced). Granted, one of the women targeted by the ad was his ex-girlfriend, who lodged a complaint, and the acquaintance was subsequently fired for his conduct after a massive scandal about the potential issues regarding the invasiveness of targeted advertising and how it contributes to a culture of exclusion.

Just kidding! There was a single local story about it where he was kept anonymous and he got a slap on the wrist and a book deal about his experiences dating in Silicon Valley as a software engineer. The book can be purchased on Amazon and while I haven't read it, nothing about the title, description, or author bio implies to me that he is even remotely repentant, beyond a vague sense that his missteps are due to being *socially awkward, but in an endearing way* as opposed to, you know, actively curating and supporting a toxic environment for women.

And it might seem as though these examples are simply bad eggs, but they really aren't. They're just symptoms of an industry that looks at a lack of diversity and, rather than seriously examine why women don't stay in industry and how the culture they so take pride in is complicit, decide that obviously it's just that being programmers didn't occur to women, so we've just got to make programming seem fun and feminine, right? Just lean in, women! Just grit your teeth, prepare yourself for an unending nightmare of disrespect and abuse, and lean in! And that's not even remotely approaching the severe underrepresentation of black and Latinx people in tech.

But I digress.

Where does this aversion to responsibility come from? There are so many possibilities. But the one most unique to West Coast Tech is the corporate culture, or perhaps, the lack thereof. It's a land of man-buns, flip flops, and company t-shirts. My roommate owns a combination bottle opener and USB drive, proudly emblazoned with Facebook’s logo. The brogrammer is alive and thriving. And to be completely fair, this culture is actually something I quite like about working in tech (The casual part, not the acting like a college freshman part). That I may be frank in my discussions with my co-workers, swear profusely and use emojis in email, and casually discuss my mental health with the man three steps above me in the corporate hierarchy (and two below the top) is quite refreshing. But it has drawbacks.

I attended a college that required a minor in the humanities, and had as its mission statement to educate people in STEM who would understand the impact of their work on society. But so many people just viewed those requirements as an obstacle, or just took economics and got the takeaway of how to best impact markets. And most colleges don't even pay lip service to such a goal. So I worry that "casual" is code for "unwilling to examine potential harm caused by one's actions". That the culture is why harassment can be seen as "just a joke". Why anyone who feels unwelcome is just "too uptight". Why people can be reasonably othered and rejected in interviews because of "a lack of culture fit". And without a willingness to accept responsibility for the consequences of actions, nothing will change.

This ties into the final point: the complacency. Everyone in tech wants to be seen as changing the world. But I'm also privy to the conversations we have in private, and you know what we care about more? Compensation. Its pretty rare that someone I know will come home from work and express that hey, their company is working on something that will legitimately help so many people. More often, we have discussions about who has the better offices, or the best snacks, or the best free meals. I like to think I'm a kind person, but is that really true? I may profess to be aware, but I still own no fewer than ten garments with LinkedIn's logo on them. I still take full benefit of all of the compensation, including free breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and great insurance, and a free gym. I still just used my ludicrous paycheck to purchase a condo instead of anything magnanimous or truly worthwhile. And my fellows are much the same. 

The irony that I wrote this entire essay, on company time, on a company device, because today is the Friday per month we get to devote to professional development and is discounted in work estimates because we are expected to do something other than our normal duties (read: not come to work) is not lost on me. 

I touched earlier on the Effective Altruism movement, which is comprised primarily of tech and tech-adjacent workers. I remain somewhat critical of the movement, for a number of reasons. Firstly, there is a focus on its own impact while simultaneously continuing the trend of disavowing consequences. One of the most notorious discussions in Effective Altruist groups is the avoidance of a theoretical AI that could eliminate humanity. This conversation seems to be staying in the wheelhouse of safety of testing of AIs that don’t seem to be anywhere close to a reality, rather than more concrete examples of how tech reinforces power imbalances, like, say, advertising algorithms that reinforce racist stereotypes. The second criticism I have is that for many of the metrics used by EA to measure the effectiveness of charities are purely monetary: how much of what goes in goes back out. This ignores other factors, such as raising awareness, operational costs at various sizes and scales, and a question of how directly does money even translate into benefit? The good done per dollar is not considered, merely dollar preservation from donor to donee. Furthermore, that the natural extension of Effective Altruism is that, in order to be a good person, the best thing one can do is obtain a high paying job (such as one in tech) and donate money, rather than donate time by volunteering, strikes me as convenient justification rather than honest analysis.

This excellent article (which by and large inspired this one) touches on many of these issues, but I would like to highlight one statement in particular: “Solving these problems is hard, and made harder by the fact that the real fixes for longevity don’t have the glamour of digitally enabled immortality.” As Emily Dreyfuss points out, Silicon Valley has very little interest in actually bringing about progress. Silicon Valley is trying to sell you on the idea of progress. They want to peddle you a “The Jetsons”-style future, but instead of the post-scarcity society that has mastered space travel, they want you to buy Rosie the Robot Maid. Helpful? Sure. Revolutionary? Hardly.

It's perhaps unrealistic to expect tech to actually do the hard, thankless work to improve the world, but it's certainly not unfair to expect them to at least be honest. LinkedIn is more benign than most tech companies: it is, for all intents and purposes, a resume book masquerading as a social network. The adage goes that "if you're not the customer, you're the product" and that rings true in tech. In exchange for use of the site, people surrender their information to the company to be sold as potential customers to advertisers. At least with LinkedIn, that's the expectation and goal. People give LinkedIn their resume and employment information and LinkedIn, in turn, lets recruiters look for leads. But the users more or less expect and want this, because they joined for the express purpose of finding job opportunities. But that this is benign doesn't mean it is revolutionary or radical. It remains only useful to white collar employees. Blue collar workers have no use for LinkedIn, and we can hardly claim to be changing the world of employment when the people who need us most can't benefit from the services we offer.

Could I go and find a company that does nobler work, or enter academia to advance at least the collective knowledge of humanity in some way? Sure. Will I? No. I am selfish, and don't want to give up my cushy job, and cushy benefits. And I'm not the only one.

The most interesting thing to me about the Juicero debacle is how with even the slightest forethought, they could have actually done something impressive. Consider the As-Sold-On-TV devices you see sold: I mean, who really needs a one-handed spaghetti twirler, right? Well, people with motor control issues or disabilities, is who. People who struggle with tasks most consider trivial. But people don't care about that, they care about what can be marketed, so we instead act as though the world is simply excessively clumsy and hope that someone who really needs that extra help sees it.

So, consider the Juicero bag. Reporters have noted, laughingly, jokingly, that the bag is exceedingly easy to squeeze and thus remove juice from. It's so simple, it requires hardly any effort! Someone went through the process of designing a bag, meant to be able to dispense its contents far more easily than other bags, as well as a device to automate the squeezing. Now I don't have motor control issues or disabilities, but I'm willing to bet: someone who does? Or who can't easily get, say, orange juice cartons from the fridge, open the top, lift the heavy, irregular object at just such an angle in just such a location for just such a time, all to get themselves a cup of juice? Yeah, I bet someone, somewhere, saw this and thought, finally, I can actually get myself milk without needing help or preparation.

And Juicero made this device, slapped an internet connection, QR Codes and a $400 price tag onto it, and marketed it as being the future of juice, vulnerabilities and use cases be damned. And I want to scream.

Because in the end, they cared more about being successful than being helpful.

Unfortunately, identifying the issues is one problem, addressing them is another. I'm not sure how to even begin tackling these. But we have to. People in tech, myself included, need to take responsibility for our culture and creations. We have a moral duty to do better. To be better. The internet is, at its core, a wonderful tool for accessibility of information. But like all tools, it can and is misused, and we're the ones who let it happen. We need to fix this.

#ramblings of a gay man #long post #tech #silicon valley

[loansguide01-blog]

Finances Not Helping Your Anxiety? 12 Tips to Help You Breathe Easier

New Post has been published on https://loansguideto.com/%20/awesome/finances-not-helping-your-anxiety-12-tips-to-help-you-breathe-easier/

Finances Not Helping Your Anxiety? 12 Tips to Help You Breathe Easier

Honestly, who doesn’t have anxiety these days?

Even if you haven’t been officially diagnosed with an anxiety disorder( ahem, me ), “youre supposed to” still experience tinges of That Dreaded Feeling. That swelling of panic in your gut, that flush of hives across your chest, that looming paranoia you can’t quite place…

As a nation, our anxiety levels are rising. In 2018, the U.S. national anxiety score( yes, that’s a thing) was 51 out of 100 — a five-point jumping since 2017 — according to the American Psychiatric Association. Among our top concerns? Health, safety and — you guessed it! — finances.

12 Simple Strategies to Help Calm Your Financial Anxieties

Sure, you might’ve broken the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and no longer have to rely on ramen for dinner. But you still experience this sense of fiscal uneasiness, like you know you’re missing something.

Yes, some folks might call it irrational or unfounded. To you — and me — it’s totally real.

The good news? You can address these anxieties.( Much easier than addressing those anxieties of heights, roaches or commitment, in my humble sentiment .)

Here’s how :P TAGEND 1. Use This Simple Trick Pay Your Bills on Time

One of my biggest financial anxieties? Forgetting to pay my bills. In my head, the world will end. The charge card company will dump my account over to collectings, my power will flicker off and my apartment building will escort me out in handcuffs.

Yeah, totally irrational.

The easiest way to pacify this fear? Set your accounts to auto-pay. If you’re anxious about overdrafting or don’t trust auto-pay( same ), then add the due dates to your phone’s calendar, or jot them in your agenda. This help you remember when bills are due and help you plan ahead with your budget.

This is such a simple move, and you’ll no longer have to jolt up at 2 a.m. because you knew you’d been forgetting something.

2. Realize Saving Money Isn’t Difficult if You’re Realistic and Proactive

The key word here: Realistic.

I tend to — scratch that, always — defined unrealistic expectations for myself. Oh, sure , no problem. I can save 50% of my paycheck this month! A week in, I’ve altogether blown the plan to pieces. First I feel stressed out, because I have no idea how I’m going to get back on track. Then I give up.

Don’t. Do. This.

“Make sure these goals are as specific and actionable as possible, ” says Leslie Tayne, fiscal debt resolution lawyer and founder and managing director of Tayne Law Group.

She offers an example: “Simply setting a goal to save more will be difficult to stick to, ” she says. “However, if you build your goal to save $100 from each paycheck, that is a much clearer and actionable step.”

If you need to, enlist some help.

Use an app like Digit. Simply connected it to your checking account, set a savings aim, then its algorithms will determine small( and safe !) sums of fund to withdraw into a separate, FDIC-insured savings account.

Bonus: Penny Hoarders will get an extra$ 5 just for signing up! Additionally, savers will receive a 1.00% bonus every three months.

3. Let This Company Help You Pay Down Your Debt

You know the debt is there. You know it’s not great. So what do you do? One common response? Procrastination. Which then compounds the stress.

“Procrastination is a very common source of fiscal stress, and this is something that is completely within your control, ” Tayne says. “Don’t put over what you can do today.”

OK … so what can you do today? Even if you can’t afford to make an extra payment toward your debt, you can take steps to get on the right track. One alternative: Refinance or consolidate.

If you have credit card indebtednes, refinancing or consolidating with a personal loan can be a great style to reduce those high interest rates. You can even extend the word of the loan, if you need more time to pay your tab down.

A good resource is Fiona, a search engine for financial services, which can help match you with the right personal loan to meet your needs.

Fiona searches the top online lenders to match you with a personalized loan offer in less than 60 seconds. If your credit rating is at least 620, its platform can assist you borrow up to $100,000( no collateral needed) with fixed rates starting at 4.99% and words from 24 to 84 months.

4. Hunt Down Sneaky Bills in Collections or Faults on Your Credit Report

True story: I once had a bill in collects I didn’t know about. I’d gone to a walk-in clinic in college, moved apartments, then wham. Unknowingly billed.

It persisted in collects for about two years, until I went back to that clinic. When the receptionist “ve been informed”, I madly paid. Now I’m terrified something like that will happen again — it could severely hurt my chances of opening a new credit card or securing a prime mortgage rate.

But how will I know? Find out what you owe is actually route easier than you might think. You can only look at your credit report.

I started using Credit Sesame to take a look at my credit rating. I can also access my credit report card there, which offers an overview of my indebtednes, my open account and any negative marks.

It’s super easy to read and interpret — no crazy jargon. You’ll be able to see what you owe or if there are any errors on your report( it happens ). Plus it’ll even tell you how to increase your credit rating. For me, that’d be lessening my credit utilization rate.

You can sign up for alertings, so whenever there’s a change in your credit score or on your credit report, Credit Sesame will let you know.

5. Stop Fretting About That $30 Overdraft Fee

Somebody once told me that banking felt like balancing on a trapeze. And it’s so true. You’ve got to make sure you maintain the minimum balance, deposit a particular quantity into the account each month, avoid overdrafting, hunt down a fee-free ATM when you need cash …

It’s exhausting.

That’s why I switched to Aspiration.

The Aspiration Spend and Save Account is an online-only account with no monthly fees , no minimums and pays up to 2.00% APY interest.

Yep! Instead of forking over $30 a month for an overdraft accident, you actually have a chance earn money on the balance of your account.

To open your shiny new Aspiration Spend and Save Account, simply connect your existing bank account, and transfer over as little as $10.

6. Take 5 Minutes to Ensure Fees Aren’t Killing Your Retirement Dreams

Got a 401( k )? You’re on the right track.

Now, you simply need to make sure it’s doing what you need it to. However, tapping into that account and deciphering the information — or lack thereof — can be terrifying.

Welp, there’s a robo-adviser for that. Blooom, an SEC-registered investment advisory firm, will optimize and monitor your 401( k) for you.

It gives you an initial 401( k) checkup for free, and you’ll get to know your account a little more intimately. Find out if you’re paying too many hide fees, have the appropriate quantity invested in stocks versus bonds, that kind of fun stuff.

After that, the tool is $10 a month to use to continue to monitor your retirement account. Let Blooom know your target retirement age, and it can help you get there by investing more and less aggressively.

7. Get $ 55 When You Take 15 Minutes to Dip Your Toes in Investing

Bills paid? Savings established? Retirement account money?

Now, it’s time to invest. But it’s not like you can afford to buy several shares of Amazon stock or invest in a rental property. Not yet.

Here are a few ways to start investing without that hefty commitment :P TAGEND

Start small, and download Acorns, an investing app that’ll round up your debit and credit card buys and, once it accumulates$ 5, it’ll expend the spare change for you. The app is$ 1 a month for balances under$ 1 million, and you’ll get a$ 5 bonus when you sign up.

If you’ve got a $50 bill burning a hole in your wallet, then look into Swell Investing *, an SEC-registered investment adviser committed to supporting sustainable companies. Plus, you’ll get a $50 bonus with the code PENNY after attaining your initial investment.

With a minimum investment of only $500 in the Fundrise Starter Portfolio, your money will be split into two portfolios that support private real estate around the United States. You’ll pay a 0.85% annual asset management fee and a 0.15% annual investment advisory fee.

8. Take 2 Minutes to Ensure Your Kids Are Set For The Worst Case Scenario

If you have kids, “youre supposed to” worry about their futures. That’s to be expected.

One way to sleep better at night is to secure a life insurance policy. That way if, god prohibit, something happens to you, your kids wouldn’t have to worry about money.

Yeah, yeah. You’ve heard all of this, but you’re only not sure where to start.

We recommend you start by comparing policies and rates through Policygenius, a free online marketplace. Believe of it like Kayak or Expedia — but for life insurance.

This takes about two minutes, so even if you’re on your morning commute, eating lunch or, ahem, use the bathroom, you can do it right now. Once you enter your datum, you’ll be asked to choose your coverage quantity — anywhere between $50,000 to $10 million. You can apply right online, and a Policygenius rep will give you a quick call to confirm your application info.

Policygenius tells us you can get$ 1 million in coverage begin at $25 a month. That’s way less than my cell phone bill.

9. Compare Rate and Cut Back on Monthly Bills With This Quick Move

Here’s an example of what happens when I try to find the best deal on, say, my internet/ cable bill: I Google “cheapest internet, ” immediately feel overwhelmed with options and rates and quotes, and choice the brand I recognise most.

Done.

Yeah, it’s basically a pointless process.

But it’s important to find ways to cut back on your monthly bills. Here’s one tactic that’s a lot easier than you might suppose …

Hop on Squeeze, a website that would enable it to compare rates for mortgages, auto loans, student loans, renters insurance, and mobile and internet schemes( among others) for free.

Say “youre supposed to” compare internet costs. Based on your location, the site aggregates all your the possibilities and shows you companies alongside price points and download speeds.

Way easier than calling around or Googling to infinity and beyond.

10. Write Down Your Financial To-Do List

When it comes to finances, we typically have things we’ve been meaning to do. Then these things sit on a perpetual, never-ending to-do listing in our brain.

Instead of adding to that mental listing, only create a physical list of things you need to do — whether you write it on a scrap of newspaper and tape it to the fridge, or keep it on an app in your phone.

Take a few items from this article. Set reminders. Do what you’ve got to do to free up space in your brain. Once you accomplish a task, feel that sweet, sweet satisfaction of intersecting it off your list.

11. Change Your Mindset to Be Positive and Proactive

OK, I’m about to go all therapist on you, but hear me out: Work on changing your attitude toward your finances.

“We often think of paying our bills as drudgery and simply something we have to do, ” Tayne says. “Instead, try to change your mindset to be thankful that you’re able to pay bills to have all of the things you need.”

Tayne says you can even apply the same mindset to your indebtednes: “Debt is merely bad debt if it’s unmanageable. You can be thankful for what debt has allowed you to have, whether it’s a house or an education or something else positive in your life.”

If you find yourself dwelling on the same darn fiscal problem all the time, you know it’s time to become proactive and make a change.

If your budget is tight, find more ways to cut expenses. Struggle with credit card indebtednes? Cut up your cards, and boost those monthly payments. Hate your job? Look for another opportunity.

12. Check in With Yourself Regularly — and Celebrate Wins

Give yourself 30 minutes once a month. Block out the time on your calendar and settle in.

Then check in with your to-do listing, objectives and overall fiscal well-being. How’s it running? Spend some quality period with your budget and your bills.

Did you make any big strides this past month? Maybe you eventually procured life insurance, are at the halfway point with student loan payments or set an extra $200 into savings.

That’s awesome! Bask in that feeling for a minute. Pat yourself on the back, and grab that slice of pizza you’ve been craving for dinner.

“Allow yourself to feel that sense of accomplishment, and you are able to even treat yourself( within reason) when you reach a major goal, ” Tayne says. “Giving yourself the ability to celebrate will start tying positive feelings to your finances.”

* Revealing: We have a financial relationship with Swell Investing LLC and will be compensated if consumers apply for an account and/ or fund an account with Swell through connects in our content. However, the analysis and opinions expressed here are our own.

Carson Kohler( carson @thepennyhoarder. com) is a faculty writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s in no way a mental health professional — just regularly sees one.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal tales, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

Read more: thepennyhoarder.com

#bank accounts #donotsyndicate #evergreen #list #original #smart money

[ethnictits-blog]

Okay. Best Spider-Man movie and general Spider-Man to date. I have a lot of notes on the symbolism and modern parallels and relevance to our generation and how Marvel and the super hero genre in general is evolving dramatically on their stance of heroism, and what Spider-Man represents versus what he represented particularly in the original Spider-Man films, and evidence of evolving values. OKAY. Going down a list here (Spoilers of course)

1. First we need to talk about what Spider-Man represents. Spider-Man particularly as Tobey Maguire, represents America. Not American ideals like Cap, but America. He's a working class citizen who's constantly working jobs, who's aunt is struggling to make ends meet, he can't pay rent, etc. This Spider-Man, is a figure for young millennials but optimistic young millennial. He's less concerned with money (tho it's still a part of life), and he's more concerned about trying to find his place in the world. In the beginning he's taking video diaries of his time in Cap Civil War, and afterwards he's trying as optimistically as he can to get Tony to use him in the Avengers. He texts Happy and calls him everyday, he drops out of stuff so he can be ready for Stark to use him, and it never happens. He faces that crisis that many adults and children face where children feel like adults aren't listening to them but they're still trying to prove their best to the adults. A problem for millennials today is that we started out more optimistic about our futures, and then we grew disillusioned and cynical with the world. Parker is the early young generation of millennials, and while he's still a positive person by the end, he too has a sense of disillusionment primarily with himself and what the real world demands of him but I'll elaborate on that later.

2. MJ's character is an example of the cynicism we have now reached. She acts like she doesn't care about much, she reads about human rights, and points out cynically that the Washington monument was made by slaves, she draws people's despair and puts herself in situations to see it even if it's sarcastic. She's the disillusioned millennial but deep down she wants the world to be a better place. While Peter finds himself at the mercy of adult demands, she operate outside of everything, even proving an adult wrong and recognizing no real authority as assertion of this disillusionment.

3. Now that we've established what their roles indicate, let's talk about the grander scheme of things and why those roles are important: The Superhero genre. Superhero films have been around forever but they are the dominant genre of our gen right now. However, this genre has evolved with the gen to align with our own villains. Earlier MCU films used to be much simpler. We all know the Superhero origin formula. But now we've reached a point where our heroes have become morally questionable, more introspective about their roles as heroes, and gradually, have become to an extent unwitting villains. We were initially told that heroes were what we needed, that no matter the consequences, we should root for them. On closer inspection however, when we actually look at those consequences, our heroes aren't all that heroic. Tony, a rich billionaire playboy philanthropist, has always had his past consequences haunt him, but other than that we don't really see those consequences with supers in general. What we see in Civil War is the full fruition of these consequences and of course, the government gets involved. Regardless if you're team Cap or team IM, it's clear that the balance between accountability and control is difficult to balance. Everything has a chain reaction domino effect. Then our own heroes are fighting each other, morals and ethics are called into major question, and in the end things are unstable and the government takes control. This doesn't even just apply to Marvel, but D.C. As well. Superman is put on trial and we have to ask "how is he supposed to answer for the damage?" People want to root for our heroes and say the government sucks, but the exact same thing would happen in real life and we'd have to find some way to cope with something with potential for destruction. Even when our heroes have good intentions, they don't always know what's best. Age of Ultron being an example. Wanda and Pietro's resentment. The overall point is that we can't ever fully trust our heroes like we used to. They're human (mostly), and like humans are subject to flaws and bad decisions. In Spider-Man, this theme is further emphasized and continued when we see that our villain stems from being a disgruntled worker who was shoved out from a job given to him by the avengers by Stark approved government departments. Tossed out and feeling betrayed, these villains decide to "change with the times". This (paraphrased) phrase is constantly emphasized, reason being that being a simple working human doesn't really cut it anymore. If they want to get anywhere, they have to claw and fight and they do so through villainy (and resentment for capitalism which I'll further at some other point).

4. This leads as an example of the next change in the Superhero genre: The Rise of the antihero/villain. Over the years, we as an audience have grown to sympathize more with the antihero and villains of our cinema. It used to be primarily because they're more humanly relatable and badass than uber moral-driven idealists, but even that's changed. Because our moral guides have been humanized so what's the issue? The issue is that they're hypocritical. They claim to be good people who save lives, but a good majority of the villains we've had in the last few years, are BECAUSE of said heroes. Villains and anti heroes are given a more understandable and complex background that we can identify with more because not only are they more interesting but they're a result of many outside influences pressing on them. Sure they have the choice to be better, but its easy to see how easy it is to fall into that resentment of life, especially when they have no heroes. As a result, we have Deadpool, Suicide Squad (which had much more potential appeal) but Harley Quinn especially, Loki, Punisher, Jessica Jones (a defender who saves people yes, but she strays far more from the hero archetype, having at least to start with more anti hero tendencies), Wanda the villain turned hero, we have Baron Zemo, even Ultron is sympathetic (especially towards his end, but maybe it's just me). All of these have been a far more recurring breed that we can't help but at least appreciate, especially when they cynically mock everything 

5. Likewise in Spider-Man, our villain isn't some super powered mwahahaha, type guy. He's a working blue collar guy with a family who feels betrayed by America's idols. Not only that, he's Spidey's love interest's father. Not only was this a surprise, but this had the effect of humanizing him dramatically. He doesn't cackle in his lair, he absolutely loves his wife and daughter and taking care of them as best as he can. He just stopped doing it honestly because he wanted to bite back at the people who shoved him down. He isn't fueled by evil, he's fueled by resentment of the callousness of the "big people" who screw people like him and his family over. 

6. What's interesting about his role as a family man though is that it's an exceptional example of duality that is present throughout the entire film and even the franchise in general. In him we have our villain and our family man, in Stark we have a rich arrogant man harboring deep seated insecurities and PTSD, and a confident "Hero" in a suit. Cap is a war veteran trying to figure his life out, and also a symbolic hero of patriotism. And all of them are reduced to simple roles. Cap gains the courage to leave his dual role because he doesn't want to be defined and ruled by it anymore. Peter on the other hand, wants to establish his one true role. He has a secret double life, but he ALWAYS prioritizes his role as a hero over everything else. He even says he doesn't want to continue high school or go to college because Spider-Man is what he wants to be. This doesn't really work for heroes OR villains though. A piece of your other half will always bleed into the other and it's difficult to come to terms with both. Stark embraces both sides but it doesn't stop them from conflicting. Peter has to learn to find balance. 

7. And to a degree he does. At the very least he learns to appreciate what a normal life has in store. But even if he doesn't have it quite keyed in, it reminds us of an EXTREMELY important detail that this movie emphasized over and over again: He is a KID. This was my absolute favorite aspect of Homecoming. We've always held our heroes to certain expectations, but Peter? He's 15. He's a 15 year old kid who can do amazing things but he can't take on the world and he won't know how to do everything. He spends a good portion of the movie trying so so hard to be the best he can be, but he's not there. And that's OKAY. Because he's so young. We absolutely see scenes of weakness that we don't normally see. We see the fears and anxieties of a young guy trying to save the world without all the angst. He climbs the Washington monument and he's terrified because he's never climbed that high before. He trips and falls and he can't interrogate, and he isn't the best fighter. And a perfect scene I loved was when he's under a collapsed building, he takes his mask off and he screams agonizing screams for help, for anyone to help him. And even beyond that are even more agonizing screams because he pushes himself to the limit, thinking that that's what it means to be hero and it's further reminded that's he's incredibly young. 

8. Going back to that cry for help though, I found it quite interesting how he has this moment of clarity that he has to be the one to save himself. No one else is coming. And I realized, Peter has spent the entire film begging for help. He wants so badly for Tony to put him on the avengers, to be a mentor for him, and to have his back. He calls Happy and Tony and tries to desperately to let them know when he thinks something's wrong and he could use help. And after he steals Flash's car he asks his friend to call Happy. But each and every time, no one is there to help. Because no one listens to him. Tony says "of course I listen, why do you think the FBI were there?" But Tony never bothers to communicate with Peter or tell him how to handle the situation other than than telling Peter to stay out of the way. In the end, no one (aside from Ned), is really there for Peter and certainly not to save him when he needs it. Even when Stark pulls him out of the lake he completely discredits Peter's abilities. He also blames Peter for essentially everything ever after the ferry incident. Without Ned, Peter probably would've lost it having no one there with him, even if it was minor support. All this makes that moment of clarity under the collapse so crucial. Because that's the moment he has to be a hero for himself. 

9. In being a hero by and for himself, Peter is pushed to his limits over and over again. And by the end, when he's offered to be an avenger, he rejects it, opting to remain at a lower level. I loved this because it's a moment where Peter realizes that he's not ready to take on the world. So many young protagonists don't have the option to step back down. When they do, they get the pushy encouragement talk. But In both Moana and Homecoming, our protagonists decide their limits for themselves and where they want push themselves. It's a lesson that isn't taught enough. It's okay not being able to take it all the way, and I hope that this also becomes a more popular trope. While we want our heroes to succeed it isn't always realistic, especially for youngsters.

10. Now, considering their age, the millennial roles, the self-saving moments, and decision making independent from authority influences, something I also noticed, is that while the younger people are constantly discredited, they're right. The Villain confronts Peter at the end saying "you don't understand the world and blah blah blah" but for Peter, it doesn't matter that he doesn't understand the world, because he knows when something is wrong. Same with Michelle, she doesn't know everything, she's young, but she sees what's wrong with the world whether or not she understands it. This is a common millennial grievance. We're always faced with you don't understand this, but we always say "that doesn't make it right though", which I found interesting.

Anyway I had more notes like how the film addresses capitalism, elaborating on why I had hoped Peter would have this moment of disillusionment at the end with his heroes (but no he stays relatively perky and approval-seeking), how amazing Peter was in regards to his aunt (he didn't take shit from anyone concerning his aunt, even Stark he was visibly upset and uncomfortable with objectifying his aunt), the way that the movie included not only more prominent POC roles but also addressed human rights which most hero films avoid directly addressing. But I've been typing for like an hour so XDD Someone else please tackle those, especially concerning the POC roles because I’m only half latinx and half white so I bet given my lack of personal experience, I missed important aspects of that inclusion.

#spider-man: homecoming #spiderman #marvel cinematic universe #tom holland

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Incredibly quick fixes for your slow internet problem

Is there anything greater irritating than a gradual internet connection? Just when you need it most, whether or not you are domestic paying bills or finishing up a large venture for work, screech! Your internet slows to a move slowly.

That’s annoying. But it could also motive extreme problems. What if you cannot contact your own family or pals while you need their assist? What in case you miss an essential closing date for paintings or you are overdue paying a bill? We all depend upon the net for almost each element of our lives. So, it is essential that we hold things fast.

At Komando

Com, we are usually seeking out clean approaches to improve your virtual life. So, keep analyzing for three ways to hurry up a gradual internet connection.

Before we get to that, even though, there’s one factor you need to do: Check your equipment. If you haven’t up to date your router in a few years, as an instance, it can be time for an upgrade. Check the cables and ethernet ports that connect to your router. If you see something that’s free or frayed, tighten it or replace it.

Thermal Pots Versus Slow Cookers

You’ve seen these two products in the marketplace

You’ve recognized their feature, what they’re used for in the kitchen. You’ve seen many special manufacturers accessible as nicely. You are stressed if these kitchen-need to-haves have any difference at all.

This article is to tell you, they haven’t any distinction at all in phrases of capability but they do have a difference in terms of technology. Both of the kitchen wares do hold your soup or stew heat for long periods of time but one uses strength even as the opposite one does no longer. We shall make a few simple contrast (without sounding like a technology lesson right here) between the 2 of them. Let’s start with the sluggish cooker first.

The slow cooker uses energy with a thermostat connected at the lowest of the pot to keep the soup/stew warm throughout the day or any long durations of time. Since it’s a thermostat, of the direction you may modify the desired temperature to be saved at. The inner pot is the use of the “conventional Chinese method” of keeping warmness that is, the usage of some stone fabric consisting of ceramic or porcelain. Electricity is provided to the thermostat and it produces warmness continuously to the temperature that is set and this warmth is constantly “transferred” into the stone inner pot from the lowest. Heat convection takes location within the inner pot. Since the internal pot is fabricated from thick stone fabric, warmness loss still takes region however at a slower price.

If you notice the internal walls of the outer pot of the gradual cooker, you could see it is glossy silverfish surface. This, in addition, slows down the rate of warmth loss the usage of the legal guidelines of radiation. As for the top of the internal pot, the lid is generally made of thick glass cloth to prevent warmth loss as nicely.

This is how the sluggish cookers work and take into account that it uses energy to acquire warmth retention

Now allow’s move on to thermal pots. To put it genuinely, it uses the same warmth switch principle as what you’ve got recognized or learned from vacuum flasks in physics in the course of college or everywhere. It makes use of the laws of heat convection, conduction, and radiation to assist useful resource in warmth retention.

Heat conduction and convection are decreased substantially (but now not definitely as this is not feasible) via vacuum. Vacuum is a higher insulation in comparison to foam. Now at the sides or walls of the thermal pot, there may be an outer wall and inner wall. In between those walls is the vacuum. With the presence of vacuum (ok ok, I promise no science lessons right here however just precise to understand that vacuum contains near 0 wide variety of atoms), warmth conduction and convection are greatly bogged down.

  Impact Of the Internet On Children’s Attitude And Behaviour

We live in facts age, wherein understanding is a strength. The Internet has come to live and it’s far going on. Lifestyles are changing. Newspapers are available on the net. Cinema tickets can be booked on the Internet by way of logging on to the relevant sites. Entertainment standards are converting. One can watch films, concentrate to songs just by means of connecting to those websites sitting at domestic. There are websites on every issue inside the world.

POSITIVE SIDE

The Internet has substantially altered our lifestyles fashion in numerous ways. It is imparting possibilities to wander about the sector and to escape out of the real world whilst sitting in the chair. By the steady repetition of certain themes and through effective visuals of high technical high-quality it’s far even conditioning a lot of us into questioning and behaving particularly methods.

The Internet has its impact on Supply Chain management, and Customer Relationship management- in which E-commerce is playing a massive position by using automating customer dating management, like voice interactive structures wherein the lawsuits can be dealt with right away. Banks also are changing their methods like the advent of home banking and electronic fund switch, where finances are transferred without bodily going to clearance homes. In the sphere of education- ideas are converting from laptop based schooling to web-based totally education, like e-gurukul, e-mastering, online examinations etc., Then there is the virtual classroom concept wherein the lecture is webcast. Any doubts that stand up may be clarified via the virtual lecture room idea.

Channels are to be had on the Internet on each thing and anything

The Internet has channels on Jobs, Personal, Libraries, Travel, Art, computing, Lifestyle, Shopping, Music, People, Money, Games, Sports and so forth. It is extremely good to realize the quantity of facts that is available on the Internet, thru which you’ll be able to get entry to the data within the nice and cheapest methods. Anything on this global may be accessed via the Internet nowadays. Similarly, E-mail has revolutionized the conversation. Voice mail is wherein they document voice and the same is despatched to the destination. Net-to-cellphone is where you can actually talk to anybody within the world on the cost of a neighborhood name.

New traits are winning on the cutting-edge business scene

Internet and networking strategies are redefining the enterprise as a whole and lots are on the anvil for the ones inquisitive about the usage of them for gaining superior gain who are well-versed in technological and management aspects. E-Commerce is a forerunner in this regard.

NEGATIVE SIDE

The Real Problem With Inefficient Government

It appears these days, the American Voter, or at the least 1/2 of them appearance in the direction of the government each time, there’s a problem. They need the authorities to restoration it – the hassle is the authorities forms can slightly deal with itself, much much less all and sundry. And, even supposing they might give you everything you need, huge governments are notoriously bad for societies inside the lengthy-time period, as they can take the whole thing you’ve got once they no longer want you. City History.

Now then, lower back to the difficulty and the real problem with an ever-growing blob of forms – you spot, if a government can not even deal with its first order of business and authentic priority, then it ought now not tackle extra responsibilities. Our authorities number one duty is to protect the American People, it doesn’t have the capacity. Yet, it’s miles constantly growing and taking up more obligations, none of which it does well. Not lengthy in the past, we have been discussing this at our think tank. One member stated;

“You brought up a few correct factors right here, all more of a motive to restriction the electricity of a centralized government and permit unfastened markets to do their process. The possibility will constantly be there so long as there is a demand for it.”

Right, let the free marketplace solve the issues

You see, The paperwork is an actual problem, it is inefficient – and it’s truly no longer the solution. We spend 35-forty five% inside the collection of taxes, then forty-five% dispensing the cash, hell what’s left? Not a lot, in case you issue within the real legacy charges of presidency unions, so taxes should cross up. But, if we’re redistributing to the poor, a poor man or woman might be extra efficient to come back thieve my huge screen TV and get a hundred% of the performance than having the government waste 80-90% in giving him the money to go buy a TV – you notice?

This is why until a government can run a Six Sigma black belt efficiency model, it has no enterprise getting larger, we need to provide an explanation for that to people. The authorities already have our money. It’s like why tax us to restore the roads, once they have already got nearly $1 in line with the gallon in fuel taxes to fix the roads and infrastructure? Someone the opposite day asked me if I should do a higher job than Obama as president, taunting me, I informed him factor blank; In My Sleep! And that is the god’s honest truth.