Tulsa Family Lawyer and Mediator
Wifi extenders. Secondhand CPUs. A “piece of crap” Kindle Fire. Lifehacker readers are generally smart and astute, thanks in part to the buffet of productivity tips they feast upon every week. Even the best of us makes mistakes, though.
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Author: David Murphy
If December’s multiple meteor showers left you craving more, you’re in luck! Tonight is the peak of the quadrantid meteor shower, and we’ve got your list of all the major meteor showers to put on your calendar for 2019.
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Author: Beth Skwarecki
Richard Garriott is a robot. The creator of the Ultima series (including Ultima Online, one of the first massively multiplayer online games) runs his Austin company Portalarium from his home in New York. He telecommutes via Beam—a Segway-like robot with a video screen that lets him engage more directly with the rest…
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Author: Nick Douglas
Putting in work or “hustling” is the most widespread maxim for success in the world of entrepreneurship. But the question is this: Are you really being productive with your time or is your work merely a heightened form of procrastination?
The three levels of productivity:
It is zero productivity. It’s neglecting your priorities and responsibilities in lieu of the dopamine rush of a Netflix series or a video game. Procrastination is a killer of success and deserves no further mention.
However, it is not productive work but it is the work you use as an alibi against procrastination. It is cover-up work.
When you are engaged in cover-up work, it may seem like you are being productive and putting in the sweat necessary for success. In reality, you are running a hamster wheel, making no discernible progress.
An example of cover-up work is the salesman who is making 100 sales pitches every single day, closing one. His approach is self-pitying and self-centered. Rather than focusing on the potential customer, he focuses on his own deep desire to sell. His egocentric mindset shines like a flare gun.
Nevertheless, the salesman sits at his laptop in the evening and posts on Twitter “Putting in work! The hustle is real!”
People engage in cover-up work to feel better about their lack of progress. If you are doing cover-up work, you are stuck in your comfort zone.
It is level-up work at the very top of the productivity pyramid
Let’s examine.
Level-up work means doing the tedious work. It means digging up the roots, getting dirty, and planting new seeds. It means dealing with the grit. Real productivity is hardly exciting.
If the aforementioned salesman engages in level-up work, he will spend his evenings learning about human psychology. He will start going from house to house and website to website to learn about his customer base. He starts reading books and magazines that help to increase his social acuity. As his knowledge expands, his percentage of converted customers increases exponentially. Rather than closing one out of 100 cold-calls, he closes 10 out of 20.
Level-up work requires spending unromantic hours in your room filling your head with all the knowledge that you will require in your field and then some. It means building the backbone of your business. It means becoming more than your next competitor. In the end, it is the only path towards true success.
To engage in real productivity, start mastering level-up work: Become more than your competition. Be smarter, better practiced, more up-to-date. Put in the hours that matter.
See Also: 6 Strategies to Increase Productivity in the Workplace
The post Fake Productivity vs Real Productivity appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
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Author: Severin Mudd
Roulette is a game of chance. This game was created by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal in 1655. Roulette is a game of numbers – 0, 00, 1-36, and multiple bet selections available to players. Players are tasked with selecting a number, set of numbers, or selection of options during the wagering session, followed by the croupier’s announcement: ‘No More Bets!’
All winning bets are paid out, according to the pay table. The rules of each Roulette casino game variant determine the bet selections, minimum and maximum bets, payouts, and odds of each game. Frank Scoblete the well-known casino pro has written a very comprehensive guide on how to play roulette, including the mechanics of the game, bets, strategies, and bankroll management options for European Roulette, French Roulette and American Roulette games.
Each Roulette wheel is comprised of 3 unique divisions. These include the ball track, the base track, and the wheel. While it is possible to find dozens of Roulette games at casinos, the most popular variants are the big 3: European Roulette, French Roulette, and American Roulette.
The former two games are single-zero Roulette games. These Roulette wheels feature numbers: 0, 1 – 36. Originally, French and European Roulette games featured 0 and 00. These were gradually phased out to become single zero games. The house edge on a European Roulette game is 2.70%.
All Roulette wheels feature alternating red and black numbers. The European Roulette wheel numbers are as follows: 0-32-15-19-4-21-2-25-17-34-6-27-13-36-11-30-8-23-10-5-24-16-33-1-20-14-31-9-22-18-29-7-28-12-35-3-26. The 0 is green, and the other numbers are either red or black.
On an American double zero Roulette wheel, the clockwise configuration of numbers beginning with double zero is: 27-10-25-29-12-8-19-31-18-6-21-33-16-4-23-35-14-2-0-28-9-26-30-11-7-20-32-17-5-22-34-15-3-24-36-13-1. The 0s are both green. The American Roulette wheel features an extra digit (00), and a lower probability of any single number occurring at 1/38 or 2.63%. Over time, the French and European variants became staples in Europe while American Roulette was adopted in the US.
The sum of numbers on a Roulette wheel is 666 – the Devil’s number. This has spawned a legacy of superstition, myth and fantasy. Roulette games are pervasive around the world. While the rules of play for Roulette variants are similar, payout percentages and minimum/maximum bets may change with these casino games. There are typically two broad categories of bets available: inside bets and outside bets.
High-Low, first dozen, second dozen, third dozen, red or black, odd or even are examples of outside bets. As a rule, players will enjoy much higher payouts on inside bets, although the odds of winning these bets is lower. Outside bets payouts feature odds close to 50-50 (red or black, odd or even, 1-18, or 19-36), but the 0s slant odds in favor of the house.
Outside bets are equally important in all Roulette variants. They include a combination of betting options such as Red or Black Bets with even money payouts (recall the green 0 and 00 make it favorable to the house), High or Low Bets (1-18 & 19-36), and the Odd or Even bet (players lose if 0 or 00 comes up).
Other important outside bets include the Dozens Bet. There are 12 numbers in each Dozens Bet (1-12, 13-24, 25-36), and the payout is 2:1. If the green 0 or 00 comes up, the player loses the bet. The final outside bet is the column bet. The column bet has a winning payout of 2:1, and players place wagers at the bottom of the column they believe will win on the current spin.
Inside bets include 6-number bets with a payout of 5:1. This bet is placed on the borders of 6 numbers. 5-number bets are only available on American Roulette wheels. Winnings are paid at 6:1 with a house edge of 7.89%. Experts do not recommend this bet since it is more profitable to wager on individual numbers. The four number bets are available if four numbers are located on a square. The payout is 8:1 on these bets.
Street bets a.k.a. trio bets have a payout of 11:1, and the bet is on three numbers. Split bets are placed between 2 numbers. The payout is 17:1 on these bets. Straight up bets are placed on individual numbers with a payout of 35:1, even though there are 37 numbers on a European/French Roulette wheel and 38 numbers on an American Roulette wheel. Incidentally, that’s where the house edge comes from!
Roulette is a numbers game. For example, players with a preference for more betting selections may be inclined to select the double zero Roulette games. Remember that the house edge in American Roulette games is 5.26%.
Players looking for a player friendly Roulette variant will prefer either European Roulette or French Roulette. Both of these games have a house edge of 2.70%. With no 00, there are just 37 numbers on the wheel. In French Roulette the house edge can be whittled away to just 1.35%. This occurs if specific bets are placed such as En Prison and La Partage.
For example, if a player has an even money bet in play, and the green 0 lands, only half of the bet will be lost. This is known as La Partage. The En Prison rule by contrast states that the even money bet will remain in play if the Green 0 lands for the next spin. This gives players a second chance of winning. With even money bets, it is possible to enjoy a house edge of 1.35% with French Roulette.
Bankroll management is an effective component of an overall Roulette strategy. Players should enter gaming sessions with a specific bankroll in mind. Various bankroll management techniques like Martingale can be employed to assist players in their Roulette game play. This strategy requires players to double their losing bets on every spin. Once the betting limit is reached, Martingale becomes ineffective.
Other systems include the Reverse Martingale, Fibonacci, James Bond system, Labouchere, Paroli Betting System, D’Alembert and Oscar’s Grind Strategy. Perhaps the most important takeaway for players is the following: There is no single-best Roulette strategy to prevent losses and maximize winnings.
Rather, players are encouraged to enter Roulette gaming sessions with a fixed budget, and the objective of having fun. Games with a low house edge (European Roulette or French Roulette) are preferred, and players are encouraged to understand the rules of play for each variant before wagering on real money online Roulette table games.
Free Roulette games are useful for players. It’s a good idea to begin wagering at low limit tables before graduating to high limit Roulette tables. Free Roulette games are readily available at online casinos. These games mimic authentic Las Vegas or Atlantic City table games with Flash or HTML 5 functionality.
The benefit of free Roulette games online is that players can practice different betting options at zero risk. Roulette is riddled with all sorts of intricacies. It is an art to determine how many bets to place on individual numbers, columns, and selections. Careful and methodical play is the best way to fully understand the rules and maximize the effectiveness of play.
The most important point to remember is the following: every spin is 100% independent of every other spin. Players invest tremendous energy in formulating Roulette systems, strategies, and betting practices. Some players swear by superstitious habits, while others eschew them in in favor of statistics and probability analysis.
The post How to Play Roulette Like a Professional appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
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Author: DLM Editor
My experience may be exceptional, but I’ve found the several bee stings I’ve received over the years to be rather unpleasant—even after remembering my favorite things, I still felt pretty bad. So when a reader wrote to tell me about a treatment for such conditions as arthritis and multiple sclerosis (MS) that involves voluntarily stinging oneself with bees, I must admit I found the whole idea rather creepy and off-putting. Although this alternative therapy has not yet proven itself in widespread clinical trials, quite a few people swear by it, insisting that the benefits far outweigh the pain. And even some doctors are trying it with their patients. I feel obliged to insert the usual “don’t try this at home” and “your mileage may vary” disclaimers, but though the jury is officially still out, an increasing body of evidence suggests that there just may be something to this weird notion after all.
Numerous poisons can—in small enough quantities and under the right conditions—produce beneficial effects. So it’s entirely plausible that the same is true of bee venom, or at least some of its components, even though its main purpose is to protect the bees by inflicting pain. Bee venom therapy is a subset of apitherapy, the medicinal use of any substances created by honeybees—including royal jelly and honey, each of which is already known to have some health benefits. Researchers have discovered a number of interesting substances in bee venom—most prominently, melittin, a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. This gives some credence to the anecdotal reports that beekeepers who were stung repeatedly experienced a reduction in the pain and swelling of arthritis.
Perhaps the most interesting application of bee venom is in treating the symptoms of MS. Some patients have reported startling improvements in their condition, and although doctors are quick to point out that bee venom is not a cure, patients frequently exhibit increased stability and mobility, as well as reduced spasms. In addition to arthritis and MS, bee venom therapy has also been used with some reported success in treating a wide range of other conditions, including post-herpetic neuralgia, fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, tendonitis, high blood pressure, scarring, asthma, post-operative pain, and even hearing loss.
But let’s be clear about this: bee venom therapy, as usually practiced, hurts. The standard procedure is to remove a live bee from its hive (or a bottle) with a pair of tweezers, hold it next to the skin, wait for it to sting, and repeat. (Sometimes ice or a local anesthetic is used to reduce the pain a bit.) Depending on the condition, patients may receive multiple stings at a time, several times a week, for weeks, months, or in some cases, years. The sites of the stings normally turn red, swell up, and become itchy, just as you’d expect. And although some patients find this a minor annoyance compared to the more serious symptoms that are relieved, others have to discontinue the treatment because it’s just too painful.
In order to deal with both the pain and the inconvenience of keeping and handling live bees, bee venom has also been made available in numerous other forms, such as an injectable solution, ointments, capsules, and drops. From what I’ve read, injectable bee venom approaches live stings in potency but also in pain; other forms appear to be somewhat less effective.
Despite the cottage industry that has sprung up around bee venom therapy and reports from a great many satisfied stingees, the medical establishment in the United States considers it an unproven—and possibly dangerous—practice. Most seriously, about 1% of the population has a severe allergic reaction to bee stings that can, in extreme cases, result in death. When bee stings are administered by lay practitioners, the danger is increased, and yet relatively few doctors are willing to perform the procedure.
A few small studies have been undertaken to determine the safety and effectiveness of bee sting therapy for specific conditions. But one of the problems in performing a proper, rigorous, double-blind study is that a placebo must be used in a control group, and it’s difficult to find an inert substance that causes the same pain and skin reaction as bee venom. Still, some of the test results are encouraging, and everyone’s hope is that the particular substance or substances in bee venom that produce the desirable effects can eventually be isolated and administered without serious pain. In the meantime, people with treatable conditions but a low tolerance for stings must ask themselves: “To bee, or not to bee?”
Note: This is an updated version of an article that originally appeared on Interesting Thing of the Day on May 23, 2005.
Image credit: Maciej A. Czyzewski [GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons
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Author: Joe Kissell
Louis Braille was born on this day in 1809, and thanks to the system of raised dots he invented, blind and vision-impaired people can read everything from elevator buttons to textbooks. I’ve watched people reading Braille, and frankly I find it astonishing that anyone can decode those tiny bumps, especially at high speed. At one time, Braille required the use of paper and either a stylus or a mechanical embossing device; now, electromechanical Braille displays are also available, making Braille output feasible for computers and other electronic devices. Unfortunately, in many contexts, Braille is an afterthought at best, and many types of text that could be rendered in this way are not, reducing its accessibility. Today, in remembering Louis Braille, we also call attention to the need for a more widespread adoption of his technique.
Image credit: Ralph Aichinger [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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Author: Joe Kissell
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Author: Penniless Parenting
No one likes to take sick days, but during the winter and holiday season they almost seem inevitable—especially for our little ones. During this time of year, schedules seem to get busier and the germs seem to
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Author: Penniless Parenting
As of today, single parents who have had a child born through surrogacy are able to apply for a parental order in the UK, as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (Remedial) Order 2018 comes into force. This means that they will be able to be recognised as their child’s legal parent and will extinguish any rights and responsibilities their surrogate had.
This is fantastic news, both for those single parents who decided to go through surrogacy before the law change with the knowledge that they would remain in limbo in terms of their parental status until/if the law ever changed, but also for those single parents who haven’t yet been able to find a surrogate due to the legal difficulties and uncertainty, to whom the door will now be open.
For those single parents who already have a child born through surrogacy, it is important to know that there is now a six-month period in which they can apply for a parental order. This will only remain open until early July 2019, and while it may be possible to apply following this, the application will likely be more complex, and so I would encourage all those who have had a child through surrogacy in the past, whether in the UK or overseas to act now.
We are looking forward to supporting many single parents who have either already had a child through surrogacy or those who are currently planning their surrogacy journey.
If you have any questions at all, or would like to get started, please do get in touch with me at Bethan.cleal@stowefamilylaw.co.uk or on 01962 850408.
The post Single parents now able to apply for a parental order in the UK appeared first on Stowe Family Law.
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Author: Bethan Cleal
