Linking internally (SEO – Search Engine Optimization) shows to help Google crawlers find site content, index, and categorically understand all website content within the same domain.
This was something that I found interesting and is SEO 101, but in Google Search Console when you inspect specific url’s, it shows a section called “referring page.” This is where you can use the tactic of internal linking (best to use a page that is already indexed within your own domain). This is not a fix all. There is a good chance that if the Google crawler does determine a referring page, it may not have the credibility and authority to push your unindexed pages into the indexed stage. This is what I have discovered as the Google lottery or gamble. Some tactics work some of the days, most tactics work none of the days.
This all started when I opened the new box of dryer sheets. It had a little cardboard placard on the top instructing on how many sheets needs per laundry load size. Excuse me, what? I have never used more than one on any size load of laundry. I immediately thought this was some sort of ploy to ensure people use more sheets more frequently so the company can sell more.
Then today, I was adding a load of towels into the dryer and thought I should look it up on how many sheets to use with a large load of towels. Come to find out the actual answer is zero. Apparently, dryer sheets are not magic, like I had assumed previously. The sheets themselves have fragrance and a thin coating of wax. When the wax heats up as the dryer runs, it carries the fragrance and “softening” wax from the sheet and binds to your clothing or other articles you are drying. This makes the laundry smell fresh, and “feel” soft, as well as reduce static cling. Things covered in wax won’t conduct electricity, at least, that is the assumed science behind it.
Maybe this is supposed to be common knowledge, and as a fan of science (thanks Bill Nye!), I feel like I should have realized this at a much younger age. After today I have come to the realization that adding a wax-like substance to your towels makes them less absorbent. Well, duh? Right? This had me chasing down the rabbit hole, and apparently, you can make balls of aluminum foil and add this into your dryer while drying towels. It is claimed, this will help reduce static electricity and will not add wax to your towels reducing absorbency. Make sure the foil balls are smooth so they won’t snag on your towels!
I have not tried this, and I am scared to. I keep having flashes of igniting my house from the foil and combusting with my gas dryer. Maybe I watched too many Final Destination movies. If you have tried this, or you do this, please let me know if it works, is it safe, and what is your common practice when it comes to towel laundry? We have used the wool balls in the past with success, but once we moved we lost the balls in the dryer we got rid of when we got our new set. Yes, I forgot they were in there, and poof, they were gone.
Fair warning, the trailer is “Red Band,” meaning the trailer itself is rated R.
I know, yet again, I am late to the party as this film was released LAST YEAR. But, better late than never, and with a blog titled “Nobody New” it makes sense to cover something with “Nobody” in the title. Plus this might help me with better Google rankings as I am getting smashed in search results because of this movie.
This is simply a teaser, I fully intend to watch the movie and give a full review. But I wanted everyone to see the trailer before my review comes out.
I found this blogger through the WordPress reader. They have a keen take on things they find around and about. They also offer additional exposure to bloggers and other creatives looking to get their messages out to a broader audience. They have been gracious enough to offer little ole Nobody New in their postings! This is a post specifically thanking them and their efforts in everything they do as well as offering a spot for us to reside!
Based on what I have seen, these studies could have been updated within the past few years. Primarily the interesting fact that drew me to this is most of our household dust is comprised of these shed dead skin cells. Even further interesting is that the America Chemical Society concluded that a skin oil called “squalene,” naturally helps reduce indoor ozone levels up to 15 percent.
“More than half of the ozone removal measured in a simulated aircraft cabin was found to be a consequence of ozone reacting with exposed, skin, hair, and clothing of passengers.”
Dust bunnies Mostly comprised of dead skin cells
Going back to the initial number of 200 million lost skin cells, on average, a human can shed up to five thousand million (5 billion) skin cells in a 24-hour period. For visual reference – 5,000,000,000.
There are statistics that have been floating around suggesting dust bunnies are made up of around 80% dead skin cells. Newer studies suggest that number is actually much higher based on how much we shed.
And if it means that these dead skin cells contain squalene, can it also be concluded it is best to leave the dust bunnies to assist in your homes ozone? Probably the lazy science approach to encourage not cleaning is supposed to make you healthier. This is completely and categorically incorrect. Please don’t take this sarcasm as truth. Please clean your house. Just know, even after you dust and vacuum, you’ve already shed 200-400 million more skin cells. Depending on how long you clean, and how many humans are in your house. I need to stop writing. I’m starting to gross myself out.
If you have no clue what Flarf is, don’t worry. You aren’t alone. Explanation can be found here. It’s been about a decade since I Flarfed, so we will see how this goes. Enjoy the linguistic corrosion!
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In order to harvest fresh pods
sustainable resources and a provider of plastic waste
Blood and Bacon
Mad cow disease strikes again
Locally owned and dominated
Fresh color with some special details design makes your sexy
her children grew to accept her as a part of the family
with everyday essentials
we marvel at the future
In fact, if we listen to the chemical industry
get seeds and fertilizer
Semi-cultivated insects, and gourmet food
can be used for all purposes
kept from starving in the winter
when they are least effected
The Cow’s rustic ambience
My knife is a utility knife first
Well, this is bananas
A fresh examination of meteorites, craft cocktails, a Japanese team of archaeologists, this Idaho company, there was a war
A little yellow pizza with a slice missing was born May 22, 1980. Pac-Man, hungry for “Pac Dots” or “dots” he aims to navigate the entire map eating them all before being eaten by the four colorful ghosts. Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde. Colored Red, Pink, Cyan, and Orange respectively.
I originally wanted to title this, “10 reasons Pac-Man is the best, and another 10 reasons why you’re wrong.” Based on that knowledge you can assume I am a huge fan. Not to the level of hording old school lunch boxes, but I do have a tattoo of Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man representative of my wife and I. I’m also wearing my Pac-Man pajama pants as I am writing this for inspiration, so there’s that as well.
I won’t go into the extensive history of Pac-Man and it’s lore. That can easily be turned into a novel, and I’ll make it easy for you to find all the information of our subject here. However, we will dive into some of the more fascinating facts that you may or may not know about this famous yellow dot. Most of which you can google around and find yourself, but this is a quick and easy top ten for you.
After (coming up on) 42 years of limelight exposure, Pac-Man has had numerous iterations and spotlights. Every year around his birthday he gets lift in the mainstream, and it’s always refreshing to see the younger generations learn about him and his history.
For Pac-Man’s 30th birthday Google provided the world with a playable game. It is reported the Google Doodle lost millions of dollars of labor hours from people playing at work. Play here!
Blinky, Clyde, Inky, and Pinky
Without too much blabbering, let’s get to the facts!
Pac-Man’s original title was Puck Man. But for international distribution, it was changed to avoid defacement (changing the P to an F). If you saw the movie “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” You may have already known this.
Why Puck-Man? In Japanese, “puck puck” is similar to the Japanese onomatopoeic word “paku paku” or “to gobble something up” as a slight English variation.
This fun fact comes from Found Item Clothing. “The highest possible score in the original arcade Pac-Man version can be achieved by playing the so-called perfect game. To reach the perfect game, the player needs to bag the maximum score on the first 255 levels by eating every possible dot, fruit, power pellet and enemy ghost, and then get the maximum score once again at the final level, the so-called split screen level at which the game crashes. The maximum number of points sums up to a total of 3,333,360.”
If you thought the game may be rigged, well it isn’t necessarily in the players favor. As you progress through the game, the ghosts get faster, while Pac-Man slows down.
In 2009, The Guinness Book of World Records named Pac-Man the most recognizable video game character of all time (94% of Americans polled recognized him).
The ghosts are programmed with predetermined paths. They can be learned and it is possible to play the entire game avoiding them altogether.
Pac-Man was the first game to ever include cut-scenes. This helps drive the narrative as well as give the player a small break between levels.
The focus of the the original game was to influence more females to gaming. The creator, Toru Iwatani wanted gaming to appeal to women and families. “Back then, there were no home games. People had to go to the arcade center to play games. That was a playground for boys. It was dirty and smelly. So we wanted to include female players, so it would become cleaner and brighter.”
“Weird Al” Yankovic proposed a parody to The Beatles “Taxman” titled, “Pac-Man” which was denied by George Harrison until 2017 and can be found on his compilation album.
If you put your finger in your ear and wiggle it around it sounds like Pac-Man.
To this day, I still find Pac-Man (or Ms. Pac-Man) an extremely fun game to play. Most likely conditioned that when I see something related, I have to stop and check it out. I hope this fascination carries on and younger generations know that the start of video games, the grandfathers of modern gaming came from a yellow pizza. Yes, even before that plumber guy and his brother.
I’m no spring chicken, but I have learned a few things about the human body since becoming more invested in my overall health.
Everything you are about to read is based on my experience and things I have learned in my health journey. I am not a doctor, licensed dietician, or work in the medical field. This post should not be referenced as a recipe for anyone else’s success, nor should it be used to diagnose, treat, or assist in anyway for anyone’s medical conditions or physical health. I think this is what I need to say so I don’t get sued. Just to make this clear, my opinions or experiences outlined therein this post are in no way to guarantee similar results or help medical ailments.
When I was in college I was doing good. I probably didn’t have the best diet, but I was riding my bike, a lot. In my college town you really didn’t need a car to get around because everything you needed was pretty close together. Also riding a bike around town was a great way to get exercise in. Some days I was riding anywhere from twenty to forty miles. Not all of it was necessity, I really enjoyed riding my bike.
Then graduating and moving states, I got rid of everything I owned (begrudgingly my bike included), attempting to maintain biking on a loaner from a friend, it really wore me down. Not so much the biking, but in the 100+ degree heat of Las Vegas. Buying a car started the downward spiral of laziness and allowing my bike to gather dust. Eventually selling my new bike after a year of use.
Be the change!
Marriage and fatherhood also came later with additional elements of back burner-ing my physical health and diet. To be honest none of this is to make excuses, but showing how easy it is to forget or put your health aside. I knew I need to make a change, and I eventually did, and I was making great progress, until we decided to pack up the house, kids, and dog, and move across the country. Again, not making excuses.
Now that we are settled, it’s primetime to regain control of my body, and let the dad bod slip away. Think Lester Burnham in “American Beauty.” Putting Kevin Spacey’s personal life out of mind, the line “I want to look good naked,” is my inspiration and really hits home when I think about my fitness goals. Not that anyone else is going to see me naked except my wife and me; physical fitness and having good self confidence comes with mental health and feeling good in my own skin. So yes, looking good naked is a plus.
Thinking about what I had thought in the past of what good physical fitness looked like, I think about my old roommate in college. He was going to the gym five days a week, counting calories, making sure all meals had high protein content, limiting sugars and taking in as little carbohydrates as possible. He was “bulking” up, and had definition. But here I was eating Taco Bell four days a week, with less than 5% body fat and never hitting the gym. I was in great shape, but wasn’t doing the things I should have been doing to ensure longevity of fitness. Especially when it came to diet.
Now, being a Midwest dad, first winter survived, and packed on the winter weight. Still not counting calories, but my wife and I have made conscious choices about the foods we take in. We aren’t on a strict diet, but we are making sure we have more fresh fruits and veggies for us and for the kids. I have started with a subscription based service for other supplement needs (protein powder, pre-workout, collagen, and creatine). I have used several products in the past to support my workouts and overall health. From what I have learned most protein powders are good, if you want to add one into your regime, find one low in carbs. I’m not about to spit out any sort of data or which is better or worse only because I am still learning.
The main four things I have learned in my journey:
You don’t have to count calories to lose weight, but you do need to be in a deficit to allow your body to burn off stored calories. This doesn’t mean you need to starve yourself, but find low calorie foods that will help keep you fuller, longer. Fresh fruits and veggies are always a plus!
When working out and wanting to “burn fat” you can isolate what muscle groups you want to work out, but this doesn’t mean you are going to only burn fat/calories in that group. You can’t tell your body, burn this here. Your body first starts burning fat off of your internal organs. So when you work out for a few days and don’t see a difference, don’t get discouraged. Know that your body is working from the inside out.
Our bodies are made up of 60% water. I assume we should all know this, but one thing I learned is if your body doesn’t have enough water, your internal organs aren’t working efficiently enough to do their jobs. In turn, increased water intake will allow for your body to work more efficiently and as you workout or exert yourself physically, you will be burning calories.
You get out what you put in. Think of your body like an engine. If you put garbage in an engine do you expect it to churn gold? Unless we’re talking about Doc Emmett Brown’s DeLorean, then no. It is the same way with your body. Put in clean foods, have a physical exertion game plan in mind, churn some body gold. It is simple to put into words, but the motivation is the hard part.
Find something that is fun for you! I have added the Oculus into my workouts. There are plenty of games that help you move and have fun, but as you move (this is additional movements added to your day you hadn’t had in mind previously), you are using energy and moving, which will help to eliminate stored fats/calories.
Win the day
Humans are inherently drawn to gamification or reward-based systems. Think about “hacking” your body the same way. Find something that is fun and rewarding at the same time! Some people enjoy working out and to each their own. I can’t say I am in that classification, but I enjoy seeing the results from my workouts and feeling good about myself.
For me, having physical exertion, sweating, and feeling good about my body not only helps my own personal opinion of how I look, but encourages a strong mental health as well. As mental health has taken a significant front seat in most peoples minds, it shows having a positive self image stimulates mind and body.
If you are looking to start a regular workout, start with your diet. Great physical shape starts in the kitchen. That combined with an obtainable movement goal, and something you can keep track of, you will have a recipe for success!
Back in my day…Netflix was a DVD mail in subscription. But those days are long gone(ish), and pricing for the streaming giant has been going up consistently year after year. After this last price hike, a lot of people were reconsidering the service, our house included. With the plethora of streaming services at consumers fingertips, it begs the question what more does Netflix have to offer that others don’t?
Netflix has been progressing in the original content arena, looking to demonstrate value over quantity, but it doesn’t seem like it is enough to persuade people to stay. The linked article from Michele Malais with USA Today reports, “Netflix suffered the first loss in worldwide subscribers in a decade, deepening troubles that have been mounting since a surge from a locked-down audience during the pandemic’s early stages began to fade.”
This is to suggest the pandemic had a silver lining for the streaming goliath, but as restrictions begin to lift so does Netflix’s grip on attention spans. More people are no longer locked down, and cradled by the boob tube. Malais goes on to report shares of Netflix dropped 36% Wednesday morning. IGN reporting a loss of $54.3 Billion overnight. Quarterly reporting from Netflix shows subscriber count was projected to have a conservative gain of 2.5 million subscribers, but in fact they lost 200,000 subscribers during January – March.
Netflix Stock
What does this mean? Well, I can imagine the executives at Netflix are scrambling for answers. It also seems the masses have spoken with loud outcry about the price increases for the streaming service. If they would have only polled Twitter, they could have avoided all of this, in my humble, sarcastic, opinion. The answer? A lower price point plan with ads. They have to make up for the lost revenue somehow!
When people have a problem with pricing, showing them ads has become the status quo. It’s like the golden era of television coming back into style. Where ads have always been part of the entertainment experience.
The other contrast Netflix will be employing will be watchdog tactics to battle login sharing. This has been running rampant since Netflix first hit the innerwebs. Now that Netflix is all-of-a-sudden aware of their client base, their solution is to reduce cost, add advertising in programs, and restrict and/or penalize people sharing logins. Netflix was never this control hungry before, but with a broadened scope and the streaming battlefield getting increasingly competitive, this is Netflix’s solution.
Netflix on fire
I had always said before Sling’s Orange/Blue offerings, when cable television was still in commanding control there needs to be an ala carte programming package. Not everyone wants Telemundo. If I had the knowledge and capability, that would have been my million (billion?) dollar idea. I am starting to think that may be a viable solution for streaming services. In today’s market there are some “bundling” available, but not the true form of pick and choose. To have something like that, all the partners involved would have to agree on pricing, who gets what percentage, and prominent placement if each studio was bundled into one application. They have to make sure they have the viewership to make stakeholders happy.
With Netflix dropping the subscriber growth ball four of the last five quarters, investors are getting increasingly nervous. At this rate, Netflix stock could become the next GME meme stock. That may be a far fetched idea, but no one thought that would have happened to Gamestop.
The new lower cost tier should be significantly reduced in price to entice the login “borrowers” to setup their own accounts. Not to mention, what is the penalty for login sharing? Is it a three-strikes, you’re out scenario? This next quarter won’t break Netflix if they have another poor earnings call, but it will be interesting to see if these new changes will be accepted and/or appreciated.
In the beginning, Facebook started as a place to share ideas, connect with friends and family, and become the global hivemind, has now decayed into a cesspool of vitriol, hate, and unfettered biased judgement.
I’d like to assume we have all been there, “I don’t use it as much anymore. It’s just filled with people bashing on each other. I only keep it so I can stay connected with my family. How else is the family going to see pictures of the kids?” Among these examples, I’m sure there are a million others. It’s like the Dane Cook joke (probably stolen), where the female stays in her relationship with her beau because her cd’s are in his truck. Same principal for Facebook.
We all make excuses on why to keep things and you would think after the documentary “The Social Dilemma,” it would have convinced many more to unplug from “The Matrix.” All human minds and attention spans being harvested to appease stakeholders. Most of the evidence compelling people to abandon their digital lives were literally spelled out, spoon fed, in an easily digestible format. But like the drug-addicted mind, the masses kept going back for more, looking for the next dopamine hit.
There are movements in the name of unplugging. Countless bloggers, vloggers, streamers, and influencers whom are attempting to persuade people to leave the platforms and log out for good. I know not everyone fits in the criteria of jumping ship as they need their logins for work. Social Media managers, directors, and content developers/curators do have important roles to fill. Albeit contributing to the mass addiction. This post is definitively aimed at Facebook, but it can be said for any social platform.
Conversely, I do have hope that I hold onto, white-knuckled at that, in the good of social media. The benefits of positive social media by cutting through the white noise of the negative. There have been strides made to encourage and maintain a safe-space for Facebook users, but is commonly met with even more backlash and negativity. I would like to think Facebook does have the global mind in its best interests, but I have yet to see the paradigm shift.
Nope, don’t like that.
Technology has advanced so fast, it literally has given older generations whiplash. Look to when any technology group or platform is required to go to congress. Most of the people in government lack the common knowledge to use their own “smart” devices, let alone, they probably still own a VCR. Similar to the medical field, technology has advanced so quickly, the majority of the world is running to catch up.
Maybe Facebook was put into the mainstream too fast, too soon. Maybe it should have remained on college campuses for a few more years to be perfected before handed to the likes of the world. I am curious if all this negativity was always in the world and platforms like Facebook provided these people and ideas with a digital soapbox. Or having this ability is what unleashed the keyboard cannon fodder.
The baseline to be questioned, what would your life be like without Facebook? Provided you don’t need it for work. When you open your phone, is the first application you go to a social platform, is it Facebook? Have we as a society been conditioned like Pavlov’s Dog to immediately be drawn to Facebook? Do we bite the hand that feeds? What would you consider the food Facebook provides you? Is it good for you? These are all critical questions we should be asking ourselves, instead of consistently increasing the MAU / DAU (monthly/daily active users) of Facebook to help line the pockets of shareholders.
In recent(ish) news Facebook was placed under scrutiny with earnings calls, essentially damaging the value of the stock ultimately losing Meta $230 Billion in a single day. This kind of loss is alarming, but at the end of the day, do you really think Mark Zuckerberg is concerned? Given his total value/worth, he can easily live the rest of his days without working another day.
Thinking back to the movie, “The Social Network,” if Mark Zuckerberg is anything like Jesse Eisenberg‘s portrayal of him and the conversations used in the movie are valid, Zuckerberg never wanted to create an advertising behemoth. Even further if this speculation is true, while the lavish luxuries are nice, there is a good chance Zuckerberg is looking for a way out. All contingent on if art imitates life.
Facebook has the foundation for good intentions, but leave it to humans to destroy something inherently beautiful. Humans have always been destructive, but now it seems even more so now that it is no longer physical. Destroying something digital needs to be that much more grand to satiate the thirst for demolition, at least in my assessment.
Ultimately, no one truly NEEDS Facebook, but after so many years using the platform it can be that much more scary to unplug. I have had the thoughts of unplugging and deleting my profile, but here we are, and it still lingers in my app drawer. I would like to think there are more positive social media advocates out there, but the battle is an uphill one and it seems not everyone is geared for the task. Until then, I’ll keep holding my breath until we have a perfect world and social media is used for its intended purity purpose and not just to tear everything down that doesn’t fit the deformed new status quo.
– Omnium Rerum Principia Parva Sunt – “The beginnings of all things are small”