Early guns exist like muskets and revolvers, but it is believed true power comes from pride and guns grant no pride in combat and ambition (unless used by a person with it as their weapon), people rather use swords as they are a symbol and believed giver of pride ambition, and those who use guns are shamed. Guns are often expensive as well as there are not many gunsmiths.) (me making up bs reasons on why I want to use only swords in this world) This is a modern fantasy world inhabited by humans around the 2020s but much less populated.
Backstory:
5000 year ago, the God’s were all powerful, except Roesa the Goddess of love and the granter of peace who was weak due to her ability to only love. Each God looked after a specific part of the Earth, making the Earth different physically and culturally. These God's lived in the atmosphere of Earth, hovering over their selected regions. The effects of this can sort of still be seen today. They were good God's, kind, just and helpful, often shrinking down to the Earth to party with the Humans. They brought balance. The God's brought balance by the Doxology, a list of 5 laws of the universe which they put in place. Those being: • God's are supreme and above anything. • A lie of the truth given is an evil assault on the God’s holy name. • If needed, blood shall be shed by the God's commands. • Mortals shall not murder unless given divine authority. • Your ambition is to serve the God ruling over the region you were born in. Any breaking of this rule would increase your Misó on your krísi meter, which is a sort of sin meter. People with negative Misó would be executed in grand displays in large towns. While helping society and following these laws would decrease your Misó and those with very low negative Misó would be rewarded with tools or land. However their downfall was destructive, it is believed it started when a parasite snuck into the king of the Glod's, Zlamen, brain via his ear during a party. This parasite travelled via communication, as Zlamen spoke to his fellow God's they all began to feel its symptoms. These symptoms were similar to rabies but slow and brought painful stings to the brain which was actually their brain slowly being eaten, the God's slowly became paranoid. And so, they began to theorise. They began to believe if they consumed the Goddess of love, Roesa, they would regain their sanity, and so they forged a plan to lure Roesa to do just that. The plan worked and they lured Roesa into a secluded temple, the temple that housed the tree of love. They partied with Roesa, giving her poisonous drink which eventually caused her to sleep. After this, they consumed her, ripping and tearing every limb while the now poisoned blood dripped down the temple onto the Earth below, landing on the Earth but partically landing on the Balkan nations, forever making it a place where love cannot exist, also creating sort of blood mountains, which surround the Balkans. Unconditional benevolent love on Earth was destroyed and the tree of love shrivelled, the God’s plunged further into madness, now in grief of their actions. The God’s, so demented with grief, used their power to attack each other, believing they were next to die, starting “θάνατος συντριβή” (Death Shattering) which caused each region of the world to go to war with each other in a massive free for all. As the war went on, an unknown stronger being came to remove the God’s power. Each God was imprisoned and locked into chambers in different universes one by one. However, the now poisoned blood of Roesa made an unremoveable stain, creating πρόλογος events which made sure anybody who was becoming perfect would attract negative events and also go mad with newfound power. The unknown stronger being replanted the tree of love which stopped the world from collapsing and allowed good deeds to be done again, but he couldn't remove the stain of Roesa from the Earth. This unknown stronger being, lets call him Rob, is a mysterious figure, nobody knows if he even exists, this is just one of the many theories of the God's disappearances. Right now, it is believed to be in slumber. Some suggest it may awake, but nothing has happened yet. Even though Death Shattering was a while ago, Human’s still use this as arguments for war. Some also still pray to these God’s and beg for their return as they feel it gave them a purpose. Some people even started a religion to try to contact the God’s called “οι θεοί επαφές” (The God Contacters), which house Vigils, the last remaining thing that the God’s left. Society has rebuilt, yet there are constant wars everywhere as the fight for power the God's once had continues. Governments are destroyed as fast as they are made. Because of this, many people resort to local gangs to protect their small rural villages from invaders, often being led by a person with a Reccundi.
Many different religions have formed around this central idea of ‘What happened to these God’s?’. These religions are called a “Thesis”. They are incredibly hostile to one another, their main point being ‘A lie of the truth given is an evil assault on the God’s holy name!’ There are many, many interpretations, but here are the most important/main ones:
• οι θεοί επαφές (The God Contactor's), prevalent in the south Balkans and its most powerful Thesis, there are not many, but most have a stronger Reccundi so they are generally left alone. Their theory is the theory I explained above, that the God’s were trapped by a stronger being and are caged somewhere. They believe they are still alive and can be contacted via a large amount of prayer as it is stated in the ‘αλήθεια δεν έχει ειπωθεί ακόμα’ (truth yet to be spoke) written by Zlamen that if the God’s disappear, they can be contacted via this method. However, it is said this wasn’t actually written by Zlamen and was instead written by a bookshop owner wanting to get a quick buck. People say this as the language used in the book is described as more ‘modern’ then the known books written with proof by Zlamen. Both can’t be proved, but there are hardly any other hopes of contacting them. Their founder, so called ‘Paulan’, may be real, maybe not. It is written in a book called ‘Μέρες ως ο μελλοντικός σωτήρας’ (Days as the future saviour) about his early developing of the church and what happened to the God's, but it was not written via ink, it was written via precise engravings of small yellow scratches on very, very thin paper that have been said to be glowing, this material has still has not been identified to this day. This as well as him proclaiming early that he is a ‘Saviour’ has created a divide within The God Contactor's, between those who think Paulan was a Messiah of sorts and exist make to this Thesis so Humans could contact God’s, and those who think Paulan is a ‘Forgotten’ God who created this Thesis to help humans contact them, ‘Forgotten’ as his name isn’t written in any past books. Conflicts has started over this, resulting in destruction of temples and one of the bloodiest conflicts in European history, the ‘άρση της άγνοιας’ (Removal of ignorance). 76 million deaths, started in the Bulgarian region for your reference, made the religion nearly extinct as strong Reccundi’s destroyed the innocent and themselves to remove those who went against their beliefs, causing other countries to go to war with these Reccundi. But, because most of these countries hate each other, it would only take one misfire from one side to start a full free for all. 200 years later, and the shadows still haunt the Thesis to this day. The God Contactor’s have been more bloody in their past have been very bloody, crusading throughout southern Europe and North Africa to try to find Vigil bushes and young Ineffable Reccundi’s, so they can take them to their temples to ‘protect them’. This led many people to dislike them, but they cannot do much as most God Contactor’s are original Reccundi users who have stronger Reccundi then usual. Due to most of them having the original Reccundi given by the God’s. • MORE COMING SOON
Countries:

Countries are built up of small towns that all follow the same religion, if you do not have a religion in this world you are seem as evil and will be attacked.

Magic system: In this world there is a sin meter called krísi. As you commit more good deeds, you attract people who want to kill you but you also attract people who want to love you, but if you commit bad deeds, people become intimidated by your Misó, which leads to less people wanting to kill you and less people wanting to love you, but attracts stronger people who want to kill you. This was created by Zlamen, krísi and Misó existed as a concept before the Death Shattering but Zlamen edited it as a last-ditch effort with the last of his power so people would fight.
When you commit more bad deeds it creates energy in your soul called “Misó”, this energy fuels your Malice and as the energy increases so does its power and capacity. It also fuels your ambition further, making you want to follow your deepest desires more. Having negative Misó makes it so you can take Misó from enemy attacks better due to lack of Misó clashing, basically making your health higher. Misó switches its location between your weapon when it is unsheathed and your body when it is sheathed and can be concentrated into a specific spot onto a weapon to deal more damage. Your soul slowly dies as your Misó increase, making you slowly unable to stop your ambition. It is very hard to use this energy in attacks as if two blades with high Misó, or two people with high Misó, clash it creates a small powerful shockwave. This makes it so every attack must be precise as it still deals a ton of damage. But as you clash more, you get used to this small shockwave and begin to tank it. Bad deeds increase Misó, good deeds decrease Misó. Anything below half Misó on your krísi meter is considered negative Misó.
Ambition:
Without the God's power being over people anymore, people developed ambition. Every person has a deep-down ambition. Their Reccundi and its abilities are specifically made to try to complete this ambition. A persons ‘main goal’ in life, is to complete this deep-down ambition. People with opposite ambitions are ‘pulled’ to each other, like magnets. They must cross paths in their life to battle, as person with opposite ambitions is actively stopping your ambitions, removing them will allow you to complete your ambition.
How to get a magical ability?:
To get a magical ability, you must have to have had committed at least 95% of good deeds in your life. If you are like this and are about to die, a golden sweat drop will drip from your forehead, being granted from the blood of Roesa. This is called a πρόλογος event (Prologue event). The attacker will then be frozen in a state of paralysis and the user will gain the attackers weapon for life. The weapon will not leave the user and becomes encased within the user's spine. It can be accessed by doing an unsheathing motion at the top of the user's spine. If you are shot by a bullet, you will retrain the gun as your weapon and instead of being encased within your spine, it is encased within the right side of your pelvis. This may seem like a blessing at first, but this means the Earth will never be peaceful and will always be in conflict no matter what due to humanities natural ambition when given power. This is a newer version of obtaining a Reccundi, the old method was a special fruit the God's would feed people that granted much stronger Malice's and agápi, but those fruits are now exinct as they were required a very specific creation process. Some of these users are still alive and fight over their regions as it also granted them a longer lifespan.
Rules:
• The weapon will be moulded to relate to the user's personality. E.g a dagger will turn into a dagger with 3 blades for a person with deep down violentness. (Very cool) • The destruction of these blades will kill the user. • The weapon evolves as the user changes. If the user becomes more sinful then the weapon will become longer but if the person becomes more justful then the weapon will become a part of them, leading to their agápi form. A person, however, can get a short version of their agápi form by stabbing their left eye. • The weapon also changes to which would most fit their deep down personality and attacks, e.g you may start with a dagger, but it will slowly turn into a scythe. • The user’s left eye will get a specific pattern. • Veins are inside of your weapon; these veins contain the Misó to unleash magic and refill when sheathed • As Misó increases, your weapon will start to glow an aura the same colour as your eye. • Once you complete your deep-down ambition you are given a new one.
If you have an ability, you are labelled as a “Reccundi”: There are 3 types of Reccundi: • ενικός (Singular Reccundi) - Has normal abilities relating to the user’s deep down sinful desires. E.g if a person deep down wants to control a country into believing they are their God they are given a small piece of new knowledge of the universe on how to obtain that goal, for example a person who wants to take over a country will be given knowledge on how to create fire using their Misó to cause destruction. However if your deep down desire is Good, you will be given knowledge that you can use to prevent harm still achieve your goals. This unique form of your Reccundi's powers is called your "Malice". It will start out weak, however as a person delves into these desires, the malice becomes more powerful. Doing the opposite of these desires can flip your Malice’s ability. • άφατος (Ineffable Reccundi) - A person who has the blood of a God inside them (a God has to be in your past family tree) will gain a small fraction of the God’s malice (their affilated power), they're a result of the "partying" the God's did. The person will also be guided in dreams by the God into question into doing their bidding which is usually to kill other άφατος as the God’s still hate each other. These people do not need a πρόλογος event, but rather are born with these powers instead. These people also do not have a weapon, but rather their power is unleashed via selected sounds from their mouth, like a whistle. They are also born with a false Agápi, but instead of becoming one with their Agápi, they summon it instead to fight for them, still controlling it. Ineffable Reccundi are also aided through visions which only they can see, these visions are the God’s guiding the Ineffable Reccundi on where to go to complete their ambition. If you go against these visions, they may begin to haunt you with scary imagery of your worst fears. • αίμα (Blood Reccundi) - When a person in your bloodline has died beforehand with a εξουσία, you will recieve their weapon and malice as well as their skills learnt. These people do not have access to an Agápi, and so do not have a special eye pattern, but rather they have 3 eyes; one normal right one, one special left one they have and a 3rd one on their forehead which their past family member once had. This 3rd eye goes right into their brain, allowing the past family member to speak to the Blood Reccundi. but have a much stronger forge in which the past person in your bloodline takes over your body and mind.
How to use this magic?: To use your weapons magic, you must train it to unleash magic when you do a specific motion with it. You first need to enchant your voice. To enchant your voice, you must have control over your weapon. To show control, all you need to do is win a fair duel against another Reccundi user. This will grant you one non-physical token which when enabled by saying the name of your weapon, enchants your voice for 60s. When your voice is enchanted, you are granted infinite knowledge, relating to your given Malice, on how you can use the Misó inside you to control your Malice. Then all you need to do is imagine it with your eyes closed the Misó coming out of your weapon, in a form relating to your Malice, when you do a specific motion and say a certain phrase, and boom. When you do that motion again while saying that phrase the Misó will come out the same way. You can learn one move per enchanted voice.

Ineffable Reccundi learn the same way but instead of doing a motion, they do a sound.

DIFFERENT WAYS OF USING THIS MAGIC:
Agápi, false and true:
The user's Malice will be shown slightly through their weapon, but the real power resides when they stab their left eye with said weapon, they will go into a short, false version of their agápi form which unlocks the user's imagination and gives the maximum Misó, also transforming them into a figure in which they are completely a being of their ambition. The surroundings are also affected by your ambition and act subconsciously to aid in your ambition to defeat your foe. The God's created this so Human's would be more powerful on the battlefield. However, a side effect of this is that you cannot leave the enemy's vision. After this short version is finished, the user will stumble for a minute then fall into a deep coma and will only awake after consuming the olive of a Greek olive tree, which were planted by the God's to aid in this. After consuming the olive, the user’s left eye will be repaired, and they will awake with no memory of what had happened. Doing this too many times may lead to blindless or dulling of powers. People think this is the true version of agápi, but it isn’t. It is a lie that most cannot truly comprehend over. Your true version of your agápi is when you dismiss your deepest desires, overcome your ambition and become one with the blood of love, while also losing your weapon. This version of agápi unlocks your heart and mind, the user becomes invulnerable to harm and unable to give harm which also means they cannot speak as words can be interpellated differently. Because of this, most true agapi users are seen as strange people who lack the basic skills to communicate and due to krisi, it makes most people hate them. This means they are not common in society due to most of them leaving for greater peace. These people usually live humble lives by themselves.
False Agápi rites: When you gain an Agápi, you gain a unique ‘Rite’, This grants the user unique knowledge on how to use that imagination to their advantage. A person can only have one Rite, but you can learn how to utilize it better via consuming Vigils.
Forges:
As your Misó increases, your soul slowly dies. At this point you have fuelled your Misó so much your soul is crying for help. A forge is a tattoo that is slowly engraved onto your forearm as your Misó increases, it is the words of your soul begging for you to stop. When these words are spoken, it releases the Misó inside a person, a person can concentrate the energy into a large area or into a very small area and into any form or shape. The concentration is controlled via how fast the forge is spoken, the faster the larger the area and the slower the smaller the area. When the area is smaller, the damage is higher due to higher concentration and vice versa. Having Negative Misó can make the area bring in people instead of launching people away. It can do extra damage due to the clashing of Misó’s. If the concentration is low enough, it can even force an enemy out of their Agápi. Unlike apápi, you will not fall down after it is finished but you will not be able to use your weapon for a while, shorter for more sinful people, longer for less sinful people. For Blood Reccundi, their forge is stronger as the sins of their past family member takes them as their host.
Forge Wrapping:
Blood Reccundi’s can channel their Miso onto their blades, creating a thin layer around the blade in which Miso cannot escape. By doing this, the Miso begins constantly bouncing between the weapon and the Wrap. This turns the weapon into a sort of saw which can rip through tough things.
False Agápi and Forge mixing: Mixing your Agápi and your forge will allow the user to control the area the forge is covering using their imagination. You do this by stabbing your eye as you are reading your Forge.
Ineffable Reccundi Temple Technique:
Ineffable Reccundi, through extreme, painful concentration, can exchange their Miso for Divine blood to be bestowed upon them. This divine blood trickles down from space and rains down upon them and is absorbed through the skin. If a normal human/Reccundi drinks this blood, they will die. When they have Divine blood in them, they gain a short burst of immortality for a singular minute and have heightened strength and senses, being able to track even the smallest of movements to hit very precise. When all Miso has been exchanged into Divine blood, they can use a special incantation. By covering their left eye with a unique hand gesture while this is active, the ineffable Reccundi uses all their divine blood into one move. Forgotten temple: (The God’s name). By doing this, the Ineffable Reccundi shatters the reality around them and transports those in their small radius to the temple in which their God used to reside. This temple does not abide by any natural rules, it is simply a space in the universe in which existence has manipulated to create this temple. In this temple the Ineffable Reccundi gains 1% of the God’s power (a lot), rage and control over the temple and the God’s element. The God voices that were talking to them in their dream also become real, they help the Ineffable Reccundi to decide how to destroy their opponent. But Forgotten Temples main thing is the editing of the Doxology. The ineffable Reccundi can ‘edit’ a rule out and create their own law that must be followed in this dominion.
Τέλος (End Form):
The Τέλος, also known as the end form, is the mixing of a false Agápi, forge and an Ultimate Vigil. It traps the enemy in the users mind where user can control everything, including the enemy's imagination, Misó and knowledge. It starts at only 5 seconds, but consuming more Vigil can increase the time spent here by 5 seconds each Vigil. The get an End Form, you need to have no soul, and you must have obtained an ultimate vigil. Once you have done all this you need to stab your eye to activate your false Agápi, read the forge on your arm and stab your heart during a battle with the enemy. It will then activate, and you and the enemy will be transported into your dominion. People are unable to die in this dominion, as that would remove them from your imagination. As you deal damage and come back into the normal world, the damage stays with the person who was attacked.

If the enemy somehow activate their Τέλος during this, you both are transported back to the world facing back to back with each other.

Vigil: Vigils are integral to gaining power in this universe. They are small blue circular fruits about the size of a raspberry and are believed to be what gave the God’s their power. But as the God’s fought over Earth, they planted them so Humans could gain a small amount of power to win their battles. They used to be common, but as time went on, they became scarcer. The God Contactor's crusaded over them and housed them in temples as it was the last remaining thing the God’s left, resulting in people not liking the God Contactor’s as they pillaged to find these Vigil’s using their superior Reccundi. They increase the flow of your Misó, making your more ambitious. When swallowed, they unlock your false Agápi. Temples can be found in many places; on ground, underwater, in mountains. If there is a place that is said to get you closer to God when you pray, a Church has probably built there. There are 5 things you must do to get a Vigil: • Visit a holy temple of the old God’s, located in the Balkans. There is a Priest of the old God’s located inside. • Present him the head of a άφατος (ineffable reccundi) • Defeat the Priest (who is a strong Reccundi user) because he is angry you killed one of the God’s children. You may also have to kill other people at the service, who may be Reccundi themselves. • After he dies (he will be reborn the next century), his spirit will be forced to guide you to the Garden of blue, which is a small garden surrounded by an indestructible steel barrier, located in the back of the temple. • He will cut one off its vine and ask you who do you hate the most, he will then bless the fruit against their name, then hand it to you for you to eat. After consuming, you gain your false Agápi as well as its Rite. Consuming more will increase your chances of coming across an ineffable reccundi user, increase your ambition and increase your knowledge on how to utilize your false Agápi technique. Information is also revealed on the person who you said you hated the most about their Reccundi and Malice, consuming more reveals more information. Some temples still hold the original Vigil bushes which give you stronger, God level, powers, akin to ineffable Reccundi. These are called ‘Sacred temples’ However, these sacred temples are much more protected, some Reccundi users devoting their lives to just standing there, waiting for a person who is trying to steal one. These sacred temples are rare sightings as there is a Reccundi user whose ambition is to teleport these sacred temples around, making it so it's almost impossible to obtain an original Vigil.
Types of Vigils: Each temple has a certain type of Vigil which influences a specific part of your false Agápi. Vigil of Destruction – Increases your knowledge on how to cause more destruction. Vigil of Protection – Increases your knowledge on how to defend against destruction. Vigil of Time – Increases time in your Agápi but also increases cooldown time. Vigil of Pace – Reduces time in your Agápi but makes it so you can use your Agápi more frequently with a shorter cooldown.
Cursed Vigils:
Every Vigil has a unique amount of Misó inside of it, the higher the Misó inside a Vigil the harder it is to consume but it will give you a higher effect depending on what Vigil you consumed.
Ultimate Vigil:
An ultimate Vigil is a very hard thing to obtain, it is a red circular fruit that replaces your heart after eating via dissolving the heart and embedding itself inside your body. It was once used by the God's to kill each other in the Death Shattering. You obtain it by: • Consuming 7 Vigils, having them blessed in the God you want to fight’s name. • Kill the person who is against your ambition. • Sacrificing a limb in a circle of the blood of Roesa which triggers you to go to the God you had blessed against’d . • Defeat the God. • When the God dies it will sprout a tree, consume the singular fruit of the tree. • You have gained an Ultimate Vigil. Ultimate Vigils are used to obtain your Τέλος (End form)

1. Lack of Job Keywords: Not using job descriptions is a major reason resumes get overlooked. If employers can't find specific skills, your resume may be tossed.
   
2. Irrelevant Keywords: Keywords must reflect your experience. Robots look for keywords to assess suitability, so every point highlights relevant skills.
   
3. Poor Formatting: Avoid using Microsoft Word templates. I'd like you to please build a visually clean resume without formatting obstacles to ensure it passes through resume-scanning robots.
   
4. Charts and Graphs: Robots can't read images. Including charts and graphs can increase the chances of your resume being discarded.
   
5. Typos: Robots check for spelling and grammar mistakes. Please ensure your resume is error-free to avoid being seen as a rush job.
   
6. Lack of Quantifiable Results: Include actual results to highlight your achievements. Robots build profiles based on data and skills, so be specific
   

.7. No Impact Examples: Employers seek strong contributors. You can highlight your results, not just duties, to showcase your impact.

1. No Cover Letter: A cover letter shows you want the job and can explain any experience-job mismatch. It helps tell your story and demonstrates your interest.
   
2. Missing Training/Education: Don't leave out certifications, training, or education. They boost your chances of getting noticed.
   
3. Overlooked Projects: lacking experience, include relevant projects from school, volunteer work, or personal endeavors to demonstrate your capabilities.
   

NB/If you need your Resume/CV refined to land a job you can get in touch With us or if you need a passive income before you land your desired job you can contact us. As always, we'd like to keep it professional.

Hello,
I am f(27). My ex partner had borderline personality disorder and (only for referencing pronouns) is a trans woman (26.
Backstory: We have two kids together. I have a job and she does not/ has not the entire time. We had known each other for probably 8 years or so and have been intimate for most of it. I fell into the cycles and every time I tried to express my feelings and things I needed, it got shut down for things she needed. I was turned into basically a mom for her (which she admitted to me a few days ago as well) and she tore into my intimate needs for her own. I helped out a lot financially for her where I could and bought her a car since her parents dont let her use theirs often. I admit I was a bit toxic too, especially when we first met (I was 19/20) but I have been trying to work on myself through books and therapy and catching my behavior so that I stop doing the things I was, and I felt she did not put in that same level (for example, my commuincation wasnt good, so I started trying to express my feelings more about things, but they they got shut down and she would say things like "she wants us to have a stress free house where she feels like nothing wrong" when I tried). I was technically over the relationship/ situation about 6 years ago, but being a mom (we didn't live together, we lived with our parents until I could make enough to move out, and I take care of the kids full time), the pandemic, work and grad school and no friends, plus a pretty scary medical emergency last year made it hard to find other people/ friends and move on. I am aware I should have left and it probably built up more resentment between both of us. She broke things off about sometime in March this year and filed for child custody sometime in April.
She has recently began a new relationship in the past two weeks and is telling me about how much better they are than I was. Mainly I feel hurt because I don't have the time or ability that she does to go out and seek new friends because of the full time jobs of parenting and work, but also because the way she speaks about the new partner makes me feel that I wasn't a good partner at all sexually or romantically and that I was the only problem. I feel like I am constantly second guessing my reality about it because she told me she can't self reflect and se how she was behaving.
TLDR: I need a bit of advice on how to handle the grief of 1 healing from that relationship 2. helping my kids be protected from if she does similar things to them and 3 How to not feel so hurt about her new relationship.

Two days ago we unexpectedly had to say goodbye to the older of our two Frenchies and I have been dealing with a significant amount of grief since. I will give a "quick" backstory before I ask my question. If you are easily saddened, you can skip the story and go directly to the question at the end.
-----BACKSTORY BELOW
She had just turned 12, and while visibly looking white/grey in the face, she had always defied the number of her age, and was in seemingly perfect health (even with a recent annual vet checkup that produced no signs of worry). Great energy, eating/drinking, temperament, and physical ability. Great reflexes with throwing balls and being able to leap in the air, as well as jumping up and down on or off objects. No skin issues or joint pain, no limping or lack of vision/hearing. Her organs and vitals were all very healthy. Just a fantastic dog that seemed like she had years left in the tank.
Then in the early hours of the morning on April 21st she had a seizure. That day we took her to the vet, did bloodwork (which came back with no significant issues), and they said to monitor her for additional episodes or behavioural changes and to let them know ASAP. 10 days later she had another seizure. We took her back again and she was prescribed Phenobarbital (a sedative which reduces brain activity and can help manage seizures). She was impacted largely by this, being groggy and losing some coordination in her back legs.
My wife and I had an overseas trip quickly approaching in the middle of May that we had planned for a very long time, so we were very much hoping that the medication would work. Other than the effects on her coordination, there were no additional episodes, so it seemed like it was. We informed our dog sitter of what was happening, her required dosage, and we went on the trip. We checked in multiple times daily with the dog sitter to see how she was doing, and everything seemed to be going great. We received pictures and videos of her going on walks, laying in the sun, playing with her ball... all her favourite activities. The dog sitter even said that she had noticeably gained back her energy and even most of the missing coordination of her back legs! This really put us at ease and made us think that we had found a long term solution. We returned from our trip on May 28th and all seemed well: she was lively, spunky, and seemed to be adjusting well to the medication.
Then a few days later at 2:30 AM on June 1st, she had another seizure. We immediately called the vet when they opened in the morning and asked to get her in, which they were able to do that evening at 5:30 PM, so we stayed with her and monitored her all day. Ten hours later at 12:30 PM, another seizure. Three more between 3 and 5 PM. They were shorter and the recovery was quicker. We went to the vet to see if they could see us early. They took another blood sample and said to increase the dosage of Phenobarbital. Around 6:30 PM we went back home and gave her the increased dosage. Just after 7 PM, she had another, and this one seemed to have a bigger impact on her as well as a longer and more difficult recovery period than the others. We called the emergency vet that specializes in neurological care and told them what was going on. They said that we could come in and the current wait time was 3-4 hours, or we could wait at home and see if the increased dosage would help. We were so worried about putting her in an increased level of stress with new and unfamiliar environments filled with other animals that we chose to stay home with her toys, blankets, and familiar surroundings, hoping the increased medication would help. A couple hours went by with no episodes or negative activity and she seemed to be relaxing nicely. We all settled down in our bed in hopes of watching a TV show and being close together instead of standing around the house on pins and needles.
Shortly after we settled down, at 9:30 PM, she had one more seizure, and my wife and I decided it was time to go to the emergency vet. They triaged her immediately and got her set up in the back with IVs of electrolytes and an additional, new type of sedative (the name I unfortunately don't recall at the moment). After about an hour, we spoke to ER vet and she gave us some options of what the next day or two would look like, and said she recommended to keep her there for 24-48 hour monitoring and seizure watch with this medical intervention and see how she does. During this conversation, the vet was called out of the meeting. She returned back what seemed like 20 or 30 minutes later to inform us that our Frenchie had yet another seziure, and the ER team reacted immediately to assist. They changed her sedative IV from a single dose to a constant drip. She said that without confirming through advanced imaging scans, it was very likely that they were dealing with a brain tumor. Their plan over the next 24 hours was to slowly reduce the medication every 6 hours and see how she reacted. We agreed to have her stay there, did the paperwork, and they said they would call at 10 AM with a wellness update, and that a call at any other time would mean a noteworthy development. We went back home around 2 AM.
At 7 AM we received a call. The ER vet said that for the last couple of hours she had developed a consistent, patterned vocalization that was unable to be stopped, and that she was distinctly changing in demeanour. They recommended we come in to talk about what our options were. We arrived just after 7:30 AM and spoke with the vet, who said that it was unlikely that she would return to what we classified as "normal", there would be a significant drop in quality of life, and without substantial medication or medical intervention. She gave us time to talk about what our next steps forward are, and my wife and I agreed that we faced the unbearable reality that we only had one option left. They moved us to a private room and we got to visit with her one last time. Just after 9:30 AM on June 2nd, she passed.
-----BACKSTORY ABOVE
(I didn't mean for the backstory to be that long, but as I was typing it I realized that I haven't yet been able to share with anyone what had happened. I apologize for the length.)
The sudden loss of our Frenchie has hit me hard. Really hard. In the last 15 years I have probably cried once or twice. I have been crying for two days straight. Nothing excites me, I haven't and don't want to smile, I don't want to eat, and I look forward to nothing. I feel as though our dog had so much life left to life and that was taken from her. She had the best disposition and was always happy and up for adventure. She loved being outdoors, loved exploring, and always wanted to extend her walks. She wasn't a potato on a bed sleeping her life away, she loved being alive and making the most of the day with activities and adventure. Her character and everything from the neck down wasn't ready. It wasn't her time yet. I am so saddened and angry that she didn't get to experience all her favourite things for years more let alone one more time. It wasn't a slow deterioration where we could see the writing on the wall and prepare ourselves. It all changed so quickly, so fast. On the evening of May 31st we were playing with her ball, going on sunny walks, and enjoying the outdoors together as a family. She was gone on the morning of June 2nd.
It may be worth mentioning that our Frenchie was a joint acquisition, and was originally my wife's idea. She was brought in to create and kickstart our family while we were already together, and if anything her presence in our lives is credited to my wife, not me.
Here's my question:
My wife has dealt with this much, much better than I have, substantially so. Within a day she has returned to talking to her friends, laughing at Instagram videos, watching TV shows, and even going back to work. I asked her how she could return to normal so quickly and she said she had been preparing for this for some time, unbeknownst to me, so to her this wasn't a complete surprise. Me on the other hand, this was a complete shock and a devastating series of events. I thought we had years left together, and that even though she was on medication, she would be able to have a good quality of life and live out her days until her body started to fail. My mind is a complete black cloud with no energy or will to do... anything. I can't get the images of our Frenchie's last moments out of my head in that private room together. The final expression on her face, covering her body up and wheeling her out for the last time. Seeing her beds, toys, jackets, and food bowls at home send me into a brutal spiral of sadness.
My wife has been supportive of my demeanour, but her words aren't helping me because I feel as though they're coming from a place that I'm not at. Seeing her back to normal so quickly after such a sudden loss is off-putting, in a way. It potentially makes my sadness even deeper. Does that make sense? Is this normal? It feels as though this is all just a bad dream, and that this isn't real. I felt as though I would never be happy again, but I know that's not true. I don't see myself getting back to my regular habits any time soon. I love our other Frenchie dearly, but seeing or being with her does not help the sadness at all. It's not the same as she has a very different character, and it does not fill the gaping void left in my heart. I tried looking for pet memorial items online, and I just break down uncontrollably when I see them. I am so just so, so sad.
I have looked up and read articles and blogs on the grieving/mourning process, and I know that these things take time. The biggest obstacle for me is that I feel no support from my greatest source of support, my wife, due to her quick emotional rebound. I would appreciate any insights from those who know better or who have gone through something like this before. Apologies for the length of this post. Thank you.

Hello everyone I hope you are doing well.
This is an update to my previous post. Firstly I want to thank everyone who responded for their kind words and support. I tried to reply to everyone but missed some I'm sure.
Things have improved for me somewhat since I last posted :) I wrote a letter of "complaint" to the Practice Manager and she met with me the same day. Her assistant had issues with TN in the past and was totally in agreement with my description, she said it beat childbirth by a long way.
So my medication has been altered, I'm still on the max dose of indometacin, with 125mg of Lamotrigine (I am allowed to go up to 200mg) and 300mg pregabalin (I can increase to 600mg). I've been instructed to stay off amitriptyline unless I'm in dire need.
The biggest revelation I had was that I seem to have developed an allergy to herbal cannabis. I was a regular user for some time (smoking) and suddenly I realised that my throat was feeling tight. It then aggravated my neck and up to to my TN. That last attack was awful and I ended up in ER for a few hours. I always thought cannabis was helping but finally put 2 and 2 together and saw it was the opposite.
I've stopped smoking completely now and have been staying with family since my last post. Things are pretty stable mood-wise and I haven't had a major flare up for a week now. The Dr has written "urgent" notes to neurology, pain clinic, audiology and a couple of mental health orgs. I also got a short-term script for diazepam (valium?) which let me have several nights of real rest.
I'm not sure when I will get back to normal life and move back home but I'm slowly making progress. I drove for the first time in 2+ years, only a short trip but I had no issues and it felt amazing. I really feel like I got part of my life back :)
Hopefully things keep improving, my biggest hurdle right now is thinking of spending the first night alone at my house but....baby steps.
I hope you all manage to find some peace too, I will be sending good thoughts out for all of you. And again, thank you so much for the words and support <3

Happy to share that after 2.5 years and numerous phases of envy, my I-485 was finally approved. Sharing my rollercoaster of a timeline:

• December 2021 - I-130 filed
• December 2022 - I-485 filed
• January 2023 - Biometrics for I-485/I-765/I-131
• May 2023 - RFE for I-485 received, responded within the same month
• June 2023 - I-765 with I-131 (combo card) approved
• February 20, 2024 - I-485 denied
• February 27, 2024 - Filed I-290B Motion to Reopen
• March 29, 2024 - Motion to Reopen Approved
• April 2024 - Received interview notice for I-130 and I-485
• May 28, 2024 - Interview
• June 3, 2024 - I-485 Case Approved (I-130 approval came on June 1)

DENIAL AND MOTION TO REOPEN - The biggest hurdle aside from the waiting time was the denial in February. I stopped following up my case when I got my EAD (valid for two years) because I figured I'll wait my turn; I can already work legally, so whatever. Anyway, after 8 months, I didn't expect the denial. The reason was about my spouse's income. We immediately filed a Motion to Reopen seeing that they clearly made an error. They claimed my husband's income on his tax return was not sufficient, which it clearly was, and that we did not have a joint sponsor. We're a small household of two (for now). We contemplated doing the Motion to Reconsider versus Motion to Reopen and chose the latter. We just implied their oversight when we submitted everything again and stated "as previously submitted" in the cover letter. We were open to filing a new I-485 just in case, but we had to try the "cheaper" version of a motion first. Glad it was approved after almost five weeks.
INTERVIEW - We attended the interview for I-130 and I-485 last week. Washington Field Office. The officer was polite but strict. Kept typing and clicking a lot though instead of asking questions. We brought updated documents to prove bona fides of our relationship and photos from friends and family events that happened after the initial submissions. I scanned everything on my online account so I told him that. He said if they are scanned then he does not need to take the paper files from me. So that might be why he spent more time clicking, and typing.😊 My husband was asked about how we met, how and when we came to the decision to marry, how many times we had been together before marrying, and what else happened after the I-130 was submitted in December 2021. My husband missed a few dates and months so I tried to correct it but not so much as answering for him. People forget minute details but he was able to talk about the incidents in full so I guess that was acceptable to the officer.
I posted here before about supporting doc suggestions because we do not have joint financial documents/no comingling of finances. True enough, we were asked about it. My husband explained that it's how we prefer it (his and hers). The officer looked at me and I said the same thing. My husband still pays for everything so personally it works for me. I just did not foresee how it appears from an immigration standpoint. We did submit joint ITR, insurance documents, and 401k beneficiary designation files, so maybe they were considered sufficient. We were not approved after the interview. I was given a white paper where Under Review ticked off. I asked if there's an approximate waiting period for the decision. He, of course, did not commit, and just said, "but it definitely won't be another two years of waiting." Over the weekend the I-130 was approved and yesterday, the I-485 was approved.
CONGRESSIONAL ASSISTANCE - We live in VA so I asked both senator's and congressman's offices for assistance. Looks like cases are assigned to & handled by same team because the updates/replies come almost at the same day and with identical content. I can say congressional requests are paid attention to but not necessarily have an effect on the outcome. If it's an option to those of you who are waiting, please do it, you'll never know.
Thanks to the countless experiences and inputs shared here! I learned a lot and somehow made the waiting bearable. I hope that the waiting 2021/2022 filers like us receive good news soon, too.

WordPress Block Themes in Modern WordPress Design

Remember that childhood feeling of building awesome things with colourful blocks? WordPress’s Gutenberg editor brings that same magic to website creation. Instead of plastic bricks, you’re using intuitive content blocks!
The Gutenberg editor lets you add, move, and customize content sections—like text, images, buttons, and more—just like arranging ingredients on a pizza. Each block has its own purpose, and together they create a delicious (and informative) website.
Pre-designed block themes act as website blueprints. Imagine landing pages, blog posts, or contact sections ready to go—just pop them in and customize them! This saves tons of time and keeps your website looking sharp and professional.
The coolest part? Gutenberg makes web design accessible to everyone. No coding skills are needed! More creators online mean a richer and more diverse internet, which is pretty awesome. You can create reusable components, making themes and plugins more powerful and flexible.

1. Responsive Design

The web is no longer confined to bulky desktops. With smartphones and tablets dominating the world, how people experience websites has changed. Responsive design ensures your website adjusts to whatever device someone uses, from a giant computer screen to a tiny phone.
Nobody enjoys squinting at text or zooming in and out just to read something. Responsive design makes sure your website looks sharp and functions flawlessly, no matter what device people use. With more people browsing the web on phones than desktops, having a mobile-friendly layout isn’t optional anymore—it’s crucial for keeping visitors happy and engaged on your site.
Importance of Mobile-Friendly Layouts

• User Experience: Websites not optimized for mobile devices can frustrate users with small text, unclickable links, and slow loading times, leading to higher bounce rates.
• SEO Ranking: Search engines like Google prioritize mobile-friendly websites in their search results, making responsive design key for SEO and online visibility.
• Conversion Rates: A responsive website adapts its layout for an intuitive user interface on any device, significantly improving conversion rates, whether for e-commerce purchases or service inquiries.

Responsive Design Made Easy: How Block Templates Adapt Your Website

• Pre-Designed for Responsiveness: WordPress block themes are crafted with responsiveness in mind, automatically adjusting layout, image sizes, and navigation menus for a consistent user experience across all devices.
• Flexible Layouts: Block themes provide a flexible foundation, allowing users to easily rearrange blocks to suit different screen sizes or preferences without compromising functionality or aesthetic appeal.
• Testing and Optimization: Many WordPress themes with block themes include tools to preview how a site will look on various devices, allowing for real-time adjustments and optimizations for a responsive, user-friendly final product.
• Customization with Blocks: The Gutenberg editor enables users to customize each block’s visibility and behavior on different devices, streamlining the experience and adjusting appearances for smaller screens.

2. SEO Optimization

The web is crowded, and getting noticed can feel impossible. SEO makes your website search engine-friendly, helping search engines understand your content and rank you higher. Block themes simplify SEO with features like title tags, meta descriptions, and optimized image handling.
Higher search engine rankings mean more people find your website, attracting more potential customers or fans.
How SEO-Friendly Features Improve Website Visibility

• Get Found Faster: Block templates help search engines understand your website clearly, increasing the likelihood of appearing in searches for your offerings.
• Keep Visitors Hooked: Happy visitors stay longer, convert better, and become loyal fans. Block themes make your website enjoyable to navigate, keeping people engaged and returning.
• Beat the Competition: The web is crowded. Block templates with built-in SEO features give you an edge, helping you stand out and attract more potential customers.

Integration of Schema Markup, Meta Tags, and Navigational Structures

• Schema Markup: Block themes can include schema markup for articles, products, and events, helping search engines display your content more richly with snippets like star ratings or event details.
• Meta Tags: Block templates make it easy to add titles and descriptions that help search engines understand your content and entice users to click through from search results.
• Navigation Made Easy: Clear and organized websites are better for visitors and search engines. Block themes help you build user-friendly navigation menus, breadcrumbs, and sitemaps for more traffic, engagement, and conversions.

3. Accessibility Features

Everyone deserves an equal chance to experience the web. Web accessibility ensures websites are usable by everyone, regardless of ability. This includes people with vision impairments, hearing difficulties, or physical limitations.
Importance of Web Accessibility

• Removing Barriers: Accessibility features like screen readers and keyboard navigation are lifelines for people with disabilities, allowing everyone to experience your content.
• Following the Law: Many regions require accessible websites. Building with accessibility in mind from the start saves you legal headaches down the line.
• Happy Users, Happy You: Accessible design benefits everyone, making your website a pleasure to use and boosting user satisfaction.

Incorporating Accessibility Standards

• Clear Communication: Block themes can include ARIA labels, which act as website translator tags for assistive technologies.
• Keyboard Champions: Block themes designed with accessibility in mind allow users to navigate with the keyboard smoothly.
• Seeing Clearly: Block themes often come with color schemes that meet accessibility standards, ensuring clear contrast for all visitors.
• Describing the World: Block themes can prompt you to add alt text to images, giving screen reader users a clear picture of your content.

4. Fast Loading Speeds

People are impatient, and there’s always another option a click away. A fast-loading website keeps visitors happy, boosts search engine rankings, and helps you convert more leads.
Techniques for Quick Loading

• Optimized Images: Block themes automatically resize images for different screens and work with tools to shrink file sizes without hurting quality.
• Minimalistic Code: Block themes avoid unnecessary scripts, styles, and HTML that can slow down site performance.
• Lazy Loading: Lazy loading ensures images, videos, and other content load only when needed, speeding up initial page load times.
• Caching: Caching stores copies of your site’s files, reducing the work required to generate a page view.
• Global Delivery Network (CDN): CDNs ensure users load your site from the closest server, providing a faster browsing experience.
• Minification: Minification removes unnecessary characters without affecting functionality, making website files smaller and faster to load.

5. Easy Customization

In today’s crowded online world, standing out is key. Your website needs to be as unique as you are! WordPress block templates are like building blocks that let you unleash your creativity.
Need for Customizable Templates

• Brand Representation: Customize logos, colours, and fonts to match your brand identity.
• Adaptability: Block themes are adaptable, allowing easy changes as your brand evolves.
• Engage Your Audience: A website that speaks to your audience and reflects your brand goals is a website that wins!

Features for Non-Coders

• Drag-and-Drop: Many block themes are compatible with drag-and-drop page builders, allowing you to construct pages visually.
• Pre-Set and Custom Colour Palettes: Customize colours to match your brand perfectly.
• Flexible Typography: Choose from a wide range of fonts and adjust font sizes, weights, and line spacing.
• Adjustable Headers and Footers: Customize the layout, background, and elements of headers and footers.

Design Tips

• Maintain Brand Consistency: Ensure your website’s colour scheme, typography, and imagery align with your brand identity.
• Focus on Readability: Keep text easy to read, avoid overly decorative fonts for body text, and ensure sufficient contrast.
• White Space: Use white space to improve readability and draw attention to key elements.
• Optimize for Mobile: Ensure your website looks great and functions well on smaller screens.
• Use High-Quality Images: Use high-resolution images that reflect your brand and resonate with your audience.
• Experiment with Layouts: Try different block layouts for the most engaging arrangement of your content.

6. E-Commerce Readiness

Ever dreamed of turning your website into a money-making machine? Block themes make it easier than ever! They can transform your simple website into a dynamic online store.
Essential for Businesses Selling Online

• Broader Reach: Reach customers anywhere with an internet connection.
• Increased Sales Opportunities: An online store operates round the clock, opening up endless sales opportunities.
• Consumer Insights: Collect valuable data on customer preferences and buying trends.

Integration of E-Commerce Features

• Product Blocks: Showcase your merchandise beautifully and organized.
• Customization: Customize product blocks to match your brand.
• Shopping Carts: Integrate user-friendly shopping carts for a smooth checkout experience.
• Secure Payment Gateways: Ensure secure payment gateways for customer trust and flexibility.

Additional E-Commerce Considerations

• SEO and Marketing Tools: Support SEO optimization and marketing tool integration.
• Customer Support Features: Incorporate live chat, FAQ sections, and customer reviews for an enhanced shopping experience.

7. Multilingual and Localization Support

The internet is a global marketplace, and your website shouldn’t be limited by language!
Catering to a Global Audience

• Increased Accessibility: Provide content in multiple languages.
• Enhanced User Experience: Tailor the user experience to match local preferences.
• Competitive Advantage: Outperform competitors by reaching and retaining users in overlooked markets.

Tools for Easy Translation and Localization

• WPML: Popular for creating multilingual websites, compatible with most themes and plugins.
• Polylang: Manages multilingual content for various site architectures.
• TranslatePress: Allows direct front-end translation, supporting dynamic content.
• WooCommerce Multilingual: Manages multilingual online stores.
• Currency Switcher for WooCommerce: Displays prices and accepts payments in

multiple currencies.

8. Pre-Designed Sections and Layouts

WordPress block themes provide a solid foundation, giving you a head start on creating a polished, professional website.
Availability of Pre-Built Sections

• Headers and Footers: Offer navigational structure and essential information.
• Call-to-Actions (CTAs): Implement compelling invitations for desired actions.
• Content Sections: Present information clearly and engagingly.

Importance of Diverse Layout Options

• Engagement Powerhouse: Different layouts grab attention in various ways.
• Brand Champion: Ensure a cohesive look and feel across your website.
• Future-Proof Flexibility: Easily swap in and out new content sections as your business evolves.

Tips for Using Pre-Designed Patterns and Layouts

• Make It Yours: Customize colours, fonts, and images to match your brand identity.
• Consistency Is King: Use pre-designed sections consistently for a cohesive look.
• Speed Matters: Optimize images and keep page sizes lean for fast loading times.
• Mobile-Friendly Must: Ensure sections and layouts look great on any device.

9. Social Media Integration

Social media is a goldmine for businesses. Connecting your website to social media platforms can drive traffic back to your site and build a community around your brand.
Driving Traffic and Engagement

• Extended Reach: Expose your content to a wider audience.
• Increased Traffic: Encourage viral distribution for more website traffic.
• Enhanced Engagement: Foster a community through direct interaction on social media.

Features for Easy Sharing and Integration

• Social Sharing Buttons: Encourage visitors to share your content.
• Social Media Feeds: Keep content fresh and encourage connections.
• Auto-Publishing: Share new content on social media automatically.
• Embedded Social Content: Enrich your site’s pages with dynamic social media elements.

Tips for Maximizing Social Media Integration

• Consistent Branding: Reflect your website’s branding on social media.
• Strategic Placement: Place sharing buttons in visible but non-intrusive locations.
• Monitor and Analyze: Track the impact of social media integration on traffic and engagement.
• Engage with Your Audience: Build a community by engaging with users who interact with your content.

10. Regular Updates and Support

Just like your wardrobe needs a refresh every season, your website needs regular updates to stay sharp.
Necessity for Ongoing Updates

• Security: Regular updates fix vulnerabilities and enhance security.
• New Features: Updates introduce new features and improvements.
• Compatibility: Ensure compatibility with the latest WordPress version and plugins.

Access to Reliable Support Channels

• Documentation and Guides: Comprehensive resources for utilizing templates fully.
• Support Forums: Ask questions, share solutions, and learn from the community.
• Direct Support: Get personalized assistance from template developers.
• Online Communities: Engage with broader WordPress and web design communities.

Maximizing the Benefits of Updates and Support

• Regularly Check for Updates: Make it a habit to apply updates regularly.
• Backup Your Site: Ensure you have a recent backup before applying updates.

Regular block template updates and reliable support keep your website secure, functional, and looking its best.

Additional Resources

• Kinsta: kinsta.com/blog/wordpress-site-examples
• HubSpot Blog: blog.hubspot.com/website/must-have-wordpress-plugins
• WPForms: wpforms.com/best-free-wordpress-plugins-for-your-website
• WPExplorer: www.wpexplorer.com/wordpress-tutorials
• WPMU DEV: premium.wpmudev.org/blog
• WPShout: wpshout.com
• WP Mayor: wpmayor.com
• WP Lift: wplift.com
• WP Tavern: wptavern.com
• WPForms: wpforms.com/docs
• WP101: www.wp101.com
• Yoast: yoast.com/academy/wordpress
• Smashing Magazine: smashingmagazine.com/category/wordpress

FAQs: Navigating the World of WordPress Block Templates

Q1: What are WordPress block templates?
A1: WordPress block templates are pre-designed layouts that utilize the Gutenberg block editor, allowing you to add, arrange, and customize content blocks (like text, images, and buttons) with ease. These templates offer a foundational structure for web pages and posts, streamlining the design process.
Q2: How do WordPress block themes differ from traditional themes?
A2: WordPress block themes are designed to take full advantage of the Gutenberg block editor’s capabilities, offering deep integration with blocks for all aspects of website design. Unlike traditional themes, block themes allow you to use blocks for designing headers, footers, and other layout elements directly within the editor.
Q3: Can I customize WordPress block templates to fit my brand?
A3: Absolutely! WordPress block templates are built for customization, enabling you to modify layouts, colors, fonts, and other design elements to align with your branding—all without needing to write any code.
Q4: Are block-compatible WordPress themes mobile-friendly?
A4: Yes, most block-compatible WordPress themes are designed with responsiveness in mind, ensuring your website’s layout looks great and functions flawlessly on various devices.
Q5: How do block-enabled WordPress themes enhance website security?
A5: Block-enabled WordPress themes contribute to website security by adhering to the latest coding standards and practices. Regular updates address new vulnerabilities and ensure compatibility with the latest WordPress version, keeping your site secure.
Q6: Where can I find the WordPress block pattern directory?
A6: The WordPress block pattern directory can be accessed directly within the Gutenberg editor under the “Patterns” tab or by visiting the official WordPress website.
Q7: How do WordPress block patterns differ from block templates?
A7: WordPress block patterns are reusable designs made up of several blocks configured in a specific arrangement, while block templates provide comprehensive page layouts. Both speed up the design process, but block patterns offer smaller, reusable elements, whereas block templates provide overall page structure.
Q8: Can I use the WordPress pattern library with any theme?
A8: The WordPress pattern library is most effective with block themes and block-compatible themes, designed to leverage the Gutenberg editor fully. Patterns can be used with traditional themes, but their flexibility and integration might be limited.
Q9: How can I contribute to the WordPress pattern templates library?
A9: To contribute to the WordPress pattern templates library, create your block patterns and submit them through the official WordPress.org website following their submission guidelines.
Q10: What are WP block templates, and how do they benefit my website?
A10: WP block templates are pre-made page or post layouts built using the block editor. They speed up content creation, ensure design consistency, and enable users of all skill levels to create professional-looking websites that stand out.

Hello all,
I work as a data scientist at a consulting firm and I'm pretty solid with Python programming and training ML models. Now, I'm looking to shift gears and dive into becoming an ML Engineer, specifically focusing on MLOps, but I'm kinda new to it. I haven't really used tools like Docker, Kubernetes, or MLflow yet.
There are numerous books and open-source GitHub repositories available, which makes it challenging to decide where to begin. I'm thinking of purchasing one or two books to start, mainly because they are quite pricey, and reading multiple books simultaneously seems inefficient.
It's also possible that some books may cover overlapping materials, making the purchase of both redundant.

Courses/repo/websites:

I have found several repositories, courses, and websites and would appreciate some advice on which ones offer a good learning path for MLOps and MLE. I don't plan to tackle them all at once but would like to know if there are a few that are particularly beneficial and could be followed sequentially to gain a thorough understanding of MLE.
GIT repo:

• jacopotagliabue/MLSys-NYU-2022
• DataTalksClub/machine-learning-zoomcamp
• DataTalksClub/mlops-zoomcamp

Websites:

• https://fullstackdeeplearning.com/course/
• https://madewithml.com/

Coursera Courses (the free version without certificate):

• Machine Learning in Production (by Andrew Ng )

Udemy Courses (can do these for free):

• End-to-End Machine Learning: From Idea to Implementation (by Kıvanç Yüksel)
• MLOps Bootcamp: Mastering AI Operations for Success - AIOps (by Manifold AI Learning)

Selecting the right resources can be overwhelming, as each course or repository might have its merits. However, I am uncertain about the best ones and the optimal order to approach them. I prefer a hands-on learning experience, rather than just watching videos.
Which of the courses I mentioned would you recommend, and in what order?

Books:

Additionally, I've looked into some books for deeper insights beyond websites and courses. I've just purchased "Designing Machine Learning Systems" by Chip Huyen, which came highly recommended. This book focuses less on coding, so I am considering adding one or two more books that could also serve as reference materials later on.
I have come across the following books, which have received good reviews online (in no particular order):
Books focused on MLE/MLops:
The following two books seem very similar; any suggestions on which might be better?

• Machine Learning Engineering with Python - Second Edition (by Andrew P. McMahon)
• Machine Learning Engineering in Action (by Ben Wilson)

The next two books seem different, but that might be due to my limited knowledge:

• Building Machine Learning Powered Applications (by Emmanuel Ameisen)
• Machine Learning Design Patterns (by Valliappa Lakshmanan, Sara Robinson, Michael Munn)

Book focused on ML/DL:
This one is more focused on ML itself:

• Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow, 2nd Edition (by Aurélien Géron)

(However, this might be a bit too easy material or maybe I overestimate myself. But I already have some ML/DL knowledge which I gained during my studies (roughly 2 years ago) where I’ve created ML models, for example a Neural Network only using Numpy, so no packages like Keras or TF. Still a lot of people praises this book and it might be a nice one to refresh my knowledge.)
Books that help writing better code in general:
Another book not specifically about machine learning could help enhance my Python programming skills. Although it's quite expensive, it offers extensive information:

• Fluent Python, 2nd Edition (by Luciano Ramalho)

Recommendations:

As my focus is on MLE and MLOps, I'm looking to acquire at least one or two more books. Which of the four books mentioned—or perhaps one I haven't mentioned—would you recommend?
Although I'm not yet an expert in ML/DL, I'm considering the book I mentioned about hands-on ML. However, I'm unsure if it might be too simplistic for someone with a background in applied mathematics and data science. If that's the case, I would appreciate recommendations for more advanced books that are equally valuable.
Lastly, I am likely to purchase "Fluent Python" to improve my coding skills.
Thanks in advance, and props for reading this far!

Hello all,
I work as a data scientist at a consulting firm and I'm pretty solid with Python programming and training ML models. Now, I'm looking to shift gears and dive into becoming an ML Engineer, specifically focusing on MLOps, but I'm kinda new to it. I haven't really used tools like Docker, Kubernetes, or MLflow yet.
There are numerous books and open-source GitHub repositories available, which makes it challenging to decide where to begin. I'm thinking of purchasing one or two books to start, mainly because they are quite pricey, and reading multiple books simultaneously seems inefficient.
It's also possible that some books may cover overlapping materials, making the purchase of both redundant.

Courses/repo/websites:

I have found several repositories, courses, and websites and would appreciate some advice on which ones offer a good learning path for MLOps and MLE. I don't plan to tackle them all at once but would like to know if there are a few that are particularly beneficial and could be followed sequentially to gain a thorough understanding of MLE.
GIT repo:

• jacopotagliabue/MLSys-NYU-2022
• DataTalksClub/machine-learning-zoomcamp
• DataTalksClub/mlops-zoomcamp

Websites:

• https://fullstackdeeplearning.com/course/
• https://madewithml.com/

Coursera Courses (the free version without certificate):

• Machine Learning in Production (by Andrew Ng )

Udemy Courses (can do these for free):

• End-to-End Machine Learning: From Idea to Implementation (by Kıvanç Yüksel)
• MLOps Bootcamp: Mastering AI Operations for Success - AIOps (by Manifold AI Learning)

Selecting the right resources can be overwhelming, as each course or repository might have its merits. However, I am uncertain about the best ones and the optimal order to approach them. I prefer a hands-on learning experience, rather than just watching videos.
Which of the courses I mentioned would you recommend, and in what order?

Books:

Additionally, I've looked into some books for deeper insights beyond websites and courses. I've just purchased "Designing Machine Learning Systems" by Chip Huyen, which came highly recommended. This book focuses less on coding, so I am considering adding one or two more books that could also serve as reference materials later on.
I have come across the following books, which have received good reviews online (in no particular order):
Books focused on MLE/MLops:
The following two books seem very similar; any suggestions on which might be better?

• Machine Learning Engineering with Python - Second Edition (by Andrew P. McMahon)
• Machine Learning Engineering in Action (by Ben Wilson)

The next two books seem different, but that might be due to my limited knowledge:

• Building Machine Learning Powered Applications (by Emmanuel Ameisen)
• Machine Learning Design Patterns (by Valliappa Lakshmanan, Sara Robinson, Michael Munn)

Book focused on ML/DL:
This one is more focused on ML itself:

• Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow, 2nd Edition (by Aurélien Géron)

(However, this might be a bit too easy material or maybe I overestimate myself. But I already have some ML/DL knowledge which I gained during my studies (roughly 2 years ago) where I’ve created ML models, for example a Neural Network only using Numpy, so no packages like Keras or TF. Still a lot of people praises this book and it might be a nice one to refresh my knowledge.)
Books that help writing better code in general:
Another book not specifically about machine learning could help enhance my Python programming skills. Although it's quite expensive, it offers extensive information:

• Fluent Python, 2nd Edition (by Luciano Ramalho)

Recommendations:

As my focus is on MLE and MLOps, I'm looking to acquire at least one or two more books. Which of the four books mentioned—or perhaps one I haven't mentioned—would you recommend?
Although I'm not yet an expert in ML/DL, I'm considering the book I mentioned about hands-on ML. However, I'm unsure if it might be too simplistic for someone with a background in applied mathematics and data science. If that's the case, I would appreciate recommendations for more advanced books that are equally valuable.
Lastly, I am likely to purchase "Fluent Python" to improve my coding skills.
Thanks in advance, and props for reading this far!

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/frontotemporal-disorders/providing-care-person-frontotemporal-disorder

"Justin's story"

• After Justin graduated from college, he went home to live with his parents. It didn’t take long for him to notice personality changes in his 50-year-old mother, a successful executive. She became more childlike and had trouble finishing household chores. By the time she was diagnosed with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), Justin’s relationship with his mother had deteriorated. Learning about the disorder helped Justin understand and accept the changes he was seeing in his mother.

People living with frontotemporal disorders, sometimes called frontotemporal dementia, can have a range of symptoms, including unusual behaviors, emotional problems, trouble communicating, and difficulty walking. Caring for someone with a frontotemporal disorder (FTD) can be hard, both physically and emotionally. Caregivers may face challenges with managing the medical and day-to-day care, as well as changing family and social relationships, loss of work, poor health, stress, decisions about long-term care, and end-of-life concerns.

How frontotemporal disorders affect families

People with FTD and their families often must cope with changing relationships, especially as symptoms get worse. Spouses or partners may find themselves not only taking on caregiving responsibilities, but also household responsibilities that their partner can no longer perform. Children may suffer the gradual loss of a parent at a critical time in their lives. Family members and friends may feel alienated or embarrassed by the person's behavior. Life at home can become very stressful.

How FTD can affect work

People living with FTD may have difficulty with basic work skills, such as organizing, planning, and following through on tasks. Activities that were easy before might take much longer or become impossible. People may lose their jobs because they can no longer perform. As a result, the caregiver might need to take a second job to make ends meet, or reduce their hours, or even quit working to provide care and run the household.
An employment attorney can offer information and advice about employee benefits, family leave, and disability if needed. Workers diagnosed with FTD can qualify for Social Security disability benefits through the “Compassionate Allowances” program (800-772-1213), a program that helps individuals with certain serious conditions access benefits quickly.

Strategies to help manage FTD symptoms

There is no cure for FTD and no way to slow it down or prevent it. However, there are ways to help manage symptoms, which include changes in behavior, speech, and movement.

• Managing behavior changes in FTD. Try to recognize it’s the illness “talking” and accept rather than challenge people with behavioral symptoms. Arguing or reasoning with the person will not help; they cannot control their behaviors or even see that they are unusual or upsetting to others.
• Treating language problems in FTD. To help with language issues, speak slowly and clearly, use simple sentences, wait for responses, and ask for clarification if you don’t understand something. Gesturing, drawing, and using an album with labeled photos of people and objects may help communicate without talking. A speech-language pathologist can determine the best tools and strategies for a particular person.
• Managing movement problems in FTD. Several types of FTD cause problems with movement, including difficulty balancing, walking, and swallowing. Medications and physical and occupational therapy may provide modest relief for the movement symptoms of FTD. A doctor who specializes in these disorders can guide treatment.

Learn more about strategies to manage FTD symptoms.

FTD caregiver health and support

Caring for someone with FTD presents unique challenges. Many caregivers face declines in their own health while caring for a person with FTD or a related disorder. To stay healthy, caregivers can:

• Get regular health care.
• Ask family and friends for help with child care, errands, and other tasks.
• Spend time doing enjoyable activities, away from the demands of caregiving. Arrange for respite care — short-term caregiving services that give the regular caregiver a break — or take the person to an adult day care center, a safe, supervised environment for adults with dementia or other disabilities.
• Join a support group for caregivers of people with FTDs. Such groups can be a valuable resource to share experiences and tips with others who may be in the same situation. Nonprofit organizations and community organizations may provide online or in-person support groups. Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers may also offer education and support groups.

Long-term care for people with FTD

For many caregivers, there comes a point when they can no longer take care of the person with FTD without help. The caregiving demands are simply too great, and the person may need around-the-clock care. As the disease progresses, caregivers may need home health care services or to look for a residential care facility, such as a group home, assisted living facility, or nursing home.
Get more information about long-term care.

End-of-life care for a person with FTD

People with FTD typically live six to eight years with their condition, sometimes longer, sometimes less. Most people die of problems related to advanced disease. For example, as movement skills decline, the person may have trouble swallowing, leading to aspiration pneumonia, in which food or fluid gets into the lungs and causes infection. People with balance problems may fall and seriously injure themselves.
It is difficult, but important, to plan for the end of life. Legal documents, such as a will, living will, and durable powers of attorney for health care and finances should be created or updated as soon as possible after a diagnosis of FTD or a related disorder. An attorney who specializes in elder law, disabilities, or estate planning can provide legal advice, prepare documents, and make financial arrangements for the person’s spouse or partner and dependent children. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the American Bar Association can help families find qualified attorneys. Local bar associations can help identify free legal aid options.
Read more about end-of-life care and advance care planning.

So a couple years ago I lived in a fairly modern part of SoCal. My gf wanted to get ice cream at this small hipster ice cream shop. They had unique flavors (like calamansi, Ube, Thai tea etc) so this shop was pretty popular. This shop VERY CLEARLY states they are cashless ( signs on the door before you enter and at the register in BIG BOLD letters). They opened during covid so they don't handle cash, but you can pay with credit, debit, Samsung pay, Apple pay, venmo and PayPal. As a result, they don't have a real register but just an iPad you can insert a card/tap to pay (this is important later). This shop is pretty bougee and ice cream is fairly expensive ($12 for a pint for example). Usually there's a long line but that day there was just 1 person in line ahead of me, yet it took forever to get my ice cream....
As we enter the shop, boomer man was in line requesting ice cream. There's only 1 younger lady working the register and no one else in the back ( they were minutes away from closing time). The lady hands him his cup of ice cream so he tries to hand her cash. She apologized and said they don't handle cash and he needs to pay electronically.
This sent him reeeeeling.
Boomer: "Why can't I pay with cash?!?!?"
Lady: "I'm sorry but this store doesn't accept cash"
Boomer: "BUT THIS IS LEGAL TENDER!"
Lady: "I'm sorry but I can't accept that"
Boomer: "BUT THE CASH IS IN MY HAND! TAKE IT!"
Lady: " I can't. You must pay another way"
Boomer man begins to scream at her "I CAN PAY BUT YOU WONT ACCEPT MY MONEY!!! THIS IS LEGAL TENDER! IT IS AGAINST THE LAW FOR YOU TO DENY MY CASH! THIS IS UNAMERICAN!!! WHY ARENT YOU TAKING MY MONEY!?!?"
At this point, the lady is visibly uncomfortable. So she's says "sir I'm sorry but we don't accept cash. How about I give it to you on the house? Don't worry about paying.."
She was trying to be nice and end the confrontation by literally giving it to him for free, but this actually set him off even more.
Boomer: " I DONT WANT A HAND OUT! I CAN PAY FOR THE FUCKING ICE CREAM! I HAVE THE MONEY RIGHT HERE! JUST TAKE IT! THIS IS AMERICA I SHOULD BE ABLE TO BUY ICE CREAM WHEN I WANT!!!!"
At this point i feel it's important to note this Boomer is your typical old white man wearing a shirt with a blue lives matter flag on it and a military cap. Whereas the cashier is a young black girl wearing a pride flag pin on her collar.
She was visibly scared but said " sir you can just take the ice cream and go. I won't accept your cash. We physically don't have the means to handle cash here"
Boomer: "WHAT KIND OF STORE DOESNT ACCEPT CASH!?!?!? DO YOU NOT WANT PROFIT!?!?!?"
At this point the cashier was done being nice. She grabbed the ice cream and told him "OK sir we are done. You must leave now. I am not doing this".
He continues to yell obscenities at her (he noticed her pin) but she was done dealing with his bullshit. She told him to leave repeatedly and eventually he had enough and walked out. She was visibly mentally exhausted after that. I paid for our ice cream and left her a $20 tip. My gf and I stepped outside to eat and chat while she closed up shop. We were there for about 30 minutes. The entire time, this dude was walking up and down the street muttering to himself about how he didn't get his ice cream and how unamerican the shop is. Mutterimg homophobic slurs as well. Literally for 30 MINUTES just walking up and down the street. Like this is a corner shop on an intersection and this dude kept crossing the street, walk to the end of that street, turn around, cross back to this side and do it all over again.
Like bruh, she was literally going to hand you your ice cream for free but you were so proud and arrogant that you couldn't handle free ice cream. Boomers are the worst.

We're developing an AI-powered journaling app to help users gain deeper insights into their thoughts, behaviors, and emotional patterns. To ensure we're creating a tool that truly resonates with our users, we're seeking your valuable feedback.
Take a few minutes to reflect on your day and share your experiences with us. This will help us understand how our AI can effectively assist you in reflecting on your daily life and identifying patterns in your behavior and emotions.
Instructions
1. Briefly write down the key events of the day, and reflect on how you felt about them.
2. Using [MindMup](https://app.mindmup.com/map/new/), create a mind map based on your reflections. Central node will be the main event or emotion from your day, branch nodes will be the specific details, feelings, and behaviors.
Example:
Central Node: "Work Stress"
Branch Nodes:
- "Urgent Project Tasks"
- "Interaction with Colleagues"
- "Sense of Accomplishment after Completing Tasks"
- "Anxiety and Worries"
Once your mind map is complete, click the "Publish" button in the top right corner of MindMup. Copy the generated link and send to email: [yiruole@outlook.com](mailto:yiruole@outlook.com)
We will never collect or share any personal information from your mind maps. By sharing your mind maps, you'll be helping us develop an AI journaling app that can better understand and assist users like you. Your contributions will be invaluable in shaping the future of this tool. We understand that sharing personal reflections can be a sensitive matter. Feel free to share as much or as little as you feel comfortable with.
If you have any suggestions or feedback, please share them in the comments as well. We appreciate your participation in this important research project!

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/frontotemporal-disorders/what-are-frontotemporal-disorders-causes-symptoms-and-treatment
"Brian's story"

• Brian, an attorney, began having trouble organizing his cases. In time, his law firm assigned him to do paperwork only. Brian’s wife thought he was depressed because his father had died two years earlier. Brian, 56, was treated for depression, but his symptoms got worse. He became more disorganized and began making sexual comments to his wife’s female friends. Even more unsettling, he neither understood nor cared that his behavior disturbed his family and friends. As time went on, Brian had trouble paying bills and was less affectionate toward his wife and young son. Three years after Brian’s symptoms began, his counselor recommended a neurological evaluation. Brian was diagnosed with behavioral variant FTD — the most common form of FTD.

Frontotemporal disorders (FTD), sometimes called frontotemporal dementia, are the result of damage to neurons in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Many possible symptoms can result, including unusual behaviors, emotional problems, trouble communicating, difficulty with work, or difficulty with walking. FTD is rare and tends to occur at a younger age than other forms of dementia. Roughly 60% of people with FTD are 45 to 64 years old.
FTD is progressive, meaning symptoms get worse over time. In the early stages, people may have just one symptom. As the disease progresses, other symptoms appear as more parts of the brain are affected. It is difficult to predict how long someone with FTD will live. Some people live more than 10 years after diagnosis, while others live less than two years after they are diagnosed.
There is currently no cure for FTD, and no treatments slow or stop the progression of the disease, but there are ways to help manage the symptoms.

What do the terms mean?

One of the challenges shared by people living with these disorders, families, clinicians, and researchers is what terminology to use. Here, we have used the term frontotemporal disorders to characterize this group of diseases and the abbreviation FTD, which is commonly used to refer to them. Other terms used include frontotemporal lobar degeneration and frontotemporal dementia, but it's important to note that with some frontotemporal disorders, the primary symptoms are problems with speech or movement, rather than dementia symptoms. Physicians and psychologists diagnose the different forms of FTD based on a person’s symptoms as well as the results of brain scans and genetic tests.

What are the types and symptoms of FTD?

In the early stages, it can be hard to know which type of FTD a person has because symptoms and the order in which they appear can vary from one person to another. Also, the same symptoms can appear across different disorders and vary from one stage of the disease to the next as different parts of the brain are affected.
Symptoms of FTD are often misunderstood. Family members and friends may think that a person is misbehaving, leading to anger and conflict. It is important to understand that people with these disorders cannot control their behaviors and other symptoms and lack any awareness of their illness.
There are three types of frontotemporal disorders (FTD): behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), primary progressive aphasia (PPA), and movement disorders.

Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia

The most common FTD, bvFTD, involves changes in personality, behavior, and judgment. People with this disorder may have problems with cognition, but their memory may stay relatively intact. Symptoms can include:

• Problems planning and sequencing (thinking through which steps come first, second, and so on)
• Difficulty prioritizing tasks or activities
• Repeating the same activity or saying the same word over and over
• Acting impulsively or saying or doing inappropriate things without considering how others perceive the behavior
• Becoming disinterested in family or activities they used to care about

Over time, language and/or movement problems may occur, and the person living with bvFTD will need more care and supervision.

Primary progressive aphasia

PPA involves changes in the ability to communicate — to use language to speak, read, write, and understand what others are saying. This includes difficulty using or understanding words (aphasia) and difficulty speaking properly (e.g., slurred speech). People with PPA may have one or both of these symptoms. They may become mute or unable to speak.
Many people with PPA develop symptoms of dementia. Problems with memory, reasoning, and judgment are not apparent at first but can develop over time. In addition, some people with PPA may experience significant behavioral changes, similar to those seen in bvFTD, as the disease progresses.
There are three types of PPA, categorized by the kind of language problems that appear first.

• Semantic PPA: A person slowly loses the ability to understand single words and sometimes to recognize the faces of familiar people and common objects.
• Agrammatic PPA: A person has more and more trouble speaking and may omit words that link nouns and verbs (such as to, from, the). Eventually, the person may no longer be able to speak at all. The person may eventually develop movement symptoms similar to those seen in corticobasal syndrome.
• Logopenic PPA: A person has trouble finding the right words during a conversation but can understand words and sentences. The person does not have problems with grammar.

Researchers do not fully understand the biological basis of the different types of PPA. But they hope one day to link specific language problems with the changes in the brain that cause them.

Movement disorders

Two rare neurological movement disorders associated with FTD, corticobasal syndrome and progressive supranuclear palsy, occur when the parts of the brain that control movement are affected. The disorders may affect thinking and language abilities, too.

• Corticobasal syndrome can be caused by corticobasal degeneration — a gradual atrophy (shrinkage) and loss of nerve cells in specific parts of the brain. This degeneration causes progressive loss of the ability to control movement, typically beginning around age 60. The most prominent symptom may be apraxia, the inability to use the hands or arms to perform a movement despite normal strength, such as difficulty closing buttons or operating small appliances. Other symptoms can include muscle rigidity and difficulty swallowing. Symptoms may appear first on one side of the body, but eventually both sides are affected. Occasionally, a person with corticobasal syndrome first has language problems or trouble orienting objects in space and later develops movement symptoms. Not everyone who has corticobasal syndrome has problems with memory, cognition, language, or behavior.
• Progressive supranuclear palsy causes problems with balance and walking. People with the disorder typically move slowly, experience unexplained falls, lose facial expression, and have body stiffness, especially in the neck and upper body — symptoms similar to those of Parkinson’s disease. A hallmark sign of this disorder is trouble with eye movements, particularly looking down. These symptoms may give the face a fixed stare. Problems with behavior, memory, problem solving, and judgment can also develop.

Other movement-related types of FTD include frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism and frontotemporal dementia with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FTD-ALS).

• Frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism can be an inherited disease caused by a genetic tau genetic variant. Symptoms include movement problems similar to those of Parkinson’s disease, such as slowed movement, stiffness, and balance problems, and changes in behavior or language.
• FTD-ALS, also called FTD with motor neuron disease, is a combination of bvFTD and ALS, the latter commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. In addition to the behavioral and/or language changes seen in bvFTD, people with FTD-ALS experience the progressive muscle weakness seen in ALS, fine jerks, and wiggling in muscles. Symptoms of either disease may appear first, with other symptoms developing over time. Changes in certain genes have been found in some people with FTD-ALS, though most cases are not hereditary.

What causes FTD?

Scientists are beginning to understand the biological and genetic basis for the changes observed in brain cells that lead to FTD.
Scientists describe FTD using the patterns of change in the brain seen in an autopsy after death. These changes include loss of neurons and abnormal amounts, or forms of proteins called tau and TDP-43. These proteins occur naturally in the body and help cells function properly. When the proteins don’t work properly, for reasons not yet fully understood, neurons in specific brain regions are damaged.
In most cases, the cause of a FTD is unknown. Individuals with a family history of FTD are more likely to develop such a disorder. About 10 to 30% of bvFTD is due to specific genetic causes.
FTD that runs in a family is often related to variants (permanent changes) in certain genes. Genes are basic units of heredity that tell cells how to make the proteins the body needs to function. Even small changes in a gene may produce an abnormal protein, which can lead to changes in the brain and, eventually, disease.
Scientists have discovered several different genes that, when mutated, can lead to FTD:

• Tau gene (also called the MAPT gene) — A change in this gene causes abnormalities in a protein called tau, which then forms tangles inside neurons and ultimately leads to the destruction of brain cells. Inheriting a variant in this gene means a person will almost surely develop a frontotemporal disorder, usually bvFTD, but the exact age of onset and symptoms cannot be predicted.
• GRN gene — A change in this gene can lead to lower production of the protein progranulin, which in turn causes another protein, TDP-43, to go awry in brain cells. Many frontotemporal disorders can result, though bvFTD is the most common. The GRN gene can cause different symptoms in different family members and cause the disease to begin at different ages.
• C9ORF72 gene — An unusual change in this gene appears to be the most common genetic abnormality in familial frontotemporal disorders and familial ALS. This variant can cause a frontotemporal disorder, ALS, or both conditions.

In recent years researchers have discovered several other genetic changes in genes that lead to rare familial types of frontotemporal disorders. These other variants account for less than 5% of all cases of FTD.
Families affected by inherited and familial forms of FTD can help scientists advance research by participating in clinical studies and trials. For more information, talk with a health care professional or visit the Alzheimers.gov Clinical Trials Finder.

How is FTD diagnosed?

FTD can be hard to diagnose because the symptoms are similar to those of other conditions. For example, bvFTD is sometimes misdiagnosed as a mood disorder, such as depression. To make matters more confusing, a person can have both FTD and another type of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease. Also, because these disorders are rare, physicians may be unfamiliar with the signs and symptoms.
To help diagnose frontotemporal dementia, a doctor may:

• Perform an exam and ask about symptoms
• Look at personal and family medical history
• Use laboratory tests to help rule out other conditions
• Order genetic testing
• Conduct tests to assess memory, thinking, language skills, and physical functioning
• Order imaging of the brain

A psychiatric evaluation can help determine if depression or another mental health condition is causing or contributing to the condition. Only genetic tests in familial cases or a brain autopsy after a person dies can confirm a diagnosis of FTD.
Researchers are studying ways to diagnose FTD earlier and more accurately and to distinguish them from other types of dementia. One area of research involves biomarkers, such as proteins or other substances in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid which can be used to measure disease progression or the effects of treatment. Researchers are also exploring ways to improve brain imaging and neuropsychological testing.

Treatment and management of FTD

So far, there is no cure for FTD and no way to slow down or prevent these diseases. However, there are ways to manage symptoms. A team of specialists — doctors, nurses, and speech, physical, and occupational therapists — familiar with these disorders can help guide treatment

Managing behavior changes in FTD

Behavior changes associated with bvFTD can upset and frustrate family members and other caregivers. Understanding changes in personality and behavior and knowing how to respond can reduce frustration and help provide the best care for a person with FTD.
Managing behavioral symptoms can involve several approaches. Here are some strategies to consider:

• Try to accept rather than challenge someone with behavioral symptoms. Arguing or reasoning will not help, because they cannot control their behaviors or see that they are unusual or upsetting to others. Instead, be as sensitive as possible and understand that it’s the illness “talking.”
• Take a “timeout” when frustrated — take deep breaths, count to 10, or leave the room for a few minutes.
• To deal with apathy, limit choices and offer specific choices. Open-ended questions, such as “What do you want to do today?” are more difficult to answer than specific ones, such as “Do you want to go to the park or for a walk?”.
• Maintain a regular schedule, reduce distractions, and modify the environment to reduce confusion and improve the person’s sleep.
• If compulsive eating is an issue, consider supervising eating, limiting food choices, locking cabinets and the refrigerator, and distracting the person with other activities.

To ensure the safety of a person and his or her family, caregivers may have to take on new responsibilities or arrange care that was not needed before.
Medications are available to treat certain behavioral symptoms. Antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are commonly prescribed to treat social disinhibition and impulsive behavior. People with aggression or delusions sometimes take low doses of antipsychotic medications. If a particular medication is not working, a doctor may try another. Always consult a doctor before changing, adding, or stopping a drug or supplement.

Treating language problems in FTD

Treatment of PPA has two goals — maintaining language skills and using new tools and other ways to communicate. Treatment tailored to a person’s specific language problem and stage of PPA generally works best. Since language ability declines over time, different strategies may be needed as the illness progresses. The following strategies may help:
Use a communication notebook (an album of photos labeled with names of people and objects), gestures, and drawings to communicate without talking.
Store lists of words or phrases in a computer or phone to point to.
Speak slowly and clearly, use simple sentences, wait for responses, and ask for clarification if needed.
Work with a speech-language pathologist familiar with PPA to determine the best tools and strategies to use. Note that many speech-language pathologists are trained to treat aphasia caused by stroke, which requires different strategies from those used with PPA.
"Mary Ann's story"

• Mary Ann, a television news anchor for 20 years, began having trouble reading the nightly news. At first, her doctor thought she had a vision problem, but tests showed that her eyesight was normal. Although normally creative and energetic, Mary Ann, 52, had trouble finishing assignments and voicing her ideas at staff meetings. In time, she was let go from her job. Mary Ann applied for Social Security disability benefits, which required a medical exam. Her symptoms puzzled several doctors until a neurologist diagnosed logopenic PPA. A speech therapist taught Mary Ann to use a personal digital assistant to express words and phrases. For emergencies, Mary Ann carries a card in her wallet that explains her condition.Mary Ann's story

Managing movement problems in FTD

Medications and physical and occupational therapy may provide modest relief for the movement symptoms of FTD. A doctor who specializes in these disorders can guide treatment.
For people with corticobasal syndrome, Parkinson’s disease medicines may offer some temporary improvement. Physical and occupational therapy may help the person move more easily. Speech therapy can help them manage language symptoms.
For people with progressive supranuclear palsy, sometimes Parkinson’s disease drugs provide temporary relief for slowness, stiffness, and balance problems. Exercises can keep the joints limber, and weighted walking aids — such as a walker with sandbags over the lower front rung — can help maintain balance. Speech, vision, and swallowing difficulties usually do not respond to any drug treatment. Antidepressants have shown modest success. For people with abnormal eye movements, bifocals or special glasses called prisms are sometimes prescribed.
People with FTD-ALS typically decline quickly over two to three years. During this time, physical therapy can help treat muscle symptoms, and a walker or wheelchair may be useful. Speech therapy may help a person speak more clearly at first. Later on, other ways of communicating, such as a speech synthesizer, can be used. The ALS symptoms of the disorder ultimately make it impossible to stand, walk, eat, and breathe on one’s own.
Physicians, nurses, social workers, and physical, occupational, and speech therapists who are familiar with these conditions can ensure that people with movement disorders get appropriate medical treatment and that their caregivers can help them live as well as possible.

The future of FTD treatment

Researchers are continuing to explore the biological changes in the body, including genetic variants and proteins, that lead to FTD and identify and test possible new drugs and other treatments. They are also developing better ways to track disease progression, so that treatments, when they become available, can be directed to the right people. Clinical trials and studies are underway to advance these efforts. People with FTD and healthy people may be able to participate. To find out more, talk to your health care provider or visit the Alzheimers.gov Clinical Trials Finder.

STATS:

• MCAT: 517 (130/125/130/132)
• GPA: 3.97
• VA resident

HOURS:
CLINICAL PAID:

• Neuro-ophthalmic MA: 110 (continuing through gap year, expected around 600 more)
  
• Neurology MA: 650
  

CLINICAL VOLUNTEERING:

• Free clinic serving underserved populations: 100 hours

NON-CLINICAL VOLUNTEERING:

• Helped co-found program + tutor newly arrived Afghan refugee children in English and math: 500
• Emotional support volunteer for essential workers during COVID: 600

RESEARCH:

• literature reviews/making presentations for my PI regarding the intersection between AI and psychology: 400 hours

LEADERSHIP:

• director of academics for my Panhellenic sorority: 200
• Exec member in club that bridges gap between students on campus and available health offices: 160

TEACHING/TUTORING:

• organic chemistry teaching assistant (half orgo 1 and half orgo 2): 600
• Tutor for non-traditional community college student: 150
• Kaplan MCAT instructor: 10 hours (projected: 500 throughout gap year)

SHADOWING:

• nephrology: 50

4 LOR: orgo teacher I TA’d for, social justice prof that watched me donate/raise $$$ for menstruation products for homeless women, Gen chem prof, volunteer coordinator for Afghan refugees
SCHOOL LIST:

• Creighton
  
• EVMS
  
• Quinnipac
  
• GW
  
• Georgetown
  
• John Hopkins
  
• Keck USC
  
• Mayo
  
• New York medical college
  
• U Penn
  
• Rush
  
• Rutgers
  
• Brown
  
• U Miami
  
• UVA
  
• Vcu
  
• Wake forest
  
• West Virginia
  
• Western Michigan
  
• FIU
  
• CMU
  
• Virginia tech
  
• UMD
  
• Tufts
  
• does anyone have suggestions for lower tiered schools I can apply to that you think I have a good chance getting into
  

Original Article: https://www.mortgagesensei.co/blog/how-to-get-a-mortgage-as-a-first-time-home-buyer

This is a common question that I answer all the time. It’s easy to explain but may be difficult to execute. No worries! I’m going to lay it all out in the simplest and easiest way possible. At the end of this blog, you will know what financial areas you should focus your attention on as a first time home buyer
Understanding the 5 Pillars of a home loan will help you identify the financial factors that a lender evaluates to determine if you’re eligible for a home loan. In this article, we’re going to focus solely on what it takes for you to become a well-qualified borrower. If you simply focus on that and develop good financial habits, you will soon find yourself in a position to not just be able to qualify for a home loan, but to be considered a well-qualified borrower in the eyes of lenders, realtors, sellers, or anyone else involved in the home buying process. Take your time to read through this, and feel free to reach out to me here for any assistance that you may have.

What credit score do you need to buy a house for the first time?

Depending on your selected home loan program, you could qualify for a home loan with as low as a 500 FICO credit score. However, let’s not worry about “how low of a credit score can I have and still qualify for a home loan?” and focus instead on “what do I need to financially focus on daily?” With that being said, I recommend focusing on the FICO factors that impact your credit the most. Using myFICO Education as a guide:
Payment History (35%): This is simple to understand—don’t miss any minimum monthly payments for ANY of your credit accounts. A lot of people, when they read this, will say, “No duh, Sensei!”. Well, if it’s that obvious, why are so many people missing the mark here? There are many reasons, but I’ll list two:

1. Over-extending your credit/spending capacity, and
2. Limited amount of emergency/reserve funds.

Did you know that you only need a TOTAL of 3-4 credit accounts aged for 2+ years and properly managed to get a 700+ FICO score! Keeping your total credit accounts under 5 will help you in managing your credit accounts to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Here’s my recommended financial habits to help you in raising your credit score:

1. Frugal spending habits: “How much you keep is slightly more important than how much you bring in”. One of my favorite books is “The Richest Man in Babylon”. The concept is pretty simple: “Priority saving and investing over any other spending choices”.
2. Fanatical saving: One of the main reasons people credit suffers is through some kind of financial hardship whether that’s unexpected medical expenses, job loss, or something that tends to be outside of your control. Having enough savings to weather the storm for months or even years, will give you a large enough financial safety net to make it through recessions, rapid inflation, unexpected expenses, etc.

Amounts Owed/Credit Utilization (30%): Our areas of focus are:

1. Revolving: “how much of your credit limit is drawn and owed.”
2. Installments: “how much of the credit debt is still owed compared to your starting amount.”

Developing frugal spending habits will greatly help you in keeping your credit utilization low. I understand that emergencies come up and you have to use your credit cards, but the truth of the matter is that FICO doesn't care about your emergencies, or why your credit cards are maxed out. They only care that your credit card is maxed out. If you cannot quickly pay down your credit card balance under 10%-30% of the credit limit within 30 days of charging it, then you probably should not charge the product/service to your credit card.
Negative Status: Collections, charge-offs, repossessions, bankruptcies, foreclosures, Late payments within 2-years, etc. You can do everything right, and getting one of these can set you back overnight. All of these derogatory events result from some negative financial event that occurred, whether unintentional or intentional, the results will be the same. For those who have been victims of identity theft, you know from experience that creditors don’t care that your identity was stolen and a criminal damaged your credit. All they’re going to tell you is “take responsibility in fixing your credit.” Working towards preventing these negative financial events from reporting on your credit or removing them from your credit is your third focus. If you need help, reach out to Kredit Kleanse for expert credit repair assistance, or schedule time to start your home loan qualification process by clicking here.

How much income do I need to buy a home?

After the 2008 housing crash, our government implemented S.A.F.E. requirements for lenders to do their due diligence to ensure that the borrower is protected from predatory lending. One of the main focuses was on DTI (Debt-to-Income ratio). For the sake of this blog, I’m only going to focus on two aspects of DTI that are more relevant to this article:
Total Income: In this case, the borrower simply doesn’t make enough to afford the home regardless of how little debt they may have. For instance, the borrower earns $100,000 per year for income and wants to purchase a $1,000,000 home. Those numbers, in most cases, won’t work. Here’s my personal calculation: whatever your “total annual income” multiplied by 3x-4x should put you in the range of a home you can afford AND still enjoy life/save/invest/etc. This is not stating what you will qualify for, but simply a measuring equation to see if you are in the ballpark. Please note that (1) your area could be more or less expensive, (2) current interest rates, and (3) the lender you choose WILL affect your final qualification. The best course of action here is to either:

1. Increase your qualifying income: This is VERY tough conversation to have, and honestly the part of the job that never sits quite right with me. But truth is truth regardless of how I feel about it. Ways to increase your income are:
   1. Ask for a raise
   2. Go for that promotion
   3. Create passive income
   4. Start a business/side hustle (you’ll need a 2-year history of having that business)
   5. Get a 2nd job (you’ll need a 2-year history of working both jobs)
   6. Add a co-borrowesigner
   7. Obtain a higher paying job
2. Reduce your housing price if possible: I’ve helped people that simply weren’t able to increase their income, maybe because they are retired on fixed income, can’t change jobs due to their needed benefits or family, etc. To those people I would suggest reducing they’re home buying price by adjusting their home search parameters. The more flexible you are on the type, location, etc. of your new home, the more options you will start to have. Maybe a smaller starter-type home is what you need.

Usable Income: In this case, the borrower makes enough “gross income”; however, the challenge is the borrower has too many debt obligations that are eating away at the potential income we could use for a housing payment for the home they want. This is normally when the lender will tell you “your DTI is too high to qualify”. The best course of action here is to reduce/eliminate your monthly credit debt obligation. You can use a method called “debt-snowball”. The debt snowball method is a debt payoff strategy that involves paying off debts from smallest to largest balance. Once a debt is paid off, the money that was previously allocated to that debt is then used to pay off the next smallest debt. This strategy can help build momentum and keep you motivated as you pay off your debts. As each debt is paid off, payments increase in size, similar to a snowball rolling down a hill. We are also able to help our clients quickly identify exactly which credit accounts to pay off to move the DTI ratio meter the most. Schedule time to start your home loan qualification process by clicking here.

How much cash should you have before buying a house?

Lastly, we have to address the “Where’s the money coming from?” aspect. This is the red pill of our housing market/economy. Meaning that it’s ALWAYS better to bring money to the table over not bring anything. You have to be able to invest in the purchase of your home. The ideal scenario is a borrower that can fully fund all expenses needed to purchase a home without needing any assistance. Now don’t get me wrong, we will help anyone get into a home. However, if we look at the true data, people that need financial assistance to buy a home tend to have a more difficult time becoming homeowners: (1) loan programs are too restrictive, (2) sellers don’t want to sell to someone using a loan assistance program, (3) they’re not able to qualify for as much house as a traditional loan program, etc. These are the four areas you should consider:
Down Payment: This normally ranges from a minimum of 3%-5% for primary residence loan programs. If you don’t have the funds, there may be a home down payment assistance program available for you.
Closing Costs: Title costs, government recording fees, appraisal fee, credit report fee, setting up your prepaid/escrow account for property taxes and homeowners insurance, etc. This normally ranges from 3%-6% of the purchase price, depending on the area.
Moving Expenses: Will you need to rent a moving truck, hire movers, take time off from work, pay for deposits for utility hookups, build new furniture, throw a housewarming party, etc.? Many lenders will tap you out at closing, and you may be blinded by the excitement of buying your first home and you simply forget about these costs that are unrelated to buying a home. This is an unknown number because everyone is different. All I’m doing here is making sure you’re aware of this and plan for it the best way you can.
Once you add up everything the starting line is anywhere between 6-11% of the purchase price. If you don’t have it or simply don’t want to spend that amount, then you’ll need to work with the right people that have a strong understanding of creativity financing. schedule time to start your home loan qualification process by clicking here.

Give it to me straight and don’t sugarcoat it Sensei!

Over the course of my career, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the grittiest people I’ve ever had the pleasure meeting. Some of those people “had no hope” of buying a home as a first time home buyer. What allowed them to become homeowners was knowing how the game works. It’s like golf—if you don’t know how to (1) pick the right club, (2) examine the landscape, and (3) swing with the right technique using the right amount of force and accuracy, you’ll easily get tired of “trying” to play golf. There are a lot of people today who are trying to buy a home, instead of actually being able to buy a home.
One of the biggest misconceptions, in my opinion, is that people are trying to get a lender to qualify or approve them for a home loan, instead of just being a well-qualified buyer for a home loan before they even reach out to the lender to “verify their financial status”. Credit, repayment ability, funds needed for closing—these are your core pillars that truly make up the borrower aspect of a home loan.
I’ve been in this business since 2011, and I can tell you without a doubt that traditional loans walk, look, and act similar. Yeah, there are guideline differences, but the truth of the matter is that even with these differences, the essence of the home loan is still the same. Working with someone that has these core home loan assessment experience will put you on the right track FAST. Schedule time to start your home loan qualification process by clicking here.

What would you do Sensei?

The 5 Pillars of a home loan are made up of: Credit, Repayment Ability, Funds Needed for Closing, Subject Property, and Loan Program. For this subject of “How to get a mortgage as a first-time buyer,” you have to find out what you qualify for. My recommended sequence of focus is: (1) Credit, (2) Repayment Ability, (3) Funds Needed for Closing, (4) Loan Program, and (5) Subject Property.
Here’s the honest truth:

1. Before you go under contract to purchase a home (i.e., subject property), you should know what you qualify for (i.e., loan terms/program),
2. Before you know what you qualify for (i.e., loan terms/program), you will have to go through the lender’s evaluation process (pre-qualification/pre-approval),
3. When you go through the lender’s evaluation process (pre-qualification/pre-approval), we will be verifying and evaluating your credit, repayment ability, and available funds for closing.

When you want to buy a home your credit, repayment ability, and available funds are the areas that YOU control. A lender does not control these aspects of your financial life. Your financial habits do. These three (credit, repayment ability, and funds needed for closing) are the pillars that you build up to be in a position to purchase a home. The last two (loan program and subject property) are the aspects of the home loan process that are more of an effect of the first three pillars.
We live in an instant gratification society and want everything now, fast, and easy. The truth of the matter is, that’s not how buying a home works. Now let’s be clear, your home-buying process can and should be simple and easy. If it’s not, you’re probably working with the wrong loan officelender. But you should not expect it to be “instant.” It takes time to buy a home, even more so to buy a home “right.”
When you first enter the housing market to purchase a home, you may have some challenges ahead. However, if you stay focused and dedicated, you will find the right home for you and your family. By following these steps and being prepared, you can increase your chances of securing a home loan and becoming a homeowner. It’s important to be patient and diligent throughout the process, as it can take time and effort to achieve your goal of homeownership. We are here to help you every step of the way. Schedule time to start your home loan qualification process by clicking here.
Happy house hunting! - Mortgage Sensei "Financing Futures, Building Dreams"
Author Bio:
Nelson C. Thompson, Jr., President of The Mortgage Sensei Company. With years of experience in the mortgage industry, Nelson specializes in helping first time home buyers navigate the complexities of obtaining a mortgage. His mission is “Financing Futures and Building Dreams”
References

• List any sources or references used in the blog post.:
• Mortgage Sensei - 5 Pillars of a home loan - https://www.mortgagesensei.co/blog/5-pillars-of-a-home-loan
• myFICO.com - Education - https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/whats-in-your-credit-score
• FICO - https://www.fico.com/
• Kredit Kleanse - https://kreditkleanse.com/
• NMLS Resoruce Center - https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/safe/SitePages/default.aspx
• CFPB - https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-debt-to-income-ratio-en-1791/
• Mortgage Sensei - Home Page - https://www.mortgagesensei.co/
• Special Thanks to Gustan Cho Associates’s GCA FORUM: https://forum.gustanchoassociates.com/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fforum.gustanchoassociates.com
• Special Thanks to NEXA Mortgage: https://nexamortgage.com/
• Special Thanks to Candice Thompson: https://candinichelle.co/
• Special Thanks to Whitni Bell: https://whitnibell.exprealty.com/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13489439/vegetable-oils-hidden-foods-ill-DR-CATHERINE-SHANAHAN-eating-chip-smoking-cigarette.html
Next time you go to the supermarket, read the ingredients lists. In just about every aisle, from dairy to frozen foods and snacks, you will see vegetable oils making repeated appearances on many product labels, including salad dressings, canned fish, ready-to-eat foods, diet drinks and infant formulas.
These oils, usually made from seeds, include sunflower, corn, rapeseed, soy, cottonseed and safflower oils.
Vegetable oil is a global industry. It generated more than £91 billion in 2020, and that figure is forecast to increase to £127 billion by 2027.
Roughly a third of the calories in your diet likely comes from this substance, which has effects on our metabolism that medical science knows little about. The reason why human health is increasingly in crisis is right there on the label, hidden in plain sight.
I'm a doctor with biochemistry training who specialises in family medicine, and I am convinced that these oils will make you sick (if they haven't already).
The amount of cancer-causing toxins found in a serving of French fries is equivalent to those consumed when smoking up to 25 cigarettes. (A 5oz serving has about 25 fries, so eating one chip gives the same exposure as smoking one cigarette)
The link between vegetable oil and poor health is firmly grounded and backed up with hard scientific research. Removing it from our diets can resolve fast-proliferating modern health plagues, such as cancers, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
Vegetable oil is an industrial product that didn't exist until a little more than 150 years ago. In the millennia before industrial agriculture changed our landscape, many human populations relied on animal fats such as butter, beef fat and pork fat.
Humanity has been eating animal fats since the Stone Age, and dairy fat for nearly 10,000 years. We've also eaten oils extracted from fatty fruits such as olives and coconuts for many thousands of years.
But vegetable oils are radically different. Making them requires technologically advanced equipment rather than a simple stone press, butter churn or butcher's knife.
Yet despite the complexity of processing these products, they are now the largest single source of dietary fats, accounting for more calories in our diets than sugar or flour.
Heating oils creates toxins
A basic problem with these oils is that they are very high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). These compounds are very prone to reacting with oxygen — a process called oxidation.
This oil oxidation creates new compounds called, collectively, lipid oxidation products (LOPs).
LOPs don't exist in the plants these products came from — and many are mildly to extremely toxic. By consuming these oils we're exposing our bodies to hundreds, even thousands, of different types of toxic LOPs.
Some of these were almost unknown until recently, when they were identified thanks to new technologies.
These toxic LOPs are formed when the oil is extracted during its manufacture.
Still more toxic LOPs can form in oil during storage, as the oil oxidises (breaks down) over time.
Toxicologists who perform real-world tests on vegetable oils in people's homes and restaurants find that even before cooking, the oils contain significantly higher concentrations of toxins than when they were first bottled.
Even more toxins form when the oil is heated to make food, whether in our homes, in restaurants, or in processed-food factories.
And yet more toxins will form if the food gets heated again, as in when leftovers are warmed up. There are volumes of academic textbooks that describe all the toxins you expose yourself to from eating foods made with vegetable oils.
Yet few people ever read these books or learn about the damning information they contain.
Not all are toxic if heated
Martin Grootveld, a professor of bioanalytical chemistry and chemical pathology at De Montfort University in Leicester, has been trying to warn consumers about toxins in vegetable oils for decades.
He studies oxidation reactions using the best tool for analysing an array of molecules all at once: a one and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscope. This machine can determine the make-up of a molecule by examining how its atoms spin when inside a magnetic field.
The toxins he has identified in vegetable oils include acrolein. This inflames lungs when inhaled, which we may do when frying with these oils. He has also found many members of a toxin category called epoxy fatty acids. These are implicated in breast cancer, organ failure and fertility problems.
Professor Grootveld's analyses consistently show that heated vegetable oils are loaded with toxic LOPs.
By contrast, his experiments with heated coconut oil and butter find that they contain hardly any toxins at all.
However, such is the medical ignorance of these dangers that when I asked Professor Grootveld if he'd ever been invited to present his data at a medical conference, he told me he had not.
What's in those fries?
Aldehydes are perhaps the most dangerous category of the many families of toxins in vegetable oils. This family of chemicals includes the cadaver preservative formaldehyde and many of the toxins that make cigarette smoke carcinogenic and irritating to human tissue.
Toxic aldehydes that form in frying oil can end up in the food.
In 2019, Professor Grootveld led research, published in the prestigious journal Nature, which found that a 5oz serving of French fries cooked in vegetable oil (from a well-known franchise) contained 25 times more carcinogenic aldehydes than the World Health Organisation's tolerable upper limit for exposure.
Professor Grootveld told me that the amount of cancer-causing aldehydes he found in the serving of French fries is equivalent to those consumed when smoking up to 25 cigarettes. (A 5oz serving has about 25 fries, so eating one chip gives the same exposure as smoking one cigarette.)
Deep-frying leads to more toxins
The level of damage done to polyunsaturated oils by oxidation follows the same basic principles as burns on your skin: it depends on time and temperature.
Experts warn that the longer the oil is cooked and the higher the cooking temperature, the more toxins will form.
Eric Decker, a professor of food science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the U.S., is one of the most highly cited scientists in agriculture.
He focuses on preventing oxidation in our food supply, and told me that when it comes to toxin production, 'the biggest risk factor is deep-frying the oil'.
Deep-frying stresses oils for a long time at high temperatures. Fast-food chains often have rules that tell employees to reduce toxicity by changing the frying oil once a week. Smaller eateries and chains may not.
Roughly a third of the calories in your diet likely comes from vegetable oil, which has effects on our metabolism that medical science knows little about
...But pan-frying is a close second
A report in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2000 identified an alarmingly high rate of lung cancer in non-smoking women who use vegetable oils during pan-frying, deep-frying and stir-frying, both in food service settings and their own homes.
Many people know deep-frying is not healthy and avoid deep-fried foods. That's why Professor Grootveld is more concerned about shallow-frying food in pans using vegetable oils.
He has published several papers in various prestigious journals, including a 2019 paper in Scientific Reports warning that you can generate the same 'extremely high levels of hazardous aldehydes' while making popular pan-fried dishes at home.
So it's not just about deep-fried food, and it's not just about restaurants. This could be happening in your kitchen.
Body fat becomes like veg oil
Dr Stephan Guyenet is an independent neuroscientist who has investigated what our increasing consumption of vegetable oils is doing to our body fat.
In the journal Advances in Nutrition in 2015 he published a review of 50 years of studies on the composition of Westerners' body fat.
This showed that the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids in it had gradually increased from 9.1 per cent of all fatty acids to 21.5 per cent. This was in line with increasing public consumption of vegetable oils. The lesson was clear: the more vegetable oil people ate, the more their body fat started to look like vegetable oil.
Our reformulated body fat causes a fundamental shift in our body chemistry. This subjects our cells and tissues to a chemical imbalance called oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress unleashes carcinogenic toxins in cells that can damage proteins and DNA.
Is there a link to Alzheimer's?
In 1906, German pathologist Alois Alzheimer examined slices of brain tissue from a woman who died of early-onset dementia. He found unusual clumps of protein, which he called amyloid plaques.
But the origin of the plaques eluded scientific explanation until U.S. and Japanese researchers reported that these plaques are caused by oxidative stress, in 2001 in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology. Their research showed that oxidative stress damages proteins, generating tiny blobs of cellular debris.
Our brain cells have garbage-disposal systems that can clean up most types of debris. But not all — and not amyloid. The amyloid that the clean-up crew can't handle will accumulate within the cell, and eventually it starts forming amyloid plaques.
The accumulating plaque slows down cellular activity, which slows down the brain's processing speed — and that's when symptoms usually begin.
Many degenerative disorders follow a similar progression.
Another common disease-inducing protein blob is oxidised alpha-synuclein, which causes Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia (the second most common dementia, after Alzheimer's).
A study found that a 5oz serving of French fries cooked in vegetable oil contained 25 times more toxins than the World Health Organisation's tolerable upper limit for exposure
How to de-pufa your body
While I have no doubt that we can get our PUFA levels back down to normal, it takes a while. One study, from 1960, showed that the half-life of PUFA in our body fat ranged from 350 to 750 days, which means it takes that long to clear out just half of it.
More recent studies, such as a report in the journal Cell Metabolism in 2011, pinpoint a similar figure: 580 days on average. So we're looking at three or four years of avoiding vegetable oils to normalise the amount of PUFAs in your body fat.
However, from my experience with patients, the good news is that usually people feel better within a couple of weeks of cutting out vegetable oils, particularly if they suffer from chronic pain or stomach problems, because their bodies' inflammation levels will have dropped significantly.
So how do you know what to look for? Check the ingredients list of every product that has a nutrition label. Every. Single. One. Because you simply can't predict what will have vegetable oil in.
You might think that dried fruits, for example, wouldn't, but they do. Or peanut butter. Or nuts, rotisserie chicken, mayonnaise and dressings that say 'made with olive oil', granola, canned tuna, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and other vegetable preserves, even random things such as vitamins and spice blends.
Most people who shun vegetable oils tend to use butter, olive oil and peanut oil. For home cooking with healthy oils, you need to choose the oil that matches the cuisine.
I use olive oil for homemade pasta sauces and anything Italian, Mediterranean — or even Mexican (the traditional fat would be lard, which I can't easily get). I also use it for roasting vegetables and making dressings, marinades and mayonnaise. If you like to make Thai and Indian dishes, you might want to add coconut oil.
How to avoid these oils if eating out
Restaurants take advantage of the fact that vegetable oils cost less than traditional fats and oils such as olive oil and butter.
Many use vegetable oil in all deep-fried, pan-fried and batter-fried foods (including crispy noodles, onion rings, fried shrimp, chicken dishes and Japanese tempura). Restaurants love to serve deep-fried food because the process is so simple that you can hire staff without any culinary skills whatsoever.
Avoiding deep-fried food is the number one rule for eating in restaurants and grabbing food out. Anything battered or breaded and fried is typically deep-fried — and in fast-food restaurants and many other establishments, it's often fried twice — once at the factory and a second time before it's served.
More than half of the calories in some deep-fried foods are in the form of the most oxidised and disease-inducing, heat-deformed vegetable oils.
Dishes that are baked or steamed instead are clearly preferable to anything that's fried.
Restaurants also use vegetable oils in sauces traditionally made with butter or olive oil, including hollandaise sauce and aioli.
Most salad dressings contain vegetable oil in place of olive oil or cream. (Any restaurant dish that contains mayonnaise will likely contain vegetable oil, since it is rarely made with olive oil.)
Vegetable oils are also baked into doughnuts, Danish pastries, muffins and numerous other desserts and confections.
My 'hateful eight' oils to avoid

• Corn oil
• Rapeseed oil
• Sunflower oil
• Soy oil
• Cottonseed oil
• Safflower oil
• Grapeseed oil
• Rice bran oil

My 'delightful dozen' good fats

• Butteghee
• Extra-virgin olive oil or unfiltered refined olive oil
• Unrefined peanut oil
• Unrefined coconut oil
• Unrefined avocado oil
• Sesame oil
• Unrefined palm oil
• Bacon fat
• Tallow
• Lard
• Chicken fat
• Unrefined tree nut oils (almond, hazelnut, pecan, etc.)

What about refined versions of peanut oil, for example? These oils are not nourishing, but they're not as bad as my Hateful Eight, so fall into a middle category of 'OK but not great'.
You don't need to avoid them, but if a more nutritious alternative is available I'd recommend that instead.
Some people worry about 'smoke point' — this is a term used by the oil industry to sell lower-quality, refined oils, which always have higher smoke points than their extra-virgin (i.e. unrefined) counterparts.
These lower-quality oils also have fewer antioxidants, which means they oxidise at lower temperatures than higher-quality oils, so your food will contain more toxins.
Smoke point simply refers to the temperature at which a fat starts to smoke. It doesn't tell you what you really need to know, which is whether the oil is oxidising or not (only toxicology testing can tell you that).
At the smoke point, you might see a wisp of light blue smoke, and heating the fat past that point will fill the air with bitter smoke and ruin the food.
An oil with a high smoke point allows for higher heat and faster cooking, which makes things go quicker in a busy restaurant. But when your high smoke-point oil is also refined and high in polyunsaturates, you're exchanging speed for toxicity.
The suggestion is that using an oil with a higher smoke point preserves the food's flavour. But a high smoke-point oil doesn't do that.
What does? Using normal cooking techniques such as stirring and turning down the heat. Most foods should not be cooked at super-high temperatures anyway, because heat also destroys the nutrition in the food: the higher you heat something, the less nutritious it becomes.
Adapted from Dark Calories: How Vegetable Oils Destroy Our Health And How We Can Get It Back, by Dr Catherine Shanahan (Orion Publishing, £18.99), to be published on June 13. To order a copy for £17.09 (offer valid to 08/08/24; UK P&P free on orders over £25) go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.Next time you go to the supermarket, read the ingredients lists. In just about every aisle, from dairy to frozen foods and snacks, you will see vegetable oils making repeated appearances on many product labels, including salad dressings, canned fish, ready-to-eat foods, diet drinks and infant formulas.

Dearest gentle player,
It is with much delight that this Game Master welcomes you into the dazzling and glamourous ton of the Adamant Empire.
In this world of socialities, schemers and sycophants, you will be assuming the role of debutantes, bright and accomplished Gems, who are either just now being introduced to society or who are returning to it after being away for a very long time, with the intent of securing respectable matches for themselves.
Armed only with your wits, wiles and charms, you must charm suitors and navigate the rigid society of the Empire while avoiding scandal and ruin. Gods forbid you end up being dragged through the mud in the mysterious Lady Quartz's society papers!
What will you strive for, gentle player? Will you search for that perfect one, throwing caution to the wind in the pursuit of true love? Will you prove to be the most sparkling of Gems, earning yourself the favour of her Grace, the Queen Consort Ciyradyl, and the title of the Diamond of the season? Will you aim to rise as high through the ranks as possible? After all, why be content with being a Mrs. when you can be a Duchess? Or will you strive to forge a different path for yourself, forsaking what your family and society has set out for you? Something in between?
Whatever your goal is, be weary, dear player. For in this world, secrets are a dangerous currency and scandals can destroy entire families. Be an example of fine society or embrace infamy, tis your choice. Just know that the ton is always watching, judging in hushed whispers and giggles.
So, follow my lead and dance through candlelit ballrooms as we create together a tale of thrilling character drama, love, passion, ambition and bitter rivalries, all that which makes a heart flutter with enthusiasm and dread.
And if our darling debutantes unwittingly end up entwined in a conflict much grander than they could have ever anticipated? Well... is it truly a D&D game without some heightened stakes?
Campaign Pitch
Thank you for reading through my ramblings. I will be running a bit of a niche idea for a campaign. Those who have seen the Netflix Series Bridgerton or have consumed any media inspired/related to Jane Austen probably have a fairly good idea of the kind of story I am going for.
Essentially, this game will focus a lot more on your characters, their goals, desires and tribulations while they wade through the social season. There will be a main plotline as well as many other storylines linked to NPCs and factions that the players might interact with if they so wish, but ultimately I enjoy focusing on what my players find most enjoyable.
This will be a very roleplay heavy game. Combat will occur on occassion. This is D&D still after all so I am essentially contractually obligated to allow you to bonk at least a few times, but combat will only happen when the story demands it-and the story likely won't demand it that often. I suppose you can theoretically go out to the wilderness and do a dungeon crawl and I will play along with it, but if that is what you are seeking out of your D&D experience, this is sadly not the game for you.
Besides from roleplay, there might be some degree of urban exploration within the city of the Summit, the capital of the Empire and the setting of our campaign. There will potentially be some opportunities for sleuthing too if that is an avenue the players decide to explore more.
Instead, most of the game will be focused on exploring the lives of your characters and for those around them as well as that of your larger society. You can expect a lot of talking to each other and to NPCs so I encourage you to get deep into your character's mindset, to flesh them out as a person and to allow yourself to get vulnerable while playing them. Those are the moments my current table thrives on. We have quite literally cried as result of scenes. So never hesitate to speak up, try something new out and go deep into your character's soul.
As for me, I will strive to create an immersive, breathing world. I want my NPCs to feel like real people and for you to bond with them as such. I want your environment to react to and remember your actions, what makes you who you are. For this purpose, I will work with each of the players to intergrate their characters into the Adamant Empire and to best accomodate what you want to do in and out of character.
Speaking of the world, during character creation, we will work together to create the province you are from as well as your family and their place within society (status, any connections to guilds they might have, etc). So, you will be actively involved in creating at least a few small parts of it.
Once I have gathered up all players and received their backstories, there will be a two weeks gap between that and starting the game so I can get some more GM prep done with all the factors in mind. I want to try and begin either at the end of this month or at the start of the next one, but I won't push on this too hard.
Once we have started, I want to settle on a consistent schedule so schedule compatibility and consistence is quite important for me. I do not have a specific end date in mind for this game. I believe campaigns should last as long as it takes for them to have a satisfying conclusion. That being said, my games tend to be on the longer end so keep that in mind too.
If any of that sounds like your cup of tea, feel free to fill in the form down below! Hopefully we will get to create a great story together.
Lore
There is some lore within the Adamant Empire and the continent it is a part of, Kosmos, but nothing of massive importance that you would need to know right out of the bat. It has its own history and pantheon of Gods, etc, but honestly I am more than happy to work with the players to adjust the existent lore or to add entirely new one. Never hesitate to reach out to me.
The basics of the world are these though:
The Adamant Empire is thousands of years old. It is fairly similiar to the irl British Empire in many ways. It is extremely powerful and influential and it has supposedly independent colonies that in essence function as puppet goverments all over the continent. Few can match them in power.
That was until a hundred years ago.
King Edmund Diamant was determined to conquer one of the last remaining nations that could potentially rival the Adamant Empire, the elven isles of Yara Ambar. He miscalculated gravely, however, and that led to the Empire's first true loss. Taking advantage of the distraction, multiple colonies revolted and enough banded together to form the City States of Andora. With the assistance of their infernal supporters, the revolutionaries have gained some level of independence and are now almost certainly plotting to claim more and more of the Empire's lands for themselves.
The Empire's legions, coffers and reputation took a significant blow and they were forced to sign a treaty with the elven royalty.
Prince Orion was betrothed and later wed to an elven noble woman. This was a significant event because for centuries now, since the reign of Cedric the Conqueror, it had been strictly forbidden for non-humans to be part of the Adamantian nobility. The Oldblood families, the most ancient of bloodlines within the Empire, protested against the decision, but there was little to be done.
King Orion and his consort Queen Ciyradyl have reigned together for 70 years now. During their rule, peace and prosperity has largely been maintained and the people are content. More and more non-human families have also made their into the ton, a most scandalous occurence at first, but one that the ton has grown to accept with time, albeit some races more than others.
Alas, it is uncertain how long peace will last still. With the 99 year old King growing ill in body and mind, his wife and children have primarily taken over his duties. The City States of Andora stand proud to this day, a mark of shame upon the pride of any true Adamantian. Much conversation remains over what is to be done with them. Simultanously, there are many other forces who would benefit to see the Empire crumble on its knees.
Life in the Adamant Empire is about to change. Whether that change shall be for better or worse and what role you might play in it is yet to be revealed.
There is yet another element that needs to be discussed when it comes to the lore and that is the Gems/Steels separattion.
In essence, I and my players wished to replicate the sort of narratives one might encounter in the books of Jane Austen, where for example the Bennet family must marry all their daughters or they will end up with no inheritance (gasp!), but we still wished to be able to have PCs be male or to explore queer romances and narratives.
So, we settled on the following idea:
There is a secondary label by which individuals are put into one category or the other. People either bear the Mark of the Gem or the Mark of the Steel. This system of social distinction in essence replaces the era accurate existence of sexism.
Gems and Steels can be male or female, it does not matter. Similarly, Gems and Steels can be in relationships with men or women, that also does not matter. Creating offspring is still important within society, but magic can also accomplish that so gender or sexuality is not a factor.
What matters is that Gems are not allowed to inherit property and titles and are very limited in the careers that it is appropiate for them to have. They are expected to spend their time at home, tending to the needs of the household and the family. Steels have none of these restrictions.
Your characters are all Gems, meaning they need to marry -and marry well- in order to secure the best possible future for themselves.
Idea might be slightly altered in the future, but the skeleton of it should remain the same more or less.
As you might have figured out from this, while we will be trying to keep the spirit of the era and many of its customs, we won't be going for 100% historical accuracy (if you did not figure that out from the fact that magic exists). So, if that is what you are looking for, sorry but this table probably won't perfectly match your taste.
Table Rules
Given that we will be very focused on roleplay, character creation will have some according adjustments. you can find those down here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a7JdKnUQEfsoEOufrb8hACKmDBzIGaKEzXGKtT1sD7o/edit?usp=sharing
If you require some guidance in creating the narrative elements of your character, you can use this doc as a well as a sort of guideline:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qAudZPqYzCS9lDZGp7E6ZtWQExmCvP3DQnUqFZ9u3Ww/edit?usp=sharing
Some more rulings to keep in mind:

• Social PvP is allowed, but combat must be discussed by the players and the GM beforehand.
• For inspiration, you can have up to 3 at a time.
• Drinking potions is a bonus action :)

And we might come up with more as we play.
Plot Hook
The Player Characters all have town lodgings in the same neighbourhood, Fairbrooke Square. Thus, they might know each other to some degree or they might not. That is up to the players.
Regardless, as you were all neighbours growing up, you would have grown up alongsides the at the time Viscountess Kristina Royce (Steel). The specific relationship and dynamics that you had with Kristina can be fleshed out later between you and I, but everyone knew her in some shape, way or form.
Ten years ago, Kristina's parents died, making her Countess of Stirling and shortly after she left to roam the sea as Royces tend to do. Whether you maintained contact with her afterwards is once again your decision to make.
Kristina has now returned to the Summit, shortly after breaking off her betrothal to Emil Pleasant (Gem), son of the Baron of Fairbrooke Square and another one of your neighbours. You can also decide what kind of dynamic you have with him too.
While your whole street is whispering about the impending social season and the latest hot gossip, you (the PCs) each receive an invitation to dinner from Kethryllia Royce, Doawger Countess of Stirling, grandmother of Kristina and former handmaiden to the Queen.
It is uncertain yet what she wishes to discuss with you about, but that private dinner will be the inciting incident of our game.
Player Requirements
If all this sounds good to you, then now it is time to see if you would be a good match for the table! The ideal player for us would match the criteria down down below.

• Is 18+.
• Has a decent internet connection.
• Has a laptop cause you need that for Foundry.
• Has a mic and camera and is comfortable with having the camera open for sessions (yes, this is obligatory. I understand why some might not like it, but I find roleplay flows much more smoothly when you can see the other's face so this is must. Sorry.)
• Is available every Sunday from 4 to 9 BST.
• Is LGBTQ+ friendly as I am not going to allow any kind of hate at my table.
• Loves roleplaying.

As you might have noticed, level of experience is not a concern here. Newbies and experienced players are welcome alike!
Player Application
If you match all the criteria above, wonderful! i can't wait to hear from you. Go ahead and fill the application in. It is a bit long, but I hope it will be as fun for you to fill in as it was for me to make.
I already have three amazing players and I am looking for two more to fill out the party. The form should remain open for around a week so take your time.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXCoA6pUYSWk2WzsNq0Vb1N7xj3BSB8C3DEPVOmYfPAJ3KJg/viewform?usp=sf_link
Afterword
If you have read through all my ramblings, thank you very much! Remember to include the word "bonbon" in there so that I know you did.
This is a rather new experience for me if I am sincere. I have been GMing for a few years now, but this will be a very different sort of game to what I usually run and I am also rather new to Foundry too.
I cannot promise it will be a perfect experience, but I can promise that I will always strive to make it an enjoyable one. I am always open to critique and willing to adjust things for the entertainment and safety of the group.
I have bored you enough I would say. Farewell for now, gentle player. Let us not keep the ton waiting.

Please forgive the dramatic title but it’s true; it’s becoming a matter of life or death for me quite literally. Long story short I used ibkr to save up my uni money between 2019 and 2021. Due to sickness I took 2 gap years and started medical university in September last year. No one supports me financially and I have been living from liquid savings till now. But they have run away. I was comfortable knowing I have money at my brokerage account and so wanted to withdraw the money now. But I cannot do it for the life of me. I simply cannot log into the portal. The message I get is what I posted in this post.
I tried calling the numbers as advised but no one picks up. Because the service for Europe is based in Switzerland, it costs me roughtly 3usd per minute. The money is being charged while waiting for the assistant; I’ve lost a lot of money I don’t have trying to get there. In my country I cannot use the toll free number. It just doesn’t work. I have run out of liquidity and desperately need the money I’ve been trying to withdraw for 2 weeks+. Trying to call the support has been adding additional costs onto me to the point that I seriously have not had money to buy myself and food today yet (and it’s around 7pm here in Europe). No idea how I’m gonna get any food tomorrow either.
I cannot enter live chat because you need to be logged in to do that (sweet irony indeed, IBKR…). I had an idea - set up a new account to contact a representative from there. And so I did. Was getting a message that I need to confirm email before I can access chat (I have already) and after many days of trying I finally managed to get into the chat. Well, turns out you need to have a live ccount to get to talk to a representative. 🥹
Guys, I beg you for help in solving this issue. I am having exams at my medical university atm and should be focusing 100% on them because this is seriously difficult material… and I cannot even eat. My mental health is starting to spiral downwards and all because IBKR doesn’t let me solve the issue in any other way than 3usd per minute phone call with an assistant that doesn’t pick up from me anyway. Why on earth is my account blocked anyway? I have my email, all credentials, ID, bank account that I supplied my brokerage with cash from, EVERYTHING. LET ME FUCKING EAT. 😭😭😭😭😭

In today's competitive job market, it's more important than ever to have a strong resume that highlights your skills and experience. The Software Engineer Resume Handbook: AI-Powered Edition is a comprehensive guide that will teach you how to write a resume that will get you noticed by potential employers.
This book is packed with tips and advice from experienced software engineers and recruiters. You will learn how to:
Create a resume that is tailored to the specific job you are applying for Highlight your most relevant skills and experience Use keywords that will help your resume get noticed by applicant tracking systems (ATS) Write a compelling cover letter Prepare for your job interview The book also includes a number of AI-powered tools that can help you improve your resume. These tools include:
A resume scanner that can identify potential problems with your resume A keyword checker that can help you optimize your resume for ATS A resume builder that can help you create a professional-looking resume in minutes Whether you are a new graduate or an experienced software engineer, The Software Engineer Resume Handbook: AI-Powered Edition is an essential resource that will help you land your dream job.
Here are some additional reasons why I recommend this book:
It is up-to-date with the latest trends in resume writing and job searching. It is written in a clear and concise style that is easy to understand. It includes a number of real-world examples and case studies. It is packed with valuable resources, including templates, checklists, and websites. I highly recommend this book to any software engineer who is serious about their career.
Overall, The Software Engineer Resume Handbook: AI-Powered Edition is an excellent resource that will help you write a resume that will get you noticed by potential employers.
I hope this book recommendation is helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
https://resume.knkconsulting.co/build-resume-for-fanng-for-software-engineer