Every guys thinks they know how to flirt. Everyone thinks flirting is a “piece of cake”. They then tried to approach a girl and get a cellphone number. She rejected him on the spot, embarrassing him in front of his friends and her friends.

After that incident, that guy would have the what I call the FIDS (Flirting Is Difficult Syndrome). Learning How To Flirt With Girls is simple. The thing is, guys thinks that flirting is all about just “Approaching a girl and get her number”.

That is where they are all wrong. By the end of this article, you would realize why 96.2% of the guys who don’t know these 3 secrets fail when it comes to flirting. Little by little you would come to realize how do you actually flirt with girls and what are you doing wrong. Don’t fall into the 96.2%.

1. Talk like a comedian, not a professor – I have learn from many past experiences that in order to successfully flirt without getting rejected, you have to be able to take a lot and switch topics from time to time to get the girl be very interested in you.

Spice up her interest. Make her laugh. Make her smile. Make her want to know you even more. That is how you flirt. I have seen many losers who tries to flirt and talk to a girl till the girl is obviously uninterested and want to walk off so badly that she have to say, “Sorry my mum called, and I need to rush home.” Don’t be boring – that is the hard truth.

If you don’t know how to start interesting conversations with girls, start reading Steve Scott’s “Flirt Mastery” Guide. I have personally read it and I give it a 10/10 rating. It teaches you from how to start a conversation to successfully end it with whatever you want her to do (including sleeping with you. No shit)

2. Girls Needs Their Ego Boost – Many guys, or rather, most guys, thinks that girls doesn’t need any ego boost or are just so shy that they don’t feed their potential mates with the ego that they need. Guys, stop being so stubborn. To start flirting effectively with a girl, you’ve got to put down your pride a little. I would always see guys fail just because they miss out 1 word in their opening sentence.

“Hey, Can I Buy You A Drink?”

“Hey Pretty, Can I Buy You A Drink?”

The 2nd statement has 95% chance of being successful, while the 1st statement has a huge 99% chance of failing.

3. Be Confident, Overly Confident – When you start approaching a girl and getting ready to flirt with her, push your confidence level up to 500%, the more the better. You have to be THAT confident. The first impression is always the most lasting impression. Give the girl the impression that you are VERY CONFIDENT. Confidence is a giant magnet to attract girl. Period. If you don’t know how to start being confident the right way, again I recommend Steve Scott’s “Flirt Mastery”. It covers on how to start a conversation confidently, and make the girl like you instantly.

In this extended thought-bubble the theme will not concern the general properties of God, as previously, but rather the specific worldly properties which might be considered divine.

Traditionally, the human body is said to have five senses, a body, and a soul; Additionally, the mind is sometimes (in philosophy) called an intermediate property between the body and the soul, and it is either by reference to this intermediate point, or through reference to the soul’s knowledge, that people conceive of a sixth sense.

In some accounts of God, God is merely the superior man, and thus the only thing which separates God’s psyche from the human psyche may be a quality of the mind, body, or soul. In this sense, magical properties are sometimes ascribed to souls, bodies, or minds which exceed those of a human. In this regard, some may find the mind the least believable of these three, even though in some sense it is the most empirically verifiable. For example, some will claim that psychic powers are not verifiable, or that the potentials of the body are only known subjectively, or through mental or local-sensory faculties. So the territory seems to get muddy when there is no clear evidence which cannot be reduced to an exceptional variation of something commonplace.

As examples of this, scientists do not often find it super-human to have an exceptional memory, to know mathematical or linguistic tricks, or to have bulky musculature. But, indeed, according to the argument, these are sometimes signs of the exceptional development. That is, when exceptional development is not exclusively subtle or uncanny; Someone might cite that some powers involve manipulation and concealment, so there is an undertone of weakness belying strength since the advent of the ‘Dark Emperor’ archetype in the Star Wars films. But, most conventionally of that type, it was said in the plot line to be a response to ‘power corrupting’, and thus perhaps more of an unconscious metaphor than a factual one. But that earlier perception has precedent in such images as the poet being a guide through Hell in Dante, the genie trapped within a magical lamp, and the tradition of someone dying while uttering important advice. Certainly there is some superstition about the relationship of the soul with the body, and also the trials of passage which may lead to exceptional intelligence, strength, or psychic powers.

To some extent the trend with these things is a kind of domination of others, a mere way of creating a precedent for superior advantage, which can then be exercised lazily as time passes. In this way there is a disillusionment, not that someone needs more experience or a superior character, but instead that at some point the person (entity) chipped-in, and decided that the task, trial, or method was important in the first place; Adding to this, is the simple truth that commitment over time gets results; So the true exceptions look inspired, rather than intimidating. Thus, the only case in which these three powers are intimidating, is one in which they adopt intimidation, or one in which commitment over time has granted results. If there is an exception to this, it is because there is a superior form of mind, body, or soul, which rightfully might not be compared in the same mortal terms at all. Thus, some of the cases involve confusion, some involve jealousy, and some involve potential. There is little exception to this;

What about the mind? The exceptional mind may have (1) More feeling, (2) More access, (3) More constructs, or perhaps (1) More integration, (2) More language, (3) More energy. These kinds of platforms provide some basis for a general rule on the development of the mind: (1) It requires energy or feeling, (2) it requires constructs or language, and (3) it requires access or integration; If there is an alternative to these rules, it is likely to take a ‘natural’ approach, suggesting that in the past some of these elements have already been encountered, and hence, the context is in some sense experimental, but experienced.

What about the body? The exceptional body may have (1) A better metabolism or chemistry, (2) High reaction time or task-digestion, (3) A healthy compulsion OR it may have (1) Streamlined information absorption, (2) Athletic compulsion, (3) Lack of compromise. So it is likely to have a general rule of (1) information-digestion-metabolism and (2) uncompromised health, and (3) athletic brain. If there is an alternative to this, it is likely to involve some alternate form of athleticism, such as psychic athleticism, asceticism, or chemical selection. Largely these are only permissible through outward reflections in experience, rather than a body-only approach.

What about the soul? Conventionally, the exceptional soul approaches other aspects of self in a permuted fashion. Thus the genuine soul is only an organizing factor for other factors required for experience. However, I will try to provide a soul-centered approach. Presumably the soul is not just the mind, although it may be highly reflected in the mind, and although it may condition properties of the body, contrary to e.e. cummings statement that the body is the soul, when there is a soul, there must be sense in which the soul has its own properties or categories: I will shy away from the prospective that the soul is religious, as I feel this is a form of confusion which resembles drug addiction (religion is so easily or frequently merely captured in iconic objects, creating a difficulty in reaching for what might be genuine spiritual feeling, and not a basin, or blood, or a memory of priests, etc.). In my view the exceptional soul involves at least three qualities, which are reflections of the older properties of Fate, Reason, and Volition. These are (1) Rhetoric (Strategy), (2) Psychology (Emotion or Intuition), and (3) Intelligence (Creativity).

Combining the Three aspects of the three forms yields some general intelligence about exceptional engenesis, yielding the following categories of prospective development:

Here I compare [1.1, 2.2, 3.3], [1.2, 2.3, 3.1], [1.3, 2.1, 3.2] where the soul is put first, the mind second, and the body third;

(1) Rhetoric (Strategy), It requires constructs or language, An athletic brain

(2) Psychology (Emotion), It requires access or integration, Information-digestion-metabolism

(3) Intelligence (Creativity), It requires energy or feeling, Uncompromised health

In each case there is an element of the soul, the mind, and the body.

What else is missing from this picture of ‘applied’ exceptionalism? Perhaps a theory of what is divine about mortality.

What examples are brought to mind by uncompromising health, mind, and soul?

For one thing, there is the image of elite Navy SEALS teams that are told to ‘Eat shit or die’, to eat garbage as part of their fitness training for battlefield conditions. This connects with some of the most basic dimensions of the mortal condition, e.g. that we are inefficient food processing units that turn food into garbage, instead of recycling water and turning carbon dioxide into oxygen. Although in the context of worms ‘shit’ may easily be a form of oxygen, an equivalent component of natural cycles, and in the fourth category of immortality there is potential to ‘adapt’ and re-envision new aspects of the natural cycle, which may typically seem inefficient at first, but seem like the best thing later, nonetheless there is a difficulty in not being able to ‘eat crap or die’. It is clear that this symbol is a common reference for the hypothetical entity who has organized geriatric units. People are running into the fundamentals of the human condition when they encounter a clumsy nurse mishandling a bed pan. Some would say this is simply fulfilling the contract with worms.

So there is a question of the fundamentals which is not the airy realm of the mind, the soul, and the athlete, except in the context of the elite special forces, a term which in my imagination is almost comparable to the numenous quintessence which was said to constitute the planets before the age of Galileo.

Surely there is, in this information age, a kind of computing error which has occurred, when people in common speech refer to ‘shit’ as the constituency of everything. Feces should not be the new quintessence, and it is this kind of fundamental value which provides a platform for considering the life of the immortal.

In the realm of the mind, one may be tempted to think in terms of quintessence, and then to be disillusioned, and dramatically adapt (with some sophisticated mental circulation of course) the thesis that life is shit. Sometimes this type of disappointing life cycle is adopted unconsciously, for lack of information; But in my view, everything concerning the mind is beyond this petty configuration. Let us consider the popular notion of the Mensa, a real institution devoted to the mental activities of geniuses. There is a popular notion that they may drink too much caffeine, or that they have behavior deviations, because of the ‘unusual pressures’ upon their life and circumstances. By and large, however, the Mensa is an attempt to express nature, or something un-natural which has been a by-product of nature. For a Mensan this would be fundamental biology, not a lesson about their specific case. So it is important to realize that the Mensa is not the special forces, it is not trying to re-integrate with the problems of nature, and moreover it is not necessarily true that they are deviant personalities. When they are deviant, they would cite ‘power corrupts’, and we would be right to say that in some respects, they are like poets, or genies, or old men on their deathbed—the figures which defined the paradigm of the Dark Emperor. Yet, fundamentally, Mensans also (at least usually seem to) encounter the frailties of life. So we cannot say that the mind by itself necessarily grants immortal life, even if it is clear that these people have steered clear of battlefield training.

Finally, approaching the third category (soul), it is important to realize again that the religious soul is not what I mean. There are things like acts of charity and holy wars, which so far as I’m concerned, have been proven by philosophy to not represent the spirit in its true form. That is, the spirit is on a conceptually contingent axis, which may sometimes be present with those things, maybe even half the time, or with strong probability, all of the time, just as it has a strong probability of being involved with many other things, but which doesn’t strictly represent—-or not automatically—the statements, positions, or beliefs that are represented by those things.

So I will turn to my three categories to imagine a soulful context: the cases of Rhetoric, Psychology, and Intelligence. In the first place, I will assume that cases of solving riddles are too faux (false) and therefore don’t represent a realistic condition. I am of the view that riddles are bought, and while they may be bought by an authentic intelligence, the fact that they are bought makes the representation (perhaps even the solution to the riddle) arbitrary. I am also of the view that many psychological experiments are equally arbitrary, and equally unconfirmative of the true nature of spirit. That case of the riddles provides an interesting background for other investigations, however. Then it can be said that the genuinely soulful, when it is materially represented, inevitably involves intelligence or creativity, that is, if those categories are exclusive.

What then, is more intelligent than Mensa? A pragmatic paradigm that does exactly the right thing, with no obsession, no bullshit, and no accolade. This depends on the prior examples, in which it can be fished out that the key exceptions to the formula, where they exist, may involve such things as psychic metabolism, a natural approach, or a dark emperor mentality represented by poets in Hell, genies, and a dying person giving advice on the deathbed (in this inference to intelligence, I refer to the later conclusion that intelligence or creativity—such as that of poets or genies or the dying person—is what is implicated by a non-religious view of the soul).

Combining the ‘three experiments’, what one must do to emulate the immortal in a mortal life is (1) translating ‘eat crap or die’ to mean Adapt, (2) Avoid battlefield training, (3) Be creative; In this sense it is clear that the SEAL teams pervert the idea of the body, the Mensans have learned to adapt, and it is poets, genies, and dying men who have found religion;

That concludes this lesson of the Secret Principles of Immortality, Edition 10.

Century BOB XL with Base Unit (Body Bob or just BOB for short, although I’ve called mine a few not very nice names when I’ve used it… gotta get that aggression out!) is a very popular piece of kit amongst martial artists and self defence enthusiasts. And for good reason. Let me tell you how I came to have one.

Several years ago, after 25 years of traditional martial arts training (I’m a Jujitsu black belt) I found myself getting disillusioned with that kind of training so I began to train in Combatives, which is a very no-nonsense form of self defence, made up mainly of simple power strikes. I would often practice pre-emptive striking on the hanging bags but found they were not very good, mainly because of the shape of them and the high risk of injuring the wrists and hands.

So I began to wonder if there was a more suitable piece of kit out there for practicing these techniques on. I did a bit of research and eventually stumbled across the Century BOB. As soon as I seen the pictures I knew I had to have one. It was exactly what I was looking for. That same day, I ordered one and haven’t looked back since.

My Rating

I had found the perfect piece of equipment for practicing my striking techniques, and especially my pre-emptive strikes. Because the Body Bob has a real “purdy” face (not really, he actually looks like he’s having a shit) it gives you something to focus on and makes your experience of striking it that bit more realistic. It’s features are anatomically correct so I was able to target specific areas to the head and body, and do all this without wrecking my hands and wrists. It is also fairly portable, so I could set it up anywhere around my home.

The Century BOB gets a four star rating from me. Why not a five star? Well, despite being such a great product, like all products the punch bob has it’s draw-backs, as I’ll explain shortly. Next we’ll look at the positive aspects of this famous rubber man called BOB, but first, watch this video as this guy put BOB through his paces.

Century Bob Pros

1. His Anatomically Accurate Features

Like I mentioned, unlike other punching bags, the body bob is shaped like a real human being, being it has a featured face and torso, and this is good for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it helps with target accuracy. Unlike hitting a standard punch bag where you are just targeting a featureless spot on the bag, with the BOB you can target specific parts of the face and torso. You can palm strike under the nose or chin for instance, or jab to the eyes. With punching techniques you can also target the jaw, which is where you would target on a real opponent. Repeated practice with this kind of accuracy can really help when you come to do these strikes for real (and having been a bouncer for many years, I can testify to this fact).

It’s also difficult to properly practice open hand strikes like palm strikes on a hanging bag because you are essentially hitting a flat surface. The human head is not flat, so when you hit a standard punching bag you don’t get an accurate representation of how the strike would feel. With the body bob, your fingers naturally curve over the head, as they would do on a real opponent. And because the fingers don’t get pushed back like they do on a standard bag, your wrists and digits are much less prone to strain and injury.

You can also vary your angles of attack with the body bob. With most hanging bags you tend to have a wall obstructing you on one side, which makes it difficult to get 360 degree movement. With the BOB you will have no such problems, as you can move freely around it. This also makes it easy to practice chokes and holds from the rear as well.

The features of the punch BOB’s face will also make it easier for you to get into that combative mindset. When you stand in front of the BOB it is easy to imagine that you are facing a real person, unlike with a featureless hanging bag. This also works out great for situational control (practicing the fence technique) and even verbal de-escalation, since you have a person-like object to focus your words on.

Lastly, if you are an instructor like me, the punch bob is great for teaching students exactly where on a person they should be striking and how to do it, which is difficult to explain with a featureless hanging bag.

2. Ability To Add Garments For Added Realism

Yes, BOB is also Barbie Bob, as you can if you wish, dress the big fella up in whatever clothes you feel like. You can put a T-shirt on him, hats, glasses, whatever. Aside from the opportunity to amuse yourself with ridiculous dress-ups, there is also a serious side to this, because it only adds to the realism, making it even easier to imagine that you are facing a real opponent.

3. Adjustability

You can make the Century BOB taller or shorter according to your needs, which is good if you want to practice against different sized opponents. If you’re into kicking this is a good way to practice your high kicks (or head kicking the more vertically challenged amongst us… not that you would do that, of course).

4. Portable Versatility

The Century BOB is quite easy to move around, unlike most heavy bags that are chained or secured to ceilings. BOB sits atop that wobbly base, so you simply twist him off and roll your base to the new location before setting BOB back on again. I have a couple of different bases around my gym and home, so rather than have the hassle of moving the base all the time I just disconnect the lighter BOB instead. Very handy indeed.

5. Long Lasting And Easily Cleaned

The body bob is made of high strength plastinol, which means it is very tough and durable and can withstand years of brutal punishment from you, unlike some heavy bags I have owned in the past which tend to rip after repeated abuse. It is also very easy to clean. Just wipe with a damp cloth.

Century BOB Cons

1. The Dodgy Base

As I said, the Century BOB is mounted on a plastic base that you will have to fill up in order to keep BOB grounded. You are supposed to fill it with water, but I find if you fill it with water then it isn’t very well grounded and it can move around a lot. If you batter it hard enough and for long enough it can fall over, which may do great things for your ego, but it’s a pain in the ass having to pick the thing up again. If you are going to keep your punch bob in one place, then I suggest you fill it with sand instead, or even small pebbles. This will add more weight to the base and it will be much more secure.

2. Legless

The body bob has no legs, which means practice of low kicks are out. Yes, you could simulate the kicks, but if you make contact with the plastic base you’ll probably hurt your leg and also damage the base, which will make it difficult to disconnect BOB if you need too.

3. Marks Easy

BOB is obviously made of rubber, so anything that can mark rubber will mark him as well. Kicking him with shoes on will do that, as will having rings on your fingers or hitting him with weapons like sticks or nunchucks. The odd battle scar on BOB doesn’t bother me at all. He is there to be abused after all, and the damage is merely cosmetic and doesn’t affect the functionality at all. If you are OCD about that kind of thing though, then be careful how you hit him.

4. Big Softy

Despite his hard man image, BOB is really a big softy, in that the rubber he is made out of is very pliable. It doesn’t have the same firmness that a heavy bag would. His face crumples when you hit him. This is good for protecting your hands, but bad if you want solid impact. The torso is a bit more firm, so you can go town a bit more down there. The punch bob has enough features to make up for this lack of firmness though and it really isn’t that big of a drawback.

Final Analysis

As mentioned earlier, I have chosen to give the Century BOB a four star rating. I think it is an excellent training tool and it’s great for practicing your strikes on. It has a few drawbacks yes, but these are minor compared to the benefits you will get from having one of these in your tool kit.

The punch bob certainly will not replace the heavy bag, and nor was it ever meant too. It is what it is however-and that’s the best striking dummy on the market.

If you’re a martial artist, MMA fighter or self defence practitioner, then I highly recommend that you invest in one of these as it will add to the quality of your training without a doubt.

TIS: CT Indie provides an invaluable service to independent music lovers not only of CT, but surrounding states as well. Can you tell me what motivated you to start the site?

CTI: It all started after I read an article Eric Danton did for the Hartford Courant called “Pumping Up Indie Music” in February of ’07. The article talked about how the local indie rock scene was growing, and this inspired me to jump in and help. I created the CT Indie MySpace page to provide a networking hub for Connecticut’s local bands, venues, and promoters. MySpace’s blog was garbage, though, and I wanted a proper website for people to visit, so I got the blog up and running a little over a year later in July of ’08.

TIS: A lot of touring bands opt not to play our fair state and instead stick with MA, NY, RI, etc. What do you attribute that too?

CTI: Mainly it’s that we’re missing mid-sized rock clubs that are easily accessible by foot and public transportation. Sometimes Connecticut is just a bad fit for a band. A few months ago there were two bands that decided it was too impractical to play Connecticut – Naomi Punk, and another called Nervous Systems. The expense of touring through Connecticut didn’t make sense for those bands because it was their first time on the road and they were almost completely unknown by our local scene. For bigger acts, sometimes it’s as simple as a radius clause, which will keep a band from playing too many shows within a certain number of miles of a certain area for a certain length of time. So, whether your band is huge or barely a blip on the radar, playing Connecticut can sometimes be more trouble than its worth.

TIS: What’s one of the strongest elements the CT Indie Music scene has going for it?

CTI: The strongest elements are the promoters, all the great local bands, the slew of local labels, and cities like New Haven and New London. In general, we do our best to all work with each other to make shit happen. There’s also a solid house-show culture here.

TIS: What’s one of it’s weakest?

CTI: The insularity of Wesleyan and Yale is a drag, but understandable.

TIS: Can you create your dream show and venue (CT optional) for me?

CTI: It’d be nice to see a business model like the Iron Horse Entertainment Group take hold down here. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think it would help build up, maintain, and possibly create more venues across the state. But my dream show is much simpler – I would love to see Shaki Presents happening at BAR again.

TIS: What’s your take on the Indie Hip Hop scene of CT? Anyone you’re really digging right now?

CTI: I know next to nothing about it. Ceschi and his label Fake Four is about all I can think of.

TIS: Name me three things that bands do while playing live which turn you off?

CTI: Not moving, getting too drunk to play, and not joking with the crowd.

TIS: Who else, beside CT Indie, should people be aware of in the state that work really hard and do it for the love (publications, radio shows, promoters, etc)?

TIS: The list is huge. How can I not mention Manic Productions, Safety Meeting Records, WESU’s Homegrown and Bobby D.’s Connecticut Rocks on WPKN? Brushback’s blog One Base on an Overthrow. Hartford Party Starters Union are doing what they can in some fairly tough territory. Steve Rogers at The Space. The folks behind the soon to die Popeye’s Garage. Danny at February Records. Joe at American Laundromat Records. There’s Enemies List and Never Heard Of It Records. There’s Redscroll Records. People like Alexis Zanghi, John Panos, Rick Omonte, Ben Levesque, the new promoter Asterisk Concerts. The list goes on and on.

TIS: Any big plans on the horizon for CT Indie?

CTI: Well, getting release review stuff sorted out is a priority. It’s hard because the locals need to be talked about, but there’s also the fact that a lot of what comes in isn’t material we talk about, or if it is, it might not be up to snuff quite yet. There are some other plans that I’m just keeping mum about for now, though.

TIS: What do people need to know, and do, to continue making the CT Indie music scene successful and worthwhile?

CTI: I think everything will continue to grow so long as we all keep working at it. We cannot take on the attitude that it is all or nothing. I mean, I’d like to see CT Indie be as big as Brooklyn Vegan. Lofty goals are fine and all, but it’s about getting down in the trenches and helping each other out as best as we can. We cannot let one bad day or one rough week get in the way of the long term.

If you’re born between 1978 and 1994 – sit up straight and read this. Then after you have read it, make sure you understand it. If you don’t, read it again until it sinks in. The “Entitlement Generation” – have been described as impatient, self-serving, disloyal, unable to delay gratification – in short, feeling that they are entitled to everything without working for it.

This is even worse if these individuals work in organizations that are constantly moving forward always with the best interests of its team at heart. What we hear is the whining and winging that drowns out the efforts of companies who want to help and are helping these individuals. But you know what they say about empty vessels making the most noise – little wonder why these ignorant people are so blind to the security they’re given and the pay rise extended in a time when cut backs and price hikes are happening. This is just plain stupid and idiotic.

In light of the recent fiasco with the oil hike, I increased some salaries, mileage claims and opened doors for employment opportunities. But then there will always be certain individuals who think that the grass is greener on the other side. But that’s ok. It’s fine. I will be the first one to encourage my people to look for better opportunities anywhere they feel can offer them a better life.

There are some employees who believe and act as if they are more deserving than others at work without “paying their dues” – aren’t willing to do the grunt work necessary to learn the job, but they sure want the perks I don’t know where these people come off thinking they are entitled to things it took me 20 years to get. You got to be pretty stupid to think that. And forget the bull shit saying that you just need to work smart and not hard. That is rubbish! There is NO SUCH thing as not working hard! We MUST work hard before we can ever think about working smart.

I can understand it perfectly well if someone leaves a job for something better – but to leave a great job for a government position – earning a fraction of what they were earning before? It boggles the mind. There’s nothing secure about government jobs by the way – so don’t think that it’s going to save you. But then again, it’s probably a great place for the entitlement generation to be.

Those infected by ‘Entitlementitis’ an illness, reported more tense relationships and even higher levels of workplace depression. Little wonder why you have long faces greeting you and dead voices answering phones at government organizations that is absolutely ridiculous.

I don’t feel sad for myself or my team when an employee leaves for greater things. As a matter of fact, I will be happy for them as I have prepared them well for bigger things in life. But I feel that people are sometimes pretty ignorant when they leaves a supportive and successful environment of my organization for something that can collapse at any time. Is this what living dangerously is all about? Nope. I think it’s living stupidly.

What are a few years of long hours and 8 day work weeks going to do – kill you? So what if your spouse nags about you working so hard? Stick your guns and persevere – they will soon see the results. Never give up a true opportunity for a transient solution to regular work hours and mindless pencil pushing and six tea breaks in a day. These individuals will not put up with the ambiguity that saturates most work settings. If they don’t know where they can get, how to get there, and what it will get them, they are not going to ‘buy in’ to the objectives of the company.

You know, if there ever was a category of words blessed with a rich and large definition then definitely the word ‘Flake’ will fall into that category. From the slang dictionary, some people have referred to the word to mean one or all of these: freak, kook, screwball, loner, goony, weird, goofball and a host of others.

I did just hear someone ask, How do I know my boyfriend is a flake? Hold on, its somewhere in here, coming up, yeah I got it! You’ll know He is a Flake when you can tick his name off amongst two or more of these:

Says He will call and doesn’t.

Asks you out and never sees through to the outing

Is quick to pull a get out of plans card

Never brings up conversations of substance

Is unreliable, undependable and not focused

Agrees to do something but never follows through

Cant seem to keep his shit together

He truly excels in making bizarre errors and creating incredibly convoluted disasters

Can think up an excuse for anything but their own existence

Is a pathological liar

Great at ideas but lousy at execution

Spends a lot of time thinking about where he wants to go but not much time actually moving his ass down there.

If your man scores an average on this, then you got a Flake on your hands. Drum rolls!!!!! What do you do when you find out that you happen to date a Flake? It’s two things, isn’t it always. You either proceed with caution knowing his flakiness can cause frustration in the future or you find a way back out before his actions hurt you.

It can be quite frustrating putting up with a Flake, days of disappointments, anguish, pain, hurt, anger, arguments, quarrels await you, but if you totally understand the kind of person he is then it cant be that difficult can it? You’ll just learn to deal with his nature squarely, if you choose this route then you should know that it can get tiring and days you just really want him to be there, might just be day number 2 for Flaking and girl you get stood up again for the 555th time. Hmmm! That’s a lot of standing ups.

Flakes will flake out on you not because hurting you was top on the list but because that’s his nature, to Flake. You can help him outta that situation. If you can’t, leave before you get helped.

Life is not full of roses and positivity all the time, there are moments when even the most inspired person feels down.

Here are 5 tips that I have used to help drag me out of a negative or ‘bad’ vibe and got me back on track to some good vibes. When we are in flow with the positive vibes in our own space, that is when the magic of opportunities start to happen.

1. Develop your mindset. Reading self development books, watching you tube motivation videos in areas where you feel you need to strengthen yourself will help to improve your mindset and confidence.

You are More than you think you are. Yes you are. You just have to look at ALL of your qualities. If you can’t see what they are, ask your friends, they will tell you the honest truth.

2. If you are not failing, you are not doing. By this I mean we all have to at least TRY something, right? If you are not trying SOMETHING then ultimately you are not doing ANYTHING, which means you are going no where.

However, when you go all out and try, but it doesn’t quite turn out right, then FAILING and learning from that failure, ensures you are MOVING FORWARD!

We have to move forward from our failures. Do you know that most successful people fail loads of times, but they learn from each failure and next time turn it into a success. So can you.

3. See the Positive in every Negative. Let’s face it, shit happens, we do get dealt some awful blows at a time when things seem to be going really really well. However, sometimes you just have to look deep into the situation to find out what the positive was. For instance, the other day my son had a car accident, (not his fault) and he felt so down, in fact distraught was more close to the truth… but what came out of it was that his car was fixed and had newer grills put on it. Now a few months before he was ‘moaning’ about the scratches and little stone dents on his bonnet, but now his bonnet was getting fixed as part of the claim. To me, that was a positive out of the negative, also the fact that a lesson learned was to be more aware of other drivers and what they are doing, and don’t second guess that they do know what they are doing!

4. Let it Go! Yep, just like the track Frozen, if you hold onto bad vibes, negative feelings, sadness too long it will bring you down, and possibly push those around you away. So just ‘let it go. There is nothing you can do about it anyway, but reflect and learn from the situation. Go out and have fun, watch a comedy, find the funny moment in the ‘bad’ event, do something to make you smile, the negative vibes will soon leave your body.

5. Look Forward, not back. Listen we were created with eyes in front of our heads, not behind us, so that gives you a clue as to where you should be looking right? Too often people get stuck in the past and keep looking back over old issues / problems. If you keep looking back, you won’t see a new door or opportunities opening up for you.

If you do some if not all of these things, your life will turn itself around and you will discover that there is more in life, through the lessons life dishes out. Yes every trial and challenge is a lesson life has for YOU especially, and if you don’t take head of that lesson life keeps repeating the lesson until you GET IT!

One aspect of prepping that gets a lot of mention, but not very many in-depth articles or posts, is prepping for the whole family. We see a lot of preppers that prep for themselves and their kids but not many are prepping for extended family, elderly parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents or pets. This oversight can lead to disaster in the event of a major disaster or SHTF event.

In response to this I have decided to post a short article with a few easy to follow points in regards to family prepping.

Prep for Everyone

It is very easy, and relatively common, for people to discount their extended family members when prepping. I myself have approached several members of my extended family with prepping information only to have them laugh or scoff openly about my “Chicken Little” tendencies. I am happy to report that some of those family members are now full fledged preppers and play vital roles in my prepping strategies, but still others hold out against it.

I said the same thing that many of you said, “Well, if they aren’t willing to prep, I can’t prep for them and they are just shit outta luck when the SHTF”. Unfortunately that isn’t a logical or practical answer in the long term. I know that I would have a very hard time turning away a family member in need, especially if it could mean their demise. Yes, right now I can easily cut them loose and write them off, but in a real event I don’t think it would be possible.

I decided to redouble my efforts and try to plan for them even if they don’t want me to do so. If they never show up, I have extra preps. If they do show up, I am not overburdened. Of course, as a homestead preppers this is easier done that if I were a bunker prepper.

Prep for Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa may be in your prepping plans, and if they are you will need to ensure a good many things. Your prepping plan will need to take their nutritional, medicinal, sanitary, physical and mobility needs into consideration. Obviously some elderly folks are easier to prep for than others, unfortunately we cannot pick and choose our family members. You will need to add specific foods and herbs to your gardens and you will need to research which herbs can be used in place of common medicines for pain, swelling, arthritis, etc. Prepping for the aged will also require quite a bit more knowledge in regards to first aid and nutrition.

Perhaps one of the hardest parts of prepping for the elderly is preparing the others in the family for life with Grandma and Grandpa in a world without a lot of the advantages of modern society. I wont go into great detail here but just understand that keeping the elderly clean and healthy will be a task not lightly undertaken. One must also consider the difficulty of dealing with Grandma and Grandpa when their time has passed. This will be a rather tough time both physically and psychologically, just as it is now.

Prep for Pets

Fido and Mr. Whiskers aren’t prepping for financial collapse or the Yellowstone Super Volcano. It’s a safe bet the only planning they are doing involves whatever it is they are currently doing. Our job as masters of the home and owners of the pets is to prepare for them. Their needs are simple in comparison to kids and old folks, but don’t let that simplicity make you skimp on their preps.

Fido is a good dog. He can help you carry stuff, guard your shelter and protect your family. He can also help you hunt and is really good at helping people relax. The advantages that Fido brings to the table are numerous and you should consider that when prepping for him. Don’t use a SHTF event to change his foods, he won’t like that and it could make him depressed. Make sure his favorites are packed away for that horrible day. Also make sure you bring a few of his toys, some snacks and a blanket for him to sleep on at night. Dogs are extremely resilient and easily adapt to change, but he will react to the stress everyone else is under, so let’s not add to his troubles.

Mr. Whiskers is a different beast altogether. He won’t hunt for you, he won’t carry anything for you and he won’t protect you. He will however provide a sense of normalcy and calm in the face of an otherwise overwhelming event. Cats are amazing stress reduction tools and seem to know exactly when you need them to snuggle you or purr in your ear. It is exceedingly hard to remain upset when a cat climbs up in your lap.

Mr. Whiskers won’t travel well most likely. Make sure to help him with this by including things that he knows and loves. Your local vet will also have some meds that can help Mr. Whiskers travel. Make sure you have his favorite blanket or sleeping mat. Make sure you have some toys and his favorite foods and snacks. Keep him happy and he’ll make up for the scratches you are likely to get when snatching him up on the way out.

If all else fails, you can eat Mr. Whiskers for dinner if times get tough.

Symptoms of stuttering and lazy tongue or twisted tongue can greatly be improved with basic stress management technique and hypnosis.

The phrase “lazy tongue,” which I coined, basically speaks for itself. When the affected person attempts to speak, it seems that the tongue is lazy, twisted and simply doesn’t move fast enough to enunciate what is spoken. The result is slurred speech and or stuttering. It often feels as though the twisted tongue is enlarged and because of this feeling it is often easy to bite the tongue or the side of the mouth–rather painful.

Typically stuttering is not necessarily associated with a lazy tongue, but more often simply stuttering is associated with excessive tension in the mouth. Whereas one can begin suffering from lazy tongue at any age, stuttering is often left over from child hood.

The issues surrounding both lazy tongue and stuttering are similar. Stuttering is often associated with a less than healthy self image resulting from a conditioning experience of an embarrassing nature as a youngster, or having an overbearing and critical parent. Lazy tongue, on the other hand, is usually the result of a major stressor such as loss of a marriage, death of a loved one, loss of a job…

With both stuttering and lazy tongue, there is a situation of low self esteem. However, a boost in self esteem (although helpful) usually will not solve either problem without stress management intervention.

For example, Carl was 19 years of age and away at college. Stuttering since elementary school he successfully stopped all stuttering within three weeks of stress management training. He returned home over semester break and promised his father to clean the garage one Saturday.

Carl became distracted and never got around to fulfilling his promise. His dad came home from work later on Saturday, noticed the garage wasn’t cleaned, and called Carl a “stupid shit,” for not cleaning the garage. Carl’s stuttering returned instantly.

This is a case of having an overbearing, over critical parent who in combination with the son’s sensitive nature, contributed to his son’s stuttering which often makes overcoming stuttering a two part program.

1. Using basic stress management skills involving deep rhythmic breathing, and muscle tensing relaxation exercises for the various muscles of the jaw, mouth, and tongue.

The deep breathing into the diaphragm is for composure. The muscle exercises are to stretch the jaw in various directions, stretch the tongue and press it against various locations in the mouth. It also involves tensing the facial muscles. Each time the muscles are tensed, they are tensed to the point of extreme discomfort–almost to the point of fatigue. Then the tension is then released and self mental programming is done as to which feelings are preferred and which are disliked.

2. Self hypnotic affirmations are used to change the perspective so as to build confidence and create building self esteem. Focus is on dealing with the emotions of rejection, disappointment, and frustration. Through hypnosis the individual moves to embrace the emotion and then move beyond it to somehow benefit from the experience.

An enlightened approach to stuttering and lazy tongue involves more than one approach. Whereas many programs only focus on the mechanical, you wonder why the obvious self esteem issues are left out or only dealt with in passing. It’s clearly a mistake to ignore either the stress management or the self esteem issues. Doing the physical exercises and dealing with the mental issues of building self esteem produces real results.

Alpha Or Beta: Which Would You Prefer?

There is this thing going around about alpha males and how they are every woman’s dream partner. An alpha male who most people call a “real man” or rather, a man’s man is every lady’s fantasy knight in shining armour. They are the movers and shakers of this world. They are the kind of people who are always noticed wherever they are because they permeate power, confidence and intelligence. Alpha men are usually attractive. Apart from their physical qualities, it has been reported that most Alpha men perform wonders in bed. And out of bed, they represent the perfect gentleman (tell me what girl doesn’t dream of this). The image created here seems like that of a perfect man. However, most things with pros also have cons. I’ll discuss the not so appealing qualities of alpha males after this description of a beta male.

A beta man is a regular sort of guy. Statistics show that we have more betas than alphas among humans (of course! few leaders and so many blind followers. It’s just so sad). I wouldn’t call them wimps but they are passive individuals who just allow other people dictate how they live their lives without doing much to change it. They are comfortable working for someone and taking shit from him/her because he/she is the boss. They are the “nice guys” and most times, girls prefer bad guys because of their ruthlessness and spontaneity rather than the predictable and overly considerate nice guy. Unlike the alpha male who just says what he feels and face the consequences whenever and however it comes, the beta man says what he thinks you want to hear. So in other words, he is a people pleaser. He avoids risks and confrontation as much as he can. He likes being in his comfort zone and is the kind of person who says sorry during a face off even when he is not at fault. He could be aggressive but in a passive way. He complains about a lot of things and bottles up his opposition (which could be dangerous because when he has had enough he might actually explode and God have mercy on whoever will take the hit).

What You Might Not Be Told

• Alpha males lack patience and expect others to not only understand their vision but also work with it.

• They possess an innate stubbornness that makes it impossible to dissuade them once they set their mind on something; whatever it may be. They are the kind of men who fight to get what they want and then discard it when it is no longer appealing to them.

• Alpha men get bored easily. They love challenges and hate predictability; which makes it almost impossible for them to stick to something that no longer triggers an adrenaline rush in them.

• An alpha is a perfectionist and loves being in control. They strive to dominate situations and people. So, if you can’t work well with a dominant person, don’t hope to have a happily ever after with an alpha male or female (there are few women who posses alpha qualities so why not just call them alpha females?).

• Another point you should be aware of is that alpha males are highly competitive. Though this is one of the envied qualities of an alpha male, it could become annoying when it crosses the line.

If you are intelligent, spontaneous, patient, control loving and can handle the needs of an alpha male (or female) then you might actually be in for the time of your life.

What Most People Overlook

• A beta male (woman) values personal relationship.

• He would make a good spouse because he can easily fit into a domestic environment.

• He is attentive to the needs of the people he loves.

• He is quite patient.

• Makes out time for his family.

• Does not take unnecessary risks.

• Appreciates those that care for him.

• He is easy to live with.

• He is capable of compromising (though this can be a flaw in certain circumstances).

Even though alphas are supposedly born that way, beta males can develop certain alpha qualities. There are even books written on how to become an alpha male. There are also programs which help people develop confidence and self-respect. Though they might not turn you into a perfect alpha male, they would make you better (personally, I feel there is a hierarchy within alpha and beta males because everybody cannot operate on the same level). Alpha males can also work at being better individuals because there is always room for growth.

There are people who might not fall into these categories because the classification is broad and might not be able to cover the entire human race. However, everyone at some point would exhibit some qualities of an alpha or beta.

Another group to be aware of is that of the omega male. His beliefs are contrary to those of the alpha male. He doesn’t care what people say or do. His actions are governed by his beliefs and interests. Omega males rank lower than the alpha and beta in the hierarchy.