Guide

The 9 Easiest Ways to Get Free Journal Research

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One of the most frustrating prospects for writing a scientific article is having the right access to quality sources. A foreign language learner’s blog is fundamentally different than a journal addressing second language acquisition. Google (including Google Scholar) only gets you so far without a more comprehensive toolkit of resources to draw from. Most journals want money for an article, others have a web interface that rivals something spawned from the ARPANET era which even modern search engines struggle to index.… Read the rest

Esoteric Daoism and the Rise of the Three Kingdoms in China

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First, a disclaimer, this is an armchair history piece. I’m going to cite Wikipedia a lot. What I’m citing agrees with what I previously learned in college and the multiple sources I’ve read about the subject if that’s any consolation.

The collapse of the Eastern Han into the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history wasn’t as much an “if” as much as a “when”.… Read the rest

The Programmer’s Guide to Optimizing for Usability

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When you design software, you can’t just focus on the functionality of the product; you have to also focus on how it’s going to be used. What are you developing and who’s going to be using it? Most software engineers can answer the former, but struggle a bit more with the latter. Your users will ultimately determine how your program is actually used.… Read the rest

A Guide to Detoxing from Work

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With the massive move to work from home in light of the current pandemic, learning to detox from work is more important than ever before. When the line which demarcates working becomes as fine as “being in a given room” or “using a specific computer”, the whole world can get a little blurry. Where does work end and life begin?

The primary way I inoculate myself against work following me home too much is by following a detox ritual.… Read the rest

Is It Time to Bring Back Victory Gardens?

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Victory gardens were gardens planted during the world wars in order to provide extra food. Infrastructure was taxed, logistical hurdles made it hard to get fresh produce where it needed to go, and there was a shortage of workers to make everything work. Sound familiar yet?

They gained their popularity during the First and (mainly) Second World Wars. Many nations lacked the ability to keep everything stocked let alone the whole logistics chain running smoothly.… Read the rest

The Basic Guide to Blank Mind Meditation

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Meditation changed me for the better. It helped calm my mind from the chaotic noise of life, but even more from my own thoughts. This calm rippled over (and continues to ripple over) into other aspects of my life and helps me stay more relaxed and more fulfilled afterwards.

Blank mind meditation, which is also colloquially referred to as Zazen (even though that isn’t strictly correct), is a simple technique to clear your mind and bring calmness and relaxation.… Read the rest