Tag Archives: Opinions

Job Seekers Beware!

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young working mother cuddling baby and using laptop at home
Photo by Sarah Chai on Pexels.com

Job seekers, beware of people trying to gather information concerning you! Mostly, nowadays, I work as an independent blogger, writer, consultant–what have you.  But I still apply for jobs from time to time. And it seems like some of the job listings are nothing more than information gathering schemes

I get that employers want to know a little bit about you; but if you are uploading a resume–or filling out a sampler profile sheet (and you shouldn’t have to do both) then that should be enough!

In my opinion, asking for the place of birth, birth date and the like, is a bit intrusive.  That information has nothing to do with your ability to do the work requested.  Also, if you are sent to a page where there are “ads” amongst the application questions— is a bad sign that it might not be a real job.

Finally, I personally question companies that want you to send in a free sample of your writings or work.  If they can’t follow the link you’ve provided to your portfolio or website to see your work (so that you can at least get a site visit click for your time); –then you have to answer the question if those are people you really want to work for.

If you believe that you are being scammed, most job boards and job sites have a way to report that job so that it can be removed.  Hopefully they have something in place to catch most of the bad listings– but they might not be able to get them all. Happy Hunting!

Thank you Udacity l OneTen and BIT

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A very cool thing happened to me on Monday. I graduated and received my Digital Marketing Nanodegree from Udacity. It all started when I was awarded a scholarship to attend the online program. I believe the scholarship was a joint venture between Udacity, OneTen, and BIT (Blacks In Technology).

It was a great experience for me because I was able to pick up new skills, and be exposed to new methods concerning marketing, that I was unaware of.  As you may know, I’m a blogger and I write content primarily because I enjoy it.  But, the new knowledge will help me manage and operate my site more efficiently.

The techniques and the Insight that I gained from the program will hopefully help me increase my social media reach so that I can in turn, help others with their awareness campaigns.

Some of the topics we covered, and projects worked on, were data analytics using Google Analytics, scheduling content for posting, creating user personas (to identify your intended audiences), and managing marketing campaigns from start to finish. We also worked on ad creation, and AB Testing. Some of these things I had heard of before, but most I have never used/implemented.  Now, I can put into practice my newly acquired skills and take my site to the next level.

So, shout out and  thank you Udacity and OneTen and BIT for the opportunity.  I appreciate the knowledge and it was time well spent.

#DigitalMarketing #Udacity #OneTen #BIT #BlacksInTechnology #DanielSpeller

Passing No Cell Phone Use Bills is Not a Good Idea

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picture of car with cell phone
Image: Bing photo

I think Lawmakers are sometimes quick to make laws they’ve not fully considered, partly because I don’t think they plan on following them; and they are usually connected in some way to a special interest group.

Passing No Cell Phone Use (for any reason) bills is not a good idea for the following reasons:

  • You need cell phones and mobile devices for GPS.

Most people these days use GPS to navigate. I would imagine more accidents would be caused by people missing turns than anything experienced thus far.

  • Cells phones help people stay connected.

People don’t use house phones/land lines as much as they used to. Cell phones are a primary means of communication.  Saying that you can use a phone on public highways and roads for any reason is…. stupid.

  • Cell phones serve as a way of documenting what happens as you travel.

Needless to say, for many people of color, the cell phone is used to tell the story of what happens behind the scenes after being stopped by the police.  I suspect that a great deal of pressure behind these laws are coming from groups like organizations and groups who want to keep the status quo of not holding police accountable for their actions. They hate being recorded. But, if they won’t change their actions, then laws concerning phones should not be changed. As a matter of fact, if anything, it should be mandatory to record every interaction with police since they have a bad habit of forgetting to turn on the camera they have that’s not supposed to be off anyway.

Yes, people should pay attention while they drive to keep from being distracted. But, there are laws already on the books to handle accidents.  Use those.

Also, I really do want positive interactions to happen between the public and the police–but things happen.  And, until police get out of the mindset that they are some kind of military special forces, problems will occur.

But, as far as the cell phone goes, they are here; everybody uses them; and you can’t stop or arrest everyone. If anything, before making laws like this, they should be put on the voting ballot for a vote by the people. Tell me what you think.

June 29th 2023: Clarence Thomas Day

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clarence thomas, one of the unqualified supreme court justices - opinion.

Today, Clarence Thomas, and his buddies, decided to declare that Affirmative Action should essentially be no more.  It’s interesting that this decision should come at this time, but we as Black people will do what we have always done—grow and prosper.  It may take a little time to adjust, but not long.

As in all things now, time has considerably sped up and we are on a trajectory to overcome that cannot be stopped. Clarence Thomas, and his ilk, are but a cog in a wheel. And when cogs go bad, they are replaced.

I declare today Clarence Thomas Day because I want people to remember what NOT to be when you are in a position to do good for others.  Self-loathing, non-self-aware and a grifter, are all the traits he seems to display in his position as a “Supreme Court Justice” … or maybe he’s the supreme court jester, I can not tell. Let this day be a day that all remember and let it be said: He did all he could to keep his people down. May God wrestle with his soul.

Enough about Clarence. It’s time now for us start making decisions that benefit us as black Americans. Leave the parties, become independent and vote for those who hold your best interest at heart.

Ways to Reduce Water Retention

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image of banner: Do better with our health

Since I’ve been back in my hometown, I’ve noticed I’ve been putting on weight… and my ankles look swollen. 🤨 In doing a few searches online, I discovered it could be from water retention. So, I thought I’d write an article about it.

There was one particular article found on Healthline.com that I thought was very interesting.  It’s was called 6 Ways to Reduce Water Retention (Edema).

Edema, water retention, happens when excessive fluid is retained in the circulatory system or within tissues—causing swelling in the hands, feet, ankles, and legs.  There are several potential causes for this.  Hormonal changes, lack of physical activity, kidney disease, obesity, and even allergies are a few that I’ll mention.  The article I mentioned above names others as well.

My concern at the moment is with my ankles–so I was looking at ways of addressing that issue.  If you have a concern with water retention, please check with your doctor (if you have one), to make sure it’s not a serious condition associated with why you’re retaining water, otherwise there are a few things you can try to maybe help reduce the amount of water being retained.

NOT Drinking water is NOT THE ANSWER.  Surprisingly, you may not be drinking enough water to begin with—which adds to the problem of fluid retention.  So, one option to address fluid retention should be: DRINK MORE WATER.

Other things to try:

  1. Exercise more. Who wants to do that right? …lol.  Subtle changes can make big differences.  Consciously add more movement and activity to your daily routine.  Do things that you will enjoy and know that you will continue to do. Then continue to add other things to your daily routine.
  2. Eat less salt/sodium. No doubt this is hard…cause salt tastes so good. I know. Enjoy it in moderation.
  3. Eat more fruit and vegetables. I read that eating fruit high in potassium like bananas, tomatoes or avocados could help reduce the fluid retention. Eating other fruit like peaches, watermelon and cucumber could also help.  Of course, eating a variety of fruit and vegetables can help with a lot of issues and get you looking right.
  4. Eating herbs or making teas like dandelion tea could be a natural diuretic to add to your mix. I was surprised to find out how many edible things just grow out there in the yard.   I think you should absolutely investigate and learn about plants before you make a tea or soup out of it, but there are a surprisingly number of good plants that are helpful and used to be used as home remedies, but today we call them weeds or flowers.

There is a lot more information about this topic to be found in the links below.  I just wanted to write a few notes on what I found to get you started.

Thanks for reading and I hope you keep coming back to the site and exploring.  Tell your people about me and contribute to our grow!  ✊🏾

 

Resources:

Stop Retaining Water…By Drinking More Water

Google Search about Water Retention