All posts tagged: stuff

How to Talk to Kids About the Bad Stuff

How to Talk to Kids About the Bad Stuff

Published by Jenni Sidey

These days it can feel like the amount of bad news and tragedies in the world is overwhelming. As adults, we have different strategies for coping, but it can be tricky figuring out how to talk to little ones about bad things that happen, whether it’s the death of a close relation or scary things happening around the world. Kids are often curious and pick up bits of things they overhear. When kids ask direct questions, it can be confusing for caregivers to know what and how much to share. It often feels like a balancing act between giving information and not causing fear, stress, or anxiety in children and adolescents. Fortunately, we have some guidelines about what to do in these moments. 1. Be honest We all know the adage “honesty is the best policy.” It holds up here too. Kids deserve an honest answer. Honesty avoids confusion, misunderstanding, and later distress if they learn they were deceived. Caregivers may be tempted to censor the truth to protect kids, but being honest in an …

Stop copy-pasting the same stuff and start using text expansion everywhere

Stop copy-pasting the same stuff and start using text expansion everywhere

Published by skeptic

Have you ever stopped to calculate how many times a week you type the exact same phrases? Your personal email address. Your home shipping address. That politely professional “Please let me know if you have any questions” sign-off. It’s a mindless, repetitive chore. If you are anything like I used to be, you either grit your teeth and type it out for the thousandth time, or you awkwardly hunt down an old document just to copy and paste from it. It’s 2026, and I believe we are too busy for this kind of busywork. What if you could condense those sprawling paragraphs and tedious details into just two or three deliberate keystrokes? You can achieve that in the world of text expansion — a productivity secret that changes how you interact with your computer. Once you set up a system-wide text expander, you will wonder how you ever survived without one. It is time to stop copy-pasting the same stuff and start letting your keyboard do the heavy lifting everywhere you type. A text expander …

US war on Iran has no Plan B, warns Scott Lucas: ‘Trump just wants to kill people and blow stuff up’

US war on Iran has no Plan B, warns Scott Lucas: ‘Trump just wants to kill people and blow stuff up’

Published by Sam Flores

As the US war on Iran escalates, sowing conflict across the Middle East, Angela Diffley is pleased to welcome Scott Lucas, journalist and Professor of American Studies and International Politics at the Clinton Institute, University College Dublin. The Trump administration entered this confrontation assuming that overwhelming pressure and military force would compel the Iranian regime to capitulate. Meanwhile, Israel seeks nothing short of regime change. Without a coherent plan, does Iran risk a similar fate to Iraq or Afghanistan? Keywords for this article Source link

Even for fans like me, the Pokémon 30th anniversary ‘stuff’ is a bit much | Games

Even for fans like me, the Pokémon 30th anniversary ‘stuff’ is a bit much | Games

Published by Sam Flores

It has been almost impossible to escape Pokémon for the past few weeks. To mark the 30th anniversary of the original games, the Pokémon Company has been on an unprecedented promotional nostalgia trip for the entire month: there was a campaign where celebrities gushed about their favourite Pokémon, gifting us the memorable sight of Lady Gaga singing with a Jigglypuff, and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (great Game Boy Advance remakes of the original 1996 games) were rereleased on the Nintendo Switch. The Natural History Museum in London has opened a special Pokémon pop-up shop, and a limited-edition greyscale Pikachu plush toy sold out in about three seconds (they will be making more, to the disappointment of scalpers everywhere). The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. And all that is just the start. We’ve seen the opening of a Pokémon theme park in Tokyo, the announcement of a tiny Game Boy-shaped music player that plays the games’ soundtrack, a collaboration with high-fashion brand JimmyPaul …

Stuff Your Kindle Day is here — score free sapphic books today only

Stuff Your Kindle Day is here — score free sapphic books today only

Published by skeptic

FREE BOOKS: The latest Stuff Your Kindle Day takes place on Feb. 26. Sapphic Shelf Explosion, hosted by Year of Queer Lit, is offering free sapphic books for your e-reader. Stop what you’re doing. Another Stuff Your Kindle Day just went live. This has been a glorious year for bookworms. The quantity and quality of Stuff Your Kindle Days has been unprecedented, and the schedule is showing no signs of slowing down. We’ve got two events on the calendar for this week, but for now, the focus is firmly on the Sapphic Shelf Explosion. This 24-hour giveaway, hosted by Year of Queer Lit, offers participants the chance to download 100s of sapphic books for free or just $0.99 (check the price befoe you buy to avoid disappointment). And better yet, everything that you download is yours to keep forever. SEE ALSO: I tested the best Kindles to help you find the perfect e-reader Looking to make the most of the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day? We’ve lined up everything you need to know about this …

We’re putting more stuff into space than ever. Here’s what’s up there.

We’re putting more stuff into space than ever. Here’s what’s up there.

Published by skeptic

Earth’s a medium-size rock with some water on top, enveloped by gases that keep everything that lives here alive. Just at the edge of that envelope begins a thin but dense layer of human-built, high-tech stuff. People started putting gear up there in 1957, and now it’s a real habit. Telescopes look up and out at the wild universe. Humans live in an orbiting metal bubble. In the last five years, the number of active satellites in space has increased from barely 3,000 to about 14,000—and climbing. The biggest use case: “megaconstellations” like Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service, which by itself has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit. And then there’s the garbage: 50,000 bits of debris larger than a baseball now orbit Earth, along with a million more objects bigger than a coin. If you enjoy things like weather forecasts and digital communication, hope they don’t start crashing into each other. Here’s a closer look at Earth’s ever-thickening shell of human-made matter—the anthroposphere. Source link

A new Stuff Your Kindle Day is live — download 100s of free romance books for your Kindle

A new Stuff Your Kindle Day is live — download 100s of free romance books for your Kindle

Published by skeptic

FREE BOOKS: The latest Stuff Your Kindle Day takes place on Feb. 9-13. The new Free Romance Book Blast offers romance books in a variety of subgenres for your e-reader. Have you got big plans for Valentine’s Day? Cancel them, because a new Stuff Your Kindle Day just dropped. The Stuff Your Kindle Day schedule has been predictably hectic in 2026. We had a number of free giveaways in January, but February is on another level. We count nine events this month. Not all of them are huge, but between the niche events and massive drops, bookworms are going to be kept busy. The latest giveaway is hosted by the Indie Author Collective. Be My Valentine is a romance book blast, offering (you guessed it) free romance books from a variety of subgenres. Everything that you download for free is yours to keep forever, so don’t hold back. So what if you’ve already got a huge stack of books waiting to be read. Add to your virtual pile without guilt. SEE ALSO: I tested the …

‘Kids do love reading, if you give them the right stuff’: Campaign to get children back into books | UK News

‘Kids do love reading, if you give them the right stuff’: Campaign to get children back into books | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

How to get children reading again has become one of the highly debated questions in education. At the centre of it sits an argument over what young people should be reading at school, with the campaigners behind the Lit in Colour movement suggesting that the answer lies in reforming English Literature education. They argue that GCSE reading lists are out of step with modern Britain and fail to reflect the diversity of the society in which students live. Image: Lit in Colour claims that reflecting diverse voices in school books could spark a love of reading Calling for a broader balance of voices, including more writers of colour, Lit in Colour claims changes could help reignite a love of reading among students who currently feel disengaged. Some pupils at The Swan School in Oxfordshire say they are already seeing the impact of the campaign. Image: ‘It’s also important that everyone can see themselves in literature,’ Saba tells Sky News Saba told Sky News: “Difference and diversity is important in literature because I think it helps …

3 Keys to Getting Stuff Done

3 Keys to Getting Stuff Done

Published by Jenni Sidey

You need to create a spreadsheet for work listing all the clients and their demographic information you’ve seen over the past six months—ugh. Your doctor encouraged or scolded you again about starting a workout routine—ugh. You need to clear out your garage because it’s so full of junk, there’s no room for your car—ugh. We all have things that we need to get done, but tend to put off. Sometimes, the underlying cause is anxiety—you feel overwhelmed just thinking about the spreadsheet, the exercise, the garage, and don’t know where to start. Or, maybe you have ADHD and get easily distracted and sidetracked. Or, you’re depressed, and some voice in your head says, “Why bother?” Or, you just simply don’t want to do it. Whatever the reason, sometimes you really don’t have a choice; stuff needs to get done. Here’s a 3-step plan to help you out: 1. Plan ahead If you tend to be emotionally driven—you do what you do based on how you feel—because of ADHD, anxiety, depression, or simply your personality, it …

6 Natural Sweeteners to Use Instead of the Processed Stuff

6 Natural Sweeteners to Use Instead of the Processed Stuff

Published by skeptic

Enjoying something sweet now and then is part of a balanced lifestyle. When it comes to sugar, the goal isn’t total elimination but being more mindful about your intake. Current guidelines suggest limiting added sugar to about six teaspoons per day for women and children over 2, and nine teaspoons for men. Paying attention to how much sugar you consume is important, but so is understanding where that sugar comes from. If you want to cut back on heavily processed options like white sugar, switching to more natural alternatives can help. These sugar substitutes offer sweetness with fewer drawbacks and are worth considering if you are looking to make smarter food choices without giving up flavor. Is sugar bad for you? Before we get into sugar substitutes, it’s important to clarify that sugar isn’t inherently bad for you. It’s vital for your health. Your body turns carbohydrates into glucose, a form of sugar, which is a primary energy source to keep your body moving and your brain functioning. Despite what some popular diet fads advocate, …