Protecting Yourself As A Geeky Gun For Hire

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Paying for your education ain’t cheap, much less paying for a reasonable standard of living so that your studies aren’t impeded by thoughts of “What will I eat this week?” or “How likely am I to be homeless by the end of the week”. Although many undergraduates pursue low paid low skilled part time work in their down time, there are some who feel no need to wait until their graduation to fulfil their entrepreneurial ambitions, devising side hustles, building their own businesses and establishing themselves as freelancers. Your education imbues you with skills that are enormously valuable to individuals and businesses alike, and so it makes perfect sense to monetize your talents in order to ensure that your higher education isn’t impeded by money troubles.  

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Image by PxHere

Whether you’re writing content, producing videos, building apps or websites, providing tuition for your fellow students or providing technical or IT support to small businesses, it’s essential that while you’re earning your crust you place the infrastructure to protect yourself as a geeky gun for hire...

 

Protect yourself from plagiarism

If you’ll be making money with your prodigious writing talent you may think that all you need to do is start writing and the rest will take care of itself. And while this may well be the case, it behoves you to protect yourself from plagiarism. When you write content you are the legal owner of that content (unless it’s white label or ghostwritten content) and as such you need to protect yourself from others plagiarising your work. If someone else claims ownership of what you’ve written it may cast aspersions on your reputation that your budding freelance career could do without. That’s why you should use anti-plagiarism software like Copyscape and Grammarly.

 

Know who to turn to when you need legal help

If you’re providing technical, IT or digital marketing support to small businesses you may be entrusted with potentially sensitive data. While there will be legally enforceable contracts protecting their interests, their contracts may well be less interested in your protection. While it’s unlikely, should something go awry with their sensitive data you may find yourself blames and facing legal charges for something you had no part in which is why it’s important to know what to look for in a white collar crime attorney. Even though it’s extremely unlikely doesn't mean that there’s no chance that it will happen to you, and so it’s in your best interests to ensure that you know how to protect yourself.

 

Guard your anonymity with a VPN

When you’re working in the digital realm, you may well find yourself producing content that while well constructed is contentious for those who consume it. You may garner vitriolic dislike for your work or on the other hand you may garner the unwelcome attentions of an internet superfan. It doesn’t take the technically savvy long to determine your IP address and from there work out where you live. Thus, it’s always a worthwhile precaution to use a Virtual Private Network or VPN when submitting work.

 

In entrepreneurship, as in all things, it always pays to be careful!

Surviving A Serious Injury During Your College Years

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Most of us think of our college years as some of our most physically vital. After all, many of us are young when we attend, as well as active in sports and fitness. However, if you are unlucky enough to sustain an injury during college, it can have a profound effect not only on your physical and mental well being but on your studies as well. For that reason we have put together the guide below that can help you survive a serious injury during your college years. Read on to find out more.

 

Notify all your teachers

One of the first things that you will want to do once the emergency itself has passed is to get in contact with your teachers and let them know what has happened. Luckily this isn't too difficult to do as most have direct emails now.

If possible, can give them so idea of how long you will be away and whether you will need to drop their class and pick it up next semester too. Although, you may be able to catch up with the work while you are recuperating, or even access an online study program that will make sure you don't get too behind.

It's also a great idea to CC in your department heads when letting people know of your predicament. Then they can record this as official absence and then there will be no confusion when it comes to matters of attendance on your record that could interfere with your graduation.

 

Speak to finance

Of course, if you do have to drop classes, then it's worth discussing this with the finance office, because you may be entitled to a refund for a discount off of next semester. There may even be financial aid available for students in your position as well as help with your housing costs, so it's always worth asking these questions.

 

Keep up your medical care.

Keeping up your medical care is vital.

Keeping up your medical care is vital.

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Next, although your injury may be preventing you from attending classes, it is vital that you go to your medical appointment and complete the treatment assigned to you by your doctor.

Of course, the cost of this may be concerning to you as a student, and this is why many people choose to check with a personal injury lawyer to see if they have a case for compensation. Something that can alleviate the financial burden on students that have suffered an injury and allow them to keep focused on getting well.

 

Don't let your social life fade.

OK, so if you are in a full body cast, then you probably don't want to be going to too many parties. However, there's a lot to be said for having a strong support network of friends, especially when you are living away from home and your usual friends and family group.

Your institution may even have a mentor program, or offer social and other support through religious groups on campus, so be sure to explore these possibilities and to help to stay emotionally and socially healthy as well.

Your Career Is a Journey, Not Just a Job

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Far too many people assume that their careers are just a collection of jobs they work at. For instance, they might start as a regular office worker doing miscellaneous tasks, and then they’ll upgrade to a senior member in the future and take on different responsibilities. It’s the typical way to approach your career and, understandably, it’s popular because it provides job security and an aim. However, most people get into this mentality of their careers becoming just a job and nothing more, and we believe it’s a poor way to approach your life.

Careers should be thought of as more than just jobs. Careers should ideally be based on what you love or feel passionate about, and you should approach them with the love and attention you would expect for something that is going to take up a major part of your life. If you think about it, people can work in their careers for well over 40 years before they retire. If your job is going to take up over half of your lifespan, then it might as well be something you truly connect with.

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Source: Pexels

 

Careers are learning experiences

An excellent way to approach your career is to consider it a huge learning lesson. For instance, people don’t realize that oil water separators are essential for various kinds of industries and they’re crucial to the operation of many different factories and manufacturing plants. It’s not just about learning about your job either. There are many life lessons you can learn from embarking your career of choice, and there are countless ways to experience new things. You’ll learn from the people you work with, you’ll pick up life tips from the way you interact with others, and through adversities, you’ll learn how to recuperate and get your life back on track.

 

Careers take up most of your life

As mentioned at the start, careers typically take up over half of our lives, hence why we need to ensure that they naturally become a part of our lives. This is something that we can start learning from millennials; they approach their work with a very loose mindset. They’re not afraid of hopping between jobs because they’re searching for a workplace that can be integrated with their lifestyles. They want to work hard and have aims, which is why they approach their careers differently to other generations. Always look for a career that resonates with you. Something that makes you happy and something that puts you on a path to learn new things.

 

Summary

Hopefully, this article has put things into perspective and has given you an idea of how you can approach your career in the future. Don’t think of it as a job–think of your career as a part of your life that you can benefit from in many different ways. Otherwise, you could end up despising your job and hating your choice of career which could ultimately turn into regret for the rest of your life.

7 Productivity Hacks Anybody Can Use

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Do you wish that you were a more productive person? Whether you want to be more productive at work, home, or both, the hacks in this post could be suited to you. Not everybody is naturally productive, and in this day and age, distractions can plague us at every turn. To help you get more done, read on and you’ll find some hacks that can help just about anybody:

 

1. Set Yourself A Time Limit To Complete A Task

There are lots of time blocking methods you can use to complete tasks, and one of them is by setting yourself a time limit. Different limits work for different people. For instance, some set a 45 minute timer, work non stop, then take a 15 minute break. Some do 25 minutes working, then a 5-10 minute break. The key is to ensure your work blocks don’t feel too long, and that your breaks are decent but that they aren't so long that you become completely disengaged from your work.

 

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2. Keep The Novelty Up With Your Setting

The setting you work in can help you to get more done. Usually, if a place has novelty, you’re more likely to stay focused. This is why some people like to do a little work in one place, before moving one or two more times throughout the day. It stops you from feeling stuck in one place for too long. You could start working at the library at the great equalizer before moving on to a coffee shop.

 

3. Plan Your Time Carefully

Creating a plan for your time in advance is a good idea. Write down every single thing you have to do that day, even including food and small tasks. Then allocate time slots. This will give you a realistic idea of when you should be finished with tasks, and could help you to get more done.

 

4. Find The Right Productivity Playlist

Listening to a playlist while you work can be a great pleasure, but you need to make sure that it’s motivating and not distracting. You might like Mozart, or you may prefer to listen to dance music. Music with little words is usually better for mentally taxing projects.

 

5. Start Your Day Early

Starting your day early can help you to get things done before the whole world has woken up, and that can make you feel great, which in turn encourages you to get even more done. Some of the most successful people get up at 5am. You could even make a start on Sunday to make Monday less terrifying.

 

6. Work Standing Up

Stand up desks are somewhat of a trend these days, because studies have proven that standing up while we work increases productivity and is better for long term health.

 

7. Get Some Exercise Before Starting The Day

Before you start the day, get some exercise. Even if it’s just a small amount, getting your blood pumping should help you to feel productive for the rest of the day.

Why Are We So Polarized About News And Politics Now?

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The central topic of our time currently is, what is increasing the gap between political movements and opinions right now? Why is it that unlike ever before, we as a society are increasingly heading toward mass disharmony and maybe even violence? Politics is the number one issue in many people’s minds as there are great changes taking place in the world. Europe has its own political landscape but in terms of outright conflict between the left and right, America is taking it to another level. There are people fighting in the street, namely two groups that can be defined as Antifa and Center-right coalitions. Fundamentally it's a question of values and policies. For the liberals, they want to see open borders, a destruction of nations and a system that is geared to identity politics. What you see on the right or the coalition in America is centrists, center-right conservatives, libertarians and classical liberals, wanting to keep nations and borders, a maintenance of law and order, and trying to drag out emotions from civilized discussion. Let's go into this a little more.

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Source Gage Skidmore

 

Fighting the person, not the idea

Following the election of Trump as president, something curiously strange started to happen. This person who had been a public personality, a figure on television shows where he pointed his finger at people and said “you’re fired” was being accused of being racist, a fraud, an outlaw and sexual abuser. All of these allegations came at once and no one knew what to believe. He had been in the eyes of America as the classic New Yorker, business, and trade mogul that had billions thanks to his real estate deals.

The left, namely the Democratic Party, began to attack him personally and in a very public way. However, the question is why did they not attack the ideas he was standing on, and instead go for him personally? Well, Middle America voted for the Republican candidate because he promised more jobs and lower taxes. This after the premiership of Obama looked enticing and normal everyday people didn’t seem to care about those allegations and just wanted a better life for themselves. One could argue that the Democrats found it easier to paint their enemy as an uneducated monster than to look at their own ideas, see where they went off the rails in public support and try to see what they could try to offer voters.

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Image by Josh Hallett

 

Who to believe?

US political polarization is taking a new form in that, what news outlets are ‘fake news’? There are so many to choose from and somehow many seem to be saying different things, what should the public choose to take seriously and ignore? CNN is the main hard-liberal news source that regularly goes after anything the 45th leader of the US does in office. On the other hand, Fox News seems to praise Trump on anything he does. They both have different viewing numbers and ratings, with CNN falling behind substantially over the last year or so. Fox News has been steady but due to both not really innovating and trying to hack their way into new media, are declining slowly.

Many news broadcasting companies will only have on certain experts in different fields, and both the left and right seem to pick people that corroborate their values. In essence what you have are echo chambers, where people on side totally say something different to the other. There seems to be no way to trust any of the traditional media news outlets.

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Photo by Esther Vargas

 

Alternative media is rising

News anchors have become personalities themselves. Rather than report the narrative, they are trying to run the narrative. Alternative media sources are simply people that have never worked in the media but have knowledge, degrees, and great knowledge of certain subject matters and they produce videos that are viewed only online. On the left, you have YouTube channels like TYT, and on the right, you have channels like Steven Crowder. People watch their videos for a lot longer than news channels. And since all of their consumption is done online, people are able to pause videos and do their own research to see who is telling the truth. One of the greatest things about alternative media is that there are conversations and debates happening in the comment sections. Anyone with an account on YouTube can post and reply to a comment. Therefore you have people from the left and right, actually debating one another, rather than shielding themselves off from each other.


 

It's a fascinating time to see the changes the media is going through. Politics is getting so interesting. However, more and more people feel polarized and traditional media may not be helping the issue.

Make Sure That Bump On The Head Doesn't Cost You Your Career

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Our parents showed so much concern for our brains when we were kids. Too bad that concern was put in all the wrong places. From a young age we were told not to watch too much TV because it would rot our brains. Or not to play videogames as they would transform us into mindless zombies. Or not to read comics because they weren’t “real” books and that they would herald the slow but inevitable decline into cognitive deterioration. While these have all been proven to be beneficial (or at the very least not harmful) to our brains, the other more wholesome activities they may have suggested were fraught with danger. There’s far more danger of brain injury or head trauma on the football field or the baseball pitch or even in the park than in any comic or video game, however violent they may be.

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Image by Flickr

Nonetheless, the simple truth is that a head trauma can result in a traumatic brain injury that has long lasting or even permanent effects. Your cognitive function could be impaired, you could lose your job or your career and even completely lose everything that makes you so special and unique and… you. But life’s for living and the risk of head trauma is by no means a good enough reason to shut yourself out from the world. When that occasional bump on the noggin does occur, however, knowing what to do can go a long way in mitigating its effects…

 

Get someone you trust on site

Brain injuries can be exacerbated when ignored or left unattended and there are are manifestations of brain injury that someone else may be aware of while you are not. Therefore it’s important to get someone you trust on site. If possible get them to take you home and spend some time with you while you convalesce. Don’t allow yourself to be left alone unless you are absolutely sure that you’re okay. Ideally, you should try and stay awake for as long as you can and avoid going to sleep alone if you can.

 

Look for signs of brain injury

There are certain signs that might indicate brain injury. If any of these manifest, you need to get to A and E straight away. These include:

  • Loss of balance
  • Weaving or wobbling when walking
  • Hearing loss in one or both ears
  • Bleeding from ears
  • Clear liquid running from nose or ears
  • Nausea and / or vomiting

 

Give it 48 hours

Ideally you should be under observation, either by a medical professional or someone else you trust for the next 48 hours. In that time you should stay out of work especially if you work in a hazardous environment. Avoid stress and physical exertion and certainly don’t even think about getting behind the wheel. If you experience headaches, take an anti inflammatory like Ibuprofen or paracetamol for pain. Do not take aspirin as this can thin the blood and exacerbate internal bleeding.

 

Very often a little caution and vigilance can mean the difference between a nasty bump on the head and a permanently debilitating injury.