Lemons and Limes

Incidentally, I saw a post on the benefits of lemons and limes by WebMD just a few minutes ago. I posted about lemons just a few hours ago. The diagram/chart in the post from WebMD showed some interesting benefits of both limes and lemons. I was surprised by some of them. I did not expect to see benefits such as keep gums healthy, boost your brain, and help your baby grow. 

The diagram seemed to show that the benefits of limes are exactly the same as the benefits of lemons - I was very surprised by this. I expected only some of the benefits to apply to both limes and lemons, i.e. to be shared or in common between the two. For example, I expected both limes and lemons to have benefits such as full of antioxidants, but limes to have benefits lemons don't have and vice versa. 

My critique of the post is that the diagram should clearly show that all the benefits apply to both lemons and limes. The lines in the diagram may confuse some into thinking that five of the benefits are for lemons while the other six are for limes.

Strategies To Increase Comfort In Daily Life

While taking a break from working on a paper for publishing, I decided to respond to today's prompt in Wordpress. See responses to the Wordpress prompt for 7/12/2023 here: https://wordpress.com/tag/dailyprompt-1994.

What strategies do you use to increase comfort in your daily life?

I read this question and immediately thought of air conditioning. In the summer, air conditioning provides much comfort, especially on 90 degree days like today (It is 1:38pm and it is already 89 degrees fahrenheit). Unfortunately, we are currently dealing with an AC issue.

Sometimes I listen to music, which provides comfort. When I feel stressed, music could be the stress reliever. Music also relaxes my mind.

Reading a good book can also provide comfort. Reading the Bible is supposed to provide comfort. A simple Google search will provide verses for or about comfort - https://www.google.com/search?q=bible+comfort. 

One of the most important things is to get a good mattress. Everyone needs a good night’s sleep (comfort at night). Your day is more likely to be miserable if you did not get a good night’s sleep.

Comfort also makes me think of hospitals and the nurses who ask, "Are you comfortable? I could move the pillow...." Simple changes (such as moving the pillow or covering your legs) or a drink of water could bring comfort in the hospital.

Abstracts

I usually write the abstract for my papers last. Sometimes, I am just not sure what to include and how to make it an interesting "elevator pitch" of my article. I definitely need more practice writing abstracts.

I found a short but very informative journal article on writing abstracts. It includes information on the importance of an abstract, alternative formats, and the key messages of each section of the abstract. I especially liked the example of the process of revising a draft conference abstract. I found the list of abstract types/formats to be very interesting. It included tweetable abstracts, graphical abstracts, and video abstracts. I am not familiar with these formats. I would love to see examples.

The journal article:

How to Write a Comprehensive and Informative Research Abstract
By: Amanda Drury, Eva Pape, Maura Dowling, Susana Miguel, Paz Fernández-Ortega, Constantina Papadopoulou, Grigorios Kotronoulas
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2023.151395
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749208123000268)

Phone Issue

My phone stopped working late yesterday. There was a popup message displayed on the screen that prevented me from doing anything else on the phone (everything seemed normal in the background). I was unable to enter my passcode to access the phone, answer calls or read text messages because of the popup message that I just could not clear or remove. I tried to shut down the phone thinking that it would restart normally but I was also unable to restart or power off the phone.
So what did I do?
I let the phone rest for a while hoping it would correct itself. That did not work.
Then I tried to get help from the online community. From my first Google search, I ended up reading about similar issues users reported in the Apple support community. I did not find the exact issue. So, I then tried to enter my issue for assistance. However, the community requires login using your Apple ID to enter an issue. There is two-factor authentication that involves entering the code from a text message. I received the text message but could not open it on my phone so I did not receive/have the code to complete the two-factor authentication. I was a little frustrated but decided to try another Google search. I entered a more descriptive explanation of the problem including the exact text of the popup message for the second search. This time, I found users with my exact issue in the Apple community. I tried one of the posted answers on how to force a restart. It actually worked! Issue resolved. I am so happy. I thought I needed a new phone.

 

 

 

 

 

Oldest Thing I Own That I Use Daily

Wordpress writing prompt for 6/18/2023:

What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily?

I was unable to think of an answer to this question in five minutes. I thought about the answer for about 15 long minutes. My strategy was to think about things I use daily (or almost every day) and then think of the oldest. I thought of my vehicle, a 2004 Nissan. I drove it almost every day for years and years. Unfortunately, I was involved in an accident so I stopped driving the vehicle months ago. I will also lose the vehicle since the insurance company considers it a total loss. I thought of my phone. I use it every day to make and receive calls, send text messages, and so on. I have had that phone for at least three years. The winner is my computer that is over 4 years old (but a much older model). I use it almost every day. Some of the things I use the computer for are: read the bible, check email, and write/edit papers for publishing. I still use an email account that I have had for 19 years (the oldest intangible thing I use every day).

The exercise made me think of my days and how monotonous they are. Each day I repeat a lot of things. These days, I don't go out much or do much spontaneous things. Life was much more fun when I could get into my vehicle for a drive to see a movie, visit the lake or grab a bite. I must get a new vehicle.

 

Feedback

Have you ever received feedback that did not align with your values? How do you know when to reject feedback?

 

My mother loves to provide her opinions about my hair, my outfit, and a lot more. I have heard so much from her that I do not pay too much attention to her criticisms. She always tells me though, you should listen to other people's opinions. You should listen to feedback.

I have received good advice and feedback from colleagues over the years which supports my mother's position. Sometimes I ask for the opinions of my colleagues. Other times, they contribute their thoughts and ideas about an obvious issue or problem without me asking. A colleague once advised me to speak to someone in Human Resources about an issue at work. It was an excellent idea. The conversation made a difference. Another example is the advice I received when I had trouble speaking to workers in a particular group because they are always busy. A colleague advised me to speak to managers in a related area. That was such a good idea.

Then, there is the advice and feedback I wished others did not provide. I was once told I am not "pushy" enough. I understood why the manager told me this, but I did not agree with it. I did not want to be aggressively going after individuals for data or something similar. I was okay with a few follow-up conversations and emails, but I did not want to be hounding people. In my opinion, when a person does not provide requested information and repeatedly makes excuses or refuses to provide the information, then there must be an issue. If the person does not tell me the issue, then I am better off adding the label ‘cannot provide.’ Continuing to go after that person could lead to other problems such as the need to provide “gifts” to get what you need. It is feedback like this, I consider to be problematic. The feedback makes me uncomfortable because of where it could lead, the issues that can arise. For these reasons, this is feedback that I would not pay attention to.

I realize that some people really believe that being pushy is needed to be successful. They think of it as persistence or perseverance. However, there are times when it does not make sense to be persistent. It is also important to know yourself and to know when to stop. Knowing that I do not like going after people for them to provide information or approve an application or make a contribution, I try to do my best the first time which reduces the likelihood that I will need to follow up. There are ways to move people to action.  

Nervous Reactions

Today I decided to respond to a writing prompt. The prompt is: What makes you nervous?

My response:

My first thought about nervous reactions was that a person generally cannot control what makes them nervous or what triggers a nervous reaction. It is similar to a reflex action - it just happens. But, as I thought about it some more, I thought of people who experience some things so much that they no longer react with nervousness. An example is public speaking. Some people are no longer nervous when speaking in public because they have addressed a crowd countless times and have learned to control their nervousness. Another example is driving a vehicle especially driving to faraway places. People are no longer nervous about driving after they have been driving for a long time. This has been my experience.

Some things still make me nervous though. I get nervous just before I write an exam. I think it is because of the fear or failing. I force myself to calm down and get to providing answers to the questions. Sometimes, I get nervous when a doctor is about to tell me about issues he discovered. In general, I get nervous when I get scared or when I am dealing with the unknown.

Underrated Skill

The ability to write clearly is the most underrated skill all successful people have, according to Dr. Juliette Han in her January 2023 CNBC article https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/25/harvard-neuroscientist-shares-the-underrated-skill-successful-people-have-especially-introverts.html. The article argues that a person who writes well (is thoughtful and strategic) will also be successful at other things such as public speaking and small talk.

The article provides writing tips/advice. I liked the tip to reduce the work for the reader. One way to do this is to provide information such as why you are writing at the very beginning. Another is to organize the writing for easy reading or even skimming. This all makes me think of usability.

Daily Prompt on Accident

Have you ever been in an automobile accident?

I was in an automobile accident a few months ago. The accident occurred in front of a shopping center (strip mall) in a fairly nice neighborhood. I was driving by the shopping center. A guy in a red vehicle was leaving the shopping center and failed to stop before making a right turn onto the street. I saw what he did so I honked my horn to get his attention. I even tried to swerve away from his vehicle. Sadly, the vehicles collided but it was not as bad as it could have been. Swerving to the right prevented a more serious accident that would have involved the body of my vehicle.

After the accident, we thought my vehicle had only minor issues. But, boy, were we wrong! After driving for several minutes, I had problems with my steering. I almost ran off the road. I blogged about the drive in a recent blog post: https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/12/worse-experience-driving-to-laurel.html

Exercise

My paragraphs for the exercise on telling fact from fiction:

I like the outdoors. I like the blue sky, the trees, rivers, lakes, and relaxing on the grass. I like trees and the fruits they manufacture. I enjoy spending time by the lake even when it is filthy. I enjoy waiting for hours in a fishing boat with rod extended hoping to catch a big one. I don't enjoy the outdoors when driving because I am locked in the vehicle unable to enjoy the grass or watch the full sky.

Choosing a hotel is more difficult than you think. There are an enormous amount of options available. There are the very expensive ones, the mid-range ones, and a lot of cheaper hotels. One has to think about the benefits or satisfaction gained from the extras that come with additional dollars. Is that sauna worth the extra money? I place much value on a hotel gym. I use it all the time.

Can you tell the fictitious elements?

Notable Guyanese Writers

The previous post on outstanding Guyanese actress Letitia Wright made me think of notable Guyanese writers. Yes, Guyana produced some outstanding writers (who wrote/write in English).

Source: https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/1222168

Plain language

Plain language is desirable.

Writing, Social media

Thoughts on social media options for collecting thoughts and ideas and to practice writing.... 

 

I am not sure what social media option is best for collecting thoughts and ideas. Blogs are one option. Articles are another. 

 

I found this Linkedin article that collected my thoughts on various topics. I was inspired by a beautiful lake in Maryland.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140819111220-6733373-inspiration-from-a-lake-in-maryland/  

 

#socialmedia #blogs #articles #writing #quotes

 

 

 

 

 

Writing, Online reviews

I decided that I need to practice writing to continue to improve my writing skills. I rather enjoyed the prompts on Wordpress (https://fahmeenaodetta1.wordpress.com/dailypostchallenges/). Linkedin articles were one way to practice. 

 

Here is an article I enjoyed writing: 

Abuse of Power In Online Reviews  

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/abuse-power-online-reviews-fahmeenaodetta-moore/ 

 

It led to selection of the topic (online reviews) for my literature review class at NCU. 

 

Related idea: Maybe we should use online reviews in the workplace for performance reviews and other feedback. There could be feedback on project failures/successes, management styles, and so on. 

 

#writing #onlinereviews #performancereview #feedback #lessonslearned #knowledgemanagement #projectfailure