Tag: Better

You’re Using Midjourney Wrong! Here’s How to Create Better Images than 99% of Midjourney Users

I used to use Midjourney wrong. My prompts lacked details and styles, resulting in generic and inaccurate images. I also never added parameters to customize the default behavior of Midjourney. If you’re a Midjourney user, probably you’re also making these and other mistakes, but to...

Men, We Need You to Do Better

Yes, the 10 questions are coming. But first I want to tell you a story about a friend. She is a community leader, a divorced mother, and a deeply kind, uplifting person. It’s impossible not to feel good in her presence. Recently she was having some work done on her house. We talked by phone...

I Am Addicted, But I’m Getting Better

In the fast-paced world we live in, it’s easy to find ourselves falling into the clutches of addiction. For me, it wasn’t substances, but rather a complex web of behaviors that I couldn’t seem to escape: laziness, procrastination, and social media addiction, to name a few.These dem...

How Losing Everything in Prison Helped Me Create a Better Life

On a scorching hot day in Folsom state prison, a guard passed me a note thru the bars of my cell. It said, “Your mom is in the hospital.” Eight days later, my mom died. Externally, I had to exhibit that “I don’t give a shit” attitude so others didn’t think I...

Your Community Is No Better Than Its Actions

After every heinous act committed in America, there’s an inevitable press conference or news release from a public official stating this “doesn’t reflect the values of our community.” Chatham, MA, is a small seaside town where two teenage white boys invited their Black &ld...

This 4-Step Process Can Help You Overcome Your Fears (And Understand Them Better)

I have explored the depths of fear for years. In writing and, more importantly, in life. When you quit a legal career you have spent a decade building in order to move to another continent to live with the love of your life (whom you have never lived with before) and start your own business (when...

How to Help Someone Else Spend Time Better (Yes, It Is Possible)

We all know someone who really struggles with time. Perhaps this person can’t figure out what to spend time on, so things get done at the last minute or don’t get done at all. You can’t have a conversation without this person telling you that he or she feels constantly overwhelmed....

More icebreakers you can steal for better meetings

What helps start a hard meeting on a positive note? How do you encourage team members to think bigger? The answer: icebreakers. Or should I say, the answer is still icebreakers? Last year I wrote an article about the power of this misunderstood tool to impact group attitude...

What is Love? Two Simple Binaries That Help Us Love Better.

Recently, a friend and I met for coffee. Our conversation predictably landed to her relationship. She was expressing frustration about not feeling seen, or deeply met. It was a longtime story for her, and she was sensing a “used by date” looming. “But she really loves me…in&...

20 Steps Test for Better Software Development

The last week, I published an article revisiting the twelve steps for better code from Joel Spolsky, co-creator of Slack and Trello. Although those steps were very significant twenty-three years ago, they were just a glimpse of the techniques that were still to come from Lean and Continuous Delivery...

7 Things to Know About 1:1 Meetings that Will Make You a Better Boss

Having one-on-one meetings on a regular cadence with each of your direct reports is probably the most important thing you do as a manager. It’s not the only thing you do, of course, but one-on-one meetings are your must-do-can’t-miss meetings. They’re your...

How to Give Better Instructions

Miscommunication starts with you. If you’re hearing instructions, the onus is on you to make sure you understand them clearly. And if you’re giving them, you need to be doing everything to make sure you’re understood. If you’re instructions aren’t clear, it&rsq...

5 Lessons from Running to Better Manage Your Team

Have you ever had a bad manager? Or perhaps you’ve been a bad manager? I’m not proud of it, but I can say “yes” to both. The vast majority of companies and organizations assume that just because a person can do something well means they can magically manage other pe...

5 Hard to Swallow Leadership Pills That Will Make You a Better Boss

“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” — Gloria Steinem How much have you spent on your education? I’m going to guess it’s more than $0. But what if I told you that you can learn as much as you want, every single day, without having ...

Icebreakers You Can Steal For a Better Meeting (I Promise)

What kicks off a day of collaborative work on a good note? How do you create a sense of camaraderie amongst colleagues or perfect strangers? The truth is simple: icebreakers. Now, bear with me, because I know there’s a perception that they’re old school, or fluffy, or even cheesy. But...

7 amazing tips to help you draw better.

I would never forget my first drawing lesson. The teacher arranged a selection of natural objects on the table said: “Draw them”. I was really scared, as I never drew anything from life before. I picked the easiest object to draw — a simple tree branch — and luckily, I soon d...

The 4 ways to make better decisions

Early this year, I travelled to South America and went river rafting in Patagonia. It was beautiful. As we floated downriver, the sun began its golden descent towards the distant volcano. Its deep purple silhouette rising into focus. There were crisscrossing conversations as our guide pointed out be...

How to make your boring macOS terminal look so much better

A 5 minutes guide to customizing your macOS terminal to increase productivity and improve the interface. Photo by AltumCode on Unsplash I do pretty much all of my software development work inside the terminal, so It’s important for me to have a pleasant terminal ...

One thing macOS does better than Windows

Why on earth does Windows allow me to delete files by just pressing one button? Deleting files is something that really should not happen by accident, but that is what sometimes happens to me on Windows. You just have to miss the enter key by half a centimeter, and you accidentally delete all your f...

Which city is better: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Riyadh?

The decision of “which city is better: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Riyadh?” is totally depends on personal goals and tastes. Every city has distinctive elements and attractions. Here is a quick description of each city: Dubai: A centre for international trade and tourism, Duba...

Skate: Building a better bus dispatch app (and how it will improve your ride)

Let’s talk about what it takes to run bus service. You need buses (we have around 800 on the road at peak times). You need operators (we have over 1,000 of them). You need to make sure all of your operators have buses to drive. You need to make sure every bus and operator is at the right pl...

For the better

“I got into agriculture serendipitously. Over time, I developed a keen interest in entomology and agricultural microbiology. I went ahead with agricultural microbiology for my Master’s, and the knowledge I gathered during this period motivated me to pursue a PhD in the same. I initial...

Dublin needs a single climate action plan (not four) to shape a better future for all

Last December the Dublin Citizen’s Assembly Report called for an empowered assembly for Dublin led by a directly elected Mayor. Dublin City Council, the local authority that manages Dublin’s core with a population of near 600,000, is led by a chief executive (if you’re in...

We all dream of a better Dublin

Coming from a city with no cycling culture at all, when I first stepped into Dublin, I thought the cycle lanes were the most amazing in the world. Having been here for three years now I see it is good, but there’s potential to be even better. Dublin has what it takes to become one of the most ...

Glasgow’s Miles Better!

Glasgow needed a trendy slogan to get it back up on its feet but cancer screening services are still metaphorically speaking, flat on their back. I take a look at some of the latest advances in breast cancer treatment, diagnosis and even a potential vaccine along with some observations as to how ...

Jinsei Tsuji Sings To Propel Us Towards a Better Tomorrow

However, this time, I experienced ‘Jinsei Tsuji as a singer’ through a beautiful live concert. The message I received was that we all have our lives at the mercy of unwanted changes, including war and natural disasters, and that nevertheless, if we don’t dwell in despair, ther...

A Better La Mejor

In the beginning, there was Ke Buena and La Z. And there they were, fighting against each other with little noteworthy competition since the 1990s. When it ca to popular music on the capital FM dial, this was all you got. Mexico City has long had a decided slant toward contemporary, English and t...

“Life Got Better”…Does it?

I listened as a friend gave me a tour of her new apartment in San Francisco! To be honest, I was very happy to see this growth...especially knowing that we had experienced tumultuous times in this city! While she was 1- step removed from the experience, she acknowledged that it traumatized her in wa...

Understand Better Keigo: Japanese honorific prefixes O and GO

When learning the Japanese respectful speech called keigo, the attention is often focused on verbs construction and the social relations between a speaker and a listener. However, keigo covers more than set expressions and situational examples, and in particular Japanese uses honorific prefixes...

Will Our New Generation of Kids Help Make A Better Planet?

This article comes courtesy of a show-and-tell presentation I watched while working at a school recently. Back when I was a kid, show-and-tell was a big deal. I remember showing off an intricately made hand-made purse. Today, show-and-tell is still an much anticipated activity for younger kids...

Flaco is as free as a bird, for better or worse

For nine months, Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl that escaped from the Central Park Zoo, was remarkably easy to find. He favored a clearing on the northern side of the park with log piles that housed plentiful rats, and he often roosted in a nearby tree overlooking the joggers and bicyclists on East D...

Survival Of The Fattest: Heaviest Parrot Nestlings Survive Better

These two migratory parrot species are the orange-bellied parrot, Neophema chrysogaster, and the swift parrot, Lathamus discolor, both of which are listed as critically Endangered species (mainly due to the Australians’ passion for clearcutting these parrots’ native nest trees ...

Why Is Your Religion Better Than Mine?

That’s how old I was when I found out that my religion wasn’t the only major religion out there, and the world doesn’t exclusively function according to the Judeo-Christian view. I grew up in Nigeria. You probably have heard a few things about Nigeria, but if you haven’t; it ...

Did What I’m Not Supposed To, Felt Better Than Ever

When my daughter Sophie and I took a mini staycation for a couple of days to celebrate my birthday, I was fully prepared to have to “pay” for my choices. On the morning of my birthday, we woke up early and had breakfast from Tropical Smoothie Cafe. I wound up getting a cheese quesadil...

America has gotten both better and worse

It’s no secret that political discourse in the US today is horrible. Social media interactions about contentious topics range from “tense” to “dumpster fire.” News consumption has bifurcated along party lines. Friends and family members have become estranged over suppor...

How to build a better world? Start where you stand.

A new year. And, as usual, an array of resolutions and a bazillion ways to “be a better you.” And, as usual, too few ways to “be a better us.” This is the time of year where I consciously recommit to my bigger goals — not just personal stuff like reading ...

No Better Soil

AsAbby and I traveled east through the quiet farmlands and serene towns along the Erie Canal, it was hard to remember that the region had once been known as the “burned-over district.” Religious revivals, reform movements, and political conflict had blazed across the landscape from the 1...

Making Someone Else Feel Better

“But I am trying to send positive energy your way”, he said. “I know. But I am too seeing and too deep.” I told him that what was really happening was him experiencing deprivation in his inner child. He was grieving — he’s been grieving all his life. Does...

Out: Better Late Than Never

70% of Americans (including a majority of Republicans) now support same-sex marriage, but a sizable and powerful minority retain their homophobia. They (at least those who are not cynical political manipulators) feel threatened by societal change. They interpret their religious or moral teachin...

Building a Better Future for Los Angeles: Mike Honda’s Endorsement Boosts Jirair Ratevosian’s Congressional Bid

Working alongside leaders like Honda during my time as a congressional staffer for Congresswoman Barbara Lee, I was inspired by his dedication to LGBTQ+ rights, health equity, and community engagement. I have fond memories of sitting behind Mr. Honda during prestigious Committee on Appropriations he...

Indigenous Communities For a Better World

Indigenous Peoples are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people and the environment. They have retained social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. Despite their cultural dif...

How I Discovered The Greatest Lie of Our Civilisation and How Seeing Through It Makes The World a Better Place

Ittakes us a moment to notice that we lost Kyle. He stopped, rummaging for something in his backpack, taking out his lunch packet and giving it to a homeless guy, sitting on the pavement. They exchange some words, and the homeless man smiles. Kyle closes his backpack again and catches up to us as if...

How Writing Online Made Me a Better Scientis

Hey! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Karol, a 3rd year Immunology student documenting his journey. As someone in STEM, I tend to make fun of people who study humanities subjects, after all, we are just so much smarter than them… There is one thing that humanitie...

4 Signs You’re Healthier and in Better Shape Than You Think

Comparison is the thief of joy”, said Theodore Roosevelt, and how right he was. Like me, I’m sure you occasionally find yourself getting grumpy at your fitness level and body shape after scrolling online and seeing all those fit, toned specimens strutting their stuff. But hold...