STARS: How Am I On Time for Work Given My Commute

I have really traveled for work the past six years. I have worked daily in Spartanburg, Charlotte and now Greenville. I not only get to work 30 minutes early 98% and have only been late once, I have time to workout in the mornings.  

I had to fit in my workouts in the morning and allow extra time for gas, delays such as traffic, accidents or a flat tire. 

I simply end my evening earlier and start my day earlier. I watch all of my regular shows on my off days and do minimum during the evenings. I prep my meals and clothes on Sundays so I have little or nothing to do in the evenings. I save big chores and tasks for Sundays or another off day. 

Doing this has allowed me to get up early at a rate of 85% since May and never be late and early as 30 minutes-1 hour arriving to Greenville all but twice. 

Getting more attention from females

Growing up, I struggled to get attention from females, especially ones I liked. This continued well through my high school years. 

I decided in college after a huge heartbreak I wanted this to end. 

I confided in men and women that were mentors to me and believed in me. I was taught to have confidence, speak more for what I want, and to keep it simple.  I was trying too hard and often smothering the person I was smitten by. I also went by the law of averages: talking to more single women than I had in my life. Going to a school with mostly women and the early advent of online dating facilitated this process.  

I have improved to having regular dates/quarterly over the past 21 years, being in 4 serious relationships, forming scores of female friends, and having females in many social, business and romantic connections. I turned the tide and felt the confidence I could ask out a woman and the outcome would be on my side. 

STARS: Healthy Beard Growth

I've been wanting a longer, downward growing beard for quite some time. I've accomplished that over the past few months by following sage advice and doing the proper things. 

I started training and grooming my beard hair the same way I would head hair. I went to the ethnic section at Walmart and purchased the proper comb, brush and oil (Cantu) that would work with my type of hair. 

I applied Cantu several times/day to keep it from drying out and would pick it out and brush it almost as much. I would wash it out very thoroughly a few times/week as well. 

I would shave and trim around the parts of my face that weren't making my beard look favorable. I started noticing more growth just a month in and keep allowing to take its course.  The Cantu oil was really helping also.

Nearly five months in, I have achieved a good looking length and mane of beard. It does feels different but it's a good type of feel. The maintenance is less now as I mostly pick and comb it now and use minimal oil to avoid excess growth. 

STARS: Picking Out The Ideal Refrigerator

I had been trying to get a new refrigerator for the past two months. I can afford it and I have a good credit line with Home Depot. I kept running into barriers such as size, design, being out of town, my home being located too far out, etc. 

I knew delivery was my first option since I don't own a pickup truck and I have perhaps four reliable friends that do. I also shopped from the two Home Depot stores that would deliver to my home: Rock Hill and Gastonia.

I then got the dimensions for the fridge I would need: height: 67'', width 30", depth 31.5". I only had wiggle room on the depth. My best two options were French door and traditional since the side by sides were no longer available in the required dimensions. 

I shopped around and decided to go with a French door design, especially after seeing one at my aunt's house. I checked and ensured I stay within dimensions, budget, and distance proximity. 

I'm not going to lie, I was really concerned because my current fridge was about to bite the dust and I had already had failed attempts. I ensured I was off from work and home just in case I had to rent or borrow a truck to get the first fridge on the display room. 

I was able to get the refrigerator I desired and so far I love it! I have work to do far as installing the water line for the icemaker and adjusting the shelves. It is brand new, beautiful, and it works and fits. 

I didn't give up nor deviate from the size. I want others to know this isn't always an easy process but it's worth it. 

STARS: Learning How to Paint Miniatures On A Budget

Hands down my newest stress relieving hobby has been painting miniatures. I have actually gotten good although I haven't painted (or obviously) blogged much this month. I will get it together again. I am due for a good panting session. 

I can see the draw and appeal as many do sip and paint and other random artistic activities. It is so relieving and freeing. 

I simply bought myself the proper acrylic paints, brushes, palettes and minis. I had a budget of around $100 and in 9 months and around 50 painted minis, I've only had to replenish paint, brushes and minis. I hit the middle ground well. 

I then tried to simply get my color schemes and mixing down. I am in a miniatures group chat, I have a mentor and I plug in to groups and YouTube videos to improve.

I practice, most of all. I was up to 3 times/week and never less than once/week. I would keep about 10 figures primed for painting and paint them to their schemes and patterns. 

I have come a long way as I have improved my brush control, paint portion, mixing and cleanliness. I was doing it for stress relief only. Now I want to improve and add more and more to my paint palette and knowledge one. I may spend a lot of money on the right figure to paint but I currently go off the collection I have. I simply have fun doing it! It's like being a kid again.

STARS: Making a milkshake without a machine or blender

I saw yet another situation where a person wanted a milkshake but they thought they needed a machine or a blender to make one. Being the year we're in, I can understand why certain people wouldn't know how to make an old-timey hand made milkshake. This person kind of threw me though. 

I take a tall cup or glass, get my ice cream. I sometimes melt the ice cream some in the microwave. I use about three scoops, fill the glass about 3/4s full of milk. I then use Hershey's chocolate syrup and whatever other toppings I need and then mix it all together. A spoon normally does the job for me but I have used a fork and even a knife in the past. This blends all of the ice cream, milk and other flavors together to make a top notch milkshake at around $3 less on average than a shop or restaurant. 

I learned how to do this at an early age and still do it occasionally, especially when I don't feel like going out.

Hacking the Hack: Protecting your Facebook security

I have seen scores of folks, at least 5 this week alone, that have lost their entire Facebook account. I have researched two of the cases and it could have been easily prevented. 

There is definitely a hacker on the loose as this is too much of a pattern. I know exactly how to mitigate this activity from my IT background of more than 20 years. 

I change my password every quarter (4 times/year). I follow the password guidelines and ensure I can remember it but others cannot. I wouldn't recommend it being a password from another email, social media platform or the like. I have seen what hackers look for and it starts with how the password is structured and encrypted. 

I normally wouldn't say write it down. I will say keep a log of former passwords you use for various purposes and keep it in a good hiding place. 

I pick my security questions carefully also. I don't use my mother's maiden name, anything family related, cars, first addresses, etc.  All of these can be a paper trail to your accounts. 

I also would utilize Facebook security measures in the settings. Two are setting up a unique key and having five trusted people just in case you ever get locked out. A bonus one is requiring authentication in case someone does try to come for your account. 

I encourage everyone to stay safe and secure as possible. The very least I recommend is changing that password frequently. That's the most common way a hacker can take over an account and it gives you, the user, more peace of mind.