“I have never seen any life transformation that didn’t begin with the person in question finally getting tired of their own bullshit.”
– Elizabeth Gilbert
“When you need encouragement, think of the qualities the people around you have: this one’s energy, that one’s modesty, another’s generosity, and so on. Nothing is as encouraging as when virtues are visibly embodied in the people around us, when we’re practically showered with them. It’s good to keep this in mind.”
— Marcus Aurelius
that Drunk Elephant serum is the skincare equivalent of millennial pink
If you’re reading this, then chances are that one year ago you read about my Google doc. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s what happened: After going through a spell in which my skin was stressed out and irritated, I started extensively researching beauty products, K-beauty, and 12-step routines online. Once I nailed down my routine (and once my skin had dramatically improved), some curious friends asked if I’d share it, so I put the whole insane regimen into a Google doc.
It got into the hands of a friend of a friend, someone’s boss started looking at it, and then it made its way here, to the Strategist. The rest is history — or at least recent history, since it’s only been one year.
But a lot has changed in the past year. I had to quit SK-II Facial Treatment Essence and Tatcha Indigo Recovery Cream to save my finances. My eczema has worsened (I now have it on the bottom of my feet, which I guess is a conversation for another time). And I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that, 85 percent of the time, dairy makes me break out in cystic acne. So while my old routine was good to me — and I well up every time someone else tells me it was good to them — my increasingly dry, flaky skin and my refusal to give up soft serve have forced me to try many more products. After deep dives into skin-care blogs, subreddit threads, and YouTube videos (and, you know, 12 months of testing and writing about products for you guys), I thought the Google doc could use a refresh for 2018.
One note: Navigating the vast world of skin care can be really confusing. And proper product application is vital if you want to see results. So I’m sharing this incredibly helpful and thorough guide to layering skin-care products, from K-beauty blogger Tracy “Fanserviced” Robey. This guide describes every step of the K-beauty process in greater detail than I can, along with helpful visuals. And you’ll need it: One year in, and I’ve found and fallen for many new products, and the “Google doc” now contains more gems than before.
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If the work is not in an accessible format the work is not yet done.
(One of my favorite ever volunteer gigs was recording books for an org that specialized in offering audio recordings to dyslexic readers. Most were text books and of varying personal interest, but the best session was getting to sit in a booth and read aloud from "World War Z" for 2 hours.)
When people decide to stop producing your special interest in an accessible format because “it’s too much work”
#3 would drive me NUTS! I love Alison's point that it's basically passing the same money around the office.
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…
1. My boss complains about me to my parents
I’m a young 23-year-old Australian. I’m employed in a cleaning-based role at a local school. My employer is having a few issues with my work ethic and what not (apparently), and has informed my parents about this, rather than bringing the issue up with me directly. Sadly, this has been going on a lot; more often than not, they will bring up issues about me with them rather than me. (It’s a church-school, and they go up to my parents on Sunday at church and inform them.)
I’m thinking of having a talk with my boss about this, and I was wanting to know what is the best approach. What could I do? Is this a normal practice for businesses to do? I can’t help but feel they don’t respect me as an adult or my maturity/capabilities either. It’s beyond frustrating at this point for me, and I just don’t know what to do.
Whoa, yeah, you should say something. This is definitely not a normal business practice. It’s true that in churches, lines sometimes get blurred, but this is not normal.
You could say something like this: “I’d really like to get feedback about my work from you directly. When you have a concern about my work, could you talk to me about it directly, rather than relaying it to my parents?”
And ask your parents to start redirecting your boss back to you by saying things like “Oh, we shouldn’t be hearing this — you should talk to Fergus directly!” or even (if your parents are awesome) “We don’t feel right hearing about private personnel issues. We’re just here for church.”
2. I work remotely but my boss doesn’t want me to work while traveling
I started a new job last month which is 100% remote. I had three other offers at the time and chose this job because it’s remote and I love to travel.
I have an international trip coming up and assured my manager I would be working at the regular hours, available my usual phone number, and connected to strong wifi. But a week later, he decided I am not allowed to work while traveling and I must take my entire time away as vacation days. His reasoning is I may be too tired to work, non-remote employees may be jealous, and the possibility of weak wifi (despite the fact I have a personal router that works in over 100 countries on top of hotel wifi). I am concerned I may have made a mistake choosing this company. Prior to starting, I asked if working from anywhere was okay as long as there was wifi, and he said yes. This is an important factor for me. How can I prove I will still be a dedicated employee while traveling?
As long as I have strong wifi, my American phone number and work on American hours, why should it matter if I am abroad or not?
I’d bet money that it’s because it’s an international trip. There’s something about that that just makes it feel iffier to people (sometimes). When you checked on this before starting the job, did you specify international travel? I could see him agreeing to it but thinking you’d still be in the country. As long as your hours and your connectivity are the same, it shouldn’t matter — but it often does.
I’d say this to him: “Can I clarify my ability to work remotely when I’m traveling? Before I accepted the job, you had said it would be okay to work from anywhere as long as there was reliable wifi. That was a big factor in my accepting this job over others. Is the issue with this trip that it’s international? Or would you not want me to do this on any trip?”
Depending on his response, you could then say, “I have a lot of experience working regular work days while traveling. Since it’s something we’d talked about as part of my offer, would you be willing to try it this time as an experiment and see how it goes? I think I can show you that there won’t be any impact on my work or productivity.”
3. Saying no to office money collections
I got an email yesterday from a coworker saying she’d like to start a Sunshine Club and we can donate $5/week, which she will hold onto for quarterly outings. Most of the outings are drinking and I’m really not interested in attending. How do I politely say no without looking like a party pooper?
We also contribute $5 for each person’s birthday and the cash is given to the birthday person. There are about 15 people who contribute but I’d like to get out of this too. I’ve been doing this for six years and if I stop before someone’s birthday, it’s going to look like I don’t like that person or they’ll say I gave to her, why didn’t she contribute to mine? Sticky situations.
Y’all give cash for people’s birthdays? That’s fairly unusual for offices. You’re also basically passing the same cash around over the course of the year so is it really a gift? It’s more like “now it’s your turn to hold the cash,” no?
Anyway, for the Sunshine Club, just be matter-of-fact about it: “Oh, no thanks, I’m not a big drinker but it’s nice of you to organize and I hope you all have fun!”
For withdrawing from the birthday cash thing, I’d just email the group and say, “Hey, I’m cutting down on expenses so am withdrawing from the birthday group — wanted to tell everyone now so no one thought it was personal when I’m not among the contributors in the future.”
4. Asking for an office as a condition of accepting a job
Recently I had an interview for a HR manager position with a small organization of approximately 100 employees. I was told that they are tight on space, so the HR person will get a desk but not an office.
In my opinion, that’s not a suitable setup because of confidentiality. The interviewer is a COO and only has a desk even though he deals with confidential financial information. Yet others like the office manager have an office.
If I’m offered a job, I’d like to request that if at all possible an arrangement be made for an office for the HR manager. I’m worried that there will be times when an employee is upset and needs to talk and an empty boardroom may not be available. Or I may be working on something like a termination letter and have to look over my shoulder to ensure no one sees what I’m doing. What are your thoughts on this? At this point I’m considering not accepting the offer if I don’t have a suitable set-up to work from.
I think that’s perfectly reasonable, although I also think that in an organization where they’re so tight on space that the COO doesn’t have an office, they may not be able or willing to say yes. But it’s quite reasonable to ask, and you can point out that HR work in particular often requires confidentiality and see what they say.
5. Should my coworkers be allowed to see payroll data?
I work for a relatively small business, less than 40 employees. Besides field technicians and sales reps, we have, including five people in office at all times, including me. I just learned that our accountant, who is doubling as our entire HR department, is training two other coworkers to process payroll. One of the payroll-trainees is an inside sales rep, the other a service department coordinator. Neither are in supervisory roles, management, or HR. I’m upset that these two coworkers know the pay scale of not only everyone in the company, but mine as well.
I don’t feel like this can be legal. Is it legal? Who within an organization is legally allowed to view employee pay levels and process payroll?
It’s legal! There aren’t any laws governing who’s allowed to view employee pay information or process payroll; it’s up to individual employers. (In fact, some employers go for total pay transparency and publish everyone’s salaries, although that’s not the same as what’s happening here.)
There are always going to be coworkers who know your salary because they’re involved in payroll in some way. I get that it feels weirder because these two people wouldn’t normally be exposed to payroll data, but in a small office, you’re going to get cross-training like this (which is smart, because otherwise no one will be able to handle payroll when your accountant is out).
INTERNAL MEMORANDUM TO: THE COOL-ADJACENT WOMEN FROM: GLOBAL SENIOR MANAGEMENT RE: GAUCHOS DATE: SPRING 2017
Hi All,
Earlier this spring, you may have noticed various elite Cool Women wearing giant, ballooning pantaloons and swelling, sail-like culottes and wide-legged, high-waisted, raw-hemmed flood pants and thought: “wait, when did that happen” and “oh, okay, so everyone is wearing a different type of pant than the type of pant that I thought we were supposed to be wearing” and “but how did they all know that those pants were suddenly the pants that everyone should wear.”
With any sharp reversal in policy there is inevitable uncertainty, and we’d like to clear up any confusion.
Following an initial beta-testing phase, we are pleased to announce to the wider community of cool-adjacent women that gaucho pants and all gaucho-like pants are, without question, cool again. We have full confidence that this strategy will be upheld in a coordinated and consistent fashion. Furthermore, we trust you stored your gauchos in a safe, dark place following our 2006 memo on the subject, titled “Gauchos: Briefly In Style But In Style No More, So Go Ahead and Burn Them and Use The Ashes To Fertilize Succulents, Which Aren’t Cool Yet But Will Be In Six or Seven Years.”
After years of static growth in the experimental pants department — primarily due to our relentless pushing of skinny jeans as the paragon of pants—we are pleased to see growth in the wacky trouser sector.
Some might be wondering how, exactly, to pull off the high-waisted wide-legged denim look. Our guiding suggestion is that comfort is not key. In fact, if the denim feels as though it is made out of the withered trampoline of an ancient catamaran that has washed up upon the shore of a parched Pacific island … PERFECT. Especially if the pants are short enough to leave your ankle exposed, and high enough such that the waistline digs in right beneath the tender flesh of your belly-button.
In conclusion, we appreciate your understanding and cooperation. Please stay tuned for our follow-up memo, entitled “Even When the Permafrost Melts and the Entire Human Race Is Decimated By Ancient Bacteria, Athleisure Will Never Die.”
Ciao!
Global Management
Justine Neubarth is a (newly) LA-based writer. She needs friends. You can start that process by following her on Twitter: @ThatJustine.
In a recent Swole Woman, Casey suggested doing a few “sun salutations” every morning to care for your growing muscles. I don’t have growing muscles but I still do a few “sun salutations” every morning because generally when I wake up my body feels like cement and I can’t throw myself into the sea no matter how much I’d like to so I gotta do something. Do you do them? OK, well, let me ask you this, then: Have you ever done a “moon salutation”? I go to yoga classes let’s say uh sometimes and I never heard of one, but they do exist. You’re lucky to have me as a writer online, look at how much you’ve learned already this morning and let’s not even get into how entertaining it’s been. Here is one:
“Moon Salutations are a beautiful, soothing and grounding sequence of yoga postures,” says this YouTube. But let me ask you this: Should it not be a moon valediction? Sun salutation, moon valediction? Just something to think about. Not trying to mess with yoga; I know it’s ancient.
Anyway. This song reminds me viscerally at once of every single era of my life since I was 13, not that I’m ever inclined to write about myself on this blog due to a deficiency in curiosity about anything external especially because I hate it when other people do that and complain about it loudly to anyone who will listen:
i'm so sad about @midnight - it never failed to make me laugh out loud, if not at the contestants then at hardwick himself. The 90s throwback eps when he revived his Singled Out look were priceless. And it introduced me to so many great comedians/actors/writers/internet gems. Thank goodness there are 600 eps worth of back catalog to enjoy. Fingers crossed it lives on in some other streaming format some day???
Not long after discussing the ethical problems with manipulating the DNA of a human embryo and teaching you how to juice an entire watermelon in seconds, TODAY welcomed back its favourite WWE Superstar. John Cena has become a delightful regular fixture on the NBC morning show, and rightly so. When he’s not making Hoda and Kathie Lee slide off their chairs, he’s busy playing with baby animals, and getting all nutted up over adding blueberries to barbecue sauce. As I’ve said before, Morning Show John Cena is the best possible John Cena, and nothing else even comes close.
Early Monday morning, Cena brought his boyish charm and unreasonably gigantic hands back to the TODAY studio alongside Brett Eldredge, a country singer of somewhat notable fame, according to Google. Never ones to shy away from putting Cena into the weird zone, show producers opted to have Eldredge host a country music trivia contest that involves Cena and his co-hosts pretending to ride on hobby horses. Sure, why not? Whatever keeps Pepe from selling 8x10s in the subway.
While I’m intensely disappointed that Cena didn’t get to answer the question involving Florida Georgia Line (who have appeared in WWE so many times they should be called Flo-Rida Georgia Line), who can be mad when he references Smokey and the Bandit and makes his hobby horse take a hay break?
Somewhere backstage Hoda is gently pawing at a monitor with one hand, swilling wine with the other. Girl, calm down. You’re gonna freak out the interns.
The reruns i watch on netflix feel like a giant sugar dusted hug. This video has like Augustus Gloop overtones without any Willy Wonka to temper it. But I have hopes that the show continues to be awesome.
also did anyone else spot the lion-shaped sculpted bread that Paul 2.0 made famous in the 5th series???
The marketing team for the upcoming season of The Great British Bake Off—the first since the show switched channels, and lost three-quarters of its on-air talent—has a tough road ahead of them. Their ads have to convince fans of the series that it’s the same gentle, tent-based baking extravaganza that they’ve fallen in love with, while simultaneously assuring new viewers that this latest series is a fresh, invigorating new beast.
Faced with that daunting prospect, they produced this:
And, okay, props where they’re due: It’s definitely eye-catching. (The two separate instances of smiling baked goods vomiting up their fillings doesn’t hurt.) And there’s admittedly a surreal beauty to the presentation. But also: What the fuck? Did new co-host Noel Fielding sneak into the studio and attempt to recreate The Mighty Boosh in bread? For a show that prides itself on being an ...
who else watched Difficult People? I will DEF be watching this tuesday
If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair, but the hand sanitizer and the electric toothbrush. We asked Difficult Peoplecreator and co-star Julie Klausner about her favorite lip balm and bra on the occasion of the show’s third season, which premieres Tuesday, August 8, on Hulu.
This lip balm is the only thing that has ever worked long term for my chapped lips. Its claim to fame is that it was, or perhaps still is, a nipple balm for nursing moms, which I can neither confirm nor deny because I’ve never breastfed, despite reports on TMZ claiming that I nurse my cat. That is disgusting, and it’s simply not true.
Here’s what my cat does eat instead of my breast milk, which, as we’ve established, is a lie I don’t know why I keep repeating: Paw Lickin’ Chicken–flavored Weruva wet food. It’s important to me that my apartment doesn’t smell like a cat lady’s apartment, even though — guess what? — it’s a cat lady’s apartment. This stuff is pretty much odorless, and it’s just white-meat chicken. Sometimes, when I’m eating chicken soup, my cat will harangue me and I can’t blame him, because it looks like I’m eating his food with broth around it.
Because I am so pale that I am basically a sheet of tracing paper over a girl-shaped mass of blue veins, sunscreen takes up a lot of my mental bandwidth. I use this daily — and it’s light and great and absorbs into your skin immediately, and it’s not greasy and smells like heaven. “End of story,” as they say in Fargo.
Nick Kroll and John Mulaney presented at the Tony Awards this year, and in their banter they gave my favorite cream cheese a well-deserved and overdue shout-out. Temp Tee is whipped cream cheese; it is absolutely wonderful; and I eat so much of it, I should pose for an ad with the caption “Body by Temp Tee” under my visage. Not the best endorsement for them, perhaps, but a deep truth.
I have a bum neck and back (my pussy and crack are perfect, thank you), and I love lying on the floor — this is a lifesaver. I try to roll out my shoulder blades a few times on the foam roller throughout the day, or I lie on it vertically, put my arms out to the side, and let my chest open up. You can also use it as a neck pillow if you like to be prone on the carpet while you watch TV or make love — I don’t know what you do with your life.
I like the makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury because (1) her cosmetics are beautiful, and (2) she looks so much like me that, when I see her in my Instagram feed, I think, Hey, I look cute here,or When did I meet Kate Moss? Charlotte, like me, enjoys a smoky eye, and her eyeliner is highly pigmented and smudges beautifully. I use it in my inner eyelids, which ophthalmologists don’t like. Sorry, nerds!
This soap is simply not fucking around in terms of being lavender-y. It smells fantastic; it makes you feel like your hands are incredibly clean after you use it; and I’m not going to lie — I like a hand soap with a label that references the famous carpenter, Jesus Christ. I’ve tried secular hand soaps and I’m not going back!
Not all Jewish women have breasts that are as heavy and dense as two tote bags full of chestnuts, but for those of us — Jewesses and non-Jewesses alike — who do, enjoy this bra recommendation. I actually heard of it from the Cut! Thank you for your numerous “things for ladies with big cans” recommendations! Anyway, this bra says it’s for running, but I wouldn’t run unless I was either being chased or in sprinting distance of a Temp Tee factory about to close in 15 minutes.
we cannot leave any food unattended in our house on any cat-accessible surface. If a food isn't in the cupboard or fridge, we stash it in the oven or microwave.
“My mother-in-law was baking one of her awesome Black Forest cakes for my sister-in-law’s birthday. She left the cake cooling and when she went to look…”
Netflix has a brand new fantasy film coming from David Ayer, director of Suicide Squad. It’s time to take a peek at Bright.
Bright takes place in the world where humans, elves, orcs, and fairies have always coexisted. When Ward (Will Smith) and his orc partner (Joel Edgerton) come across an elf (Lucy Fry) with a magic wand, they get caught up in much more than they bargained for.
The premise is intriguing, but can so much world-building be contained in a single film? Maybe it would have been better off as a television show? Either way, fantasy buddy cops is certainly a genre that could do with some exploration.
I supervise a very talented, younger employee. She has tremendous work skills for her years of experience and demonstrates strong potential for growth. But…she seems to lack a level of maturity that I feel is impacting her career. She often talks about her parents and even credits them for helping with her work.
I want her to be respected for her career contributions to our company, but her talents are overshadowed by her constant need to include her parents in conversation or discussions about “adulting” — like paying her bills (using a budget that her parents helped her set).
I try to give her positive reinforcement to grow her confidence in her own abilities, but how do I help her take ownership of her own work? And how do I tell her to stop talking about her parents so often? Or the year she was born? Or to stop using the term “adulting” because you’re an adult!
She’s lacking a level of emotional intelligence and doesn’t seem to realize the impression she’s making. I realize she’s young, and this is where she is in life. How do I address this in a way that’s sensitive and respectful, but also clear?
For young people new to the work world, this can be such a weird transition time! You’ve thought of yourself as a kid your whole life, and in so many ways you don’t feel like an adult yet. One day you have almost no responsibilities with real-world consequences, and the next day you’re signing contracts and have a 401K and people are talking to you like you’re 40, but clearly you are not 40 and you’re not even sure you’re that different from when you were 17.
And maybe this was just my experience, but when you’re dealing with the scary amount of changes that adjusting to adulthood entails, sometimes there can be real comfort in playing up your youth. I remember in my 20s — and honestly, sometimes beyond that — wanting to be treated not as a kid, but as an “adult lite” rather than as a full-fledged adult. I felt like I got a certain amount of support as “young person figuring this stuff out as she goes” that fully fledged adults weren’t expected to need.
That said, she is indeed undermining herself by what she’s doing, and it’s worth saying something to her about it.
I’d say it this way: “Jane, you’re extremely talented and you do great work. I’m thrilled to have you on my team. I want to mention something to you that I’m worried could impact the way others perceive you: You tend to talk about yourself as if you’re still a kid. You talk about your parents and your age a lot, and you’ve even referenced your parents helping you with your work. I want people to see you as the competent professional you are, and I’m concerned that you’re inadvertently undermining yourself when you do this.”
You could also add: “Can I tell you how I see you? I see someone who’s done an amazing job at X and Y and demonstrated a great deal of wisdom and insight on Z. I want other people to see you this way too. It’s not that it’s inappropriate for you to be close to your parents or to look to them for advice — that’s a great thing, and lots of people do it at all ages. It’s more about making sure that you’re not talking about that so much that you give the impression that you’re not a competent, self-sufficient adult.”
This might be eye-opening for her. She may not even realize that “competent, self-sufficient adult” is the right self-image for her to have. But if nothing else, it should help her be more aware of how these types of comments are coming across.
It’s a kind conversation to have with her, and good for you for being willing to do it.
“If you want to build a ship, dont drum up the people to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast endless sea.”
– Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Grilled Pineapple Donut Sundaes- These sundaes are the perfect treat for your summer barbecue! Filled with rum, brown sugar and delicious flavor, they will be your fave warm weather dessert!
So I recently made these little miracles on the Today Show and realized it would be an absolute travesty if I didn’t share them with you. You see, this recipe is seriously insane and requires the most brave of followers to make it. What makes it so insane you might be wondering?
We are not only grilling pineapple. We are grilling donuts to my friends! I want you to go to your closest doughnut shop and pick up the softest, chewiest yeasty glazed donuts you can find. Once you have them, make the decision to do the crazy deed of throwing them on your grill. The sugar caramelizes in the most sensational way, they warm through and also pick up a hint of the smoke flavor that we know and love from grilling.
Doughnuts will never be the same. In fact these doughnuts were sort of life changing. I paired them with brown sugar rum soaked pineapple. Grilled pineapple is already so sensational but when you let it marinate in the most glorious of sweet and alcoholy marinades, something magical happens.
The sauce is then poured over the top and the doughnuts are filled with vanilla ice cream. I knew I simply could not deprive you of this miracle and so here it is. If you want to see the Today Show clip, check it out below.
These sundaes are the perfect treat for your summer barbecue! Filled with rum, brown sugar and delicious flavor, they will be your fave warm weather dessert!
Author: Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grandbaby Cakes
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Grill
Serves: 5 sundaes
Ingredients
For the Pineapple:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
⅓ cup dark brown sugar, packed
¼ cup rum
¼ cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
5 fresh pineapple rings
For Serving:
5 fresh glazed donuts
Vanilla or coconut ice cream for serving
Instructions
For the Pineapple:
Add butter, brown sugar, rum, orange juice, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt to a medium sized pan over medium high heat.
Allow sauce to melt together then stir until combined. Bring sauce to simmer and allow sauce to reduce by about a ⅓.
Add pineapple rings to a glass dish and pour ¾ of the sauce over the pineapple. Leave the rest for serving.
Allow sauce to soak into pineapple for about 20 minutes, flipping over halfway through at 10 minutes.
While pineapple soaks prepare your grill. Spray grill with non-stick spray or lightly brush grates with oil.
Grill pineapple about 5-7 minutes on each side until beautiful grill marks appear and the pineapple is tender. While grilling, you can baste with additional sauce used for soaking the pineapple.
For the Doughnuts:
Spray the grill again or add oil again. Add doughnuts to the grill and carefully watch because they can burn fast. Grill for about 20-40 seconds then flip to grill the other side. Serve immediately warm.
To prepare sundaes, cut a donut in half, add pineapple slice and top with ice cream and leftover sauce (keep warm) and serve.
Dan Hon recently trained a neural net to generate a list of fictional British placenames. The process is fairly simple…you train a program on a real list of placenames and it “brainstorms” new names based on patterns it found in the training list. As Hon says, “the results were predictable”…and often hilarious. Here are some of my favorites from his list:
Heaton on Westom
Brumlington
Stoke of Inch
Batchington Crunnerton
Salt, Earth
Wallow Manworth
Crisklethe’s Chorn
Ponkham Bark
Buchlingtomptop
Broad Romble
Fuckley
Buncestergans. At first glance this doesn’t look a lot like a place name but let’s break it down. We’ve got Bun which is definitely from Ireland (see Bunratty, Bunclody, Bundoran) meaning bottom of the river, and I believe we’re talking bottom as in the mouth rather than the riverbed (or there are whole lot of magical lady-of-the-lake towns in Ireland, I’m happy believing either). Cester is our Roman fort, then we have -gans.
I don’t think gans has any meaning in British place names. My guess is the net got this from Irish surnames like Fagans, Hagans, Duggans, that sort of thing. My Gaelic’s not so great (my mother, grandmother, and several aunts and uncles would all be better suited to this question!) but I think the -gan ending in Gaelic is a diminuitive, so Buncestergans could be the Small Fort at the Bottom of the River. I quite like that. It’s a weird Gaelic-Latin hybrid but why the hell not!
Seriously, you guys, what the hell. Let’s all pause with the I Fucking Love Science memes for a second, because something intense just happened. The BBC reports that Chinese scientists have managed to teleport an object from earth all the way into orbit around the planet. That situation transpired, so let’s everyone just take a beat, admire the awe-inspiring majesty of humankind’s relentless pursuit of knowledge, and bask in the glory of collective advancement, before getting back to complaining about why they’ve broken up Game Of Thrones into two smaller final seasons rather than one big one.
The researchers teleported a photon from a lab in the Gobi desert to a satellite orbiting some 300 miles away from Earth, using a method known as quantum teleportation. The Guardianexplains this process as “an eerie phenomenon in which the complete properties of one particle are instantaneously transferred ...
