![]() The movies library is much bigger than the TV one and much more interesting. Crackle doesn’t require registration, though an account lets you add favorites and save progress while watching a movie. Owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Crackle houses free movies and TV shows and even original programming, which sets it apart from many of the other free streaming services on this list. While you don’t have to sign up to use Tubi, registering for an account gives you access to parental controls, a queue and viewing history.Ĭrackle is a pioneer in the free streaming space, launching in 2004 - back when Netflix was still shipping DVDs. Clicking the menu for even more genres and curated collections, we saw the clever and cheeky Not on Netflix area. When we tested Tubi, we saw that its home page is organized into sections like Recently Added, Family Movies, Action and Black Cinema. Tubi has a clean, streamlined experience. ![]() Recently, Tubi added the former HBO series The Nevers. Casey loves Tubi for one show and one show only: Lucha Underground, a stylized wrestling show on El Vez. Personally, our streaming media editor Henry T. Recent available titles include The Terminator, Foxcatcher, Kill Bill, The Craft and Fruitvale Station. ![]() Tubi (now owned by Fox Corporation) was able to build it by partnering with over 250 providers, including Hollywood heavyweights Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM. But their catalog is still impressive for a free streaming service. Of course, Tubi doesn’t have the newer, high-profile titles that a subscription platform boasts, nor originals. Think of Tubi as a free version of Netflix, with an on-demand library of over 20,000 movies and TV shows. And Pluto TV doesn’t even require registration, though users can special features if they do sign up for an account, such as the ability to designate favorite channels and resume watching a program on a different device. As for the latest, a recent update to Pluto TV added a ton of free TV, including two huge channels: Rocky and Sailor Moon.Ĭontent is either great or not recent, with little overlap Yes, there are ads, but no more than what you’d get watching cable. Both are organized into categories, making it easy to find the kind of content you want to watch. For more modern content, check our Peacock.Īs we poked around Pluto, we noted its interface is clean and simple, making it easy to toggle between live and on-demand. We're still waiting for Pluto to add dedicated channels for shows that we really care about - recent editions include Baywatch, Stargate and Degrassi - but we do know people who love those shows, and keep going back to Pluto to binge-watch. They also offer other recognizable brands, like CNN and Fox Sports - though those run curated clips, not the actual live broadcast you’d see if you watched them on cable. The lineup draws heavily from Viacom’s other properties, so you can tune into TV Land Drama, BET Her, MTV's Jersey Shore and VH1's I Love Reality. Viewers can browse live channels in a grid, similar to the cable TV guide experience. The Viacom-owned Pluto TV has a decent selection of on-demand movies and shows but where it really shines is in live TV streaming. Plus, they get our thanks for saving the NBC-canceled series Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist with a Christmas special. Roku is also the place for original movies like Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. That includes some really good series, like Free Rayshawn and Reno 911. The Roku Channel has risen in our free streaming service rankings after adding all the originals from the now-defunct Quibi. And remembering that Peacock is better for more-recent content. Some of our staff lit up at that news, while others, well, we kept clicking around in Roku looking for something else. But when it comes to having whole shows, you don't have series of that caliber, but stuff like This Old House instead. ![]() The best part of Roku Channel is that it often streams the first episodes of premium cable shows, like Game of Thrones, Billions, Outlander and Watchmen. The Roku Channel also rolled out a Roku Live TV Guide, so viewers can channel surf. ![]() Like the other services, it offers on-demand movies and TV shows. The Roku Channel doesn’t force you to register for an account (you can watch as a guest) but signing up allows you to continue watching content on another device. The Roku Channel app comes automatically with any Roku TV or device, but it’s also available for download on mobile phones and tablets. ![]()
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![]() ![]() Using the personas and data available, have each team member map their observations onto sticky notes and paste them on the relevant section of the empathy mapping canvas Offer a quick summary of the customer persona you’ll be referring to throughout the session Using the one-two sentence description you defined on Day 1, explain the goal and scope of the workshop and the activities it will involve Introduce yourself and your participants to one another Follow the framework below to go from zero to a completed draft of a map in just under 2 hours. This is the most interactive (and fun) part of the process. When you’re ready, take action and make strategic changes, knowing you’ve got your customers’ interests at heart.An example of a customer journey map template with different stages and themes Step 2: run the workshop Try the voting feature in Lucidspark so you can decide on the best ideas for moving forward. Try making a new map that shows not what’s currently happening, but what you’d like to happen.Īgain, get feedback from other stakeholders so you can move forward confidently. See what you can learn from your map: Where and how can you improve the customer experience? Use freehand drawing or emojis to highlight areas for improvement. Make sure to share this template with them in Lucidspark, and you can collaborate on it in real time. Your co-workers will have new perspectives, and you need their input. You’re going to need help if you want to make this customer journey map as accurate as possible. Beneath the touchpoints, you can map how customers feel about the touchpoints and add any thoughts you have with sticky notes. Once you’ve decided on your touchpoints, divide them into phases and add them to the columns in the template. A touchpoint could be signing up for an online account or making a purchase-whatever makes sense for your business. Touchpoints are where the persona interacts with or experiences your brand. (You might want to try our user persona template for this step!) Fill in information about the persona and their situation at the top of the template. Make sure you have a clear objective, such as reaching new customers or improving retention, and create a detailed customer persona based on research with existing customers. Prepare thoroughlyīefore you begin, you need to consider two things: what you’re hoping to accomplish by creating this map and who you’re creating this map for. Get started with our customer journey map template. How to create a customer journey map in Lucidspark What you learn from your customer journey map can enable you to make changes with confidence. Perhaps you’ll find that you’ve been spending too much time developing a feature that customers don’t really want, or maybe you’ll find that because no team has clear ownership of a specific task, something the customer needs is often delayed. If you use that insight to change how you do business, you’ll reap the rewards. Customer journey mapping helps you refocus your strategy on your customers and what they want. You can have a technological miracle of a product, but if it doesn’t actually meet the needs of your customers, you won’t get anywhere. This process helps you refine the customer service experience into something seamless that inspires brand loyalty. ![]() You’ll map touchpoints in your service and how that customer may react to them, gathering insights along the way. This customer journey map template will help you chart a hypothetical customer’s experience with your company. ![]() For your business to succeed, you need to keep your customers happy-and to keep them happy, you have to understand them. ![]() ![]() ![]() Be patient with yourself as you navigate this transformative process. Practice and Patience: Rephrasing is a skill honed over time.For instance, transform “I am not good enough” into “I am enough, and I continue to grow and improve.” These affirmations act as beacons of hope, illuminating the path towards self-compassion and resilience. Positive Affirmations: Incorporate positive affirmations into your reframing practice.For example, if you find yourself thinking, “I always mess things up,” replace it with, “I make mistakes sometimes, but I also learn and improve.” Cognitive Restructuring: This technique involves identifying negative thought patterns and consciously replacing them with more balanced and rational thoughts.When doubts cloud your mind, visualize yourself succeeding and visualize the steps you can take to achieve your goals. ![]()
![]() ![]() How to Convert MP3 to WMA in Windows Media Player Convert MP3 to WMA in VideoProc Converter AI Method 2. Hit the RUN button in the bottom right panel to start the conversion process. Step 4: Initiate the MP3 to WMA conversion. Click the Browse button to select a destination folder to save the resulting file. Choose the format (WMA) from the list of Target Format under the music tab. Choose Video option at its homepage and the click the +Music button to an audio file or multiple files into the program. Step 1: Add an MP3 audio file to VideoProc Converter AI. These AI features are not yet available in the Mac version but will be coming soon. ![]() Note: The Windows version now supports AI-powered Super Resolution, Frame Interpolation, and Stabilization to enhance video and image quality. So why not download it now on your Windows or Mac computer and then follow the steps below to finish the task in minutes? Support improving of the sound quality.If you don't know what format you need, VideoProc Converter AI will automatically convert your audio file to a compatible format according to your selected device model. Other than converting MP3 to WMA, VideoProc Converter AI can transform any audio files of any format into target files of any format. Support an abundant number of various audio formats.Support batch file conversion, namely, converting multiple MP3 files at the same time.As VideoProc Converter AI has many advanced functions of audio conversion listed below: It will assist you in converting the MP3 audio file to WMA audio file within a few clicks. VideoProc Converter AI is a powerful video converter for Windows and Mac. How to Convert MP3 to WMA with VideoProc Converter AI And in this article we are going to offer you two methods of converting MP3 to WMA. Owing to these advantages of WMA format, we can easily see, if we are looking forward to a better listening experience of either our music or audiobooks, in most cases, a preferred choice is by converting our MP3 audio files to WMA ones. Besides, WMA is more compatible with electronic devices of Windows system. ![]() Another obvious advantage that WMA has over the MP3 is that it takes up much less space for storage. However, if the bit rate is higher than 128Kbps, the sound quality between WMA and MP3 file will have few distinctions. Besides, at a bit rate as low as 32Kbps, an MP3 audio file will be inaudible, whereas, a WMA audio file is still audible. For instance, at the rate of 64Kbps, WMA has a nearly identical quality of the sound like that of 128Kbps, while the sound quality of MP3 audio file has a marked difference in the same situation. The sound quality of a WMA audio file is distinctively better than that of MP3, especially under the circumstance of a low bit rate. Although WMA and MP3 are both of lossy compression, the performance of their sound quality is still diverse remarkably. ![]() ![]() ![]() The trees around our room were home to at least half a dozen brown-throated three-toed sloths ( Bradypus variegatus) The Hoffman’s two-toed sloths ( Choloepus hoffmanni) seemed to prefer the sea almond trees ( Terminalia catappa) beside the beach. Here’s a small sampling of what I saw and photographed: Troops of white-faced and squirrel monkeys visited us every day. In addition to squirrel and howler monkeys, Manuel Antonio is home to white-faced capuchin monkeys ( Cebus imitator) who hang out at the beach and are always ready to steal your lunch.Īfter a day or two, we got better at spotting animals, and it became clear that many of the species in the national park also lived on the grounds of our resort. Our guide (from Manuel’s Tours) was enthusiastic and knowledgeable–he was happy to discuss taxonomy of sloths or cannibalistic behavior of basilisks–and he carried a large spotting scope with excellent depth of field which served equally well to enlarge a howler monkey fifty feet up a tree or a tiny bat tucked into a Heliconia just off the path. ![]() If we had wandered around by ourselves, we certainly would have seen monkeys and perhaps a few sloths, but we would have missed many of the smaller animals. If you plan to visit Manuel Antonio, you will probably see recommendations to hire a guide. We also saw squirrel monkeys on the grounds of the resort and at Manuel Antonio National Park, which we visited the next day. This endangered subspecies is restricted to the Pacific coast of central Costa Rica, around Manuel Antonio National Park …and a troop of squirrel monkeys Grey-crowned Central American squirrel monkey ( Saimiri oerste dii citrinellus). While wandering the grounds of Villa Vanilla, we saw our first toucan… Chestnut-mandibled toucan ( Ramphastos ambiguus swainsonii) zerumbet Epidendrum stamfordianum, a native orchid species Etlingera elatior (torch ginger) Zingiber species, perhaps Z. The paths were also lined with Heliconia plants, ornamental gingers, and wooden frames supporting native epiphytes. This species was used a lot, perhaps because Erythrina grows rapidly and has a fairly open form, allowing lots of light to reach the vanilla. Flowers of an Erythrina species that was used as a support for the Vanilla vines. Although some of the plants were growing on rough posts, many were trained onto shrubby trees whose flowers added to the beauty of the plantation. The Vanilla orchid is a heavy epiphytic vine which requires support. Vanilla planifolia vines Vanilla seed capsules drying in the sun Flowers of a Theobroma cacao tree The flowers and fruit of Theobroma cacao can sprout anywhere on the tree, including the trunk. The tour was fascinating and delicious–we tasted the spices in their raw forms and incorporated into various treats–and the location of the plantation in the foothills is unutterably beautiful. At Villa Vanilla, they grow vanilla (of course), cacao, true cinnamon ( Cinnamomum verum), black pepper, allspice, and turmeric. Somehow they seemed much more menacing than American alligators, and I was glad that we were viewing them from the bridge.Īrriving at the resort after dark, we got our first real look at the area the next morning, when we took a guided tour of Villa Vanilla, a spice plantation located a few kilometers inland from Quepos. Just before we reached the Pacific coast, our driver stopped beside a bridge over the Tárcoles River so that we could stretch our legs and ogle the monsters on the banks of the river below. ![]() I expected sloths and frogs, but not crocodiles… American crocodiles ( Crocodylus acutus) on the banks of the Tárcoles RiverĪfter flying into San José, we rode down to Manuel Antonio (about 170 kilometers) in a van provided by Arenas del Mar. However, the wildlife exceeded all my expectations. Several people told me that the dry season came early this year, so I didn’t see many orchids in bloom (sad face). We stayed at Arenas del Mar, a small resort in the lowland rain forest between Manuel Antonio National Park and the Pacific coast town of Quepos. It was my first trip to that beautiful country, and I was totally blown away by…well, everything: the friendly people, the great food, the beautiful scenery, the tropical flora, and the amazing wildlife. To celebrate my parents’ golden wedding anniversary, the entire family (my parents, my sister, our spouses and children) all went to Costa Rica for a few days between Christmas and New Year. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Rootage, outset, graduation, startle, graduation exercise, commencement exercise, first, showtime, head start, starting time, scratch line, scratch, beginning, commencement ceremony, origin, starting line, get-go, kickoff, root, commencement, source, starting, offset, starting signal, jump "he was responsible for the beginning of negotiations" Parachuting, outset, startle, first, head start, starting time, scratch line, scratch, commencement, leap, starting line, get-go, kickoff, saltation, showtime, starting, offset, jumping, starting signal, beginning, jump "he got his start because one of the regular pitchers was in the hospital" "his starting meant that the coach thought he was one of their best linemen" Starting, get-go, low gear, starting line, number one, first gear, showtime, offset, runner, rootage, send-off, setoff, scratch line, commencement ceremony, first, graduation, low, root, kickoff, outgrowth, stolon, source, commencement exercise, start-off, counterbalance, scratch, startle, head start, branch, origin, first-class honours degree, number 1, first base, outset, jump, offset printing, starting time, starting signal, graduation exercise, beginning, offshoot, commencement, set-backĪ turn to be a starter (in a game at the beginning) "they got an early start" "she knew from the get-go that he was the man for her" The time at which something is supposed to begin ![]() Outset, startle, first, head start, starting time, scratch line, scratch, commencement, starting line, get-go, kickoff, showtime, starting, offset, starting signal, beginning, jumpīeginning, commencement, first, outset, get-go, start, kickoff, starting time, showtime, offset noun Princeton's WordNet Rate these synonyms: 3.4 / 5 votes Compare CAUSE.Īrising, beginning, commencement, fount, fountain, inauguration, inception, initiation, opening, origin, outset, rise, source, spring Motley wrote of "The Rise of the Dutch Republic." Fount, fountain, and spring, in their figurative senses, keep close to their literal meaning. A rise is thought of as in an action we say that a lake is the source of a certain river, or that the river takes its rise from the lake. A source is that which furnishes a first and continuous supply, that which flows forth freely or may be readily recurred to as, the source of a river a source of knowledge a source of inspiration fertile land is a source (not an origin) of wealth. An origin is the point from which something starts or sets out, often involving, and always suggesting causal connection as, the origin of evil the origin of a nation, a government, or a family. "In the beginning was the word," John i, 1. ![]() If we were to speak of the commencement of the Pacific Railroad, we should be understood to refer to the enterprise and its initiatory act if we were to refer to the roadway we should say "Here is the beginning of the Pacific Railroad." In the great majority of cases begin and beginning are preferable to commence and commencement as the simple, idiomatic English words, always accurate and expressive. The letter A is at the beginning (not the commencement) of every alphabet. Commencement is for the most part restricted to some form of action, while beginning has no restriction, but may be applied to action, state, material, extent, enumeration, or to whatever else may be conceived of as having a first part, point, degree, etc. The Latin commencement is more formal than the Saxon beginning, as the verb commence, is more formal than begin. ![]() ![]() If there are updates available, proceed to the next step. Your navigation system will now connect to the Honda server and check for available updates.
![]() ![]() ![]() I also included a strip of elastic in the seam under the bust for extra support, although to be honest, I could have sewn this in much more neatly as it’s a bit messy inside at this point. Like Erin’s version, I created some pockets within the cups where I could add padded cups, but after trying it with and without them, I decided it worked better without, but I have at least got that in there as a little extra lining as it’s fairly sheer when pulled taut. I’d planned to use the foldover elastic on all the cup edges, back panels and leg openings, but after using it on the cups and legs, I discovered I’d only just had enough to do those – oops! And that was 3m – never knew I’d need more than that! So all the cut out pieces on the back are self bound with strips from the leftover swimsuit fabric – that was another learning process I had to sort out too! I did also mess up with attached the gusset and gusset lining to get all the seams enclosed so had to unpick and restitch that, but aside from that, I had no major problems with it coming together. The cups though were pretty much entirely hand-drafted by placing bits of tracing paper over my bust and figuring out what shape I wanted – I don’t think it worked out too badly actually!Īfter cutting out all my pattern pieces, I ended up having to write myself some instructions on how to put everything which took me a good while to figure out in my head first to make sure that all the seams were done in the right order and pieces were attached to the right places. I’m not sure that the modesty panel on this is as ruched and pulled as tight as I’d like it to be, so that’s something else I’d work on next time. I used my Esther Williams swimsuit as a guide on the sizing for the modesty panel and back bodice, then used the Watson briefs as a guide for the leg openings and gusset. It took me a lot of figuring out how to make the design and put the pieces together, so I ended up drafting 5 different pieces to make up the swimsuit (bodice front, bodice back, cups, modesty panel and gusset). I did take the seam allowance into account, but I hadn’t really thought about how much they would need to stretch too, so some of the pieces at the side back are stretched a little too thin for my liking.Īs you can see, I didn’t copy my swimsuit inspiration exactly – I ended up having to add in an extra pair of straps and an extra ring at the back after I’d finished putting it all together as I discovered that there wasn’t quite enough support for my bust and found the body of the suit was trying to ride up and over! This did solve the problem, although it’s a bit sad that you don’t get the simplicity of the original design, but it definitely functions better for me with that extra strap in there. Well, I guess so! There are definitely a few bits I would change were I to make this again, including making the cut outs on the back slightly smaller, and I would definitely not finish them so close to the edges. Now you should know something first, I am absolutely no good at anything that involves drawing – I used to get my sister (who is 2 years younger than me) to do my art homework for me at school, I was that useless! So drafting those back pieces with the cut outs was no easy feat, believe me! I redrew those about 15 times before settling on a shape that looked good on paper. ![]() So there was nothing for it but to get to work drafting my own! I’d seen Emerald Erin had created her own swimsuit based off a couple of her inspirations, one being the swimsuit that Keira Knightley wears in Atonement, the one that I was taking my inspiration from, so based on that, I had the courage to dive in and sort one out myself. The closest I could find was the Bombshell swimsuit by Closet Case Files but it didn’t have the back I wanted and I wasn’t convinced that I would get the right shape across the bust with that – although I am planning to try that one in future now in View A. I could have bought a pattern, but I’d gathered together a few ideas of things I really liked and couldn’t find any patterns that suited what I really wanted to do. I’ve previously made a bikini to my Watson set pattern using scuba fabric, but aside from that, I’ve never touched swimwear sewing in my life, so had very little experience with that and was pretty much launching in brand new to this. I’d got an order from Plush Addict mid week with some excited swimwear fabric that I later found out is actually Liberty (eek!) plus a few extra bits and pieces including a rotary cutter, so I decided to launch straight in that weekend with my new project: a swimsuit. I’d been working on my corset kit that Ben bought me for my birthday over the past couple of weeks, and I managed to finish that on the Friday night (super excited to share that with you, but sneak peek here!). Last weekend, I had a super productive time with sewing. ![]() ![]() ![]() Suppose you still think that you need to do more than you can daily and weekly to keep your house clean. Therefore, think about which things you should do every day and which are enough to do once a week or even once a month. ![]() But at the same time, you should be able to complete them. You should clearly define which cleaning tasks must be done daily and weekly. To stick to the daily or weekly cleaning services schedule, remember the most important rule - the cleaning schedule must be realistic. That’s why you should have several cleaning lists:Ģ) The most important of these schedules are the daily and weekly cleaning services schedules because following them does not allow our house order to turn into chaos. Of course, not all cleaning chores need to be done every day. Cleaning is cyclical and is constantly and with a certain periodicity repeated (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, every half year or year). The baskets are filled with dirty laundry. Therefore, we want to ensure that our home does not turn into a place where this cycle one day stops closing. The same thing is with dishes, for example. They must be washed, dried, ironed, and returned to the closet.
![]() ![]() Here's what we know about the radiation leak: The city is close to the border with China and has a population of 630,000. Authorities have identified the source of the radiation in Khabarovsk. The news has generated a lot of buzz across the world with people remembering the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, which was the part of erstwhile Soviet Union, in 1986. Local authorities have restricted access to Khabarovsk, an industrial district. Here, the men sing to me as I pass “bella bella belissima”, and the men themselves are just as beautiful, if not more.Russia has declared a "state of emergency" in Khabarovsk, a city on the Amur River in southeastern part of the country, after a mystery potentially cancer-causing radiation leak was detected. What can she possibly like about herself that much? they wonder, so they join me to find out. Perhaps my obsession with myself makes people curious. Or loses.Īnthony, an Italian from my last job who liked me a lot, asked me what I was going to write about in Italy. I get people to like me, I get myself to like them back, that makes me like myself more and whoever stops liking me first wins. I like myself mostly and I like it when people like me so really it’s my own game that I play. It always makes for a better story in the end when the likeliness is reciprocated and you have to decide who stopped liking who first. I like everyone back because it makes things more interesting. Guys hate having to make an effort to like a girl, I’ve found. All guys like me pretty much because I’ve mastered instantaneous likability. I know he thinks I’m cool because he used my name in a story about his time, our time, in Tufo last year that he made up when he could have used any name. So does the town that can’t understand me, and so does Patrick who isn’t dating me but I can tell that he likes me, as a person most definitely, as more I’m not sure. But the house treats me like family all the same. It’s hardly Patrick’s, as far removed as he is. Last night I thought to myself, This is a family’s home but not mine. I’d wait until the night to start drinking, and in the stupor fall asleep and repeat the day after. I was twenty in a relationship and I would not eat the entire day. My first go-around in college, I joked that I was drunkorexic. I’m not anorexic, I don’t think but I’m obsessed with my weight. I look at myself to see if I have changed in the days that I’ve been here, eating all the foods I’ve restricted myself from for the past three months. I was staring myself down, undressed, in the mirror that faces the balcony distracted by the green, too green to be real. Whenever I look out of the window here I blink a few times, thinking this picture-perfect landscape may blink away but it doesn’t. I tell people I’m a writer and hope that they take my word for it. I’m a writer here, with Patrick who is a writer except he has got lots to show for it unlike myself. I only clean when I feel like it, she would say, and she was right. I used to tell that to my mom, she’d use it against me. I get into fits of cleaning, only on my own time though. I remember everything pretty much, so I sprayed down the shower and the sink, the toilet, the kitchen countertops, and the kitchen sink and faucet. ![]() When I arrived yesterday it smelled, he must have forgotten but I remembered. The proprietress advised him last year to spray the bathroom with disinfectant daily or throughout the day or else it would begin to smell. Maybe I will when I come back next year if I care to remember. I’m sure he remembered because before I could get out my “No,” he offered to teach me some easy dishes that I won’t cook ever again once I’ve left here. Patrick cooks too and he is quite good at it. ![]() Patrick sleeps or writes, and I clean or shower or read or write like, I’m doing now. I asked because I was afraid of sleeping alone on the second floor, the two other rooms unoccupied. Last night I asked Patrick, “Do you enjoy sleeping in the basement, alone?” We don’t date, we don’t have sex either, but it’s just us two and myself, alone, in the honeymoon suite. It took us one taxi and two buses to get here. We’re alone, Patrick and I, in a three-story house an hour outside of Naples, Italy. ![]() |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |