In recent years we have seen the global perspective on junk food shifting. We are now more aware than ever before of the health risks associated with over-consumption of processed foods. But, due to the highly addictive nature of these products, it isn’t an easy battle to win.

And it isn’t just the food that is addictive either. Fast food companies like McDonalds and KFC spend millions of dollars every year on their advertising campaigns. Because this is where the real power sits. Marketing is everything when it comes to the world of business.

Often people don’t even realize that they are being affected by marketing. You likely walk past a handful of adverts for fast food on bus stops and billboards and don’t give them a second thought. But your subconscious mind has noticed. And your subconscious mind will remember those adverts when you next get hungry. Did you ever wonder why you get sudden cravings for McDonalds?

The Fast Food Advert Ban

A lot of nations are trying to combat the growing health concerns caused by fast food consumption by putting new bans on fast food adverts. In the United Kingdom the plan is to ban any fast food adverts from appearing on TV before 9PM. This is to stop fast food companies targeting children.

Norway is looking at imposing a similar ban. Their version will focus on banning all advertisements for products generally aimed at children. Candy, soda, ice cream. They plan to use a nutrient threshold as a way of ensuring that anything being advertised meets a minimum health requirement.

And this is just the beginning. It won’t be long before other nations follow suit. But how will these bans affect marketing companies?

Key Marketing Client

The fast food industry, as we said, spends a staggering amount of money on marketing. And a lot of the smaller companies will often outsource their marketing needs to independent firms and local businesses. For all the bad parts of fast food marketing, it does help prop up the industry and creates a lot of jobs.

People seem to think that bans like the UK are proposing will lead to a lot of lost work for marketing firms. But most experts agree that this isn’t the case. If anything it will force these companies to redouble their efforts and find new ways to reach their target market.

Companies are always looking for new ways to market their products. Through NFT’s, pop-up booths in malls, sky banners. Some fast food chains have started using customizable DTF transfers to increase the number of people wearing their brands as part of their outfits. Creating comedic variations of their logos or mascots and allowing the design to be used openly. And these are all genius methods of marketing.

A Domino Effect

If fast food companies do start to ramp up their marketing strategies to sneak around these bans and new regulations it could lead to a domino effect of sorts. Marketing firms will see a lot more business coming in. The new marketing tactics will increase sales for the fast food chains. And this could lead governments to create even tighter restrictions on their advertising freedom.

One of the main issues, as we see it, is that quelling fast food marketing is only putting a band-aid on the real problem. Of health education and the cost of living crisis. As it stands right now many people are forced to buy fast food as it is the cheapest option available to them. This is especially true for larger families who are struggling financially.

Dealing with the cost of living crisis is the most effective way to get people eating healthier. Whether this is by increasing the minimum wage or putting price caps on supermarket chains to encourage price drops for healthy food. It isn’t an easy thing to fix, to be sure. But it would go a long way in helping.

There also needs to be more regulations surrounding the nutritional content of fast food. The UK has been working hard to remedy this. With many fast food chains having to completely discontinue items due to them not meeting the health standards. But the USA is still far behind in this regard.

Refocused Marketing

If the nations of the world really want to combat the health crisis posed by fast food then they need to fight fire with fire. That means investing massively in marketing focused around health education. Too many people are blissfully unaware of the health risks posed by fast food. And how easy it is to become addicted to it.

New health and education initiatives are the way forward. Starting at the root. In schools. Many European nations are already ahead of the curve on this one. But there is always more that can be done.

Buying fire-damaged properties has gradually become a popular investment pattern in recent times. Fire cash buyers and those investors who are into flipping houses are frequent buyers of fire-damaged properties. However, random investors are beginning to see the potential profit in buying Fire-damaged properties.

Fire-damaged homes have low market values, so investors can buy them at a low price, upgrade the house a bit, and then sell it at a higher price.

There are some factors that investors need to consider before investing in a fire-damaged property. Read on to learn more about buying fire-damaged homes.

Factors to consider when buying a fire-damaged property.

If you are looking to join the train of investing in fire-damaged homes, here are important factors to consider:

The extent of the damage to the property

This is the most important factor to consider when buying a fire-damaged property. Not all fire-damaged properties are worth investing in, especially the severely damaged ones. Go for properties with fewer fire-damages. The lesser the damages, the quicker and cheaper the repair.

Cost of repair

The cost of repair is a significant factor to consider as it determines the profit you make from the investments. If you go for properties needing a lot of repair, you may incur losses. Always evaluate the property before paying for it.

The location of the property

Not all locations are profitable in real estate, especially those areas with poor market values. Consider the location of the damaged property before making any strong investment move.

The mortgage on the property

Make sure you find out if the property has a mortgage loan. If it does, and it sits well with you, you can go for it. If not, you have to look for a better option.

There are other factors to consider, like insurance coverage on the property, the price of the properties, and so on.

How to find sellers of fire-damaged properties

As an investor trying to buy fire damaged homes, searching for these homes on your own without help is a difficult task to achieve. The best way out is by the following ways:

Getting information from firefighters

Firefighters know all the properties recently damaged by fire around their jurisdiction. Getting information about fire-damaged properties from them is highly informational. They will tell you the location and, most importantly, the extent of the damage to the property. With the information you get from the firefighters, you can easily pick out the good investments from the bad ones.

Real estate agents

The job of a real estate agent is to connect investors to the right properties to invest in. Tell them what you need, and they will search it out for you. If you intend to invest in a fire-damaged home, they can help connect you to a potential fire-damaged investment.

Insurance agents

Insurance companies are another good source for finding out about fire-damaged homes. Most homes are insured, so insurance agents and other insurance bodies are always aware of the locations of these homes. They also know the homeowners looking to sell their fire-damaged homes

Why are more people buying fire damaged properties?

Investors are drawn to highly profitable investments, and this is why the market for fire damaged properties seems to be on the rise. Getting a property at a significantly low cost, upgrading the property, and finally selling it at a higher price is a profitable real estate investment.

What you should know about buying fire-damaged properties

While buying, repairing, and selling a fire-damaged home at a higher price may sound simple, it is difficult and risky, especially when you make a bad investment.

Buying a fire-damaged home involves time, money, patience, and risk. Before investing in a fire-damaged property, you have to first consider all the necessary factors. The extent of the damage, the repair cost, the location of the property, and the mortgage loan. Considering these factors will help you determine if the property will make a good or bad investment.

Generally, before making any real estate purchase, the right thing to do is to properly evaluate the property to know if it is worth the purchase. Investing a significant amount without getting back any tangible return on the investment can easily happen when investing in a fire-damaged property without proper research.

Conclusion

Buying a fire-damaged home is a profitable investment when rightly done. If you are new to investing in fire-damaged properties, ensure that you get the help of a more experienced person in the field.

Your mental health is one of the two most important things you need to manage in your day to day life. Alongside your physical health. And, of course, the two go hand in one. One will have a direct impact on the other and vice versa. We are lucky to be alive during an age where we understand more about the science of mental health issues than ever before.

Thanks to a mixture of medical science, technology, and psychology study, we know that mental health issues are a mixture of environmental factors paired with imbalances in the physical functioning of our brains. Depression, for example, is caused by the brain producing monoamine oxidase A, which breaks down the neurotransmitters that would absorb serotonin and dopamine. The two main chemicals needed to make us happy, to put it plainly.

Understanding the science behind issues like depression has allowed us to create drugs that can fight them in the same way we fight off infections. But drugs aren’t the only answer to mental health problems. Most medical professionals will tell you that it takes a lot of things to deal with these issues. Today we are going to talk about some of the alternative treatments you can undertake, alongside traditional therapy and medication, to help deal with your mental health issues.

Keep A Journal

One of the main issues people face when dealing with anxiety or depression is the inability to shut off their brain. They will be bombarded with constant worries or horrible thoughts and feelings. The human brain is like a computer in many ways. And, like a harddrive that is too full, if you don’t declutter your thoughts things will run worse.

Journaling isn’t a magic cure. But it has been proven to help. The idea here is that, once a thought or idea has been written down, the brain will naturally think about it less. The main reason our brains hold onto bad thoughts and information is because it hasn’t been expressed or expelled. For anyone struggling to talk about their issues, this is a great alternative that can relieve some stress and anxiety from your life.

THC And CBD

One of the most popular and effective alternative medications on the planet is hemp. All natural and now fully legal in Canada. Both THC and CBD have been used to great effect in a number of medical studies. And both can be used to help you deal with your mental health issues.

We spoke to Top Shelf; they are a seller of bud in BC, and they told us that a lot of the customer comments they receive talk about how the legalization of weed and CBD has helped people deal with their anxiety and depression in many different ways.

CBD has been shown to improve the brain’s ability to absorb the serotonin and dopamine it produces, which is hugely beneficial when used alongside a regular course of medication and therapy. And THC can help reduce a lot of physical symptoms that can link back to depression and anxiety such as stress, pain, and tight muscles.

Both THC and CBD are natural mood enhancers. Meaning they will easily put a smile on your face. They can also boost your creativity, making them a great tool for creative therapy sessions. Art therapy has been shown to be extremely effective in dealing with mental health issues. So, if creative therapy is something you want to try, we recommend making use of some THC at the same time.

Meditation

There are a lot of misconceptions about meditation out there. Most people assume it is just sitting in silence and not thinking about anything. But that isn’t the case at all. Meditation is about connecting with your body and mind on a primal and intimate level.

The human body and mind are complex organisms. We still do not fully understand either of them. And it can be difficult to truly connect to yourself. A proper meditation session will have you focusing on your breathing while also directing your attention to different parts of your body. Releasing the tension that has built up within. Bodily tension has been shown to make issues like anxiety far worse.

Meditation isn’t about keeping your mind blank. Instead it is about focusing on your breathing and then letting your mind tell YOU what you need to think about. If a specific thought or feeling comes up. Don’t ignore it. Sit with it and think about it. Meditation is the purest way of communicating with your own brain. And has been proven to be extremely effective in dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, and other issues.

Don’t be annoyed if you don’t get it right the first few times. Try a guided meditation video and take it a day at a time. It will take time to adjust to the intense feelings that can arise from a meditation session done right.

As you probably know, gaming is a favorite pastime activity for anyone, regardless of age. Its popularity has increased thanks to advancements in technology. For you to play and succeed in your gaming, you need a reliable computer. Unfortunately, the best gaming personal computer may come at a pricey side. For this reason, it’s important to choose a machine that meets your gaming needs.

Once you are done, you will benefit from your custom-made computer, including saving your pocket. In this article, we will explain what it takes and the process of assembling a gaming computer all by yourself.

Keep reading.

Steps In Creating A Powerful Gaming Machine

Here are the basic and easy steps that will give you your first owned gaming PC to take your experience to the next level.

Do a Thorough Research, Plan and Budget

Before you can begin the process of building your own gaming PC, do thorough research on what it takes and whether the items you need are available in the market.

You will also need to have a budget as some requirements come at a high cost. Additionally, from your gaming experience, list what you want to achieve. This will determine what type of hardware and software you will need.

Shop for PC Components Well

There are five components you need to purchase before you can start to build your own powerful gaming PC.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The CPU acts as the main memory of your gaming PC and executes what you prompt it to do. It is also in charge of running games effectively and smoothly. Hence, when deciding the type of CPU to buy, ensure it can perform functions at the fastest speed possible.
One of the features to look out for is a CPU with minimum Intel Core i8 or AMD Ryzen processors. These two have good performance for gaming. It’s necessary to also establish whether it is compatible with other components.

Graphics Processing Unit

The Graphics Processing Unit provides gaming visuals and smooth gameplay. There are many types of GPUs in the market at different prices. Your gaming needs will guide your choice of GPU. To be sure of what you are buying, read the reviews by past users to avoid making a mistake.

The most common options to choose from depending on your expected gaming performance are NVIDIA, GeForce and AMD Radeon graphics cards. Additionally, identify a GPU which has an adequate VRAM, high clock speeds, and efficient cooling solutions.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

RAM enables gaming processes to run smoothly in the background. The size of your chosen RAM will determine the capability of your PC to process many tasks simultaneously without affecting your gaming experiences.

It is advisable to use a RAM with at least 16GB of RAM to have a good experience. However, if you can manage to have a RAM with a higher capacity, the better the performance for online gaming. For example, if you love playing Skyblock online, you will need a PC with 16 GB RAM and above.

Additionally, you should consider the frequency and latency of the RAM modules if you are to get your performing at its best. There are several reliable brands in the market. Some examples include Kingston, Micron, Corsair, Crucial and many others.

Storage Options

Storage basically provides the PC with a space to store files and enable a faster loading and system response. HDDs offer larger storage capacities at a lower budget. Hence, they are good for storing game libraries and files. However, SSDs offer a faster loading time, and the response is much better than when using HDD. You may also want to combine the two for optimal performance if your budget allows.

Motherboard and Power Supply Unit (PSU)

The motherboard is made of a circuit board and is responsible for executing all the processes. It is the central communication point of your PC and connects all the other components to ensure they communicate to deliver outcomes as a team.

When choosing a motherboard, compatibility with your chosen CPU and GPU is very important. You may have all other good components, but if the motherboard fails, you don’t have a gaming PC. Always go for tried and tested brands such as ASUS, MSI, or Gigabyte.

The motherboard will also require a good Power Supply Unit to provide it with power and to all other components. The wattage rating may be key when choosing a PSU to ensure it can sufficiently power and accommodate upgrades.

Assembling Components and Setup Process

After choosing your PC components, you can now start the process of putting them together. You will need to have an assortment of tools, such as screwdrivers and an anti-static mat surface.

Her is the simple assembly process to follow;

1. Install the Central Processing Unit onto the motherboard.
2. Install the RAM sticks by putting them in the correct slots on the motherboard.
3. Fix the assembled motherboard inside the PC casing and connect power cables, SATA cables, and front panel connectors.
4. Attach the GPU into the PCIe slot on the motherboard firmly.
5. Connect your chosen type of storage drive.
6. Connect the Power Supply Unit to all components using the correct wires.
7. Verify that all connections are done well and close the case.
8. Connect your monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
9. Install an operating system and drivers to ensure proper functioning.

After putting everything together, you may start the PC, launch a game and have a feel of your new computer.

Conclusion

Having a gaming computer made by yourself is a good thing to do. At the end of the day, you will have a gaming PC that has what you need to achieve your gaming needs. The benefits of building your own machine include the business for future upgrades and increasing performance at a lower cost. All you need is to do your research well before purchasing the different components to avoid frustrations. We hope that this guide has provided you with all the information you require to start off.

Nowadays, most parents consider having their children attend school at home as their best alternative. The homeschooling option is mainly associated with parents’ lifestyles that may not be compatible with sending the kids to school the usual way. It could be that you are tied at work from morning to evening, and there are no safe means to drop your child to school.

If you choose this mode of study, you must be prepared to take responsibility for your child’s daily learning progress. You should also ensure that the learning experiences are drafted in such a way that meets your child’s demands and preferences. You may opt for a structured curriculum or unschooling approach depending on what you as a family decide.

Therefore, as much as home schooling offers flexibility for parents and learners, there are many other things you need to know before you start. Hence, if you choose this path, this guide will highlight all you need to know about schooling at home, how to get started, and its benefits. Read on.

Getting Started with Home Schooling

Before registering your child for home study, there are several basic things you need to have in mind or meet for it to be successful. Let’s have a look at each.

Understand the Laws and Regulations

Home schooling means your child will stay home indoors during class hours and learn as if at school. You need to do thorough homework on what the legal frameworks in your locality dictate about child education. Do the laws permit children to learn from home without a teacher physically present?

What are the accountability requirements to the government to confirm that your child is learning adequately? You may be required to complete progress reports to continue with the system regularly. As for child care, you will also need to know when the child can stay at home without you or a guardian.

Setting Educational Goals

If your child needs to be successful in schooling from home, it must be guided by predetermined goals and objectives. That includes what you want the child to achieve at the end of learning that will benefit his further education and career life. Hence, you both have to sit down and set a curriculum, specifying what learning areas take priority, guided by your child’s interests and abilities.

You may also include areas that your child isn’t very good at to improve on the same. Alternatively, you may review already existing curriculums and follow them if it meets your learning goals instead of creating one.

Creating a Learning Environment

Many distractions could interfere with learning at home, which needs to be dealt with. One of them is your child’s private learning space to ensure they are focused on studies without external influence. A study room should be dedicated to the classroom and furnished with all the basic resources, such as writing materials, workbooks, and textbooks. For instance, if you live in Nevada, the western region of the United States, and if you own a smaller unit, you may have to sell your house fast for cash in Nevada to purchase a spacious one to accommodate your child’s study room.

In addition to the physical resources at home, it is advisable to take advantage of online learning resources to provide what you may not have at home. There are community programs and libraries that offer online access to their educational content free of charge or at a fee. Children learn better when demonstrations and plays are included in the learning methodology. Hence, adding a multimedia resource will keep your child engaged.

Establishing Effective Time Management

For you and your child to achieve the set targets, time management is very important for every learning activity. Create a timetable of class subjects to be learnt, when they start and end, and allocate time for extra curriculum activities. Developing this daily schedule conditions the child to have learning days that are balanced and education-oriented. Otherwise, if you allow learning anyhow, there will be negative consequences. While following a set schedule is key, teaching your child to be self-disciplined will result in better and more effective time management skills.

Evaluating Learning and Making Adjustments

Evaluation is the only way to determine whether learning has occurred or your child has been using time at home well. That involves assessing the convergence of the learning areas in a given time and how much the child has been able to understand and practice. Regularly examining the child’s learning progress will also enable the identification of the weak and strong areas of learning.
This understanding leads to changing or modifying the vulnerable areas’ teaching strategies to improve performance. Monitoring the learning process will also give you insight into which learning resources to include or do away with. For example, your child may be good at utilising visual ads rather than hands-on activities.

Providing Support and Socialization

As a parent, you also double as the teacher, and that role has to come out clearly for the child to appreciate your efforts. Like teachers, you must master switching roles to make the learning environment friendly and positive. Offer full support to your child but without being sympathetic, or else they take advantage of the family relationship. Learn to use various teaching ways to be unique and lively. Engage the learner freely and offer instructions.

Schooling alone from home can also become boring unless you can connect the child with other children who are learning the same way. Connecting with home schooling communities and group activities provides a social platform to exchange ideas and experiences. It will also require participation in extracurricular activities such as sports, music, and drama plays with other mates to build an all-rounded individual.

Pros and Cons

The main benefit of having your child school from home is the flexibility and freedom to develop learning areas and activities that match your child’s interests, learning style, and abilities. This type of learning provides a personal approach to education, allowing children to become their best in their study areas and at their own pace.

Home schooling also provides the parents and kids with a bond while appreciating the need for education. Hence, you have children who are brought up well in terms of discipline as the parent promotes the values to the child.

Another benefit is the availability of learning resources and support groups from online local communities and forums. These platforms also allow the sharing of learning experiences and the exchange of ideas. Parent teachers also gain handy knowledge from parents who have done homeschooling before.

However, the system has its share of challenges. One is managing and keeping up with the learning processes, which requires total commitment to the underlying responsibilities. It mayn’t be difficult for a parent to multitask between academics, home duties and work. However, with good planning and time management, you can overcome the challenges for the greater benefits.

The advancement in technology has made the mobile phone not only portable and smart but an all-inclusive gadget that goes beyond communication. You would have thought a tablet could do more, but the smartphone is equally good, if not better.

For social media lovers, whether as an influencer, branding to reach a larger audience, or just sharing personal moments with friends, your phone is a great digital asset. However, it must be of the right quality and have minimum features to support your content creation on the move.

In this article, we will discuss how smartphones have become powerful content-creation studios. The blog will also highlight the various features to consider when looking for the best in content creation.

Top Four Picks

If you desire to have your own social media content creation, it may not be difficult to start and gain followers. For instance, if you choose to be a TikToker, you can start with a zero follower and later you can buy followers for tik tok here. To do that you will need to equip yourself with a top notch smartphone.

But before we take you to the best phone to use for social media content, there are general features that are necessary for whichever phone you pick. One of them is the camera quality, which dictates the quality of photos and videos you upload. If you want to make audio-supported content, it must also have audio recording capabilities with sound.

More so, due to the high usage and time taken before completing social media content, the battery capacity must be one that will ensure you can create and post content all day.

And when done with editing, you may want a good storage capacity, as high-quality content can take up a lot of space.

Having understood these basic features, here are our top best smartphones in the market that you may consider.

iPhone 13 Pro Max

Designed by Apple, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is an impressive choice for content creation for both beginners and seasoned social media users. This phone features a three-in-one camera system with a 12MP ultra-wide video and photo capturing ability. The camera also comes with telephoto lenses, which offer a range of capabilities for photo shooting and video recording.

One of the things you will like about the iPhone output is the clarity of colors and cinematic mode, which adds value to the effects on your videos like a professional. In addition, its A15 Bionic chip ensures smooth performance even when making and editing high-quality content.

Finally, as noted, it’s very important to appreciate the power of the long battery life. You will realize that you can manage to do content all day and have up to 1TB of storage to keep your draft content safe.

Galaxy S21 Ultra

A solid brand from Samsung, the Galaxy S21 Ultra model is another top choice for content creators. The phone features a four-in-one camera installation, which comes with a 108MP main sensor. It also has two telephoto lenses, which allow you to capture clear, high-quality photos and up to 8K video recording.

In addition, it has a Director’s View feature that enables you to record video clips from more than one camera simultaneously. This allows you to be more creative in video making and makes them more appealing to the audience.

The unique Exynos 2100, which is also similar to the Snapdragon 888 in the US, will make your video editing even more fancier. Lastly, the large battery capacity ensures you can capture more content before recharging.

Google Pixel 6 Pro

Social media content creators will be excited to discover Google’s Pixel 6 Pro. It’s best known for its outstanding camera performance, even when photos are taken in low-light conditions. This capability is made possible courtesy of its Night Sight feature.

In order to improve the quality of recording, the Tensor processor not only delivers better performance but also makes the phone’s AI features outstanding. Further, the storage capacity is also generous and up to 512GB, exceeding the one for either the iPhone or Samsung.

OnePlus 9 Pro

The OnePlus 9 Pro is manufactured in partnership with Hasselblad. What is most striking for a content creator is the natural color calibration in its photos. This feature allows you to capture images accurately in their natural colors.

For video capture, it features an 8K video recording, giving you manual control over the camera settings. If the battery goes down while you’re creating your content, you can comfortably charge the phone fully within minutes thanks to the Warp Charge technology.