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Albino hairs are AKA grey Haha!
I have these too! What IS this? :confused: My 'le hairs' are short and new, and on top of my head just like Martyna's…they're not noticeable until you look closely, but this bothers me a bit.
I have a few, and I found one on my husband recently. I think its normal to have different hair textures mixed in. I have a mix of fine and medium mostly, with some super coarse and super fine mixed in. Occationally I find those type 4 hairs mixed in but they don't worry me :P its these "albino" hairs I keep finding that bother me...... they seem to be growing in numbers lol!
When I was a teen I had a weird "le hair" on the middle of my head, right at my forehead, it was thicker than dog hair and had a massive root with a diameter of a few mm. To this day I don't know what caused that to grow there. After pulling it out (it was too thick even for a fine toothed comb to pass over), it never grew back. I had a gaping little hole for a few weeks, though.
I giggled at barbed wire fence.
I'm 45 now with a section trying to be a cool stripe and some sparklies scattered about.
You have to be very close to notice the silvers.
So early invasion can be slow colonization as far as grey is concerned.
Texture? I think that's so random. I joke that it's proof I should have been curly.
At 45, there's an age related texture shift possibility.
I'm so relieved to hear that I'm not the only one. I started finding these in 2008, and they're super coarse, black and crinkly. 2-3x the width of the other hairs. I fried and dyed my hair for a few years straight, so I've never noticed how many there are, but now that I'm growing it out, I have at least 30% coverage of them. I'm brunette, at least, so it's harder to tell, but they're all JET BLACK and crinkly. They stand up in weird ways, too.
Experimental design and architectural firm, D*Haus Company, takes their inspiration for the creation of structures, furniture, and lighting from mathematics, most specifically from Henry Ernest Dudeney, the mathemetician who figured out how to evolve a perfect square into an equilateral triangle.
Their DHaus modular homes demonstrate their belief that ideas “can help improve and inspire our daily lives… through flexibility, adaptability and originality.” Available in four different versions, the DHaus can be delivered in a single kit from which a minimum of eight configurations can be constructed.
From a single DStatic kit of identical parts, eight different houses can be affordably constructed. Dubbed as “one of the most economic and sustainable ways of building prefabricated homes,” the DStatic can be built into as many as five bedrooms in one- or two-story configurations. Each kit is constructed off-site from cross-laminated timber, so that on-site construction can happen in a matter of days. Facade panels are made of highly available and sustainable arctic spruce. Window glazing allows for passive gain of incoming solar energy and outstanding U-values are achieved from super insulation.
The upscale DLux version for luxury homes will also permit eight different versions of a home to be built from a single kit. Made from high-quality materials while utilizing the same process as in the DStatic model, the D*Lux home is eco-friendly and sustainable while featuring larger living areas, balconies, porches, and standard swimming pools in hot climates.
From the DModular kit, an infinite number of houses can be built. With a focus on sustainability, efficiency, and flexibility, the DModular home can grow as you grow.
The centerpiece of the DHaus collection is the DDynamic, billed as “a house for all seasons.” The DDynamic is capable of dynamic response to the environment by “controlled adaptation to seasonal, meteorological and astronomical conditions.” Moving inside itself, the DDynamic transforms into eight different configurations in response to changes in seasons and time of day. Heavy external walls can unfold into internal walls, permitting glass internal walls to transform into facades, changing the shape and perspective of the building to take advantage of environmental energy sources.
Hi everyone. Firstly I must apologise for the lack of blog posts in the last few weeks; in fact since 5 March when I posted the last one. I've had a manically busy few weeks having taken on a number of new clients. Also, I am preparing for a photo shoot of my flat in mid April which has been stressing me out somewhat. So I've been furiously upcycling some of my furniture with Annie Sloan paint (separate blog post shortly) and changing lampshades on all my table lamps.
Table lamps can be so boring and serve no other purpose than to provide a lighting source. Gone are the days when you only had a limited choice of shades, mainly 50 shades of beige or cream!! Now you can buy the most divine shades and make a real statement, a wow factor, even if the lamp base is a bit "meh". The reverse is a statement lamp base with a plain shade that doesn't compete. However, beware as you can spend hundreds of pounds on a lamp shade and even thousands of pounds on a lamp base. It's a matter of finding something affordable and you really love.
There is a great shop in London called Pooky Lighting which sells affordable and fun lamp bases and shades so I popped in and bought three pairs of lampshades for the bedrooms and kitchen. What a difference they have made to the rooms; the lighting has transformed the spaces from "meh" to "tah-dah" !!!
In the kitchen I changed the shades from plain taupe coloured silk to these gorgeous silk Ikat pleated shades by Pooky Lights. In the sitting room I replaced a pair of beige linen shades in the alcoves with black & white Ikat ones which really draw the eye in.
And finally, I bought a rather expensive but absolutely divine lamp base from Nicholas Haslam designed by Paolo Moschino. It is my piece de resistance but one of those items that you see and just have to have!! It is solid handcarved brass and it was the way it opened up like a flower and had such beautiful flowing lines that made me fall in love with it. The jury is out on whether any of my friends like it !!
I would love to hear what sort of table lamps you have and would be happy to offer some advice if you are thinking of changing them so do contact me.
Amber Associates Recruitment Solutions is a traditional recruitment agency & business. The co-Directors have over 45 years combined experience recruiting the right staff for clients of all sizes, in Media, IT, Construction, Medical, HealthTech, Finance and Public Sector. From BBC- to- Sky, JLL, HFEA, AWIN & UKGOV.
From office support staff, including GDPR savvy administrators, PA's and Office Managers, to Data Protection Officers, IT Managers, Data Science Executives, Analysts and Security and Compliance Managers, Project Managers and Regulatory Officers.
We spend time with our clients assessing and listening to your needs and conduct face to face interviews with all our candidates. We pride ourselves on ‘getting it right’, saving you time and saving you money. Use our expertise, call us and experience the difference.
Amber Associates was originally founded in 2001 by Joanne James. After working for the leading High Street agencies, Joanne sensed that many clients and candidates had become disillusioned with the recruitment industry and in particular recruitment agency reliance on sheer weight of numbers to fill a single vacancy.
We are a UK limited company, we are GDPR compliant and we adhere to the REC Guides and Codes of Conduct. We are fully insured and regsitered with the Crown Commercial Service.
Contact Mark James through his Urbano Profile for more details on how we can help.
Seven years ago, I was in Syria and I had a vision. It was like a dream, but I wasn’t sleeping. I saw myself in a war. People were fighting in all kinds of ways, and babies were crying. But in the dream, I was safe.
When I woke up, I wondered if I was crazy! I didn’t believe those in my dream who said that Jesus is the real way and we should believe him. I didn’t know what to believe.
Before I had this vision, I had asked God to show me the real truth. It was then I had this dream. After that, I believed in Him, and I know that this way is the truth.
– Let’s take a moment to remember that there are people from different faiths and background seeking the truth. Pray that they will see visions and dreams. Pray that the Lord will send them believers to help them be established in the word and to grow in the knowledge of Christ.
Check out our recipe for a Southern classic, BBQ Shrimp & Grits.
**To coarse-grind the peppercorns, use a blender or peppermill. The grind is important to the taste of the finished dish.
Place the shrimp, Worcestershire, pepper, Creole seasoning, garlic, and 1 tablespoon water in a heavy 10-inch, stainless-steel sauté pan. Squeeze the juice from the lemon half over the shrimp and add the rind and pulp to the pan.
Over high heat, cook the shrimp while gently stirring and occasionally turning the shrimp.
If the shrimp are the colossal size, add 2 tablespoons water to the pan. Otherwise, don’t add water.
Reduce the heat to medium-high and continue cooking as you gradually add the cold pieces of butter to the pan. While turning the shrimp occasionally, swirl the butter pieces until they are incorporated into the pan juices, the sauce turns light brown and creamy as it simmers, and the shrimp are just cooked through. This will take about two minutes total if the shrimp are extra-large, and about three minutes total if they’re colossal. Do not overcook the shrimp.
Combine the grits, chicken stock, heavy cream, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper in a pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to a slow simmer.
Stir the grits frequently to prevent sticking and burning.
Continue to cook on a slow simmer making sure to constantly stir the grits if they get to thick before they are tender.
May is a busy month, with various key dates of celebration and recognition. Over the course of the month, i am going to share with you some tools and suggestions. First up, in honour of Maternal Mental Health Week, here is a tool that i put together. After studying both Dialectical Behaviour Therapy as well as more body-based self-compassion modalities, i find this tool can be helpful to help you take control of your emotions. I love acronyms as it makes it so much easy to remember the suggestions. Plus it’s a helpful reminder that we can be in control of our feelings.
It can be hard to take time for yourself, especially when we are told to take care of others and that it’s selfish to do kind things for ourselves. This tool can be a great way for you to steal some moments to yourself, in an intentional way. It also can manifest some good feelings that linger. Rainbows are incredible symbols of everyday magic or woo woo, and taking time to notice the joy and beauty in the everyday helps us with our emotional well-being. We deserve to notice these moments, and deserve to take time to pause.
It’s important to slow down and catch your breath. We can only see rainbows when we are able to be aware of what’s in front of us. This is also a great way to notice what we need an a given moment. What can you do in this moment to rest and relax? Can you put your feet up and just take in the sights and sounds around you? Linger a bit longer in the shower, add some luxurious hand lotion to your sensory self-care. Have a cat-nap. Maybe treat yourself to a nice mala bracelet with your favourite crystal – this can be a calming tool and a way to practice some mindful meditation.
Radical Acceptance is a helpful tool to be able to acknowledge something for what it is. That doesn’t mean we have to truly agree with it, but the acceptance can be a first step to let things go. This stops the pain from turning into suffering, and it allows us to be more present with ourselves in the present. When we don’t accept something, it keeps us stuck. So, try working with this idea and practice saying “it is what it is.” See how that starts to feel in your body. Maybe some parts feel less stuck or tight.
Setting intentions for a day, a week, or a year can be a guide that sets you with following where your want your life to go. The intention can be a simple word that carries meaning for you, or a mantra/affirmation that holds significance for you. If you don’t already have one, take some time to journal and brainstorm the words and phrases that are meaningful for you. It is a good way of giving ourselves permission to focus on what we really want, and to take ownership of our moods and behaviour. Then work on ways to implement it into your everyday life. Maybe there is a symbol that speaks to you as a guide – be it a rainbow of hope and luck, a butterfly of resilience, or a lavender flower that helps you feel calm. When you have a symbol that acts as Recalled Anchor (i wrote about it more here) or resource, seeing it in your everyday life is a great way to boost your mood.
Self-Compassion is not the same as self-esteem and yet they work well together. To have self-compassion, it implies that we need to treat ourselves with the loving kindness we give others when they need our support. Think of some ways to give yourself self-compassion – it can be a permission slip to eat some chocolate after a hard day, and to enjoy it without judgement. It can be to not do the dishes and instead watch some marathon TV. It can be a yoga stretch or dance to your favourite music. The compassion comes from reminding yourself that your matter and deserve this break.
Reading is a great way for your brain to take a break from the monkey mind or inner critic. It is especially helpful when we are able to distract ourselves from the everyday worries and thoughts. You can get your dog-eared favourite book, or a new book that you have never read; it can be a fiction novel, self-help book, or a how-to book for something you want to learn. Take time to write in your own journal, free writing or following a guide. If reading is not your thing, no worries. Listen to an audio book or a podcast. This podcast that talks more about everyday magic and woo woo is a great listen! Watch a movie that you have never seen before – the idea is to let your brain relax and absorb what it is taking in, instead of the constant chatter it typically takes you to.
Research has shown links to fresh air, being outdoors and mental health. Our brains are elastic and benefit from the change in scenery as well as air changes. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Polyvagal theory also show us that a quick walk outdoors can do a lot to change our mood. Everything is better outside. Think of some simple things you can do – a walk, sitting on your porch our balcony, a picnic snack during your lunch break for instance. Another benefit to getting outside is that there may be other people that you can connect with – it helps us feel less alone or isolated after being indoors when feeling down. You don’t need to have a long chat with someone, but a quick hello can be a great break your mind and body needs too.
In keeping with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it’s imperative to take care of your basic needs. Research shows that we need to nurture our physical body in order to heal our mental health. Do a quick checklist – when was the last time you drank some water, had a healthy snack, slept enough, did some exercise for your body? If it’s been 2 hours since your last water break, have a glass right now. And then find ways to allow time for the other ways to take care of your body.
Buy stocks now that will stand the test of time and pay you to invest.
We love talking about the hot stocks here on the blog but what about the stocks you can buy and know they’ll produce solid returns for decades?
How do you find those forever stocks you can buy and just sit back and collect the checks?
It’s something every investor needs to know. Gone are the days you could just park your money in huge companies like GE and feel confident that your money will be there when you retire.
In this video, I’ll reveal the three factors I look for when buying stocks for the long-term and five stocks to buy right now.
Now I love to buy deep-value stocks and benefit from that near-term rebound. Perfect example is the Hanesbrands position in our 2019 Stock Market Challenge. I saw rising online sales and strength in the activewear segment ahead of a 52% surge in the shares.
But you also need to be investing for the long-term, right? We want to be building a portfolio that benefits from quick wins but one where our stocks are going to withstand the test of time.
Fortunately, there is a way to get both. Get that short-term pop plus the long-term returns that will beat your investing goals, or as I call them, forever stocks.
That’s exactly what we’re going to be doing today. In this video, I’ll show you the three factors I look for when picking stocks to buy for the long-term. I’ll cover each factor then I’m going to be revealing five stocks to buy right now that I think will produce those double-digit returns over the next 30 years.
The first factor I’m looking for in forever stocks is a dividend yield and there are a few reasons for that.
First is that, stocks that pay dividends just tend to do better. Now this graphic is a little jumbled but groups of stocks paying dividends and those with a history of growing their dividends are the blue lines at the top while no-dividend stocks and those cutting their cash payouts are the two bottom lines. The research this was based on has been sliced and diced every way but the simple truth is that dividend-paying companies beat the market.
One of the reasons for this is because that dividend payout acts as cash discipline on management. It’s harder to spend on those questionable projects if you know you’ve got to meet that $400 million dividend payment at the end of the quarter.
That dividend payment is like having some of your paycheck automatically invested instead of it sitting in your checking account tempting you to spend it on whatever commercial you see next. If you just don’t have the money sitting around, you’re less likely to spend it on stupid crap you don’t need.
Another reason I want to be investing in dividend stocks is because it’s always a positive return. This chart shows the percentage of return from dividends and price in each decade. Dividends might be a small part of your return when the market is booming like in the 90s but when the stock market crashes, that dividend return may be all you collect. Thirty years is a lot of bear markets so having those dividend stocks is going to be a lot of protection.
Now when I’m looking for dividend stocks, I want a company paying a yield of at least 2%. That’s the average dividend yield on the S&P 500 so I like to look for stocks paying maybe a little above average.
I also want to look at the payout ratio though and this is something we’ve talked about before. The payout ratio is the percentage of profits paid out to cover the dividend. I like to see a payout ratio of 60% or less so I know the company is keeping enough money back for growth as well as making those cash payments.
So obviously you know I’m all about dividend stocks but there’s another side of investing, looking at companies with the fastest growth. Think names like Tesla, Netflix and Amazon. This growth investing can be just as profitable or more than dividend investing so I need your opinion. Which do you want to see more videos about, dividend or growth investing. Just scroll down below the video and let me know in the comments.
An important note here, any type of investing can get really expensive if you’re buying and selling a lot. That’s why I’m using M1 Finance for our 2019 stock market challenge for a no-fee investing option that saves thousands.
The second factor I’m looking for in these long-term stocks to buy is going to take advantage of big macro trends. This means finding companies that will benefit from those large, universal trends like aging populations, food demand, automation.
We’re talking the massive, unstoppable forces that will unfold over decades. This kind of long-term investing is the best thing you can do for your portfolio and it’s really how some of these hedge funds managers like Seth Klarman make their billions.
This is one of my favorite ways to invest because it makes it so easy. You’re looking at these big trends and thinking, OK which sectors or industries of the economy will benefit? Those forces are going to drive demand for every company in that sector and industries so once you answer that question, you just look for the leaders in the group.
The best part is, you don’t have to pick that one best company because all the players in the group will benefit from these massive shifts.
Some of the biggest macro trends I’m watching include aging populations, so the fact that 10,000 Americans are reaching retirement age everyday and that’s going to affect everything from government services to consumer spending.
Food demand, global agricultural production just isn’t keeping up with demand, obviously automation and artificial intelligence will bring huge shifts in work and other areas.
Big data, and especially with the coming 5G networks I think will bring a wave of changes. Finally the shift in economic and political strength to Asia and here we’re not only talking about China which is the big one but also India and other parts of the region.
The third factor I’m looking for in long-term stocks is going to be just as important and that’s companies safe from the destruction in those macro trends. Just as a lot of opportunities are created from those massive trends, there’s also going to be that creative destruction that is the hallmark of capitalism.
With this one, think of entire industries like newspapers and magazines. Think of once hugely successful companies like Kodak that, while it’s survived, it’s hard to argue that the company is the giant it used to be.
Here I’m thinking about industries at risk from automation and AI and we’re not just talking about making the industry obsolete but the kind of change that will be hard for companies to keep up with.
There will always be a need for banking but the evolution to online banking, peer-to-peer lending and even digital currencies is making it very difficult for banks to keep up. You could have a best-of-breed bank stock but if they aren’t constantly adapting to these changes, it’s not going to last the thirty years.
I’m also looking at companies at risk to big regulatory concerns and what we’ll just call Death-by-Amazon. So here I want to stay away from pharmacy retail and drug makers, not because I think those industries won’t be around but because these big risks are evolving so quickly that a lot of companies won’t be able to keep up.
So those three factors are guiding my long-term investments but of course, I’m still doing that deep fundamental analysis when I pick stocks. I’m looking at cash flows and profitability like we’ve talked about in other videos and finding companies with a distinct advantage over competitors.
I know it’s a lot but nobody said finding the best stocks for the next 30 years would be easy. Now I’m going to reveal five names that I think could make the cut. Some of these are going to be pretty safe bets while others could be a little more risky.
Our first stock is an anchor for a lot of portfolios, Campbells Soup, ticker CPB. The $10 billion leader in packaged foods controls 60% of the canned soup market and a strong position in snacks and beverages. That kind of market share and size gives it negotiating power against retailers in shelf-space and pricing.
Management has made some missteps over the last couple of years but has also been the victim of some bad economics in food packaging. Food costs have been rising at around 3% annually but companies haven’t been able to pass these increases on to customers so profitability has suffered. Shares have fallen about 45% since mid-2016 but represent some great value right now.
Management has already driven $550 million in cost savings and expects another $400 million through 2022 which should rekindle some profitability. They’re also expecting to announce buyers for the international business and Bolthouse Farms Fresh segment by the end of the year. The two segments represent about $2.1 billion in revenue so I’m modeling around $4 billion from buyers that will significantly help to pay down some of that debt that’s acting as an overhang on the shares.
Earnings are expected 0.8% lower over the next four quarters but the company has a strong history of beating expectations. I’m forecasting $2.55 in earnings per share on stronger profitability which would put the shares around 14-times on a price-to-earnings basis.
The shares trade at a price of just 1.1-times sales which is a 40% discount to the five-year average and almost half the two-times average price-to-sales multiple in the industry so some good value here.
Besides a great valuation, solid dividend and just the strength of the company’s business, I love Campbells here for a potential catalyst. Activist hedge fund Third Point has been battling the company for years to unlock shareholder value and take control from the Dorrance family. The hedge fund owns about 7% of the shares and finally won an agreement last November to add two of its nominees to the board of directors.
That means shareholders have a strong voice on the board that is expert in increasing value. The hedge fund has said everything is on the table including a breakup of the company or asset sales to unlock value and investors get paid a 3.9% dividend while they wait.
So I like Campbells but you’re thinking, mmmm I just don’t see soup as a growth market that’s going to jump over the next 30 years. What else ya got for me?
China Mobile, ticker CHL, hits our list of stocks to buy for the long-term next. Just about every U.S. company has a ‘china’ plan to break into some part of the world’s second largest economy. Even though the U.S. economy is still about twice as big, China’s economy is adding almost twice the value to its economy every year because it’s growing so fast.
Getting exposure to that growth through U.S. companies with sales in China just isn’t enough. EVERY SINGLE INVESTOR needs to own some Chinese domestic stocks and China Mobile is one of my top picks.
The telecom company controls 61% of the 4G market and 60% of the total wireless market. With 916 million subscribers, it’s the largest telecom in the world and despite this ginormous size already, it’s still posting some astonishing growth. China Mobile also became the country’s largest fixed broadband provider last year, controlling 42% of the market and accounting for 73% of all new broadband customers versus the other two telecoms China Unicom and China Telecom.
China is determined to be the leader in 5G, it’s said so publicly and this is one of the first tech evolutions where it really has a chance to set the pace and it’s going to do it. That’s going to open up a lot of opportunity for telecoms and the broader economy. IoT smart connections among corporate clients increased 154% in the first half of last year to 384 million, that’s already more than the entire population of the United States.
Behind all this growth is also one of the strongest balance sheets I’ve seen with $70 billion in cash, that’s more than 30% of the company’s stock market value. For comparison, Apple’s cash stock pile is less than 10% of its market value and China Mobile is generating over $7.6 billion in free cash flow every year.
Shares pay a 3.9% dividend yield and the company pays out 48% of profits to the dividend which is solid but still obviously leaves lots of money for growth. At a price-to-sales ratio of two-times which is just under the 2.15-times average over the last five years, the shares aren’t a bargain here but the long-term potential is undisputed.
There is one major drawback to China Mobile, the controlling ownership by the Chinese government. As the controlling shareholder and regulator of all three domestic telecom operators, the government is a limiting force on how powerful any one company can become. In fact, over the last decade, it’s swapped out the CEOs of the companies twice to try distributing management experience and knowledge. The upside to all of this is that the Chinese market will continue to grow and the government wouldn’t consider letting anyone else play beyond the three established companies so you basically have an implicit guarantee for China Mobile.
ConAgra Foods, ticker CAG, is one I added to our 2019 Dividend Portfolio in February. The company is a U.S. powerhouse in prepared meals where it’s the second-largest in the industry. It has a 40% market share in canned tomatoes and more than a fifth of the meat snacks market with Slim Jim. The company has some solid brands in that relatively safer consumer staples sector so we’re talking dividends as well as a recession-proof industry.
Management fumbled big time with last year’s Pinnacle acquisition and had to lower the profit outlook by 20% late last year. The problems were centered around Pinnacle’s distribution business so a little harder to read but management has been very transparent since December about its plans going forward. I think they’re being overly conservative on estimates for a 5% sales decline and margin loss on the Pinnacle assets so the next surprise could be on the upside when things come out better than expected.

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