After preparing it several more times I have adjusted the instructions for my Mediterranean Carrot Dip from juicing pulp recipe to make the initial carrot cooking easier, plus create a smoother texture. Read the updated recipe here.
Author Archives: BettyW
Flashback Friday: Avoid Reposting Urban Legends
How to Avoid Reposting Urban Legends
You’ve seen the emails and Facebook posts from your friends:
- OMG – this famous actor just died!
- Please take these actions to protect my Facebook privacy.
- Watch out for this new computer virus!!!
- A friend of a friend woke up in the bathtub with his kidney missing!!!!!
Frequently followed by a request to repost/forward to all of your friends.
But before you do that, take this step in order to avoid passing on an Urban Legend:
Quick Tip: How to Reach A Real Person At A Business
Most businesses that offer customer service phone numbers would much rather you conduct all of your interactions with their automated services (e.g., “press 1 for your balance, press 2 to make a payment, …” etc.). Reaching a real human being to address your “none of those choices” issue can be difficult. Two standard techniques that work less often these days are:
♦ Press “0”
♦ Don’t press or say anything in hopes of being eventually transferred to a human
If neither of those work, and the menu does not give you an option to contact a real person, your next step is to visit the website GetHuman
GetHuman is a free crowd-sourced information site. Enter the name of a company or a product in their search field to get both the best phone number and exactly how to manipulate the call menu to reach a person. For instance I got this searching for Bank of America Click to see larger image):
Good luck in your search for humans!
Should I Take That Gig?
Negotiating is only fun for certain people, of which I am not one. But whenever I’m asked to perform, musically or otherwise, I need to decide if and under what circumstances I want to accept.
I did write a bit about this in my infamous blog post about playing with Amanda Palmer, so here’s a bit more: when I negotiate various offers, my interior dialog/checklist goes something like this (read more in detail about each point after the cut):
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What are the reasons, if any, I want to do this gig?
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If primarily for pay, what amount is sufficient for my efforts?
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If primarily for a non-monetary reason, am I clear what the effort cost to me is and am I willing to donate the relative time/financial difference between that and what, if anything, I will be paid?
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Is there something other than money I can request as compensation?
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Am I clear what the finances of the event are, so that I can be clear I’m not the only event supplier donating my time? (e.g., if they are paying a caterer and venue rental, they don’t get a discount from me)
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Am I comfortable that the person who wants my participation knows what they are doing, has the authority to do it, and has realistic expectations for the event and me?
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If the request is from someone I know personally, will anything about the above (esp. 5 & 6) or about our relationship make it difficult for me to have a proper business relationship with them, so I should just say I’m not available?
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Am I prepared to turn down a “better” offer if one arrives after accepting this one?
Read more about each point: Continue reading