$50 Numskull SEGA Shenmue Ryo Hazuki Figure 10" 28cm Collectible Replica Statue Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YD53SJR

Eneba has $70 Xbox Gift Card (Digital Delivery) for around $59 after applying code X70US in cart.

• Note: Price is after service fees and applying code X70US in cart.

You can purchase the code(s) and redeem to add balance to your Microsoft account.

• Both the Microsoft and Xbox cards work just the same. Once redeemed to your Microsoft account, you can spend your balance at Microsoft Store online, on Windows, and on Xbox. You can get the latest apps, games, movies, TV shows, and Surface, Xbox, and accessories. (Source)

Add balance to your Microsoft account and use to purchase items from Microsoft Store online. Black Friday deals from Microsoft Store can be found here.
 

Note:

• Price is after service fees and applying discount code X70US.
• Deals ends tonight.
• Eneba codes usually sell out fast.
• Xbox Gift cards do not currently work at physical Microsoft Stores.
• You currently cannot buy Microsoft 365 with a gift card.

Guest post by Dr. Melissa Betters Are you afraid of the deep, dark ocean? If so, you’re not alone. Thalassophobia (fear of deep water) seems…

The post  The Cost of Fear: How Perceptions of the Deep Sea Hurt Conservation first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Between 1948 and 1961, barges laden with industrial waste, including high concentrations of once-ubiquitous agricultural insecticide, Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), were indiscriminately discharged into the Pacific Ocean.…

The post DDT is a Deep-Sea Toxic Time Capsule first appeared on Deep Sea News.

A few years back, I found myself in a rut with goal-setting. I had all these grand ambitions, but making actual progress always felt like an uphill battle. I’d set huge goals like “become a famous entrepreneur” or “get shredded,” but within months, my motivation would fizzle and I’d be back where I started. Even ... Read more

The post Reimagining Goal Setting: The Power of Northstar Goals appeared first on LifeHack.

Have you ever felt like you’re drifting through life, unsure of where you’re headed or what you’re working towards? If so, you’re not alone. Many of us find ourselves caught up in the day-to-day hustle, losing sight of our bigger aspirations and dreams. But what if there was a way to change that? What if ... Read more

The post Setting Life Goals: The Path to Fulfillment and Success appeared first on LifeHack.

Ah, 2024. Another year, another set of resolutions gathering dust by February, right? Not this time. Let’s face it – we’ve all been there, setting lofty goals only to watch them fizzle out faster than a New Year’s Eve sparkler. But here’s the kicker: it’s not about cramming more into your day like it’s a ... Read more

The post How to Set and Crush Your Goals in 2024: Expert Tips and Examples appeared first on LifeHack.

Connecting with others is an essential part of both our personal and professional lives. Whether you’re meeting someone new, looking to break the ice at an event, or aiming to deepen an existing relationship, conversation starters can be more than just a casual question to fill the silence. They can be powerful tools for building ... Read more

The post How to Use Conversation Starters to Make Meaningful Connections appeared first on LifeHack.

Self-love is a topic we hear about often, but putting it into practice can feel elusive, like trying to hold onto something that keeps slipping away. You know it’s there, but it’s hard to hold on to. The concept of self-love involves valuing oneself and letting go of toxic influences. It’s about stepping back from ... Read more

The post A Guide to Self-Love: From Overcoming Doubt to System-Based Growth appeared first on LifeHack.

Self-reflection may seem simple, but it holds the power to transform your life in surprising ways. It’s about taking the time to pause, look inward, and really understand your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. But why should anyone care? Well, because understanding yourself is the first step to improving anything about your life. Whether it’s better ... Read more

The post The Power of Self-Reflection: Transform Your Life from Within appeared first on LifeHack.

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It makes hosting less stressful and more joyful. READ MORE...

It's perfect for decorating your tree! READ MORE...

Manon found this tiny boat on Dutch eBay. “I figured it's better than renting an expensive apartment, and it would be a great adventure!” READ MORE...

It’ll go perfect with a tiny house. READ MORE...

I’m running to Marshalls right now. READ MORE...

They’re “so pretty,” one shopper wrote. READ MORE...

This research was undertaken by Stuart Fordyce as part of an MSc in Integrated Service Improvement (Health and Social Care) at the University of Edinburgh. It considers the impact of a rapidly ageing population on a Scottish local authority and its attempt to shift the focus to a more contemporary service provision. The aim is to explore what factors are inhibiting the effectiveness of enablement. Using a case study approach the research explored whether: (i) enablement is wholly effective in addressing the increase in current service demands; (ii) the approach adopted by the local authority is undermined as services are now over extended and are attempting to address competing objectives, and; (iii) the paradigmatic change across the sector in the future will materialise if organisations cannot create the capacity and infrastructure to enable change to occur

The Advocacy Project works with older people and other groups across Glasgow and Lanarkshire to ensure their voice is heard, their needs met and their legal rights safeguarded. The organisation identified a low take up of their own service by older people from BME communities, which was generally held to reflect the wider picture in Glasgow in relation to health and social work services. This report was commissioned by them to examine barriers to access to services specifically for older people from BME communities in Glasgow South, where there is a high concentration of people from BME communities.

While there is a growing body of research about carers’ experiences generally, the needs and experience of those who support individuals in forensic (secure) mental health services (forensic carers) have been neglected Support in Mind Scotland (SiMS) and the Forensic Network commissioned this study from the University of Central Lancashire to examine what they identified as ‘significant gaps and inconsistencies’, focusing in particular on the views and experiences of forensic carers.

Little is known about the effects of repeated imprisonment. Very few research studies have examined how those who are punished by the criminal justice system experience and interpret their sentences. Research that does exist, like my PhD, has largely focused on one single sentence. But people who have served many sentences (in other words, who have long punishment careers), are likely not to experience criminal punishments in isolation, but in the context of their wider lives and previous sentences. The aim of the Lives Sentenced project is to address this gap in the knowledge base by examining the life stories of 35 people with long punishment careers

This article explores the impact of abandonment abuse and neglect, not only on children but, centrally, on the foster carers, adopters and kinship carers who parent children where it has been deemed that a return home to birth parents is not in their interests. (For purposes of simplicity we will refer to these carers as ‘parenting figures’.) In doing this we aim to provide parenting figures with support and understanding as well as reducing the feelings of isolation that is often integral to parenting ‘looked after’ children.

The topic of domestic violence is an emotive one conjuring visions of child abuse by parents or carers, or marital violence, in general abuse by men of their wives or partners. According to published police statistics in Scotland for the years of 2012 – 13 male violence of women accounted for 80% of all domestic abuse, and in 2014 over 2,600 children in Scotland were identified as needing protection from abuse. This is particularly concerning since the NSPCC suggests that, for every child who has been identified, there are 8 other children who are at risk but who are ‘under the radar’. These statistics, highlighting the underlying nature of inter-family abuse relationships, i.e. the abuse of less powerful and more vulnerable family members by more powerful adults, undoubtedly account for the majority of the abuse situations within family homes. However this is, sadly, not the whole story. Understanding abuse within a family means recognising the impact of sibling aggression on every family member. It also needs to encompass the growing recognition of child to parent aggression and it is this latter aspect of inter-family relationships with which this article is primarily concerned.

In 2013-15, the Scottish Government funded 16 projects proposed by criminal justice partners across Scotland to develop community services for women who offend. Developments were based on existing service provision and to ensure changes could be sustained locally at the end of the funding. Funding varied in amount and timeframes. Most of the projects were undertaken by local authority criminal justice social work1 (CJSW) departments with partner providers, including public and third sector agencies. The national evaluation examined how the 16 women’s community justice services (WCJSs) were implemented and to what extent they contributed towards positive outcomes for women. A further aim was to build local capacity for self-evaluation in WCJSs. Findings were drawn from two phases of interviews with practitioners and women, secondary documents, and quantitative data for 1,778 women who were in the WCJSs between April and December 2014. This included outcomes data for 406 women.

Systematic review produced by the EPPI-Centre in 2015.This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effect of HAART and ARV monotherapy on liver disease progression and liver-related mortality in individuals co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C, including in patients with haemophilia.

Report 69 published by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) in November 2014. This research, commissioned by the Department of Health (DH), set out to identify what could be learned about current policy and practice in self-neglect, experienced as a highly challenging aspect of contemporary adult social care.

The Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) draws on research and practice, from across the world, to provide a comprehensive, up-to-date resource on all aspects of dementia.

The core purpose of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) is to carry out high quality, internationally recognised research in relation to crime and criminal justice.

The Short Breaks Fund helping to make breaks better and brighter for unpaid carers and cared-for people in Scotland. Launched in 2010 for one year, the fund has now been running for five years and has proved to be a lifeline for many carers. During the past five years the Scottish Government, through Shared Cared Scotland has distributed 12,547,409 to 697 projects to deliver innovative, tailor made breaks to groups and individuals.

ARCH, the National Respite Network and Resource Center in the United States of America identified that evidence-based research on respite care has, to large extent, been lacking. Across ages, needs and settings, respite is based upon the premise that providing caregivers periodic relief from daily, ongoing caregiving responsibilities will directly benefit them in terms of their physical health, immediate and long-term psychological health, and social-emotional relationships with family members. These benefits are assumed to result in secondary benefits for care receivers and even larger societal benefits in the form of cost benefits or improved employee productivity. Some research studies point to the merits of these assumptions. However, evidence-based research supporting this premise - or going beyond it to demonstrate how to best provide respite care that results in maximum benefits - has not been available. This report presents the findings of an expert panel composed of academics, researchers, service providers, advocates, policymakers and administrators representing a range of age groups, disabilities and professional disciplines. Over a period of 18 months the panel explored the current status of respite research, proposed strategies to overcome barriers to research, and developed a plan to encourage rigorous research in key areas.

New on Men.com: On his way to the bedroom, Shadow is distracted by his girl’s (Cherry Kiss) roommate Chase‘s ass, but he is really aroused and has been wanting to pound his girlfriend all day. Shadow gets the gaymer to take over as Cherry Kiss has to halt the BJ to answer a phone call!... View Article

The post Men.com: Shadow, Chase and Cherry Kiss – “Played By The Straight Jock” appeared first on QueerClick.

Above, "making all his nowhere plans for nobody."

Dedicated to the GOP/RNC: "It's a Dead Man's Party."

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Open thread below... Share your inspirational tunes as well!

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A.J. Bayatpour, a reporter for Channel 58 in Milwaukee, interviewed a man identified only as Mattaeo, a Mexican-American man and who voted for Trump. Wait for his reasoning:

MATTAEO: You know, with the future of America, you know, with Trump, I feel like it's always been better. You look at the past four years, you know, of living here, you know, we've seen a bunch of migrants coming in and, you know, that as well is a big thing. If you, you know, go to Chicago or even in this area alone, you see a lot of immigrants coming in and not many things being done about it, so.

BAYATPOUR: People are going to watch this story, Mateo, and they're going to say, if you're Mexican-American, why are you against the migrants?

MATTAEO: Why am I against the migrants? It's because I'm not more or less against it, but I do think it's, everything has a system that needs to be in place, and a lot of the system isn't going to what we, the people, I think should be going for, you know, for people whose family does live here, and it's trying to get, you know, an alliance program with the U.S. government to get their families from Mexico to over here is getting pushed out by people that we don't even know who's coming into the country, you know, just a bunch of Venezuelans coming, refugees coming, and none of it is being passed through, like, you know, the system of how the people, you know, designed it to be, and I think that's one of the main reasons.

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Full Article

Jesse Watters' mother, Anne Purvis, was a child psychologist. His dad, Stephen Hapgood Watters, was a teacher. Both parents came from a long line of achievers, and sent him to Penn Charter, a very liberal private Quaker school here in Philadelphia.

Despite his accomplished parents and his education, look how he turned out.

Every time he shows up on Twitter, I comment, "Your mother only talks to you so she can see her grandchildren."

Sounds like I was right, because Jesse's mother has disinvited him from the family Thanksgiving this year. Something about "scheduling." But she told him he could come the next day for leftovers.

He said no thanks, he would be at Best Buy.

Understand, this isn't just a difference of opinion. Jesse Watters is a horrible person who lies and distorts in ways that harm our country.

Time for karma, Jesse, you nasty piece of work. Guess you thought you got away with it, huh? After all, you're rich and famous!

Well, your own family doesn't want to be around you on the holiday that's all about family.

And your mom's bitten her tongue long enough.

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Bluesky, the social media platform whose interface most resembles Twitter, has picked up more than 700,000 new users since the election, as users seek to escape misinformation and offensive posts on X. Via The Guardian:

The influx, largely from North America and the UK, has helped Bluesky reach 14.5 million users worldwide, up from 9 million in September, the company said.

Social media researcher Axel Bruns said the platform offered an alternative to X, formerly Twitter, including a more effective system for blocking or suspending problematic accounts and policing harmful behaviour.

“It’s become a refuge for people who want to have the kind of social media experience that Twitter used to provide, but without all the far-right activism, the misinformation, the hate speech, the bots and everything else,” he said.

It's not a natural fit for bloggers, because you can far too easily get kicked off for saying mean or controversial things and hurting people's feelings. So I'll straddle both.

President-elect Donald Trump's reelection was credited for emboldening a group of people waving Nazi flags in Michigan over the weekend.

WLNS reported that the flags were seen in two cities, including at a Jewish play.

According to the report, "many people" were seen displaying flags with swastikas on Saturday night as the Fowlerville Community Theater performed the "Diary of Anne Frank." The same group was also seen outside the American Legion Post in Howell.

"It was upsetting," cast member Becky Frank said. "You know, just knowing the character I was playing, knowing a lot of the research that I did on my character."

Witnesses said the protest began in Howell before moving to Fowlerville. Protesters were seen wearing masks with the number 1488, a white supremacist symbol.

"There was a group of people at the four-way intersection in downtown that had swastika flags and American flags," witness Alex Sutfill told WLNS. "They were sticking their arms up and yelling hail Hitler and Hail Trump and everything like that."

Peter Damerow said the group told him to go back to his country.

"They looked at me and one of them said," Damerow recalled. "No this is Pureville now, and we're here to make sure it stays pure."

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Forget that occasionally sane Marco Rubio we've caught glimpses of, he will completely fold to Donald Trump as Secretary of State. Do we at least get closer to a Senate majority with his leaving? No, we do not.

Florida Man DeSantis gets to appoint Rubio's temporary Senate replacement. The seat doesn't open until 2028.

Whoever's appointed would serve until a 2026 special election to complete the final two years of Rubio's term - so whoever's appointed has to win again in 2028.

First off the bat, Puddin' Fingers could appoint his wife, Casey "I'm Really Jackie Kennedy" DeSantis, to hold the seat until his term as governor is up.

He could also appoint his lieutenant governor, Jeanette Nunez. That would leave the option of allowing her to appoint him to the Senate seat.

According to CBS News, Attorney General Ashley Moody and former Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva are also in the mix.

Despite, well, everything, we are trying to get back into the classroom as much as we can at the start of a new academic year. I am scheduled to teach Introduction to Sociology for the first time this coming spring and planning the course this fall. Whether in person or remote, I will be ecstatic […]

Over the course of the past year, M&M’s have been plastered all over the news, social media, and even Super Bowl commercials. In January 2022, Mars Wrigley gave the brown M&M shorter heels and replaced the green M&M’s boots with sneakers in a push toward more inclusive marketing.  What resulted was outrage. Tucker Carlson became […]

In recent weeks, we’ve seen multiple examples of women on the political right straddling two kinds of womanhood: the girlboss and the tradwife. The visibility of these women exposes a hidden link between conservative womanhood and girlboss feminism that deserves our attention.  Katie Britt broadcast her response to the State of the Union from her kitchen. Michelle […]

One of the biggest challenges and joys I have in teaching Introduction to Sociology is making ideas like social construction, cultural objects, or bureaucracy visible and intuitive to students. A big part of our value as a general education course is in showing students how to use these ideas in the world. I make a […]

Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, Audio – January 1, 1993

Keep live the natural… Photo courtesy of Chris Carlier. Found on a bag in Japan.