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How You Can Be More Confident In Tough Situations, Conflicts, and Negotiations with Kwame Christian
Do you feel uncomfortable in conflict with others? Do you experience fear and anxiety when dealing with tough situations? Most negotiation tactics and strategies assume you're already a master negotiator with nerves of steel - that's the wrong starting place. In this episode we discuss how you can get comfortable with having tough conversations and build the foundation to become a real master of negotiation - using a simple and easy to apply framework. We discuss how you can deal with tough situations and conflict from a place of poise, curiosity, and confidence with our guest Kwame Christian.
Kwame Christian is a business lawyer and the Director of the American Negotiation Institute where he puts on workshops designed to make difficult conversations easier. As an attorney and mediator with a bachelors of arts in Psychology, a Master of Public Policy, as well as a law degree, Kwame brings a unique multidisciplinary approach to the topic of conflict management and negotiation. He also hosts the top negotiation podcast in the country, Negotiate Anything.
Should we hide from conflict or should we seek it out and embrace it?
Avoiding conflict is human, but it's not healthy
Do you lack confidence in tough situations and conflict?
Do you experience fear and anxiety when you're in a situation of conflict?
"Giving recipes to people who are afraid to get into the kitchen"
Powerful tactics and strategies don't matter if you're unable or unwilling to enter conflicting situations in the first place
When people are afraid - their limbic system lights up and their prefrontal cortex is less active - your rational decision-making shuts down and you react more emotionally
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - an action oriented approach to pushing past phobias, fears, anxieties and more
Rejection Therapy & exposure therapy - how to build the skillset of mental toughness
Be intentional about exposing yourself to difficult conversations
"Give me the difficult conversations and I will do it"
By forcing yourself into difficult and tough situations - your brain actually changes (via neuroplasticity) and it gets easier over time
How do you negotiate with someone and move them out of a negative place / negative emotional state so that you can help get what you want out of a tough situation?
3 Step Framework
Step one is to Acknowledge Emotions
Get Curious with Compassionate Curiosity
Engage in Joint Problem Solving / Collaborative Negotiation
It's not that someone is crazy, it's that you're talking to their inner child, even though they are an adult - speak to the that inner two year old, acknowledge their emotions, then help move beyond them
How do you use the tool of "Acknowledging Emotions"
Put it on YOURSELF, not on you "If I was in this situation, I would feel X (frustrated, etc)"
Tell me more about what you're experiencing?
The goal is to help them get it out of their system?
Then transition to "compassionate curiosity"
How can we help you feel more secure?
How can we help you solve this problem / situation?
Often times people's emotions will be hidden under a veil of professionalism - exploring the emotional side first helps to defuse them
When exploring emotional issues - use the past tense
When you shift to compassionate curiosity - it starts to begin looking to the future
With compassionate curiosity - start really broad - then begin narrowing your focus
So, what are you looking for?
They will signal what's important to them, then you get more and more specific
A complex problem doesn't necessarily require a complex solution
Why is preparation so important?
The power of joint problem solving and joint brainstorming to develop a collaborative approach to solving problems
The rule of thumb of when to make the first offer - when you know MORE than the other person - or at least as much as the other person - then you should make the first offer
Above all else an offer is information
There is a common misconception that you should never make an offer first
The first offer that goes on the table will have a disproportionate amount of influential power
Your first offer / anchor needs to pass the "because" test - as long as you can justify it in some way, it will impact and frame the negotiations
The "copy machine" experiment
False Belief Negotiations is a zero sum game.
There is a difference between conflict and combat. Conflict is an opportunity to solve problems and learn more, there is a big difference.
Negotiation isn't the art of deal making, it's the art of deal discovery
3 Pillars of Negotiation
Get more of what we want
Get less of what we don't want
Strengthen relationships
Even if you don't get a deal, there is still value to be achieved from a negotiation
Homework: Take action - don't avoid conflict, look at it as something to approach and use it as a Tool to strengthen your skills - find and seek out small conflicts
Thank you so much for listening!
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Show Notes, Links, & Research
[Podcast] Negotiation - How to Improve Decision Making with Matt Bodnar
[SoS Episode] Proven Tactics For Getting What You Want & Persuading Anyone With Master Negotiator Kwame Christian
[TEDTalk] Finding Confidence in Conflict | Kwame Christian | TEDxDayton
[SoS Episode] Your Secret Weapon to Becoming Fearless with Jia Jiang
[SoS Episode] Embracing Discomfort with Matt Bodnar
[Article] In-Depth: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy By Ben Martin, Psy.D.
[Book] How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
[Article] When to Make the First Offer in Negotiations by Adam D. Galinsky
[Book] Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini Ph.D.
[SoS Episode] How a Judge Literally Rolling Dice Could Get You Double The Jail Time - The Anchoring Effect with Matt Bodnar
[SoS Episode] Simple Strategies You Can Use To Persuade Anyone with The Godfather of Influence Dr. Robert Cialdini
Episode Transcript
[00:00:19.4] ANNOUNCER: Welcome to The Science of Success. Introducing your host, Matt Bodnar. [00:00:11] MB: Welcome to The Science of Success, the number one evidence-based growth podcast on the internet with more than 2 million downloads, listeners in over a hundred countries and part of the Self-Help for Smart People Podcast Network. Do you feel uncomfortable in conflict with others? Do you experience fear and anxiety when dealing with tough situations? Most negotiation tactics and strategies assume you're already a master negotiator with nerves of steel. But that's the wrong starting place. In this episode we discuss how you can get comfortable with having tough conversations and build the foundation to become a real master of negotiation using a simple and easy to apply framework. We get into how you can deal with tough situations and conflict from a place of poise, curiosity and confidence with our returning guest, Kwame Christian. Do you need more time? Time for work time, for thinking and reading, time for the people in your life, time to accomplish your goals? This was the number one problem our listeners outlined and we created a new video guide that you can get completely for free when you sign up and join our email list. It's called How You Can Create Time for the Things That Really Matter in Life. You can get it completely for free when you sign up and join the email list at successpodcast.com. You're also going to get exclusive content that's only available to our email subscribers. We recently pre-released an episode and an interview to our email subscribers a week before it went live to our broader audience. That had tremendous implications, because there is a limited offer in there with only 50 available spots that got eaten up by the people who were on the e-mail list first. With that same interview, we also offered an exclusive opportunity for people on our e-mail list to engage one-on-one for over an hour with one of our guests in a live exclusive interview, just for e-mail subscribers. There's some amazing stuff that's available only to email subscribers that's only going on if you subscribe and sign up to the email list. You can do that by going to successpodcast.com and signing up right on the homepage. Or, if you're driving around right now, if you're out and about and you're on the go, you don't have time, just text the word "smarter" to the number 44222. That's S-M-A-R-T-E-R to the number 44222. In our previous episode, we discussed how to deal with never feeling like you're enough. Showed you how to overcome the insidious trap of people pleasing, looked at the most effective treatments for OCD, panic attacks, anxiety and stress, discovered the dangers of toxic perfectionism and how it might be holding you back, told you why should is a dangerous work and much more with our previous guest, Taylor Newendorp. If you want to banish procrastination, people pleasing and anxiety from your life, listen to that episode. Now, for interview with Kwame. [00:03:03] MB: Today we have another exciting guest back on the show, Kwame Christian. Kwame is a business lawyer and the director of the American Negotiation Institute, where he puts on workshops designed to make difficult conversations easier. As an attorney and mediator with a bachelor's of arts in psychology and a master's in public policy as well as a law degree, Kwame he brings a unique multidisciplinary approach to the topic of conflict management and negotiation. He also hosts the top negotiation podcast in the country; Negotiate Anything. Kwame, welcome back to The Science of Success. [00:03:34] KC: Thanks for having me, Matt. It's a pleasure to be back. [00:03:36] MB: We're excited to have you back on the show. Longtime listeners will deftly know that negotiation is a topic that I'm a huge fan of, kind of digging deep on and one of the most popular kind of topics that we talk on the show. So there's definitely a lot of meat and a lot of things to kind of dig into, and you've been on to a lot of stuff since you were last on the show. [00:03:54] KC: Absolutely. I would say the highlight since being on the show is having the celebrity name, the Matt Bodnar on my show, the Negotiate Anything podcast, to share his knowledge on negotiations. That was pretty cool. But since then, I've done a TED Talk called Finding Confidence in Conflict, where I introduced the new concept called compassionate curiosity and did pretty well, and since then it's taken me on this journey where more and more people were asking me to elaborate on that idea. So it's leading to a book. So by the time this episode airs, the book will be out, and it's called Nobody Will Play With Me: How to Find Confidence In Conflict. [00:04:33] MB: So let's dig into that, that kind of idea, confidence in conflict. A lot of people, and I think a huge majority of people probably actually sort of seek out to actively avoid and steer away from conflict usually in their lives. Is that a healthy sort of habit or practice or should we be kind of embracing conflict or even seeking it out in some cases? [00:04:53] KC: It is something I see all the time. Is it healthy? No. But is it human? Yes. It's a defense mechanism, and what's interesting is before I did the TED Talk, as somebody who believes in evidence-based approaches to solving problems, I surveyed the audience. I asked my audience of the podcast, "What is your biggest concern? What do you need help with? What would you like to hear?" For me as a lawyer, I'm strategists. I'm a tactician. I really like getting into the nitty-gritty, and I was really shocked to hear what people said. They said their biggest issues are, first, they don't have confidence in these conversations. Secondly, they're experiencing a lot of fear and anxiety before and during the conversations. Lastly, when they're in the midst of the conversation, they feel as though they don't know what to say. That really forced me to change my approach and help people to feel more confident and address that foundational issue first. I realized that in the past I was essentially giving recipes to people who are afraid to get in the kitchen. So it really forced me to change my approach and it's been helping people. So now people are more confident and actually moving towards these conflicts, because they're seeing it as an opportunity to get more of what they want, avoid things that they don't want and strengthen the key relationships in their lives. [00:06:09] MB: I love that analogy of giving recipes to people who are afraid to go into the kitchen, because I mean it's such an important skillset, and yet I think that sort of framework that the fact that the fear and anxiety of these tough situations holds people back from ever even kind of coming to the table in the first place is a tremendously common problem I think, obviously, with negotiation, but really if you look at it in a ton of different kind of endeavors. [00:06:32] KC: Absolutely, and that's the thing. It really hit me hard, because I would have these very nuanced episodes that introduced tactics and strategies that are powerful and evidence-based, but then I realized it doesn't matter if people are unwilling or unable to use them in the heat of battle. So when you think about it psychologically, when somebody's engaged in a difficult conversation and they are feeling emotional about the situation, they're afraid, there's a lot of activity going on in the limbic system. What we found is that when there is a significant amount of activity on one brain structure, it takes away energy from the other structures. For example, the prefrontal cortex, where we have logical reasoning, is not as engaged. So what we're finding in addition to that is that when you're stressed out in these conversations, your body is going to be filled with cortisol, the stress hormone, which clouds your judgment and ability to think clearly. At the time when we need to be at our best cognitively, we are inhibited significantly. So that's why it forced me to realize we need to address these foundational issues of fear and anxiety, and when it comes to the strategies we use during the conversations, we need to simplify it and give people a tool that they would actually be able to use easily in the midst of a conflict. [00:07:49] MB: Let's dig into that. How do you think about dealing with that fear and anxiety that often kind of comes up around conflict and negotiation and having difficult conversations? [00:08:00] KC: As a young Kwame, I wanted to be a clinical psychologist. One of the things that I really enjoyed learning more about was the cognitive behavioral therapy. So it's a really action oriented hands-on approach to moving forward when it comes to pushing through phobias, anxiety, fears, those types of things. When it came to negotiation and working with people and teaching them how to be better at conflict, it forced me to realize that I can use this same kind of approach when it comes to making people more confident and feel less fear and stress during the conversations. On my podcast and in these sessions that I do when I go and travel the country and do these conflict management and negotiation seminars, I encourage people to do what I call rejection therapy, where they actually seek rejection. So it's mundane everyday situations where you take the opportunity to ask for what you want to kind of fabricate that fear of rejection, because that's one of the biggest fears that people have. What you do is slowly you become desensitized to it. So it's taken from the idea of exposure therapy. For instance, if you're afraid of spiders and you have a therapist that's working with you, what they would do is they would first have you look at a picture of a spider from a distance and then slowly bring the image of the spider closer. Then maybe have you see a real spider from a distance and then have you bring the real spider closer, and these are separate sessions. Then eventually you get to the point where you might be able to sit in the same room with your heart rate not being too excessively elevated and then maybe even to the point where you could touch it. I want people to be intentional about exposing themselves to these difficult conversations, because it's going to make you stronger for the next one, and there are opportunities to practice these techniques that we teach on the podcast and the framework that I introduce in the book. [00:09:56] MB: It's such a great toolkit, and we've actually had Jia Jiang who had a TED Talk that sort of really popularized rejection therapy on the show. So we'll throw that episode in the show notes. But I couldn't agree more, that intentionally kind of facing your fears, getting uncomfortable is such a powerful framework and powerful method for building those skillsets of kind of mental toughness and emotional resilience, right? We kind of talked about what we sort of call the sphere of discomfort, which is basically this idea that the options and opportunities available to you are only as big or as good as your ability to sort of get uncomfortable. The more you do something, like the first time you do anything, it's kind of scary and new and frightening, and if the 50th time you do it, you're kind of getting the hang of it. The thousand time you do, you're practically bored, right? It such a relevant and useful tool of building up that emotional skillset. So I think it's a really good strategy. [00:10:50] KC: Absolutely, and I'm glad you mentioned him, because I was just finishing up a chapter in a book called Confidence, and there is almost an entire page dedicated to explaining that TED Talk, because it really forced me to realize like this is something that I could overcome. I remember when I was younger and I discovered that TED Talk, I was working at a nonprofit Institute, and one of the things that they did was they offered professional development training and job opportunities for youth that were disadvantaged. For example, you needed to be below a certain level of income in order to participate in the program. For a family of four, it was about $56,000, and if you had one penny more, then you were poor, but not poor enough to take it vantage of the program. What we had to do is intern coordinators was to have those difficult conversations with people and let them know that even though they were so excited to take advantage of this opportunity, they didn't meet the income requirements, and it would break our hearts, it would break their hearts. It was incredibly difficult. After watching that Ted Talk, what I did is I told my colleagues, "Listen, everybody that you have to reject for this particular reason, give them to me. I'll have the difficult conversation and I will do it," and this was one of the hardest things to this day still. One of the hardest things I ever did, but I forced myself to do it just so I could become a little bit more comfortable. Did I ever become fully comfortable? No, but I was at least comfortable enough to take committed action and I carry that strength with me now even today. [00:12:25] MB: Wow! What a great example of how to really kind of concretely implement that in your life and sort of step up to the plate. I'm sure it wasn't hard to convince those people to give you the difficult conversations, right? [00:12:36] KC: No. They were very happy. [00:12:38] MB: I mean, it kind of reminds me of firing people too, right? The first time you fire somebody, it's really scary and kind of awkward and then by the time you – I don't know how many people are listening who've hired a lot of people, but I fired a fair amount of people over the course of my career, and like the more you do it the more you realize that it's actually almost like cathartic and can be really sort of healthy to fire somebody once you realize that there is a misalignment. But to get to that place, you have to kind of soldier through all these really uncomfortable conversations to get to sort of the position where you have a really healthy perspective. I mean, I've been in situations where we had to fire a long time employee and they literally like thanked us and we're like so grateful and happy and like felt like they were sort of being freed to pursue this new opportunity, but without the developing, building that kind of muscle and getting in those difficult conversations, you're never able to really truly do that. [00:13:28] KC: Absolutely, and I love the term that you used where you said soldiering through. Right now I'm reading a book on neural plasticity, and it's about how you can actually change your brain structures and the wiring of your neurons through action and consistent action. I'm realizing now when it comes to these difficult conversations and soldiering through, like you said, and consistently putting yourself in the position to have these conversations, you're actually changing your brain, their different connections. Because as they say, neurons that fire together, wire together. So these connections become stronger. So that's why it gets easier overtime, because your brain is actually changing. So it's a mental workout. It's like another body part. The mechanics of it and the structure can change based on the experiences that you put in front of your brain. [00:14:18] MB: I think that's a great way to phrase it too, is the mental workout, right? These kind of rejection challenges or difficult conversation challenges are a great way to work out your brain, work out that skillset so that when you step up to the table at a really kind of tense, high-stakes negotiation, you're much more comfortable and much more confident. [00:14:37] KC: Absolutely. The thing is too, the way I look at this, is like a sports psychologist. When you look at sports psychology when it comes to athletes, they realized that, of course, the athletes need to have a firm physical foundation and then they also have a firm technical foundation. But what they're realizing more and more is that we need to have a firm psychological foundation too. I think it kind of takes people off guard when I go into the companies and I'm working with their negotiation teams or their HR teams and I start off by talking about these things that most people would consider soft, like talking about emotions and psychology. But then as we go through the process, they realize, "Wow! This is important." It's important, because it not only helps me to understand myself on a deeper level, but it also helps me to understand others on a deeper level. A lot of times during these conversations, because the other person isn't as emotionally aware, we find ourselves having to ask questions in unique ways, in strategic ways to lead them from a specific mental state that is unproductive to a place where they can actually process the high level information and arguments that were given to them. [00:15:44] MB: This might be a little bit of a sidetrack, but I want to dig into that sort of skillset as well, because I think that's something that has been really impactful for me. How do you think about kind of using questions and using the right sort of framing to get somebody out of sort of a hole that they've trapped themselves in from a positional standpoint or kind of an emotional state that's really unproductive for what you're sort of trying to negotiate towards? [00:16:09] KC: Yeah, I have a story for this that could help. I am the father of an almost three-year-old. So every morning I'm in hostile negotiations. As I was trying to think through the steps of compassionate curiosity and how I could apply it to negotiation, this situation came up with Kai. So every morning before we would go to school he would fight me on the same topic. My wife is a doctor, so she has to go in early, so I take him to daycare. What I would do is I would say, "Kai, it's time to go to school," and he would say, "I want mommy," and then I'd say, "Kai, we need to go to school. Mom is not here." "No, I want mommy," then he would cry." So what he would do is he would start off the morning just telling me everybody he loved more than me. First, it would be, "I want mommy." Then he would say, "I want grandma," and then he would say, "I want uncle Kobe," and that was a bit hurtful, because that's my brother who lives in a different city. This was the last draw for me. He said, "I want Buxton," and Buxton is my brother's dog, and I realized I had a problem on my hands. So I read this book called How to Talk So Children Would Listen and Listen So Children Would Talk, and what they said was you need to acknowledge emotions. So I said, "Okay. I'll give it a try. Let's try it out." So the next morning I went up to Kai and I said, "Kai, it's time to go to school," and he said, "I want mommy. I don't want to go to school." I said, "Do you love mommy?" "Yeah, I love mommy." "Do you wish mommy were here?" "Yeah, I wish she was here." "How about you say, "I love you mommy?" and he would say, "I love you mommy." "Okay, Kai. Are you ready to brush your teeth?" "Yeah, I'm ready to brush my teeth." So that's an example of where what he was requesting was substantive. He wanted his mother. That's a tangible request. But what he was really saying beneath the surface, it was an emotional request. He wanted me to acknowledge and respect the fact that at this moment he was missing his mom, that he was willing to accept the fact that she wasn't there, but he wasn't willing to accept the fact that I didn't respect it and acknowledge it. So when it comes to our difficult conversations, a lot of times at the beginning we need to take some time. Like I said with compassionate curiosity, the first step is to acknowledge emotions. So we need to ask questions, dig deeply into that psychology to figure out what the emotional need is. Then we can move on to the second step, which is getting curious with compassion, and that's what digging more into the substance of the negotiation. Then the third step is just joint problem-solving, which is the fundamental of collaborative negotiation. [00:18:40] MB: What a great example, and it's funny – Yeah, I just added that book to my to read list. One, because I recently had a kid, but also because I think that the reality is that skillset is probably incredibly applicable to dealing with the vast majority of adults as well. [00:18:53] KC: Absolutely. The thing is Kai has really helped me to understand the psychology of it, because, yeah, he's two years old, but that part of our brain doesn't go away. The prefrontal cortex evolves and grows on top of it. So a lot of times what we see in these negotiations is that we're frustrated because we're talking to somebody and we're making all of these logical points, but it's not getting through. Then we say, "This person is crazy. They don't get it." It's not that the person is crazy. It's that you are talking to their inner two-year-old like they are a full-grown adult. So when you're willing to understand that emotion still play a role in it, then you can speak to that two-year-old, help them grow through the conversation by acknowledging their emotions, and then once you're satisfied and recognize that, "Okay. I can see you now. It seems like they're getting it. It seems like they reached a state of somewhat of equilibrium insanity, now I can put forward my arguments." But it doesn't it make sense to make any points to a person who is not in emotional and psychological state that is prepared to receive it. [00:20:01] MB: So in the context of dealing with an adult who is maybe reacting emotionally, how would you think about kind of using that sort of skillset of acknowledging emotion? What does that look like? [00:20:12] KC: What you would do first is, well, state what the obvious is what I would say. For instance, if a person seems frustrated, what I would do is I would guess. I would say – But I wouldn't put it on them, but I would put it on me, because a lot of times people don't feel comfortable if you say what they are feeling and put it in their terms, because they don't really want to own it. If you put it on you, then they could say, "Yeah, you're right." It feels a little bit less threatening to them. Because in the business world, a lot of times people live in this fiction where they believe that emotion shouldn't exist. So they don't feel comfortable sharing it. What I would say is, "Listen, this is probably pretty frustrating for you. I know if I were in this situation, I would feel frustrated," and then I wait to see what they would say. Then if they can kind of confirm that, I would say, "Can you tell me more about what you've been experiencing or some of the challenges you've been experiencing?" So I'm digging deeper into the issue that they're feeling and the emotions around that. Then once I feel satisfied based on their responses that they have gotten that out of their system, then the questions that I ask would shift more towards substance, more towards problem-solving. What kind of things do you think we could do to make sure this doesn't happen in the future? How can we help to make you feel more secure in this situation? Those type of questions. So we're transitioning from the acknowledging emotions to the compassionate curiosity stage where I'm asking questions. The reason I call it compassionate curiosity is not because I want to really get into a nuanced conversation about what compassion is or isn't. It's meant to help you moderate your tone, because a lot of times in these difficult conversations, even the best intentioned statements can be read as hostile simply because we are at a heightened emotional state. So what I do is ask people to think about somebody who is compassionate. About 90% of the people would say Mother Teresa is compassionate. Then I would say, "Okay. In this conversation, if Mother Teresa was here asking an open-ended question, how would she say it?" So it forces you to moderate your tone, approach it a little bit more than a softer manner and approaching it in the nonthreatening way allows the person to feel more comfortable sharing more information. [00:22:29] MB: I want to dig into the compassionate curiosity piece, but before we kind of go down that rabbit hole, coming back, the idea of acknowledging emotions. Is the goal of that sort of step in the framework to help them process that emotion and get it out of their system? [00:22:44] KC: Absolutely. Absolutely, because if you don't, it will still fester underneath the surface. The thing is a lot of times with these emotions, they're hidden under a veil of professionalism where they recognize there are certain things they can and cannot say, they can and cannot do. So they simply won't do those not because they don't want to, but because they know that they can't. So they will hide those emotions from you. I really go out of my way to make sure that I explore that emotional side before I get into this. Remember, this is me as a business attorney who negotiates with opposing counsel, as a mediator who is in the middle of these difficult hour-long, hours-long mediations between attorneys on opposing sides and I use this successfully in those situations too. That's what I wanted to create a framework that could be utilized in every type of situation or we can see how it could be utilized in these social interactions we have with our friends and all the way up to the highest level of negotiations we have within our businesses. [00:23:46] MB: Hey, everyone. I wanted to take a quick second and tell you about this episode's incredible sponsor, Brilliant. Brilliant is a math and science enrichment learning platform. Brilliant is unique and that it teaches you these concepts through solving fascinating and challenging problems. We'll be featuring a new sample problem to our email subscribers every week as part of Brilliant's support for the show. So be sure to check those out. Listeners have loved solving these sample problems in the past, and Brilliant's problems feature all kinds of cool scenarios, from poker games, to World War II airplanes. In fact, Brilliant explores many topics, including computer science, probability, machine learning, physics and much more. It's a great way to learn and an addictive interactive experience that's enjoyed by millions of students, professionals and enthusiasts around the world. You can get started today by going to brilliant.org/scienceofsuccess for free. When you visit our link for a limited time, you'll also get 20% off of an annual subscription when you sign up just for being a Science of Success listener. Brilliant also has these amazing principles of learning, which showcase their passion and dedication to teach people these vitally important STEM skills. One of them is cultivating curiosity. From world champions, to creative geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci, Curiosity is such an important skill. Another great learning principle from Brilliant is that math and science learning should be community driven. They're incredibly engaged community. It's a great resource for chatting, learning and connecting when you're stuck or can't solve one of their thought-provoking puzzles. Check out some of the amazing stuff going on at Brilliant. Right now, you can go to brilliant.org/scienceofsuccess to get started absolutely or free and save 20% off your annual subscription just for being a Science of Success subscriber. Once again, that's brilliant.org/scienceofsuccess for some incredible math and science learning. Be sure to check it out. Brilliant has been an incredible sponsor of the show for a long time. So check out what they're working on. It's really cool stuff. [00:25:57] MB: So let's dig in to kind of the compassionate curiosity piece and explore that a little bit more. Once you've identified the kind of emotion that they're struggling with, did you sort of frame the questions you're asking around how do you help them solve that emotion or how do you kind of transition that into from sort of the emotional to kind of more substantive and issue based things? [00:26:18] KC: Yeah. So what we do is, like I said, once we're satisfied there, we transition into the substance and issues. Typically, before this conversations, especially in the business world, I'd like to set an agenda. I would have it so that maybe not on the agenda it doesn't say emotional issues, number one. It will talk about concerns and problems. So, really, one of the easiest ways to do this is to change the tense. So when we were dealing with those emotional issues, most likely those issues originate from things that happened in the past. So I'm doing a fact-finding endeavor based on things that happened in the past and their perception of those things. Then what I'd shift more to or the substance, the compassionate curiosity stage, this is where I am looking into the future, because most of the time, almost all time when we're having these conversations, they're going to be with people with whom are going to have an ongoing relationship in some capacity. So I want to kind of outline what the future of the relationship could look like. At this stage what I'm doing is I'm changing the tense to focus on the future to outline the parameters of what our relationship could look like going forward and things that we would like to avoid going forward. Then once I feel as though I've gotten enough information, then I'm going to start moving into the problem-solving, but not until I feel as though I have a solid lay of the land when it comes to these conversations. [00:27:43] MB: So it's essence it's kind of figuring out, "Hey, if I was in your situation, I feel really frustrated kind of," etc., get that out and then you say, "So, what could we do in the future to help you feel – To help you not be frustrated?" or would you couch it specifically in terms of their emotions or would you kind of frame it more broadly than that? [00:28:03] KC: What I'd suggest doing at this stage is using something that I call the funnel technique, where the beginning of my questions they start off incredibly broad. Then as I start to get a better idea of where we're going, where they want to go and where I want to go, the questions will become more and more narrow. For instance, a lot of times in in these mediations even though I've read the whole case file, I've talked to the opposing counsel and all these things, I would talk to one of the parties, and after I feel as though I've explored that emotional side I'd say, "So what are you looking for?" Think about how incredibly broad the question is, especially in the case of litigation where in their complaint they need to say to a specific dollar amount exactly what they're looking for. So I know what they're looking for, but I want to see where they take that question, because within their answer, within their response to that incredibly broad question, they're going to signal to me what's important to them. Then based on that signal, that's where I'm going to start to get more and more specific. So I need to be able to follow their lead and kind of think on my toes. That's why I'm so intentional about preparing beforehand. So time I was on the show I probably mentioned this free resource, but if you go to americannegotiationinstitute.com/guide, you can get a negotiation preparation guide, a conflict management guide and a salary negotiation guide. Before all of these difficult conversations, I'm systematically preparing and thinking through what questions I could potentially ask on what specific topics, because it helps me to be a little bit more nimble, because it's really difficult to come up with high-level questions on the fly. So I want to think through it as much as possible beforehand. [00:29:47] MB: I think that's so important, and I want to dig in to preparation actually in a second. But I think it kind of bears repeating too, and you've touched on this as we started out this exploration with the example of the three-year-old, but the reality is you're using the same skillset and legal negotiations with other lawyers in board meetings and all kinds of really high level business encounters. This is part of the reason I'm digging so specifically into it, because I do the same thing. I use a lot of these tools and a lot of these skillsets and try to bring kind of emotional intelligence into the communications I have with people, especially difficult communications. I think it's really important for the audience to understand that point that these are not just skillsets for dealing with people who are being kind of emotional or rational children. This is really a powerful framework they can apply across a huge array of interactions. [00:30:38] KC: Absolutely, and that's the thing. These interactions, these business and social interactions, they're definitely going to be complex. But our approach to them does not need to be complicated, and that's why I really want to harp on the use of this framework, because the beauty of a framework is that it gives us a roadmap of where we can and should go, but it also tells us where we shouldn't go and helps us to avoid those red herrings, because those things could be more damaging than doing the right thing could be positive to the conversation. I want to help people to understand what things they should ignore as well as tell them what to do. Like I said, one of the things that people struggle with is not knowing what to say, and I think they don't know what to say because they see all of the moving parts. They see the complexity and they believe that a complex problem requires a complex solution, but that's not the case. If we stay focused on a simple framework, our outcomes in these negotiations will be significantly better. [00:31:37] MB: I like that phrase, the complex problem doesn't necessarily require a complex solution. Let's come back and get into the preparation piece now, because I think that's so critical. I mean, if you look at a lot of the research around negotiation, you see the power preparation. But tell me little bit more about why you think it's such a vital step of being a successful negotiator. [00:31:59] KC: When it comes to the preparation, one of the benefits beyond the substantive is the psychological and emotional. Ones we feel as though we are familiar with the situation, it gives us more a greater sense of control. When it comes to feelings of anxiety and frustration and fear, a lot of that for us as humans comes from the fact that we don't feel like we're in control and it's often irrational. As you know, humans tend to be irrational. For example, more people are afraid of flying than they are driving, but we know statistically driving is one of the safest modes of transportation, especially relative when compared to driving. But why is it that we feel so much safer and so much more at ease behind the wheel of a car? It's because we have control. So we're taking the principle of control and applying it to our negotiations by giving ourselves a framework and strategic systematic approach to the negotiation, and the more you know about the situation, the more control you will feel. Because you have a greater feeling of control, it will diminish your level of anxiety, which will increase your level of performance when it actually comes to the conversation. [00:33:07] MB: So what are you – I mean, obviously, the listeners can kind of go check out that guide and get some really kind of compelling and specific resources. How much – Let's say, how much preparation are you doing for an average negotiation? I know it varies a lot. But just as kind of a rule of thumb, how do you think about sort of how much prep work to do before you feel like you're ready to rock? [00:33:27] KC: Yeah. Well, it depends on the gravity of the situation. For instance, I remember a few weeks ago I had a presentation, and all day negotiation training at a tech company in San Diego, and we had a preparation call, like a prep call just getting things in order, knocking out the final details of the engagement, and I was feeling really nervous. I was like, "Wow! That's kind of strange. I'm nervous." Like I said, I still get nervous for conversations to this day. Then I ask myself, "What would you tell a listener if a listener asked you what to do?" I use the same guide that I had there and I walke through it. After going through it for about five minutes I felt good, I felt at ease and I felt good during the conversation when it did happen. Now, compare that to a business negotiation, I remember one time I had a negotiation on behalf of a client and I prepared for that negotiation for 45 minutes using the guide, and then the negotiation on the phone ended up being three minutes long. But it went really, really well, but it only went well because they put in those 45 minutes of preparation. It's important to strike the balance. If you're one of those people who is a perfectionist, a lot of times we think ourselves into inaction. So if that's your issue, what I would do is I would set a time limit on the amount of time you prepare, because sometimes we can get a little bit too deep into it and it really turns into a style of productive procrastination, and I don't want people to fall victim to that. So it is really a matter of degree. So I guess if I were to summarize that whole thing, I'll give a very lawyer response and say it depends, but I would always say that it requires preparation in some capacity. [00:35:11] MB: I think the answer to many incredibly important questions is it depends, but I'm also a former debater. So that probably shapes that in a way. So let's come back to kind of the third step, which we touched on a little bit, but this kind of idea of joint problem-solving or collaborative negotiation. Tell me little bit more about that. How do we sort of transition once we started to kind of develop that compassionate curiosity? How do we move into that next phase and what does it really look like? [00:35:37] KC: So when it comes to this phase, what we're doing is – Really, it's a joint problem-solving situation, joint brainstorming I should say. So the reason I use that term is that it's intentional, because people typically aren't afraid of a brainstorming session. As a lawyer, when I am going into these conversations, framing it is going to be important, because lawyer versus lawyer, whether it's a lawyer versus a lawyer, me versus an unrepresented party, I typically don't use the word negotiation. I don't say, "Hey, now to the next stage of this negotiation," or "I'm looking forward to our negotiation." I would say, "Chat, or let's try to figure it out," because that's really what it is. I want them to be in that mindset to where once we get to this stage, we're working together to figure it out. As far as the way that I actually transition, I would probably say something like this, I would say, "Well, I think I have a pretty good understanding of where you stand, and I hope I've given you an opportunity to understand where I stand. Here's what I think we could possibly do to work this out." Then I would get my proposal. It's important to understand this important rule of thumb when it comes to when to make the first offer. The rule of thumb I use is when I know more than the other person or an equal amount to the other person, I will make the first offer, because when you think about the impact of anchoring and the first offer advantage, I don't want to miss out on that opportunity. But if I'm in a situation where the other person knows substantially more than me, then I'll sit back and I'll wait for them to give me an offer, because above all else, an offer is information. Once somebody makes an offer, they need to substantiate that offer with credible facts and objective criteria. Once that offer goes on the table, I'm going to ask more questions to learn more about it before I counter. So that's how I would transition it. I would just try and put a bow on it and say, "Okay, this fact-finding part of it, I feel we wrapped that up and I feel like we have a good understanding." So the person then, psychologically, they know that we're transitioning to the next phase. It kinds of puts a nice stamp on the part of the conversation and allows them to transition a little bit smoother to the next part of the conversation. [00:37:47] MB: So that brings up a really interesting point, because I think there's kind of a common misconception that you should never name a price or you should never kind of make your offer first. You should always wait for the other person. But if you really actually look at it, I think there's actually studies that have been done, and we'll try to find them and throw them in the show notes. But anchoring is such a powerful phenomenon, that there's actually a huge advantage to being the first person to make an offer in many contexts. [00:38:08] KC: A massive advantage. Matt, I'll quote a few studies here. I don't know the author of these studies, but here's one of my favorites, because it just shows how weird humans can be psychologically. Here's the study. So they had people in two different groups, group A and group B, and they ask them similar but different questions. So the first group they said, "Do you think Gandhi was a greater than or a less than 140 years old when he died?" Now, the obvious answer is less than 140 years old. Duh? Right? So then they asked the other group, "Do you think Gandhi was greater than or less than 13 years of age when he died?" So, of course, the answer is greater than 13 years. Now, this is where it gets good. So they asked both parties, "How old do you think Gandhi was when he died?" So group A, who was anchored with 140, guessed that he was 20 years older, on average, than the people in group B. So this question was a nonsensical question, but it was the number that served as the reference point for the subsequent question. So the first offer that goes on the table will have a disproportionate amount of persuasive power. So that's why, if possible, you want to learn as much as possible for you to be able to put down a solid anchor. So I say the anchor needs to pass the because test. If you can't come up with illegitimate way bolstered by objective criteria to explain why you're asking for this, then the anchor is illegitimate, because if you are too aggressive with the anchor unreasonably so, it loses persuasive power and you lose credibility which can hurt you throughout the rest of the negotiation. Use it carefully. Just make sure you'd be able to finish the statement I'm asking for this because. [00:40:00] MB: That reminds me of two things. One, there's another really funny study about anchoring that talks about like the power of sort of totally arbitrary information. I think they had people write their Social Security number on the top of like a survey and then they priced out how much they thought a bunch of everyday items cost, like a pencil, an apple, a coffee cup, that kind of stuff, and the people who had – Or the last two digits of your Social Security number. The people whose last two digits ended in like 96 had much higher prices across the board for all these everyday objects than the people whose last two numbers of their Social Security number were like 1, 3 or whatever. We actually have a whole episode that will throw in the show notes too on anchoring, that listeners who wanted to get a lot deeper on that stuff. But I also think there's a ton of psychology research that just even just saying because, even if the reason is completely nonsensical in some cases, that actually can increase people's likelihood to sort of agree with whatever you're offering them as well. [00:40:55] KC: Absolutely. That's the classic copying machine example, where the first group they said, "Can I get in front of you? Can I cut in line because I need –" They just asked if I could cut in front of you, and so the success rate was something like 60%, "Sure. Go in front of me. I don't care." But then when they said, "Hey, can I cut in front of you because I need to make some copies?" The success rate went up to above 90%, which is crazy, because everybody's in line at that time to make some copies. People, they're primed to focus on the word because, because they just assume that something legitimate is going to come after the because, and thus it receives more persuasive value. [00:41:33] MB: The human mind is fascinating. I guess that's why we have a podcast, right? [00:41:38] KC: Exactly. [00:41:39] MB: So let's come back to kind of negotiating tactics and strategies. One of the other things that I know you've talked a lot about is the importance of timing and how you sort of time things within a negotiation. I'd love to dig into that a little bit more. [00:41:50] KC: Absolutely. Let me give a book reference on that. So after you read my book, of course, shameless plug, check out Pre-Suasion by Robert Cialdini. So Cialdini, of course, is the person who created the book about a quarter century ago now called Influence: The 6 Principles of Influence, and now he came out with this most recent book about two years ago called Pre-Suasion. So it talks about the timing of your requests. So he gave an example of reciprocity. Reciprocity is one of the six principles of influence whereby if you give somebody something, it creates the level of psychological debt where they feel indebted to you and it makes it more likely for them to give you something in return. So in the case of a negotiation, that means if you give a concession it makes it more likely for them to reciprocate that concession. Now, the most recent studies when it comes to timing demonstrates that it's almost like a bell curve with regard to the timing of the persuasion. For instance, if I give you something, Matt, and then you say, "Thank you." Now we're at the top of the bell curve of persuasion. So at this time, if I were to ask for something in return, you are significantly more likely to give it to me than if I were to wait two days. Then, of course, if I were to wait another week, it will be less likely and then if I wait a month, it will be even less likely. So there is a timing aspect to when we make these requests. So what I would suggest doing is reading that book and see what are those triggers that people respond to and then timing your requests accordingly. But I think that reciprocity example is a perfect one, because that's something that we see in the business world and in the our everyday lives all the time. [00:43:31] MB: Yeah, Pre-Suasion is a great book. We actually had Cialdini on the show right around the time the book came out. So we'll make sure to toss that one. There's going to be some pretty detailed show notes on this episode, lots and lots of book references and things to check out. [00:43:43] KC: Nice. [00:43:44] MB: Another thing that we actually touched on in our previous interview with you that I thought was really important that I think a lot of people miss about negotiation and I think bears kind of digging back into is this idea that many people sort of think that negotiations are kind of zero-sum game, right? And hat my win is your loss, and that's not necessarily always the case. [00:44:05] KC: Exactly. Going back to what we said about collaborative negotiation, in order to be an effective collaborative negotiator, you have to reject that mentality. I think that is one of the reasons why people are so afraid of negotiation. So they think it's a zero-sum game where my winning necessitates you are losing and then they assume the other person thinks the same way. So they're really conflating conflict and combat, where with combat, your goal is to do destruction and mutual damage. But conflict is the problem-solving endeavor, a fact-finding endeavor. It's an opportunity to learn more. So when you think about it in terms of, "I want to satisfy my interests. I want to try to meet my needs," and then recognizing that you can help yourself to meet those needs by helping somebody else meet their needs. It makes this exercise a lot less threatening, because, like I said, the way I think about it is we are two people coming to the table. You have needs, I have needs. Let's chat about them and figure out what we can do to make this relationship work. I think it will acquire also a comfort level with recognizing that the deal might not work, and that's okay. So one thing to keep in mind is that negotiation isn't the art of deal-making. It's the art of the deal discovery, and if we think it's deal-making, we might try to push through or bully through a deal that really shouldn't happen, because our interests simply don't align. if they don't it, it's completely okay. [00:45:34] MB: I found that to be incredibly true, and I think one of the fundamental things that that I, in any negotiation, it's all about trying to discover what is the other party want. Is there sort of an overlap of the two sort of Venn diagrams of your interests and theirs? If there's enough sort of space in there, there's an opportunity to make a deal. But trying to sort of force a negotiation or a transaction or whatever with somebody where there's not enough kind of shared interest and mutual sort of win-win overlap is never going to work out in the long run. [00:46:04] KC: Absolutely. I think that's why I focus so much on letting people know that there are three pillars to negotiation or conflict. The first goal is to get more what we want. The next pillar is to avoid things that we don't want them. Then the last one is strengthening relationships. Now we might not be able to maximize pillar number one. We might not be able to maximize pillar number two. But in every negotiation, if we approach the other person with respect and engage in collaborative problem-solving, we can still maximize pillar number three. Even if we don't get a deal, there's still value that can be achieved from both parties simply by strengthening the relationship through the process. [00:46:44] MB: So kind of coming back to this core framework and sort of summarizing it for the listeners, as you call it, the simple framework for approaching any conflict, whether it's in the boardroom or the dining room, is this idea of starting with the acknowledgment of emotions, moving to compassionate curiosity and then ultimately engaging in a framework of joint problem-solving. [00:47:05] KC: Exactly. [00:47:06] MB: Very cool. I think it's a great framework, and I was really curious of kind of digging into some of the meat of the quite specific how to phrase this question, how do you phrase that question? Because this is such a relevant skillset and something that I'm going to absolutely kind of integrate into my own negotiation skillsets and I'm constantly negotiating with people. As you said, really, the realities were many, many conversations that we have throughout our lives are negotiations whether we realize it or not, right? [00:47:33] KC: Exactly. So it's not a question about question of whether or not we are going to negotiate. It's a question of whether or not we're going to do it well. So we might as well learn these skills and get better at it, because negotiation is not going anywhere. [00:47:47] MB: So what would one kind of piece of homework be as sort of an actionable step that listeners could take to concretely kind of implement some of the ideas and tactics we've talked about today? [00:47:58] KC: The first step, I guess I need to promote this book and say check out the book if you're interested, if you find any of this interesting. The next step would be to take action, because I know I'm one of those people who can be very heady and stay up in my head when it comes to these types of difficult situations in general, not just typical conversations. So what I would do is I would sit there, I'd learn more about it I'd create a strategy, then I'd adjust that strategy. Then three months later, nothing has happened. So this really is an action oriented approach. If you want to develop your confidence in these conflicts, you really need to take action. If you've listened to this point of the podcast, you are probably more equipped than most, because most people don't take the time to learn these skills. So to take action. You have enough knowledge and skillset just from this to take action in an improved fashion. So whenever you see the opportunity to engage in conflict, don't look at it as a threat or something to avoid. Look at it is something to approach. It's a signal that something is wrong with the relationship or there's something to investigate, and use it as a tool to get more of what you want, to avoid things you don't want, and strengthen the relationships around you. [00:49:09] MB: One more time for listeners who want to find you and the book and all of your work online, what is the best place for them to do that? [00:49:15] KC: Yeah. Since you all are podcast aficionados, check out the Negotiate Anything Podcast, and the book is called Nobody Will Play With Me: How to Find Confidence In Conflict. [00:49:26] MB: All right, cool. That is a wrap. Lots and lots of actionable takeaways, lots and lots of things in the show notes, and great conversation. [00:49:34] MB: Thank you so much for listening to the Science of Success. We created this show to help you our listeners master evidence-based growth. I love hearing from listeners. If you want to reach out, share your story, or just say hi, shoot me an e-mail. My e-mail is email@example.com. That's firstname.lastname@example.com. I'd love to hear from you and I read and respond to every single listener e-mail. I'm going to give you three reasons why you should sign up for our e-mail list today by going to successpodcast.com, signing up right on the homepage. There are some incredible stuff that's only available to those on the e-mail list, so be sure to sign up, including an exclusive curated weekly e-mail from us called Mindset Monday, which is short, simple, filled with articles, stories, things that we found interesting and fascinating in the world of evidence-based growth in the last week. Next, you're going to get an exclusive chance to shape the show, including voting on guests, submitting your own personal questions that we'll ask guests on air and much more. Lastly, you're going to get a free guide we created based on listener demand, our most popular guide, which is called How To Organize and Remember Everything. You can get it completely for free along with another surprise bonus guide by signing up and joining the e-mail list today. Again, you can do that at successpodcast.com, sign up right at the homepage, or if you're on the go, just text the word "smarter", S-M-A-R-T-E-R to the number 44222. Remember, the greatest compliment you can give us is a referral to a friend either live or online. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us an awesome review and subscribe on iTunes because that helps boost the algorithm, that helps us move up the iTunes rankings and helps more people discover the Science of Success. Don't forget, if you want to get all the incredible information we talked about in the show, links transcripts, everything we discussed and much more, be sure to check out our show notes. You can get those at successpodcast.com, just hit the show notes button right at the top. Thanks again, and we'll see you on the next episode of the Science of Success.


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Published on July 29th, 2018 | by Alan Cross1
Like cats? The Tragically Hip's "Poets" house is up for sale
If you're a fan of the Tragically Hip, you'll be familiar with the feline aspects of the "Poets" video.
The video was shot in a real home at 94 Elm Street in Kingston. The cats–there were 689 of them at one time–came with the house. The building holds the Guinness World Record for the keeping the most cats certified in 1994 when animal lovers/animal welfare godsendsJack and Donna Wright live there. They had a local reputation of never, ever turning away an animal.
Neat–but would that have been kinda smelly? Well, yeah. A Globe and Mail profile published in 2001 described the odors a combination of "cat urine, Pine-Sol cleanser and Swish 80" (a smell-killing cleanser). The good news is that it's been completely renovated
The 7-bedroom home (now divided into a 4+1/3-bedroom duplex) is now up for sale for $689,000. Read more at the Ottawa Citizen.
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One Response to Like cats? The Tragically Hip's "Poets" house is up for sale
I'm from Kingston, and it blows my mind that a house on Elm St. (terrible, run down area of town) could fetch almost 3/4 million dollars! in the words of Mugatu… "That Kingston is so HOT right now"

subset: commoncrawl


text: NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- As many as 66 stocks climbed to 52-week highs on the Nasdaq in afternoon trading Thursday, while 35 dropped to 52-week lows. Among the gainers, shares of Affymetrix affx rose to a 52-week high of $41.45 after the medical devices maker posted forecast-beating fourth quarter results. Turning lower, shares of JDS Uniphase Corp jdsu fell to a 52-week low of $2.19 after the maker fiber-optic networking gear reported a second quarter loss because of higher legal expenses and reduced demand from a major customer.


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People frequently ask me the best time to integrate active-isolated flexibility into their routine....the best time to is now. Conceding the potential impracticality of now, some more guidelines can be provided.
Gardener's Relief-Side Trunk Muscles
Akin to the engineering of a suspension bridge, our side back musculature is constantly at work every time we move. Lateral trunk muscles play a pivotal role in the daily life of the grower. Reaching down to plant a new row of veggies, extending to liberate crops from invasive weeds, and, wielding hand tools to prepare the soil. These side back muscles need maintenance—especially if they are painful. Here's a flexibility and strength exercise to gain range of motion and structural integrity.
Gardner's Back Relief
We bend, reach, lean, and crouch; for hours on end - these compromising postural positions are commonplace for the grower. Our back muscles are appropriately named—erector spinae- they hold our trunk up right. The moment we flex our trunk even 45 degrees we've just placed 50% more compression on vulnerable discs.
Gardener's Knee Relief
Walk This Way
Self Massage
- Flushes metabolic waste from training and stress.
- Releases adhesions, breaks down scar tissue, mitigates damage from microfiber tears, and unwinds tight fascia.
- Hydrates the soft tissue by stimulating and draining and the lymphatic system.
- Reverses ischemia—lack of blood flow-to the soft tissue and surrounding areas.


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For the past 3 years that I have been blogging, and whenever Easter has arrived, there is always one thing that I look forward to each time which is, a bundle of gorgeous treats from Betty's! I feel proud and lucky to be able to work with such an iconic brand known both nationally and internationally, so it feels only right to share with you; Betty's Easter Gifts for 2019!
I had been gifted some treats which include:
Trio of Filled Chocolate Eggs - £10.50
A gorgeous little box which contains 3 pastel coloured eggs, all made from Betty's finest Swiss Chocolate! A white chocolate egg filled with vanilla caramel, a pink egg filled with raspberry ganache and an eau de nil egg filled with Moët & Chandon and Marc de Champagne ganache. All of which have been hand-decorated with Royal iced-spring flowers. To purchase, click here!
Praline & Milk Chocolate Eggs - £7.95
A continental styled paper cone, this treat contains both solid milk and praline-filled milk chocolate eggs! A fun way to enjoy some delicious Easter goodies with Betty's illustrations displayed on it. To purchase, click here!
Dark Chocolate Shimmer Egg - £7.50
A Venezuelan dark chocolate easter egg, a perfect alternative to those who favour dark chocolate to milk chocolate (I know I do!) - hand finished with a gold lustre and a piped design based around Betty's Centenary emblem!
To purchase, click here.
Betty's Tea Room Blend (80 Tea Bags) - £4.25
A fragrant blend of teas from East Africa and Assam, these teabags can be enjoyed at any given time and these come encased in the stylish box designed by Yorkshire artist; Emily Sutton! To purchase, click here.
Milk and White Speckled Rabbits - £7.50
A group of 4 Spring rabbits, these were created using milk and white Swiss Grand Cru chocolate which are presented on a milk chocolate base. So tasty! To purchase, click here.
I hope you have enjoyed this tasty guide from Betty's, hopefully to inspire you when it comes to selecting your Easter treats for this upcoming Easter weekend! (Friday 19th - Monday 22nd April).
For more details and to have a look at the full range of Betty's Easter treats, simply click here, or why not pop along to one of their cafes/tea rooms such as Harrogate, Harlow Carr, York, Stonegate, Ilkley, North Allerton!
Have you visited Betty's before? If so, which tea room did you go to? Do you have any favourites from Betty's? Let me know below as I would love to hear from you and don't forget to click the 'like' button!


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Air Quality and Ventilation
Bold City Heating & Air provides services that ensure excellent air quality in clients' residential and commercial spaces. Duct cleaning, duct sealing, and air filtration are aspects of our air quality services. Ask us about mechanical and electronic air filters.
Underperforming ac systems can contribute to poor air quality. Call Bold City technicians to schedule a system checkup.
HVAC System Maintenance
Looking for a system tune-up? At Bold City Heating & Air, we encourage our customers to schedule annual HVAC maintenance visits. In these appointments, our technicians run complete system checks to detect failures and spot components that are underperforming. Identifying areas of a system that are not working optimally and fixing the problems results in systems that deliver maximum service for their expected life-span and beyond.
Call Us Today
Do you need a new HVAC system? Do you need a new air conditioning unit or furnace? Do you need repairs or maintenance on existing equipment
Call Bold City Heating & Air today. Our professional staff and expert technicians are ready to help.
See what others say about us below.
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What Our Customers Are Saying
"Bold City Heating and Air provided excellent service! The technician arrived on time and completed the job quickly. He was friendly, knowledgeable and made sure the entire area was pristine before leaving. The price was extremely competitive too! I would highly recommend Bold City!"
Kelly S. - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
"Great service! They came and cleaned my HVAC unit and were efficient and friendly. I thought the job was very well done and service professional. Highly recommend this company!"
Kellyann C. - Jacksonville, FL
"Best AC place in town, quality Services and products."
Sel B. - Jacksonville, FL
"This is a great company, they have competitive prices and do fast and clean work."
Joe F. - Jacksonville, FL
"Had an issue with my A/C leaking (go figure). Friend referred us to Bold City. Easy set up, very friendly - issue was fixed within 24 hours. Good prices for their service. Had an easy going experience - they were very thorough and clear with their solution. Awesome people!"
Mladen R. - Jacksonville, FL
"A family member referred me to Bold City and I was very happy with the service they provided. Their prices are affordable and they don't pressure you into getting things you don't really need. The technician did a fantastic job installing our new system! Highly recommend this place!"
Jessica R. - Atlantic Beach, FL
"Great prices, fast and efficient work, punctual and friendly staff.!"
Eric J. - Jacksonville, FL
"Called Bold City when my AC died they were upfront about their prices and installed a new system that same day. They were very professional and did an excellent job."
Shannon D. - Jacksonville, FL
"Excellent service oriented air condition company in Jacksonville. Nice to have a company with a personal level of service and attention with great prices offering quality name brand products. I easily recommend them to my clients in the real estate industry. Whether it's for service or for replacing air condition units."
Joey K. - Jacksonville, FL
"The Bold City technician that came to fix my A/C was very thorough and courteous. I had several questions about things I did not understand and he took the time to explain everything to me. Amazing work ethic, I felt like he was doing it as if it was his own A/C and he did a great job. I highly recommend Bold City!"
Jennifer. - Jacksonville, FL
"Great service, competitive prices, and professional staff."
Trevor K. - Jacksonville, FL
"Technician showed up when they said he would and installed my new system within hours. Everyone was very friendly and easy to talk to. These guys seriously do amazing work!"
Karen J. - Jacksonville, FL
"Great service, great people, awesome prices!"
John K. - Jacksonville, FL
"Had issues with my AC, it was not working so I had a few people come out and look at it, they either claimed to have "fixed it" or some even said that I needed a new system. My friend told me about Bold City so I decided to give them a try before investing any money into a new system. They had a technician at my house that same afternoon who refused to leave until he figured out the issue and was able to fix it. My A/C works like it's brand new and I didn't even have to invest into buying a new one! Thank you Bold City, you guys are the best!"
Meredith C. - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
"One of the things I appreciate most about Bold City Heating and Air is that they actually care and are not like these other sharks out here trying to squeeze every penny out of you. They actually saved me a lot of money while fixing my air conditioning system by telling me that I did not need some of he the more expensive material/services that I was previously told were necessary by others. Caring people, friendly and very fast working. Thank you!"Roger S.. - Jacksonville, FL
"Cool folks doing quality and clean work at a fast paste. Highly recommend them."
Terrance K. - Jacksonville, FL
"I had a issue with my a/c and as soon as they called me they gave a arrival time and they were here on time the guy did a good job love it."
Cathylee V. - Jacksonville, FL
"They came, they saw, they fixed! Bold City Heating and Air honestly did such a tremendous job and they were so polite and friendly, I felt like a friend and not a client."
Roger S. - Jacksonville, FL
"Quality work at a reasonable cost."
Jimmy F. - Jacksonville, FL
"Super friendly staff very responsive and fast and they did a tremendous job installing my new system."
Darren L. - Jacksonville, FL
"Had some issues with a/c unit, was referred to Bold City by a neighbor who was happy with their work so I decided to give them a try and I am really glad I did. They did such great work and not only will I reuse them for any future maintenance or a/c problems, I will recommend them to all my friends and family."
Clearance J. - Jacksonville, FL
"Had the pleasure of dealing with these guys recently and I am really impressed with their work ethic and professionalism. I had some issues with my HVAC so I reported it to my property managers and when Bold City got the call, they were told my by property manager that it was one issue but instead of just taking it as hearsay, they tested the system themselves and found out it was something completely different so they fixed the problem, did some additional work (at no charge) and left me with an a/c that works perfectly. Thank you so much, Bold City!"
Kimberly W. - Neptune Beach, FL
"Very happy with the service they provided, the technician was on time, he came exactly when they said he would. He made recommendations but only fixed and did what I asked instead of pressuring me to get something I did not want. I really appreciated that."
Angela V.- Jacksonville, FL
"I've dealt with many before and by far, this is the best A/C company in Jacksonville. No pressure, clean work, upfront pricing, quality work, fair and beyond friendly staff."
Jonathan S. - Jacksonville, FL
"Hands down best staff I've ever dealt with. Did a phenomenal job, quick and very professional and I also really appreciated that the owner took the time to do a follow-up call just to make sure that I was happy with my service and asked if there was anything he could do to improve my experience that meant a lot to me as a customer."
Theresa L. - Jacksonville, FL
"Had several issues with my HVAC so I called Bold City and they were able to come by the next day for an inspections. All issues were fixed in a timely manner and I am very happy with their services."
Joanna J. - Jacksonville Beach, FL
"Had a new system installed yesterday and I'm very happy with the technician's work. Fair pricing and very friendly staff that know how to interact with customers without being aggressive or pushy about anything."
Josh L. - Jacksonville, FL
"Quality work done at a fair price. Friendly and professional staff, especially the technician who did a terrific job installing my new a/c unit."
Mary F.- Jacksonville Beach, FL
"Called Bold City Heating and Air for some maintenance work on my HVAC and was very pleased with their service, will use them in the future again and would highly recommend these guys to everyone. They do great work!"
John K. - Jacksonville, FL
"Had a new system installed last week and they did a wonderful job the technician arrived exactly when they said he would… he was quick and his work was flawless."
Joseph L. - Jacksonville, FL
Service Areas
- Jacksonville, FL
- Callahan, FL
- Fleming Island, FL
- Nocatee, FL
- St. Augustine, FL
- Ponte Vedra, FL
- Middleburg, FL
- Green Cove Springs, FL
- Orange Park, FL
- Yulee, FL
- Julington Creek, FL


text:
Adopted by: Caspar Klees
ID Number: MA-MV-4281
Gender: Male
Date First Sighted: 22nd February 2017.
Location of First Sighting: Sola Corner, Raa Atoll, Republic of Maldives.
Total Number of Sightings: 1
During our first encounter, we estimated that this manta was roughly 2.8 metres in width, from wing-tip to wing-tip. Based on the size of his claspers, we class this manta as a sexually mature adult.
He has a long tail, and a split right pectoral fin. The fin has bee split, and subsequently healed into two halves. This unfortunate injury, almost certainly caused by a collision with a boat propeller, doesn't seem to stop him swimming and feeding normally.


text:
Whistle Gen1
sold out
High Pitch Body - 2 Color Mokume
3 groove 2 color Mokume whistle body. This is a high pitch/tone body. 1 piece design featuring 3/16" lanyard hole.
NOTE: Both a mouthpiece and body are needed to complete a whistle.
NOTE: Whistles are loud, but can be blown softly. BilletSPIN is not responsible for any hearing loss you may incur. Not recommended for children.


text:
The Bison Newspaper
The Bison Newspaper is a student created publication with 20 issues per academic year.
The Bison is currently in its 90th year of publication.
The Petit Jean Yearbook
The Petit Jean Yearbook chronicles the events of Harding University every academic year.
The Petit Jean has been in print since Harding began in 1924.


text:
Study a Bachelor of Arts in Theology at King's
Perhaps you've never thought of yourself as a theologian, but you've probably had questions about who or what God is and the role of the Christian faith in the 21st century. Theology seeks to answer these questions at their most fundamental level.
Study the theological resources which have shaped the Christian church over time. Courses in theology introduce students to the rich variety and depth of literature found in scripture, and students learn to depict a more accurate vision of God, God's Kingdom, creation, and human beings while dealing with current ethical, political, and religious realities.
Theology programs at King's
Available as a concentration:
- 3-Year Bachelor of Arts
- 4-Year Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies
Available as a minor:
- 4-Year Bachelor of Arts
- 4-Year Bachelor of Commerce
- 4-Year Bachelor of Music
- 4-Year Bachelor of Science (Biology and Computing Science majors)


text:
Tishuna, Mother of 3, GA
Imagine your daughters are now in their 30s – out of school and starting into adult life. What do you hope for them about their life? What would make it a 'good' life?
My hope for my girls is that they will have stability. I would want them to know how to be self-sufficient and manage their own lives. I want them to be successful so they can work for themselves instead of working for others. It would be great for them to have their own business. To me that is important because when you have your own business you can bring so much more to your community and you can really build your own brand.
I would also want them to give back to their community, like having youth programs for underprivileged kids who can't afford certain activities. I would want them to empower young kids, to build their self-esteem and teach them strategies for how to hang in there and not give up. I want them to be able to counsel younger kids and show them how far they can go. I would want them to teach others that it's not where you're from—if you work hard for what you want, you can get it. You don't have to be a product of your environment.


text: There's a joke in #Singles about struggling bands that say they're big in Belgium. I used to promote a band that really was: Portland's hardcore heroes known as Poison Idea. They had a small but rabid following here, and just like Belgian sour ale, a huge fan base in Europe. And like punk rock eventually did, the style is gaining momentum with the masses. This one is called Oud Bruin and it's made by VanderGhinste. It's tart, refreshing, and eminently memorable, just like good punk rock. Follow this link for one of the best covers of all time.


text:
计划升级?Tableau Server 升级页面
Tableau 8.3.1 发行说明。
When using Kerberos, single sign-on sometimes failed for users who were members of large numbers of Active Directory groups. Users attempting to sign in to Tableau Server were taken to the sign in page with an error: "Kerberos Authentication Failed".
Latest Apache Tomcat patches were applied to prevent known security vulnerabilities.
After clearing all selections on a quick filter in a map view, selecting another filter caused the view to display the previous filter selection before the new selection loaded.
Font rendering was improved in Chrome and Firefox so that fonts display as expected rather than reverting to Times New Roman.
Downloading a workbook using the JavaScript API showDownloadWorkbook function caused the "Uncaught Error: Download workbook is not allowed" error to display in the web console.
When opening a published workbook using an extract from an Excel file, if the Excel file was larger than 1 MB, it was locked for up to 30 minutes after being opened.
In a distributed environment, a customized small logo was displayed in default size on worker nodes.
Holding down the Shift key to select multiple values from a multiple-value (custom list) quick filter did not select multiple values and resulted in the error: "An unexpected error occurred. If you continue to receive this error please contact your Tableau Server Administrator. Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property 'id' of null".
When connected to a published extract, viewing the underlying data of a measure caused the error: "Internet communication error: Send failed since rewinding of the data stream failed()".
In Internet Explorer 8, after selecting values from a multiple values quick filter, the drop-down list did not close when clicking the quick filter arrow or outside of the drop-down list.
Dragging a field to the Pages shelf caused the error: "Unable to get property 'getChildren' of undefined or null reference."
If the APPDATA user variable was configured for a network drive, the tabcmd command generated an "Errno::ENOENT: No such file or directory" error. (server)
Publishing a workbook to Tableau Server caused text marks in the view to have a white background color instead of transparent.
On Tableau Server, you could not select very small sections of a pie chart by clicking on the labels.
Adding a worker after Kerberos has been enabled failed with the error "Worker initialization failed. See tabadmin.log for more details."
As a workaround, disable Kerberos in Tableau Server, add the worker, start Server to verify it starts as expected, stop Server, re-enable Kerberos, and start Server.
"数据解释"(Explain Data)、Tableau Catalog 和 Tableau Server Management 插件。查看 Tableau 新功能。
可能会对您的部署产生影响的最新 Tableau 产品问题。


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Childcare is a cost not just to individuals and families but also to our society as a whole. Sessy Nyman of Everthrive Illinois outlines the most pressing contemporary issues. Rabbi Lauren Henderson and Changiz Geula of the Chicago Bahá'í Community respond from their traditions. All music provided by Poddington Bear.
Chicago Economic Issues: Undocumented Minors
Viator House of Hospitality in Chicago's northwest suburbs provides a bridge for undocumented minors who turn 18 while awaiting their asylum hearing. Rabbi Lauren Henderson and Changiz Geula of the Chicago Bahá'í Community offer insight from their traditions on immigration, migration, and refugees. All music provided by Poddington Bear.
Chicago Economic Issues: Incarceration
St. Leonard's Ministries supports Chicago citizens returning from incarceration. Program Director Christopher Roach shares his own story of life after incarceration. Panelists Rabbi Ike Serotta, Pastor David Watkins, and Imam Abdul-Malik Ryan envision a new future. All music provided by Poddington Bear.
Chicago Economic Issues: Workforce
Chicago is a microcosm for economic justice and race issues nationwide. This short season highlights four issues: workforce, incarceration, immigration, and childcare.
Carrie Thomas executive director of the Chicago Jobs Council outlines some of Chicago's greatest workforce challenges glossed over by record low unemployment. Rabbi Ike Serotta, Pastor David Watkins, and Imam Abdul-Malik Ryan respond. All music provided by Poddington Bear.
The Myth of Balance
Is there such a thing as a balanced life? Should we even try for one? Join us for a conversation with Cali Yost, Quentin Mumphrey, Leena Suleiman, and Max Weiss.
As we approach the end of the calendar year, most of us will be flooded with requests for year end donations, but what difference does donating make to the world around us or for ourselves?Our conversation features Kashif Shaikh Executive Director of the Pillars Fund and David King, Karen Lake Buttrey Director, Lake Institute on Faith & Giving and Assistant Professor, Philanthropic Studies at the Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Our panel includes Rabbi Bruce Elder of Congregation Hakafa; Dr. Kimberly Lymore of St. Sabina's; and Karen Danielson of the Mosque Foundation.
Holier Bit: Civil Discourse
In this year of uncivil discourse, Rev. Jennifer Butler of Faith in Public Life discusses what religious education taught her about conversing with the other.
Holier Bit: An Interview with Karen Danielson on Converting to Islam
In this week of remembering religious minorities, namely the pilgrims in England, here is a treat of panelist Karen Danielson speaking with NPR's Rachel Martin on her conversion to Islam:


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Willy Heritage Beer and Cider Festival will showcase independent Australian owned and operated breweries and their best beers. We will also showcase Cider, Wine and Whisky from Australias best independant producers.
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: 24 NovemberLiberty X Hawkers IPA Battle
Later Event: 28 NovemberBarrel Aged Stout Tasting


text:
Mimosa's Cabaret is Brunch Theater!
We feature a full bar & brunch buffet (sold separate) and Drag Queens! What more could you ask for?
Awarded "Best Theater Group" in 2014 and 2015
by King 5's Best of Western Washington
A Boob Job For The Holi-gays!!!
Mimosas Cabaret opened our Holiday Mini Musical:
Sure to put a smile on your face; this show is a magical ride through the holidays written by our very own Isablla Extynn. Green Bitch is unhappy with the size of her mammaries and must come to grips with her envy of the frivolous family around her.
Performer Name
Performer bio goes here, but keep it to a paragraph is possible


text:
Jennifer Patton
Jenny Patton rearranged lines from the film Gaga Revealed to create "The Monster Ball Tour at Madison Square Garden," her first published poem and a finalist of Blue Bonnet Review's Spring Poetry Contest. Jenny's work has appeared in Brevity, River Teeth online, Kaleidoscope, Prism Review, 751Magazine, Ohioiana Quarterly, and Natural Awakenings. She was a 2011 Peter Taylor Fellow in Creative Nonfiction at the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, received a scholarship to the New York Summer Writers Institute at Skidmore College, and holds an MFA from The Ohio State University, where she teaches writing.


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35lb canal carp on after-work session
A recent decision to target carp on his local canal paid off handsomely for Bobby Gabriel with the capture of this 35lb bruiser.
The big mirror came during a two-hour evening session on the Royal Military Canal at Hythe in Kent.
Bobby told Carpfeed: "I caught it on a short session last Thursday after work. I couldn't be happier!
"It's believe to be the biggest [in the canal] at 35lb and smashed my personal best by 18lb.
"I've fished the canal since I was a kid, mostly coarse fishing, but I've tried catching the carp for the last four months and this way my fourth fish."


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Today is a big day for ballwalkpark, and it is THE big day for Milkshake's proud parents, Ben and Lori. Why ballwalkpark? Ben and Lori have asked me to be Milkshake's "handler" and walk him down the aisle at their wedding - he is the ring bearer! I am so honored to be a part of their big day and absolutely love that Milkshake is such a big part of their wedding! I was reading an article in The Bark magazine this month about dogs in weddings. Apparently 18% of dog owners include their pups in their wedding ceremony - I had no idea it was that common! In the article, the title of my role is apparently called the "bearer of the ring bearer" - so that it is!
Here's a quick preview of our day:
I am getting ready to take Milkshake and Chip (his best friend) to the park for several hours, to make sure he gets all of his puppy energy out! He needs to be on his best behavior today!
After the park, where they will inevitably be filthy, I am going to take Milkshake to Petapoluza where I can give him a bath. I am hoping this is relatively painless - Milkshake HATES getting sprayed off at the dog park. Either way, it must get done!
We will arrive at the W hotel this afternoon where Milkshake will get dressed up in his bow-tie and boutonniere and get ready for family pictures, etc. We have been working on sitting nicely when we meet people and instead of "shake", saying "nice to meet you". We'll see how this goes over with the excitement of the day!
After a couple run throughs, the big ceremony will commence! I can't wait to watch Lori walk down the aisle. Since the day I met this couple, almost a year ago, they have been absolutely glowing about their engagement and planning this wedding. When it becomes our turn, Milkshake and I will (hopefully) gracefully walk down the aisle. We are hoping for no pulling to greet guests (I'll be wearing heels, and he is a strong 2yr old lab!), and not freaking out when he sees his parents at the end of the aisle! We have already discussed worst case scenario though, I just let go of the leash and he trots down the aisle to greet his parents - will be sure to get a good laugh from the guests!
After the ceremony, Milkshake will make an appearance at the cocktail hour, do a lap or two, then he will wish his parents a wonderful honeymooon and come home to stay with me! Bailey and Bambi are getting a brother for a couple weeks :)
I will try to post some pics throughout the day, if not today, definitely soon after. We're off to the park to run off some of that energy!
Congrats Ben and Lori!!!


text:
One of Baltimore's BEST craft fairs is back in town and we'll be holding a demo!! Come join us to make scrunchies as we show you the machines and tell you all about the fun things we offer!
The SHOP WILL REMAIN OPEN 9:00-3:00!! Just double the opportunities to see us! :)


text:
Ingredients (use vegan versions):
- 1 package of thick rice noodles or 1 half package of spaghetti pasta
- for the sauce:
- 1 can mushroom soup (I use Campbell's)
- 3 cups of water
- 1 package vegan gravy mix (I use Mama Sita's Oriental Gravy Mix)
- cornstarch
- salt
- fried minced garlic
- textured soy protein (the smaller ones)
- chopped green onion
- fake shrimps (sometimes found at local chinatown grocery store, but watch out, some contain egg)
- minced mushrooms
Boil the noodles or pasta water.
While waiting, in a separate
pot, put 3 cups of water,
mushroom soup and gravy
mix, and textured soy protein all together, and mix together. When the textured soy protein is soaked, it is ready to be
out of the pot. Separate some textured soy protein and
put it aside. Leave some in
the pot for the sauce. The sauce has
to be medium thick like gravy, as long
as you know it can cover/stick to your
noodles, it is good. If it is watery,
add a little bit of cornstarch. Add
salt to taste. Your sauce is now
For the toppings:
Fry the garlic until it's golden brown
and set it aside. Fry the fake
shrimps for about 1 minute each side.
Chop the green onions.
Put noodles/pasta in a container and
then pour the sauce all over the
noodles/pasta. Sprinkle the minced
garlic, minced mushrooms and the textured soy protein
at the top. Arrange the fake shrimps
on top as well. Serve.
Serves: 3-4
Preparation time: 30-40 minutes


text:
BYOS about shock. How did you respond to an event that challenged your expectations? Did a moment of surprise change your perception of yourself or others? How did you avoid, or seek out, unexpected moments? Interpret broadly. Your story is your own
Deets: Hosted by Graham & Brooke in Shoreditch, N1 6ND. £22 covers dinner & drinks.


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Tuesday Club - Scattering to the four winds: Indigenous 'diaspora' and identity.
Otago Settlers Association Tuesday Club meets once a month for morning tea and a guest speaker. This month's speaker is Lyn Carter who will be talking about the term 'diaspora'. It will discuss the idea that rather than one-way journeys to somewhere, indigenous peoples are in reality on circular journeys that always have the homeland at the centre, around which they navigate.
Toitū OSM - Auditorium
OSA Members gold coin, non-members $5.


text: Two weekends ago, I went to New York to participate in the New York Times Lens Portfolio Review. It was an absolutely incredible experience, and I'm desperately tempted to use the big H(umbled) word. But I am. I was only there for a weekend (s/o to my pal Kholood Eid for letting us stay at her apartment in Brooklyn) and I was just like every other joker tourist with a d$lr. I took photos. Here are a few.


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Newly-promoted Cesena have four points from two tough opening games against Roma and Milan after this deserved victory.
Read more »
Serie A
Cesena 2-0 Milan: familiar problems for Milan
Newly-promoted Cesena have four points from two tough opening games against Roma and Milan after this deserved victory.
Fiorentina 1-1 Napoli: the away side's lopsided defensive shape works rather well
The closest thing to a 'glamour tie' in the first round of Serie A finished all square – 1-1 both in terms of goals and red cards.
Read more »
Bologna 0-0 Inter: Benitez starts with bore draw
A low-key game with few goalscoring opportunities – the result was celebrated by managerless Bologna like a win.
Read more »
Lazio 0-2 Inter: both sets of supporters happy with the result
A game almost identical in context to the Liverpool v Chelsea game: the away side going for the title, the home supporters half-heartedly supporting their own team, knowing that a win would play into the hands of their biggest rivals. Lo and behold, the same scoreline.
Read more »
Milan 1-0 Fiorentina: Prandelli's formation frustrates again
A game which had a distinctly end-of-season feel to it – Milan's victory assured Champions League football for next season, whilst Fiorentina's defeat continued their miserable end to the season.
Read more »


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Minnesota education reform news by Scholar the Owl, a.k.a. Matt Abe, Plymouth, Minnesota.
A new blog
A new local education blog, Minnesota E-Blog, arrived in December. It's being written by "The Education Truth Squad," and according to the site it "exists to hold the education establishment and media in Minnesota accountable for what they say about our K-12 system. The Blog is a perfect vehicle to squelch rumors, expose lies and counteract the negative messages orchestrated by the Minnesota education cartel." Nobody I know knows who this self-proclaimed "truth squad" is, but on behalf of Scholar, welcome to the party. (I have it on good authority that it's not Cheri Yecke; besides that, the writing at Minnesota E-Blog is a tad "bolder" than her style. Yecke should write a blog but then again she already has a podium over at the Center of the American Experiment.)