Katy Allen has three children and runs a business.She has no family nearby, and her husband is a touring musician.She relies on home assistants for about nine hours each week.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Katy Allen, founder of Artful Agenda. It has been edited for length and clarity.For the past eight years, I've relied on recent college graduates to help me make my life happen. They're not babysitters or admin assistants I think of each helper as a "second me," who will do with any of the tasks I might, whether that's processing Amazon returns, putting away laundry, or taking the car for an oil change.I'm a mom of three kids, who are now 11, 8, and 5. I'm also a business owner and was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. My husband is a musician who is often on tour, and our closest family lives five hours away.Hiring help fills an important gap for me. It allows me not only to get things done but, more importantly, to close some of the mental tabs that I constantly have open in my brain. Because of the help, I've been more successful at work and more present with my kids.Find yourself also wishing for a body double? Here's how I've made the arrangement work seamlessly.Find the right helpI live near a university, and that's where I've found most of my helpers. The women who help me are typically students or recent college grads. They might work for a year or two before moving on. When they do, I typically ask them to refer a friend who might be interested in the job.If I have to advertise, I say right in the ad I'm looking for a second me. I explain that they might be asked to do anything I would do (within reason I won't have them scrubbing up bathroom messes), and each day will look different.Automate the processHaving a helper is all about reducing my workload, but a lot of my friends worry that hiring help will actually be more work. To avoid that, I automate as much as possible. My helper works a set schedule, typically two to three days each week for about three hours at a time. She has a key to my house and can let herself in and start working without me giving directions. Some days I don't even see her.I keep a running list of items (like laundry) that constantly need attention in a Google Doc. If I have time each week, I add more pressing items, like returning items to the store, getting a birthday gift, or organizing a particular area of the house.The Google doc is great because my helper can leave comments and notes, letting me know what she did and if she had trouble with anything. I can process that when I have time, rather than during my workday or when I'm with the kids. I can also provide simple feedback in the document.Trust is keyAs you can see, my helpers have a lot of access to my life. I even share another Google Doc with log-in information for certain accounts, like Amazon. A relationship like this only works if you can really trust the person who's working for you.I've never had issues with a helper being untrustworthy. Once, I had a helper who just wasn't a great personality fit. She must have felt the same, because we parted ways fairly quickly, and I advertised the position again.Start smallI pay my helper a decent rate, somewhere between what I'd pay a babysitter and what I'd pay a professional admin assistant. So, the cost can add up. When I started this eight years ago, I'd be surprised at how much I spend on hired help today. Yet, it makes sense because I am more productive at work.If you're new to hiring help, start small. Hire someone for ad-hoc projects or for just a few hours a month, and see if the impact on your productivity and brain space is worth the cost. For me, it certainly has been.

Rumours are suggesting the Switch 2 will see Nintendo leverage NVIDIA's DLSS tech here's why that's important, and what it means for the upcoming consoleTech16:00, 23 Feb 2025Updated 17:36, 23 Feb 2025Switch 2 could have some neat tricks up its sleeveThe full Switch 2 reveal is still weeks away, but we keep getting new rumours almost every day about the system's price and when we can play it.The launch game lineup is still under wraps for now (aside from a new Mario Kart title), and developers have been weighing in on what the power jump from the first console can do and that's before we get to DLSS support.We've heard the rumour for months that Nintendo could implement NVIDIA's AI technology, but what does that mean for you, the consumer? Here's all we know.DLSS has been employed to great effect in NVIDIA's GPUs(Image: NVIDIA)DLSS stands for Deep Learning Super Sampling, which uses AI (that's artificial intelligence) to upscale images to a higher resolution, ideally without sacrificing frame rates.In the most basic terms, it's filling in pixels moment-to-moment with information so the device itself doesn't have to render it natively. NVIDIA has got pretty adept at using it, with the fourth-generation version of DLSS able to fill in frames between those rendered by your PC.As I mentioned in my piece about my move to PC gaming, it's not a 'silver bullet' solution things can flicker, or textures can look a little too shiny, but for the most part it's an impressive way to leverage AI. It means a less powerful machine can still offer plenty of detail because the hardware itself isn't doing as much of the heavy lifting.So, what does that mean for the Switch 2? We don't know for sure if it'll use it, but considering its hybrid nature, it'll need some trickery to keep up with the latest PS5 and Xbox, but without significantly draining the battery when on the go.That means we could see some kind of upscaling tech built into the new console's dock, allowing higher pixel output on lower-spec hardware. It's all hypothetical until we hear directly from Nintendo, but it could also help the Switch maintain a certain level of performance without burning through its battery in minutes.There are also suggestions that AI upscaling will allow for games to be smaller, and fit onto lower-capacity cartridges, potentially saving Nintendo and third-party developers money while still allowing for some impressive visuals.Article continues belowAt some point, the Switch 2 will have to do some heavy lifting of its own, of course DLSS can't work miracles like pushing a poorly-optimised game to new heights, but it'll be fascinating to see if Nintendo even mentions NVIDIA in the April 2 event even though the company is reportedly making the internal chip for the console.For more on AI in gaming, check out our concerns about the new Microsoft model that can help build games.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

The post-credits scene of Captain America: Brave New Worldsure issomething, huh. Chances are you already know what it is, but if not, both it and what it couldve been will be spoiled here. At the end of the film, Sam Wilson visits the captured Samuel Sterns in the lower levels of the Raft. Sterns ominously tells Sam he knows whats coming next, and intones that Sam wont be prepared for attacks from other worlds and the others. Vague as it is, you can figure this concerns the multiversal business coming in Avengers: DoomsdayandSecret Wars that everyone who isnt Doctor Strange or Monica Rambeau is basically unaware of. But it seems at one point, those others may have been referring specifically to the Illuminati, Marvels collection of supergeniuses who made their MCU debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In a recent interview withBrave New Worlddirector Julius Onah, TheWrap brought up the Illuminati, who it claims was in an earlier draft of the film and later cut during reshoots. (Later, scooper Alex Perez claimed they wouldve been a group of heroes from other worlds, unlike theMultiverseversion all coming from Earth-838.) Onah stressed he couldnt say specifically, but he did note that Sterns words are purposely left vague in that post-credit for a reason. And while the intent behind it apparently shifted, he said some kind of warning was always going to close out the film, since by then, Marvel had a clearer picture of where things were going. The goal was to make sure that we were doing it at a time which, because of the strikes, nobody was writing. Why would the Illuminati have been in Brave New World? In the comics, Steve Rogers was part of the team, and previously clashed with them in the lead up to the multiverse-focused Secret Wars event in 2015. When he opposed their plans to build a weapon that could save their Earth at the cost of other universes, they wiped his memory, and when he eventually regained those memories, he used the Avengers to go after them. So there issomeprecedence to the Illuminati andaCaptain America crossing pathsthough that doesnt stop their potential cameos inBrave New Worldfrom feeling as out of nowhere as Sterns declaration. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

We have good news for all you freedom-loving patriots out there: our long national nightmare is over, the woke mind virus is dying, and the Central Intelligence Agency will no longer suffer under the yoke of oppressive diversity, equity, and inclusion training videos. In short: Trump is saving our country! Yes, the CIA is planning its largest mass firing in over 50 years, according to the New York Times, and those expulsions are largely targeted at officers who work on recruiting and diversity issues. The newspaper notes that 51 officers working in diversity and recruiting are currently having their positions reviewed, though its unclear whether the terminations will actually take place. The positions in question appear to have been converted from overseas agent recruitment roles into domestic DEI recruitment roles during the Biden administration, according to statements from sources interviewed by the paper. If the officers are fired it would be one of the largest mass firings in the agencys history, the Times writes. The Trump administration is currently attempting to shut down diversity programs across the federal government, and so the Agencys efforts to gut its DEI activities track with that overall mission. I am, of course, joking when I say that Trump is de-woke-ifying the CIA. The real joke is that the CIAa brutal, secretive organization responsible for murder and chaos all over the globewas ever particularly woke to begin with. Its true that the agency did release that dopey recruitment video a couple of years back. You probably remember the one Im talking about. Yes, that video was really something, and featured its speakeran apparent career CIA womansaying chortle-inducing stuff like: I am a cisgender millennial, who has been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, and I am intersectional, but my existence is not a box-checking exercise, while also referencing her love of Zora Neale Hurston and her ability to change diapers. I wouldve loved to have seen a follow-up video discussing the intersectional complexities of this bomb that the agency has used, the likes of which is covered with knives and is designed to slice and dice its victims into viscera-dripping smithereens. What would Zora Neale Hurston have had to say about that??Anyway, yes, the video was ridiculousbut almost suspiciously so. Indeed, its overt lunacy made me question whether it was really an effort to recruit diverse hires or was, in actuality, meant to piss off and radicalize midwestern MAGA types, many of whom inevitably felt the video was a surefire sign that their country was being overtaken by HR staff from the nations most annoying liberal arts colleges. Of course, well probably never know why they did it, since the CIA rarely says anything about itself and, when it does, it usually lies. If the CIA briefly flirted with DEI optics, news stories concerning the agencys actual staffing composition and behavior reveal that it is anything but woke. An internal study shared publicly in 2015 showed that close to 90 percent of the agencys top ranks were white dudes. And, besides all the murder and chaos, those white dudes apparently get up to no good with relative frequency. This past October, the Agency was besmirched by reports of a deep-rootedcultural problem involving sexual assault and harassment at the agency.

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Most Lamborghini owners will never drive their supercar on the ice, but they could.The Astrophysics Data Systema digital library portal for researchers in astronomy and physicsbuilt a complex formula for aircraft landings on ice. There are variables for river ice, lake ice, and even old sea ice, which is sea ice that has stayed frozen through at least one melting season. And according to the US Army Corps of Engineers, only 10 inches of ice is needed to hold a seven or eight-ton truck.That means I felt pretty comfortable next to a fleet of supercars and superSUVs perched atop three solid feet of ice on Lake Sacacomie, north of Montreal. And I was about to find out just how well the metal-studded snow tires would create traction on that frozen lake at ice driving school. Piloting three Lamborghini modelsUrus, Huracn Sterrato, and Revueltowith a professional driver next to me, I learned how its possible for these uber-powerful beasts to drift with finesse and without careening out of control. Its also nice to know that the ice was thick enough to support a 747.Like chopping ice in a blenderKevin Conway, a multi-time Lamborghini Super Trofeo racing champion, walked me through how to capably drive on an icy figure-eight course. Shod in Pirelli Scorpion winter tires with hundreds of metal studs embedded into the treads, the Urus SE is a quarter-million-dollar sled. New for 2025, the Urus SE is equipped with a plug-in-hybrid powertrain making a total of 789 horsepower from a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 gas engine assisted by a 192-hp electric motor. As such, the torque curve is significantly smoothed out for better control.On three feet of ice on Lake Sacacomie in Canada, the Lamborghini lineup is ready for ice drifting on studded tires. Images: Lamborghini If youre not properly applying the throttle, youre going to slide without control. In the all-wheel-drive SUV, which is shorter and easier to manage than the two supercars, traction is a matter of technique. Still, driving on the ice with that kind of power could be a disaster if not for those metal-bedazzled tires.Think about taking chunks of ice and putting it in a blender, Conway explains from the right seat. Thats basically what youre doing with the studs on the tires. The studs shred the ice, and thats creating two things: youre putting heat to the tire, which is making the rubber softer, and youre gaining the traction you need to be able to corner, accelerate, and decelerate.Turn off the traction controls?Even without studs, Bridgestones Blizzak winter tires are formidable on snow and ice, employing microscopic bubbles and tiny slits for maximum grip. As I learned last winter at the tire companys testing ground and snow driving school in Colorado, winter tires include deeper treads and more sipes (small slits in the tire) that bite into the snow. Like a tiny piranha, the mouths of the sipes open as tires roll across the surface, pushing snow or water away to improve the grip. The hybrid Revuelto and its roaring 1001-hp V12 hybrid combination typically rolls on Bridgestone Potenza Sports, but for snow school it gets the grippier winter rubber. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.Adding 400 studs per tire is no joke; Lamborghini hired a whole team to maintain the tires for each day of driving, and the studs regularly fall out as the day goes on. Re-studding them requires pulling the tires from the wheels, combing over the treads to find missing spikes, and then using a special tool to insert and seal them in a way that doesnt puncture the tire. Dont try this at home, folks.The Revuelto has four main drive modes: Citt, Strada, Sport, and Corsa. It sounds counterintuitive, but Corsa is the one I used, which turns off traction control. Typically, traction control is active as a default. However, when a car is stuck in the snow, turning off the traction function slows the spin of your tires; thats not what you want when you need grip. When driving on ice, disabling both the stability control and traction control override the drivers intentions, as the slippery surface is completely different than asphalt.Each tire was studded with about 400 metal spikes that generate heat and create traction. Image: Lamborghini JAMEY PRICELever, length, and power curveThe difference between the Revuelto and the Sterrato goes beyond the drivetrain, which is still powerful in the latter at 602 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque. The Huracn variant was made to tear across the desert at high speed in the dirt and sand, while the Revuelto is a street-and-track star. The Sterrato is rear-wheel drive to the Revueltos all-wheel drive, and the Sterrato is shorter and skinnier across. Each has a distinct personality and each works differently on the ice and the road.Driving the Sterrato is like choking up on the sledgehammer, lead driver Dean diGiacomo. Youve got to use more effort to swing it to transfer the weight. Driving the Revuelto is like holding the end of the sledgehammer, where it takes more effort to get the weight transfer started, but once it starts, its gonna keep going.I can feel it on the curvy ice roads as the weight shifts from side to side. Once a slide is in progress, the best thing to do is continue giving power even though your brain wants to tell you to take your foot off the gas. Thats actually the worst thing you can do, diGiacomo says, because one of two things will happen: youll either lose the slide because it wasnt initialized enough to begin with, or it will keep rotating around. Applying power allows the front wheels to pull it out of the slide.But I mean, lets be honest: Who drives a roughly-$700,000 supercar on the ice? That would be crazy. Unless you turn off the electronic stability control, fit it with the right tires, and have a pro telling you exactly when to turn, when to step on the gas, and when to coast (carefully).

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