Write an article based on this "Use a nutcracker. Use a side cutters and pliers. Use a specialized pecan cracker. Squeeze two nuts together. Use a hammer. Remove the nut meat from the shell."
article: A general purpose, squeeze-style nutcracker can be used to crack the pecan shells.  Place the nut between the arms of the nutcracker and squeeze gently until you hear a crack. Don't squeeze too hard, or you will break the nut meat inside. Rotate the nut between the arms of the nutcracker and squeeze again. Continue rotating and squeezing along the length of the nut until the shell becomes loose enough to remove. This is another quick and easy method for shelling pecans, which uses a side cutters and pliers.  Take your side cutters and use them to snip off the two pointed ends of the pecan shell, into a bowl beneath. Then take your pliers (any type will do), place the nut between the jaws, and gently crack around the middle of the shell, rotating the nut until the shell comes loose. If you need to crack a large quantity of pecans, it may be worth your while to invest in a specialized pecan cracker, which looks kind of like a tabletop vice.  These devices allow you to crack pecans quickly and efficiently, without cracking or breaking the nut meat. While most household pecan crackers are operated by hand, you can also purchase motorized pecan crackers (from brands like Kinetic Kracker) for even faster shelling. If you do not have any tools, you can use the squeezing method to crack the pecan shells. To do this, take two nuts and place them in one hand. Close your fist around the nuts, squeezing them together until one shell cracks enough to peel off. One of the simplest methods of cracking pecan shells is just to use a hammer and a hard surface.  Place the nut on a hard, solid surface and hit it with the hammer. You may need to rotate the nut to hit it in a second spot. Mind your fingers!  Although this method is quick, it tends to break the nut meat, leaving you with fragmented pieces of pecan. If you're looking for whole pecan halves, you'd be better off using another method. Once you have cracked the shell using your chosen method, you will need to carefully remove the nut meat from the broken shell, keeping the pecan halves as intact as possible.  Use your fingers or a small pair of pliers to peel the shell away from one half of the nut. Then use a nut pick to pry the two pecan halves out of the remaining shell. Pecans are ideally removed from their shells in halves, but it's not a big deal if they break -- any nut meat you can salvage from the broken shell is usable.

Write an article based on this "Create a consistent practice schedule. Start each practice session with a warm-up piece. Break up pieces into short-term goals. Use a metronome to control your tempo. Eliminate distractions during practice time. Choose songs you enjoy playing."
article: The amount of time you play and the number of practice sessions you build into a week depends in part on your age, attention span, and seriousness with learning to play the instrument. However, the important thing is to be consistent with your practice times so you develop a habit of playing the piano.  For example, if you have weekly lessons with a teacher, you may want to practice for an hour 6 days a week, then schedule a 30-minute practice session before your lesson each week. On the other hand, if you're just learning piano on your own for fun, you might decide to practice 30 minutes a day for 3 days a week. Younger children typically learn more with shorter practice times. If you have issues with focus or attention deficit, you may find you get more out of shorter practice times per day as well. If you ultimately want to practice more, simply schedule several shorter sessions throughout the day. For example, you might have one 15-minute session in the morning, one 15-minute session in the afternoon or early evening, and then another 15-minute session at night. Basic scales are a good way to warm up for your piano lesson. You might also look for etudes, which are classical pieces written for practice (the word "étude" is French for "study"). Many of these short pieces are actually fun to play, and are designed to help warm up your fingers and get you ready to play more complex pieces. If you've been playing for a while, you might also use an easier song that you've already mastered to warm up. Starting your practice off by playing something familiar that you're already good at will give you a nice confidence boost going into your practice. If you're working on a shorter, simpler song, you may be able to master it in one session. However, once you progress to longer, more complicated pieces, you may find that you struggle if you try to learn them all at once. Start with manageable bites of the piece, then put those pieces together. Making measurable progress will increase your confidence and help you learn more efficiently.  For example, if a piece is 8 pages of sheet music, you might set a goal to learn one page each practice session. When you've learned the last page, you should be able to play the entire song from beginning to end. If you run into a particularly troublesome passage that you struggle with, you might need to break the piece down even further. Take it a measure at a time, then play the whole line, then add the next line, and so on. When you encounter a new song, start by playing it much slower than its natural speed. This will enable you to get the notes right the first time through. Once you've played it through slowly a few times with no errors, gradually increase the tempo until you're playing the song at its natural speed. This practice method helps you avoid those recurring errors that become engrained after you try to play a song too many times at a faster speed. If you find that no matter how many times you play a song, you always seem to miss a particular note, it may be that you've been practicing it too fast. Slow it down and focus on that tricky passage until you've corrected the muscle memory that causes that finger to shoot for the wrong note. Choose a relatively quiet place to practice where you're not likely to be interrupted and silence all notifications on your electronic devices so you won't be tempted to check them. If you need a break, take 5 minutes to stand up and stretch or walk around the room, then continue with your practice. If you share your home with others, let them know when you're going to be practicing each day and make sure they understand that you're not to be disturbed during that time. If there's a door you can close to shut yourself off from the rest of the household, do so — that will allow everyone else to carry on their normal activities without worrying that they're distracting you. If you have a piano teacher, they no doubt assign specific pieces for you to learn. However, that doesn't mean you can't add a piece or two you want to learn to your practice time.  Almost any popular song you can think of has a piano adaptation, even if there's no piano in the original song. Many of these songs have multiple versions, so you can learn the song whether you're at a beginning, intermediate, or advanced level. For example, if you like the music from the movie "Frozen," you can buy sheet music and learn to play it. If you're playing a song you love, you may be tempted to run over your practice time so you can keep practicing it. However, it's better if you avoid doing this. If you maintain discipline and stop at your scheduled time, you'll retain that excitement to get back to the piece at the next practice session. Try songs of different genres and styles to help find your favorite style of piano play. For example, if you are studying classical piano, you might want to try some jazz or pop pieces.

Write an article based on this "Know the limits of your knowledge. Learn from others. Find out what they want. Decide how to respond. Don’t encourage their behavior. Cultivate allies."
article:
Without the benefit of hindsight, it’s often quite difficult to know what’s motivating the other person or what they truly feel or think about you.  Rather than assume they must just hate you, allow for the possibility that you’re projecting feelings that may not be there.   Understand that they’re just as human as you are. Everyone has struggles in their lives that contribute to how they act--it’s entirely possible your enemy is antagonistic because of difficulties they're struggling with. Learn from the quote often attributed to Abraham Lincoln: “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” Pay close attention to the people who get along with your enemy. Learn from how they handle the dynamic to gain insight into what may not be working between you and your enemy and why. If it’s a kind of behavior you’re comfortable emulating, try picking up tips from your observations to see if you can rejigger the tenor of you and your enemy's relationship. Knowing what they’re trying to achieve is crucial to dealing with the problem. Are they jealous of something you have? Did you (consciously or unconsciously) slight them in some way? Do you do something that annoys them? Knowing what’s driving their behavior can help you get out in front of their negative behavior and possibly blunt the effect their actions have on you. When you know what’s motivating the person’s behavior, you can begin to address it. You’ll have two options: improve the relationship or learn how to limit their effect on you.  If it’s an issue of a small habit or behavior you have that irritates them, you can consider not doing those things around them or sitting down with them to explain your behavior and help them accept it. If it’s a more serious issue or you simply can’t figure out what their problem is, confront them about it. Nothing shuts down misconceptions or bad feelings like addressing them head-on. Apologize if it’s warranted. If you did something either knowingly or unknowingly to upset them, apologize sincerely (and don’t do it again) so you can both move on. Talk to the person calmly and coolly. Don’t accuse or antagonize, just have an honest conversation. Even if your enemy says rude or insensitive things about you, your friends, or your family, don't give them the satisfaction of seeing it upset you.  In these situations, your enemy is simply looking for a reaction, and when they get one it will only encourage them to continue the behavior. If you want it to stop, start by ignoring them and their comments.  Don’t listen to or spread rumors; it only perpetuates the problem. The more emotionally engaged you become, the more power you’re giving to your enemy. Avoid them. Limit your contact with them as much as possible. Sometimes distance is enough to diffuse the situation. Nothing balances the negative impact of an enemy like having allies. The more people you have on your side and who see you as kind, helpful, respectful, etc., the less impact any potential enemy sabotage can have on you.  When you're tempted to say something negative about your enemy, turn that energy around and instead say something nice to another person. Spreading positivity rather than negativity will give you the advantage over your enemy.