INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Hamsters are very hardy animals and can recovery quickly from injury. If you see that he has only minor cuts and scrapes, consider letting him tend to them on his own. Many times, hamsters will lick and clean the wounds, which will heal them.  The wounds from minor cuts and scrapes can become infected if your hamster doesn’t tend to them and clean them. An infected wound can turn into an abscess, which is a pocket of infection. Abscesses are serious and must be treated by a veterinarian. They will also require at-home care, such as wound cleaning and antibiotics. Another option is for you to treat the minor injuries. Before getting to the wounds, wrap your hamster in a small, clean towel to restrain him. Hamsters can become very nippy when they are injured, so you should protect yourself from getting bitten.  Wrap him up in such a way that you can still get to his wounds. Other than cuts and scrapes, your hamster may have skin sores as a result of injury. These are open wounds that look inflamed and might be bleeding.  If there is not a lot of blood, you can treat the sores at home. Your hamster may not be able to clean open sores on his own, so you should do this for him. With your syringe, draw up some sterile saline. Gently squirt the saline around the wound and pat the wound dry with a piece or two of the gauze. Do this a few times to make sure the wound is clean and free of debris. Cleaning it yourself can prevent abscess formation, since you will be able to clearly see how well you’ve cleaned it. When the wound is dry, use another syringe to draw up a small amount of Betadine. Dispense this onto the wound and pat it dry with some more gauze. Apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment to the wound with a Q-tip.  Disinfecting the wound will help kill microorganisms that could cause infection. Betadine can stain your skin, so you may want to wear gloves when you use it. No matter the injury, it is important that your hamster rest and recover comfortably in his cage. Place his food and water bowls near his sleeping area. The cage should be in a warm and quiet area of your home. It is ideal that your hamster recover in a cage without bars, such as an aquarium, to prevent further injury. If you do not already have an aquarium and buying one isn’t practical, keep a close eye on your hamster when he is moving around in his cage. To prevent these minor injuries from happening again, you should try to identify what caused them in the first place. For example, your hamster may have rubbed against a sharp edged toy that cut his skin. Or, there may be a loose wire in his cage that is scraping against his skin.  If your hamster has a cage mate with whom he doesn’t get along, they may have scratched or bitten each other. Your hamster’s nails might be too long, causing him to scratch himself.  Whatever the cause, do your best to manage or remove it so your hamster doesn’t get injured again. This may involve separating your hamsters.

SUMMARY: Let your hamster heal himself. Restrain your hamster. Clean the wound. Disinfect and treat the wound. Place your hamster back in his cage. Determine what caused the injury.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Aim to include 2-3 longer jokes for your first setlist, and arrange them so they flow well from one another. Save the joke you think is the funniest for last to end your set on the biggest laugh. Try to incorporate topics that are similar to one another so your setlist feels cohesive. Create an outline for your setlist to help you remember and memorize your jokes.  For example, you may tell a joke about an experience you had with a ghost and then your next joke could be about ghost-hunting TV shows. Mix up the order of your jokes to see what other options you can try. Try including a one-liner in between jokes that you can use to transition between topics. Use your phone or a recording device while you perform your stand-up routine out loud. Try to keep your set under 5 minutes since this is usually how much time you’ll have to perform at an open mic night. Listen to your jokes to see how they sound or if there’s any material that sounds confusing, and make note of the jokes you need to keep working on. Pretend there’s an audience in the room while you record so you present as if you were on stage. Listen to your recording and look for areas that are going on too long or don’t feel as funny. Try to find other shorter words or cut the section entirely. Make sure the joke still makes sense to your audience after you make your edits.  Each joke should last between 90 seconds to 2 minutes long, but there are no official guidelines on how your jokes are structured. Try writing your joke in 250 words, and then edit it down to 100 words. Keep editing it down until it only uses 50 words. This can help you filter your joke to the bare essentials. You won’t sound as funny if you read your jokes in a monotone voice. Try enunciating words differently, getting excited or serious throughout your joke, or giving emphasis to a single word. This helps keep the audience interested in your jokes and makes you seem more invested in your material.  Listen to how other comedians tell their jokes to get an idea of how to structure your sentence. Think of writing a joke like writing a song by developing a rhythm for your material. Pay attention to how the words flow together to determine whether it sounds too abrupt. Once you’re satisfied with your material, ask friends and family to listen to you perform. Stand in the front of the room and start your routine.  When you’re finished, ask them for their feedback to see what worked and what didn’t.  Record your performance to see where your friends and family laughed and where they didn’t. Make edits to your material to try and make it more humorous. Practicing a few times in front of people you know can help you overcome stage fright when performing in front of your audience.

SUMMARY: Organize your jokes into a setlist. Record the audio and time your set to see how it sounds. Revise the flow of your jokes by eliminating unneeded words. Try changing your tone and inflection with each joke. Practice in front of friends and family.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: This is an effective way to dread your hair, but it also comes with its downsides. Because you are rubbing and knotting your hair so much in one session, it can really hurt. It is also more permanent than other methods, so you will have to cut your hair if you don’t like how it turns out. You can use a wool sweater or hat. Rub the wool hat in circles on your hair. Do this for about fifteen minutes. Knots should begin to form. Rip your knotted hair apart and into sections. Separate the sections to form individual dreads. Do not use anything to secure your hair yet. After you have sectioned your hair, continue to rub with a wool sweater for about fifteen more minutes. Repeat until all of your hair becomes knotted. Tuck loose hair into the dread that is closest. Use dread wax to seal the locks.  You can use rubber bands at the root and ends of the locks to help them stay in shape until they mature.

SUMMARY:
Consider the negatives. Rub your hair with wool. Rip the knots apart. Continue to rub your hair.