Erin Benzakein's modest two-acre farm — Floret Flower— sits in Skagit Valley, just 90 miles north of Seattle. This small section of Washington state is one of the central blooming points for the "farmer-florist" movement— a concerted effort of local, organic, sustainable flower-growing with humble origins and gorgeous products. 

Scroll down to learn more about Floret's wild successes and — of course — see the gorgeous blooms grown on their farm. 

Benzakein, now 34 years old, started the farm in 2008 after she moved to the Skagit Valley with her husband Chris and two children Elora and Jasper.

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Floret's main business is in selling blooms to wholesale customers (including nearby Whole Foods stores) and florists. Benzakein also does some arrangement work for weddings.

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Husband Chris is Floret's main photographer — making sure the stunning blossoms are documented as they're picked. Most of these photos are shared on Instagram, where Floret has nearly 200,000 followers.

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The Hamptons are the summer playground of wealthy New Yorkers. They're also home to some of the most expensive real estate in the country — the Hamptons zip code of Sagaponack, for example, topped our list of the priciest places to buy in the country. 

According to a recent report from Douglas Elliman Real Estate, the number of home sales in the Hamptons market is down by 19.2% this year, perhaps because of trouble on Wall Street. Still, that means plenty of high-end homes are still up for grabs.

With the help of real estate site StreetEasy, we've rounded up the most expensive properties currently on the market in this Long Island enclave of exclusivity, which ranges from stately Westhampton in the west to beachy Montauk in the east. Of the 21 priciest listings, the bulk are located in super-rich Southampton.

Median sales prices may have dropped about 34% for luxury listings in the first quarter of this year, but these homes are still up for eye-watering prices.

SEE ALSO: Take a look inside A-Rod's modern Miami home

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's lifestyle page on Facebook!

21. Starting things off at just under $30 million is this idyllic country-style estate. A hidden enclave of 14 acres with its own custom pond, the six-bedroom home is cozy and spacious, with exposed timber beams and fireplaces throughout.

Location: Bridgehampton

Price: $29.995 million

20. At $32 million, the prime draw of this simple beachside home is its proximity to water, Southampton address, and privacy. With a total four acres, and over 260 feet of waterfront, there's plenty of room for development, too.

Location:Southampton

Price: $32 million

18 (tie). At $32.5 million, this classic Southampton waterfront estate offers all the Hamptons essentials: panoramic beach views, five bedrooms, and pale blue shingles.

Location:Southampton

Price: $32.5 million

After a long work day, self-care is crucial, but sometimes, curling up with a book or sinking into a warm bath just doesn't cut it.

Melomind, a new pair of $250 headphones by biotech company MyBrain, promises to train your brain to cope with stress naturally.

In a process known as neurofeedback, sensors in the headphones supposedly track your brainwaves in real-time, though there’s scant evidence that this works as claimed.

The Bluetooth headphones connect to an app, which features 10 levels that range from beginner to advanced. You're guided through sessions lasting anywhere from three to 15 minutes that play soothing sounds and, depending on how relaxed you are, the sounds crescendo or quiet down.

It's basically like a game where you try to control your mind, which MyBrain says controls the frequency of the sounds.

MyBrain has raised over $148,000 on its Kickstarter at the time of this post with 29 days left to go, surpassing its $56,000 goal in a day. You can pre-order a pair on the Kickstarter page for $250, but they will eventually retail for $400. The headphones will ship to backers in October 2016, according to the company.

I recently tried MyBrain's prototype, hoping the headphones would help me get to the optimal state of chill. Here's what happened.

Unlike many other electroencephalography (EEG) headphones that only have sensors in the earmuffs, Melomind has two additional ones in the back, which it says helps increase the accuracy of the reading.

You can also unfasten the prods if you just want to listen to music like normal headphones.

Data constantly runs between the sensors and the app's program, neuroscientist and MyBrain's co-founder, Yohan Attal, tells me.

However, many researchers are skeptical about whether EEG feedback has any effect. Much of the research that seems to show beneficial effects of neurofeedback can be attributed to a placebo effect, and there's still no consensus on what frequencies to feed into the headphones to train the brain effectively.

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Most research is also in people targeting specific problems, like ADHD, not general complaints like stress. For a deep dive into EEG research, head over here.

Every good Instagram feed needs its fair share of car porn. It's like, the law. 

We've put together a list of 21 different Instagram profiles that each have beautiful assortments of cars. 

With this list, you'll never want to stop scrolling.

Check it out.

Matt Hummul's (@hummul) profile is filled with pictures of well-used vintage Porsches.

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On Jon Harper's (@jbh1126) profile, you'll find everything from modern Lamborghini supercars to classic BMW sports cars.

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Rich and Ash's account, @desktoglory, is the couple's self-documentation of their overlanding trip from Vancouver to Argentina. If you like off-road, adventure-style stuff, they won't dissapoint.

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Ever feel like you just wanna give up on something? How can you develop the inner strength necessary to achieve your long term goals?

Turns out that grit — the perseverance that keeps us going — is a lot more important than you might think. In fact, it’s the best predictor of success among West Point cadets.

From Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us:

The best predictor of success, the researchers found, was the prospective cadets’ ratings on a noncognitive, nonphysical trait known as “grit”—defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.”

Stanford researcher Catharine Cox studied 301 eminent historical figures. What conclusion did she come to? Persistence beats smarts.

From Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance:

“…high but not the highest intelligence, combined with the greatest degree of persistence, will achieve greater eminence than the highest degree of intelligence with somewhat less persistence.”

So we all need more grit. But how do we get there? I decided to call an expert…

In 2013 Angela Duckworth was awarded the MacArthur “Genius” Award for her work on grit.

She’s a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Here's her TED talk:

Angela and I talked about the four things that lead to the development of grit — as well as a fifth element that’s a shortcut to the inner strength we all need to succeed.

Let’s get to it…

SEE ALSO: Here's when it's OK to give up on your job and quit

1. Pursue what interests you

It’s hard to stick with something over the long haul if you don’t care. So the first step to grittiness is finding something that deeply interests you. Here’s Angela:

The first period is interest development — where you fall in love with something. You find that you’re thinking about it more and more.

So you need to sit back and ponder what you’re passionate about, right? Wrong. Angela says introspection is not the right path. You need to get out there and try stuff so you really know what’s perfect for you.

And once you think you’ve found something you’re really excited about, Angela recommends picking a role model or teacher to help you along.

When I spoke to her UPenn colleague, professor Adam Grant, he said a mentor is key to turning passion into skill. Here’s Adam:

…often interest precedes the development of talent. It’s having a coach or teacher who really makes something exciting to be involved in that leads you to put in the practice necessary to become an expert at it.

(To learn a Navy SEAL platoon commander’s secrets to grit, click here.)

Alright, so you know what you want to be gritty at. What’s the next step?

2. Practice, practice, practice

Hard work develops skill, and we’re more likely to stick with things we’re good at. Here’s Angela:

Second, you develop a capacity for doing hard practice — the kind scientists call “deliberate practice.” Over years of working in a very diligent way on your weaknesses, you improve.

Like she said, working on weaknesses is key. And she’s not the only grit expert who believe this. When I spoke to former Navy SEAL James Waters, he said this is exactly what makes SEALs so tough.

They do a debrief after each mission to review what happened and spend 90% of it discussing what they could do better next time. Here’s James:

When you go out on a mission, you always acknowledge your successes but much more important than that is you take a hard look at your failures and are willing to accept criticism. One of the key strengths of the SEAL Teams is the culture of constant self-improvement. No one ever says, “That’s good enough.” On almost every real world mission I was on – even the most successful ones – we spent 90% of our post-mission debrief focusing on what we did wrong or could have done better.

When I spoke to Anders Ericsson, who did the original “10,000 hours” research, he emphasized that deliberate practice isn’t easy. It’s intense. (To learn how to do deliberate practice the right way, click here.)

So how do you muster the grit to do that hard work before you’re truly gritty? Angela says, “Change the way you experience it.”

And, once again, the Navy SEALs agree. James said the secret to getting through the near-impossible SEAL training (BUD/S) was to turn it into a game. Here’s James:

Many people don’t recognize that what they’re doing at BUD/S is assessing your ability to handle a difficult circumstance and keep going. It’s a game. If you want to be a Navy SEAL, you’ve got to play that game. You’ve got to have fun with it and you’ve got to keep your eye on the bigger picture.

(To learn the scientific way to become an expert at anything, click here.)

Okay, you’re passionate and working hard. But plenty of people can say that. What do the truly gritty people do that leaves everyone else behind?

3. Find purpose

The difference between someone who is just a hard worker and somebody who has real grit is that the latter finds meaning in what they do. And that meaning involves serving others. Here’s Angela:

Third is purpose. Having a sense of the greater meaning of your work. How it’s important to other people, not just interesting to you.

Studying 16,000 people, Angela found that “grittier people are dramatically more motivated than others to seek a meaningful, other-centered life.”

From Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance:

What ripens passion is the conviction that your work matters. For most people, interest without purpose is nearly impossible to sustain for a lifetime. It is therefore imperative that you identify your work as both personally interesting and, at the same time, integrally connected to the well-being of others.

Gritty people don’t merely have a “job.” They have a calling in life. She explains it with this story…

From Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance:

Three bricklayers are asked, “What are you doing?” The first says, “I am laying bricks.” The second says, “I am building a church.” The third says, “I am building the house of God.” The first bricklayer has a job. The second has a career. The third has a calling.

And helping others through your work doesn’t just make you gritty — it also makes you love what you do. People who perform work that benefits society show high levels of job satisfaction. And that leads to an upward spiral of grit.

From How to Find Fulfilling Work:

A major study of ethical work by Howard Gardner, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and William Damon showed that those doing what they call ‘good work’ – defined as ‘work of expert quality that benefits the broader society’ – consistently exhibit high levels of job satisfaction.

I know what some of you are thinking: I want to be gritty at my job but I don’t find meaning in it.

No problemo. Think about what you do that helps others. This alone boosts grit. Beyond that, other research shows that tweaking how you see your job can make a huge difference.

From Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance:

David Yeager recommends reflecting on how the work you’re already doing can make a positive contribution to society… reflecting on purpose led students to double the amount of time they spent studying for an upcoming exam, work harder on tedious math problems when given the option to watch entertaining videos instead, and, in math and science classes, bring home better report card grades. Amy Wrzesniewski recommends thinking about how, in small but meaningful ways, you can change your current work to enhance its connection to your core values.

(To learn how to develop the mental toughness of an Olympic athlete, click here.)

Passion, deliberate practice and purpose. Great. But what’s the final step that will turn you into a juggernaut of grit?

This post from LinkedIn Influencer Bernard Marr appeared originally on LinkedIn.

Why is it that some people seem to achieve more in a day than the rest of us do in a week? Are they just that much more dedicated or focused? Or are they somehow superhuman?

It turns out, there are several habits that productive people have in common — and like any habit, they're ones anyone can learn to adopt.

If you want to squeeze some more productivity into your day, try cultivating these habits:

SEE ALSO: 16 bad habits that are sabotaging your productivity

1. Avoid multitasking

OK, admit it: How many tabs do you have open in your browser right now? If it's more than one or two, you may be guilty of multitasking. And who among us isn't? But research shows that we actually lose focus and productivity every time we switch between tasks. Rather than getting things done faster, it actually decreases our productivity.

Try this: Try setting a timer for 15, 20, or 50 minutes and focus on a SINGLE task for that time period. When your time is up, take a break, look at social media, and then attack your next task for a similar time period.

2. Do your most challenging work when you're at your best

The most productive people understand their own body rhythms and understand that we each have a block of time during the day during which we feel the most "on." By scheduling the most challenging or creative work during that time, you're more likely to get into flow and produce better work more efficiently. Save checking email and returning phone calls for your afternoon slump.

Try this: Try a method called time blocking to block out hours of your day for different tasks, blocking your most productive hours for your most challenging work.

3. Understand what's important

Productive people understand that some work is deep work, while other is surface work. Things that seem urgent, but aren't actually that important, can take up huge chunks of time in the average person's day. But the very productive person understands which tasks are actually important, and works accordingly.

Try this: Use Stephen Covey's Important/Urgent time management matrix to help prioritize your work.

About 2,000 feet under Lake Erie, 30 miles east of Cleveland in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, you'll find a vast site called the Morton Salt Mine. Since 1959, the Fairport Harbor Morton Salt Mine has been exclusively mining for rock salt, which is most commonly used to melt snow and ice on roads.

The mine does not allow people other than workers to go underground, so when Morton Salt's parent company, K+S, offered photographer Ricky Rhodes a tour to photograph for their company newsletter, he jumped at the opportunity.

"The experience was like nothing I have experienced before," Rhodes told Business Insider of his tour. "I don't really have anything to compare it to." 

The mine is an unusual space of long tunnels lit only by headlamps of the workers and minimal lights on the ceiling. Luckily, Rhodes had the proper photography gear to bring the place to life.

SEE ALSO: Inside the secretive subterranean facility where a $5 billion business stores the files of Fortune 1000 companies

Morton Salt Mine runs about three miles under Lake Erie.

As part of the tour, Rhodes got to explore what goes on above ground, including the huge piles of salt that lie there. Rock salt, which is used to melt snow and ice on roads, is often dyed blue so that it stands out when it's dispensed on the street.

Source: Chromatech Colors

Driving by the mine above ground, you would never know that it's there. "Manufacturing equipment and detritus is pretty common in Cleveland, so I don't think people think too much into this," Rhodes said. "I'm not sure that people connect the large piles of salt to the massive mining operation happening 2,000 feet below the lake."

'Tis the season for caps and gowns — and frantically searching for the right job.

To help those entering the job market figure out where the greatest opportunities lie, personal-finance site WalletHub used data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford, Indeed.com, and Salary.com to find the best and worst entry-level jobs.

To compile its ranking, WalletHub analyzed 109 entry-level occupations to determine their immediate opportunity, growth potential, and job hazards. It assessed these factors based on 11 metrics, including median starting salary, unemployment rate, projected job growth by 2024, income-growth potential, probability of the job being replaced by a computer, and number of fatal-occupational injuries.

Each of the 11 metrics were given a value between 0 and 100 — 100 represents the most favorable conditions for a specific entry-level position and 0 the least. WalletHub then calculated the score for each position using the weighted average across all metrics and ranked the jobs accordingly. Read more about the methodology here.

Below are the 15 best entry-level jobs for the class of 2016:

SEE ALSO: 13 high-paying side jobs for people in their 20s

No. 15. Aerospace engineer

Median annual salary: $68,250

Immediate opportunity rank: 33

Growth potential rank: 29

Job hazards rank: 38

No. 14. Certified nursing assistant

Median annual salary: $30,250

Immediate opportunity rank: 25

Growth potential rank: 56

Job hazards rank: 24

No. 13. Chemical engineer

Median annual salary: $70,200

Immediate opportunity rank: 28

Growth potential rank: 1

Job hazards rank: 38

When I think about thrift and meat — specifically in the U.S., but increasingly in areas like Europe — the first thing that comes to mind is the devotion folks have to tenderness. This tends to be the Holy Grail quality people look for in meat.

To me, this is a backwards approach to quantifying the quality of meat.

What we really should focus on is the flavor of meat. Meat — literally, the muscle tissue, fibers, etc. — has very little inherent flavor. (Most of the flavor we experience when eating meat comes from the fats in and around the muscle fibers.)

The flavor that does exist in muscle tissue develops, mainly, from two things: activity and older age.

Tenderness comes, mainly, from two things: confinement and younger age. I think you can see which one plays into the hand of the commercial meat industry. As they produce animals that grow faster and faster, they get them to market weight quicker and quicker, but the result is lackluster flavor.

What we are forgetting is that you can address the issue of texture (tenderness) postmortem (after death). You can never infuse more of the meat’s natural flavor into the meat postmortem. If we began focusing on developing flavor in living animals, we could still achieve desirable tenderness for an end product. But, it would turn the current industry approach on its head. (Not that that would be a bad thing.)

I should also add that, contrary to popular belief, the meat from older animals is not inherently undesirable in texture. I address this in many of my workshops.

I bring all of this up because there is an irony in how meat is priced in this country. You pay more for tenderness, but the more affordable cuts are, more often than not, the more flavorful options. Thus, if you know what to do with a cut, you’ll get more for your dollar while also producing more flavorful meals.

Here are my tips for using these factors to your favor when it comes to spending less on meat.

SEE ALSO: 7 ways to trick yourself into saving more money

1. First and foremost, eat less meat & eat more vegetables

Nothing cuts down on the expense of meat in our food budgets like reducing our intake. Meat is often the most expensive ingredient we purchase. It’s also the one that we overindulge in more than anything else (except sugar). We eat far more meat than our bodies require, impacting our health as well as the resources that sustain the animals.

When considering a portion size, choose 4 to 6 ounces. Move away from the large format single-portion cuts, like thick-cut chops and steaks. Instead, share them amongst multiple people, or purchase cuts that allow for smaller individual portions.

Fill the vacated space on the plate with vegetables, and cook them in healthy fats like olive oil, coconut oil, or lards and tallows rendered from healthy animals. The vegetables will provide you with more nutrients, and the fat helps you feel sated longer without the digestive stress that large amounts of meat can cause.

2. Purchase whole animals whenever possible

When you purchase a whole animal you are saving a considerable cost based on the direct connection to the farmer. You cut out a large portion of the overhead and middleman costs attached to meat while giving as much money to the farmer as possible. You also know more about where that meat has come from, if that concerns you.

Smaller animals, like poultry or rabbits, are purchased whole and easily butchered at home. Larger animals, like sheep, pigs, or cattle, can be purchased as whole, half, or sometimes quarter carcasses. The carcass is butchered into manageable, recognizable cuts, then frozen for home storage.

Furthermore, whole animals offer an opportunity to work with foundational cooking components that are otherwise unavailable or more expensive when purchasing stand-alone. This includes bones and fat, two of the most important ingredients in nutrient-rich and flavorful cooking. Turning bones into stock is quite easy, and rendering fat, which can take some time to refine (no pun intended), are both worth the passive time.

Now, just because we can buy a whole animal does not automatically mean that it is sourced from local farmers. When we look to smaller animals, like poultry and rabbits, the vast majority are coming off of commercial operations. In that case, it’s good to look for some measure of production quality, whether it be humane certification — Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) and Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) are two good ones — or plainly organic. Even in these cases, buying whole carcasses is still a benefit, and those animals require very little butchery to get what you want out of them. (Breaking down a chicken can be done with most home knives and learned from the vast amount of videos available online.) Even if you choose to roast the animal whole, you can keep the carcass bones and make a roasted stock from them.

If you’re further interested in bones, fat and organs, approaching a local processor can often yield super cheap results, since so many customers of theirs choose not to take them. And, the smaller processors often don’t have the infrastructure to keep them around, so they just head to rendering companies.

3. Avoid the middle meats & skip the tenderloin

In America, most of the money made off a carcass is from an area called the middle meats — the span of meat along the spine from somewhere around the 5th rib to the pelvis. Common cuts from here are in the rib, center-cut, and loin chops in pork; the ribeye, porterhouse, T-bone and New York strip steaks in beef; and the rib, rack, loin and saddle chops in sheep.

Instead of these more expensive and less flavorful cuts, look to areas just outside the middle meats for cuts that can potentially offer more flavor. In pork and lamb, look for shoulder chops. In beef, look to chuck, Delmonico or sirloin steaks. They may take a bit longer to cook, at a lower temperature, but the results will be more flavor and less cost.

And, above all else, skip tenderloin. It’s the most expensive cut, pound for pound, and it’s also the least flavorful.

Despite being legal with a doctor's prescription, opioid painkillers can come with serious health risks.

The drugs belong to a larger class of drugs known as opioids, which includes legal, lab-produced drugs like oxycodone, fentanyl, and morphine as well as illegal drugs like heroin.

Since they slow breathing and act on the same brain systems as heroin, opioid painkillers carry serious risks, from overdose to, in rarer cases, addiction.

Read on to learn more:

SEE ALSO: Here's how different drugs change your brain

DON'T MISS: The answer to treating drug and alcohol addiction may be far simpler than you think

Opioid painkillers capitalize on our body's natural pain-relief system.

We all have a series of naturally produced keys ("ligands") and keyholes ("receptors") that fit together to switch on our brain's natural reward system— it's the reason we feel good when we eat a good meal or have sex, for example.

But opioids mimic the natural keys in our brain — yes, we all have natural opioids! When they click in, we can feel an overwhelming sense of euphoria.

Opioid painkillers can have effects similar to heroin and morphine, especially when taken in ways other than prescribed by a doctor.

When prescription painkillers act on our brain's pleasure and reward centers, they can make us feel good. More importantly, though, they can work to reinforce behavior, which in some people can trigger a repeated desire to use.

You may also feel sleepy.

Opioids act on multiple brain regions, but when they go to work in the locus ceruleus, a brain region involved in alertness, they can make us sleepy. Why? The drugs essentially put the brakes on the production of a chemical called norepinephrine, which plays a role in arousal.

As rent, hotels, and Airbnbs keep getting more and more expensive, one woman wants to take the whole system down.

Elvina Beck was just 27 years old when she launched her California-based company Podshare, which straddles the line between a hostel, Airbnb, and a hotel.

Guests get their own bunk with a TV, towel, outlets, and more for between $40 and $50 a night, depending on the location. They can also share the community fridge, food, bathrooms, toiletries, and work space areas.

The only thing Podshare asks is guests don't do drugs, steal, or have sex.

Basically, as Beck puts it, Podshare is "membership-based housing across multiple locations." There are currently two locations in Downtown Los Angeles as well as Hollywood, with another Podshare in Loz Feliz on the way.

Four years later, Podshare has hosted over 5,000 guests and has a loyal fan base. The company has a near-perfect five-star review on Yelp, 4.5 stars on TripAdvisor, and some 16 members love it so much they had the logo tattooed on their body. Keep reading to see what it's like inside.

This is a Podshare Pod. Guests have access to the twin- or queen-sized beds, 22-inch flat screen TV with Netflix and Hulu, plus outlets, towel, and a light.

The Pods rent for $40 a night in the Downtown LA Arts District, which has 18 Pods, and $50 a night in Hollywood, which has 10 Pods. The upcoming Los Feliz Podshare will also rent for $40 a night with 12 Pods.

Podshare was started by Elvina Beck in 2012. "It evolved into what it is today in 2016 through testing, trial and error, as well as living in the space with 'Podestrians,'" Beck tells Tech Insider.

Despite the best efforts of scientists, the human mind is still an enigma.

What we do know is that our brains are crammed with absurdly complex wiring, leading us to ask ourselves almost daily, "why did I do that?" and "how could I forget that?" and "what the heck is wrong with me?"

Below are seven brain quirks that are known to science and have the beginnings of an explanation — things that confuse us, worry us, and at times, even disturb us.

We'll add that these dumb, silly, or shocking behaviors are completely normal, so you probably shouldn't try to suppress them. (Research from Harvard shows that only makes things worse.)

SEE ALSO: 11 brain 'facts' that are totally wrong

MORE: A psychology professor explains the problems with high self-esteem — and what you should pursue instead

Forgetting why you walked into a room

This is a pretty common phenomenon. You remember a task, or something you need to grab out of the kitchen, and take off to fulfill it. But as soon as you enter the room, the task has vanished from your brain, and you're standing above your sink like an idiot.

You can blame doorways for this one.

The thresholds between our rooms are considered an "event boundary," and we often categorize and store our memories based on where we had them.

One study published in The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology found that it even extends to virtual reality. Participants often forgot unseen objects they were carrying in a backpack when they entered a new room, regardless of whether they were actually moving through rooms in the lab or in virtual rooms in a computer simulation.

Zoning out

Day dreaming and zoning out can be productivity killers, but research shows that it's vital to our creativity.

A 2012 study had participants complete an "Unusual Use Task" (UUT) assignment, where they had to think of unusual uses for an object. They were then split into four groups, completing either an undemanding task, a demanding one, resting, or taking no break, before completing the UUT again.

The group that completed the undemanding task (which allowed their minds to wander) improved their performance the second time much more than the other groups, showing that a simple task can give you just the right amount of distraction and mental space to think outside the box.

Words on the tip of your tongue

Having a word on the tip of your tongue (TOT) can drive you mad. 

While scientists aren't sure what exactly is going on when you can't recall a word like "spelunking" (an elusive word often identified in TOT research), there are several theories that fall into two categories: the direct-access view and the inferential view.

The direct-access view suggests the TOT phenomenon occurs because of weak memory connections, blocking the one you're trying to think of with other, closely-related words — or providing you just enough of a memory to know there's something there without being able to actually recall it.

The inferential view offers a different explanation. Clues related to the word elicit a TOT response, even if we never knew the word to begin with. And this causes us to dig ourselves deeper into a memory hole; the more clues we retrieve related to the word, the more likely it is that we'll have a TOT experience.

The phenomenon is a reminder that the human brain isn't just a bucket of thoughts and memories, u it's a dense and complicated web of connections.

What you earn now has a major impact on where you end up.

"You want to make sure you are being very focused on negotiating your best opportunities, because that will help determine what you're getting paid in future roles," certified financial planner Dawn Rapoport told Business Insider. "If you spend 10 years being undervalued, that doesn't set you up for the middle or later stages of your career, where you should hit peak earning power."

To get the offer you're looking for, avoid these common, yet costly, pitfalls:

SEE ALSO: How to ace a salary negotiation, in 15 steps

You don't ask

According to a Careerbuilder survey, a whopping 56% of workers have never asked for a raise, and women are less likely to ask than men. The same survey found that two-thirds of workers who ask for a raise get one, and the success rates are virtually the same for men and women who ask.

You can't sit around and expect a raise or bonus to fall into your lap. Even if your boss notices your hard work and efficiency, he or she won't necessarily pay you more. You have to be proactive and ask for what you want.

As personal-finance expert Farnoosh Torabi, who doubled her salary at 26, preaches, "You don't get what you deserve. You get what you negotiate."

You ask too soon

"Millennials got so many participation trophies growing up that a recent study showed that 40% believe they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance,"writes Time magazine's Joel Stein.

This mentality can be costly. As self-made millionaire Sophia Amoruso, who built her $100 million company, Nasty Gal, from scratch, writes in "#GIRLBOSS":

You need to get your hands dirty and spend time proving yourself before you ask for a raise or a promotion. Four months are not enough, and neither are eight. At the bare minimum, you need to be in your position for a year before you ask for a raise or title change.

Even then, that's if and only if you've been going above and beyond, doing work that's outside your job description, and generally making yourself completely indispensable to your employer.

You don't come prepared

Asking is only half the battle. You can't simply say, "I want a raise" and not support your request. If you come prepared to highlight your accomplishments, skills, and experience, you can justify what you're asking for.

You should also look at the salary range for someone with your level of experience and in your industry or company. Glassdoor, PayScale, Salary.com, and Indeed.com all offer free compensation and benefits information.

As personal-finance expert Ramit Sethi says of salary negotiation, "80% of the work happens before you enter the room."

Free WiFi, shampoo and daily housekeeping aren’t the only free things from your hotel to enjoy during your trip.

Hotels across the US are now catering to guests with signature hotel experiences, free snacks and items like yoga mats and beach gear.

They’re trying to provide an experience you’ll never forget, which means many hotel freebies are there for the borrowing or taking — all you have to do is ask.

You might not even see many of these items listed as amenities. So if you really want something, a quick call to the front desk could be all it takes to snag a few hotel comps.

Take a look at 50 things hotels are more than happy to provide free of charge to guests.

SEE ALSO: 12 food apps that gave me freebies and discounts just for signing up

1. Body pillow

You can look forward to a good night’s rest with a super soft body pillow by your side. You won’t typically find these as part of the bedding package or stowed away in a closet, but can request a special delivery for the ultimate sleep experience.

W Hotels gives you this option, along with other types of pillows, through its exclusive Pillow Menu. Just place your order and look forward to dream time. The hotel also offers pillows for sale if you want to take them home with you.

2. DJ mixer

Turn your suite into a club and play DJ for the day at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. The hotel encourages guests to play music to their heart’s content with its Sound of Your Stay program.

If you’re ready to show off your DJ skills or want to learn something new, call the concierge and they will set up a Traktor Kontrol Z1 controller with an iPad to connect to your in-room stereo system. You can also request one of 20 electric guitars and bass guitars if you just want to rock out for a few hours.

3. Netflix access

If a busy day of traveling calls for cozying up on your plush bed for movie night, sign in to your Netflix account — or sign up for the privilege at a Marriott property. Marriott announced its partnership with Netflix in June 2015 with plans to roll out Netflix access to more than 300 properties by the end of 2016.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Game of Thrones" season six.

The upcoming fourth episode of "Game of Thrones" season six is titled "Book of the Stranger," and HBO has just given fans a first look at what's to come.

From Tyrion in Meereen to Theon's return to the Iron Islands, looks like we're in for yet another great episode.

No sign of Jon or the North, but we know that Brienne and Sansa will be featured based on the released preview.

Scroll down for a look at the six images released by HBO:

Daario and Jorah are on a ridge, looking out at ... something. Probably Vaes Dothrak, where Daenerys is being held. Are they going to intervene in this episode?

Daenerys is still inside the temple of the Dosh Khaleen. In the last episode, we saw that she was told that the khals would decide her fate. She doesn't look pleased. Seeing her in Dothraki clothing is jarring.

Finally! Littlefinger is back. He's been absent for several episodes. Looks like he's back in the Vale, but to what end? Trying to get the lords of the Vale to head north and support Sansa, most likely.

The difference between a good and a bad teacher can make or break a class — especially for high-school students in the midst of preparing for college.

As part of their annual public-school rankings, Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools, found the places across the country that boast the highest-caliber public-school teachers.

To compile their rankings, Niche examined over 100,000 schools based on 27 million reviews from more than 300,000 students and parents. Many are charter or magnet schools, meaning they pull in qualified students from around their districts. You can read more about the methodology here.

Each of these schools received an "A+" ranking for their teachers — their numerical Niche scores are also listed below. Many of the schools boast a deep roster of these teachers, too, with student-to-teacher ratios below the national average of 16:1.

Read on to see the top-25 public high schools with the best teachers.

SEE ALSO: The best public high school in every state

DON'T MISS: The 25 best public high schools in New York

25. Academy for Allied Health Science

Scotch Plains, New Jersey

Teacher rating: 93.81

Student-to-teacher ratio: 16:1

Academics: A+

One junior said:

The teachers of this school I would say are some of the best. They never fail to push us to understand the topics at hand and make sure to engage each and every student as much as they can. They make sure we are at the top of our game and as much as we rely on them they [rely on us] as well, asking us questions on how to improve the course and make it better to understand. Overall, they push us to know more than just what is said in a textbook and never fail to give real life examples for better understanding.

24. Granada Hills Charter High School

Granada Hills, California

Teacher rating: 93.82

Student-to-teacher ratio: 27:1

Academics: A+

"Teachers at Granada genuinely care about each of their students and offer assistance concerning any trouble," a student commented. "When confused or need help, they will lend a helping hand and offer tutoring. They are some of the smartest people I know."

Many students also feel prepared for college after their time at Granada Hills.

"I think the teachers were hard working and provided a solid groundwork for students to learn from for the realities of the future," one graduate said.

23. Glenbrook North High School

Northbrook, Illinois

Teacher rating: 93.99

Student-to-teacher ratio: 13:1

Academics: A+ 

"The teachers in our school are passionate about what they teach and although not all the topics learned will pertain to our lives outside of high school, they do their best to apply what we learn to real world situations," one senior said.

Graduation caps will be flying soon.

You can always send a check to say congrats, but why not pick out a gift that will be both practical and meaningful?

Send your new graduate into the real world with one of these smart (and affordable) gifts.

SEE ALSO: The 10 states where college graduates have the best chance of getting a job

Teach them to make home-cooked dinners with Blue Apron

There's no dining hall or cafeteria in the real world.

Help ease the transition with this popular subscription meal service that delivers perfectly proportioned ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions.

Price: $9.99 per person per meal

Keep their batteries charged on the go

This way they'll never be out of touch.

Price: $9.99

Keep them informed with a newspaper subscription

A digital subscription will give them full access to everything online, and easy access to the day's headlines through apps on their smartphones.

Price: New York Times: 99¢ for the first four weeks, and $3.75 a week after that; Wall Street Journal: $12 for the first 12 weeks, $32.99 a month ($8.25 a week) after

Whether you're pitching a potential client or going over monthly analytics with coworkers, there's no excuse for standing in front of a dull PowerPoint presentation.

To help make your slideshows more engaging and visually striking, professional designer Damon Nofar provides insights into using the art of clean, minimalist design.

Nofar's slideshow, "8 Tips for an Awesome PowerPoint Presentation," is published here with his permission.

SEE ALSO: The 10 worst body-language mistakes people make while giving presentations

Google dropped a fantastic new keyboard for iOS devices in the Apple App Store on  Thursday.

It's truly a great keyboard that also features swipe typing, where you swipe through the letters you want to type out a word. It's much faster than tapping each letter, especially when with one-handed typing. 

It also lets you do quick, basic Google searches right from the keyboard itself, which saves you from switching back and forth between apps if you need to search for something.

You can also use Gboard to search for GIFs and send them to your contacts. The feature isn't immediately obvious, but it's easy enough to find if you know where to look.

From any app where you can type, tap the text box as if you were about to start typing. Then tap the button with the smiley face on the bottom of the keyboard.

You'll be brought to the Emoji library. Tap the "GIF' symbol at the very bottom.

Then, type what kind of gif you're looking for and press the blue "Search" on the bottom right.

China's technology sector is booming at an intensely fast pace. Many startups are seeing their business grow faster than they can hire, placing a heavy burden on those already working within the industry.

"The pace of Chinese internet company growth is extremely fast," Cui Meng, general manager and cofounder of data startup Goopal, told Reuters. "I've been to the US and the competitive environment there isn't as intense as in China."

This has led many workers to put in overtime, sleeping at their desks, on cots, or even in provided bunk beds. Many employees are encouraged to live at the office during the workweek. Lunchtime naps are generally allowed, and those who end up staying past midnight usually pass out in the office.

Reuters photographer Jason Lee recently got an inside look at the phenomenon. Here's what he saw:

SEE ALSO: 20 photos that show how insanely crowded China has become

For companies whose employees regularly work past midnight, such as at BaishanCloud, bunk beds are provided for employees to crash in during the workweek.

IT engineers and programmers regularly work overtime. "Actually working overtime is a very casual thing," 28-year-old programmer Xiang Shiyang told Reuters. "Because I've invested the whole of my being into this company."

Some employees at RenRen Credit Management Co. sleep on provided camp beds in their office.