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solarsonicsoda · 5 months

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Rating 500+ Theme Tunes - #1: Adventure Time

Adventure Time is a show you have to have been living under a rock to miss. It’s an outlandish yet lore-rich show following adventurers Finn & Jake’s daily shenanigans in a colourful world that’s also post-apocalyptic. It’s pretty small though, definitely didn’t alter the market and become arguably the seminal cartoon of its time.

I really liked this show growing up! I got Cartoon Network for the first time around the time this first came out, so this was one of the hot new shows for me to watch! I remember seeing adverts for this one so vividly and not really being sure what it'd be. I think I thought it would be a show dipping into various characters' wacky adventures, as opposed to the more focused show it was. But I watched those first few seasons whenever they were on, and I absolutely adored the world, the lore, and the characters. Marceline the Vampire Queen, you will always be famous.

I sadly fell off the show as I grew up, not for a lack of interest however, and tried to keep up with the goings-on when I could. I remained a fan, I occasionally drew the characters or in the style of the show, and of course I listened to all the songs. This show is known for having some absolutely brilliant songs throughout, "I'm Just Your Problem" being a personal fave, as well as "Nuts". God, I love this show, and it really brings me back to that time in my life when it was in its first few seasons! But speaking of music, how does the theme stand up?

Adventure Time Theme Song (Link Here)

This is a simply iconic intro, with the big, sweeping open across Ooo into the fist bump and the sweet singing. I'm not counting the visuals but the spectacle and build-up of all this is simply incredible! It’s a really good fit for the show, and it’s pretty consistent with the unique presentation the show made for itself. Like, you wouldn't expect such innocent, quirky vocals with the grandiose build-up and exciting title, but not only does it work well, it really fits everything the show is. It's epic and vast and heavy, but it's also extremely goofy throughout.

Those lyrics are also super iconic! Simple, almost overly so, which furthers this whole charmingly odd vibe the intro brings, but also memorable and catchy. Very malleable for changes too, as seen in the variations for the subseries like Stakes and Elements. I won't get into too much detail on them, as they're all pretty much the same song with different singers and slightly altered lyrics, but they're super charming. Each unique singer brings a whole new sweet vibe and I think really drives home how iconic the lyrics are! It feels super cool for other characters to get involved in the intro. Best alternative intro is Stakes though, it goes hard.

But final verdict: the tune itself is really sweet, very cute, and it’s nice and snappy too, which can be nice sometimes! This is a simply brilliant intro, and I might be a smidge bias, but who isn't going to be? We're starting strong here, because I'm giving Adventure Time an S!

Stay tuned for more and be sure to send in any suggestions for other shows you'd like to see done (after the 500 already in the pipeline that is). Maybe I'll do Fionna and Cake eventually! Also, by the way, this isn't the first alphabetically, I just thought it was a good starting point. Check out the intro to this series here, and let's look at the tier list so far... I guess.

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douxreviews · 5 years

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The Handmaid's Tale - ‘Heroic’ Review

"Don't do that. She's one of us."

This is the third episode in a row that I didn't like much. But yes, I got the point.

Aunt Lydia decided to punish June for her treatment of Ofmatthew, whose real name is Natalie, and forced June to do penance by kneeling in Natalie's hospital room until the baby is born. That's such a horror when you think about it, the torture of being forced into an uncomfortable position for hour after hour, day after day. And again, much of the focus of this episode was Elisabeth Moss' face – her colorless exhaustion, the bags under her eyes.

Let me pause for a moment and ask why punishment was more important than June getting pregnant. Aunt Lydia doesn't know what goes on in the Lawrence home, so what about the monthly sacred ceremony? What about endangering one of those all-important walking wombs? The handmaids are sacred objects, except when they are not. Their bodies are all important, except when they're not. It's senseless. But Gilead is senseless. Maybe that's the point.

Anyway. There was a purity to that sparkling white hospital room, the three evenly spaced windows and the lines of perspective pointing toward June and her suffering, while some of the shots with Natalie's body in the center made her look like a crucified Jesus in a Renaissance painting, eyes closed, her head on her shoulder, hair cascading down. With nothing to see but the comatose Natalie, June became obsessed with the sounds and smells of the hospital.

"Oooh, heaven is a place on earth." Why did June hear that oh so fluffy pop song? Assigning musical notes to random beeps and boops is like claiming that Gilead's policies have meaning, and June and Natalie were most certainly not inhabiting anything resembling Heaven. In her constant internal monologue, June said the Wives smelled like the Ceremony and the Handmaids who stopped by to pray with her smelled like food. And that Natalie smelled like a baby, a blameless infant, as she was treated like an object. Let's slice into her leg to increase the amount of fluids that the fetus is getting. Let's not worry about what that does to Natalie herself.

Increasingly desperate to reach the end of her punishment, June still couldn't make herself stop the respirator, couldn't stab Natalie with the scalpel. Her rage dissipated when she finally realized that Natalie wasn't the enemy – she was a fellow victim of this horrible place. And that like Natalie, June is at risk of death, which I think was the point of this episode.

Doctor Yates didn't report June for stealing the scalpel, and he knew that June had taken a "swipe" at Serena. Yates knew June's mother. ("Doctor Maddox, she was scary.") When June confessed that she had planned to kill the doctors and the Calhouns as well as Natalie, Yates saw it for what it was – a way for June to commit suicide. By shocking her out of her rage, Yates made June see the path that she was on.

(Of course, he did nothing to actually help her other than stitch up her bloody hand, because this is Gilead. He might have made a stab at honoring his Hippocratic oath, but as he was leaving the room, he turned so that we could see the Gilead star on his shoulder. Message received.)

After the premature birth of Natalie's son, June voluntarily stayed with Natalie until she died. Aunt Lydia chose to see it as June learning the lesson Aunt Lydia was trying to teach her, but it wasn't that at all. June was acknowledging Natalie's humanity, their sisterhood as Handmaids. At the start of the episode, June was calling her "Ofmatthew." At the end, she called her "Natalie."

During her punishment, June thought she was hallucinating the girls in pink, and it would have been better if she had – the girls were coming into the hospital for their "menarche exam." While adults all remember life before Gilead, those girls in pink do not. They weren't taught to read. Instead, they spout religious platitudes about their marvelous future bearing babies for the state. Rose, that freckle-face little girl with braids, is a slave of Gilead, a future baby incubator like Natalie and June. It's horrifying.

So June has now decided to focus on freeing the children. But what I don't get is how June can possibly think she's going to get children out of Gilead. What has changed? Nothing has changed. Increased hangings, that's what is going on right now.

Most of this bottle episode was about June, but there were some nice bits of Janine and Serena Joy that I should mention.

Whenever we see Serena these days, I ask myself, "Is she a good witch or a bad witch?" This time Serena was a good witch. Serena noticed that June was in terrible distress and cared enough to stay and talk to her, to acknowledge her pain, and later, to conceal the fact that June attacked her with a scalpel. Why?

And Janine, who was seriously injured by Natalie to the point of having a hospital procedure on her empty eye socket, came to Natalie's room to forgive her. Janine had every reason to be enraged with Natalie, but she was not. As a reward, Aunt Lydia brought her yet another red Handmaid accessory – an eyepatch.

I am always floored when we get a cute eye-related scene with Janine and Aunt Lydia, and we've gotten several of them. None of those scenes ever acknowledge that Aunt Lydia took Janine's eye as punishment. But we all remember it. The show doesn't have to remind us.

Bits:

— The little girl in the hallway was named Rose. They actually gave her a pink/red name.

— After all of Natalie's worry that she was having a girl and how that girl would fare in Gilead, she had a fourth boy, after all. June had a point that boys in Gilead weren't free, either. They might have it better than the girls, but oppression is oppression.

— The scene where June put her hand in that sharps box and came out with a needle in the tip of her finger made me cringe. Would anyone actually put a scalpel in a sharps box, though? It's mostly for needles and lancets. Scalpels would be sterilized and reused, wouldn't they?

— And I should mention that Doctor Yates put the scalpel back in the sharps box, still within June's reach, when he left the room. You'd think he would at least take it with him.

— This bottle show took place almost entirely in a bright white hospital room. The use of color was striking: June's blue eyes and red uniform against that vast white floor, the trail of blood. I especially liked the four Wives in graduated teal and blue shades as they prayed over the baby. It would have been nice if they could have included a prayer for Natalie.

— I'm glad Janine said, "I look like a pirate" because it would have been silly if no one had said that. I hope the eye patch means less time in the make-up chair for Madeline Brewer, who is so consistently wonderful as Janine.

Quotes:

June: (re: the wives) "They smell of powder and soap. They smell like the Ceremony. Like Serena Joy, when she held me down. It's hard not to fucking gag."

June: "Maybe I'm crazy and this is some new kind of therapy."

Aunt Lydia: "God never gives us more than we can handle." June: "Are you sure?" I don't know why this made me laugh, but it did. Like Aunt Lydia is any sort of authority, like she actually knows what God wants. That's the thing that drives me nuts about some religious people, that they think they can decide what God wants.

Janine: "When did you get to be so selfish? Everything is always about you now… You're different. I don't like it." Were they listening to the fans of this show?

Doctor: "They're not sick. They're here for their menarche exam." Mrs. Calhoun: "They've flowered? How lovely." June: (to herself) "That will be Hannah soon. Too soon."

Serena: "You were supposed to be one of the strong ones." Everyone has limits, Serena. Even the strong ones.

Doctor Yates: "How long have you had suicidal thoughts?" June: "Homicidal." Doctor Yates: "Doing any of the things that you said would put you on the Wall, and you know it."

Doctor Yates: "I honor the Handmaid's life by saving her child. How will you honor your daughters?"

June: "I'm sorry I was such a shit to you. I got lost, I think."

Beautifully written, acted and filmed, as always. But I'm not happy with this one. It feels like we're meandering instead of forging ahead. If we have to meander, couldn't we do it in Canada?

Two out of four discarded scalpels,

---

Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

#The Handmaid's Tale #June Osborne #Serena Joy Waterford #Fred Waterford #Aunt Lydia #The Handmaid's Tale Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

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jamicscott-blog · 5 years

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Questions and Answers.

Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know

‘‘I can actually cook really really well. I took a couple classes a few years back and I’m actually pretty good at it.’‘

Where is your favorite place to travel and why? Or the one place you want to go

‘‘I love Scotland; I love the vastness of the wilderness and how it feels like you can truly escape when you go there, just lose yourself among the hills and the trees.’‘

What type of music do you like the most? What’s your least favorite?

‘‘I listen to a wide variety of music, I like alternative/rock music? But I also love an acoustic ballad, and even some pop songs aren’t too unbearable. I’m really not a fan of hip-hop/ rap music at all. I know that’s tragically white of me to say. But I just can’t appreciate it.’’

Who’s the last person you texted? What did the text say?

‘‘I sent a text to Lydia reminding her that Sam is allergic to nuts and Sarah is allergic to bee’s. I know they’re her god-children, but she’s taken them to the beach for the day and it gives me separation anxiety.’‘

What was the last purchase you made?

‘‘I bought pods for my coffee machine, as well as a fairy princess costume and a power ranger outfit that my kids demanded I add to my amazon order.’’

What kind of car do you drive?

‘‘I have two cars. I have a Range Rover Evoque for things with the kids, and then I have my pride and joy; My 1965 Ford Mustang GT convertible.’’

What strengthens you?

‘‘My kids, my family and my friends. They always give me the strength I need.’‘

What is your definition of ‘love’?

‘‘Putting someone else and their needs above your own. It’s loyalty and dedication to another person.’’

Do you believe in love at first sight?

‘‘Of course, I fell in love with Hannah the first day I met her. From the first time she awkward trod on my foot at a college party.’’

What is your idea of a perfect day?

‘‘My perfect day would be relaxing with my kids, taking a walk somewhere in the outdoors or going to the beach. Just spending a day in nature with my two littlest best friends.’‘

If you died tonight, would you think you have live your life to the fullest?

‘‘Yes. I’ve lived my life to the fullest, I’ve always gone after every opportunity and never taken anything for granted.’’

Is there a feeling you are trying to ignore? What is it?

‘‘Guilt. I feel guilty that I’m trying to move on, to build a life that doesn’t have Hannah in it. I feel guilty that one day I might share my bed with someone that isn’t her, that one day our kids might forget the curve of her smile, or the smell of her hair.’’

Are you afraid of losing anything? Why?

‘‘I’m terrified of losing my kids, that something bad is going to happen and they’ll be taken from me. I already lost Hannah, I can’t bear the thought of anything ever happening to my kids.’‘

Do you like your job, or do you wish you were doing something different?

‘‘I love my job, I enjoy getting to teach people. Getting to mould their lives in a positive way and give them new skills and helping forge dreams.’‘

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

‘‘I don’t know. I used to have it all planned out, I’d be retired and Hannah and I would have a comfortable life back in Tree-hill with our kids.. but everything is different now and I’m not sure what the future holds anymore..’‘

Who is your hero in life and what qualities of him/her you desire the most?

‘‘My dad, I admire his strength and his sheer will to go on against all odds and I hope that I can be half the father that he was to me.’‘

Are you comfortable talking to strangers?

‘‘Fairly, I’ve had to do it for years with my job. It’s become kind of second nature at this point.’‘

If you could change a thing about yourself and your past, what would it be and why?

‘‘My marital status; I hate being a widower. I’d do anything to bring Hannah back and to have her in my life again.’‘

Are you happy with the life you live and the person you are?

‘‘To an extent, I have two beautiful kids and I’m doing a job I love. But I’m having to do alot of things alone, and having to cope with alot all at once. But I’m happy with the person I am and the life that I’ve forged, just unhappy with the circumstances that have ripped my worlds apart.’‘

If you only have one more chance to talk to that one person, what would you say?

‘‘I’d tell Hannah I love her, I’d tell her over and over. Ingrain the words on my mind so that I wouldn’t ever forget the look on her face when I would say them. I’d ask her not to go, even though it’s selfish of me.’‘

#treehilltask001 #about #muse

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maneaterwithtail · 6 years

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I was answered TWICE in this Q&A

Helps also put in perspective their production, aims, and the influences

Helps as really unpacking along with @pirateshenani and @cartoonemotion the influence and differences and aims with the adaptation

Thanks to all the Toonzone Forum Members for submitting questions to the Fangbone! Fan Q&A! Your questions were awesome and so were the creators’ answers! We hope you enjoy reading through the answers as much as we did. Participating in the Answers portion of the Fangbone! Q&A were the creator and book series writer, Michael Rex and the tv showrunners Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott. (Editor’s Note: Questions asked were edited for brevity and clarity.) Will Fangbone! be renewed for Season 2? (superkeegan9100 and SparkleMan) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: By Grom’s bottomless dimples, it shall be so! (we hope) Michael Rex: Fingers crossed! --- Will Fangbone! air on any additional countries, networks and in other languages? (Ryan, RandomMe, NeoplanDan, I.R. Shokew) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Absolutely. Fangbone! will appear across the world in a multitude of tongues in a multitude of places – that are too numerous for us to list (or remember). Perhaps one of our many traveling salespeople who criss-cross the world with a suitcase full of Fangbone! might chime in here… In all seriousness, Fangbone! Distributor DHX Media, has currently sold the series into Disney XD US, South East Asia, Taiwan, and Latin America. Hope to announce additional countries in the near future. Stay posted. Will the books be translated into other languages? In what other languages/regions can we expect to see the books published? (RandomMe) Michael Rex:Right now, there are no plans for translating the books. I’m hoping as the show starts playing in different countries, the publisher, Putnam, will solicit the books to foreign markets. --- If you could be one of the characters on the show, who would you be? (D-nice is the man) Simon Racioppa: Drool’s giant badger monster. He’s clearly just misunderstood and trying his best every day for an unappreciative master… Richard Elliott: I would definitely be a Shadowstepper – skulking in the shadows and outwitting barbarians sounds like a good time to me. Michael Rex:I’ve always thought of myself as Bill. At the end of 3rd grade, my school closed down, and I was sent to a new school. Literally all of my closest friends went to another school. So, when 4th grade started, I was very lonely and desperate for a best friend. Eventually, a boy named Mark moved into my hometown in New Jersey, and we became great friends. He was fun, and a bit wild, and had long black hair. We’re still friends today. Will Fangbone! have Christmas and Halloween episodes? (Ryan) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Skullbanians don’t celebrate Christmas or Halloween. But they do have many other holidays – like Troll-smasher’s Eve and The Feast of Stoneback’s Feast. Endless possibilities for fun and adventure as you look at, compare and try to understand how Skullbanian’s celebrate versus how we do things here on Earth. What would Fangbone! think of Halloween? What would a Holiday Tree look like in Skullbania? Stay tuned. --- Does Fangbone! have parents? (Eggy) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: He has the mightiest of parents! But they are away in far off lands on an epic quest. However, those of you with the eyes of a blood-eagle may catch a glimpse of them in an upcoming episode. If you do not have the eyes of a blood-eagle, they nest on sharp mountain peaks. But be careful – they peck! Michael Rex:Yes. They’re on a great quest somewhere in Skullbania. Also, how did Venomous Drool become Fangbone! and Bill's worst enemy? (Eggy) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: If someone was keeping your detached big toe from you and wouldn’t give it back, you probably wouldn’t be pals with them either… Michael Rex:They’ve got his toe, and he needs it back. And, they keep beating him, and they’re only kids. It drives him nuts. --- How do you take an episode from concept to it airing? (martikhoras) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Let us explain… No, there is too much. Let us sum up. First, five or six NERDS gather in a small room and try to imagine what insanity could happen to Fangbone! this week. They argue and fight and cry and hiss at each other until the showrunners (that’s us!) are satisfied they’ve worked their butts off to come up with the best of all possible stories in the universe and beyond. They’re sent away to dank dark holes to write their scripts, which are then torn apart by the rest of the nerds and reassembled until they’re so full of adventure and comedy that they leak all over the floor. Then trumpets are sounded and ACTORS assembled in a recording studio – where they ACT with such passion it drives everyone to tears (of joy). At the same time, ARTISTS design all the new locations, characters, and props that the writers say they desperately need (liars!) to make their script work. Then trumpets are sounded again and the finished script, designs, and recorded actors are handed over to a story-bored artist… Sorry, story BOARD artist – who listens to the writers explain how amazing their script is, then drinks enormous amounts of coffee and draws PANELS from the script one by one, matching the recorded actors and making that ‘amazing’ ‘script’ and ‘amazing’ ‘acting’ even better. Those panels go to the DIRECTOR, who along with an EDITOR, assemble it into an animated and voiced storyboard that we call a LEICA on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and an ANIMATIC on Tuesdays, Fridays, and the weekend. When the animatic/leica makes everyone giddy with excitement, it moves onto ANIMATION, where thousands (twenty-five) animators fight each other to animate the most exiting scenes – matching the animatic as closely as possible. The episode gets a few more passes to make it even better (fix all the mistakes) and then moves on to the real stars of the show – sound effects and music – who make everything approximately one million and a half times better. Then it’s a final pass for last minute mistakes and TA-DA! One finished Fangbone! episode ready for people to share for free on the Internet (please don’t share it for free on the Internet). What are your favorite parts of the show’s creative process? (Harley) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Seeing a goofy idea that started in the writers’ room as a “what if…” become a real finished episode. Also, the creative process of deciding what to order for lunch. Then the creative process of regretting what we ordered for lunch. --- As a fan of the tv show, how familiar will jumping into the book series feel? (jfoley85) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: As familiar as traveling to an alternate reality where everything’s kinda the same but your parents are snakes. So mostly familiar with some specific differences. Michael Rex:They’re actually pretty close. One of the things that I am most happy with about the show is that it IS the books. While the stories in the books are a bit more involved than an 11-minute episode, the entirety of season 1 goes much deeper than the books. On the down side, the books don’t have a cool song at the beginning. Every adaptation is a challenge from visuals, to performers depictions, and direction and framing. I'm noticing some changes from the two GNs (1st and 3rd) I've read to the episodes I've seen (pretty much up to Back of Stone). What would you say has been added, changed, or dropped and what is the purpose of these changes? (martikhoras) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott:While the books are wonderful gateways into imagination, there’s only three of them. The television series is a hungry monster that requires more. Always more... MORE characters. MORE stories. MORE episodes. MORE human sacrifices to GROM! Michael Rex:Everything that has been added was done to open up the show, and allow for more varied stories. Skullbania doesn’t get much time in the books, but the creative team felt that it needed to be a big part of the show. Twinklestick was created as a way for Fangbone! to stay a bit more connected to his home world. Drool was greatly expanded on as well. He only lurks in the background in the books. Even though his actions are constantly felt, he doesn’t really get to do much. --- What did you read and watch as a kid? What were the inspirations for Fangbone! and Skullbania?(martikhoras) Michael Rex:Growing up the early 70’s, “Planet of the Apes” was everywhere. 5 movies, a TV show, and an action figure line made it easy to get wrapped up in. “Star Wars” came out in 1977 and it affected me deeply. Like many others in my generation, it felt like my 9 year-old imagination had been transported directly to the screen. I started reading about movie making, and I tried to understand the mythology Lucas was using in his films. (As a 10 year old, Joseph Campbell was a tough slog, but I tried.) Fangbone! is directly inspired by the 1982 film, “Conan The Barbarian,” which I saw in 8th grade. It was funny, gritty, violent, and exciting and I just loved it. Conan had always been around when I was younger, I’d see his comics and cheap paperbacks in drugstores, but I didn’t know much about him until the film came out. When I was older, I eventually got around to reading the Conan books by Robert E. Howard. As I was gearing up to write the first Fangbone! book, I devoured a huge pile of Marvel’s “Savage Sword of Conan.” Oddly, now that I think about it, Skullbania’s vast deserts and rocky vistas are probably inspired by “Planet of the Apes.” It’s hard to escape those early influences.

#adaptation #Fangbone #Series Creator #Michael Rex #Simon Racioppa #Richard Elliott #Q&A #Toonzone

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aklsupporter · 3 years

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The Evolving Future of the Office

A growing number of companies have either announced plans to move out of California to a more “friendly” state or have already done so.

However, in this environment where people don’t need to go physically into the office, it is unclear if any California-based workforce must or will move with these companies that are fleeing the Golden State.

I participated in a group analyst event several weeks ago about companies converting their offices into collections of meeting rooms. We couldn’t picture people who have been meeting remotely for so many months suddenly concluding that the long commute to and from the office was worth meeting in person; given they are now okay with using solutions like Webex or Microsoft Teams.

Let’s talk about what the future of the office should be, and we’ll conclude with my product of the week, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

The Pandemic

We can’t start this discussion without talking about where we are with the pandemic, which significantly changes where and how we work.

Right now, many of us are anticipating a post-Superbowl pandemic surge here in the United States; and the inability to reach crowd immunity before year’s end, due to a combination of vaccine supply and logistics issues, and some folks refusing to take the immunization. Eighty percent of us must either be vaccinated or have had the virus to get to a level of immunity that would allow us to go back to the old normal.

Also, the virus is mutating at a high rate and may metamorphose around the antiviral products we currently have; potentially lengthening further the need to mitigate the problem. This set of circumstances makes it unlikely that those of us over age 60 will ever be able to go back to the old normal.

More and more companies are altering policy so that increasing numbers of employees never have to come back to the office. Firms that have done work from home well are reporting increases in productivity and an improved ability to attract top talent by getting around the need to relocate (people don’t like to move).

These trends all suggest that most of us will continue to work from home and that company offices will need to be redesigned; not with huddle rooms that still put folks in close physical proximity, but with systems that can better protect employees from viruses.

What we need to prevent most aggressively is the chance that even one infected person can innocently get into the office and, once in, infect a vast number of employees all at once.

The Home Office

Home offices then rise from being a “nice to have” to a critical feature. Where more than one person works from home, the configuration must conform to how the family works.

If the family has kids, there needs to be a provision for oversight to ensure the kids are studying and not screwing around when they are supposed to be doing schoolwork.

Parents with different types of jobs will probably drive each other crazy if forced to work too close together in the home office. Ensuring the home can accommodate the work needs of both parents without driving each other nuts will help with marriage longevity.

The home office solution needs to be presentable, so the room doesn’t detract from the employee’s image. The green screen stuff may eventually evolve so it doesn’t look so artificial. But until it does, having an office space that is neither too flashy (so you never get a raise again) or too ratty (so people lower their impression of you) is critical. You want folks focused on what you are saying, not how you spend money.

You’ll need a strong Internet connection and adequate power. If you’re in an area that is prone to power outages, a backup system so an outage doesn’t put you out of work.

There are tax advantages to fully separating the home-office space that should also be considered. Since we’re entering tax season, consult with your tax adviser.

The Company Office

Office buildings need to be rethought entirely.

Cafeterias need to be redesigned to deliver packaged meals that can be delivered to employees to minimize unnecessary interaction. Sensors at all office entry points should be enhanced with scanners that will alert if a staff member is running a fever. Cubicle farms should be eliminated in favor of rooms that separate people completely or into working groups. Air conditioning systems need to be modified to mitigate contagion, and mask policies need to be implemented.

Open-plan offices also need to be reconsidered but could still work as long as social distancing between workers and mask policies are enforced. Space planners need to take into account the changing OSHA rules concerning the pandemic and advances in technology that can mitigate the transfer of pathogens, such as built-in sneeze guards. But the place still needs to be attractive and welcoming; otherwise, productivity will take a hit and there will likely be issues getting people to come into the place consistently.

Ingress and egress routes need to be thought through to minimize contact and spread. Should someone become symptomatic while at work, there must be a path for their safe and rapid removal from the environment without forcing an evacuation.

In short, rather than focusing on the old goals of employee density and productivity, the new objective is to limit or eliminate pathogen transfer without destroying the collaborative reasons people are likely coming into the office in the first place. Creating the right balance will be anything but easy.

Wrapping Up: Employee Care

I’ve focused on the physical design of offices both at home and at work that will need to change to embrace what is likely to be an extended pandemic response in the office. But HR will also need to step up to the increased need for employee care, as those working from home or in the company’s office will be under a great deal of additional stress.

Those working at home already have work-life balance issues, and those issues could cause adverse job performance and/or behavioral problems. HR will need to instrument employees so that these emerging problems can be mitigated in a timely manner before they escalate to become major issues.

In the end, there is little likelihood we’ll ever go back to the world as it was before the pandemic. So, anticipating and building for a sustaining new standard will have a great deal to do with the long-term performance and viability of your organization. This virus has already killed so many companies. Don’t let it kill yours.

The Surface Pro 7

The Surface Pro, like the Xbox, was created for a problem that never really emerged. For the Xbox, the problem that Microsoft was anticipating was Sony turning the PlayStation into a PC replacement. Microsoft wanted a hedge, but Sony never really made that pivot, and that could have been because it was forced to instead focus on a pure gaming play to better compete with the Xbox.

The initial Surface and Surface Pro were created to prevent the replacement of the PC by the iPad. That never really happened either, but that failure could have arguably been because with the Surface and Surface Pro in the market, the opportunity for a business-oriented iPad was significantly reduced.

These results remind me a bit of Y2K, where we argued that a disaster was coming, worked our butts off to prevent it, and then rather than surmising that we did a good job, instead concluded that the threat wasn’t real. That seems stupid to me, but that’s what happened.

I’m not a huge fan of the Surface Pro 7 design, primarily because although I use tablets for reading and browsing the Web, for me, a 12" screen is just too big for this use. The 15" Surface laptop is my favorite design with a decent-sized screen, the coolest product in the Surface Book line, and makes no attempt even to pretend it is a tablet.

However, what frankly annoyed me about the Surface Pro design was its tendency to fall off airplane tables in coach, causing iPad users to laugh at me. It happened on almost every trip, but I’m not flying anymore and generally work off a table friendly monitor like the Dell U4021QW.

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I’ve also found I can fold the screen up, put the kickstand down, and use it like a little desktop computer that takes up less space than a non-tented laptop (and tented laptops, where you invert the product while partially open look stupid).

The Surface Pro 7 is a surprisingly elegant alternative to a small form factor desktop PC that you can grab and go. In a year or so, when/if I start traveling again, I may change my mind. But for now, for how I work, this design is an excellent alternative to a small desktop computer because I can take it with me and work outside.

It comes in platinum or black (I favor black), and it has the 10th generation Intel Core processor (i3, i5, or i7) in it. The i5 provides a nice balance of price and performance. It also has Wi-Fi 6, which requires a Wi-Fi 6 router if you want the extra performance, but it should work fine on older Wi-Fi 5 routers.

You shouldn’t have battery issues with 10 hours of expected battery life, mainly when working from home. It should outperform a similarly configured Surface Pro 6 by about 40 percent, which is significant.

With the keyboard and the i5 processor, the resulting price is around $1,330 before sales tax (which the state in which I live doesn’t have).

In the end, the Surface Pro 7 may be a better design for many than a traditional laptop, and it is looking better to me all the time, so it is my product of the week.

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johnboothus · 4 years

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As Football Returns Largely Without Fans Homegating Is the New Tailgating

By 7 p.m. the cars started turning off Route 1 in Saugus, 10 miles north of Boston, and funneling into the parking lot of Kowloon, a kitschy, 1,200-seat Mandarin restaurant and tiki bar originally opened in 1950. This being a pandemic and all, none of these customers had any plans to enter the restaurant, and few were even going to get out of their cars. They were there to watch a massive, 40-foot by 20-foot outdoor screen that would be projecting that night’s New England Patriots game versus the Seattle Seahawks, as well as drinking and eating during what the restaurant called its first ever Sunday Night Tailgate.

“The Patriots are not allowing anybody to tailgate in the [Gillette Stadium] parking lots,” explains Adam Benoit. He’s a director at The Greg Hill Foundation, the eponymous local sports talk host’s charity that organized the event as a fundraiser. Tickets were $75 per car, with à la carte, car-hopped dining options that included everything from crab rangoon to Mai Tais. It didn’t get too out of hand. “Patriots fans are more subdued than most fan bases — that comes with the success of the team. But, there is clearly still a rabid fan base who wants to get out and watch games together,” Benoit says.

For many Americans, the revelry and community surrounding football are more important than the actual games themselves. The arrival of fall means loading up the car, or RV if you’re truly committed, and driving to stadium parking lots across the nation to grill meats, toss cornhole bags, and drink heavily. But what happens when the games are going on but fans aren’t allowed in the stadium, and, in many cases, even the parking lots? For many football nuts, they are finding new avenues for pursuing their passion.

“I just love the experience of tailgating,” says Jim McGreevy, a Chicago Bears obsessive who has had season tickets for 20 years. For home games, he typically wakes up at 6 a.m. so he can get from his suburban Schaumburg house to Soldier Field by 8 a.m. in order to be one of the first five cars in the South Lot premium section, the premier place to tailgate. When he realized that would be an impossibility this year, he decided to tailgate the home opener in his driveway instead.

“I have a 28-year-old daughter who was planning to come. She asked, ‘What time are you starting?’ ‘Lot opens at 8 a.m.,’” McGreevy joked, though indeed, he did have everything set up that early.

He strictly invited his friends, about 30 people, who also tailgate with him at the stadium. Lawn chairs were placed at a social distance on his driveway and front yard and food was prepared in individual portions to prevent any unnecessary handling. A regional sales manager for American Beverage Marketers, McGreevy also had all his products on hand, like Loaded Bloody Mary Mixer, even arranging enormous inflatables on his lawn. By the end of the day the ad hoc tailgate had gone through nine bottles of Champagne, five bottles of vodka, 12 cases of beer, and, of course, some Jeppson’s Malört. The Bears also defeated the New York Giants, 17 to 13.

“It really did feel like a tailgate,” claims McGreevy, who is unsure if he will do it for future games, though he would like to. He’s trying to be as Covid-conscious as possible, while keeping his traditions intact. “I really do want to maintain this as much as possible,” he says.

Still, this is ’murica, of course, and some fans aren’t as respectful as McGreevy. Many, in fact, just refuse to accept that things are going to have to be a little different this year, even if some tailgating meccas, like Penn State’s State College, Pa., are currently overrun with Covid cases.

That’s especially true in the South, not just a Covid hot spot, but a college football hotbed, where Saturday tailgating is a way of life. If around 30 schools like Alabama, the University of Oklahoma, and Louisville are allowing restricted-capacity fans to actually attend their games, these same schools are mostly trying to completely curb tailgating. (Insert plenty of lame jokes about “peaceful protesting” in the parking lot.) Some have still figured a way around these restrictions, however.

“We put together a proposal that outlined and used Gov. Greg Abbott’s guidelines for the state, Department of State Health Services, and put it into a proposal on how we can do a special event that’s socially responsible,” explains Ryan Lepper, who owns Horn-Ball Texas Tailgaters.

Some 18,000 fans attended the University of Texas’s Sept. 12 home opener against UTEP at the 100,119-seat-capacity Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, and Lepper’s company had the only state-approved tailgate outside it. They set up operations in a private parking lot on 18th and Trinity Street, just across from the stadium. Groups could book their own 10-foot by 10-foot, socially distant tent with chairs, tables, and a trash can, food and drink provided by masked servers (costing upward of $500 per group). This was not the typically raucous Horn-Ball tailgates of years past, which have included Fireball ice luges and beer pong, but it still scratched the itch for many Longhorn fans.

“It was just great to be outside, near the stadium, having some drinks,” one attendee, Aubrey, told me. “Ice block drink ramp or not.”

Meanwhile some colleges, such as Clemson and South Carolina, as well as five NFL teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs, don’t have official bans on tailgating, but are still imploring fans to, say it with me, follow guidelines. Masks and social distancing and pods and, please, no “large buffet-style spreads.” But, you try adhering to all that after a keg stand.

“I don’t think the tailgates this year are quite as rambunctious as they used to be,” explains Craig Renfro, the owner and editor-in-chief of Tailgater Magazine, a print periodical with over a quarter-million subscribers. He’s a longtime Cowboys and Texas A&M fan and a passionate tailgater. “You’re just not seeing the craziness of years past,” he says.

At other stadiums, though, the issue of what is and isn’t “tailgating” seems to lie less on health standards and more on pedantry and placating outside observers.

“Georgia is technically not allowing tailgating but they say they will allow people who come to the games together to ‘gather near their vehicles,’ whatever that means,” explains Amanda Mull, a Brooklyn-based writer for The Atlantic, and a big-time UGA fan. “Basically, I think they are trying to ban big tailgates while still letting people tailgate, but being able to tell media that they have ‘banned tailgating.’”

Still, for the vast majority of football fans, tailgating this year will be exclusively done at home, and all sorts of companies are stepping in trying to take advantage of the big pivot to “homegating.” Like the Tailgate Guys, an Auburn, Ala.-based company which, in a normal football season, rents and sets up a variety of tailgating packaging (including tents, coolers, cocktail tables, and even mounted DISH televisions) for fans at nearly 50 schools and three NFL cities. This season they are selling the #TailgateAnywhere package, offering their services to any home or business within 100 miles of their 17 warehouses.

Meanwhile, Lowe’s is hoping you’ll stock up on a variety of chairs, canopies, grills, and even inflatables to build your own NFL-worthy homegate. Sam’s Club too has an entire homegate section on its website, touting everything from frozen waffle fries to 82-inch TVs. There’s even Homefield Tailgate, which will literally sell you a tailgate, sans the rest of the truck. For the diehard who wants to cosplay hanging out in parking space.

“We’ve pivoted ourselves — yeah, the magazine is titled Tailgater, but our motto has always been ‘Your parking lot and backyard BBQ entertainment guide,’” explains Renfro. “We’ve always positioned it as, if you think about it, 80,000 go to a game, but millions watch at home and always have and always will. But you can still cookout on the grill and drink beer and cocktails.”

And, while admittedly none of that is as good as crushing Bud Lights and ice-luging Fireball in a scenic Meadowlands parking space, it does offer one advantage over traditional tailgating.

When the game is over, you don’t have to drive home.

The article As Football Returns Largely Without Fans, ‘Homegating’ Is the New Tailgating appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/football-homegating-tailgating/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/as-football-returns-largely-without-fans-homegating-is-the-new-tailgating

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wineanddinosaur · 4 years

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As Football Returns Largely Without Fans, ‘Homegating’ Is the New Tailgating

“It was just great to be outside, near the stadium, having some drinks,” one attendee, Aubrey, told me. “Ice block drink ramp or not.”

At other stadiums, though, the issue of what is and isn’t “tailgating” seems to lie less on health standards and more on pedantry and placating outside observers.

And, while admittedly none of that is as good as crushing Bud Lights and ice-luging Fireball in a scenic Meadowlands parking space, it does offer one advantage over traditional tailgating.

When the game is over, you don’t have to drive home.

The article As Football Returns Largely Without Fans, ‘Homegating’ Is the New Tailgating appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/football-homegating-tailgating/

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christinaengela · 4 years

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Criticism. As writers, sooner or later we’re likely to encounter it. How we deal with it – either internally or externally – depends greatly on our personality, and also I suppose, on what sort of place we’re in at any particular moment.

Here are some of my thoughts on the subject.

So someone posted a nasty remark on one of your social media book shares, or left a shitty 1 star review and a harshly-worded comment for you on Amazon. You stare at it, re-read it a second time just to try and absorb any sense or usefulness in the words as you fight a rising tide of red anger surging up from your chest area.

Why did they do that? Was the book really all that bad? Was there really something wrong with your writing? How could they be so mean – don’t they realize I pored my heart and soul into this? Is what they said in any way helpful or – no matter how remote – possibly true?

There is a huge difference between someone being helpful (or trying to be) to a writer. “Perhaps you should’ve made the story longer? It was great – just too short!” or “You misspelled ‘bureaucracy’ on page 11!” are examples of positive criticism. My mom always used to praise my writing talent, but frequently criticized my choice in genre – she didn’t enjoy sci-fi – she suggested I write in more contemporary, mundane settings… in genres like suspense, drama, action and adventure! I used to counter with “but I can do that in sci-fi too!”

That sort of criticism is helpful, positive and constructive in nature – and they can be discerned on the basis of their intentions to help the writer to grow or improve their writing, not to break them down for it, or even to cause them to stop writing altogether.

There are numerous and even perhaps unfathomable reasons for people to criticize a writer or their writing in writing – by leaving nasty remarks, bad reviews and even by sending them hate-mail – and on the unhelpful side, they include everything from simple jealousy to disagreement with the writer or their statements, and even disapproval of their subject and the way they address or present it often form part of the motivation for it.

In the following example, a reader downloaded a FREE eBook of mine – a short story called “Death By Vampire”. They left a poor review and a rant on Barnes & Noble.

“This book was only 19 pgs. Had potential. ***spoiler seemed to have a lot of unnecessary information. Also the description of the blood diamonds didn’t make any sense, they are named for their color but the color is green? Needs some editing.” 2 stars – Anonymous

I know this person didn’t actually READ the story, because inside it there was a whole paragraph that EXPLAINED how the aliens called the green stones ‘blood diamonds’ because they had GREEN blood – but it “needs some editing” because he didn’t understand it? All this guy did was expose his illiteracy!

As to length, it was a free short story, but he obviously missed that part too. Yet that story now has a 2-star review and a snotty comment from someone who obviously has problems with comprehension – and a narcissistic mean streak.

What can I take home from this? Not much – just that some people are basically mean-spirited and will make me the scapegoat for their own failures… but then, being part of an oft-persecuted social grouping blamed for everything from stock-market crashes to natural disasters, that’s nothing new to me. Should I take it personally? I’d like to think not – after all, what real value does unfair criticism really have?

In a technical sense, is there anything I can change or improve on the item involved? Were the words or sentences not clear enough? Were they confusing? Was a thorough spelling and grammar check done during the editing process? I honestly can’t see how I can make the story – or the facts of the story – any clearer without resorting to formatting the eBook using neon lettering, or replacing them with pictures to cater for the illiterate ‘reader’.

Moving on, negative reviews left at book sellers can and do damage a writer’s reputation – and in the long-run, their income. Reviews and ratings affect sales and distribution after all, mainly because readers will be more inclined to look at a book that has a bunch of 4 and 5 star ratings rather than a book that has one or many 1 or 2 stars. Let’s look at an example:

A few years ago I witnessed a writer falling under attack from his former small press, their writers – and everyone else they could rally to their cause. Lies and slander were spread broadly, and I personally witnessed calls being made for their cohort of cronies to ostracize him from the writing community and to even leave negative 1-star reviews on all his books! Other tactics and dirty tricks were employed against this poor undeserving writer, but this one is pertinent to my example. Suffice to say, that writer suffered a breakdown, has disappeared from social media – and hasn’t publishing anything since 2016. In that case it’s safe to say the bullies and haters won.

Any hostile criticism of our work as writers tends to have the potential to cause a writer to doubt themselves. Often that can also be one of the reasons why people leave nasty remarks – the writer or their work has (for whatever reason) offended them – and their intention might be to hurt them out of some feeling of vengeance or satisfaction. Some people, like the unfortunate author in my example are less resilient in the face of such attacks – while others, like me – well, I just don’t care for what the nasties say – anyway, I have more than enough fan-mail and great reviews to compensate. As far as I’m concerned, it’s water off a ducks back – and I’m a very oily duck.

Naturally, there are some things that spring to mind for every writer when faced with stinging and even personal criticism: are they right about me? Are they right about my work? After all, your writing might be utter crap laced with spelling and grammatical errors – and the story might make no sense, have plot holes big enough to drive a bus through, and your characterizations might be almost non-existent – right?

Are these critics giving you advice on how to improve your work? Is there anything of value in their ‘feedback’ you can learn from and use to produce a better story?

If the answer is no, and you’ve reason to believe they’re just being vindictive – such as making personal attacks and indulging in name-calling without giving any serious or pertinent pointers on how to improve your work, then their criticism is actually weaponized hatred intended to break you down! Let’s be honest – when someone criticizes your hard work, your ‘baby’, your pride and joy – it hurts a bit! Part of the answer – not the sum total of it – is of course to grow a thick skin.

In my particular case, I write in the science fiction and horror genres – as well as in non-fiction from time to time. While a lot of my fiction writing contains the usual sci-fi or horror elements, some of it also focuses on LGBT issues and presents these in a sympathetic and favorable light – which naturally draws ire and derogatory remarks from the prejudiced and bigoted who seemingly can’t resist leaving snotty comments on social media ads or shares of my work.

It’s not that my work is badly written or poorly presented – it’s that they despise the people I use as heroes and heroines in my stories and dare to explain and promote them in the face of their ignorance and hatred. I defy the established anti-LGBT stereotypes – and I flaunt it. It’s also that, once they do a little background check, they realize that I’m also part of that same group they’ve been programmed to despise! Add to that, once they confront me and I not only stand up to them, but also trounce them in a debate, that really makes them foam at the mouth!

How dare I? How dare I stand in the open, unashamedly writing about people they hate in a good positive way? How dare I not feel any guilt? How dare I even exist?

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In the below example, I held a free e-book giveaway contest in my Facebook author group in August 2016. I gave away a few books to contest winners. Soon after, the South African right wing ‘Christian’ (aka Levitican) community on Facebook went nuts about me promoting ‘demonic writings’, ‘homosexuality, sodomy and demon worship’! It was truly surreal!

The vast majority of the hate-mail I’ve gathered over the years – and remember the ones I’m showing you in this article are just since the advent of Facebook, from about 2016 or so – have been directed at me for sharing my books or writing or website!

Many of these people express negative ideas and emotions towards me because I’m transgender, a lesbian, an atheist – and because I’ve steadfastly refused to remain silent in the face of the overwhelming wave of hatred looming for numerous diverse minority groups in the world today. This provides one reason – albeit a big one – why most of my hostile critics and haters are what they are, or at least explains why they’re hostile toward me and to my writing.

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My advice when receiving this sort of hate-mail or harsh personal criticism is “take it from whom it comes” – which means, consider who the person is that’s criticizing you or your work, and what their real reasons are for doing so – and give it a value or rating. Is their opinion worth your time? Are they trying to be helpful – or are they simply being hurtful? Should you even take what they say seriously? Should you care? Most of the time I laugh at the voluntary idiocy, poor grammar and spelling in the hate-mail sent my way, and casually toss it in the pile.

I have a use for haters and hate-mail you see, and they’re too obtuse to even realize it.

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By far most of my critics and haters are religious extremist fanatics who engage in lunatic fringe politics and vent homophobic, transphobic and often racist language because they see me as more than just an enemy of their personal beliefs – but the personification thereof.

99% of the time, the people sending me hate-mail or criticizing me as a writer are attacking ME directly as an individual, not the worth or quality of my writing. I’ve also had the occasional odd-ball attack me using the fact that I’m self-published as though it means I’m somehow ‘illegitimate’ and not a ‘real author’, when all this does is reveal their ignorance about the publishing industry.

Here’s a clue, peeps – if self-publishing was in any way dishonest or dishonorable, I would have nothing to do with it. If was in any way, shape or form embarrassed or ashamed of self-publishing my work – or under the impression that it was in any way inferior to books by the big dogs, I wouldn’t be openly marketing myself or my writing as self-published!

It’s worth mentioning that within that same group of people who’ve sent me outright hate-mail, I’ve yet to encounter a single one who’s actually READ any of my books – they’re people who simply seized an opportunity to vent their hatred for me as a person because at that moment I represented the thing they hate.

In that light, this means that while my writing is good, even excellent, it is in their view ‘rubbish’ because what I write (or what I write about) contradicts their indoctrinated belief structure. To the folks who almost invariably misapply basic English words like “they’re/their/there” and “your/you’re”, I’m a ‘libral dirtbag’, a ‘libtard’, a ‘Christophobe’, a ‘commie queer’ and an ‘atheist fascist’ – and somehow inferior to them, not just because I’m part of the LGBT social group – but because I’m not afraid, acquiescent, silent or invisible.

I remind myself that these same characters tend to treat anyone more intelligent or in any way qualified, capable or talented than themselves – like scientists, doctors, artists – writers – and a variety of qualified professionals the exact same dismissive way – and I see them for what they are.

Over the last few decades of internet use, I’ve accumulated an archive of hateful remarks of all kinds, from people determined to convince me of the validity and value of their ignorance, to those who resort to childish mockery and blatant name-calling. (You can view it here if you like.)

I’ve always lived by the motto “if you piss off the right people, you’re doing something right”!

One fella wearing the crazy-pants ranted about how my children’s book on bullying, “Other Kids Are Kids Almost Just Like You” – aimed to teach children compassion for others – would ‘turn kids gay’ and that it was child abuse and I ought to be arrested!

So how do I handle hate-mail? Easy. I shrug it off, have a few good laughs – then save it, take screenshots of it – and use it as promotional material! In fact, I actually look forward to getting hate-mail these days!

After all, so many haters can’t be wrong, can they? 😉

I hope you’ve found this useful!

Take care and have a lovely day!

If you would like to know more about Christina Engela and her writing, please feel free to browse her website.

If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email to [email protected] or use the Contact form.

Show your appreciation for Christina’s work!

How I Handle Hate-mail & Criticism As A Writer Criticism. As writers, sooner or later we're likely to encounter it. How we deal with it - either internally or externally - depends greatly on our personality, and also I suppose, on what sort of place we're in at any particular moment.

#advice #authors #criticism #hate mail #writers #writing

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phoneboothproductions-blog · 7 years

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‘Put a Saddle on Your Universe’: One Guy’s Uneducated Thoughts on Purpose vs. Choice in ‘Rick and Morty’

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR RICK AND MORTY S3E9 “THE ABC’S OF BETH”

I want to talk about season 3 episode 9 of the insanely successful sci-fi comedy series Rick and Morty. In the episode, entitled “The ABC’s of Beth”, Rick’s daughter Beth finds out that Froopy Land, which she originally thought to be her imaginary childhood fantasy land, was actually a real place constructed by her genius scientist father to keep her occupied. This discovery comes with a number of realizations, some involving cross-breeding and cannibalism (Do you really expect any less from this show at this point?); but the biggest bombshell comes when Beth learns that Rick created this imaginary realm not to avoid parenting responsibilities, but because Beth was, in his words, “a scary fucking kid”, and he felt that she would have been a danger to “every less-than-polite little boy or gullible animal that might cross [her] ‘socio’ path”. Beth is resistant at first, but soon the aforementioned cross-breeding/cannibalistic plotline pans out in such a way to convince her that Rick is absolutely right: she’s as cold and indifferent as her father. This realization leads us to this scene:

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This clip has been driving me nuts since this episode aired. In a conversation less than two minutes long, this show manages to both present and address, in a satisfying manner, a pretty big question when it comes to existence: if you were presented the choice to either stay in your current life, or go out into the world and live an entirely different one consequence-free, what would you do? What makes this idea and this entire episode great is that it’s a question with no answer. Rick doesn’t tell Beth what to do. He gives her advice based on his experience. He makes it clear that whether she chooses to be replaced by a clone, or stay with the family, both options are logical and understandable. It’s her choice. As Rick says, “...no matter what you choose, you’re finally gonna chill the fuck out.” At the end of the episode, we don’t know what she chose. And I think that’s the point.

(Granted, this could ALL be undone in the season finale on Sunday, but as of this writing, the answer has not been revealed.)

Now, a disclaimer before we go any further. My professional experience with philosophy does not extend past two introductory courses in college, and honestly my Rick and Morty experience isn’t much better. I tend to be resistant to pop culture phenomenons due to some misplaced sense of hipster-like superiority, and because of that I was really only brought on board just barely in time to be caught up for Season 3. Much like Rick, I’m an asshole, but I’m not oblivious to my shortcomings. So if something in here doesn’t add up or misses some greater point, just chalk it up to my idiocy. These are just the rambling thoughts of an overthinking fan.

The show, and specifically the character of Rick Sanchez, seems to be built pretty heavily on the idea of nihilism; that is, the belief that life and the universe are completely devoid of objective meaning. This is illustrated and even explicitly stated in several episodes. For example, in the episode “Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind” from season 1, Morty, presented with the knowledge of infinite Ricks and Mortys from infinite universes, questions whether that devalues his relationship to Rick or elevates it since it’s strong enough to sustain itself over so many different realities. Rick’s response is to quickly debunk Morty’s theories by revealing that Ricks needs Mortys to camouflage their intelligent brainwaves, thus ridding the duo’s relationship of any meaning. Morty subsequently becomes upset about this loss of meaning, only for Rick to point out that it’s Morty’s choice to take it personally.

This could very easily be seen as a metaphor for the universe itself under the guise of nihilism. We may see something in the world that seems to have inherent meaning, such as the intricacies of nature or the idea of love, but in the end, it can all be explained away logically, and stripped of its meaning. Indeed, nature’s complexity, as well as the reason we feel love, can be dismissed as accidental results of evolution; ways for the planet and humans to adapt and survive. If you take this way of thinking far enough, you can rob anything of its supposed meaning until you’re left with a vast, meaningless void that is our universe. For much of the series, we’re led to believe that this is where Rick parks his outlook on life. He recognizes the utter pointlessness of trying to have a meaningful life, so he does the opposite, constantly trying to indulge in as much pleasure as possible. The only time meaning enters the equation is with the inclusion of Morty.

In the example I mentioned before, Morty ultimately decides to assign his own meaning to his and Rick’s relationship, and tries to demand that Rick does the same. Rick does finally give in, and tells Morty that since he’s “the Rickest Rick”, it would make sense that he has “the Mortyest Morty”. This is an answer which he very clearly doesn’t give a lot of thought to, and seems to be given solely to quell the upset Morty who won’t shut up. This is characteristic of much of the series; Rick only allowing meaning to exist in his life when forced into it by someone else, usually Morty, but also at times Summer and Jerry. The one character who’s been largely absent from these deeper moments, and who up until now has barely been involved in Rick’s adventures...is Beth.

Beth, in a weird way, has become one of the show’s most intriguing characters to me. The daughter of a super-intelligent mad scientist forced into an unhappy marriage due to a pregnancy, who then has her mad scientist father reenter her life several years later. It really feels like there should be more to Beth than this largely typical suburban mom with which we’ve been presented until now. Thus, “The ABC’s of Beth” was a very welcome episode to me. I wanted to see what happened when Beth dove headfirst into her father’s world. Is she just as intelligent as her old man? What was her childhood like with Rick as a father? How does someone with that background end up in such an ordinary vanilla family life? Well, luckily, this episode shed some much-needed light on Beth’s backstory, elevating her from a character I really wasn’t that invested in, to perhaps one of the show’s best.

Beth laments in several episodes about being robbed of her choice when Jerry got her pregnant with Summer. The life she’s lived since then has not been of her own choosing whatsoever, but rather out of necessity to provide for her children. This is demonstrated in the episode “Rixty Minutes”, where she gets to see an alternate reality where she never had Summer or Morty, and she’s living out her perfect life. In the end, however, she realizes that, even in this ideal world, she still ends up falling in love with Jerry. This episode hints at the idea that, given the choice between perfection and her current reality, she might just choose the latter. Of course, a lot has happened since that season 1 episode, including a pretty cold and heartless divorce from Jerry, so it weirdly makes sense to bring up this question again, and “The ABC’s of Beth” does so rather explicitly.

Which brings us back to the clip I presented at the top of the article. Beth had to realize and accept who she was: a sociopath too smart to care about purpose, just like her father. Rick is quick to point out that, “When you know nothing matters, the universe is yours”. Once again, Beth is offered a choice; a glimpse into what life could be like without having to be tied down by “the kids, Jerry, [her] job, and...ABC’s The Bachelor”. The difference here, as Rick says, is that she now realizes that she’s too smart to believe in a higher purpose. Or as Beth herself says rather bluntly, “I’m all out of excuses to not be who I am.”

This is where existential, or optimistic, nihilism comes in, which follows the backbone of nihilism; that there is no objective meaning in the universe, but puts an optimistic spin on it by pointing out that because the universe has no meaning, it’s up to the individual to apply their own meaning. In other words, if you accept the pointlessness and chaotic absurdity of reality, it gives you the ultimate excuse to live life however you want to, knowing you are fully in control. This is the “gift shark”, so to speak, that Rick presents to Beth. She can agree to be cloned, go out and fulfill her dreams, and come back when she feels like it, and that’s perfectly okay because it’s her choice. Or, she can stay with the family and change nothing about her life, and that is also perfectly okay for the same reason. It is Beth’s decision alone. Nobody, not even Rick, has any business telling her what she should choose. She is, in essence, putting “a saddle on [her] universe”.

Thus, the moral of the episode, as I understand it, is that whatever you do in life, make sure it’s your choice, because the only person capable of creating meaning in your life is you. If you want to go out, work your ass off, and carve out a life of wealth and power, you should go do that. But I really appreciate that the episode throws in the other side of that coin, which so much pop culture fails to represent; the idea that it’s equally okay to “stay, and luxuriate in a life you finally know you’ve chosen”. Society will always want you to go with the status quo and achieve some universally agreed upon benchmark for “success”. If that path is something that resonates with you, go for it. But for everybody else who feels hollow and empty following such a common way of life, you should be allowed to create your own definitions of success and meaning. We don’t know what Beth ultimately chose, and that’s okay. Her decision is hers, and your decision is yours.

But, hey, as I said, the next episode could make everything I just wrote here completely irrelevant. This series is absolutely unpredictable from episode to episode, but that’s just part of the insane, chaotic joy that Rick and Morty brings to the table, and I’m okay with that.

Thanks for reading! :)

#rickandmorty #purpose #choice #beth #smith #sanchez #squanch #abcsofbeth #froopyland

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facebookpagefeatures · 5 years

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New Features For Facebook Pages

With Facebook page campaigns proceeding to pick up force, many are currently asking "what do I do?"? For some, individuals, having a business page (i.e. Fan Page) resembles having a site; "you should simply have one". Including another cost, in any economy, is anything but an incredible thought. While the greatest organizations may surely put one up and toss a huge number of dollars in publicizing at it, that isn't reasonable for most entrepreneurs.

To capitalize on your business page on Facebook requires a promoting plan. This advertising plan doesn't mean you will continually shoot them with offers to purchase. You can't simply tell your gathering of people what you are doing and "trust" they will put resources into your items or administrations. What's more, you can't trust basic discussion to include genuine income for your business. So as to get results from your business page we welcome you to consider the accompanying to enable you to make an amazing Facebook Marketing Schedule.

Normality of Updates - How regularly would you say you are offering to the individuals who have "enjoyed" your page? When daily? When seven days? The news channel continually shares the most recent data from pages and individuals that are associated. To capitalize on the news channel requires no less than a refresh multi-day. For the time being, you can live with updates amid the business week, however in the event that opposition expands you should think about doing reports on the end of the week too.

The assortment of Updates - Are you just sharing content updates? It is safe to say that you are pushing out video? Pictures? Facebook makes it simple to share an assortment of media. Pictures will in general spread rapidly, create remarks, and with the privilege photographs even produce deals. By furnishing your crowd with an assortment of updates they will energetically check what you are sharing and they will take part in the media that they like best.

Traffic Strategy - A pleasant looking business page without a traffic technique resembles an extraordinary store amidst the desert. As you are building up your arrangement, consider having a Facebook promoting system that joins various techniques for traffic. This could incorporate social modules, Facebook advertisements, email impacts to your database and then some. Having an equalization of traffic strategies will give you an extraordinary chance to draw in parity of prospects and clients.

When you make your Facebook advertising timetable to reliably contact your gathering of people, have an assortment of updates and consolidate a strong traffic technique you will have a business nearness on Facebook that creates discussion and deals.

James Bridges talks broadly regarding the matters of Facebook Marketing Strategies [http://www.marketingfanpages.com], web promoting, website improvement, and social advertising. With an accentuation on financially savvy showcasing systems, he shares techniques for entrepreneurs and deals experts that are intended to produce leads and increment deals. All parts of business advertising and transformation are secured from Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click to Social Networking. Preparing programs are intended to enable experts to find what is required, apply the strategies, and get results month to month.

Facebook page schedule has been noting the supplications of page chiefs all over, as they have been revealing a bunch of new highlights that make overseeing and advancing pages simpler and progressively powerful. Notwithstanding the new Facebook Pages Manager application (presently in the iOS application store), Facebook has likewise propelled advanced posts (giving pages the alternative to pay for more post sees), and - most as of late - Facebook has presented post planning and distinctive dimensions of page directors. While these are simply little changes, they will highly affect Facebook the executives and promoting.

The new advanced posts highlight gives Facebook pages with in excess of 400 preferences the capacity to pay to have a specific post seen by a greater amount of their fans. As indicated by Facebook, in the wake of making a post, page chairmen can tap the advance catch and set their ideal lifetime spending plan for the post. When the monetary allowance is chosen, Facebook will produce an expected reach at the spending figure. At that point hitting the spare catch will dispatch the advanced post. Advanced posts can likewise be focused by dialect or area by tapping on general society catch while making the post and modifying the choices as wanted.

Another new Facebook campaign include enables administrators to plan posts specifically on Facebook. This new component energizes a great deal of Facebook advertisers on the grounds that, before, when you needed to plan a post you would need to do as such through an outsider application/programming. Notwithstanding the bother, there are a couple of different dissatisfactions with planning posts thusly, including the way that most outsider applications/programming expels the "share" choice from connections and content updates. Be that as it may, with this new Facebook plan include, administrators can plan page presents on Facebook upon a half year ahead of time, at fifteen-moment interims - no outsider application fundamental.

In conclusion, Facebook page schedule has likewise included five dimensions of page directors. The five dimensions, in climbing power, are bits of knowledge examiner, sponsor, mediator, content maker, and administrator. Director has indistinguishable abilities from previously, while content maker (which is simply beneath supervisor) can do everything except for overseeing administrator jobs. Just underneath the substance maker position is a mediator, which can react/erase remarks, send messages, make advertisements and view bits of knowledge. The two positions with the minimum power are a sponsor (can make promotions and view experiences) and bits of knowledge examiner (can just view bits of knowledge). All page administrators begin as supervisors as a matter of course, after which jobs can be allocated.

As of late a colleague disclosed to me that she had gone to do some examination on Facebook for a potential customer, and it was basically a dead record. The charitable bolted up the Facebook page so they could keep others from utilizing their name on the stage, however, the page was generally futile with restricted data.

That is a botched chance. What pursues are some snappy tips for associations that are extended and with rare assets:

One Visit:

The vast majority will visit a business or philanthropic's page just once. They'll investigate, similar to it or not, and after that, they'll most likely never visit again. Try to incorporate your philanthropic data on the page, alongside an incredible profile picture and cover photograph (look crisp and inventive). Likewise, make a point to include your URL. It's a botched chance not to have the nuts and bolts done.

Include Facebook Apps:

Facebook page schedule has a route for you to include applications that will enable you to include and enhance content. You can include applications that will give you highlights to do tests and surveys. You can likewise include applications that will enable you to bring your blog's RSS channel into your Facebook page.

Use Facebook Social Plug-ins:

Social modules are the "Like", share and different catches. The Facebook Page Plug-in, which you can look for in their "Speedy Help" area enables you to advance your page on your site and guests can like or share your page while never leaving your site.

Programmed Content:

Numerous not-for-profits have restricted time and assets, and one of the most straightforward things you can do is mechanize and plan posts. Take a brief period and timetable posts out for a considerable length of time and afterward as things happen that are current, you can include those less demanding.

Run a Promotion:

An astounding method to get more Facebook likes to your page is to run an advancement. We've done it in different ways, and it's a decent method to get individuals keen on what you bring to the table. Scan Facebook's assistance segment for advancements rules.

Suggestion to take action:

Place a CTA on your cover photograph (and, once more, ensure you have a wonderful cover photograph). Individuals will normally observe your cover photograph and their eyes will likewise observe the CTA's. Some Facebook CTA's incorporate, "Join," "Watch Video," or "Book Now."

Facebook Only Content:

Give your adherents an additional motivation to keep your Facebook page best of the brain. Advance the way that you'll have content accessible just on Facebook and after that give your supporters what they need to see concerning themes that have the most abnormal amounts of commitment.

Facebook Ads:

They work, and they're not costly. You can redo socio-economics on who will see your advertisement. They work to help your presents and furthermore enjoys on your page.

Ask Your Database:

When you do messages or different kinds of direct reaction, request that your supporters pursue your Facebook page. Try not to expect that individuals will look you out on that stage. Thus, give them the motivation to search for you, and on the off chance that you run an advancement only on Facebook or have Facebook-explicit substance, you'll drive individuals to your page.

Stick to Your Facebook Page:

Utilize the "stick" highlight to keep at the highest point of your page applicable posts, photographs, and recordings that you need to share. You can find out about sticking a post at Facebook's assistance segment.

#facebook #facebook_schedule #facebook-pages #facebook-group_posting #online-business #ranksol #facebook_script #facebook_multigroups #auto_poster #facebook_plugin

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politicalfilth-blog · 5 years

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You Won’t Believe What We Found In Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal!

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In this video, we give you the latest breaking news on the Green New Deal that was presented by Ocasio-Cortez in resolution form. Is it as outrageous as everyone says?

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Transcript

Well first we had ManBearPig and Al Gore and now we have Alexandria ocasio-cortez and the brand deal that is. Yeah it’s kind of off the charts and it’s lunacy aside from a lot of things I’m going to pick a part it’s not new it’s not really a deal for any of the people and the facts. They tried to put out that they were going to promote this phone has what resolution cuz it’s not a bill let’s get that clear right now it’s not a bill actually did have the unwilling to work they weren’t sure whether they were going to get rid of supposed how far to an airplane’s in 10 years kind of insane language and the resolution when you pick it apart again is no better route so it is nuts yeah I’m hearing a lot of crazy details coming out of this that are just unbelievable I’m like. There’s no way that’s it.

Oh yeah they’re actually calling everyone of course the saying that this is impossible but the plan was to take the money that is collected through taxes it and spend it on this kind of thing but everyone says it’s virtually impossible but that’s why I’m here in High-Speed Rail that makes a lot of sense but then when you get into the nitty-gritty about replacing airplanes with speed rails and heavier than sand rail Cassio Court.

Is kind of well-meaning but my own and Ford of you and I know me and you disagree with this on Jason is that she’s kind of coming coming on saying well this is a big problem with government which is something I know so let’s start with that right as you can see here are green New Deal is actually a paper that was put together in 2008 for a lot of proponents of what he coil and carbon taxes and trading Loop this thing is littered with it littered with it now somewhere really more upsetting things about this is actually some truth in it for instance you know they talk about the financial crisis they talk about the corrupt banking system they talk about the current Financial system inflation a lot of real things. And then it’s kind of warped into the situation where they’re going to tell you that we need 0 Greenhouse emissions by 2050 and that are 2010 levels all right and this is actually even mentioned in the resolution by the way guys I don’t know if you know where in 2019 I don’t know if I were so worried about the level we’re going to affect that but it needs to be a story to 60% decrease of greenhouse gas emissions from Human sources that is a direct quote from the actual resolution which is a separate document about that folks what are greenhouse gas emissions that means you have to drive your car to 60% less that means you literally have to breathe for you to 60% carbon tax and you emit carbon dioxide be evil the evil greenhouse gas that needs to be packed and then somehow globally. We got the US on pork Luke but we’re going to have met 0. By 2050 I hope you live in 2050 I know you do too I don’t live in Imaginationland I think that’s possible. Government but I think we do agree on is that yes our environment is being destroyed and that there are certain of it because if you really look at the bigger back between taking care of the environment the US military industrial complex as one of the bigger picture here we have to counter in China Africa and India and their pollution in the plastic kind of our environment or four of the. A lot of police use this kind of global warming kind of talking points to say we need a carbon tax to say we need to punish regular form of control and another form of just biased information being thrown at you being like you the individual responsible for the governor of New York, who sang all this is a great idea let’s propose our own going down in financial ruin steri soon as it is incredible what’s happening here but do you know the problem portable Solution that’s going to make things that much worse and this is why. I want to highlight some of the other lunacy in this thing is it all sounds great on paper right we’re going to meet 100% of the power to man in the United States through clean renewable and 0 I mean when sore you name it we’re going to do it I am all for that I honestly believe there are a lot of suppressed Technologies out there but it’s another biggest you not talked about a huge issue. Of course oil cartels have been suppressing and keeping down with of course government so I don’t think I’m at all the time text bigger time is of course.

What’s your address at all sorry go ahead Jason sounds great on paper I was just saying there’s a great possibility of suppressed technology.

Tells out there that control the oil industry the natural gas industry in the Solar industry now to some extent you know these big businesses now we’re in full control of that but I want to say that they go beyond that they say they’re going to fix every single problem in the world I’m going to read this passage word for word of this is in the resolution and it is so far beyond reality that we think we can do this at 8 to it speaks for itself. They’re going to put on quote promote Justice and Equity by stopping current preventing future and repairing they’re going to repair historic oppression of indigenous peoples communities of color vibrant communities as communities are depopulated rural communities for low-income workers women the elderly. Resolution as the front line and vulnerable Community let me explain what they just said they’re going to fix every problem ever and they’re going to repair everything you’ve ever done that’s wrong historically they lick every oppressed group they don’t say how they’re going to do it they can think about what that says I mean they actually included women in their eyes half the global population in history we’re going to fix all the wrongs ever two women Luke. Are we going to be this is a bigger issue here because they come up with some of the problems and we’re going to give you this for free Nothing is for free in the United States is in so much debt and I honestly I honestly this is I believe that’s a whole different topic. Call fear because there’s also important aspects of this because there’s actually the physical writings there’s also some talking points ever leaked let us know obviously know where does it matter that it’s post sponsored by Corey the fake Booker running for 2020 president does not matter because again once you look into this thing again peak oil promoted by this organization but. Although she said unwilling to work in the document itself Loop it clearly states they’re going to guarantee jobs to everybody let’s read that is so people can understand again how ridiculous these promises are there going to be guaranteeing a job with Ace family sustaining. Adequate Family and Medical Leave paid vacations you don’t get paid vacation. This guy not most people in this country anymore pretty to all people of the United States that’s a guarantee to a level it doesn’t matter your education level you are now guaranteed a retirement plan medical benefits does it matter if you want to show up I guess 20 hours to work 5 hours 1 hour maybe you want to call it in I don’t know when I read this crap but I do know that this green New Deal the bigger document gear lube actually calls for a at one point a carbon army yes a carbon Army and we have to remember in the actual document does get where we’re going to differentiate from the nonsense talking points that got leaked to the public that are just totally bad that ass crazy. To the fan. But they say that they’re going to create every single building in this country as a power station upgrading all existing buildings in the United States and building new buildings to achieve maximum Energy Efficiency water efficiency safety affordability comfort and durability including through electrification and you’d probably smart grids and you control systems by the government with keypad direct people would wake up there’s also bigger Factor here that allows raw elements metals that actually caused a lot of environmental destruction are actually one of the resources used in Wildhorse real free energy is being suppressed out there and they say Alexandria Democratic Party. Institution most people would just wake up and if you guys are there my box miss my flight so folks again you have to read this for yourself to put this up on screen just so people can read it they want to create and train a carbon Army of workers to provide the human resources for vast environmental reconstruction program if that’s not scary I don’t know what is remember we are truly Independent Media, you’re not from the left from the right but straightforward with the truth with the documents so please support us get out of town subscribestar describes the backup Channel and if you can please subscribe to our page newsletter lot of free content there and help support this media organization thank you very much. Stay tuned for a lot more here on youtube.com we are change.

The post You Won’t Believe What We Found In Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal! appeared first on We Are Change.

from We Are Change https://wearechange.org/you-wont-believe-what-we-found-in-ocasio-cortezs-green-new-deal/

#We are Change #We Are Change

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ifancynachobouquet-blog · 6 years

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The Worldwide Technique Of Aldi Based On The UK Market

The International Strategy Of Aldi Based On The UK Market

You need to seek the advice of the suitable professionals with regard to your specific transaction or scenario. Wikipedia - click the up coming post - In this text we will examine among the extra critical issues as you are accessing your store's situation. By sprouting seeds, nutrients including amino acids (the constructing blocks of proteins), sugars within the form of glucose, and even vitamins and minerals turn out to be more out there and absorbable. Try to step by step increase fiber to 30 to 50 grams a day and embody soluble or viscous fiber (legumes, nuts, seeds, entire grains, vegetables, and fruit), which slows sugar absorption from the intestine. In the e book, Cordain recommends consuming a every day intake of 55% lean protein or fish, and 15% each of fruit, vegetables, and nuts and seeds. Protein exists in virtually all the pieces that moves and makes sounds, or in nearly any animal. It isn't truthful for individuals who earned the suitable to be on this country the exhausting method while illegals from the identical international locations are available in here and think they deserve what they don't work for.

Sorry, no way out of that. There are particular types of fish that you need to watch out for as well. There are just a few questions concerning these vegetables; is it protected to eat sprouted potatoes and how do you stop them from sprouting? They can train you proper train form and reply any questions you may need. Family-oriented. Create a place that can accommodate the entire family, from the adults to the tots and infants. How to Substitute Spelt for White Flour The best way to Make Bread With Historic Grains How to use Spelt Flour Once you Bake The Spelt Food regimen Find out how to Cook Spelt Spelt Flour or Entire Wheat to Shed weight? At some point after this happens, you might notice fine white fuzz masking the seeds. Whereas Aldi's launch of their new "trial" shops may appear to be an attempt to capture center earnings buyers, it could finish in disaster.

I am positive that most consumers would gladly pay a 1 or 2% premium for accepting credit playing cards thus invalidating Aldi's claim that they don't seem to be accepting credit score playing cards to prevent, the consumer, cash. Save scraps for art initiatives. The place doable, Aldi get their products from local suppliers, which can also be good because it helps to support local industry so there may be native responsiveness as nicely because it is useful for the setting because of a lowered carbon footprint. No business is immune to innovation, not even these with an extended tradition and sturdy psychological roots. People are consuming foods with elements that they cannot even pronounce and utilizing merchandise which can be crammed with toxic chemicals. Eating fiber wealthy foods has been the primary desire of many nutritionists in the case of weight reduction and sustaining a wholesome way of life. Less than five years later, after opening three hot-dog cart, opened the Carl Karchers Drive-In Barbecue in Anaheim, California, which the primary burger on the menu was. So there they are - 5 ways the yellow cylinder man used to persuade me (and practically everyone round me) to fortunately walk away with six shammies. Dollar General Conover locations This festival also celebrates the native cheeses and meats which become available on the market, there are dolls made from squash and marble sculptures.

When you've got a companion in well being you may take up a passion like golf or squash. The values of love, affection, caring, sharing, respect for elders, trusting and being trusted can create wholesome relationships and sound nation. Basically, the higher pair of sneakers will probably be such that you could take it to a shoe repair company and have it re soled over and over, and have the leather-based re completed time and again. Otherwise, a coach carly handbags may be purchased at a lower price of coach outlet. They could value solely few bucks, however they also have very low value. Sauces and broths must be low fat, except totally organic. You may be very acquainted with information in Medias covering the picture of commerce union folks holding placards and getting for their strikes and stroll outs.

The interview process could begin with a name for recruitment or the potential workers might obtain only an invite to start the face to face interviews with the hiring workers at Aldi. These type a membership function to take care of the welfare of employees of a certain manufacturing unit or institution. Household Greenback just lately announced plans so as to add tobacco, PepsiCo beverages, and identify model cosmetics from L’Oreal and Maybelline because it looks to drive visitors and seize higher share of its customer’s wallet. Inventory is down over 50 p.c, falling over 5 p.c today after competitor Sprouts Farmers Market lower its forecast, and analysts suppose the corporate needs to rethink an growth strategy that, in hindsight, seems to be unfocused and overly ambitious. Attempt to honor one night off, but use it if you should to play catch-up if the schedule goes awry because of weather or illness.

These running a dollar store must frequently network with different businesses. I'm trying to work out what number of factors I must be on a day. This may very well be very rewarding, and it is not going to seem as if you're working out. For example, in case your target is a thousand visitors per week, then look at your website statistics and study the place the vast majority of your guests are coming from. Processed foods are handy however they don't seem to be "real" food. This doesn't imply no processed or cooked foods must be eaten. I'm simply an Aldi fan and thought this info may show useful. Aldi is cheaper than Walmart with far superior high quality. The meat counter runs perpendicular to this counter to the left, with the deli parallel to this counter on the far facet. MarketingThe reply to this query is a resounding ‘YES’. Completely not. But, it certain does enhance your success ratio. Walmart’s gives the three elements of the service product bundle. I've private experience of giving pure healing vitality and research have confirmed the Reiki power switch actually modifications DNA in constructive ways, just as air pollution and water pollution does in unfavorable methods in people.

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eludiumofficial · 7 years

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Rant #1: The brutal self-slaughter of my former favorite company and why I think comparing Electronic Arts to Bethesda Softworks is ignorant and irrational

Before I get started I’d like to make clear that my opinions presented here are subject to change, dependent on current events and my future beliefs. This post does in no way intend to manipulate the reader’s view on the situation or try and showcase my conviction as being the factual one regarding the topic, it only presents my personal reaction towards the statement featured in the title and should be treated as such.

I dislike rants. I dislike rambling in general, I find it to be a huge time-waster with little to no sense of rewarding. This is probably the first such post that I ever write, and I can’t say I’m quite pleased with my decision, but the subject at hand really provoked me. I feel that writing down my view on it, saving it someplace where I can see it later on in life (and remind myself of my past ways of thinking, as well as the reasoning behind them) is the best course of action. Regarding the second half of the title: I completely understand this is not a big deal, but making Electronic Arts look like the bad guy is something that I’ve seen mentioned for over a decade now in the gaming field, very few times being also backed up by solid arguments. I’m here to present it from my perspective.

Electronic Arts... a name as big in the industry as it is infamous. At least by common standards. Standards that (presumably) mostly come from reading the dumb, uninformed YouTube comment. Hell, I wouldn’t even be surprised if the vast majority of “experts” that comment defamatory remarks at EA's address have never touched any of the company's games. But how could they, right?! You need to pay, what, one hundred dollars for the Deluxe/Premium/Ultimate edition, which is in truth the actual content that assembles the main game... right?

Maybe.

This old company that the average customer loves to bash in ignorance is the same one who grants you complete access to full editions of over 75 of their titles, for €4 a month. It’s the same company who puts their game on sale for €10 one year after its release.. be lucky if you manage to score a €30 deal with other companies’ games in such a short time after launch (and in a sale). Not to mention, they actually have a working DRM *cough* Ubisoft *cough* and customer support.. *cough* Valve *cough*.

But enough about that. I'm not here to lick EA's boots, just pointing out how pathetic it looks to me when people keep complaining about this company 24/7 when there are much bigger culprits in the industry.

Culprits.. like Bethesda. Yeah. Something the old me would never believe he'd write. I wasn't just a fan of Bethesda Softworks. I loved Bethesda. I would read all the lore of their universes for hours on end, at school, at home, even before going to sleep. Hell, I didn't think The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim vanilla was a bad game at all to begin with, but when I discovered modding and found out that the Creation Kit, the godly tool that unlocked such a vast world (inside an already huge world), was brought to us by the developers, I went crazy for this team.

The introduction of paid mods.

Not only was it a global letdown when Valve + Bethesda announced paid mods on Steam back in 2015, it was unfortunately only the beginning of something much darker for BethSoft. Now, to be fair with you, I was willing to give them a second chance as customer after that absolute mess, more or less because I saw the partnership with Valve (a company that I stopped respecting since at least 4 years ago, for reasons that are now obvious worldwide) and I couldn't help but assume that they had the upper hand on here. It was downright difficult for a die-hard fan of Bethesda Studios to just drop all respect for them and accuse them at the fullest (or at least mostly) for the wrongdoing. Nonetheless they lost a big sense of meaning at that time, to me and many other fans as well.

When the "Special Edition" of Skyrim rolled out last fall I genuinely thought that was a bad joke. I went and read its system requirements, up to this day I cannot fathom how some improved shaders and lighting system along with some small improvements to textures require a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 as graphic processor. It's beyond insulting the way this company neglects any kind of optimization processes for their products.

One year later, here we are: Creation Club. What the actual hell, Bethesda? What the actual hell? Here’s the trailer, it should speak more than mere words can:

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The best course of action here is to fight for what we stand for. Don't let Bethesda win this fight. They've lost it once already, but it seems they're coming back with a much, much greedier and more disgusting ploy.

Some more detailed information about this Creation Club mess, as I really do not have the mood to write more about it and ultimately ruin my state of mind:

Creation Club on Fallout Wikia

A very succinct description in video format, by Gopher:

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It’sAGundam goes much less family-friendly into the topic, but his points are very valid:

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An extremely flawed system explained by YongYea:

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I don’t see how it could get worse than this... but I actually have a feeling it still will. At this point, Bethesda Softworks is not just an anti-consumer company, they're inarguably becoming a threat to the industry. They have the power to manipulate other companies' directions, they have the power to manipulate renowned modders into falling for their trap (as proved in the 2015 scandal). But I believe they don't have the power to treat us, customers, like some absolute fools, and to succeed in doing so. I believe we can take the fight to them. For a greedy company like this, where fan service means absolutely nothing today, money speak in totality. Bethesda does not deserve to be given further financial support. Not until they wake up and realize the damage they're creating.

If Bethesda really doesn't want to give up their unethical practices (and so far, it does indeed look like they're going to keep living in a dream), they have to be put down. The company that once held the crown for creating the best sandbox role-playing games, with unlimited modding possibilities, is now digging its own grave. But it won’t lay itself inside.

Nexus mods

Let's face it, Bethesda: you would never be where you are now — up there at the top, laughing in your customers' faces — if it wasn't for your community. So many people still keep playing games that go as far back as The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, because of modding. As great as your games might initially be, in a vanilla state very few people would still play a 15 years old game on a regular basis. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is still up in the players' charts today thanks to the dedicated modders that spare hundreds of hours from their lives to expand the base game’s content. Not to mention the insane amount of bugs that every of your games has: you never fixed that, Bethesda. It was the community who did it for you. Free of charge.

I began this article by writing about Electronic Arts and never got around talking about its relevance to the topic. That’s simply because I wanted to make clear my thoughts about Bethesda Softworks first. You see, while searching up the community’s reaction to this whole scandal I couldn’t help but notice a couple dozen comments comparing the “new” Bethesda Studios to Electronic Arts. Mostly saying they've become just as bad.

I know, I know.. why do some meaningless comments matter to me? This post should be about Bethesda's fall from glory, not about this. And to be fair I did debate whether to write this in a separate post or not to write it at all. I understand it might not be a big deal, but it does really drive me nuts. I consider the society's uninformed opinions to be just as damaging as Bethesda's recent actions.

Because these uninformed opinions carry on. They influence people. They influence companies' rate of success. Paid mods were taken down in 2015, a few days after their launch, for the fact that the community made its voice heard. All the comments raging at Valve and Bethesda's poor attempt could be translated into a substantial financiar loss for the companies.

With the Electronic Arts case, things are slightly different: we aren't talking about a mass of hateful comments bashing at the team in just a few days' time, we are talking about the worldwide consensus that EA is a "bad" company. This consensus has been spread out in a wide variety of ways, mainly through chats, comments, forums talks etc. and in a very high amount of time (basically since at least ten years ago). It was initially based on the fact (among other things) that you often had to pay for the game's "Premium" edition in order to receive content that was classified by the standard gamer as mandatory for the base game. Later on the consensus was adopted by.. just about a lot of people on the Internet. And that's how it went viral, it basically became a "meme", so to say. Bad things happen in the gaming world, the community instantly associates it with EA. This is not only morally wrong, but it does affect the company as well, for reasons that should be obvious.

"So what? Let them suffer, it's not fair having to pay €100 for a game in order to get the full edition." While I agree that most of the DLCs for EA's games are somewhat mandatory (especially if you're planning to play online), one should not forget the points that I made in the initial paragraphs of this post. If money is indeed such a big issue, wait for a sale. Their games' prices drop by a lot even during the first year. At least you have the assurance of quality control. You pay for a game that... you know, actually works, it's not riddled with bugs.

"How does that still relate to Bethesda?" When people compare these two studios they do it just because they're trying to put Bethesda to shame, really. Most of the time they don't even think twice before hitting the "Send" button: "Just stick EA's name in the comment so everyone can understand I'm only trying to make Bethesda look bad. I might have actually never played an Electronic Arts game, I sure as hell have never read any documentation on them, but hey, they're a meme, everyone refers to them as the bad guy so it has to be true." Their comment/message might literally not try and say anything disparaging about EA, they probably just want to put the focus on Bethesda, but the fact that they're using the brand name as a means to make something else look bad is absolutely ignorant. You are comparing every single damaging event in the industry to one company's marketing unpopular opinion, how crazy is that?

Electronic Arts has made its fair share of mistakes in its time (I agree, buying smaller, good companies and later firing their staff is not cool at all; releasing a new edition of Most Wanted is still supposed to be a Most Wanted game, not a Burnout game), but comparing it to a company that tries and monetize a feature that has been globally free since 1980 (Castle Smurfenstein) is downright insulting. If according to the society EA is “bad”, then Bethesda must be the devil itself. Unfortunately people will continue to bash at Electronic Arts without backing up any of the criticism with straight facts and/or proof.

The point of this section is not to make EA seem like the victim and Bethesda like the villain. It merely summarizes that if you’re trying to show your feeling of antipathy towards Bethesda Studios through a comparison with another company, then you should pick a suitable candidate. Don’t just rush at placing Electronic Arts' name in your post because you know that will draw attention and favoritism from fellow poor-informed members. It’s a shame that out of all the gaming companies out there, some with much higher rates of greediness, the community has crowned EA as the “greater evil”.

Times have changed, people. Maybe a few years ago the main problem in the gaming industry was indeed the high pricing and the necessity of purchasing a Premium pack in order to enjoy what the whole game has to offer, but if you think that’s still the main issue nowadays then I am afraid you are living in the past. Welcome to 2017, where we are greeted with microtransactions in singleplayer-exclusive titles, card games over card games with little to no difference between each other (except the company your money for in-game items will go to) and an actual increase in the game’s price during the sale, just so it can be “discounted” to very, very little below the normal price (yeah, I know that happened in 2015, but I trust you catch my drift as to what’s happening in the “new world”). While these things are happening and the industry is falling apart, people are still busy complaining about a company that gives you a full-fledged product for a higher sum of money than the “standard” one. And then offers it to you on sale during the next 12 months.

Bethesda has reached an all-time new low and no other company comes to mind that is as brain-dead, heartless and greedy as them, but if you really have to use a comparison to prove your point, for the love of God step up your game and stop mentioning Electronic Arts. There is Valve out there who keeps milking the same damn three games for years now instead of producing anything original, they have a barely functional DRM, their customer support is safe to be assumed AWOL at this point in time and now they’re releasing a card game to further milk money away from players. Take-Two Interactive literally tried to definitively shut down modding for Grand Theft Auto V. There you have Activision shooting themselves in the foot with the Call of Duty franchise, releasing pretty much the same game year after year, also charging the same amount of money for the Deluxe version as EA would for a game that is actually original.

But Electronic Arts is still “the worst company”. Ok.

To sum this up (because it’s getting late, I want a cup of hot chocolate and to play some good old Dragon Age):

Maybe EA is bad. Maybe it isn’t. But it’s certainly not the culprit of the industry anymore, considering all the petty/greedy attempts of other companies in recent years. To compare it to Bethesda, however, is a whole other story. It’s insulting. Bethesda Softworks is not just greedy, they have become a threat.

Bethesda Studios is the kind of wounded owner who kicks his own faithful dog with a club after it comes and licks its master’s wounds. That kick is painful and performed with a Creation Club.

I ran out of hot chocolate sachets.

#bethesda #paid mods #creation club #electronic arts #greediness #rant #gaming #game industry

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auburnfamilynews · 7 years

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Love him or hate him, Auburn Athletics Director Jay Jacobs is trying. Just a scant week before Auburn football takes the field against Georgia Southern, subscribers to the AU Athletics’ War Eagle Weekly email service received an email outlining more changes coming to football game days.

Changes centering around improving the experience of the average fan aren’t new. The last round saw lots of up-to-date TVs added around the concourse and free water distribution stations. Of course, these updates were half-measure responses to what the fans had actually asked for: more and better concessions to alleviate waiting for food during games and the ability to bring in water on hot September day games.

You may recall that Jordan-Hare is scheduled for some fairly massive upgrades, but the average fan wasn’t expected to reap the benefits. The vast majority of the construction benefits centers around corporate sponsors and recruits. I’ve voiced my concerns for several years now that the average fan and donor is continually ignored, despite taking the time to fill out surveys sent out by the athletics office.

Perhaps Jacob’s heard fans.

There will be 25 enhancements, and for the most part they are aimed at the average fan. You can read about all of them here.

Let’s take a look at ten of the more notable enhancements:

The Facilities and Community Garden RV parking area will now open on Thursdays at 2 p.m. They previously opened on Fridays at 4 p.m. While it was unlikely that you, as a fan, were going to be turned away if you arrived slightly early on Friday, it did make following the rules a bit hectic when showing up after work on a Friday (especially on big game weekends). This is a terrific change that should drive down the stress for hundreds of RV’rs.

The North End Zone concourse was expanded by 60 percent to allow for better traffic flow and less congestion. Additional concessions carts, grills and tents will be placed in this area. I would have much preferred to see the walkways inside of the stadium extended as that is where traffic is the worst, even if it meant sacrificing a row of seating. The congestion in the breezeways and on the loop around the stadium is the absolute worst thing about being inside Jordan-Hare.

Tiger Transit shuttles will operate to downtown Auburn pregame and from downtown to War Eagle Way after the game. I admit that I have never had an issue parking, even close to the stadium. We also stay fairly late after games to allow the congestion to die, so this doesn’t affect me. However, any mass transit done right is a good thing. I have to say that walking to the stadium from downtown is a long way, especially for the elderly.

45 new flat screen TV’s have been added to the upper concourses for better fan viewing when away from the game. Same comment I’ve had time and time again: Make the vendors more efficient and there is no need to watch the game from inside the concourses. If they need to be anywhere, they need to be inside the bathrooms or at least in easy viewing of the line going to the bathroom.

Auburn built four new concessions stands on the main concourse level and added 61 new points of sale. A followon to my statements earlier. Is more better? I guess we will see.

The size of the cups at the free hydration stations has been increased to 12 oz. The issue here isn’t the size of the cup but the inability to take enough cups to your seat. People pile up at the hydration stations to quench their thirst. I completely understand the safety issue that requires no bottles. Yet, every game day, hundreds of gallons of liquor is consumed inside the stadium. Are plastic drink containers really the problem?

A new outdoor club will be located in the Plainsman Park parking lot. It will be open to the public, and food and beverages will be available for purchase. I don’t see how this is new, at all. There have been multiple vendors at this spot for a decade or more. Perhaps it will offer something unique to fans, but it seems to be just an idea to cash in on the Tiger Walk crowd. Then, there is the talk of beer sales. That’s an entirely different debate, but it toes the line of demarcation between NFL and college policies that college football has danced around for decades.

The official Auburn mobile app will integrate in-stadium contests and interactive features. Instead of concentrating on contests and interactive features, I wish they would improve the app’s quality. It’s been fairly horrible.

New specialty vendors (Philly Connection, Taste of New Orleans, Jim N Nicks, Nuts About Auburn, Bodacious Burgers) have been added to the newly expanded north concourse. No offense to the old vendors, but “specialty” is interchangeable with “premium” in my book, and none of the previous “premium” vendors were premium at all except in the cost.

The student section will have a DJ. This has been the subject to a lot of laughs the last day or so on talk radio. Word on the street is that this DJ will take over duties that already existed, specifically playing music when the band doesn’t. However, it’s hard not to envision DJ Khalid playing “All I Do is Win.” Auburn has never, EVER, had an issue with either filling the student section or getting the students involved.

This feels more like something Oregon would do to establish atmosphere. This is Auburn. It has THE best game-day atmosphere. If Auburn needed to create an artificial atmosphere, all it had to do was dial up Alabama and Nick Saban for pointers and demand that the students stay for the entire game at the risk of losing their student tickets or pipe in the band through loudspeakers.

The post A Closer Look At Ten of Auburn’s 25 Gameday Improvements appeared first on Track 'Em Tigers, Auburn's oldest and most read independent blog.

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#IFTTT #Blogger

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davidaolson · 7 years

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The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life and activity; it affords protection to all beings. ~Buddhist Sutra

Transitioning: Beach to Jungle

The plane took off and landed three times as we hop, skipped, and jumped from San Pedro Island to the mainland.The choppy hum of the propeller driven plane was still buzzing in our ears as we collected our baggage and climbed into the shuttle taking us to Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch Jungle Lodge. The drive was an hour or so through the Belizean countryside into the mountains which were much cooler than the islands. When we stopped for gas, I was able to purchase a very cold and refreshing Dr. Pepper. Life can be most excellent in the tropics.

Pilot of the Small Plane

Belizean Waters

Belizean Homes On The Water

David & Irene

Ian Anderson’s

A couple of our friends visited Ian Anderson’s Cave Branch over a decade ago. They recommended it as a great place to visit if a bit on the rustic side. So, we arrived with the mindset of campers. We were greeted by gorgeous jungle grounds with flowers everywhere and excellent cabanas seemingly buried in the jungle, a private paradise complete with indoor and outdoor showers. There was no air conditioning in the cabanas so I, a person know to sweat in the dead of winter, was worried that I would wake in a pool of my own sweat. No worries. The cool tropical nights and ceiling fan provided perfect sleeping conditions.

Our cabana had two bedrooms. We chose the room with the queen sized bed away from the door. There was no glass in the windows. There were large windows with screens on all three sides with a view of the jungle. The vegetation was so dense, we could not see the other cabanas nor could they see us. The wood was mostly rich teak, beautiful brown red in color.

Dinner was served communally, buffet style. The food was savory and there was more than enough to fill every person to exploding. Every night we ate with different people, heard different stories, made new friends. It was a great setup.

Grounds

Day 1 Towel Art

Day 2 Towel Art

Bathroom Towel Art

View From The Big Bedroom

Bathroom

Back Room

Bar and Dining Area

Pool

Plant Life

Ian Anderson’s is known for the vast array of curated plant life. The grounds are a 15-acre botanical paradise. They have more orchids in their greenhouse than any other place in the country. Flowers of many varieties line the crushed gravel pathways connecting the cabanas to the bar/dining area to the pool and the front entrance. It seemed as though we discovered new flora every time we stepped out of our cabana.

Orchid

Blooming Soon

Orchid

Mushroom

Red Flower

Pink Leaves

Tikal

The big adventure hoped for out of Ian Anderson’s was a trip to see Tikal, the ancient Mayan ruins in Guatemala. The tour required a minimum of four people and, as of our most recent contact, we were the only two showing interest so we were a bit nervous. The Tikal adventure is not an everyday adventure operating 3 days per week. Our stay would overlap only one of the possible days. It was either going to be a go or disappointment. We had visited Lamanai in Belize as an insurance policy of sorts to ensure we would walk in the same footsteps, along the same footpaths as those ancient Mesoamericans. As luck would have it, six people, including us, were interested in Tikal. Game On!

We started out in the wee hours of the morning in the company van. I, an early bird, was ready to go. My wife, however, needed a bit of prodding with coffee. We drove in the dark jungle along misty roads arriving at the Guatemala border shortly after dawn. Breakfast was at a local Guatemalan restaurant.

We visited Tikal with a guide. This is a double-edged sword. On the one edge, we learned much we would never have known especially since our guide was raised in the Tikal jungle and could regale us with stories of his childhood. The other edge is there are significant time constraints when traveling with a guide and a group. It’s go, go, go with little time to wander or bask in the glory of the ancient wonders. I enjoy sitting in or on or near ancient monuments, letting my spirit settle, and trying to see what the ancients saw. I enjoy opening up empathic channels and sensing ancient spirits.

In our guide’s youth, the temples had not been unearthed. It was all jungle. However, his people called it the place of whispers. This leads me to believe the Mayan belief that the people who could not pass the thirteen tests to enter heaven after death were condemned to wander their earth forever was based in truth.

Our guide was very funny regaling us with many stories. How many were true and which were embellishments or complete fabrications to entertain the tourist we have no way of knowing. In the long run, it doesn’t matter. He made the jungle come alive with his stories and with the animals he pointed out, animals we would never have seen had we not shown us the way.

Despite not having time to meditate in the shadows of the temples, it was a fantastic visit. Definitely a high point for our Belizean adventure.

Breakfast in Guatemala

Danger Crocodile – Not A Sign Seen In Chicago

Giant Tree

Base of the Giant Tree

39 Steps to the Top

Walkng UP

Scary Walking Down

Temple

Woodpecker

Temple #2 – No Entry Allowed

View From Temple #1

Photo Op on Temple #1

Toucan

Green Plant Leaves

View From Temple Top

Walking Down Temple #1

Caving

Most of the Ian Anderson adventures involve water. If one is not a swimmer, these can be scary. After Tikal, we chose a relatively easy water adventure requiring inner tubes to navigate a cave river and a headlight to see in the pitch darkness.

This is one case where a guide was definitely needed. Without Esperanza, we would have no idea where we were going and could have spent weeks exploring without finding anything. It was pitch black except for the small swaths of light from our headlamps.

We traveled the short few miles to the cave in a rickety old bus. It was tall enough so we could cross a small river without fear of getting washed away or water in the cabin. A short hike carrying inner tubes to the kicking off point. We sat backward in our tubes and had to paddle upstream. The technique took some getting used to. By the way out, we were able to flow with the stream and almost steer to the places we wanted to stop.

We did some cave climbing up to a long deceased fire pit where there was some broken pottery. The pottery was broken to free a spirit. If not broken, the spirit would remain stuck in the vessel. I was wearing water shoes that had caught a number of small pebbles between my foot and the footbed making the hike rather painful. It was impossible to keep the pebbles out of the shoes as they lined the floor of the cave and swirled into the shoes with every step in the water.

At the furthest point of our journey, we came to a fertility god carving. According to Esperanza, if a child was born based on prayers to this god, it was required to be sacrificed to ensure future children. I’m a first born so am glad my parents were of the Mayan belief system. It was on sandy shore that our guides set up a tasty lunch of sandwiches and fruits. I was very hungry so it was even better in my mind than it was on my tongue.

Rickety Bus

Crossing the River in the Bus

Oranges

Esperanza, Our Cave Guide

Cave Climbing

TeeTee Citee

Pottery Broken To Set Spirts Free

Mayan Fertility God

Hiking Back to the Bus

Bus Interior

Zoo

We had a late flight so stopped at a local zoo on the way to the airport. We spent a couple of hours walking around the zoo which is home to rescue animals, animals unprepared to live on their own in the wild.

Jaguar Spots

Crocodile

Monkey

Monkies

Puma

Jaguar Yawning

Monkey Nuts

Pelican

Jaguar

Closing

We loved Belize. From the beach cabana to the jungle. From the snorkeling to the touring of ancient ruins. The one problem, a problem of our own making, is we tried to squeeze a lot of activity into a small amount of time. We should have taken more time to just sit and be, to absorb the tranquility into our souls. So, we have decided we will return next year. We will stay at Cocotal Inn in a beach Cabana the entire week where every morning we open our door we will be greeted by the pounding surf and the call of the local birds. Our plan is to buy local food and cook it ourselves in our cabana kitchen.

So, we have decided we will return next year. We will stay at Cocotal Inn in a beach Cabana the entire week where every morning we will open our door to be greeted by the pounding surf and the call of the local birds. The ocean will be that last thing we see at night and the first thing in the morning. Our plan is to buy local food and cook it ourselves in our cabana kitchen. I plan to rent a fishing pole and hope to catch edible fish off our dock. We will take long daily walks along the beach. We will feed our souls.

Belize Part 3 – Paradise In The Jungle The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life and activity; it affords protection to all beings.

#Ian Anderson #Jungle

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straourgtech-blog · 7 years

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Enough of this support drivel: It's an ideal opportunity to put a gaming PC in my parlor My front room setup needed an entire upgrade—another gaming PC and an executioner NAS.

Way back toward the start of 2015 I entrusted myself with building a gaming PC for the family room. after 12 months lastly—in the wake of coming to work for Ars, voyaging most of the way around the globe a couple times over, and calmly sitting tight for somebody to discharge a comfort like case that didn't suck—it is finished.

As is generally the situation when setting out on some crazy thought to utilize innovation to enhance your life—or for my situation, give a prettier approach to dawdle—there's a propensity to over-muddle things. A valid example: I as of now had a PC in my lounge room; an extremely old, boisterous, yet at the same time flawlessly practical HP Microserver that I utilized as a NAS and media player. The gaming PC could supplant the media player part, yet shouldn't something be said about the capacity?

So I required a gaming PC, and some kind of system connected stockpiling (NAS)— it is possible that one worked out of old parts, or something sparkly and new from Amazon. At that point I recollected that on account of my current securing of different bits of IoT apparatus, including two new gadgets rather than one would shortchange me an Ethernet attachment—and no, even with a switch equipped for 802.11ac, Wi-Fi still doesn't trump great ol' molded links for speed and unwavering quality.

So that is a gaming PC, a NAS, and another Ethernet switch. Gracious, and I required new electrical extensions, since it turned out I'd came up short on attachments. Like I stated: tech has a tendency to get muddled.

The issue with PC cases

Luckily, the electrical extensions and the unmanaged 8-port Ethernet switch were simple fixes, bar the difficult procedure of rewiring everything. The gaming PC notwithstanding, was trickier. The nuts and bolts are sufficiently basic: at least an Intel i5 processor, a respectable measure of RAM and capacity, and a decent representation card. The was one clear confusion, however: in light of the fact that the case will be situated in the lounge room, it should be as careful and as tranquil as would be prudent.

There are some pre-constructed alternatives. Alienware's Alpha, for example, is a small and shockingly downplayed machine—for Alienware at any rate—that games a Core i5-4590T, 8GB of RAM, and 1TB hard drive for £630 (less expensive models with an i3 and less RAM are accessible). In any case, the custom 2GB Nvidia GPU it ships with isn't upgradable, and is generally as effective as 860M versatile chip. That is fine for 1080p at medium or high settings, yet insufficient to bulldoze reassures, and absolutely insufficient to drive the 4K TV I'd be stopping it into.The venture up from the Alpha, Alienware's X51, is a superior alternative, yet costly when you consider the £630 demonstrate just accompanies an i3 processor and frightful Nvidia GTX 745 illustrations card. Bouncing up to the model with an obviously better AMD Radeon R9 370 and Core i7 pushes the cost up to barely short of £1000. That is also that, while you can update the design card, you're constrained by space and the custom power supply.

The X51's frame element is a decent one, however, the thin vertical game plan being much more engaging than the 3D square molded PCs that have a tendency to command little shape calculate (SFF) assembles. Much appreciated to some extent to Valve's Steam Machine activity, case producers are at long last beginning to offer vertical cases for building little PCs utilizing off-the-rack parts.

Silverstone, for example, has the extremely all around surveyed RVZ01 smaller than normal ITX case, which I'd have utilized if not for the way that it's still very extensive by SFF principles. Next on the rundown was Fractal's Node 202, a case I'd at first settled on account of its downplayed look and clean inside outline. Sadly, getting hold of a Fractal 202 demonstrated dubious on account of an entire absence of stock here in the UK.

At that point, come October, Overclockers UK gave me a bump and informed me concerning a refresh to the RVZ01, the RVZ02—and it was wonderful. Not exclusively is the RVZ02 slimmer than both the RVZ01 and Core 202 at only 87mm, it's generally modest at around £76. There's space inside for two 2.5-inch drives, representation cards up to 33cm long and 12cm wide (making it perfect with essentially every one of them), and it brandishes a pleasingly sharp, however unpretentious outline.

There's dependably a catch

Normally, there are a few bargains. For one thing, there are no outer cooling fans at all on the RVZ02. The GPU and CPU depend on their implicit fans alone to remain cool, which dangers throttling, and unquestionably discounts any outrageous overclocks. The CPU cooler can't be taller than 58mm either. The RVZ02 additionally just works with littler SFX or SFX-L control supplies, which have a tendency to be pricier than their ATX partners. Notwithstanding all that, the RVZ02 stays one of the better choices for a thin case that takes a full-estimate design card.Working inside the case is a breeze, something that can't be regularly be said for smaller than normal ITX cases. The two side boards slide off to uncover a shockingly vast compartment for a motherboard, PSU, two instrument free 2.5-inch drive mounts, and a slimline optical mount, while the opposite side has a space for a GPU that sits on an included riser card. It's an odd design, yet it keeps the case thin, and the CPU and GPU well separated, which assists with keeping them both cool. It's important that the reasonable plastic adaptation of the case doesn't include any clean channels as an afterthought boards, which—given they're essential air consumption for every one of the parts—is an odd exclusion. Cheerfully, the model with dark side boards does, so in the event that you do purchase a RVZ02, make certain to get that rendition.

There are other pleasant touches all through that make establishment less demanding: pre-introduced motherboard standoffs, a vast cut-out behind the CPU for cooler establishment, and a lot of space around the PSU to mount links. Notwithstanding utilizing a bigger SFX-L PSU—which, until Corsair starts acting responsibly and discharges its 600W SFX PSU, is the best SFX-sized PSU going because of its bigger and calmer 120mm fan—works without issue. Link administration is continually going to be a battle in thin case, however I was enjoyably shocked to find that there's adequate space around the PSU to stash any abundance link.

Staying with the Silverstone subject, I picked the organization's SST-AR06 CPU cooler. While I can't state I like its startling blue fan, the cooler is the best alternative for the RVZ02, since it's the most extreme tallness of 58mm, putting the 92mm fan straight up against the side board to suck in air. Something like the Noctua NH-L9i would work as well, yet it's considerably shorter at 37mm. For the CPU I utilized an Intel Core i7 6700k, which may appear like pointless excess yet I anticipate clinging to this PC for a little time. There's a non-"K" adaptation of the chip accessible in case you're not wanting to overclock, but rather the value distinction in the UK is negligible.Housing the CPU is MSI's Gaming Z170I Skylake load up. MSI's sheets have gone ahead a wide margin lately, their unwavering quality and strength up there with any semblance of Asus and Gigabyte. It has a rich arrangement of components, as well, including an Intel i219 NIC, double reception apparatus 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and a completely confined sound PCB. Sadly, the M.2 space is restricted to 60mm SSDs, so something like the Samsung 950 Pro won't fit, and there's just USB 3.0 support, not 3.1. Those aren't major issues for me, and given exactly what a limited number of smaller than usual ITX Skylake sheets are available right now—and that it's one of the less expensive ones—the Z170I is an incredible arrangement.

Whatever is left of the segments are comprised of a couple of odds and ends I pulled from old PCs, including a 250GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD, a Seagate 1TB SSHD with 8GB of glimmer stockpiling, and, uhh, a Nvidia Titan X. The Titan X has been sitting to a great extent unused in my workstation/gaming PC (I do the greater part of my gaming on the lounge chair nowadays), so I figured why not utilize improve utilization of it? Also, it'll be intriguing to perceive how it manages without wind current and with the stock Nvidia cooler. In case you're doing this manufacture yourself, the less expensive 980 Ti will give you a similar execution for way less cash, while the 970 is perfect for 1080p. AMD fans ought to look at the recently discharged 380X for 1080p, or a Fury for 4K.

The aggregate form cost if utilizing the more sensible GTX 980 Ti is around £1300 (presumably about $1600 in the US). With the Titan X it comes to around £1600. Considering the specs, that is obviously better an incentive than a pre-manufactured machine.NAS bad dreams

I was touch presumptuous when it went to the NAS part of the lounge room redesign. That is to say, how hard would it be able to be correct? It is possible that you assemble a NAS from an old PC and load it up with something like FreeNAS, or you get one off-the-rack. The inconvenience is, the sheer volume of choices with regards to organized stockpiling is dumbfounding. Barring the construct your-own particular course for the occasion, there are several distinct NAS fenced in areas accessible from spots like Amazon and Overclockers, all with various sorts of programming bundles, processors, and capacity limits.

At the extraordinary end of the shopper well disposed determination are the Western Digital My Cloud gadgets, which are fixed units with pre-introduced drives that run decent Web-based interfaces and guarantee simple setup. At that point there are business-centered gadgets and rack-mounted units from any semblance of QNAP, Buffalo, and Synology that game at least eight drive coves and bunches of customisability. I knew I needed the adaptability of utilizing my own drives, which precluded gadgets like the My Cloud, yet I didn't require something as huge as a 8-narrows NAS.

To be sure, it was estimate that put me off building my own NAS. The default arrangement for building a NAS—a small scale ITX board with loads of SATA ports and low-control CPU—is awesome from an execution perspective, yet most NAS cases tend to game at least five hot swap coves, with space for a normal ATX PSU. Of the cases I discovered—which incorporated any semblance of the Silverstone DS380B and Lian-Li PC-Q25—all were greater than the HP Microserver I had been utilizing, which implied they wouldn't fit in a similar bureau.

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