#elon musk ruined my twitter experience

[machetegirl109]

look, im not good at this small talk thing... u got a strap i can bounce on or nah?

#elon musk ruined my twitter experience

[lutzbug]

I have officially left Twitter/“X”. The situation has gotten so ridiculous that I don’t want to deal with it anymore lol. You would not believe the sheer amount of bots with naked lady PFPs that have been spamming my notifications over the last month or so. I block one and three more pop up in its place. When I look at their page, all the shit they post is something like “Specific economic theories are constructed from rationality which is the same thing as maximizing expected utility by applying the basic postulates to various economic situations.” Every. Single. One. This never used to happen.

On top of the weird spam, there’s obviously the Elon Musk problem and his propensity towards fawning all over far-right shitheels. As a big queer weirdo with the ‘tism, I don’t exactly want to hang out on a website that’s rapidly transforming into Gab or Parler. Tbh far-right talking heads ruin my day every time I see them. On Twitter, you can’t avoid them even if you try, because people think they need to dunk on them in the quote retweets. So here I am on tumblr, where I haven’t even seen one.

Like I said before, my experience with this place has been much more positive than Twitter. I built a big chunk of my audience there, but they followed me here, so that’s been nice!

Anyway I’ll be populating my account with more art soon enough.

#not art #text post #thinky thoughts

[palant1r]

Week 2: The Right is Right about "Brave New World"

Every so often, some right-wing talking head will state that our current world is just like 1984 or Fahrenheight 451 or Brave New World, the most recent example being Elon Musk. This inevitably results in rightful mockery from Tumblr and Twitter, pointing out that the figure in question likely has not read the books, or if they had, did not understand them. This is, in all cases, likely true. However, I feel like there's an implied corollary in this response: that the reason we can tell that Elon Musk or Ben Shapiro or whoever didn't understand these books is that these books do not actually align with their politics, and they're simply using the surface-level signifiers of dystopia without actually comprehending the actual societal issues the author was taking aim at.

In the case of Brave New World, this is false. Aldous Huxley would be horrified at today's world, and would likely see his dystopian creation mirrored in it. This is because Brave New World is incredibly reactionary.

Dystopia is a very powerful tool for social critique in literature, because it exaggerates the problems the author wishes to highlight to the degree that they cannot be ignored or excused, forcing the reader to confront the true implications of processes or norms they may have come to take for granted. However, this also makes it harder to immediately disagree with the politics compared with a dystopian work, and makes it important to isolate what issues a dystopia is actually taking aim at, and what anxieties such writing stems from.

Brave New World is a progressive dystopia — unlike, say, the Handmaid's Tale, the world Huxley depicts was ruined by progress and new ideas. It's a book that longs for the old world. Its thesis can be summed up by "Reject modernity, embrace tradition," which is an automatic red flag.

I won't go fully into detail as to how I've derived what Brave New World is taking aim at, given that this is just a blog post about my book of the week and not an essay. I shall instead give a numbered list of the things that Aldous Huxley is trying to say that I don't like.

The nuclear, heterosexual, monogamous family is an essential facet of a good and just civilization. Any deviation from that is a modern perversion.

New art is not valuable, and it is dangerous in its valuelessness. The old works of the broader Western canon must be the basis by which we judge the aesthetic and moral value of art.

Conflict and struggle is necessary to form the moral core and solidarity of a nation, and should be elevated to a place of glory. (Yes, this is fascist as hell)

A society cannot be moral and individuals cannot be grounded without God. Modernity leaves no room for God. (The Native Americans in this story worship Jesus, which helps John become Enlightened. It's fucking weird and racist.)

Contraception is a direct agent in the degradation of important sexual norms, and these strict sexual norms are essential for humanity to experience its fullest potential. It's also bad because it deprives women of their natural need for motherhood.

Globalism Bad because World Too Big

Eugenics is bad, not because of any of the actual reasons that eugenics is bad, but because it is New Science and results in the undermining of what is natural

What is natural is good.

The arrival of radio and other new forms of storytelling represents the dearth of societal intellectual development

When the masses are given control, they will clamor for happiness instead of fulfillment

There's absolutely more wild reactionary stuff in Brave New World, but I'm not in the mood to fully analyze it. My point is, I'm starting to realize how much I've internalized the idea that classic dystopias are taking aim at the modern realizations of the things they criticize, rather than contemporary anxieties about modernity. It's important to remember that just because an author wrote a popular social critique doesn't mean they have a monopoly on what is Bad in society.

And when conservatives cite Brave New World as proof of modern society's degeneracy, yeah sure, it's fun to dunk on them for not reading it. But I need to make sure I don't fall into the trap of arguing that they're wrong because they didn't read the book — even if they read and totally understand the book, I do not want the direction of society to be shaped by Aldous Huxley. Modern conservatives are not misinterpreting Huxley's work. They are the modern custodians of the worldview it represents.

#andy reads brave new world #brave new world #andy reads #might read 1984 next so i can see if its also like this

[bigeardog]

elon musk is ruining my life

it feels like twitter is becoming more and more hostile to its users. not because the people are becoming more toxic, but because with every update comes a feature no one asked for that only makes the user experience worse.

i’m used to only using tumblr like a better version of google images, i just browse and save what i fancy to my computer. however, i am growing ever so fondly of using this blue social media for blurting out random thoughts and posting pretty pictures.

i left tumblr in 2018 and didn’t think i would be back, but here we are. thanks elon musk for ruining the studytwt and langtwt communities, i really appreciate it /sarcasm

#twitter #twitter refugees #twitter vs tumblr #elongated muskrat

[vinnyistired]

Twitter doomscrolling

CW: heavy topics such as mental health issues, transphobia, physical and digital self harm, and are all mentioned (sometimes in an irreverent tone/black comedy)

I have no idea how to use tumblr or how to tag things so if this is sloppy I apologize.

I realized recently that twitter is quickly becoming a digital self harm machine for me. I originally signed up for it to post about my now defunct yt channel and twitch. It slowly evolved into a way to discover new artists, memes, and be a goblin with people. I would never retweet furry art for fear of friends finding out my interest in that stuff and get hectored for it, then suddenly peoples likes appeared on the tl which indirectly outed me as a furry. oops :V

Anyway point is the ratio of chill and doom scrolling was skewed heavily towards posi-vibes, and when there was some terrible news it would be sprinkled between memes and thicc furry women. It was sparce enough that I wasn't overwhelmed by it, and If it was a big deal I would look into it later on my own and/or talk about it with friends.

Somewhere along the line the ratio flipped. To be honest, this is mostly my fault. I somehow ended up following over a thousand people who are all mostly like-minded politically. After I got over my big brain enlightened centrist phase- which I got over very quickly after I put my money where my mouth is and genuinely tried to listen to both sides and learned that a lot of the far right are, as the kids say, "mad cringe"- I realized I was left leaning. I'm also bi and like when PoC aren't being systemically racist upon'd (?), so I naturally gravitated towards like minded people. Especially furries. Like, a lot of furries.

I'm not bringing up political ideologies to call out everyone that disagrees with me as being shrimp brained dildos (they are though, especially about video game and cartoons), I need to paint the landscape of my timeline for you. I'm sure if you've read this far you either figured out where this is going or have a similar twitter experience; Hundreds of people retweet the same tragedies, doom posts, or some kind of calls to action to cancel or unfollow someone for reasons ranging from something as severe and legitimately concerning as grooming to something as meaningless as they're an artist that *checks notes* gave someone's shoulders and knees a uh... slight blush/warm red glow...?

It's too fucking much, but I still blame myself. Despite the toll it takes I keep opening the app, I keep scrolling through my timeline wading through it all for a crumb of muscular orc gf art or a meme about a dude eating dirt or something. I know what's there, I know its going to upset me but I keep doing it. Recently I started keeping track of who was liking and retweeting all this shit and I noticed a pattern; a shotgun blast of bad news, all retweeted within a minute or two between each other by the same account. It read something like this:

TRANS PERSON MURDERED IN HATE CRIME

LIST OF CONTENT CREATORS THAT GROOMED MINORS

HEARTBREAKING: GUY YOU HATE HAS ABSOLUTE DOGSHIT OPINION

Cat pic :3

AI ART, VOICES, AND DEEP FAKES ARE RUINING LIVES

POLITICIAN SERVES 2 DAYS HOUSE ARREST AFTER DRUNK DRIVING THROUGH A SCHOOL

soft cute art uwu

THREAD WITH PICS OF 27 MORE TRANS PEOPLE WHO WERE MURDERED

ELON MUSK MAKING THE WORLD WORSE

ANDREW TATE

I wish I was exaggerating when I say this, but copy and paste that 52 times from different people and that's my timeline. It's affecting my mood and my energy but I can't stop looking. I have no other social media outlets because ironically I have issues socializing and putting myself out there. It's now at the point where my brain now focuses on who is posting it.

I'm very cynical due to being afflicted with what therapists call "heavy lore", so I can't help but wonder; are the people retweeting this stuff even reading it? Do they think about it? Like I said four tangents ago, that pattern was retweeted by the same person in less than a minute. So.. what is this for? Clout? Have we gotten to the point where it is now a social obligation to retweet shit like that to let everyone know "Hey I care, I'm not a prick, please don't unfollow me!" or "As an empath, everyone needs to know I am capable of empathy, lest they neglect to like comment and superscribe". Maybe it stems from a feeling of powerlessness. Almost like they figure there's nothing we can do, so let's shove it in everyone's face in the hopes that it reaches the very few that actually have the power to get the train moving.

I'm sure people with the reading comprehension of a toothpick will think "Guess you hate all those people who died/suffered/are in need huh? Sorry to disrupt your furry porn with the REAL WORLD, BRO.", but the reality is that I do care. We all do. The issue is that shoving it in each others' faces to affirm that yes, we all agree that this is terrible and deserves to be rectified, but it is exhausting when it's coupled with the fact that we lack the power to make lasting change alone, and those who have the power to make a change refuse to do it.

We do it in the hopes it reaches new eyes and ears, but... we are all within the same circles. Sure, it might reach someone outside of our normal circle, but chances are their circle overlaps with ours. We're creating a feedback loop that is inducing some kind of social energy debt to a social circle that ultimately already knows and agrees that the bad thing that happened is bad. We are all allowing what is arguable the lamest and most infuriating kind of vampire sink it's crusty teeth into us, and its not at all hot like it is with actual vampires, and all it does is remind me how truly powerless I am in the face of these tragedies.

I know other people feel it too, because I never see people rally and take action to change systemic issues that matter. I watched people use more energy to get rid of cartoon characters they deemed problematic -in shows they don't even watch- than they have on anything actually useful. I know it sounds like I'm being judgy and harsh, but I will be the first to admit that I am plat II in slacktivism just like every other terminally online person I know. But again, I can't even blame them. They are using what little power they have to do something they feel is making some kind of change for the better.

I've reread this, and I think I figured out my problem. It's not that the problems themselves are insurmountable and unending, it's the unending avalanche of tragedy that is my timeline that makes it seem like these issues can't be conquered. The progress the world has made despite the misguided people that stand in the way is substantial despite the long road we still have to walk. That being said my mental health is on a steady decline and I need to mute or unfollow some mfers cause they seem to feed on it. I spoke with some friends about it and they gave me a new perspective on it. When you're depressed, the easiest emotion to access is anger. In a weird way we are all participating in the perpetuation of an anger economy just to feel fucking anything. This might sound weird, but I think I'm substituting physical self harm with digital self harm. It would explain why I can't stop despite it siphoning what little energy I have left from day to day life. I'm confident in this theory because I've physically hurt myself before, and all of this evokes similar feelings of both anger and guilt.

Whatever the case it's keeping me from seeing friends' art and posts, furry stuff, and terrible memes, and I think we can all agree that is the most tragic part of all of this.

#twitter #doomscrolling #rant #vent post

[bitty-bits]

A Jolly SineTrismas

It surely was another year. Let's look back at some stuff, and forward to other stuff, in the final Bitty Bits edition of 2022.

First of all, happy holidays to all who celebrate. Yeah it is a bit late on the "more famous holiday" side of things, but there are still others going on, and... in general it's probably never wrong to be festive during all of December. (It's also not wrong to NOT be festive! Just pointing that out!)

Many things happened in this late half of the year, controversial things, stupid things, all things. Here I will talk about some that mattered to me, to some extent.

(Also, RIP bozo...naro! Good riddance!)

This issue is dedicated to @rick-666, friend and avid newsletter enthusiast who encouraged me to try to fix the broken ass email form thingy that should actually send these posts as newsletter things but just isn't working! I'll have it fixed next year, I promise!!!!

My Work - Where To Next?

So I've made and tried to make many things through the years, but as someone who pretty much does anything all the time, I'm finding myself often doing... nothing at the end of it.

In 2020 I basically started work on Ketchup Dreams by making its first characters, Bitty and Lake, with more to follow the coming years... but still nothing too substantial. Pondered with which medium to present these characters in. Comics? Animation? In the end I'd just continue adding some things here and there to the overall project, but it still doesn't seem like enough. I really want to build a good universe for these guys to live in.

So at the moment I feel kinda directionless. But hopefully that will change. I guess I won't know what sticks until I actually do stuff.

From Bitty also came the entire aesthetic, motif, symbol, meaning AND name for, I guess you can call my "indie" studio/group/label thing... which my future creative works will be released under, and who knows maybe even friends' creations. The "ᑎᐱ" thing was kind of accidental, but I liked it enough that I wanted it to mean something for me. Not to sound corny and dumb, but to me "ᑎᐱ" is kinda like another representation of the polarity we have in life, much like black and white, but in this case it would be something like... smooth and sharp. Yeah I'm not gonna try to give too much meaning to it, it's just for fun, mostly. Bitty's ears initially were meant to just be bunny + kitty ears (hence the incredibly original name) for an asymmetrical design, but that basically spiraled into everything else.

All that said I'm still doing stuff every now and then, I even have been experimenting with tweaking Lake's design slightly, you can even see a little bit of that in the header art here. More on that some other time...

You can check the current "roadmap" for Studio SineTri projects on the pinned tweet.

Why not "TriSine" instead? Because that just... sounds too normal. "Tri" is an existing and common prefix. Also the order matters.

The Tesla In The Room

I don't think I need to talk much about the whole thing with Elon Musk buying Twitter and everything that came with it. Mostly I'm just tired of it all. Billionaires, other than beings that shouldn't exist, are Boring and not even in a funny kind of way (except for Bill Gates, his mere existence is comedic to me probably thanks to early internet culture) I wish I just didn't have to hear about 'em. But I guess we can't.

Anyways this entire situation practically got me back into being on Tumblr daily, after I had left it in favor of Twitter in like 2015, and now... the opposite is happening, that's just how sick I am of Twitter. Not just the website itself but the people in it and the energy that usually comes out of there these days. Musk was simply a final nail in the coffin. The problem is... he just keeps adding more nails. Here's hoping Elon doesn't ruin the very last thing that made Twitter "fun" to me - TweetDeck, but chances it'll survive are slim.

I'm also on Mastodon btw. Juuust in case.

AI Art Discourse - What's Happening?!

"A Still of Klonoa in The Simpsons"

Speaking of Twitter, probably one of the least pleasing topics to witness over there lately will be this.

No doubt, "AI art" as a concept pretty much exploded into popularity in 2022, while it already existed in concept years before, this was pretty much the one year that, 5 years ago, we'd look at machine learning attempting art and say "now just think about how that'll be 5 years from now", and well, that time IS now. Kinda.

There's legitimate worry about whether or not the computer would be able to replace artists, but... personally I don't think it will ever BECAUSE... there will still always be a demand for humanity and human-created content no matter how good any sort of AI gets, and well, currently AI still struggles with "drawing" many things. But it's fine, earlier this year people were mostly memeing with AI generators, being impressed, confused, having a laugh, or everything all at once.

Until computers making drawings suddenly were no longer seen as cool but rather, bad!!! evil!!! problematic!!! etc. even though the reason for that all stems from... misconceptions and misinformation (sometimes on purpose, just because... I dunno. Internet rewards people who get angry at things.) about how the technology works to begin with. No, AI doesn't simply collage a bunch of pictures together, that just isn't how it works, even if it knows what a Mona Lisa looks like almost perfectly. It's hard to put it into words, but this thread I believe explains it a bit better in simpler terms (hopefully), even if you still don't understand, it's... best to not be too ignorant about it.

Of course, I DO think AI ethics is an important conversation that should happen, but not if it's... not gonna be a conversation in the first place. If it sounds too extreme, reactionary, or sounds just about as crazy as anything you'd hear coming from Alex Jones or like, your pro-life uncle™, then it probably isn't the way to go.

This made even people who think photography isn't art come out of their closets, if they even were in one.

There are good use cases for AI in art. One of them is allowing disabled individuals to also partake and experiment with visual arts. Yes, technically nothing "stopped" them from "really" doing it, but just look at how much that argument almost slips into ableism territory (and there is a surprising amount of that coming from some anti-AI folks.) Hell, I could've used AI to create a background for the art on my header as I'm mostly... a character illustrator, focused on characters, and just don't really enjoy drawing backgrounds much at all.

Anyways I recommend y'all check out AWAY (Are We Art Yet), a collective of artists and creators alike embracing AI but also fighting for more ethical AI usage (discussion about scraping images from the web, consent for works to be used as training data, etc.), without the reactionarism and sometimes ableism. They're a friendly bunch.

What I’ve Been Playing / Watching

Gravity Falls

Well, does it really?

Hey Kids, Have You Heard Of Gravity Falls? The show's 10th anniversary was this year and, having heard mostly only good things about it since then, AND as someone who had recently been sucked deep into the modern Disney TVA pipeline (DuckTales 2017, Amphibia and Owl House are also great and would also recommend), I made it a goal to watch all of it before the year ends.

At first I thought this, like other very successful shows, would have way too many seasons for me to really get into, so I was surprised when I found out that wasn't the case.

It's definitely a great show, even 10 years later. From what I saw very little of it comes across as dated when it comes to references or jokes, the characters being likable and interesting are about enough to hook you into it I think. Also Matt Chapman is in there a lot and as an avid Homestar Runner fan, you can just Tell not only through his voices, but his humor and vibes entirely in some episodes.

If there's one thing I probably can't get enough of is Disney cartoons made by some of the most... Non-Disney people on Earth.

The Dream I Had On December 25th

Usually I share my dreams on Twitter, but decided it might be neat to feature some of the more interesting ones right here. They are an essential part of one of my creations after all. This year though, for a reason or another, I had less eventful or weird dreams in general. But waking up on Christmas day this is what was on my mind:

For more of my dreams you can check out my dream journal with stuff since at least 2014, here.

I had a dream I can split up in three parts - first I was at an old house of mine but I could hear a new trailer for the Mario movie premiering far outside, a classic game song could be heard in it and things pointed to it being a Daisy reveal.

Second part was a Strong Bad thing, where I possibly interact with him directly and actually cause a change to homestarrunner.com "accidentally". He makes some sort of analog horror parody, and an old main page gets a new "feature" permanently. I felt a sense of realization since "I caused this". I really wish I remembered more cuz it was great

Third part is the one I can recall the most, it was what seemed like a weird Gravity Falls AU type thing, which is slightly mixed up with The Owl House - In what appears to be the first episode, Grunkle Stan is nowhere to be found, with probably Eda taking his place as the twins' "Graunt". The episode begins with Mabel just wandering around the forest, when she comes across several typically good luck signs all at once, things like four leaf clovers and such. Eda knowing better knows it's a trap and tries to protect Mabel, but she is convinced that Eda is a witch (which probably Should be a secret at first in this alternate timeline I guess, Eda Is Not What She Seems™) and EVIL!!! and ignores her, acting hostile towards her, even, so Eda locks her up in a shelter. Perfectly normal. In there she finds… a journal. It doesn't appear to be -the- GF journal but rather a mix of that and Philip's journal from Owl House. At first it looked like the journal could talk by itself but someone just happened to be there in disguise, it was Soos, who happens to know a couple things about the journal but probably not much. For some reason I was "watching" it in Portuguese and they'd give him a completely different name, likely starting with a hard C, but I can't remember now. Some weird magic thing happens too which I don't remember how it's triggered or when exactly in the episode progression it even happens but it would make food and candy "infinitely stretchy", where you could essentially have infinite amounts of something just by stretching them, and it caused children to go insane over it. Eventually Soos and Mabel made it out of the shelter, with the latter no longer feeling suspicious about Eda. That's about what I can recall.

Song of the Issue

I will now feature some cool music (probably just vgm) I like here, just because. Sometimes topical, sometimes not.

But today it might be.

A secret easter egg track, on the older 2008 MIDI version of the Charlie (the Duck) II soundtrack (that probably came into existence together with the 2008 Windows version of the game, as opposed to the original DOS version which much like other Wiering Software games only had sound effects, at most.)

It would only play on Christmas day, and was basically a slight arrangement of the proper theme, but with some classic Christmas tunes thrown into it.

The OGG/streamed version you hear on the Steam release cuts the song a bit shorter.

More Stuff

Audicons Fluent/2.0/Name Pending

Inspired by Microsoft's Fluent Design aesthetics and technicalities, this will be an update to my existing icon pack for audio formats, covering even more obscure formats that only 3 people know about! Just like the old pack, this will be fully compatible with probably any version of foobar2000. Very soon!

Ninjin on Archive.org

Yeah!

juke...box. AI. video.

yeah dude.

(no, seriously, it'll come out when it comes out. that's it.)

Miscellaneous Tumblr Side Things

I dunno, I just felt like... having a couple dedicated side blogs for specific interests, as some people do, cuz I have ideas. One of them will be about brazilian animation in general. Nothing fancy or scheduled, just things that will exist.

Conclusion

The more I write the more self-conscious I get that I might just be shit at writing Anything, but I still appreciate if anyone actually likes reading through!

Stay tuned for the traditional yearly dumb highlights collage pic™ on my main Tumblr (@lu9) and Twitter (if it's not completely broken by then...)

Bitty's Message of the Day

My new year's resolution is to Exist more!

#newsletter #personal #preservation

[pyrolitheus]

How's Musk "ruining millions of lives"? Go on, I'll wait. Equally enforcing the existing ToS isn't ruining millions of lives. Allowing people you don't like to have opinions you don't agree with (and aren't in any capacity illegal) isn't ruining millions of lives. Not allowing you to be a fascist by silencing disagreement isn't ruining lives.

Honest question: just how?

I am going to ignore the aggressive nature of your language and treat this like you actually mean it as a honest question, just in case you really do want to know. I think it's interesting that we live in such a siloed world that when I say something, you think you know what I am implying because it would absolutely imply that in your silo, but it does not imply the same things in my silo, so you don't know where I am coming from at all. This is why I am treating your question like a real question. We can't understand each other without having a real conversation, and we can't do that without discarding the buzz words because they mean different things in different silos but we presume the meaning to be the same, thereby causing all manner of communication breakdowns and pointless fights. The reality is that I honestly don't really know much about what Musk is doing with Twitter ToS or what opinions he's been expressing (I don't follow his posts), so the comment I made about Musk ruining lives has nothing to do with any of that. I'm talking about things like this: ◾ He fired thousands of Twitter employees unilaterally 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 figuring out how Twitter works behind the scenes, often on the spot and without notice, thereby ruining the lives of thousands of people (more, if you count the families who rely on their income) and undermining the very business he purchased at the same time by making these changes before understanding the old business plan and making a new one. ◾ From what I have read from various leaders in business, Twitter is now expected to fall apart until it flops due to Musk's poor decisions. That will cost more employees their jobs, and it will undermine the important networking that lots of people use Twitter for in a wide variety of industries. ◾ Even Forbes says Musk's overall leadership style is detrimental to the health and well-being of his employees, in addition to making his businesses suffer. ◾ He even got a warning from the FTC due to the chaos caused by his policies causing a sharp uptick in fake accounts. And that's just Twitter. Once you factor in his horrendous treatment of Tesla employees and so on, he has probably irreparably hurt more people than I have even met in my life so far. Everyone in the world of business understands that Elon Musk in business leadership roles is bad news because people (and businesses) suffer. Like you, I agree that silencing opinions due to mere disagreement is bad (the fact that I posted this ask instead of deleting it on the spot demonstrates this). If you really do care about that, and it's not just code for wanting to protect people who agree with you from being silenced, then I think it's worth noting that Musk is firing Twitter employees who criticize him (as well as SpaceX employees) which is directly at odds with the whole concept of free speech. And since ToS enforcement sounds like it is important to you, please note that Musk may have fired the people who do that enforcement, which would mean that Twitter ToS enforcement is not really happening. I guess in summary, the answer to your ask is: Zoom out from the user experience of Twitter and look at the big picture of Musk as a businessperson, and then you'll be able to find the menace.

#answered ask #Elon Musk

[alevoil]

unironically i fucking hate twitter with all of my soul because i will spend literal days perfectly curating my main page to only show shitposts and beautiful art and just not interacting with a single post about a negative topic (not cause i'm being purposefully ignorant but because i'm already stressed out enough as-is and don't want interpersonal drama stories rattling around in the noodle too) and i'm having a perfectly jolly time of and then all of a sudden i'll see shit that's like "last year i was SA'd by *insert weird streamer-sounding name here*; a thread" from a user i've never interacted with in my life and my day gets ruined and then i feel bad for feeling like my day got ruined just because i saw someone genuinely struggling and trying to speak out about it and so i like the post to boost it and then my whole page is suddenly filled with the most fucked up vent posts you've ever read in your life and the whole experience just makes me want to rip off my arm and shove it down elon musk's throat

#i swear the moment i stopped using twitter regularly my mental health increased by 64% i'm not even kidding #kinda vent #twitter #anti twitter #mental health #social media

[ifyouwouldhavebeenthe1]

Elon Musk is so weird, like ruining my stan Twitter experience (which was mostly very positive and added a lot of joy to my life)

[virgo-of-rage]

I posted 1,557 times in 2022

That's 55 more posts than 2021!

1,551 posts reblogged

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@judgejudyofficial

@mammagoodlove

@depsidase

@adrian-blake

@sodomymcscurvylegs

I tagged 38 of my posts in 2022

#iconic - 2 posts

#kharlo - 2 posts

#derry girls - 2 posts

#virgo - 2 posts

#gay - 2 posts

#nivek - 2 posts

#irish vs english - 2 posts

#sodomymcscurvylegs - 2 posts

#like to charge reblog to cast - 2 posts

#i hope florida and disney obliterate one another - 1 post

Longest Tag: 82 characters

#why does this make it sound like gay men's only contribution was dieing from aids?

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

People say an orgasm is the best feeling a human can experience, I respectfully disagree. Nothing beat the feeling of a migraine going away.

0 notes - Posted February 20, 2022

#4

"the lesser of two evils" neoliberalism is part of the greater evil because it allows for politicians to become more and more right wing in plain sight. shut the hell up and also kill your self

Blow me you pussy ass anon bitch.

0 notes - Posted February 9, 2022

#3

Sweetie pie. Re the leather pride post: You moron. The OP has had five years to take down that original post. Crickets. Of course the adults in the room are dragging the little troll; it has shown no remorse or progress. And, rather like yours, its ignorance is and remains primal. There is not one word of that post which is true; it is stupid hatred, bigotry, sex-hating prudery--which is why you love it so much. What is 'unhinged' is your defense of such ugliness, after five years! LMAO! Perhaps if you ever got off your personal dildo (oops, sorry, 'smartphone' ) you might actually learn to do something other than regurgitate the social media cliche of the day, but of course you never will. You're schooled and blocked with pleasure. :D

No idea what you're talking about but I hope sending this made you feel better about yourself.

1 note - Posted July 8, 2022

#2

Donald Trump ran for president because he was mocked at the White House Correspondence Dinner.

Peter Thiel bankrolled a lawsuit that ruined a media company that wasn’t nice to him.

Now, it appears Elon Musk started buying his Twitter stock when he couldn’t get the kid with the bot that tracks his plane (from publicly available data) to stop.

Unless we’re somehow going to STOP having billionaires, can we maybe stop hurting their stupid feelings for a joke and provoking them into actions that damage the society but don’t harm them in any way? Unless we’re going to seize their wealth and means of power, stop poking the fucking bears!

3 notes - Posted April 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

34 notes - Posted March 21, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[machetegirl109]

im so bored i just wanna have a masc on their knees for me, looking at me like a pathetic bitch and begging to eat me out 🤷🏻‍♀️

#i like loser pathetic girls... #elon musk ruined my twitter experience

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/tiktok-could-be-a-huge-security-riskand-other-small-business-tech-news/

TikTok Could Be A Huge Security Risk…And Other Small Business Tech News

(Photo by NARINDER NANU/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?

1 — Wells Fargo directed employees to remove TikTok from company devices.       

This past week Wells Fargo announced that they have told employees that if they have TikTok on any devices that belong to the company they need to remove it immediately due to privacy issues and concerns. Wells Fargo is the most recent company to respond to concerns regarding security regarding employees utilizing the app. It was reported that the Chinese-owned app reached 2 billion downloads this past April, but has been flagged due to several security issues. (Source: The Verge)

Why this is important for your business:

Wells Fargo is not the only organization to show concern with TikTok’s security. Both the U.S. government and the country’s two major political parties have banned its use over privacy concerns and even Amazon warned its employees to stop using the app, although the company later retracted the order. Regardless, the Chinese-owned social service – which has had problems in the past – has caused many technology executives to re-think its use on company owned devices that are used by employees. It may be a consideration for you. Yahoo Finance’s Daniel Howley has a great perspective on the issue here.

2 — This is the cheapest 4K laptop right now.

The cheapest 4K laptop on the market right now comes from a company you might not be familiar with: Chuwi. The AeroBook Plus by Chuwi can be purchased for less than $600. The device’s dual-core processor was rolled out in 2015 and the device runs off of 8GB RAM, contains Bluetooth 5.0, and has a battery that can last up to eight hours. Currently the AeroBook Plus is able to be shipped all over the world. (Source: Tech Radar)

Why this is important for your business:

Chuwi has been selling technologies for more than 15 years on many online platforms, including Amazon. But the company’s finances and operations are a little murky. Does that matter if you’re getting a good price? I think it does. Laptops and devices need support and – for security purposes – should be bought from known brands if you want to minimize any potential headaches in the future. I would avoid these bargain price options and stick with names you know because hey, when something sounds too good to be true….

3 —Amazon has unveiled its own smart grocery cart in a new effort to automate physical retail checkout.  

This past week, Amazon announced that they will be rolling out a smart grocery cart, making it the first of its kind. The grocery cart— known as “Dash Cart” —will operate using sensors, cameras, and a scale in order to immediately recognize and log merchandize using a digital screen located behind the cart’s handle. Using the cart will allow shoppers to shop and exit the store while negating the need to stand in a line in order to checkout. Rather than stores having to install sensors on shelves or cameras throughout the building, Dash Cart will be able to operate independently. (Source: GeekWire)

Why this is important for your business:

The Internet of Things (IoT) is alive and well. Variations of smart shopping carts have been around for a few years, but with Amazon’s new entry the market for these rolling devices will certainly become larger and more recognizable. And why not? The shopping cart we’re using at the grocery store today is the same cart our parents used decades ago. If you own a retail store you can bet that customers will soon be demanding – no, expecting – a smarter, more automated cart to help make their shopping experience better and – more importantly – faster.

4 — Twitter gets hacked. Big time.

Many celebrities – from Barack Obama to Elon Musk – found their Twitter accounts hacked last week in a massive effort to promote digital currencies like Bitcoin. (Source: New York Times)

Why this is important for your business:

No one was hurt and no reputations were ruined. But when an enormously popular mainstream service like Twitter – who, we are to believe has all the resources necessary to protect their users’ security and privacy – gets hacked it really does call into question how secure all systems are that maintain our most confidential personal and corporate data. Spoiler alert: not as secure as you may think.

5— This free tool can test how good your security is when you’re working remotely.     

With more and more companies having employees work from home due to COVID-19, cybersecurity has become an even bigger issue than before. Thanks to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), individuals working from home can now have access to a free set of tools to help test how secure their systems are from attacks. The new toolkit is aimed at assisting SMBs to prepare for potential cyberattacks through allowing employees to role play real hacking scenarios and providing approaches for how to effectively handle them. (Source: ZDNet)

Why this is important for your business:

If you’re not up for hiring an IT firm to help with security the least you can do is have your remote employees download and run this free tool to check for any vulnerabilities. More work may be needed after that, but at least you’ll have the facts.

 My new book, Want More Cash? 100+ Ideas And Strategies For Increasing Your Company’s Cash Flow This Year is now available on Amazon and other leading booksellers.

#Technology

[paulbenedictblog]

%news%

New Post has been published on %http://paulbenedictsgeneralstore.com%

Bbc news Coronavirus: el costo humano de la desinformación del virus

Bbc news

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Image copyright Getty Shots

Image caption A protester's signal casts doubt on the existence of coronavirus during an illustration in California in early Could doubtless well perhaps

A BBC crew tracking coronavirus misinformation has found hyperlinks to assaults, arsons and deaths. And experts assert the opportunity of indirect damage precipitated by rumours, conspiracy theories and unsuitable health data will likely be grand bigger.

"We thought the federal government was utilizing it to distract us," says Brian Lee Hitchens, "or it was to invent with 5G. So we didn't be aware the foundations or seek lend a hand sooner."

Brian, 46, is talking by phone from his health facility mattress in Florida. His wife is severely ill - sedated, on a ventilator in an adjacent ward.

"The wrestle that they've been having is alongside side her lungs," he says, divulge wobbling. "They're infected. Her body honest will not be responding."

After studying on-line conspiracy theories, they thought the illness was a hoax - or, a minimal of, no worse than flu. But then in early Could doubtless well perhaps, the couple caught Covid-19.

"And now I realise that coronavirus is surely not fraudulent," he says, working out of breath. "Or not it is available and or not it is spreading."

Image copyright Brian Lee hitchens

Image caption Brian Lee Hitchens thought the virus was a hoax - until he and his wife caught it

Bbc news Harmful misinformation

A BBC crew has been tracking the human toll of coronavirus misinformation. We have investigated dozens of circumstances - some beforehand unreported - talking to the folks affected and clinical authorities in an are trying to take a look at the experiences.

The outcomes hold spread through the enviornment.

On-line rumours led to mob assaults in India and mass poisonings in Iran. Telecommunications engineers had been threatened and attacked and make contact with masts had been place alight within the UK and diversified worldwide locations - all due to conspiracy theories.

And in Arizona, a pair mistakenly thought a bottle of fish tank cleaner contained a preventative treatment.

Bbc news Poisoned by cleansing products

It was gradual March when Wanda and Gary Lenius started to listen to about hydroxychloroquine.

The couple noticed a the same-sounding ingredient on the designate of an frail bottle that was lying around their house in Phoenix.

Hydroxychloroquine would possibly well well hold doubtless to wrestle the virus - nonetheless as research continues, it remains unproven. On Monday, the World Health Organisationhalted its employ in trialsafter a contemporary examine advised it would possibly well if truth be told elevate the likelihood of patients loss of life from Covid-19.

Hypothesis about its effectiveness started circulating on-line in China in gradual January. Media organisations, alongside side Chinese language divulge retailers, tweeted out frail research where it was tested as an anti-viral treatment.

Image copyright Getty Shots

Image caption President Trump says he has been taking hydroxychloroquine

Then a French physician claimed encouraging outcomes. Even supposing doubt was later solid on that examine, interest in hydroxychloroquine surged. It was talked about, with a quantity of degrees of scepticism, by a diversity of media retailers and influential folks alongside side Tesla chief executive Elon Musk and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

It also found its plan into White Home press briefings - and President Trump's Twitter feed.

"What invent you hold to lose?" he acknowledged on 3 April. "Snatch it." In mid-Could doubtless well perhaps, he went additional - saying that he'd beenfollowing his hold recommendation. Each comment resulted in nice spikes in social media chatter in regards to the drug, primarily based on data from on-line monitoring software program CrowdTangle.

Overdoses of the drug are rare, nonetheless the distress produced by the pandemic has pushed folks to coarse measures.

In Nigeria, health facility admissions from hydroxychloroquine poisoning provoked Lagos divulge health officers to warn folks against utilizing the drug.

And in early March, a 43-one year-frail Vietnamese man was admitted to a poison control health center in Hanoi after taking a nice dose of chloroquine. He was crimson, trembling and unable to view straight. The health center's director, Dr Nguyen Trung Nguyen, acknowledged the person was lucky he purchased treatment mercurial - or else he would possibly well well hold died.

Gary Lenius was not so fortunate. The cleaner he and Wanda gulped down contained a traipse chemical, and was poisonous.

Internal minutes, each and each started feeling dizzy and sizzling. They vomited and struggled to breathe. Gary died, and Wanda was hospitalised.

Wanda later defined why the couple drank the concoction.

"Trump saved saying it was slightly grand a treatment," she acknowledged.

Image copyright Getty Shots

Image caption President Donald Trump speaks at a on a typical basis press briefing in regards to the pandemic

Bbc news Alcohol poisoning

In Iran, authorities assert hundreds hold died from alcohol poisoning after viral rumours about its healing outcomes.

The total was build apart at 796 by the discontinue of April by Kambiz Soltaninejad, an legit from Iran's Correct Remedy Organisation, who acknowledged it was the of "fraudulent news on social media."

The truth leisurely the volume is gloomy in a nation where alcohol is banned in Iran and bootleg moonshine is routinely wicked.

On the other hand on this case, BBC journalists did stumble on rumours of the supposed "treatment" spreading on the messaging app Telegram earlier than the legit announcement.

Shayan Sardarizadeh of BBC Monitoring's disinformation crew notes that the announcement was doubtless embarrassing to the Iranian authorities and, if something, the volume will likely be an underestimate.

In one case we verified, a 5-one year-frail boy went blind after his folks plied him with unlawful booze in an are trying to wrestle the illness.

"We know that unsuitable data can ruin lives," says Clare Milne, deputy editor of UK truth-checking organisation Full Reality. "There would possibly be such nice doubtless for damage."

Image copyright Getty Shots

Image caption Iranian officers, alongside side President Hassan Rouhani, meet to chat in regards to the coronavirus pandemic

Bbc news 'My buddy ate soap'

President Trump has speculated on slightly a few diversified remedies beside hydroxychloroquine. In gradual April, he opined thatultraviolet rays would possibly well neutralise the virus.

"And then I stumble on the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a blueprint we are in a position to invent something like that, by injection within or nearly a cleansing?"

Trump later acknowledged his feedback had been sarcastic. But some American citizens didn't stumble on it that plan, and poison control hotlines purchased calls asking in regards to the recommendation. Officers at one in Kansas acknowledged they heard from somebody who acknowledged his buddy swallowed disinfectant soap after the president's briefing.

Image copyright Getty Shots

Dr Duncan Maru, a doctor at Elmhurst Sanatorium in Original York, says his colleagues hold handled patients who hold become acutely ill after ingesting disinfectant.

"These ingestions would possibly well hold long-time interval consequences, like cancers and gastrointestinal bleeding," he says.

Image caption Dr Duncan Maru heads for a health facility shift treating coronavirus patients

Bbc news Arsons, assaults and conspiracies

Social networks hold also been fertile ground for conspiracy theories. One particular coronavirus-associated one - there are hundreds circulating on-line - has resulted in arsons and assaults.

Across the UK, more than 70 phone masts had been vandalised due to unsuitable rumours that 5G mobile phone technology is somehow to blame for the virus.

Image copyright Getty Shots

Image caption A mobile phone mast was place on fire in Huddersfield in April

In April, Dylan Farrell, an engineer for Openreach, was riding his van in Thurmaston come Leicester. It had been a protracted day and he was occupied with what he would possibly well well hold for tea as he pulled up to a roundabout. That's when he started to listen to shouting.

First and well-known, he thought it was directed at somebody else. But when he heard "5G!" being screamed by his passenger side window, he realised the shouting was supposed for him.

"You can hold received no morals!" a person shouted. "5G is killing us all!"

Image copyright Dylan Farrell

Image caption Dylan Farrell was abused by a person shouting about 5G conspiracy theories

"I assemble not hold any doubt he would hold tried to earn within and bodily attack me had I not locked the doorways straight," Dylan says. "It was so shocking."

He drove away mercurial. There had been no arrests in connection with the incident.

"We hold considered slightly a few conspiracies which had been on-line for a truly very long time now about 5G," says Claire Milne of Full Reality. "Those hold developed to be linked to the quiet coronavirus."

Image caption A person carrying a "Voice No to 5G T-shirt" who attended an anti-lockdown divulge in central London in Could doubtless well perhaps. He was not interested by the violent assaults against telecoms workers

Bbc news Racial tensions and violent assaults

In March, WHO Director Overall Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the pandemic would lead to a flare up of a "unpleasant enemy".

He was relating to racism against folks from Asia and China, nonetheless the virus has exacerbated tensions in quite quite a bit of worldwide locations.

In April, three Muslim males had been violently attacked in separate incidents in Delhi. They had been overwhelmed up after rumours circulated that Muslims had been spreading the virus.

In Sisai, a little village in japanese India, rival gangs clashed. It came after an attack on a Muslim boy, yet again linked to unsuitable rumours suggesting Muslims had been spreading illness. One younger man lost his life and each other was seriously injured.

Image copyright Getty Shots

Image caption Muslim males pray in entrance of closed retailers in Original Delhi during Ramadan. Many Muslims in India fright they've been unfairly discriminated against through the pandemic

Fraudulent experiences hold circulated within ethnic communities as smartly. In Bradford, England, rumours circulated thatnon-white patients had been being left to die.

And in Indore, a metropolis in west-central India, doctors on a mission to trace down somebody who would possibly well well had been exposed to the virus had been attacked with stones. Deceptive WhatsApp movies claimed that healthy Muslims had been being taken away by health care workers and injected with the virus.

Two doctors had been left with severe injuries after the incident in early April.

Bbc news Seriously ill from conspiracies

On-line disinformation can hold verbalize consequences, and social media platforms equivalent to Fb acknowledged they'll grab away coronavirus posts that pose an instantaneous threat.

But it undoubtedly can even hold indirect or delayed outcomes.

"I'm hoping she pulls by," says Brian Lee Hitchens, the affected person in Florida who received sucked in by coronavirus conspiracy theories. "But if I invent lose her, she'll be in an even bigger self-discipline."

Image copyright Brian Lee Hitchens

Image caption Brian outdated to take into consideration conspiracy theories about coronavirus

Brian and his wife didn't hold one firm belief in regards to the illness - as a replace they oscillated between thinking that the virus was a hoax, linked to 5G, or a gentle nonetheless delicate ailment.

So they carried on as in type in spite of legit warnings. Brian went to work as a taxi driver in his self-discipline of beginning of Jupiter. He went purchasing and picked up his wife's medications. Despite his wife's sleep apnoea and asthma, he didn't bother with social distancing or carrying a canopy.

Image copyright Fb

Image caption Brian and his wife at a birthday party earlier than the pandemic

Catching the virus introduced Brian support to actuality. He grew to become to social media, this time to warn folks off of misinformation and conspiracy theories.

Consultants assert posts like Brian's will likely be more helpful in combating conspiracies than news articles and truth checks.

"Indubitably one of many absolute best techniques of making an are trying to factual the story," says Full Reality's Claire Milne, "is by getting the person that made the usual claim to invent it themselves."

Bbc news 'We lose so many lives due to misinformation'

Brian's will likely be an coarse case, nonetheless with the sheer quantity of data circulating -the WHO has known as it an "infodemic"- many replace folks had been misled by what they read on-line.

They are usually not killing themselves by taking fraudulent remedies. Instead, they're reducing their possibilities of survival by not thinking coronavirus is steady or severe.

On an surprisingly frigid Friday in Could doubtless well perhaps, two males of their forties arrived at an emergency health facility within the Original York borough of Queens. They had been roommates, working long shifts and sharing a single mattress, and each and each had been seriously ill.

Internal hours, Dr Rajeev Fernando saw one die in entrance of his eyes. The diversified was placed on a ventilator.

Image copyright Dr Rajeev Fernando

Image caption Dr Rajeev Fernando working at an emergency health facility place up in Original York

Dr Fernando asked the males why they hadn't reach to health facility sooner. They defined to him that they read someplace on-line that the virus wasn't very severe.

"They are trying replace therapies," Dr Fernando says. "They contemplate right here's honest just like the flu."

The males had been in at-possibility groups - nonetheless Dr Fernando believes they would possibly hold fared better within the occasion that they'd not current the deceptive recommendation and sought lend a hand sooner.

Media playback is unsupported to your instrument

Media caption"Fallacious news" can spread like a scourge

Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal Faculty of Overall Practitioners, says he and his colleagues within the UK hold considered patients taking pointers from posts they stumble on on-line - alongside side keeping their breath in an are trying to "diagnose" themselves or thinking that drinking sizzling drinks will wrestle off the virus. Some hold cited President Trump's statements about disinfectant.

Dr Maru, the physician at Original York's Elmhurst Sanatorium, calls the numbers who hold doubtless delayed treatment "staggering."

He knows of neighbours who hold caught the illness and died because they believed that social distancing is ineffective or that coronavirus is a hoax. And he says that he and his colleagues use precious time making an are trying to debunk misinformation after they'll be treating patients.

Image caption Anti-5G graffiti in Original York Metropolis

But as he spoke on the phone, exhausted and making ready to reach support to Elmhurst for every other shift, Dr Maru was also like a flash to shift the blame some distance from the patients themselves.

"Misinformation is a structural train," he says. "Blaming somebody for ingesting bleach or for staying at house and loss of life is equivalent to blaming somebody who's strolling down the road and will get hit by a below the impact of alcohol driver."

In response to the wave of misinformation, social media companies hold drawn up quiet guidelines. In an announcement, Fb acknowledged: "We assemble not allow inaccurate misinformation and hold removed hundreds of hundreds of posts alongside side unsuitable remedies, claims that coronavirus doesn't exist, that or not it is precipitated by 5G or that social distancing is ineffective." The firm also says it has build apart warning labels on 90 million objects of enlighten material.

YouTube says it would not allow enlighten material promoting unpleasant so-known as remedies and has quite a bit of policies against Covid-19 misinformation, alongside side disputing the existence of the illness or suggesting that it is precipitated by 5G.

Bbc news What lies ahead

But as research continues correct into a coronavirus vaccine, many anti-vaccination and conspiracy-minded groups and accounts hold considered their numbers swell. They pose a doubtless health threat - albeit not an instantaneous possibility.

What some doctors we spoke to fright basically the most is that the advance of a coronavirus vaccine - something that is susceptible to be a human achievement for the ages - will likely be completely undermined by misinformation.

Image caption Protesters promoting conspiracies about vaccines and 5G aid a divulge in St James's Park, London in Could doubtless well perhaps.

The future is upsetting, clinical examiners assert, due to what they're seeing factual now.

"We lose so many lives. They reach in very gradual," says Dr Fernando in Original York. He's honest performed a night shift, and today on Skype, a maintaining hide dangles from his ears. "And we honest peek them die in entrance of our eyes."

Brian, the coronavirus affected person in Florida, has a message for the those that quiet take into consideration within the conspiracy theories he counseled honest a few days within the past.

"Make not be foolish like I was," he says, "and the same factor would possibly well not happen to you love it came about to me and my wife."

With reporting by Khue Luu Binh, Flora Carmichael, Alistair Coleman, Shruti Menon, Olga Robinson, Shayan Sardarizadeh, and a BBC Persian journalist.

Is there a fable we wants to be investigating?Electronic mail Marianna

Advise us on Twitter@BBCtrendingor onFb.

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[staricious]

Bluefish: The book

If you want some of the best luxury travel experiences money can buy, then Steve Sims is your guy. 

Sims is the founder of Bluefish, a luxury concierge company that delivers personalized travel, transportation, and entertainment services to corporate executives, celebrities, and professional athletes. Sims, who has been invited to speak at Harvard, the Pentagon, and has been featured in major media all around the world (from The Sunday Times and China Post to The Wall Street Journal) has just released a new book, BLUEFISHING: The Art of Making Things Happen. 

Sims has been able to make his clients’ wildest dreams come true, from a wedding at the Vatican to being serenaded by Andrea Bocelli, to powerful business introductions to moguls like Elon Musk. In his book, Sims opens up his personal playbook and shares his fool-proof tips, techniques, and strategies to help readers break down any obstacle and turn their dreams into reality (North Star Way; October 17; Hardcover; $24.99). Whether it’s climbing Mount Everest, launching a new business, or applying for a dream job, Sims insists you can make incredible things happen for yourself by applying his insightful strategies. We snagged an interview with Sims below and you can learn more at stevedsims.com. 

Q: Steve, you had a long list of odd jobs before you started your concierge service Bluefish. How did you go from making insurance calls to founding one of the most unique luxury companies in the world?

SS: My mentality never changed. I always believed you focus on the positives and not the negatives. Whenever I had to do a report sheet how many “no’s” or rejections I got, I would always leave it blank and just celebrate the victories. So therefore my success always outweighed my losses.

I was always the Irish kid that asked “why?” and I don’t think that ever changed, even now. Someone says, “Oh, we can do this!” and I’ll ask back, “Great, but can we do that?” If I then get the answer “Oh, I don’t think so,” I still immediately ask “Why?” So I’m still interested in asking that question.

Q: Can you give us some examples of the “impossible” things you’ve made happen with your work?

SS: A few are: In a closed academia museum in Florence, I set-up a table of six at the feet of Michelangelo’s David where no food or drink were even allowed in the museum. I kicked everyone out and set up a table, and had Andrea Bocelli come in and serenade.

I’ve also sent people down to see the ruin of the Titanic. I have put people on the back of a Moto GP demo bike for a 200-mile an hour motorcycle ride, and I’ve sent people up to the edge of space out of a Russian military station, and have had people do unarmed combat training with Navy Seals. That’s to name a few things there.

Q: Why did you think BLUEFISHING should finally be a book out in the world?

SS: I am tired of how people think they can get along without communicating. It is still the only thing we have no “out” for. People don’t care about relationships. They have 20 business cards for people and they have no relationship with any of them. So I’m all about the relationship, and all about standing out: Branding, marketing, being your own person, keeping your own word. I believe it’s time to use the technology we have to reinforce the old-school values we should keep.

Q: Where and in what ways do you think new entrepreneurs are misallocating their time and money these days?

SS: Following the crowd. If everyone’s doing emailing they’re doing campaigns, then they’re doing email campaigns, if everyone’s doing Twitter campaigns, they’re doing Twitter campaigns. If everyone’s got a pretty advert, they’re doing pretty adverts. It’s always the newbie that gets the most attention. If everyone’s doing pretty adverts, do an ugly one. If everyone’s doing great videos, do a hand-held one with your handycam. Go the opposite way every single time. You’ll aggravate, you’ll fail, but when you get it right, you only have to get it right once.

Q: You always say “ugly” works. Can you explain that a little more? What’s so great about ugly?

SS: Yeah, keep it rough around the edges! We’ve seen too much Photoshop now. People don’t believe what they see. They literally don’t believe it. They see a pretty girl walking on a beach in some photograph in a magazine, knowing full well they’ve made her slimmer and taller (even though she was probably hot to start with). So keep it raw and impossible to misunderstand. That’s where the ugliness comes in.

Q: What’s one of your favorite secrets from the Bluefish playbook you included in your new book here?

SS: There are quite a few! I’ve become quote proud of this little baby. I would have to say: 1.) Using SMS texting, video texting is brilliant; 2.) I also really believe in asking “Why” three times, and 3.) I am a fond believer in clearing out the vampires.

Q: And finally: What’s the most “impossible” achievement you ever made possible? (Even if for your own life?)

SS: I don’t do anything impossible. They say it’s only impossible until somebody does it. As soon as you label something “impossible” you put yourself behind an eight ball. Don’t even do that to yourself! You want to do something? Brilliant! Let’s do it.

Don’t put it up on a pedestal and make it harder than it originally was.

#luxury travel #luxurylife #stevesims #bluefish #wealth

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

Is it OK to be 420 friendly on main?

It's 4/20 baby!!! It's Saturday, you're lit, brain perfectly calibrated to toasted, sparking your joy, blowing smoke rings so on point it feels criminal not to share on your Instagram story.

But something stops you from posting. And it probably sounds like the voice of your D.A.R.E. teacher yelling about how posting pictures of pot online can get you arrested and ruin your career.

"Even if you just post one picture, it comes back," said Anjela, who is very much not a D.A.R.E. teacher. Preferring to keep her full name separate from her online weed-sona, she's better known as Koala Puffs, a weedfluencer with over half a million Instagram followers. 

"You gotta be sure that's where you wanna take your life before you post. Because you have to be able to take on the judgement that's gonna come with expressing yourself."

View this post on Instagram

Caution, it gets gross 😖😖... I knew I messed up as soon as I put them in.... 😂😂 Old school and new school @stiiizy join powers to get snot out of me in the fastest way 😭😭😭😭

A post shared by Koala Puffs 🐨💨 (@koala.puffss) on Mar 12, 2019 at 1:59pm PDT

You'd think that in the year of our lord 2019 we'd have moved past the taboo of being 420 friendly on main. Cannabis decriminalization across the U.S. is at an all-time high, along with the general population's support for further legalization.

Yet while many of us are passing the blunt (or at least not harshing people's buzz) IRL, the stigma around talking openly about cannabis online remains. 

Elon Musk got the not-so-dank wake up call when he started posting vague (awful) 420 jokes on Twitter, culminating in a smoke sesh no one wanted or asked for that landed him and his company in hot water. Musk also drank alcohol on the same podcast, though, and no one cared two shits about that part.

And if Musk, a person with endless Fuck You Money and fame, doesn't have enough privilege to protect himself from online pot-shaming, who among us mortals does? Not even weed influencers can post to Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or Facebook without facing repercussions that feel like we're stuck in 1998.

The cost of a pot-sona 

In early 2018, YouTube went on what appeared to be a marijuana-based purge, deleting and giving strikes to swaths of weed influencers' channels. Soon after, it started happening on Instagram. While both companies cited community and user policies about depicting, smoking, and selling drugs on their platforms, others theorized that the crackdown pertained more to advertisers' trepidation after a litany of unrelated scandals from big names like Pewdiepie and Logan Paul. 

But by and large, the fear of being publicly weed-friendly on social media isn't about getting banned. It relates to the unique stigma of making cannabis part of your online persona.

Koala Puffs said the nine months after she quit her corporate job to pursue cannabis influencing was the hardest in her life. Her family, friends, boyfriend, and her boyfriend's family couldn't get behind her pro-bud rebranding.

"Nobody changed their minds until I was 200,000 followers deep," she said. But to this day her mom still thinks she's just outgrowing a college phase.

"I 100 percent still experience stigma from within my family," said Arend Richard, who went from 420 YouTuber to cannabis CEO after launching The Weedtube, a weed-friendly alternative to YouTube that's releasing a new app Saturday in response to the crackdowns. Granted, the weed stigma in his family is only exacerbated by their larger difficulty in accepting another aspect of his identity as a gay man. 

"But I will say, if you want your family to not judge you for using cannabis, just start a cannabis company, and get it written up in Forbes," he joked.

SEE ALSO: OK, everybody: Stop pot-shaming Elon Musk

Since taking on the business side recently, though, even Richard went back and deleted over 200 posts from his Instagram. Because legitimate cannabis businessmen also need to avoid the stereotypes associated with the stoner label, which seems to stick like glue in an age when social media signifiers define so much of how other people perceive you.

Reefer gladness

Particularly, Richard doesn't like to post himself in the actual act of smoking, even though a tutorial video teaching people how to smoke was what first began his path into cannabis influencing. That conscious curation is part of a larger shift in how people are expressing their cannabis use online.

"At first, over-consumption was kind of the game in the cannabis industry to get a following. You just did The Most," said Richard. 

When total prohibition was the law of the land in America, seeing copious amounts of weed, bongs, and blunts was an exciting novelty. But now it's possible for just about anyone with enough money in certain states. 

"We're in the biggest change in trends for online cannabis communities right now, moving more toward positivity and less toward over-consumption," said Richard.

Cannabis/beauty/wellness influencer and yoga instructor Brittany Tatiana (or sweettatas) quite literally embodies this positivity movement, by normalizing weed as a lifestyle choice on social media.

She got into weed influencing after a car accident left her with chronic pain. Unable to go back to her corporate job for six months, weed became her best alternative to the opioids doctors prescribed. At the time she'd already began dabbling with modeling and beauty influencing, building a following and doing promotion with a few brands.

But then she made the fateful decision to take the leap into letting her 420 flag fly. "I guarantee you I lost jobs and contracts because of it. Immediately," she said.

"It's been hard for me to represent my full self and not have people judge me based on what they see in one post," Tatiana said. Straddling the more commercial beauty industry and the cannabis-friendly world is like walking a tight rope.

"It's been a real battle with friends and brands. It's a fine line to cross. So I just try to be conscious about what I post."

Tatiana hesitates to post herself smoking too, for example. But overall, "it basically comes down to a day-to-day, case-by-case basis. Am I OK with how this post represents me? Do I believe in it? Would I want my younger self to post it? Is this true to who I am?"

She decides whether or not to post by thinking of her weed habits almost like a diet, or any other wellness lifestyle activity. Would she post a picture of a smoothie because it feels good and is part of her wellness regimen? Is that also the case for her marijuana-related post? 

View this post on Instagram

Grateful and riding the high from yesterday’s 420 Live! Still time to tune in... @hightimesmagazine #wcw (watch their live stories before 420pm today) w/ host @jenaealt and guests @sanctuaryfw 🔥 #grateful #sweettatas #cbd #hightimes . . . Use my code SWEETTATAS on @cannasmack 🌿 @organicflame 🌿 @foriawellness to receive sweet 420 discounts.

A post shared by Brittany Tatiana (@sweettatas) on Apr 11, 2019 at 10:36am PDT

"It comes down to choosing how you're gonna show it, and what cannabis means to you," she said.

But the risk is always there, especially since the stoner label seems to dominate any other way you define yourself. 

"I worry in general that it'll put me in some sort of box that I don't want to be in. Even though these days, it's becoming a way bigger box."

That caution should be part of everyday people's process for posting 420-friendly stuff on personal social media channels, too — regardless of whether or not they live in legalized states like the influencers we talked to.

The legal case against legalized marijuana

Because any career development expert will warn you that companies do look at your social media before hiring. There have also been a few cases of people getting fired in legalized states like Colorado for using medical marijuana even when they're not on the job.

A 2015 survey from the Society for Human Resource Management found that a vast majority (94 percent) of HR professionals with employees in legalized states still have formal policies against cannabis, with 73 percent in medical marijuana states and 82 percent in recreational states characterizing them as zero tolerance.

This strict approach might be showing signs of changing since 2015, though. More recent suggestions from the HR group advise companies to handle weed in the workplace with more nuance and care. 

It me.

Image: vicky leta / mashable art team

"We've yet to see robust employment protections be adopted across legal markets regarding an individual's cannabis consumption," said Justin Strekal, federal lobbyist at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. But there are some emerging cases, like a recent ruling in Massachusetts that sided with an employee suing his company for wrongful termination over medical marijuana.

Still, posting about weed is far more penalized in the workplace than, say, a post about happy hour with your coworkers.

When it comes to criminal persecution, aside from the occasional headline-worthy case, "there's not an epidemic of law enforcement arresting individuals for posting about marijuana online," said Strekal. 

"But that still doesn't change the fact that it's their legal right to arrest an individual for smoking cannabis, especially in criminalized jurisdictions. And if you post evidence publicly that could be used against you in a court of law, you are volunteering evidence against yourself," he said. 

Even if the police aren't out to get you, those kinds of posts can add fodder to other legal battles, like child custody. And looking at the racial divides for how marijuana is prosecuted in the real world, it's likely that some of those biases translate into who's more likely to get away with posting about weed, too.

"The application of law enforcement when it comes to cannabis is clearly racist. Full stop," said Strekal, pointing to the ACLU's famous report on how the war on marijuana is racially biased. The 2015 report found, "marijuana use is roughly equal among blacks and whites, yet blacks are 3.73 times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession."

That also tracks with the general demographics of 420-friendly influencers which, at a cursory glance, tend to be disproportionately white and often female. 

Largely, the answer to whether you should be open about weed through your online persona depends on who you are. Beyond profession, local marijuana rules, and your age, your IRL community is another major factor in determining whether or not it's OK. Because, as Strekal pointed out, social media is mostly regulated by algorithms and abuse reports. 

"So the biggest question an individual needs to ask themselves is how are my friends going to respond to this? Is my social bubble going to report this as abuse to these platforms?"

Tatiana agreed, saying that, "If you live in a community of churchgoers, they won't respond well. And it's going to get around. So it's really a question of who you are, what you're willing to stand up for."

Taking the hit, for a cause

Interestingly, though, despite all these risks, repercussions, and cautions, lots of people still do get 420 friendly on main anyway. Just search 420 on your preferred social media platform. You'll find plenty of weed content.

Let the good vibes roll.

Image: vicky leta / mashable art team

And an overwhelming majority of those posts will be positive, much like what researchers found when they tracked attitudes towards marijuana on Twitter between 2013 and 2016. 

Anecdotally, it feels as if we all live under the hazy threat of social media leading to pot-shaming or worse in the real world. But statistically, positive social media chatter around bud just keeps getting danker.

That is the fundamental tension with cautioning people against sharing their weed consumption. While people should remain mindful of the repercussions, the truth is that fighting the stigma largely takes place in social spheres like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. At least that's what some recent studies found, suggesting a link between positive social media and support for legalization.

Let's be real

"People are making a point to be more open about it because they're done with that shit. We can all see it for a lie now. And posting, like, 'I'm smoking this joint,' or 'my mom takes CBD pills' — that's people taking back their power. That's sending a message in and of itself," Tatiana said.

As we all know, social media is never a perfect reflection of the world as it is. Like the #FOMO travel pics that dominate your Insta feed, posting is about creating a collective ideal.

Until marijuana is legalized on the federal level, no one can tell you it's perfectly OK to be 420-friendly on main. At the same time, changing public perception by normalizing weed online just might be how we keep the wave of support for decriminalization and legalization alive.

Solving the issues around being weed-friendly online is a chicken and egg problem — or rather, a bud and the flower problem. Because in the world of social media, pretending we all don't smoke weed is so damn tired — but wishing everyone on your feed a happy holidaze is totally wired.

WATCH: Kim Kardashian wants a 'zen-like CBD-themed' baby shower

#_author:Jess Joho #_uuid:090d9743-2c32-3154-9355-4a6cdc950975 #_category:yct:001000002 #_lmsid:a0Vd000000DTrEpEAL #_revsp:news.mashable

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How Electric Cars Take Over The United States Market, With A Huge Push From Tesla

Vehicles

Released on July 4th, 2020 | by Paul Fosse

July 4th, 2020 by Paul Fosse

I wrote this short article prior to Maarten came out with a post on the same subject last week, however I came to the opposite conclusion.

I’m as big a fan of Tesla as anyone and it has actually definitely done more to advance the adoption of electrical cars than any other manufacturer, however I’m going to speak about how the actions of a few of the other companies will be essential and how I believe they will have the ability to make it through although they can’t innovate as quick as Tesla. [Editor’s note: We just discussed this a little bit in the latest Tesla Inside Out podcast as well, going down a different but complementary road on the topic.]

You see, some markets are actually winner take all. I think you can see this pattern occur in every company (not simply tech companies), and I would anticipate it will eventually happen to Tesla in 10 to 15 years.

So, what does this have to do with electric cars and trucks? I think Tesla can have a big lead in electric vehicles and still not take 90%of the market.

A couple of weeks back, I looked at my supply and need forecasts for 2025 from a high level, whereas this post dives into supply at the time periods leading up to2025 and how some notifiable business will improve their lineups.

The Supply Of Electric Automobiles

I’m going to look at the auto market in 3 stages.

Phase 1– now to 2021

Phase 2– 2022 to 2023

Stage 3– 2024 to 2025

A month back, when I began writing this series of posts, I thought all cars offered would be electric by2025 It is popular in numerous circles to believe markets are all about need, however classical financial experts had it.

It likewise applies to constructing electric automobiles during a time when there is no pandemic. It doesn’t matter if we believe electrical vehicles are much better, if we do not have any electrical cars and trucks to buy, we still need to get to work, numerous individuals will purchase a gas car. Individuals imagined electric cars for many years, however till Tesla and Nissan built cars that individuals might buy about 10 years earlier, it was simply a fantasy. For this thought workout, I’m presuming the global car market has slow growth over the next 5 years. We might have a huge collapse for many reasons, consisting of COVID-19, financial obligation crisis, or self-governing vehicles encouraging individuals to ditch their cars and trucks and simply take a robotaxi around. If any of those take place, the shift to EVs will speed up from the list below analysis substantially. The base case is 100 million cars a year sold in2025 Tesla’s strategies are quite popular. As Elon set out in an interview and I recorded in this post Let’s look beyond those.

Electrification Phase 1 (2020 to 2021)

I know how EV lovers (like myself) dislike the word “electrification” since it is utilized by produces to greenwash their vehicle lineups without making them really sustainable. In this stage, you will see the EV market share triple from about 1%in the US in 2019 to about 3%in2021 As Zach covered in November 2019, there are 7 EVs that could strike 10,000 cars and trucks a month if the stars line up. I’ll cover the ones I believe will be popular in the United States.

Picture by Zach Shahan, CleanTechnica

Nissan Leaf. Nissan recently refreshed the “initial EV.” I drove an earlier Leaf until I got my Tesla Model 3 2 years back. It is a fine car that might make a nice niche for itself, but its lack of active thermal management of its battery has somewhat ruined its track record, especially in warmer climates.

Picture by Nissan

Nissan Ariya.

Photo by VW

VW ID.Buzz. Simply on appearances alone, this will sell.

Ford Mustang Mach-E at Los Angeles Automobile Show, by Kyle Field|CleanTechnica

Ford Mustang Mach-E. Zach didn’t include this, but I think it might be one of the leading selling EVs of the next couple years. [Note from Zach: I agree! And this is specifically the model David Havasi and I focused the most on in our latest Tesla Inside Out podcast.]

Photo by Chevrolet

Chevy Bolt.

Picture by Christianne Fosse

Obviously the Tesla Model Y will have a big effect.

The 2nd thing I see taking place is the “normalization” of the hybrid. The Camry, Avalon, and Highlander have had a hybrid for lots of years, but the RAV4 hybrid came out in 2016, the Corolla hybrid in 2020, and the Venza and Sienna come out in 2021 as hybrid-only models.

This enables individuals to get a hybrid in the cars and truck they want for about $3,000 more (which they will make back gradually), however they don’t need to switch to the Prius design with its Eco image, poorer velocity, and poorer handling (typical in a hybrid although it does not require to be).

The new Sienna minivan takes this to the next level by making every 2021 Sienna a hybrid, so you don’t have to even make the choice to update to the hybrid engine.

Another technique is to benefit from the big United States tax credits (approximately $7,500) to offer a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) that permits people to use almost no gas as long as their daily commute is less than the electric variety. The best example of that is the new Toyota RAV4 Prime Regrettably, Toyota’s bad planning and not buying sufficient batteries suggest that it will not be a choice for many purchasers for a long time.

I’m simply highlighting two car manufacturers, but they are practically all making plans to “energize” their lineups. Putting an electrical motor into much more vehicles does a lot of things for the company:

Gain higher experience in electric motors and batteries.

Start to develop supply chains in these elements.

Hybrid cars all shut down the gas engine, conserving fuel, wear on the engine, and contamination in city stop-and-go driving.

Automakers can start to move cooling, power steering, power brakes, water pumps, etc. to run electric motors rather of a belt.

Because engines just run part of the time, upkeep schedules can be less frequent.

Engine durability ought to be increased given that the engine does not run all the time.

Car manufacturers can reduce R&D in gasoline engines, considering that a basic 4 cylinder Atkinson cycle engine can power all your hybrids. To make a sportier or more powerful design, you add a much better electrical motor with a higher output battery.

I dove into the technical and financial information in this article I wrote in 2015

Stage 2 (2022 to 2023)

In this time period, I expect electrical vehicle market share to double in the United States to about 6%, or near to a million automobiles, as the rates of electrical lorries gets more competitive and more lorries produced in high volumes appear from Tesla, Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford, and BMW. It will become apparent to a lot of in this time that electric cars are the method to go, but a serious scarcity of batteries will make it difficult to increase EV share any quicker.

Throughout this time, car manufacturers will make all of their vehicles other than their least expensive base model hybrids as they stop all development of gas and diesel motor. In order to satisfy the need for quiet and high-performance electric vehicles without the battery supply to produce true 100?ttery electric lorries, they can either make plug-in hybrid electric lorries, or I anticipate more to copy Nissan’s strategy with the serial hybrid

Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn was not a fan of hybrids (given that he anticipated true electric cars to quickly surpass them), but considering that he runs out the picture, Nissan is expanding the use of the e-Power system to provide consumers much of the benefits of an electric automobile at a lower expense and without needing the batteries that Nissan does not have access to.

Stage 3 (2024 to 2025)

This is when I anticipate the genuine tipping point to occur.

Conclusion

I started composing this short article thinking that by 2025, all the vehicles sold would be electric, however I was wrong. What I stopped working to understand is that vehicle makes aren’t yet persuaded that electrical automobiles are the future. They are still squandering resources on making engines that are 3?tter. Those are going to end up being stranded properties. If you begin advancement of a brand-new engine now, it won’t be all set till 2025 or later. There will still be gas and diesel cars sold then, but you simply want to produce them for the people who can’t get electric automobiles. There is no factor to spend billions of dollars making engines better unless you doubt whether the transition will take place. The issue is the companies do not have the resources to both develop competitive lorries and improve their conventional vehicles. They only do it in places the laws force them to. They need to do it for their own monetary future.

We didn’t have to pass a law to get people to buy smart devices, and we shouldn’t have to pass laws to get individuals to buy electrical cars.

If you decide to order a Tesla, utilize a friend’s referral code to get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging on a Tesla Model S, Design X, Model 3 and now the Design Y (you can’t use it on the Cybertruck yet). Now good for $250 off either solar panels or a solar roofing system, too! If you do not have any pals with a Tesla, use mine: https://ts.la/paul92237

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Tags: Elon Musk, Ford, Ford Mustang Mach E, GM, Honda, Nissan, Tesla, Toyota, united states, United States, volkswagen

About the Author

Paul Fosse A Software application engineer for over 30 years, first establishing EDI software application, then developing data storage facility systems. Follow me on Twitter @atj721 Tesla investor. Tesla referral code: https://ts.la/paul92237

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