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pupmkincake2000 · 3 months

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I often think about the difficulties that androids and humanity will face after the revolution. We were told that the country has a high unemployment rate, but what I can’t understand is why humans hate androids. Every time I replay the scenes with Markus in the park, I still cannot get it why humans organize pickets specifically against the androids. The androids themselves are not to blame for anything, they are just tools to improve people's lives, and also just merch. Why don't people go on strike at the CyberLife Tower? After all, if we think logically, it is CyberLife that creates androids and puts them into mass production, which means that humans should have complaints about CyberLife itself, and not about the machines they created. And after the revolution, if we think logically, the economy will suffer significantly, since androids were the ones who made life easier for humans (they don’t get tired, don’t get sick, don’t need rest like humans, they don’t need a lunch break and, in fact, their work would be better quality), but now androids have become free. Yes, in a sense, humans now have a chance to get their jobs back, but on the other hand, even if employers have to pay androids now, it will still be much more profitable than paying humans.

And what about thirium? No one will give thirium to androids for free, given it is difficult to get, where is the guarantee that prices for it will not rise? Androids may have to work even harder just to get the fluid they need to remain functional. Of course, perhaps over time, androids will be able to synthesize a substitute that will be cheaper, this is just a theory, and androids need to survive somehow now. In addition, considering how easily the androids who participated in the revolution were killed, I can assume that only Markus and Connor are difficult to destroy, and such androids will have a hard time, since we remember that humans need thirium to create red ice (which again makes me think: why was the android's junkyard not guarded by anyone and why were there no drug addicts there who would try to extract thirium from broken bodies?). It also bothers me that the US is literally left without an army. When Connor first comes to the DPD, we hear that the army has ordered 200 000 military models, but when Markus leads revolution (whether peaceful or not), we are clearly told that all military androids have been deactivated and destroyed, and since the US army had 90% (no?) of androids in it, the country was literally left without military power. And we know that there are China and Russia, that in 2038 are not very friendly towards the US. And I believe that deviant androids are unlikely to want to fight or be the part of the army, they fought precisely for a peaceful life and independence (therefore they will have to look for ways to consolidate their position in the human world, and this will not be very easy). Personally, I think that QD should have created a game in which the revolution had already occurred, showing us how the world was changing and what problems were happening in it, what problems were in the coexistence of humans and androids, because it would have been much more interesting to explore.

#detroit: become human #detroitbecomehuman #detroit become human #dbh #pumkin says #androids #quantic dream #dbh rk800

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storysims · 3 years

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COTTAGE LIVING - CHICKENS OVERVIEW 🐣

If I could write an entire post about how much I love evil chickens, I would! But that wouldn’t be much help to anyone, would it?

I was provided with an alpha version of Cottage Living via the EA Game Changers program. All gameplay capture shown is not final and may be subject to change before the pack’s release.

Let’s get it out of the way now - evil chickens. It’d be easy to write them off as the “bad guys” of the chicken world, but I’m here to tell you that’s just not true.

These sweet little babies will not only lay obsidian eggs for you every morning, they’ll also fight the Grim Reaper himself for you. Pretty egg-celent if you ask me. 🤡

Anyways... Nonsense aside, chickens are a delightful addition to the game! I actually have a hard time playing with pets sometimes because they don’t really do anything. But chickens are cute, can be dressed up in absurd outfits, AND are super useful! It’s a win all around! 👏

As one might expect, getting started with chickens requires a coop! Grab it from buy mode for §400 and you’re well on your way!

As the coop doesn’t come with any chickens, you’ll need to purchase them by clicking on the coop and selecting which variant you’d like:

black, brown, or white hen / §150

black, brown, or white rooster / §200

random hen chick / §75

random rooster chick / §100

Chicks are cheaper than full grown chickens, and a great way for challenge players to get started on a budget! But if you want eggs from your hens, you’ll need to wait for them to mature.

By default, all of the standard hens will lay a normal egg. However, if a hen has come in contact with a specialty treat or changes colors, the color of egg it lays can change!

There’s a wide variety of egg types (and I think I got them all!):

blue egg

chocolate egg

golden egg

green egg

obsidian egg

orange egg

rainbow egg

Hens are strong, independent ladies who have no problem laying eggs without a rooster around! Having a rooster in your coop is completely optional as far as running a successful chicken operation goes, but they will provide a few fun benefits.

Roosters get up at around six in the morning every day - and if they’re close enough, it’ll even wake your sim up!

A great deal more useful, however, is a rooster’s ability to fertilize eggs! With a rooster in the coop, every night there is a chance that one of your eggs will become a hatchable egg.

Hatchable eggs are pretty self explanatory - baby chicks will hatch from them! Unlike other eggs, these cannot be used in crafting or cooking recipes. You can either hatch your eggs or sell them.

Whether your baby chick comes from an egg or was purchased directly from the coop, caring for your new chick will be a pretty easy experience. Baby chicks don’t need much - just some food, attention, and patience while they grow up!

If your sim is living on a lot with the ‘Simple Living’ lot challenge active, it can be hard to wait for eggs. The local grocery stand usually has eggs in stock, but you can also order grocery delivery straight from your refrigerator! For a small fee, your order will be delivered straight to your doorstep.

Don’t forget to tip your delivery person! 💸

Thankfully, chicks and roosters are safe from predators - but hens aren’t as lucky. Foxes can and will steal your eggs, silently slaughter your hens, and be a general menace to society.

There’s a few different ways to combat the incoming army of foxes:

Buy a rooster! The game is insistent that roosters can defend the coop against natural predators... But I’ve never seen it happen. My hens, however, love fighting foxes. 💪

Buy a llama! This one I have seen happen! If llamas are roaming outside their shed, they will fire an absolutely massive ball of spit and scare the foxes away!

Upgrade your coop! By the time the gameplay trailer came out and showed the coop alarm, it was too late for me - I had lost countless hens and eggs. Don’t make my mistake! The upgrade is hidden away in the actions menu, and you’ll need a special livestock upgrade part. This can be acquired while doing favors for the locals. Stock up - for a fully upgraded coop, you’ll need 11 parts!

As if things couldn’t get any worse, there’s even a lot challenge built entirely around foxes.

This challenge is on most lots in Henford-on-Bagley, so be ready! You can remove a lot challenge in buy mode just like you remove lot traits, but I’m a glutton for punishment and left them all. 💀

If you own Cats & Dogs, you may already be familiar with foxes! These demons look and sound the same, but are technically an entire different wildlife creature.

These wild foxes can be dressed up in new outfits - just like bunnies, chickens, cows, and llamas! Outfits for all creatures can be purchased or crafted with the Creature Keeper in the Bramblewood. 🐇🌳

(Unfortunately, fox outfits were apparently glitched in the version of the game we were playing. I never tried to put an outfit on a fox, but they looked cute! Obviously since this is an unfinished version of the game, some bugs are to be expected! No harm, no fowl... ba dum tissss)

Let’s talk about special chickens! There’s two different variants of chickens that can be accessed through gameplay - the evil chicken and the golden chicken.

Both of these chickens have special ✨powers✨ that can help your sims out - both in and out of the garden.

The golden chicken’s powers are pretty cool - especially if your sim is a farmer! Sweet little Cricket spends her day blasting golden light at the crops just outside the pen. Pretty cool way to get perfect plants! 🌱

Evil chickens... Totally different story. If they like you, you’re all set! They’ll protect you and your hens from all sorts of danger. If they don’t like you, things can get a little fiery.

Evil or not, no chicken likes to be unhappy! Push any chicken too far and you might just find yourself meeting the Grim Reaper far sooner than intended.

#the sims 4 #ts4 #ts4 cottage living #eagamechangers

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laundryandtaxes · 3 years

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What type of watch’s do you recommend? I’m a baby bi that’s a tomboy and I want nice watch but I know there’s a certain etiquette when it comes to watches. I like rolexes but that’s waaaaay above my budget, I want a nice watch but something affordable (: thanks in advance! 🥰

Honestly this will depend a lot on your budget and what "affordable" means to you! To me, "affordable" means that I can reasonably expect to be able to save up for an item within several months WITHOUT it impacting my general savings goals. For me, that number means that a watch that costs around $500 is one that I personally consider affordable, but that number may be higher or lower for you.

The first question to ask yourself is whether you prefer an automatic watch, a manual wind watch, or a quartz watch. The watch I wear almost every day is an automatic watch- that means it is wound by the movement of the wearer's wrist in daily life. Automatic watches will have a /relatively/ smooth seconds hand sweep, and really nice automatic watches will have extremely smooth seconds hand sweeps. Even office workers generally move their wrists enough to power an automatic watch. However, if you sit an automatic watch down for longer than what is called its "power reserve," normally between 24 and 48 hours, it will stop, and that means you'll need to reset the watch to wear it again. Here is my Traska Freediver, my daily wear watch. It is an automatic watch, in a dive watch style.

Dive watches are so called because the design was originally made for divers to be able to time how long they'd been under. In the dark, like I imagine it would be 150 meters under the surface of the ocean, dive watches pretty much all have some material applied that makes them glow in the dark so the wearer can measure time under, and can read the time itself. I use my countdown bezel regularly for timing pasta, timing tasks at work, etc.

A manual wind watch is one where the owner needs to manually wind the watch, usually around once a day, to power it. Again, if you do not wind the watch regularly, it will stop. For both automatics and manual winds, this is not a problem and in fact it can be good to give a watch some rest time occasionally. Both automatic and manual wind watches are not 100% accurate- they will have a range of how many seconds they lose or gain in a day. Really well made watches by companies like Omega and Rolex can sometimes run off by as little as a 4 to 6 seconds a day, while cheaper watches may lose or gai. as much as 10 or 20 or in bad cases even a couple of minutes per day.

Quartz watches are powered by a battery. The way they work is, basically, that a quartz vibrates at a particular frequency, which translates into one movement of the seconds hand per second. This is the tick tick tick you're likely familiar with in watches. These watches are inherently more accurate than Rolexes because they are more accurate than any automatic or manual wind watch. You can sit a quartz watch down ans pick it up a week later and it will have kept perfect time. However, the smooth sweep of the seconds hand is usually very expensive to accomplish with a quartz watch. A lot of watch snobs turn their nose up at quartz watches because most mass produced watches today are quartz powered, but the truth is that this was a revolutionary technology at one point that almost killed the luxury watch market because it meant any $10 Casio would inherently keep better time than any automatic Rolex. Now, many luxury watchmakers produce both automatic and quartz watched, including Rolex and Omega. I own several quartz watches, including a Casio Databank and a Timex Q I actually got for free through a butch group on Facebook! The very first watch I ever wore every day, when I was maybe 20 or 21, was a Timex Weekender, and it's what got me into watches. Here is my Databank. It cost me maybe $25 and I can do math with it.

The second question to answer is whether you care about what is often called "heritage" I the watch world. This refers to a company having an extensive and well-repsected history of making competent watches. Companies with undeniable heritage that make affordable watches include Seiko, Hamilton, Bulova, and frankly Casio. There are others, of course, but there are a few to get you started. Traska, the brand that made my watch, is what's called a microbrand- microbrands buy movements (the guts inside the watch) from other companies and most of them create original designs of their own, but they're young companies that don't have 100 years of watchmaking experience.

The third question to answer is whether you're okay with "homages," a euphemistic term for a watch that outright copies another, more famous and usually more expensive watch, sometimes while changing a design and sometimes not. Pagani Design, a company that makes their watches in China to keep costs down but lately has achieved really exceptional metal finishing for the price, pretty much only makes homages, like their recent copy of the Rolex Explorer 2. Ginault is a company that makes higher end Rolex "homages," which in this case we really can pretty much call copies because rumor has it they used to sell counterfeits and then got so good at it that they decided to put their own brand on the package. The Invicta Pro Diver is a Rolex submariner homage, but most owners say theirs is built well and Invicta makes plenty of, most horrible but sometimes classy, original designs as well. A lot of watch snobs will turn their nose up at homages because the watch will lack "heritage," but only you can make the call of how much original design matters to you. If you see anything that says it is Bauhaus inspired, anything with "sub" in the name, anything with all round hour indices except a triangular 12 o clock marker, you're probably looking at an homage.

So once you've got your answer to those questions you can dig into watch models! I'm going to rattle off a bunch of watches around or under $250, because I think spending more than that on a hobby you may not be that into is kind of silly to start. From Seiko, their SKX007 and the smaller SKX013 are undeniably classic, well made, respectable watches. Their SNK809 (these are called references, and they're annoying) is also an undeniably well respected watch that has enough water resistance for fishing on my experience. And while their Seiko 5 Sports line isn't for me, lots of people really enjoy it. You USED to be able to get an SKX007 for around $200- they're discontinued for some reason, which means prices have risen, but sometimes you can still find them around that price. For around the same price, you can generally find a used Hamilton Khaki King or other Khaki model in good condition. You can also go vintage with either brand, but be aware there are loads of fake vintage watches out there, so do your research before purchasing if spending what is, to you, a lot of money. The SNK809 was my first automatic watch, and here's it on my wrist.

You can also find lots of cool vintage automatics and manual winds in this price range, including the Vostok Amphibia. These were Soviet watches designed for divers. The countdown bezels suck ass, but the design is original and cool and the case is actually designed so that it grows more and more waterproof as a diver dives further under the surface of the water. Here's my Amphibia.

If you think quartz will be your thing then you've got loads of options in this price range. Pretty much anything by Timex, including their very cool Timex Q, loads of watches by Casio, lots of Seiko quartz options, etc. In terms of truly iconic affordable quartz watches I think the Mondaine watch whose name I cannot recall, the Casio F91W, and the Casio World Time are all very classic, well respected quartz models.

I know this was a lot, so let me know if you have more specific questions or if certain things really pique your interest more than others!

#watches

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recurring-polynya · 3 years

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soul reapers to get paid and their salaries are even quite high! if i remember correctly, lieutenants make around $7k while a captain’s salary is almost triple(nearly $19k)

(cont) that is if my conversion was right, in a JET interview kubo said captains make 2million yen, lieutenants - 700 000yen and an unseated officer - 200 000yen. but then again, i think the living cost in ss is much higher, i remember matsumoto mentioning that clothes in the living world are much cheaper

I have to say this is one of the liveliest discussions on Bleach meta that I have ever participated in on this website. I feel like I can definitively report that is is both fanon consensus and supported by the creator himself that Soul Reapers do, in fact, get paid. For the record, my husband, who started this, conceded days ago and I am sure has not thought about it since.

In any case-- I was very surprised by these numbers, and at first I thought that maybe they were in kan, the fictional currency used in Soul Society, rather than yen. I mean, $19k/year is a terrible salary (for those of you who are not American it is roughly minimum wage). I attempted to figure out the conversion rate between kan and yen once, and at the time, came to the conclusion that kan were worth somewhat more than yen, but I no longer have my scratch pad, so I cannot show my work. Looking at it again, they seem pretty close.

Then, just to get an idea, I googled the salary of a four-star general in the American military, which I thought should be a rough equivalent, and the article I found reported all its numbers in monthly salaries, which I am not used to seeing, but maybe they are more common in other countries. In any case, according to the article I found, the highest salary you can make in the US military is $15,800/month ($189,600/year), which is pretty close to what a Gotei captain makes. I realize that is a lot of money on an absolute scale, but that actually seemed shockingly low to me, in the sense that there have only ever been 246 four-star generals in the history of the U.S., but this is the sort of salary that, say, a C-suite executive might make. A president of even a public university can make 2-5 times this. Now, a career in the military comes with a lot of other perks-- free room and board, free healthcare, etc, but I think this is going to make a much bigger difference to the people in the lower ranks.

The more I thought about it, I do think this tracks, though. Gotei captains are immeasurably valuable and basically impossible to replace. One of the more chilling moments leading up to the Winter War was the part where Hitsugaya is basically like “we don’t know how many Arrancar Aizen has, but if it’s more than 10, we’re screwed” and then it cuts to Hueco Mundo, and Aizen is just surrounded by guys. So, yeah, it honestly makes perfect sense to me that captains are paid a “good living” but it’s insulting compared to the wealth of the nobles that live around them. I don’t usually have a lot of nice things to say about Byakuya, but I do want to emphasize that this has to be chump change for him. This guy definitely works out of a sense of duty, he is not in it for the Benjamins.

The vice-captain salary (~$84k/yr) comes closest to an O-4, which corresponds to a major or a lieutenant colonel, and usually entails about 10 years of service. I guess years count for less when you’re immortal, so I guess that works out. One thing that doesn’t fit is that in another interview, Kubo states that Renji’s sunglasses cost half a year’s salary, but their price is listed in the Bleach Bootleg as 84,700 kan. If a kan is roughly equal to a yen, this is wildly off. I will get back to this later. In WDKALY, there was some mention of vice-captains and captains being given “mansions” to live in (if they chose to). I absolutely cannot accept this fact as canon. I can’t. I mean, there are numerous omake about Hisagi trying to score free food out of Omaeda, yet this man lives in a mansion? And do not tell me he (or Matsumoto or Iba) would pass up living in a mansion if they had the option, even if the commute were an absolute nightmare. Maybe he can’t afford the cost of utilities and furnishings. I don’t know. Please, someone write me a sitcom of Hisagi and Kira living in giant mansions next door to each other, but it’s just like the Bluths living in the sample house in Arrested Development. [Aside: Renji would take the mansion, but he would turn it into an indoor soccer field and continue to sleep in the barracks search your heart you know it’s true]

Back on topic! The unseated officer salary of 200k yen/mo works out to an E-3, which is what an enlisted service member makes after a year. Everyone in the Gotei is considered an officer, and unseating people are awful, so, once again, this seems fine. Well, it seems shitty, tbh, but consistently shitty.

To really answer the question of “is this shitty?” though, we need to consider buying power. Earlier, I mentioned that Gotei service includes free room and board, and that alone is equivalent to a lifetime of wealth for someone from the lower Rukon. I mentioned earlier that I once tried to calculate the exchange rate between kan and yen using a variety of prices for various items. I wish I had kept better notes, because my main takeaway was that prices for things were not very consistent. A copy of the Seireitei Bulletin is 380 kan. Using a straight kan to yen to dollar conversion, that’s $2.80 (I am using 100 yen = $1 because it’s close enough, in case anyone was wondering). Sexy photo books of the captains cost ~$25. The budget of the Shinigami Women’s Association is $2500/year, and the Men’s is $900/year, which is roughly the cost of one pair of sunglasses. I think it must have been the sunglasses that threw me, because I kept trying to peg the cost of a pair of sunglasses to a half year’s salary. The club budgets are just honestly confusing because I have no idea what a calligraphy club budget should look like. It seemed... fine... that a club budget should be equivalent to half a year’s salary? To be honest, I think a kan should be roughly equal to a yen and the sunglasses are just priced too low. (Not a statement I ever thought I would be making).

The comment about clothes being cheaper in the World of the Living makes a lot of sense! Cloth in Soul Society is probably hand-dyed, rather than mass printed, and sewed by hand, rather than by machine. On the other hand, if you wanted goods made in traditional ways, it would be a lot cheaper to get in Soul Society. A chusen-dyed kimono is a luxury good in 2021, because you have to option to order a cheap t-shirt and sweatpants from Amazon. Everyone wears hand-made kimono in Soul Society because that’s what there is, so the price is going to be relatively lower. I do think that cost-of-living jumps sharply inside the walls of the Seireitei, and that it’s very common to do your shopping in the upper districts of Rukongai, where there are lot of highly skilled artisans making goods for the city-dwelling market. I figure that one of the few opportunities for upward mobility, aside from selling your soul to the military is to make enough money to buy your way inside the gates (either through overpriced business licenses, getting a noble patron, or by arranging a marriage to someone who already lives inside)

That being said, I have thought a lot about importing items from the WotL--shinigami usually travel through senkaimon, which do not allow for matter conversion, so they wouldn’t normally be able to bring anything with them. I imagine that it’s sort of a perk of the job that when you go on a mission where you have to go through a matter converter (which would include any time you are bringing a gigai over) you could smuggle back whatever you can fit in your kosode. It’s very strange which technology is adapted from the World of the Living (washing machines, treadmills, urinals) and what isn’t (coffee). In fanfic, it’s common to see shinigami wearing Living World clothing in their off-hours, but I don’t think that’s supported by canon or filler in any way. For my own fanfiction, because it’s fun and world-buildy, I like to pretend that Ichigo is a very popular figure after the Winter War and that World of the Living fashion, music, etc becomes popular, starting during the two-year timeskip, particularly among the younger denizens of the Seireitei, and that there are special bars and such that specialize in that kind of thing. Shinigami who have done extensive stints in the Living World are considered cool for their knowledge of such esoteric subjects as “rice cookers.”

I am done now! I swear! Thank you, everyone for reading all the way down to the bottom of possibly the nerdiest and most boring post I have ever made on this website! (wait, no, I just remembered the one on senkaimon transfer protocols. Second most boring.)

#soul society #bleach worldbuilding #weirdly enough i have just been talking about a number of these topics in my latest chapters of a little in love #i took exactly (1) economics class and it made me a monster

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livedreamshiinesparklesing · 4 years

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Dreams...

So, my dream last night was quite magical. I felt things that I haven't felt in a very long time, if ever. It was all the things that I always wanted came true and I felt so whole and happy and safe.

So basically, I found these rooms in my mom and jays house that I never knew were there. They were all finished and beautiful and on another floor of the house that I never knew existed. They were a good distance away from everybody so I would have lots of privacy and the floor had its own bathroom and this beautiful, huge living area with big windows from the floor to the high ceilings. Big brown leather couches and a grand dining table with a fully stocked bar. I was thinking wow.. why have we never hungout here before if this was in my parents house this whole time??

My mom said that I could stay in one of the rooms and because I was in school she would only charge me 200$ for rent and I was over the moon because that was much cheaper than my current situation and the place was so much nicer as well.

My mom seemed different. She was healthy, happier, more caring and nurturing. She had a job doing something that she loved. It made me feel so whole. I felt safe for the first time in a long time.

Then mom continued on to show me the guest house in the backyard. Somehow now we lived outside the city and had so much land and it was beautiful. The guest house was barn like style but in a more modern way. The doors on the side were sliding doors but they were glass and were extremely big. It brought us into the kitchen/dining area/ living area. There was a grand kitchen with an island and a massive living area with so many couches and side tables. The other side of the house was another set of sliding doors that lead to a deck and a pool that overlooked the beautiful view of our yard.

My mom then showed me the room that is in the guest house and said that I could even stay in the guest house if I wanted. The room was huge, had so many windows, light colours and so much room to breathe. There were french doors that lead to a little porch off the room. I remember thinking that this must be a dream. This can't be real. But it felt real.

My mom decided to host a housewarming party for me and have all of my friends and family there in the guest house since there was so much room.

Everyone came. There was so much food, drinks, music, happiness. I was feeling on top of the moon.

Then Daniel walks in and he looks so different. I remember feeling so at peace and so calm with his presence. Makes sense why he made it into the dream because that's how I felt throughout the entire dream. It just made sense for him to be there.

Afterwards we were driving somewhere and he was sitting in the backseat and I was the one driving. And he came up behind me and started caressing my hair, my head, my shoulders, kissing my cheeks. I just felt so LOVED, I felt so pure and so calm. I felt so worthy of these amazing feeling and like I truly deserved them.

After thoughts of this dream....... it didn't matter about all the fancy stuff around me, I was happy that my mom was happy and that she was being the mother that I always needed. I was happy that they were financially stable because that has always been a huge issue that has lead to many other issues in our family. Abuse, depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, anxiety and the list goes on. But in my dream, things were different. My mom didn't need to be taken care of, instead she was taking care of ME. I felt safe and secure for the first time in my whole life.

And in turn, I was able to accept the love that a man was giving me because I felt like it was what I deserved.

Now I need to figure out how I can turn these feelings into how I feel in my real world. My mother will never change and the damage that she caused will always be there. But there must be a way that I can feel as whole and secure as I felt in the dream. I just have to figure it out.

There is SO much to ponder about this dream. So much. And it all goes back to my mom. Always. Going to reflect and hopefully come to some sort of conclusions.

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asymptotichigh5 · 4 years

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Energy, the economy, and everything else.

I’ve been meaning to address this subject somewhere for a while. For the longest time, I hesitated on what the best medium to achieve this would be : on one hand, a Facebook status needs to be short and concise, which is not necessarily my forte and of course, there is also the fact that it would quickly be washed away in the storm of social media posts that has become 2020. A YouTube video then occurred to me to be most appropriate, but it would be long, my camera sucks and I hate video editing. So, I finally turned to this blog, which I had abandoned for quite some time. Surprisingly, there was an article in my drafts I had started writing almost 5 years ago about exactly this topic titled “A physics crash-course for politicians: a recipe not to kill us all”, but it was a bit too dramatic and I might get called off for taking political stances, when in reality there will be none in this post (which is surprising, for any of those reading this who know me). Anyway, this article will be the first in a series, which I might or might not continue, depending on interest, even though I did promise a friend of mine to carry through the entire message the whole way through, hopefully I’ll be able to do this with some of you actually reading all the way through, though that might be too optimistic.

Energy is a concept which is as important (if not more) as it is misunderstood by the general public. Most people don’t consider energy to be a considerable issue in their daily lives, but hopefully by the end of this post you will understand that energy is what allows you to live your 21st century carefree lifestyle. It turns out that most of us consider energy to be a bill to pay at the end of the month, or an annoyance to pay for when we fill our cars with gasoline at the pump, but energy — before being a bill to pay, or a commodity — is a physical quantity. A quick look at Wikipedia will give you a definition of energy which appears to be rather circular. Perhaps a more appropriate definition of energy for the sake of this post is the following:

Energy [/ˈɛnədʒi/, noun] : a physical quantity quantifying the ability to change the environment, or the ability to do work.

By “change the environment” we refer to the ability to perform any kind of change at all. Letting a ball fall involves energy, heating up water to make a cup of tea involves energy, me typing on this keyboard at this very moment also involves energy, etc. The SI unit for energy is the Joule, which at the human scale represents a tiny bit of energy (roughly speaking, it is the energy required to lift a medium-sized tomato (300 grams) by 1 metre. This unit has the annoying nuisance of being too small, so for the rest of this post we will talk about energy in terms of MWh (megawatt-hours), which corresponds to 3 600 000 000 Joules, which is a hell of a lot more medium-sized tomatoes lifted, or in terms of kWh (kilowatt-hours), which corresponds to 3 600 000 Joules. It is a good exercise to try to understand the MWh in terms of human work to put everything into perspective. To this effect, the BBC actually had a great documentary which appeared in 2009 about electrical energy consumption in the UK which performed an experiment in which a tiny army of people were forced to pedal to provide electricity to an average-sized house with an average-sized family having an average-sized consumption of electricity. While the documentary has great shock value, we need not hire an army of 80 cyclist to get the right orders of magnitude. An 80 kg man carrying 10 kg of supplies with him and climbing 2000 m up a mountain spends roughly 0.5 kWh to go up the mountain. Similarly, digging up 6 m${}^3$ of dirt to make a hole 1 m deep takes roughly 0,05 kWh of energy. By comparison, 1L of oil provides 2~4 kWh of (usable) mechanical energy.

Of course, using the oil to drive up the mountain, or to fuel an excavator to dig up the holes is a no brainer. Oil, or more precisely the machines it feeds, are not constrained by fatigue, do not form unions, do not complain that the ruble is too heavy, or that their legs are tired. It is also incredibly cheap by comparison, even if the human workers going up the mountain or digging up the hole are not getting paid at all. Assuming the cost of a slave to simply be the sustainance cost of a human being (i.e. minimal clothing, food and shelter) it is still a couple of hundred times cheaper to use a machine instead of a person to perform tasks, whenever possible. The reason why slavery ended is not because all of a sudden people grew a conscience out of thin air, or because we are so much better or educated than our ancestors ; it is simply stupid to have slaves in a world where you have access to a dense source of energy, because using this energy for mechanical work is many times more efficient and cheaper than owning slaves. This heuristic argument is also what ultimately explains the correlation between the abolition of slavery and the first industrial revolution (although the latter was mostly fed by coal as opposed to oil). In other words, the huge disparity in the efficiency of dense energy sources is what explains that mankind has historically always transitioned to sources of energy which monotonically increase in energy density.

But just what makes energy so important? Well, the answer lies in the definition. Since energy is ultimately the driver for any transformation of the environment, energy is by definition the main driver of the economy, too. In fact, the availability of a large supply of energy is what has allowed the development of modern society as we know it: paid holidays, retirement benefits, social security, social programs, your trip to Thailand last year, the variety of food you find at the supermarket, the fact that you even have disposable income to spend however you wish, free time, your ability to pursue long years of study, etc. Without the access to a cheap, reliable source of energy, this would all be impossible. Without realizing it, on average, we can calculate an equivalent amount of slaves used by any human on Earth today, given our estimates on the output of energy a human being is capable of delivering above and the total energy consumption of the planet. Doing the math, we find that an average human lives as if he/she had ~200 slaves working for him/her constantly. If we look at developed nations, this number jumps to 600 to 1500 equivalent slaves. This is an outstanding standard of living compared to what any of our ancestors ever knew. And so, it’s not that our generation is 200 times more productive than previous generations of humans, what has been driving the economy for the past 220 years is not humans, so much as it is the increasing access to a park of machines which has driven GDP growth since the industrial revolution. In fact, this can also be seen in developing countries, where an increase in development is immediately accompanied by a rural exodus driven by the introduction of machines to perform the heavy work in the fields. This allows for a widening of the pool of workers, which can then be free to use more machines and increase GDP.

So what sources of energy have we been exploiting in the last 220 years? Worldwide, the mix looks a little bit like this:

Notice that most of this mix (oil, gas and coal) are sources which are fossil fuels. In essence, what this chart is saying is that we owe all of the societal progress of the past 220 years to fossil fuels. Of course, the use of these fuels has the annoying consequence of releasing CO${}_2$ into the atmosphere which — as we know — has some rather undesirable consequences for the future of humanity. This chart also tells a story about how people have completely misrepresented and misunderstood the problem. Most people think that the energy crisis will ultimately be solved by replacing the carbonated sources of energy by “renewables”, even though the later are basically invisible in the above chart. Luckily, a world where we live only with renewable energy is entirely possible: it’s called the Middle Ages. The impossibility of replacing these carbonated sources with “renewables” is an important point to treat, and deserves an article of its own, but in the end its cause is the same as what has driven this discussion so far: energy density. We shall come back to this important point in a subsequent post. For now, let us finish driving the point home in establishing the unequivocal link between energy, specifically oil, and GDP. Energy availability is the main driver of the economy, this is simply because the economy is nothing other but the collective transformation of stuff into other stuff by humans. This, and the fact that 50% of the world-wide oil consumption is used to transport goods or people from point A to B is what explains the following correlation between oil and GDP:

In light of global warming, the question becomes one in which we are forced to arbitrate between real GDP growth and carbon emissions. It is literally that simple, yet it is difficult to grasp what this means. GDP growth is an abstract concept most of us don’t really understand, and most people advocating for giving up growth don’t fully grasp the consequences of what it will mean for all of us. Very really, what it means is diminishing real wages and purchasing power by a factor varying between 3 or 10 over the next 30 years (we will come back to these figures eventually in another article, too). Now, most people will point out that we can and should just take all this wealth from the oligarchs and the billionaires out there, and this is true and should definitely be done, but it will unfortunately still not be anywhere near enough to solve the problem. Orders of magnitude are a bitch and maths sucks, especially when they contradict your political opinions. In real terms, giving up growth means to take your current salary, and divide it by 10, and ask yourself whether you are really ready to live with that. The questions on left and right are at this point so irrelevant that it is stupid to even ask them. Both of these models of thinking completely rely on a pie which is ever increasing and in which the living standards of everyone eventually rise. For the right, this is obvious, but this holds true even in a leftist society, in which the social programs and everything that goes with it relies heavily on economic growth and an increase of the economic pie. This view is flawed, as in very real terms in order to protect ourselves from climate change, the only way is to considerably decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, in other words, considerably decrease global GDP.

(Un)fortunately, whether the politicians decide to take global warming seriously or not, the problem will auto-regulate eventually. You see, there is a tiny and obnoxious problem regarding our addiction to fossil fuels: we are running out of them. We should point out that not all fossil fuels are equal: this is not only true from a carbon emission perspective, but also from a transportation point of view. Indeed, only about 10% of the coal produced yearly is actually exported, because it is inconvenient to transport. Gas presents a similar problem, given its physical form, which is not sufficiently energetically dense to be easily shipped without compression (which itself involves energy). This leaves oil as the main source of energy which is actually exportable and tradable. And so, not only is oil vital due to the fact that it is the only source of energy which can reliably be used to for transportation, it is also the only option when looking at trading energy internationally. However, oil production has been already past its peak in most countries with considerable oil reserves. From a European point of view, the problem is actually worse as the energy consumption in Europe has been stagnating and in fact decreasing since 2005, when we reached peak consumption.

Incidentally, this explains why there has been no -- and there will be no -- economic long term real growth in Europe in the future, and it this has indeed been the case ever since 2008. In fact, most of the economic growth which has happened in Europe ever since is due to the trade of goods which increase in value over time (such as housing), which gets further gets inflated as there is a surplus of liquidity which has been continuously injected into the system since the introduction of quantitative easing. We will come to this problematic in a latte post. Similarly, we observe analogous curves of decrease in variation of energy consumption in the countries of the OECD (source of data: BP Statistical Review 2017), which means that this halting of real economic growth is not to be expected anywhere else in the OECD either.

During a recent discussion with a close friend of mine, he pointed out that the decrease in consumption in energy could be explained by the fact that the economy in developed countries had essentially become an economy of services, and that thus, this correlation between GDP and energy consumption and production was flawed, but this reasoning is wrong. First, because many of these services introduced involve or depend strongly on developments in e-commerce and industries attached to the development of the Internet and computers. However, the digitalization of the economy has not led to a decrease in energy demand, but in fact quite the opposite, if anything it has considerably increased our energy dependence. Second, the data simply states otherwise across the board. For instance, the chart below depicts an evolution of the percentage of people working in services and the amount of tons of CO${}_2$ released in the environment per capita in the World (data is from the World Bank).

Of course, the fact that these are positively correlated in the world and these countries is expected. In the world, because supporting the increasing living standards of the people working in the service sector necessarily comes out of an increase of the economic pie, which can only mean that the energy consumption (thus, at first order, the tons of CO${}_2$ in the atmosphere) increased. In European countries, the CO${}_2$ per capita has been reduced, partly to a negligible population growth, but also due to the delocalization of the most polluting elements of the economy to developing countries. Nonetheless, the general worldwide trend is clear: more service sector employment correlates with higher output of CO${}_2$, which implies higher energy consumption. But of course, by the reasoning above, this is hardly surprising.

Most of the time, the decline in the rate of growth of oil production is dismissed by saying that we will always find alternative forms of petroleum which will remain exploitable and will secure us with more oil. However, these alternative sources, such as bituminous sands and are problematic to exploit, require more energy input to be exploitable and are of lesser energetic quality. Similar decreasing curves of consumption and production have been appreciated for gas as well. Coal remains an exception to this, but it is not easily tradable, which implies that only 8 countries (including the US, China and Australia) really can consider exploiting coal for long term energy consumption, but given the climate consequences this poses, this is hardly a desirable outcome.

And so ultimately, it is not even a question of deciding whether or not we want to transition out of fossil fuels or not. The decrease in fossil fuel consumption will happen whether we like it or not — and by extension, so will the inevitable shrinking of the economy. The problem is that it might not happen fast enough to avoid catastrophe, which might already be unavoidable. What this also means is that the questions we should be asking ourselves as a society are not so much whether we should adopt liberal or leftist policies, but rather how we optimize the distribution of resources in a world where the economic pie decreases year by year, but no one seems to be wanting to have this discussion seriously.

#energy #energy crisis #renewables #renewable power #oil #environment #environmetalists #economy #economic crisis

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lovemesomesurveys · 4 years

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Do you feel comfortable wearing tube tops? Noooo. You’ll never see me in a tube top. I don’t even wear tank tops. Has something someone said today annoyed you? Not so far, ha. I haven’t interacted with anyone, yet. It’s only 4:33AM. Can you hear the crickets chirping at night? No. Do you like listening to new music, or just sticking to your favorites? I like new music, but I do love listening to my good ol’ favorites. I have a playlist that consists of a variety of music, new and old, from various genres and decades, that I just click shuffle and listen. So far, where have you been on vacation? I haven’t gone anywhere this year, yet.

Did you ever feel that there was something you couldn't tell anyone? Yep. Old stuff and ongoing, current stuff. Do you tend to gossip, even if you don't mean it to cause harm? It does happen. I’ll see something on social media about someone I know and tell my mom or brother. Family gossip stuff. Not to talk shit, but it’ll be like, “omg did you see what so and so posted/did/whatever.” Or like if someone is pregnant or broke up or whatever. My main gossip is celebrity stuff, though. ha. When was the last time you were bitten by a bug? I don’t recall. It’s been a long time, thankfully. Have you ever gotten your hair permed? No. Do you have a pair of sunglasses that are worth over $200? I don’t have any sunglasses. I don’t wear ‘em, but if I did I sure wouldn’t spend that much. Not anywhere close. Would you ever go on a trip to Europe? Absolutely. I’d love to. There’s so many places I’d love to visit. Are you brave when it comes to trying new foods? Nopeee. I have the same few foods I rotate between. It’s a small list. When was the last time you saw your significant other? I’m single. Is there a friend that you can always go to for advice? I can go to my mom. Have you ever been to a town/place where the people were just creepy? No. Ew, I hope I never go somewhere like that. What's the fastest you've ever driven in a car? I’ve never driven a car. If you see a piano, are you tempted to go over and play a little something? I would. Especially because it’s been over 10 years since I last played. Is there someone you know who bakes amazing sweets? Yeah. Are you ashamed of your singing voice? I can’t sing for shit, but it doesn’t stop me from singing to myself or around my family. I try to sound as decent as I can, ha. I’m not like those people on American Idol they show that can’t sing well at all, but they think they can and they’re just on there wailing. lol. Has anyone teased you with the "K-I-S-S-I-N-G" song? Yeah. Have you ever had a dream where you could understand a foreign language? No. That would be weird. What time is it where you are? 4:45AM. Do you have anything important to do tomorrow? I have my Bible study stuff. Have you ever owned a beanbag chair? Yeah, when I was a kid we had one. If you own a laptop, do you have a case for it? I do. What was the last movie you purchased on DVD? I don’t even remember. I haven’t bought a physical DVD in yearssss. Are you a fan of retro things? Yeah. Do you do your own laundry? No. I need help with that, which my mom does. Have you ever used pastels? Yes. Is there a song you're listening to at the moment? No. Would you be considered to be knowledgeable about World War 2? Not really. Have you ever been in possession of a hundred dollar bill? Yes. Is there one food you cannot give up, even though you know it's unhealthy? I don’t eat healthy at all, but the worst thing I eat is probably ramen. I love it, though. Will you bother having a party for your next birthday? Nah, I’m old. I just like doing something lowkey with my parents and brother. Although, last year my aunt and cousin came over for a game night and cheesecake for my birthday and that was fun. I’d be up for that again. If you're with someone right now, do you think it will last? Who was the last person you flipped off? I have no idea. That’s not something I really do. Like, ever. Do you currently have a job? No. What was the last movie that was unable to capture your interest? Hmm. I don’t remember. Have you heard of the Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers? The name rings a bell. Do you have something to do, that you would rather not do? There’s a few things. Are you, in any way, feeling hopeless right now? I’ve felt that way for a long time. Is there someone you just need to call and talk to? No. I don’t like talking on the phone. Are you one of those people who can eat anything and not gain a pound? Yes. I used to like that about myself, but it’s a problem for me, currently. These past few years I’ve lost weight due to health stuff and as someone who was already thin...yeah, not good. It’s caused problems for me. Are you nails painted at the moment? No. It’s been a few years since I’ve painted my nails. Is there a song you've been listening to lately on repeat? There’s a few songs lately that I always like to listen when listening to music. I just hit shuffle on my playlist, but there’s a few I like to just add to queue to make sure they come up. Lately, it’s been a couple Billie Eilish songs. Do you know who you're planning to ask to your grad prom? I’m 30 years old. I did go to prom; though, but I didn’t have a date. I just went with friends. When was the last time you went shopping? A few weeks ago. Is there anyone who did something absolutely hilarious today? Not so far. Again, it’s really early and I haven’t interacted with anyone, yet. Are you having one of those days where you feel unattractive? “one of those days” is everyday for me, old sport. I feel unattractive and I am unattractive. Do you like hot dogs? No. Do you ever get bored of your music collection and get new songs? I like to check out new music and add it to my playlist to add to the rotation, but I love my old stuff, too. Have you ever bought a designer purse? I’ve been gifted one. What's the limit on how much you would pay for a shirt? I’d say like $30. I mean, I’d obviously prefer cheaper if I can find a good sale or have a good coupon, but if not then yeah about $30. Would you ever like to see the Walk of Fame? Sure. Is it currently humid where you are? No. Have you been in any sort of physical pain today? Of course. Have you ever heard of the German movie Das Boot? Nope. Who were the last people you hung out with? My mom and brother. Has someone ever called you "obnoxious"? Not that I’m aware of. Most commonly, do you obey rules, or break them? I’m more of a rule follower. Do you like making funny faces in pictures? Nah. Is there something you look back on and go "I can't believe I did that"? A lot of things... Are you good at offering advice? I think I used to be. At least, my friends seemed to think so since I was the one they always came to for advice. I wouldn’t say I am now, though. No one should ask me anything. When was the last time you had to resort to a map? I just use Google Maps if I need directions. I’ve never used an actual map. Your significant other: have you told them you love them lately? What was the last thing to confuse you? Life. How many different colors have you dyed your hair? 3. Do you know someone who always spells "bored" like "board"? No. Are you wearing make up right now? No. I haven’t worn makeup in over a year. Is there a phrase that you use a lot? Words and phrases, yeah. Are you old enough to vote? I’ve been old enough to vote for over 10 years now. Do you have a favorite pair of earrings? Yes, the rose gold Minnie Mouse earrings I got for Christmas. Have you ever been to Disneyworld/Disneyland? I’ve been to Disneyland a few times. Have you dated someone more than twice? Not more than twice, but twice. Are you a fan of Keira Knightley? I’m indifferent. Have you ever resorted to alcohol to make you feel better? It never helped. Maybe briefly, but it was always short lived. Do you own a full-length mirror? Yeah. Do you ever go on PerezHilton.com to get all the celeb gossip? I see his tweets. Have you heard about Mel Gibson's rant/freakout? Yeah. That was ages ago. Do you wish your bedroom was bigger? Yes, that would be nice. My room is quite small and I have too much stuff. Are you aware of the significance of the date April 14th, 1912? I am, actually. Do you ever just lay back and watch the stars? No. Lately have you had much time to relax? You would think so since I spend majority of my time at home in bed. I wouldn’t call it relaxing, though. Not for me. I have health stuff, physically and mentally, and feel like crap, so. Did anything important/changing happen to you in March 2009? That was over 10 years ago, I don’t remember. I guess nothing that important happened. Nothing memorable, at least. Have you ever felt like a "new person"? Yes, but not in a good way. These past few years have changed me and not for the better. Do you own any expensive jewelry? Yes. What size is your TV? 32 inch, I think. Do you occasionally creep on people on Facebook? Nah. I don’t spend a lot of time on Facebook and what little time I do spend I’m just scrolling through my feed “liking” stuff and sharing an occasional post. I won’t say that I’ve never done that, though. ha. Who hasn’t. Has there been someone in your life that just wouldn't leave you alone? Yeah, in the past. Do you hate to use public bathrooms? Yes. I very rarely do. Do you find most remixes of songs to be good or bad? It really just depends. I’ve heard good ones and I’ve heard shitty ones. There have been some I liked better than the original. Write something to someone who means a lot to you: Nah. I’ll just say goodnight!

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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whimsically-ominously-auspice · 5 years

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Uncle Donald gave her $800 in the 1980s

She let him invest it for her up until now

And she has now $45B

I hope you enjoyed your game as there are more to come but with more people as it enters TV for free of course on Channel Fox.

As always enjoy life and what it brings with the most care you can afford.

Don't let the economy, crumble, Uncle Donald, i hit up JP for some cash since Jesse stole mine from United Business Bank located in Oregon, Washington, and New Mexico.

I own Chase, bought it with Donald and sold to the US Government for a mint. Jesse could got in on this deal but he wanted to challenge me instead.

So I asked Uncle Donald for a cash loan, how much he could afford and what was in his wallet. $4000 roughly. So we split it between his 4 kids (the 4th being me) and I gave him back $200 for the rest of the day.

And we returned to the bank and I asked him how to deposit the money into Chase Manhattan because Denise had bought me clothes but I wanted to be a fashion designer and had altered them So she threw them all away in a rage of jealousy and heat.

Of course i started to cry so we went back across the street to McDonald's and we talked. He said "i have a surprise for you, lets get to the bank"

So we walked alllllll around the building, up and down and he talked to a man and got us inside all the back rooms. He said "i wanna buy it!" And he turned to me and asked "would you like to invest your $800 into my bank as an investor?"

I said "what about my clothes! She said i had to return the money or else i get none!"

"But who did she spend the money on?"

"Me and my brothers and and her!"

"Well don't you think Its time to invest in you and your fashion?" He asked for my $800 i had to pull from 4 different pockets and my sock as he taught me to split to beat pick pocketers. And handed it all. He handed me back $200 and I handed it back then he handed me a $5 from his breast pocket and t told me to keep it.

And began to walk to the counter to buy the bank.

I chased after him and put it in his left cost pocket and told him, 'well you know you bought me lunch so you keep it"

I pulled it from his pocket to produce proof I had already given it and he couldn't give it back and then stuffed it back in deep, all the way i nearly ripped his shoulder off for which I promptly apologized, jumped on the counter and rubbed his soreness off and jumped down.

And he started to cry a little bashful at first then a full sob. And I tried to console him and Robby appeared with a trailing line of toilet paper so his silk hanky wouldn't be soiled with snot.

He thanked him and became startled and asked if he wanted in on the investment.

Robby said, "i might but i need to talk to you, I belong to this boarding school ran by this might be soon white bigger as he calls himself, inspired by her and taken completely out of context"

"Michael Jackson" interjected our new found Uncle Donald. "Come let's sit"

We moved to the side of the spacious lobby to a small table accompanied by two plus club chairs.

He and i talked about how neat it would be to have chaise chairs in Chase bank.

"Well, her mom is abusive, mostly about money so i would like to take control of her stock with her permission"

"Yes! I do! And i will wanna get married!" I jumped with my fist in the air and pushed against the chair like a standing push up and stood

....

"Her sit. First I would like to talk to you as an investor. I am run by the boarding house and they teach us things like to steal and bring back to get 'rewards' much often things less than they are worth like a stick of gum for $2 when I can get a whole pack for 20 cents. Uh oh, here he comes"

"Im about to invest into this bank with these two kids you got something you wanna say to me?" Instead of waiting for a reply, uncle Donald got up and briskly walked to the counter, asking to return to a different room, promptly and away from Mr Jackson whom was still solidly black (he doesn't have vitaligo its just bleached).

And we entered a nearly empty office and he turned fiercely, angry even, "this will be your office where you will WORK"

...

"Its okay! We are still friends!" I climbed into the chair then up onto the desk "this is where I will sit"

"Well close your legs and sit like a lady, like this hand me your foot, no don't take off your shoe"

"Well I didn't want to ruin you! Your suit is NICE!!"

And he moved my foot and crossed my ankles and patted my knee and said "or you cross at here"

I took my ankle to my knee "no not like that, that's like a man. Knee to knee"

"Oh like this?" I squeezed my knees together

Robby laughed and Uncle Donald looked flustered

"Oh i know I know cross at my knees, you need to explain better!" I patted his shoulder. In the 80s it was okay to touch, at least for a child.

"I said that first!"

"Oh! I interrupt!"

"No apologize" Robby groaned

"I apologize for interrupting"

"For?" Asked Donald "you can't tell her that Because ---"

"No he could I get misinformation that way"

"Except when I'm being scolded and she knows the truth" said Robby.

Tune in next week for another Miss Adventure of one Wild Single Mom's Childhood!

I had 48 cents. Robby had put in 2500 front Hayes then 1500 each from Mark and Mike Andrews which he had not signed and they got rejected. Yet Jesse notified me of this, restricted my remote deposit privileges and now i am to notify the Sheriff of Hays County, Austin, Texas that the money is kept hidden in the tax and revenue accounts of his great county. And to open an investigation which he will pretend he did and then not. So i get his hush money as well as the other two and the $15B JP Dejoria stupidly just paid me because i Told Jesse to tell his father in law that Jesse is a stupid piece of shit which he didn't.

And of course I will invest in schools across the nation, installing playgrounds at any schools that do not have them, including intermediate, Jr high, middle, High and etc.. And may be finally lockers at least were I'm centrally located and/or where i want to be, namely at high schools at least.

Because that is what I want to do. Make people happy in the funniest ways possible.

And if there is any left I want to reinvest at the parks i originally invested in, initially, to make them better snd brighter, starting at the older to the newer.

I want the world to seem happier and brighter and in the case of schools at least around here once they hit 7th grade (middle school) they change schools to those that no longer have lockers or desks to put things in, 7 or more teachers to please instead of one or two they spend all day with, like a parent who gives love and kindness and retribution, they go through puberty which in itself is a chore. Then the kids riot. I've seen it in small schools and i know it happens in big ones. 20 in one week at the beginning of school less than a mile from my house where i can hear the school bell.

And so they need a place to sleep their weary heads like the shoulder of an old friend instead of weeping a soul they can no longer call their own.

The secrets i have included here broke my heart to where it actually stopped over and over.

Instead of asking what was wrong, Mr Moneybags Jesse sent me to the doctor alone. -.-

He could have provided me with what i needed like I provided and protected him from Ms Dejoria and Mark Hindberg, Afghanistan and Iraq, which I will no longer do.

He is the one that encouraged Michael Jackson to pickpocket the slaves he had created.

Yes Michael Jackson is Wacko, is Him and is burning in Hell because I killed him with my own pistol Jesse had stolen from a cop, altered and resold to himself at a cheaper price than the way over inflated price he created to create a deficit in his company to receive a refund from the US government's IRS Department in the amount of $8,000 instead of paying the $1M he owed.

I plead guilty before a judge and Uncle Donald, Mrs Katherine Jackson, the Anne my 4 year old daughter that Michael Jackson attempted to rape in front of me, as well as Robby, my true love and of course Sunny and Jesse James himself whom gave me the gun.

Then, before then President Barack Obama, i was exonerated and pardoned completely without the possibility of parole or any other misconceptions that would be included with self defense manslaughter.

This week total I have arrested a total of 19 men and women thanks to the CIA as an unpaid civilian.

That would guarantee me Presidentship of one really great country, now, wouldn't it?

Thanks. And not to be repeated: No more games. Only truth.

Until next time my fair weather friends!

Now! Let's grab the bookie!!! Snag! You're in jail. What did ya know, Mike Andrews, I knew all along that Mark Hindberg was FBI. Why didn't you think that?

Moving along, hi JP. How are you? No one cares. Good thing you trusted into your rapist daughter who was married to a true hero whom puts up with my shit even after we name him Mr Vomit cause I make him so scared he actually vomits like I did tonight (that's included. No more scare, only truth)

Oh yes, JP, you have already been arrested and so you know -- you have no guns with you, right? Alexis Dejoria is no rapist, she's actually an excellent FBI agent whom hates her dad and is included in any exonerations I may have to hand out butbat my leisurely pace, because she actually didn't rape anybody!

Also the US government will pay your wages as you did file a lawsuit this very week by signing up with Namus.gov like we all did.

She like me, was an unpaid civilian whom ran into luck. While she's smart, she's not smart like me. Thus she's the FBI vs me who is CIA and can work against the world in a millisecond as i usually do and have in Afghanistan and Iraq where i protected many NHRA members during their tours in the US Military while they served with Jesse James and my little brother and were even kidnapped thanks to Matt Hagan's temper tantrum and Jesse James refusal to listen to command. Eventually I saved them from that too in a day and 6 hours after leaving base. They were involuntary bound and gagged and beaten within 20 minutes of their capture. Within the next 20 when I was finally told of their status they were rescued by Tony Schumacher and his team.

And now i have saved the NHRA from being beaten and raped and tortured. My time to continue here at home is not wasted,

I love you all and thank you very much for listening...

And now i have something to say about Jesse since i made him puke from a lie via email Because he made me mad for being a Dick douchebag and not caring enough about me, not wrecking his motorcycle and then lying to make me feel bad and stupider than ever although I saw the wreck and my being a girl, up and President running, couldn't stop to rescue or assist a man on his feet whom had already picked up his bike after a wipe out and the trailer passed me up to show me he would assist because forgive those trespassers as we trespass ourselves and i care that he could really been hurt. That may be a fault of mine but it is called Grace and not salvation which is being my daughter reincarnated into a goat in Iraq to keep everyone safe because Jesse is a dumb dumb sometimes and Matt Hagan prefers truth over himself, sometimes. Like being in love with a goat of my daughter's soul, in Iraq. (I bet he fucked her, too. Bestiality freak. Not my business tho, nor yours. But still, let's laugh instead of poking fun at his misadventures. It is funny, yo!)

Jesse cared about the goat so much he listened to her over every one, even me. Because he believed she was closer to God where he needed to be..

I changed his life once in Alabama and several times then, over and over, any time that need be.

But finally for this one time he trusted somebody else and learned to love as much as he could, the soul inside of him.

So God bless to all of the two headed creatures we will see wandering around the backs of people at the NHRA in the future to come. Including even on me.

I'm Mrs Cougar cause of my fingernails and my desire to be with someone young to keep me fresh and Alive -- not by his blood byt by the life he gives me. And he will be Mr Snake the one who slithers up beside me only for love while I labor in the grass kicking myself for what i might have done but not for what i might have missed out on because I was there the whole time thinking and feeling and frolicking through the grass, same as me.

And of course my tattoo will be scary cause the world as I know it, very much can be.

And you can thank me for the past or you can think about the future and beyond!!!

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weshallneverrevolt · 4 years

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In-Home Streaming, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Couch

I’m a longtime PC gamer for many reasons. Yes, there’s the snob factor: PC games can look better than consoles almost all of the time. But it’s also because of the customizability. You pick your framerate, your resolution, your graphical settings. But you also own a machine, not an appliance: you learn its quirks, its inner workings. It’s something you take care of. For an enthusiast, a custom built computer is like a tailored suit.

And yet, there’s something I have missed for a long time: gaming on the couch.

Couch gaming is how I grew up. Huddled with friends around a tiny TV and N64, controllers in hand, shouting and laughing. Or leaned back in a chair with a cold soda, savoring every moment of a lengthy Final Fantasy cutscene. An office chair just isn’t the same. It’s rigid and harsh. It says “at attention,” not “relax.” It was the antithesis of my ideal gaming experience.

But after I got my PC, I never bought a console. For one, I couldn’t afford them. In college my money was precious, and my computer – already cobbled together from low-end or used parts – was expensive enough to maintain. The idea of dropping hundreds on a console and proper television was out of the question.

As an adult with more disposable income and now a home of my own – complete with an awesome living room my wife put together – I wanted to have that experience again. But my budget-mindedness and graphical snobbery hadn’t changed, and my PC was upstairs on the other side of the house. What to do?

I wanted couch gaming. And I managed to get it without buying a console or moving my PC to the living room thanks to a hugely underappreciated technology: in-home streaming. Here I’ll share what I’ve learned, discuss setups, and evangelize one of the coolest tech tricks I’ve discovered in homeownership.

What is In-Home Streaming?

You’ve probably heard of Google Stadia, Google’s uh…interesting new streaming game service. The basic idea is that your console isn’t in your living room. Instead, it’s located in a Google datacenter, which streams the game as a video through the internet. It sort of works, with the hiccups you’d expect with streaming a game over the internet: lag, input delay, graphical glitches. It’s like having very, very long HDMI and USB cords.

In-home streaming is basically that, but in your house. With the distance being just a few rooms instead of across state lines, latency becomes much less of an issue. It finally gives PC gamers the one thing we were missing: the couch.

Because it encodes video in real-time, in-home video streaming is a pretty new technology, and it requires certain hardware and software. The two dominant solutions are Steam and Moonlight, and they’re different in important ways.

Steam Remote Play

Steam Remote Play is by far the simplest method. For one, it integrates directly with Steam, so there is no complicated setup. Just install Steam on both devices, boot em up and you’re good to go. It pairs well with Steam’s “Big Picture” interface for a console-like experience.

Steam streaming also runs on just about anything, including very small computers like a Raspberry Pi. This is because it uses H.264 encoding, a standard that has been around for a long time. Just about any computer made since 2008 can play H.264 video, meaning that your old laptop or a $25 PC from Goodwill can be turned into a stream machine. Encoding H.264 on the host machine also has little performance cost.

Where Steam hits a limit is in resolution. Steam can only stream games at the resolution they use on your native monitor. So if your computer monitor is 1080p, you can’t play in 4K when it’s streamed to your TV. You can go lower resolution, which is fine if you’re streaming to some laptop screens.

Steam works with all Xbox controllers, as well as the Dual Shock 4 through DS4Windows.

Moonlight

Moonlight is what I use for in-home streaming. It’s an open-source implementation of NVidia’s “GameStream” technology, originally developed for their Shield devices. My main PC has a GTX 1070, which supports GameStream.

Moonlight has a number of significant advantages over Steam. For me, the most important is its ability to stream in a different resolution than your desktop. So while my desktop monitor is 1080p, I can play games in native 4K on my TV set! For newer games that my PC can’t run at full 4K, I use NVidia’s dynamic super resolution feature to run at 1440p or another resolution, then upscale it to 4K.

GameStream can also encode in HEVC, a cutting-edge video codec that offers superior quality with lower bandwidth. There’s virtually no artifacting, and colors usually look better than with Steam streaming. There is also HDR support. Because HEVC is lower bandwidth, it’s also ideal for wi-fi streaming.

If you’ve been keeping up with all the NVidia mentions, you’ve probably figured out the most significant drawback of Moonlight: hardware exclusivity. GameStream can only encode certain NVidia graphics cards. For instance, the 10-series locks GameStream to the 1050ti or higher, so budget gamers with a 1030 or 1050 are out of luck. Good news is that the receiving PC can run non-nVidia graphics.

GameStream also supports H.264, but for HEVC you need more powerful hardware on the receiving end. So while any old shitty laptop could stream with Steam, it would choke on HEVC.

Moonlight has the same controller support as Steam.

My Setup

When I first built my setup, I set a few standards:

4K, 60 frames per second

Option for “upscaled” 4K similar to the PS4 Pro/XB1X

4K Blu-ray quality HEVC (around 100mbps bitrate)

Quiet

An unobtrusive look, like a home theater appliance

A hard-wired setup for low latency

Less than a week after we moved in, I hard-wired my house for internet. I ran an Ethernet cable all the way from my office, through the garage, under my crawlspace and into my living room. I then crimped the ends (badly) and installed a wall outlet in my office (barely.) If I were to do this now, I’d buy a pre-made 200-300ft CAT6 cable on Amazon and just run that. That said, my cable still works for what I need.

For my streaming PC, I knew that I had to go small form factor. The credenza in my living room didn’t have space for a full-size PC, and the aesthetic of most of those would offend my non-gamer wife. I considered building one, but most SFF hardware is targeted at enthusiasts and so doesn’t come cheap.

But small form factor PCs have a particular application: offices. When offices dump their old hardware, you can get it for almost nothing. I found just such a deal on reddit’s /r/buildapcsales for a Lenovo ThinkCentre m58p, refurbished from Staples for $20 shipped. It was small, simply designed, and not too flashy. But it is from 2008, and needed a few cheap upgrades:

I swapped out the dual-core E8400 processor for a quad-core Q9400 I had on hand.

I replaced the loud, slow hard drive with a small, cheap ADATA SU635 solid state drive.

For my quiet living room setting, I also replaced the cooling fan with a high-quality Noctua model.

But chief among these upgrades was a graphics card. This PC, being more than a little old, could not play HEVC video without specialized hardware. And it had to be silent, not require much power, and be able to fit inside this small case.

So I turned to the NVidia GT 1030, specifically the MSI low profile silent model. Targeted at home theater PCs and poor gamers, the GT 1030 is not gonna blow anyone’s socks off. But it does 4K, and it does HEVC, and it does all of this over HDMI so it plugs straight into my TV with no issues. One quirk with my model is that the heatsink didn’t fit in my unusual case, so I had to take a hacksaw to it.

For a truly 1%er experience, I wanted to be able to start my upstairs PC remotely. That way when I want to play, I don’t even have to walk up there. For this I used an Android app called Unified Remote, which allows you to remotely control a computer from a phone. Unified Remote is free, but I bought the premium version with Play Rewards points.

The Value Question

Let’s get the first question out of the way: if a NVidia Shield is $150, why not just buy that? A few reasons:

It has hard-wired ethernet. No matter how good your wifi is, hard-wired is better.

Moonlight’s interface is more flexible than the Shield’s.

This also runs YouTube with a full keyboard remote for easier searches.

I can install a Blu-ray player at some point, if I choose.

I can emulate many games on the living room PC; the GT 1030 is great for that.

It runs party games like Jackbox just fine.

This is more fun.

So let’s run a tally. I’m not counting the hard-wiring, since I needed that for my office computer anyway.

The PC itself: $20

GT 1030: $75

Noctua 92mm fan: $15

Bluetooth receiver: $10

SSD: $15

Q9400: free to me, but you can get one on eBay for like $10

So for $135 – less than a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X – I get 4K couch gaming at higher framerates and higher settings. And for certain games, like Overwatch or Cities: Skylines, I still have a killer keyboard and mouse setup.

You can easily make this cheaper, especially if you use Steam and aim for 1080p instead of 4K. A Raspberry Pi – around $60 with accessories – can do 1080p Steam streaming flawlessly. Most Intel CPUs made after 2011 can decode H.264 without a graphics card, and the 6000 series and higher can even decode HEVC. You could also go for a GT 1030 with a fan, which are usually cheaper.

So How’s It Perform?

In short: great!

I’ve played everything from The Outer Worlds to Slay the Spire to Rocket League on my streaming setup, and they all work perfectly. Sekiro – which requires extremely precise inputs – does suffer a bit from the input lag, but I can’t detect lag with most games. Visual quality is excellent with very little loss in color saturation. You will notice artifacting on grass or leaves when you’re up close, but this is less visible at 1440p or higher.

I would not play competitive games on a streaming setup. The only one I play seriously is Overwatch, and there is definitely a difference in my performance when streaming. Competitive first-person shooters also suck to play on a controller, and a proper couch desk is not an investment I’m prepared to make.

Be prepared to tweak graphical settings if you’re shooting for 4K on most setups, as the video encoding does have a slight performance cost. This is not true for older games; Dark Souls and Dishonored run at a locked 4K and 60fps. For modern games, Forza Horizon 5 runs at 1800p on High, and Resident Evil 2 is smooth as silk at 1440p.

One final tip: if you’re streaming over wi-fi, be prepared to make some compromises. I would stick to 1080p to avoid lag, or do 4K only on HEVC with lower visual quality. Also streaming basically requires 5ghz wifi, so if you have an old router you should probably cut back to 720p.

So that’s in-home streaming! If you’re already a PC gamer, it’s an affordable and easy way to achieve a console-like experience. Feel free to DM me with any questions you have about hardware or software setup.

#tech #gaming #streaming #in-home streaming #remote play #steam #moonlight #nvidia #gamestream #hardware #pc gaming #couch gaming

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prorevenge · 6 years

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How to deal with a psychopathic grandmother who tries to disinherit the sons of her only daughter.

This story is dedicated to the memory of my mom, and to my dad and brother, who together showed me the true meaning of strength, character, and loyalty.

My bro and I live with mom on the top floor of the apartment. Grandma lives on the bottom. My mom is diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer. My grandmother becomes the devil incarnate.

She knew she has life-estate in the property if my mom passes. Means she can live there till she dies, but can't sell that right in the property to anyone. We are not rich by any means, but my mom leaves her 100k too for the upkeep.

It's not enough. The life-estate is worthless to her. She doesn't want to live there. She wants the money from selling the house.

For the time that my mother was dying, my grandmother made her passing an absolute misery. 5 weeks before my mother passed, we tried to stage a fucking family intervention. For my fucking grandmother. To ask her to please stop berating my mother over monetary matters. My mom invited a bloody social worker. That poor guy tried 7 times to get her off the topic of money; to think about family and coming together. She consistently turned the topic to how she was always my mother's "milking cow".

And the way she said it. Good God. The sing-song passive-aggressive victimized voice she adopted, the drawn out sighs, made the people who heard it physically ill. My gorge rises as I write.

The social worker told me privately that it was hopeless, and that he was truly sorry. You could tell he meant it sincerely.

She then starts to send out emails to all our mutual friends and family saying my bro and I were spoiled, abusive, don't deserve an inheritance, and attached some 200 receipts for household items that she had "gifted" to my mother and wanted back now. Some people believed her. Others were just so weirded out being dragged into such a private dispute that they vowed to remain neutral, keep their distance, and slowly cut off contact. We lost a lot of our social network.

My mother was impressionable and childlike due to the brain cancer. 4 weeks before she passed, my brother calls to tell me grandma is trying to sneak a lawyer into our apartment. She wanted my mom to change her will to exclude us. After racing home, we had a shouting match in our apartment, and told her to go back to hers. The lawyer at least had the good sense to fuck off.

Then, she falsely accused my bro and me of elder abuse. She said we barged into her apartment and pushed her around and threatened her. Didn't happen, not even a little. 3 weeks away. Get interviewed by police. Joy.

The day we moved my mother into the hospice, was the day my dear granny decided to change the locks to our apartment. Took us 6 months in court to get our possessions back. Luckily, we had someplace else to live.

We find out later that before any of this, she had secretly sold off an apartment of my mom's in the Old Country and illegally pocketed the $16k.

So, the revenge. The revenge was simple. We waited until she sued the estate.

The revenge was finally telling her that the executor of the estate (me, but not "me") was the only person who could buy-out her life-estate in the property, and was bound to negotiate in good faith. She didn't know that.

It was telling her that her life-estate was valued at over $300k. That it was everything she ever wanted. She didn't know that either.

It was informing her that all she ever needed to do was ask for cash in lieu of the life-estate. That I could not refuse such a request as executor. She had no clue.

And finally, it was telling her that thanks to her actions, she would never see a red cent of it. She tied up the estate with her own vexacious lawsuits and unlawful garnishment. To put it mildly, it would be most improper to settle any estate with such outstanding disputes ;)

My bro and I are young. We can wait. She is old. She can go to hell.

So I explained to her that every year that goes by, the value of her life-estate loses about $12 grand. She didn't seem to like that at all. Remembering it is giving me a semi. Its been 4 years.

I tell you, there is nothing more satisfying and rare than seeing a sociopath realize how much hubris and deceit has hurt their own self-interest. For all the feigned emotions, the desperation then is truly authentic (and need I say gratifying).

Of course she squeals "But its not too late!". The appropriate response then is to laugh openly in her face. So I did. I really couldn't stop. And unlike hers, my tears were authentic.

Last I hear she's suing her previous lawyer for "misleading" her. He dropped her case when we pointed out that she had forged her banking statements in her submitted evidence. She did it to hide that my mother had years earlier lawfully bought her share in the ownership of the house.

Another lawfirm has picked her up, but her lawyer has delayed action for many months now. Irritatingly it still lingers over our heads, but we plan to motion for dismissal at cost. We think she moved back to the Old Country because its cheaper to live there. Leaving behind $400k and any hope of a settlement.

When I hear of her death, I'll make sure the funeral is open casket. The casket will be made of compressed particleboard. We will put her in a hole. I'll then tell the gravekeeper we will save him his work and establish an outhouse over the site. And everyone on planet earth of all creeds and colours will participate in shitting down her throat as I was fortunate enough to do when she was still living. And it will be like the "world without lawyers" scene from the Simpsons.

(source) (story by brass_snacks)

#prorevenge #by brass_snacks #pro revenge stories #revenge stories #pro #revenge #revenge story #pro revenge story #last10

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cs0127 · 5 years

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A detailed review of the OnePlus 7T from :wired:

I TEST A lot of phones here at WIRED. Smartphones incrementally change each year, and they’ve become more of an essential utility and less of a source of the tech world’s greatest innovations. I often appreciate their new features, but few of those enhancements spark actual joy. The OnePlus 7T, however, has done just that. Putting down the glossy, fingerprint-plastered Galaxy Note10 to review the matte glass 7T was both a relief and a reminder why OnePlus has continued to gain popularity as a smartphone brand year after year.

Like the company's previous devices, the 7T is a phone that showcases much of the best smartphone tech introduced in 2019 at a $600 price—more than $100 cheaper than many top rivals from Samsung, LG, and other manufacturers. What I’ve come to appreciate more is how it uses all that latest tech to enhance my life, often by getting out of my way. Its touch interface is simple and looks just like the brand new Google Android 10 OS it runs on, only a little easier to navigate. It’s just more pleasant, like a PB&J sandwich where mom cut the crust off just because she loves you.

Smooth and Frosty

If you’ve seen an expensive smartphone in the last two years, you know what the 7T looks and feels like, but I’ll describe it anyway. It has a 6.5-inch AMOLED display (that means deeper blacks and richer colors) that takes up its entire front. A teenie teardrop cutout hanging from the top of the screen holds a 16-megapixel selfie camera.

Like the similar and more expensive OnePlus 7 Pro, this display has a 90 Hz refresh rate, which makes the entire interface noticeably smoother. OnePlus calls it a Fluid AMOLED display, and it may live up to that name. Phones have been bumping up the resolution (this one has a 1080p HD screen), but the bump in refresh rate is more noticeable. Everything feels smoother and faster, with richer color than many displays.

The power and volume buttons are in all the right places, and OnePlus has kept its sound/mute/vibrate switch on the right side. It’s a dead-simple little toggle and worth every millimeter of its cutout, letting you easily silence your phone or perk it up anytime.

OnePlus was one of the first companies to introduce an in-display fingerprint sensor, and the latest iteration on this phone is faster than ever. I’ve had trouble with Samsung's on-screen sensors in the Galaxy S10 and Note10, but the optical fingerprint reader in the 7T does the trick in a way that’s more convenient than the fingerprint sensors on the back of many phones like the Google Pixel 3A.

The phone's frame is metal, and the back is covered in shimmering Gorilla Glass because ... well ... trends. It’s silly that the back is made of glass at all, given that we probably drop our phones more than anything besides our keys, and there's no big advantage to the glass here since the 7T doesn’t have wireless charging. But the “glacier blue” color certainly is sleek, and the frosted texture repels fingerprints better than some phones. OnePlus thankfully includes a clear case in the box. I suggest you slip it on.

All Spec’d Out

Between all that glass is a list of luxury technical specs. The 7T runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ processor, which is half a tad speedier than the 855 on some earlier phones this year. It also comes with 8 gigabytes of RAM, and 128 GB of storage. (Sorry, no MicroSD slot; that’s all you get.) These are all fantastic numbers, as are the numbers you’ll see from benchmark performance tests. It’s a powerful phone, right up there with the best.

OnePlus doesn’t make a lot of changes to Android 10, but the changes it does make seem to (mostly) improve the phone's performance. You can more easily swipe up or down from anywhere on the homescreen to access the notification shade or pull up your entire list of apps. I also like the gesture controls that mimic recent iPhones, and the option to turn the back button into a swipe from the left side of the phone has worked well for me. Your mileage may vary, but you can disable these gestures controls and go back to a traditional back-button setup if you like.

The fact that the 7T even has the latest Google OS is a testament to the company’s focus on delivering software and security updates. It promises two years of updates for buyers of the 7T, and has demonstrated a positive track record on updates for older phones. This is notable—despite costing close to $1,000, most Android phones outside of Google’s Pixel line and Motorola's handsets do not get regular software updates, leaving security vulnerabilities exposed and new features out of reach.

With stereo speakers and a gaming mode that optimizes graphics (and can also restrict notifications and calls so you can play without interruption), this is an ideal machine for playing Mario Kart Tour, or any other high-end title, until your eyeballs fall out. Netflix looks lovely, as well.

I’ve ended most days having spent four or five hours with the screen active, and seen about 50 percent battery remaining. A few nights, it’s been closer to 30 to 40 percent, if I stay up late. This is good, but somewhat normal battery life. If you want to improve your power efficiency, you can turn the 90 Hz refresh rate down to a more normal 60 Hz. In a pinch, the included charger is very quick. It can juice the 7T up significantly in a half hour.

Sadly, like many high-end phones, there’s no audio jack (and no adapter in the box), but OnePlus sells an adapter for $13. And this phone also isn’t IP-rated for water resistance. OnePlus claims it will handle some rain pretty well, but you won’t want to drop it in the tub.

Ready to Zoom

When it comes to smartphones, you ain’t cool unless you have three rear cameras these days, and OnePlus always wants to be cool. Like the 7 Pro, it has a 48-megapixel standard rear shooter that outputs extra sharp 12-megapixel images, a 16-megapixel sensor beneath an ultrawide lens, and a 12-megapixel telephoto. This lets you take shots that you can both zoom out a bit, and zoom in to 2X. There’s also a portrait mode, which adds a bokeh effect, the shallow depth-of-field trick that keeps the subject in focus but blurs the background in a close-up photo.

I had a great time shooting plenty of outdoor shots around Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the past week, and I've even enjoyed the extra stability of the Super Stable video mode, which uses the wide angle lens to better stabilize 1080p video; 4K 30 fps video is also available. Everything looks good, especially shots in the Nightscape mode. Like the new iPhone 11 and the latest Pixel phones, the 7T enhances night shots, adding more light, color and detail to areas that would have just appeared as black splotches on older phones. Night shots require a steady hand and a second or two wait, but they are a definite improvement.

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In some of the above shots, you can see some examples of Nightscape mode and Super Macro mode. If you press the flower icon in the upper left side of the camera app, you can move in closer to small objects and still see them stay in focus. The effect isn’t perfect, but I was able to get closer to some plants and ants than I ever have before using a smartphone. It’s a blast to play around with modes like these, and they solidify the OnePlus 7T as a phone for shutterbugs.

Plus One

OnePlus isn’t tampering with the formula that got it to the dance, and that’s good. The 7T is one of the most powerful phones you can buy, and it costs hundreds less than its peers. It also runs on all four major US carriers, and T-Mobile sells it directly.

I've recommended the Pixel 3A ($400) as the best phone to buy for a few months now, and given the performance it offers for the price, for many of you it still is the best phone. But if you are willing to spend an extra $200, the OnePlus 7T will give you a taste of the luxuries you’d otherwise miss out on.

Correction: I referred to the display as a "Liquid" display. OnePlus calls it a "Fluid" display.

you can check out all Amazon has to offer in the One Plus lineup at:(https://amzn.to/35H33nU)

#phones iphone mobile technology phone smartphone tech gadgets technologynews samsung android oneplus technews s mobilephone instagram iphone

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benjaminsmith1999 · 4 years

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A work of Art

The issue or questions is, do colleges shower their students with A’s. And even more important question we should be asking in today’s world is, are these institutions doing it because their arms are being forced. And with this issue, it is leaving many universities at a crossroads with this question, how do we maintain integrity while remaining a viable business.

As a current college student, sometimes I catch myself in a pipe dream, wishing even hoping that this previously stated issue was a problem that was found within the classrooms of Utah Valley University. School isn’t cheap, nor is it easy and now I really understand that, being a first-hand witness. Before I ever walked into a college classroom, I had placed a prejudgment on those who had dropped out and I labeled them as quitters. But now as a student I first realize I jumped to a conclusion, and secondly, I’m really not surprised that there are high dropout rates, and overall a dip in new students attending colleges nationwide.

What are the Facts?

First off, there are many facts that are feeding into this research, first and foremost colleges are decreasing in attendance. One reason behind that is, college is getting more and more expensive as the years go on. First off, I want to mention that I don’t believe there should be a direct correlation between how much money you give away to a school and the grade you receive at the end of the semester. But there are many students and parents who are paying large sums of money, and despite all this money going to a “good cause” in many cases there doesn’t seem to be a grade at the end of the semester that would justify registering for another semester of school. Now there are many arguments to be made based off of grading, and work ethic, and favoritism in the classroom. But the real issue I want to go at today is first why, do colleges shower their students with A’s and whether or not its justified.

Some of the many facts leading into this article “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s” which was written by Brent Staples. First and foremost, some colleges do shower their students with A’s because it could be a poorly attended class, college desks in classrooms are becoming more and more vacant (staples, 1998). One of the causes for this, is because new organizations have submerged like phoenix university that offer diplomas at half the price, and you can do it all in the comfort of your own home. So, that beckons the question, what really is making me stay at a four-year university, especially when diplomas are being less and less looked at in the work force, and specialized jobs are becoming very rare and hard to find. I would say one of the biggest reason colleges are losing students is because of the price, it has been estimated that within the next 20 years college could get close to 300,000 dollars for a 4-year degree. But some other interesting points made by staples, that more professors feel an obligation and pressure to shower students with A’s because the administrations that are running higher education institutions will seriously reconsider giving tenure and promotional opportunities, if there are complaints or “negative evaluations” from students (staples, 1998).

How can the issue be defined?

Staples first used the words of the economist Milton Friedman, by stating “Colleges have simply issued more and more A’s, stoking grade inflation and devaluing degrees” (Staples, 1998). The issue is, Grades are hard to achieve, and a lot of money is put into college, and sometimes the grade that is achieved isn’t worth the money that was put into the student attending the institution. And so, professors and teachers are being forced into giving out good grades, to keep students coming back, and to keep their bosses happy. But I don’t believe that the administration is to blame, because looking with a naked eye it would be obvious that the teachers are the victims here, which is partially true. But a deeper look provides the necessary amount of information, showing Higher Education institutions are trying to stay a competitive business and at the same time keep their integrity and honor. Furthermore, these institutions are attempting to keep thousands if not tens of thousands of individuals happy, and sometimes have to make a decision between the consumer and their employee’s. And in any business the number one is always going to be the consumer *cough* *cough* in this case the student, so teachers are caught in the crossfire when universities try to pinpoint a solution for the complaint of bad grades.

In addition, there are these aforementioned issues found in the academia world today. There is evidence that supports the claim of, Colleges’ showering their students with A’s in hopes that they will stay and continue their education at the respected institutes. Statistically speaking, Staples pointed out that Grade inflation is an obvious indicator of this claim, first in the last 10 years campus wide grade averages have crept up from a grueling C to a B- which is either an indication that people are getting smarter, or schools are encouraging teachers to be easier and give more grace towards grading (Staples, 1998). While we are in the discussion of statistics, universities are starting to show a downward spiral of overall classes being attended, which means a whole slew of things. First off colleges are losing students and losing money, it’s a simple equation, no consumer leads to no business’ which leads to no money. So, one of the solutions to this issue, is colleges have been asking teachers to make the course easier and hand out more A’s.

Also, statistics are showing that there is an overall dip in diplomas being handed out, because there are cheaper and more convenient options being presented. One example of this is Phoenix University started nearly 20 years ago, and with them opening up and offering cheaper and quicker routes to obtain a diploma (Staples, 2019). And with the changing world, corporations are seeking more for handworkers, and individuals who have a form of schooling not specifically a degree from a four-year university. Institutes like Phoenix university also offer almost all courses online, and it can all be done from the comfort of your own home (Staples, 2019). Some evidence of Phoenix university being the first choice for many comes in the fact that nearly 200 universities and colleges have been closed down since the opening of phoenix university and that number is continuing to climb. Many people are trying to determine the exact issue, so they can create a remedy for this issue, but just like the medical world, you can’t be prescribed a medicine until the issue is diagnosed. Grades are hard to achieve, and a lot of money is put into college, by the individual who is attending. But sometimes the grade that is given isn’t a good representation of how much money was put forth initially.

How much does this issue matter and Why?

Many will ask is in today’s world is this relevant and does it matter, and I would argue Yes, and why I argue yes is because it all feeds into socioeconomics. For example, because college is such a huge thing in our culture, if you do or don’t receive higher education, it can greatly predict your social standing. And additionally, play a part in the amount of success you will have in the future, which then can predict where you will live and then that plays a part in the way children are raised, because you become who you surround yourself with. Which matters because the youth of today, will be the leaders of tomorrow. Without a formal education at a good college or institution, that right there will greatly predict how you will live the rest of your life. Staples doesn’t give a solution but does mention the importance of immediate intervention, or else “diplomas will become weaker and more ornamental as the years go by” (Staples, 1998). I would like to think, he also sees the negative effect it could have on our society if grades inflate, and diplomas become less sought after, it would bring a complete unbalance to the whole system.

What actions should be taken as a result?

First and foremost, Staples says “One way to Stanch inflation is to change the way the grade point average is calculated” (Staples, 1998) he went on to say, that classes like math and science are weighed the same as a health or physical exercise class. So, in some cases students who gravitate towards majoring in harder subjects are going to obviously have a lower GPA just due to the rigor of the class (Staples, 1998). But some actions that would be beneficial, first would we need to make proper legislations that assist in keeping the price of college at a reasonable range I’m not arguing to make it free but keep it affordable and available for anyone who may desire to attend school.

So in a sense there is a way to fix this issue, first and foremost we need make a larger focus on lowering the overall prices of college there in turn college students wouldn’t feel so entitled to an A, and that will lighten the amount of pressure institutions are under, from the outside forces like parents and students. Eventually people would be more prone to staying and continuing to try their best, and receive a great grade based off of their work, and not their entitlement to that grade.

A writer from the associated press went on the opposing by stating that overall, the amount you pay for a college degree in the 4 years is well worth it. Because you could potentially make that money back tenfold, He stated, “A college degree is generally worth the average debt for an undergraduate borrower”( AP, 2005) because with time, and pay checks building up, the net worth of that specific person justifies paying the college tuition. But it still leaves us at a question, should college be cheaper; and should lawmakers go to battle over this issue. In closing, this as I previously stated is a large issue and something that would greatly benefit our society, and future if it was resolved quickly and soon.

#BestPapereverwritten English2010 writingrocks

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theaislinnoconnor · 4 years

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Smart Solar Box Review - Is It Worth It?

Does the smart solar box actually accomplish what their founders say it does?

In a world where there's a huge hype on embracing green energy, not lots of people have adopted this change.

And it is not because that they do not support the idea, but since the choices available are costly to install and maintain.

Solar power is a fantastic example of this.

However, what if I told you that there's a cheaper and cheaper way to harness the advantages of solar energy in your day to day dealings?

I know this may seem like a different scam you read about online.

But, I guarantee that this is different.

Continue reading this to find out more about the smart solar panel. Read also this review for even more knowledge about Smart Solar Box!

Before we get on began, it's necessary to have a thorough understanding of just what a clever solar box is.

The smart solar panel is a technology implementation that serves as a special solution to let you operate anywhere, anytime and with all the energy you require.

The technology is geared toward making your power to be affordable by cutting back on costs.

The beauty of the technology is in the fact that it's portable and can be utilised as a backup in the event of power failure.

Is not that amazing?

By buying the Smart Power 4All, you will get to save costs in terms of needing to put in large and expensive solar panels on the surface of your roof which might prove to be harmful, based on several conditions like being caught in the midst of a hurricane.

Additionally, it can help you to reduce your energy consumption rates within a small time period.

It's portable

The beauty with this unit is that you could move it from place to place to satisfy your electricity needs unlike the standard solar panels which are inclined to be rigid.

This means you could gain access to electricity supply in almost any situation and be in a situation where charging still continues even when the weather is cloudy.

It's a source of green electricity

All this is going to be in a legal strategy ensuring you do not encounter any problem with the government authorities.

It allows you to have renewable energy energy

Using the smart solar box lets you be in a situation where you will have sufficient energy to meet all of your household needs i.e. energy required for cooking, maintaining food or even providing lightning in case of a power outage or failure.

It stores energy

Owning a intelligent box lets you be adequately prepared in the case in which you end up in such situations suddenly.

Low maintenance

Given the fact that the kit is small, you're in a position to have the ability to conceal it without arising any distress.

The smart solar box also tends to have little maintenance needs since the only things you want to do are to make certain you wash the panels out once in a while and eliminate dust from the boxes every six months.

It's easy to setup

Unlike the traditional method of setting up solar panels that will be pricey to install and maintain, the smart solar panel is comparatively cheap to operate with.

Its small size permits you to install it on a tiny geographical area because it can be folded, moved and stored off while its design permits you to use local parts to be able to understand its implementation.

That pretty much means that for a little price and within a brief time, you have the ability to assemble something which may wind up saving countless you in the long term.

Simple to get the raw materials

It's rather simple to acquire the parts required to find the smart solar box ready to go. This is because the components are easily found at the neighborhood hardware store and with a mere 200 bucks, you are good to go in your first smart solar panel.

If you are interested in cutting costs in buying the parts, you're at liberty to recycle the components for instance, you can make use of old car batteries.

Given the advantages outlined above, you just might be thinking about, this looks easy. Why exactly would I want to have somebody teach me the way to go about setting up the smart solar panel?

Well, it's true that there's a whole lot of information available online about harnessing solar energy to your day to day usage.

Nevertheless, in that wide range of information, it's quite tough to run into a detailed tutorial which will take you through the loops and configurations required in order to get you take advantage of all of the benefits that come with using the technology.

By buying this program, you will be placing yourself in a very strategic place to receive knowledge that can allow you to save millions by reducing your use of the major energy.

You'll also be in a position to save yourself from making tremendous investments in using use of expensive solar technologies and rather using that cash to make more rewarding investments.

Along with that, you'll also be receiving the smart solar box designs and a list of supplies and tools that may be readily acquired from your neighborhood hardware.

It's important to realize that by registering for this program, you're taking a step in the right direction. You will have access to renewable green electricity.

And given the present world we are living in, registering for this course lets you contribute in changing the way we produce energy into a more sustainable choice.

Well, I am here to tell you that you don't have to have an engineering or technical background so as to receive your smart solar box ready to go.

This class can be obtained by practically anyone who is interested in figuring out how to start it since it's so straightforward and easy to construct.

The minimal assembly time for the intelligent box is three hours and awarded the step to step instructions given in the tutorial, the entire activity tends to really be considerably more fun than a construction exercise using Legos.

Past customers have reported that their children pretty much discover the activity fun to execute and involving.

In brief, the program outline was streamlined in such a way that novices find it easy to catch up and get the work done while having fun during the learning procedure.

This program is also for you if you are interested or are interested enough to learn how such a dumb, simple device with a wide selection of benefits can possible have the ability to assist you cut your energy bills for up to at least 68%.

There's absolutely not any way better way to learn and place the smart solar box into the test than by going through the path and setting up one yourself.

#smart solar box review #smart solar box

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theritualofourexistence · 5 years

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#CancelStudentDebt

You. Guys.

Background: Bernie Sanders and Ilhan Omar have called, on Twitter, for users to briefly state how their lives would be different without student debt, using the hashtag #CancelStudentDebt. It’s part of a campaign recently launched by Sanders that would instantly eliminate the $1.6 trillion dollars of student debt currently hefted by American citizens.

Even with that plan, I’m still not sure I’m voting for Bernie.

And if he somehow wins, I still don’t actually believe he’d be able to just poof away my student loan debt.

For the sake of the “what-if,” however, I chose to tweet along with the hashtag... just a simple statement about how my life would be different if I didn’t have student loan debt.

This is the exact text of my tweet:

“With no student debt, I’d be planning a future that included children, supporting my parents, and pursuing my dream job. #CancelStudentDebt”

I went on to say in a few follow-up tweets that I’m still pursuing my dream job... just much more slowly than I could without the debt I already have. I briefly explained what that dream job is (having my own practice and providing therapeutic services to those incarcerated or recently released) and that I have three jobs now that I’m using to work in that direction... but that I still feel the pressure of my loans every day, every time I choose to spend money on anything.

That tweet seems pretty harmless to me. Despite that, it has launched quite a shit storm. One that I was definitely not expecting.

First, I am a nobody. I have very few followers on Twitter. I basically use it to follow sports, a handful of celebrities, and whine to no one about the stuff I struggle with daily.

The good: this tweet now has 200 likes. WHAT?! I think the most likes I’ve gotten on a tweet before capped out at like 25, at the MOST. It also has nearly 30 retweets. So folks relate. I approve.

The shit storm: over 60 mostly middle-aged white dude trolls were sitting on that hashtag, waiting for a simple little tweet like mine to come along so they could jump on it and rip it to shreds.

In the last eight hours I’ve been called stupid and lazy more times than I can count. I’ve been told over and over again that I shouldn’t have taken out loans if I didn’t want to pay them back, that I should have picked a different major in college, that I shouldn’t have gone to college, that I should have gone to a cheaper school. I’ve been called a socialist (yeah, okay, not denying that), I’ve been called evil. As of 5pm, I’ve been called a cunt... by strangers... at least three times.

I never intended to start an argument about the benefits and or downfalls of eliminating student loan debt.

I was simply saying that, without it, my life would be different. And easier.

I was raised to chase my dreams. I think a lot of people in my generation were. But our parents, likely the same dudes shit-posting on Twitter today, were well-meaning when they told us to dream big and to have the courage to chase those dreams. I don’t think they could predict the world we would inherit... and just how hard it would be to actually pursue those dreams.

I don’t think my dreams are outlandish. I don’t think they’re irrational. And trust me, I know what irrational looks like.

Do I think my student loan debt will magically disappear? No, I don’t. Would it be nice? Yeah. It would. Would things be different and easier? Yes, definitely.

I can’t go back and pick a cheaper college. I can’t go back and pick a different major. I can’t go back and decide not to switch fields. I can’t go back and un-sign the loan papers I signed when I was 18 years old.

I was 18 years old. Maybe. I honestly could’ve been 17 because I’m a summer baby. And I have absolutely no memory of signing loan papers. I knew enough to know I’d have to pay them back. But I also knew that getting loans was the only way to pay for the program at the college that I thought would be best for me.

Turns out, 18-year-olds don’t know shit.

Maybe we shouldn’t let 18-year-olds make decisions about thousands of dollars.

Anyway, here I am now, unable to undo any of the decisions that saddled me with my current student loan debt.

Today I was called stupid, lazy, evil, and a cunt, just for having a dream.

What a weird thing.

Some suggested I join the military. Maybe I could make that work... but let’s be honest, the military isn’t a nice place to be for pacifists. Also, enlisting when we’re on the brink of war with Iran just seems, objectively, stupid.

What do people get out of insulting strangers on the internet? None of the people who responded know anything about my life. Many of them told me to get a job and work to pay off my loans. Well, I’ve got a job and I am working and that’s not really enough. Many of them accused me of seeking handouts. Of never working for anything and expecting to be carried through life.

Those people don’t know how hard I’ve worked. But that didn’t stop them from calling me names.

I often forget that not everyone understands empathy the same way I do. It’s why I feel the way I do about a lot of socio-political issues. If you told me that my taxes would go up ever so slightly but that I’d be able to help millions of Americans achieve financial stability, I’d say sure.

I don’t understand why people with a comfortable life--a home, a family, a steady income--feel so mad about other people wanting a chance to have those things too.

All I want, really, is to be comfortable enough to feel like I can give back. To repay my parents for their constant support, to donate to causes fighting the good fight, to provide affordable therapeutic services to people in need with limited access.

Today, right now, I’m pretty sure I will die childless and still with debt. That’s the reality that I face every day. I work hard, despite that. And I dream, despite that. But the idea that maybe that isn’t my future is certainly nice... no matter how immediately unrealistic it may be.

What did all those angry white people get from telling me to quit bitching and get a job and deal with the consequences of my actions? What good does that do? Who does that help?

What good does it do to tell a fat, poor, anxiety-ridden 28-year-old that her dreams are stupid and unattainable and that she’s a lazy idiot for having them?

What synapses are firing in your brain to make you think that that action has any kind of value?

Remember, folks, that even if you’re looking at a computer and not a face, that screen-name is connected to a real ass person. I may have silly dreams but at least I am committed to not treating other people like garbage. I don’t have any interest in hurting anyone’s feelings, and I’m adult enough to choose my actions accordingly.

Today, I sent a simple tweet out into the universe, and, in return, strangers called me names for hours. HOURS. It’s literally still happening.

Who does that serve? Calling me an idiot isn’t going to change the reality that forgiving student loan debt would change my life. That’s not an opinion that can be corrected, it’s simply the truth.

So, regardless of who is elected and what happens with student debt... Regardless of whether or not I pay off my loans some day... Regardless of whether or not I die childless with debt still left to pay... think about how you interact with others.

Hurting people for no reason is sick.

I’m a strong girl, because of all the hard work I’ve put in, of course; so I’ll be okay. But you don’t get anything from insulting others on the internet... so why spend the time and energy to cause that hurt when there’s nothing at all to gain from it?

Here in America, if we’re lucky, we’ve only got 80-some years to dick around on Earth.

For the love of God, please just use that time to be kind to one another.

#cancel student debt #student loan debt #debt #student loans #twitter #trolls #be kind

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anniekoh · 5 years

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betraying big brother

Leta Hong Fincher’s book Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China is a fascinating introduction to China today -- politics, media, culture -- through the feminist activists trying to change politics, media and culture.

On the eve of International Women’s Day in 2015, the Chinese government arrested five feminist activists and jailed them for thirty-seven days. The Feminist Five became a global cause célèbre, with Hillary Clinton speaking out on their behalf and activists inundating social media with #FreetheFive messages. But the Five are only symbols of a much larger feminist movement of civil rights lawyers, labor activists, performance artists, and online warriors prompting an unprecedented awakening among China’s educated, urban women. In Betraying Big Brother, journalist and scholar Leta Hong Fincher argues that the popular, broad-based movement poses the greatest challenge to China’s authoritarian regime today. Through interviews with the Feminist Five and other leading Chinese activists, Hong Fincher illuminates both the difficulties they face and their “joy of betraying Big Brother,” as one of the Feminist Five wrote of the defiance she felt during her detention. Tracing the rise of a new feminist consciousness now finding expression through the #MeToo movement, and describing how the Communist regime has suppressed the history of its own feminist struggles, Betraying Big Brother is a story of how the movement against patriarchy could reconfigure China and the world.

Given how little the U.S. media reports on China, the book covered new-to-me flashpoints such as the Guangzhou Sanitation Strike,

[Image source: Around 200 sanitation workers in Guangzhou’s Liwan district scuffle with police during a strike over low pay on 10 January 2013]

[Image source & caption: As basic services get privatized, there's a rising tide of sanitation worker strikes in the Pearl River Delta. But this one was unusual: the striking workers are mostly former villagers, displaced from their homes here a decade ago when the university "Mega Center" took over the island. Photo: Zheng Churan.]

132: In May 2017, Chinese authorities detained another three labor activists who were investigating working conditions at shoe factories in southern and eastern China owned by Huajian International, which made shoes for the brand of Ivanka Trump, daughter of (and advisor to) US president Donald Trump. The three labor activists were held at a detention center in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, until the end of June, then released on bail pending a trial. Several workers from the Ganzhou factory reported long hours stretching past midnight, low pay, and verbal abuse. One worker said that an angry manager had hit him in the head with the sharp end of a high-heeled shoe, causing his head to bleed, according to the Associated Press. Ivanka Trump and her company repeatedly declined to comment.

Despite the extremely repressive environment, labor protests and strikes continue, with women workers increasingly on the front lines. In March 2018, around a thousand factory workers—70 percent of whom were women—went on strike at the Simone luxury handbag plant in Guangzhou to demand back payment of their social insurance contributions. The South Korean firm Simone Accessories is one of the biggest manufacturers for global designer brands, including Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs and Coach, with locations in countries such as China, Cambodia and Vietnam. Simone Accessories began moving operations from its Guangzhou factory to cheaper locations in 2017, and the Guangzhou workers worried that they might never receive their long-overdue social insurance and housing fund benefits. The largely women workers went on strike, and after nine days of collective bargaining, reached an agreement with management over their demands.

Zheng Churan of the Feminist Five has linked her feminist activism with a deep concern for labor rights and working-class women ever since she was a student at the prestigious Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. In August 2014, she went almost daily to take photographs and hand out protest stickers to the striking University Town sanitation workers. Their strike attracted a lot of media attention, but Zheng says reporters were only taking pictures of the male workers, even though 80 percent of the sanitation workers were women: “Why weren’t the women workers being shown? I decided I had to take my own pictures of the women, and we also handed out stickers to the women workers to express their demands and stick them on their faces and clothes. It was all very visual.” She posted an online photo essay with the title, “These Are Women with Strength and Power.”

One of Zheng’s photos showed a woman worker smiling at the camera, with a sticker across her forehead that said, “Guangdian Property, Stop Doing Evil.” In another photo, a woman worker had her fist raised, with a sticker on her cheek that said, “Pay Me for My Labor.” Another showed six uniformed women workers huddled together, laughing as they reached out their hands to do a team cheer, their faces covered with stickers saying things like, “She Gave Nine Years of Blood and Sweat/You Used Her Then Threw Her Away.” A male co-worker stood beside the women, cheering them on.

[Li Maizi (left) takes part in a 2012 protest against domestic violence in Beijing. Photo courtesy of Media Monitor for Women Network. Via Dissent Mag]

In Chapter 7, China’s Patriarchal Authoritarianism, Hong Fincher zooms out to the political context of how patriarchy and authoritarianism are being revised for 21st century China. 136: The threat from feminist activists was perceived to be so dire that in May 2017, the People’s Daily online—the official mouthpiece of the Party—published an announcement from the vice president of the All-China Women’s Federation warning that “Western hostile forces” were using “Western feminism” and the notion of “putting feminism above all else” to attack China’s Marxist views on women and the country’s “basic policies on gender equality.” “Some are using the banner of ‘rights defense,’ ‘poverty alleviation’ and ‘charity’ to directly meddle in our country’s women’s affairs, attempting to look for weaknesses and make a breach in the field of women’s issues,” Song Xiuyan warned.

...

The collection Women and Confucian Cultures in Premodern China, Korea and Japan illuminates how premodern rulers deliberately used Confucian discourse to prescribe models of feminine behavior that would consolidate their hold on power.... In one of the volume’s essays, “Competing Claims on Womanly Virtue in Late Imperial China,” Fangqin Du and Susan Mann write that during the Yuan Dynasty (roughly 1279 to 1368), the government explicitly promoted a neo-Confucian model of family and womanly virtue as its official ideology, which was essential to its statecraft. Yuan rulers followed an early classical text, The Great Learning, which taught that “regulating the family was the first step in administering the state.” ... It is striking how much recent Communist Party propaganda preaching “family values” harkens back to the Confucian discourse from the imperial era on womanly virtues.

This reminds me of how womanhood and nationalism were mobilized in 20th century Korea, before colonization, during annexation, and after liberation. I’m curious how things have evolved in North Korea.

In March 2017, just as Weibo was imposing a month-long ban on the Feminist Voices social media account and erasing feminist essays posted on WeChat, Xinhua ran an article (picked up by media outlets across China) entitled, “A Review of President Xi’s Greetings to Women over Five Years,” accompanied by photos of adoring female delegates smiling at him and applauding. “President Xi in many of his keynote speeches addressed the dialectical relationship between national development and family construction, showing the Communist Party Central Committee’s great concern on women and family work,” Xinhua reported. “Women play an active role in nurturing traditional family values … Virtues are precious treasures for the promotion of family harmony, social stability and the well-being of the next generation,” Xi was quoted as saying. At no point did the Xinhua article mention the critical importance of working women to China’s long-term economic growth. Rather, it focused entirely on how much Xi emphasized women’s obligations within the family—in particular, taking care of children and the elderly. “Women should take responsibility for youngsters’ education; boost the traditional positive virtues of the Chinese nation; and, contribute to the social ethos,” Xi was quoted as saying. 144: In March 2018, the All-China Women’s Federation in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, started a series of courses for “New Era Women” (for Xi Jinping’s “New Era”) to “raise the quality” (tigao suzhi) of young women by teaching them how to cross their legs, sit, kneel, apply make-up and decorate the home like proper ladies, according to “traditional culture.” These government-sponsored schools are disturbingly similar to the unofficial women’s “morality schools” appearing in recent years, which teach women to obey their husbands.

#china #feminism #politics #patriarchy

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