#like 30-odd percent of the us tops

[cc-cobalt-1043]

Weekends:

Pretty much what they get up to at the weekend:

Tom: assuming he doesn't have work he'll usually have a lie in accompanied with a nice breakfast, maybe take Ozzie for a walk assuming the kids haven't already done so, he'll either chill and do odd things around the house or go to the gym for a few hours, plus take the boys out and have some fun, to top off the evening he'll get some doughnuts for a movie night (Sonic, Tails and Maddie tease him relentlessly about It)

Maddie: she usually wakes up fairly early on the morning but it gives her a chance to do plenty yoga, assuming the boys haven't breakfast either she or Tom will cook something, she usually works a few hours on the weekend but comes home fairly early, either she or Tom will go shopping with one or all of the boys, she and the family then all relax and after supper will collapse on the couch together to watch a movie

Knuckles: Knuckles is often an early riser but not as bad as he used to be, he will often do Yoga with Maddie, sometimes Sonic joins in but he often sleeps in much later at the weekend, after Maddie has left and he has had breakfast (typically consisting of grapes and other fruits) he will usually go to the gym with Tom or on the days he decides to stay home he usually stays with Sonic who tries to culture him with the movies of Earth, he often assists Maddie with the shopping as he is "one million percent muscle", he often likes to meditate as well by putting a pair of headphones and playing nature sounds, that or he'll actually go into the forrest to do so, he'll often join the others for movie night

Sonic: often sleeps in at the weekend (I mean what kid doesn't), sometimes when he wakes up early he'll either join Maddie and Knuckles for Yoga or just sit and watch something on the TV, he and Tails often help Maddie in the kitchen with breakfast (Sonic is a decent cook but needs practice), Sonic often likes to simply watch movies and play games at the weekends and he does his chores in 2 seconds flat (literally), he and Tails sometimes go with Tom or Maddie or they usually just walk around town looking for something to do, at the end of the day he is always the most excited for movie night and makes sure Tails has a comfy seat next to him so his little brother could cuddle up if he wanted to (which Tails often does)

Tails: Tails will often sleep in like Sonic and by the time he wakes up breakfast is either ready or about to be made, he along with Sonic will often help our where they can with the cooking (Tails absolutely loves pancakes and waffles), he'll usually tinker with his inventions for a while and also watch TV and play games with Sonic and sometimes Knuckles, Tails and Sonic often like to explore the town and usually end up getting into some crazy shenanigans, Tails and Knuckles often help out with the shopping and he and Sonic with cooking it, after a nice long bath (he absolutely loves baths as they make his furr so fluffy) he and the others all sit on the couch and enjoy a movie (Tails will usually cuddle up with the closest person and relax, sometimes with long movies he'll fall asleep near the end and Maddie or Tom carry him to bed)

Bonus:

Sonic when someone wakes him up during a weekend nap: *groans* it's 2:30 in the afternoon, people are trying to sleep

#sonic wachowski #sonic the hedgehog #knuckles the echidna #knuckles wachowski #miles tails prower #tails wachowski #tom wachowski #maddie wachowski #Just some family fluff #i love them your honor #They're a family and I will die on that hill

[tammyfeabakker]

Whats going on in my neck of the woods. Rain. Yesterday was beautiful windy... after living here for year n half... started to think something is in the water around here. The Saga with my neighbors. Not only what goes on between my mechanic and his ocd touched in the head girlfriend. She was our show yesterday. Must be fighting. A couple weeks ago I heard something going down between her and her brother. Who she lives with. A couple days later my mechanic pulls in with a rv. She has the key to it. Yesterday she's digging threw this little box. Rubber gloves on. You can see whatever it is . Is small pieces. She took the box bout a 100 ft from the rv situated it. Where my mechanic her maybe boy friend or she jus a weekend booty call. Dunno. So he can see her. She proceeded to walk back n forth with a tiny piece at a time to the rv. It wasn't jus me my company was like. What fucking odd behavior... my Katy was like what the fuck is wrong with her? My son in law was theres something wrong with her for sure odd behavior. I said well they are probably fighting. He was going off on her bout something. She put that box where he could see her. She probably thinks seeing her will weaken him. It went on for hours... he ignored her... then she pulled out the secret weapon. Using the dog like she always does. Yet he can't see her manipulating ways. Now what goes on at her house. Her brother his wife his mother her his sister and his kid. Nobody has a job but his wife. The wack job only works 2 days a week. The wife works 12 hour days has 2 days off and runs those 2 days. While his family does nothing. My mechanic is a good man and the wife never calls out she goes to work everyday. But yet still attracted to mentally unstable people. My boss love her to death. I work a job where I can schedule my own work around me. Well she keeps interfering with that now. ired have bonuses jus 5 dollars each if completed in the first week. I get a text from her saying that plus telling me my week looks light. Like I'm sitting on my ass doing nothing. And yeah I am but I scheduled my week the way I wanted it. One of the French benefits. I can't take the hours from target left over anymore. So now I'm getting shit for the only thing I like bout this job. Is my flexible schedule. On top of that after paying out my ass to have a throttle body put in. 3 weeks I had before that fucking check engine light came on again! On line dating surely fucking sucked ass!!! Now my flexible schedule is being fucked with. I really try to keep the joy in life down. I really can't show I'm happy because life jus fucks me over. Oh your happy maybe 30 percent of the time suffer depression 70 percent of the time. Life takes that 30 now I'm pissed of 30 percent of the time. People wonder why I'm a ass hole well there you go.

[the-firebird69]

Have a couple more announcements as time to get some rest

-our son was kind of trapped in here today. John remillard gave him trouble and it's because he is fixing a hole where he was trying to get in and we did have him looking and we looked in and people looked in and it looks okay and we can see it very openly candles it doesn't look bad and the vent stack is kind of leaking it's not good and it's sealed in now and the boot will go over it and we had a lot of trouble with John or even Lord today a lot of problems with him all over town in here and he should not be on the job he tried to screw it up three or four times we don't want him here and we want people to hire for something else send them somewhere else we don't want to working here and we don't want to working there our son a lot of people don't and I guess you guys are going to use them for stress to try and get here and the sooner empire is sick of you we're sick of you let him talk it's John remillard himself is very sick of you you ruined his fortune and his armies and you suck bags and everyone's going to die because of what you did and start a fight with them the trumps and you start to fight with the pseudo empire and he knows it's you BJ and that's what happens and it was still sick of you are you constant demands and you're whining droning it's terrible but he had to rest and it was kind of tough and he rested just kind of sat there now we have some more news

-we think that you constantly changing him and bothering him his cause so much damage you should know but you still have a lot of the populace it's still at 30% when you were at 55% and you don't notice a change cuz that's way too many you say and you're sick really really sick pigs and you don't notice about work because you don't like to work and you have weapons and stuff so sucks to be you you're stupid 2.5% out of 8%. It's nothing to sneeze about and bja and Trump used to make up 20% out of that 25% that's missing you think they'd slow down that's a lot it's mostly these assholes and it does not count the clothes who still number and about 17% on top of the population it's crazy this way too many idiots.

-we have major major attacks planned because we have to and some hefty stuff is going to come out and lay it away and you're going to be surprised it will lay you to waste and you'll be surprised and blame all sorts of things it's coming up pretty quick from this constant torment

-we also have a lot of stuff going on in the way of projects large large construction projects and for real on Earth on the surface in the middle areas and outside and if you got and your horse s*** and your Ricky dick s*** your assinine behavior you warlock has created an atmosphere of hatred of you that hasn't been present for a long time. Her son and daughter are upset it's terrible I know what it's like you're horrible horrible idiots you need to leave so we can help you leave we have things for you to do and for real eight more percent it's not a huge number the islands but well

-additional to the evacuation of Florida there's an evacuation of the mainland areas to the islands of all the warlock including pseudo empire they have some islands and they're going tonight and tomorrow and this whole week and so on tonight but that's significant and about 80% of it is Mac morlock excluding the student empire pseudo so that would be another percent 3.5% out of the eight pieces to 4.5% off Island plan on attacking the pseudo empire weather is your percent goes ahead or not and that would be another 1% down to 3.5%. has potentially that number by tomorrow morning laser bases and bunkers around the max our targeted.

I'm saying this because you act invincible and you know the odds and you know you're shrinking just want to see why

-today was a good day in town John remillard got fired from 5:00 jobs in punta Gorda that's five and he was laid off from 10 others and that's a lot and those jobs were ranking jobs and he is going to try and fire at PGA tomorrow from Port Charlotte but bja plants to fire him and from the sheriff and PD and so on but the evacuation will bring them only to 14.5 which is half of what they were last year and they're still going to have a lot of people for the most part in this area they're not going to the rings unless they're going to attack so they're going to wait we think the attack will be held off they're getting some things it might even be for almost a week to be a lot of annoying phone calls

-things are getting Jarred loose in Massachusetts Timmy is fighting and very hard and for his life against the trumpsters right now he's redoubling his efforts and tripling his efforts every hour and laying them to waste finding them and hitting and removing them is very fast and very rough. We anticipate within the next couple days it might move and with that John remillard will be too confident and he will try his death race and the move in westborough and a few other things and eventually he will lose and get strapped to Brad so someone knows what they're saying

-additionally to these battles and really wars and there's a big war developing in the Mojave and the Grand canyon area up near Utah and it's gigantic and they want to know what's down there they have sensors that are going nuts they have strange things and some really big stuff they're seeing what looks like men Frozen in the Earth. And women but really bulky it's hard to tell their women and it's going on now.

-there's some questions coming out of the very important and they're pretty good sized. He says if I'm living here my poops are not going to make it

-we have other things happening and they're important but we're going to post

Thor Freya

Olympus

Zues Hera

[softasawhisper]

-------

had a odd dream and don't remember the entirety of it but for a lot of it i was in some alternate universe where i was royalty and i don't remember what that section of the dream was really about there was a bunch of drama but i just remember that they had a blue crab stew that a mom and pop restaurant i used to love served and i was excited lol

there was also another part where i was back home again and i went to a huge store with my brother and i found this super clearance rack in the back corner that had porcelain dolls that had been there a long time so they were super cheap. and the store was having a 30 percent off sale on top of it AND the clearance rack had an additional 20. there were a few i wanted but and there was this like 6ft tall victorian one,holding a parasol, that looked like it was modeled after an Erika Kosmatka illustration and i was so in love. she was marked down to $40 from 5000 and with the additional 50% she would have been $20 ;_; i'm so mad that shes not real lol

[yesthatssadirichardslove]

Netflix and Spielberg combine for nature doc 'Life on Our Planet'

LOS ANGELES

"Life on Our Planet," the new natural history series from Netflix and Steven Spielberg, sets out to tell the entire, dramatic story of life on Earth in a serialized, "binge watch" format.

Streaming globally from Wednesday, the show's eight episodes transport viewers through Earth's five previous mass extinction events, each recreated with computer-generated visual effects.

As Morgan Freeman's narration reminds us, life has always found a way to endure every catastrophic event thrown at it over four billion years, from brutal ice ages to meteorites.

Each time, species that survive the destruction do battle for the next era's dominance in a "Game of Thrones"-style fight -- only between vertebrates and invertebrates, or reptiles and mammals, instead of Starks and Lannisters.

"What we wanted to do, our intention at the very beginning, was to serialize the story of life. Make it a kind of binge watch. Because the story is so dramatic," said showrunner Dan Tapster. "I think, and I hope, that is something that we've achieved, which is possibly a world-first in the natural history space."

Aside from a series of cliffhanger finales, "Life on Our Planet" finds dramatic tension with a series of ordinary, loveable underdogs who "win" evolution against the odds -- at least for a few hundred million years.

The influence of executive producer Spielberg's company, Amblin Television, encouraged a series with "a lot more emotion" and "pathos" than other natural history programs, said Tapster.

The show picks out key species, such as the first fish with a backbone, or the first vertebrate to migrate from ocean to land.

With 99 percent of all the species that ever lived now extinct, filmmakers had no shortage to choose between.

"There's about at least a billion species that are no longer with us, and we had to narrow that down to 65," said Tapster.

But those selected are often unlikely heroes -- plucky survivors, such as the odd-looking Arandaspis fish, which take their chance to shine as larger ocean beasts falter, and reshape the future of life.

Arandaspis "is a bit rubbish, it's weird... But it's in (the show), because it has a really crucial role" in evolution, said visual effects supervisor Jonathan Privett.

"One of the things I really love about that scene also is that Arandaspis has just got a hint of 'ET' about him," added Tapster.

The series employs visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic, the company established by "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, which pioneered the groundbreaking 3D dinosaurs for Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" three decades ago.

Monsters of the ancient past, from dinosaurs to the far earlier, sea-dwelling Cameroceras with their giant 25-foot (8-meter) shells, are rendered over the top of real backgrounds shot by the filmmakers.

To do this, producers had to scour the planet for contemporary landscapes that most closely resemble the habitats of creatures up to 450 million years ago.

"The animals really sit in a real world. I think it's seamless, and I think it's a very authentic way of taking us back into that time," said producer Keith Scholey.

Filmmakers also had to use visual effects tools to painstakingly remove pesky modern newcomer species, like fish, mammals -- and even grass.

"Grass was the bane of our lives," recalls Tapster. Grass "only really took over the world about 30 million years ago... that, for us, meant we had to do a lot of gardening."

The show enters a crowded marketplace, going up against David Attenborough's latest BBC series "Planet Earth III," which also launched this week.

It follows Apple TV+'s "Prehistoric Planet," also narrated by Attenborough, which uses computer-generated effects to recreate the age of dinosaurs.

But "Life on Our Planet" also aims to stand out from the competition due to the timely message embedded within its narrative.

Despite the show's interest in cliffhangers and plot twists, it is not much of a spoiler to say that it ends with life surviving, and humans on top.

Yet with a sixth mass extinction event already under way due to humankind's impact on Earth, there is a deeply sobering warning too.

"The five events we've had so far, there has been one common denominator -- and that is, the dominant species as you go into that extinction never came out," says series producer Alastair Fothergill.

"We are creating the sixth one, and I think you probably think we are the dominant species at the moment ..."

Tapster added: "In a strange way, there is a message of hope within that. Because not only is this the first extinction event that is being caused by a species, but we also have the ability to stop it."

#yesthatssadirichardslove

[healthylifehealthydiet]

Start exercising today to improve Your Life Tomorrow

Fitness is more than being attractive. It also helps to live longer and can improve the quality living. It is imperative to adopt an uninhibited life style that gives you the energy for the rest of your the rest of your life. These suggestions will can help to get on the right track to an active and healthy way of life. fatty liver diet chart

Do you struggle to dedicate time dedicate to working out? Divide your workout time into two sessions. Instead of running an hour, run on two distinct occasions for 30 minutes throughout the day.

It's not a problem in this case.You could also consider alternatives to fitness.Biking is an excellent method to get some exercise in and reduce the amount of gas you use.

A strong core is essential for a balanced fitness. A strong core can help during every exercise. Sit-ups are a great way to strengthen to strengthen your muscles in the middle. They also allow you to rotate between sides. This will help your abs perform longer and more intensely.

Perform the exercises you dislike to overcome your dislike for them. This is because most people stay away from exercises they are likely to be their weakest. You can conquer your weak exercises by regularly doing them until you're a pro at them.

Tennis players make use of this trick to increase the strength of their forearms. Set a news printed on the table, or another surfaces that are smooth. The paper should be rolled up in your handwriting for about 30 minutes.

This will increase the chance that you'll be more likely to stick with your workouts.Your cash will already be invested. You'll want to purchase what you'll do.

Stretch your muscles in between workouts. It is recommended to stretch for around 30 seconds at one time. The research has proven that men have improved their strength by around 20 percent through stretching. This to increase the strength. Stretching can also decrease the risk of being injured.

Utilizing the time between commercials to exercise, you could have a major impact on your fitness.

It is possible to do this using your pulse as you get up after an exercise.

Weight lifting can help you improve your endurance for running. For some reason, runners don't connect their sport with lifting weights however they ought to. Studies have shown that runners sprint faster and further than those who don't.

Do not put your thumbs on the bars while doing exercises such as pullup/pulldown lat exercises. You'll be able to concentrate on your main back muscles by placing your thumb on top of the index of your finger. While this might feel odd, it is actually a way to focus on different muscles.

This can actually inspire your children to become more involved.

It is crucial to ensure that you consume plenty of water. It is easy to become dehydrated because of the muscles that rub together.

It is recommended to work at a minimum of 3 or 4 days each week, as rest is vital to the well-being of this muscle group.

You can mix up your fitness routine. There are numerous reasons to why this is important. One reason to mix the workout routine is that repeating the same exercise every day can be boring! If you let your body to be accustomed with your exercise routine it will work harder and may not achieve the results you desire. Keep your exercises.

It is recommended to allocate at least an hour or so each day to engage in a fitness routine. You may be missing out on some excellent opportunities to increase the amount of free time by focusing on fitness when you allow your whole day to take up sedentary activities.There are often times of pause during the day, which is a good time to incorporate to your physical activity.

Training for strength is essential in order to alter the way you move your body functions and help you to build lean muscle instead of bulk. Strength training boosts your metabolism, and the greater the amount of calories that you use up even when you're not working. Be sure that every muscle group gets rest for at least one day in between training sessions.

Ask a dietitian for advice to improve your diet. You're aware that you have remove the unhealthy foods from your diet, but do you know how exercising is likely to affect your diet?

Find a few people who be supportive of your efforts. Request your friends to exercise with you, or even try to establish relationships with others who exercise. Exercise with other people is enjoyable and helps keep the spirit of being motivated.

One of the best fitness tips for cyclists is to lean their body forward while going upwards on bikes. This helps keep the weight down and helps keep your front wheel in the road.

Are you playing a game that you'd prefer to play better than you currently? If your eye has been trained to concentrate on only the ball and the ball, it is easy for you to keep your body following your instructions and be productive. Start with looking at and focusing on objects far away, and then focus on something close to you.

Dive bomb push-ups are a challenging variant of the standard pushup. Dive bomb push-ups are done using your back to arch while placing your hands and feet on the floor. Then move your start position. This exercise is excellent to build up your chest.

The most crucial element that is connected to your fitness regimen. A healthy breakfast is crucial if you are looking to be successful in your morning of exercise.

Training on the spot is not beneficial for people who are overweight.

Outdoor play with your kids is a wonderful method of exercising. Any physical activity even fun can benefit not just your family but also you.

Always seek out innovative ways to boost your fitness and improve your overall health. If you are looking to increase your fitness level, you should follow the tips in this article.

#diet #weight loss #nutrition #healthy #fitness

[bestsneakerstore]

Adidas Yeezy Powerphase - All you need to know

Who doesn’t know about Air Jordans? With its clever and consistent marketing, the Air Jordans, with their many colorways, are some of the most sought-after sneakers in the market. For years, there weren’t any sneakers that could compete with Air Jordan’s market dominance. Not until Adidas and Kanye West came up with the Yeezys in 2015.

Even though silhouettes like the Air Jordan 1 were released more than 30 years ago, they still sell like hotcakes due to the various limited edition colorways that Air Jordan keeps releasing. Even though Adidas was quite late in the game, its Powerphase Adidas shoes for men online are giving tough competition to the Air Jordans.

What makes the Yeezy Powerphase a true competitor to Nike silhouettes?

The Yeezy Powerphase was initially sold only on Yeezy Supply, the Yeezy brand’s online store. Just like Air Jordan’s various colorways, these kicks are inspired by older silhouettes that were released way back in the ‘80s.First released in an off-white colorway in March 2017, most sneakerheads agree that these are the most reasonably priced branded shoes out there.

The leather used is of the best quality; it isn’t constricting and feels soft on the feet. To top it all, its monochrome design with unique designer overlays make it a shoe that can be worn for any occasion.

Though Adidas first launched these kicks under the Yeezy brand, subsequent releases after the first three colorways were without the Yeezy Calabasas branding.

The Powerphase is Adidas’ answer to Nike’s Air Force 1, Air Jordan 1, and other Nike shoes for casual wear. If Nike has a whole array of shoes for casual wear, the Adidas Powerphase is one silhouette that matches the popularity of Adidas shoes.In fact, in a recent survey, more than 70 percent of the respondents said they really liked the Powerphase over other sneakers. Reviews posted online talked about the comfort and the superior quality of the leather uppers along with the incredible softness of the shoe.

However, most sneaker fans were disappointed when they intended to Shop Yeezy Powerphase Online. Due to their immense popularity, these shoes tend to sell out as soon as they are launched. This is a common feature of all renowned sneakers. However, the Powerphase stands out due to its pocket-friendly price.

How to buy the Adidas Yeezy Powerphase?

Though you could go through the official channels to buy these kicks, the odds of you getting a pair are slim. Getting a pair at the official drop is not easy, even if you could keep watch on the latest drops by Adidas. Many buy these shoes just to sell them on the grey market.

If you are really looking forward to buying these shoes, you could try the best online sneaker store. Here, you have a much better chance of buying your favorite shoes. Haven’t yet received your paycheck? No problem, you could purchase these shoes in installments. Now, everyone can get the latest Adidas shoes easily online.  

#best online sneaker store #Adidas shoes for men online #Adidas Yeezy Powerphase #soleseriouss #sneakers

[i-luvsang]

., # bad luck — huang renjun

¿ ｡′ gn!reader, highschool!au, fluff, tw: none, though lmk if i missed something, wc: 1.2K ！！ ** currently working on how to use the read more function without it messing up my text, so i apologize if i’m clogging up your dash with this :,)

you let out another huff of annoyance as you grab what seems like the millionth handful of discarded worksheets from the ground and shove them angrily into the recycling bin sitting in the corner. glaring at the vast expanse of scattered papers which blanket the school stairwell, they seem to taunt you with the task you know you have no choice to complete. when you ran for student body president at the beginning of the year, this was not what you signed up for; your whole grade had permanently escaped from this hellhole nearly half an hour ago, finally done with their last year of high school. and here you stand, stuck in the hallway, picking up after your classmates who had tossed hundreds of their papers over the railing in celebration of graduating.

and while, truly, you share the joy and relief of finally being done with this place, all you can register right now is a sense of raging annoyance and injustice because you, after slaving away to create the best senior year for everyone else, are cleaning up their stupid math worksheets, and probably will be for at least another 30 minutes. you could be at the cafe you've been dying to visit for two months now, maybe rushing off to the pool, or even better, laying in bed for some well-deserved rest.

gosh, at least i never have to do this again. you think, sighing as you toss another packet of calculus problems into the overflowing bin and recall the option to take an easier math course next year.

too overwhelmed by your own self-pity to continue, you slide down the wall and onto the floor, picking up the paper that's trapped between your hand and the tile and examining it out of boredom. you flip it over to see the front to see if you recognize the name.

na jaemin. you never knew him well, but he always seemed quite sweet. it's odd to think you'll probably never see ninety percent of these kids again. not that you truly mind, many of them you were glad to have out of your life.

unwilling for the moment to empty out the recycling bin into the larger one sitting outside of the stairwell, you let jaemin's paper slip out of your hand and drift back onto the floor. you reach for another sheet, your eyes immediately being drawn to the simple, but evidently skilled sketches filling in the margins. you let your eyes drift from the drawings to the name at the top of the paper, barely suppressing the giggle that bubbles up in your throat as you read it.

"huang renjun," you mumble aloud. the artsy boy in your literature class who seemed too attractive and funny to be true. or alternatively titled, the boy you couldn't stop stealing glances at all year long, who made your cheeks flush with heat when he mumbled a low apology in your ear after bumping into you in the hallway, and the only boy who had caught your attention during your four years in this place (disregarding the two second crush you had on lee jeno, because that was something nearly every single kid experienced during their time here).

it only takes the one swift motion of turning the paper over to send your mind into a mess of confusion and your heart into rapid palpitations. you had expected more drawings but not … this.

because filling the empty lower half of the page is an unmistakable rendition of you. staring in disbelief at the unfairly well drawn portrait of your very own face, you place a hand over your heart, scolding yourself to not jump to conclusions. this doesn't mean anything, right? he was probably just bored and practicing. you sigh, letting the paper float back to the ground. that must be it.. you think, more disappointed by your conclusion than you feel you should be.

but not even seconds later, you fail in suppressing your hope and snatch the paper back up, folding it carefully and slipping it into your pocket. then, rather shamelessly due to the lack of personnel in the building, you get down on all fours, sifting carefully through the papers littering the floor in hopes of finding another page with his name on it.

"gosh, please let there be something.. if i really go throughout my whole entire high school career without an ounce of romance, i may throw up," you mutter angrily to yourself. you nearly shout in joy when you find his name atop a packet, then restrain a curse because it's a history paper rather than one from literature. but in your desperation for at least a glimpse of (at this point, tragic) high school love, you continue your search, probably looking like a maniac as you snatch papers off the ground, then throw them behind you without bothering to put them in the bin and actually do your job. then finally, you come across a whole, though slightly scattered, stack of papers that belong to him. you quickly dismiss the first several pages, as they don't belong to the one class you shared.

you can't help the strangled screech that forces its way out of your mouth as you flip through the abundant papers accumulated throughout the literature course. they don't appear on every single one, but the light sketches of your face show up far more than enough times for it to be "just practice."

but it doesn't take long for your smile to drop when you remember. you're probably never going see his stupidly pretty face again.

"ugh, i take it back, this is worse than nothing," you mumble disappointedly, because now it's over before anything even started. you wrack your brain for ways to reach him again without seeming like a total weirdo.

'hey renjun! it's that random kid from your literature class! i found your drawings of me :)) wanna exchange numbers'

yeah, not something anyone would want to find in their instagram message requests.

gosh, y/n, your luck really is this bad, you think to yourself. you fold up a few more papers which contain your portrait and stick them with the first one, then reluctantly pitch the rest. clearly unable to hold any more, a few pages flutter out of the bin, so you begrudgingly pick it up and make your way back into the hallway where the bigger can awaits you. dumping the weight out, you look down the empty hall. by this time, most of the teachers have eagerly left, and many classroom lights are off. the light peeking into the dimmed corridor from the last door on this floor catches your attention. the art room. an impossible hope blooms in your chest as you recall the countless times that you passed renjun in the art room after student council meetings, long after school ended.

it's the first day of summer. who in the world would stay this long after school regardless of their normal habit of doing so? you reason with yourself. but even as you say these words in your head, you set the smaller recycling can down and start making your way down the hallway. you almost chicken out halfway there, but you push through, hesitating slightly before stepping into the open doorway.

and you swear it's a hallucination when that soft pair of eyes meets yours and you see the face you would have most regretted not seeing again.

"hi…"

#huang renjun #nct huang renjun #nct dream huang renjun #nct renjun #nct dream renjun #renjun fluff #nct fluff #nct dream fluff #nct renjun fluff #nct dream renjun fluff #nct oneshot #nct dream oneshots #nct dream soft hours #nct soft hours #renjun oneshot #renjun soft hours

[yourreddancer]

Why Biden's plan to tax the super rich is moving from unlikely to likely  And why it's really really important

Robert Reich

Apr 5

America is on the cusp of the largest inter-generational transfer of wealth in history. As wealthy boomers expire over the next three decades, an estimated $30 trillion will go to their children. Those children will be able to live off of the income these assets generate, and then leave the bulk of them – which in the intervening years will have grown far more valuable – to their own heirs, tax-free. After a few generations of this, almost all of the nation’s wealth will be in the hands of a few thousand family dynasties.

Unless Joe Biden’s new tax plan is enacted — the odds of which is moving from unlikely to likely. I’ll explain in a moment.

Dynastic wealth runs counter to the ideal of America as a meritocracy. It makes a mockery of the notions that people earn what they’re worth in the market, and that economic gains should go to those who deserve them. It puts economic power into the hands of a small number of people who have never worked but whose investment decisions have a significant effect on the nation’s future. And it is antithetical to democracy.

We are well on the way. Already six out of the ten wealthiest Americans alive are heirs to prominent fortunes. The Walmart heirs alone have more wealth than the bottom 42 percent of Americans combined. The richest 1 tenth of 1 percent of Americans already owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent.

The last time America faced anything comparable occurred at the turn of the last century, in the first Gilded Age. Then, President Teddy Roosevelt warned that “a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power,” could destroy American democracy. Roosevelt’s answer was to tax wealth. The estate tax was enacted in 1916 and the capital gains tax in 1922.

Since then, both of Roosevelt’s taxes have been eroded by the moneyed interests. As the rich have accumulated more wealth, they have amassed more political power — which they’ve used to reduce their taxes. By now, the estate tax affects only a handful of super-wealthy families that are busily setting up “dynastic trusts” to circumvent what’s left of it. And the capital gains tax has been defanged by what’s known as the “stepped-up-basis-at-death” loophole. More on this in a moment.

Last week Joe Biden unveiled two tax proposals that would revive Teddy Roosevelt’s original vision, and could possibly slow or even reverse America’s march toward oligarchy: (1) a minimum income tax that Biden calls a billionaire tax but would in reality apply to households with a net worth of $100 million or more, and (2) a separate tax at death on gains from appreciated assets, even if the assets are not sold.

The odds are growing that at least one of these proposals will get through the Senate in April or May via “reconciliation” requiring only a bare majority (i.e., all fifty Democratic senators plus the vice president). I’m told Joe Manchin is mostly on board (which means the other Democratic holdout, Kyrsten Sinema, will sign on as well).

Let me go into a bit of detail on each:

(1) The minimum tax is a 20 percent levy on households with a net worth of more than $100 million, affecting the top 0.01 percent of earners. It would apply both to taxable earnings and to unrealized capital gains (the increased value of your assets), and would function as a kind of prepayment (analogous to withholding) of taxes that eventually would be owed upon the sale of appreciated assets or death.

For example, suppose someone named Mark Zuckerberg owns $100 billion of Facebook stock, for which he paid nothing when he founded the company, and has no other taxable income. For the first year under the Biden plan, he’d owe $20 billion in taxes even if he didn’t sell any Facebook shares. The next year, if his stock increased in value, he’d owe another prepayment equal to 20 percent of any increase in value beyond $100 billion. (There are other provisions to prevent the very wealthy from being taxed twice on the same income.)

The Treasury anticipates Biden’s new minimum tax would raise $360 billion in the first 10 years from America’s 20,000 richest households.  

(2) Biden’s second proposal would close the “stepped-up-basis-at death” loophole. Under today’s tax code, you pay capital gains taxes on the increased value of assets when you sell them. But if you pass your assets on to your heirs, they can sell them and not pay a penny of capital gains. In other words, you escape capital gains taxes by dying. They escape it by inheriting your wealth. (I remember years ago arguing that this loophole should be closed with then Treasury Secretary Lloyd Benson, who at one point pounded his fist on the table and exclaimed “death is an involuntary conversion!”)

That’s not all. Under current law, if heirs never sell these assets and they continue to gain value (as they almost certainly will), heirs can borrow against them to pay living expenses and then pass them on to their heirs, who won’t pay capital gains taxes either. Put this together with the unprecedented transfer of generational wealth about to occur, from rich boomer to their millennial children, and America’s oligarchy will become thoroughly entrenched in a small group of people who exercise all the power that comes with great wealth but have never worked a day in their lives.

Biden proposes simply to repeal the “stepped-up-basis-at-death” loophole. The value of assets would not be “stepped up” to their market value at the time of death. Their increased value would be subject to capital gains taxes as if they’d been sold before death.

Either of these tax reforms would be significant, and they fit nicely together. But if I were betting, I’d bet on the latter because Second President Manchin has sounded less enthusiastic about the first.

One thing we’ve all learned over the past fourteen months is not to rely on Manchin or on anything he says or commits to, so I’m not holding my breath. But if Manchin gives the green light, and Biden and the Democrats pull this off, it will be an historic rebirth of Teddy Roosevelt’s movement against dynastic wealth — perhaps Biden’s biggest single accomplishment. Taxing big wealth is necessary if we’re ever to get our democracy back and make our economy work for everyone rather than a privileged few.

[the-firebird69]

I don't think I want to hear this again like 15 ft tall and we don't want him walking around at 15 ft tall and stick out like a sore thumb he says we can crouch a little grandma got real good at it and she's shrunk like five inches so I don't like this tall only she's less than 5 with all normally same height as Missy human she's hardly there at all and she's crouching over and getting shorter. I don't think I can stand him walking around in 15 ft tall it's got a huge attitude give me three times are high he be taller than a top thing on a swing set. You can stand there and swing you back and forth under his legs. I'm going to tell you something 10% and ugly image he says it's going to be uglier than it is now. It's actually funny cuz the woman are demanding it they don't care how big he is that's more oil in him. Not going to tell you something people wanted to get big out of curiosity and the DNA that Dave had said that he'd be about 9 ft tall normally you see images of a big guy back then and was calling himself Zeus I've had enough of this family and a bunch of weirdos

We have a huge fleet that's coming in and just was launched like they said it's like four quadrillion aside and they're huge these ships are big there's enough one mile or is to fill up the whole place not to mention the 10 and 20s half a minute I would and part of the other half are concrete about half of the other half. He says it's like spaceships versus ships it's kind of lame. Dan got real mad so you're not supposed to do that they said foreigners are sick of it or letting us they got into a fight tried to kidnap our son and it's over Star Trek not the next generation it's like the motion picture version doesn't mean I'm out means more people are in it yeah and you need to go Janes way anyways. And it's huge there's massive numbers of ships when both sides we have a huge fleet too and we're kind of wiping them out to be gone in a minute there's another wave huge waves of these damn things coming from way inland now they're starting to build on the shore again giant numbers

Mac

And really we're at about 30% of the population now it's down to 20% and that's actually true it's still pretty high he says that's a lot that they're coming in waves they're going to the pit and they're going to Tunis in huge numbers now but close the big war. But literally the numbers are huge and the percent of the population is dropping past and they were 30% last month and have been taking a beating but 10% is a lot and it's going pretty quickly but still at 20% is fairly high. There are 30 areas left and 10 of them are independent and 10 of them are islands the cloning on the islands has been stopped the 10 independent areas are being invaded and they are seeking the clothing now if not this would just continue as well as below and humanity would be overrun we're committing more troops to it and we got poison with us

Zig Zag

This is odd I thought it was me too but it wasn't no I didn't think it was me I knew who it was but he's right it's a problem and it's a huge problem I'm going after it now and the clothes are going after their clothing and vice versa and we're moving in we've got tons of troops and we met with Olympus decide what to do and we were embarking on this journey together and we need to do this an organized fashion yeah we don't need any more of these clothes we really don't

Thor Freya

We decided what to do and it's pure logic and it's very simple and had to be done it has to be done and they're doing it to themselves anyways

Olympus

[iwanthermidnightz]

What Swift is doing might seem more like an attempt to win her longstanding battle against Braun than a calculated business move. But according to several industry veterans who spoke with VICE, if Swift pulls this off, she stands to make an unthinkable amount of money—and decimate the value of her old recordings in the process.

You'd think Swift's contract with Big Machine might prevent her from re-recording her old music, but she can legally do so for two reasons, according to Dina LaPolt, an entertainment attorney who represents Steven Tyler, 21 Savage, and several other high-profile artists. Firstly, while Shamrock Capital owns the master rights to Swift's first six albums—or in other words, the sound recordings on those albums—Swift owns the publishing rights. (Because she wrote her own songs, she retains the rights to the lyrics, melodies, and compositions that comprise them, and she doesn't have to ask permission from or pay anyone to use them how she sees fit.) Secondly, the "re-recording restriction" in her contract with Big Machine—a standard part of any record deal, which long prohibited her from recording new versions of the songs she released through the label—has reportedly expired. When Swift releases new versions of her old songs, she'll own both their master rights and their publishing rights, earning every penny they bring in and securing unilateral control over how they're used.

She's almost inevitably going to yield that power to license her music to advertising agencies and film and TV studios, according to Guillermo Page, a former record label executive who's worked for BMG, EMI, Sony, and Universal, and who now teaches in the University of Miami's music business program. To license (or "synchronize") a song, you need permission from the record company who owns it and the songwriter who wrote it. Swift has always said no to licensing offers on the grounds that they would profit Braun—but now that she's cut him out of the equation, she can strike those deals herself, and take home 100 percent of the profits they reap.

"She has all the leverage, and all the control," Page said. "Even if the current owners of the old catalog want to do some type of deal for synchronization, without her approval as a songwriter, they wouldn't be able to do it. By recording the masters herself, it opens the door for her to do those deals directly."

In all likelihood, Swift's collaboration with Match.com, which used her re-recorded version of "Love Story" in its latest ad campaign, wasn't a one-off; it was the first of countless licensing deals Swift is going to make with her re-recorded music. According to LaPolt, Swift will easily be able to convince companies to come to her when they want to license her masters instead of paying Shamrock Capital for them.

"I have some clients who have re-recorded their big hits," LaPolt said. "We have management companies that are very, very savvy in this area, and they went out to all the music supervisors at all the film and TV companies. These companies all know to come to the management company and license the re-records, because it'll be a lot cheaper, and the artist wants that."

Ad agencies and film studios interested in Swift's music will want to use her as a one-stop shop: By going to her directly, they can secure a license to both the publishing and master rights to her music in one fell swoop, as opposed to licensing the publishing rights from Swift and the master rights from Shamrock. Additionally, according to Tonya Butler, a former label executive and the current chair of Berklee's music business program, Swift will probably cut her licensees a deal.

"If she knows how much the record companies are charging, she's going to undercut them at every opportunity," Butler said. "Record companies are notoriously much more expensive than the publisher would be. It's much easier—and cheaper—to license from one party that controls both sides."

Butler raised the possibility that Shamrock may try to turn the tables on Swift: Instead of allowing her to undercut them, they could opt to license her songs at cost, making it cheaper to acquire them from the private equity firm. But because Swift controls her publishing rights, she could ostensibly revoke a company's clearance to use her music if they try to work with Shamrock. In the battle over synchronization, Swift seems guaranteed to come out on top. But Butler cautioned that Shamrock may already have a strategy in place for that.

"Just because we don't know what's up their sleeve doesn't mean that there's nothing there," Butler said. "We've known that she's wanted to re-record since 2019. [If you're Shamrock Capital], you don't spend that kind of money without having some kind of plan."

Swift stands to rake in hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars through licensing deals—but when it comes to streaming revenues, Shamrock may have the upper hand. When the average listener wants to hear a Taylor Swift song, they'll generally opt for the old version as opposed to the new, especially if Swift's re-recordings sound significantly different than her original masters, according to Page. (It's worth noting that Swift recently said her re-recorded music will contain "plenty of surprises.")

"One of the things that you will find when artists re-record their songs is that they want to change certain things," Page said. "When they do that, they don't realize that they are changing a masterpiece—they're changing a song that is already known in a certain way. The moment you change it, it's not the same song. And that is a risk that she's taking."

Even if Swift tries to replicate her old recordings note for note, she might not be able to do so flawlessly, Page said. She was 16 when her self-titled debut came out; at 30, her voice doesn't sound the same as it did back then. Additionally, producers have changed the way they record music, and the technology they use has evolved.

"She can try to drive consumption by letting her fans know that the new versions are there, but that will be applicable for only the most hardcore fans," Page said. "The reality is that she will be competing against herself on all of those platforms. And it will be very difficult, because the other songs are already out there, sitting in thousands and thousands of playlists, on all the different platforms and services."

There's a chance that Swift could try to either sweet-talk or strong-arm DSPs like Spotify and Apple Music into prioritizing her re-recorded music on their platforms. Imagine, for instance, that Swift wants Spotify to remove the original master recording of one of her songs from a popular playlist, and replace it with her re-recorded version. She could threaten to withhold her new recordings from Spotify altogether—along with all of her future releases—if they don't oblige. But according to Butler, a streaming service like Spotify would probably balk at that.

"I cannot see Spotify switching out those songs," Butler said. "Shamrock could sue. If I have a license with you and we both agree that for however many years, you are going to distribute my music on your platform, and then somebody else comes along and you replace my music with theirs, then you have breached your agreement with me. That would be a huge mess."

Assuming DSPs like Spotify stay out of the fray, the odds are that most listeners will continue to stream Swift's original recordings instead of her new ones. Then again, her fanbase is fiercely loyal; there's a chance her re-recordings wind up dwarfing the old versions. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter: Because she's still entitled to royalty payments on her old recordings, Swift makes money either way. She can't lose.

Considering how foolproof, how lucrative, and how simple Swift's ploy to own her masters seems to be, you have to wonder if other artists might mimic it. So many musicians have spoken out about being infuriated that they don't own their masters, and have fought—almost always unsuccessfully—to reclaim them. If all it takes to win that fight is getting back in the studio and making new versions of their old songs, why can't every artist do it?

The answer, in short: because they're not Taylor Swift.

"You have to have what Taylor Swift has, which is an enormous audience and an enormous brand," Butler said. "It's working for her because she's got all the pieces of the puzzle. If you don't have that social media voice, if you don't have that brand, if you don't have her money, if you don't have all of the things that she has, it may not work for you."

Butler said she has no doubt that other artists will try to follow in Swift's footsteps, only for many to find something standing in the way. If they didn't write their own songs—or even if they wrote part, but not all of them—they won't have the legal right to re-record them. If they're not wealthy enough, they won't be able to cover the high cost of recording, especially not in a way that produces a carbon copy of their old music. If they haven't cultivated a rabidly devoted fanbase, they won't be able to convince people to stream their re-recordings instead of the original versions. Still, Butler said, many artists are going to try to replicate what Swift is doing—and record labels know it.

"The first thing that's going to happen is label contracts are going to change," Butler said. "They're going to try to set it up to where this cannot happen to this extent."

The way major labels would do that, according to LaPolt, is by making re-recording restrictions more stringent. As it stands, an artist is typically prohibited from re-recording music they make for a label for three to seven years after it's released. Going forward, labels could try to bump up the term of that restriction to 20 or 30 years, if not extend it in perpetuity. It's almost a given that they'll try, LaPolt said.

"Every time there is an amazing thing that an artist does to get out of their deal, or get their IP back, [record companies] come up with some dastardly, ugly thing to make sure that doesn't happen again," LaPolt said. "I can tell you right now, we would fight tooth and nail against that."

In some ways, what Swift is doing seems like a turning point for the music industry, one that could inspire an untold number of artists to take control of their master rights and irrevocably reshape the way record contracts are written. It's possible that we'll look back on this moment as a major landmark. What's more likely, however, is that it will prove to be nothing more than yet another shrewd move by a pop star who's risen to the top of her field by making so many of them, creating opportunities for herself that almost none of her peers are wealthy, successful, or cunning enough to secure.

"Is this a watershed, where everybody starts doing it—no way," Butler said. "I don't think that the majority of artists will be able to pull it off to the extent that Taylor Swift has. Is this a unicorn? No. But it's a horse with, like, five legs."

#good read #2020 articles #taylor swift

[boy-above]

i have a great announcement everyone: butters is coming home tomorrow!

this still isn't over, theres still complications and things we need to figure out. but here's what i know:

butternut has a new strain of parvo that they aren't very familiar with that attacks the respiratory system on top of what it usually does. because this strain is new, they don't know much about it, including important information such as if it has any effect on vaccinated cats, and how long she'll be continue to be contagious even after she's "beaten" it.

according to them, butternut has been doing great over the past few days. she's been eating, drinking, using the litter box, and just acting like a cat in general. from my understanding the only thing left she has to deal with is the symptoms from the respiratory part. what we're supposed to do now is take her home and keep her on oral meds. and we have to quarantine her from the other cats. which is concerning i guess, because i don't think they know How Long exactly we should even be quarantining her for. we truly don't know when this is over and when it's safe for her to live like normal again. i wish she could come home and see pixie right away but she can't. she's going to have to live in our spare bathroom for a while i suppose. it's a lot better than the cage i'm assuming she's been living in for the past week though.

thank you everyone for your support, and your prayers if you're religious. thank you for keeping her in your thoughts and helping me cope through this. i'm so happy i get to see her again tomorrow. last week i thought i would never see my cat again unless she was in an urn. although she hasn't completely beat it yet, i can say i'm pretty sure she's going to live now. she beat the odds, she's not even 7 months old yet and never had vaccines before, she only had a 30 percent chance to live and she has.

#marshal meows

[gravelyhumerus]

Criminal Minds College AU - Chapter 3

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Title: “I may just take your breath away”

Relationship: Jemily

Summary:

It's midterm season and Emily runs into JJ at the library, they decide to study together.

Slow-burn Jemily college AU where they live across the hall and despite all odds, the universe pushes them together. AKA they’re silly gay babies who pine after each other for months.

Read it on AO3

Tumblr:  One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, (bonus scene), Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Epilogue

There were no seats left in this entire goddamned library. Not a single one. Emily was on her second lap on the third floor, desperate for somewhere to sit down and have some peace and quiet to study for her test. She should have assumed this would happen. It was midterm season and the libraries were packed with students around this time each year.

She quietly made her way through the stacks and came upon a long, rectangular table near the back window. It overlooked a dark parking lot. The books were gigantic tombs of old academic journals that no one had probably even opened in decades.

There were eight seats and seven people, with one selfish asshole storing their backpack on the empty seat. Well, could be saving it for their friend, but with it being midterm season, those rules really shouldn’t apply anymore.

Emily braced herself and, with a smile, tapped the boy on the shoulder.

He had a large pair of headphones on. He lifted one side off his ear in a gesture of: ‘what do you want.’

“Is anyone sitting there?” She whispered, as quietly as she could, pointing to the seat next to him.

“Oh sorry,” he said, somewhat reluctantly, moving the coat and bag, inviting her to join him. She smiled in thanks and sat down.

Carefully unpacking her laptop and books, Emily tried to avoid disturbing the other folks at her table, the silence making each noise she made boom through the library. She settled down and pulled out her thermos, taking a sip of her coffee and bracing herself for a long night.

Her core classes for psychology were brutal, filled with endless memorization of terminology, stacks of mandatory books to read and countless essays.

At 8:30 the next morning it was her Introduction to Clinical Psychology midterm, worth a whopping thirty percent of her grade. She spent the entire day, between classes, at the Starbucks on campus, drinking her way through her student funds in coffee form and making endless flashcards.

She already had a stack of almost one hundred cards and she still had a couple hours of work left.

Just returning from dinner at the cafeteria, Emily had decided that she needed the relative quiet of the massive campus library to focus on the memorization period of her evening.

She flipped to the right page of her textbook: page 315, with a large header reading “SEXUAL DISORDERS” in large caps. Emily sighed, it was a strange thing to spend her time learning but at least it never failed to be interesting.

At least she wasn’t in Statistics this semester.

Emily took another sip of coffee, then rummaged through her bag for her wireless headphones, connecting them to her phone in order to play her studying playlist, which was mostly movie soundtracks, interspersed with Emily’s favourite classical music and of course, some lo-fi hip hop beats. She could not listen to music with words when studying, she would get too distracted and get nothing done.

Emily began gnawing at her thumbnail, focusing on writing down the definitions.

After around two hours of writing, Emily finally finished her flashcards. She stretched her back, closed her textbook, and went on her phone for a short break.

A Snapchat notification popped up on her screen.

Cheetobreath98 added you as a friend.

Emily frowned. Who on earth was that? Emily clicked on the profile, revealing the familiar face of Jennifer Jareau.

JJ had added her as a friend! On snapchat no less! That was at least three steps more intimate than Instagram.

Woah. Slow down there Em. She told herself. Don’t make it something it’s not.

They kept running into each other. JJ was probably just being friendly. She probably just wanted to say thank you for the cookies or send her funny snaps of the other students on their floor.

She has a boyfriend, a boyfriend she is having trouble with, but a boyfriend nonetheless. You can’t go around thinking about intimacy and Jennifer Jareau in the same sentence.

Emily accepted the friend request. Did that make them friends now? Emily hoped so. They could be friends.

As Emily stared at their chat, a new snap from JJ came in. Emily couldn’t help herself, she opened it immediately and she was met with a photo… of herself.

Emily’s head shot up looking around. She looked back down and it was clearly a photo of Emily, hunched over the desk with her head resting on her chin, staring down at her phone, taken from somewhere to her left.

JJ waved at her from between some books. Emily shot her a surprised smile in response.

She closed her laptop, stood, and walked over to her.

“Creeper,” Emily whispered with a giggle.

JJ had a large textbook and some notebooks in her arms, and a backpack hanging off one shoulder, and leaned in towards Emily to speak quietly, which let Emily catch the light, fruity smell of her perfume, blending nicely with the earthy smell of the old books around them.

“Guilty as charged,” JJ smiled.

“What are you working on?” Emily asked, gesturing at her heavy load, she leaned and took a peek at the title of the textbook.

“French,” JJ said, “It’s hard to bullshit that when you don’t know it. I’ve got a midterm tomorrow.”

“Bien sûr,” Emily replied confidently in French.

JJ blinked.

“Tu parles Français?” JJ’s French was shaky and uncertain, with less of an accent than Emily would expect.

Emily coughed quietly and tried to clear her throat.

“I do,” she replied in French, “I’ve been told that when I was a toddler, I was speaking it more fluently than English.”

JJ glanced down, seeming to be translating her words for a brief moment before replying, slowly, clearly excited to use Emily for practise.

“Are you French?”

“No,” Emily said, “My mom wasn’t around much when we were living in France and the nanny didn’t speak English.”

“Ton nurse?” JJ asked, not knowing the definition of ‘nanny’ in French.

“Oh uh,” Emily replied in English, “My nanny, the lady who watched me when my mom was working. She’s an ambassador.”

JJ nodded, then switched to English. She didn’t ask about Emily’s dad, which Emily was grateful for.

“My family is French, originally I guess,” JJ said, “Hence Jareau , the French name. I remember my grandparents speaking it when I was growing up. I only learned a few words from them so I thought I’d take a course here. I need language courses for my communications degree anyways.”

“Your French is good!” Emily assured her. “Honestly mine is getting rusty, I have no one to practise on.”

“Well,” JJ said between coughs, “you could tutor me?”

Emily smiled. An opportunity to spend more time with her? She would take it. She nodded.

“Mais oui!” Emily replied in her most dramatic accent that she could manage, sending both girls into a fit of giggles.

“Shhhhh!” Someone at Emily’s table hissed.

The two girls made eye contact, then burst into another fit of giggles.

“I have a study room booked for nine,” JJ said, “If you want to join me.”

“Absolutely,” Emily replied, “I have a midterm tomorrow as well, so I’ll be here for awhile.”

“Allons-y!” JJ whisper-yelled.

Emily collected her things and followed JJ into a room down the hall, tucked behind the stacks. Inside, was a desk, a couple of white boards and a small window facing into the quad. It was small, with only two chairs. It was shocking that JJ even managed to snag that, the booking system filled up days in advance during midterm season.

“I hate whispering,” Emily said at normal volume once the door was shut.

“Libraries are supposed to be quiet,” JJ said.

“I’ve never been good at quiet.”

JJ laughed.

Emily sat down next to her, stealing a glance at JJ while she was distracted: she had a pair of track pants, with a loose fitted t-shirt on top, a pastel blue which complemented her skin tone well. On top, she had her varsity hoodie unzipped, with their school’s crest on display. She looked good, as always, despite being in basically athletic sweats looking ready to go to the gym at any moment.

Emily placed her books down next to JJ at the table, stacking her flash cards neatly next to it. JJ’s eyes widened at the sight of the pile.

“You don’t have to help if you don’t have time,” JJ said, “Honestly I would just appreciate the company.”

“Nonsense,” Emily replied, “I’d be happy to help. I’ve been working on these flash cards all day, I need a break anyways. How ‘bout we work through your practise sheets, then you quiz me after? What’s your test on?”

“Conjugation,” JJ replied, flipping her notes open to a page full of irregular verbs and their conjugations.

“Oh sweet,” Emily scanned the notes, “Present tense, I can do this.”

Emily leaned back in her chair, pulling her feet up to sit crossed-legged.

“I was worried you were going to ask me the difference between plus-que-parfait and subjonctif or something.”

“I don’t even know what that is.”

“Lucky,” Emily said.

JJ then reached into her bag, pulling out a small case and revealing a pair of glasses—reading glasses—and put them onto her face. They were gold rimmed, round framed, and made her eyes slightly larger with the magnification.

“You-” Emily stuttered, her brain feeling like it was short circuiting at the sight of JJ, “Have glasses?”

“Yeah,” JJ muttered flipping through her notebook, “I don’t really need them but I’ve been staring at screens all day and my eyes are tired.”

“Nerd,” Emily fake-coughs. JJ’s draw drops and she hits Emily playfully with her notebook, whacking her on the arm lightly.

“You promised to help me, not mock me for my bad eyes,” JJ huffs.

“Ok fine let’s conjugate… hmmm… ‘voir’ to start,” Emily jokes, spinning her pen between her fingers.

“I know you’re kidding but I actually don’t know that one.”

Emily grins and begins explaining to her how to conjugate ‘to see’ in French.

“Now,” Emily says, “If you want to talk about how I can see, and you can’t—because you’re blind—you would write: Emily voit. Emily sees.”

“Elle voit? V-o-i-t?”

“Oui, et, Jennifer ne voit pas!” Emily giggles, “Jennifer does not see!”

“Ha-ha,” JJ says, not laughing.

“Sorry, I’ll stop now,” Emily says, picking up the worksheet and reading it over.

“Basically,” JJ says, “I need to just memorize this list of common irregular verbs by tomorrow. I already have the regular er, ir and re verbs down.”

“Cocky girl,” Emily said. “I like it.”

“Ok what verb should we start with?”

“Vouloir,” Emily said, “to want.”

The deeper meaning of this was not lost on her, even as she said it. Emily was far past the point of denying it to herself, or Morgan when he teased her, Emily wanted JJ.

“Start with je,” Emily continued, unfazed by her own internal monologue. “What do you want?”

“Je veux… un biscuit,” JJ said, sticking her pen in her mouth. She was so cute when she focused, chewing distractedly on the cap, with her glasses falling down her nose.

“Now what would I want?” Emily prompted, trying to focus back on the worksheet and not JJ in profile, gazing at the gentle slope of her nose, her pink lips that would probably taste like chapstick.

“Tu veux du thé?” JJ grinned, evoking their previous late-night hang out.  

“Oui,” Emily smiled, “I could definitely use some of your tea right now. Stuck with coffee for now though. I need the caffeine.”

They continued through that verb, moving down her list and covering aller, mettre, venir, before cycling back to the most important ones to make sure JJ had them memorized. Covering lots of ground, the two girls spent almost two hours straight working through her midterm prep booklet.

“Thanks so much for helping,” JJ said. “Maybe you could tutor me again sometime.”

Emily grinned. Maybe it was just tutoring but that meant hours alone with her and her pretty face and her laugh and the way she smelled like warm vanilla.

“Whenever you need me!”

“Je suis excité!” JJ said, in French, which was definitely not what she aimed to say.

Emily began to laugh. Hard. It started as a giggle but the sheer ridiculousness of her situation made it so much funnier. Her crush just looked her in the eyes and told her she was horny.  

“What?!” JJ demanded, nervously laughing at Emily’s reaction.

“Oh gosh I’m sorry,” Emily tried to calm down, to hold in her laughs. “In French we never say excité. It does not mean excited.”

“What does it mean?”

“JJ you just said that you were horny,” Emily made out between laughs. It must be the lack of sleep that made the simple mistake so much funnier.

“Emily!” JJ laughed, “don’t laugh at me I didn’t know!”

Emily’s laughter was infectious and before long the two girls were lost in a fit of giggles.

“You should say: ‘J’ai hâte!’” Emily said eventually, “it means I can’t wait. Like: J’ai hâte d'étudier avec toi. Or Je suis ravi. Or impatiente. Just don’t go around telling people how horny you are.”

“Fine,” JJ said, with a slight pout, “ J’ai hâte. ”

Emily nodded.

“I guess I can say I learned something today,” JJ murmured, “I guess it really is the language of love.”

Emily didn’t say anything, taking a sip of her cold coffee to muffle the squeak threatening to come out of her throat

“So,” JJ changed the subject, “gimme your flash cards. What are you learning?”

Before Emily could earn her, JJ flipped over the first card which read: ‘SEXUAL DISORDERS!’ in Emily’s messy script.

“On the same theme,” JJ murmured.

And so for the next hour, JJ and Emily made their way through her psychology flash cards, slowly making sure that Emily had the endless serious mental health disorders, personality disorders and other terms memorized before her midterm.

Luckily, In the process of writing them down, and due to her religious commitment to attending lectures, Emily had already retained most of them. Studying with JJ did help, because it forced her to explain some of the concepts in plain language, which, she found, furthered her understanding.

Moreover, JJ had brought snacks. Which made studying every more doable when she  could award herself with an m&m for each correct answer.

The thing was, half way through Emily’s stack of cards, and as the night crept on, JJ’s energy crashed as the girl’s body decided that it was way past her bedtime and that she should be asleep.

Unlike Emily, JJ was clearly not a night owl.

Eventually, Emily finished up her studying alone, discovering that the blonde was just about useless, as she read out gibberish and expected Emily to understand her. JJ finally fell asleep sitting up at about one-thirty in the morning. Emily decided to leave her be as she still needed to jot a few things down.

“JJ?” Emily murmured after a few minutes, poking the other girl with her pen. “JJ? Wake up.”

“Mm?” JJ murmured, her eyes still closed shut, her head heavy resting on her hand. She was adorable.

“I’m calling it,” Emily said, closing her textbook. “It’s almost two. We’ve studied enough.”

“Mmm… yeah I don’t know if I can fit any more French in my brain,” JJ rubbed her eyes.

“I think you’ll do just fine!”

They packed up their things, bundling up against the cold fall air. JJ went through the motions with her eyes half shut, allowing Emily to guide her out of their study room, down the spiral staircase and into the lobby.  

Unfortunately, as they stood just inside the library door, the clouds broke, sending rain pouring down onto campus. Sighing at their poor timing, they pulled their hoods over their hair in an attempt to stay relatively dry.

They walked home, laughing as it rained down onto them.

JJ seemed to wake up and her prior drowsiness seemed to fade into the night sky. She giggled as she splashed in a puddle, and her yellow jacket lit up under a street lamp.

Emily grinned, feeling elated in her exhaustion. How lucky she was! Splashing in the rain with JJ, which was a strange yet pleasant ending to what had promised to be a dredge of an evening. JJ waited for a moment, letting Emily catch out before grasping onto Emily’s hand and holding on, pulling her through the rain.

They tore through the torrential downpour, their hands clasped together, unbothered by the cold as the fiery feeling of JJ’s hand in her own had her full attention. A warm feeling filled her chest as she thought about how it was JJ who wanted to hold Emily’s hand.

Not caring whether it was just a friendly hand hold, or if it meant more, Emily’s heart soared.

JJ’s hand was smaller than hers, and their fingers fell together perfectly, comfortably linked like they were built to do so.

They only let go once they reached the door to their building, as Emily fumbled with the wet metal key ring in her pocket, unlocking the front door and offering the two relief from the rain.

They lingered in the hall, both damp, looking at each other as the tiredness returned and settled into their bones. Emily could see the bags under JJ’s eyes, the exhaustion clear on her face. Her cheeks were flushed from running through the rain and her blonde hair wet and tangled from the wind.

A voice in Emily’s head demanded that she reach out her hands, firmly grab the sides of JJ’s perfect face and kiss her then and there. It would be so perfect, their lips would meet and JJ would rest her hands on Emily’s hips. She would pull her in close and their bodies would crash into each other, fitting together perfectly. Emily’s tongue would graze against JJ’s lips, and their kiss would deepen until finally they would pull apart and-

“Goodnight, Emily,” JJ said, smiling at her sweetly, “Get some sleep before your midterm.”

Emily was brought crashing back into reality.

“Oh,” Emily said, “Yeah you too, you need it.”

“Thank you for helping me out,” JJ continued, “I was having a really bad day and you really made me feel a lot better.”

JJ looked down.  

“Yeah, uh, this morning I broke up with Will. Or maybe he broke up with me. I don’t know,” she admitted, “and with the midterm… then the home game tomorrow afternoon...“

She sighed.

“It was a long day and I’m grateful for your company.”

Kiss her, the voice in her head screamed, do it!

“I’m sorry about your break up, either way,” Emily said sincerely. “I feel the same way. I mean, I enjoyed your company. I think I’m going to do well on my midterm too.”

She smiled at JJ who returned it sleepily. Emily kicked herself for the awkward phrasing but blamed the fact that it was late at night and she was processing the fact that her crush was single. Single and had held her hand.

“Bonne chance demain,” Emily said with a wave, wishing JJ luck.

They looked at each other for another moment, before turning and unlocking their individual rooms. That night, Emily dreamt of Paris, cookies and the girl across the hall.

#criminal minds #cm #criminal minds tv #criminal minds fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #writing #jemily #jennifer jareau #emily prentiss #prentiss x jj #college au #college/university au #criminal minds au #my post #gravelyhumerus cm college au #this is so much self indulgent writing and i finally got to include my french headcanons into a fic #i hope there isnt too much french #its not my first language but i know it reasonably well but there could still b mistakes here #anyways theyre so gay and i love them sm

[yelenasdog]

il un a visage gentil (prof!gwilym lee x prof! gn reader)

genre: fluff

summary: who knew the attractive english lit professor also happened to speak french? not his new coworker, that’s for sure.

words: 1.7k

warnings: reader embarassing herself a lil bit, that’s it :)

a/n: hi!! first of all, no pronouns are used as this is from readers pov, so anyone can read. second of all, so i typically don’t write for gwil, but i had this idea in french the other day when my french teacher (sweet old french man who deserves better LMAODSJO) was going over some assignment that for some reason had il un a visage gentil in it LOLOL. that being said, i obvi don’t speak fluent french and this is all fictional! love u, hope u enjoy!!

。·☔︎◎❦·。·

“Hello everyone, and welcome to your first day. I’m Dr Gwilym Lee, and I am the head of the English Literature Department here at Oxford University. Feel free to call me Gwil, it’s what all my students do.”

I slanted my eyes from my position at the door, gripping the frame just a tad tighter than I had been before hearing his voice. I continued to listen to the doctor talk as I made my way behind the last row of seats in the lecture room, trying not to make any noise. My heels were thankfully mute against the carpet, not drawing any attention towards me, the professor keeping complete focus on his students.

“One of the first things I wanted to kind of, um, touch on, is that I will be quite flexible. I understand that you have lives, as do I. As long as I can see an honest effort being put into my class, I will hold no repercussions for late work or being physically late to class.”

With that, he looked up to where I had just sat down, quirking a brow. The eye contact was momentary, only lasting what seemed to be a second, if that.

I cleared my throat, looking to my feet.

“We at the english department are quite proud of our status, ranking 4th in english programs overall in the UK. Now I won’t continue to bore you with the statistics, but-“

I made a scan of the room, seeing how only 1 or 2 pupils were actually listening, the rest either slumped over looking at their phones, or pretending to take notes on a laptop while really watching netflix. (More than one student was watching gossip girl, oddly enough.)

Considering it was only 5 minutes into the hour long lecture, I was confused, as he was holding my attention, at least, quite well.

After about 30 minutes, I realized that my own “first day lecture” was in 15 minutes, which assured that I most definitely had to leave. I was saddened by this (even though I had only even planned on staying in Gwil’s room for a small while.

I sighed quietly, picking myself up from the surprisingly comfortable seats and making my way towards the door. Just as I was about to go, I felt eyes boring holes into the back of my head. I turned, realizing Gwilym to be the perp. I opened my mouth to speak and then closed it again, quickly walking out and down the hallway to my own room.

I made it in, hurrying down the many stairs, past where a few students were waiting.

“Hi, everyone, I’ll just be a few moments, just waiting for the rest of your new classmates to arrive.”

I smiled briefly, before slamming my office door audibly, chest heaving with my back against the shaded window. I closed my eyes, unaware of why I had been so panicked by the brief interaction, not to mention the butterflies it hatched in my stomach.

After giving myself some time to decompress, I exhaled, smoothing out the skirt of my dress and rotating. I placed a hand on the handle, preparing myself for the fresh faced freshman.

As I opened the door, I heard half a knock, before whoever was behind the door (poor soul) essentially fell on top of me.

Expecting to see a red faced pupil who had just made a very interesting first impression, I looked up, suddenly becoming the one with a warm and itchy wave of embarrassment making its way up my neck.

“I’m so terribly sorry,” He stood up, reaching out a hand. I hesitated before reaching forward and gripping tightly, allowing him to tug me up.

“It’s alright, Gwil, really.”

He opened his mouth (not that I was paying any mind to his lips), presumably to ask my name. Before he got the chance, I beat him to it, blurting out my full title, unfortunately in a quite awkward way.

The students that had gathered had mostly turned their attention elsewhere by now, only a few of them still watching the live disaster that was my interaction with the incredibly attractive man in front of me.

He spoke up as I tried to maneuver my way around him to the podium positioned in the front of the room where my laptop was waiting.

“Well, I had assumed you were a student who was trying to sneak off early, but I stand corrected, then.” He looked around my slowly filling space, a slight amusement hiding in his gaze.

“Yes, sorry, I had caught you at a bad time, I was hoping to introduce myself, you know, trying to make a good impression. Feels like the first day of school all over again.” I laughed, bringing a hand up to brush away a stray strand that had somehow managed to escape my bun.

“It’s alright, don’t stress about it. And trust me, I get it. New jobs are scary.”

I huffed, looking out at the sea of judgmental young people that I now would have to face after that fiasco. Lovely.

“You could say that again.”

We sat in a comfortable silence for a short amount of time, the clock striking 2:30 being what woke me from my trance.

“That’s my queue.” I gave a small wave as he walked off, a smile spreading across his face at the motion.

I turned to my teaching assistant, fully believing he was out of earshot.

“Il un a visage gentil, eh?”

She only laughed, nodding her head and plugging in my macbook, allowing the screen to come alive with a flurry of colors in my powerpoint.

“Hi guys! Or should I say bonjour!” I paused, receiving a few chuckles in the crowd.

“I’m sorry for getting us started so late, I had a small mishap. I’m Dr Y/n Y/l/n, and I am your professor this year in the French undergraduate course, where you will have the opportunity to study medieval literature, modern day linguistics, and much more, which I will get into later on.

 We here at Oxford have the single largest French department in Britain, which we have come to have extreme pride in. We also have a french cultural center, where you will find a large selection of programmes and literature to choose from. If you haven’t yet checked it out yet,” I briefly looked up, seeing Gwilym still stood at the top of the stairs. He gave me another small smile, crossing his arms.

“Sorry, lost my place. Where was I?”

-

After class, I walked up to where the tall man had now moved to the side, allowing students to flood right by him.

“Gwil, hi!”

“Hi to yourself.”

I blushed, the feeling of fuzzy-ness once again flooding my entire system at just the brief statement. Odd. Extremely odd.

“That was very nice, I have a feeling this class will be quite popular in the coming years.”

I smiled and nodded my head. “Thank you, I appreciate it, truly. Although, I must say that I can tell everyone is racing to get a spot in Professor Gwilym Lee’s class 100% percent.”

He cocked his head, slimming his eyes.

“Really, you think so?”

We continued to walk down the long hallway, neither of us quite aware of where we happened to be going.

“Oh for sure, I can imagine you’re especially popular with a certain demographic, too.”

His confusion seemed to only grow, stormy blue eyes seemingly lost.

“What do you mean by that, exactly?” His voice slightly raised an octave at the end, earning a chuckle from me.

“Look, all I’m saying is that with looks like that, I bet your roster was full in seconds.”

I paused, the flow of conversation stopping as I came to terms with what I had just accidentally said. Out loud. In front of my new coworker, who happens to be incredibly gorgeous. A wonderful first day I’m having.

We resumed walking, a blanket of complete silence falling upon us all the way until we reached the entrance to the facility.

The chilly December air hit my face immediately, as well as droplets of rain that were falling so hard it felt like small bullets were grazing my nose, which I could barely feel after just a few moments outside.

“Here.” Gwil muttered, pulling out a bright red umbrella and using it to shield us both from the angry pellets sent from above.

“Ah, thank you.”

“Of course.”

Then it was quiet again between us both, minus the sounds of chattering students and the rain hitting and then sliding off of our cover, coming in contact with the ground with a final splat.

“You know,” Gwilym began, always the one to break the silence.

I hummed, turning my head in his direction.

“I speak a little bit of French, as well. And I think you also have a nice face.” He nudged my elbow and laughed, while I closed my eyes and sighed, hanging my head.

“So there really isn’t any other way I could possibly embarrass myself right now, is there?”

He only shrugged, scratching the back of his head. “Actually, now that I think of it, there might be one more thing I can think of?”

“What would that be?”

“Saying no to a cup of coffee?”

It was like I froze over completely, my mind suddenly growing blank when I needed it mostt.

“With me?” I asked, the question more aimed towards myself, a miniscule act of reassurance and affirmation.

Gwilym smiled brightly as he shook his head, and I swear, I had never seen anything more amazing.

“Yes, Y/n, with you.”

I stuttered, embarrassed for what seemed like the millionth time that day, specifically at my lack of verbal skills.

“Yes, yes of course, that sounds amazing.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

He offered me an arm which I gladly took, and we started walking to the quaint campus cafe just across the street from our building.

It was the same cafe where (not that we knew it yet) the both of us would make many late night coffee runs together during midterms week, the stressful time growing to become one of our favorites as it was now filled with giggles and caffeine. 

Usually it would end up with one of us, that one of us usually being me, leaving a ring of coffee on the other’s ungraded assignments. Or even better, spilling an entire drink on the paper, only a “sorry!” written in Gwil’s rushed handwriting at the top of the curiously scented paper as explanation.

But as I said, we didn’t know that yet.

。·☔︎◎❦·。·

kinda gross but whatevs, like and rb if u did indeed enjoy it. mwah, go eat some protein, take an electronics break and drink some water. love u 

xx hj

#prof!gwil #professor!gwilym #gwilym lee #gwilym lee x reader #gwilym imagine #gwilym x reader #gwilym!brian #gwilym lee fanfic #gwilym lee fluff #gwilym lee x you #gwilym lee x yn #gwilym lee x y/n #gwilym lee x fem reader #gwilym lee x gn reader

[denizincarptigiseyy]

5 Ways to Know if Your Product Concept is a Winner

Hundreds of brand-new products launch monthly. Just a fraction of those gets enough traction to be considered effective.

Naturally, there are the exemptions-- the outbreak successes that most of us become aware of: Snapchat, Uber, and certainly Pokémon Go.

Although that's not likely to be your product, you can still knock it out of the park. But how do you test market demand early to understand if your concept is a winner?

Throughout my occupation, I've assisted release a dozen effective software including GoToMeeting, AppFolio, and also ProductPlan. I have learned five effective methods that entrepreneurs make use of to find out whether their product will be successful-- before they launch their product.

These methods won't assure success, but will dramatically increase your odds. In my case, these techniques led to products that today currently create numerous countless dollars in revenue yearly. see also InventHelp gets great inventions from the mind to the market

1. Before Anything Else, Locate an Issue Worth Resolving

Before investing a cent on growth, I speak with 10-20 possible consumers to understand the problem I'm solving. This is before I tell them concerning the product features, prices, or just how it's going to change their lives.

I call these "trouble exploration" meetings. They're comprehensive conversations, often performed personally, and last in between 30-60 minutes. They're developed to not just extensively comprehend the troubles but to find out whether the trouble is worth resolving in the first place. A problem needs to be high sufficient on a consumer's top priority list to be thinking about your item.

For example, in the very early interviews for GoToMeeting we found out that other online conference items were awkward, feature puffed up, as well as difficult to budget. By extensively understanding these troubles, we established a product that was less complicated to use, with fewer features, with all-you-can-use rates. Within a short time, that product became a smash hit success.

In very early conversations with customers as well as capitalists, numerous entrepreneurs lead with the product summary and functions. I think this is a mistake-- by not understanding the problem extensively, numerous products fizzle. I assume the solitary crucial trick to item success is asking the right questions regarding their issues.

Here are some concerns you can utilize to recognize whether the issue is necessary sufficient to solve:

" Just how are you fixing that problem today?"

" What is most irritating concerning your current remedy?"

" Where is solving this trouble on your concern listing?"

" If you resolve that issue, how much money will you save/make?"

" What does an effective year for you look like?"

2. It's Not a Service Unless You Can Offer

Numerous entrepreneurs introduce their item and also after that question why their sales are anemic. Exactly how do you understand beforehand whether consumers will pay for your item?

In my experience, knowing how to sell the item in a repeatable means is more important than the product itself. In a feeling, you're verifying sales, not simply validating a product.

For every single effective item I've launched, I formerly had test-sold the item to a minimum of 20 clients. My belief is entrepreneurs do not need a totally useful item to discover whether clients will purchase. My early examination sales are frequently from a slide deck or a harsh prototype.

By test-selling, you can learn about the sales cycle, whether your target customer is the real decision-maker, whether they have a budget to purchase, as well as better fine-tune your rates. Find out more advice by check out InventHelp inventions

If you don't have sales skills or can't manage denial, get over it, and also pick up the phone.

3. Customer Purchase Prices are the Trick to Success

You have seen it before: Incredible products that release with a bang and then could not attain enough traction to make the numbers pencil out. Numerous business owners don't extensively understand just how they will certainly get customers and then how much those consumers will cost to get.

The guideline is straightforward: A customer's procurement expense needs to be dramatically less than their lifetime value. So numerous entrepreneurs go in blind on these standard metrics when introducing items. There are very easy as well as cost-effective experiments that you can utilize to test purchase prices.

At ProductPlan, before we had created any kind of line of code, we established a touchdown page. This primitive web site was designed to check whether anyone was searching for software applications like ours as well as to find out whether the messaging we had defined resonated with our target audience.

We then drove website traffic to the touchdown web page making use of Google Adwords and LinkedIn Ads. We targeted item managers with search phrases that they might make use of to look for a remedy like ours. Once they pertained to our touchdown web page they were motivated to register for an early version of our product.

The experiment was a success because we discovered a lot concerning the purchase cost-- how much it cost to bring somebody to our website, the clickthrough price on advertising and marketing, what percent of people registered for more info, as well as extra.

Via this process, we might roughly estimate the conversion rates as well as purchase prices for every step of the sales channel.

Maybe extra significantly, these potential customers gave their get in touch with information. We then reached out to them to have much deeper conversations about the problem, item attributes, as well as rates.

It was a goldmine of information, as well as we spent less than $1,000 on this straightforward experiment.

4. Know This: Your Original Product Concept is Possibly Wrong

For every single product I've created, the end product we launched was dramatically various from the original idea we began with. Through meetings as well as experiments, we were able to test our assumptions, throw out poor suggestions, reveal cutting-edge features, and tweak our prices.

When we were confirming ProductPlan, we thought our market would certainly be limited to item managers at the software application business. By talking with loads of product managers we uncovered our market was a lot wider and also included business in media, health care, retail, and extra.

Commonly business owners invest an extreme amount of time on company plans and also spreadsheets that are a work of fiction. Or worse, they release their item based on their original suggestion and afterward lose time as well as resources transforming the item and rates to much better fit their market. That's in reverse.

Business owners can obtain closer to the truth-- and construct a better product-- by examining their assumptions before introducing them. Several misuses the "Lean Start-up" technique to throw pasta against a wall surface and also after that wish that people buy. And also when people do not buy (or buy in low numbers) the business owner wastes beneficial time.

Rotating your item ideas throughout this very early validation as opposed to after you have built the product is considerably more affordable.

The method entrepreneurs can test their presumptions: create them down and then go out to check them to see if they resonate with potential consumers specialists (for example, analysts for the industry, individuals who have been employed by the industry, experts, and so on). A healthy and balanced dosage of suspicion goes a long way.

5. Perfect is the Enemy of Great-- Simply Launch Your Item Concept

I'm a believer that business owners should embark on the cliff. This implies, especially for software, that you must introduce as early as feasible.

Reid Hoffman, the creator of LinkedIn, notoriously stated, "If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you have introduced far too late."

I'm not stating that you don't have a terrific first-time client experience. Commonly individuals do not offer you a 2nd opportunity if your product simply does not work. Yet if you are addressing an issue that allows enough, consumers will certainly forgive you if the experience isn't excellent.

With software, in particular, it's feasible to introduce swiftly with a marginal function set if the product supplies adequate worth. If a handful of clients are willing to pay, it suffices and you can enhance gradually.

Launching very early gives you no much better method to determine if you are on the right track. Many entrepreneurs waste time by attempting to assume every situation, please every consumer, as well as make sure every function is included.

A business owner I understand was passionate regarding launching a new mobile application he was certain would certainly be popular. He spent months developing it. He spent countless dollars on mobile programmers and also ultimately took out a second mortgage on his residence to place the finishing touches on the application before releasing. As soon as he ultimately introduced, he was shocked he had so a couple of downloads. It was a depressing, expensive lesson.

Entrepreneurs need to invest even more of their time at the front end-- discovering the troubles out there and validating whether someone will certainly purchase the product-- before they build as well as launch. If you do a reliable task at this front end, the building and introducing the product comes to be so much easier. You're also acquiring evidence for prospective financiers.

There is no other way to methodically recognize with assurance whether you'll succeed. By using these techniques and also launching early you can enhance your probabilities drastically.

https://www.instagram.com/inventhelp/?hl=en

#InventHelp #InventHelp inventions #InventHelp Instagram #Prototypes #Inventors #help with inventions #What is InventHelp #How to get my invention off the ground #How does InventHelp work #Ideas #Patent

[phroyd]

Rest In Peace, Alex! - Phroyd

Alex Trebek, who became known to generations of television viewers as the quintessential quizmaster, bringing an air of bookish politesse to the garish coli­seum of game shows as the longtime host of “Jeopardy!,” died Nov. 8 at 80.

The official “Jeopardy!” Twitter account announced the death without further details.

Mr. Trebek had suffered a series of health reversals in recent years, including two heart attacks and brain surgery, and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019. He continued to host new episodes of his show until production was suspended in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, and then filmed socially distanced episodes that began airing Sept. 14.

For more than three decades, Mr. Trebek was a daily presence in millions of households, earning near-rabid loyalty for the intellectual challenge of his show, in which questions were presented as answers and answers were delivered in the form of questions. By the time of his death, “Jeopardy!” was one of the most popular and longest-lasting programs of its kind in TV history.

Mr. Trebek, the self-made son of a hotel chef, had no sequined co-presenter to match Vanna White on host Pat Sajak’s “Wheel of Fortune.” His show neither attracted nor allowed histrionics, no galloping, shrieking contestants such as those summoned to “Come on down!” on “The Price Is Right” with Bob Barker. Even the “Jeopardy!” theme song, one of the most recognizable jingles on television, was restrained in its dainty dings.

There was no “hot seat” like the chair for contestants on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” with Regis Philbin — a show that “Jeopardy!” purists disdained for its elementary subject matter and inflated prize money.

On “Jeopardy!” there were only questions and answers — or rather, answers and then questions — leavened by the briefest of banter before Mr. Trebek directed his three contestants back to business.

He became known, a reporter for the New Republic magazine once observed, for his “crisp enunciation, acrobatic inflections [and] hammy dignity” as he primly — and with precise pronunciation — relayed clues in categories such as “European Cuisine,” “U.S. Geography,” “Ballet and Opera,” “Potent Potables” and “Potpourri.”

“The folding type of this cooling device became accepted in China during the Ming dynasty,” Mr. Trebek might declaim, as competitors raced to buzz in with the reply, “What is a fan?”

“Jeopardy!” was the creation of singer and talk-show host Merv Griffin, whose TV empire also included “Wheel of Fortune” and “Dance Fever.” His wife, Julann Griffin, proposed the show’s conceit. If players provided questions instead of answers, she said, then “Jeopardy!” would be safe from the high-profile cheating scandals that plagued TV quiz shows in the 1950s.

The Griffin brainchild aired on NBC from 1964 to 1975, then returned as “The All New Jeopardy!” from 1978 to 1979, both times with the stately actor Art Fleming as host. Mr. Trebek took over when the show was revived in syndication in 1984, also serving during his first several seasons as producer.

Much like his program, Mr. Trebek indulged in few frills. He favored conservative suits. When he shaved his signature mustache in 2001 — “on a whim,” he said — his viewership erupted in titillation.

The most exuberant flourish about the show might have been the exclamation mark in the title. Mr. Trebek, for his part, emitted few if any exclamations as he led contestants through the first round of clues; then a second, higher-stakes round dubbed “Double Jeopardy!”; and then “Final Jeopardy!,” in which players could wager all or some of their earnings on a single stumper.

“My job,” he told the Associated Press in 2012, “is to provide the atmosphere and assistance to the contestants to get them to perform at their very best. And if I’m successful doing that, I will be perceived as a nice guy and the audience will think of me as being a bit of a star. But not if I try to steal the limelight! The stars of ‘Jeopardy!’ are the material and the contestants.”

(Perhaps the show’s greatest stars were Ken Jennings, who reigned over the grid for 74 shows in 2004, claiming $2.5 million in winnings, and Watson, the IBM computer that defeated Jennings and another champion, Brad Rutter, in 2011.)

Fans who attended tapings of the show received a rare insight into Mr. Trebek’s dry humor when he held forth with them during commercial breaks, cutting up about how he didn’t “like spending time with stupid people,” which resulted in his having “very few friends.” He often regaled the crowd with tales of his DIY home-improvement projects.

He said his breakfast consisted of a Snickers and Diet Pepsi, or a Milky Way and Diet Coke. And he was not always as staid as he might have seemed, once tearing his Achilles’ tendon when he chased a burglar from his hotel room in 2011.

But to most “Jeopardy!” viewers, Mr. Trebek was akin to a neighbor they saw every day without becoming intimately acquainted. In a tribute to Mr. Trebek after his cancer diagnosis was announced, Jennings affectionately described him as “a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a Perry Ellis suit.” One of the few clues to his past was his slight Canadian accent.

George Alexander Trebek was born in Sudbury, Ontario, on July 22, 1940. His father was a Ukrainian immigrant, and his mother was French Canadian. In a memoir published in July, “The Answer Is . . . Reflections on My Life,” Mr. Trebek described a childhood marked by poverty and illness, including a painful form of rheumatism that he developed after falling into a frozen lake at age 7.

Mr. Trebek said that he considered becoming a priest but did not enjoy his experimentation with a vow of silence. “I was a very good student, but leaned more toward show business than anything else because I had a way of entertaining the class,” he told the Toronto Star. “I wasn’t the class clown, but always prominent — even when I was quiet.”

He said he was nearly expelled from boarding school and then dropped out of a military college after three days because he did not wish to subject himself to a buzz cut.

Mr. Trebek began working at the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. while studying philosophy at the University of Ottawa, where he graduated in 1961. As a broadcaster for radio and television, he delivered coverage in English and French, reported on news, weather and sports, and hosted “Reach for the Top,” a popular teen quiz show.

In 1973, Mr. Trebek came to the United States as host of “The Wizard of Odds,” a short-lived game show created by fellow Canadian Alan Thicke.

“It was canceled on a Friday, and I was disappointed, of course,” Mr. Trebek once said on “The Dan Patrick Show,” a sports talk program. “It was replaced the following Monday by a show called ‘High Rollers,’ which I also hosted. . . . After two and a half years, it was canceled, and it was replaced by another show which I hosted. So I have the either great honor or dubious honor of having replaced myself on three different occasions.”

Mr. Trebek, who became a U.S. citizen in 1998, also hosted shows including “Double Dare,” “The $128,000 Question” and “Battlestars.” He subbed for Chuck Woolery, Sajak’s predecessor on “Wheel of Fortune,” bringing him to the attention of Griffin. For a period Mr. Trebek hosted “Classic Concentration” and “To Tell the Truth” while also presiding over “Jeopardy!,” where he reportedly commanded $10 million a year.

As “Jeopardy!” host, Mr. Trebek participated in national contestant searches and shepherded the first teen, senior and celebrity tournaments. He also contributed clues, drawing from his knowledge in such arcane fields as oil drilling and bullfighting. He personally reviewed all clues before taping a show and claimed that he could answer about 65 percent of them correctly. If he judged one too difficult, he asked writers not to use it.

“I’ll say, ‘Nobody’s going to get this,’ ” he told the New York Times in a 2020 interview. “And they usually take my suggestions, because I view myself as every man.”

By the time Mr. Trebek completed 30 years as host, “Jeopardy!” reached 25 million viewers a week. His Emmys included a lifetime achievement award, and, in 2013, he ranked No. 8 in a Reader’s Digest poll of the most trusted people in America. Jimmy Carter, the highest-ranking president on the list, arrived at No. 24.

A ubiquitous presence in pop culture, Mr. Trebek appeared in the “Got milk?” advertising campaign, in films including “White Men Can’t Jump” (1992) and on television shows including “The Simpsons” and “The X-Files.” In a memorable episode of “Cheers,” Mr. Trebek welcomed as a contestant the postal carrier Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger), the sitcom’s most undesirable bachelor, in a round of “Jeopardy!” with categories including “beer,” “mothers and sons” and “celibacy.”

Mr. Trebek was spoofed on “Second City Television,” the Canadian TV sketch show, and “Saturday Night Live,” with comedian Will Ferrell, as his impersonator, barely containing his contempt for dimwitted contestants on “Celebrity Jeopardy!”

“I’ll take ‘Swords’ for $400,” Sean Connery, portrayed by Darrell Hammond, intoned in a Scottish accent when the category of clues was in fact “ ‘S’ Words.”

Mr. Trebek’s first marriage, to Elaine Callei, ended in divorce. In 1990, he married Jean Currivan. A complete list of survivors was not immediately available.

Little changed about “Jeopardy!” as the years wore on for the show, for Mr. Trebek and for fans. Newfangled topics, such as twerking, were occasionally introduced. Over time, contestants revealed themselves to be more familiar with Dan Brown, author of “The Da Vinci Code,” than with the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the New Republic noted. And Mr. Trebek was called upon to learn to rap to read certain clues.

But mainly the show stayed “comfortable, like an old pair of shoes,” Mr. Trebek once said. In its constancy, it became all the more comforting for the legions of fans who turned to “Jeopardy!” for its promise of clear right and wrong answers in a world where the matter of what is true was increasingly subjected to partisan debate.

“There’s a certain comfort that comes from knowing a fact,” Mr. Trebek told the Times in July. “The sun is up in the sky. There’s nothing you can say that’s going to change that. You can’t say, ‘The sun’s not up there, there’s no sky.’ There is reality, and there’s nothing wrong with accepting reality. It’s when you try to distort reality, to maneuver it into accommodating your particular point of view, your particular bigotry, your particular whatever — that’s when you run into problems.”

Phroyd

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