Volume of cylinder worksheet
The Latin Language
2008.08.27 07:36 The Latin Language
This is a community for discussions related to the Latin language.
2024.05.15 15:23 Cold-Catch3585 How to solve
I am struggling with how to solve this problem. I am asked to solve for the surface area and volume of this object.
I can see the obvious cylinder with the radius of 8 so can solve for that piece. I have no idea how to handle the 2 triangle stubby pieces on the top and bottom. I am not even sure what this shape would look like in real life space. Can anyone provide a solution so that I can understand it? Thank you.
submitted by Cold-Catch3585 to Geometry [link] [comments]
I can see the obvious cylinder with the radius of 8 so can solve for that piece. I have no idea how to handle the 2 triangle stubby pieces on the top and bottom. I am not even sure what this shape would look like in real life space. Can anyone provide a solution so that I can understand it? Thank you.
2024.05.15 12:49 SporksOrDie Xfinity is profiting off law enforement privacy violations
While Trying to dig into Xfinity and Verizon for evidence of wiretaps so I know who I can SUE in court (which is why they tried to set me up), i found how how much xfinity bills our taxpayers.
(Updated: August 2022)
GUIDANCE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT
Page 5
This is the current and the only official document providing guidance for law enforcement
Public (P)
COSTS
Comcast reserves the right to seek reimbursement for processing and responding to legal process as permitted bylaw. Our policy is to discuss reimbursement with you before we incur any costs (except in emergencies). Stored record disclosures generally do not incur charges unless lengthy. Wiretaps and pen registetrap and trace orders require a substantial commitment of Comcast’s resources.
Pen Registers/Traps/Wiretaps. $1,000 for initial set-up (including the first month of intercept service or any part thereof) and $850 for each subsequent month or any part thereof in which the order or any extensions are active.
Special Technical Support. $500 upon implementation that spans the authorized period of each new or renewed order and is charged at the beginning of each new or renewed authorized period. Stand-alone email collections (header information and/or full content) will be charged in the same manner. Requesting agencies must complete a CALEA worksheet providing detailed billing information and authorized point(s) of contact. Billing will occur either monthly or at 60-day intervals, depending on the volume
submitted by SporksOrDie to DisabledVeteransHelp [link] [comments]
(Updated: August 2022)
GUIDANCE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT
Page 5
This is the current and the only official document providing guidance for law enforcement
Public (P)
COSTS
Comcast reserves the right to seek reimbursement for processing and responding to legal process as permitted bylaw. Our policy is to discuss reimbursement with you before we incur any costs (except in emergencies). Stored record disclosures generally do not incur charges unless lengthy. Wiretaps and pen registetrap and trace orders require a substantial commitment of Comcast’s resources.
Pen Registers/Traps/Wiretaps. $1,000 for initial set-up (including the first month of intercept service or any part thereof) and $850 for each subsequent month or any part thereof in which the order or any extensions are active.
Special Technical Support. $500 upon implementation that spans the authorized period of each new or renewed order and is charged at the beginning of each new or renewed authorized period. Stand-alone email collections (header information and/or full content) will be charged in the same manner. Requesting agencies must complete a CALEA worksheet providing detailed billing information and authorized point(s) of contact. Billing will occur either monthly or at 60-day intervals, depending on the volume
2024.05.15 02:40 ShiftYourReality How to Escape the Confines of Time and Space According to the CIA (The Gateway Experience)
In the ’80s, the spy agency investigated the "Gateway Experience" technique to alter consciousness and ultimately escape spacetime.
The intrigue revolves around a classified 1983 CIA report on a technique called the Gateway Experience, which is a training system designed to focus brainwave output to alter consciousness and ultimately escape the restrictions of time and space.
The CIA was interested in all sorts of psychic research at the time, including the theory of applications of remote viewing, which is when someone views real events with only the power of their mind. The documents have since been declassified and are available to view.
This is a comprehensive excavation of The Gateway Process report. The first section provides a timeline of the key historical developments that led to the CIA’s investigation and subsequent experimentations. The second section is a review of The Gateway Process report. It opens with a wall of theoretical context, on the other side of which lies enough understanding to begin to grasp the principles underlying the Gateway Experience training. The last section outlines the Gateway technique itself and the steps that go into achieving spacetime transcendence.
Let’s go.
THE TIMELINE
• 1950s - Robert Monroe, a radio broadcasting executive, begins producing evidence that specific sound patterns have identifiable effects on human capabilities. These include alertness, sleepiness, and expanded states of consciousness.
• 1956 - Monroe forms an R&D division inside his radio program production corporation RAM Enterprises. The goal is to study sound’s effect on human consciousness. He was obsessed with “Sleep-Learning," or hypnopedia, which exposes sleepers to sound recordings to boost memory of previously learned information.
• 1958 - While experimenting with Sleep-Learning, Monroe discovers an unusual phenomenon. He describes it as sensations of paralysis and vibration accompanied by bright light. It allegedly happens nine times over the proceeding six weeks, and culminates in an out-of-body experience (OBE).
• 1962 - RAM Enterprises moves to Virginia, and renames itself Monroe Industries. It becomes active in radio station ownership, cable television, and later in the production and sale of audio cassettes. These cassettes contain applied learnings from the corporate research program, which is renamed The Monroe Institute.
• 1971 - Monroe publishes Journeys Out of the Body, a book that is credited with popularizing the term “out-of-body experience.”
• 1972 - A classified report circulates in the U.S. military and intelligence communities. It claims that the Soviet Union is pouring money into research involving ESP and psychokinesis for espionage purposes.
• 1975 - Monroe registers the first of several patents concerning audio techniques designed to stimulate brain functions until the left and right hemispheres become synchronized. Monroe dubs the state "Hemi-Sync" (hemispheric synchronization), and claims it could be used to promote mental well-being or to trigger an altered state of consciousness.
• 1978 to 1984 - Army veteran Joseph McMoneagle contributes to 450 remote viewing missions under Project Stargate. He is known as “Remote View No. 1”.
• June 9th, 1983 - The CIA report "Analysis and Assessment of The Gateway Process" is produced. It provides a scientific framework for understanding and expanding human consciousness, out-of-body experiments, and other altered states of mind.
• 1989 - Remote viewer Angela Dellafiora Ford helps track down a former customs agent who has gone on the run. She pinpoints his location as “Lowell, Wyoming”. U.S. Customs apprehend him 100 miles west of a Wyoming town called Lovell.
• 2003 - The CIA approves declassification of the Gateway Process report.
• 2017 - The CIA declassifies 12 million pages of records revealing previously unknown details about the program, which would eventually become known as Project Stargate.
THE REPORT
Personnel
The author of The Gateway Process report is Lieutenant Colonel Wayne M. McDonnell, hereon referred to simply as Wayne. There isn’t a tremendous amount of information available on the man, nor any photographs. In 1983, Wayne was tasked by the Commander of the U.S. Army Operational Group with figuring out how The Gateway Experience, astral projection and out-of-body experiences work. Wayne partnered with a bunch of different folks to produce the report, most notably Itzhak Bentov, a very Googleable American-Israeli scientist who helped pioneer the biomedical engineering industry.
A scientific approach
From the outset of the report, Wayne states his intent to employ an objective scientific method in order to understand the Gateway process. The various scientific avenues he takes include:
• A biomedical inquiry to understand the physical aspects of the process.
• Information on quantum mechanics to describe the nature and functioning of human consciousness.
• Theoretical physics to explain the time-space dimension and means by which expanded human consciousness transcends it.
• Classical physics to bring the whole phenomenon of out-of-body states into the language of physical science (and remove the stigma of an occult connotation).
Methodological frames of reference
Before diving into the Gateway Experience, Wayne develops a frame of reference by dissecting three discrete consciousness-altering methodologies. He’s basically saying, there’s no way you’re going to get through The Gateway without a solid grounding in the brain-altering techniques that came before it.
1) He begins with hypnosis. The language is extremely dense, but the basic gist is as follows: the left side of the brain screens incoming stimuli, categorizing, assessing and assigning meaning to everything through self-cognitive, verbal, and linear reasoning. The left hemisphere then dishes the carefully prepared data to the non-critical, holistic, pattern-oriented right hemisphere, which accepts everything without question. Hypnosis works by putting the left side to sleep, or at least distracting it long enough to allow incoming data direct, unchallenged entry to the right hemisphere. There, stimuli can reach the sensor and motor cortices of the right brain, which corresponds to points in the body. Suggestions then can send electrical signals from the brain to certain parts of the body. Directing these signals appropriately, according to the report, can elicit reactions ranging from left leg numbness to feelings of happiness. Same goes for increased powers of concentration.
2) Wayne continues with a snapshot of transcendental meditation. He distinguishes it from hypnotism. Through concentration the subject draws energy up the spinal cord, resulting in acoustical waves that run through the cerebral ventricles, to the right hemisphere, where they stimulate the cerebral cortex, run along the homunculus and then to the body. The waves are the altered rhythm of heart sounds, which create sympathetic vibrations in the walls of the fluid-filled cavities of the brain’s ventricles. He observed that the symptoms begin in the left side of the body, confirming the right brain’s complicity. Bentov also states that the same effect might be achieved by prolonged exposure to 4 - 7 Hertz/second acoustical vibrations. He suggests standing by an air conditioning duct might also do the trick. (David’s Lynch and other celebrities are committed adherents to transcendental meditation today.)
3) Biofeedback, on the other hand, uses the left hemisphere to gain access to the right brain’s lower cerebral, motor, and sensory cortices. Whereas hypnosis suppresses one side of the brain, and TM bypasses that side altogether, biofeedback teaches the left hemisphere to visualize the desired result, recognize the feelings associated with right hemisphere access, and ultimately achieve the result again. With repetition, the left brain can reliably key into the right brain, and strengthen the pathways so that it can be accessed during a conscious demand mode. A digital thermometer is subsequently placed on a target part of the body. When its temperature increases, objective affirmation is recognized and the state is reinforced. Achieving biofeedback can block pain, enhance feeling, and even suppress tumors, according to the report.
The Gateway mechanics
With that, Wayne takes a first stab at the Gateway process. He classifies it as a “training system designed to bring enhanced strength, focus and coherence to the amplitude and frequency of brainwave output between the left and right hemispheres so as to alter consciousness.”
What distinguishes the Gateway process from hypnosis, TM, and biofeedback, is that it requires achieving a state of consciousness in which the electrical brain patterns of both hemispheres are equal in amplitude and frequency. This is called Hemi-Sync. Lamentably, and perhaps conveniently, we cannot as humans achieve this state on our own. The audio techniques developed by Bob Monroe and his Institute (which are comprised as a series of tapes). claim to induce and sustain Hemi-Sync.
Wayne employs the analogy of a lamp versus a laser. Left to its own devices the human mind expends energy like a lamp, in a chaotic and incoherent way, achieving lots of diffusion but relatively little depth. Under Hemi-Sync though, the mind produces a “disciplined stream of light.” So, once the frequency and amplitude of the brain are rendered coherent it can then synchronize with the rarified energy levels of the universe. With this connection intact, the brain begins to receive symbols and display astonishing flashes of holistic intuition.
The Hemi-Sync technique takes advantage of a Frequency Following Response (FFR). It works like this: an external frequency emulating a recognized one will cause the brain to mimic it. So if a subject hears a frequency at the Theta level, it will shift from its resting Beta level. To achieve these unnatural levels, Hemi-Sync puts a single frequency in the left ear and a contrasting frequency in the right. The brain then experiences the Delta frequency, also known as the beat frequency. It’s more familiarly referred to these days as binaural beats. With the FFR and beat frequency phenomena firmly in place, The Gateway Process introduces a series of frequencies at marginally audible, subliminal levels. With the left brain relaxed and the body in a virtual sleep state, the conditions are ideal to promote brainwave outputs of higher and higher amplitude and frequency. Alongside subliminal suggestions from Bob Monroe (naturally), the subject can then alter their consciousness.
The Gateway system only works when the audio, which is introduced through headphones, is accompanied by a physical quietude comparable to other forms of meditation. This increases the subject’s internal resonance to the body’s sound frequencies, for example the heart. This eliminates the “bifurcation echo”, in which the heartbeat moves up and down the body seven times a second. By placing the body in a sleep-like state, The Gateway CD’s, like meditation, lessen the force and frequency of the heartbeat pushing blood into the aorta. The result is a rhythmic sine wave that in turn amplifies the sound volume of the heart three times. This then amplifies the frequency of brainwave output. The film surrounding the brain—the dura—and fluid between that film and the skull, eventually begin to move up and down, by .0005 and .010 millimeters.
The body, based on its own micro-motions, then functions as a tuned vibrational system. The report claims that the entire body eventually transfers energy at between 6.8 and 7.5 Hertz, which matches Earth’s own energy (7 - 7.5 Hertz). The resulting wavelengths are long, about 40,000 kilometers, which also happens to be the perimeter of the planet. According to Bentov, the signal can move around the world’s electrostatic field in 1/7th of a second.
To recap, the Gateway Process goes like this:
• Induced state of calm
• Blood pressure lowers
• Circulatory system, skeleton and other organ systems begin to vibrate at 7 - 7.5 cycles per second
• Increased resonance is achieved
• The resulting sound waves matches the electrostatic field of the earth
• The body and earth and other similarly tuned minds become a single energy continuum.
We’ve gotten slightly ahead of ourselves here though. Back to the drawing board.
A psycho-quantum level deeper
Wayne then turns to the very nature of matter and energy. More materially (or less if you will), solid matter in the strict construction of the term, he explains, doesn’t exist. The atomic structure is composed of oscillating energy grids surrounded by other oscillating energy grids at tremendous speeds. These oscillation rates vary—the nucleus of an atom vibrates at 10 to the power of 22, a molecule vibrates at 10 to the power of 9, a human cell vibrates at 10 to the power of 3. The point is that the entire universe is one complex system of energy fields. States of matter in this conception then are merely variations in the state of energy.
The result of all these moving energies, bouncing off of energy at rest, projects a 3D mode, a pattern, called a hologram, A.K.A our reality as we experience it. It's best to think of it as a 3D photograph. There’s a whole rabbit hole to go down here. Suffice it to say, the hologram that is our experience is incredibly good at depicting and recording all the various energies bouncing around creating matter. So good, in fact, that we buy into it hook, line, and sinker, going so far as to call it our "life."
Consciousness then can be envisaged as a 3D grid system superimposed over all energy patterns, Wayne writes. Using mathematics, each plane of the grid system can then reduce the data to a 2D form. Our binary (go/no go) minds can then process the data and compare it to other historical data saved in our memory. Our reality is then formed by comparisons. The right hemisphere of the brain acts as the primary matrix or receptor for this holographic input. The left hemisphere then compares it to other data, reducing it to its 2D form.
In keeping with our species' commitment to exceptionalism, as far as we know humans are uniquely capable of achieving this level of consciousness. Simply, humans not only know, but we know that we know. This bestows upon us the ability to duplicate aspects of our own hologram, project them out, perceive that projection, run it through a comparison with our own memory of the hologram, measure the differences using 3D geometry, then run it through our binary system to yield verbal cognition of the self.
The click-out phase
Wayne then shows his cards as a true punisher, issuing, "Up to this point our discussion of the Gateway process has been relatively simple and easy to follow. Now the fun begins." Shots fired, Wayne. What he's preparing the commander reading this heady report for is the reveal—how we can use the Gateway to transcend the dimension of spacetime.
Time is a measurement of energy or force in motion; it is a measurement of change. This is really important. For energy to be classified as in motion, it must be confined within a vibratory pattern that can contain its motion, keeping it still. Energy not contained like this is boundary-less, and moves without limit or dimension, to infinity. This disqualifies boundary-less energy from the dimension of time because it has no rate of change. Energy in infinity, also called "the absolute state," is completely at rest because nothing is accelerating or decelerating it—again, no change. It therefore does not contribute to our hologram, our physical experience. We cannot perceive it.
Now back to frequencies. Wave oscillation occurs because a wave is bouncing between two rigid points of rest. It's like a game of electromagnetic hot potato (the potato being the wave and the participants' hands being the boundaries of the wave). Without these limits, there would be no oscillation. When a wave hits one of those points of rest, just for a very brief instant, it "clicks out" of spacetime and joins infinity. For this to occur, the speed of the oscillation has to drop below 10 the power of -33 centimeters per second. For a moment, the wave enters into a new world. The potato simply disappears into a dimension we cannot perceive.
Theoretically speaking, if the human consciousness wave pattern reaches a high enough frequency, the “click-outs” can reach continuity. Put another way, if the frequency of human consciousness can dip below 10 to the power of 33 centimeters per second but above a state of total rest, it can transcend spacetime. The Gateway experience and associated Hemi-Sync technique is designed for humans to achieve this state and establish a coherent pattern of perception in the newly realized dimensions.
Passport to the hologram
In theory, we can achieve the above at any time. The entire process though is helped along if we can separate the consciousness from our body. It’s like an existential running head start where the click-out of a consciousness already separated from its body starts much closer to, and has more time to dialogue with, other dimensions.
This is where things get a little slippery; hold on as best you can. The universe is in on the whole hologram thing, too, Wayne writes. This super hologram is called a "torus" because it takes the shape of a fuck-off massive self-contained spiral. Like this:
Give yourself a moment to let the above motion sink in...
This pattern of the universe conspicuously mirrors the patterns of electrons around the nucleus of an atom. Galaxies north of our own are moving away from us faster than the galaxies to the south; galaxies to the east and west of us are more distant. The energy that produced the matter that makes up the universe we presently enjoy, will turn back in on itself eventually. Its trajectory is ovoid, also known as the cosmic egg. As it curls back on itself it enters a black hole, goes through a densely packed energy nucleus then gets spat out the other side of a white hole and begins the process again. Springtime in the cosmos, baby!
And that is the context in which the Gateway Experience sits.
[Deep breaths.]
THE TECHNIQUE
The following is an outline of the key steps to reach focus levels necessary to defy the spacetime dimension. This is an involved and lengthy process best attempted in controlled settings. If you’re in a rush, you can apparently listen to enough Monroe Institute Gateway Tapes in 7 days to get there.
The Energy Conversion Box: The Gateway Process begins by teaching the subject to isolate any extraneous concerns using a visualization process called “the energy conversion box.”
Resonant Humming: The individual is introduced to resonant humming. Through the utterance of a protracted single tone, alongside a chorus on the tapes, the mind and body achieve a state of resonance.
The Gateway Affirmation: The participant is exposed to something close to a mantra called The Gateway Affirmation. They must repeat to themselves variations of, “I am merely a physical body and deeply desire to expand my consciousness.”
Hemi-Sync: The individual is finally exposed to the Hemi-Sync sound frequencies, and encouraged to develop a relationship with the feelings that emerge.
Additional Noise: Physical relaxation techniques are practiced while the Hemi-Sync frequencies are expanded to include “pink and white” noise. This puts the body in a state of virtual sleep, while calming the left hemisphere and raising the attentiveness of the right hemisphere.
The Energy Balloon: The individual is then encouraged to visualize the creation of an “energy balloon” beginning at the top of the head, extending down in all directions to the feet then back up again. There are a few reasons for this, the main one being that this balloon will provide protection against conscious entities possessing lower energy levels that he or she may encounter when in the out-of-body state.
Focus 12: The practitioner can consistently achieve sufficient expanded awareness to begin interacting with dimensions beyond their physical reality. To achieve this state requires conscious efforts and more “pink and white noise” from the sound stream.
Tools: Once Focus 12 is achieved, the subject can then employ a series of tools to obtain feedback from alternate dimensions.
Problem Solving: The individual identifies fundamental problems, fills their expanded awareness with them, and then projects them out into the universe. These can include personal difficulties, as well as technical or practical problems.
Patterning: Consciousness is used to achieve desired objectives in the physical, emotional, or intellectual sphere.
Color Breathing: A healing technique that revitalizes the body’s energy flows by imagining colors in a particularly vivid manner.
Energy Bar Tool: This technique involves imagining a small intensely pulsating dot of light that the participant charges up. He or she then uses the sparkling, vibrating cylinder of energy (formerly known as the dot) to channel forces from the universe to heal and revitalize the body.
Remote Viewing: A follow-on technique of the Energy Bar Tool where the dot is turned into a whirling vortex through which the individual sends their imagination in search of illuminating insights.
Living Body Map: A more organized use of the energy bar in which streams of different colors flow from the dot on to correspondingly-colored bodily systems.
Seven days of training have now occurred. Approximately 5 percent of participants get to this next level, according to the report.
Focus 15 - Travel Into the Past: Additional sound on the Hemi-Sync tapes includes more of the same, plus some subliminal suggestions to further expand the consciousness. The instructions are highly symbolic: time is a huge wheel, in which different spokes give access to the participant’s past.
Focus 21 - The Future: This is the last and most advanced state. Like Focus 15, this is a movement out of spacetime into the future.
Out-of-Body Movement: Only one tape of the many is devoted to out-of-body movement. This tape is devoted to facilitating an out-of-body state when the participant’s brain wave patterns and energy levels reach harmony with the surrounding electromagnetic environment. According to Bob Monroe, the participant has to be exposed to Beta signals of around 2877.3 cycles per second.
CONCLUSIONS
Wayne expresses concern about the fidelity of information brought back from out-of-body states using the Gateway technique. Practical applications are of particular concern because of the potential for “information distortion.”
The Monroe Institute also ran into a bunch of issues in which they had individuals travel from the West to the East Coast of the U.S. to read a series of numbers off of a computer screen. They never got them exactly right. Wayne chalks this up to the trouble of differentiating between physical entities and extra-time-space dimensions when in the out-of-body state.
Wayne swings back to support mode though, lending credence to the physics foundation of the report. He cites multiple belief systems that have established identical findings. These include the Tibetan Shoug, the Hindu heaven of Indra, the Hebrew mystical philosophy, and the Christian concept of the Trinity. Here he seems more interested in hammering home the theoretical underpinnings that make The Gateway Experience possible, rather than the practical possibilities promised by The Gateway Tapes.
Possibly with his CIA top brass audience in mind, Wayne then gives an A-type nod to The Gateway Experience for providing a faster, more efficient, less subservient, energy-saving route to expanded consciousness. This finishes with a series of recommendations to the CIA for how to exploit Gateway’s potential for national defense purposes.
The missing page
One curious feature of The Gateway Report is that it seems to be missing page 25. It’s a real cliffhanger too. The bottom of page 24 reads “And, the eternal thought or concept of self which results from this self-consciousness serves the,” The report picks back up on page 26 and 3 sections later as if Wayne hadn’t just revealed the very secret of existence.
The gap has not gone unnoticed. There's a Change.org petition requesting its release. Multiple Freedom of Information Act requests have demanded the same. In all cases, the CIA has said they never had the page to begin with. Here’s a 2019 response from Mark Lilly, the CIA’s Information and Privacy Coordinator, to one Bailey Stoner regarding these records:
One theory goes that that rascal Wayne M.-fricking-McDonnell left the page out on purpose. The theory contends that it was a litmus test—if anyone truly defies time-space dimensions, they’ll certainly be able to locate page 25.
[Cosmic shrug.]
Writing Credit Vice
CIA Declassified Report– The Gateway Experience
Here is a copy of the Missing Page 25
There will be a Gateway Help Post following within the next couple days. Thought you might be interested in a little history in the meantime. Cheers!
submitted by ShiftYourReality to ShiftYourReality [link] [comments]
The intrigue revolves around a classified 1983 CIA report on a technique called the Gateway Experience, which is a training system designed to focus brainwave output to alter consciousness and ultimately escape the restrictions of time and space.
The CIA was interested in all sorts of psychic research at the time, including the theory of applications of remote viewing, which is when someone views real events with only the power of their mind. The documents have since been declassified and are available to view.
This is a comprehensive excavation of The Gateway Process report. The first section provides a timeline of the key historical developments that led to the CIA’s investigation and subsequent experimentations. The second section is a review of The Gateway Process report. It opens with a wall of theoretical context, on the other side of which lies enough understanding to begin to grasp the principles underlying the Gateway Experience training. The last section outlines the Gateway technique itself and the steps that go into achieving spacetime transcendence.
Let’s go.
THE TIMELINE
• 1950s - Robert Monroe, a radio broadcasting executive, begins producing evidence that specific sound patterns have identifiable effects on human capabilities. These include alertness, sleepiness, and expanded states of consciousness.
• 1956 - Monroe forms an R&D division inside his radio program production corporation RAM Enterprises. The goal is to study sound’s effect on human consciousness. He was obsessed with “Sleep-Learning," or hypnopedia, which exposes sleepers to sound recordings to boost memory of previously learned information.
• 1958 - While experimenting with Sleep-Learning, Monroe discovers an unusual phenomenon. He describes it as sensations of paralysis and vibration accompanied by bright light. It allegedly happens nine times over the proceeding six weeks, and culminates in an out-of-body experience (OBE).
• 1962 - RAM Enterprises moves to Virginia, and renames itself Monroe Industries. It becomes active in radio station ownership, cable television, and later in the production and sale of audio cassettes. These cassettes contain applied learnings from the corporate research program, which is renamed The Monroe Institute.
• 1971 - Monroe publishes Journeys Out of the Body, a book that is credited with popularizing the term “out-of-body experience.”
• 1972 - A classified report circulates in the U.S. military and intelligence communities. It claims that the Soviet Union is pouring money into research involving ESP and psychokinesis for espionage purposes.
• 1975 - Monroe registers the first of several patents concerning audio techniques designed to stimulate brain functions until the left and right hemispheres become synchronized. Monroe dubs the state "Hemi-Sync" (hemispheric synchronization), and claims it could be used to promote mental well-being or to trigger an altered state of consciousness.
• 1978 to 1984 - Army veteran Joseph McMoneagle contributes to 450 remote viewing missions under Project Stargate. He is known as “Remote View No. 1”.
• June 9th, 1983 - The CIA report "Analysis and Assessment of The Gateway Process" is produced. It provides a scientific framework for understanding and expanding human consciousness, out-of-body experiments, and other altered states of mind.
• 1989 - Remote viewer Angela Dellafiora Ford helps track down a former customs agent who has gone on the run. She pinpoints his location as “Lowell, Wyoming”. U.S. Customs apprehend him 100 miles west of a Wyoming town called Lovell.
• 2003 - The CIA approves declassification of the Gateway Process report.
• 2017 - The CIA declassifies 12 million pages of records revealing previously unknown details about the program, which would eventually become known as Project Stargate.
THE REPORT
Personnel
The author of The Gateway Process report is Lieutenant Colonel Wayne M. McDonnell, hereon referred to simply as Wayne. There isn’t a tremendous amount of information available on the man, nor any photographs. In 1983, Wayne was tasked by the Commander of the U.S. Army Operational Group with figuring out how The Gateway Experience, astral projection and out-of-body experiences work. Wayne partnered with a bunch of different folks to produce the report, most notably Itzhak Bentov, a very Googleable American-Israeli scientist who helped pioneer the biomedical engineering industry.
A scientific approach
From the outset of the report, Wayne states his intent to employ an objective scientific method in order to understand the Gateway process. The various scientific avenues he takes include:
• A biomedical inquiry to understand the physical aspects of the process.
• Information on quantum mechanics to describe the nature and functioning of human consciousness.
• Theoretical physics to explain the time-space dimension and means by which expanded human consciousness transcends it.
• Classical physics to bring the whole phenomenon of out-of-body states into the language of physical science (and remove the stigma of an occult connotation).
Methodological frames of reference
Before diving into the Gateway Experience, Wayne develops a frame of reference by dissecting three discrete consciousness-altering methodologies. He’s basically saying, there’s no way you’re going to get through The Gateway without a solid grounding in the brain-altering techniques that came before it.
1) He begins with hypnosis. The language is extremely dense, but the basic gist is as follows: the left side of the brain screens incoming stimuli, categorizing, assessing and assigning meaning to everything through self-cognitive, verbal, and linear reasoning. The left hemisphere then dishes the carefully prepared data to the non-critical, holistic, pattern-oriented right hemisphere, which accepts everything without question. Hypnosis works by putting the left side to sleep, or at least distracting it long enough to allow incoming data direct, unchallenged entry to the right hemisphere. There, stimuli can reach the sensor and motor cortices of the right brain, which corresponds to points in the body. Suggestions then can send electrical signals from the brain to certain parts of the body. Directing these signals appropriately, according to the report, can elicit reactions ranging from left leg numbness to feelings of happiness. Same goes for increased powers of concentration.
2) Wayne continues with a snapshot of transcendental meditation. He distinguishes it from hypnotism. Through concentration the subject draws energy up the spinal cord, resulting in acoustical waves that run through the cerebral ventricles, to the right hemisphere, where they stimulate the cerebral cortex, run along the homunculus and then to the body. The waves are the altered rhythm of heart sounds, which create sympathetic vibrations in the walls of the fluid-filled cavities of the brain’s ventricles. He observed that the symptoms begin in the left side of the body, confirming the right brain’s complicity. Bentov also states that the same effect might be achieved by prolonged exposure to 4 - 7 Hertz/second acoustical vibrations. He suggests standing by an air conditioning duct might also do the trick. (David’s Lynch and other celebrities are committed adherents to transcendental meditation today.)
3) Biofeedback, on the other hand, uses the left hemisphere to gain access to the right brain’s lower cerebral, motor, and sensory cortices. Whereas hypnosis suppresses one side of the brain, and TM bypasses that side altogether, biofeedback teaches the left hemisphere to visualize the desired result, recognize the feelings associated with right hemisphere access, and ultimately achieve the result again. With repetition, the left brain can reliably key into the right brain, and strengthen the pathways so that it can be accessed during a conscious demand mode. A digital thermometer is subsequently placed on a target part of the body. When its temperature increases, objective affirmation is recognized and the state is reinforced. Achieving biofeedback can block pain, enhance feeling, and even suppress tumors, according to the report.
The Gateway mechanics
With that, Wayne takes a first stab at the Gateway process. He classifies it as a “training system designed to bring enhanced strength, focus and coherence to the amplitude and frequency of brainwave output between the left and right hemispheres so as to alter consciousness.”
What distinguishes the Gateway process from hypnosis, TM, and biofeedback, is that it requires achieving a state of consciousness in which the electrical brain patterns of both hemispheres are equal in amplitude and frequency. This is called Hemi-Sync. Lamentably, and perhaps conveniently, we cannot as humans achieve this state on our own. The audio techniques developed by Bob Monroe and his Institute (which are comprised as a series of tapes). claim to induce and sustain Hemi-Sync.
Wayne employs the analogy of a lamp versus a laser. Left to its own devices the human mind expends energy like a lamp, in a chaotic and incoherent way, achieving lots of diffusion but relatively little depth. Under Hemi-Sync though, the mind produces a “disciplined stream of light.” So, once the frequency and amplitude of the brain are rendered coherent it can then synchronize with the rarified energy levels of the universe. With this connection intact, the brain begins to receive symbols and display astonishing flashes of holistic intuition.
The Hemi-Sync technique takes advantage of a Frequency Following Response (FFR). It works like this: an external frequency emulating a recognized one will cause the brain to mimic it. So if a subject hears a frequency at the Theta level, it will shift from its resting Beta level. To achieve these unnatural levels, Hemi-Sync puts a single frequency in the left ear and a contrasting frequency in the right. The brain then experiences the Delta frequency, also known as the beat frequency. It’s more familiarly referred to these days as binaural beats. With the FFR and beat frequency phenomena firmly in place, The Gateway Process introduces a series of frequencies at marginally audible, subliminal levels. With the left brain relaxed and the body in a virtual sleep state, the conditions are ideal to promote brainwave outputs of higher and higher amplitude and frequency. Alongside subliminal suggestions from Bob Monroe (naturally), the subject can then alter their consciousness.
The Gateway system only works when the audio, which is introduced through headphones, is accompanied by a physical quietude comparable to other forms of meditation. This increases the subject’s internal resonance to the body’s sound frequencies, for example the heart. This eliminates the “bifurcation echo”, in which the heartbeat moves up and down the body seven times a second. By placing the body in a sleep-like state, The Gateway CD’s, like meditation, lessen the force and frequency of the heartbeat pushing blood into the aorta. The result is a rhythmic sine wave that in turn amplifies the sound volume of the heart three times. This then amplifies the frequency of brainwave output. The film surrounding the brain—the dura—and fluid between that film and the skull, eventually begin to move up and down, by .0005 and .010 millimeters.
The body, based on its own micro-motions, then functions as a tuned vibrational system. The report claims that the entire body eventually transfers energy at between 6.8 and 7.5 Hertz, which matches Earth’s own energy (7 - 7.5 Hertz). The resulting wavelengths are long, about 40,000 kilometers, which also happens to be the perimeter of the planet. According to Bentov, the signal can move around the world’s electrostatic field in 1/7th of a second.
To recap, the Gateway Process goes like this:
• Induced state of calm
• Blood pressure lowers
• Circulatory system, skeleton and other organ systems begin to vibrate at 7 - 7.5 cycles per second
• Increased resonance is achieved
• The resulting sound waves matches the electrostatic field of the earth
• The body and earth and other similarly tuned minds become a single energy continuum.
We’ve gotten slightly ahead of ourselves here though. Back to the drawing board.
A psycho-quantum level deeper
Wayne then turns to the very nature of matter and energy. More materially (or less if you will), solid matter in the strict construction of the term, he explains, doesn’t exist. The atomic structure is composed of oscillating energy grids surrounded by other oscillating energy grids at tremendous speeds. These oscillation rates vary—the nucleus of an atom vibrates at 10 to the power of 22, a molecule vibrates at 10 to the power of 9, a human cell vibrates at 10 to the power of 3. The point is that the entire universe is one complex system of energy fields. States of matter in this conception then are merely variations in the state of energy.
The result of all these moving energies, bouncing off of energy at rest, projects a 3D mode, a pattern, called a hologram, A.K.A our reality as we experience it. It's best to think of it as a 3D photograph. There’s a whole rabbit hole to go down here. Suffice it to say, the hologram that is our experience is incredibly good at depicting and recording all the various energies bouncing around creating matter. So good, in fact, that we buy into it hook, line, and sinker, going so far as to call it our "life."
Consciousness then can be envisaged as a 3D grid system superimposed over all energy patterns, Wayne writes. Using mathematics, each plane of the grid system can then reduce the data to a 2D form. Our binary (go/no go) minds can then process the data and compare it to other historical data saved in our memory. Our reality is then formed by comparisons. The right hemisphere of the brain acts as the primary matrix or receptor for this holographic input. The left hemisphere then compares it to other data, reducing it to its 2D form.
In keeping with our species' commitment to exceptionalism, as far as we know humans are uniquely capable of achieving this level of consciousness. Simply, humans not only know, but we know that we know. This bestows upon us the ability to duplicate aspects of our own hologram, project them out, perceive that projection, run it through a comparison with our own memory of the hologram, measure the differences using 3D geometry, then run it through our binary system to yield verbal cognition of the self.
The click-out phase
Wayne then shows his cards as a true punisher, issuing, "Up to this point our discussion of the Gateway process has been relatively simple and easy to follow. Now the fun begins." Shots fired, Wayne. What he's preparing the commander reading this heady report for is the reveal—how we can use the Gateway to transcend the dimension of spacetime.
Time is a measurement of energy or force in motion; it is a measurement of change. This is really important. For energy to be classified as in motion, it must be confined within a vibratory pattern that can contain its motion, keeping it still. Energy not contained like this is boundary-less, and moves without limit or dimension, to infinity. This disqualifies boundary-less energy from the dimension of time because it has no rate of change. Energy in infinity, also called "the absolute state," is completely at rest because nothing is accelerating or decelerating it—again, no change. It therefore does not contribute to our hologram, our physical experience. We cannot perceive it.
Now back to frequencies. Wave oscillation occurs because a wave is bouncing between two rigid points of rest. It's like a game of electromagnetic hot potato (the potato being the wave and the participants' hands being the boundaries of the wave). Without these limits, there would be no oscillation. When a wave hits one of those points of rest, just for a very brief instant, it "clicks out" of spacetime and joins infinity. For this to occur, the speed of the oscillation has to drop below 10 the power of -33 centimeters per second. For a moment, the wave enters into a new world. The potato simply disappears into a dimension we cannot perceive.
Theoretically speaking, if the human consciousness wave pattern reaches a high enough frequency, the “click-outs” can reach continuity. Put another way, if the frequency of human consciousness can dip below 10 to the power of 33 centimeters per second but above a state of total rest, it can transcend spacetime. The Gateway experience and associated Hemi-Sync technique is designed for humans to achieve this state and establish a coherent pattern of perception in the newly realized dimensions.
Passport to the hologram
In theory, we can achieve the above at any time. The entire process though is helped along if we can separate the consciousness from our body. It’s like an existential running head start where the click-out of a consciousness already separated from its body starts much closer to, and has more time to dialogue with, other dimensions.
This is where things get a little slippery; hold on as best you can. The universe is in on the whole hologram thing, too, Wayne writes. This super hologram is called a "torus" because it takes the shape of a fuck-off massive self-contained spiral. Like this:
Give yourself a moment to let the above motion sink in...
This pattern of the universe conspicuously mirrors the patterns of electrons around the nucleus of an atom. Galaxies north of our own are moving away from us faster than the galaxies to the south; galaxies to the east and west of us are more distant. The energy that produced the matter that makes up the universe we presently enjoy, will turn back in on itself eventually. Its trajectory is ovoid, also known as the cosmic egg. As it curls back on itself it enters a black hole, goes through a densely packed energy nucleus then gets spat out the other side of a white hole and begins the process again. Springtime in the cosmos, baby!
And that is the context in which the Gateway Experience sits.
[Deep breaths.]
THE TECHNIQUE
The following is an outline of the key steps to reach focus levels necessary to defy the spacetime dimension. This is an involved and lengthy process best attempted in controlled settings. If you’re in a rush, you can apparently listen to enough Monroe Institute Gateway Tapes in 7 days to get there.
The Energy Conversion Box: The Gateway Process begins by teaching the subject to isolate any extraneous concerns using a visualization process called “the energy conversion box.”
Resonant Humming: The individual is introduced to resonant humming. Through the utterance of a protracted single tone, alongside a chorus on the tapes, the mind and body achieve a state of resonance.
The Gateway Affirmation: The participant is exposed to something close to a mantra called The Gateway Affirmation. They must repeat to themselves variations of, “I am merely a physical body and deeply desire to expand my consciousness.”
Hemi-Sync: The individual is finally exposed to the Hemi-Sync sound frequencies, and encouraged to develop a relationship with the feelings that emerge.
Additional Noise: Physical relaxation techniques are practiced while the Hemi-Sync frequencies are expanded to include “pink and white” noise. This puts the body in a state of virtual sleep, while calming the left hemisphere and raising the attentiveness of the right hemisphere.
The Energy Balloon: The individual is then encouraged to visualize the creation of an “energy balloon” beginning at the top of the head, extending down in all directions to the feet then back up again. There are a few reasons for this, the main one being that this balloon will provide protection against conscious entities possessing lower energy levels that he or she may encounter when in the out-of-body state.
Focus 12: The practitioner can consistently achieve sufficient expanded awareness to begin interacting with dimensions beyond their physical reality. To achieve this state requires conscious efforts and more “pink and white noise” from the sound stream.
Tools: Once Focus 12 is achieved, the subject can then employ a series of tools to obtain feedback from alternate dimensions.
Problem Solving: The individual identifies fundamental problems, fills their expanded awareness with them, and then projects them out into the universe. These can include personal difficulties, as well as technical or practical problems.
Patterning: Consciousness is used to achieve desired objectives in the physical, emotional, or intellectual sphere.
Color Breathing: A healing technique that revitalizes the body’s energy flows by imagining colors in a particularly vivid manner.
Energy Bar Tool: This technique involves imagining a small intensely pulsating dot of light that the participant charges up. He or she then uses the sparkling, vibrating cylinder of energy (formerly known as the dot) to channel forces from the universe to heal and revitalize the body.
Remote Viewing: A follow-on technique of the Energy Bar Tool where the dot is turned into a whirling vortex through which the individual sends their imagination in search of illuminating insights.
Living Body Map: A more organized use of the energy bar in which streams of different colors flow from the dot on to correspondingly-colored bodily systems.
Seven days of training have now occurred. Approximately 5 percent of participants get to this next level, according to the report.
Focus 15 - Travel Into the Past: Additional sound on the Hemi-Sync tapes includes more of the same, plus some subliminal suggestions to further expand the consciousness. The instructions are highly symbolic: time is a huge wheel, in which different spokes give access to the participant’s past.
Focus 21 - The Future: This is the last and most advanced state. Like Focus 15, this is a movement out of spacetime into the future.
Out-of-Body Movement: Only one tape of the many is devoted to out-of-body movement. This tape is devoted to facilitating an out-of-body state when the participant’s brain wave patterns and energy levels reach harmony with the surrounding electromagnetic environment. According to Bob Monroe, the participant has to be exposed to Beta signals of around 2877.3 cycles per second.
CONCLUSIONS
Wayne expresses concern about the fidelity of information brought back from out-of-body states using the Gateway technique. Practical applications are of particular concern because of the potential for “information distortion.”
The Monroe Institute also ran into a bunch of issues in which they had individuals travel from the West to the East Coast of the U.S. to read a series of numbers off of a computer screen. They never got them exactly right. Wayne chalks this up to the trouble of differentiating between physical entities and extra-time-space dimensions when in the out-of-body state.
Wayne swings back to support mode though, lending credence to the physics foundation of the report. He cites multiple belief systems that have established identical findings. These include the Tibetan Shoug, the Hindu heaven of Indra, the Hebrew mystical philosophy, and the Christian concept of the Trinity. Here he seems more interested in hammering home the theoretical underpinnings that make The Gateway Experience possible, rather than the practical possibilities promised by The Gateway Tapes.
Possibly with his CIA top brass audience in mind, Wayne then gives an A-type nod to The Gateway Experience for providing a faster, more efficient, less subservient, energy-saving route to expanded consciousness. This finishes with a series of recommendations to the CIA for how to exploit Gateway’s potential for national defense purposes.
The missing page
One curious feature of The Gateway Report is that it seems to be missing page 25. It’s a real cliffhanger too. The bottom of page 24 reads “And, the eternal thought or concept of self which results from this self-consciousness serves the,” The report picks back up on page 26 and 3 sections later as if Wayne hadn’t just revealed the very secret of existence.
The gap has not gone unnoticed. There's a Change.org petition requesting its release. Multiple Freedom of Information Act requests have demanded the same. In all cases, the CIA has said they never had the page to begin with. Here’s a 2019 response from Mark Lilly, the CIA’s Information and Privacy Coordinator, to one Bailey Stoner regarding these records:
One theory goes that that rascal Wayne M.-fricking-McDonnell left the page out on purpose. The theory contends that it was a litmus test—if anyone truly defies time-space dimensions, they’ll certainly be able to locate page 25.
[Cosmic shrug.]
Writing Credit Vice
CIA Declassified Report– The Gateway Experience
Here is a copy of the Missing Page 25
There will be a Gateway Help Post following within the next couple days. Thought you might be interested in a little history in the meantime. Cheers!
2024.05.14 23:22 Jakeultron308 Charon reflects the Nataku Bomb calc
 | Fire Force Episode 17, Charon Reflects some type of bomb or energy that splits clouds and im surprised nobody calced this at all so i thought it'd be fun to do it myself. submitted by Jakeultron308 to FeatCalcing [link] [comments] Clip/Scan 1 As the Clip Above shows everything. but ill only be calcing the Speed, Cloud vaporization and Charon's durability from the explosion below. Because those are the necessary Things to calc here. Scan 2 The clouds here look like cumulus (they look flat) but the cloud type isn't really going to matter that much since the whole Cloud wasn't even close to being Vaporized. Low Cloud Altitude = 2000m/2km 2xTan(70Deg/2)xDistance from POVxObject or anything Size in Pixels/Panel or Frame Height in Pixels (result is diameter in m) 2xTan(70Deg/2)x2000x229/809 = 792.81842398 Diameter: = 792.81842398m Radius: = 396.409212m Height: 172px/595.479340282m Were gonna use the cylinder volume Volume: 293970700.9364m^3 Mass of cumulonimbus Liquid Water Content (g/m3) = 1-3 1 KG/M^3 = 0.001 G/CM^3 or 3000kg m^3 Affected Cloud mass: 8.819121028e+11 KG latent heat of vaporization for water = 2264705 J/kg Energy output: 1.9972707e+18 Joules/ 477.35915392 Megatons of TNT or Mountain level+ now its time to calc the speed then The explosion calc. The Beam decreased its size to that of a mere bullet and travel from ground level to the moons surface in 495 frames Fire force (or atleast the video from youtube in stats for nerds) is in 30FPS 495/30 = 16.5 seconds. now for the distance Scan 3 (Source: Royal Museums Greenwich) From the clip, the Moon looks like its Perigee but we'll calc both distances while also adding the distance of a Low altitude satellite (past the earth's thermosphere) onto the moon distance with the Time (Time/Distance) Distance: 363,271 KM (perigee) Speed: 22016424.2 M/S (Sub-Relativistic++) Distance 2: 405,863 KM (apogee) Speed 2: 24597757.6 M/S (Sub-Relativistic++) Final Speed result: (Sub-Relativistic++) Scan 4 Green line: 77px/29.29773947m (Proof) 0.380490123 m/px Cyan line: 164px/62.40038017m Explosion diameter: 62.40038017m Explosion Radius: 31.20019008m W = R^3x((27136xP+8649)^(1/2)/13568-93/13568)^2 where W is the yield in tons of TNT, R is the radius in meters, and P is the shockwave pressure in bars, where we generally use 1.37895 bars or 20 psi of pressure. For this specific formula, there is no need to divide the result by 2. 31.20019008^3x((27136x1.37895+8649)^(1/2)/13568-93/13568)^2 = 2.44094073379 2.44094073379 Tons of TNT/Large Building level+ Conclusion: The feat is Mountain level+/477.35915392 Megatons of TNT And Charon Has Large Building level+ durability (Far higher since this is Season 1) and attack speed of Sub-Relativistic++. |
2024.05.14 13:25 Zamerel How to find the most efficient ratios of variables in stereometry?
How to prove that all three variables of a rectangular prism should be equal to result with highest volume while maintaining the lowest total field? Or how do you find the most efficient ratios between radius and height in cylinder?
submitted by Zamerel to askmath [link] [comments]
2024.05.14 09:45 Vaeringh Air or broken seal in the brake master cylinder?
 | Hi, submitted by Vaeringh to MechanicAdvice [link] [comments] I just figured that I'd go through with changing the brake fluid on my Saab 9-3 1.8i (Z18XE, 2007) for the first time ever, as far as I know -that means at least five years. The fluid came back ok on my tester, below 1% water content, but still, it's most likely way overdue. So, I did both vacuum pump together with someone pushing the brake pedal, as well as just the brake pedal (which I preferred as you didn't get any phantom air sucked in at the nipple), and did it in the right order and volume four or five times in total. However, during the first of those times, I wrecked one bleed screw as I got fooled by how tight it was (probably just due to rust) and foolishly tightened it with the same leverage, and had to change the entire caliper, followed by four new bleeding procedures. The last two with the ignition on (not engine running), because I read on the Saab forums that that'd allow one to get air out of the ABS as well (found no other source for that, and nothing about it in the WIS). The only problem is that when I wrecked the bleed screw, of course fluid leaked out. In the end, the reservoir ran empty. No idea if the master cylinder also got empty, but that doesn't seem unlikely... But actually, I always had the reservoir cap on when the leakage happened, and IIRC there wasn't that much leakage, only when the pedal was depressed, so perhaps it never got that far since the atmosphere couldn't gravity bleed the brake line with the cap on? Now, no bubbles are coming out anymore, and I still feel that the pedal is rock solid with the engine off. Turning the engine on, it sinks of course, and gives some resistance but if you just keep pressure on it, it slowly sinks down, probably all the way. After the brakes have stopped the car, you can also easily push the pedal a bit further and then slowly the rest of the way, as demonstrated in the video. I've read that Saabs with turbo usually have a vacuum pump which makes the servo very powerful, and then it might be normal with a pedal sinking far when stopped, but I don't recognize this behavior at all, so I'm pretty sure this is out of the ordinary. The brake certainly still stops the car however. I haven't driven at high speeds, but I tried speeding up very briefly on the lawn to let's say 10 km/h (6 mph) and braking and it stops fine. The brakes bite with just light toe pressure, but after that I can easily push the pedal quite a bit further and then slowly even further. I heard that you might wreck the seals in the master cylinder by pushing the brake pedal too far while bleeding. That might definitely have happened, I have pushed it pretty far while not bleeding as well. So this problem is likely either an internal leak or air trapped in the master cylinder, right? Is it possible to tell which? The brake pedal wouldn't get back up if it was a stuck caliper etc. right? What should I do, just siphon out as much liquid as I can from the reservoir, put a catch can underneath and unhook the hoses from the master cylinder, put some hoses up to the reservoir and do a bench bleed while it's still in there? Or, this is a very lazy method I haven't seen anywhere else, but Scotty Kilmer just loosens the brake lines from the master cylinder a bit and then just apparently gets the air out with no hose routing needed, just basically the same principle as bleeding the calipers by pushing the pedal, but now pretending that the brake hoses are bleeding nipples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz4OwuUGVOA https://reddit.com/link/1crmjz5/video/ofxd5cuuic0d1/player |
2024.05.14 03:34 MoriartyMoose What can be done to deal with volume changes between apps?
A major frustration point in our family is the difference in volume between the varying apps.
If I go between different apps, I have.l to sometimes double or halve the volume, which I can deal with myself but my two kids don’t care and I’m always complaining to them to turn it down and they are whining back that it’s at x-number like I asked. Short of printing out t some kind of bizarre volume rule worksheet, is there anything that can be done to standardize the volume across apps?
Let’s say Netflix is a 10, I need to change Hulu to like 30, HBO to like 45. Disney around 15. Paramount to 25. YouTube at about 15. AppleTV+ is about 30.
submitted by MoriartyMoose to appletv [link] [comments]
If I go between different apps, I have.l to sometimes double or halve the volume, which I can deal with myself but my two kids don’t care and I’m always complaining to them to turn it down and they are whining back that it’s at x-number like I asked. Short of printing out t some kind of bizarre volume rule worksheet, is there anything that can be done to standardize the volume across apps?
Let’s say Netflix is a 10, I need to change Hulu to like 30, HBO to like 45. Disney around 15. Paramount to 25. YouTube at about 15. AppleTV+ is about 30.
2024.05.13 23:24 Grouchy_Carpenter489 Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP: It is time to forget about standard Excel sheets and take an enhanced data upload tool
 | A Time to Forget About Ordinary Excel Sheets and Take an Enhanced Data Upload Tool submitted by Grouchy_Carpenter489 to u/Grouchy_Carpenter489 [link] [comments] Thousands of users worldwide of Oracle Fusion ERP use ADFdi and FBDI for data loading or data management generally. Excel has some great features that help to streamline data analysis. There is no argument that Excel is a highly functional tool for organizational data management. Ordinary Microsoft Excel spreadsheets have many limitations regarding data loading to Oracle Fusion Cloud. Excel is great for simple ad hoc calculations, but it needs connectivity features to automate and document its contents, making its use prone to error. Manually keying in data in Oracle Cloud from Excel worksheets or copy-pasting is a slow, time-consuming process that is bound to reduce employee productivity. Accuracy is also compromised, and inaccurate data can cost an organization millions in revenue. Excel needs more automation, so if you handle large volumes of data, there may be a better tool for you. Furthermore, data security is not assured since Excel does not have encryption features. The standard Oracle tools (ADFdi and FBDI) are rigid in nature; the user cannot move columns around or even easily paste data from another sheet to ADFdi or FBDI. The error reporting and resolution cycle is too cumbersome and needs specialized technical knowledge. Why do people still use Excel sheets for data management? ● It’s cheaper For a team that doesn't care about automation, why bother spending on something more costly if they can get away with something that stores data tables? Considering its limitations, is it worth it in the long-run cost? ● Easy-to-use Excel is easy to use. It is one of the basic Microsoft Office tools that most people learn to use in basic computer interactions. Because they are already familiar with it, most people find Excel easy to use and often prefer to do so than learn new about new tools. ● Limited knowledge of what’s available Some people are just stuck in their routines. They need help staying current on the newest software available on the market. If the leadership of a team or members does not take the initiative to look around and find out what the market has to offer, they will be stuck with Excel and its attendant costs when others are enjoying the benefits of more advanced tools. ● Poor experience with some project management software Choosing a data loading tool to suit your data loading needs is a task that should be taken seriously. Many data-loading teams that used Excel have been turned off by their previous experience with data-loading tools. Some tools are cumbersome and difficult to use, others are code intensive and not suitable for most end users, and some may need more features you are looking for. The poor experience is a result of poor customization. Suppose you had a tool that allowed you to use the easy-to-use and familiar Excel worksheet while providing you with advanced specialized features for loading data into the cloud. Wouldn’t that be great? How to make Excel work with advanced tools Working with Excel in data loading does not have to be a slow and cumbersome process that does not ensure the accuracy or security of your data. You can harness the power of Excel and still enjoy using advanced data-loading tools. More4Apps and Simplified Loader are Excel-based data-loading to consider. More4Apps More4Apps is an Excel-based data-loading tool that allows businesses to integrate familiar Excel spreadsheets with Oracle EBS and Oracle Fusion. Its tools work within the familiar interface of Microsoft Excel, leveraging the many features of Excel to facilitate data loading. Training is optional since Excel is the main interface, and end-users are familiar with it. Unlike ordinary Excel spreadsheets, which are limited in scalability, More4Apps empowers data owners to carry out mass data uploads and updates. A plugin must be installed on a PC before you can use More4Apps. The IT Helpdesk needs to be involved in installing the plugin, so only specific PCs can be used. More4Apps sends and receives data from the server hosted by More4Apps. Considering data security, allowing data transfers to a third-party server without ensuring the details are transferred is risky. Robust testing is required with every release of More4Apps update to ensure your data is transferred to a safe place. The IT Security department needs to get involved in verifying the third-party server and plugin. Simplified Loader ~Simplified Loader~ is an Excel-based tool designed explicitly for uploading or downloading data to and from Oracle Fusion Cloud. The Simplified Loader template is easy to use. It includes a toolbar that contains operations specific to the template. The output of any operation is displayed in the Excel template's Load Status and Error Message fields. Simplified Loader Excel files upload or download data from Oracle Fusion Cloud. Simplified Loader’s Excel templates are used either for mass data loads, for example, data migration, or everyday data loading activities in Oracle Cloud. Simplified Loader ensures your data’s security by routing data from the Excel template directly to Oracle Cloud without a third-party server. The Simplified Loader template doesn’t need plugin installation and runs using Macros, similar to how other Oracle Cloud tools interact with Oracle. Which template should you choose? User convenience - Both More4Apps and Simplified Loader provide features that enhance user experience. Most UX features are similar in both products. Since they use Microsoft Excel, additional training is rarely necessary. More4Apps provides a form to input data that is not in the tabular format. Whereas the Simplified Loader provides a single unified sheet to enter data, the same sheet is used to invoke the list of values. Both tools allow you to insert custom columns, hide or delete columns you don't need, and insert formulas you may need for data analysis. You can also analyze or validate data before uploading it. Data Security - Oracle Fusion only allows interaction through APIs. Both More4Apps and Simplified Loader use APIs to interact with Oracle, so the security protocols are the same in both toolsets. More4Apps uses an external system to manage licenses. From the IT point of view, in a highly data-sensitive environment, the IT has to open additional ports to interact with the More4Apps servers to validate licenses. In terms of data security, both toolsets have the same features. License Management - This topic is considerably different in More4Apps and Simplified Loader. More4Apps restricts the number of times an administrator can update users licensed to use the Simplified Loader template, whereas, in Simplified Loader, the Administrator has full control over maintaining the users licensed to use the Simplified Loader templates. Support—Both organizations offer excellent support to users who log defects using the support system. Simplified Loader has a vast library of short videos demonstrating product features and functionalities. More4Apps has recently adopted the approach of video tutorials. Plugin installation - This is a key difference between the two templates. The More4Apps template requires an additional plugin installed on the user's machine. The user will always see an additional toolbar in Excel when working on any Excel document. The user always has to use the PC where the plugin is installed. In comparison, the Simplified Loader Excel doesn’t need any plugin installation on the user’s machine. When the user opens the Simplified Loader file, the Simplified Loader toolbar appears. Users won’t see the additional toolbar when they open any other Excel file. Using Excel parallelly: When using either toolset, Excel cannot be used for any other purposes. The user has to wait until the data is loaded to Oracle. Pricing: Both toolsets offer per-user licensing. More4Apps offers licenses per user by module, whereas Simplified Loader offers licenses per user by Template. License management at the template level gives the administrator higher control to assign the right user to the right template, resulting in purchasing the right number of licenses per user. The More4Apps licenses are considerably higher (more than 5x) than the Simplified Loader licenses. Conclusion Using ordinary Excel spreadsheets for data loading may not be very effective. Excel may have shortcomings, but you can use it efficiently with advanced data-loading tools to get the best of both applications. Both More4Apps and Simplified Loader provide similar features for loading data in Oracle. Both are advanced data-loading tools that make your experience more pleasant and effective. Simplified Loader is more handy as it does not need plugin installation, and the user doesn’t need any involvement from IT to install the plug-in. |
2024.05.13 20:09 DeadInside1o1 Tracking the location from a sequence of 3D locations obtained from Positron Emission Tomography data.
 | Hey All! submitted by DeadInside1o1 to learnmachinelearning [link] [comments] I'm working on a rather complex problem and have been for a considerable amount of time. A year more or less. The data that I'm working with comes from a rather simple simulator that generates pairs of points on a cylinders wall (excluding the top and bottom). The pair of points defined by 2 3D locations that make up what we call a line-of-response (LOR) in the land of medical imaging. These lines intersect a very small volume (dependant of the particle that is placed in the PET scanner). Now there are algorithms out there that can find the location of these lines but I'm trying to build a neural network that can do this. The current start of the art method is using PEPT-ML (unsupervised machine learning). It does this by separating the total number of LORs into chunks of some size we can call N. It then computes the smallest connecting line. If this line is less than some user defined constant, we can call this MD (maximum distance), the centroid of this connecting line is then saved. These centroids are then passed into HDBSCAN which then computes clusters with the help of another parameter called TF (true_fraction) which is the ratio of inliers to outliers. You can then easily remove the noise that HDBSCAN identified and compute the mean of the remaining points in the cluster to find the location. What I'm trying to do is remove the hassle of having to deal with and optimise all these hyperparameters. I've decided to create a neural network that can find the location within a sample. So I've tried many approaches such as a FFN, transformer encoder and lastly is the recurrent networks. The current network architecture is displayed below and currently provided the best minimum L2 loss . The network hyperparameters are input_dim = 6 (The 2 3D interaction locations), output_dim = 3 (the output location), num_layers = 4 (any larger doesn't work), hidden_dim = 256 (again any larger doesn't work). class TransformerEncoder(nn.Module): def __init__(self, input_dim, output_dim, num_layers, nhead, hidden_dim): super(TransformerEncoder, self).__init__() self.rnn = nn.LSTM(input_size = input_dim, hidden_size = hidden_dim, num_layers = num_layers, batch_first = True, dropout = 0.1, bidirectional = False, ) self.hidden_dim = hidden_dim self.fc1 = nn.Linear(hidden_dim, output_dim) self.tanh = nn.Tanh() def forward(self, x): x, _ = self.rnn(x) x = x[:, -1, :].view(-1, 1, self.hidden_dim) x = self.fc1(x) x = self.tanh(x) return xThe batch size being used is 1024 if that's relevant? Larger batch sizes tend to train a lot slower and with the amount of training data (1_000_000) and validation data (100_000) it already takes some time. I'd prefer if it doesn't take any longer to train. I have uploaded the training and validation data to onedrive if anyone want's to have a look. Here is the link. Anyone should be able to get the data if they so wish. You should also find the script that is used for training. The preprocessing of the data was performed by scaling the (x1, y1, z1, x2, y2, z2) between -1 and 1. This was applied to all pairs of interactions/LORs. It should be noted that The (N, M, 6) array was converted to a (2*N*M, 3) array first and then the scaling was applied and afterwards was converted back to a (N, M, 6) array. N denotes the amount of different samples of LORs, M denotes the number of sequences. This was done so that the targets can be scaled as well. Also this allows for unscaling of predictions during testing. The scaling step is shown here: N = 1_000_000 trainInputs = np.load(trainInputPath)[0:N] trainTargets = np.load(trainTargetPath)[0:N] print("Done loading in training data ...\n") # load test input and target data print("Load in test data ...") N = 100_000 testInputs = np.load(testInputPath)[0:N] testTargets = np.load(testTargetPath)[0:N] print("Done loading in test data ...\n") # transform data print("transforming data ...") inputScaler1 = MinMaxScaler(feature_range = (-1, 1)) train_inputs_scaled = inputScaler1.fit_transform(trainInputs.reshape(-1, 3)) train_inputs_scaled = train_inputs_scaled.reshape(-1, 100, 6) test_inputs_scaled = inputScaler1.transform(testInputs.reshape(-1, 3)) test_inputs_scaled = test_inputs_scaled.reshape(-1, 100, 6) train_targets_scaled = inputScaler1.transform(trainTargets.reshape(-1, 3)) train_targets_scaled = train_targets_scaled.reshape(-1, 1, 3) test_targets_scaled = inputScaler1.transform(testTargets.reshape(-1, 3)) test_targets_scaled = test_targets_scaled.reshape(-1, 1, 3) print("Done transforming data ...\n") The loss looks as follows. Weird spikes. No idea what causes that. Also no idea why the validation loss is lower than the training loss. I don't think that's an issue?https://preview.redd.it/zejyaj73i80d1.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=a13657a53b0e5f6175994d556f5f44279c6d3b55 The issue with this approach is that although the validation loss is considerably small it is still not good enough. A good way of thinking about this loss is that 0.1 loss is more or less equal to 10k mm error. 0.01 loss = 1k mm error. 0.001 loss = 100 mm error. 1e-4 loss = 10 mm error and so on. I think I need a loss of 10^(-8) or something. The complete training script is also in the Onedrive link as mentioned before. Here's an example of tracking versus the PEPT-ML tracker. The PEPT-ML tracker is significantly more smooth and stable. https://preview.redd.it/g3spwvw5i80d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=515800267a7b508f3632dd4fc37aab9d83703980 Each of the scatter points are from the neural network being used to output a location from the sequence of LORs. It's really odd that the Z dimension is perfectly fine and more than acceptable but X and Y are well not great. I know there's a symmetry in X and Y but would that cause an issue? The geometry of the cylinder is shown below. https://preview.redd.it/4qszacy6i80d1.png?width=2063&format=png&auto=webp&s=fe59b6c22795db934819f0fbf43df42f6fc6fee6 Any help is greatly appreciated! |
2024.05.13 20:08 DirtyWaterDaddyMack Talking Shop - Sludge Volume Index
 | If you recognize this format, yes it’s me – let’s keep the personal identifiers to a minimum please. submitted by DirtyWaterDaddyMack to Wastewater [link] [comments] TODAY’S TOPIC: ~SVI~ Sit back and relax with your favorite sample jug and let’s chat about SVI. The last couple messages have been in relation to settling where we discussed Stokes’ Law, bulking vs. rising sludge, and clarifier parameters. We usually don’t sit around punching numbers on our abacuses (that’s not a thing anyway) to figure out our DT or SLR every hour of the day. On our rounds, we’re hopefully not seeing the extremes of bulking sludge or rising sludge either. What I’m trying to get at is more along the lines of how we fine tune our well-running process when things slightly change… Enter in the Sludge Volume Index (SVI). The secret in remembering what SVI really represents is in the word INDEX. Just as a person’s BMI is an index, our index will measure our settleability in relation to our MLSS concentration. Refresh on the settleometer:
https://preview.redd.it/g8irvggnf80d1.png?width=624&format=png&auto=webp&s=9ff9fc583e9856298cd10ab31091e80841d03831 Back to “Plant A” and “Plant B” – let’s say they both fall into the “just right” settling observation, just with different final SSV30 values (200 vs. 300). To help make a judgement, you’ll need to factor in MLSS to calculate the SVI. If “Plant A” has an MLSS of 2,000 ppm and “Plant B” has 3,000 ppm, it turns out they both have the same SVI and are probably running pretty well. The formula for SVI is: SVI = (SSV30) * 1,000 ÷ MLSS Take a look at this Sludge Volume Index sheet for some explanations on how SVI works. “Plant A” SVI = 200 * 1,000 ÷ 2,000 = 100 “Plant B” SVI = 300 * 1,000 ÷ 3,000 = 100 The perfect world SVI = 100. There are various sources that say 50-150, 80-120, 100-300, etc, but to understand how perfect 100 fits comes from understanding density (see the linked spreadsheet above). Let’s stick with “Plant A” running an MLSS of 2,000 ppm. If their SSV30 triples to 600, settleability is way worse with a deeeep blanket. If we use the formula again, we now calculate SVI at 300. For every gram of solids, there is more space (volume) being occupied – more milliliters. It’s possible our specific gravity changed, but it would have to be cut to 1/3rd of what it usually is. Maybe we just have larger bugs, less compaction, waaay too many bugs, or some combination. This could be from young age, old age, the wrong kind of bugs, or maybe a hydraulic issue. We’re in the business of conserving space, so a minimal SVI is best for allowing more sludge to settle as it flows into the clarifier. However, if SVI is minimal, it might mean the sludge is grainy and able to compact easier which may indicate old sludge, aged like a fine wine. Possibly fermenting like a fine wine, too. Maybe to the point that we see rising sludge. Maximum SVI would indicate space is becoming occupied, thus reducing clarifier capacity and possibly resulting in bulking sludge. At a quick glance, the BMI analogy works here where a high number is undesirable. Less popular, but we also don’t want a number too low either. We want a middle-of-the-road “happy zone”. We can loosely associate SVI with age (high = young), but as usual, there are other factors to consider. Aeration rates (filamentous anyone?), sheer volume of sludge, or the ever-confusing impact of RAS rates (mass balance) will impact SVI in the clarifier, settleometer, or both. Here’s a graphic that shows how an SVI increase could mean young sludge OR excess (old). Tracking the SVI and comparing it to blanket depth, RAS rates, MCRT, etc will help us fine tune the plant as things change. It may lead to a decision to change AIR, RAS, or WAS (one at a time, please). It’ll also help us with future troubleshooting when we need to answer the question of “Is this a system problem, or a clarifier problem?” Go put that sample jug to use! PRACTICE QUESTIONS: Previous answers: A. Filamentous settles poorly, so decrease SLR to allow more opportunity to settle. C. Denitrification causes rising sludge. C. Organic settleable solids have a lot of bound water in their mass, so they’re more buoyant with a specific gravity being closer to 1.0.
Talking Shop - Interest? Talking Shop - Getting Started Talking Shop - Testing Talking Shop - Settling (Part 1) Talking Shop - Settling (Part 2) Link to Google Drive: Wastewater Info BTW – Did you hear about the bug that dropped out of the school’s WWTP? It was a bit dense. |
2024.05.13 09:47 schoolequipment2 Lab Glassware Lab Equipment Manufacturers, Suppliers and Exporters in India
 | Are you looking for the best lab equipment manufacturer in India for your biology classes? Look no further than School Equipment India! We make top-quality lab gear tailored for schools. Our products are designed to make learning biology easy and fun. With our equipment, students can do hands-on experiments to understand biology concepts better. Trust School Equipment India for all your biology lab needs! submitted by schoolequipment2 to u/schoolequipment2 [link] [comments] Lab Glassware Lab Equipment An Entire List of Lab Glassware Lab Equipment and How to Use Them 1. Beaker:
Beaker 2. Measuring Cylinder:
Measuring Cylinder 3. Rack, drying DBS cards:
Rack, drying DBS cards 4. Drying Slide Rack:
Drying Slide Rack 5. Drying Rack Wall Mount:
Drying Rack Wall Mount |
2024.05.13 07:24 DirtDiscombobulated9 Incorrect Review
 | https://preview.redd.it/jjkt32oqp40d1.png?width=1218&format=png&auto=webp&s=22aba9039c0e9b7639ea02ea158922f706621696 submitted by DirtDiscombobulated9 to OfficialPopulii [link] [comments] How did this reviewer become a reviewer? |
2024.05.12 20:25 Shankyyy1102 Perspective Drawing
- Understand the Basics of Perspective:
- Learn about the three main types of perspective: one-point, two-point, and three-point perspective.
- Understand the concept of vanishing points and how they relate to the viewer's line of sight.
- Study how objects appear smaller as they recede into the distance, known as foreshortening.
- Practice Basic Techniques:
- Start by drawing simple shapes and objects in one-point perspective, such as cubes, cylinders, and boxes.
- Gradually progress to two-point perspective, practicing drawing more complex objects like buildings and interiors.
- Learn the Rules of Composition:
- Understand the rule of thirds and how to use it to create balanced compositions.
- Study principles of scale, proportion, and symmetry to create drawings.
- Study Reference Material:
- Analyze photographs and real-life scenes to observe how perspective works in different contexts.
- Look at artwork by master artists to see how they use perspective to create depth and realism.
- Experiment with Different Techniques:
- Practice using various drawing tools and materials, such as pencils, pens, markers, and digital drawing software.
- Explore techniques like hatching, cross-hatching, and shading to add depth and volume to your drawings.
- Develop Observation Skills:
- Train yourself to observe the world around you more critically, paying attention to how objects appear in space.
- Practice drawing from life to improve your ability to capture perspective accurately.
- Practice Consistently:
- Set aside dedicated time each day or week to practice perspective drawing.
- Be patient and persistent, understanding that mastering perspective takes time and effort.
2024.05.12 12:54 Kiri_yuri Blake and Weiss' fight scenes were the ones that got butchered the most in volume 4 and above. I miss how graceful and badass Weiss' fighting style was.
 | submitted by Kiri_yuri to RWBYcritics [link] [comments] |
2024.05.12 05:36 Particular_Lie_7995 I need serious help
I genuinely cannot understand what is going on with my car. I bought the part that is shown in the picture and I installed it(check engine is still on) and now when i start the car it starts to rev real high to warm it's self up. I have the video to prove it. Please assist me
submitted by Particular_Lie_7995 to car [link] [comments]
2024.05.11 18:29 Inevitable_Skill_707 Gas laws are dealt inside physics too
A spherical balloon of 21 cm diameter is to be filled up with hydrogen at NTP from a cylinder containing the gas at 20 atmospheres at 27°C. If the cylinder can hold 2.82 L of water, calculate the number of balloons that can be filled up.
Someone please explain me about this question I have been trying to understand it for 2 months now still no idea
I got many solutions in net but I don't know why they are subtracting the final volume with 2.82 L like it says it can hold but it isn't holding so How is it correct
submitted by Inevitable_Skill_707 to AskPhysics [link] [comments]
Someone please explain me about this question I have been trying to understand it for 2 months now still no idea
I got many solutions in net but I don't know why they are subtracting the final volume with 2.82 L like it says it can hold but it isn't holding so How is it correct
2024.05.11 13:03 OriginalPapaya8 These are the Ford Corcel, Belina, Del Rey and Pampa. Four cars made in Brazil by Ford with a very rich and somewhat weird history that involves Brazil, the USA and France. Long post ahead.
 | THE BEGINNING: The Corcel is a medium-sized automobile produced by Ford in Brazil, from 1968 to 1986. Willys Overland do Brasil in a partnership with Renault were involved in a project for a new passenger car, a project that became known at the time as "Project M" which years later, in France became the Renault 12 and in Brazil gave rise to the Ford Corcel, due to the purchase of Willys Overland do Brasil by Ford in 1967, with this, all Willys do Brasil projects and vehicles are now controlled by Ford. "Project M" "Project M", now managed by Ford, is now called Ford Corcel and thanks to Ford, the vehicle project undergoes a series of improvements to adapt to the terrible driving conditions in Brazil. submitted by OriginalPapaya8 to WeirdWheels [link] [comments] MY SOURCE: https://youtube.com/@reliquiaautomotiva?si=YYP8QXAkG2-537Z0 THE ENGINES AND OTHER THINGS: ·1.3 RENAULT ENGINE (1968): Under the hood, the Corcel was equipped with a 1300 cc four-cylinder Renault engine. This engine developed 68 hp and 9.8 kg/m or 6.58 lb/ft of torque. This power, combined with the weight of 945 kg or 2083 pounds, allowed the car to go from 0 - 100 km/h or 0 - 62 mph in 23 seconds and reach a top speed of 129 km/h or 80.15 mph. One thing that was highly praised about the car was its consumption, averaging 10 km/l or 23.5 mpg in the city and 13.4 km/l or 31.5 mpg on the highway. The Ford Corcel had good safety by Brazilian standards at that time, the car had things like the split steering column, allowing it to deform and not hurt the driver too much in a crash, the hood opening forward, making that, even if the driver leaves it open, the force of the wind will not allow it to open and block the driver's view, the brakes, which were already efficient, could be improved with the optional disc brakes instead of drums, the Corcel also came with a sealed cooling circuit, being the first Brazilian car to feature this feature. ·IMPROVED 1.3 RENAULT ENGINE (1969 - 1971 CORCEL GT): Under the hood, the 1969 Corcel GT's engine was still the same 1.3 from Renault, but certain improvements to the package increased power to 80 hp and torque to 10 kg/m or 6.71 lb/ft. With this power, the Corcel GT did 0 - 100 km/h or 0 - 62 mph in 20 seconds and reached a top speed of 138 km/h or 85.7 mph. ·1.4 RENAULT GT-XP ENGINE (1972 CORCEL GT-XP): The engine, still of Renault origin, now has 1400 cc and has several improvements that made it develop 85 hp and 11.6 kg/m or 7.79 lb/ft of torque. This made the Corcel GT-XP go from 0 - 100 km/h or 0 - 62 mph in 16.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 144 km/h or 89.4 mph. ·1.4 RENAULT ENGINE (1973 CORCEL): Another new feature was the 1.4 engine with 75 hp and 11.6 kg/m or 7.79 lb/ft, which became standard for all versions. ·MODIFIED 1.4 RENAULT ENGINE (1978 CORCEL II): The Corcel II was equipped with the same 1.4 Renault engine as the first generation Corcel, but with power reduced to 72 hp. With these modifications, the new Corcel II accelerated from 0 - 100 km/h or 0 - 62 mph in 17.2 seconds and reached a top speed of 150 km/h or 93.2 mph. The Corcel II averaged 8.5 km/l or 19.9 mpg in the city and up to 13 km/l or 30.5 mpg on the highway. ·1.6 ENGINE AND 5-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION (CORCEL II GT 1979): The 1.6 engine and 5-speed manual transmission become standard in this version. This engine developed 90 hp and 13 kg/m or 8.73 lb/ft of torque. This engine combined with the new 5-speed gearbox made the Corcel II GT accelerate from 0 - 100 km/s or 0 - 62 mph in 15.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 151 km/h or 93.8 mph. DESIGN / FACELIFTS / NEW GENERATIONS; ·FIRST DESIGN (1968): The Ford Corcel stood out on its debut for presenting a beautiful appearance, made up of straight lines, with emphasis on its front, which was marked by creases on the hood and by the chrome grille with horizontal friezes, highlighting the raised central part so that could follow the creases of the hood, the circular headlights were accompanied by the driving lights located at the bottom of the grille. Below the assembly was the chrome bumper with the space for the license plate in the center. On its side, the look is marked by the charm of the four-door sedan body and the crease that runs along the entire side of the car, the 13-inch wheels were accompanied by chrome hubcaps. At the rear, the highlight is the rectangular-shaped taillights and the chrome bumper. Another highly praised detail of its design was the large glass area, which favored visibility in all directions. ·FIRST FACELIFT (1971): In 1971, the Corcel received its first restyling, with a new grille with horizontal and vertical friezes and a new emblem in the center, the driving lights are now located below the bumper, and at the rear the only new feature is the four square-shaped taillights, two on each side. SECOND FACELIFT (1973): In 1973, the Corcel underwent a new facelift, this time much deeper and concentrated mainly on the front of the car, it gained a new hood, with a more aerodynamic design, in addition to a new grille with vertical friezes, a new emblem in the center and new headlight frames, the license plate left the bumper and began to be positioned below it, while the driving lights gained a new design, at the rear the lanterns gained a new design, having a rectangular shape and having reverse lights integrated with them. Inside the car, the only new feature is the dashboard which, regardless of the version, was only offered in a matte black colour. ·THIRD FACELIFT (1975): For the year 1975, the Corcel received a new facelift, with a lower hood that had the logo at the center and the Ford name on the right, a new grille, now made of plastic with horizontal stripes, new hubcaps, split tail lights and an gauge cluster with square dials. ·THE NEW GENERATION FORD CORCEL II (1977): The new second generation Corcel arrived with a beautiful look that followed the trend of the time, made up of straight lines and a two-door body with a fastback style rear, in addition, it is also worth highlighting the new look of its front, made up of headlights rectangular and new driving lights located at the ends next to the headlights, in the center the new engine cooling grille was painted in black and had the Ford logo in the center, but the main highlight of this new grille came from the aerodynamic design. of its horizontal blades, which provided a more intense air flow even at lower speeds, while the bumper, depending on the version, could be painted black or chrome. This new generation lost the option of a four-door body due to the fact that at that time, Brazilians only preferred cars with two doors, but to facilitate access when getting in or out of the vehicle, the most efficient solution was to adopt huge doors, which helped even the rear seat occupants. The main highlight at the rear of this sedan is the smooth fit of the C column, which went all the way to the trunk lid, while the license plate came out of the bumper and is positioned between the rear lights, which have a cleaner, more rectangular design. Inside, the new Corcel was more luxurious and sophisticated, featuring a fully carpeted interior and reclining front seats. The new panel was marked by a beautiful look that followed the trend of the time. Made entirely of plastic and with details such as a radio in the center and two rectangular ventilation outlets at the ends. The instrument panel had information in three circular markers, the first with a speedometer, the second, in the center, with an analog clock and the third with a fuel level marker and warning lights. ·1979 TWEAKS: In 1979 the car was slightly modified, gaining new transparent front lights and new rear lights with a beaded design in addition to a new four-spoke steering wheel for the LDO version. In addition to new options such as 5-speed gearbox, headlight washers and a new 1.6 engine. ·1980 TWEAKS: In 1980, the Ford Corcel II received new bumpers with plastic tips, a coolant temperature marker and options such as radial tires, three-point seat belts and a smoked sunroof, while the GT version gets a red trim next to the black paintwork. 1982: In 1982, the Corcel II line received improvements to the gearbox and suspension, in addition to a new central console with digital clock and air conditioning, which was only offered as an option. 1984: In 1984 the Ford Corcel II received new headrests and a new two-spoke steering wheel. VARIANTS; ·CORCEL TWO DOOR COUPE (1969): The Corcel began to be a great success, and because of this Ford decided to expand the options in 1969, and the first of them was the two-door coupé version, standing out for its sportier look, thanks to the look of the rear side with lines reminiscent of muscle cars and the rear part of the roof that had a smooth slope to the height of the trunk. Another reason why this version was highly acclaimed was the fact that at that time Brazilians had a great preference for cars with just two doors. TRIM LEVELS; ·CORCEL STANDARD: Initially the Ford Corcel was only available in the most basic version, called Standard. It had a simple but well-finished interior, with emphasis on the internal space, enough to seat 5 people in relative comfort, thanks to the one-piece seats and good wheelbase. The dashboard also had a simple design, with a glove box, ashtray and radio. The gauge cluster only had the essentials for the time, that is: fuel level gauge, speedometer, engine temperature gauge and warning lights. The huge steering wheel has two spokes, and the transmission was a four-speed manual with a lever on the floor. ·CORCEL LUXO (1969): In 1969 the luxury version of the Corcel was released. It had a more sophisticated finish, with details such as trims, various chrome parts, new interior linings, individual front seats with reclining backrests and a panel with new details such as a padded upper part and applications that imitate rosewood. ·CORCEL GT (1969): Launched in 1969 and aimed at a younger audience, the Corcel GT was only available in a two-door coupe version. It had details such as a vinyl roof with the GT logo on the C-pillar, stripes on the sides, black paint on the hood and rear, fog lights, and claws with a rubberized finish on the bumpers. Inside, the GT version featured a new three-spoke sports steering wheel, forced ventilation with two speeds and a complete gauge cluster with: speedometer, rev counter, oil level gauge, fuel level gauge, engine temperature gauge and a voltmeter for the battery. ·CORCEL GT (1971 FACELIFT): The GT version also received a facelift to accompany the others, with high beam headlights embedded in the grille, the grille was even painted in black and had the GT emblem in the center, the hood was also painted matte black and had a fake air vent in the center. ·CORCEL GT-XP (1972): In 1972, the Corcel GT gained a new name and more improvements, such as new wheels with a sporty design, new side stripes, while the markers, previously located in the central part of the panel, were now grouped together on the new central console. ·CORCEL GT-XP (1973): The Corcel GT-XP brought new visual features such as new rectangular headlights integrated into the grille, new side stripes, and two stripes on the hood, similar to those of the Ford Mustang. ·CORCEL LDO (1975): In 1975 was the even more luxurious version called LDO and stood out for presenting a more sophisticated finish, with a vinyl roof, chrome trim on the wheel arches, painted filets on the sides and the same sports wheels as the GT-XP version but without the black paintwork. Inside, it gained new interior linings, dashboard and seats in brown and beige and an exclusive steering wheel. ·CORCEL GT-XP (1975): The Corcel GT-XP only received aesthetic updates, such as new stripes on the sides and hood and new exterior mirrors. ·CORCEL II STANDARD (1978): This version of the Corcel II came without side moldings, had bumpers painted black and came with wheels that had a closed central core. ·CORCEL II L (1978): The intermediate version featured moldings in the middle of the side, chrome bumpers, wheels with a red central core or a crown design in the center. ·CORCEL II LDO (1978): The luxurious LDO version was equipped with chrome bumpers that had rubberized details, moldings at the bottom of the side and new wheels also with a red central core and a silver crown design in the center. The LDO version brought the charm of a monochromatic leather interior with applications that imitated rosewood. ·CORCEL II GT (1978): The new Corcel II GT had a look marked by black paint on the upper part of the body up to the C column, which was surrounded by fillets in yellow and red, black wheels with chrome over rims and high-flying headlights located below the bumper. Inside, the new features are the new three-spoke sports steering wheel, the rev counter on the instrument panel, and the new instrumentation on the central console, which included the oil level marker and the battery voltmeter. The engine was not changed, continuing with the same 72 hp as the other versions. ·CORCEL II GT (1979): This year the GT version undergoes improvements, such as new black stripes located on the lower part of the body, stiffer suspension and black bumpers. ·CORCEL II HOBBY (1980): It was in 1980 that the new version, called Corcel II Hobby, was launched. Aimed at a younger audience, the Hobby version stood out for its cooler look, marked by the bodywork without chrome details and the black wheels with chrome rims. Inside, this version featured red and black trim, the sports steering wheel of the GT version and an instrument panel with a silver finish. ·CORCEL II OS CAMPEÕES SPECIAL SERIES (1982): This special series featured details such as black paint with gold details, gold wheels, fog lights, black leather and black velvet interior, instrument panel with rev counter, digital clock on the center console, five-speed gearbox and options such as a sunroof, radio cassette player and air conditioning. THE FORD DEL REY: The Del Rey was a Ford luxury sedan launched in the early 1980s and discontinued ten years later, having been replaced by the Versailles. It is a medium sedan, with three well-defined volumes, a choice of two or four doors and robust engines. The model was derived from the Corcel and in its line there was also the station wagon version, called Del Rey Scala and the Pampa pickup truck. ·BEFORE LAUNCH: Ford had a big problem to face in the late 1970s. With the new decade, Ford began to remodel its cars with modern designs coming from North America so as not to lose sales to more modern models. As the market was in crisis, it was not possible to invest well in a new model, an option taken in the 1970s when they brought the Ford Maverick to the American market, an option revealed to be wrong later, as the initial project was to bring the Ford Taunus. The solution was to call for the creation of a new model, but with an existing platform on the national market. The options were to create a car based on the four-door Maverick, increasing its rear space, which was the model's biggest problem, or to create a product based on the Corcel II platform, launched two years earlier. In a clinic, two models were displayed to test consumer opinion, and the one chosen was the one that resembled the final design of the Ford Del Rey. A medium sedan, with three well-defined volumes, the option of two or four doors and an economical engine. , being the alternative to avoid higher costs. The model was based on the Ford Granada MKII models, a large model from English Ford manufactured at the same time, and the Ford Taunus, also from European Ford, but from Germany. They were very similar both front and rear, as well as the side, despite the Brazilian model being smaller. ·FIRST GENERATION (1981 - 1984): The Ford Del Rey debuted in mid-1981 and could be found in Gold and basic versions (popularly called "Silver"). It was a car with a refined finish, reminiscent of its older brother, the Ford Corcel under construction, but at the same time reminiscent of the good old Galaxie/Landau. The most complete version came as standard with items that were not common even in cars of its category, such as light alloy wheels, electric windows, electric door locks, rear view mirrors with internal control, velvet seats, fog lights, digital clock located on the central rear view mirror, among other things. The model received an automatic transmission as an option in 1983, and in 1984 it received the CHT engine, a revision of the old 1.6 engine of Renault origin that equipped the Corcel GT, and which was revised to equip the recently arrived Ford Escort. The engine did a lot of good for the model which, despite being economical, suffered during accelerations and restarts, and was the target of criticism from its owners, always losing in comparisons with the main competitors of its time, such as Chevrolet Opala, Volkswagen Santana and after 1985 , the Chevrolet Monza. SECOND GENERATION (1985 - 1991): In 1985 Ford made some changes to the model, which would remain practically intact until the end of its life in mid-1991. The already tired sedan gained a new front, similar to that of the Ford Corcel, with a “grille” aerodynamics and a spoiler that served as a frame for the fog lights. The model began to have other names. The Silver and Gold were discontinued and the GL entered as a basic version, GLX as an intermediate and the Ghia as a top-of-the-line version. It lost the refinement of alloy wheels, but gained new items. The rim increased to 14 inches and was the first non-sports car in Brazil to use a 60 profile. The 1987 model featured electric rear-view mirrors. With the Ford Corcel leaving the line the previous year, Ford created the L version, with a more stripped-down finish, to fill the gap between the Escort and the Del Rey. In 1988 the model had no relevant changes. With the merger of Volkswagen and Ford in 1987, Autolatina was created, a large company that came to dominate the market and almost cannibalized Ford of Brazil. The Del Rey was one of the few models that profited from this merger, as it gained the more modern AP 1.8 engine (which was equipped with the Volkswagen Santana). With a small performance gain, its top speed rose from 146 km/h to around 156 km/h, and its acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h went from 16.50 in the 1986 GLX version to around 13.88 seconds, due to the new gear reduction and small increase in power. The Del Rey received some mechanical changes, recalibrated springs at the rear to improve the “anti-dive” effect when accelerating and “anti-squat” when braking. The exterior mirror received a modified base in 1989. The last really notable difference between the models with the 1.6 and 1.8 engines was the consumption, which had increased slightly. In 1991 the Del Rey was taken out of production. It is a model well remembered for the modernity it had in its time, as its bigger brother (Ford Landau) did not have many modern features (such as electric windows, electric locks and electric mirrors). Its replacement, the Ford Versailles, was not as successful due to its lack of charisma. THE FORD BELINA: During the development of the M project (later named Corcel) in partnership with Renault, Willys-Overland do Brasil was studying the project of a station wagon/van to occupy the market niche left by the end of DKW-Vemag Vemaguet in 1967 At the same Volkswagen do Brasil was working on a similar project for a while, the Variant station wagon. After the purchase of Willys do Brasil by Ford, the M project continued to be developed. On August 26, 1968, the M project was presented at Clube Pinheiros in São Paulo during the Ford-Willys dealer convention. Named Corcel, the new vehicle was being launched on the market to compete with the VW Beetle. At the same event, Ford presented the prototype of a Corcel station wagon in September 1968. The first prototype of the Corcel station wagon was seen circulating around the factory in São Bernardo do Campo undergoing tests. Ford even transported a prototype station wagon to its stand at the VI São Paulo Motor Show, with its management undecided about showing the model. In the end, the station wagon ended up not being shown. Instead of launching, Ford chose to carry out further tests of two models: two and four doors (never adopted for series production). The tests were carried out throughout 1969 on Estrada Velha de Santos. The Ford Belina was launched on the market on March 3, 1970, approximately three months after the Volkswagen Variant.[6] After the launch of Variant and Belina, VW and Ford began an “advertising war” in the station wagon market, with each factory praising its product and criticizing its competitor. In the end, the German automaker prevailed with the argument of the simple and robust mechanics of the air engine (the same as the Volkswagen Beetle). Thus, the Variant's production was around six times greater than that of the Belina. In one of the first tests carried out by the press, unusual wear was noticed on the Belina's front tires. An error was later discovered in the adjustment of the front suspension of the Corcel-Belina line, which forced Ford to call on all owners of Corcel-Belina line vehicles manufactured between 1969 and 1970 to come to Ford dealerships to have the suspension readjusted. Despite not requiring replacement of parts, this was considered the first recall in Brazil. The bad reputation brought about by the problem affected Belina production, which went from 7831 (1970) to 5306 (1971) vehicles. The drop in production forced Ford to invest in the relaunch of the Corcel-Belina line in 1972. The main change for the Belina was the adoption of the 75 HP XP engine, replacing the original 68 HP. The production of mixed-use trucks (including station wagons) was encouraged by market acceptance. Between the first quarter of 1973 and 1975 there was a 26% growth in the production of mixed-use trucks (including station wagons) while car production in the country fell 3.9%. In 1973 production reached almost thirteen thousand copies. The Belina went through a period of growth in production that did not change even with the launch of the Chevrolet Caravan on the market in 1975. Derived from the Opala, the Caravan station wagon began to compete with the Belina for the market. Thus, Ford adopted a second restyling of the Belina in 1975, with changes to the front and improvements in the design and the adoption of a gas shock absorber to support the trunk lid instead of the obsolete spring shock absorber it used. The arrival of the Caravan and the launch of the remodeled Belina put pressure on the Variant, which began to lose market share until it was discontinued in 1977. At the same time, the Belina project, derived from the Corcel, was feeling the weight of age (given that it was from the 1960) and needed replacement. THE BELINA II: With the launch of the Chevrolet Chevette in Brazil (and the expectation of a future derivative station wagon launch), the announcement of FIAT's arrival in Brazil and the announcement of the launch of the Dodge 1800, Ford began studying changes to the Corcel line. Inherited from the acquisition of Willys-Overland do Brasil, the Corcel was a Renault project from the 1960s ready when it was taken over by Ford. At the end of 1973, the American multinational carried out the first restyling study of the Corcel. Belina, however, was not initially included because its competition was limited to the Variant. This later changed with the arrival of the Chevrolet Caravan and rumors of the production of a Dodge station wagon (which ended up not being released) and the Chevette station wagon. The redesigned Belina first appeared in print in October 1976. In 1978, the Belina received a modern update, when it was renamed Belina II, incorporating the main changes of the Corcel II, with straight lines. The versions were the L, simpler, and luxurious LDO. THE DEL REY SCALA: Derived from the Del Rey, the Scala was launched in 1983, being an evolution of the Belina. Available in a single version: Gold. With a superior finish, it introduced new equipment to the category: electric locks and windows, a ceiling console with a digital clock, reading lights and a panel that even had an oil pressure gauge. Air conditioning was optional. Initially, power steering was not offered, not even as an option. It was equipped with a 1.6 engine with 69 hp. In 1984 it received ventilated disc brakes at the front and its power increased slightly: 73 hp. In 1985 it received a facelift, with a new front and interior changes. It was now offered in two versions: GLX and Ghia. In 1986 it received power steering and a CHT E-Max engine. There was also a 4X4 version, launched in 1985 and discontinued in 1987, due to the high incidence of mechanical failures in the system. In 1987, she was called Belina again. Its production lasted until 1991, when it was discontinued to make way for the Ford Royale. At that time, Belina's sales represented half of the Del Rey family. FORD PAMPA: The Pampa was based on the second generation of the Corcel and was presented at the 1982 Motor Show, designed to compete with the Fiat Fiorino, Volkswagen Saveiro and Chevy 500. In the 1984 model, the first changes occurred, receiving the CHT engine, more powerful and economical. The 1600 cm³ CHT engine had 75 HP on alcohol and 73 HP on gasoline, respectively allowing the Pampa to reach a maximum speed of 145 km/h and 140 km/h. The 4x4 model, launched in the same year together with the Belina 4x4, was equipped with a four-speed gearbox, a one-piece seat and also had a second fuel tank in the alcohol version, for an additional 40 liters. Its interior was much more basic than the pioneering 4x2 model. In 1986, the basic, L and GL models came into existence, and in that same year the entire Pampa line received the front grille of the 4x4 version for the 1987 model. It was similar to the Del Rey, in addition to gaining the Ghia version with luxury items from the Del Rey Ghia model. These include a complete dashboard, windows and electric locks. Despite this, Pampa no longer has air conditioning, only offering hot air as an option. The Pampa had always been the leader among light pickup trucks until then and continued in this situation until it was discontinued. In 1990 it received the VW AP-1800 engine, powering the L, GL and Ghia versions. The CHT 1.6 still remains in the L and GL 4x4 versions. The following year the S version arrives, much more sporty and complete, only coming with a 1800 cm³ engine and bringing standard items such as external hooks, protective rubbers for the edges of the bucket, day and night rear view mirror, optional power steering, individual adjustable seats , stylized wheels, personalized stripes on the sides, sliding rear window, front spoiler with built-in fog lights and other items found in the Ghia version, such as an electric trio. In 1992 the Pampa received a new front grille, identical to that of the Del Rey, which production ended in 1991. Two years later it received an electronic carburetor (2E CE) for the 1800 cm³ engines. In 1995, the Ghia and Jeep GL 1.6 4x4 versions were discontinued, leaving only the L (1.6 and 1.8), GL (1.8) and S (1.8). The Pampa ceased production in 1997, the model year in which the 1.8 engines were equipped with EEC-IV single-point electronic injection, becoming the best-selling automobile-derived pickup in the segment, exceeding 380,000 units sold. Even in the face of competitors with more modern designs such as the recently launched Corsa pick-up, the second generation of the Saveiro, the third generation of the Fiorino pick-up, and the first generation Hilux imported into Brazil, which was initially a small pick-up, and the Mazda B2200, the Pampa has always been a sales leader, extremely popular, robust and attracting a legion of fans across the country, it was succeeded by the Courier, which never had the same sales figures, and it is often possible to see more Pampas on the streets than Couriers . TRIVIA; ·What is interesting is that although the Renault and Ford models had completely different designs, they shared the same platform, engines and wheels that had three holes and which became famous in Brazil for exactly this reason. ·The name Corcel, means Steed in Portuguese and was chosen as a homage to the Ford Mustang. |
2024.05.11 02:53 FantasticVictory837 Bluebook Test 6: Math Module 2 Easy, Question #18
 | submitted by FantasticVictory837 to u/FantasticVictory837 [link] [comments] |
2024.05.10 20:50 captnamurica2 HAYPP Group: Capitalizing on the Nicotine Pouch Craze
 | I run a small hedge fund based out of Raleigh, NC. Myself and my Fund are long $HAYPP. Please see the disclaimer at the bottom of the post. For more blog posts like this check out my Fund's blog at https://www.rogue-funds.com/blog submitted by captnamurica2 to BurryEdge [link] [comments] All Financial Figures are in USD unless otherwise specified. I think HAYPP Group, the biggest online retailer of nicotine pouches, can capture a huge chunk of the sales in what I believe will be the biggest form of nicotine intake growth over the next 10-15 years. The future of nicotine consumption will be nicotine pouches and it is growing at an unprecedented rate. Here in the States the go to item for nicotine pouches are Zyn’s (owned by Philip Morris), in Europe it’s Velo (owned by British American Tobacco), but there are various other brands that all catching fire: ON! (Altria), Rogue, Juice Head, FRE, Lucy, and Sesh, among various others. What is HAYPP? Brief History HAYPP is an online retailer and distributor of nicotine pouches and snus. The company was started by a couple of Swedish teenagers in 2009 and through mergers and acquisitions they no longer are in charge of the company as the current CEO joined in 2017/2018. The company bought Nicokick.com and northerner.com (northerner owns 9% of stock) which are now both of their main American brands. They switched from Snus to Nicotine Pouches 6 years ago and haven’t looked back. Domains Owned By HAYPP Group HAYPP currently owns a roughly 85% online market share for their Nordic part of the business, which they refer to as their “core” business as well as a ~55% market share of the oral nicotine market (85% market share of the nicotine pouch e-commerce market) for their growth market which is considered the US, UK, Germany, and Swiss countries. Market Share of HAYPP HAYPP vs Closest Competitor in each Market SEO Powerhouse So how do they have such a grasp on what would obviously be a hyper competitive online industry? The main reason for their hyper success in the online market is that they have a death grip on the SEO landscape. Their mastery of SEO allows them to spend almost nothing on marketing and to keep pushing out their distribution system (which continues to drive costs down for them and consumers). This creates a positive feedback loop as they become even cheaper than their competitors, allowing them to lock in customers (over 90% of the customers becoming recurring customers). How Consumers find HAYPP HAYPP Marketing Expenses as a % of Sales If you google just about anything related to Nicotine pouches, there is probably a 95%+ chance that the top unpaid search result will be a HAYPP Group Domain. Even niche searches such as “what is an upper decky” (Gen. Z slang for nicotine pouches) or basic searches such as “what are the top nicotine pouches” you will see that HAYPP Group owns the top of the search. https://preview.redd.it/e7ocu0jdanzc1.png?width=975&format=png&auto=webp&s=f8e80b8d743de3dc9133504bd6ff85dbbaee48bb Google Searches Highlighting the SEO power of HAYPP This is huge when sites like Google severely limit the amount of advertising that addictive products can utilize on their search engine. HAYPP ends up barely spending anything on marketing due to 40% of new customers coming through word of mouth and the rest from SEO. Data Their other field of expertise is data collection and selling. Due to the large variety of pouches and being the number one online seller of nicotine pouches, they have created a major database which they sell to various nicotine pouch producers such as Philip Morris and Altria. Producers buy these on an annualized basis, and you can see the usage of their data among the investor relation reports/presentations/websites of various producers. As you can see from my beautiful pictures on this post, they compile plenty of data to help me understand the business better. Lowest Cost Seller and Best E-Commerce Distribution Due to their distribution network, HAYPP has become one of the cheapest (if not the cheapest) sellers of nicotine pouches in the world. You can buy Zyn’s cheaper from HAYPP websites than you can from the ZYN website. Haypp’s prices are 20-40% cheaper than grocery stores and 30-50% cheaper than convenience stores. They have been integrating their distribution network so that most variable costs are being converted to vertical fixed costs creating operating leverage for them as they rapidly scale their revenue and are able to increase margins. They have implemented 2-day delivery across the US and close to implementing across Europe markets as well. https://preview.redd.it/0sajvfgkanzc1.png?width=975&format=png&auto=webp&s=3aad16b9df1be7bf6bbcc8f16ebf8c469c15b3a0 HAYPP Distribution Leveraging Market Share for High Quality New Products The last part of their business model is their ability to leverage their large consumer base to help new products capture market share, which allows them to capture higher margins on their products and it increases the variety of products which consumers would like to buy. In Nordic countries the variety of products is a benefit to them as consumers want to try various brands and flavors. When this competition trend hits the US it will only benefit them even more. Why Haypp vs Pouch Companies Currently in the US there are only a couple main brands with Zyn owning a huge chunk of the market. In Europe, Velo is the most popular brand but there are many Nordic brands that consistently attack margins and currently there is little competition in the US market which most likely won’t last much longer. As consumers search out the cheapest product and try to hunt for variety, HAYPP will be that future as convenience stores lag in variety and cost. Products such as Zyn will definitely continue to grow (currently Zyn is growing at 70% y/y) but we could see margins shrink as competition becomes fiercer and consumers branch out away from the first movers, although Zyn continues to take up 70% of the US market. This only further benefits HAYPP as they are the go-to spot for a large amount of variety. Although they don’t benefit as much from less competition, they are still beneficiaries of an oligopoly esque market due to their cost and distribution networks. Most large publicly traded pouch companies are also cigarette and chewing tobacco sellers who are rapidly seeing those segments get cannibalized by vaping and nicotine pouches combined with regulatory crackdown risk. Since HAYPP has no exposure to either one, you will not experience any cannibalization outside of snus cannibalization in the Nordics. This is the best pure play bet on nicotine pouch consumption. Certain countries have limited the ability for consumers to have access to nicotine via retail stores which will allow them to take huge shares of the overall market in places like Germany or in California where they have banned flavored nicotine products in retail stores has led to windfall of customers to HAYPP’s e-commerce model. Management The current CEO of HAYPP group, Gavin O’Dowd, used to work for British American Tobacco (BAT) and was the driving force for the VELO acquisition. He currently owns 3.6% of the stock and various other PE firms and Family Offices own large chunks of HAYPP. Most executives have warrants that could give them the right to 200k-400k shares each (29m shares outstanding with no serious history of dilution). Regulations As many of you are aware, regulations are a huge part of the nicotine industry. Taxes are going to be huge risks, which are then combined with flavor bans. I think nicotine pouches are one of the products that are least likely to get hit with serious bans since their health risk is much lower than almost any other nicotine product. The nicotine pouch industry as a whole has been behaving spectacularly well when it comes to ensuring they are not purposefully marketing to young people. They are trying to avoid having a Juul 2.0 fiasco which basically murdered that business and completely fragmented the vaping industry which is on the brink of regulatory crack down. HAYPP does their part by ensuring age regulation across their whole site. They have age verification to order and deliver. They have a huge emphasis on ensuring that they abide by the law. Financials Core Segment (Nordic Countries) The company is growing heavily in every segment that it operates in. Its core segment seems to be slowing down in growth due to heavy cannibalization from snus sales. This should only be temporary as nicotine pouch volume grows at 30%+ y/y. Once snus nears its cannibalization endpoint, I would expect revenue to begin growing again in its core market (although not at 30%). Current revenue is $250m USD and EBITDA is about $18m USD for just the core segment for the last twelve months. Management expects high single digit EBITDA margins for 2025. Core Segment Sales and EBITDA Margin Growth Segment (US, UK, Germany, Switzerland) The growth segment is skyrocketing. Growth is over 46% y/y and this growth has been consistent and should continue to be consistent. EBITDA margin for the growth markets has begun to inflect positively which will cause a massive amount of leverage in their EBITDA to occur as their fixed cost model begins to do its job. As economies of scale drive forward, we should see this margin increase substantially over the coming years. Currently Revenue is at $77m USD for growth markets and EBITDA is at -$3.5m USD. Growth Segment Sales and EBITDA Margin Let’s Talk about the Growth Segment a bit more. This is where the real value from HAYPP will come into play. While it currently begins to inflect positive in terms of profitability, it should be noted that the Growth markets have a massive TAM compared to their core market and could cause the company to 5x in the next few years if they maintain or gain market share and continue to grow in these massive TAMs. Total TAM growth As they grow, their competitive advantage deepens due to sticky customers and cheaper products from economies of scale. The US has an even faster scale of 49%+ growth y/y and HAYPP is outpacing the US nicotine pouch growth at 57% y/y. As the US begins to approve various products and variety begins to flood the US market, a ton of US users want to try various Nordic brands that don’t have access which lends a very strong lean towards an online website such as HAYPP. The US is a very ripe environment along with the UK and Germany (where nicotine can only be sold online) for HAYPP to continue to outperform massively. Emerging Segment Their “emerging” segment is where they have begun to introduce vapes into their value chain. HAYPP is beginning to sell vapes to UK and Germany, but it is at the very beginning stages and has no current significant impact on their bottom or top line. The company says the growth they are experiencing in this segment has been very similar to the growth that they experienced when they introduced Nicotine Pouches in growth markets. This is the most likely segment to get hit with regulatory concerns, so for now I won’t even consider this in a to be a profitable unit and will just assume it will be a small drain on EBITDA for the foreseeable future. Balance Sheet The balance sheet is great with no large debt burden and good working capital management. As they hit profitability this yeaearly next year I would expect a cash build up until the company decides if they will be returning cash to shareholders or reinvesting in the business. Valuation HAYPP is extremely undervalued based on where they are from a profitability standpoint and their current inflection point. Due to their high growth, it will be hard to pinpoint an exact value on them so this will merely be an exercise in estimating their value among a range more than usual (anyone who claims they can perfectly value a high growth company is probably overvaluing due to unsound conviction). First let’s look at how they are currently valued, which is roughly 14x their core EBITDA. Now let’s take a second and think about how insane that statement was. Their core market is the Nordic countries which will be hitting growth again as their snus cannibalization slows, the Nordic countries basically have no further regulation risk for nicotine pouches, and it is a noncyclical industry. I would argue that 14x their core EBITDA is probably an appropriate valuation based on only their core segment. What this means is (if you haven’t noticed already) that you are getting their “growth” segment for free based on the valuation of the stock. The growth segment alone is probably worth multiples of the current stock price due to the massive TAM and extreme growth prospects. If we assume the emerging segment is worthless (which it isn’t and it will be profitable at some point) then that means all of the upside in the stock can be based on what the value of the growth segment. Based on TAM, growth, and lack of cyclicality then this leaves the only risk as regulation. There will most likely be some sort of regulation, but we are very far from that as the Tobacco industry has been very careful in how they implement their new nicotine pouch momentum in a more appropriate way compared to vapes. The most likely regulations will probably be flavor bans of some sort or retail bans (which further benefits HAYPP). Regulations will most likely be limited in scope due to just the sheer lack of mortality risk associated with pouches vs any other form of common nicotine intake. Based on their probable conservative revenue growth (40% average for the next 3 years, and 15% after that), EBITDA growth, the fact that they will have both core and growth markets at high single digit EBITDA margins in 2025, and their lack of cyclicality, then I would estimate that their Growth markets are worth a very conservative $400m-$500m USD. I am likely undershooting the valuation because they are driving profitability very fast and their revenue is growing closer to 40%-60% in growth markets right now. If they are able to keep up current growth figures and expand to double digit margins before the end of the decade then they could be worth 2x-3x this value (which is why valuing growth companies are so hard, because I can’t foresee the future). Again, I valued the emerging segment as worthless which is unlikely as well. So, based on the value of $450m USD for the growth markets and the current value of $240 USD for the Nordic markets, that would create a sum of the parts equal to roughly $700m or nearly triple the current share price. This valuation leaves a ton of room for margin expansion and higher growth prospects because let’s face it, the US alone is probably worth at least 3x-5x more than the Nordic countries not including the UK, Germany, or Swiss. This is a very conservative valuation for the company, but it shows how great the risk/reward is based on the current price. Using a conservative valuation here also helps accommodate for regulation risk. In SEK terms this would be 250 SEK/share or 7.35B SEK. Conclusion Even accommodating for regulation risk, a valuation of $700m seems appropriate as a starting point for the valuation for HAYPP Group. I think there is a very high likelihood that I could be off on this by a large margin, but I feel like the downside is very protected with this valuation. Management has been great in execution and I expect that to continue. In a more bullish case where every segment of the company fires on all cylinders we could see a valuation of $1.5B+, but that is not a scenario that I would like to bet my investors’ money on. For now, I will stay invested and keep watching them execute and adjust my valuation accordingly. Disclaimer: The author of this idea and his Fund have a position in securities discussed at the time of posting and may trade in and out of this position without informing the reader. Opinions expressed herein by the author are not an investment recommendation and are not meant to be relied upon in investment decisions. The author is not acting in an investment adviser capacity. This is not an investment research report. The author's opinions expressed herein address only select aspects of potential investment in securities of the companies mentioned and cannot be a substitute for comprehensive investment analysis. Any analysis presented herein is illustrative in nature, limited in scope, based on an incomplete set of information, and has limitations to its accuracy. The author recommends that potential and existing investors conduct thorough investment research of their own, including detailed review of the companies' SEC and CSA filings, and consult a qualified investment adviser. The information upon which this material is based was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but has not been independently verified. Therefore, the author cannot guarantee its accuracy. Any opinions or estimates constitute the author's best judgment as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice. The author and funds the author advises may buy or sell shares without any further notice. This article may contain certain opinions and “forward-looking statements,” which may be identified by the use of such words as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “planned,” “estimated,” “potential,” “outlook,” “forecast,” “plan” and other similar terms. All such opinions and forward-looking statements are conditional and are subject to various factors, including, without limitation, general and local economic conditions, changing levels of competition within certain industries and markets, changes in legislation or regulation, and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory and technological factors, any or all of which could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. |
2024.05.10 20:45 captnamurica2 HAYPP Group: Capitalizing on the Nicotine Pouch Craze
I run a small hedge fund based out of Raleigh, NC. Myself and my Fund are long $HAYPP. Please see the disclaimer at the bottom of the post. For more blog posts like this check out my Fund's blog at https://www.rogue-funds.com/blog
Also if you would like to see this blog post with pretty pictures you can also check out: https://www.rogue-funds.com/blog/haypp-group
All Financial Figures are in USD unless otherwise specified.
I think HAYPP Group, the biggest online retailer of nicotine pouches, can capture a huge chunk of the sales in what I believe will be the biggest form of nicotine intake growth over the next 10-15 years.
The future of nicotine consumption will be nicotine pouches and it is growing at an unprecedented rate. Here in the States the go to item for nicotine pouches are Zyn’s (owned by Philip Morris), in Europe it’s Velo (owned by British American Tobacco), but there are various other brands that all catching fire: ON! (Altria), Rogue, Juice Head, FRE, Lucy, and Sesh, among various others.
What is HAYPP?
Brief History
HAYPP is an online retailer and distributor of nicotine pouches and snus. The company was started by a couple of Swedish teenagers in 2009 and through mergers and acquisitions they no longer are in charge of the company as the current CEO joined in 2017/2018. The company bought Nicokick.com and northerner.com (northerner owns 9% of stock) which are now both of their main American brands. They switched from Snus to Nicotine Pouches 6 years ago and haven’t looked back.
HAYPP currently owns a roughly 85% online market share for their Nordic part of the business, which they refer to as their “core” business as well as a ~55% market share of the oral nicotine market (85% market share of the legal nicotine pouch e-commerce market) for their growth market which is considered the US, UK, Germany, and Swiss countries.
SEO Powerhouse
So how do they have such a grasp on what would obviously be a hyper competitive online industry? The main reason for their hyper success in the online market is that they have a death grip on the SEO landscape. Their mastery of SEO allows them to spend almost nothing on marketing and to keep pushing out their distribution system (which continues to drive costs down for them and consumers). This creates a positive feedback loop as they become even cheaper than their competitors, allowing them to lock in customers (over 90% of the customers becoming recurring customers).
If you google just about anything related to Nicotine pouches, there is probably a 95%+ chance that the top unpaid search result will be a HAYPP Group Domain. Even niche searches such as “what is an upper decky” (Gen. Z slang for nicotine pouches) or basic searches such as “what are the top nicotine pouches” you will see that HAYPP Group owns the top of the search.
This is huge when sites like Google severely limit the amount of advertising that addictive products can utilize on their search engine. HAYPP ends up barely spending anything on marketing due to 40% of new customers coming through word of mouth and the rest from SEO.
Data
Their other field of expertise is data collection and selling. Due to the large variety of pouches and being the number one online seller of nicotine pouches, they have created a major database which they sell to various nicotine pouch producers such as Philip Morris and Altria. Producers buy these on an annualized basis, and you can see the usage of their data among the investor relation reports/presentations/websites of various producers. As you can see from my beautiful pictures on this post, they compile plenty of data to help me understand the business better.
Lowest Cost Seller and Best E-Commerce Distribution
Due to their distribution network, HAYPP has become one of the cheapest (if not the cheapest) sellers of nicotine pouches in the world. You can buy Zyn’s cheaper from HAYPP websites than you can from the ZYN website. Haypp’s prices are 20-40% cheaper than grocery stores and 30-50% cheaper than convenience stores.
They have been integrating their distribution network so that most variable costs are being converted to vertical fixed costs creating operating leverage for them as they rapidly scale their revenue and are able to increase margins. They have implemented 2-day delivery across the US and close to implementing across Europe markets as well.
Leveraging Market Share for High Quality New Products
The last part of their business model is their ability to leverage their large consumer base to help new products capture market share, which allows them to capture higher margins on their products and it increases the variety of products which consumers would like to buy. In Nordic countries the variety of products is a benefit to them as consumers want to try various brands and flavors. When this competition trend hits the US it will only benefit them even more.
Why Haypp vs Pouch Companies
Currently in the US there are only a couple main brands with Zyn owning a huge chunk of the market. In Europe, Velo is the most popular brand but there are many Nordic brands that consistently attack margins and currently there is little competition in the US market which most likely won’t last much longer. As consumers search out the cheapest product and try to hunt for variety, HAYPP will be that future as convenience stores lag in variety and cost.
Products such as Zyn will definitely continue to grow (currently Zyn is growing at 70% y/y) but we could see margins shrink as competition becomes fiercer and consumers branch out away from the first movers, although Zyn continues to take up 70% of the US market. This only further benefits HAYPP as they are the go-to spot for a large amount of variety. Although they don’t benefit as much from less competition, they are still beneficiaries of an oligopoly esque market due to their cost and distribution networks.
Most large publicly traded pouch companies are also cigarette and chewing tobacco sellers who are rapidly seeing those segments get cannibalized by vaping and nicotine pouches combined with regulatory crackdown risk. Since HAYPP has no exposure to either one, you will not experience any cannibalization outside of snus cannibalization in the Nordics. This is the best pure play bet on nicotine pouch consumption.
Certain countries have limited the ability for consumers to have access to nicotine via retail stores which will allow them to take huge shares of the overall market in places like Germany or in California where they have banned flavored nicotine products in retail stores has led to windfall of customers to HAYPP’s e-commerce model.
Management
The current CEO of HAYPP group, Gavin O’Dowd, used to work for British American Tobacco (BAT) and was the driving force for the VELO acquisition. He currently owns 3.6% of the stock and various other PE firms and Family Offices own large chunks of HAYPP. Most executives have warrants that could give them the right to 200k-400k shares each (29m shares outstanding with no serious history of dilution).
Regulations
As many of you are aware, regulations are a huge part of the nicotine industry. Taxes are going to be huge risks, which are then combined with flavor bans. I think nicotine pouches are one of the products that are least likely to get hit with serious bans since their health risk is much lower than almost any other nicotine product.
The nicotine pouch industry as a whole has been behaving spectacularly well when it comes to ensuring they are not purposefully marketing to young people. They are trying to avoid having a Juul 2.0 fiasco which basically murdered that business and completely fragmented the vaping industry which is on the brink of regulatory crack down.
HAYPP does their part by ensuring age regulation across their whole site. They have age verification to order and deliver. They have a huge emphasis on ensuring that they abide by the law.
Financials
Core Segment (Nordic Countries)
The company is growing heavily in every segment that it operates in. Its core segment seems to be slowing down in growth due to heavy cannibalization from snus sales. This should only be temporary as nicotine pouch volume grows at 30%+ y/y. Once snus nears its cannibalization endpoint, I would expect revenue to begin growing again in its core market (although not at 30%). Current revenue is $250m USD and EBITDA is about $18m USD for just the core segment for the last twelve months. Management expects high single digit EBITDA margins for 2025.
Growth Segment (US, UK, Germany, Switzerland)
The growth segment is skyrocketing. Growth is over 46% y/y and this growth has been consistent and should continue to be consistent. EBITDA margin for the growth markets has begun to inflect positively which will cause a massive amount of leverage in their EBITDA to occur as their fixed cost model begins to do its job. As economies of scale drive forward, we should see this margin increase substantially over the coming years. Currently Revenue is at $77m USD for growth markets and EBITDA is at -$3.5m USD.
Let’s Talk about the Growth Segment a bit more.
This is where the real value from HAYPP will come into play. While it currently begins to inflect positive in terms of profitability, it should be noted that the Growth markets have a massive TAM compared to their core market and could cause the company to 5x in the next few years if they maintain or gain market share and continue to grow in these massive TAMs.
As they grow, their competitive advantage deepens due to sticky customers and cheaper products from economies of scale. The US has an even faster scale of 49%+ growth y/y and HAYPP is outpacing the US nicotine pouch growth at 57% y/y. As the US begins to approve various products and variety begins to flood the US market, a ton of US users want to try various Nordic brands that don’t have access which lends a very strong lean towards an online website such as HAYPP. The US is a very ripe environment along with the UK and Germany (where nicotine can only be sold online) for HAYPP to continue to outperform massively.
Emerging Segment
Their “emerging” segment is where they have begun to introduce vapes into their value chain. HAYPP is beginning to sell vapes to UK and Germany, but it is at the very beginning stages and has no current significant impact on their bottom or top line. The company says the growth they are experiencing in this segment has been very similar to the growth that they experienced when they introduced Nicotine Pouches in growth markets. This is the most likely segment to get hit with regulatory concerns, so for now I won’t even consider this in a to be a profitable unit and will just assume it will be a small drain on EBITDA for the foreseeable future.
Balance Sheet
The balance sheet is great with no large debt burden and good working capital management. As they hit profitability this yeaearly next year I would expect a cash build up until the company decides if they will be returning cash to shareholders or reinvesting in the business.
Valuation
HAYPP is extremely undervalued based on where they are from a profitability standpoint and their current inflection point. Due to their high growth, it will be hard to pinpoint an exact value on them so this will merely be an exercise in estimating their value among a range more than usual (anyone who claims they can perfectly value a high growth company is probably overvaluing due to unsound conviction).
First let’s look at how they are currently valued, which is roughly 14x their core EBITDA. Now let’s take a second and think about how insane that statement was. Their core market is the Nordic countries which will be hitting growth again as their snus cannibalization slows, the Nordic countries basically have no further regulation risk for nicotine pouches, and it is a noncyclical industry. I would argue that 14x their core EBITDA is probably an appropriate valuation based on only their core segment.
What this means is (if you haven’t noticed already) that you are getting their “growth” segment for free based on the valuation of the stock. The growth segment alone is probably worth multiples of the current stock price due to the massive TAM and extreme growth prospects. If we assume the emerging segment is worthless (which it isn’t and it will be profitable at some point) then that means all of the upside in the stock can be based on what the value of the growth segment. Based on TAM, growth, and lack of cyclicality then this leaves the only risk as regulation.
There will most likely be some sort of regulation, but we are very far from that as the Tobacco industry has been very careful in how they implement their new nicotine pouch momentum in a more appropriate way compared to vapes. The most likely regulations will probably be flavor bans of some sort or retail bans (which further benefits HAYPP). Regulations will most likely be limited in scope due to just the sheer lack of mortality risk associated with pouches vs any other form of common nicotine intake.
Based on their probable conservative revenue growth (40% average for the next 3 years, and 15% after that), EBITDA growth, the fact that they will have both core and growth markets at high single digit EBITDA margins in 2025, and their lack of cyclicality, then I would estimate that their Growth markets are worth a very conservative $400m-$500m USD. I am likely undershooting the valuation because they are driving profitability very fast and their revenue is growing closer to 40%-60% in growth markets right now. If they are able to keep up current growth figures and expand to double digit margins before the end of the decade then they could be worth 2x-3x this value (which is why valuing growth companies are so hard, because I can’t foresee the future). Again, I valued the emerging segment as worthless which is unlikely as well.
So, based on the value of $450m USD for the growth markets and the current value of $240 USD for the Nordic markets, that would create a sum of the parts equal to roughly $700m or nearly triple the current share price. This valuation leaves a ton of room for margin expansion and higher growth prospects because let’s face it, the US alone is probably worth at least 3x-5x more than the Nordic countries not including the UK, Germany, or Swiss. This is a very conservative valuation for the company, but it shows how great the risk/reward is based on the current price. Using a conservative valuation here also helps accommodate for regulation risk.
In SEK terms this would be 250 SEK/share or 7.35B SEK.
Conclusion
Even accommodating for regulation risk, a valuation of $700m seems appropriate as a starting point for the valuation for HAYPP Group. I think there is a very high likelihood that I could be off on this by a large margin, but I feel like the downside is very protected with this valuation. Management has been great in execution and I expect that to continue. In a more bullish case where every segment of the company fires on all cylinders we could see a valuation of $1.5B+, but that is not a scenario that I would like to bet my investors’ money on. For now, I will stay invested and keep watching them execute and adjust my valuation accordingly.
Disclaimer: The author of this idea and his Fund have a position in securities discussed at the time of posting and may trade in and out of this position without informing the reader.
Opinions expressed herein by the author are not an investment recommendation and are not meant to be relied upon in investment decisions. The author is not acting in an investment adviser capacity. This is not an investment research report. The author's opinions expressed herein address only select aspects of potential investment in securities of the companies mentioned and cannot be a substitute for comprehensive investment analysis. Any analysis presented herein is illustrative in nature, limited in scope, based on an incomplete set of information, and has limitations to its accuracy. The author recommends that potential and existing investors conduct thorough investment research of their own, including detailed review of the companies' SEC and CSA filings, and consult a qualified investment adviser. The information upon which this material is based was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but has not been independently verified. Therefore, the author cannot guarantee its accuracy. Any opinions or estimates constitute the author's best judgment as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice. The author and funds the author advises may buy or sell shares without any further notice. This article may contain certain opinions and “forward-looking statements,” which may be identified by the use of such words as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “planned,” “estimated,” “potential,” “outlook,” “forecast,” “plan” and other similar terms. All such opinions and forward-looking statements are conditional and are subject to various factors, including, without limitation, general and local economic conditions, changing levels of competition within certain industries and markets, changes in legislation or regulation, and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory and technological factors, any or all of which could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results.
submitted by captnamurica2 to ValueInvesting [link] [comments]
Also if you would like to see this blog post with pretty pictures you can also check out: https://www.rogue-funds.com/blog/haypp-group
All Financial Figures are in USD unless otherwise specified.
I think HAYPP Group, the biggest online retailer of nicotine pouches, can capture a huge chunk of the sales in what I believe will be the biggest form of nicotine intake growth over the next 10-15 years.
The future of nicotine consumption will be nicotine pouches and it is growing at an unprecedented rate. Here in the States the go to item for nicotine pouches are Zyn’s (owned by Philip Morris), in Europe it’s Velo (owned by British American Tobacco), but there are various other brands that all catching fire: ON! (Altria), Rogue, Juice Head, FRE, Lucy, and Sesh, among various others.
What is HAYPP?
Brief History
HAYPP is an online retailer and distributor of nicotine pouches and snus. The company was started by a couple of Swedish teenagers in 2009 and through mergers and acquisitions they no longer are in charge of the company as the current CEO joined in 2017/2018. The company bought Nicokick.com and northerner.com (northerner owns 9% of stock) which are now both of their main American brands. They switched from Snus to Nicotine Pouches 6 years ago and haven’t looked back.
HAYPP currently owns a roughly 85% online market share for their Nordic part of the business, which they refer to as their “core” business as well as a ~55% market share of the oral nicotine market (85% market share of the legal nicotine pouch e-commerce market) for their growth market which is considered the US, UK, Germany, and Swiss countries.
SEO Powerhouse
So how do they have such a grasp on what would obviously be a hyper competitive online industry? The main reason for their hyper success in the online market is that they have a death grip on the SEO landscape. Their mastery of SEO allows them to spend almost nothing on marketing and to keep pushing out their distribution system (which continues to drive costs down for them and consumers). This creates a positive feedback loop as they become even cheaper than their competitors, allowing them to lock in customers (over 90% of the customers becoming recurring customers).
If you google just about anything related to Nicotine pouches, there is probably a 95%+ chance that the top unpaid search result will be a HAYPP Group Domain. Even niche searches such as “what is an upper decky” (Gen. Z slang for nicotine pouches) or basic searches such as “what are the top nicotine pouches” you will see that HAYPP Group owns the top of the search.
This is huge when sites like Google severely limit the amount of advertising that addictive products can utilize on their search engine. HAYPP ends up barely spending anything on marketing due to 40% of new customers coming through word of mouth and the rest from SEO.
Data
Their other field of expertise is data collection and selling. Due to the large variety of pouches and being the number one online seller of nicotine pouches, they have created a major database which they sell to various nicotine pouch producers such as Philip Morris and Altria. Producers buy these on an annualized basis, and you can see the usage of their data among the investor relation reports/presentations/websites of various producers. As you can see from my beautiful pictures on this post, they compile plenty of data to help me understand the business better.
Lowest Cost Seller and Best E-Commerce Distribution
Due to their distribution network, HAYPP has become one of the cheapest (if not the cheapest) sellers of nicotine pouches in the world. You can buy Zyn’s cheaper from HAYPP websites than you can from the ZYN website. Haypp’s prices are 20-40% cheaper than grocery stores and 30-50% cheaper than convenience stores.
They have been integrating their distribution network so that most variable costs are being converted to vertical fixed costs creating operating leverage for them as they rapidly scale their revenue and are able to increase margins. They have implemented 2-day delivery across the US and close to implementing across Europe markets as well.
Leveraging Market Share for High Quality New Products
The last part of their business model is their ability to leverage their large consumer base to help new products capture market share, which allows them to capture higher margins on their products and it increases the variety of products which consumers would like to buy. In Nordic countries the variety of products is a benefit to them as consumers want to try various brands and flavors. When this competition trend hits the US it will only benefit them even more.
Why Haypp vs Pouch Companies
Currently in the US there are only a couple main brands with Zyn owning a huge chunk of the market. In Europe, Velo is the most popular brand but there are many Nordic brands that consistently attack margins and currently there is little competition in the US market which most likely won’t last much longer. As consumers search out the cheapest product and try to hunt for variety, HAYPP will be that future as convenience stores lag in variety and cost.
Products such as Zyn will definitely continue to grow (currently Zyn is growing at 70% y/y) but we could see margins shrink as competition becomes fiercer and consumers branch out away from the first movers, although Zyn continues to take up 70% of the US market. This only further benefits HAYPP as they are the go-to spot for a large amount of variety. Although they don’t benefit as much from less competition, they are still beneficiaries of an oligopoly esque market due to their cost and distribution networks.
Most large publicly traded pouch companies are also cigarette and chewing tobacco sellers who are rapidly seeing those segments get cannibalized by vaping and nicotine pouches combined with regulatory crackdown risk. Since HAYPP has no exposure to either one, you will not experience any cannibalization outside of snus cannibalization in the Nordics. This is the best pure play bet on nicotine pouch consumption.
Certain countries have limited the ability for consumers to have access to nicotine via retail stores which will allow them to take huge shares of the overall market in places like Germany or in California where they have banned flavored nicotine products in retail stores has led to windfall of customers to HAYPP’s e-commerce model.
Management
The current CEO of HAYPP group, Gavin O’Dowd, used to work for British American Tobacco (BAT) and was the driving force for the VELO acquisition. He currently owns 3.6% of the stock and various other PE firms and Family Offices own large chunks of HAYPP. Most executives have warrants that could give them the right to 200k-400k shares each (29m shares outstanding with no serious history of dilution).
Regulations
As many of you are aware, regulations are a huge part of the nicotine industry. Taxes are going to be huge risks, which are then combined with flavor bans. I think nicotine pouches are one of the products that are least likely to get hit with serious bans since their health risk is much lower than almost any other nicotine product.
The nicotine pouch industry as a whole has been behaving spectacularly well when it comes to ensuring they are not purposefully marketing to young people. They are trying to avoid having a Juul 2.0 fiasco which basically murdered that business and completely fragmented the vaping industry which is on the brink of regulatory crack down.
HAYPP does their part by ensuring age regulation across their whole site. They have age verification to order and deliver. They have a huge emphasis on ensuring that they abide by the law.
Financials
Core Segment (Nordic Countries)
The company is growing heavily in every segment that it operates in. Its core segment seems to be slowing down in growth due to heavy cannibalization from snus sales. This should only be temporary as nicotine pouch volume grows at 30%+ y/y. Once snus nears its cannibalization endpoint, I would expect revenue to begin growing again in its core market (although not at 30%). Current revenue is $250m USD and EBITDA is about $18m USD for just the core segment for the last twelve months. Management expects high single digit EBITDA margins for 2025.
Growth Segment (US, UK, Germany, Switzerland)
The growth segment is skyrocketing. Growth is over 46% y/y and this growth has been consistent and should continue to be consistent. EBITDA margin for the growth markets has begun to inflect positively which will cause a massive amount of leverage in their EBITDA to occur as their fixed cost model begins to do its job. As economies of scale drive forward, we should see this margin increase substantially over the coming years. Currently Revenue is at $77m USD for growth markets and EBITDA is at -$3.5m USD.
Let’s Talk about the Growth Segment a bit more.
This is where the real value from HAYPP will come into play. While it currently begins to inflect positive in terms of profitability, it should be noted that the Growth markets have a massive TAM compared to their core market and could cause the company to 5x in the next few years if they maintain or gain market share and continue to grow in these massive TAMs.
As they grow, their competitive advantage deepens due to sticky customers and cheaper products from economies of scale. The US has an even faster scale of 49%+ growth y/y and HAYPP is outpacing the US nicotine pouch growth at 57% y/y. As the US begins to approve various products and variety begins to flood the US market, a ton of US users want to try various Nordic brands that don’t have access which lends a very strong lean towards an online website such as HAYPP. The US is a very ripe environment along with the UK and Germany (where nicotine can only be sold online) for HAYPP to continue to outperform massively.
Emerging Segment
Their “emerging” segment is where they have begun to introduce vapes into their value chain. HAYPP is beginning to sell vapes to UK and Germany, but it is at the very beginning stages and has no current significant impact on their bottom or top line. The company says the growth they are experiencing in this segment has been very similar to the growth that they experienced when they introduced Nicotine Pouches in growth markets. This is the most likely segment to get hit with regulatory concerns, so for now I won’t even consider this in a to be a profitable unit and will just assume it will be a small drain on EBITDA for the foreseeable future.
Balance Sheet
The balance sheet is great with no large debt burden and good working capital management. As they hit profitability this yeaearly next year I would expect a cash build up until the company decides if they will be returning cash to shareholders or reinvesting in the business.
Valuation
HAYPP is extremely undervalued based on where they are from a profitability standpoint and their current inflection point. Due to their high growth, it will be hard to pinpoint an exact value on them so this will merely be an exercise in estimating their value among a range more than usual (anyone who claims they can perfectly value a high growth company is probably overvaluing due to unsound conviction).
First let’s look at how they are currently valued, which is roughly 14x their core EBITDA. Now let’s take a second and think about how insane that statement was. Their core market is the Nordic countries which will be hitting growth again as their snus cannibalization slows, the Nordic countries basically have no further regulation risk for nicotine pouches, and it is a noncyclical industry. I would argue that 14x their core EBITDA is probably an appropriate valuation based on only their core segment.
What this means is (if you haven’t noticed already) that you are getting their “growth” segment for free based on the valuation of the stock. The growth segment alone is probably worth multiples of the current stock price due to the massive TAM and extreme growth prospects. If we assume the emerging segment is worthless (which it isn’t and it will be profitable at some point) then that means all of the upside in the stock can be based on what the value of the growth segment. Based on TAM, growth, and lack of cyclicality then this leaves the only risk as regulation.
There will most likely be some sort of regulation, but we are very far from that as the Tobacco industry has been very careful in how they implement their new nicotine pouch momentum in a more appropriate way compared to vapes. The most likely regulations will probably be flavor bans of some sort or retail bans (which further benefits HAYPP). Regulations will most likely be limited in scope due to just the sheer lack of mortality risk associated with pouches vs any other form of common nicotine intake.
Based on their probable conservative revenue growth (40% average for the next 3 years, and 15% after that), EBITDA growth, the fact that they will have both core and growth markets at high single digit EBITDA margins in 2025, and their lack of cyclicality, then I would estimate that their Growth markets are worth a very conservative $400m-$500m USD. I am likely undershooting the valuation because they are driving profitability very fast and their revenue is growing closer to 40%-60% in growth markets right now. If they are able to keep up current growth figures and expand to double digit margins before the end of the decade then they could be worth 2x-3x this value (which is why valuing growth companies are so hard, because I can’t foresee the future). Again, I valued the emerging segment as worthless which is unlikely as well.
So, based on the value of $450m USD for the growth markets and the current value of $240 USD for the Nordic markets, that would create a sum of the parts equal to roughly $700m or nearly triple the current share price. This valuation leaves a ton of room for margin expansion and higher growth prospects because let’s face it, the US alone is probably worth at least 3x-5x more than the Nordic countries not including the UK, Germany, or Swiss. This is a very conservative valuation for the company, but it shows how great the risk/reward is based on the current price. Using a conservative valuation here also helps accommodate for regulation risk.
In SEK terms this would be 250 SEK/share or 7.35B SEK.
Conclusion
Even accommodating for regulation risk, a valuation of $700m seems appropriate as a starting point for the valuation for HAYPP Group. I think there is a very high likelihood that I could be off on this by a large margin, but I feel like the downside is very protected with this valuation. Management has been great in execution and I expect that to continue. In a more bullish case where every segment of the company fires on all cylinders we could see a valuation of $1.5B+, but that is not a scenario that I would like to bet my investors’ money on. For now, I will stay invested and keep watching them execute and adjust my valuation accordingly.
Disclaimer: The author of this idea and his Fund have a position in securities discussed at the time of posting and may trade in and out of this position without informing the reader.
Opinions expressed herein by the author are not an investment recommendation and are not meant to be relied upon in investment decisions. The author is not acting in an investment adviser capacity. This is not an investment research report. The author's opinions expressed herein address only select aspects of potential investment in securities of the companies mentioned and cannot be a substitute for comprehensive investment analysis. Any analysis presented herein is illustrative in nature, limited in scope, based on an incomplete set of information, and has limitations to its accuracy. The author recommends that potential and existing investors conduct thorough investment research of their own, including detailed review of the companies' SEC and CSA filings, and consult a qualified investment adviser. The information upon which this material is based was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but has not been independently verified. Therefore, the author cannot guarantee its accuracy. Any opinions or estimates constitute the author's best judgment as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice. The author and funds the author advises may buy or sell shares without any further notice. This article may contain certain opinions and “forward-looking statements,” which may be identified by the use of such words as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “planned,” “estimated,” “potential,” “outlook,” “forecast,” “plan” and other similar terms. All such opinions and forward-looking statements are conditional and are subject to various factors, including, without limitation, general and local economic conditions, changing levels of competition within certain industries and markets, changes in legislation or regulation, and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory and technological factors, any or all of which could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results.
2024.05.10 20:43 Richard-P-Feynman Coffeejack 1 Week Review - Why it doesn't work
A Fantastic Idea
First off let me state that I think the Coffeejack is a fanastic idea. I think it's a much better solution to coffee brewing than leaver press manual espresso machines, because of how compact and elegant the unit is.I really want Coffeejack (the company and the product) to be successful in the future. I hope some of my feedback here will be picked up by the company and they will resolve the issues with it.
I would much rather have a Coffeejack unit sitting on my kitchen worktop than something like a Flair. (Disclosure: I also own a Flair.) I don't think the Flair looks particularly pleasing to look at (actually I think it's hideous) whereas the Coffeejack on its stand looks great!
Why doesn't it work?
The Coffeejack as a concept is a great design idea. It uses a piston with a small surface area to generate high pressure against a larger area (coffee puck). It works like a leaver, multiplying force, or in this case, pressure.It has some problems.
Basket does not seal properly
The first thing I noticed is that the basket doesn't seal sufficiently well against the main body of the Coffeejack unit. This means that water can leak between the seals. When the unit is on the stand, this causes clear hot water to leak onto the stand and into your espresso cup below.
This only happens when the basket is pressurized. The seals are sufficient at atmospheric pressues, but not at higher pressure.
Over-pressure valve does not work correctly
(Note: To understand this, you will have to remove the metal plate from the bottom of the Coffeejack unit. Removing this metal plate gives access to the overpressure valve below.)
A more serious issue is that the overpressure value does not work as intended. It is supposed to release excess pressure generated by the cylinder back into the water chamber.
I am not sure exactly how it is designed to do this, since the overpressure valve is simply a mushroom shaped piece of silicone. When under pressure, it deforms. This is presumably intentional.
However, when the pressure limit is reached, it "fails". It does release the water back into the chamber, lowering the pressure, however the silicone piece then falls into the high pressure cylinder chamber. Quite why this happens, I am not sure.
This results in water being able to freely flow between the high pressure chamber and the water storage container. No pressure can be generated, because there is no barrier or seal between the pressurized part of the unit and the unpressurized water chamber. Water can freely flow between the two.
When the maximum pressure is reached it fails suddenly. When it has failed, it becomes impossible to create more pressure.
To "fix" the problem, the whole unit has to be disassembled. This involves removing the shower screen, unscrewing the 5 screws at the base of the unit, and then disassembling the pressure generating cylinder chamber. Once this is done, the mushroom shaped silicone pressure release valve can be put back into place, and the unit will again be able to generate pressure.
Pressure generating cyclinder seals are not sufficient
A further issue is that the pressure generating cyclinder seals are not sufficient. These are the seals between the metal rod which is pushed downwards to generate pressure, and the walls of the high pressure container. These o-rings leak.
When creating pressure by pumping, if pumping too slowly water will leak pasts the seals and insufficient pressure will be generated. If the pumping rate is incresed, the overpressure value will fail, and the unit requires disassembly to put the over-pressure valve back in its correct place.
Bottom of the unit contains a rubber mat which unseals due to high pressure
This is a weird issue which I don't fully understand. The bottom of the water chamber contains a metal platform with small holes in. This allows water to pass to the bottom of the unit, where it is picked up by the water intake.
Remove this metal part, and a rubber "mat" can be seen at the bottom of the unit. This rubber component appears to function as a secondary over-pressure protection. The reason I believe this to be the case is that high pressure causes the rubber mat to lift up away from the floor.
There are some rubber "pins" or "legs" which hold it in place. These appear to be part of an over-pressure protection system of some kind.
After a few uses it appears to lift itself completely away from the floor, and this causes the seal to fail. Once this happens water can cycle from the coffee basket below back into the water chamber.
It's very strange and just another indication that the design isn't property thought out or that thorough testing wasn't done before taking the design to mass production.
Other notable issues
Basket too small and too deepThe basket is too small, and the volume of shots you can pull is surprisingly small. (Not really a full size espresso. Certainly not a double espresso.)
The basket would probably be better and give better extraction if it were shallower and wider. You can get quite a deep depth of coffee in there, but it won't extract at all well. The top of the coffee puck is going to be quite visibly a different color to the bottom after pulling (pressing?) a shot. This suggests pretty inefficient and uneven extraction, something that is easily confirmed by pulling different lengths of shot and tasting.
Small shots (and they really are small) taste very good. Longer shots taste pretty bad, because over-extraction begins to become an issue.
Dissassembly
One of the seals for the bottom interface between the glass water chamber and plastic is too loose. It easily gets stuck when trying to re-assemble the unit. (It doesn't stay in place around the plastic bottom bit.)
It's hard to describe this issue. In a nutshell, the big o-ring seal between the plastic body and glass body of the Coffeejack appears to be slightly too large and therefore it's very hard to reassemble the main Coffeejack body correctly after disassembling it for cleaning.
Shower screen
The shower screen on my unit came out after pulling a couple of shots. It now won't stay back in place.
Other minor issues
The basket collects coffee resedue around the edge where the perforated metal bottom meets the plastic walls. There is a small cavety around the basket where these two surfaces meet.The coffee which gets stuck here is difficult to remove without soap and a sponge. The issue with using soap is that soap will get under the perforated metal of the bottom of the basket. To remove the soap, you need to re-attach the basket to the main body to be able to pump clean water through it, to expel any soap residue. You're probably not going to want to let it dry out after using soap to clean it.
Summary
I really like the Coffeejack unit as a concept. I think it looks fantastic, and I think it's a great idea for how to generate pressure for a manual espresso machine.Unfortunatly, it doesn't work as intended. I don't think the problems are limited to my unit. I think the concept is simply flawed. The design and engineering just doesn't work.
I don't think it is possible to fix all of the problems. Some of the more minor issues I am sure could be fixed with a second generation design. Whether or not that is financially realistic for the company to do, I am not sure. For example, the issues with badly fitting o-rings and coffee residue getting stuck in the basket are surely fixable.
At the present time there is no indication that the company are aware of any of these issues and certainly no indication that they might modify the design to fix the issues.
In regards to the more serious issues: The over-pressure valve, which simply doesn't work as intended because the design is a fail, could simply be removed. It doesn't seem to be necessary. It isn't a required safety feature. There is no way it would be possibly to create enough pressure with this thing to cause any kind of hazard. The seals on the metal cylinder leak too much to be able to generate pressure to a level where it could be considered hazardous.
The most serious issue however is that the pumping mechanism isn't able to hold back the pressure it generates. I don't think this is a solvable problem. O-ring seals work on static interfaces. This is not a static interface. It is a dynamic interface, because the o-rings slide with the cyclinder against the plastic walls of the chamber.
Should you buy one?
Absolutly not. While it's a really, really cool idea, it is just an idea. The units they are producing at the moment are no more useful than proof of concepts.I cannot stress this strongly enough: As much as I think the idea is truly phenomenal, the product you are buying is not functional. It is not fit for purpose. It does not work as intended.
There are not just a small number of small issues, almost every aspect of the design is broken. There are a large number of problems, and some of those problems are serious enough to prevent the product from being functional.
I have not used my Coffeejack many times. I have been careful with it, and yet it still has broken. I then figured out how to fix it and discovered all of these issues in the process. It then repeatedly continued to break regardless of how carefully I pumped it.
The issue I take with the company is these issues must be known about, and yet there is no communication about any of these issues, and seemingly no attempt to fix any problems. Instead, it appears that the company is pressing full steam ahead with mass manufacturing and trying to extract as much profit from the consumers as possible.
Most people are probably not going to the effort of fully disassembling their units to find out what has gone wrong. They probably just throw them away, and they end up in landfill.
It took me quite some time to figure out exactly what was going wrong with my unit. Having figured out what does go wrong, I can see why this design was unlikely to ever work correctly.
2024.05.10 19:39 JamFranz My wife has been acting strange ever since I had my MRI
I’d just reached that twilight state where the sedatives made everything seem slightly surreal – the pictures in the magazine I was holding seemed to be moving, and I was pointing them out to my wife, Marie-Anne, who suppressed a laugh in response.
So, for a moment I’d wondered if I’d simply imagined the emaciated man that had stumbled inside the hospital waiting room – but my wife appeared to see him too, because her smile faded as he began pounding on the plastic barrier at the check-in desk. We stared awkwardly as he shouted a jumbled string of nonsense at the poor hospital employee behind it.
His head snapped in our direction and as he approached us, his words finally coagulated into a coherent sentence.
“There’s something in here with me, please get it out.”
Before we could react, a nurse – who was wearing the brightest smiley face scrubs I’d ever seen – appeared and eyed the man warily, before turning to us cheerfully re-explain the procedure.
As she led me towards the double doors, I shot one worried look back at Marie-Anne – despite the waiting room being nearly empty, the guy had taken my seat as soon as I’d vacated it.
He appeared to have calmed down substantially, but I didn’t care for the too-wide grin he wore as he stared at her, or how he rubbed at his eyes in those frantic, twitchy motions. My wife smiled at me, gave me her ‘I’ll be fine’ look as she waved me on and pulled out a well-worn paperback.
My nurse and I passed a young woman in a hospital bed who smiled at me serenely, her head titled. There was something unsettling about her that I couldn’t put my finger on – maybe it was that unblinking gaze she kept trained on me, or her irregular, gulping breaths – as if she were still trying to figure out the art of breathing. For a moment, I almost thought I saw curling, delicate black threads emerging her lower eyelids, but I chalked that up to the sedation meds at the time.
.
It took me a moment to realize where I was.
I don’t remember much about the MRI itself, or for how long I had been trapped inside that tight cylinder – all I knew was that it was late afternoon when I went in, and pitch black outside by the time I came out.
I had 'come to' to the gentle whirring of the machine – a sound that would’ve almost been peaceful if I’d been hearing it from anywhere other than from inside that dark and suffocating tube. In my post sedation stupor, I instinctively tried to sit up and my nose made hard contact with the inside of the machine.
They had been kind enough to approve sedating me for the hour and a half long scan due to my claustrophobia but then apparently, they had just…forgotten about me? I pounded on the inside of that awful white tunnel and screamed until I was hoarse, yet still, no one came for me.
At one point, I felt moment of hope when cold, clammy hands tugged indelicately at my ankles, but eventually my would be rescuer seemed to have given up, because not long afterwards I was alone again.
I thought of Marie-Anne sitting in the waiting room and didn’t know how everyone could’ve forgotten about me – surely, she would’ve been worried when several hours had passed, and I still hadn’t returned?
I eventually managed to calm down enough to release the belt, and attempted to slowly inch my way out, feet first. I tried to keep my eyes shut and my breathing steady – tried not to focus on how my face was so close to the inside of the tunnel that I could feel my own breath echoed back onto it. I told myself the space, with its stale air and walls that nearly touched my shoulders on either side was not closing in around me. I tried to ignore the friction burns forming where my bare flesh drug against the interior.
Finally, I made it out to find that I was alone in the unlit room. For a moment, I wondered if the encounter with whomever had visited me in the darkness was just a fabrication of my still-drugged mind. The dried, dark residue around my ankles in the shape of long, slender fingers seemed to indicate otherwise.
The eerie silence, other than the thrum of the machine, was quickly shattered by awful, pained screaming that floated from down the dark hall. It was filled with misery, hopelessness – made even worse as it seamlessly transitioned into laughter.
That sick laughter never stopped – mirthless, crazed, it continued for the duration of my clumsy trek back towards the elevator.
At one point, I thought I saw small eyes gleaming at me from behind the glass panel in one of the darkened rooms, but I assured myself it was the last of the drugs in my system messing with my head.
Just the meds.
The light of the elevator was a welcome reprieve from the dark hallway – at least until I noticed the crimson streaks painted along the buttons and walls.
Once free from it, I shambled back towards the waiting room until I saw something that made me stop cold.
The handprints told a story, sloppily written in still drying blood on what was once an off-white floor.
Pull. Pull. Drag.
Based on the uneven and messy tracks, it seemed as if someone had been hauling themselves down the hallway using just their hands, the rest of them dragging along the dingy linoleum, leaving streaky crimson in their wake. The area was littered with what looked like long, black hairs that seemed to move on their own in response to my approach. At that point, I really, really hoped that I was just hallucinating.
The trail of blood and pulp looked to originate from the waiting room, and then continued past the point where the hallway forked out of sight. Based on the sheer volume of blood they’d lost, I wasn’t sure how they’d even managed to make it that far without passing out from shock.
The smell of it was overwhelming, inescapable because I’d accidentally stepped into the trail and could feel the still warm liquid as it seeped into my hospital-issued socks. I still couldn’t blink both my eyes in unison – but that very real-feeling sensation coupled with absolute lack of people and symphony of beeps emerging from the rooms on either side of the narrow hall around me was making it more difficult to convince myself that I was simply drugged out of my mind.
After a moment I realized that I could still faintly make out the wet dragging sound of whomever was crawling through the darkness.
Still woozy, and unsure if I could do anything for them, I just called out into the distance that I was going to get help. The sound of raw meat on linoleum paused for a few moments before resuming, growing louder. As if they’d changed direction and were heading back towards me.
At that realization, I suddenly felt dread gnawing at me, and I knew that I didn’t want them to reach me – I knew that something terrible would happen if they did.
I tried to pick up my pace – motivated by the increasingly loud, sickening, sound of pursuit behind me – as I continued my trek back towards the waiting room. The pattern left in blood from my still-saturated socks confirmed that I was weaving a bit as I walked. If I were there alone, I would’ve hauled ass out the emergency exit door as soon as I heard that scream – caught a glimpse of whatever that was lurking in the darkness in the floor below, but I could see Marie-Anne’s lime green hatchback in the parking lot through a window in the hall.
She was still inside, and I had to find her.
For a moment, a sick thought crossed my mind, maybe I already had found her – but no, I assured myself – my wife was not the thing crawling down the empty hallway behind me. She was fine. She’d still be sitting right where I’d seen her last.
Some of the doors to the occupied rooms were just slightly ajar, and the sounds coming from within, well… I almost preferred the laughter from the floor below in comparison.
I finally came across the nurses’ station – the one I had remembered being the last thing between myself and the doors to the waiting room – but what I saw there quickly killed any sense of relief that had been forming.
There were feet sticking out from just behind the counter that moved and twitched irregularly – the legs seemed to dance to an otherworldly melody that only their owner could hear.
Despite my better judgement, I stepped over the mess of gore to take a closer look.
I immediately regretted it.
I saw my nurse – the one who had taken me for the scan. I was so out of it before that I’d forgotten her name, but not her kind expression that had matched the faces on her trippy neon scrubs.
That smile, it was long gone.
There was still a jagged bit of ribs left above the hip bone but everything beyond that – the rest of her – was just… missing.
I stared, uncomprehending at first – it took a moment before I realized that the macabre dance was the result of something moving around just inside the gaping wound in what remained of her torso.
Many of the now familiar delicate hair-like threads spilled out of her body, moving in unison as the small tendrils looked to be in the process of slowly re-forming her missing ribs and spine.
It was like watching an otherworldly 3D printer for flesh and bone.
I had to tightly clamp a hand over my mouth – I was worried that if I started screaming, I wouldn’t be able to stop – and took a last long, sad look at her blood-soaked scrubs and flailing remains.
I sped up, and continued onward clumsily.
Despite what I’d told myself, I almost couldn’t believe it when I found my wife still sitting on a sticky, saturated chair in the waiting room. Her sweater was slashed in places and stained – an entire arm of it was missing. Spatters and small droplets freckled her cheeks as she stared, her eyes unfocused, at the book she was now holding upside down. She looked entirely uninjured and, yes, there was a fleeting moment during which I wondered where the blood around her had come from, but frankly I was too relieved to question it.
The entire room was in disarray, chairs toppled over, cushions ripped, but she didn’t seem even remotely fazed by the carnage around her.
I tried not to stare at the single sneaker that peeked out from under her chair, or the foot that was still inside.
She studied me for a moment before she seemed to recognize me – as if she had to flip through a series of mental flashcards first, but at the time I figured it was due whatever horrible things she had recently bore witness to.
As I led her towards the exit, I heard tapping behind the plastic panel at the check in desk. I made the mistake of looking and saw the young hospital employee from before, gripping the desk in a desperate attempt to stay upright. Those thin, black tendril-like threads emerged from empty sockets and the cavernous gap where his lower jaw had once been, weaving together and seamlessly blending into his skin before my eyes – repairing what likely should have been lethal injuries.
We were so close to escaping, when I heard a door open behind us. I ducked behind some chairs and tried to pull Marie-Anne down with me, but she stood firm. Shoes and the tattered, stained hems of brightly colored smiley face scrubs came into view – it seemed as if my nurse had simply got up and strolled away, unperturbed by the minor inconvenience of the entire top half of her body missing. My wife stared, but didn’t react at all to whatever it was that she was witnessing, and to my immense relief, the nurse made no attempt to approach her.
Eventually, what remained of the poor woman walked out the front doors, and disappeared into the darkness beyond the lights of the parking lot.
We did finally make it to our car, but we’re still here.
I can’t drive and Marie-Anne has just been sitting in the driver’s seat, staring at me. She’s been so quiet except for an occasional loud and irregular breath; I can’t remember the last time I saw her blink but I am starting to notice what appear to be those delicate black threads spill from under her eyes.
I called 911, but keep getting the dispatchers in the next county over. They keep routing me back to my own, but no one is answering.
I miss those fleeting moments when I thought that waking up trapped in the machine after a full-body MRI was going to be the worst part of my day.
I just want to go home.
I’m confused, I’m exhausted, and I have worst itch forming behind my eyes.
JFR
submitted by JamFranz to Odd_directions [link] [comments]
So, for a moment I’d wondered if I’d simply imagined the emaciated man that had stumbled inside the hospital waiting room – but my wife appeared to see him too, because her smile faded as he began pounding on the plastic barrier at the check-in desk. We stared awkwardly as he shouted a jumbled string of nonsense at the poor hospital employee behind it.
His head snapped in our direction and as he approached us, his words finally coagulated into a coherent sentence.
“There’s something in here with me, please get it out.”
Before we could react, a nurse – who was wearing the brightest smiley face scrubs I’d ever seen – appeared and eyed the man warily, before turning to us cheerfully re-explain the procedure.
As she led me towards the double doors, I shot one worried look back at Marie-Anne – despite the waiting room being nearly empty, the guy had taken my seat as soon as I’d vacated it.
He appeared to have calmed down substantially, but I didn’t care for the too-wide grin he wore as he stared at her, or how he rubbed at his eyes in those frantic, twitchy motions. My wife smiled at me, gave me her ‘I’ll be fine’ look as she waved me on and pulled out a well-worn paperback.
My nurse and I passed a young woman in a hospital bed who smiled at me serenely, her head titled. There was something unsettling about her that I couldn’t put my finger on – maybe it was that unblinking gaze she kept trained on me, or her irregular, gulping breaths – as if she were still trying to figure out the art of breathing. For a moment, I almost thought I saw curling, delicate black threads emerging her lower eyelids, but I chalked that up to the sedation meds at the time.
.
It took me a moment to realize where I was.
I don’t remember much about the MRI itself, or for how long I had been trapped inside that tight cylinder – all I knew was that it was late afternoon when I went in, and pitch black outside by the time I came out.
I had 'come to' to the gentle whirring of the machine – a sound that would’ve almost been peaceful if I’d been hearing it from anywhere other than from inside that dark and suffocating tube. In my post sedation stupor, I instinctively tried to sit up and my nose made hard contact with the inside of the machine.
They had been kind enough to approve sedating me for the hour and a half long scan due to my claustrophobia but then apparently, they had just…forgotten about me? I pounded on the inside of that awful white tunnel and screamed until I was hoarse, yet still, no one came for me.
At one point, I felt moment of hope when cold, clammy hands tugged indelicately at my ankles, but eventually my would be rescuer seemed to have given up, because not long afterwards I was alone again.
I thought of Marie-Anne sitting in the waiting room and didn’t know how everyone could’ve forgotten about me – surely, she would’ve been worried when several hours had passed, and I still hadn’t returned?
I eventually managed to calm down enough to release the belt, and attempted to slowly inch my way out, feet first. I tried to keep my eyes shut and my breathing steady – tried not to focus on how my face was so close to the inside of the tunnel that I could feel my own breath echoed back onto it. I told myself the space, with its stale air and walls that nearly touched my shoulders on either side was not closing in around me. I tried to ignore the friction burns forming where my bare flesh drug against the interior.
Finally, I made it out to find that I was alone in the unlit room. For a moment, I wondered if the encounter with whomever had visited me in the darkness was just a fabrication of my still-drugged mind. The dried, dark residue around my ankles in the shape of long, slender fingers seemed to indicate otherwise.
The eerie silence, other than the thrum of the machine, was quickly shattered by awful, pained screaming that floated from down the dark hall. It was filled with misery, hopelessness – made even worse as it seamlessly transitioned into laughter.
That sick laughter never stopped – mirthless, crazed, it continued for the duration of my clumsy trek back towards the elevator.
At one point, I thought I saw small eyes gleaming at me from behind the glass panel in one of the darkened rooms, but I assured myself it was the last of the drugs in my system messing with my head.
Just the meds.
The light of the elevator was a welcome reprieve from the dark hallway – at least until I noticed the crimson streaks painted along the buttons and walls.
Once free from it, I shambled back towards the waiting room until I saw something that made me stop cold.
The handprints told a story, sloppily written in still drying blood on what was once an off-white floor.
Pull. Pull. Drag.
Based on the uneven and messy tracks, it seemed as if someone had been hauling themselves down the hallway using just their hands, the rest of them dragging along the dingy linoleum, leaving streaky crimson in their wake. The area was littered with what looked like long, black hairs that seemed to move on their own in response to my approach. At that point, I really, really hoped that I was just hallucinating.
The trail of blood and pulp looked to originate from the waiting room, and then continued past the point where the hallway forked out of sight. Based on the sheer volume of blood they’d lost, I wasn’t sure how they’d even managed to make it that far without passing out from shock.
The smell of it was overwhelming, inescapable because I’d accidentally stepped into the trail and could feel the still warm liquid as it seeped into my hospital-issued socks. I still couldn’t blink both my eyes in unison – but that very real-feeling sensation coupled with absolute lack of people and symphony of beeps emerging from the rooms on either side of the narrow hall around me was making it more difficult to convince myself that I was simply drugged out of my mind.
After a moment I realized that I could still faintly make out the wet dragging sound of whomever was crawling through the darkness.
Still woozy, and unsure if I could do anything for them, I just called out into the distance that I was going to get help. The sound of raw meat on linoleum paused for a few moments before resuming, growing louder. As if they’d changed direction and were heading back towards me.
At that realization, I suddenly felt dread gnawing at me, and I knew that I didn’t want them to reach me – I knew that something terrible would happen if they did.
I tried to pick up my pace – motivated by the increasingly loud, sickening, sound of pursuit behind me – as I continued my trek back towards the waiting room. The pattern left in blood from my still-saturated socks confirmed that I was weaving a bit as I walked. If I were there alone, I would’ve hauled ass out the emergency exit door as soon as I heard that scream – caught a glimpse of whatever that was lurking in the darkness in the floor below, but I could see Marie-Anne’s lime green hatchback in the parking lot through a window in the hall.
She was still inside, and I had to find her.
For a moment, a sick thought crossed my mind, maybe I already had found her – but no, I assured myself – my wife was not the thing crawling down the empty hallway behind me. She was fine. She’d still be sitting right where I’d seen her last.
Some of the doors to the occupied rooms were just slightly ajar, and the sounds coming from within, well… I almost preferred the laughter from the floor below in comparison.
I finally came across the nurses’ station – the one I had remembered being the last thing between myself and the doors to the waiting room – but what I saw there quickly killed any sense of relief that had been forming.
There were feet sticking out from just behind the counter that moved and twitched irregularly – the legs seemed to dance to an otherworldly melody that only their owner could hear.
Despite my better judgement, I stepped over the mess of gore to take a closer look.
I immediately regretted it.
I saw my nurse – the one who had taken me for the scan. I was so out of it before that I’d forgotten her name, but not her kind expression that had matched the faces on her trippy neon scrubs.
That smile, it was long gone.
There was still a jagged bit of ribs left above the hip bone but everything beyond that – the rest of her – was just… missing.
I stared, uncomprehending at first – it took a moment before I realized that the macabre dance was the result of something moving around just inside the gaping wound in what remained of her torso.
Many of the now familiar delicate hair-like threads spilled out of her body, moving in unison as the small tendrils looked to be in the process of slowly re-forming her missing ribs and spine.
It was like watching an otherworldly 3D printer for flesh and bone.
I had to tightly clamp a hand over my mouth – I was worried that if I started screaming, I wouldn’t be able to stop – and took a last long, sad look at her blood-soaked scrubs and flailing remains.
I sped up, and continued onward clumsily.
Despite what I’d told myself, I almost couldn’t believe it when I found my wife still sitting on a sticky, saturated chair in the waiting room. Her sweater was slashed in places and stained – an entire arm of it was missing. Spatters and small droplets freckled her cheeks as she stared, her eyes unfocused, at the book she was now holding upside down. She looked entirely uninjured and, yes, there was a fleeting moment during which I wondered where the blood around her had come from, but frankly I was too relieved to question it.
The entire room was in disarray, chairs toppled over, cushions ripped, but she didn’t seem even remotely fazed by the carnage around her.
I tried not to stare at the single sneaker that peeked out from under her chair, or the foot that was still inside.
She studied me for a moment before she seemed to recognize me – as if she had to flip through a series of mental flashcards first, but at the time I figured it was due whatever horrible things she had recently bore witness to.
As I led her towards the exit, I heard tapping behind the plastic panel at the check in desk. I made the mistake of looking and saw the young hospital employee from before, gripping the desk in a desperate attempt to stay upright. Those thin, black tendril-like threads emerged from empty sockets and the cavernous gap where his lower jaw had once been, weaving together and seamlessly blending into his skin before my eyes – repairing what likely should have been lethal injuries.
We were so close to escaping, when I heard a door open behind us. I ducked behind some chairs and tried to pull Marie-Anne down with me, but she stood firm. Shoes and the tattered, stained hems of brightly colored smiley face scrubs came into view – it seemed as if my nurse had simply got up and strolled away, unperturbed by the minor inconvenience of the entire top half of her body missing. My wife stared, but didn’t react at all to whatever it was that she was witnessing, and to my immense relief, the nurse made no attempt to approach her.
Eventually, what remained of the poor woman walked out the front doors, and disappeared into the darkness beyond the lights of the parking lot.
We did finally make it to our car, but we’re still here.
I can’t drive and Marie-Anne has just been sitting in the driver’s seat, staring at me. She’s been so quiet except for an occasional loud and irregular breath; I can’t remember the last time I saw her blink but I am starting to notice what appear to be those delicate black threads spill from under her eyes.
I called 911, but keep getting the dispatchers in the next county over. They keep routing me back to my own, but no one is answering.
I miss those fleeting moments when I thought that waking up trapped in the machine after a full-body MRI was going to be the worst part of my day.
I just want to go home.
I’m confused, I’m exhausted, and I have worst itch forming behind my eyes.
JFR