[I wrote this article about Macbeth for my college's newspaper, and I thought this subreddit might enjoy reading it!]
I have joked before that Shakespeare’s two favorite subjects–surpassing love, murder, madness, and crossdressing–are botany and birds. If you’ve been to New York City you might be aware of the “Shakespeare Garden” in Central Park, whose theoretical aim (though it proves nigh-impossible in practice) is to house specimens of all the plants which Shakespeare mentions in his plays. As it turns out, Bard quotes make for quite a diverse garden: there are roses which assuredly would smell as sweet by any other name; there are daffodils, that come before the swallow dares, and take the winds of March with beauty; there’s holly, heigh-ho; there’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance, there’s pansies, that’s for thoughts, there’s fennel for you, and columbines–no word on whether or not they could find any violets, though. I suppose there’s no objection to be made against those who complain that Shakespeare’s language is “flowery”; even as vicious a villain as Iago deigns to express his philosophy on life by way of botanical metaphor: “Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners.” And, of course, the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream revolves around a magical flower which makes people fall in love.
I doubt anyone will object to my claiming of birds as Shakespeare’s other poetical fixation: I suspect that the majority of falconry knowledge which most non-falconers have today comes from reading footnotes in their copies of Shakespeare plays, explaining exactly what Richard II means by “How high a pitch his resolution soars,” or why Hamlet says “Hillo, ho, ho” to Marcellus. But while plants are so common in Shakespeare that I don’t know of one play which we might say is especially densely forested with references to them, there is one play that stands out as particularly full of birds in comparison with the rest of the Shakespearean canon. That play is Macbeth.
This is the sort of thing that one only notices after having read a play so many times that the actual events of the plot become akin to the meter of a poem–beats which must be hit, and which start to feel so natural that one hardly notices them–and one’s attention drifts away from the big, important speeches and toward the more utilitarian words and odd little moments that bridge them. I am not the first to point it out, but it is, all the same, a delightful quirk of the play, and could be a good way for Sophomores to throw their classmates for a loop in seminar [Note: Students at our college study Macbeth during their Sophomore year.]: why are there so many birds in Macbeth?
KING. Dismay’d not this/Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo? SERG. Yes,/As sparrows eagles… -Act I, Scene II
LADY. …The raven himself is hoarse/That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan… -Act I, Scene V
BAN. This guest of summer,/The temple-haunting martlet, does approve/By his loved mansionry, that the heaven’s breath/Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze/Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird/Hath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle… -Act I, Scene VI
LADY. Hark! Peace! It was the owl that shriek’d, the fatal bellman… -Act II, Scene II
LADY. I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. -Act II, Scene II
PORTER. …come in, tailor; here you may roast your goose… -Act II, Scene III
PORTER. ‘Faith, sir, we were carousing till the second cock… -Act II, Scene III
LENNOX. New hatch’d to the woeful time: the obscure bird/Clamour’d the livelong night… -Act II, Scene III
OLD MAN. …On Tuesday last,/A falcon, towering in her pride of place,/Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at and kill’d. -Act II, Scene IV
MACBETH. …Light thickens; and the crow/Makes wing to the rooky wood… -Act III, Scene II
MACBETH. If charnel-houses and our graves must send/Those that we bury back, our monuments/Shall be the maws of kites. -Act III, Scene IV
MACBETH. Augurs and understood relations have/By magot pies and choughs and rooks brought forth/The secret’st man of blood. -Act III, Scene IV
LADY MACDUFF. …the poor wren,/the most diminutive of birds, will fight,/Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. -Act IV, Scene II
LADY MACDUFF. How will you live? SON. As birds do, mother. LADY MACDUFF. What, with worms and flies? SON. With what I get, I mean; and so do they. LADY MACDUFF. Poor bird! Thou’ldst never fear the net nor lime,/The pitfall nor the gin? SON. Why should I, mother? Poor birds they are not set for. -Act IV, Scene II
FIRST MURDERER. What, you egg! -Act IV, Scene II
MACDUFF. …there cannot be/That vulture in you… -Act IV, Scene III
MACDUFF. …O hell-kite! All?/What, all my pretty chickens and their dam/At one fell swoop? -Act IV, Scene III
MACBETH. The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon!/Where got’st thou that goose look? SERVANT. There is ten thousand– MACBETH. Geese, villain? -Act V, Scene III
Above I have listed every ornithological reference that I’ve found in the Scottish Play; as we peruse them, we certainly cannot conclude that every individual reference is of the same kind, or carries the same import. I will not pretend, for example, that, just because geese and ravens are both birds, the Porter’s invitation for the imagined English tailor to cook his goose in Hell merits as much attention as Lady Macbeth’s ominous declaration that “the raven himself is hoarse”. Nor do I think that any individual reference particularly demands explication; by itself, any one of these bird-invocations seems perfectly natural. Shakespeare’s talent is such that he can repeat a motif in such a way that on the macro level it is obvious yet on the micro level it hardly feels present. But that macro level is what interests me here: what impression is created, on the whole, by the presence of so many birds in this play? I have a theory, which, though it may seem far-fetched, I think merits at least some consideration, and which, at the very least, I have not seen stated elsewhere, and so may make a novel contribution to the conversation.
Macbeth is both Shakespeare’s most supernatural tragedy and his most Sophoclean; these two superlatives are inextricably related. The appellative Weird given to the opening scene’s three Sisters–derived from the Old English wyrd, meaning destiny, and famously given its more familiar connotation by Shakespeare himself in this very play–is, among the Bard’s works, unique to Macbeth; and just as that word appears nowhere else in Shakespeare, so is the concept it represents absent in all tragedies but this one. Though Hamlet may cry out against outrageous fortune, and though Othello may rhetoricize about how no man can control his fate, it is only in Macbeth that we truly feel that the events we see play out before us are fated, predestined, inevitable. [See Note 1.] The ghost in Hamlet commands his son to revenge his foul and most unnatural murder, but does not tell him it is certain that he will succeed; indeed, would not the drama be sapped of its intrigue if that level of certainty were present? Meanwhile, the supernatural interlopers in Macbeth offer the Scottish thane not a mission, but a prophecy: All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter! From its mystical opening word–When, not If–the Scottish play makes us aware of the certainty of all that is to befall our tragic antihero. Macbeth is thus a different sort of tragedy than Shakespeare’s others, and it works by an inverted mechanism. While the tragedy of, for example, Desdemona’s death is that it may have been prevented, the tragedy of Macbeth’s destruction is that it represents the fulfilment of fate; and this is the very same mechanism by which Oedipus Rex operates, complete with its own “Weird” character in the form of the seer Tiresias. Though Calvin managed to accept that some men are destined for greatness and others for ruin, this idea is, to Shakespeare and Sophocles, nothing short of agonizing–the stuff of tragedy.
Now: what does all of this have to do with birds? Consider these words from Antigone, spoken by Tiresias to Creon:
You shall learn, when you hear the indications of my art! As I took my place on my ancient seat for observing birds, where I can mark every bird of omen I heard a strange sound among them, since they were screeching with dire, incoherent frenzy and I knew that they were tearing each other with bloody claws, for there was a whirring of wings that made it clear… (Lloyd-Jones translation)
Consider next these words from Oedipus Tyrannus, spoken defensively by Oedipus to Tiresias:
Why, come, tell me, how can you be a true prophet? Why when the versifying hound was here did not you speak some word that could release the citizens? Indeed, her riddle was not one for the first comer to explain! It required prophetic skill, and you were exposed as having no knowledge from the birds or from the gods. No, it was I that came, Oedipus who knew nothing, and put a stop to her; I hit the mark by native wit, not by what I learned from birds. (Lloyd-Jones translation)
The practice of divining the future from birds–be it from their behaviors, their cries, or their innards–was, to Sophocles and his contemporaries, not superstitious hokum, but a practical science at which one could be skilled or unskilled, and it bodes ill for Oedipus that he is so quick to disregard it in favor of his own native wit. [See Note 2] By Shakespeare’s day, the practice had long been relegated to the realm of outdated hocus-pocus, but the Bard still saw some truth in it; in Macbeth, there is a recurring sense that, when the world is sick with some great wrong, its first symptoms manifest in the behavior of birds. When the “fatal bellman” the owl shrieks in the night, Lady Macbeth takes it as a sign that her husband is about his bloody business. The day after the murder of Duncan, as Ross converses with an Old Man about the strange things they’ve seen the previous night, “unnatural/Even as the deed that’s done”, the killing of a falcon by a mousing-owl–an omen straight out of Sophocles–is mentioned before the madness and cannibalism of Duncan’s horses, even though the latter would surely be more immediately noticeable and ghastly than the former.
These are the most obvious examples of birds as ill omens in Macbeth; yet even the more innocuous invocations of birds throughout the rest of the play continually turn our thoughts back to the ancient Greek understanding of fate and prophecy, and thereby remind us that, however savagely he may fight at Dunsinane, Macbeth’s fate is as fixed as that of Oedipus. The birds have already foretold all.
Note 1: The closest thing there is to this kind of fatalness in another Shakespearean tragedy is the several superstitious occurrences in Julius Caesar–both the soothsayer’s message of “Beware the ides of March” and the bestial portents such as the lack of a heart in an offering and the whelping of a lioness in the streets. Still, I will insist that these omens do not convey a sense of fatedness to the audience as strongly as the Weird Sisters in Macbeth by virtue of their being told to Caesar himself, not to Brutus, the play’s true protagonist, and by the fact that Shakespeare elsewhere uses dialogue to throw some doubt upon the idea of predestination: "Men at some times are masters of their fates:/The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,/But in ourselves, that we are underlings." -I.ii
Note 2: The Liddell-Scott Greek Lexicon identifies at least two separate verbs referring to bird-based divination, both of which are present in the quoted passages: Tiresias uses ορνϊθοσκοπέομαι, observe birds, interpret their flight and cries, while Oedipus uses οιωνίζομαι, take omens from the flight and cries of birds. The latter term comes from οιωνος, a large bird, bird of prey, such as a vulture or eagle, and so distinguished from a common bird, while the former comes from ορνις, which more generally refers to a bird, including birds of prey and domestic fowls. Birds of both kinds are present in Macbeth; there are οιωναι, such as the “falcon, towering in her pride of place”, as well as ορνες, like the Porter’s goose and cock. I therefore see little value in interrogating the kinds of birds invoked by Shakespeare, the specific cultural associations and significance of the owl, the raven, or the wren; rather, if we reduce them down to their barest existence as birds, animals of the class Aves, and consider them in an ancient Greek light, then things become a bit clearer.

1. A Cross-Sectional Study of Blood Ethylmercury Levels and Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults and the Elderly in the United States
   • "Significantly increased risks for lower animal fluency test (odds ratio (OR) = 13.652, p = 0.0029) and CERAD W-L delayed recall test (OR = 6.401, p = 0.0433) scores were observed among the higher ethyl-Hg exposure group as compared to the lower ethyl-Hg exposure group. This study supports the hypothesis that increased ethyl-Hg exposure is associated with significant cognitive decline in older adult and elderly Americans."
2. Thimerosal-Derived Ethylmercury Is a Mitochondrial Toxin in Human Astrocytes: Possible Role of Fenton Chemistry in the Oxidation and Breakage of mtDNA
   • "Ethylmercury causes a 50% collapse in membrane potential in astrocytes at 1 hour. Accompanying this collapse in membrane potential we observe a significant increase in the levels of various ROS. The internal mitochondrial steady state level of superoxide increases by 70% in treated cells and is matched by an increase in cellular hydrazine reactive carbonyls. Using H2DCF-AM we observe a 200% increase in steady state production of reactive oxidants, which from deconvolution we know to be mitochondrially generated (Figure 2). Mitochondrial DNA, and not nuclear DNA, is far more vulnerable to ethylmercury-induced damage. We observe a 240% increase in the levels of mitochondrial DNA breaks, a 300% increase in 3′OH DNA nicks and 460% increase in the levels of oxidized bases/apurinic or apyrimidinic sites"
   • "At higher concentrations (>7.2 μM Thimerosal) a loss of mitochondrial signal and of DCF is observed."
3. The relationship between mercury and autism: A comprehensive review and discussion
   • "This review found 91 studies that examine the potential relationship between mercury and ASD from 1999 to February 2016. Of these studies, the vast majority (74%) suggest that mercury is a risk factor for ASD, revealing both direct and indirect effects. The preponderance of the evidence indicates that mercury exposure is causal and/or contributory in ASD."
4. Examining the evidence that ethylmercury crosses the blood-brain barrier
   • "22 studies from 1971 to 2019 show that exposure to ethylmercury-containing compounds (intravenously, intraperitoneally, topically, subcutaneously, intramuscularly, or intranasally administered) results in accumulation of mercury in the brain. In total, these studies indicate that ethylmercury-containing compounds and Thimerosal readily cross the BBB, convert, for the most part, to highly toxic inorganic mercury-containing compounds, which significantly and persistently bind to tissues in the brain, even in the absence of concurrent detectable blood mercury levels."
5. Comparison of blood and brain mercury levels in infant monkeys exposed to methylmercury or vaccines containing thimerosal
   • "These studies indicate that ethylmercury-containing compounds and Thimerosal readily cross the BBB, convert, for the most part, to highly toxic inorganic mercury-containing compounds, which significantly and persistently bind to tissues in the brain, even in the absence of concurrent detectable blood mercury levels."
   • "The results indicate that MeHg is not a suitable reference for risk assessment from exposure to thimerosal-derived Hg. Knowledge of the toxicokinetics and developmental toxicity of thimerosal is needed to afford a meaningful assessment of the developmental effects of thimerosal-containing vaccines."
   • "The average concentration of inorganic Hg did not change across the 28 days of washout and was approximately 16 ng/mL (Figure 7). This level of inorganic Hg represented 21–86% of the total Hg in the brain (mean ± SE, 70 ± 4%), depending on the sacrifice time. These values are considerably higher than the inorganic fraction observed in the brain of MeHg monkeys (6–10%)."
   • "Absolute inorganic Hg concentrations in the brains of the thimerosal-exposed monkeys were approximately twice that of the MeHg monkeys."
6. Exposure to Inorganic Mercury Causes Oxidative Stress, Cell Death, and Functional Deficits in the Motor Cortex
   • "It was observed that chronic exposure to inorganic mercury caused a decrease in balance and fine motor coordination, formation of mercury deposits and oxidative stress verified by the increase of lipoperoxidation and nitrite concentration and a decrease of the total antioxidant capacity. In addition, we found that this model of exposure to inorganic mercury caused cell death by cytotoxicity and induction of apoptosis with a decreased number of neurons and astrocytes in the motor cortex. Our results provide evidence that exposure to inorganic mercury in low doses, even in spite of its poor ability to cross biological barriers, is still capable of inducing motor deficits, cell death by cytotoxicity and apoptosis, and oxidative stress in the motor cortex of adult rats."
7. The retention time of inorganic mercury in the brain--a systematic review of the evidence
   • "Estimates from modelling studies appear sensitive to model assumptions, however predications based on a long half-life (27.4 years) are consistent with autopsy findings. In summary, shorter estimates of half-life are not supported by evidence from animal studies, human case studies, or modelling studies based on appropriate assumptions. Evidence from such studies point to a half-life of inorganic mercury in human brains of several years to several decades. This finding carries important implications for pharmcokinetic modelling of mercury and potentially for the regulatory toxicology of mercury."
8. Astrocytes in the central nervous system and their functions in health and disease: A review
   • "Because astrocytes contain metal-binding proteins such as metallothionein, they are also involved in the uptake and sequestration of some heavy metals."
9. Proximal tubular transport of Metallothionein-Mercury complexes and protection against nephrotoxicity
   • "MT has a very high affinity for Hg; thus, mercuric ions that are not already bound to MT may bind to MT within the cytoplasm to form large Hg-MT complexes that may be retained in the cell. This will be particularly true in segments of proximal tubules that have higher levels of MT, i.e., cortical proximal tubules. MT is capable of binding 6–11 molecules of Hg (He et al., 2021); thus, it is logical that cells and tissues with higher levels of MT will accumulate more Hg."
10. CHD's Compilation Of Peer-Reviewed, Published Research Showing Adverse Effects of Mercury

Abstract:
The Metals Company (NASDAQ:TMC, the “Company”) - sustained heavy mining operations in abyssal depths of 3500 - 5000m using all new technology while asserting environmental friendliness in an “emerging” market lacking a regulatory foundation. Profitability is a distant and very uncertain gleam on the horizon.
Today’s “earnings” saw an overshoot in estimated loss by 60% compared to street estimate. The stock took a dive -10% aftermarket. This is your shot at a management team that already tried and failed miserably.
TMC, the Company and Management:
The Company is specialised in Deep-sea mining (DSM) and exploration, was established in 2021 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Members of TMC's management team, including CEO Gerard Barron, were previously associated with Nautilus Minerals, another company specialised in DSM. Nautilus Minerals' attempt to extract minerals from the seafloor within Papua New Guinea's territorial waters ultimately resulted in an environmental disaster and bankruptcy in OCT 2019.
The project was marred by instances of social, environmental, and financial mismanagement. A reported theft of $10 million was coupled with the lack of disclosure of investigation findings to shareholders.
What followed was a new DSM company called DeepGreen Metals, which in turn went public in 2021 through a SPAC merger with Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corp and took today’s name The Metals Company (TMC).
The Claims:
TMC possesses exploration contracts awarded by the The International Seabed Authority (ISA) through three subsidiaries: NORI, sponsored by the Republic of Nauru; TOML, sponsored by the Kingdom of Tonga; and DeepGreen Engineering Pte. Ltd., which has entered into an agreement with Marawa Research and Exploration Limited, a company owned and sponsored by the Republic of Kiribati.
All claims are situated within the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean, which is regulated by the ISA.
NORI encompasses a seabed area of 74,830 km2 and is projected to harbour approximately 866 million wet tonnes of polymetallic nodules. TOML, spanning 74,713 km2 of seabed, hosts an inferred resource totaling 756 million wet tonnes of polymetallic nodules. As for the Marawa arrangement, its resource assessment remains pending.
Their compositions are found to consist of approximately 30% Manganese, 1.3% Nickel, 1.1% Copper, and 0.2% Cobalt. Based on current assessments, the net present combined value of mineable metals is estimated to range from $6.8 to $8.6 billion. The combined claims of NORI and TOML would constitute the second-largest nickel mine globally in terms of resource size.
Deep-sea mining (DSM) for Polymetallic Nodules:
A remotely controlled undersea robot is sent down from a support vessel to dredge and suck polymetallic nodules off the seafloor. In late 2022, TMC successfully demonstrated its mining capabilities by collecting approximately 4500 t of material and extracting 3000 t of nodules with a sustained production rate of 86.4 tonnes per hour during a system test. The company aims for 200 tonnes per hour with additional collector heads and a bigger capacity riser pipe.
Profitability estimates for DSM vary widely.
The Financial Situation:
TMC has a market capitalization of ~$460 million. It incurred a loss of $25.2 million last quarter, with a trailing twelve-month loss amounting to $73 million. Total cash at hand stands at $4 million. The company has the option to access $25 million in additional proceeds from an unsecured credit facility maturing AUG 2025, which remains undrawn, and another $20 million maturing SEPT 2025, of which $2.9 million were drawn in MAR this year.
Pro forma liquidity is ~$49 million. Dept sits at ~$16 million.
The ship should stay buoyant for another 12 months from now, without resorting to measures like dilution.
The International Seabed Authority (ISA):
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) serves as the principal regulatory body overseeing the exploration and exploitation of minerals located on the international seafloor. Established under Article 156 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the ISA is responsible for developing regulations governing these activities.
As of now, the ISA has yet to finalise a rulebook for the industry.
In 2021, TMC, sponsored by Nauru, utilised a regulatory loophole to initiate a process that imposed a two-year deadline on the ISA to establish regulations for DSM within its jurisdiction. With the ISA failing to meet this deadline in 2023, countries are now permitted to apply for mining licences in the absence of official guidelines.
TMC plans to apply for exploitation rights after the ISA session JUL – AUG this year.
The application review process is expected to drag on for 12 months. Production is anticipated to commence in Q1 2026 (revised from Q4 2025).
It is noteworthy that the USA is not a member of the ISA.
Relationship highlight - TMC and Nauru:
Nauru, formerly a prosperous island nation buoyed by abundant phosphate deposits, has faced financial challenges since the depletion of these resources in the 1990s. In recent years, the country has been associated with activities such as money laundering for the Russian mafia and detaining refugees seeking asylum in Australia in conditions widely criticised as inhumane. Additionally, Nauru has been noted for its propensity to alter political allegiances in pursuit of financial benefits, recently ditching Taiwan for China.
“The partnership with TMC is hoped to become the largest contributor to Nauru’s GDP, once fully operational, and vital for the country's economic survival.” This is according to Peter Jacob, a former chief of staff for Nauru’s Office of the President who now works as the NORI Country Manager at TMC.
Nauru Ocean Resources has pledged to pay corporate income tax in Nauru, where the current rate stands at 25 percent. Additionally, Nauru will receive a predetermined payment (tbd) for each ton of nodules extracted through mining activities.
Recent Development:
TMC has invested an approximate total of $100 million towards conducting environmental impact assessments as part of the regulatory process for securing mining rights from the ISA. The company submitted the biggest comprehensive dataset on the environmental impacts of DSM as of yet to the ISA, with an even bigger one announced for the ISA’s session JUL this year.
A life cycle assessment done in 2023 by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence suggests TMC’s NORI-D nodule project could outperform land-based routes in all measured environmental categories, including mining, transport, processing and refining.
Several countries, including China, Russia, Norway, Mexico, and the UK, advocate for the advancement of the DSM industry. China, in particular, already asserts claims to deep-sea mineral resources and has already undertaken mineral exploration activities in the international waters of the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
On JAN 9 of this year, the Norwegian parliament made a decision to open extensive areas in Arctic waters for DSM activities. In response, the European Parliament passed Resolution B9-0095/2024 in late January, expressing significant environmental concerns regarding Norway's action. The resolution reiterated Parliament's support for a moratorium on DSM and urged the European Commission and Member States to adopt a precautionary approach and advocate for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining, including at the ISA. A total of 24 countries worldwide, including seven European Union (EU) member states (Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden), have voiced their support for a moratorium or suspension of deep-sea mining activities. France has outright banned the practice.
In FEB 2024, the ISA released a streamlined draft of regulations with key areas yet to be “consolidated”.
In MAR, legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives calling for the U.S. to “support international governance of seafloor resource exploration and responsible polymetallic nodule collection by allied partners”, and to “provide financial, diplomatic, or other forms of support for seafloor nodule collection, processing and refining.”
Steve Jurvetson has joined TMCs board in APR.
Risks:
The Secretary-General of the ISA faces reelection in JUL. Michael Lodge, who served two terms, now faces accusations of "interfering with the decision-making process" and "sharing information with mining companies." He's not been nominated by the UK for his third term as before, but by the island nation of Kiribati. I fear Lodge's absence could spell short-term trouble for the sector, given the presence of some fiercely prohibitive candidates.
The recent earnings loss overshot was partly attributed to heightened transportation costs of nodules to a partner facility in Japan for processing. This highlights that the business model faces inherent risks, including the lack of provenness, the novelty of the technology, and the certainty for unforeseen challenges during sustained operations.
A surge in climate change and biodiversity cases indicates, DSM litigation is foreseeable as aggrieved countries, communities, and other stakeholders impacted by DSM can take the ISA, mining companies, and other parties they deem liable to international, regional, and national courts.
Profitability might face additional constraints due to anticipated seabed restoration obligations that are expected to accompany exploitation rights.
Considering the current financial situation and the expected timeframes, there is a risk of dilution due to liquidity challenges by Q3/Q4 2025.
All of these factors are compounded by a highly speculative and politically charged regulatory limbo, where states are beginning to enact regulations on a national level.
Finally, crowned by TMC's management team's prior involvement with Nautilus Minerals and the outcome of Nautilus' deep-sea mining project.
Speculation:
Treating TMC as a mining company at 20% - 50% of its underlying asset’s NPV, the price tag should be $9 - $11. Though TMC is everything but a “traditional” mining company.
Worst Case - a ban on DSM: Considering the lengthy processes of exploration, assessments, applications, and environmental studies, along with the current financial situation, the company may remain operational in its current structure for another 2-3 challenging years, but your investment will plummet to the depths of Hades.
Timelines shift to the future: This could be due to a prohibitive candidate becoming the next secretary-general at the ISA, or environmentally fueled initiatives to delay DSM. The more time passes, the more TMC will feel the urge to squeeze its shareholders.
TMC applies, the ISA misses the deadline again: We’ve come full circle, though with a higher potential. TMC could go to court, start operations as planned or something in between. I expect upside potential from this.
TMC applies, the ISA approves with restoration obligations: Based on the severity of potential outcomes, I anticipate the valuation range to be between $3.4 to $6 until the business model's feasibility emerges.
Bull Case - TMC applies, the ISA approves with minimal to no restoration obligations: Full potential upside is realised, until the business model's feasibility emerges.
Catalyst:
-ISA Vote JUL 2024 -TMC Application for exploitation following ISA session Q3/Q4 2024

I want to quickly dismiss a couple associations that this post will have.

1. This is not masochism (ie pleasure through pain).
2. This is not a method of achieving or "proving" self identity (ie "challenge yourself and find what you're made of, bud!!!")

This is a direct shot across the bow at what I see as the major cause for mental illness in the entire 1st world. In the physical health world, you have stages that lead towards obesity: there's the early stage (often termed "pre-diabetic"), then there's full on metabolic syndrome. Somewhere in between, you go from 20 lbs overweight to 100 lbs overweight. It's much easier to save someone in the early stages, as permanent long-term weight loss is extremely rare. Thus, to complete my analogy, it's my belief that there is an equivalent to this "pre-diabetic" stage of poor mental health across most of the 1st world, and the people we traditionally label "mentally ill" are merely in a more advanced stage that has become more difficult to recover from.
What ails us is that we were born into a successful society that provided for our needs without much effort on our part. Consequently, our primary daily concern is pleasure, rather than survival. We seek pleasure from the moment we wake up until the moment we go to bed through: food, entertainment, sexual gratification, and more broadly ego gratification. These are the things that give meaning to our lives. In other words, we create short and long term goals that ultimately result in the fulfillment of these objectives of pleasure. People pursue whole hobbies and careers solely for sexual gratification (get fit, make money, get chicks!). We fill up all of our spare moments with entertainment (most recently, in the form of social media, but older media forms still apply, particularly streaming television). And given that something like 70% of the US is overweight, we literally cannot help ourselves but overeat.
We'll blame these things on anything that we can. We're pursuing entertainment only because we're lonely! We're only overweight because we eat poor quality food or don't exercise! We only pursue porn because we aren't getting laid enough! No, you lack self-discipline.
But alas, this is not a post about self-discipline either. This is an attempt to illustrate your current orientation, it's core failing, and what it could be instead.
The feeling of surviving something is euphoric. Surviving a hard work day, a stressful moment around a wild animal, a taxing hike or workout, a risky move in an extreme sport, or even an act of heroism... all of these things trigger something extremely satisfying in the brain similar to what pleasure is doing for you now. Imagine if you could get yourself addicted to this form of success instead of pleasure chemical success. You would have new capabilities, a satisfaction with yourself, AND you would also be happy like you feel for brief moments right now. Now imagine how you could build up this feeling of happiness all day by pursuing these goals because your brain would be rewarding you in anticipation of more success. This is what pushing yourself can actually do.
Note: the amount of joy you feel from surviving something is NOT equivalent to the amount of pain experienced during the activity. At least, not in the narrow sense of physical pain telling you not to touch a hot stove, for instance. This is why this is not a masochistic philosophy.
To be blunt: instead of recoiling from pain, lean into it. Accept it. Think about how hard you can make yourself, and the cost/benefit for basic decisions in your life will be transformed in ways that I can hardly describe. If you were born in an era that wasn't so comfy, or you were born into unfortunate circumstances that made your childhood difficult, you already know these things by heart. But if your life thus far has been comfy, it might be time to experience something else.

I think Syrio Forel's name is a giant Tolkien reference. His first name, Syrio is a reference to the River Sirion.

Sirion was a river of Middle-earth in the First Age, the principal river of Beleriand.

The symbolism George uses fits this interpretation. Syrio is a Water Dancer who is the First Sword of Braavos. A dancing water sword, aka a river.
His last name, Forel is the Middle English word for sheath.
To the East and West of the River Sirion was Belerialand, forming the sheath of the river so to speak. So "Syrio Forel" or "Sirion's Sheath" is Belerialand.
Belerialand means the Country of Balar, so "Sirion's Sheath" (Syrio Forel) can be boiled down to mean Balar. Why is this relevant?

Balar refers to the Valar (and Maiar), especially Ossë

The name Balar is just another word for Valar. This word is important in ASOIAF as it makes up the first part of "Valar Morghulis", which, wouldn't you know it, is famously associated with Braavos. In fact, George just smashed two of Tolkien's terms together "Valar" and "Morgul" so we can get a pretty good idea his mind was on Tolkien when creating Braavos and Syrio.
Valar:

The word vala is Quenya for "(angelic) power".

Morgul:

Morgul is a Sindarin noun meaning "black arts" - Tolkeingateway

So all of this to propose Syrio Forel is a complex way of saying "Sirion's Sheath" which in the history of Middle-Earth was "Belerialand" which translates to "Balar Land" and "Balar" just means "Valar", the first part of Valar Morghulis and good symbolism as Syrio is the "angel" (vala) on Arya's shoulder in her adventures. He's the "white" to her House or Black and White. Now, could a certain red and white haired assassin be the black, the Morgul in Valar Morghulis?

I'm currently dealing with a challenging situation involving my 55+ homeowners' association and could use some community wisdom and perhaps legal insights. Here's a brief on what's happening:
**Background:**
* I'm 32 years old, and my wife is 29. We live in a community that generally requires at least one occupant per unit to be over 55. It is part of Indian culture to help the parents financially and emotionally.
* The unit is co-owned and primarily resided in by my parents, who are 63 and 59, meeting the over-55 requirement. Despite their primary residency, they often travel to India due to family obligations and medical issues.
* The property was purchased in 2019 and has been the primary residence listed on their homestead exemption, driver's licenses, and utility bills, car and home insurances, declaration and domicile, bank and credit card statements.
**Issue:**
* The HOA is demanding a separate $150 fee for a background check on my wife, despite bylaws that suggest a husband and wife should be considered a single applicant for occupancy purposes.
* There are concerns about our ages and potential family expansion, like having a child, which they suggest could violate community standards. We are willing to comply with all regulations, including moving out if our family situation changes against community rules.
**Legal Question:**
* Our HOA has indicated that they can impose a fine of $1000 for what they deem as an "illegal residency." Moreover, they suggest this fine could be $50 per day. If this is the case, can the HOA legally continue to fine us $1000 repeatedly for the same issue? What are the limits to their ability to impose such fines?
I am trying to understand the potential for continuous fines or if there's a cap at a one-time $1000 penalty for this particular situation. Has anyone dealt with similar HOA issues, especially concerning residency based on age restrictions and additional occupants? Any advice on how to navigate these waters would be immensely helpful.
Thank you all for your insights and help!

Writing here, because the growth/sales contact that Supabase gave me through the contact form is not responsive. That, and I don't want to chat on the phone.
I'm looking for a solution for building a web app for a client that needs security equivalent to what is needed for medical data, but the application is not related to medical. My client is very small and self funded.

1. Will Supabase sign a BAA for non-HIPAA stuff?
   
2. Does the client need to upgrade to the Team level to get that security agreement? If yes, is it possible to get startup pricing where the full price kicks in later? Because, the list price is $12K per year for a very minimal app with a BAA (Business Associate Agreement). That seems a bit steep to me given this application isn't anywhere near enterprise level yet.
   

u/kiwicopple

I'm currently dealing with a challenging situation involving my homeowners' association and could use some community wisdom and perhaps legal insights. Here's a brief on what's happening: Background:

• I'm 32 years old, and my wife is 29. We live in a community that generally requires at least one occupant per unit to be over 55. It is part of Indian culture to help the parents financially and emotionally.
• The unit is co-owned and primarily resided in by my parents, who are 63 and 59, meeting the over-55 requirement. Despite their primary residency, they often travel to India due to family obligations and medical issues.
• The property was purchased in 2019 and has been the primary residence listed on their homestead exemption, driver's licenses, and utility bills, car and home insurances, declaration and domicile, bank and credit card statements.
• Issue:
• The HOA is demanding a separate $150 fee for a background check on my wife, despite bylaws that suggest a husband and wife should be considered a single applicant for occupancy purposes.
• There are concerns about our ages and potential family expansion, like having a child, which they suggest could violate community standards. We are willing to comply with all regulations, including moving out if our family situation changes against community rules.
• Legal Question:
• Our HOA has indicated that they can impose a fine of $1000 for what they deem as an "illegal residency." Moreover, they suggest this fine could be $50 per day. If this is the case, can the HOA legally continue to fine us $1000 repeatedly for the same issue? What are the limits to their ability to impose such fines? I am trying to understand the potential for continuous fines or if there's a cap at a one-time $1000 penalty for this particular situation. Has anyone dealt with similar HOA issues, especially concerning residency based on age restrictions and additional occupants? Any advice on how to navigate these waters would be immensely helpful. Thank you all for your insights and help!

I'm currently dealing with a challenging situation involving my 55+ homeowners' association and could use some community wisdom and perhaps legal insights. Here's a brief on what's happening:
Background:

• I'm 32 years old, and my wife is 29. We live in a community that generally requires at least one occupant per unit to be over 55. It is part of Indian culture to help the parents financially.
• The unit is co-owned and primarily resided in by my parents, who are 63 and 59, meeting the over-55 requirement. Despite their primary residency, they often travel to India due to family obligations and medical issues.
• The property was purchased in 2019 and has been the primary residence listed on their homestead exemption, driver's licenses, and utility bills.

Issue:

• The HOA is demanding a separate $150 fee for a background check on my wife, despite bylaws that suggest a husband and wife should be considered a single applicant for occupancy purposes.
• There are concerns about our ages and potential family expansion, like having a child, which they suggest could violate community standards. We are willing to comply with all regulations, including moving out if our family situation changes against community rules.

Legal Question:

• Our HOA has indicated that they can impose a fine of $1000 for what they deem as an "illegal residency." Moreover, they suggest this fine could be $50 per day. If this is the case, can the HOA legally continue to fine us $1000 repeatedly for the same issue? What are the limits to their ability to impose such fines?

I am trying to understand the potential for continuous fines or if there's a cap at a one-time $1000 penalty for this particular situation. Has anyone dealt with similar HOA issues, especially concerning residency based on age restrictions and additional occupants? Any advice on how to navigate these waters would be immensely helpful.
Thank you all for your insights and help!

I wish to acknowledge the receipt of your email in response to my proposal, I would like you to understand that I’m a Man of social status therefore I will not involve myself in a transaction of this nature and magnitude if I haven’t done my assignment thoroughly. I have been working in the banking institution for a very long time and I do understand the modalities associated with banking ethics. In the banking sector, those that occupy key positions always enjoy some benefits which people outside the banking world cannot imagine. Under the oath of employment, information of this nature which I have made available to you are meant to remain within the shores of the banking institution. An opportunity such as this does not come all the time but when it does, it is with all pleasure that it is being embraced by whoever the opportunity is opened to, therefore one thing that is paramount in transactions like this is “TRUST and “TRANSPARENCY”
I would like to assure you that there will be no risk involved as my position in the bank guarantees this, thus, anything I say concerning the transaction in line with the laws/banking policies will be followed by the bank Executives. Before we can proceed further I will like you to understand that this transaction can be successful only if we work together and as such you are to adhere strictly to my instructions as all instructions that I will be giving to you subsequently will be in accordance/compliance with the laws/laid down rules to apply for the deceased's fund as the Next of Kin, In proceeding further, I want you to assure me that you will be honest during the transaction and as soon as the funds are transferred to you by the bank, we would share the money EQUALLY and PEACEFULLY either by meeting in person or through bank to bank transfers. My personal instinct directed me to contact you and I sincerely hope it was not a wrong thing to do.
I shall direct you on the process of having the funds released; we shall start by sending a formal application to my Bank for the release of the said fund as the Next of Kin to the deceased. I will send you the text i.e the format for which you are to construct the application. Thereafter the bank will request from you the relevant back up documents to your claim according to the demand of our probate law for transfer of funds. Once you have provided the Bank with the required documents, they would be under legal obligation to transfer the funds to a designated account which will be provided by you. Upon this laid-down structure, there will be no form of Risk or illegality in carrying out this proposal.
It is important we have a mutual understanding because I know we will surely enjoy the benefits of this in no distant time.Kindly find below my full contact details in case of necessity:

1. Name: Mr. Mark Edward Tucker.
2. Occupation: CEO and Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings plc
3. Date of Birth: 29 December 1957 (age 66)
4. Religion: Christian
5. Marital Status: Married

Sequel to the above content I really do hope you are someone I can trust to help achieve this. I will want you to immediately provide me with the following details.
SECTION II

1. Your Complete Names:
2. Your Address:
3. Present Occupation and position:
4. Marital Status:
5. Age:
6. Religion:

SECTION II
Please provide me with accurate answers to the following below:
Have you handled transactions of this tune before?
Have you had an international transaction(s) before?
Specifically, have you had any business transaction with an individual or company that resides in Italy?
As soon as I hear from you with the required data above as well as receiving your reassurance that I can put my trust in you most especially when the funds has been released to you by the bank thus enabling us share the money in the ratio(50/50)as agreed, I will send you the Text of Application for you to contact my bank for the release of the funds in the account of (Late Mr. Fabian Alexander) to your account as his Next of Kin.
Endeavor to have all the requirements in (SECTION I and II) above sent to me immediately as I will have to key them into the deceased's account file so that it will be an easy go through with the bank's executives with respect to verification when they receive your application.
I await your swift response.
Sincerely, Mr. Mark E Tucker. CEO & Group Chairman of the Executive Board Of HSBC Bank.

• Please consider the environment before printing any email correspondence. Print only when necessary.

This email is only sent to the intended recipients and addressees in confidence and not for external circulation. *

1. Do not go too far underground or there is the nether or the deep 1.1 Do not exceed personal ability limit for the wargame 1.1.1 Do not allow X-Rays or too much high frequency into the signal 1.1.2 Do not allow Mutagens or too much Bass in the signal 1.1.3 Do not allow fire unless specifically working with fire 1.1.4 Do not exceed cost limit 5000 actual barrel cost for barrel to item limit 1.1.5 Do not exceed 2 knots at a time in a blueprint or mutagen will form 1.1.6 Do not exceed 1 pass a time in a blueprint or mutagen will form 1.1.7 (Our Foundry Specific) Do not Exceed 100 points of cost detail 1.1.8 Do not exceed 1 point of cost offset overflow 1.1.9 To not underflow 1 point of cost offset overflow 1.2.1 Do not combine source besides with metal 1.2.2 Do not combine motion except with a hydrogen range 1.2.3 Do not combine weed except with motion 1.2.4 Do not use small lettering or large lettering any letters besides standard -33 MID set 1.2.5 Do not create aurora and create quality assurance to avoid aurora 1.2.6 Do not output liquid or gas products except liquid product for a medicine or food 1.2.7 Do not exceed 0 nominal (infinity) at sample or a gas explosion will form, even if secret but you may exceed this outside a sample if the total sample global output does not exceed 0 nominal 1.2.8 Take only exact reference measurement at known measurement point 1.2.9 Do not exceed 3 or 4 acts of alkenation 1.3.0 Do not exceed 1 minor act of hydrogenation in a hydrogen synthesis 1.3.1 Do not exceed 2 points of hydrogenation in a core synthesis 1.3.2 Do not exceed 5 points of diolation ever 1.3.3 Do not use tropane or higher frequency 1.3.4 Make sure the signal is pure of heavy metal 1.3.5 Make sure the signal is pure of vaseline 1.3.6 Make sure the signal is pure of methanol and isopropanol and ethanol 1.3.7 Make sure the signal exhibits known food attribute source minisulfur starch sugar hydrogen alkene (edibles, 1/2 diol) for a sugar and does not variate between starch and sugar molecularly or it will be oxiracetam 1.3.8 Make sure in another method that the signal exhibits minisource and minisulfur nutraloaf and starch and hydrogen and alkene (vinegar oil, diol) for a lipid synthesis 1.3.9 Make sure that the synthesis exhibits reference pure source hydrogen alkene in the EDTA/Tianeptine Synthesis 1.4.0 Make sure that the synthesis exhibits hydrogen in an acid synthesis 1.4.1 Make sure that the hydrogenation is not excessive for a hydrochloride synthesis 1.4.2 Make sure that the substance exhibits minisource and sulfur and starch and pepsi-cola and alkene for a chlorophyll synthesis 1.4.3 A computer synthesis does not use the hydrogen romanaj set starch=LED1 sugar=LED2 sweet=LED3 Hydrogen=Hydrogen but hydrogen is not used 1.4.4 A computer synthesis exhibits chassis metal with aerated LEDX,LEDY,(LEDZ) offset chassis paired with at least detectable gold at every LED and two of these LED assembly at least at phase octavver and maybe 3 or 4 assembly total, with a battery in the chassis and a rear chassis without the battery of the same structure of the initial chassis all made from a cohesive resource 1.4.5 A computer sells for reasonable around 1000 dollars or some crypto 1.4.6 A computer comes with an associated online parts kit or actual parts kit which can be used to modify the process function of the CPU (Finder) 1.4.7 A computer can be overclocked by amplifying its LED microoffset fidelity for its core clock phase 1.4.8 A computer accesses a real item by the blueprint and these are certified at least fully functional 1.4.9 A computer references a particular item from the blueprint or has its direct function encoded directly in the token (blueprint either yields unlock item or the blueprint yields the item from what is in the blueprint) 1.5.0 A computer is the portable computer if it is the tablet token and the RGB computer if it is the full represented.

Serpent-headed when the glamour was lifted but appearing to man as men among men. Crept they into the Councils, taking forms that were like unto men. Slaying by their arts the chiefs of the kingdoms, taking their form and ruling o'er man. Only by magic could they be discovered. Only by sound could their faces be seen. Sought they from the Kingdom of shadows to destroy man and rule in his place. But, know ye, the Masters were mighty in magic, able to lift the Veil from the face of the serpent, able to send him back to his place -Thoth, the Great Wise
Remember Venom, the parasitic alien life form that is attached to spiderman & a massive church bell isused to get rid of em? Venom was basically an Archon that the gnostics & Thoth talk about. Symbiotes are symbiotic alien life forms which feed on the emotions of their hosts, particularly negative emotions. Bells
Its been reported for ages that the plague would skip over the areas in Russia where they had larger concentrations of church bells. Many Soviet researchers determined the amazing healing properties of bells and found that the oscillation of the ultrasonic range of church bells repels bacilli, viruses, and other infectious diseases that are transmitted through the air, and even cures many other diseases. Bells Healing Study
The Apkalu who introduced the Me, brought arts/crafts, agriculture, writing, magic & music. Enki was god of music. See the golden age ancient civilizations sound, frequency & harmonics was widely understood to be the greatest method for healing the body.
To be clear, the cathedrals that you see around the world were never meant to be churches, they were centers used for healing. Cathedrals Healing Centers Everything the church had was pirated.. In sixth century, Pope Gregory, in a letter to those who were to carry Catholicism to Britain, cautioned these missionaries NOT to destroy the ancient sites. Gregory wanted them to destroy their idols, but insisted they kept the architecture as it was thereby automatically linking alignment to the ley lines and maintaining the power source. Egyptian concept of Maat(Harmony) was of the utmost importance, the reason the discipline that the church created to study Egypt has more questions than answers is because they don't understand this.
In the campaign to disconnect us from our true selves, the most detrimental action theyd take involved musical theory principles, suppression of the tritone in music was a central theme for hundreds of years. Canon laws were passed to mandate rules for how to construct scales, how to handle voice leading, what was considered consonant and dissonant, how contrary motion should be handled, what tones should and should not be emphasized in rhythm, which rhythmic patterns were acceptable and specific instructions for how music should be written. Megalithic monuments were built using acoustic HARMONIC Resonance, one will never understand Pyramid, temples, etc disregarding Harmony with nature.
History repeats itself, this 1939 Nature article wouls lead to the change by International Standards Association (ISA) from 432hz to 440hz & still today they have no true understanding of sound & its many benefits. A=440Hz tuning disassociates the connection of consciousness to the body and creates anti-social conditions in humanity. Music -Double Blind study In preliminary research, analysis, and professional discussions by Walton, Koehler, Reid, et al., on the web, A=440Hz frequency music conflicts with human energy centers (i.e., chakras) from the heart to the base of the spine. Alternatively, chakras above the heart are stimulated. Theoretically, the vibration stimulates ego and left-brain function, suppressing the "heart-mind," intuition and creative inspiration. Interestingly, the difference between 440 and 741 Hz is known in musicology as the Devil's Interval.
For maximum suppression of human consciousness, the frequencies we naturally resonate with, and which are the most biologically and psycho-spiritually enhancing, must be maximally suppressed.Ancient Egyptian and Greek instruments have reportedly been found to be tuned to 432 Hz. 432Hz is consistent with the natural resonance of the UNI-VERSE and all of NATURE, that the pitch is more HARMONIOUS and that when our atoms and DNA resonate in harmony with nature's SPIRAL pattern, our sense of connection to nature is said to be AMPLIFIED. Previously I cited the recent discoveries showing DNA being repaired by use of sound frequencies. Priests of Horus meant that they maintained the knowledge of harmony.
The great pyramid Acoustic chambers matched the harmonic chambers of the human body, the King chambesarcophagus Resonance frequency created a resounding beat frequency matching the human heartbeat. Every site had a navel which resonate at 111hz which switched from left to right brain dominance assisting with holistic processing, leading to altered state of consciousness.
Hollywood comes from the Druid magicians whod make Wands outta wood from the Holly tree to cast spells on the unsuspecting. Sounds like Op Mockingbird to me. To disconnect as much as possible the functions of these two distinct parts of the brain so we can be manipulated through the right brain while only being conscious of the left.They plant thoughts, responses, and images through the right brain (the dream-state, the non-conscious, through symbolism and subliminal imagery) while imprisoning the human conscious level in the left brain - the world of can I touch it, smell it, taste it, see it, hear it, OK it must exist. This is why the "education" system, and "science" is designed to talk to the left brain.
No architectural element of antiquity (excluding bearing elements), was just a decoration. Everything had a function. Even the vases, and doorknobs. The doorknobs would be made of copper to kill bacteria & infections. So, at the correct frequency there were regenerating concert halls, where people recharged themselves with pleasant music while buildings collected the energy of the ether. They stigmatized the ether & removed it as well. If zero-point energy machines were developed on the biological model of the caduceus coil and central ion channel then our energy generation could actually enhance human evolution rather than harming ourselves and the planet as it does now. Similarly if we construct superconducting solar architecture with a monoatomic lattice in manmade stone, then the energy emanating from this energy generator will also enhance the consciousness of life around it

Serpent-headed when the glamour was lifted but appearing to man as men among men. Crept they into the Councils, taking forms that were like unto men. Slaying by their arts the chiefs of the kingdoms, taking their form and ruling o'er man. Only by magic could they be discovered. Only by sound could their faces be seen. Sought they from the Kingdom of shadows to destroy man and rule in his place. But, know ye, the Masters were mighty in magic, able to lift the Veil from the face of the serpent, able to send him back to his place -Thoth, the Great Wise
Remember Venom, the parasitic alien life form that is attached to spiderman & a massive church bell isused to get rid of em? Venom was basically an Archon that the gnostics & Thoth talk about. Symbiotes are symbiotic alien life forms which feed on the emotions of their hosts, particularly negative emotions. Bells
Its been reported for ages that the plague would skip over the areas in Russia where they had larger concentrations of church bells. Many Soviet researchers determined the amazing healing properties of bells and found that the oscillation of the ultrasonic range of church bells repels bacilli, viruses, and other infectious diseases that are transmitted through the air, and even cures many other diseases. Bells Healing Study
The Apkalu who introduced the Me, brought arts/crafts, agriculture, writing, magic & music. Enki was god of music. See the golden age ancient civilizations sound, frequency & harmonics was widely understood to be the greatest method for healing the body.
To be clear, the cathedrals that you see around the world were never meant to be churches, they were centers used for healing. Cathedrals Healing Centers Everything the church had was pirated.. In sixth century, Pope Gregory, in a letter to those who were to carry Catholicism to Britain, cautioned these missionaries NOT to destroy the ancient sites. Gregory wanted them to destroy their idols, but insisted they kept the architecture as it was thereby automatically linking alignment to the ley lines and maintaining the power source. Egyptian concept of Maat(Harmony) was of the utmost importance, the reason the discipline that the church created to study Egypt has more questions than answers is because they don't understand this.
In the campaign to disconnect us from our true selves, the most detrimental action theyd take involved musical theory principles, suppression of the tritone in music was a central theme for hundreds of years. Canon laws were passed to mandate rules for how to construct scales, how to handle voice leading, what was considered consonant and dissonant, how contrary motion should be handled, what tones should and should not be emphasized in rhythm, which rhythmic patterns were acceptable and specific instructions for how music should be written. Megalithic monuments were built using acoustic HARMONIC Resonance, one will never understand Pyramid, temples, etc disregarding Harmony with nature.
History repeats itself, this 1939 Nature article wouls lead to the change by International Standards Association (ISA) from 432hz to 440hz & still today they have no true understanding of sound & its many benefits. A=440Hz tuning disassociates the connection of consciousness to the body and creates anti-social conditions in humanity. Music -Double Blind study In preliminary research, analysis, and professional discussions by Walton, Koehler, Reid, et al., on the web, A=440Hz frequency music conflicts with human energy centers (i.e., chakras) from the heart to the base of the spine. Alternatively, chakras above the heart are stimulated. Theoretically, the vibration stimulates ego and left-brain function, suppressing the "heart-mind," intuition and creative inspiration. Interestingly, the difference between 440 and 741 Hz is known in musicology as the Devil's Interval.
For maximum suppression of human consciousness, the frequencies we naturally resonate with, and which are the most biologically and psycho-spiritually enhancing, must be maximally suppressed.Ancient Egyptian and Greek instruments have reportedly been found to be tuned to 432 Hz. 432Hz is consistent with the natural resonance of the UNI-VERSE and all of NATURE, that the pitch is more HARMONIOUS and that when our atoms and DNA resonate in harmony with nature's SPIRAL pattern, our sense of connection to nature is said to be AMPLIFIED. Previously I cited the recent discoveries showing DNA being repaired by use of sound frequencies. Priests of Horus meant that they maintained the knowledge of harmony.
The great pyramid Acoustic chambers matched the harmonic chambers of the human body, the King chambesarcophagus Resonance frequency created a resounding beat frequency matching the human heartbeat. Every site had a navel which resonate at 111hz which switched from left to right brain dominance assisting with holistic processing, leading to altered state of consciousness.
Hollywood comes from the Druid magicians whod make Wands outta wood from the Holly tree to cast spells on the unsuspecting. Sounds like Op Mockingbird to me. To disconnect as much as possible the functions of these two distinct parts of the brain so we can be manipulated through the right brain while only being conscious of the left.They plant thoughts, responses, and images through the right brain (the dream-state, the non-conscious, through symbolism and subliminal imagery) while imprisoning the human conscious level in the left brain - the world of can I touch it, smell it, taste it, see it, hear it, OK it must exist. This is why the "education" system, and "science" is designed to talk to the left brain.
No architectural element of antiquity (excluding bearing elements), was just a decoration. Everything had a function. Even the vases, and doorknobs. The doorknobs would be made of copper to kill bacteria & infections. So, at the correct frequency there were regenerating concert halls, where people recharged themselves with pleasant music while buildings collected the energy of the ether. They stigmatized the ether & removed it as well. If zero-point energy machines were developed on the biological model of the caduceus coil and central ion channel then our energy generation could actually enhance human evolution rather than harming ourselves and the planet as it does now. Similarly if we construct superconducting solar architecture with a monoatomic lattice in manmade stone, then the energy emanating from this energy generator will also enhance the consciousness of life around it

So I have a AP coach that treats self check like her baby and is very sensitive who is allowed to watch over it. So far its me and 3 other associates that are on a "list" that she approves of. She pushed away a lot of associates that wanted to be down there and make them not come down there, thus causing a lot of people not wanting to come back in fear of her. We also had new associates upfront train down there to learn so they know how to do it, but when she came to our store she decided to stop that until there was some loopholes, being that her core 4 people did not show up to work and needed some temp ones to learn. So far she doesnt mind it but is a bit on edge since then. She made me and a couple of former workers to read some form of text and a mini lesson from AP and herself of what to do at selfcheck, then we got a paper certifacte that we are allowed to be down there. I talked to my former coach and he said its just bs and paper when the ulearns are the true way to verify we know what we are doing. He didnt want to talk to her about it since shes a real scary chick. So fellas is she abusing power and is petty about how to run a section that isn't really their full responsibilty? Or is she in the right to have us have paper certificates and just fuck it and control who she wants there?

I wrote a thread pool in c++. The pool will process network requests and have specific requirement on which worker processes which requests by some signatures of the requests. For that I chose ZeroMQ as the socket library. Initially I wanted the code to be portable but soon found windows not worth the effort. So the platform is Linux only.
The pool has a pair of ZMQ_ROUTER sockets as frontend and backend. All workers connect to the backend. A proxy() function sits between the pair and relays the messages, plus processing the heartbeat and control messages to/from the workers. Because the proxy() takes an extra thread, the pool has n+1 threads. Both the proxy() function and the thread worker message loop use the zmq_poll() function to poll on the sockets and form an infinite loop. This seems to be the most efficient way in this scenario.
My current way of ending the pool is to have an std::atomic flag for both these loops. Upon end I just set this flag and join all threads. But then on Linux there are signals. It seems to be standard/convenient way to communicate with a daemon process, and it reaches all the threads as well. At least, SIGINT and SIGTERM should be handled. I soon found out signals are not so great for a multi-thread app. And then I tried blocking all signals and using signalfd instead. It has drawbacks as well. I found I can share the same fd between the proxy and workers and when proxy receives and verifies the signal it can send another round of signals to the workers using pthread_kill() to end the workers. Once a worker poll() finds something on the fd it can do the cleanup and exit. It does work but doesn't feel quite right. So I think I can have below options

1. [Current] Poll the same fd from proxy() and workers. Once proxy receives SIGINT/SIGTERM send a round of signals to every worker. Worker exits upon anything available on the fd.
2. Keep the std::atomic flag and only poll the signalfd in proxy(). Once signal received set the flag and the workers will exit upon the atomic flag.
3. Ditch the atomic, create my own "kill message" for the workers. Proxy() polls on the signal. Once receives this signal, send a round of kill messages to the workers. Workers will exit upon receiving this special message.
4. Some other mechanism?

My goal is to make the performance as good as possible and at the same time not to re-invent a wheel to do all these. So far my understanding is performance wise it's probably std::atomic > lock primitives > signalfd >custom message, am I correct? Or is there a standard/easier way to do this?
Thanks to all who have patience to read till this point!

Hello, we are college students working on a project at the MCL of the Korea Marketing Strategy Association.
We are working on a project to establish a strategy for K-Beauty brands to enter the UK market. We conducted this survey to collect opinions on beauty products and trend in UK. We would really appreciate if you could participate the survey from the link below and leave any valuable thoughts on our questions.
➡️ Survey Link: https://forms.gle/B9gWA8xQnZAHPNbD9
✅ This is a survey for British.
✅ Your response will be used only within the project and will be discarded after May 20, 2024.
Thank you very much in advance and best of luck for your remaining assignments and exams!
All the best

Hello, we are college students working on a project at the MCL of the Korea Marketing Strategy Association.
We are working on a project to establish a strategy for K-Beauty brands to enter the UK market. We conducted this survey to collect opinions on beauty products and trend in UK. We would really appreciate if you could participate the survey from the link below and leave any valuable thoughts on our questions.
➡️ Survey Link: https://forms.gle/B9gWA8xQnZAHPNbD9
✅ This is a survey for British.
✅ Your response will be used only within the project and will be discarded after May 20, 2024.
Thank you very much in advance and best of luck for your remaining assignments and exams!
All the best

So I came across this substack article by a protest musician, and I think it is interesting in at minimum the antifeminism sphere.
In particular:

• Establish a narrative that anyone claiming to be a victim who is also perceived to be from a marginalized group of any kind should be believed even more readily than other sorts of victims, and questioning their claim to having been victimized by someone is even more egregious, and in fact a terrible transgression in itself.
  
• always methodically work to undermine solidarity by highlighting the relative perceived "privilege" of any advocate for a cause, with the message being that they should shut up and allow the "centering" of other voices.
  
• If anyone is advocating for a certain cause, circulate suggestions that by doing so, they are dismissing other causes.
  
• When anyone is trying to make connections and build bridges between groups with common interests but big differences, emphasize the differences. If anyone on the left is trying to make an alliance with a group of anti-imperialist Republican dissidents, make it clear that by associating with any kind of Republicans, they are themselves now basically fascists, and part of a "red-brown coalition."
  
• When people are advocating for free speech or open discourse, emphasize how hate speech makes people unsafe, and must therefore be opposed by any means necessary. Accuse advocates for free speech of being privileged, racist, transphobic, etc. Always undermine the possibility of communication or mutual understanding.
  

All of these weapons are used against male advocacy, and some more from the article not listed here. Moreover, it just really strikes me how readily useful intersetionalism is when it comes to disrupting left-wing politics in general -- and this musician has on a number of occasions been rather good at articulating reasons for why I feel that way.
Sure, much of this isn't entirely new, sectarianism has always been a struggle -- necessarily so -- of leftist politics, but I can't help feel that the normalized ways in which people form sub-identities nowadays is deliberately designed to fuel a feeling of being stuck.

It won't let me post the link, if you want to search for the article copy paste part of the quotes into a search engine.

A rare yet deadly autoimmune disorder appears to be on the rise in the north of England, and new research indicates that the outbreak may be linked to COVID-19. Known as Anti-MDA5 positive dermatomyositis, the disease was mainly observed in Asian populations prior to the pandemic, yet is now surging among the caucasian residents of Yorkshire.
Triggered by antibodies that attack an enzyme called MDA5 (melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5), the illness is associated with progressive interstitial lung disease, which is characterized by scarring of the lung tissue. Between 2020 and 2022, doctors in Yorkshire reported an unprecedented 60 cases of MDA5 autoimmunity, resulting in eight deaths.

Strangely, they don't break it down by year. Was it 55 cases in 2021-22 and 5 cases in 2020? They clearly have this data, but bizarrely decided to deliberately not break it down by year.

Analyzing this surge in a new study, the researchers point out that the sudden increase in cases coincides with the major waves of COVID-19 infections during the peak years of the pandemic. This immediately grabbed their attention because MDA5 is an RNA receptor that plays a key role in recognizing the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Again, they already have the data, which waves in particular are they talking about?

“Here we report a surge in the rate of anti-MDA5 positivity testing in our region (Yorkshire) in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was notable because this entity is relatively rare in the UK,” write the study authors. This phenomenon, they say, is probably indicative of “a distinct form of MDA5+ disease in the COVID-19 era,” which they have labelled “MDA5-autoimmunity and Interstitial Pneumonitis Contemporaneous with COVID-19” (MIP-C).

Finally here they get a bit more specific. "Second years" of the pandemic means 2021. What else happened in 2021? Keep in mind that the peak 2021 wave (omicron) was well at the end of 2021. It was December 2021-January 2022.

Overall, only eight of the 60 patients had previously tested positive for COVID-19, suggesting that many may have had asymptomatic infections that they weren’t aware of. This implies that even mild infections that produce no initial symptoms may be sufficient to trigger MDA5 autoimmunity.

It could mean this. But it could also mean that of the 52/60 who did not test positive for covid, a significant % of them did not have asymptomatic infection, and in 2021, something else happened to them.

“Given the peak of MDA5 positivity testing followed the peak of COVID-19 cases in 2021, and coincided with the peak of vaccination, these findings suggest an immune reaction or autoimmunity against MDA5 upon SARS-CoV-2 and/or vaccine exposure,” conclude the researchers.

Despite the bizarre and deliberately vague article in which they don't specify data/timelines they clearly have, at least they have the audacity to hide this right at the end of the article.
Anyways, I have said from the beginning that I suspect that the synthetic spike protein is the root of most issues associated with long covid/post covid symptoms such as the one mentioned in this article. To me this finding is more indication of this being true. I had warned of this in the past, but I was told saying "we need to do rigorous scientific studies to ensure that the spike protein from the vaccine would not cause damage" constituted as "scientific misinformation" and was censored.

Yesterday someone made just a great post about the mythological icon Lilith and someone commented about being caught off guard it didn't end up being about Diablo to which someone replied stating that no one makes rants about Diablo 4. Well get dunked on because I'm making a rant about Diablo 4. (mods this is meant as a joke, please do not interpret as a violation of the rules for being a response rant or a repeat rant).
Diablo as a series is pretty classically grim dark. Things are basically always exclusively getting worse for everyone all the time and every time something gets better there is some major caveat that makes something else worse. Stuff like being forced to ally ourselves with entities who most definitely do not have our best interests at heart (or quite frequently openly have our best disinterests at heart like making a deal with the literal embodiment of hatred). Diablo 4 asks us to make such choice and presents us with two, let's say not great options.
Lilith a demon who claims to have humanities best interests at heart. She is humanities ancient mother after all. She says this while leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. The main gist of her plan is to absorb the fragmented remains of her father's power. Mephisto one of the prime evils and Lord of Hatred. She claims that with this power she will be strong enough to empower humanity enough that they will be able to stand against the Burning Hells and High Heaven and escape from the Eternal Conflict. Doesn't sound so bad, but I'll reiterate that everyone she interacts and bestows her particular brand of blessing on -- the Wanderer notwithstanding -- goes violently insane.
Inarius an angel who couldn't more clearly not give a single fuck about humanity if he tried. His "plan" is to kill Lilith in hopes that will redeem him enough that his exile will be rescinded and he can go back to High Heaven.
There you have it. Mom and Dad have formed cults and using them to wage proxy wars with one another and their extended families. This of course mirrors the same Eternal Conflict bullshit that has been ruining humanity's collective day since Lilith and Inarius originally got it on and made Sanctuary. Now pick a team.
Except, there is a third option. The immortal factions on opposing sides of the Eternal Conflict see only themselves. Mortals are fundamentally weaker than them and all we're good for are hunting for sport, being pitied for the whole hunted for sport thing, being cleansed as the unholy half-demon abominations we are, and waging proxy wars. They're super wrong though. Humanity collectively is more than capable of competing. Between the scholarship of the Horadrim and occasional very gifted human humanity does a more of the leg work for solving the whole Prime Evil problem than the angels do.
"Gifted human" is also me really understating things. Most Diablo player characters are incredibly strong. Regularly beating champions on both sides of the Eternal Conflict. I say most because the Diablo 3 protagonist, the Nephalem, scales so high that they're kind of a writing problem. "Incredibly strong" doesn't cut it. They beat Diablo after he absorbed the other lords of hell becoming the Prime Evil. Later the Nephalem beats Malthael, the archangel of death who himself absorbed the evils trapped in the Black Soulstone to try and level the playing field. Hell, depending on how canon you consider Adventure Mode in Diablo 3 is the Nephalem (the collective people, not just the player character) are so powerful the best way they could challenge themselves was to create the Nephalem Rifts which are basically pocket dimensions of pure violence because angels and demons just can't keep up. Greater Rifts are basically what would happen if in his boredom Saitama from One Punch Man developed expressly to be able to create things strong enough to give him a real fight.
With this all said if humanity ever buckles down, unites into a cohesive whole and puts all their combined effort into fighting both the Burning Hells and High Heaven they could probably finally end the Eternal Conflict with both sides losing leading to Sanctuary exiting stage left as a grim dark setting.
Demons and Angels both suck for humans (though clearly demons are consistently a lot worse). Humanity's salvation will only come when it is taken by force. It will never be granted to us in a magnanimous act by our immortal ancestors. Fuck Team Lilith. Fuck Team Inarius. Team Humanity? Fuck Yeah!