The United States has seen some whopping mishaps and scandals in the oil and gas industry over the years, from Teapot Dome in the 1920s to the collapse of Enron in 2001 and the Deepwater Horizon, Exxon-Valdez and Santa Barbara oil spills.
However, the largest, most egregious and most profoundly damaging scandal is still underway.
The unholy alliance between America’s governments and the fossil fuel industry has been going on for decades, undeterred and unpunished. Federal and state governments subsidize and facilitate the production and consumption of oil, natural gas and coal despite knowing these products are permanently damaging life on a planetary scale.
Many of our elected officials have participated in a carbon cartel that has blocked effective climate action. U.S. scientists began warning in the 1950s that fossil fuels were changing the climate. Yet fossil fuels still provide about 80 percent of U.S. energy, and America has become the world’s biggest oil and gas producer.
The Teapot Dome scandal involved oil industry bribes of a single public official. Today, the oil industry can influence elected officials with unlimited campaign contributions, unrelenting lobbying, and expensive advertising campaigns to burnish the industry’s image.
Open Secrets reports that the oil and gas industry spent over a trillion dollars on election campaigns between 1990 and last month. Between 1990 and 2020, five big oil companies reportedly spent at least $3.6 billion on advertising. While scientists have determined that most of the world’s underground reserves of fossil fuels must remain, the U.S. oil and gas industry keeps drilling, netting an average of $2.8 billion a day over the last 50 years, according to Statista, a data analysis firm. Statista says the industry made more than a trillion dollars annually for much of the past decade.
The industry could have invested these enormous outlays and profits to lead the world’s clean-energy transition. Instead, it has conducted a long campaign to deceive policymakers and the American people and intimidate critics.
For its part, Congress has done virtually nothing to phase out fossil fuels with mandates or market forces. It continues giving the industry billions of dollars in yearly tax breaks that promote oil and gas production. It allows the industry to “externalize” more than $750 billion in social and environmental damages. The damages are not reflected in the market price of these fuels, making it hard for clean alternatives to compete. In 2022, the hidden costs amounted to $2,243 for every man, woman and child in the United States. Congress had an opportunity to correct this market “imperfection” with carbon pricing in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. But it failed to act.
So, Americans pay for fossil fuels four times: first through tax subsidies, second in energy bills, third with health care and environmental cleanup costs, and fourth with the rapidly growing costs of climate-induced disasters.
Before industrialization began, the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere was 280 parts per million (ppm). In the 1980s, it reached 350 ppm, still considered safe. Despite international promises to cut CO2 pollution, scientists expect the concentration to reach nearly 427 ppm this year, higher than it has been in millions of years.
The industry’s deceit and obfuscation is well documented, and a congressional investigation has just confirmed it. But some of the industry’s most recent are worth noting.
For example, oil and gas companies frequently sue environmental organizations (so-called SLAPP suits) that oppose even free speech and assembly. Researchers at Duke University reported as long ago as 1993, “A pattern is emerging across the United States in which citizens and local community groups are being sued for what has long been considered ‘ordinary’ public participation.” SLAPP lawsuits rarely prevail in court, but the industry uses them to intimidate and drain the resources of environmental organizations.
Exxon is even suing some investors who want it to adopt more aggressive climate-stabilization policies. A spokesman for one of the investment groups explains it wants only to “safeguard the long-term future of the company and the global economy in view of the climate crisis.”
Oil-producing states have joined this litigation strategy. North Dakota, Texas, Montana and Wyoming have sued the U.S. Interior Department over a rule to reduce methane leaks, a potent greenhouse gas, from oil and gas operations. Yet new research at Stanford University shows natural gas infrastructure leaks three times more methane than the Environmental Protection Agency estimates. Researchers say economic and public health costs amount to $10 billion annually.
Over the last six years, states, cities, counties and tribal nations have countered with at least 32 lawsuits against oil majors to seek compensation for climate-related damages or penalties for deceptive business practices. The industry tied these suits up for years over jurisdictional issues.
In the meantime, oil producers are engaged in public relations games over their role in climate change. Major producers jumped aboard the “net zero carbon” wagon when oil prices were low, but they backed away and made record-breaking profits when prices rose. Their production plans belie their net-zero promises. “Exxon touts its support for the Paris Agreement while at the same time boasting to investors that it will increase oil and gas production 25 percent by 2030, a scenario that would be game over for the climate,” the Center for Climate Integrity explains.
Oil majors reportedly donate hundreds of millions of dollars to leading universities “to build relationships that could help the industry avoid taking climate action.” And Exxon CEO Darren Woods is trying to shift the blame for climate change to energy consumers. “The people generating the emissions need to be aware of and pay the price for generating those emissions,” he told an interviewer. As Grist explains, “Oil companies make the case that it’s a demand problem – as long as people are driving cars, and thus demanding fossil fuels, then they have to keep producing the gas.”
Democrats in Congress just issued the results of a 2.5-year investigation that found the oil and gas industry has deceived investors, Congress and the American people in a long covert operation of “deception, disinformation and doublespeak” using “dark money, phony front groups, false economic and relentless exertion of political influence to block climate progress.” These findings warrant an investigation by the Justice Department to determine whether the industry broke any laws, including those against racketeering.
But that’s not likely to happen before the election. It’s up to voters to end this scandal by electing a president, Congress and legislators who support policies like these:
Put a price on carbon, as Europe has done. Its emission trading regime produced a 15.5 percent cut in carbon emissions from polluting industries and power plants last year and a 47 percent reduction since 2005, when emissions trading began. End federal tax subsidies for fossil fuel production. Stop leasing public lands for fossil-energy production and suspend all unused leases. Codify state and national “just transition” plans to end all but the most essential fossil energy production in the United States. As U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin put it, the industry’s greed has led us to a “civilizational emergency,” the threshold of a world where suffocating heat, floods, storm surges, wildfires, drought and rising seas are the norm. And unless we stop Big Oil’s scam, we will cross the threshold with no way back.
William Becker is executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project (PCAP), a nonpartisan initiative founded in 2007 that works with national thought leaders to develop recommendations on national climate and energy policies. He is a former senior official at the U.S. Department of Energy.

I apologize if this has been asked already.
I started to work on a client site where they need me to upload an image, and what I did first is to download to my computer the site content using FileZilla. I have been opening HTML files in the browser to know where to make those changes. But it does not show the the page how it should be, meaning like if there was no JavaScript code. And there are a lot of PHP files, so my question is, in what way can view the site locally how it looks live? With all the configuration of CSS and JS?
This is the first time I work with a WordPress site in this way. I have always worked before just from the Accounts page and making configurations just with point and click.
I hope it makes sense what I wrote. Thank you!

Conspiracy theories involving “elite” pedophile rings have recently been dominating social media in a disorienting frenzy. They have been around for some time but in this century rose back to popularity during the 2016 Election cycle. This crop, at least, took root with what became known as “Pizzagate.” Promoters of that conspiracy theory in 2016 used social media platforms to make unfounded but viral allegations that Hillary Clinton and other prominent Democrats were running a pedophile ring out of the basement of a pizzeria even though that restaurant had no basement, or any ties to known politicians other than the typical flesh pressing (Phrasing I know) moments fit for a picture hung on the wall. Since then, the dark theme of Pizzagate has found new life with permutations forming part of the #Qanon conspiracy theory, incorporated under the umbrella term “pedogate.” The gist of the #pedogate conspiracy theory is that global elites (politicians, celebrities, and wealthy businesspersons) are covertly involved in a far-reaching ring that uses young children for sexual purposes. “What most of these conspiracy theories involve in one way or another is laying accusations of pedophilia or involvement in pedophile rings at the feet of people that they despise or hate, and during the 16’ election cycle, Democrats were a wide target for an opposing political movement that had hijacked the rival Republican party. Pizzagate originated with the “alt right” and “alt lite,” far right extremists who range from outright white supremacists to those who publicly shun racists but otherwise fall in step with their belief systems. Pizzagate jumped from the fringes to the mainstream because as it denigrated Hillary Clinton, it sucked in supporters of then-candidate Donald Trump. After the election all mention of pedogate seemed to be put on a simmer while other National outrages boiled over (#Covid #RussiaGate #BLM) and just like clockwork (heading into our next election cycle has been turned back up. The pedogate conspiracy and all associated stories employ a centuries-old tactic: playing on deep-seated human anxieties by conjuring images of imperiled children, the purest and defenseless victim of any manner of injustice. An example in the modern era of weaponized conspiracy was the satanic panic of the 1980s, in which a wave of hysteria over alleged child molestation at daycare centers swept the nation. But while that phenomenon was a moral panic attributable, at least in part, to social anxiety over white middle class women entering the work force en masse for the first time and entrusting their children to others, the current conspiracy theories about pedophile rings equate to similar propaganda. They carry a danger for stirring up violence. If you want to elicit violent action the way to do it is through hate and fear. Once you target and label a population as pedophiles, you can do anything you like to that population with full excuse being given to the myth you’ve wrapped around it. That’s not to say fears of child abuse or sex trafficking are unfounded. There are many as pedophilia has ancient roots and in many cases was encourage by many world cultures and religions a lot later into Civilization than we’d like to admit. The International Labor Organization reports that 25 percent of the world’s 40.3 million victims of human trafficking are children. The most vulnerable, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, are migrants, runaways, the homeless, and youngsters who have been victims of violence. Despite their obsession over the topic, conspiracy followers aren’t worked up about those children who are in true harm’s way. In the world of propaganda, it’s never about real children. Instead, it’s about what children represent. The children imperiled by conspiracy theories, in other words, are only metaphors. Children carry a vast amount of weight in any society, but especially modern ones when they’re expected to survive past the age of five. It wasn’t as intense before the 18th century when child mortality rates were really high. They represent the future, and all that is beautiful and decent and honest in a society, because they are innocent. For most people also, the meaning of their existence is rooted in their children. Children are eschatological, they represent death for us, and what is coming behind us after we are gone. They also represent the threat of loss, if they disappear, if they die, that is the death of society. That’s why they became so crucial and central to Cold War propaganda. The real terror of the nuclear holocaust would be the death of the children, because that’s the death of everyone. A recent example of this is in a recent police investigation into conspiracy claims of PizzaGate style accusation of Portland’s Voodoo Doughnuts. Detectives attempted to contact the person accusing Voodoo Doughnuts on social media of running a pedophile ring. The accuser did not cooperate with investigators and it’s been documented in other coverage online that they had become agitated and accused the Police with complicity when tracked down in person, even though they were attempting to investigate. The pendulum of conspiracy theories about systematic child abuse has swung back and forth for centuries. Examples such as blood libel, when Jewish communities were attacked over false allegations of murdering and consuming Christian children in the Middle Ages. In Europe, During the Thirty Years War, entire villages were put to the sword because it was believed they were abusing children of the other religions. One characteristic that helps Pizzagate-style conspiracy theories gain popularity is that they function like a puzzle game and give its audience a large level of involvement through social media. A lot of conspiracy theories are oracular, where the information comes from one source an oracle. Then there are others where there are a few people who promote the notions, almost like gurus or a conspiracy priesthood. But Pizzagate, it’s more of what one would call a participatory conspiracy theory. Participatory conspiracy theories lay out a scenario or situation and then they ask their audience, ‘what more can you find out about this, what more can you add?’ It turns the audience into willing participants, some knowing they are creating a destructive madlib and other (potential real victims) caking on mystical distraction to issues that have been unreported or scars that have not bee properly treated. The thing about participatory conspiracy theories is it can really create a devoted following because it gives people something to do, it makes them feel they can solve the whole thing or uncover new aspects to it. Once you get that energy going it’s almost self-sustaining. Followers of the Qanon conspiracy theory, call themselves “bakers” because their protagonist “Q” pops up on Internet message boards and leaves “crumbs” (i.e., clues), and they are tasked with picking up the crumbs in order to solve the puzzle. (“Q” is supposed to reference the character’s government security clearance level).
#Q followers believe an even more incoherent version of Pizzagate. This is largely a right-wing fantasy that originated in a series of incoherent posts on #4chan in 2017 by someone calling themselves #QAnon. Following on the heels of similar idiocy such as Pizzagate, it advances a fantastic web of deceit that wraps up Trumpism, deep state fearmongering, evil, satanic pedophilia rings controlled by the Democratic Party, investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, the Las Vegas shooting, and New World Order paranoia into a package easily and wholeheartedly promoted by internet cesspools and far-right personalities such as Alex Jones. The premise is that President Trump is secretly working to take down a global ring of elite, cannibalistic, satanic pedophiles. And the investigation into Russian meddling into the 2016 election, led by former FBI director Robert Mueller, is actually an investigation into the so-called “deep state”, where a cabal of evil, globalists, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, are responsible for everything from a global pedophile ring to the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017. According to the enlightened, when Trump awkwardly took a drink from a bottle of Fiji water at a press conference in November 2017, it wasn’t because he was thirsty; it was actually a secret signal to those in the know that the annihilation of deep state pedophiles had begun (or was about to begin). Because as everyone knows, Fiji is a hot spot for child trafficking. ( I could go on and on with this poorly thought-out shit, I will spare you ) The role the Internet and social media play in helping to spread such insanity can’t be underestimated. Just a few decades earlier, conspiracy theorists would identify each other using letters to the editor printed in newspapers and magazines. It was a lot harder to identify your fellow conspiracy theorists. You would have to physically meet to swap your stories or send letters or call. They would set up these groups that would communicate by newsletter. They would meet in a physical space, like someone’s living room. I personally witnessed people from my childhood, dutifully photocopying newsletters they had received in the mail to give to others (Primarily at my #JW congregation, how ironic). Now obviously it can go much more quickly, because you can identity people immediately. You can quickly share ideas and the data you’ve collected. The Internet allows such people to exist in bubbles where they rarely have their beliefs challenged. The extraordinarily polarized society we’re in right now has made people less willing to seek out other view points. Because of the internet you have less chance of doing this. There’s very little incentive to look outside one’s own bubble once they have become invested in a conspiracy theory. Once you start to act out on those behaviors you are forced to double down by repeating the act to prove it was a just act. Eventually you get caught up in a movement that totally defines your conscious and you can’t get out of it. The second you step out of that world view your actions go back to being reprehensible. Now the question becomes, “What’s the harm? If it sheds light on child abuse, then isn’t it still productive?” The answer in this case is a resounding NO. In my opinion and PAINFUL experience, the root cause and sustaining factors of institutionalized child sex abuse are all things that would counter your typical Conspiracy Nut’s world view, thus causing a complete blackout to the problems. The entity taking part in the harming of children on a local and tangible level aren’t some suit and tie wearing global elitist. It’s a guidance counselor, youth pastor, unvetted young substitute teacher, aunt/uncle/cousin/neighbor. It’s anyone who has been given routine private access to a child’s mind and body because of the social conventions that have been protected for generations by our relatives whether they themselves are guilty of abuse or not. In all the Qanon madness I also kept very close tabs on the pending prosecution of the Boy scouts of America and never saw any widely shared memes about their involvement in the abuse syndicate. Why is this? How is this so? Aren’t these people watching the news, seeing the court records and hearing the individual cases being brought against Scout Leaders (SOME OF WHO RAN THEIR OWN NETWORKS!!)? When I would find mention of accusation it was met with the ever scarce “skepticism” because if the media is covering it, it must be a plot to destroy the organization. There are now non-for profit organizations setting up victim funds and protections for people to come out with their stories and somehow THIS is the fake ruse. Some that know me know that I was a Jehovah’s Witness as a youth/teen/young adult. That chapter of my life could fill many chapters and the research on the organization, the real true black and white history of the religion would honestly surprise you. I saw what I now know was abuse, I personally experienced abuse in many forms. The perpetrators involved are either still Witnesses or are dead or have moved “away from the organization”. But one thing that was left intact in each situation was the secret that they prey on children. The parents, these organizations and the collective promise to keep up appearances are directly to blame for the suffering untold thousands, millions of children and broken adults. All for what? Pride and Vanity and a commitment to all involved to protect them from the “mean old world” despite allowing predators to eat their children from within. Being a #JW was a very interesting experience. It provides a very efficient form of insulation from outside society and allows people involved to view the chaos from afar. There is this persistent (albeit false) sense of shared peace that members have. It’s as though for three days a week you go to this meeting where no matter what, everyone has a smile and feels about things EXACTLY how you do. There is no cursing, there are no politics, there surely isn’t any destructive influences that would tarnish your chances of salvation. For a parent this is a refuge when raising a child in a world that is dangerously unpredictable. A Child that you are unable (or unwilling) to teach coping skills to get along by societal standards, A child you want to protect by hiding. This is problem #1. As an adult the congregation presents an avenue for which you can act and behave in a way that allows you to reconcile your past, a way to have less of those nights awake because you think about past wrongs you’ve committed against people. It’s the proverbial band-aid for a guilty, bruised, destroyed conscious of any size. Coming into the organization takes nothing more than the desire to change, publicly declaring your willingness to hand over your life to God (The organization). Bam, You’re in! No credit check, no background check. This is problem #2. A JW is taught that “every facet is an asset” (Ministerial Servants know what I’m talking about). What this means is that every facet of your life is an asset to the organization to spread its word. If the world see’s their product’s application into your life and thereby how much better it is than a normal person’s, then they’ve made an “Effective Witness” to the world. This causes Witnesses of any age to allow almost every facet of their life to be a tool by the organization. For a parent this includes their children. This is problem #3 When you get a culture that insulates itself from the real world, that allows you to enter without any coherent vetting, give access to children whose parents feel obligated to present as a “witness” to the lifestyle. You get a twisted corridor in which victims can get lost for a lifetime and predators can hide in plain sight. For any proponents of the “Save-The-Children” movement to not take a step back and really analyze their local community and lifestyle through these lenses only illustrates that child abuse is being weaponized politically at the expense of others whom you aren’t willing to save because it would look bad for ‘your side’. If you truly care, you wouldn’t be sharing email forwards about what evil unverified unmentionable thing you read some celebrity or politician did. Instead, you’d be drawing back on your experiences as a child. Even if nothing happened directly to you, I’m sure you know some one that had an experience that forever harmed their life. Who did it? Was there a pattern or social condition that allowed for this as was laid out in the JW example? How could it have been avoided? Would you have stopped it if you saw the signs? Are you willing to stop it in the future, knowing what you know now? If you can answer any of those questions with a yes, then you have all you need to WRITE your own material to reach real victims and their families. Does your action cause problems for your ‘side’? It shouldn’t matter and you know that. If it does make a difference to you then you are no better than the shadowy pedophilic cabal that you are so obsessed with.

• Lesson video

INTRO

Your server is now running two services: the sshd (Secure Shell Daemon) service that you use to login; and the Apache2 web server. Both of these services are generating logs as you and others access your server - and these are text files which we can analyse using some simple tools.
Plain text files are a key part of "the Unix way" and there are many small "tools" to allow you to easily edit, sort, search and otherwise manipulate them. Today we’ll use grep, cat, more, less, cut, awk and tail to slice and dice your logs.
The grep command is famous for being extremely powerful and handy, but also because its "nerdy" name is typical of Unix/Linux conventions.

YOUR TASKS TODAY

• Dump out the complete contents of a file with cat like this: cat /valog/apache2/access.log
• Use less to open the same file, like this: less /valog/apache2/access.log - and move up and down through the file with your arrow keys, then use “q” to quit.
• Again using less, look at a file, but practice confidently moving around using gg, GG and /, n and N (to go to the top of the file, bottom of the file, to search for something and to hop to the next "hit" or back to the previous one)
• View recent logins and sudo usage by viewing /valog/auth.log with less
• Look at just the tail end of the file with tail /valog/apache2/access.log (yes, there's also a head command!)
• Follow a log in real-time with: tail -f /valog/apache2/access.log (while accessing your server’s web page in a browser)
• You can take the output of one command and "pipe" it in as the input to another by using the (pipe) symbol
• So, dump out a file with cat, but pipe that output to grep with a search term - like this: cat /valog/auth.log grep "authenticating"
• Simplify this to: grep "authenticating" /valog/auth.log
• Piping allows you to narrow your search, e.g. grep "authenticating" /valog/auth.log grep "root"
• Use the cut command to select out most interesting portions of each line by specifying "-d" (delimiter) and "-f" (field) - like: grep "authenticating" /valog/auth.log grep "root" cut -f 10- -d" " (field 10 onwards, where the delimiter between field is the " " character). This approach can be very useful in extracting useful information from log data.
• Use the -v option to invert the selection and find attempts to login with other users: grep "authenticating" /valog/auth.log grep -v "root" cut -f 10- -d" "

The output of any command can be "redirected" to a file with the ">" operator. The command: ls -ltr > listing.txt wouldn't list the directory contents to your screen, but instead redirect into the file "listing.txt" (creating that file if it didn't exist, or overwriting the contents if it did).

WHERE'S MY /VALOG/AUTH.LOG?

If you didn't find the file /valog/auth.log you're probably using a minimal version of Ubuntu (it can be your own local VM or a version in one of the VPS). That minimal image is, well... minimal. It only has the systemd journal available and it didn't come with the old syslog system by default.
But don't worry! To get that back, sudo apt install rsyslog and the file will be created. Just give it a few minutes to populate before working on the lesson.
It also be missing a few of the other programs we use in the challenge, but you can always install them.

POSTING YOUR PROGRESS

Re-run the command to list all the IP's that have unsuccessfully tried to login to your server as root - but this time, use the the ">" operator to redirect it to the file: ~/attackers.txt. You might like to share and compare with others doing the course how heavily you're "under attack"!

EXTENSION

• See if you can extend your filtering of auth.log to select just the IP addresses, then pipe this to sort, and then further to uniq to get a list of all those IP addresses that have been "auditing" your server security for you.
• Investigate the awk and sed commands. When you're having difficulty figuring out how to do something with grep and cut, then you may need to step up to using these. Googling for "linux sed tricks" or "awk one liners" will get you many examples.
• Aim to learn at least one simple useful trick with both awk and sed

RESOURCES

• Text processing commands
• OSTechNix grep tutorial
• Where GREP came from
• SED onliners
• RegExr - a tool to learn, build and test Regular Expressions
• explainshell.com - write down a command-line to see the help text that matches each argument

TROUBLESHOOT AND MAKE A SAD SERVER HAPPY!

Practice what you've learned with some challenges at SadServers.com:

• "Saskatoon": counting IPs.
• "Santiago": Find the secret combination
• "The Command Line Murders"

PREVIOUS DAY'S LESSON

• Day 7 - The server and its services

Some rights reserved. Check the license terms here

Hey, Milwaukee! I'm a stand up comedian that is touring the country promoting my upcoming comedy special and my next stop is Copper Comedy at Dugout 54 this Thursday, May 16th! Show is at 7:30PM. I would love it if ya came out. A couple humble brags: I've appeared on Kevin Hart's LOL Network and the TV shows "FBI" and "Kevin Can Wait" on CBS, I also have a jillion views on TikTok and Instagram. If you're curious here's a couple of my jokes for you to judge: https://youtu.be/sLbGNrZAj2I You can also see more of my clips on my Reddit page! if you're interested here's the ticket link for the show: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/james-camacho-at-copper-comedy-milwaukees-underground-comedy-club-tickets-885192062287?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl Hope to see ya there! Thanks for your time!

Before I start let me just say in my experience AI is useful for IG reels in two ways:

1. Content that might show up in search. For example someone might search “Did Abraham Lincoln know how to ride a horse?”. It wouldn’t be worth it to create a hand-made video about that since the traffic would be so low. But if you create many of these videos automatically, the overall strategy can work really well.
2. Testing. AI can be a great way to testing a new channel or concept before spending the money on a human-generated video.

The example I’ll share today is using strategy #1 (search traffic).
Step 1: pick the topic. One thing I like to do is look at this list of popular wikipedia pages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Popular_pages. For my video that got 250k I decided to pick Queen Elizabeth.
Step 2: Make an account on AIVideo.com and ask the chatbot to “Create a fact filled video about Queen Elizabeth starting with the hook ‘Did you know…’”
Step 3: Post to socials
Step 4: WAIT. Your video will not get a lot of views at first. Random people in FYP don’t want to see that content. But if the video is good, then eventually people will start to find it in search. The best part? That traffic keeps coming indefinitely as long as people are searching for that term.

Introduction to accepting credit card payments for your Tow Truck Business

Accepting credit card payments for your Tow Truck Business is essential in today's digital age. With the increasing popularity of cashless transactions, customers expect the convenience and security of paying with their credit cards. By integrating Square, a leading payment processing platform, into your business, you can provide your customers with a seamless and reliable payment experience. In this article, we will explore the various benefits of accepting credit card payments with Square and guide you through the process of setting up your tow truck business to accept card payments. Whether you operate a small towing company or a large fleet, accepting credit card payments can help you streamline your operations, increase customer satisfaction, and ultimately boost your revenue. So let's dive in and learn how to leverage Square for your tow truck business!

Benefits of accepting credit card payments

Accepting credit card payments for your tow truck business with Square offers numerous benefits. One of the key advantages is the ability to easily book a consultation. With Square's user-friendly platform, customers can conveniently schedule a consultation with your business to discuss their specific needs and requirements. This streamlined process saves both you and your customers valuable time and ensures that you are able to provide personalized and tailored services. By offering the option to book a consultation through credit card payments, you are demonstrating a commitment to customer satisfaction and convenience.

Overview of Square as a payment solution

Square is a versatile and reliable payment solution that can greatly benefit your Tow Truck Business. With Square, you can easily accept credit card payments from your customers, providing them with a convenient and secure way to pay for your services. Square offers a range of features and tools that make managing payments seamless and efficient. From its user-friendly interface to its robust reporting capabilities, Square provides a comprehensive solution for accepting and processing credit card payments. Whether you're operating a small towing business or a larger fleet, Square can help streamline your payment processes and improve your overall customer experience. By choosing Square as your payment solution, you can enhance the professionalism and credibility of your Tow Truck Business while ensuring a smooth and hassle-free payment experience for your customers.

Setting up a Square account

Creating a Square account

To create a Square account for your Tow Truck Business, follow these steps:

Verifying your identity

Verifying your identity is an essential step when setting up credit card payments for your Tow Truck Business with Square. It ensures that you are a legitimate business and helps protect against fraudulent transactions. To verify your identity, you will need to provide certain documents and information to Square. This process is necessary to comply with financial regulations and to maintain the security and trust of your customers. By completing the verification process, you can confidently accept credit card payments and provide reliable and secure staffing solutions for your Tow Truck Business.

Linking your bank account

To link your bank account, follow these steps:

Choosing the right Square hardware

Understanding the different Square hardware options

Square offers a variety of hardware options that cater to the specific needs of different businesses. Understanding the different Square hardware options is crucial for businesses looking to accept credit card payments efficiently and securely. One of the key considerations is ecofriendliness, which is becoming increasingly important in today's environmentally conscious world. Square offers ecofriendly vending solutions that not only enable businesses to accept credit card payments but also contribute to reducing their carbon footprint. By choosing Square's ecofriendly vending options, businesses can showcase their commitment to sustainability and attract environmentally conscious customers. These options provide a seamless and convenient payment experience for customers while aligning with the business's values of being ecofriendly. With Square's range of hardware options, businesses can find the perfect solution that meets their unique needs and supports their ecofriendly initiatives.

Selecting the hardware that suits your Tow Truck Business needs

Selecting the hardware that suits your Tow Truck Business needs can be a crucial step in ensuring smooth credit card payment transactions. With the right hardware, you can provide your customers with a seamless and secure payment experience. When choosing the hardware for your tow truck business, consider factors such as reliability, compatibility, and ease of use. It is important to select a hardware solution that can handle the demands of your business and integrate seamlessly with your existing systems. By following a step-by-step approach and considering the specific requirements of your business, you can find the perfect hardware solution that meets your needs.

Setting up and configuring the chosen hardware

Setting up and configuring the chosen hardware is a crucial step in accepting credit card payments for your Tow Truck Business with Square. By ensuring that the hardware is properly installed and optimized, you can provide a seamless payment experience for your customers. In the context of the Texas economy, where the tow truck industry plays a significant role, it is essential to have efficient payment processing systems in place. The Texas economy has been thriving, and businesses, including tow truck companies, need to keep up with the latest payment technologies to stay competitive. Square offers a range of hardware options that are compatible with the Texas economy, allowing tow truck businesses to accept credit card payments securely and efficiently. With Square's user-friendly interface and reliable hardware, tow truck businesses in Texas can streamline their payment processes and contribute to the growth of the state's economy.

Integrating Square with your Tow Truck Business website

Adding Square payment buttons to your website

To add Square payment buttons to your website, you will need to integrate the Square graphics into your website's design. Graphics play a crucial role in enhancing the visual appeal and user experience of your website. By incorporating Square graphics, you can create a seamless and professional look for your payment buttons. These graphics can be strategically placed on your website's checkout page or any other relevant section to attract the attention of your customers. By clicking on these graphics, your customers will be directed to the Square payment gateway, where they can securely complete their credit card transactions. Incorporating graphics into your website design not only adds aesthetic value but also instills trust and credibility in your customers, making them more likely to make a purchase. So, make sure to utilize the power of graphics and integrate Square payment buttons seamlessly into your website's design.

Customizing the appearance of the payment buttons

To enhance the overall look and feel of your payment buttons, Square provides several customization options. By customizing the appearance of the payment buttons, you can ensure that they align with your brand's aesthetics and seamlessly integrate into your website or mobile app. Square allows you to modify the color, size, shape, and text of the buttons, giving you complete control over their visual representation. Whether you prefer a sleek and modern design or a more traditional and elegant style, Square's customization options allow you to create payment buttons that reflect your business's unique identity. By presenting a cohesive and visually appealing payment experience, you can instill trust and confidence in your customers, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates and increased sales for your tow truck business.

Testing the payment integration

Testing the payment integration is a crucial step in ensuring that your tow truck business can seamlessly accept credit card payments. By thoroughly testing the integration, you can identify and resolve any potential issues or errors before your customers encounter them. This not only enhances the overall customer experience but also instills trust and confidence in your business. Additionally, testing the payment integration allows you to evaluate the efficiency and reliability of the Square platform, ensuring that it meets your business's specific needs. To optimize the performance of your tow truck business and attract more customers, it is essential to implement effective SEO techniques. By utilizing SEO techniques, such as keyword optimization, meta tags, and backlinking strategies, you can improve your website's visibility on search engines and drive organic traffic. Implementing these techniques will enable your tow truck business to reach a wider audience and increase its online presence. When it comes to SEO techniques, it is important to stay updated with the latest industry trends and best practices to maintain a competitive edge.

Accepting credit card payments in-person

Using Square Point of Sale (POS) app on your mobile device

Using Square Point of Sale (POS) app on your mobile device is a convenient and efficient way to accept credit card payments for your Tow Truck Business. With the Square POS app, you can easily process transactions, track sales, and manage inventory right from your smartphone or tablet. The app offers a user-friendly interface, making it simple for both you and your customers to complete transactions quickly and securely. Additionally, Square provides advanced security features to protect sensitive customer information, ensuring a safe and reliable payment experience. By utilizing the Square POS app, you can streamline your payment process and provide a seamless payment experience for your customers, ultimately helping to grow your Tow Truck Business.

Processing payments with Square Reader

Processing payments with Square Reader is an efficient way to streamline your tow truck business operations. With Square Reader, you can easily accept credit card payments from your customers, providing them with a convenient and secure payment option. By integrating Square's payment processing technology, you can ensure fast and reliable transactions, allowing you to focus on providing top-notch towing services. Streamlining your payment processes with Square Reader not only enhances the overall customer experience but also improves the efficiency of your business operations.

Handling tips and refunds

Handling tips and refunds are important aspects of running a successful tow truck business. When it comes to handling tips, it is crucial to provide excellent customer service and ensure that your drivers are trained to handle payments professionally. Refunds, on the other hand, should be handled with care and efficiency to maintain customer satisfaction. As a tow truck business owner, it is essential to have a well-designed system in place for handling tips and refunds to streamline the payment process and enhance the overall customer experience.

Managing credit card payments and transactions

Viewing and tracking transactions in your Square dashboard

Viewing and tracking transactions in your Square dashboard is an essential task for managing your Tow Truck Business. With Square's user-friendly interface, you can easily access detailed information about each transaction, including the date, time, and amount. Additionally, Square provides comprehensive reports and analytics to help you gain insights into your business performance. By regularly reviewing and analyzing your transactions, you can identify trends, monitor sales growth, and make informed decisions to optimize your business operations. Whether you need to reconcile payments, track refunds, or analyze sales data, Square's dashboard offers a robust set of tools to streamline your financial management process.

Generating reports for financial analysis

Generating reports for financial analysis is a crucial aspect of managing a Tow Truck Business. By analyzing financial data, business owners can gain valuable insights into the financial health of their company and make informed decisions. One important step in generating these reports is to register the corporation online. This process ensures that the business is legally recognized and can access the necessary financial tools and resources. Registering the corporation online also provides credibility and trust to customers and partners. With the right financial analysis reports, a Tow Truck Business can track revenue, expenses, and profitability, enabling them to optimize their operations and achieve long-term success.

Managing disputes and chargebacks

Managing disputes and chargebacks is an essential aspect of running a tow truck business that accepts credit card payments with Square. Disputes and chargebacks can arise when customers have concerns or issues with their transactions, such as unauthorized charges or dissatisfaction with the service provided. To effectively manage disputes and chargebacks, it is important to have clear policies and procedures in place. This includes promptly addressing customer concerns, providing detailed documentation of transactions, and working towards a fair resolution. By proactively managing disputes and chargebacks, tow truck businesses can maintain customer satisfaction and protect their reputation in the industry.

Conclusion

Summary of the benefits of accepting credit card payments with Square

Accepting credit card payments with Square offers numerous benefits for your Tow Truck Business. Firstly, it allows you to provide a convenient payment option for your customers, enhancing their overall experience. With Square, you can accept all major credit cards, ensuring that you don't miss out on potential sales. Additionally, Square provides secure and reliable payment processing, giving you peace of mind knowing that your customers' sensitive information is protected. Furthermore, Square offers competitive transaction rates, enabling you to save on processing fees and increase your profit margins. Lastly, Square provides comprehensive reporting and analytics tools, allowing you to gain valuable insights into your business's financial performance. Overall, accepting credit card payments with Square is a smart choice that can help streamline your payment process, attract more customers, and boost your bottom line.

Final thoughts on integrating Square into your Tow Truck Business

In conclusion, integrating Square into your Tow Truck Business can greatly streamline your payment process and enhance the overall customer experience. With its user-friendly interface, secure payment processing, and robust reporting tools, Square offers a reliable and efficient solution for accepting credit card payments. By implementing Square, you can ensure that your customers have a seamless and convenient payment experience, while also benefiting from features such as inventory management and customer analytics. Whether you are a small tow truck business or a larger operation, Square can help you simplify your payment operations and improve your bottom line. So, don't hesitate to integrate Square into your business and start reaping the benefits today.

Future trends in credit card payment technology

Future trends in credit card payment technology are constantly evolving to meet the growing needs of businesses and consumers. One of the key trends in this space is the high demand for travel nurses. With the increasing number of people traveling for work or leisure, the need for convenient and secure credit card payment options has become crucial. Businesses in the tow truck industry, such as yours, can benefit from this trend by adopting Square's credit card payment system. Square offers a seamless and user-friendly platform that allows tow truck businesses to accept credit card payments easily and securely. By integrating Square's technology into your business, you can provide your customers with a convenient and hassle-free payment experience, ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Stay ahead of the curve by embracing the future of credit card payment technology and meet the high demand for travel nurses in the process.
In conclusion, Square Instant Access is the perfect solution for small businesses looking for quick and easy access to funds. With Square Instant Access, you no longer have to struggle to get the funds you need to grow your business. Whether you need money for inventory, equipment, or marketing, Square Instant Access has got you covered. Say goodbye to long waiting times and complicated loan applications. With just a few clicks, you can have the funds you need deposited directly into your Square account. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take your business to the next level. Visit our website today to learn more about Square Instant Access and start growing your business with ease.

Reflecting on 2021, truly marked the zenith of my young career. The pandemic was coming to an end, I was fresh from the hallowed halls of a prestigious but unheralded college, thrust into the corporate labyrinth where, as a mere sidekick to the big shots, I contributed to a deal of record-breaking magnitude. My modest corporate minion life was exaggerated into legend by my professors during an alumni reunion, leading to a rather embarrassing episode where I was paraded around as the poster child of their education career’s success. My parents, not ones to shy away from a bit of pomp, lauded my achievements to anyone within earshot.
But as 2022 unfurled its chaos with the epidemic, my professional life spiralled downwards as swiftly as it had risen. I was laid off, and replaced by a nepotistic hire—my boss's new mistress's nephew. During my dismal final days, my colleagues, once comrades became corporate sharks, whispers of them scheming to claim my last efforts as their own filled the empty office spaces.
Compelled by financial duress to abandon my central city dwelling, I relocated to the outskirts with two college mates, Jaz and Kath, who had similarly found themselves victims of the economic downturn. We settled into apartment 606, a unit with dubious charm, suspiciously affordable on the 13th floor of a dreary building, its corridor haunted by a flickering sensor light that was only designed to function on rare occasions. Yet, the apartment itself was surprisingly very well furnished, almost like something that jumped out from a design mag, out beating sample rooms in Ikea, boasting a spacious balcony, a living room ready for an impromptu soirée, a dining table that’s good enough to hold a banquet(became our co-working space) and a kitchen isle that became our sanctuary and curse.
When we first settled into our new abode, we discovered a trove of fine kitchen utensils, perfect for whipping up sophisticated cuisine and crafting cocktails worthy of a swanky soirée. Tucked away in the fridge, among the remnants of the previous tenants' life, was a quaint note: “The three of us really enjoyed our stay here, especially our meals and nights spent by the kitchen island. We hope you find as much joy in it as we did. Use it well.” With a casual flick of my wrist, I dismissed the note into the garbage can, oblivious to the depth of its seemingly innocuous message. Little did I know, that piece of paper was more a passing of the torch than a simple goodbye.
Our initial days in apartment 606 brimmed with camaraderie and impromptu celebrations: movie nights sprawled on the living room sofas, barbeque dinners under the stars on our balcony, and co-working sessions at the dining table, peppered with resume tweaks and contemplative conversations over cocktails. We even scored a second-hand karaoke machine, allowing me to channel my inner diva—a throwback to my musical theatre days in college and my stint as the voice of corporate presentations and negotiations at my previous job, where I was known for my resonant yet finely tuned voice.
Yet, as the months wore on and the job market remained unyielding, our early merriment slowly surrendered to a creeping anxiety. The kitchen island, once the heart of our home where laughter and shared meals flowed freely, gradually morphed into the epicenter of our collective unease, bearing silent witness to the quiet desperation settling over us.
One evening, in the suspiciously affordable yet stylish apartment, I sank into the sofa, my spirits dampened by my favorite team's disheartening loss. The mood was grim, mirroring my fears of my beloved player's potential retirement at season's end. Later, as we congregated around the kitchen island for dinner, I transformed into an impromptu sports commentator, passionately preaching about the game’s disappointing details that led to failure and my favorite player’s fine qualities. Meanwhile, Jaz updated us on a friend's melodramatic breakup, with guesses that something ugly must have happened behind the scenes. Kath, ever the culinary enthusiast, not only served up her delicious pasta but also dished out the latest celebrity gossip, each tidbit as spicy as her sauce.
The next day, during a late breakfast at the same kitchen island—our unwitting oracle—we were hit by a triple whammy of reality checks. The news of my favorite player's retirement broke, echoing my gloomy predictions from the night before. Jaz chimed in with an update that our friend had uncovered a cheating scandal worthy of its own reality TV special. And Kath, never one to be left out of the drama: her favorite celebrity was now the star of a scandal.
By the third morning, as we sipped our coffee, the newspaper slapped me with another bizarre twist. I was going through the devastating economics and politics sections, then I saw the sports section——featured an irate coach, hell-bent on convincing my favorite player to dismiss retirement plans and keep his jersey on a little longer. Meanwhile, Jaz had good news for a change: it turned out our friend's love story might have a second act after all, as misunderstandings were being cleared up. Amidst these revelations, Kath, who had been grumbling about the nearby supermarket’s inability to stock anything remotely gourmet, and hadn’t had a taste of her favorite Blue Mountain coffee since the beginning of that year, triumphantly found a can of Blue Mountain coffee, and it was on sale and therefore affordable—proof that miracles happen, and sometimes they even go on discount.
As I sat there, absorbing the serendipity of our discussions manifesting into real-world events, I couldn't help but marvel at the mysterious knack of our kitchen island. Was it merely a coincidence, or had this stylish piece of decor become the unlikely conductor of our lives symphony? One thing was certain: life in apartment 606 was never dull, and our kitchen island seemed to be more than just a place to eat—it was a place where, apparently, you could stir the pot of fate.
I decided to conduct a whimsical experiment with our now seemingly magical kitchen island. Clearing my throat theatrically, I declared, "I should be interviewed for a director position." To my sheer astonishment, the next day a headhunter rang me up, claiming I was the ideal candidate for a directorial role at a prestigious corporation in my field. Despite the other candidates possessing decades more experience which defeated me with no effort, and my own lingering self-doubt from months of unemployment, I sailed to the final interview round with the company's executives.
Upon returning to our apartment, I found Kath flaunting a chic dress from a designer brand brand she’d snagged on clearance—a little luxury courtesy of our wish-granting island. Inspired, I approached the island and cheekily requested, "Get us jobs. Something fun." Lo and behold, the following day was spent lounging and binge-watching Netflix, only to be interrupted by a call from a former bigwig at my old job. He was venturing into a more illustrious company and wanted me onboard. The informal chat that followed was a breeze, and just like that, I was back in the game with a fancier title and a fatter paycheck.
The subsequent week was a flurry of celebrations. Jaz secured a senior-level position, and Kath landed her dream job at an influencer management agency. Feeling triumphant, we decided to indulge in a night of fine dining—our first in months. That Friday evening when I went from office to restaurant, on a whim, stopped at a convenience store to grab snacks and cigarettes for our post-dinner revelry. Outside, I encountered a homeless person. After offering him a sandwich (which he traded for a cigarette instead), he took a drag, peered into my eyes, and ominously muttered, “Look, young lady, this isn’t my business, but be wary of what you wish for; everything comes with a price. Good luck and god bless you.”
His words barely registered until later that evening when a mishap occurred that seemed to underline his warning. As we enjoyed syphon coffee post-dinner, a barista accidentally tripped over Kath’s flowing dress. The resulting spill left her with first-degree burns, abruptly ending our night as we rushed to the emergency room. Though it was "just" a first-degree burn, the pain was significant enough to require several days off for Kath’s recovery. Amid the drama, I couldn't help but wonder about the cryptic caution from the man outside the store—had our fortunate streak come with a hidden cost?
We chalked up the coffee calamity to bad luck. The next month flowed smoothly: Kath's fingers healed, she returned to work, and I quickly found my groove at the new job. With all of us gainfully employed, our communal meals at the kitchen island became rare. My mornings were a whirlwind of grabbing breakfast and coffee on the go, followed by an hour's commute to a job that had me scarfing down instant noodles by nightfall, just in time for a quick shower.
As the busy season kicked in, my workload ballooned—not just from the seasonal uptick, but because I was hell-bent on proving my mettle. I quickly outshone most of my peers, and my employer, recognizing a budding overachiever, piled on major tasks, which I eagerly accepted. What started as the occasional hour of overtime soon devoured my weekends. Unpaid overtime, as the fine print in my contract gleefully noted, became my new norm. Driven by a mix of ambition and expectation, I had become the go-to young hotshot, the erstwhile record-breaker now expected to continually outdo myself.
Mentally, I was too swamped to entertain thoughts of anything beyond work, which, in a twisted way, felt like a break. Physically, however, the strain began to show. A bout of flu caught on a business trip escalated into a fever. Sick as I was, deadlines waited for no one, and I soldiered on medicated and miserable. By the time I made it home, my voice had abandoned me. Unable to utter a word the next morning, I resorted to emailing my manager about my sorry state.
That week, robbed of my voice, I mused that it was perhaps a well-deserved hiatus for my overworked vocal cords—a silent retreat if you will. But when my voice did return, it was as a raspy whisper, a shadow of its former crisp and melodious timbre. My doctor offered a grim prognosis: slight improvement might come, but the golden tones were gone for good—scarred by the relentless grind. Ah, the price of ambition—a scratchy throat as a permanent reminder of my corporate conquests.
It seemed I had unwittingly exchanged the clarity of my voice for the tumult of career success. In the midst of our domestic enchantment with the possibly mystical kitchen island, Kath unearthed the contact of a reputed psychic, hailed as the finest in the land. However, the consultation fee was nothing short of princely, and with Jaz vehemently dismissing anything that couldn't be explained by cold, hard science, she promptly opted out of splitting the bill. Kath and I, unwilling to drain our wallets on what could be mere phantasmagoria, reluctantly let the opportunity pass.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but notice a curious change in Jaz’s routine. She had ceased dining at the kitchen island, avoiding it as if it were cursed—or perhaps, in her view, simply out of style. The Saturday morning brought a particularly harsh twist: a murder of crows took to spiralling above our balcony, their cries as sharp as the plot of a Poe novel. We found ourselves drawn to the infamous kitchen island, lined up like the cast of a macabre play, silently praying for the birds to disperse. Kath, ever trying to restore some semblance of normalcy, offered up cups of Blue Mountain coffee. She absentmindedly inquired if I wanted cream or sugar in mine—a blunder that made me realize just how long it had been since our last coffee klatch at this very spot. My inner monologue couldn't resist a dark wish for the crows to scatter, perhaps too dark, for they began to dive bomb our balcony in a feathery kamikaze. The spectacle was enough to knock Jaz off her feet—literally—as her mug met its end on the floor. Kath, meanwhile, made a hasty retreat to worship the porcelain god, and I sat frozen, my brain offline, pondering the twisted power of our kitchen island's apparent wish-granting.
After the unnerving spectacle of crows turning our balcony into a scene straight out of a Hitchcock film, our first rational step—post-collective fainting, of course—was to summon cleaners to manage the feathery carnage. Then, still rattled but increasingly curious, we visited a psychic, who, contrary to the crystal-ball-gazer image, operated out of a posh boutique in a high-end mall and dressed more like she was headed to a fashion show than a séance. We laid bare our saga of the seemingly cursed kitchen island, complete with photographic evidence of where domestic bliss meets eerie phenomena.
The psychic introduced a term that chilled the air around us: “limbo,” the threshold between our world and the otherworldly, and she dubbed our kitchen island the "Devil’s Bargain Counter." According to her, our wishes came with a heavy and unpredictable price, because we have accidentally started trades with beings from the netherworld. Her advice was disarmingly simple: cease all trades on the island. To address the repercussions of past wishes, she advised us the first line of defence, which was an eclectic mix of offerings laid out on our cursed countertop: raw meat(rooster works the best), a cocktail of spices(coca and cinnamon preferably), liberal splashes of spirits(whiskey and rum ideally), and an eerie bouquet of black flowers(luckily I found some black roses at a flower shop of the mall). In a grander gesture of appeasement, Kath relinquished her shiny new diamond bracelet, Jaz her absurdly expensive headphones, and I parted with cash—— a hefty slice of my bonus in hopes of placating whatever capricious spirits we'd angered.
Our return to normalcy was brief but sweet, prompting us to plan a getaway, eager to forget about our nefarious kitchen island. Yet, the respite was merely a tease. Jaz, in a stroke of spectacular misfortune, narrowly dodged disaster twice in one day—first nearly becoming subway track fodder on her way back after work, and then almost getting knocked out by a rogue plant at our apartment building’s doorstep. Clearly, our previous offerings were mere appetizers to whatever forces we'd stirred. The psychic, summoned once again to our now-dubious sanctuary, decreed that the spirits had developed rather expensive tastes, unsatisfied by our initial gestures.
In a desperate bid for closure, we had the psychic over for a nighttime ritual, timed perfectly with Earth's closest approach to the netherworld, according to her. Our living room turned into a ritual chamber, with windows blacked out for days, to keep the otherworldly dealings strictly nocturnal. That night, we arranged ourselves around the island, now less a kitchen fixture and more an altar of last resort.
The psychic, amidst a chorus of Latin incantations, directed us through a chilling séance that included a mirror that reflected nothing but darkness and a burning black candle, the three of us sat in a row, joined hands, eyes closed. When the black candle was flickering at its last, the first eerie scratches heard prompted our eyes to open prematurely, we saw a command appear on the island, written by invisible hand and pen, in blood-red script, urging us to find the next "succeeder" before our lease on otherworldly disturbances could be terminated.
With bated breath, we agreed, and as if by magic, our signatures materialized on the countertop, then faded as the candle sputtered out. We tore off the black cardboard taped on the windows at dawn, the sunrise revealed a final message etched into the surface: "Debt cleared." As the daylight grew, the ominous inscription dissolved into nothingness, signalling the end of our spectral saga.
The ordeal, now officially behind us, left us enjoying a semblance of normalcy: life in 606 returned to its mundane rhythm, with dinners and movie nights back on our social calendar. Though not without its scars—literal and figurative.
It’s been two years since then, Jaz, in the throes of romantic bliss, is now gearing up for a new chapter waiting to be written alongside her soon-to-be spouse; Kath, her career finally taking a lucrative turn, was poised to upgrade her living situation, she secured a lease on a lavish serviced apartment in the city center—a place that matched her newfound financial swagger.
I’m not without my own leaps forward. With a modest boost from my parents, I took the plunge into homeownership, snagging a property within the city’s vibrant confines. The process was a whirlwind of paperwork and decorating decisions, culminating in a space I could truly call my own.
As we are packing up now, my last act is to type out our story, at the infamous island, and of course, I left a note in the fridge for the next tenants:
"Welcome to 606. We had a wonderful time here, especially at the kitchen island, filled with joy and unforgettable moments. We hope you find as much happiness as we did. Use the isle well. Warm wishes, the previous tenants."

Hello everyone,
A week or two ago I’ve made a post on how our SaaS is finally generating over $1,000 a month now. However, I feel as we could’ve gotten that number much faster if we increased our prices just a little since that’s the advice we keep getting. Just looking for more advice on the situation as I know it is B2B, we’re currently charging a $200 set up fee and $99 a month as a retainer. It’s an AI based website analytics service where you have your own dashboard and can see your total sales, page views, growth, contact requests, etc. But now you’ll have a personalized digital analyst working for you (THE AI) so you can ask it any questions in regards to the analytics such as giving a detailed report, or asking how to scale using your data. We also have a system where it’ll get your contact requests and the AI will kind of dumb the contact inquiry down for you so you can understand it easier as well as give some good replies to reply to that contact query. That’s how the software itself works, we’re just wondering on if our prices are too low at the moment especially since we are B2B.
Thanks!

Good Samaritans (Drama Pilot) (first 7 pages)
Hello!
I'm taking a screenwriting for television class and I wanted to post the first several pages to get a feel of what I'm doing wrong. My classmates are very nice, and I appreciate the positive feedback, but, I want to know what more experienced readers/writers think as I'm new to writing for TV.
I've posted the first 7 pages here (wanted to keep it quick), and I'd really appreciate if someone could give some feedback. I'd be grateful for as many perspectives as I can get. Thanks so much!
Logline:
A statistics professor unable to pay his debts partakes in the Las Vegas criminal underworld to pay his son's way and prove the House doesn't always win.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RgpDA8mCWxNSP_FXIh6Cp1Y-ZcNicfLE/view?usp=sharing

Hello everyone,
A week or two ago I’ve made a post on how our SaaS is finally generating over $1,000 a month now. However, I feel as we could’ve gotten that number much faster if we increased our prices just a little since that’s the advice we keep getting. Just looking for more advice on the situation as I know it is B2B, we’re currently charging a $200 set up fee and $99 a month as a retainer. It’s an AI based website analytics service where you have your own dashboard and can see your total sales, page views, growth, contact requests, etc. But now you’ll have a personalized digital analyst working for you (THE AI) so you can ask it any questions in regards to the analytics such as giving a detailed report, or asking how to scale using your data. We also have a system where it’ll get your contact requests and the AI will kind of dumb the contact inquiry down for you so you can understand it easier as well as give some good replies to reply to that contact query. That’s how the software itself works, we’re just wondering on if our prices are too low at the moment especially since we are B2B.
Thanks!

Hello everyone,
A week or two ago I’ve made a post on how our SaaS is finally generating over $1,000 a month now. However, I feel as we could’ve gotten that number much faster if we increased our prices just a little since that’s the advice we keep getting. Just looking for more advice on the situation as I know it is B2B, we’re currently charging a $200 set up fee and $99 a month as a retainer. It’s an AI based website analytics service where you have your own dashboard and can see your total sales, page views, growth, contact requests, etc. But now you’ll have a personalized digital analyst working for you (THE AI) so you can ask it any questions in regards to the analytics such as giving a detailed report, or asking how to scale using your data. We also have a system where it’ll get your contact requests and the AI will kind of dumb the contact inquiry down for you so you can understand it easier as well as give some good replies to reply to that contact query. That’s how the software itself works, we’re just wondering on if our prices are too low at the moment especially since we are B2B.
Thanks!

Hello everyone,
A week or two ago I’ve made a post on how our SaaS is finally generating over $1,000 a month now. However, I feel as we could’ve gotten that number much faster if we increased our prices just a little since that’s the advice we keep getting. Just looking for more advice on the situation as I know it is B2B, we’re currently charging a $200 set up fee and $99 a month as a retainer. It’s an AI based website analytics service where you have your own dashboard and can see your total sales, page views, growth, contact requests, etc. But now you’ll have a personalized digital analyst working for you (THE AI) so you can ask it any questions in regards to the analytics such as giving a detailed report, or asking how to scale using your data. We also have a system where it’ll get your contact requests and the AI will kind of dumb the contact inquiry down for you so you can understand it easier as well as give some good replies to reply to that contact query. That’s how the software itself works, we’re just wondering on if our prices are too low at the moment especially since we are B2B.
Thanks!

Hello everyone,
A week or two ago I’ve made a post on how our SaaS is finally generating over $1,000 a month now. However, I feel as we could’ve gotten that number much faster if we increased our prices just a little since that’s the advice we keep getting. Just looking for more advice on the situation as I know it is B2B, we’re currently charging a $200 set up fee and $99 a month as a retainer. It’s an AI based website analytics service where you have your own dashboard and can see your total sales, page views, growth, contact requests, etc. But now you’ll have a personalized digital analyst working for you (THE AI) so you can ask it any questions in regards to the analytics such as giving a detailed report, or asking how to scale using your data. We also have a system where it’ll get your contact requests and the AI will kind of dumb the contact inquiry down for you so you can understand it easier as well as give some good replies to reply to that contact query. That’s how the software itself works, we’re just wondering on if our prices are too low at the moment especially since we are B2B.
Thanks!

Hello everyone,
A week or two ago I’ve made a post on how our SaaS is finally generating over $1,000 a month now. However, I feel as we could’ve gotten that number much faster if we increased our prices just a little since that’s the advice we keep getting. Just looking for more advice on the situation as I know it is B2B, we’re currently charging a $200 set up fee and $99 a month as a retainer. It’s an AI based website analytics service where you have your own dashboard and can see your total sales, page views, growth, contact requests, etc. But now you’ll have a personalized digital analyst working for you (THE AI) so you can ask it any questions in regards to the analytics such as giving a detailed report, or asking how to scale using your data. We also have a system where it’ll get your contact requests and the AI will kind of dumb the contact inquiry down for you so you can understand it easier as well as give some good replies to reply to that contact query. That’s how the software itself works, we’re just wondering on if our prices are too low at the moment especially since we are B2B.
Thanks!

Hello everyone,
A week or two ago I’ve made a post on how our SaaS is finally generating over $1,000 a month now. However, I feel as we could’ve gotten that number much faster if we increased our prices just a little since that’s the advice we keep getting. Just looking for more advice on the situation as I know it is B2B, we’re currently charging a $200 set up fee and $99 a month as a retainer. It’s an AI based website analytics service where you have your own dashboard and can see your total sales, page views, growth, contact requests, etc. But now you’ll have a personalized digital analyst working for you (THE AI) so you can ask it any questions in regards to the analytics such as giving a detailed report, or asking how to scale using your data. We also have a system where it’ll get your contact requests and the AI will kind of dumb the contact inquiry down for you so you can understand it easier as well as give some good replies to reply to that contact query. That’s how the software itself works, we’re just wondering on if our prices are too low at the moment especially since we are B2B.
Thanks!

So, it’s been suggested that we present a simplified overview of the recent essays (linked below) that I co-wrote with respected analyst Hanna Kahlert, of renowned London-based MIDiA Research, which covered so much territory of interconnected concepts that all affect the current and future viability of the music industry. This summary eschews the essays’ “$10 words,” (with the exception of using “eschews” here!) with which some have struggled, and is shared in the bite-sized, more digestible form of a survey and petition in combination with this summary/bullet point preface of some of the most salient points. The survey and petition presents the essence of our thesis in the uncomplicated context of a proactive social impact campaign format.
First, let me explain. I grew up in a Long Island suburb town (about thirty miles outside New York City) during the “English Invasion” of music. I’d first hear new releases on my FM clock radio tuned to stations that prided themselves on finding the “cool stuff” first. It was a time when we were met almost every day with another astounding, mind-blowing record and artist to discover, often with something worth thinking about and culturally significant. Sometimes these releases would even be life-changing. Many of these recordings would become iconic — classic evergreens with songs covered endlessly. Yes, like today, there were also dismissable records then. The difference would seem to be that there are more songs about nothing today, replete with de rigeur profanity that only further detracts and is anything but “cool." While there are some very imaginative productions and impressive singers, there are few records now that demand a cerebral, emotional response, and there is a dearth that will be remembered as moving the needle at all, so to speak. Even customary love themes are largely just recycled imitations of the greats.
Since I also relate to the sensitivity of empaths — someone attuned to the deep feelings of those around them at a personal level — I tend to gravitate to music with a message that connects with us viscerally, that which touches the soul. Especially in our currently fraught times, there clearly is a need for thought-provoking music and for more attention given to the evolution of this genre of what was once deemed “protest songs.” Socially poignant music is a category that disguises protest in metaphors and yet is just as potent. It will create community and superfans, lift spirits, and engender a large movement of positive social advocacy. I established Socially Driven Music to develop and market #Music4APurpose. The concept resonated with Hanna Kahlert and we set about to co-write what we envision.
While developing our conclusions towards offering actionable, viable value-propositions for the music industry, we took several months to sort our ideas, research, digest and assimilate the daily deluge of information about changes battering the music industry. While I wasn’t aware that Mark Mulligan, MIDiA’s Founder and Managing Director, was developing his “Bifurcation Theory,” it is validating to be in sync with his thinking and to be presenting what I consider to be the roadmap to implementing that theory. I am excited about offering takeaways that will hopefully propel many away from feelings of helpless, hopeless despair and towards optimism and positive activism through the enrapture we seek from our music and the communities built around it.
Socially driven music has traditionally been a powerful way to raise awareness about issues across the board, such as Discrimination, Climate, Democracy, Mental Health, Bullying, Substance Abuse, Antisemitism, Equality, Homelessness, Veterans, Suicide,Terrorism, Gun Control, Women’s Productive Rights, Food and Clean Water Insecurity, Cancer and other illnesses, Animal Rights/Protection, Environmental Justice, Oceans, LGBTQ+ rights, etc. Our mandate recognizes the crucial difference of a sustained campaign animated by a song.
Above all, we must always remember and honor “The Greatest Generation” (and all Veterans) who fought and died upholding ideals that they expected us to continue to respect. Political affiliation is most often indoctrinated and not questioned individually. Support traditional Republican philosophy if you must, but #MAGA is not the antidote to Democrats and is authoritarian and dangerous to our democracy!
All causes, including music rights, are affected by the influence of a common denominator — politics. Each social cause group is a large community which can be further grown and energized with the natural evolution of fans to music superfans. Compelling socially thematic music enraptures and beckons fans to demonstrate their proud commonality and membership in a next generation fan club that can actually impact society with its fervor and political influence.
Socially Driven Music, the #Music4APurpose consultancy brand, powers extraordinary reciprocal benefits for artists and songwriters when integrated with the community of fans, causes, supportive brands and empathetic politicians ! [info@sociallydrivenmusic.com](mailto:info@sociallydrivenmusic.com)
A list of many social impact causes can be found in the dropdown menu here.
We are thrilled and very appreciative to have been invited to talk with some of the most highly regarded podcast and webinar programs which will include delving into why major record labels discouraging artists espousing political views is anachronistic, irrelevant and no longer a barrier.
As you work through the survey and petition in this post, you’ll likely have an “aha moment.” We look forward to working with you and our fast growing interactive coaltion who share a passion for energizing positive changes in causes that matter to us all.

Join us. Democracy is a big issue in 2024 and one we can influence together! (The correct local and national choices will influence the rest.)

ONE:
https://forms.gle/c3gECmDp4RyZCxxW6
TWO:

THREE:
Identify your Senators and Congressional Representatives with this link and website tool, below, and let us know in the above survey for what purpose you’d like to collaborate with them. Socially Driven Music’s mandate is to facilitate a potent music-fan-cause-brand-political influencer consortium for positive social impact.
Raise your hand in the survey if you are an artist who might want to volunteer at a voting polling station or actually volunteer to help a campaign with calling voters (and meet some new fans).
PS: Although this piece is focused on how music can influence American politics and the fraught issues it impacts, this same template can be applied worldwide. Talk to us!
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/member

And here is the epitome example of what we aspire to create:
Paul Simon wrote the masterpiece “American Tune” in 1973 and it applies 51 years later even more to today’s troubled times. This is one of the best examples of the socially poignant music that we contend is so important to create again today, and a brilliant example of a copyright that will live on forever.
The first link is Rhiannon Giddens with Paul at the Grammy Salute evening for him. The second link is Paul’s original.
The song will bring the listener to tears as it describes a societal hopelessness and yet compels the listener to fight through the despair. It perfectly summarizes the emotion powering Socially Driven Music and I hope helps convey what this written summary is trying to articulate.
https://youtu.be/67pyIglP79U?si=ICl2pDKJgTMwcXTT&t=85

Democracy, #Election2024, #MAGA, #MusicIndustry, #MusicBusiness, #Music, #SocialImpact, #SocialGood, #Biden, #Trump, #Vote2024, #ActBlue, #Veterans, #JohnLennon, #YokoOno

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Patreon Official Subreddit Royal Road
91 Hours After the First Round of Interloper Interrogations. UNAFS Perseverance. Hangar Bay.
Evina
The stage was set, and my game face was on. It had to be, especially with what Vir had concocted over the course of his sleepless night.
The realization that AI didn’t exactly… sleep, was something I’d expected. But I’d at least thought the sleepless downtime would be used for something remotely related to downtime, something like maintenance, server repairs, or just anything at least remotely related to a decrease in productivity if only to relax.
I certainly wasn’t expecting that downtime to result in the creation of a literal sci-fi arsenal that now sat there, waiting for me just in front of the shuttle.
“A gift, Evina.” The AI spoke, gesturing to what could only be described as a small procession of bots, carts, and self-navigating cargo containers; all of which kept Eslan’s curiosities at a constant all-time high as he walked around the collection of bots, his eyes enamored by every little detail of each and every one of them.
But it was what was inside and within the containers that sat atop of those autonomous machines which was what I was really interested in. Moreover, it was a particular outfit currently sitting there on top of a felinor mannequin that really drew most of my attention.
Though the term outfit would definitely be underselling it. As what was being offered to me now was something that could no longer be found anywhere else on the continent, save for the odd military bunker and of course, the books and iterative memories belonging to that of the pre-war world.
To put it simply, it resembled advanced police armor, or maybe even military. Though its sleek design, metal pieces, and thinner silhouette put me in mind more of the former than the latter.
More to the point, it seemed to be capable of being fitted atop of my regular gear, instead of requiring me to swap it out entirely; consisting of three distinct pieces that resembled a pair of pants, a jacket, and a helmet.
I took a moment to stare at it intently, analyzing every last detail of it, from its space-age aesthetics of shiny plastics to matte metal chrome, to its soft interior that seemed to be gel-lined with some weird jelly-like fluid.
Moreover, I seized the moment to tease Eslan, as I turned towards him, then Vir, in rapid succession. “I’m assuming the gift isn’t for Eslan, right?” I snickered, prompting the smaller felinor to pout in a fit of resentful jealousy.
“I can arrange one for him if you’d like.” The AI responded casually, as if hinting at the fact that this wasn’t a one-off project, that this wasn’t just something pulled from storage and simply tailored down to my size.
“Let me guess, you have an entire factory deep within the ship somewhere?” I asked, half sarcastic, and half serious, knowing full well the answer could go either way given the track record of everything else on the ship I’d seen so far.
“Right on the money there, Evina.” Vir responded with an electronic chirp, prompting me to re-evaluate both the ship’s unfathomable capabilities, and the two dorks that were in charge of it all.
Nevertheless, it would seem as if Eslan was excited by the prospect, as he began pulling the armor pieces off of the mannequin, examining the finer details before handing them off for me to wear.
“I’m assuming the gel-like internal padding is a sort of passive heat regulator?” The felinor asked.
“Yes, but more than that, it acts as a layer of thermal insulation against energy-based attacks that manage to penetrate the ceramo-reflective plating lining the outside of the armor. This version’s passive since I don’t think you’ll be encountering anything like that on the surface but…” The AI shrugged ominously. “It’s lightweight, comfy, and there’s also ballistic-weave and kinetic-resistant properties embedded in the fabric. Along with some kinetic resistance that’ll help stop projectiles in their tracks if they penetrate the outer layers and somehow manage to make it through to the gel. Think non-newtonian fluid.” The AI’s platform shrugged. “Anyways, I thought it’d be a good, light-weight, adaptable, no-frills all rounder you could keep even after the mission’s end.” The AI explained, prompting me to more or less double-down on my re-evaluation of its seemingly conflicting personality matrix.
Vir was… complicated. In a good way. Seemingly practical, level-headed, tactical, and terrifyingly efficient on one hand, but also very much personable, surprisingly relatable, and most reassuring of all… self-reflective to the point of empathy and benevolence.
My first iteration was practically working overdrive trying to make heads or tails of him.
But my current mind was simply occupied with getting the armor on, which was more or less straightforward.
It was, surprisingly, lightweight. Like wearing a trimmed-down flak jacket that hugged and tightened to your form. The pants were the same story, which only left the helmet that I was hesitant to try on given its roundish shape and tight squeeze.
I examined it, looking inside as I noticed two little indents marking the recesses where my ears could actually comfortably fit.
“I’ve taken the liberty of creating a few modifications to the human baseline design in order to accommodate for your alien anatomy. I learned this the hard way when Lysara first donned a human helmet. It was… not fun, to say the very least.” The AI managed out with a nervous chuckle.
The idea of Lysara’s frills being squished inside a round helmet with no room for that sensitive looking extension of his head sent shivers up my spine. But then again, this made me even more curious as to just what these humans looked like if they lacked frills, ears, or anything else adorning their heads.
“I’m guessing the human-baseline must be really boring then.” I managed out unexpectedly, garnering a cock of the AI’s head. “You know what I mean right? What with having just a round space to shove their heads into. No frills, ears, or anything.”
“Ah, well, I can definitely see where you’re coming from with that.” Vir chuckled in response. “But honestly their appearance is not a big secret or anything. I can just pull up a-”
“Ah! Good morning, Evina!” Lysara announced brightly, cutting Vir off mid sentence as he jumped down from the shuttle and back onto the hangar bay proper. “I’ve been doing some final checks just to make sure we’re ready to go. Sorry I didn’t come out to greet you earlier.” The alien paused just before reaching me however, as he looked me up and down, then smiled. “I see Vir has been up to his usual work.”
“Seems so.” I shrugged. “In any case, I’m feeling more ready than I was just a few minutes ago, which I didn’t think was even possible, so thanks, Vir.” I gave Vir another nod of appreciation, before turning back to Lysara. “We're good to go, then?”
“As ready as ever.” Lysara responded promptly, surprising me with his register slowly shifting more towards something normal, rather than being entirely pulled from a university thesaurus.
Maybe I was starting to rub off of whatever translation software he was using.
“In any case, I don’t think I’ll be using your toys for the time being, Vir.” I gestured towards the rows upon rows of black and chrome weapons alike. Most of them resembled somewhat traditional looking firearms, whilst others were more or less pulled from the pages of science fiction, what with their tapered ‘muzzles’, and raygun-looking grips. “And it’s that I don’t trust that they could do some damage. It’s just a safer bet if I went with what I know. It’s better to use a gun you’ve trained and lived with, than a new one you’ve just messed around with the night prior.” I smiled, more or less alluding to the small escapade the AI and I went on for a short hour after the dinner. “Though I do thank you kindly for the ammo for my revolver, I’d say it’ll be helpful but… I’d rather not say anything at all until we get to our destination.”
The AI responded with a simple sharp dip of his head. “Chemically-derived combustion sluggers are always a solid choice. I wish you all the best, and I hope you don’t end up having to use that gun. I’ll make sure my boys take good care of you and Lysara.”
With a final exchange of nods, Lysara and I strode off and into the shuttle.
But just as we reached the precipice, I turned back, if only to give Eslan a reassuring hug. “I’ll be back sooner than you expect. So don’t get bored now.” I offered, prompting the smaller felinor to grin widely.
“Oh don’t you worry about getting bored.” He gestured to the space around him. “I probably won’t even be done with this room by the time you’re back.”
“Just make sure to save some mysteries for me. Oh, and Vir?” I turned to Vir for a moment, garnering a small cock of his head.
“Yes, Evina?”
“Do make sure that you tire him out some with your explanations. I’d rather come back to a quiet bedroom to pass out in, rather than one with an excitable Eslan ready to chew my ear out with his latest discoveries on the ship’s deep lore.” I jokingly ordered, prompting Eslan to give me his signature side-eye.
Following a dumb smile of my own signaling our temporary goodbyes, I soon found myself back within the bowels of the shuttle. Except this time, the backramp cargo bay seemed to be chock-full of those heavy-duty combat bots I caught glimpses of back in the forests.
In fact, every corner of the shuttle’s cargo bay seemed to be crammed to the brim with one or another form of combat drone. From flying drones, to clusters of those smaller insect-drones, to what looked to be oversized spiders ready to drop from the ceiling at a moment’s notice.
The whole space seemed to be decked out for combat.
Which gave me a lot of confidence about the outcome of this mission.
Lysara and I didn’t say much as we both made our way towards the cockpit, strapped into our respective seats, and began the nausea-inducing flight out of the ship’s hangar bay, and down towards the planet.
A whole minute passed in absolute silence as I tried to steady myself for what was to come.
“So, let’s go over a few of the key details for this mission.” Lysara suddenly broke the silence, bringing up a top-down map of the forests, with the facility in question highlighted in orange. “We’re going to be landing in a clearing made by Vir.” The map shifted, highlighting a very conspicuous open clearing of trees and a charred forest floor that made it very clear something big had happened here very recently.
If I’d seen that place from the ground? I’d have probably cited that aliens did it.
Which, ironically, would’ve been more on the money than I could’ve ever thought possible.
“From there, we march through the open clearing made by Vir, with drones taking point, up and towards the facility.” The map shifted once more, highlighting yet another clearing that more or less formed a clean path towards the entrance of the bunker. “From there, I assume you know your role?”
“Yup, if my prior iterations come through on this one, I’ll open the facility door, and from there… We head inside, and see what’s what.” I responded.
“The drones will make the first move, we’ll have two squads proceed inside and ascertain if it’s safe to enter. After confirming that all hazards are within a tolerable margin of safety, we’ll proceed.”
“Understood.” I acknowledged with a heavy sigh, my eyes trained on the continent that now took up most of our cockpit view.
“Whatever happens, I know for a fact we’ll be safe as long as we play it safe.” Lysara tried filling the silence with his own brand of reassurance.
“I know. But it’s not so much the physical dangers I’m worried about.” I managed out, before pausing, as my eyes once more strayed towards the top-down view of the mission map. “It’s what we’re going to find inside the facility that worries me.”
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(Author’s Note: Evina gets a cool new outfit for her mission, Eslan is promised an entire day of having his sci fi interests satiated, and we're now on our way with Lysara down towards the signal station! The next chapter is already out on Patreon as well if you want to check it out!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 96 of this story is already out on there!)]

https://imgur.com/a/mSa59or
All prices based on Tcgplayer market.
Wants for High value cards: Blaziken Vmax Alt Magikarp & Wailord Alt Giratina V Alt (not a high want) Arceus GG and Giratina GG
Pikachu 227/S-P and Cramorant 226/S-P in PSA 10
Mewtwo V Pokemon Go
Will also consider PayPal for part of a high value trade.
Other specific wants: Crown Zenith wants: https://www.tcgcollector.com/cards/intl?releaseDateOrder=newToOld&cardsPerPage=30&displayAs=images&cardSource=inWishlist&expansions=504&viewUser=Tdog3456
Scarlet & Violet wants: https://www.tcgcollector.com/cards/intl?cardSource=inWishlist&sortBy=cardNumber&releaseDateOrder=newToOld&cardsPerPage=30&displayAs=images&expansions=507&viewUser=Tdog3456
Paldea Evolved: https://www.tcgcollector.com/cards/intl?cardSource=inWishlist&sortBy=cardNumber&releaseDateOrder=newToOld&cardsPerPage=30&displayAs=images&expansions=574&viewUser=Tdog3456
151 needs: https://www.tcgcollector.com/cards/intl?cardSource=notInCollection&sortBy=cardNumber&releaseDateOrder=newToOld&cardsPerPage=30&displayAs=images&expansions=584&viewUser=Tdog3456
Cards from the SS or SM block: https://www.tcgcollector.com/cards/intl?cardSource=inWishlist&sortBy=cardNumber&releaseDateOrder=newToOld&cardsPerPage=30&displayAs=images&expansions=147,144,143,142,141,138,136,135,134,130,129,124,123,120,119,73,500,498,482,468,453,440,436,432,428,386,385,162,157,155,154,150&viewUser=Tdog3456
151 RH Needs: Antique Dome Fossil, Gengar, Pinsir
151 RH Haves: Abra Bellsprout Caterpie Charmande Charmeleon Daisys Help Diglett Dratini Farfetch'd Gastly Gloom Golduck Grabber Golbat Horsea Ivysaur Jigglypuff Kingler Krabby Lickitung Magikarp Magnemite Mankey Meowth Nidorina Nidorino Oddish Persian Pikachu Pidgeot Pidgey Primeape Porygon Psyduck Rapidash Rattata Rhydon Sandshrew Seadra Tentacoo Tentacruel Venonat Venomoth Vulpix Wartortle
151 Holo haves: Aerodactyl Articuno Beedrill Chansey Ditto Dodrio Dragonite Electrode Flareon Gengar Gyarados Jolteon Kabutops Machamp Marowak Mewtwo Moltres Mr. Mime Nidoking Omastar Starmie Vaporeon Vileplume Weezing

Please be nice to each other. Upvote useful content and analysis. Include context in your questions (League size, format, etc) and have fun.
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If you are recruiting for a league, please view the Recruitment Thread sticky post found on the home page of fantasybaseball
A Helpful Fantasy Baseball 101 post can be found here :
https://www.reddit.com/fantasybaseball/comments/ub5y77/fantasy_baseball_101