According to Reuters: "The senators backed a goal in a commission report to reach government funding of at least $32 billion a year for non-defense aspects of AI innovation."
I think there is sufficient investment and progress in AI from the private sector. Startups are funded by venture capitalists and cash rich IT leaders. If government wants to help AI development, it should instead focus on light regulations and self regulation for the AI sector.
If government wants to fund AI, it should do so for national security. That is for things like defense and internal security. Defense can drive R&D in AI, to develop things like autonomous transport, surveillance, and cybersecurity.
Reference: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senators-unveil-ai-policy-roadmap-seek-government-funding-boost-2024-05-15/

BANGGOOD Deals Compilation (15.5.2024)!
Check products in compilation image: https://i.imgur.com/oUtwtKM.jpeg or https://i.ibb.co/mNDTktc/31dc90bc3a55.jpg
-1- HABOTEST HT680 HT681 Thermometer Hygrometer
🌍 https://bit.ly/49D00g8
✳️ https://couponsfromchina.com/habotest-ht680-ht681-thermometer-hygrometer-coupon-price/
💣 Price: 4.99 USD / Lowest before: 5.99 USD
👌 Coupon: BGbe0af2
-2- Car GPS HUD Digital Speedometer
❗️ https://bit.ly/3K2mVHp
🛒 https://couponsfromchina.com/car-gps-hud-digital-speedometer-coupon-price/
✌️ Price: 6.99 USD / Lowest before: 6.99 USD
-3- 2Pcs Aluminum Alloy Metric/Imperial Nut and Bolt Thread Checker
✅ https://bit.ly/3QMTXPE
🛒 https://couponsfromchina.com/2pcs-aluminum-alloy-metric-imperial-nut-and-bolt-thread-checker-coupon/
📉 Price: 8.99 USD / Lowest before: 9.99 USD
-4- AC/DC 12V 24V Transformer 100W LED Driver Power Supply
🌍 https://bit.ly/4bBVMaa
🔗 https://couponsfromchina.com/ac-dc-12v-24v-transformer-100w-led-driver-power-supply-coupon/
👉 Price: 9.99 USD / Lowest before: 9.99 USD
-5- Namimno ExpressLRS ELRS 2.4G RC Nano RX
🌐 https://bit.ly/3WLjk8b
🚨 Price: 10.91 USD / Lowest before: 11.99 USD
-6- 12V Motorcycle Two-way Anti-theft Security Alarm System with Engine Start
🌐 https://bit.ly/3WGbEnx
🌐 https://couponsfromchina.com/12v-motorcycle-two-way-anti-theft-security-alarm-system-with/
👉 Price: 11.99 USD / Lowest before: 11.99 USD
-7- 220V 63A Adjustable Voltage Relay
✌️ https://bit.ly/3ydXoby
📌 https://couponsfromchina.com/220v-63a-adjustable-voltage-relay-coupon-price/
〽️ Price: 11.99 USD / Lowest before: 12.99 USD
-8- 20Pcs Fishing Lure Set 9-10cm
📌 https://bit.ly/3yd5zF1
✌️ https://couponsfromchina.com/20pcs-fishing-lure-set-9-10cm-coupon-price/
📉 Price: 12.99 USD / Lowest before: 14.99 USD
✏️ Coupon: BG11352e
-9- ANENG A3007 True RMS Digital Multimeter
📌 https://bit.ly/390dMAb
👌 https://couponsfromchina.com/aneng-a3007-true-rms-digital-multimeter-coupon-price/
💣 Price: 12.99 USD / Lowest before: 13.99 USD
-10- SEALIGHT X3S H7 6500K LED Car Headlight
👌 https://bit.ly/3W0Mvnw
🛒 https://couponsfromchina.com/sealight-x3s-h7-6500k-led-car-headlight-coupon-price/
⭕️ Price: 13.99 USD / Lowest before: 13.99 USD
-11- Bakeey 100-Inch Metal Anti-light Projector Screen
✌️ https://bit.ly/3G5oR0t
✳️ https://couponsfromchina.com/bakeey-100-inch-metal-anti-light-projector-screen-coupon-price/
💥 Price: 14.99 USD / Lowest before: 15.49 USD
-12- G11 Universal HUD GPS Head Up Display
✳️ https://bit.ly/3K2Mx6W
📌 https://couponsfromchina.com/g11-universal-hud-gps-head-up-display-coupon-price/
🥇 Price: 19.99 USD / Lowest before: 19.99 USD
-13- NightEye Auto Lighting A315-S4 2Pcs Car LED Headlight Bulb
🛒 https://bit.ly/3P4UI5R
❇️ https://couponsfromchina.com/nighteye-auto-lighting-a315-s4-2pcs-car-led-headlight-bulb/
👉 Price: 19.99 USD / Lowest before: 19.99 USD
-14- BlitzWolf BW-HP6 Wireless Headset ANC
📌 https://bit.ly/3QNTOLL
🌐 https://couponsfromchina.com/blitzwolf-bw-hp6-wireless-headset-anc-coupon-price/
🥇 Price: 19.99 USD / Lowest before: 19.99 USD
🔑 Coupon: BGb04a3d
-15- SEALIGHT S6 LED Car Headlight Bulbs
🔗 https://bit.ly/4a5B9Cy
🛒 https://couponsfromchina.com/sealight-s6-led-car-headlight-bulbs-coupon-price/
👌 Price: 19.99 USD / Lowest before: 19.99 USD
-16- NOVSIGHT A500-N63 2PCS 6500K Car LED Headlight Bulbs
❗️ https://bit.ly/4avMuMA
✳️ https://couponsfromchina.com/novsight-a500-n63-2pcs-6500k-car-led-headlight-bulbs-coupon-price/
💥 Price: 19.99 USD / Lowest before: 19.99 USD
-17- BlitzMax BM-ES1 PLUS Monitor Light Bar [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/3WKpPrQ
✳️ https://couponsfromchina.com/blitzmax-bm-es1-plus-monitor-light-bar-eu-coupon-price/
〽️ Price: 19.99 USD / Lowest before: 22.99 USD
-18- 4Pcs USB Rechargeable Fridge Deodorizer
❇️ https://bit.ly/4akYtvE
👉 https://couponsfromchina.com/4pcs-usb-rechargeable-fridge-deodorizer-coupon-price/
👌 Price: 19.99 USD / Lowest before: -1 USD
🔑 Coupon: BGbf612c
-19- Astrolux SL06 2000lm Bike Flashlight
📌 https://bit.ly/4aXgml5
✳️ https://couponsfromchina.com/astrolux-sl06-2000lm-bike-flashlight-coupon-price/
⭕️ Price: 22.99 USD / Lowest before: 22.99 USD
👉 Coupon: BG63d448
-20- Drillpro 20+1 Brushless Electric Screwdriver 1000W
👌 https://bit.ly/3yhzYCm
💣 Price: 22.99 USD / Lowest before: 24.99 USD
-21- GameSir G4 Pro Game Controller
🛒 https://bit.ly/4cU6CcK
❗️ https://couponsfromchina.com/gamesir-g4-pro-game-controller-coupon-price/
⭕️ Price: 23.99 USD / Lowest before: 32.99 USD
✂️ Coupon: BGce662f
-22- Drillpro 600mm Woodworking Line Scriber T-type [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/3Q5jrHt
❗️ https://couponsfromchina.com/drillpro-600mm-woodworking-line-scriber-t-type-eu-coupon-price/
💣 Price: 27.99 USD / Lowest before: 29.99 USD
-23- Trustfire MT22 2250lm EDC Flashlight
📌 https://bit.ly/3UEOj3b
🛒 https://couponsfromchina.com/trustfire-mt22-2250lm-edc-flashlight-coupon-price/
💥 Price: 32.42 USD / Lowest before: 32.42 USD
-24- HONGDUI Dovetail Saw Guide 45 90 Degree Dovetail Rail Saw Gauge
🌐 https://bit.ly/4aLceEC
👌 https://couponsfromchina.com/hongdui-dovetail-saw-guide-45-90-degree-dovetail-rail-saw-gauge-coupon-price/
💣 Price: 32.99 USD / Lowest before: 33.99 USD
-25- Astrolux FT05 3050lm 711m Flashlight Green
👌 https://bit.ly/3TB6lnt
❇️ https://couponsfromchina.com/astrolux-ft05-3050lm-711m-flashlight-green-coupon-price/
〽️ Price: 37.99 USD / Lowest before: 38.01 USD
-26- Fonson Aluminum Alloy Track Saw Square Guide Rail [EU]
🔗 https://bit.ly/44KeZnz
💥 Price: 37.99 USD / Lowest before: 39.99 USD
-27- Namimno ExpressLRS ELRS 2.4G RC Flash TX Module
🔗 https://bit.ly/3j9DYKi
✌️ Price: 42.76 USD / Lowest before: 45.99 USD
-28- Wltoys 284131 RC Car [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/3UZf3g0
🌐 https://couponsfromchina.com/wltoys-rc-car-eu-coupon-price-2/
✌️ Price: 46.99 USD / Lowest before: 46.99 USD
-29- POPDEER PD-J02 23800mAh 3000A Jump Starter [EU]
🔗 https://bit.ly/3IUCRuZ
🌍 https://couponsfromchina.com/popdeer-pd-j02-23800mah-3000a-jump-starter-eu-coupon-price/
⭕️ Price: 52.99 USD / Lowest before: 52.99 USD
👉 Coupon: BG40ec4f
-30- MUSTOOL MDS9208 3-in-1 Oscilloscope Multimeter [EU]
📌 https://bit.ly/433b4Sh
👉 https://couponsfromchina.com/mustool-mds9208-3-in-1-oscilloscope-multimeter-eu-coupon-price/
💥 Price: 52.99 USD / Lowest before: 52.99 USD
⏳ Coupon: BGd4950b
-31- Mustool DM9 Digital Microscope 7-inch 1200X [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/4bdNBAW
🌍 https://couponsfromchina.com/mustool-dm9-digital-microscope-7-inch-1200x-eu-coupon-price/
💰 Price: 52.99 USD / Lowest before: 53.99 USD
-32- BlitzWolf BW-VS6 100Inch Projector Screen with Stable Stand [EU]
🌍 https://bit.ly/3QGMWQ7
❇️ https://couponsfromchina.com/blitzwolf-bw-vs6-100inch-projector-screen-with-stable-stand-eu-coupon-price/
🚨 Price: 54.99 USD / Lowest before: 56.99 USD
-33- GOCHIFIX 3x360 12 Line 3D Self-Leveling Green Laser Level [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/4dI1I2W
👉 https://couponsfromchina.com/gochifix-3x360-line-3d-self-leveling-green-laser-level-eu/
👌 Price: 56.99 USD / Lowest before: -1 USD
-34- SEEKNITE L6T XHP70.3 HI Flashlight 5000lm 5000K
🌀 https://bit.ly/3UK0tId
✌️ https://couponsfromchina.com/seeknite-l6t-xhp70-3-hi-flashlight-5000lm-5000k-coupon-price/
🥇 Price: 60.36 USD / Lowest before: 60.36 USD
-35- LDRC 1899 RTR 1/18 RWD RC Car
🛒 https://bit.ly/3QGFhla
👌 https://couponsfromchina.com/ldrc-rtr-1-18-rwd-rc-car-coupon-price/
💣 Price: 62.99 USD / Lowest before: 62.99 USD
-36- SKYRC GSM020 RC GNSS Performance Analyzer
👌 https://bit.ly/3Uz6Gqc
👉 https://couponsfromchina.com/skyrc-gsm020-rc-gnss-performance-analyzer-coupon-price/
💥 Price: 62.99 USD / Lowest before: 62.99 USD
-37- RC ERA C187 RC Helicopter RTF with 2 Batteries
🌐 https://bit.ly/4aUoYZO
👉 Price: 73.99 USD / Lowest before: 76.99 USD
-38- Hiwill HW210 120W 2.1 Channel Soundbar [EU]
🌀 https://bit.ly/3TekPbI
🛒 https://couponsfromchina.com/hiwill-hw210-120w-2-1-channel-soundbar-eu-coupon-price/
💣 Price: 80.99 USD / Lowest before: 85.99 USD
✏️ Coupon: BGREUHW210
-39- ULTIMEA Nova S40 BT5.3 Soundbar 2.1 [EU]
🛒 https://bit.ly/49xsSr2
❇️ https://couponsfromchina.com/ultimea-nova-s40-bt5-3-soundbar-2-1-eu-coupon-price/
✌️ Price: 83.99 USD / Lowest before: 82.99 USD
🏆 Coupon: BGREUNS40
-40- N-ONE NPad S MT8183 4/64GB 10.1 Inch Android 12 Tablet [EU]
✌️ https://bit.ly/49QU1ol
📉 Price: 93.99 USD / Lowest before: 89.99 USD
🖍 Coupon: BGREUNNPQ
-41- Proscenic V9 25KPa 250W Vacuum Cleaner [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/48S1nqP
🥇 Price: 98.99 USD / Lowest before: 98.99 USD
👉 Coupon: BGf96e63
-42- Runcam 6 4K FPV Camera 12MP 1/2.3 inch
🌐 https://bit.ly/3ykEsrQ
💥 Price: 101.99 USD / Lowest before: 101.99 USD
-43- LDARC X43 1/43 RC Car RTR
🌐 https://bit.ly/4bjEzm7
👉 https://couponsfromchina.com/ldarc-x43-1-43-rc-car-rtr-coupon-price/
🔹 Price: 104.99 USD / Lowest before: 106.99 USD
-44- ULTIMEA Tapio VII 190W BT5.0 Soundbar 2.1 [EU]
🌍 https://bit.ly/49SMmWy
👌 https://couponsfromchina.com/ultimea-tapio-vii-190w-bt5-0-soundbar-2-1-eu-coupon-price/
💣 Price: 107.99 USD / Lowest before: 114.99 USD
❤️ Coupon: BGREUTVII
-45- BlitzWolf BW-V8 FHD Projector Android 11.0
✌️ https://bit.ly/4dJffYq
✌️ https://couponsfromchina.com/blitzwolf-bw-v8-fhd-projector-android-11-0-coupon-price/
💥 Price: 107.99 USD / Lowest before: 107.99 USD
-46- SCY 16307 PRO 1/16 4WD Brushless RC Car RTR
🌐 https://bit.ly/3K05Iya
✳️ https://couponsfromchina.com/scy-pro-1-16-4wd-brushless-rc-car-rtr-coupon-price/
✌️ Price: 109.24 USD / Lowest before: 114.99 USD
🔖 Coupon: BGRCCar5
-47- AtomStack R1 V2 Laser Engraver Rotary Roller [EU]
🌍 https://bit.ly/3UyIncZ
✅ https://couponsfromchina.com/atomstack-r1-v2-laser-engraver-rotary-roller-eu-coupon-price/
💥 Price: 125.99 USD / Lowest before: 144.99 USD
-48- FENGMI Xming Q1SE 1080P Projector
❗️ https://bit.ly/3WHUA0x
👌 https://couponsfromchina.com/fengmi-xming-q1se-1080p-projector-coupon-price/
⭕️ Price: 129.99 USD / Lowest before: 151.99 USD
-49- COOLBANK M5A1 1/16 2.4G RC Tank RTR with 2 Batteries
✌️ https://bit.ly/3UXntVk
🔗 https://couponsfromchina.com/coolbank-m5a1-1-16-2-4g-rc-tank-rtr-with-batteries-coupon/
💰 Price: 131.09 USD / Lowest before: 131.09 USD
👉 Coupon: BGRCCar5
-50- MJX HYPER GO 14303 1/14 RC Car Brushless with 2 Batteries
👉 https://bit.ly/3JZtSZE
📌 https://couponsfromchina.com/mjx-hyper-go-1-14-rc-car-brushless-with-batteries-coupon/
🚨 Price: 136.99 USD / Lowest before: 136.99 USD
-51- Liectroux M7S PRO Robot Vacuum Cleaner [EU]
🛒 https://bit.ly/4aeGfvE
💰 Price: 139.99 USD / Lowest before: 142.99 USD
🔑 Coupon: BG377071
-52- Proscenic P13 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner 35Kpa 1.2L [EU]
🌍 https://bit.ly/3UJT6QY
🌀 https://couponsfromchina.com/proscenic-p13-cordless-vacuum-cleaner-35kpa-1-2l-eu-coupon-price/
🥇 Price: 159.15 USD / Lowest before: 159.15 USD
🔓 Coupon: BGHONEYSP
-53- ULTIMEA Nova S70 3.1.2 Soundbar 390W [EU]
✅ https://bit.ly/3Tlj90d
✅ https://couponsfromchina.com/ultimea-nova-s70-3-1-2-soundbar-390w-eu-coupon-price/
✌️ Price: 163.99 USD / Lowest before: 167.99 USD
⏳ Coupon: BGREUNS70
-54- Artillery X2 Sidewinder X2 3D Printer [EU]
🌍 https://bit.ly/3wytJJt
💥 Price: 189.00 USD / Lowest before: 189 USD
🔖 Coupon: BGbb04a0
-55- DIDEEP 0.5Lx2 Mini Scuba Diving Oxygen Cylinder Set [EU]
✌️ https://bit.ly/3V9P4De
🌍 https://couponsfromchina.com/dideep-0-5lx2-mini-scuba-diving-oxygen-cylinder-set-eu-coupon/
👌 Price: 189.96 USD / Lowest before: 189.96 USD
-56- Ultimea Poseidon D60 BT5.3 Soundbar Speakers [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/4bAZTDg
🔗 https://couponsfromchina.com/ultimea-poseidon-d60-bt5-3-soundbar-speakers-eu-coupon-price/
💣 Price: 193.99 USD / Lowest before: 199.99 USD
💵 Coupon: BGREUPD60
-57- OWON SDS1104 Oscilloscope 100MHz 1GS/s [EU]
🌀 https://bit.ly/3UJ6eWp
✳️ https://couponsfromchina.com/owon-sds1104-oscilloscope-100mhz-1gs-s-eu-coupon-price/
🚨 Price: 205.99 USD / Lowest before: 219.99 USD
-58- C-FLY Faith Mini Drone with 2 Batteries [EU]
✌️ https://bit.ly/4dzfqW5
✳️ https://couponsfromchina.com/fly-faith-mini-drone-with-batteries-eu-coupon-price/
🔹 Price: 209.99 USD / Lowest before: 204.99 USD
-59- WQ-W4 Pro 36V 10Ah 350W 8.5inch Electric Scooter [EU]
🌐 https://bit.ly/42SK9IJ
🥇 Price: 215.00 USD / Lowest before: 210.7 USD
👉 Coupon: BGRDECWQ4P
-60- ATOMSTACK A10 PRO 10W Laser Engraving Machine [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/4aeai6H
〽️ Price: 299.99 USD / Lowest before: 299 USD
👉 Coupon: BG904a44
-61- SG PINECONE FOREST 1004A 1004B 1/10 2.4G 4WD 70km/h Brushless RC Car
✌️ https://bit.ly/3IbgIIk
❗️ https://couponsfromchina.com/sg-pinecone-forest-1004a-1004b-1-10-2-4g-4wd-70km-h-brushless/
👌 Price: 327.99 USD / Lowest before: 327.99 USD
-62- Furitek 2519 CAYMAN PRO V2 1/18 2.4G 4WD Brushless RC Car
❇️ https://bit.ly/3yloUnG
🌀 https://couponsfromchina.com/furitek-cayman-pro-v2-1-18-2-4g-4wd-brushless-rc-ca
💰 Price: 351.49 USD / Lowest before: 369.99 USD
🔖 Coupon: BGRCCar5
-63- Furitek 2520 CAYMAN PRO V2 1/18 2.4G 4WD Brushless RC Car
📌 https://bit.ly/3K5psAJ
🌀 https://couponsfromchina.com/furitek-cayman-pro-v2-1-18-2-4g-4wd-brushless-rc-car-2/
〽️ Price: 351.49 USD / Lowest before: 369.99 USD
▪️ Coupon: BGRCCar5
-64- KUGOO KIRIN M4 10Ah 48V 500W 10in Electric Scooter [EU]
❗️ https://bit.ly/3J75TaF
👌 Price: 423.85 USD / Lowest before: 425.32 USD
❤️ Coupon: 80b1a2
-65- DIDEEP D4000 15m 5h Diving Ventilator System [EU]
✌️ https://bit.ly/4b5RVlB
👉 https://couponsfromchina.com/dideep-d4000-15m-5h-diving-ventilator-system-eu-coupon-price/
🚨 Price: 465.52 USD / Lowest before: 465.52 USD
-66- FMS FCX10 1/10 4WD RC Car Chevrolet K5 Blazer RS
📌 https://bit.ly/4bfYlij
✅ https://couponsfromchina.com/fms-fcx10-1-10-4wd-rc-car-chevrolet-k5-blazer-rs-coupon-price/
🔹 Price: 540.49 USD / Lowest before: 582.79 USD
🏆 Coupon: BGFCX10
-67- AYN ODIN2 1080P Game Console 6 inch 12/256GB Android 13
🔗 https://bit.ly/3QKiJQi
❗️ https://couponsfromchina.com/ayn-odin2-1080p-game-console-6-inch-12-256gb-android-13-coupon-price/
💥 Price: 549.99 USD / Lowest before: -1 USD
-68- KuKirin G3 18Ah 52V 1200W 10.5in Electric Scooter [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/49AR9vF
❇️ https://couponsfromchina.com/kukirin-g3-18ah-52v-1200w-10-5in-electric-scooter-eu-coupon-price/
💣 Price: 713.31 USD / Lowest before: 713.31 USD
❤️ Coupon: XMKKG3
-69- HALYTUS Hookee Plus Smart Fitness Equipment 5-100 lbs Resistance [EU]
🌍 https://bit.ly/4arII5X
💥 Price: 789.99 USD / Lowest before: 827.99 USD
✏️ Coupon: BGTYHOK1
-70- Ridstar H20 Electric Bike 48V 15Ah 1000W 20x4.0inch [EU]
👌 https://bit.ly/4bjS2ty
❗️ https://couponsfromchina.com/ridstar-h20-electric-bike-48v-15ah-1000w-20x4-0inch-eu-coupon-price/
📉 Price: 939.99 USD / Lowest before: 939.99 USD
⏳ Coupon: BG45d597
-71- Cosmobattery 2600W 2048Wh 640000mAh Power Station LiFePO4 [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/3wx8loh
🔗 https://couponsfromchina.com/cosmobattery-2600w-2048wh-640000mah-power-station-lifepo4-eu-coupon-price/
💣 Price: 1002.82 USD / Lowest before: 1002.82 USD
-72- CMACEWHEEL AC16 Electric Bike 48V 18Ah 350W 16 Inch [EU]
🌍 https://bit.ly/49vmQGl
✳️ https://couponsfromchina.com/cmacewheel-ac16-electric-bike-48v-18ah-350w-inch-eu-coupon/
📉 Price: 1029.99 USD / Lowest before: 1029.99 USD
-73- CMACEWHEEL EM20 Electric Bike 36V 12Ah 350W 20 Inch [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/3xpMZJy
✌️ https://couponsfromchina.com/cmacewheel-em20-electric-bike-36v-12ah-350w-inch-eu-coupon/
💣 Price: 1089.99 USD / Lowest before: 1089.99 USD
-74- RANDRIDE YG90B Black 48V 17Ah 1000W 27.5x2.4 Inch Electric Bicycle [EU]
🛒 https://bit.ly/3ULHqPe
👌 https://couponsfromchina.com/randride-yg90b-black-48v-17ah-1000w-27-5x2-4-inch-electric-bicycle-eu-coupon-price/
🚨 Price: 1136.06 USD / Lowest before: 1120.81 USD
👉 Coupon: YG90BBBG
-75- EKX X20 Electric Bike 48V 30Ah 2000W 20x4.0inch [EU]
✌️ https://bit.ly/3K0dpEP
🌀 https://couponsfromchina.com/ekx-x20-electric-bike-48v-30ah-2000w-20x4-0inch-eu-coupon-price/
👉 Price: 1519.99 USD / Lowest before: 1519.99 USD
👉 Coupon: BGc41f25
-76- OOTD K8 Electric Scooter 60V 40Ah 3000Wx2 12inch [EU]
✌️ https://bit.ly/3WFrGy8
✳️ https://couponsfromchina.com/ootd-k8-electric-scooter-60v-40ah-3000wx2-12inch-eu-coupon-price/
💥 Price: 1549.99 USD / Lowest before: 1549.99 USD
💵 Coupon: BGa2b796
-77- YUME HAWK PRO Electric Scooter 60V 30Ah 3000Wx2 10inch [EU]
✳️ https://bit.ly/4aBPqGZ
⭕️ Price: 1610.99 USD / Lowest before: 1685.8 USD
🔑 Coupon: 80b1a2
-78- ENGWE P275 ST Electric Bike 19.2Ah 36V 250W Electric Bike 27.5 Inch [EU]
❇️ https://bit.ly/4bFWgMb
❇️ https://couponsfromchina.com/engwe-p275-st-electric-bike-19-2ah-36v-250w-electric-bike/
👉 Price: 1639.96 USD / Lowest before: 1558.15 USD
✂️ Coupon: BGFDP275
Products compilation image: https://i.imgur.com/oUtwtKM.jpeg or https://i.ibb.co/mNDTktc/31dc90bc3a55.jpg

I'm planning to shoot indoors with poor tungsten lighting soon. I've been able to dial in my rotary processing times for HC-110 Dilution H for ORWO UN54, Kodak 5222, Kodak 2238, and Kodak 2254 fairly easily because I had bulk rolls of each. Finding my personal EI and dev times has been fun and straightforward. I like structure of the Zone System for this. However, intentionally pushing film for crushed shadows and blown highlights still feels uncomfortably new to me since I prefer to have the "flexible" negative. That seems to go out the window when indoor lighting is poor and low, so compromises have to be made, this feels like uncharted territory for me (I'm way more comfortable with landscapes).
Unfortunately, I only have 5x 36exp rolls of Kodak Tri-X left (from the heyday when 100' was $90) and don't expect to be purchasing more in the future, it's simply beyond my budget now. I need low light and have been debating whether or not to get a 100' roll of HP5+ and shoot it at 1600 (their datasheet is pretty straightforward with times) or....do I stick with the 5x rolls of Tri-X and get busy testing. If I go the second route, I would like to kindly ask the community's advice on starting times for HC-110 (any dilution) and Tri-X at 1250 or 1600.
So far I've found:
EI 1600: HC-110 B for 12 minutes @ 68F
EI 1250: HC-110B for 16 minutes @ 68F
Personally, my guess is N development is probably around 6 minutes so N+1 is maybe 8.4 minutes and N+2 is 11.75 minutes?
I will account for rotary processing time and temp, so no worries on that. I have looked at the Massive Dev Chart but I prefer advice from this subreddit first before relying on it. Not a knock on the MDC - they're great. For Tri-X, the dev times from Kodak, the MDC, and Covington Innovations have been helpful at triangulating a ballpark. I'm surprised Kodak hasn't corrected the typo on their Tri-X datasheet for 3m45s HC-110 B@ 68F for box speed.
Ideally, I'd like to lose as few rolls as possible for testing. Credit to one of our community elders😊 u/mcarterphoto for a cool trick that I remember from many years ago, where I believe, you set the camera to Bulb mode or on the Nikon F5, a multi-minute exposure, fire the shutter, and while the mirror is up and with the first curtain opened, you adhere a piece of Scotch tape onto that frame, (don't press too hard or it'll flex the pressure plate and light leak into the adjacent frames) and then close the shutter, drop the mirror, now in the dark bag, you have a tactile "bookmark" for those test exposures. This way you can test multiple EIs on a roll of 35mm.
Anyways, would invite anyone to share their proven times and an example if they wish. Many thanks!

We are already at a point where regular users are having issues finding 100-200gbs+ of space to run a full node wallet like Daedalus. This problem is only going to get worse, which begs the question:
Are there any disadvantages of regular users not running full node wallets?
Im curious if this affects the security of the blockchain as more and more users switch to light wallets instead.

As a non-English person, there’s a lot of questions I have, especially given your tabloids, especially in light of the whole royalty-press arrangement. In the English press, have there ever been any photos of Kate BD (before disappearance) doing the school run in the last year or two? Has there ever been any photographic evidence of Willie ever doing the school run AD? Why haven’t the press (or at least amateurs) been scouting out the exits from Windsor Park to get an actual photo of Kate? I assume that there is a couple of extra cars going along with them for security even if they are at the wheel, so it would be obvious? Does anyone keep track of the helicopters going and going like they track Taylor Swift’s airplane?

First / Previous
Back on the job, my eyes kept going to the camera that was on enclosure one. Andrew told me its real name, but I think that’d be a step too far, putting that out on the internet. I’d just stick with ‘Steve the bear’. Whatever it was, I just knew I’d have a nightmare about it eventually. Last night I slept fitfully but okay. But I know my brain, and I’d already had a nightmare about Yui stabbing me with one of her legs (they are not needle-sharp in real life, this was dream logic) and walking around, having not noticed I was a Ripley-kebab on her leg. I kept trying to get her attention but for some reason I’d been worried about sounding rude.
On my third walk around the zoo, at about 12 a.m. I saw Leila again, who I’d been noticing more and more often. She never looked interested in talking, only walking through the enclosures, and by that I meant any and all of them. She didn’t seem to have a favorite. I assume that however much of her mind that was left over from being alive still gravitated toward looking at the animals, since getting too close was what killed her in the first place.
Then, in enclosure eight, I saw a new creature and stopped abruptly. This one looked chill, but I wasn’t about to make any assumptions. It looked unique in a strange way, shaped like a giant lizard but built like a big cat of some sort. It had an uncanny valley human face, green hair for a mane, and also a horn like a unicorn. It felt like something drawn by an imaginative five-year-old brought to life, but was still somehow oddly endearing.
“Hello,” she spoke, noticing me noticing her. Her voice was distinctly female and oddly deep.
“Hello,” I responded with false cheer.
She pushed herself to her feet and I took an instinctive step back, but she seem to notice, much less take offense. “You’re the guard here?”
“Yup. That’s me.”
“Thank you.”
I blinked, taken aback. “Ah…you’re welcome. For what?”
She cocked her head. “For guarding me.”
That was different. Most of the impressions I had gotten from the animals so far were that they wanted to eat me. And the idea that this one was thankful for me doing my job was refreshing, don’t get me wrong, but made me wary. Call me a cynic, I guess.
“My name is tàiyang. You can call me Sun,” she told me.
“Hi, Sun. I’m Ripley.”
Then she looked toward the sky. “It’s going to rain tonight.”
After a thoughtful moment, I asked, “Does that make you sad?”
“Why would it make you sad?”
I smiled. “Because your name is Sun.”
She paused and then said, “I don’t understand.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, telling a pun to one of the animals. “Never mind.” I glanced up at the sky. “I thought the rain is supposed to stay away from here. Are the ones who told me that wrong?”
“Yes.”
“Well that’s good to know,” I murmured to myself, thinking of my raincoat hanging in the security office closet. It wasn’t that surprising, honestly. Sometimes I felt like the meteorologists in Arkansas try to read the entrails of goats to figure out the weather. It’s all a mess and it’s all made up.
At that, the animal looked to the sky and fell silent. She appeared to be the most uneventful introduction I’d had so far, and I was incredibly grateful for it. Except then the animal kept talking. “He’s under a spell.”
I blinked. “What?”
She looked back to me. “Andrew. He’s under a spell. He’s very unhappy.”
I had no idea how to react to that. For a second I just stared. The sudden jolt of being told my boss was currently being afflicted by magic left me floundering. “He… What?” I finally asked. “Where is he?”
“In his office.”
Oh shit. My eyes instinctively darted in the direction of the main office. I always just entered through the door on the west side of the building, of course, since it led to the security room. It was unnecessary for me to go through the door that first led into the lobby-slash-office Andrew worked out of. Sometimes he even left early, so it was locked anyway. I had the key, but again, it was unnecessary.
Whatever had happened, assuming this animal wasn’t joking around (she seemed completely serious), I needed to establish whether she was right. Leaving the enclosure of the animal I’d just met, I quickly walked back to the small building.
Taking a deep breath, I knocked loudly. “Andrew, are you in there?”
The only reply was silence. I stood there until enough time had passed that it was obvious that no one was coming to answer the door. Taking out my phone, I dialed his cell number and wait as it rang. Then I grimaced when I heard it ringing inside.
Hanging up and shoving the phone back in my pocket, I stared at the closed door.
Trying the doorknob, I found that it was unlocked, and my heart skipped a beat. Andrew always locked his office before leaving. Opening the door slowly, the lights were off in the room, leaving only the faint red glow of the lights outside peeking around his curtains, so I turned on a light. Then my heart plummeted into my stomach, because there was Andrew, splayed limply on the ground, his eyes only half open.
I bolted to him and dropped to his side as he let out a whimper.
“Andrew,” I said, putting two fingers to the side of his neck. He remained silent, and despite his relaxed, wilted appearance, his heart was racing, and I wondered if he was in pain. The room smelled, and it was clear to me that he’d lost control of his bowels. I couldn’t believe I’d been working here for hours without knowing he was in the next room like this.
“Fucking hell. I’m so sorry it took me so long to find you. Can you hear me? What happened?” He made a small sound, unfocused eyes attempting to meet mine, but it was as if he were severely deprived of sleep or something, unable to focus. His mouth opened and he tried to say something, but he couldn’t speak. All I got was halting words mushed into each other. I felt for him; he must’ve been mortified by his condition. I would’ve been, at least.
The obvious solution would be to get Suzanne’s number from Andrew’s phone, so I searched him for it and found it in his right jacket pocket. I pressed the button the iPhone, swiped, and let out a sigh of frustration. He was security conscious enough to lock his phone with a code, of course.
“Can you… You can’t tell me the code,” I said knowing. He grunted quietly.
“What happened?”
I shrieked and jumped to my feet. Leila stood in the doorway, staring in shock at Andrew’s body. “You scared the bejesus out of me,” I exclaimed. I stopped myself before asking if she could make some noise when she moved or if I could put a bell on her. “What does it look like happened? Someone put a spell on him.” Abruptly, my stance changed, standing up straight. “Wait. Do you know how to get in touch with…anyone?” I asked desperately.
“I know Ms. Cooper’s phone number,” she said frankly.
My eyes widened. “Seriously? How?”
“Andrew gave it to me after I worked here for three months.”
That stopped my brain dead in its tracks. “You…used to work here?” I whispered. I remembered Andrew telling me that one of the night shift managers had been killed, but he hadn’t told me it was Leila. Whether it was for her own privacy or her dignity or some other reason, it didn’t really matter. What mattered was that I could call Suzanne.
“I worked here for three months,” Leila confirmed as I took out my own phone.
“Okay…what’s her number?” I asked, ready to dial. She rattled off the number and dialed it.
The phone rang twice times before someone answered. “Hello?”
“Hi, is this Suzanne?”
“Yes, who’s this?”
She had a British accent like Andrew did. I took a deep breath and said, “It’s Ripley Mason. I got your number from Leila. I’m here in Andrew’s office and he’s in really bad shape. Someone cast a spell on him and it’s like he’s lost control of the part of his brain that lets him move around and speak.”
“What?” she snapped. “What happened?”
“I-I don’t know,” I said, glancing back to Andrew. He actually looked calmer now, and I hoped that was because he knew Suzanne could fix this. “I was doing my rounds and I met Sun; she’s the one that told me and that’s why I came into his office. I don’t- Who would do this? What do I do?”
“It’s okay, Ripley. I’ll leaving now and will be there soon,” she told me. I heard rustling in the background, the sounds of getting out of a chair and footsteps. “Did you check the security cameras?”
My eyes shut in irritation against my stupidity. It hadn’t even occurred to me. “I’m sorry. Of course, I’ll do that right away.” Proof positive that I was completely out of it. Some security guard I was, not even able to keep my head in an emergency.
“Don’t apologize, Ripley, you’re quite within your rights to be discombobulated at the moment,” she said. “And I’d like you stay with Andrew, but I would prefer to know what happened. Leave his side just for a second to check the footage.
“Okay.” I crouched down to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be right back.” His eyes flicked to me, but he didn’t make a sound. Getting back to my feet and walking over to the security room door, I went in and sat at my desk, putting the phone on speaker so I could more easily navigate the footage.
After fidgeting around with the unfamiliar aspect of the program, since I’d never needed to look back before and Andrew only showed me how to do it once, I finally went back to the point where the spell had been cast. “Okay, he walked into his office with two men at…4:08 p.m. and it looks like he was fine with it. He wasn’t under duress, from what I can see.”
“That’s likely Michael Wise and Eric Henry,” Suzanne told me. “They were allegedly making a donation, a herd of Bagot goats.”
“Allegedly?”
“Well, I’m operating under the assumption that they lied if Andrew is spelled.”
I grimaced. That was a good point. Watching them have a conversation, I saw Andrew tense, and then turn to dart toward his desk, but he only made it two steps before one of the men raised what looked like a wand, snapping it in my late boss’s direction, speaking something. As I saw Andrew’s body seize like he’d been hit with a taser and collapse, I hissed in a sharp breath. “Cripes.”
“What is it?”
“One of them had a wand,” I managed. “He-He did something with it.”
“I’m here, Ripley. Come back to the office.”
My eyes widened and I did as I was told, stunned to see her opening the front door. “How did you get here so fast?” I asked.
The woman gave me a small smile, rendered grim by the situation. “Call it a trick of the trade.”
“Oh. Gotcha.”
Suzanne was all hard edges, her pin-straight blond hair cut at an angle just below her ears, and she wore a smart blue pants suit with matching pumps. But then she looked to Andrew and her face softened, despair and fury flashing across it as she quickly walked to him and knelt at his side, taking his weak hand in hers.
“Oh, Andrew,” she whispered. “I’m so, so sorry. You’ll be okay. I already texted a healer and asked her to come by. A friend of mine named Janine.”
I looked back to Andrew’s face, his eyes open and his expression one of exhaustion, but then quickly looked to Suzanne. “Why would someone do this?” I asked.
“I have a feeling at least one of our animals is missing,” she told me, her voice low and hard.
Anger flared up in me. “What?” I asked tersely. I glanced back in the direction of the cameras. “Should we check the cameras to see which enclosure they went to? Do we- Are there cops you can call for this? What do we do?”
Suzanne’s face slowly faded to sadness. “I’ll take care of it,” she said. “You’re accurate in that I do have a different police I’ll call about this. But there’s a good chance we won’t get the animal back.”
“Wait, why? Come on, there’s got to be magic you could do, right?” I asked anxiously.
“The animal will have been warded and sold to someone immediately,” she explained. “They would’ve had a buyer set up, and gone straight there to reduce the risk of being caught with it. Anyone who is buying an animal like this is extremely powerful, which means that even if we catch the men who stole it, they’d go to prison, but they wouldn’t risk angering the buyer. They won’t tell the authorities who it was, even for a lesser sentence. Losing an animal to robbery has only happened twice in the zoo’s history, this is the third time, but that’s how it played out both times. Actually, in the first instance, the police didn’t even catch the people who took it, since they were wearing masks.”
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Suzanne pushed herself to her feet, walking over and opening it without hesitation. “He’s in here.” I took the opportunity to open the windows and turned down the thermostat so it would start displacing the smelly air.
A woman walked in, Janine presumably. “Oh, goodness,” she breathed, going quickly to Andrew. She took his pulse with one hand as she pulled a wand out from her purse with the other. “It’s good he’s staying calm. Redire orior can be terrifying to be subjected to.”
“He wasn’t calm when I got here,” I told her quietly. “I’ve been here for hours and didn’t know he was here until just a few minutes ago.”
Janine swore softly. “All right. Let me get started.”
I didn’t know what that meant, so I turned to Suzanne. “What did she call this?”
“The spell is ‘redire orior’. It’s a regression of part of the mind, basically all the way back to when we were first born,” she said tightly, anger flickering across her face. “He has no more control over his body than he did when he was a newborn baby.”
I grimaced, looking back to him. “Oh my god,” I whispered. It meant exactly what it had looked like when I’d walked in: Andrew had been rendered completely helpless. Rage welled up inside me, despising the men who’d done this and wishing desperately that Suzanne had been more confident in finding them.
Suzanne took the opportunity to walk into the security office and I heard her sit in my chair. Janine put down her wand to have both hands free and told Andrew, “Just relax, concentrate on breathing slowly,” she said, carefully pulling both of his legs out and rolling him onto his back. She then put his arms at his sides and, picking up her wand, pointed it at his forehead.
I took in a sharp breath of surprise as I saw a faint glow coming from the wand, through the top of it and then to Andrew’s forehead. She held that position for a while, muttering under her breath.
A few minutes later, Suzanne came out and took her phone from her pocket, saying, “I don’t recognize either of the men in the footage. But they seemed distressed, particularly the one that didn’t hurt Andrew. I don’t think that’s what was meant to happen.”
“Meant to or not, it happened,” I muttered through clenched teeth. I’d already decided that my new to-do list every day included first checking the office cameras.
“Andrew,” Janine said, letting the glow fade. “Can you speak?”
“I…yeah,” he whispered.
Suzanne came over to my side. “Thank goodness. How are you feeling? How’s the vertigo?”
“Pretty much gone,” he said, closing his eyes for a long moment, though he didn’t try to stand up.
“Andrew, I pulled up the cameras in the office and listened to the audio,” she told him. “I know what happened.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “The cameras have audio?”
“It’s under admin privileges, but yes. Andrew, you should have known better,” she said softly, looking back to him. “The gun in one of the desk drawers? I presume that’s what you were lunging for, because those two men had just made it clear they were here for an animal.”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I just…” He looked distraught.
“They told you to just let them get what they came for,” Suzanne said. “Why didn’t you?” My lips parted in shock.
“The last time this happened, I cooperated, but…I regretted it,” he growled. “We never saw Harriet again. I couldn’t just stand here and let them do whatever they wanted. Not again.” I assumed Harriet was one of their animals, but I didn’t ask.
“Don’t ever do something so foolish again,” she told him, on the verge of being upset, her emotions likely tempered by his condition. “I want to make it clear to you that this job, these animals, they’re immensely important, but they are not worth your life. He could have killed you. If someone gains access to the zoo again to steal an animal I want you to cooperate fully. Understood?”
“Yeah,” Andrew muttered.
The idea that Andrew had tried to bring a gun to a wand fight was staggering. Something heavy curled in my stomach at the thought. It was clear he cared about the wellbeing of the animals to a degree I hadn’t comprehended.
Janine took one of the small pillows from the couch and tucked it under Andrew’s head as Suzanne continued. “All right,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll go through the footage to determine what they stole and then call the authorities to report the theft. Janine, can you continue to treat him?”
I wasn’t sure what that entailed, but Janine apparently did, since she nodded and knelt back down as Suzanne went back into the security office. Janine did the same thing that she’d done before, that soft glow channeling light into Andrew’s head. Obviously, I wanted to ask what she was doing, but I knew better than to think I’d get an answer. Instead, I sat in one of the loveseats in front of Andrew’s desk, turning it to face them.
I heard Suzanne’s voice faintly speaking to someone on the phone and the minutes ticked by. Eventually, Suzanne came back out again and she stood next to me for a long moment, watching the healing process before turning to me.
“Andrew told me you were attempting to create some enrichment activities for the animals?” asked my boss.
“Oh, uh…yeah, I am,” I answered. I assumed she was trying to make small talk to distract me from the current situation, and I appreciated it. “The first one went well. Spike loves artichokes, pecans, and hazelnuts. I went with things that made it a challenge to eat, like it’s a challenge to pull out fingernails of its prey.”
Suzanne’s expression brightened just enough for me to notice. “Ripley, that’s wonderful. Very clever.” She let out a breath. “It’s becoming more and more obvious to me that Andrew chose well in hiring you.” I gave her a small smile. “Listen, I’m going to hire someone else to be here with you on duty,” Suzanne told me, “and by that, I mean someone from my neck of the woods. Andrew explained that to you, correct?”
“Not much. Just that you’re not from Earth.”
Suzanne smiled. “That makes me sound like an alien, but yes, I’m not from this dimension. I can hire someone who has similar abilities to mine, who can check in every few hours, make sure everything’s all right, but generally make themselves scarce unless there’s an emergency. He wouldn’t have been able to do much if he’d already been here, but he’d have known what was going on. Andrew would have received assistance immediately.”
I was curious of what those abilities were, aside from being able to see the animals, but I wasn’t bold enough to ask. Also, I was curious about who this new ‘employee’ would be, but presumably I’d find out sooner or later. “That would make me feel a little better,” I said, nodding. “Knowing there was someone else here.”
She nodded once. “It’s as good as done, then. As for Andrew, he’ll need to take a few days off to recover. Would you be willing to give the tours until he’s back in ship-shape?”
My eyes bugged out of my skull. “Wait, what? I can’t even see all the animals!”
Suzanne chuckled at my expression and shook her head. “I can enchant a pair of specs for you to wear,” she told me. “It’ll give you a bit of a headache, but you’ll be able to see all of the animals. Also, I’ll give you the background for each of them, because you’ll be speaking about them to the tourists.”
I blinked, thinking of how awesome it would be to finally know all about them all. And it was flattering, the fact that she had such confidence in me that, without hesitation, she asked if I could take over for Andrew. The best thing for me to do, of course, was to be confident and assure her that I could take any temporary promotion in stride. “I’m…I’m not great with people,” I managed.
Yup. Nailed it.
“You can be a little harsh with them if you need to,” she said with a small, knowing smile. “I assumed that signing up for a job where you interact with a screen of cameras the whole time means you aren’t great with people. And Andrew did brief me on you when he hired you. How good are you at couching your insults in polite talk? The British are quite skilled, but I know Americans aren’t too bad at it.”
I smirked, remembering how a coworker friend of mine once told a customer, “Oh, bless your heart,” in her thick southern accent and it sounded like the worst insult. “I can manage that, I think.”
A buzz from the gate that went to the panel on the wall drew our attention and Suzanne walked over to let the visitors in. It was three people, a man and two women, with a gurney.
Walking over to Andrew, I folded my arms with a small smile as Janine released his head from the glow the wand was emitting. “Hey. Sorry you had to lay on the floor for so long knowing I was cluelessly reading a book in the next room.”
“Eh, not the end of the world,” he whispered. “I’ll be back on my feet soon. So, no parties while I’m gone.”
I snorted and my smile widened, and he returned it.
Going back into the security room, I pulled the system back to the multi-camera exterior view, and I sat there and listened to Suzanne talk to one of the medics, explaining everything that had happened in detail. Once she’d done that and they brought Andrew outside on the gurney, presumably to a waiting ambulance, I gave my statement, and then…it was back to work.
Obviously going back to work like nothing had changed felt weird, but Suzanne stayed, letting me know that she would get some work done at Andrew’s desk until my shift was over. It was likely the opposite of necessary, the robbers were gone, but it did make me feel a tiny bit better knowing that she was in the next room with her wand.
First / Previous
***
Patreon
My Website
/storiesbykaren

I’ve seen some older posts on here about this but was shocked when this happened to me over the weekend. I am 23(F) so I am on the younger side and usually still get carded. I went to the liquor store friday night with my bf and both of us were carded and checked at the door by security and the older lady working rung us out with no problems and didnt ask for my ID. The next day, I went with my bf, his mom, and his sister to the same store while they were getting their drinks and decided to pick up some stuff I hadnt the night before. We were not checked at the door but it was the same security guard from the night before and same cashier. I go first and she asks for my ID and it scanned red and she immediately says “YEP THIS IS FAKE”. I just stood there in disbelief and said um its not its my real ID so idk what to say and she went to get a manager. Another woman comes out and as shes walking up to the counter it looks like shes scanning my ID with her phone, but looking back I think she took a picture of it. She tells me that my ID is fake, she can’t serve me, and she won’t be giving my ID back. At this point, my bf tells her I need my ID back we travelled from another state and need to get back and his sister explains that I’m of age and we just went through airport security and I need my ID. Another manager comes out a man maybe in his 30s/40s and scans my ID again and is looking at it and tells me it’s just hard because it looks real but scans fake. The security card then arrives and is checking it with his black light and proceeds to tell the manager it’s a real ID. I explain to the manager that I just got a new one a month ago because we moved and I needed to change my address and he then asks me for my address, birthday, full name and I give him all the information. My bfs mom at this point also agrees that she can vouch for me because they are obviously of age. His sister also got a new ID a few days after me from the same DMV and asked them to see if hers gives them problems because she is as she said clearly of age. Of course hers scans real 🫠 From there, he leaves and says he needs to make a call and when he returns he tells me he’s sorry and he believes me he really does but he can’t serve me. I have been calm the entire time and I let him know I understand and that I’m genuinely confused because this is my real ID and I just got it. He tells me the scanner says birthdate not coded and maybe to go back to the DMV and tell them what it said. The whole time him and I are talking the original cashier is continuing to ring out others as the other - I believe assistant manager- is staring daggers at me with the nastiest stuck up look on her face as if she caught me in a lie. As we are about to leave I say not to be a smartass, but if I had a fake ID and I came in with these three why would I try to purchase something and give you my ID when I could have just had them buy it but that again I understand he cant serve me its just odd. He then says maybe you’re just a clever one and tells my party if anyone wants to buy something similar to what she was getting, I cant stop you I just cant serve you as he points to me. All in all my interaction was fine once he arrived it was just so frustrating to be telling the truth and being looked at like a liar by the women working there. Again, not to discredit them just doing their job—I just really didn’t appreciate the ignorant attitudes I was getting from them when I was cooperating and being kind. ANYWAY I am going to the DMV today to get another one and see what the issue is since mine is set to expire in a few months and I only did a change of address on the last one and we will actually be in the same town for memorial day weekend and I will try again then to make sure my ID works. Sorry for the long post this has been eating me alive since it happened Saturday because I hate the fact that they dont know me and think I am a liar and was trying to get one over on them just needed to vent. I have this desire to be liked and I know that its a problem but even little things like this make me so upset because they were very clearly judging me and think I was lying and I’m trying to learn how to not let that affect me as much anymore but its hard. Thanks for letting me vent !

They approached the door leading to one of the quarantined cells, separating what was no doubt a dingy and unwelcome room behind a heavy metal door. Fern watched as they approached, blocking the entrance.
"Fern, can we head inside there?" Lee asked.
"These people haven't been checked yet." She looked at him curiously. "Usually people are asking to be let out, not coming in."
"We just have to talk about a few things."
She sighed but opened the door, ushering them inside. "Okay. I'll let David know you're here if he comes back, he took one of them out a little while ago."
Lee nodded, understanding she probably meant his brother. He wasn't sure of what to expect when they entered, but took a scan of the room and the four other strangers standing inside. They all looked just as anxious as he did, and for a few seconds the room seemed to be in a mutual staring contest.
"Is this one of the friends you had here?" a woman asked Clementine.
"I'm Lee. We came to the New Frontier together, been that way since this whole thing started," he introduced.
The formerly scrutinising eyes of a blond man relaxed, looking upon him in a more trusting light. "So you're against these fuckers, then?"
"That's why I'm here actually, I wanna talk to all of you to figure out what's been going on."
"How do we know you're not just waiting to rat us all out the minute we open our mouths?" asked another, a freckled man who up until that point had been standing to one side.
For a moment, he didn't have a response. "You don't. But Clementine trusts me and she must trust you too if she brought you back here. If anything, I'm in the dark more than you guys are."
The group looked uneasy and remained silent, individual gazes exchanging back and forth.
"I doubt that," a man with long hair quipped. "But I'd place you as the runner up right next to me." He smiled and leant against the wall.
It was then that the strangers began to introduce themselves. Three were from Prescott, as Clementine had mentioned, and the long-haired man had recently met up with them. The environment reminded him of high school: there were already some formed sub-groups that trusted each other immediately, a factor that made him uncomfortably aware of his slim chances at the situation being salvaged into a good thing. He didn't know these people, and despite Clementine's supposed vouching, neither did they. When it came down to discussing the nitty gritty, he had everything to lose by being honest with them — safety, security, most of all AJ and Clementine, but he couldn't let them know that. On the other hand, the refugees of Prescott seemed to have nothing to lose, and he genuinely felt remorse over their hopeless situation they explained that they were running from.
"I'm sorry to hear about your community," Lee offered. "Especially about your Francine."
Conrad's mouth perked up into an appreciative smile, though the distrustful dip in his brow was still present in his demeanour. Evidently, the whole of New Richmond and especially those from the Frontier were suspects for him. Though Lee felt frustratingly powerless towards it he sympathised with the man's feeling. "When I find the bastards who did it, I'll avenge her. I swear to it."
"Who were the men who attacked your town?"
Tripp crossed his arms over his chest. "The same ones who attacked Javi. There were tons of 'em, but two dick-heads leading the whole thing. One bald guy with a beard and a shorter one with a hat."
Shit.
Eleanor watched his expression change, picking up on even the smallest shift that he gave away. "Does that ring a bell?" she asked him.
"They're in our — in David's unit," he said slowly. It didn't make sense in his mind, how if David were to be behind it he'd caused his own daughter's death. Perhaps the pair had run off, and knowing Badger he wouldn't be surprised, but to take a whole group along with them? It had to have been planned. Even so, he hadn’t expected Max to have involvement in this. Sure he had laughed with mockery at the pitiful sight of Logan and Badger falling on their asses, but he was fighting against them while watching Lee’s back.
The door opened again and David stepped inside.
It was at that moment that all eyes were on him. Everybody half expected to see his brother behind him, but nobody followed. “What’s going on in here?” He had his hands on his hips, overlooking the group.
An uneasiness was present in the air. “David, we should talk,” Lee suggested, catching his eye.
They both made their exit. With the door closing behind, the group began to begin in what was no doubt a serious discussion muffled by the slamming metal that bridged the gap between both sides, marking a clear division from the community of the cell and the wider world of the New Frontier. Aligning himself firmly with them, even just from his simple insignificant action of leaving the room, gave him a discomforting feeling — he knew they were all doubting his intentions by having this talk with David, but he was New Frontier. He couldn’t take himself off of the fence, not just yet. It was time to clear the air.
“Something’s up,” Lee began gravely.
“You don’t have to tell me that,” responded David. He looked away to face the wall for a second.
“I’m happy for you that you found your family.”
That brought him back. “Thank you. And…I’m glad to see Clementine return. I know she only came back for you and AJ, and that’s that. But it’s good to see you together again.”
Lee nodded.
“Me, I’m lucky. I never thought I’d see my family again,” David went on. He looked grateful as he recalled to Lee re-uniting with the members of his lineage, but solemned with the eventual mention of his daughter. “Gabe told me that we lost Mariana.” He pinched his brow tightly.
“I’m real sorry. I bet she was wonderful.”
David paused. “I bet she was too,” he said, sighing deeply. “When I asked Javi he told me that some of our boys were a part of it.”
“You don’t know who organised it?”
“Of course not,” David shot back.
“I wasn’t accusing,” Lee said awkwardly. “I’m just confused.”
“We all are. It’s too tense right now to start discussing all of this. Listen, you take Clementine and enjoy yourselves while you still can. I’m going back to the hospital to see my wife. If shit really hits the fan, come and find me. But only if,” he instructed.
“You’re sure?”
David had already begun walking away. “I’m not dealing with it right now. They still need to be checked for quarantine, anyway,” he called over his shoulder.
Lee didn’t know if leaving the newly-arisen problem was a mistake or wise. Better to not fan the flames any more, but better not to leave said fire out of your sight either.

Concerned about the safety of your medical data online?
Dive into the world of next-gen healthcare data breaches with our latest blog! We'll unpack real incidents and practical solutions, shedding light on the ongoing battle to secure health information in today's digital age. From Anthem Inc.'s massive breach to recent attacks on Florida Healthy Kids Corporation and CommonSpirit Health, we'll explore the impacts and the steps taken to fortify cybersecurity. Plus, learn about how organizations like Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Yuma Regional Medical Center are enhancing their defenses and communication strategies to protect patient data. Don't miss out on crucial insights and solutions to safeguard your healthcare information! Additionally, discover how a White Label VPN from PureWL can further bolster security for healthcare organizations. Join the discussion now!

#HealthcareSecurity #DataPrivacy #Cybersecurity #WhiteLabelVPN 🛡️💻🔐

If you're looking for ways to watch Manjummel Boys in the US on Hotstar, look no further. Here's a guide on the steps to watch Manjummel Boys on Hotstar in US.

Quick Steps: watch Manjummel Boys in the US on Hotstar

1. Select a VPN service that is optimized for streaming. We recommend ExpressVPN or PIA VPN
2. Download the VPN and connect to the Indian server.
3. Log in to Disney+ Hotstar.
4. Watch Manjummel Boys in the US on Hotstar!

(Disney+ Hotstar is not available outside India so you'll have to buy ExpressVPN to access Manjummel Boys.)

Why do you need a VPN to watch Manjummel Boys in the US on Hotstar?

Accessing Hotstar in the US can be tricky due to licensing restrictions that limit its availability outside India. When you try to stream shows like Manjummel Boys from US, Hotstar’s system detects your IP address and blocks access.
However, there’s a workaround: using a VPN. By connecting to a VPN server in India, you can change your IP address and fool Hotstar into thinking you’re accessing the service from within India. This allows you to watch Manjummel Boys in US on Hotstar without restrictions.
Using a VPN helps you bypass geographic limitations and adds a layer of security to your online activities by encrypting your data and preventing third parties from accessing it. Additionally, it can prevent your internet service provider (ISP) from throttling your connection, ensuring a smooth streaming experience.
For the best streaming experience, consider opting for a premium VPN service while in the USA to ensure reliable and uninterrupted access to Hotstar and other geo-blocked content.

Manjummel Boys Cast

• Sreenath Bhasi as Arun
• Soubin Shahir as Vinay
• Balu Varghese as Sujith
• Ganapathi as Ravi

Story Line

Manjummel Boys takes audiences on an exciting journey as a group of friends embarks on what was meant to be a thrilling adventure but quickly turns into a gripping tale of survival. As carefree pals, the Manjummel Boys, decide to explore the legendary Guna Caves, excitement fills the air. However, the mood takes a chilling turn when one of them becomes trapped deep inside the cave. Suddenly, their outing transforms into a race against time and the unpredictable forces of nature.
The film is a rollercoaster of emotions, from the bonds of friendship to the palpable fear and unwavering determination displayed by the characters as they navigate through dark tunnels and mysterious chambers. But amidst the suspense and tension, Manjummel Boys also offers moments of light-heartedness, ensuring that viewers are taken on a thrilling yet enjoyable ride from start to finish.

I am working on implementing FortiSwitch NAC in my network. I understand how to build NAC policies and currently I'm testing using EMS tags to authorize endpoints and put them into a specific VLAN. But I'd like to understand the new NAC feature as of 7.0 called 'LAN Segmentation'. The documentation doesn't really explain it well to me. Here is my understanding:

1. Remove any L3 ip addressing on your onboarding or your vlans you want to assign to any LAN segment.
2. Enable NAC VLAN segmentation in NAC Policies/FortiSwitch Onboarding VLAN and VLAN Segmentation.
3. Specify the onboarding vlan and then select the segment vlans that will participate and can be selected in a NAC policy (remember, L3 is not defined anywhere and any reference to dhcp is removed from the vlan interface configurations.
4. Build out your NAC policies. Plug in a device and see the NAC policy fire and put the endpoint in the correct vlan.

What I don't understand is IP addressing. Apparently the advantage of LAN Segmentation is that no IP addresses need to change and the NAC port does not need to bounce. But what IP address gets assigned to the device? I don't understand a VLAN not having a L3 address. If I ran an ipconfig on the device after it gets placed in the new vlan, what would it read?
Could someone help turn on the light bulb for me? TIA.

I had a front end collision a while back that smashed my passenger side headlight. After the collision that headlight was out but my driver side headlight still worked. I had an auto shop work on fixing my radiator etc and had them install an aftermarket headlight on the passenger side. After getting it back the new aftermarket headlight works great! However now the driver side headlight is shot. No low/high beams, running lights or turn signals. Ive checked the fuses, wiring and bulbs so far and its all good. anyone had this before?
TLDR; OEM headlight doesn't work after installing 1 aftermarket headlight.

Hey all, I'd like to try promoting some more discussion of specific TTPs and other elements of investigation of IO here, so figured I'd share my recent blog post on Recorded Future's investigations into Iranian and Russian influence activity. link: https://www.memeticwarfare.io/p/memetic-warfare-weekly-six-years
The two operations are emblematic to some degree of their operators, and it raised an interesting point that I discuss in the post: what is the future of networked IO?
Will OpSec-prone domains continue to be prominent, or will we see more utilization of Telegram and other messaging applications?
From my blog:
I couldn’t help but write down some thoughts:

• These two networks are both emblematic of the general approaches and TTPs often attributed to their patrons. Russian operations often utilize domains whereas Iranian activity often exploits messaging groups and channels - not to say that this is the case universally by any means.
  • The Russian operation was RIFE with OpSec breaches, in comparison to the Iranian one which had far fewer. These breaches emanated primarily from the network’s domains.
• Gen AI is used by both, but the Russian network utilizes it more frequently and apparently more frequently for text.
  • The Russian operation had little authentic engagement at the beginning, but as the report states it’s begun to garner real engagement by posting higher-quality, targeted content.
• The Iranians managed to get some real engagement from Israelis on social media, if a small amount. Thus, the Iranian operation is arguably more impactful than the Russian despite having a lower level of operator investment in the network as a whole (at least at the domain level).
  • This can be credited to an apparently better understanding of the target society and its culture and politics, and in my opinion and most importantly - the choice of using messaging applications. Israelis love WhatsApp, and Telegram has grown greatly in popularity in past years.
• Creative uses of third-party services, such as crowdsourcing information via Google Forms and others, provide an additional added-value element here of data collection. Potential targeting in the future based on this data would also be much easier, and in practice lead much more easily to real-world impact via organizing protests, holding flags and so on.

Looking at the two reports, I’m going to harp on a point I make frequently. We in the IO space often overhype Russian capabilities and make light of others, including Iran.
In my opinion, the Iranian operation here is more complex, impactful and multimodal than the Russian operation (and similar operations such as say Doppelganger), and should be viewed as more successful.
We often tend to view Russian activity as being sophisticated, at least comparatively. This is in part to our perspective that running domains and domain-based infrastructure for operations is a sign of operator skill, arguably similarly to the CTI space.
In practice, domains are a serious issue for operators. They’re easy to misconfigure, are prone to OpSec breaches, and are hard to promote online, necessitating external assets for dissemination and amplification.
An analogy for this would be the decline of the dark web and the rise of messaging applications, including Telegram and others. This is due to the inherent advantages of utilizing messaging applications over domains (clear or onion):

• Groups and channels are easy to set up more securely on burner infrastructure, and there’s less incentive to reuse infrastructure.
• It’s easier to acquire “white” infrastructure instead of using suspicious hosting or domain registrar services,
• It’s easier to avoid KYC measures via burner infrastructure compared to domain registrars and hosting services.
• The cost is overall lower over time.
• Groups and channels are harder for analysts and investigators to identify and investigate.
• Dissemination and amplification is much more easily done at a larger scale thanks to built-in forwarding mechanisms.
• Groups and channels can serve as multimodal file repositories for seeding and other activity at a large scale.
  • Telegram in particular is a technical marvel in this regard. Users can upload files up to 2GB in size, and once a user downloads a file of , s/he can easily forward that file to as many people as desired. Compare this to domains, where sharing such large files easily would be a significant pain point.
• If burned or taken down, content can be easily moved to backup channels much more quickly than with domains.

None of this is to say Russia doesn’t utilize messaging applications, they absolutely do, but domains are still the leading entity choice for most threat actors.
What I do think we’ll see is a transition to messaging application groups and channels replacing in many cases domains as the central or key entity, as they already can replace most of their relevant functions.

Says to the Madame, "I want something kinky!"
So she takes him to a room with a bare wood floor, and a tiny light bulb hanging on a string. In the middle is a milk crate with a chicken sitting on it.
Guy says, "Are you serious?"
Madame says, "You've already paid. I don't care what you do. Take it or leave it.
So he decides to go for it. He has a great time. The bird is clucking, flapping its wings, flailing its legs and the guy is loving it.
He goes back a few days later and asks for the same.
Madame says, "That room is booked solid today, but I have something else you'll like."
She takes him to a room where there's a bunch of people sitting around a two way mirror. On the other side of it is a huge lesbian orgy, with whips, chains, shaving cream and toys everywhere.
Guy sits down and says, "Wow this is amazing!"
Old man next to him replies, "You think this is amazing? Last week there was a guy in there fucking a chicken!"

Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Christie emerged from the bathroom once her nerves had calmed and found one of the chateau’s windows that looked out on the western ridgelines. She reached into her handbag and produced a stick of lipstick, sighted on a curve of blackness intersecting a particular constellation rising into the night sky, and pushed a discreet button on the base. The task force now had confirmation that Rayker was inside the chateau and the machine would be set in motion.
As she turned to head back to the party, Christie saw a different range of mountains in the corner of her eye. A fishhook stabbed into the muscle of her heart and tugged, while she was nearly overwhelmed with nausea. For a moment, a dusty valley surrounded her, the rocky ground coursing with streams of blood. The ghostly white face of Rose Djallen was before her, life fading from her eyes. Christie wanted to gasp, but she let the pain wash over her in silence, as they had all done so often. A moment’s concentration brought her back to the present, and the dangerous operation ahead.
Rayker’s expression had been so devoid of warmth—as though she wore her psychotic nature with pride. Christie couldn’t understand how someone could be so inhuman. She wondered what would happen if Rayker sensed the trap that was closing around her. Christie knew that she, and probably some of the guests, would be taken hostage. No doubt the dozens of Rangers stalking through the darkness would break cover, racing through the night to rescue her, with one particularly hard-headed individual out front. The highly skilled operators now preparing their own move on the chateau would fight their way inside, killing anyone who resisted them. The Banshee, their well-armed gunship, would break its cloak, leaving its position behind Ambrosia’s second moon to rain hellfire down on the small army that provided security for the Helvetic League’s pleasure planet. Rayker would probably die in a hail of gunfire—giving Rose her deserved retribution—for the Valkyrie would eagerly sacrifice their own lives before leaving one of their own behind.
Then the news of the incident would spread, and humanity’s thirty-seven worlds would talk of nothing else but the secret army of super soldiers that protected them from the arsenal of the Jotnar—an ancient and extinct civilization, who’s abandoned weapons and warships littered the stars. Nations, corporations and crime syndicates would find ways to track down those weapons, exploiting their incredible destructive power for their own selfish purposes. There would be war, billions would die, and, like those who had preceded them, humanity would probably wipe itself out.
Rose had died protecting Christie from Rayker’s drone army, but she had also died to uphold Valkyrie’s ancient responsibility.
That operation had ultimately saved the planet Caldera, but in the chaos and confusion of the battle Rayker had managed to slip away. The organization had spent nearly two years trying to hunt her down, but she was too skilled, too deeply enmeshed in the Helvetic League’s underworld.
The council of chiefs, Valkyrie’s inscrutable governing body, had agreed to form Task Force Nemesis under the command of General Smyrna. She was assigned the Mountain Ranger’s Bravo company—the Venomous Vipers—a Raider squadron of elite counter terrorists, and a task unit from Orbital Demolition Team Four. Supported by the Banshee and guided by Christie’s intelligence gathering unit, their mission statement was simple—do whatever it took to kill or capture Allana Rayker.
As they made slow, painstaking process, they began to receive indications that their target had rejoined her old corporate paymasters at VennZech, the most powerful weapons manufacturer in the galaxy. Then, the news broke that Joakkim Meissner, one of Rayker’s suspected allies, had been promoted to Chief Executive, arranging his party on Ambrosia to celebrate.
He had also invited one of the League’s rising stars in physics. The brilliant young doctor Ernst Kolar was a specialist in theoretical energy development. He had recently published a paper describing a theoretical anti-matter reactor alarmingly similar to those that powered the warships and killing machines of the Jotnar. Christie’s team leader, Jiao Zhang, had offered the high-confidence assessment that Rayker would refuse to let such an asset out of her sight. And, on the protected world of Ambrosia, what could she have to fear?
But Valkyrie had been breaking through Helvetic security barriers since the creation of the quasi-imperial state, and had become extremely good at it. And so, the operation had been set in motion.
Christie took a deep breath and prepared herself, soothing away any traces of nervousness. She left the outer hall and re-entered the party.
***
“Olympus, Olympus, Olympus,” a voice intoned through Kayla’s headset.
The code word signaled that Christie had identified Rayker in the chateau, and the operation was a go. A double burst of static followed; a squad-level transmission from Kes. It was the order to take out the security guards.
Kayla and Ray had crawled as close as they could to their position, readied their stun rifle and waited patiently. As the signal came in, the men had pushed away from their boulder rest spot and were resuming their patrol through the woods. Kayla waited until their line of sight had passed her, before she stood slowly, weapon aimed. A faint rustle told her that Ray had done the same.
The guard at the back, still slurping from a water bottle, fell a little further behind. The stun rifle’s projectile hit him in the neck, shocking his nervous system into an overload state. He seized and dropped to the ground, unconscious. The men ahead of him span and there was a mechanical thump from Ray’s weapon. Her shot struck center mass, and another figure collapsed, just as Kayla pulled the trigger again. The last guard went down quickly, but, to Kayla’s shock, seemed to remain conscious. He struggled on the ground like a dying fish as he tried to reach for his radio, so she sprinted forward and kicked him in the head.
Kayla wrinkled her nose and cursed quietly. The scientist who had trained her squad on the weapon had explained that a failed shot would result in the victim emptying the contents of their bowels and bladder. Looks like she had been right.
“Three down,” she muttered into her helmet mic. “No other contacts in sight.”
Even so, she continued to scan the distant trees carefully.
Ray secured the guards with serum injections while Tian and Yak, the other two members of the fire team joined them. The projectiles were gathered into Tian’s rucksack, and, when the rest of the squad arrived, they moved off through the trees together, climbing the slope until they reached another crest, and a chain link fence.
Half a mile away from the chateau, the main security compound provided a base for the guard’s rapid reaction force. The compound had a single entrance and out of the blockhouse blue light flickered to the loud chatter of an excited racing commentator.
Kayla stopped in the shadows of the trees and waited patiently. The air above her head snapped and cracked as rounds shot past, impacting security cameras and sensors around the compound. The bullets were a large caliber, but with a thermic charge core. Each strike glowed brilliantly as intense temperatures melted through their targets, leaving no evidence of what had neutralized them.
She grinned. Thandi was going to work, and though her presence and skill made Kayla feel much more confident, she would still tease her about doing the ‘easy part’ later.
In the near distance, there were a pair of flashes and loud zaps as the base’s generator and backup went out to EMP charges. Another squad from their platoon was working their own approach. That made Kayla nervous. The two elements would soon have to meet up, and nothing could be more dangerous to those who owned the night than confusing each other for the enemy.
She took her team around the base to the now dark main gate as the on-duty guards emerged to check on the loss of power. Stun rifle shots knocked them out, and the squad regrouped behind the cover of a vehicle bay, while Kayla identified the largest building in the compound and watched it attentively.
They waited patiently until the silence was broken by a new voice on the radio.
“Eyes on the barracks, north side. No movement.”
“South side clear,” Kayla confirmed.
“Approaching,” the other squad leader said.
Kayla waited until she saw shapes emerging from the shadows and sprinting behind the back of the large structure. Then, one leaned out from the corner, watching. Kayla tapped a control on her helmet, and a perfect white line broke through her grey world, pointing towards the figure. She was answered with a similar flash of infra-red energy, and her anxiety eased.
Kes, who had also been watching, tapped her shoulder, and Kayla led off towards the barracks.
From outside the Rangers could make out the annoyed calls of men and women stumbling around in the darkness. One emerged from a side door and nearly got off a shout before Tian tackled him and knocked him out. The two squads moved quickly, cracking open doorways and rolling gas grenades inside.
Invisible and odorless, the gas contained the signature compound Valkyrie used to erase memories. The Rangers waited a few minutes, safe behind their face masks, then entered and confirmed that all inside were unconscious. Kes and Thandi smashed a few liquor bottles against the walls, while others dragged the bodies into the main room, and distributed more ‘evidence’.
Eventually, Kes called ‘all clear’, and Kayla emerged from the building into the night, lifting her faceplate to breathe in some fresh air. She saw her fire team, Ray, Tian and Yak, heading to the vehicles to place EMP charges, and began to follow them, when a sharp rap on her helmet brought her up short.
She turned to see Thandi, vizor up, and an expectant expression on her face.
“Was that a curse word I heard earlier?” Thandi asked, keeping her voice low.
Kayla shook her head. “Negative. I was providing a biological assessment of the dude.”
“Ick. Two in the barracks were uh… in the middle of something when they passed out. I had to pull them apart.” She pulled a face. “That was gross.”
Kayla winked at her friend, who was spiritual enough for the both of them. “Unmarried, I bet. Your god approves.”
Thandi nodded gratefully, then shot her a look. “He’s not just my—"
Kes marched over, her expression severe. “Do either of you have EMP charges left?” she demanded.
“Yes Corporal,” Kayla nodded, and patted her rucksack.
“There’s a couple of transports left in the north corner. Get on it, then rejoin us on the east fence. Come on, we need to move quickly!”
Kayla scampered away, buzzing with energy. The squad still had to head for the chateau, and take up their position in the perimeter that was slowly drawing tighter around Rayker. She glanced at the dark mountains around her. In a dozen locations, radar arrays, missile defenses and communications stations were being similarly neutralized by small teams of Valkyrie from the various units. Soon they would have their prey, and Kayla privately hoped that she wouldn’t surrender.
***
Christie found Doctor Kolar, alone as usual, in the main hall and painfully out of place at such a large social gathering. He nursed a champagne glass, and smiled at passersby. Christie stared at him until their eyes met, and he quickly looked away, pretending to study one of Meissner’s diamond statues.
She walked in his direction, and as she passed, she flashed him a shy smile. Then, returning to her coterie of admirers, she looked back with another friendly expression.
Kolar cautiously approached the group, obviously unsure of what to do. The men ignored him, but the second he managed to breach the outer mass of bodies, Christie was on him.
“Oh hello! I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure!” she cried, extending her hand and beaming like a searchlight.
The other men frowned as they lost her attention.
“Um… All mine,” stammered Kolar. “Sorry. I’m—”
“Doctor Kolar, isn’t it?” interrupted a renowned and pompous pianist. “You’re working on space batteries for VennZech weapons research, or some such thing?”
“Well…” Kolar gulped. “We’re starting a new project on micro-singularities at the Planck scale, you see the current theory on weak—”
“It’s weak, you say?” The pianist laughed raucously as he slapped the doctor’s back. “Well, I never would have guessed, old boy.”
“Tell me, Zotty,” Christie cut in, addressing one of the other men, “Didn’t you just tell me this was one of Meissner’s inner circle?” she tottered forward slightly as she spoke.
“Correct,” the elder son and heir apparent of the largest media corporation in the League replied with a smile. He lifted his gaze from her bosom. “Doctor Kolar’s work is vital for the Maestro.”
Kolar smiled gratefully. “Indeed. Well, it’s about energy generation.”
“Oh, I hope you aren’t helping him make more of those dreadful bombs,” Christie said, and pouted. “War is very wrong! Really, I don’t know why they haven’t sanctioned the company for some of the absolutely horrid things they produce.”
The surrounding billionaires nodded their approval, while Kolar flushed. “No… well, I mustn’t talk about it, but I shouldn’t be getting involved in that side of VennZech’s business.”
“Quite right.” Christie nodded. “Oh, but you’re dry.” She turned to a waiter, grabbed a pair of glasses from his tray and handed one to Kolar.
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie

So yesterday was a big day for halts!

There has definitely been some confusion (including from me) on what warrants a trading halt as we saw a number of halts yesterday on <5% price action. The official line is that a price swing +/-5% will trigger a circuit-breaker (for GME's current designation) https://www.luldplan.com/
Yesterday's halts also suggest that 5 minute volume over 250,000 will trigger a pause to allow MMs to catch up/correct order imbalance however I can't find any documentation to back this up so this is purely conjecture. If anyone can shed any light on this, please do.

Some errors from yesterday's reporting - I incorrectly stated the GME record at 14 halts. As you can see below, the record still stands at 19 from back during the sneeze. Reckon we’ll break that today?
I didn't realise there is a post limit on Superstonk so I wasn't able to post the final update. I will switch to every other halt today to begin with.
I'm getting my data from here: https://www.nyse.com/trade-halt which has recorded every GME halt as an LULD (Limit Up/Limit Down pause)
If you get your data from here: https://www.nasdaqtrader.com/trader.aspx?id=TradeHalts it will more than likely be recorded as Reason M = Volatility Trading Pause (Trading has been paused in an Exchange-Listed issue)

Some Stats - Data
Since January 2021 there have been 20 trading days with at least 1 halt

• 13 in 2021
• 5 in 2022
• 0 in 2023
• 2 in 2024

In this time there have been 98 individual halts in total

• 63 in 2021 (64%)
• 10 in 2022 (10%)
• 25 in 2024 (26%)

Top 5 halt days since 2021

• 19 halts - 28th Jan 2021 (O=$86.88 C=$48.40 V=235.3m)
• 16 halts - 14th May 2024 (O=$30.45 C=$48.75 V=206.9m)
• 9 halts - 13th May 2024 (O=$17.46 C=$30.45 V=187.2m)
• 9 halts - 25th Jan 2021 (O=$16.25 C=$19.20 V=711.5m)
• 7 halts - 10th Mar 2021 (O=$61.73 C=$66.25 V=282.2m)

What is a trading halt? A trading halt, trading pause, or circuit-breaker is a brief stoppage in trading for a particular security or securities. Trading halts are typically applied ahead of a news announcement, as a result of a large and abrupt change in the share price, or to correct an order imbalance. When a trading halt is in effect, open orders may be canceled and options still may be exercised. Halts attempt to curb panic-selling and manic-buying.

Nestled at the heart of the city, Urban Vista offers a blissful living experience at Main Road, Rajarhat amidst lush greenery, where serene natural vistas soothe the soul. Developed by the esteemed Loharuka Group, this project embodies a perfect blend of modern urban living and natural beauty, making it an ideal choice for homebuyers seeking a tranquil yet convenient lifestyle.
Urban Vista is part of an integrated township that spans over 7 acres, offering residents a harmonious living environment. Currently, the residential units are in the under-construction phase, with 20% of the units already sold. This indicates the growing popularity and trust in this remarkable project. Urban Vista provides a variety of property options, including unparalleled and value-for-money flats, available in different configurations such as 2 BHK, 2.5 BHK, and 3 BHK units. These diverse options cater to the varying needs and preferences of modern families.The project boasts a total of 450 units, spread across 7 blocks with structures of G+14 and G+11 floors. The units offer a carpet area ranging from 545 to 882 sq ft, ensuring ample space for comfortable living. The thoughtful design and layout of these units maximize natural light and ventilation, creating a refreshing and healthy living environment. Urban Vista offers an attractive price range starting from ₹ 48 L - 82 L, making it an affordable luxury in the heart of Kolkata. The possession date is set for March 2025, giving potential homeowners a clear timeline for moving into their dream homes.
Urban Vista is envisioned as an iconic residence that epitomizes dream living. It is designed to provide residents with an enchanting living experience, where the greens redefine the senses and elevate the experience of living. The project is equipped with various resident-centric amenities that cater to the needs of modern urban dwellers. A wide range of indoor and outdoor sports amenities have been provisioned for the residents at Urban Vista. This includes facilities for sports such as badminton, basketball, and more, promoting an active and healthy lifestyle. The complex also leaves ample open areas and common spaces, fostering a sense of community and providing residents with plenty of room to unwind and socialize. Urban Vista prioritizes the safety and security of its residents. The complex is equipped with a robust security system, including CCTV cameras installed in common areas and manned security personnel at the gates. This ensures a secure environment where families can live without worries. In conclusion, Urban Vista by Loharuka Group offers a unique opportunity to experience a blissful lifestyle in a serene and green environment, right in the heart of the city. With its modern amenities, spacious units, and strong security, it promises a comfortable and secure living experience. The affordable pricing and prime location in Rajarhat make it an excellent investment for homebuyers looking to settle in Kolkata. Don’t miss the chance to own a branded apartment in this new gated community where a blissful lifestyle awaits.

Prequel (Parts 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Christie emerged from the bathroom once her nerves had calmed and found one of the chateau’s windows that looked out on the western ridgelines. She reached into her handbag and produced a stick of lipstick, sighted on a curve of blackness intersecting a particular constellation rising into the night sky, and pushed a discreet button on the base. The task force now had confirmation that Rayker was inside the chateau and the machine would be set in motion.
As she turned to head back to the party, Christie saw a different range of mountains in the corner of her eye. A fishhook stabbed into the muscle of her heart and tugged, while she was nearly overwhelmed with nausea. For a moment, a dusty valley surrounded her, the rocky ground coursing with streams of blood. The ghostly white face of Rose Djallen was before her, life fading from her eyes. Christie wanted to gasp, but she let the pain wash over her in silence, as they had all done so often. A moment’s concentration brought her back to the present, and the dangerous operation ahead.
Rayker’s expression had been so devoid of warmth—as though she wore her psychotic nature with pride. Christie couldn’t understand how someone could be so inhuman. She wondered what would happen if Rayker sensed the trap that was closing around her. Christie knew that she, and probably some of the guests, would be taken hostage. No doubt the dozens of Rangers stalking through the darkness would break cover, racing through the night to rescue her, with one particularly hard-headed individual out front. The highly skilled operators now preparing their own move on the chateau would fight their way inside, killing anyone who resisted them. The Banshee, their well-armed gunship, would break its cloak, leaving its position behind Ambrosia’s second moon to rain hellfire down on the small army that provided security for the Helvetic League’s pleasure planet. Rayker would probably die in a hail of gunfire—giving Rose her deserved retribution—for the Valkyrie would eagerly sacrifice their own lives before leaving one of their own behind.
Then the news of the incident would spread, and humanity’s thirty-seven worlds would talk of nothing else but the secret army of super soldiers that protected them from the arsenal of the Jotnar—an ancient and extinct civilization, who’s abandoned weapons and warships littered the stars. Nations, corporations and crime syndicates would find ways to track down those weapons, exploiting their incredible destructive power for their own selfish purposes. There would be war, billions would die, and, like those who had preceded them, humanity would probably wipe itself out.
Rose had died protecting Christie from Rayker’s drone army, but she had also died to uphold Valkyrie’s ancient responsibility.
That operation had ultimately saved the planet Caldera, but in the chaos and confusion of the battle Rayker had managed to slip away. The organization had spent nearly two years trying to hunt her down, but she was too skilled, too deeply enmeshed in the Helvetic League’s underworld.
The council of chiefs, Valkyrie’s inscrutable governing body, had agreed to form Task Force Nemesis under the command of General Smyrna. She was assigned the Mountain Ranger’s Bravo company—the Venomous Vipers—a Raider squadron of elite counter terrorists, and a task unit from Orbital Demolition Team Four. Supported by the Banshee and guided by Christie’s intelligence gathering unit, their mission statement was simple—do whatever it took to kill or capture Allana Rayker.
As they made slow, painstaking process, they began to receive indications that their target had rejoined her old corporate paymasters at VennZech, the most powerful weapons manufacturer in the galaxy. Then, the news broke that Joakkim Meissner, one of Rayker’s suspected allies, had been promoted to Chief Executive, arranging his party on Ambrosia to celebrate.
He had also invited one of the League’s rising stars in physics. The brilliant young doctor Ernst Kolar was a specialist in theoretical energy development. He had recently published a paper describing a theoretical anti-matter reactor alarmingly similar to those that powered the warships and killing machines of the Jotnar. Christie’s team leader, Jiao Zhang, had offered the high-confidence assessment that Rayker would refuse to let such an asset out of her sight. And, on the protected world of Ambrosia, what could she have to fear?
But Valkyrie had been breaking through Helvetic security barriers since the creation of the quasi-imperial state, and had become extremely good at it. And so, the operation had been set in motion.
Christie took a deep breath and prepared herself, soothing away any traces of nervousness. She left the outer hall and re-entered the party.
***
“Olympus, Olympus, Olympus,” a voice intoned through Kayla’s headset.
The code word signaled that Christie had identified Rayker in the chateau, and the operation was a go. A double burst of static followed; a squad-level transmission from Kes. It was the order to take out the security guards.
Kayla and Ray had crawled as close as they could to their position, readied their stun rifle and waited patiently. As the signal came in, the men had pushed away from their boulder rest spot and were resuming their patrol through the woods. Kayla waited until their line of sight had passed her, before she stood slowly, weapon aimed. A faint rustle told her that Ray had done the same.
The guard at the back, still slurping from a water bottle, fell a little further behind. The stun rifle’s projectile hit him in the neck, shocking his nervous system into an overload state. He seized and dropped to the ground, unconscious. The men ahead of him span and there was a mechanical thump from Ray’s weapon. Her shot struck center mass, and another figure collapsed, just as Kayla pulled the trigger again. The last guard went down quickly, but, to Kayla’s shock, seemed to remain conscious. He struggled on the ground like a dying fish as he tried to reach for his radio, so she sprinted forward and kicked him in the head.
Kayla wrinkled her nose and cursed quietly. The scientist who had trained her squad on the weapon had explained that a failed shot would result in the victim emptying the contents of their bowels and bladder. Looks like she had been right.
“Three down,” she muttered into her helmet mic. “No other contacts in sight.”
Even so, she continued to scan the distant trees carefully.
Ray secured the guards with serum injections while Tian and Yak, the other two members of the fire team joined them. The projectiles were gathered into Tian’s rucksack, and, when the rest of the squad arrived, they moved off through the trees together, climbing the slope until they reached another crest, and a chain link fence.
Half a mile away from the chateau, the main security compound provided a base for the guard’s rapid reaction force. The compound had a single entrance and out of the blockhouse blue light flickered to the loud chatter of an excited racing commentator.
Kayla stopped in the shadows of the trees and waited patiently. The air above her head snapped and cracked as rounds shot past, impacting security cameras and sensors around the compound. The bullets were a large caliber, but with a thermic charge core. Each strike glowed brilliantly as intense temperatures melted through their targets, leaving no evidence of what had neutralized them.
She grinned. Thandi was going to work, and though her presence and skill made Kayla feel much more confident, she would still tease her about doing the ‘easy part’ later.
In the near distance, there were a pair of flashes and loud zaps as the base’s generator and backup went out to EMP charges. Another squad from their platoon was working their own approach. That made Kayla nervous. The two elements would soon have to meet up, and nothing could be more dangerous to those who owned the night than confusing each other for the enemy.
She took her team around the base to the now dark main gate as the on-duty guards emerged to check on the loss of power. Stun rifle shots knocked them out, and the squad regrouped behind the cover of a vehicle bay, while Kayla identified the largest building in the compound and watched it attentively.
They waited patiently until the silence was broken by a new voice on the radio.
“Eyes on the barracks, north side. No movement.”
“South side clear,” Kayla confirmed.
“Approaching,” the other squad leader said.
Kayla waited until she saw shapes emerging from the shadows and sprinting behind the back of the large structure. Then, one leaned out from the corner, watching. Kayla tapped a control on her helmet, and a perfect white line broke through her grey world, pointing towards the figure. She was answered with a similar flash of infra-red energy, and her anxiety eased.
Kes, who had also been watching, tapped her shoulder, and Kayla led off towards the barracks.
From outside the Rangers could make out the annoyed calls of men and women stumbling around in the darkness. One emerged from a side door and nearly got off a shout before Tian tackled him and knocked him out. The two squads moved quickly, cracking open doorways and rolling gas grenades inside.
Invisible and odorless, the gas contained the signature compound Valkyrie used to erase memories. The Rangers waited a few minutes, safe behind their face masks, then entered and confirmed that all inside were unconscious. Kes and Thandi smashed a few liquor bottles against the walls, while others dragged the bodies into the main room, and distributed more ‘evidence’.
Eventually, Kes called ‘all clear’, and Kayla emerged from the building into the night, lifting her faceplate to breathe in some fresh air. She saw her fire team, Ray, Tian and Yak, heading to the vehicles to place EMP charges, and began to follow them, when a sharp rap on her helmet brought her up short.
She turned to see Thandi, vizor up, and an expectant expression on her face.
“Was that a curse word I heard earlier?” Thandi asked, keeping her voice low.
Kayla shook her head. “Negative. I was providing a biological assessment of the dude.”
“Ick. Two in the barracks were uh… in the middle of something when they passed out. I had to pull them apart.” She pulled a face. “That was gross.”
Kayla winked at her friend, who was spiritual enough for the both of them. “Unmarried, I bet. Your god approves.”
Thandi nodded gratefully, then shot her a look. “He’s not just my—"
Kes marched over, her expression severe. “Do either of you have EMP charges left?” she demanded.
“Yes Corporal,” Kayla nodded, and patted her rucksack.
“There’s a couple of transports left in the north corner. Get on it, then rejoin us on the east fence. Come on, we need to move quickly!”
Kayla scampered away, buzzing with energy. The squad still had to head for the chateau, and take up their position in the perimeter that was slowly drawing tighter around Rayker. She glanced at the dark mountains around her. In a dozen locations, radar arrays, missile defenses and communications stations were being similarly neutralized by small teams of Valkyrie from the various units. Soon they would have their prey, and Kayla privately hoped that she wouldn’t surrender.
***
Christie found Doctor Kolar, alone as usual, in the main hall and painfully out of place at such a large social gathering. He nursed a champagne glass, and smiled at passersby. Christie stared at him until their eyes met, and he quickly looked away, pretending to study one of Meissner’s diamond statues.
She walked in his direction, and as she passed, she flashed him a shy smile. Then, returning to her coterie of admirers, she looked back with another friendly expression.
Kolar cautiously approached the group, obviously unsure of what to do. The men ignored him, but the second he managed to breach the outer mass of bodies, Christie was on him.
“Oh hello! I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure!” she cried, extending her hand and beaming like a searchlight.
The other men frowned as they lost her attention.
“Um… All mine,” stammered Kolar. “Sorry. I’m—”
“Doctor Kolar, isn’t it?” interrupted a renowned and pompous pianist. “You’re working on space batteries for VennZech weapons research, or some such thing?”
“Well…” Kolar gulped. “We’re starting a new project on micro-singularities at the Planck scale, you see the current theory on weak—”
“It’s weak, you say?” The pianist laughed raucously as he slapped the doctor’s back. “Well, I never would have guessed, old boy.”
“Tell me, Zotty,” Christie cut in, addressing one of the other men, “Didn’t you just tell me this was one of Meissner’s inner circle?” she tottered forward slightly as she spoke.
“Correct,” the elder son and heir apparent of the largest media corporation in the League replied with a smile. He lifted his gaze from her bosom. “Doctor Kolar’s work is vital for the Maestro.”
Kolar smiled gratefully. “Indeed. Well, it’s about energy generation.”
“Oh, I hope you aren’t helping him make more of those dreadful bombs,” Christie said, and pouted. “War is very wrong! Really, I don’t know why they haven’t sanctioned the company for some of the absolutely horrid things they produce.”
The surrounding billionaires nodded their approval, while Kolar flushed. “No… well, I mustn’t talk about it, but I shouldn’t be getting involved in that side of VennZech’s business.”
“Quite right.” Christie nodded. “Oh, but you’re dry.” She turned to a waiter, grabbed a pair of glasses from his tray and handed one to Kolar.
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Prequel (Parts 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie