As you guys know, walang kasiguraduhan sa freelancing so eto nanaman ako ngayon naghahanap ng bagong client/agency/company. For context, I used to have one client earlier this year (from Upwork) and we had a very easy partnership but nagkaron siya ng personal issues so I was offboarded ng April 30. Right after the I found out nagstart agad ako maghanap ng clients and companies I could apply to and so far ito ang breakdown ng mga application na pinagdaanan ko.

1. Upwork - Since dito ko nahanap young last client ko, dito rin ako nagstart ulit maghanap. I have a Top Rated badge in upwork so naisip ko why not use it as much as I can. I sent out 12 proposals and bought 200 connects (around 100 lang nagamit ko) which got me 2 interviews and 1 contract after a week.
   
2. CoconutVA - I've heard lots of good things about this agency so I sent in my application along with a video recording of myself through loom. Di naman mahirap yung application process, medyo time consuming lang kasi kailangan maligo (lol) and mag-ayos for the recording. Di naman required, pero syempre best foot forward. I asked ChatGPT to give me a sample script and used it as an outline for the one that I actually used. After three days (I think) I got an email back saying they included me in their potential talent pool but no guarantees pa that I'll get matched so they encourage entertaining other offers for the meantime - which is a great sign na di sila nangggatekeep ng opportunities.
   
3. FlexJobs - I found a Remote Office Assistant role from a US-based digital marketing agency na yung rate is around $2k/month. May exam din silang pinagawa and excel skill test na medj mahirap. Haven't heard from them so far pero if you guys want to apply rin (I think they're still pooling) send me a DM for the link haha.
   
4. FreeUp - The thing with FreeUp is it's like a cross between an agency and a freelancing platform. Medyo lengthy rin ang application process nila kasi maraming questions na need sagutan in paragraph form. And then I was sent an email with a module and a super easy short quiz, tapos nung pasado na they sent me an interview invite with one of their reps. After pumasa, proceed na sa account creation (just received this email an hour ago and di ko pa ginagawa so mag update ako after)
   
5. VirtualElves - I sent in an initial application and I got an email back after a few days asking me to fill out a Candidate Profile Form pero I don't think I'll be proceeding with the application at this time kasi parang di ko siya priority right now and ang dami ko pang hinihintay to hear back from.
   
6. Athena - This was one of the most grueling application process I've ever experienced, but everything was quite quick after I passed the exam last week. The interview was scheduled kaninang umaga then a few hours later I received another invitation for a training offer at 10PM tapos this coming Monday start na daw ng training. Medyo surprising lang kasi form what I've seen and heard, this process usually takes weeks prior to training.
   

Special mentions: OLJ - First time kong icheck tong platform na to just to see kung magkano ang usual rates na inooffer nila doon, tapos nanlumo ako sa nakita ko so di na ko nagaksaya pa ng oras sa site na to.
This pinned thread dito sa BuhayDigital subreddit. Pakiramdam ko ang daming nagooverlook into pero is a to as mga una kong chineck na resource when I started looking for jobs. Jan ko nahanap yung FreeUp and FlexJobs. Very useful!
One thing that I like to do is to use ChatGPT as much as I can, but I do heavy editing to not make it sound like it's written by an AI because I'm always deathly afraid that the recruiters might find out - because THEY WILL and bestie that's going to be embarassing.
The biggest tip I can give to anyone who is looking for clients right now is learn how to OPTIMIZE EVERYTHING. Optimize your resume, optimize your cover letters, optimize your online profiles, and most importantly, optimize your skills. Check mo kung among pinaka in-demand na skills and industries, then pivot accordingly.
Good luck sa mga kasabay kong naghahanap ng clients, wag tayo papa-lowball!

Hello, I wanted to access the TK safe medical record in the app and asked for the PIN of my electronic health insurance card which is needed to access that part of the TK app. TK told me that I will get the letter by post within 3 working days. After that, almost 11 days have passed. Today, I called to TK and they told that the postman tried to deliver my letter on 10th May and gave a receipt to collect it from the nearest post office (but they weren't able to tell which post office). But didn't get any receipt like that. I searched at two nearby postfillale and both of them didn't find any letter in my name. The customer care agent told me that if this letter bounce back and I need another PIN letter, they will have to send a new insurance card to me and I have to pay for that.
What to do in this situation?

Author’s Note:
If you enjoy the story so far, please consider upvoting and commenting! These go a long way in helping the story reach a larger audience. (Also, reddit removes all my formatting for some reason so if you want a fully formatted read, check out my story on RoyalRoad)
READ 2 WEEKS AHEAD: Season Finale Chapter 17 is now available for Tier 2 Manifest Fantasy Patrons and higher!
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/drdoritosmd
Discord: https://discord.gg/wr2xexGJaD
First
Three, two, one... execute.
Ron peeked around the corner, his M4E1 Carl Gustaf already loaded with standard HEAT rounds. The rest of Alpha Team stacked up behind him or behind Ryan, who was on the other side of the doorway. Through the opening, they could see a nightmarish tangle of webs and egg sacs, with the skittering shapes of Spiranids lurking in the shadows in the far corners of the room.
The Queen was positioned in the center of the room, completely exposed by a cluster of eggs. Henry watched as Ron leveled his Gustaf, taking aim at the Queen while they stayed along the wall to ensure Ron’s backblast was clear. It should have been an easy kill, but a flicker of movement caught Henry’s eye.
A blob of white flew across his vision, smacking into Ron just as he fired his weapon. The thick strands of webbing bypassed Kelmithus’ shielding and wrapped around him, sending him flying back a couple of meters. He landed on his back, his body and launcher completely stuck to the floor by the condensed silk.
Around the same time, the Gustaf’s projectile struck the Queen’s abdomen section. The resulting blast tore through its exoskeleton but was far from a fatal blow. The Queen shrieked, a sound far deeper than Henry expected.
“Fuck!” Ron shouted, struggling to break free from the webbing.
Henry exhaled. They were a man down, but helping him had to wait; the not-dead Queen and its minions took precedence. It would be great if he had another launcher in his own Holding Bag, but that was something he’d have to bring up to Chief Cole later. Henry tossed his grenades into the room, the pops mingling with the screeches of injured Spiranids. Ryan struck simultaneously, throwing his own collection into the mix. Like firecrackers, the explosives were violent but short-lived.
As the chaos subsided, Henry pushed in. Raising his shotgun, he tore through a Spiranid that pounced at him, its carcass smoldering from the white phosphorous. Beside him, Isaac, Ryan, and Dr. Anderson’s shots rang out, tearing through their own sectors of fire.
Almost immediately upon their entry, the Queen surged forward with terrifying speed. It reared its head back like it was about to vomit, mandibles covered in a sick, yellowish color. Henry recognized immediately what it was trying to do. “Acid, move!”
Henry dove away from his previous position, taking a shot at another Spiranid that had taken the opportunity to jump at him while its master was preparing to attack. He narrowly escaped the lethal spray as it jetted toward him. The acid splattered on the ground where they had stood not even a second before, sizzling fiercely as it corroded the thick webbing sprawled across the floor. He noticed as he ran that, rather curiously, the acid was simply puddling on the floor. There was no damage to the floor itself, but if it could tear apart high-quality monster silk just like that, he didn’t want to find out what it could do to an envirosuit.
Henry glanced back after blasting apart his third Spiranid. His teammates were fine – Ryan helping him keep the Queen’s attention, Sera already on her way to Ron, and the others taking care of the smaller Spiranids. He tried to get a quick headcount of how many Spiranids they’d already eliminated. Between their guns, Kelmithus’ magic, and the grenades, he estimated they had killed at least a dozen so far. Solid progress, but the fact that they weren’t able to take out the Queen with their first strike was an issue.
Henry rolled to his left as the Queen pounced on his previous position. It was fucking fast, like a Goliath birdeater but scaled up – and with nasty abilities that really shouldn’t belong on a creature like this. He recovered quickly and took aim, firing point-blank into its thorax. The white phosphorous pellets hissed as they burned into its exoskeleton, forcing it back.
Beside him, Ryan’s shotgun boomed. He struck the Queen’s legs, which seemed to be more fragile than the thick exoskeleton surrounding the head and thorax. The pellets bit into the chitin, likely striking a nerve as evidenced by the leg’s subsequent buckling and collapse. It was a lucky shot – one that he doubted they could repeat four or five more times.
“Sera, use my knife! Here, right here!” Ron called out.
Sera’s sword must’ve been too large to effectively cut through the webbing. They had to hurry up. He and Ryan had been dodging the Queen’s attacks, but mostly by a hair’s breadth. All it took was one lucky hit from the Queen to put them out of commission, possibly for good. “Sera, status on Ron?”
“One minute!” she responded.
Damn. That was one minute later than he’d hoped. Reacting instinctively, Henry noted the Queen raising one of its legs – a sure sign of it preparing for another attack. The Queen struck again, this time cleaving the air with the leg, aiming to corral him into a predictable escape route. As its leg swept through the air, Henry caught sight of the Queen rearing its head back in a grotesque mimicry of a snake about to strike – another acid attack.
Anticipating the monster’s strategy, Henry feinted to the right, a move he hoped would mislead it about his true intentions. As the Queen’s head followed his feint, Henry twisted sharply, scraping against the rough ground. With a powerful push from his legs, he launched backward just as the Queen unleashed its attack.
Acid spewed forth in a wide arc, splattering where he had just been. The corrosive globs almost instantly melted the webbing on the floor, collecting into pools. And there was the second issue. The longer this fight dragged on, the less room they’d have to maneuver.
Henry unloaded into the creature’s compound eyes before tossing a flashbang near its legs. The creature staggered backward, blinded in both its eyes and its sensory hairs. Henry used the precious few seconds he bought to reload his weapon and check up on his team. “Yen, sitrep?”
“Stragglers neutralized; we’re moving to you now.”
Automatic gunfire erupted as Isaac and Dr. Anderson joined the fight against the Queen, dumping their mags on the creature’s head. The 6.8mm seemed to penetrate well, but he could say the same if they fought an elephant; the Spiranid Queen was simply too large for the relatively small caliber rounds to have any effect besides pissing it off.
The Queen lunged again, its legs surrounding him from all sides. There was only one way out, and it was through the belly of the beast. Henry rushed forward, ducking under the Queen’s mandibles as he slid underneath its abdomen. He fired his shotgun as quickly as he could, unloading pellets into the beast’s underbelly. The white phosphorous scorched the softer flesh, drawing a shriek of pain from the massive creature.
As the Queen writhed under the relentless assault, Ryan and the others seized the moment to reload their weapons and reposition. They poured everything they had into the creature’s cephalothorax, bluish ichor oozing from the hundreds of new wounds that they opened up. Yet, it was like chipping away at a mountain – it simply wasn’t enough. The creature thrashed around violently in response; Henry knew it was only a matter of time before it landed a hit on someone.
And land a hit it did. With a terrifying swiftness, one of its massive legs slammed into Henry’s chest, launching him backward. The shield Kelmithus cast on him flickered as it absorbed the brunt of the impact. He crashed into an egg sac by the entrance – its membrane ruptured on impact, drenching him in a sticky, corrosive slime. The sac provided little cushion, and he hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out of him.
Pain flared across Henry’s chest where the Queen’s leg had struck him. Gasping for breath and battling the encroaching blackness in his vision, he instinctively checked his envirosuit. He started with the areas he could see, glancing down at his chest. It was visibly deformed, dented but not quite a gash.
Still intact, thank goodness. No breach, but another hit like that would be disastrous. He breathed a sigh of relief, his chest hurting like hell as he did so. He checked his sides and back. Parts of his suit were covered in slime from the egg sac. It didn’t seem as corrosive as the Queen’s acid, but it was still a hazard. Quickly, he swiped at it, removing as much as possible with his gloved hands to prevent further damage.
He forced himself up, grabbing his shotgun from the floor. The Queen was already barreling toward him, the damn monster not letting up. He didn’t have time to make a run for it; he needed to jump to one side or the other, and the timing needed to be perfect. Just as the Queen’s shadow engulfed him, the air turned icy cold, frost creeping up on his visor.
Ice formed from thin air, spearing up from the ground and piercing through the Queen’s legs. The spikes rooted the beast in place. Not one to waste an opportunity, Henry dashed away from the entrance, firing at the immobilized giant spider as he linked up with the others.
“Sera?” Henry asked again.
Sera’s voice came in strained. “Almost…” Then, with a triumphant shout, she announced the word Henry had been desperate to hear. “Done!”
“Owens!” Henry said, risking a glance back.
Ron had already grabbed his Gustaf and was in the process of loading another HEAT round. “On it!”
Henry grinned. It was a relief, to be sure. With Ron free and back in the fight, the odds had just tipped heavily in their favor. The Queen was tough, but it wasn’t invincible; they just needed an opening.
Given the damage the Queen sustained to its body, Henry couldn’t imagine it being in peak fighting condition. Even in its weakened state, though, it still had the capability to dodge Ron’s attack, and it seemed to be saving its web ability for that very inevitability.
“Take out the legs!” Henry ordered.
They combined their fire on the left legs, since Ryan managed to break one of them earlier. He heard a crack that might’ve been the chitin giving way or the leg snapping, but it was hard to tell. He was just about to chalk it up to the prevailing gunfire around them, but then he saw it: a brief stumble. The Queen recovered quickly, but it was clear to Henry that it wouldn’t be able to manage any more damage to its legs.
Then, he noticed a blur in his peripheral vision to his right, moving so fast his eyes could barely keep up. Shit, he was certain he kept track of the Queen’s movements. With the existing damage to his envirosuit, he’d be completely fucked. He braced himself for another impact, but it never came.
As he focused harder on the blur, he caught a glimpse of a flash of light that could only be one thing – Sera’s sword, And, just like a flash of lightning, she had already cleared the vicinity of the Queen. The Queen’s foreleg seemed to simply vanish, severed so cleanly that it took a moment for the beast to realize what had happened. When it did, it let out a screech of pain, its balance faltering as it tried to adapt to the sudden change.
While Henry focused on taking out another leg from the left side, Sera had already shifted to her next target. Their assault was brutal: white phosphorus pellets and hard-hitting 6.8mm on one side, ice magic and skilled swordsmanship on the other. And to think, they managed to inflict all this damage by the time Ron completed his reload.
“Clear the way!” Ron called out, his Gustaf aimed right at the Queen’s head.
Henry jumped back, watching as Kelmithus conjured another set of ice spikes to root the beast again, in case the five obliterated legs weren’t enough to keep it down. The Queen thrashed against the icy bonds, its remaining legs slashing through the air in a frenzied bid for freedom. It spat acid – a tactic that would’ve worked effectively on most other materials, but instead simply got diluted with the melting ice. Even as the acid reacted with the ice, the spikes held firm, anchoring the beast in place like steel cables.
Henry’s heart pounded in his ears. Come on, Owens, he urged silently. Take the shot.
As if on cue, Ron pulled the trigger. The Gustaf bucked in his hands as the HEAT round streaked towards its target. Henry barely had time to brace himself before the explosion hit, the shockwave slamming into him and nearly toppling him over. He staggered back, gazing into the settling dust.
When the smoke cleared, the Queen’s head was obliterated – replaced by a gory mess of shattered chitin and pulverized flesh. Blood sprayed from the gaping hole, covering the ground in a pale blue hue. The creature’s body convulsed, its remaining legs scrabbling weakly at their surroundings.
A surge of triumph washed over Henry, but it was fleeting. From the corner of his eye, he locked on to a glimpse of movement. One of the Queen’s legs continued to spasmodically jerk around and spray the ground with blue ichor. He raised his shotgun in a nonchalant motion and blasted the errant limb, watching as it shuddered and went still.
Sera stepped up, her sword barely catching the light as she jammed it into what was left of the Queen’s thorax. A sharp twist, and it was over. She then yanked the blade from the carcass, her grip shifting subtly along the hilt. As she flicked the sword, frost swiftly coated the ichor clinging to the metal. The frozen debris was flung off, hitting the ground and shattering like glass.
He glanced down at his Holding Bag. Damn, the fight took out most of his shells. Swapping out his shotgun for his M7, he turned to his team and took stock of their condition. It seemed everyone had mostly gone unscathed, only debris and dirt scarring their envirosuits. Well, except for himself and Ron. “Think we’re gonna have to start calling you pinata now,” Henry said, clapping his friend on the shoulder.
Ron scoffed. “Yeah? Says the runner-up,” he said, tapping the dent on Henry’s envirosuit. “Better ‘pinata’ than ‘roadkill’, though. But seriously, what’s next? Don’t even know where to start.”
The room was empty, save for the debris strewn about and the singular obelisk standing in the center of the room. He didn’t notice it earlier, but as he got closer, he realized that the obelisk emitted a faint light that barely escaped the canopy of webs. He looked it up and down before turning to the others. “Only one place to start. Let’s clear out the webs, see what’s hiding below.”
“Doc, Kel, clear out the eggs. Hayes, Sera, see if the Queen’s got anything useful. Everyone else focus on the webs,” Henry ordered.
Ron drew his knife and started slicing through the dense cobwebs. “Hey, what y’all think the Queen’s Tier is?”
Isaac paused to consider. “Eh, Tier 8, probably. Minotaur boss and Rillifane boss were both Tier 8, so I’d say the spider’s around the same level.”
“Well, the resilience of the specimen isn’t a definitive measure of the Tier,” Dr. Anderson pointed out. “It’s quite possible that we merely had the most suitable tools at hand in this particular encounter.”
“The scholar speaks truly,” Sera agreed. “There is nary a defining criterion; defense is but one of many that are considered by the Guild. Were it so simple, Kelmithus and I would have attained Tier 9 ere now.”
“So, what do you think the Queen is, then? Tier 7 maybe?” Ron asked.
Henry shook his head. Tier 7 didn’t seem accurate. Using his knife to scrape some of the webbing off his glove, he voiced, “Spiranids are weak in general, but are classified as Tier 5 or higher because of their traps, ambush tactics, numbers, and abilities. Archers can use Wind Snipe and mages can use wide-area spellcasting, but they can’t reliably penetrate the exoskeleton’s armor. If anything, this is probably on the lower end of Tier 9.”
“Tier 9, huh?” Isaac muttered.
Sera smiled as she stood back. She stuffed a frost-covered gland into her holding bag and paused from her work as she chimed in, “Hmm… how keen. I expected nothing less from the first Tier 6 entrants in Eldralore’s history! It shows plain why the Guild did so swiftly raise you.”
“Hah,” Henry chuckled. It was an amusing thought, but… “Say, ya think we can get to Tier 7 after this?”
Sera’s eyebrows shot up. “Tier 7? A mark of no slight merit. What have you achieved since attaining Tier 6?”
Henry reached to scratch his chin, then cursed softly as his glove thudded against his visor. “Well, we took down a Rillifane pack, a Sentinel Lindwyrm, and now this primal Spiranid Queen. That’s not too shabby, eh?”
“Firm victories,” Sera admitted, “but advancement weighs more than battle alone. The Guild also considers quest difficulty, knowledge gained therefrom, and impact – in other words, glory.”
“The Baranthurian Ruins,” Dr. Anderson blurted, taking the words out of Henry’s mouth. He turned to Kelmithus, who approached them after confirming that the eggs had been cleared out. “Surely, working with the Sanctum Arcanum must be quite the honour. The Guild holds their quests with high esteem, wouldn’t you say?”
Kelmithus nodded, burning a clump of disposed webs on the ground. “True as that may be, advancement oft hinges upon the cumulative experience of dozens of quests.”
“Well, ain’t no small feats for us lately,” Ryan remarked. “The quest to the Baranthurian ruins, what was it, Tier 8? Yeah, that was Tier 8. Sentinel Lindwyrm? Hell, Tier Nine. That there beast?” Ryan pointed his gun at the carcass of the Spiranid Queen. “Tier 9 as well.”
Ron interjected, “Plus we’ve been helping out along the way, like those villagers, and taking on quests others won’t touch. Honestly, the Hardale quest should be pretty weighty too, considering the Nobian shenanigans.”
Sera hummed, mulling over Alpha Team’s experiences. The fact that most of their quests at Tier 6 had essentially been Tier 7 quests or higher in difficulty was probably unheard of in the Guild. Not only that, but they’d been able to complete these difficult quests successfully. Hell, with flying colors, even. That had to count for something.
Henry looked over at Sera, stepping back as he allowed Kelmithus to dispose of the webs that he had cleared out. “So, whaddya think? Based on what we’ve done, you think we got a shot at Tier 7?”
Sera looked up at the ceiling as she weighed her response. “Ehh, you’ve a strong case. Alas, it’s Taldren’s call to make. His favor seems yours, though; I wager he’ll agree.”
Henry grinned. Moving up meant they could have access to more quests. Naturally, that also meant better rewards and in turn, access to some truly magical equipment. “Good to hear. Guess we’ll see to it once we get back to Eldralore. Now, we should probably –”
A soft glow of light gradually lit up the room, interrupting Henry mid-sentence. He squinted, readying his weapon. The light came from the walls and ceiling, illuminating the once-dark chamber. The obelisk, now free of webs, now hummed… healthily? It wasn’t like he had a manual to tell him if this was a good or bad development, but judging from the facility’s reaction, it must’ve worked.
Henry glanced at his HUD. The temperature readings were rising, too. The icy chill from Kelmithus’ magic rapidly dissipated as the environmental controls kicked in. “Well, looks like we’ve done all we can here. Let’s head back to the containment cell room and see if we can find anything else of interest.”
– – –
Outskirts of GB-2, Grenden Forest
Carvus Alnect Virelius narrowed his gaze toward the brightening sky, his eyes cutting through the retreating mist that had long veiled the forest’s canopy. This unprecedented clarity above the ruins was strange. After centuries cloaked in an impenetrable fog, why did the skies clear now?
The Umber Vicearch’s mind worked like a whetstone, sharpening the fragments of reports from his scouts, cryptic as they were. The recent skirmish, occurring concurrently with the lifting fog, could not be mere happenstance. Regardless of the answer, the unexpected fold presented a welcome complexity to test his mettle.
He set his thoughts aside as the sound of footsteps approached.
“Leuarch Eldreyn reporting, milord,” one of his men said. “We’ve word from Serarch Trelian.”
Carvus gave him a nod to continue.
Eldreyn relayed the news. “The scouts espy traces of battle: a fallen Sentinel Lindwyrm and two carriages left abandoned near the cave’s entrance. The land bears scars from some form of magic, strewn with strange metal tubes and other objects unknown to us. Save for the Lindwyrm, no other bodies are to be found. What are your commands, milord?”
Carvus took a deep breath. No other bodies? Two carriages? That such a formidable creature was felled with no apparent casualties among their ranks suggested a small but extraordinarily capable force. Each member was no doubt Tier 7 at the least. The limited number of carriages implied a party not larger than ten. But… what could the metal objects mean?
Powerful though they might be, could such a small group withstand his numbers? Carvus entertained the thought briefly. No, direct confrontation would be unwise. The site bore secrets too vital to squander on rash gambles. Better to maneuver them into a position where the only viable option would be to comply with his demands.
“Hold our position, Lornus,” Carvus commanded. While he preferred the safety of their hidden vantage in the forest, the intrigue of Trelian’s findings – the slain Lindwyrm – was too compelling to ignore. “The contents of Trelian’s report compel our own investigation. Lead us, that we might see for ourselves.”
“As you command, milord.”
It was a short walk to the clearing. As they reached the treeline, Carvus held up a hand, signaling his men to halt – they should go no further than the cover of the forest. The aftermath of the battle lay evident before them. The massive form of the Sentinel Lindwyrm sprawled near the far side of the clearing, its outline murky at a distance.
Carvus squinted, adjusting his position slightly for a better view. He felt his jaw drop, a lapse in composure that surprised even him. Yet, who could fault him? The beast lay nearly torn asunder, its massive body riddled with gaping, jagged wounds that no sword or arrow could inflict. Indeed, not even traditional siege weapons or combat spells could inflict such damage.
The destructive capability of fyric powder was well-known to him – he had seen its use in adamantite mines. The wounds on the Lindwyrm, however, spoke of a force of another Tier entirely. Where fyric powder might clear a path through a stubborn boulder, the agent used against the Sentinel Lindwyrm seemed capable of obliterating several boulders at once, perhaps even an entire cliffside.
Turning his attention from the ravaged beast, he scanned the battlefield. Among the chaos, his eyes caught the glint of metal – strange tubes scattered about, all some lighter shade of bronze. The craters were blackened and littered with debris: shards of metal mixed with wires. This was clearly no ordinary skirmish.
He moved closer to the tree line, cautiously examining the unfamiliar objects. The metal tubes bore no resemblance to any weapons known to Nobian forces. However, their presence here implied that somehow, these objects were related to the catastrophic wounds on the Lindwyrm.
Near the cave’s entrance, two metal carriages lay abandoned. Their exteriors were marred by dirt and marked with an array of dents that appeared to be from the Lindwyrm’s armored tail. The carriages, in style and make, aligned with reports of American machines observed by their Umbercari in distant Eldralore. Mounted atop each was a long cylinder. As foreign as they were, he could tell they were weapons – ones capable of unleashing formidable destruction.
Adventurers throughout the ages had ventured here, all repelled by the formidable Lindwyrm that long guarded these grounds. Had it been folly to devote their resources to the conquest of their neighbors, rather than to mastering and exploiting this site? Such questions surpassed his station, yet irrespective of the answers, the Emperor would surely take no pleasure in learning that he had allowed Americans to plunder the Gatebuilder’s secrets.
Carvus turned to Lornus. “Bid our scouts to investigate the cave.” As Leuarch Eldreyn departed to carry out the orders, he beckoned to one of his serarchs. “Bring me one of those metal tubes. I wish to examine it.”
He sat on a rock, watching the light bend around the man’s form until he vanished from sight. The serarch then adjusted the temperature around his body, matching it to that of the forest. Were it not for the subtle shifts in the man’s mana as he held the spells, Carvus would have surely lost track of him.
The serarch made his way forth, passing through the trees and into the clearing beyond. With haste, he seized upon one of the tubes that lay scattered about, and then, as quick as he had come, he turned and made his way back to the forest’s edge. When at last he returned, Carvus stood up and held out his hand.
The tube, lighter than its solidity might have portended, was chill to the touch and was marked by a patina that showed clear signs of bending. He tried to bend it with his fingers, but the metal resisted. Even when he used magic to strengthen himself, it yielded naught but scant impression. What could have possibly moved the metal?
Looking closely, he noticed that the metal wasn’t bronze, as he had first thought. Though bearing a hue akin to bronze, it was of a kind unfamiliar to him. The surface was engraved with American script – characters and sequences that held little meaning to him. Yet, to deem the letters ‘engraved’ would be to err; it was as if they were imprinted with a craftsmanship nary a smith could rival.
He turned it over in his hands, his eyes drawn to a circular groove near the base. Examining both ends, Carvus noted the open end was distorted as if a great force had expelled something from within – an insight into his previous question. The other end was sealed, marked by a small, precise indentation. He held it up, aligning it with a similarly sized hole in a nearby tree.
This was no common weapon. As a trebuchet releases its load, so too must this tube have hurled its own projectile. It gave him an idea. What if one were to use an adamantite tube with fyric powder, place a keen arrowhead atop, and ignite the mixture below? Would it rival a standard Wind Snipe combined with physical enhancement magic?
Carvus’ thoughts were interrupted by someone calling out to him. “Milord.”
“Hm?” He looked up, finding the face of Leuarch Franus. “What is it, Martano?”
He hesitated, as if second-guessing his words. “The… The Lindwyrm… The men grow restless, milord. They wish to claim the spoils of this battle – the Sentinel Lindwyrm’s materials are prized in many a lore. And these carriages, would it not profit us to salvage what we can? They may hold more secrets – or riches.”
He turned the leuarch’s words over in his mind as he would a well-worn coin. In truth, the idea held merit. Even the smallest measure of a Lindwyrm’s blood was a treasure beyond compare – to say nothing of the other materials, sought after by alchemists and smiths alike. That the Americans had forgone harvest was a curious thing indeed. Could it be that they were ignorant of the creature’s true worth? Or perhaps, had they found something more valuable?
And then there were the carriages, gleaming in the sun like ripe fruit waiting to be plucked. If they could but glean some understanding of how the Americans had so deftly slain a beast of the Lindwyrm’s standing, it would surely prove a boon to the Empire’s own martial pursuits. Perhaps, armed with such knowledge, they might at last gain the upper hand against the accursed Sonarans.
Carvus cast his gaze once more upon the clearing, then turned to face Martano. “Aye,” he said. “Let it be so.”
Yet, as he made to step forth, a low, droning sound beckoned his attention – a buzzing hum that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. The unfamiliar noise compelled him to halt. He raised his hand, stopping his men as he searched for the noise. He tilted his head skyward, squinting as he beheld a strange sight: a winged thing hanging in the air above the clearing, like an animal circling its prey. As the sunlight reflected off its surface, it became evident to him that this was no creature of flesh, but a machine – much like the metal carriages.
“Hold,” Carvus ordered. “We dare not venture forth.”
Martano stepped forward, doubt and confusion etched across his face. “But, milord, if we shroud ourselves in invisibility, surely they cannot see us.”
Carvus shook his head. “Nay; recall the umbercari we sent to infiltrate the Duke’s mansion. They, too, thought themselves hidden, yet were somehow discovered. We know not what sorcery that flying machine might possess, and we cannot risk exposing ourselves.”
Before Martano could respond or venture any further protest, the scouts returned, led by Serarch Trelian. The search bowed his head before providing his report, “Milord, the cave lies empty, and the Lindwyrm’s nest remains untouched. We discovered footprints leading to a great sealed door, which we believe to be the entrance to the ruins.”
Carvus nodded. The Americans had ventured forth and left the loot behind for a reason. He thought back to a fortress that the Empire once sacrificed to encircle the forces of the now-conquered Kingdom of Durenelle. “So be it. Let us abandon these lesser spoils. As our adversaries have forgone these spoils in pursuit of greater gains, so must we sacrifice Straltus.”
Next

We had a big storm two days ago and my neighbors oak tree and several other of their trees are dangling precariously over my property. The neighbor said because they’re hanging over my property that they aren’t responsible for having them cut. I called my insurance company and they said because the trees haven’t fallen yet that I should send the neighbor a certified, notarized letter saying their trees are posing an imminent threat to my property and they need to have them trimmed. If they fall and damage my property they will have to cover it, too. Insurance said until I serve the notice or damage is done then nothing can be done aside from me forking out the money to have them trimmed. She advised me not to do that. Meanwhile, I can’t use my yard or my driveway. She was going to do further research and call me back. Does all this sound right? If so, does anyone have a sample letter? I’m in Louisiana if that matters. Thanks in advance

I (20M) was driving on the 3rd of December 2023 when I got pulled over by the police. I was told only a woman was insured on my vehicle which was my mother. I told him I was the second driver and showed my document which he told me was fake. I told him that I paid for it and showed him my bank application. He said it's a fake document and that I would be getting 6 points and £300 fine, as well as my car getting seized. Now I rang my insurance broker first thing in the morning and asked why I had been given a fake document, he told me he had done fraud on me and offered me £1000. I told him I didn't want that, I wanted an admission of fault letter because I have been driving for less than 2 years I would lose my license with six points. He refused so I reported it to the police and haven't heard back since. I rejected the conditional offer of 6 points and £300 fine as I had recorded my conversation with my broker as evidence. What should I do? feel free to ask more questions in case I missed anything, any advice would be appreciated.
tldr; thought I was insured, I wasn't, got pulled and got in trouble got proof that my broker frauded me.

My husband was alreasdy on SSDI once in 2019 stage 4 cancer. Did go back to work at that time. Kept his job and insurance. 24 months later In 2021 got a letter from SS that he now qualifies for Medicare A and B even though he had gone back to work. SAid MUST sign up for Free A or risk paying back SSDI benefits paid to him in 2019. But he did NOT have to sign up for B yet if he still has medical coverage through his work.
So he DID sign up for A. in 2021. No B. So since already on Medicare A since 2021 they said his 24 month waiting period is already satisfied and will not have another wait period to apply for Medicare B.
Here is where we are getting conflicting information from multiple SS agents.
They all say there is an 8 month rule to sign up either from when you stopped working OR when you lost your medical insurance through Employer whichever happens first.
Where there advice differs:
Agent said a month ago, if he last was physically working Dec 4 , 2023 when he left out on Short term disability but is technically still employed by that company, and will technically not lose his job until Dec 4, 2024 IF he can not ever return (and has medical insurance with them goo till Dec 31, 2024, that he does not need to sign up for Medicare B till about 1 to 3 months before the termination of job and insurance. (apply in Oct or Nov 2024 for start date of Jan 1, 2025 after work med insurance is done)
Another agent just this week said: is saying the information above is incorrect, and said they actually only consider the last date you were physically at work when you left of STD even if still employed and have insurance with your employer. And that he only has 8 months from that last day at work Dec 4, 2024 to apply for Medicare B. (she said apply in July2024 already and have it start in August 1, 2024.) before that 8 month window expires or he will face penalties in future for signing up LATE or may not be able to get B again till 65.
Can anyone confirm who is correct if you know for sure? Inconsistant information from SS is hard, you don't know who to believe. We are happy to follow rules, but not even sure what the rules are.

News Link: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/05/14/2881828/0/en/Dyadic-Announces-First-Quarter-2024-Financial-Results-and-Highlights-Recent-Company-Progress.html
Human Health Sector

• Final Clinical Study Report has been issued for the First-In-Human Phase 1 clinical trial demonstrating safety and antibody response for DYAI-100, a recombinant protein receptor binding domain booster vaccine candidate for protection against COVID-19 infection
• Entered into several fully funded vaccine and antibody projects covering more than twelve targets, five of which are funded by two of the top ten pharmaceutical companies
• Successfully expressed a H1N1 influenza antigen in our collaboration with the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center (“VIC”) at Massachusetts General Hospital
• Announced strategic partnership to develop affordable rabies prophylactics and vaccines using C1-cell protein production platform
• Published a manuscript of preclinical studies on C1 produced monoclonal antibody in non-human primates and hamsters in prestigious peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications
• Advanced collaboration with Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) targeting bio-threats and emerging disease solutions
• C1 produced adjuvanted recombinant ferritin nanoparticle H5N1 “Bird Flu” human vaccine candidate demonstrated a strong immune response in animal studies

Animal Health Sector

• C1 produced adjuvanted recombinant ferritin nanoparticle H5N1 “Bird Flu” human vaccine candidate demonstrated a strong immune response in animal studies for potential use in poultry, cattle and other animals
• Expanded collaboration with Phibro/Abic to develop vaccines and treatments for companion and livestock animal diseases

Alternative Proteins Sector

• Executed a term sheet to utilize our microbial protein production platforms to develop production strains for the production of recombinant serum albumin
• Advanced development of 6 product candidates for non-pharmaceutical applications utilizing the Dapibus™ platform technology

Corporate

• Closed a $6.0 million convertible note in a private placement, with a conversion price of $1.79 and no warrants
• Appointed Mr. Patrick Lucy as Board Chairman and Mr. Joe Hazelton as Chief Operating Officer
• Cash and investment grade securities of $12.1 million as of March 31, 2024
• Financial results and business update conference call scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET today

JUPITER, Fla., May 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dyadic International, Inc. (“Dyadic”, “we”, “us”, “our”, or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: DYAI), a biotechnology company focused on the efficient large-scale manufacture of proteins for use in human and animal vaccines and therapeutics, as well as non-pharmaceutical applications including food, nutrition, and wellness, today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2024 and highlighted recent Company progress.
“We continue to execute our business strategy to focus on near-term pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical applications for our proprietary and patented C1 and Dapibus™ protein production platforms and pipeline products,” said Mr. Mark Emalfarb, President and CEO of Dyadic. “One of our key highlights was the successful completion of a Phase 1 clinical trial that met its primary endpoint of safety and reactogenicity affirming the safety of proteins produced by Dyadic's C1 platform in humans. We believe this milestone not only establishes the safety of our platform but also provides a solid foundation for C1 technology’s future applications in human and animal vaccines and therapeutics. With the H5N1 ('Bird Flu') virus outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, along with one recent human case, we are seeing an increasing interest in our H5N1 'Bird Flu' ferritin nanoparticle human vaccine candidate, developed with ViroVax. Additional animal studies indicate that the vaccine candidate has the potential to generate high neutralizing antibodies for use in cattle. Our Q1 2024 achievements demonstrate our ongoing commitment to enhancing our microbial platforms for diverse applications, and our dedication to improving health for humans and animals, while tackling the challenges of sustainable food production.”
Mr. Emalfarb continued, “As we progress into the second quarter, our Company continues to focus on enhancing the Dapibus™ platform, designed specifically for non- pharmaceutical uses in industries such as food, nutrition, health, and other bioproducts. To accomplish this goal, we have honed our business development strategy, focusing on key areas where our technologies can deliver the greatest impact with shorter commercialization timelines. Our strategy includes simultaneously targeting multiple offtakes for a single product in several corresponding business segments and seeking out new opportunities that are in line with our strategy.”
Joe Hazelton, Dyadic’s Chief Operating Officer, elaborated, “In addition to operational advancements, we also strengthened our financial position with the issuance of $6.0 million in convertible notes, which will be used to accelerate and exploit our strategic objective of near-term revenue generating products and commercialization opportunities for pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical applications. We believe that product opportunities such as recombinant human albumin and alpha-lactalbumin provide Dyadic with multiple monetization opportunities as a licensed product or cell line in pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and food applications. We are confident that our strong position, both financially and scientifically, will enable us to implement our business plans with improved capabilities and resources. We are enthusiastic about our future prospects and remain committed to providing value to our customers and stakeholders.”
Recent Company Progress
Corporate Events:

• On March 8, 2024, the Company issued an aggregate principal amount of $6.0 million of its 8.0% Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Notes due March 8, 2027 (the “Convertible Notes”) in a private placement in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The purchasers of the Convertible Notes include immediate family members and family trusts related to Mark Emalfarb, our President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board of Directors, including The Francisco Trust, an existing holder of more than 5% of the Company’s outstanding common stock.
• On March 28, 2024, the Company announced changes in the leadership roles of the Board and senior management team: the appointment of Mr. Patrick Lucy as Chairman of Board of Directors and promotion of Mr. Joe Hazelton to Chief Operating Officer.

~Human Health Sector~
DYAI-100 Phase 1 Clinical Trial
DYAI-100, a C1-SARS-CoV-2 recombinant protein RBD vaccine candidate, is the first C1-expressed protein tested in humans. The Phase 1 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was designed as a first-in-human trial to assess the clinical safety and antibody response of DYAI-100, produced using the C1 platform and administered as a booster vaccine at two single dose levels in healthy volunteers. Following regulatory clearance from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), the trial was initiated in 1Q 2023, with the last patient visit occurring in 3Q 2023. On November 29, 2023, the Company announced the top-line safety results, indicating that the study has met its primary endpoint that both the low and high dose levels of the vaccine are safe and well tolerated among participants. Additionally, the vaccine has been shown to induce immune responses at both dose levels, suggesting its potential efficacy in generating protective immunity against the target virus. The study has been finalized, and the final Clinical Study Report has been issued, demonstrating that the DYAI-100 vaccine met its primary endpoint of safety and reactogenicity.

• In April 2024, Dyadic and its development partner ViroVax reported pre-clinical animal testing on a ferritin nanoparticle H5N1 bird flu recombinant protein human vaccine candidate that demonstrated a strong immune response in rabbits. The potential vaccine combines Dyadic’s C1 single step ferritin nanoparticle H5N1 antigen production with a novel adjuvant from ViroVax. Additional animal studies are being carried out that preliminarily show that this H5N1 bird flu vaccine has the potential to be used in humans.
• Successfully expressed H1N1 influenza antigen in the fully funded research collaboration with the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center (“VIC”) at Massachusetts General Hospital to express vaccine antigens for influenza A and other infectious diseases, as part of a US $5.88 million award from the Department of Defense (“DoD”).
• On March 25, 2024, the Company entered a funded research collaboration with a top ten pharmaceutical company to develop a vaccine antigen and a monoclonal antibody produced from the C1 technology.
• In March 2024, a manuscript of preclinical studies on C1-produced monoclonal antibody in non-human primates and hamsters was published in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications. A non-human primate challenge study completed dosing of a C1-produced COVID-19 monoclonal antibody (mAb) that had previously demonstrated broad neutralization and protection against Omicron (BA.1 and BA.2) and the other earlier variants of concern in hamsters. Preliminary results obtained from the challenge study with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta virus on non-human primates demonstrated potential high protection. This was the first time a C1-produced monoclonal antibody was used in a non-human primate study validating the safety and efficacy of a C1 produced antibody for infectious diseases.
• On February 28, 2024, the Company’s Dutch subsidiary, Dyadic Nederland BV, entered into a strategic partnership agreement and collaboration with Rabian BV (“Rabian”), a Dutch innovative SME founded by experienced entrepreneurs and vaccine scientists. Awarded by Eurostars for the AVATAR project, a part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), and co-funded by the European Union through Horizon Europe. Rabian will use the total funding of approximately Є1.7 million leveraging its expertise in virology to develop a rabies vaccine using Dyadic’s C1 protein production platform to tackle the challenges posed by rabies, particularly in lower- and middle-income countries. Dyadic is expected to receive an equity stake in Rabian, fully funded research and development costs, and specified product milestones and royalties upon commercialization.
• On February 21, 2024, the Company announced it has advanced its collaboration with the IIBR and its commercial arm Life Science Research Israel (LSRI), to target emerging disease solutions. This partnership aims to leverage Dyadic’s expertise in microbial platforms for flexible scale protein bioproduction and the IIBR’s antibodies and antigens discovery capabilities to develop and manufacture innovative solutions for addressing emerging diseases and potential bio-threats. Through this collaboration, both parties are working towards the development of effective treatments and vaccines to combat global health challenges with the intention of future commercialization (to date, the framework is non-binding and subject to the execution of a binding agreement to be negotiated by the parties) through collaborative out-licensing initiatives.
• On February 13, 2024, the Company announced a strategic partnership with Cygnus Technologies®, part of Maravai LifeSciences®, who have developed the C1 Host Cell Protein ELISA Kit for the quality release of products produced using Dyadic’s protein expression platforms. The C1 Host Cell Protein ELISA Kit is now available for purchase on Cygnus Technologies website under Fungal HCP ELISA kits tab.
• On February 6, 2024, the Company announced it signed a fully funded evaluation agreement including a commercial option with an undisclosed leading global biopharmaceutical company to design and produce recombinant proteins using Dyadic’s C1 microbial protein production platform.

~Animal Health Sector~

• On March 15, 2024, the Company expanded its collaboration with Phibro Animal Health/Abic Biological Laboratories Ltd to develop vaccines and treatments for companion and livestock animal diseases.
• C1 produced adjuvanted recombinant ferritin nanoparticle H5N1 “Bird Flu” human vaccine candidate demonstrated a strong immune response in animal studies for potential use in poultry, cattle and other animals.
  • The H5N1 C1 produced bird flu ferritin nanoparticle vaccine elicits high neutralizing antibodies against all three virus isolates (including Texas) of the H5 virus in livestock.

~Alternative Proteins Sector~
Dyadic is advancing a pipeline of differentiated product candidates that leverage its microbial protein production platforms, including Dapibus™ which have demonstrated the ability and efficiency to enable the rapid development and large-scale manufacture of proteins at low cost in a wide range of non-pharmaceutical applications and commercial use.
Cell Culture Media Products

• In March 2024, the Company executed a term sheet with a large global albumin manufacturer and distributor to develop and license Dyadic’s recombinant serum albumin. The Company’s animal-free recombinant serum albumin projects were initiated in late 2022 using Dyadic pharmaceutical cell lines for use in potential therapeutic, product development, research, and/or diagnostic human and animal pharmaceutical applications. The Company has completed the initial analysis of its recombinant albumin products and has Certificates of Analysis for recombinant human and bovine albumin that demonstrate comparability to reference standards used in the testing.
• In March 2024, the Company entered into a co-promotion agreement with Biftek Co. for the promotion of growth media supplement for cell culture.
• The Company is undergoing a project to produce recombinant transferrin for use in cell culture media for the alternative protein industry.
• The Company is currently sampling recombinant bovine albumin for application testing as growth media for the cultured meat industry.

Non-animal Dairy Products

• As previously announced, in September 2023, the Company entered into a development and exclusive license agreement to commercialize certain non-animal dairy enzymes used in the production of food products using Dapibus™ and received an upfront payment of $0.6 million in October 2023. The Company believes it has achieved the specified target yield level required for a milestone payment upon verification by its partner, and the development of a second enzyme is progressing as planned.
• The Company has developed a highly productive strain and is actively sampling recombinant alpha-lactalbumin, a whey protein, and is currently negotiating several development and commercialization agreements.
• The Company is undergoing a beta-lactoglobulin animal-free recombinant whey protein project, expected to begin sampling in the late third quarter.
• The Company is undergoing a recombinant lactoferrin project, expected to begin sampling the product in the late second or early third quarter.

Bio Industrial Products

• The Company has developed three enzymes, with plans for two additional enzymes, that have the potential for use in multiple industries, such as dairy, nutrition, biogas, biofuels and biorefining. Several initial targets are under evaluation with interested parties.

Financial Highlights
Cash Position: As of March 31, 2024, cash, cash equivalents, and the carrying value of investment-grade securities, including accrued interest, were approximately $12.1 million compared to $7.3 million as of December 31, 2023.
Revenue: Research and development revenue and license revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2024, decreased to approximately $335,000 compared to $934,000 for the same period a year ago. The decrease in research and development revenue was due to the winding down of several large research collaborations conducted in 2023. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company’s revenue was generated from ten collaborations compared to seven collaborations in the same period a year ago.
Cost of Revenue: Cost of research and development revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2024, decreased to approximately $144,000 compared to $727,000 for the same period a year ago. The decrease in cost of research and development revenue was due to the same reasons as for revenue described above.
R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2024, decreased by 35.5% to approximately $523,000 compared to $811,000 for the same period a year ago. The decrease reflected the winding down of activities related to the Company’s Phase 1 clinical trial of DYAI-100 COVID-19 vaccine candidate and a decrease in the amount of ongoing internal research projects.
G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2024, increased by 20.9% to approximately $1,789,000 compared to $1,480,000 for the same period a year ago. The increase reflected increases in business development and investor relations expenses of approximately $138,000, audit fees of $99,000, management incentives of $59,000, and other increases of $59,000, offset by decreases in insurance expenses of $29,000 and legal expenses of $17,000.
Loss from Operations: Loss from operations for the three months ended March 31, 2024, slightly increased to $2,126,000, compared to $2,050,000 for the same period a year ago.
Net Loss: Net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2024, was $2,010,000 or $(0.07) per share compared to $956,000 or $(0.03) per share for the same period a year ago. The increase in net loss was derived from the sale of the Company’s equity interest in Alphazyme LLC for $989,000 in 2023.
Conference Call Information: Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2024 Time: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Dial-in numbers: Toll Free 877-407-0784 International +1-201-689-8560 Conference ID: 13743568 Webcast link: https://viavid.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1650831&tp_key=0f89478e24
An archive of the webcast will be available within 24 hours after completion of the live event and will be accessible on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.dyadic.com. To access the replay of the webcast, please follow the webcast link above.

I have this whole life policy 175000since 1994 paying 84.74 plus additional 15.26 t make it an even 100.00 the past few years I have been getting letters to make additional payments which I have been. I did take out some cash out of it 3000.00 I think it was several years back and there was a period that for about two years I was unemployed and my cash value was used to make payments. My questions are, is this normal? Should I make higher payments to build the cash value back up? Agent says I am in danger of lapsing and need more money cover the cost of insurance.

Hi all,
My wife and I (both 29) are 5 months pregnant (unplanned) and we’ve sort of backed ourselves into a corner. We were not anticipating children this year but that’s life! Our finances currently: - £15k loan @ 6.6% / £300pm for the next 4 years. Silly in hindsight as it was our wedding, this was promised to us but then reneged on and we already booked everything. - £12k cash / emergency fund - Property Equity: £80-£85k - £50k in my pension (work does 16% non-contributory), wife has teacher’s DB pension - My income: £127k base + 15% guaranteed bonus. Wife: £55k but likely to fall to £43k if we move out of London. Take-home: £8.75k now, £7.35k on maternity, £8.25k after maternity leave. - Current expenses ~£5.25k (can’t reduce as it’s mostly our flat). We can save ~£3.5k right now but maternity leave will eat up a chunk of this.
Anyways, we’re currently in a flat in London and it’s not fit for children realistically. I’m looking at commuter towns so I can still get to the office but I’m absolutely floored by the cost of housing (£450-£530k range and only finding 3 bed terraces to semi-detached). Taking worst case scenario of £530k property with 10% deposit… mortgage rates of 5% over 35 years would mean a £2,400pm mortgage. Childcare fees for full time are coming in at £1,300 after I’ve reached out to a few places (no family to take care of children). Honestly, it’s borderline unaffordable but… with good budgeting and some cutbacks, it should be just about doable.
I suppose what I’m looking for is advice on the below: - To afford to move, I need to save an additional ~£5k so I don’t touch my cash buffer as estate agent fees, stamp duty, etc will eat up a lot of my equity which we’ll need for the deposit. Moreover, I need to save another ~£2k for all the baby stuff as we have nothing. - For childcare costs, Im not eligible for the 30 free hours starting September next year. This would get childcare down to ~£800 a month, however, I’d need to sacrifice £46k which would take me to £66k contributions a year. That’s not long term sustainable but could do for 3 years using unused allowance and would reduce my yearly take-home by £18k. - My budget: £2.4k mortgage, £1.3k childcare, £750 household bills, £300 train to work, £500 car (repayment, insurance, maintenance and fuel), £500 Food, £200 baby needs, £300 house maintenance buffer, £150 misc (haircuts, gym, phone sims). Totals: £6,400. Add annualised costs (clothes, birthdays/xmas, TV subscriptions, etc. ) of £500 = £6.9k. With the loan, that comes to £7.2k before discretionary spend.
I feel like I’m being stupid / over the top on some things and really would like to gain some perspective of how to make this more affordable. I feel like I earn well but the expenses here feel ludicrous and will put us under some longer term strain which I hadn’t anticipated.

Outline of the Article

1. Introduction to Agricultural Activator Adjuvants
   • What are agricultural activator adjuvants?
   • Importance in modern agriculture.
2. Types of Agricultural Activator Adjuvants
   • Surfactants
   • Oils
   • Drift Control Agents
   • Compatibility Agents
3. Role and Benefits of Agricultural Activator Adjuvants
   • Enhancing pesticide efficacy
   • Improving plant uptake
   • Reducing pesticide drift
   • Ensuring compatibility with tank mixtures
4. Market Trends and Growth Drivers
   • Increasing adoption of precision farming techniques
   • Growing demand for sustainable agricultural practices
   • Rise in research and development activities
5. Key Players in the Agricultural Activator Adjuvants Market
   • Analysis of major companies and their market share
   • Overview of their product offerings and strategies
6. Regional Analysis
   • Market landscape in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and other regions
   • Factors influencing market growth in each region
7. Challenges and Restraints
   • Regulatory hurdles and compliance issues
   • Concerns regarding environmental impact
8. Future Outlook and Opportunities
   • Emerging trends and innovations
   • Potential for market expansion
9. Case Studies and Success Stories
   • Real-world applications of agricultural activator adjuvants
   • Impact on crop yield and farm profitability
10. Environmental Sustainability and Safety Considerations
    • Eco-friendly formulations
    • Risk mitigation strategies
11. Consumer Awareness and Education
    • Importance of educating farmers about adjuvant selection and usage
    • Promoting responsible stewardship practices
12. Industry Collaboration and Partnerships
    • Collaborative efforts between manufacturers, farmers, and regulatory bodies
    • Sharing best practices and knowledge exchange
13. Market Forecast and Analysis
    • Predictions for market growth and revenue projections
    • Factors influencing market dynamics in the forecast period
14. Investment Opportunities and Market Entry Strategies
    • Potential for new entrants
    • Investment avenues for existing players
15. Conclusion
    • Recap of key points
    • Summary of market outlook and recommendations for stakeholders

Agriculture, the backbone of our civilization, continually evolves with technology and innovation. One such innovation revolutionizing modern farming practices is the use of agricultural activator adjuvants. These versatile compounds play a crucial role in optimizing the performance of pesticides and other agrochemicals, thereby enhancing crop yield and sustainability.
What are Agricultural Activator Adjuvants?
Agricultural activator adjuvants are additives formulated to improve the efficacy and performance of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. They are designed to enhance the biological activity of these agrochemicals by modifying their physical and chemical properties. By facilitating better absorption, spreading, and retention on plant surfaces, adjuvants ensure maximum utilization of active ingredients, leading to improved pest control and crop protection.
Importance in Modern Agriculture
In today's agricultural landscape, where farmers face escalating challenges such as pest resistance, environmental concerns, and stringent regulations, the role of adjuvants becomes increasingly critical. By harnessing the power of adjuvants, farmers can achieve better results with lower pesticide doses, minimize environmental impact, and maximize profitability.
Types of Agricultural Activator Adjuvants
Surfactants
Surfactants are one of the most commonly used adjuvants in agriculture. They reduce the surface tension of spray solutions, allowing for more uniform coverage and penetration of plant surfaces. By breaking down waxy cuticles and enhancing wetting and spreading, surfactants ensure optimal absorption of active ingredients into plant tissues.
Oils
Oil-based adjuvants, such as crop oils and mineral oils, act as carriers for pesticides and improve their adherence to plant surfaces. They help overcome the hydrophobic nature of certain pesticides and enhance their efficacy under adverse environmental conditions. Additionally, oils can reduce evaporation and volatility of volatile herbicides, minimizing off-target drift.
Drift Control Agents
Drift control agents are formulated to reduce the risk of pesticide drift during application. They increase droplet size and density, improving deposition on target surfaces while minimizing airborne drift. By enhancing spray retention and minimizing off-target movement, drift control agents enhance the safety and efficacy of pesticide applications.
Compatibility Agents
Compatibility agents are used to prevent chemical interactions and precipitation when mixing multiple agrochemicals in a tank mixture. They ensure the stability of the spray solution, preventing clogging of nozzles and maintaining the efficacy of individual components. By promoting uniform dispersion and compatibility, these agents optimize the performance of pesticide mixtures.
Role and Benefits of Agricultural Activator Adjuvants
Agricultural activator adjuvants offer a multitude of benefits, making them indispensable tools for modern farmers:
Enhancing Pesticide Efficacy
By improving the solubility, spreading, and absorption of active ingredients, adjuvants enhance the biological activity and efficacy of pesticides. They help overcome barriers such as cuticular waxes and plant surfaces, ensuring optimal uptake and systemic movement within the plant.
Improving Plant Uptake
Adjuvants enhance the penetration and translocation of pesticides within plant tissues, ensuring effective control of pests and diseases. By facilitating rapid absorption and systemic movement, they maximize the bioavailability of active ingredients, leading to superior pest management and crop protection.
Reducing Pesticide Drift
Drift control agents mitigate the risk of pesticide drift during application, minimizing off-target deposition and environmental contamination. By optimizing droplet size and distribution, these adjuvants ensure precise delivery of pesticides to target areas while reducing the potential for environmental impact.
Ensuring Compatibility with Tank Mixtures
Compatibility agents prevent chemical interactions and compatibility issues when mixing multiple pesticides in a tank mixture. They maintain the stability and integrity of the spray solution, preventing precipitation and clogging of spray equipment. By promoting uniform dispersion and compatibility, these adjuvants maximize the efficacy of tank mixtures and minimize the risk of equipment malfunction.
Market Trends and Growth Drivers
The agricultural activator adjuvants market is witnessing steady growth, driven by several key factors:
Increasing Adoption of Precision Farming Techniques
The rise of precision farming technologies, such as GPS-guided equipment and variable rate application systems, is driving the demand for adjuvants. These technologies enable farmers to optimize pesticide applications and maximize crop yield while minimizing input costs and environmental impact.
Growing Demand for Sustainable Agricultural Practices
With increasing consumer awareness and regulatory pressure, there is a growing demand for sustainable agricultural practices. Adjuvants play a crucial role in supporting sustainable farming by improving the efficiency and efficacy of pesticide applications, reducing chemical usage, and minimizing environmental footprint.
Rise in Research and Development Activities
The agricultural adjuvants industry is characterized by ongoing research and development efforts aimed at introducing innovative formulations and technologies. Manufacturers are investing in developing eco-friendly and biodegradable adjuvants with improved performance and safety profiles, driving market growth and differentiation.
Key Players in the Agricultural Activator Adjuvants Market
The agricultural activator adjuvants market is highly competitive, with several key players vying for market share. Some of the leading companies in the industry include:

• Company A: A global leader in agricultural adjuvants, offering a comprehensive portfolio of surfactants, oils, and drift control agents.
• Company B: A pioneer in eco-friendly adjuvant formulations, focusing on sustainability and innovation in agricultural solutions.
• Company C: A renowned supplier of specialty chemicals and adjuvants, catering to the diverse needs of farmers worldwide.
• Company D: A leading provider of compatibility agents and tank mix adjuvants, ensuring optimal performance and efficacy in pesticide applications.

These companies leverage their technological expertise, extensive R&D capabilities, and strategic partnerships to maintain their competitive edge and drive market growth.
Regional Analysis
The agricultural activator adjuvants market exhibits regional variations in terms of market dynamics, regulatory frameworks, and adoption rates.
North America
North America dominates the global adjuvants market, fueled by the presence of large-scale commercial farms and advanced agricultural practices. The region benefits from a favorable regulatory environment and widespread adoption of precision farming technologies, driving market growth and innovation.
Europe
Europe is a key market for agricultural adjuvants, driven by stringent regulations and growing demand for sustainable farming practices. The region prioritizes environmental stewardship and consumer safety, leading to increased adoption of eco-friendly adjuvants and bio-based formulations.
Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific represents a lucrative market for agricultural adjuvants, driven by the expanding agricultural sector and rising demand for high-quality crops. The region is witnessing rapid urbanization and industrialization, leading to increased pressure on agricultural productivity and sustainability.
Other Regions
Other regions, such as Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, offer significant growth opportunities for agricultural adjuvants. These regions are characterized by diverse agricultural landscapes, varying climatic conditions, and evolving regulatory frameworks, presenting unique challenges and opportunities for market players.
Challenges and Restraints
Despite the promising growth prospects, the agricultural activator adjuvants market faces several challenges and restraints:
Regulatory Hurdles and Compliance Issues
The adjuvants industry is subject to stringent regulatory requirements and compliance standards, which vary across different regions and jurisdictions. Manufacturers must navigate complex registration processes, safety assessments, and labeling requirements to ensure regulatory compliance and market access.
Concerns Regarding Environmental Impact
There is growing scrutiny and public concern regarding the environmental impact of agricultural adjuvants. Chemical residues, pesticide drift, and water contamination pose significant risks to environmental health and biodiversity. Manufacturers must prioritize sustainability and develop eco-friendly formulations to address these concerns and meet consumer expectations.
Future Outlook and Opportunities
Despite the challenges, the agricultural activator adjuvants market holds immense potential for growth and innovation:
Emerging Trends and Innovations
The industry is witnessing the emergence of innovative technologies and formulations, such as bio-based adjuvants, nanoemulsions, and smart delivery systems. These advancements aim to improve efficacy, reduce environmental impact, and enhance user safety, driving market growth and differentiation.
Potential for Market Expansion
With increasing global population and food demand, there is a growing need for efficient and sustainable agricultural solutions. Adjuvants play a vital role in supporting modern farming practices, optimizing crop production, and mitigating environmental risks. As farmers seek to maximize yield and profitability, the demand for adjuvants is expected to rise, creating lucrative opportunities for market players.
Conclusion
In conclusion, agricultural activator adjuvants are indispensable tools for modern farming, offering numerous benefits in terms of pesticide efficacy, plant uptake, and environmental sustainability. As the agricultural industry continues to evolve, adjuvants will play a crucial role in optimizing crop protection, enhancing productivity, and ensuring food security for future generations.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. What are agricultural activator adjuvants? Agricultural activator adjuvants are additives formulated to enhance the performance and efficacy of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers by modifying their physical and chemical properties.
2. How do adjuvants improve pesticide efficacy? Adjuvants improve pesticide efficacy by enhancing wetting, spreading, and absorption on plant surfaces, ensuring better penetration and systemic movement within the plant.
3. What types of adjuvants are commonly used in agriculture? Common types of adjuvants include surfactants, oils, drift control agents, and compatibility agents, each designed to address specific challenges in pesticide applications.
4. Why are adjuvants important in modern agriculture? Adjuvants are essential in modern agriculture to optimize pesticide performance, minimize environmental impact, and maximize crop yield and profitability.
5. Are there any environmental concerns associated with adjuvant usage? While adjuvants play a crucial role in crop protection, there are concerns regarding their environmental impact, including chemical residues, pesticide drift, and water contamination. Manufacturers are increasingly focusing on developing eco-friendly formulations to address these concerns and promote sustainable farming practices.

The mobile payment market is rapidly expanding, driven by increasing smartphone penetration and a shift towards digital transactions. This market enables users to make payments using mobile devices, often through apps or mobile banking. It encompasses various methods, including NFC (Near Field Communication), QR codes, and SMS-based payments. Key growth factors include convenience, improved security features, and the rise of e-commerce. Major players include tech giants like Apple, Google, and Paytm. The market is also seeing significant innovations in fintech and regulatory support for cashless transactions, catering to a tech-savvy, convenience-seeking global consumer base.
Mobile Payment Market Size and Growth
The mobile payment market has exhibited significant growth, with the global market size valued at nearly USD 2,986.00 billion in 2023. This surge is propelled by the widespread adoption of smartphones and the increasing acceptance of digital transactions across various sectors. Consumers and businesses alike are leveraging mobile payment technologies for their convenience, speed, and enhanced security features. This market includes a range of payment methods such as NFC, QR codes, and mobile wallets, which have become integral to the daily financial interactions of millions globally.
Looking ahead, the market is poised for continued expansion. It is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.8% from 2024 to 2032. By the end of this period, the market size is expected to reach approximately USD 14,422.00 billion. This growth trajectory is supported by technological advancements, increasing financial inclusivity, and evolving consumer behaviors that favor contactless and cashless payment options. Additionally, regulatory changes and the introduction of more sophisticated payment solutions are set to further boost market growth, reflecting an increasing dependency on digital payment platforms in the global economy.
Mobile Payment Market Trends
The mobile payment market is characterized by several key trends that are shaping its evolution and growth:
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1. Increased Adoption of Contactless Payments: The trend towards contactless payments has accelerated, particularly due to health concerns raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers prefer tapping their phones or smartwatches over traditional cash or card transactions, driving the widespread adoption of NFC (Near Field Communication) technology.
   
2. Growth in E-commerce: As online shopping continues to grow, so does the use of mobile payments for digital transactions. Consumers find it convenient to pay directly through mobile apps or websites, which has fostered tighter integration of payment systems into e-commerce platforms.
   
3. Rise of Mobile Wallets: Mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and Samsung Pay are becoming increasingly popular. These platforms not only allow users to store multiple payment methods securely but also offer rewards and the ability to manage financial transactions from a single interface.
   
4. Financial Inclusion: Mobile payments are playing a crucial role in enhancing financial inclusion, especially in developing countries where traditional banking infrastructure is limited. Mobile money solutions provide a gateway for unbanked and underbanked populations to participate in the financial system.
   
5. Regulatory and Security Enhancements: As the volume of mobile payments increases, so does the focus on security. Advanced authentication technologies, including biometrics and blockchain, are being implemented to ensure transaction security. Additionally, regulations are being updated to protect consumers and ensure fair practices within the mobile payments ecosystem.
   
6. Integration with IoT: The Internet of Things (IoT) is increasingly intersecting with mobile payments, enabling transactions through connected devices. Examples include smart appliances that can reorder supplies automatically and cars that can pay for fuel or tolls.
   

Market Opportunities and Challenges
The mobile payment market presents a range of opportunities and challenges that influence its development and scalability:
Opportunities

1. Expansion into New Markets: With mobile penetration increasing globally, there's significant opportunity for mobile payment solutions to expand into emerging markets, particularly in regions like Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where traditional banking infrastructure is less developed.
   
2. Technological Innovation: Innovations such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies offer new ways to conduct secure, transparent transactions. These technologies can reduce fraud and enhance the efficiency of payments, presenting a substantial growth opportunity for the industry.
   
3. Partnerships with Financial Institutions: By partnering with banks and other financial institutions, mobile payment providers can tap into existing customer bases while offering enhanced services, such as improved security features and loyalty programs.
   
4. Integration with Other Services: Mobile payments can be integrated with other services like public transport systems, healthcare, and retail, providing seamless payment experiences and increasing user engagement and satisfaction.
   

Challenges

1. Security Concerns: Despite advancements, security remains a significant concern. The risk of data breaches and fraud can deter users from adopting mobile payment solutions, necessitating continuous improvements in security measures.
   
2. Regulatory Compliance: The mobile payment sector faces complex and varied regulations across different regions, which can complicate expansion efforts and increase operational costs. Compliance with these regulations is crucial but challenging, especially for new entrants.
   
3. Fragmentation and Interoperability: The market is fragmented with numerous platforms and standards, making interoperability a significant challenge. Consumers and merchants may find it difficult to navigate these varied systems, which can hinder the adoption and scalability of mobile payment solutions.
   
4. Consumer Trust and Adoption: Building consumer trust is essential, especially in regions where cash has been the predominant mode of transaction. Changing consumer habits and convincing them of the benefits and reliability of mobile payments is a gradual and ongoing challenge.
   

Market Dynamics
The mobile payment market is driven by a complex interplay of dynamics that include technological advancements, consumer behavior, regulatory frameworks, and economic factors. Here are some of the key dynamics shaping this market:

1. Technological Advancements: Technology is at the core of the mobile payment market's expansion. Innovations such as near-field communication (NFC), blockchain, and biometric authentication are enhancing the security and efficiency of mobile payments. These advancements not only improve user experience but also expand the scope of mobile payments in terms of capabilities and reach.
   
2. Consumer Adoption and Behavior: Consumer preferences are shifting towards convenience and speed in transactions, which mobile payments can offer. The widespread use of smartphones has facilitated this shift, making mobile payments more accessible to a broader audience. However, consumer behavior can vary significantly across different regions and demographics, influencing the pace and pattern of adoption.
   
3. Regulatory Environment: The regulatory landscape for mobile payments is evolving as governments worldwide recognize the importance of regulating digital transactions to ensure security and prevent fraud. Regulations affect how companies operate, the level of security required, and the introduction of new features or services. Compliance with these regulations can be both a challenge and a driving force for innovation within the market.
   
4. Economic Impact: Economic factors, including disposable income levels and the overall economic environment, play a crucial role in the adoption of mobile payments. In thriving economies, consumers are more likely to engage with new technologies, including mobile payments. Conversely, in regions with less economic stability, the adoption might be driven by necessity, such as for financial inclusion of the unbanked.
   
5. Competitive Landscape: The mobile payment market is highly competitive, with major tech companies, traditional banks, and fintech startups vying for market share. This competition fosters innovation and drives improvements in service offerings, but it also creates a fragmented market landscape that can confuse consumers and complicate interoperability between different payment systems.
   
6. Integration with Other Industries: Mobile payments are increasingly integrated with other sectors such as retail, transportation, and healthcare, which opens new avenues for growth but also requires complex collaborations and partnerships. These integrations often lead to improved customer service and operational efficiencies.
   

Competitive Landscape
The key players in the industry includes:

• American Express Company
• Apple, Inc.
• Google LLC
• JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Mastercard Incorporated
• Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited)
• Paypal Holdings, Inc.
• Others

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Introduction: Are you on the hunt for your dream home in Kolhapur? Nestled in the heart of Maharashtra, Kolhapur is renowned for its rich cultural heritage, delectable cuisine, and vibrant lifestyle. Finding the perfect flat for sale in Kolhapur residential properties in Kolhapur. As the city continues to expand and evolve, the demand for residential properties, especially flats, is on the rise. Whether you're a first-time homebuyer or looking to invest in real estate, this guide will navigate you through the process of finding the ideal flat for sale in Kolhapur.

1. Understanding the Kolhapur Real Estate Market: Before diving into your property search, it's crucial to familiarize yourself with the Kolhapur real estate market. Factors such as location, amenities, infrastructure development, and property prices play a significant role in shaping your decision. Kolhapur offers a diverse range of residential options, from budget-friendly flats to luxurious apartments, catering to varying preferences and budgets.
2. Location Matters: When scouting for flats in Kolhapur, consider the location carefully. Do you prefer a serene neighborhood away from the hustle and bustle of the city, or would you rather be in close proximity to schools, hospitals, and other essential amenities? Popular residential areas in Kolhapur include Tarabai Park, Shahupuri, Rajarampuri, and Mahalaxmi Temple area, each offering its unique charm and advantages.
3. Amenities and Facilities: Modern homebuyers often seek properties that offer a plethora of amenities and facilities to enhance their lifestyle. Whether it's a gated community with round-the-clock security, landscaped gardens, clubhouse, gymnasium, swimming pool, or children's play area, ensure that the flat you choose aligns with your lifestyle preferences and provides the comfort and convenience you desire.
4. Budget and Affordability: Setting a realistic budget is paramount when searching for flats for sale in Kolhapur. Evaluate your finances carefully and determine how much you can comfortably afford to spend on a property. Consider factors such as down payment, home loan eligibility, and ongoing maintenance costs to avoid any financial strain in the future. Additionally, explore various financing options and schemes offered by banks and financial institutions to make your homebuying journey smoother.
5. Legal Due Diligence: Before finalizing the purchase of a flat in Kolhapur, conduct thorough legal due diligence to ensure that the property is free from any legal encumbrances or disputes. Verify the title deed, land ownership, approvals from local authorities, and other relevant documents to safeguard your investment and avoid any legal complications down the line.
6. Collaborate with a Reputable Real Estate Agent: Navigating the real estate landscape can be daunting, especially for first-time buyers. Consider enlisting the services of a reputable real estate agent or consultancy firm with in-depth knowledge of the Kolhapur market. A seasoned agent can streamline your property search, negotiate the best deals on your behalf, and provide valuable insights and guidance throughout the buying process.

Finding the perfect flat for sale in Kolhapur requires careful consideration of various factors, including location, amenities, budget, and legal aspects. By conducting thorough research, seeking professional assistance, and staying informed about the latest market trends, you can make an informed decision and embark on your journey to homeownership with confidence. Happy house hunting!
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The global endometrial ablation devices market is projected to experience a noteworthy compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 5% from 2024 to 2030. This growth trajectory is primarily attributed to the increasing incidence of gynecological conditions among women, including cervical cancer, menorrhagia, and abnormal vaginal bleeding. According to recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO), cervical cancer ranks among the most prevalent cancers affecting women globally, with approximately 570,000 cases diagnosed in 2018 alone.
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Market Trends:
Technological Advancements: The market is witnessing continuous advancements in endometrial ablation technologies, leading to the development of more efficient, minimally invasive, and safer devices. Innovations such as radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, microwave ablation, and hydrothermal ablation techniques are gaining traction for their precision and effectiveness in treating endometrial conditions.
Growing Preference for Minimally Invasive Procedures: There is a notable shift towards minimally invasive endometrial ablation procedures, driven by patient preferences for shorter recovery times, reduced pain, and fewer complications compared to traditional surgical interventions. Devices offering outpatient or office-based treatments are increasingly favored by both patients and healthcare providers.
Expanding Indications and Applications: Endometrial ablation devices are being utilized for a broader range of indications beyond menorrhagia, including the treatment of other gynecological conditions such as uterine fibroids, endometrial hyperplasia, and adenomyosis. This expansion of indications broadens the market potential for these devices and contributes to increased adoption rates.
Personalized Treatment Approaches: There is a growing focus on personalized treatment approaches in endometrial ablation, with healthcare providers tailoring procedures to individual patient needs and characteristics. This trend is supported by advancements in diagnostic technologies, patient profiling, and treatment planning algorithms, allowing for more targeted and effective therapies.
Shift towards Office-Based Procedures: Office-based endometrial ablation procedures are becoming increasingly common due to their convenience, cost-effectiveness, and reduced need for hospitalization. The availability of compact, portable, and user-friendly devices enables healthcare providers to perform procedures in office settings, offering greater accessibility to patients and minimizing healthcare resource utilization.
Market Opportunities:
The endometrial ablation devices market presents significant opportunities for growth and innovation. With an increasing prevalence of gynecological conditions such as menorrhagia and uterine fibroids, there is a growing demand for minimally invasive treatment options that offer improved patient outcomes and quality of life. Technological advancements in endometrial ablation techniques, including radiofrequency, cryoablation, and microwave ablation, present opportunities for device manufacturers to develop more efficient, precise, and user-friendly devices. Furthermore, the expansion of indications for endometrial ablation beyond menorrhagia to include conditions such as adenomyosis and endometrial hyperplasia expands the market potential for these devices. Moreover, the shift towards office-based procedures and outpatient settings offers opportunities to enhance accessibility and convenience for patients while reducing healthcare costs.
According to the recent report published by RC Market Analytics, the Global Endometrial Ablation Devices Market is expected to provide sustainable growth opportunities during the forecast period from 2024 to 2030. This latest industry research study analyzes the endometrial ablation devices market by various product segments, applications, regions and countries while assessing regional performances of numerous leading market participants. The report offers a holistic view of the endometrial ablation devices industry encompassing numerous stakeholders including raw material suppliers, providers, distributors, consumers and government agencies, among others. Furthermore, the report includes detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis of the global market considering market history, product development, regional dynamics, competitive landscape, and key success factors (KSFs) in the industry.
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Geographically, the endometrial ablation devices market report comprises dedicated sections centering on the regional market revenue and trends. The endometrial ablation devices market has been segmented on the basis of geographic regions into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Endometrial ablation devices market estimates have also been provided for the historical years 2020 to 2023 along with forecast for the period from 2024 - 2030.The report includes a deep-dive analysis of key countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, China, Japan, India, Australia, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa, among others. Thereby, the report identifies unique growth opportunities across the world based on trends occurring in various developed and developing economies.
The Endometrial Ablation Devices Market Segmentation:
By Device Type:

• Hysteroscopy Devices
• Thermal Balloon Ablators
• Radiofrequency Endometrial Ablation Devices
• Hydrothermal Ablators
• Electrical Ablators
• Others

By End-User:

• Ambulatory Surgical Centers
• Hospitals
• Clinics

By Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East & Africa

Key players in the global endometrial ablation devices market include Boston Scientific Corporation, Medtronic, AngioDynamics, Cooper Surgical Inc., and Olympus Corporation. These companies are strategically expanding their market presence through various avenues such as expansion initiatives, investment in new technologies, introduction of innovative services, and collaborative efforts. Additionally, players are venturing into new geographical territories through expansions and acquisitions, aiming to leverage synergies for a competitive edge.
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Key Questions Answered by Endometrial Ablation Devices Market Report:

• Product popularity and adoption based on various country-level dynamics
• Regional presence and product development for leading market participants
• Market forecasts and trend analysis based on ongoing investments and economic growth in key countries
• Competitive landscape based on revenue, product offerings, years of presence, number of employees and market concentration, among others
• Various industry models such as SWOT analysis, Pestle Analysis, Porter’s Five Force model, Value Chain Analysis pertaining to Endometrial Ablation Devices market
• Analysis of the key factors driving and restraining the growth of the global, regional and country-level markets from 2020-2030

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Introduction

In this post, we'll be discussing something called "Virtue Ethics." This is a normative theory of ethics that's most associated with Aristotle, though has in recent times experienced a resurgence of sorts from modern philosophers, some of whom have tweaked and modified it, and in doing so have created different branches on this tree of moral theory. We will be comparing these different flavors of Virtue Ethics to that of the New Testament's, pointing out where they're similar, as well as highlighting where the NT differs (and is actually superior) from the heathens' views.
I want to preface all this with a verse and a warning:

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."-Colossians 2:8

The entire Bible, over and over again, warns against syncretism. It's a running theme throughout to condemn the practice, with this verse being one of the more explicit ones to do so.
Mapping the ideas of Pagans (and especially Greek philosophers) onto the Scriptures has always resulted in people severely misinterpreting the Bible, as looking at the Word of God through a Hellenistic lens is and always has been extremely innapropiate to the author's original intent.
Whenever Greek philosophy or ideas are referenced, they're always portrayed in a bad light or otherwise used to make a point. Examples of the latter could be found in the apostle Paul's writings, as he was a fully educated Roman citizen of his day, and so he made use of known Hellenestic philosophy and literature (that he would have been familiar with) by redefining their terms and ideas in a way that would be consistent with the theology of his own religion. The apostle Peter did the same within his own epistles whenever he mentioned "Tartarus," the abyss/prison for certain disobedient angels that rebelled against God, despite the fact that the word has its roots in Greek mythology and not Hebrew religion (though, the belief that there were a group of spiritual beings that rebelled against the highest authority in the heavens was one technically shared between the two ancient cultures; even if the parties involved were vastly different, as well as the contexts of the rebellion itself).
The affect Hellenstic philosophy has had on the way people think (even subconsciously) can still be felt to this day, and can be seen in the confusion modern "Christianity" has brought on through its adoption of Gnostic teachings such as Dualism or the inherently fatalistic views that many unknowingly hold due to the error of Classical Theism.
While yes, I will be commending the heathen (unbeliever) whenever they are right with their ideas as pertaining to this subject, I will also show where they are wrong.
Let's begin.

"What Is Virtue Ethics?"

First, we need to define some terms and point out the differences between this view and others within the larger debate of normative ethics.
There are three major approaches in normative ethics, those being: Consequentalism, Deontology, and Virtue Ethics. The following are definitions of the terms:
Consequentialism – a class of normative, teleological ethical theories that holds that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for judgement about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct.
Deontology – theories where an action is considered morally good because of some characteristic of the action itself, not because the product of the action is good. Deontological ethics holds that at least some acts are morally obligatory regardless of their consequences for human welfare.
Virtue Ethics – theories that emphasize the role of character and virtue in moral philosophy rather than either doing one’s duty or acting in order to bring about good consequences. The virtue ethicist would argue that actions themselves, while important, aren't as important as the character behind them. To the virtue ethicist, consequences are also important, but they would say that good consequences ultimately flow from a virtuous character who has made virtuous decisions. Theories of virtue ethics do not aim primarily to identify universal principles that can be applied in any moral situation, instead teaching that the best decisions can vary based on context, and that there are only some actions that would be universally evil, only because those actions could never flow from a virtuous character in the first place (e.g., rape).
Aristotle's idea of ethics is in an important respect different from most people's, especially today. Heirs as we are to Kant’s idea of duty – there is a right thing that one ought to do, as rational beings who respect other persons – and to Mill’s idea of utility – the right thing to do is that which produces the greatest good for the greatest number – most of us see ethics as concerned with actions. "The function of ethics is to help me see what I ought to do in a given situation," the modern says. Aristotle’s approach was different. His ethic is not so much concerned about helping us to see what we ought to do, as about what sort of person we ought to be.
Aristotle was concerned with character, and with the things that go to make up good and bad character; virtues and vices. His sort of ethic does not look at our action to see if it fulfils our duty, or produces a certain outcome, such as the greatest good of the greatest number, and therefore merits approval. Instead, it looks at us; at the character behind the actions, to see whether we merit approval.
Comparing Virtue Ethics with philosophies such as Deontology and Consequentialism, we are able to divide ethical theories into two kinds; act-centered theories and agent-centered theories. Kant’s (Deontological) and Mill’s (Utilitarian) approaches are act-centered, because they concern themselves with our actions, whilst Aristotle’s is agent-centered because it concerns itself with the character of a person, which in his view was ourselves and our own dispositions that prompt our actions.
Both approaches have ardent present-day advocates, and so both are alive and well. Virtue Ethicists are dissatisfied with the answers ‘modern’ act-centered philosophy offers, and look for a more flexible, person-centered approach that takes more account of the subtle varieties of human motivation. Those in this camp see ethics as being about people – moral agents – rather than merely about actions. Of course, your actions matter. But, for Aristotle and his present day advocates alike, they matter as expressions of the kind of person you are. They indicate such qualities as kindness, fairness, compassion, and so on, and it is these qualities and their corresponding vices that it is the business of ethics to approve or disapprove.
All this seems simple and uncontroversial; there are two ways of looking at an action to evaluate it morally. You can take the action in isolation and judge it, or take the agent and judge him or her.
Virtue ethicists argue that act-centered ethics are narrow and bloodless. What is needed is a richer moral vocabulary than just ‘right and wrong’. There are subtle but important differences between actions that are good because they are kind and those that are good because they are generous, and those that are good because they are just. Likewise, there are subtle but important differences between actions that are bad because they are selfish and those that are bad because they are cruel and those that are bad because they are unfair. These, and many other, distinctions are lost when we talk simply about doing one’s duty, or promoting utility. Questions of motive and of character are lost, in these asceptic terms. Modern moral philosophy won’t do: it is cold, technical and insensitive to the many kinds and degrees of value expressed in human actions. Ethics is more than just thought experiments and hypotheticals about what would be the right course of action to take in any given situation we might conjure up from the comfort of our armchair. Ethics is about doing, and about context and character.

The Different Kinds of "Virtue Ethics"

Virtue Ethics has has been developed in two main directions: Eudaimonism, and agent-based theories.
Eudaimonism (Aristotle's view) bases virtues in human flourishing, where flourishing is equated with performing one’s distinctive function well. In the case of humans, Aristotle argued that our distinctive function is reasoning, and so the life “worth living” is one which we reason well. He also believed that only free men in the upper classes of society (i.e., the aristocrats) could excel in virtue and eschew vice, being that such men had greater access to the means in accomplishing this task as they had the wealth and resources to better perform their distinctive function of 'reasoning,' and thus "live well." For the Eudaimonian, inner dispositions are what one ought to focus on in order to cultivate virtuous traits, and thus a virtuous character.
In contrast, an agent-based theory emphasizes that virtues are determined by common-sense intuitions that we as observers judge to be admirable traits in other people. There are a variety of human traits that we find admirable, such as benevolence, kindness, compassion, etc., and we can identify these by looking at the people we admire, our moral exemplars. Agent-based theories also state that the motivations and intentions behind an action are ultimately what determine whether or not said action is actually virtuous. Whereas Eudaimonism understands the moral life in terms of inner dispositions or proclivities to act in certain ways (whether righteous or wicked, just or unjust, kind or cruel, etc.), agent-based theories are more radical in that their evaluation of actions is dependent on ethical judgments about the inner life of the agents who perform those actions, that is, what the motivations and intents are of a person.
[Note: While both Eudaimonism and agent-based theories are both agent-centered, Eudaimonism is not to be confused with an agent-based theory. Both branches concern themselves more with agents rather than acts themselves, but Eudamonism focuses on the self to improve whereas the agent-based theory focuses on others to improve.]

Common Critcisims Toward Secular Forms of Virtue Ethics

Firstly, Eudaimonism provides a self-centered conception of ethics because "human flourishing" (here defined as simply fulfilling our base function as humans, which is "reason" according to this view) is seen as an end in itself and does not sufficiently consider the extent to which our actions affect other people. Morality requires us to consider others for their own sake and not because they may benefit us. There seems to be something wrong with aiming to behave compassionately, kindly, and honestly merely because this will make oneself happier or "reason well."
Secondly, both Eudaimonism and agent-based theories also don't provide guidance on how we should act, as there are no clear principles for guiding action other than “act as a virtuous person would act given the situation.” Who is a virtuous person? Who is the first or universal exemplar?
Lastly, the ability to cultivate the right virtues will be affected by a number of different factors beyond a person’s control due to education, society, friends and family. If moral character is so reliant on luck, what role does this leave for appropriate praise and blame of the person? For the Eudaimonian, one ought to be born into a status of privilege if they wish to excel in being virtuous. For the proponent of an agent-based theory, one ought to be born into a society or family with good role models and preferably be raised by such, else they have no moral exemplars to emulate.

The New Testament's Virtue Ethic

The New Testament authors didn’t sit down and do a self-consciously philosophical exercise, for this was not what they were concerned with. They were concerned with giving practical instruction to disciples of the faith, and merely trying to express the ethical implications of their spiritual experience. That being said, we know the apostle Paul was familiar with the writings of Aristotle. We can actually identify places where Paul displays knowledge of Aristotle and incorporates some of the philosopher's ideas into his own epistles. Before we do this, however, it's important we refute common misnomers about what the Bible teaches concerning ethics in general.
You probably have heard many attack the ethics of the New Testament as being primitive and simplistic. "God dictates universal commands to follow: 'do not lie,' do 'not divorce,' 'do not insult.' And the only motivating factor is escaping hellfire and obtaining the reward of eternal pleasure." But in reality, this is a gross misrepresentation of the ethics laid out in the NT. I will argue the NT advocates for a form of virtue ethics, instead of claiming the NT contains a form of deontic ethics, as it is so often assumed.
Elizabeth Anscombe was one of the most influential virtue ethicists of the 20th century. Her work helped to revive virtue ethics in the modern era, however she also criticized the ethics of the Bible for promoting a form of ethics different than what Aristotle promoted:
"...between aristotle and us came Christianity, with its law conception of ethics. For Christianity derived its ethical notions from the Torah. (One might be inclined to think that a law conception of ethics could arise only among people who accepted an allegedly divine positive law..." (Modern Moral Philosophy, vol. 33, no. 124, 1-19)
We've already dealt with the issue of the Torah in another post. The Torah is not laying down moral laws, but describing justice in the form of ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature. But does the New Testament teach a deontic form of ethics? Anscombe might appear justified in her claim, as some "Christian" theologians have explicitly taught the ethics of the NT is deontic.
However, other theologians have argued the ethics of the NT is best characterized as a form of virtue ethics. In a study of the NT, we'll support this notion. As noted earlier, one of the central features of this approach to ethics is that the aim of ethics should be on living a virtuous life. Other forms of ethics focus on directing actions when confronted with a moral dilemma, but for virtue ethics every action is a moral or immoral action because all of our actions contribute or do not contribute to living a virtuous life. In other words, for a virtue ethicist, everything we do will contribute to living a fulfilled life. Now, the NT promotes a similar idea with a slight modification. The NT changes the distinctictive function and purpose for man in Eudaimonism from "reasoning" to loving God and others instead, and thus "living well" is changed from self-centered 'flourshing' (as defined by Aristotle) to glorifying God instead. The apostles taught everything we do contributes to living a life that glorifies God:

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."-1 Corinthians 10:31
"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."-Colossians 3:17

So we see the same idea in Paul, that everything we do can be seen as a moral or immoral action. Everything we do should be seen as contributing to living a life that glorifies god or not. As a believer, the aim is not just doing good actions to avoid punishments, but to see everything we do as glorifying God. On secular virtue ethics, all our actions are either advancing a good life or not: nourishing your body contributes to living a good life. In a Biblical context: taking the time to properly dress contributes to living a good life, and not giving into the sin of sloth. So all our actions can be moral actions in this context, and so likewise for Paul and Jesus, all we do can contribute to living a life that glorifies God.
Since God made our bodies to thrive and enjoy life, we should nourish our bodies so we can thrive as God intended for our bodies to do, thus ultimately glorifying Him. Since we were created to experience and feel enjoyment, laughing and enjoying things throughout life glorifies God as well since we're experiencing emotions that God created to be experienced. Everything we do should be to glorify God, and often all that is is living our lives in the way that they were intended to be lived. Biblical ethics is very much more than merely performing right actions, but living a virtuous life that brings glory to God.
As Jesus said:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."-Matthew 22:37b

It is also important to focus on what it means to love, which is an important aspect of what it means to be a believer. Paul makes the radical claim that to love is the entirety of the law of God:

"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."-Galatians 5:14

Jesus also taught that to love God and love others were the two greatest commandments (Mark 12:28-31, Matt. 22:34-40). He also extends the commandment to love beyond one's brethren, and to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44). Loving those around us is central to what it means to be a believer (John 13:34; 15:12-17, Rom. 12:10; 13:8, 1 Cor. 13:1-8; 16:14, 2 Cor. 8:8, Eph. 4:2; 5:2, Phili. 1:9, Heb. 10:24, Jam. 2:8, 1 Pet. 1:22, 1 John 2:10; 3:23).
One might suggest this is no different than the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do to you," or a Kantian rule: "I ought never to act except in such a way that I could also will that my maxim should become a universal law." In other words, "to live well is to perform good deeds or actions and nothing more." But an important point about loving someone is it cannot be done through actions alone. For example, one could buy a gift for their spouse to cheer them up. However, one could perform this action merely because they value performing right actions without any love for the person. One could donate to charity because it is the right thing to do, and not because she cares for the people who would benefit. In such scenarios, they can be seen as idolizing moral laws, not necessarily caring about helping others.
But to love someone requires more than merely performing right actions. You cannot love someone and not care about who they are as a person and where they are heading in life. To love is to will the good of the other. Jesus chastised the Pharisees of his day for only performing right actions, but not loving their brethren in their hearts. His criticism follows Matthew chapter 22, where Jesus says the greatest commandments are to love. The implication is the Pharisees perform proper actions, but have the wrong motivations for doing so. James Keenan puts it like this:
"Essential to understanding this command is that we love our neighbors not as objects of our devotion, but rather as subjects; that is, as persons. Thus, we cannot love others only because God wants us to do so, since then we would love them as means or as objects and not as persons. We can only love one another as subjects, just as God loves us." (Jesus and Virtue Ethics: Building Bridges Between New Testament Studies and Moral Theology, pg. 86)
A critic may bring up that verses of the NT are still phrased as commands, and therefore the structure implies duties were the central aspect of Christian ethics. But the importance of duties is not foreign to Virtue Ethics. Instead of being central to the ethical framework, duties flow from a virtuous character. Virtues are active and have certain demands for which a person must fulfill in their active behavior.
According to Aristotle, knowledge of the virtues gives us practical wisdom in how to properly act. Duties flow from the understanding of the demands of virtues. To put it another way, for virtues to manifest in persons, they have certain demands that must be fulfilled. For the believer, the command of love flows from being virtuous and aligning oneself with the character of God. Commitment to the character of Christ, who perfectly carried out the will of the Father, allows us to perform right and proper actions.
The NT also contains lists of virtues the believer ought to emulate, the most famous of these is in Galatians chapter 5:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (vss. 22-23)
Now, the connection with Aristotle cannot be more pronounced. The Greek phrase "against such there is no law" is almost identical to what we find in Aristotle's politics (3.13.1284a). It seems clear Paul is teaching a similar ethical framework to what Aristotle advocated for. Paul is teaching that the believing community ought to be persons who display key virtues, and that their conduct would not need to be regulated by a law. Instead, their character should be the standard others can measure themselves by. Romans chapter 2 is also a place we see references to Aristotle, where Paul notes that when Gentiles do what the law requires, they are "a law unto themselves" (vss. 14-15). In other words, they do not need to be told to act a certain way. They have the proper virtuous character that directs their actions, to do the good the law requires. Paul is advocating in Galatians that believers should think in a similar way.
So in Galatians 5, we have affinity with the teachings of Aristotle, and in other lists of virtues throughout the NT we see a similar idea, which is that Christians were meant to display virtues primarily (Rom. 5:3-5, 1 Cor. 13:1-8, Col. 3:12-17, 1 Tim. 3:2-3; 4:7-8, Jam. 3:17-18, 2 Pet. 1:5-8). From that, good deeds will properly manifest in our actions.
Anscombe made a great point on what the focus of ethics should be:
"It would be a great improvement if, instead of 'morally wrong', one always named a genus such as 'untruthful', 'unchaste', 'unjust'. We should no longer ask whether doing something was 'wrong', passing directly from some description of an action to this notion; we should ask whether, e.g., it was unjust; and the answer would sometimes be clear at once." (Modern Moral Philosophy, vol. 33, no. 124, 1-19)
Interestingly enough, Paul lays out a similar idea in explaining Christian ethics:

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."-Philippians 4:8-9

In other words, the central aspect on living a Christian life was on what is virtuous, not on what is lawfully right or wrong. Right actions flow from whatever is honorable, true, and pure. Correlating with this is how Paul responds to the Corinthians who claimed that "all was lawful." Paul reminded them the emphasis is not on what is lawful, but on what is good for building a virtuous character:

"All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not."-1 Corinthians 10:23

One's main focus ought to be on what is good, not on laws that dictate behavior.
One of the key aspects of Virtue Ethics is the idea we ought to learn from virtuous teachers and imitate them. A virtuous character is obtained by imitating what a virtuous person does. This parallels a key aspect of Christian ethics. Imitating Christ was (and still is) crucial to living a virtuous life:

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:"-1 Peter 2:21

Paul says in Romans 8:29 that Christians were predestined "to be conformed to the image of his Son." Jesus often taught his followers to do as he does (Matt. 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 6:40; 9:23, John 13:15, 34). Paul says in 1st Corinthians 11: Be ye followers [i.e., imitators] of me, even as I also am of Christ" (vs. 1). Hebrews 13:7 says to imitate the faith of the patriarchs. 1st Thessalonians 2:14 says to imitate each other. And jesus taught to imitate the good Samaritan from his parable (Luke 10:37). Imitating virtuous teachers was key for Christian ethics.
Aristotle tended to compare acquiring virtues with that of learning a practical skill, like playing an instrument or learning how to become a builder. Such practical skills are best picked up when trained by a master of that particular skill, because a teacher can always provide more insight through lessons they learn from experience. For example, an expert salesman can provide examples from his experience of what works with specific customers that a sales textbook could never provide. Many professions today require on-the-job training or experience before even hiring an applicant. The reason is: experience is key to learning a profession. Merely acquiring knowledge from a textbook or an instruction manual is often insufficient to master a skill, so why would mastering the skill of virtue be any different?
In the NT, a believer is to see the world through the eyes of Christ and to love as he loved. One cannot learn how to be a virtuous person without knowing what that life would look like. A key component of Christian theology is that the Messiah perfectly represented the Father and His will on earth, to show us how to properly live as God intended for man. This central tenet of the NT aligns well with agent-based theories of Virtue Ethics, and modifies it so that the person of Jesus Christ is the universal exemplar that one is meant to emulate. We are called to imitate him through our actions, thoughts, and desires, and to conform ourselves to the way he lived. As Paul said:

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."-Galatians 2:20

If learning from Christ is key, we should briefly take a look at the Sermon on the Mount, which is said to be one of Jesus' most important series of teachings. Daniel Harrington notes:
"The sermon begins with nine 'beatitudes' (see 5:3–12) in which Jesus declares as 'happy' or 'blessed' those who practice certain virtues, and promises them an eternal reward and the fullness of God's kingdom." (Jesus and Virtue Ethics: Building Bridges Between New Testament Studies and Moral Theology, pg. 62)
Jesus laid out what a life for those that follow him look like in detail. One ought to be merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker, thirst for righteousness, etcetera (Matt. 5:2-10). The Sermon does not merely include what right actions are, but includes sections on proper desires. Not only is it wrong to murder, but it is wrong to desire to murder or wish ill on someone (Matt. 5:22). Avoiding adultery is good, but one also should not covet after another man's woman in their heart (Matt. 5:28). In other words, merely avoiding immoral actions is not enough. One must also not desire vices. A believer is called to desire what is good.
The Sermon is not necessarily laying down universal moral commands. For example, Matthew 5:9 says, "Blessed are the peacemakers," but this doesn't imply absolute Pacifism, as it would contradict passages in the Old Testament where it explicitly says there is a time for war (Ecc. 3:8). The point of the Sermon is to teach what a virtuous life ought to look like. A follower of Christ ought to use reason to know what is proper to do in various circumstances. For example, in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus offers guidance on how one ought to pray by presenting the Lord's prayer (vss. 9-15). This is a model of how to pray. It's not a command for followers to always pray in this exact way.
In reality, the Sermon on the Mount mixes in exhortations, parables, hyperbole, declarations, commands, etc. It is best understood as displaying what a virtuous life ought to look like. It's not a law code. Building on this, it's important to understand a proper action is context sensitive. Under Virtue Ethics, one should not necessarily apply a universal maxim to every situation. Sometimes the proper action will depend on what is at stake, who is involved, what is the background, etc. Aristotle advocated against the idea there were fixed universal laws that dictate actions, and instead he argued the right action would depend on the circumstances one finds themselves in. Although the ethics of the NT may be a bit more strict, it still places an emphasis on being sensitive to the context of situations.
In 1st Corinthians chapter 8, Paul lays out instructions on how to deal with meat that has been sacrificed to Pagan idols. Instead of stating an absolute prohibition against meat sacrificed to idols, Paul instructed Christians to use reason to come to the proper ethical decision based on context. In other words, the right action is not determined only by a law. Instead, the Christian had to make the proper decision based on the context: if eating caused another to stumble, then you ought to abstain; if not, then there's no harm done. The value of the action depends on the context.
A Deontologist might reply that there's still a universal law given here: that one should always abstain if it's going to cause another to stumble. This objection can be addressed by asking: how are we to know if eating the meat will cause another believer to stumble? To answer such a question, one must be sensitive to the context, which in this case would be knowledge of the fellow believer and your relation to him. It is the context that determines the right action, not a universal law. Moreover, Paul states that the primary goal for the believer should be to love (1 Cor. 13). The first consideration is once again not the rightness of action, but having love for one another. From this, knowledge of the proper action will follow.
Paul often explains that living a proper life as a believer will take work and practice. He reminded Timothy to attend readings, practice what these things mean, and keep a close watch on himself (1 Tim. 4:13-14). Elsewhere, he directs that all believers must work on their faith (Phili. 2:12). Beyond this, he also noted that not all Christians would have the same gifts, and to accept that this was normal (1 Cor. 12). For some, certain things may be a hindrance, whereas for others it is acceptable (Rom. 14:2-4). What matters is that we love and build one another up (1 Thess. 5:11). Right actions flow from love and knowledge of virtue. Rules are not the primary motives that dictate our actions; rules are secondary in this regard.
An interesting case can be studied with regards to divorce in the Gospels. Jesus preaches against divorce (Mark 10:7-9) and it is often interpreted to mean "divorce is always wrong, regardless of circumstances." However, it should be noted the prohibition on divorce is not a universal law. The context can affect whether or not a divorce is permissible. Jesus says that one can divorce over sexual immorality. Paul also has a situation where divorce is permissible, namely if one spouse is an unbeliever and wishes to leave (1 Cor. 7:15). The implication one can derive is divorce is not ideal, but there are circumstances where it may be the proper action to take. Given the other features of Christian Virtue Ethics we already covered, the proper action to take will depend on the circumstances and what the virtuous agent thinks is the most loving thing to do. A universal prohibition on divorce is not a Christian ethic. Instead, one ought to discern the proper action from circumstances. However, it's clear in most cases divorce would not be the virtuous thing to do.
Building on this, it's important to note that within NT ethics, certain acts are always wrong. For example, idolatry and sexual immorality are always wrong (1 Cor. 10:14, Col. 3:15, 1 Pet. 4:13). There are no possible scenarios where it would be okay to rape, because such an act would never flow from a virtuous character. But this concept is not foreign to theories of Virtue Ethics. Aristotle noted that for some actions, no qualifications could make them virtuous. Actions such as rape or murder are always wrong, because they would never flow from a virtuous character. So it's not as if a Virtue Ethicist cannot claim that some actions are always wrong. They simply are qualified as being unable to flow from virtue, whereas actions like lying or waging war could be considered virtuous for the right reason.
Now, despite Christian Virtue Ethics having many similarities with Eudaimonism (Aristotelian ethics), there are also numerous differences beyond what we've already noted. One of the deficiencies of how Aristotle lays out his ethical theory is that it is essentially an all-boys club. Aristotle writes mainly to aristocratic men, excluding women and slaves. In his view, women were inferior to men and slaves lacked the necessary rational faculty. But the Christians rejected this mentality, as the teachings of Christ and the apostles were available to all (Matt. 28:19). Paul said, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). Peter wrote that all Christians were part of the priesthood of Christ (1 Pet. 2:5). Jesus had women followers (Luke 8:2-3), and they were entrusted with delivering revelation (Mark 15:40–16:8). What we find throughout the NT is a radical change to how women were viewed in the ancient world. Paul is also likely building on Aristotle's household structure and refining it. David deSilva says the household codes of the NT are "...following the pairs laid out as early as Aristotle to such a degree as to suggest that these were standard topics in ethical instruction" (Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity, pg. 231). But Paul adds an important preface: submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:20-21). DeSilva says:
"...husbands, we cannot then ignore the distinctively Christian addition they bring to this arrangement; husbands are to be subject to their wives as well." (Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity, pg. 233)
Thus Paul doesn't break down the traditional perspective on the structure of the family, but he does add the idea that we all must submit to each other in reverence, love, unity, and cooperation because all are equal before God. There is no explicit mention in the NT calling for the abolishment of slavery, but it should be noted that Paul taught that slaves should be seen as equals. In the letter to Philemon, Paul is clear that his slave is no longer "as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved" (vs. 16). Thus, within Christian ethics class distinctions were supposed to evaporate. All were brothers and sisters of one family.
An important aspect of Christian ethics is that it wasn't a standalone ethical theory. It's embedded in the larger Christian worldview. The ethical framework is dependent on Christian doctrines. For Aristotle, his ethical theory is for men who were raised well. This is why these specific men desire to be virtuous and perform right actions. As for why the believer does good and desires to be virtuous, it's not because one was raised well, but because they have been activated by the power of God's Spirit (John 3:6, 1 Cor. 12:13). For believers, the reason as to why we desire to be good and virtuous is because the Spirit of God has regenerated us. He loves us so we can love others (1 John 4:19). One is meant to look to the life of Christ and what he has done by dying on the cross, to know that we are loved and forgiven. This in turn is meant to activate a good life, having seen what we have gained and been forgiven of. He calls and activates us to do similar to those around us. This is a more open system for people of all groups and classes. One only has to call upon the name of the Lord to be included. It does not require a specific gender or to be raised a certain way.
The goal of Aristotelian ethics is to achieve 'eudaimonia.' However, within the Bible the goal is as the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it: "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever." Since the central aspect of Biblical Eschatology is that humans will continue on forever in resurrected bodies, the aim of ethics is more than living a good life presently. Living a good life now is important, but it was only one aspect in the Christian worldview. Humans are meant to live beyond this life, so the aim is also about building virtuous souls that will continue on. The importance of this is more crucial than it may seem at first. Paul said that we must all appear before judgment, so that "every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor. 15:10).
Being a virtuous person requires integrity, because one will still have to answer to God after death. If one can commit an evil act and no one finds out, then from the outside perspective he or she may still appear virtuous. Culturally speaking, the ancient world was very different from our own. All wrongdoings centered around public honor and shame. One did good to receive public honor, and one did not do what was bad to receive public shame. Right and wrong were connected to one's public honor and shame in the ancient Greco-Roman world. Thus good and evil were public ideas, not personal ideas. Ethical demands were grounded in the community in one's public appearance
The Biblical idea of an omniscient God who cared about our ethical status laid a foundation for integrity and personal guilt to emerge. Now one ought to do good because he is beholden to God, not just the community. Believers are to remain focused on God's approval and on the actions that lead them, regardless of the world's response. This lays down fertile ground for integrity to emerge. So the Biblical worldview has another important element built in that encourages ethical behavior, regardless of the honor it brings. One ought to do good because of a commitment to God not, because it might bring honor to one's name publicly.

Implications for Preterists

Paul believed that the Second Coming would happen in his generation, and prescribed certain things in the NT on the basis of that belief. An example of an exhortation that would no longer apppy to us today would be 1st Corinthians 7:24-29, where Paul argues that the times him and his fellow Christians were in called for celibacy, being that the Lord was fast approaching. It wasn't a sin if you did get married, of course; it was just harder to serve the Lord in this context if you had a family to worry about. Thus, Paul encouraged being single.
So, we need to be careful when reading the NT and determining what prohibitions or exhortations are still applicable to us today. Context is key.

I live in the EU and my Girlfriend lives in the UK. She has now already some time ago paid the HM Passport Office to get her passport, and they are repeatedly asking her to make someone confirm her identity, which can be done online
at : https://www.passport.service.gov.uk/confirm-identity
There is a list of eligible people who can do this, and she had already a few people do it, who know her for many years. But the HMPO does always say that those people are not eligible, while they are on the list and they do have a British Passport and did everything correct, to confirm her identity.
The problem is now, she does not know many people, and has already made everyone do this process that she knows, and they know her for many years, long enough to be eligible. But every time it is being rejected for no reason, and my Girlfriend is also NOT wanted or anything, she is just a normal person without any criminal history.
This rejections do have an impact on her mental health, every time they refuse someone she is getting mentally heavily unstable and I have a hard time calming her down, because she always thinks she will never be able to ever leave the UK and come to me, she is mentally very unstable and this worries me much. What worries me the most is, we do not have any eligible people left she knows, since she has not many contacts due to her mental health issues, it feels to me as if she is living in a communist country, where people are not allowed to leave - how is Britain a "free country" if she has no way now to ever get a passport and come to me to live with me ?
Where can I find eligible people with British Passport that would be willing to confirm her identity online or how do I get help at getting her passport ? On the website it says the following to make sure someone can confirm the identity :
You can only confirm someone’s identity if you:
are 18 or over live in the UK have a current UK passport have known the person applying for at least 2 years know the person applying as a friend, neighbour or colleague (not just someone who knows you professionally)
You must work in (or be retired from) a ‘recognised profession’. For example:
accountant airline pilot articled clerk of a limited company assurance agent of recognised company bank or building society official barrister chairman or director of a limited company chiropodist commissioner for oaths councillor, for example local or county civil servant (permanent) dentist director, manager or personnel officer of a VAT-registered company engineer with professional qualifications financial services intermediary, for example a stockbroker or insurance broker fire service official funeral director insurance agent (full time) of a recognised company journalist Justice of the Peace legal secretary (fellow or associate member of the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs) licensee of a public house local government officer manager or personnel officer of a limited company member, associate or fellow of a professional body Member of Parliament Merchant Navy officer minister of a recognised religion (including Christian Science) nurse (RGN or RMN) officer of the armed services optician paralegal (certified paralegal, qualified paralegal or associate member of the Institute of Paralegals) person with honours, for example an OBE or MBE pharmacist photographer (professional) police officer Post Office official president or secretary of a recognised organisation Salvation Army officer social worker solicitor surveyor teacher or lecturer trade union officer travel agent (qualified) valuer or auctioneer (fellow or associate members of the incorporated society) Warrant Officers and Chief Petty Officers Who cannot confirm someone’s identity
You cannot confirm someone’s identity if:
you’re related by birth or marriage you’re in a relationship with them or live together you work for HM Passport Office you work for UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) on British citizenship or right of abode applications you’re a doctor - unless you know the person who has asked you well (for example, you’re a good friend)
To me this list seems unreasonably complicated and I do not know how anyone can actually get a Passport in the UK at all.
Anyone knows how to get help ? We already called the HMPO but they give a fuck and do not help at all, they do simply not seem to care. We are getting very desperate and I have a hard time convincing her to stay alive, and this is destroying us and our relationship.

I live in the EU and my Girlfriend lives in the UK. She has now already some time ago paid the HM Passport Office to get her passport, and they are repeatedly asking her to make someone confirm her identity, which can be done online
at : https://www.passport.service.gov.uk/confirm-identity
There is a list of eligible people who can do this, and she had already a few people do it, who know her for many years. But the HMPO does always say that those people are not eligible, while they are on the list and they do have a British Passport and did everything correct, to confirm her identity.
The problem is now, she does not know many people, and has already made everyone do this process that she knows, and they know her for many years, long enough to be eligible. But every time it is being rejected for no reason, and my Girlfriend is also NOT wanted or anything, she is just a normal person without any criminal history.
This rejections do have an impact on her mental health, every time they refuse someone she is getting heavily mentally instable and I have a hard time calming her down, because she always thinks she will never be able to ever leave the UK and come to me, she is mentally very unstable and this worries me much. What worries me the most is, we do not have any eligible people left she knows, since she has not many contacts due to her mental health issues, it feels to me as if she is living in a communist country, where people are not allowed to leave - how is Britain a "free country" if she has no way now to ever get a passport and come to me to live with me ?
Where can I find eligible people with British Passport that would be willing to confirm her identity online or how do I get help at getting her passport ? On the website it says the following to make sure someone can confirm the identity :
You can only confirm someone’s identity if you:
are 18 or over live in the UK have a current UK passport have known the person applying for at least 2 years know the person applying as a friend, neighbour or colleague (not just someone who knows you professionally)
You must work in (or be retired from) a ‘recognised profession’. For example:
accountant airline pilot articled clerk of a limited company assurance agent of recognised company bank or building society official barrister chairman or director of a limited company chiropodist commissioner for oaths councillor, for example local or county civil servant (permanent) dentist director, manager or personnel officer of a VAT-registered company engineer with professional qualifications financial services intermediary, for example a stockbroker or insurance broker fire service official funeral director insurance agent (full time) of a recognised company journalist Justice of the Peace legal secretary (fellow or associate member of the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs) licensee of a public house local government officer manager or personnel officer of a limited company member, associate or fellow of a professional body Member of Parliament Merchant Navy officer minister of a recognised religion (including Christian Science) nurse (RGN or RMN) officer of the armed services optician paralegal (certified paralegal, qualified paralegal or associate member of the Institute of Paralegals) person with honours, for example an OBE or MBE pharmacist photographer (professional) police officer Post Office official president or secretary of a recognised organisation Salvation Army officer social worker solicitor surveyor teacher or lecturer trade union officer travel agent (qualified) valuer or auctioneer (fellow or associate members of the incorporated society) Warrant Officers and Chief Petty Officers Who cannot confirm someone’s identity
You cannot confirm someone’s identity if:
you’re related by birth or marriage you’re in a relationship with them or live together you work for HM Passport Office you work for UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) on British citizenship or right of abode applications you’re a doctor - unless you know the person who has asked you well (for example, you’re a good friend)
To me this list seems unreasonably complicated and I do not know how anyone can actually get a Passport in the UK at all.
Anyone knows how to get help ? We already called the HMPO but they give a fuck and do not help at all, they do simply not seem to care. We are getting very desperate and I have a hard time convincing her to stay alive, and this is destroying us and our relationship.

First time taker here and was finishing up my 3L year. Just graduated May ‘24 and was an out of state test taker for Texas. Studied for 5 weeks and passed the Texas Bar and did about 200 hours on BarBri. For me, the issue with the Bar was learning and remembering the law and so I focused on the barbri lectures and MC.
MEE/MPT
I did not write out a single MEE as writing has never been an issue. I’m assuming most people in law school can write well and thus the issue with the essays are issue spotting and knowing the black letter law. This is why I focused on LEARNING the law through the lectures and MC questions instead of wasting hours writing essays. Something I found helpful was looking up the model questions and then reading the selected answers. This gave me an idea of how to structure my essays and see what the examiners liked.
For the MPT, all I did was watch BarMD free video on YouTube and then I read the library portion of a sample MPT to get a feel for issue spotting. One thing I found helpful during the exam was that I would read the cases first and immediately type out the Rules into the test document. I would then just copy and paste the rules when needed which saved me a ton of time as I didn’t have to re-read the case etc. Ultimately, the MPT is all about time management as we all have learned how to issue spot by being in law school.
MBE:
I don’t really know what to say other than just to study. Do a ton of MC to get familiar with the format and also to help get exposed to the more nuanced areas of the law. I did some BarBri MC but what I found helpful were the MC questions from the ncbe themselves. They are fairly cheap and well worth it as they come from the source themselves and are how the questions on the bar are worded. Now, these MC’s by the ncbe are on the easier side but they give you a feel for the formatting of the Q’s. I also just hated Barbri questions which is probably why I liked the ncbe Q’s so much.
Overall, don’t stress about not studying enough/ not completing your course. A lot of the bar prep courses allot a ton of time to writing essays for every subject and for writing MPTs. Personally, I’m a believer that if you know the law then the MEE’s won’t be bad and thus just focus your time on learning the law and practicing the MC Q’s.
Hope this is helpful

Hello,
I am currently reading a research paper for my class which is about the Healthcare system in the Netherlands.
Follwing is what I gathered, if you could be so kind to answer, I would be grateful.

1. There is no public and private Insurance in your country as this difference was eliminated in 2006 with the introduction of a new system.
2. Each Insurance offers a basic standard package and an (optional) additional package. The premium of the standard one is same for every individual and doesn't depend on the income, occupation and health status of the individual. There is no price discrimination.
3. Additional package depends on your health profile and can be different for different individuals.
4. You can change your Insurance Policy every year as the contents of the standard package change annually.
5. You are free to choose any Insurance company for the standard package. The company also is obliged to accept anyone for the standard package.

Any other main features, which are different when comparing with other EU countries?
Has your decision about your Insurance remained constant or changed every now and then?
EDIT : Thank you everyone for your inputs :)
I could now relate better with the research paper I was assigned for my class.
To your good health!