I really don't know how I got so lucky! I found my perfect person early on and have been so fortunate to share over half my life with a man who continue to make my heart sing! He's so respectful and even as my skin starts to sag he makes me feel like a princess! He's funny too- omg how he's funny! Even on the hardest days he knows how to make me crack a smile. For the last 10 years we've been like the sun and the moon due to different work shifts (he's 3rd shift) but those moments we have together keep me motivated for the rest of the week. I am a morning person now because he comes home when I wake up and it's s better way to start the day than the finest coffee in the world. I am so proud of him and feel so lucky. I can't wait until we share the same schedule again because I love falling asleep in his arms. No one ever knows what tomorrow brings, but in this moment I'm si grateful for the life we built.

I've been on a bit of a dimension 20 binge since the beginning of the year, and it hit me today that I appreciate all of the intrepid heroes so much but for just such different reasons.
I love Ally's chaos energy, and their ability to draw laughs out of any situation.
I love Brennan's childlike amazement of everything combined with his ability to guide players and tells stories like nobody else can.
I love Emily for her willingness to throw herself into any situation and make decisions that most other people wouldn't.
I love the way Lou handles, character conflict and the way he handles serious conversations in character.
I love how mellow but genuinely funny Zach is, and the way he can really drive a bit home.
I love the way Siobhan brings her characters to life and her strategic approach to combat.
I love Brian for the way he bounces off other characters and allows his characters to take huge losses if it means an overall win.
There are loads of other things I can say about each of them, but I really just love the way they compliment each other, and how genuinely joyful it is to watch any series with the intrepid heroes.
I love all of the guest casts as well and I love the guest DMs who allow Brennan to play, especially because I can't get enough of watching Brandon as a player.

Back in 2016, I was working at a roadside diner west of St. Cloud, Minnesota. Neat little place, had a bit of a 60’s vibe to it, but without the hairdo. On the slow hours of the day, or whenever we just had locals around, I’d be humming along with the chefs playing radio out of the kitchen. It wasn’t an exciting time, but it was nice to have a workplace that felt like a second home.
A couple of weekends a month, we had an all-night crew to serve passing truckers. You usually never had to do more than one shift though, and we got to make own schedules. Our boss was pretty hands-off. It was during one of those shifts, at the first week of early summer, that my life took a turn for the worse – and I didn’t even realize it.

We were used to having the occasional odd customer during those hours of the day. When this guy walked in, I didn’t know what to think. He was about 6’2, bald, and pale as chalk. He wore this worn-out t-shirt that looked like it’d been on fire. With every step, he dragged his feet, and collapsed in one of our booths, seemingly exhausted.
I looked back at the chef, and he just shrugged. Guy wasn’t hurting anyone, but he didn’t look like he was all there. But a job’s a job, so I went up to him.
“You alright there?” I asked.
He looked up at me like I was speaking a foreign language, then sunk his head back down, gently shaking it.
“Nah,” he said. “I, uh… I don’t think I am.”
He had this voice on the knife’s edge between a hysterical laugh and a howling cry. He was trembling.
“You need me to call someone?”
“Call?”
“Yeah, call someone.”
“How?”

I didn’t understand the question. I figured he was coming down from some kind of binge, and I wasn’t about to take any chances. I asked the chef to get me a side of bacon to keep the guy calm while I called the police.
As I slid the plate over to him, he sunk his face into his hands, sobbing.
“T-thank you,” he cried. “I-I’m… please…”
I sat down across from him, instinctively reaching out to grab his hand. He let me. Even at a light touch, I could feel the scars on his palm and fingertips. Whatever’d happened to him, it must’ve been awful.
“I can’t go back,” he sniffled. “Don’t make me go back. I can’t. Please, I can’t.”
“You’re not going anywhere. It’s okay,” I smiled. “You’re safe here.”
“Can you help me?” he asked. “Can you keep him out?”
“I’m sure we can figure it out,” I nodded. “Just eat up. It’s okay.”

His fingers trembled as he tentatively bit off a piece of bacon. His teeth were black, and he flinched.
“I need time,” he said. “I need time to run.”
“Don’t worry,” I assured him. “We’ve called for help.”
“I just… I just need time.”
We just sat there for a while. He calmed his breathing but kept staring out the window. I could tell he was looking for something – or someone. All I could see was a road and a handful of moths. We sat there for some time, in silence, as he carefully nibbled on the slices of maple bacon.
As two police officers entered the diner, he got up from his seat. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bundle of scrunched-up trash. A couple of singles, a plastic card, dirt, and something resembling animal bones. He tried to straighten out the bills, pushing them into my hands along with the laminated card.
“Just… I need time. I’ll come back. Please.”
I didn’t understand. I just nodded and accepted it. Seconds later, the officers asked him to step outside and explain the situation. I got busy taking orders from a couple of passing truckers, watching glimpses of the scene through the window. A couple of minutes later, the strange man was taken away.

My shift ended at sunrise. I dragged myself to my car with a yawn, shuffling around my pockets for the keys. I hadn’t thought much about the items he’d handed me, but I took a closer look. I’d thrown away the animal bones and dirt, but there were a couple of dollar bills and that laminated card left. I checked the card first.
It looked like some kind of bookmark. On one side it was completely white, and on the other side there were dried blue flower petals arranged in a spiral. Kinda reminded me of a sunflower. And finally, there were the dollar bills.
I didn’t pay much attention to these at first. Just a couple of singles. But after a closer look, I noticed something unusual. There was a man on the bill that I didn’t recognize. It took me a couple of google searches to realize that this man was Walter Mondale – the man who’d lost to Ronald Reagan’s second run for president back in ’84. Why was this man on a one-dollar bill?

Before heading to bed, I put the items down on my nightstand. In a moment of silent wonder, I looked out the window. What had that man been looking for? What’d he been running from?
There was nothing out there.
Just a couple of moths.

Waking up the next morning, I had a full day off. I spent it cleaning my apartment, watching movies, having dinner with a couple of friends, and ending the night with a couple of drinks at the pub down on the corner. No binge or anything, just got a bit boozy. I was still gonna be in bed by midnight.
I took the scenic route home; a long walk. All the way down main street, past the lake. I took a shortcut through the park by the final stretch, speeding up a bit. That place was trouble.
As I hurried by the fountain, I spotted someone in the distance. A shrouded figure at the edge of the streetlights. I stopped to observe for a second, but as I did, the lights flickered. Coming back on, the figure was gone.
I chalked it up to imagination. I was a bit drunk, after all. Besides – it was small, like a child. What the hell would a kid be doing out at this hour?

A couple of days passed. I didn’t notice anything unusual, but I kept coming back to that distressing feeling of missing something important. Looking back at it now, I just feel dumb. He was there all along. Outside the supermarket. In the parking lot. Off the highway. Hell, he was outside my window at night sometimes, but just too short for me to spot.
I’m getting ahead of myself.
It wasn’t until one morning when I was driving to work that I got a clear view of him. I was crossing a four-way street, taking a sharp left turn, when I had to throw myself on the breaks. There was a kid in the middle of the street.
I hadn’t seen him that clearly before. He was probably around 6, maybe 7 years old. Wearing a plain black shirt and a pair of light blue canvas pants. Short black hair, dark eyes, and no shoes. That particular detail stuck with me. No shoes? Why?
I almost lost control, but I was lucky. There wasn’t much traffic, and I managed to stop further down the road. There were black lines in the pavement from my screeching tires swerving back and forth. Regaining my composure, I looked in the rear-view mirror.
The kid was gone.

But that was just the start.
I’d spot him every now and then. Looking out the window at work. At the gas station. A passing face in the crowd when shopping for groceries. Every now and then, something would pull on my attention, forcing me to whip my head around, looking for the source of that ill feeling crawling up my spine. Sometimes I saw him. And even worse – sometimes I didn’t.
I remember lying awake at night, hearing moths tap against my window. There was nothing else. Nothing outside. I patrolled my apartment six times, checking every window. I’d looked everywhere, and there was no reason for me to feel the way I did. I was growing paranoid.
And yet, in the morning, my front door was unlocked, and slightly open.

It all came to a head one afternoon when I was out on my smoke break. I’d barely slept for the past three nights, and you could kinda tell I was having a bad day. As I stood there, leaning against the side door of the diner, I see the kid again. This time just across the road, maybe 50 feet or so away. I’d had enough. This had to end.
I was furious. I stormed forward, calling him out with every slur and curse I could think of. I was psyching myself up. I was in the right, and I refused to be harassed anymore – kid or not. Didn’t matter. I crossed the road, barely dodging a speeding jeep, and met him face-to-face.
“What the hell do you want?!” I’d yell. “Why are you following me?!”
He was completely expressionless. He didn’t even flinch, no matter how much I pointed or screamed. I snapped my fingers in front of his eyes, and he didn’t even blink. He just stared at me, like a porcelain doll head on a swivel.

I wasn’t thinking about the bystanders though. A couple of middle-aged men stepped up, asking in no kind terms what the hell was wrong with me. I was held back and restrained. Someone called the police. Someone else called my manager – I’d forgotten to take off my apron, so they could see the diner logo. A couple of people filmed it. One of the videos got like 120k views in a day before it fell off the map. I still see it as a react gif sometimes.
It was a disaster. After a couple of officers came by to talk to me, he’d just disappeared into thin air. The officers took me down to the station – not to detain me, but to get me away from the heated crowd. That car ride downtown sobered me up to what the hell was going on. I was being stalked by this kid, but there wasn’t a living soul out there that would believe me.
Well, maybe one.
Maybe.

I was asked a couple of questions and released within about half an hour. They told me to go home and sleep this whole thing off. That wouldn’t be a problem. I didn’t have a job to go back to anyway, according to the (many) texts I’d gotten. I had all the goddamn time in the world.
I was just about to leave when something came to mind. The two officers who’d picked me up were still waiting by their car when I turned back to them.
“Sorry, you picked up the guy I called in about at the diner, right?” I asked.
“Sure did.”
“You got any idea what happened to him?”
The two looked at one another for a moment, shrugged, and turned to me.
“Didn’t have any ID and gave a fake name. I think they took him to psych.”
“Psych?”
“Well, he was saying some, uh… strange things. There were interviews with a, uh…”
The two quieted down and flashed me a smile.
“There’s not that much we can say.”

Coming home, I decided to get to the root of this. It didn’t take me that long to find the place where the guy’d been taken; there aren’t a lot of mental health facilities in this part of the country. Especially facilities that accept involuntary subjects.
But my eyes kept drifting back to the strange dollar bills he’d given me, resting neatly on my nightstand. They were so detailed. A bit old, sure, but that only made them seem more genuine. What the hell was he doing with a handful of clearly fake dollar bills? Like, what’s the purpose? There had to be a purpose.
That unnerved me.

I managed to arrange a meeting. It wasn’t easy, and I think a lot of it boiled down to the police having no idea what could make this guy talk. For some reason, he kept providing them with false information. Maybe a familiar face, for one reason or another, might make him talk.
Just a couple of days later, I was putting my items in a metal bowl on the second floor at a mental health institute in the next town over. I asked one of the nurses if I could keep one of my dollar bills. Apparently, that was okay.
I was shuffled through a couple of locked doors and escorted to an off-white side-room. No décor, no locks. The guy was already there.

He’d been dressed down into these neutral eggshell-white garbs. It was strange seeing him in a lit-up room like this. I didn’t know what to expect.
Getting a closer look at him, he was probably in his 50’s. It’d been hard to tell earlier. I couldn’t get over just how pale he was; it was almost a complete lack of pigment. It looked sickly. His thin arms didn’t help – he looked malnourished. And yet, he was smiling.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hello to you too,” I smiled. “You doing okay?”
“I’m… I’m pretty good,” he nodded. “Thank you.”
I sat down across from him and took out the dollar bill he’d given me.
“I wanted to ask you about this.”
“For the bacon,” he said, matter-of-factly.
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, was that not enough?”
“No, it’s…”
I took a moment to compose myself. I had too many questions.

He sighed, took the bill, and looked it over. Looking back at me, I could tell there was something painful stirring in his mind. His smile slowly faded.
“Sorry,” he said. “I try to forget sometimes. It’s easier than making sense of it.”
“Let’s start with something simple,” I nodded. “Like… your name. Where you’re from.”
“Those things are pretty far from simple.”
He was looking straight through me; his eyes sinking back to deeper, more uncomfortable thoughts.

His name was Samuel, and he was born around these parts in back in the 1970’s. He’d worked as a telecommunications specialist out of St. Cloud back in the 90's. He had a wife, three children, and a four-bedroom house.
“But it… that was all before, see?” he explained. “Then it all just…”
“Just what?” I asked. “What happened?”
He looked at me, opening and closing his mouth, looking for the right words to come out. Nothing happened. He shook his head, trying again.
“It started with the street preachers,” he said. “Hundreds of them, marching on every city. All saying the same doomsday shit as always. World was dying. All coming to an end.”
“I haven’t seen anything like that.”
“Then there were storms,” he continued without skipping a beat. “Some would last for weeks. Others longer. Entire cities would be flooded or torn apart. Earthquakes causing monster waves along the east coast, sending shockwaves all the way to mainland Europe. Then, Yellowstone.”
“Yellowstone?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Lights out.”

Samuel was painting this apocalyptic vision of a world undone. Catastrophe after catastrophe. Hooded people marching the streets, screaming for the mercy of a mad god. But there was more to it.
“Then things stopped making sense. It’s as if the rules changed,” he continued. “Roads would stop leading home. Trees would change color. People turned twisted and corrupted. Like… one of our neighbors couldn’t eat anything but gunpowder. There was a woman just down the street who tried to kill anyone wearing glasses. It was… pandemonium.”
I didn’t say anything. What he was saying didn’t make any sense, but he was trying his best to keep his rambling coherent.
“The plants died. Trees too. The only thing that could grow in that environment were these twisted blue things that popped up out of nowhere. But people… people are what got twisted the most.”
He told me of these towering 7-foot-tall humanoid creatures that roamed the forests. Black as night – not even reflecting light. Arms reaching all the way to their knees. Elongated, inhuman things that all used to be someone he knew.

“The doomsayers all said the same thing,” he continued. “That God was a scared little boy, and that he was dying. Everything that was happening was just an expression of that ceaseless, bottomless, existential grief.”
Samuel looked back and forth, finally burying his face in his hands.
“It all broke down. Roads stopped leading anywhere. No power. No water. Julie changed. Ollie changed. Tobie made himself a mask and wandered off into the woods. Ira just… disappeared. And for… years? Has it been years? It’s just been me.”
“But you’re here, now,” I said. “And what you’re describing, it… it didn’t happen.”
“It happened,” he insisted. “Just not… here. But here.”
He tapped his finger on the single dollar bill.
“Somewhere, somehow, I must’ve taken a wrong turn. I slipped through something broken, and now I’m here. And… and he’s coming to bring me back. He doesn’t want anyone to leave.”
“Who?”
“Just! Just…” he chuckled. “Just a sad little boy who’s been told he’s going to die.”
I didn’t know what to say. I just sat with him for a while, holding his hand.

Before I left, Samuel got up from his chair. He looked at me, forcing himself to smile.
“If I go back, I’ll try not to… to be like them. I’ll try. And… and I’ll be the one to say something.”
He let out a painful little laugh, shaking his head.
“Maybe just a… hello.”

I left that day with more questions than answers. I couldn’t picture the world he’d lived through. Then again, how could it be true? None of it had happened. But what was he gaining from lying about it?
That was the last time I saw Samuel. A few days later, he went missing, as if he’d disappeared into thin air. I didn’t know what to think of it. There was nothing on the cameras – no one entering or leaving the building. No quick escapes, no clever plans. He’d just walked into his room and disappeared. Nothing left but a couple of moths fluttering about.
And for a while, that was it. That was the end of the story. I got busy looking for a new job, and all the little items given to me by Samuel was put away into a little box in my glove compartment. Life soldiered on, and no matter how many questions I had, there was no one around to answer them. Even the strange kid that’d been following me was, seemingly, gone.

A couple of months later, I was driving home from a friend’s place. I stopped at a four-way street, waiting for a couple of trucks to pass, when there was a knock on the passenger side window. I almost choked on my own spit. Scared me half to death.
Looking out, I could see that kid again. I hadn’t seen him for some time, and I quickly bounced between curiosity and downright anger.
“What do you want?” I yelled out.
There was no response. Instead, the door just opened. It’d been locked. As he opened the door, he pointed to the glove box.
“You want his things?” I asked. “Is that it?”
He nodded. I wanted to lash out, but there was something telling me I shouldn’t. Instead, I reached over, opened the glove compartment, and pointed to the box.
“Just take it and leave me alone,” I said. “Get it over with.”

He reached in and grabbed the box. So much effort for a couple of mementos. I turned my head back to face the road. The kid backed out. But of course, I had to get the last word in.
“Not even a thank you, huh?”
That made him pause. He looked at me, tilting his head. As he opened his mouth to speak, a moth fluttered out. Then another. And another.
Then – darkness.

What happened next is hard to describe. My memory of it is fragmented. It’s like trying to watch a buffering video, where long stretches of it are just nothing – but you know something was supposed to happen in-between.
Blink. I was sitting in my car. There was a dark blue sky. No clouds, no stars. Figures in the distance. An open field with blue flowers bending to a howling wind. A powerful stench of ammonia stinging my nostrils. Something to my immediate left, ripping the car door straight off the hinges.
Blink. Running. Ruins of a town. It seemed familiar, but there was barely anything left. My leg was bleeding. I was being followed. No matter where I turned, or where I ran, I seemed to end up at the same intersection.
Blink. A three-story building, brimming with life. Glimpses of arm-long antennae through the broken windows. Clickety-clack of bursting wings tapping against crumbling concrete. A loud warning shriek as something rubs its legs together; a call for prey.
Blink. Hiding in a tipped-over trash container. The rain has stopped in mid-air. Raindrops held in indefinite suspension. I suck water drops out of the air to quench my thirst. My hands are shaking from the blood loss.

Countless little images. Some in order, some not. I have no idea how much time passed. In the moment, it must’ve been much longer than I can remember. Days. Weeks, even. There’s no way to tell.
Blink. Walking through a barren field. It feels like walking through a dead forest, but there are no trees. Only those willingly impaled and wailing.
Blink. An abandoned booth by a broken highway. A sign offers phone calls, in exchange for “real teeth”. There are six sizes of pliers hanging on a wall within. All are bloodied – even the small ones.
Blink. The church that had burned down the night before had reappeared. The people inside, too. They couldn’t leave. Tonight, they would burn again.

Somewhere in this nightmarish puzzle-pieced fragment of nothing, there was a constant drive in me to get away. To get out. I knew that if I’d gotten there, I could get back home again. I just had no idea how. Maybe finding the kid. Asking. Begging. Something.
The last fragment of memory from that space was being cornered in a cellar. They were banging on the door. I’d tipped over a wardrobe to keep them out, but they weren’t going to stop. They were never going to stop. I couldn’t let them kill me again – not like that.
One of the Changed ones were coming. I don’t know what that means, or how I know the name, but I knew of it. There was a mirror, and I could see the signs. It stepped out. Seven feet tall, black as night. Elongated arms and neck. Barely a body at all – just a void space vaguely shaped like the remnants of a person.
Except this one felt… familiar. It was the first one to speak.
“H E L L O.”

Blink. Running. A cold hand. If I squeezed too hard, my fingers went straight through it. I had to keep up. He was showing me something.
Blink. They were flooding over the school bus, tipping it by their sheer numbers. Eruptions from the sewer grates. They were famished.
Blink. An open field. Sunflowers facing me, no matter where I turn. It’s not far.
Blink. I look back, as I’m pushed over the edge. He looks just like the rest of them. They aren’t angered by his betrayal.
They feel nothing, as I fall.

In February of 2017, I was found by the side of the road. I’d been gone for months. My car was too. I came back with nothing but the clothes on my back and countless scars. I’ve been told that I didn’t make any sense at first; I was just rambling nonsense. Or maybe it just sounded like nonsense to these people.
Over time, I forgot more and more of these fragmented images. And the less I remember, the more I can move on. Still, I’ve written them down over time, and they paint an ugly, insane picture of what I’d been going through. Some of which I, myself, have a hard time believing. Then again, I know myself well enough to see that there’s no point in lying.

I haven’t seen Samuel, or that strange kid ever since. I think this is all over, for now. There’s nothing left for me to give.
But even now, years later, I still wake up to that feeling at night. That there’s something wrong, or that I’m forgetting something. That there’s something near that I’m looking straight through, or past.
And every now and then, I hear the flutter of a moth’s wing, tapping against my bedroom window.
And I think I know what it wants.
It wants me to go back.

Hi all,
I see lots of comments and posts asking and answering about pre dry fasting prep including carnivore diets and being already fat adapted making it way easier.
Given carnivore can both include or exclude dairy depending on the individual. Does any one here have dairy before a fast and notice the difference or ease/difficulty cause of it?
Reason I ask is I done 4 days recently which was way easier than I remember doing DF last time in 2022 annnd I had a lot of dairy prior to starting my DF recently (ice cream and dairy milks - not my usual food of choice), however I do typically follow an AB diet 90% of the time.
Is there anyone here who finds it beneficial? I am aware dairy takes longer to digest but find it helps with satiety. Does this cause mucus problem in the body and as such hinders the effectiveness of the DF?
Would love to hear about your thoughts and experiences purposely excluding or including dairy.

Hello, today I was driving and was hit by an ambulance. I was on a two way street, two lanes on each side. I was in the right lane and about to cross an intersection. The right line was straight and right turn only, while the left lane was left turn only. There was an ambulance sitting in the left turn lane with no signal or emergency lights on. I drove past it on the right, going straight across the intersection, when suddenly the ambulance starts turning right on the intersection from the left turn lane, directly into my car. Again, he did not have his emergency lights on or a turn signal on at all.
Really weird too because it wasn’t like he just pulled up to that lane, he was sitting there already as I came up to the intersection. In a joking sense, it was really like he waited for my car to be right next to him before he turned into me. Obviously that wasn’t the case, but that’s pretty much what happened.
Police came, got a report. The driver said sorry to me and that was his fault, and that he didn’t realize he didn’t have his lights on. My car was side-swiped and it looks ugly but functional and no airbags went off. It’s a two year old car I bought new. Damage will be costly as two panels, the rear driver door and one wheel will just need to be replaced. I have a good auto body shop I trust that does excellent work.
The insurance from the ambulance is listed as “VA Assoc of Counties Group Self Insured”. I guess I’ll be dealing with the county? They’re not open now so I can’t talk to them.
Will this be worse than dealing with a private insurance company?
Will my car be completely repaired to pre-accident condition?
Will I be able to use my shop that I prefer? (they charge normal area market price, I used them once before for a different accident a while ago, but I pretty much only trust my car with them)
And I did already report the accident to my insurance, which is not a great company (not geico but similar) but my coverage is good.

I am probably not DID. I do refer to myself as the Dart Collective.
I am in therapy for CPTSD. Adding ADHD, and perhaps some Autism adds intererst. My doc precribed the ADHD drugs to see if they would help with my focus. They do. My T. says a diagnosis of autism wouldn't make any difference in treatment, and since it costs about a thousand bucks to get 6the diagnosis, I ahven't bothered. I test well above threshold on most of the online tests.
I've taken the DES II test a couple times. Depending on how literally I take the percentage answers I get a score between 15 and 30.
I'm pretty functional. My reaction to trauma was to numb emotions. Generally I don't find emotions very useful, and I find being able to partially mute them to be an advantage.
However in the 2 years of therapy, I've become more aware of my emotional state and more aware of somatics. I rarely fully dissociate. Dual awareness has helped me with this. In some ways it's too bad. Turning my brain off was convenient and peaceful.
Here's the new thing however:
I have a new form of hijacking. Perhaps it's always been here and only now am I noticing it.
Persona A: High energy. Almost manic. Quick witted, hard working, very positive. Confident.
Persona B: Down. Lower edge of window of tolerance. Indifferent. Doom scrolls. Reluctant to go to bed.
Persona C: Very creative. Improvises on piano. Comes up with lots of ideas.
Persona D: Toxic shame. Low libido. Asexual in outlook.
Persona E: Reckless. Ignores bad consequences.
Persona F: High Libido. Tries to hookup with half the guys on Grindr.
Persona G: Law abiding, rule follower.
Persona H: Rebel. Shit disturber.
These persona are not exclusive. I get mixes of them. Unlike emotional flashbackes persona mixes can hang around for days.
But I don't consider them alters: When I'm in a mix, the contrary components are just, well wrong. "That's just wrong", the Ace persona thinks about the HL persona.
Some naturally go together. E and H for example. But I can be E, without being H. E.g. As E I will try pushing harder on trampoline, but am not rebellious. As H: I can quietly and carefully plan my fecal material redistribution plots.
But I don't think of these as alters. Near as I can tell there is no discontinuity of memory. So they all share the same memory space.
So how do less capable parts become Alters?

So, I really wanted to have a post where we can sort of break down the differences between the book(s) and the show because as someone who LOVES books... I actually find that I like the Bridgerton shows more than I like the books in a lot of ways. So, I wanted to give my thoughts, but I also really would love to hear everyone else's thoughts!

• The Lord Debling of it all
  • I'm undecided on this. I know that a lot of fans (myself included) sort of wanted Colin to be knocked down just a bit and also have Pen have other suitors besides Colin. However, after watching it twice, I didn't feel like there was ever a true match between Lord Debling and Colin so it wasn't like he was a REAL choice here anyway. Lord Debling travelled a lot and Pen wanted a love match. On top of that, Lord Debling removed himself from the equation anyway which... I don't know, I think removed choice from Penelope.
  • Nic and Luke N. have both said they felt like they needed to be on equal terms by the time they got together, but I feel like by having Colin teach Pen how to obtain them...it didn't put them on equal footing. Do I have an issue with this? I'm not entirely sure. I think in some ways it did put them on equal footing because it allows Pen to stop putting Colin on a damn pedestal, but I think whenever you're learning from someone you once liked about romance then you're still not on equal footing. Idk. Just something to comment on and discuss!
• The journal
  • Different writing obviously. In the book, it feels more elegant because it is about his travels. In the show... it's about his sexcapades. And yet I still think it's beautifully done. I wish they had added more to this scene upon scene watch. I like the last line in the scene because I think it's refreshing to see that he says that he marvels at how one can feel so much intimacy and yet still feel like they're at a great distance. I wish there was just more like there was in the books. Pen mentions that she wishes that she'd known that he kept a journal and she says that she can tell that Colin enjoyed writing it. I thin it would speak more to their friendship if they added that. And I think Colin constantly traveling in the books was always a way to show that he was searching for something. And 'purpose' was a large theme in the books and i can feel the show is like sort of 'grasping' at it but they're never fully clutching it and I wish that we got more in depth conversation between the two of them about that.
  • When Colin cuts himself, it's very similar to the original. I'm glad they kept it in. I think it allows for the organic sexual tension and I think it's a touching nod to the books.
• The first kiss
  • Ugh. I am so glad that they kept this scene. However, I am NOT happy that they included the fact that Pen says thank you at the end but they did NOT include the stuff that Colin says afterward. In the book, we get the luxury of knowing what Colin is thinking about during this scene. That's the beauty of books. But with media...film/television, we so heavily rely on the acting. Colin is upset that she thanks her in the book. He says "Don't thank me" and repeats that. And then Pen emphasizes (because she's stupidly not understanding the situation) that Colin shouldn't be upset about the kiss and Colin says 'I'm not.' and then Pen adds 'I practically forced you' and Colin once again emphasizes 'You didn't force me'. I really, really, really, really wanted to see that. I'm so sad they didn't include this. Instead, Pen runs off and the scene ends. And then in the next scene, we get a dream sequence that shows that Colin is thinking about the kiss, but I think I would have preferred the book scene because I think it would have shown some more acting chops for Luke.
  • I really liked that they didn't include the line that Colin says which is about how a kiss is for two people. I think it makes Pen and Colin's kiss seem far more organic and beautiful to me that it's just natural between the two of them.
• The Carriage scene
  • I think I can safely say all Polin fans were super excited about the inclusion of the carriage scene. Now...the difference is the timing of it all. In the books, Colin knows that Pen is LWD by the time they do all the sexy stuff in the carriage and by the time Colin proposes. I feel super conflicted about this for a few reasons. I think I like the idea that Colin and Pen can have their moment to love one another before the drama of LWD especially because the context and general idea of LWD is far worse in the books than in the show. Pen is far more 'grey' in the show. She's hurt Eloise and Colin with her actions as LWD. And then continues to do so in season 3. So it's a heavier thing to explore in the books. However, I also think it would be nice to have it be different than Colin's proposal to Marina. This is the second time Colin has been left in the dark prior to him proposing to someone.
  • I think in the books, I was really frustrated by a few different points with Colin and one of them was his response to her being LWD. He seemed fine with it all and he was protective over about it. Which felt...odd. In addition, he was jealous of her success which I was not a fan of. I think it was just... not something that made me love Colin because it felt misogynistic at that point. Granted, it was historically accurate but I hope that's something that is changed.
• Francesca and John
  • I really, really, really love that we get to see John and Francesca prior to their season. I think it's really going to help explore the concept of grief and guilt in Francesca's story and I'm really hoping they lean into this. And god, I just love the simplicity to their interactions as someone who also loves music and is massively introverted. It's beautiful acting honestly.
• Eloise and LWD
  • I think I like that Eloise knows prior to Colin or not. In the books, Eloise's reaction to Pen being LWD is barely even mentioned. She's not even there when it's revealed which is upsetting as far as the book goes.
  • Jess Brownell (the showrunner this season) mentioned somewhere that she feels like Eloise and Penelope are the second lovestory of the season and I'm really looking forward to that being expanded in part 2. I am really enjoying seeing the scenes between Pen and Eloise. You can tell that Eloise still cares about Pen even though she was hurt in the past. I just wished they'd expand on it a bit more.
• Cressida
  • So Cressida plays a role in the book... but not this big of a role. And I'm actually happy they decided to expand on her characterization and back story. I think what I'm beginning to learn with Bridgerton is that the writers have made it so that nobody is a true villain in the series--instead, they're all just people who make mistakes (some bigger than others).
  • I'm looking forward to seeing how they change it because based on the promo for part 2...it almost seems like Cressida is going to try to unmask LWD rather than claim that she IS LWD like in the books.

I'm sure there is more, but I'd love to hear what everyone thought about the differences between show and book! Sorry this is so long... I had a lot of thoughts.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been the standard measure of economic growth since World War II. It is widely believed that accelerating economic growth as measured by the GDP will translate into improved living standards. However, this view is being challenged with the argument that it is better to focus on measures of wellbeing than GDP because, despite robust economic growth over the past several decades, there are still millions of citizens living in poverty.Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been the standard measure of economic growth since World War II. It is widely believed that accelerating economic growth as measured by the GDP will translate into improved living standards. However, this view is being challenged with the argument that it is better to focus on measures of wellbeing than GDP because, despite robust economic growth over the past several decades, there are still millions of citizens living in poverty.

Besides, GDP measures perpetual growth, which is unattainable. Because GDP is an outdated proxy measure of economic growth, wellbeing, which is a multidimensional approach of measuring the most important aspects of people’s life, is gaining popularity.

Perpetual Growth

Stagflation is simultaneous economic stagnation combined with high inflation. In the long run, economic growth is dependent on two drivers; productivity and labor (Dolar). Productivity is affected by multiple factors. Improvements in many facets of productivity growth have decreased or reversed since the global financial crisis. The foremost factor is the demographic crisis of western countries that threatens the growth of GDP. Developed countries have experienced deceleration of working-age population, stabilization of educational attainment, and expansion into various forms of production. Furthermore, labor reallocation from less productive to more productive sectors has decelerated since the global financial crisis. Besides, radical disruptions to education and income losses are likely to affect human capital negatively. The waning demographics of western countries imply that acceleration of productivity growth is needed. The McKinsey Global Institute projected that 80% productivity growth is required to mitigate the effects of changing demographics (49). This projection is unlikely to be achieved given the dwindling working-age population in western countries. On the contrary, productivity growth is likely to continue decreasing because of the significant changes in the demographics unless the working-age population begins to grow again.

Perpetual Growth

GDP as a measurement is very outdated because it does not measure wellbeing. It is a statistical tool used to measure how well the economy is performing. However, it neglects important factors that determine the wellbeing, such as inequality and environmental services (Gallup). GDP as a proxy measure of economic growth ignores certain aspects that do not involve monetary transactions, does not assess changes in human capital, does not discriminate activities that enhance welfare from activities that reduce welfare, does not account for cultural difference, and omits the environmental costs and rates of depletion of resources (Giannetti et al. 14). The Measure of Economic Welfare is one of the alternatives for a gross domestic product as it measures consumption in the economy as a proxy for economic welfare. It adds up the benefits of goods and services consumption and subtracts the costs associated with the consumption, such as environmental pollution, providing a picture of economic welfare. Other economic welfare measures were developed after the Measure of Economic Welfare, such as the Index of the Economic Aspects of Welfare which incorporates environmental costs in estimating economic welfare (Giannetti et al. 15). Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare is an index developed to account for the current environmental issues while addressing the long-term ecosystem and natural resource sustainable use. More indices were developed with recent ones such as the State of Global Well-Being, the Better Life Index, and the Global Well-Being Index measuring a myriad of aspects of wellbeing. The Gallup Global Well-Being measures the behavioral economics of gross domestic product growth. It estimates the percentage “thriving,” “struggling,” and “suffering” of individuals in different countries and regions (Gallup). The indexes focus on the percent thriving in at least elements of wellbeing such as purpose (liking what they do), social (supportive relationships), physical (good health), community (liking the surrounding community), and financial (managing economic life well) aspects.
One in six adults worldwide are considered thriving – or strong and consistent — in at least three of the five elements of well-being, as measured by the Gallup-Healthways Global Well-Being Index. For example residents of the Singapore score quite low at the 19%, while New Zealand leads in Asia – Pacific with 67%.
The Gallup Global Well-Being measures have opened up new opportunities to study issues that affect people in different communities around the world in ways that GDP would not. For example, life satisfaction aspects of the Gallup World Poll data have been exploited to measure inequality in the distribution of subjective wellbeing (Gluzmann & Gasparini 2). Measuring inequality in subjective wellbeing might be complementary to the various approaches aimed at computing unfairness in a society because it may in some way have benefits over the usual income inequality measurements. Some perceived income inequalities may arise due to personal choices if all constraints are observed thus cannot be considered unfair. A case in point is when two individuals facing similar opportunities make different choices. One choice might lead to a better, healthier lifestyle while the other subjects the individual to poverty. Free choices resulting in socially acceptable income inequality should not be regarded as unfair. The assessment of subjective wellbeing is less likely to be susceptible to such differences. Under evaluation of subjective wellbeing, differences in perceived happiness may better estimate social unfairness rather than income unfairness (Gluzmann & Gasparini 4). Gallup World Poll provides data that can be used to compare wellbeing in different countries. It cures one of the most significant problems associated with compering inequality across countries and regions, namely, the generation of homogenous information. The poll poses the same question across all countries in all areas, which significantly reduces spurious differences in estimating comparisons. This reduces sources of measurement error significantly. It is noteworthy that people may not interpret and answer the standardized questions the same in different countries, leading to additional errors. However, the advantages of estimating subjective wellbeing and its rising popularity imply that improvements in the measurements will yield better results.

Technological Revolution

Usually, information and communication technologies are considered a key driver of economic growth and productivity. Different reviews indicate that technological effects tend to be positive at the organizational level (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD 34]). However, it has been reported that productivity tends to drop as economies entrench technologies in every sector. In other words, the rapid digitization of economies has not translated into strong productivity. On the contrary, productivity growth appears to have stunted over the past few decades, with the slowdown more pronounced in developed countries and also in developing countries (UNCTAD 34). This is a productivity paradox because as technological advancement and use have increased, productivity growth has decreased, which is contrary to popular expectations (Remes et al.). The digitization of economies into digital economies has thus far not translated into increased productivity. The paradox in the digital economy is attributed to different reasons. A more pessimistic perspective considers the technological effects on productivity as having fewer impacts on productivity growth than the revolutionary technological advances of the past (UNCTAD 34). A more optimistic view links the slow growth of productivity to the time lags between the time the technologies are introduced and the time actual effects are felt (European CEO). As a result, more visible impacts on productivity will occur when technologies are adopted widely within the economy. An additional contributing factor to the productivity paradox is the difficulties associated with measuring the digital economy. The slow growth in productivity might be explained by the lack of proper recording of technological activities in that in overall GDP estimation. Consequently, the proper measurement would be reflected in increased productivity. In developed countries, demographic factors associated with the aging population are also linked to the slow growth in productivity (UNCTAD 34). Therefore, the productivity paradox related to the technological revolution arises from multiple factors.

Quality of the GDP

Measuring economic growth in purely quantitative categories diminishes the significance of “high-quality growth.” High-quality growth encompasses increased technological self-reliance, significant production and welfare transformation, the establishment of a comprehensive safety net for the citizens, enhancement of quality healthcare, education, and employment, and reduction of inequality across regions and various demographic characteristics (Wärtsilä). It reflects a policy change that focuses on investment areas that guarantee increased productivity, such as production, consumption, healthcare, and education (Pfeffer). The concept of high-quality growth is being advanced by China to reorganize the economy in a way that focus on increased domestic consumption and investing in productive sectors to drive the overall economic growth. For example, after decades of heavy investments in infrastructural projects and the manufacturing sector, the country realizes that roads and bridges are not productive but rather facilitates productivity. Policy change to shift investment into more productive sectors of the economy might bring sustainable economic growth and wellbeing. At the sectorial level, administrative job control is one of the main factors impacting the health of the employees (Pfeffer). The return of line of sight to the work, workplace flexibility, autonomous fusion teams, fluidity in work practices, and organizational health can elevate the personal wellbeing of the employees. The functional organization provides an environment with less stress caused by micromanagement demands from the employees. Therefore, wellbeing is a product of economic policy at the national level and the contribution of the private sector in nurturing the wellbeing of employees.

Conclusion

The failure of GDP as a measurement proxy of economic growth is less effective in contemporary society. It assumes that an economy will experience perpetual growth, which is a difficult achievement. Even where economies have experienced phenomenal growth over the years, the economic expansion failed to transform the lives of millions of citizens. The technological revolution also has been unable to expand the GDP as it was initially believed despite the fact that the significant impacts technology has had on society. It led to the conclusion that GDP has limitations as a measure of economic growth because it does not account for the non-monetary aspects that matter to people. As a result, new indexes such as the Gallup Global Wellbeing have been developed and are experiencing rising popularity due to their ability to compute wellbeing. In particular, the estimation of subjective wellbeing creates opportunities for improved measurement of social inequality. Furthermore, the realization that wellbeing is important to citizens is supporting new ideas of measuring national economic growth. China’s shift to the assessment of the quality of economic growth indicates a paradigm shift where countries focus on national statistics that reflect their economic realities.

References

Dolar, Veronika. “Why stagflation is an economic nightmare – and could become a real headache for Biden and the Fed if it emerges in the US.” The Conversation (2022). https://theconversation.com/why-stagflation-is-an-economic-nightmare-and-could-become-a-real-headache-for-biden-and-the-fed-if-it-emerges-in-the-us-179036. Accessed 21 Mar. 2022.
European CEO. “Giving a voice to the digital revolution’s silent majority.” (2019). https://www.europeanceo.com/industry-outlook/giving-a-voice-to-the-digital-revolutions-silent-majority/. Accessed 21 Mar. 2022.
Gallup. “2014 Country Well-Being Rankings.”
Giannetti, Biagio F., et al. “A review of limitations of GDP and alternative indices to monitor human wellbeing and to manage ecosystem functionality.” Journal of cleaner production 87 (2015): 11-25.
Gluzmann, Pablo, and Leonardo Gasparini. “International inequality in subjective well‐being: An exploration with the Gallup World Poll.” Review of Development Economics 22.2 (2018): 610-631.
McKinsey Global Institute – “Global growth: Can productivity save the day in an aging world?” page 49
Pfeffer, Jeffrey. “The overlooked essentials of employee wellbeing.” McKinsey Global Institute (2018). https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-overlooked-essentials-of-employee-well-being. Accessed 21 Mar. 2022.
Remes, Jaana et al. “Solving the productivity puzzle.” McKinsey Global Institute (2018). https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/regions-in-focus/solving-the-productivity-puzzle. Accessed 21 Mar. 2022.
Wärtsilä. “Going beyond GDP: China targets a new path to growth.” (2021). https://www.wartsila.com/insights/article/going-beyond-gdp-china-targets-a-new-path-to-growth. Accessed 21 Mar. 2022.
Authors

Paul Lalovich

Organizational Effectiveness and Strategy Execution Practice

Tesha Teshanovich

Organizational Effectiveness and Strategy Execution Practice

Is there a safe way to do this? I'd like a base tan, nothing really dark, but just noticeable. I'm going to visit a girl and she's never seen me with a tan before but she mentioned a few times how she likes that. I wonder if a couple sessions will make a difference in such a short amount of time? My trip is Friday 31st!

I got an electric drum set as a graduation present (TD-27) which allows me to play drums in an apartment and not piss off the neighbors. I'm moving in with my girlfriend and given our budget, it may be the case that the only way I can keep my drum set is if there's basement storage available and I can play down there. Aside from the obvious risks from flooding, are there other reasons that may not be an option? I have renters insurance if they makes a difference.

First of all, I am playing Gold/Plat league. I agree this strategy sucks at high level play but it is pretty strong in lower League. I tried this build order in ladder you would be surprise how effective it could be against people in lower league and I have never played English before in ranked.
7 on sheep and 4 on gold which is similar to King 2TC fast castle guide. The difference is you don't stop mining gold after you have 200 gold. "The nameless Guy" chose to do deer opening, but in my experience. Sheep is enough for me to go naked castle. ( Maybe I might just be lucky).
Prioritize mine 600 gold after reach Feudal first, because by the time Their Knights coming, you can safely gather sheep under the TC.
Your King should Harass his base non-stop. The moment he chose to build a tower, the odd favors you because he won't be able to produce many units.
When you get all the res to age up, pull "all" your villagers. Yes I mean all your villagers. It's an all in strategy, I don't see any points making sense leave villagers in your base. Around 25-28 Villagers. The next thing you do is to use you king to distract your opponent. I have won a game where the Japanese player choose use his spears chasing my king, by the time my villagers arrives, It was too late for his troops to return to defend.
WT position should cover a woodline which you need to build lumber camp for Rams, and WT range the on edge of his TC that way it can protect your rams to take down his TC.
I do believe this strategy is underrated and there are ways can work around with this strategy. From beasty's video, he scouted his opponent not gathering stone, or all villagers on gold. But I guess maybe you can bait your opponent into thinking I am gonna go 2TC? What if I build a mining camp on purpose next to the stone but not gather it? RTS game is about mind game and strategy. Ironically, the matches I won, my opponent didn't even scout my base to see which res I am gathering.
It is true that my opponent has units and I would be in a very bad position. But the fact is that you will have to respond it very quickly. For example, if his troop in the center of the map, but you villagers already by pass it, he won't stop the WT drop. Beasty already agreed that defending is a lot hard than people who executing this strategy. Not everyone in the ladder know how to defend even though they know, they won't be able to do it efficiently as Beasty does.

This is a headcanon of mine that only makes more sense to me the more I think about it but I wanted to run it by other lore scholars (hopefully with more knowledge than I)
I think the Emperor designed Vulkan and Angron to be his two most compassionate sons. Vulkan is Vulkan there isn't any explanation needed there, but Angron prior to the nails was actually a deeply caring and honorable individual, refusing to kill his comrades in the face of death, being deeply protective of those he called brother even after the nails, and even having empathic abilities that allowed him to soothe the anguish of his fellow gladiators. (before the nails killed that part of him)
If this is the case why is it that the Emperor praises Vulkan at every turn but seems to make no effort to help Angron at all? It is my belief that it is because Vulkan reminded him of Erda while Angron reminded him of himself.
In Vulkan he saw genuine humanity and compassion, something the emperor actually deeply values, and I believe it's something he valued in Erda hence why he never sought her out when she left (also because I think it would be nice if at least one primarch inherited something from their mom other than the necessary chromosome) and big E praises Vulkan for being genuinely human and humble, it's why the emperor had him craft the talisman of 7 hammers (aside from him being the only living loyalist with the know how to actually make it) because he knew the only way it's use (incinerating Terra should the emperor die on the throne) could actually be considered a good idea was if Vulkan agreed. If the nice primarch, the human primarch, the humble primarch, would agree that this horrific super weapon was acceptable than that's the only way to genuinely know it. More heartless and colder primarch's like Dorn or the Lion would look at it mathematically and pragmatically but would completely forget to even think of the ethics of it. Not Vulkan he wept upon hearing it's true function, it broke his heart to know the galaxy had been damned to such a point it might need this talisman, and the emperor knew that, and needed that emotion and empathy to the common people of Terra to aid his judgement. (Personally I think that if the Emperor heard Vulkan turned traitor he'd actually start thinking he's the bad guy because of how much he valued Vulkan's compassion and empathy)
But in Angron he saw the death of humanity, a being that was meant to be genuinely human and kind but had that part of them mutilated. Something that slowly happened to the Emperor himself he slowly lost his own humanity, becoming colder. And seeing that in his son caused him to subconsciously hate his son (for all of the Emperor's intellect he has a massive gap when in comes to emotional intelligence) it's why he didn't/couldn't fix Angron's brain in master of mankind. He saw in Angron the death of what would have made him human that happened in himself and because of that he didn't see Angron as worth saving. I believe that if he cared about Angron any more, even as a tool, he would have attempted something more that looking at his brain and giving up but because Angron acted as a mirror to all of the flaws of himself Big E didn't want to fix him. Even if it couldn't be done in that surgery I think he could have made more sophisticated and specialized tools to fix his son in a different surgery later. But all Big E saw was the dead humanity that was affecting himself, he saw a being that should have been compassionate, should have been empathic, should have been human but had all of that torn out by force, and in it he saw himself, the part of himself he hated the most. (And I my opinion him doing something like this makes him a much more interesting character) and this meant when Angron turned traitor it just affirmed to the Emperor he was right to hate Angron and therefore right to hate those parts of himself.
Tell me thoughts and corrections because I've been stewing on this for a while and want input

Innovation is the lifeblood of business growth and development. Without it, your organization will fall behind its competition and eventually die out. However, innovation is expensive, and many small and medium-sized organizations can’t afford to innovate unless they get financial help from external sources.

Investments in bio-engineering can be risky, as many startups and early-stage companies may face regulatory hurdles, intellectual property challenges, or other barriers to success. However, for investors with a long-term outlook and a strong appetite for innovation, bio-engineering can offer significant opportunities for growth and returns.
Venture capital is one of the most common sources of financing for organizations that want to invest in innovation. Venture capital is a type of dedicated financial help that funds businesses to make a capital gain until publicizing them or even selling them outright. A distinguishing feature of venture capital involves screening, monitoring, and advising on a portfolio of its businesses. These non-financial services enable venture capitalists to choose businesses with high growth potential and make them succeed. The three distinctive features discussed before add to the venture capital’s edge over other types of financing that are not as dedicated (Sorensen, 2007).
Venture capitalists normally select companies that they can exit fast enough. This means that they select innovative organizations whose ROI is expectedly high. Therefore, such organizations are those that use knowledge to generate innovative capabilities to create profit in the short term.
Innovation is a process of continuous improvement and growth. It leads to the creation of new value or business ideas, which in turn contributes to the growth of any organization. The ability to innovate helps in increasing the revenue and profit margins of an organization by making it competitive in its industry.
Venture capitalists are interested in investing in innovative startups because they believe this will help them achieve their financial goals faster compared to the companies that do not invest in innovation. Venture capitalists want their investment to grow fast so they can exit quickly after making their money back at a higher rate than what they invested initially into it.
In the age of the knowledge economy, innovation is a main source of competitiveness (Daghfous, 2004). Based on what is known as the knowledge-based vision, the performance of the organization lies in its capacity to create, blend, recombine, and make use of knowledge (Grant, 1996). Therefore unstated, knowledge is indispensable to the capacity of an organization to innovate and favorably compete with others, causing it to be a strategic resource (Ibarra-Cisneros et al., 2021). The knowledge inside a firm is normally formed internally or by the outward acquisition of information and know-how. Accordingly, the knowledge absorptive capacity (AC) of a firm is vital for the creation of value inside a firm (Xie et al., 2018).
According to Davenport and Prusak (1998), knowledge cannot be completely dispersed without the backing of absorptive capacity. At the same time, the transfer of knowledge within a firm will come up as a main hindrance without the backing of absorptive capacity, inserting value on the significance of absorptive capacity within firms (Wuryaningrat, 2013).
Absorptive capacity has been described as the capacity of an organization to acknowledge the value of fresh outward information, integrate it, and implement it for business goals. Besides, it has become amongst the most dominant research scopes in business management. Huang et al. (2015) also note that absorptive capacity refers to a group of organizational practices that need to recognize and use knowledge, stressing the significance of absorptive capacity in the process of managing knowledge.
Most studies back the idea of absorptive capacity directly or indirectly prompting innovation and organizational financial outcomes (Tseng et al., 2011). The procedures of absorption of outward knowledge have grown into key aspects for innovation in organizations, making them to better adjust to transformations within the competitive atmosphere. Because of this, there are still many opportunities for research within the scopes of relational learning, absorptive capacity, as well as the attainment of a competitive edge (Tseng et al., 2011).
According to Xie et al. (2018), two vital gaps restrict deep hypothetical and empirical progresses in the management of absorptive capacity. Foremost, some programs of research have considered diverse proportions of absorptive capacity, while this dimensional separation of the construct and its function is not clear, conceptually and practically. Nonetheless, some studies have concentrated on the relationship between the diverse measures of absorptive capability and the innovation performance of a firm (Yaseen, 2020). Absorptive capacity is a tacit and intricate concept, making it challenging to measure. Learning the connection between venture financing and absorptive capacity can hence enhance our comprehension concerning how the source of financing impacts the innovation tactic of entrepreneurial organizations.

Absorptive Capacity and Innovation

Companies are working within a very competitive setting and need great measures of knowledge, which has turned into one of their most vital resources (Lian and Wu, 2010). To compete favorably, organizations cannot depend only on their external knowledge web but must progress their absorptive capacities to dynamically source new knowledge (Sancho-Zamora et al., 2021). This imposes methods that enable learning, allowing them to disperse and use the knowledge that will offer them fresh organizational innovations. Furthermore, the merging of this acquired knowledge is decided by an organization’s absorptive capacity. Hence, firms are required to possess and create, internal absorptive capacity to enhance innovation performance. This is vital since this form of capacity can impact the efficiency of innovation actions.
The first parties to describe absorptive capacity as the ability of an organization to assess fresh knowledge from outside, integrate it, and use it for commercial reasons were Cohen and Levingthal in 1990 (Wuryaningrat, 2013). A firm can obtain and efficiently utilize external and internal knowledge that will impact its innovation. This style looks at absorptive capacity as an outcome of not just research and development activities but similarly the variety or depth of the knowledge base of an organization, its former learning encounter, a mutual language, the presence of cross-functional points, and the mental frameworks, as well as problem-solving capability of the members in an organization (Camison and Fores, 2010). In this manner, absorptive capacity is vital for organizations to utilize outward knowledge and hence trigger inner innovation (Dutse, 2013).
Knowledge has become the most vital resource for organizations; outward knowledge concerning markets and technologies is thought to be key for generating inner knowledge in research and development units. Using absorptive capacity, organizations can change outward knowledge into innovative capabilities. Originally, absorptive capacity begins with gaining knowledge from the environment and it culminates by getting the best out of it (Saebi and Foss, 2015). This dynamic ability enables organizations to be in a better place to grow any form of innovation. Organizational learning theory recommends that an organization’s innovation actions are an outcome of its knowledge base.
Earlier research discovered that organizations having a greater absorptive capacity were more predisposed to undertake product, process, organizational, or even marketing innovations. In the same way, Calero-Medina and Noyons (2008) mapped programs of research connected to absorptive capacity and its connection to diverse domains, identifying substantial relations between absorptive capacity and innovation within the organization.
More current work, like the one by Chen and Chang (2012) discovered that the more the level of absorptive capacity of the organization, the more the level of innovativeness within the organization. They also discovered within their systematized literature review that most prevailing research concerning innovation literature accentuates the capacity to use outward knowledge. Moreover, this relation with fresh external knowledge enhances the absorptive capacity.
According to a research program undertaken by Liao et al (2007), empirical proof was given that innovation stems from the necessity for sharing knowledge, instigated by its absorptive capacity. When absorptive capacity progresses, it becomes very simple for anyone to form a noteworthy innovation grounded on acquired knowledge. Indarti (2010) similarly notes that absorptive capacity can be observed as a procedure by which a certain entity establishes innovative business goals (Wuryaningrat, 2013).
Notwithstanding the proof connecting absorptive capacity to innovation, this notion has developed in due course. The most comprehensive reconceptualization was suggested by Indarti (2010). They connected the idea to a set of company-wide routines and strategic procedures by which organizations acquire, change, and utilize knowledge to establish an active organizational capacity.

Dimensions of Innovation Capacity

Innovation is a vital element of the research enterprise, is very developed, and exists in all business procedures (Alshanty and Emeagwali, 2019). Nonetheless, the function of innovations, a main driver concerning a venture’s performance, has transformed in the latest years because of globalization and improved foreign competition (Pustorvrh et al., 2017). As a result, we comprehend innovation as the capacity of a firm to use knowledge and create novel products, services, and processes. Nonetheless, innovation typically encompasses some level of risk, which explains why outcomes are not always satisfying.
Various studies have demonstrated that innovativeness allows organizations to attain results, for instance, enhancement of the organization’s performance; growing exports; making a competitive edge; and or adding to the growth of the business. Generally, innovation assists organizations to react to competitive difficulties in globalized settings.
Innovativeness is an intricate capacity through which fresh knowledge and ideas are constantly used to attain excellent business performance using the integration of new offertories, product innovation, and the development of new processes for creating and distributing those novel offerings, and process innovation. These improve or sustain their efficiency and competitiveness. Process innovation concentrates on enhancing the efficiency and inner operations of an organization’s procedures to produce, bring together, or deliver the product. In this manner, another process can lessen the expenses or bring about extra production ability for an organization. Product innovation, conversely, is where an organization can present improved, distinguished, or even new products to the market to satisfy the needs of the consumers. Product innovation concentrates on the market and depends on robust abilities like quality, efficiency, speed, and flexibility, whereas process innovation has its place within the space of technical innovation. Both forms of innovation are closely connected and make up intricate procedures that normally encompass all functional sections of the organization.

References

Alshanty, A. M., and Emeagwali, O. L. (2019). Market-sensing capability, knowledge creation and innovation: the moderating role of entrepreneurial-orientation. J. Innov. Knowl. 4, 171–178. doi: 10.1016/j.jik.2019.02.002
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Authors

Emilija Vukovic

Business Architecture Practice

Paul Lalovich

Organizational Effectiveness and Strategy Execution Practice

An attractive alternative to traditional rewards for outstanding performance

Synthetic equity refers to a collection of strategies and instruments frequently used to provide employees with financial advantages of share ownership without actual shares changing hands. It is a potent instrument that practically all advanced investment organizations may utilize to attract, retain, and reward competent employees.
The favorable economic qualities of equity are embedded into synthetic equity plans, also known as equity alternatives, without the financial obligations coming from purchasing shares from the initial owner. Instead, synthetic equity programs often develop into cash payments to the employee and a corresponding deduction for the employer. Since it represents compensation, synthetic equity may be easily adjusted to handle almost any scenario.
The following scenarios exemplify the situations in which synthetic equity is an optimal solution:

• An employee desires ownership-like benefits but is unable or unwilling to assume the financial risk of purchasing and paying for company equity.
• An employee aspires to ownership but lacks the credentials or licenses required for a role of a full equity partner in the company.
• Employees feel uncomfortable providing personal guarantees or accepting responsibility for credit lines, office leases, payroll-related expenditures, or the commitments made under buy-sell or continuity agreements.
• A company owner wants to share the economic worth of equity rather than the actual equity. This includes owners not interested in supporting this transaction with seller financing.
• A company owner wishes to motivate an employee to work on increasing the company’s value but also wants to discourage them from leaving and creating competition for the business, engaging in client solicitation, or performing other actions that might harm the company.
• An owner planning to leave the company in the following 5-year period wishes to reward one or more critical workers at the time of the sale without requiring them to purchase and pay for equity.

Tokenization of business and individual performance

The above method has been known for decades. The critical challenge in the modern business world is ensuring that innovation and productivity are rewarded equitably across an organization. At the same time, executives must be compensated for creating these conditions.
However, rewarding innovation and equitably delivering executive-level incentives and rewards across the organization from the top to the shop floor is the alternative made possible only by deploying smart contracts and blockchain technology — tokenizing business and individual performance.
The tokenization of business elements such as performance and innovation is one of the newest ways to drive planned outcomes. The process is about moving your business to blockchain. Although it may seem complicated and challenging to implement, almost any entrepreneur can tokenize the building blocks of their business. Tokenization is simply transforming a company’s value into a digitized resource in the form of tokens.
Tokens represent a value within the organization in a transparent and auditable way. They can be cashed in upon completion of the vesting period if both company and individual targets have been met. What makes Synthetic Equity on the chain unique is its transparency, auditability of incentives, and most notably, equitable distribution of tokens corresponding to each employee’s job size.

The Mechanism Behind Synthetic Equity

For synthetic equity to produce favorable results, a profitable, successful firm with a proper entity structure is necessary. Corporations and LLCs can use the tools relating to synthetic equity. In some situations, they may also be used by sole proprietorships, albeit in a slightly different form.
To fully grasp the idea of synthetic equity, it might be helpful to understand the mechanism behind equity in general. Understanding how equity functions allows those interested in synthetic equity to utilize some of the tools used in working with actual equity.
For example, investing in an independent advisory company generally offers the following considerable advantages:

• The right to vote
• Participation in the corporate governance system
• Access to the company’s financial documents
• Limited liability
• A proportionate cut of the revenue
• Sale-related long-term capital gains tax rates
• Capital growth potential

SyntheticEquity.io app is changing how we think about incentives and rewards.
These advantages have a monetary value. Therefore, purchasing equity carries a price, and awarding employee equity has tax repercussions. A tiny ownership share in a fee-based firm might cost several hundred thousand dollars. In these types of businesses, the stock is often acquired and paid for after tax, and the equity partner or shareholder usually expects to obtain the entire set of rights in return for taking on the investment risk.
The rights can be unbundled, meaning that the current owner does not have to sell or provide the full bundle of rights to an employee or investment advisor. To fulfill specific goals, each of the rights mentioned above can also be further divided or redefined in as much detail as necessary. For example, one or two rights from the total package might be provided, such as the opportunity to grow the company’s worth or a percentage of the profits.
By allowing someone to own a portion of the rights in the bundle rather than all of them, synthetic equity generates an advantage. These unique rights or benefits are often described in a plan document and frequently provided via individual award agreements between the employer and employee. A wide range of flexible options for creating a solid and profitable company are produced when equity-like benefits and a long-term remuneration strategy are combined.
Synthetic equity plans often come in one of the following three forms:

• Full-value plans can result in a substantially big payment to an employee since they pay both the value of the underlying stock and any appreciation that is gained over a certain period.
• Performance unit plans swap out equity as the value metric for another metric like sales growth or profitability.
• The value of any growth in the underlying stock value over a specific period following the date of the award is typically paid out under appreciation-only plans.

These kinds of plans are like conventional non-qualified plans insofar as they offer a possibility of discrimination and a significant risk of forfeiture that often lasts until shortly before the benefit is awarded to the employee.
Essentially, synthetic equity is a type of delayed compensation that links a worker’s financial incentive to the company’s performance. By striking the correct balance between the danger of losing a valuable employee and the potential future cost to the employer, each plan is specifically created to meet the advisor’s needs. The plans are intended to reward employees for contributing to the company’s success, but they also ensure that no payment is due if either the company doesn’t develop as expected or the employee doesn’t uphold their end of the deal by quitting their job to work for a rival company or starting their own.

Synthetic Equity Benefits

Synthetic equity is meant to be an equity-related instrument that helps a company find, reward, and keep hold of valuable people.
Synthetic equity benefits are:

• Synthetic equity inspires employees to adopt an owner’s perspective and put development and shareholder value first.
• There is no debt since important participants do not buy phantom shares like full equity stockholders do.
• If a participant’s job terminates before the designated vesting date, they typically forfeit any benefits under the plan.
• Participants normally do not have voting rights or a vote in corporate governance and may or may not be entitled to collect profits from the company.
• Synthetic equity programs provide flexible vesting timelines; vesting can take place over time, depending on the accomplishment of certain quantifiable company or individual goals.
• If the company’s growth is slower than expected and the stock price does not rise, nothing is exchanged.
• When a synthetic equity grant is issued, owners of genuine equity are not adversely affected by a dilution of their ownership percentages.
• Compared to S-Corporations, which are often more restricted, more freedom is provided in terms of stock class and shareholder count.
• The advising business’s shareholders’ or members’ agreement and associated buy-sell provisions do not immediately apply to synthetic equity.

Synthetic equity options’ versatility comes with many benefits but may also have many drawbacks. The companies need to make decisions regarding what valuation technique will be utilized, what vesting rules will be implemented, how liquidity problems will be addressed, what eligibility conditions will be imposed, and what rights to participate in corporate governance will be granted due to the wide range of possible directions for designing synthetic equity plans.

Conclusion

In the hands of a forward-thinking business leader, synthetic equity is a potent instrument. It may be utilized to solve the difficulty of attracting, rewarding, and maintaining top talent to create a great practice or viable business without the challenges of selling and paying for an actual ownership stake.
Like full stock, synthetic equity may refocus the employee’s attention and motivate them to contribute to a flourishing and profitable company.
Authors

Paul Lalovich

Organizational Effectiveness and Strategy Execution Practice

Throwaway account for privacy, and will most likely delete this post soon.
Essentially, an ex-student catfished me on an adult dating app (Grindr). Unsure when this happened as I've had the app for a year or so, but they took screenshots of pictures and messages (some explicit, luckily without my face in them) and sent them to students at my work via Whatsapp.
SLT have been extremely supportive and it has been reported to the police who are doing their investigation, albeit slowly IMO.
I already have a new job lined up in a different area before this happened, but question is, should I just get signed off? No students have said anything at work but my mental health is about 1/10. This is by far the worst thing to ever have happened to me (and yes, I know I was stupid for not being more careful online, but I've learned my lesson the hard way). The thought of going back to school on Monday literally makes me feel physically ill, but students also have their exams and there's fieldwork I'm supposed to be leading.
What should I do?

I've just finished a full rewatch of the Viz dub including the movies and specials, having watched a mix of the OG English dub + some of the sub as a child, but never in order all the way through. Here is my review no one asked for:
Classic: Great intro to the characters, loved it when the plot was somewhat moving, and the relationship between the guardians was really well developed. I found the Jadeite/Nephrite arcs really dragged at points, however once the Rainbow Crystal arc rolled around things really get going. I wish we could have seen a bit more flirtation/romance between Mamoru and Usagi. The finale was simply stunning and emotional, bringing me to tears.
Favourite filler episode: "Love and Chased: Luna's Worst Day Ever"
Favourite plot episode: "The Shining Silver Crystal: The Moon Princess Appears"
Special mention: "Usagi's Eternal Wish: A Brand New Life"
Sailor Moon R: I quite enjoyed the Makai Tree arc, however as above I found it a bit of a missed opportunity with Mamoru/Usagi and romance. Once again, the beginning of the season was overall a bit rough. And Chibiusa... while her behaviour was understandable it wasn't enjoyable to watch. And the less said about the break-up arc the better. The Black Moon Clan were pretty cool though, and Chibiusa definitely improved as the season went on.
Favourite filler episode: "Venus Minako's Nurse Mayhem"
Favourite plot episode: "Saphir Dies: Wiseman's Trap"
Special mention: "Usagi's Crisis: The Tiara Stops Working"
Sailor Moon S: I mean what can I say that hasn't been said before? The peak of the series - from the first episode you feel the raised stakes and improved production values. The Outer Senshi steal every scene they're in, the pure heart crystals format adds an emotional character driven layer to even the monster of the week episodes. The Death-Busters make hilarious but compelling villains, and the Hotaru arc is utterly captivating. Chibiusa is also handled far better - her friendship with Hotaru is her at her best.
Best filler episode: "Coldhearted Uranus: Makoto in Danger"
Best plot episode: "The Shining Shooting Star: Saturn and the Messiah"
Special mention: "The Death of Uranus and Neptune: The Talismans Appear"
Sailor Moon SuperS: Now I heard everyone hates this one, and honestly it wasn't as bad as I expected. The animation and music are gorgeous, and the slice of life comedic episodes are mostly done really well. I also love the villains, especially Fish's Eye. However I do find the focus on Chibiusa grating at times (although still better than R!) and Pegasus/Helios... eh. The worst crime for me is no Outers - why?? I really felt their absence, and I think having Hotaru aroudn could have made Chibiusa stuff a bit more compelling. Overall I enjoyed this season for what it was, but it did drag at points.
Best filler episode: "Storm of Love: Minako's Grand Two-Timing Plan"
Best plot episode: "Dreams Forever: Fill the Heavens with Light"
Special mention: "Shadow of Evil: The Trio's Last Chance"
Sailor Moon Stars: Ok, so this one was back with a bang - the Outers are back, and the stakes are higher than ever. The Nehelenia arc in this season is pretty much peak Sailor moon. Then the Galaxia arc - I enjoyed the Starlights (well I mostly enjoyed Seiya) and it was interesting to add a different dynamic to the group. Sailor Aluminium Siren and Crow were two of my overall favs, and I liked that we were back to dramatic high stakes like in S. The end was beautiful, and I may have shed a tear.
Best filler episode: "A Night Alone Together: Usagi in Danger"
Best plot episode: "Usagi's Love: The Moonlight Illuminates the Galaxy"
Special mention: "Night of Destiny: The Sailor Guardians' Ordeals"
I loved all of the movies and specials - the R movie and Ami's First Love are the peak of the entire series animation wise for me.
My rankings of the seasons: 1. S 2. Stars 3. Classic 4. SuperS 5. R
My rankings of the movies: 1. R 2. S 3. SuperS
So those are my thoughts! Don't know what I'm going to do with myself now - read the manga or watch Crystal?! Would love to hear all of your thoughts on the series too :)

I’ll be going off to college in a few months and have been wondering more and more how worth it all of this really is. I’ve worked really hard in high school, just finished my last AP exams. I’ve gotten into the computer science program at one of the best public schools in my state. All my life I’ve been told that hard work leads to success but looking at the job market and at others experiences online it really doesn’t feel this way. Why would I work really hard for four years on a really hard program while doing internships if I may not be able to get an entry level job when I graduate. The future seems so uncertain and while I try my best to not be a pessimist, I think it’s important to look at the job market and ask myself if I’ll be able to make enough money out of college to make my degree worth it, and I really don’t know. I’m really wondering whether I should have the mindset of “everything will work out if you work hard” or just not putting in the work for a degree that I may not see any returns for. I can’t look at all of the other people who are unable to find jobs with their degrees and act like I’ll necessarily be different from them. I can’t act like “oh, they just didn’t work hard enough, but I’ll do better”. I don’t know others experiences or what they go through. I don’t want to become depressed over the simple possibility of things going wrong but I also don’t want to feel unprepared for future hardships and I struggle to find a happy medium. When does hope turn into dangerous ignorance and when does being cautious lead to pessimism or an excuse for not trying hard enough?

Hi guys,
I currently work away from home as a welder early Monday morning until late Friday night. Things recently have gotten difficult, longer hours and expectations to be in different places across the country early in the mornings. This along with missing my family - I currently have an 8 year old son and I’m soon to be wed to my fiance, has made working away very difficult.
I make an okay wage of around £48k a year (with subs) but wages for welders around the North West where I live, are really low in comparison.
Tomorrow I have an interview for a job paying £31k a year, but working Monday - Thursday. If I get offered this position, I would like to either expand my horizons with being a welder or maybe learn something new on the side. Especially with having an extra day a week to do things. Would anyone have any recommendations on something new to learn? I’ve thought about learning a data programming language but unsure if it would pay off.
Also, has anyone been in a similar position? And did you regret any decisions along the way?
I really miss my family and I don’t see things getting better at work, but it’s a hell of a pay decrease.

Hello again! I’m not sure if you've read or seen my other posts about roleplays but this one will purely be about Jujutsu Kaisen!
INTRODUCTION
My name is Hina. To know more about me, I was born and raised in Japan and I have been an avid writer ever since I moved to the States when I was 11. My second language is English but I believe it’s been pretty good these days. I recently turned 22 years old and I'm female. Talking about age, I would be comfortable with you being 17+ and preferably at least 20. Roleplaying with minors isn’t a big thing for me, I apologize. I’m in the west coast, PST timezone. Let’s see.. What other information can I give you? I would say I enjoy skating, basketball, watching tv shows and anime, and reading. My favorite anime is Nana and Death Note.
ROLEPLAY
For what i’m looking for, i’d have to say basically anything in the Jujutsu Kaisen universe. Perhaps something done in the Shibuya Arc, or even the Culling Games Arc where are our characters are participating. Or maybe something entirely different. I think it would be cool if our characters were strong on their own and everything was set up in the Culling Games Arc, them having to maybe ally or something. But we can also have it be basically them fighting together to make themselves stronger and then fight new enemies as well. I’m down for ideas!
I’m also down for a Modern AU roleplay with the original characters. Maybe an OC x CC or CC x CC in that case!
CHARACTERS
I tend to use character sheets to describe my character, these usually consist of names, background, and personality. More so on appearances, I prefer using animated or drawn references than real life people. I enjoy good enough references where I get the idea of how the character would look like.
The types of characters I write are either the lone wolf type that has some sad past which leads them to want to join someone for a redemption arc or the bubbly character who is the one that brings the mood up and is usually seen as trustworthy and of that kind.
I like all types of tropes, especially enemies to lovers or rivalry. I also really enjoy opposites attract as a whole from either opposite personality or something else they would be opposites in. Enemies to lovers takes my heart, though. I love seeing the characters go past the urge to ultimately hate each other and/or go past their usual way of disliking the others lineage or upcoming.
REQUIREMENT
I think this is my last paragraph on the roleplay. It’s the most important, at least. Requirements. All roleplay searches come with them. Or at least that’s what I heard! But don’t fret, there isn’t much.
I’ve seen this as one of the most used requirements, and I agree with it. As someone who’s first language wasn’t English, I understand that you may not be great at it. But please, I do require a partner that at least has proper use of grammar and punctuation. You don’t even have to use big words or anything, just at least know where to put your periods and the placement of your words.
My second requirement is for you to be LITERATE! Please. I’m a big writer, I tend to ramble on and tend to write more than what I thought I would. (like i’m doing right now) I write multiple paragraphs from the starter until the scene relaxes. I also understand that sometimes writing big blocks of words every response is tiring or boring so I don’t expect it all the time, at least after the starter has been made and in more important scenes. Dialogue also cuts my replies shorter.
Please please please be polite in OOC! We may just be role playing together but kindness goes all ways. If we do include OOC, I enjoy talking about many things. My day, movies, games, funny moments and stories, all of that!
I think that’s the end to this wonderful journey of an ad about my search. I hope you are still here, fellow writer! I would LOVE it if you reached out to me! This wasn’t all for nothing, right!
But don’t leave yet! I do have a passcode. I know this was a jumble of words and rambling but I still have to put one in. I heard that there’s a lot of people on here that don’t read things fully and miss out on rules or information! But.. Just because you read through this all, I’ll gladly give you options on the passcode! Also please put in an introduction of yourself! Don’t think “Oh maybe I shouldn’t bother this person with too much to read”! I like seeing big blocks.
PASSCODE:
What’s your dream country to travel to and why?
OR
Who’s your favorite TV show / Cartoon / Game / Anime character?
Feel free to pick both! Now, that’s all from me. Please don’t put your request as just “Wanna rp”!

• H 💕