Looking for my long term Client
Hello everyone I am here to find some gigs or maybe long term online job. I will be straight to the point, here are my skills:

• Autocad (Drawings, Electrical)
• Basic civil3d (Land Survey, Newbie)
• Ms word
• Excel applications (Pivot, Macros, formulas)
• Homework Help
• Data Entry or Research
• Virtual/Online Assistant

Also, I'm starting to learn figma to become a web designer, if ever you need someone to train and become your assistant, please let me know. I'm very willing for this.
If you need anything and you think I will be fit for the job, please let me know. I am willing to learn new skills for the future. I hope to start my frelancing career with you. Thank you!
P.S. graduating student (electrical eng) Philippines
Minimum of 5$ per hour
Contacts Email: juanpicks231@gmail.com Viber or WhatsApp: +639161033407

Looking for my long term Client
Hello everyone I am here to find some gigs or maybe long term online job. I will be straight to the point, here are my skills:

• Autocad (Drawings, Electrical)
• Basic civil3d (Land Survey, Newbie)
• Ms word
• Excel applications (Pivot, Macros, formulas)
• Homework Help
• Data Entry or Research
• Virtual/Online Assistant

Also, I'm starting to learn figma to become a web designer, if ever you need someone to train and become your assistant, please let me know. I'm very willing for this.
If you need anything and you think I will be fit for the job, please let me know. I am willing to learn new skills for the future. I hope to start my frelancing career with you. Thank you!
P.S. graduating student (electrical eng) Philippines
Minimum of 5$ per hour
Contacts Email: juanpicks231@gmail.com Viber or WhatsApp: +639161033407

Finasteride, marketed under the names Propecia or Proscar, has long been prescribed to address male pattern baldness and enlarged prostate. However, a recent study conducted at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign suggests that there may be some cardiovascular benefits of finasteride. Research shows that finasteride can reduce cholesterol levels, lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease.

WHAT IS FINASTERIDE?

Finasteride is a medication used to treat hair loss, particularly male pattern baldness, as well as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). BPH is a condition characterized by an enlarged prostate gland. Finasteride belongs to a class of drugs known as 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors. Its primary mechanism of action involves blocking the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, which converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). By inhibiting DHT production, finasteride helps to slow down hair loss and promote hair regrowth in individuals with androgenetic alopecia. While also reducing prostate gland size and relieving symptoms associated with BPH. Finasteride is typically available in oral tablet form. It is often prescribed at a dosage of 1 milligram daily for hair loss and 5 milligrams daily for BPH. It is important for individuals considering finasteride to consult with a healthcare provider to discuss its potential benefits and risks.

HOW FINASTERIDE TREATS HAIR LOSS

Finasteride operates through a multifaceted mechanism targeting the root cause of male pattern baldness, also known as androgenetic alopecia. Male pattern baldness is predominantly driven by the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which plays a central role in shrinking hair follicles. This process shortens the hair growth phase, and eventually leads to hair thinning and loss. Finasteride functions by inhibiting the activity of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, responsible for converting testosterone into DHT within the body. By blocking this enzyme, finasteride effectively reduces DHT levels in the scalp. Thereby interrupting the destructive cycle that leads to hair follicle miniaturization and eventual hair loss.
One of the primary effects of finasteride is to prolong the anagen, or growth, phase of the hair follicle cycle. With reduced levels of DHT, hair follicles can remain in the active growth phase for longer periods, resulting in thicker, healthier hair strands. Additionally, finasteride may also stimulate the proliferation of hair follicle cells and promote the development of new, stronger hair shafts. Over time, this leads to increased hair density, improved scalp coverage, and a noticeable reduction in hair loss.
Clinical studies have consistently demonstrated the efficacy of finasteride in treating male pattern baldness. In randomized controlled trials, men using finasteride showed significant improvements in hair growth compared to those receiving a placebo. Moreover, long-term observational studies have revealed sustained benefits of finasteride therapy. Many individuals experienced continued hair regrowth and maintenance of hair density over several years of treatment. Finasteride is typically administered orally, with a recommended dosage of 1 milligram per day. Overall, finasteride remains a cornerstone in the management of male pattern baldness. It offers effective and reliable results for many individuals seeking to address hair loss concerns.

FINASTERIDE LEADING TO DECREASED CHOLESTEROL

Emerging research suggests that finasteride may possess unexpected benefits beyond its primary indications. A study conducted at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found intriguing associations between finasteride use and reduced cholesterol levels, potentially leading to a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Published in the Journal of Lipid Research, the study analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2009 and 2016, revealing significant correlations between finasteride usage and lower cholesterol levels among male participants. Moreover, experiments conducted in mice administered high doses of finasteride demonstrated reductions in total plasma cholesterol, delayed progression of atherosclerosis, and diminished liver inflammation, suggesting a potential cardioprotective effect of the medication.
While the precise mechanisms underlying finasteride’s impact on cholesterol levels remain to be fully understood, its primary mode of action provides a plausible explanation. Finasteride works by inhibiting the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, thereby reducing the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Given the established link between androgens and cardiovascular health, particularly in the context of atherosclerosis, it is conceivable that finasteride’s modulation of androgen levels may contribute to its cholesterol-lowering effects. However, further research is warranted to explore the intricate interplay between finasteride, hormonal dynamics, and cardiovascular risk factors, offering new avenues for understanding and potentially leveraging the therapeutic benefits of this widely used medication.

STUDY FINDINGS

Published in the Journal of Lipid Research, the study uncovered significant correlations between finasteride usage and decreased cholesterol levels among male participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2009 to 2016. Additionally, in experiments involving mice administered high doses of finasteride, researchers observed reductions in total plasma cholesterol, delayed progression of atherosclerosis, diminished liver inflammation, and associated benefits.
Lead study author Jaume Amengual, Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and the Division of Nutritional Sciences at the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at U. of I., expressed surprise at the findings. Contrary to expectations, men using finasteride exhibited cholesterol levels averaging 30 points lower than non-users, shedding light on an unforeseen aspect of the medication’s effects.
Subsequent experiments conducted by doctoral student Donald Molina Chaves involved administering varying doses of finasteride to atherosclerotic male mice fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet. Results revealed lowered cholesterol levels in mice receiving high doses of finasteride, accompanied by reduced liver lipids and inflammatory markers.
While the observed effects were significant at doses exceeding human usage, Amengual emphasizes the importance of considering species differences in drug metabolism. Nonetheless, the findings suggest that finasteride may influence cholesterol levels in humans even at standard doses. This offers a promising avenue for further investigation.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Prompted by the unexpected connection between finasteride and cholesterol levels, Amengual delved deeper into the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. Given the drug’s primary role in altering hormonal dynamics by blocking a protein involved in testosterone activation, Amengual’s interest in exploring its broader effects was piqued.
Moving forward, tracking cholesterol levels in finasteride patients or conducting clinical trials may elucidate this effect further. Of particular interest is exploring potential cardiovascular benefits in transgender individuals undergoing hormonal transitions. This is a group at higher risk of both hair loss and cardiovascular disease.

CONCLUSION

Despite the potential benefits, Amengual emphasizes the importance of consulting healthcare providers before commencing finasteride treatment, given its associated risks. Nonetheless, these findings open new doors for research into the broader implications of finasteride. This offers hope to a diverse range of individuals for the cardiovascular benefits of finasteride.

Looking for my long term Client
Hello everyone I am here to find some gigs or maybe long term online job. I will be straight to the point, here are my skills:

• Autocad (Drawings, Electrical)
• Basic civil3d (Land Survey, Newbie)
• Ms word
• Excel applications (Pivot, Macros, formulas)
• Homework Help
• Data Entry or Research
• Virtual/Online Assistant

Also, I'm starting to learn figma to become a web designer, if ever you need someone to train and become your assistant, please let me know. I'm very willing for this.
If you need anything and you think I will be fit for the job, please let me know. I am willing to learn new skills for the future. I hope to start my frelancing career with you. Thank you!
P.S. graduating student (electrical eng) Philippines
Minimum of 5$ per hour
Contacts Email: juanpicks231@gmail.com Viber or WhatsApp: +639161033407

Hello everyone I am here to find some gigs or maybe long term online job. I will be straight to the point, here are my skills:

• Autocad (Drawings, Electrical)
• Basic civil3d (Land Survey, Newbie)
• Ms word
• Excel applications (Pivot, Macros, formulas)
• Homework Help
• Data Entry or Research
• Virtual/Online Assistant

Also, I'm starting to learn figma to become a web designer, if ever you need someone to train and become your assistant, please let me know. I'm very willing for this.
If you need anything and you think I will be fit for the job, please let me know. I am willing to learn new skills for the future. I hope to start my frelancing career with you. Thank you!
P.S. graduating student (electrical eng) Philippines
Minimum of 5$ per hour
Contacts Email: juanpicks231@gmail.com Viber or WhatsApp: +639161033407

Paramount: Deal Rumors Aside, What About The Operations? Can The Company Turn A Profit?
May 21, 2024 2:41 PM ET
Summary
Paramount Global remains my worst investment, but I still believe in its potential for success.
Paramount's "lack of scale" is not the reason for its underperformance as it spends about as much on content as industry leader Netflix.
Paramount's loss last year was largely the result of one-off writedowns, both domestically and internationally. These losses will not repeat going forward.
Paramount's streaming operation suffers not from lack of scale, but an abundance of overload waste, which may be alleviated under new management.
The sports slate remains best-in-class, and CBS is still the leader in broadcast scripted. CBS Television City in Los Angeles, Ca, USA. JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) (NASDAQ:PARAA) remains my worst investment. Let's just get that clear from the start. I said two years ago it was madness not to buy Paramount. That was wrong, wrong, wrong. The fact that I recommended against buying the new Warner Discovery at the same time, and heeding that warning saved a lot of money, makes me feel a little better, but not much.
And no, the fact that Warren Buffett made the exact same mistake as me doesn't help much, either. Mr. Buffett and I are about to part ways, anyway. He is now completely sold out of Paramount, while I am hanging in. Yes, I am still buying. Get all the ribbing out of your systems, and then read on.
Although a few rounds remain to be played in the game, it is no longer inconceivable that none of the various deal permutations that have been put forward for Paramount will pan out, and that it will continue as an independent company. Essentially, Redstone will block a deal with Apollo Global Management, Inc. (APO) and Sony Group Corporation (SONY) and the 'B' shareholders will litigate a Skydance deal to death.
Because so many Seeking Alpha articles are already offering a blow-by-blow analysis of the deal talks - and I absolutely encourage you to read them - I wanted to turn back for just a minute to a more in-depth look at Paramount's actual operations. If it stays independent, can it turn itself around?
Scale Is Not The Issue I'm angry. Usually, when an investment goes wrong, I can manage to be philosophical or even dispassionate about it. Risks of the trade, can't win 'em all, pick your maxim.
But this one is really getting to me. I'm sure part of that is simply the sheer amount of my portfolio that has suffered - I bet a lot more on Paramount than I did on my typical investment, so sure was I that it had the tools needed for success. Fortunately, some of my other media investments have worked out much, much better, or I'd really be hurting. In fact, my Netflix buy has repaired all the damage my Paramount buy has done.
Still, I'm unusually angry, partly because of the sheer amount lost. But it's also that I still don't believe there is anything wrong with Paramount, at its core. It has become quite commonplace to speak of Paramount's "lack of scale" as the reason for its apparent impending demise, or at least subsumption. But I would still argue that that isn't born out by the numbers. Paramount spent roughly $16 billion on content in 2023, the same total as 2022, when $4 billion of it was spent on streaming. That is only slightly less than Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) which leads the industry in market cap and performance, if not in spending. While the gap with other studio peers is larger, I'm not sure spending at Netflix levels equals a "lack of scale."
What's more, a lot of that extra spending by other traditional industry players like Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) and The Walt Disney Company (DIS) is not spending that investors should necessarily cheer. As I've explained before, Paramount's lower spending total is almost entirely accounted for by its far more profitable approach to sports rights; a lot of that extra spending that Disney and Warner are doing isn't particularly profitable or even sensible.
What then, does account for Paramount's underperformance?
Stock Performance That depends on which underperformance you're talking about. First, the stock price. Paramount cut its dividend in spring 2023. That announcement, with its Q1 earnings, was enough to cause half of the past-year decline in a single day. Paramount went from $21 to $16 with the dividend cut and was still at $16 as late as December.
Since then, the other half of the decline has reflected the increasing evidence that Paramount is more or less ready to throw in the towel, and intends to be a distressed seller to another studio or private equity firm soon. More specifically, it is actually Shari Redstone, who exercises control over Paramount through her 77.3% share of Paramount's Class A voting stock, who is ready to call it quits. The perception that she has no leverage and will be forced to accept a fire sale offer has driven the stock lower.
Operations All that, however, merely explains the stock market decline; what is the operational explanation for Paramount's troubles? The company reported a $600 million loss for full year 2023. How is it that one of the Big Five movie studios, with the most popular of the Big Four broadcast networks, the most popular show on cable (Yellowstone) and the only profitable sports slate in American television, can't make money?
Accounting Element First, we need to acknowledge that there are some accounting factors in that 2023 loss. Paramount took a "programming charge," i.e., a write-down of the value of programming assets, of roughly $2.4 billion in Q1 and Q2 last year. That is money that would ordinarily be amortized over a period of years - it's mostly streaming originals, which Paramount usually amortizes over a 4-year period - that instead saw its red ink taken all at once. Had it been amortized normally, Paramount would have reported an operating profit of roughly $1.2 billion, more or less identical to 2022, instead of reporting an operating loss of the same amount.
Still, that write-down reflects the fact that the content isn't performing well, so those losses were always going to happen, and they're quite real; the accounting change is simply a timing issue. So Paramount is operationally deficient, even if perhaps not quite as operationally deficient as this one-time write-down makes it look. We cannot dismiss Paramount's operational issues by putting them down to accounting distortions.
TV Scripted Content Difficulties Paramount did not break down the programming charge, but outside reports have about half of it owing to the integration of Showtime in Paramount+ as a single service. It's not entirely clear which side of the ledger those losses are coming from; one of the less understood things about merging services is that it potentially makes content on both sides less valuable as it is replaced by more popular content from the other side. Showtime's Q1 2023 viewership was very top-heavy, with just two shows, Yellowjackets and Your Honor constituting 30% of all viewership. Presumably, those two shows reduced the value of some Paramount+ existing content while the rest of Showtime's library may have suffered from competition with P+ content.
Regardless of the exact source, Paramount's content is not performing. That's a little surprising considering that, as I said, CBS content is actually quite popular on the linear side. In fact, in the earnings call following the annual report now-former CEO Bob Bakish reported that CBS had the top 16 scripted programs and 18 of the top 20 in the first week of post-strike broadcasts. Paramount has disclosed in the past that CBS content makes up roughly half of the viewership on Paramount+; and this is despite the fact that P+ isn't even the sole beneficiary of CBS content; roughly $600 million per quarter of Paramount's licensing revenue comes from CBS shows as well.
One possibility that I perhaps did not consider sufficiently was the chance that the unique characteristics of CBS would make it harder for that channel to transition to streaming than its other broadcast peers. CBS is the most popular of all broadcast networks, but that popularity owes disproportionately to more elderly viewers; in the demo, it is actually Comcast Corporation's (CMCSA) NBC which takes the top crown.
With elderly viewers both less appealing to advertisers and less likely to make the transition to streaming, it is perhaps not so surprising that CBS is continuing to perform well on linear but having trouble translating that to streaming.
International Shortfall The damage isn't through yet, either. Paramount disclosed that it took another $1.2 billion impairment charge on content in the first quarter. This one has to do with the international side; a few years ago Paramount commissioned 150 new, original international shows and movies to try to boost international growth. Now, Paramount reveals that even international consumers spend no less than 90% of their time streaming Hollywood content; the local originals aren't doing very much for growth or retention.
About the only good thing that can be said about this complete and utter debacle is that it is a one-off; unlike Paramount's US content spending, which is ongoing and therefore must be made more efficient if Paramount is to survive and thrive, Paramount is gradually exiting International production. In fact, to help cover the losses on its international originals it is selling its share in Viacom18, the network that formerly served as Paramount's onshore operation in India, to its partner Reliance for a little over $500 million.
Where Are The Children? Yet another factor is children's programming. While many have essentially written off Paramount's entire cable channel group, and I agree the prognosis for MTV and Comedy Central is rather grim, I have argued that Nickelodeon remains a real asset, as one of the top two children's channels in linear TV. I believed that would be a powerful subscriber acquisition tool, alongside sports, as the streaming transition continued.
It hasn't worked out. Surveys consistently show the Big 3 for parents with children are Netflix, Disney, and the third is Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) of all things. Neither Paramount+ nor Warner Discovery's Max make the cut, despite ownership of top children's linear platforms/libraries Nickelodeon and Looney Tunes, respectively.
The prognosis here isn't entirely grim. Paramount has reported that half of their streaming subscribers touch kids' content regularly, so clearly Nickelodeon does mean something to the subscribers. It's possible it helps with retention, even if it doesn't drive acquisition. Paramount owns the number one brand for pre-school kids, Paw Patrol.
Paramount has shut down the separate Noggin streaming service and will presumably be amplifying the kids content on P+ as a result, so perhaps this trend will yet turn around. With so many other things going wrong, though, the inability to make kids content more central to the strategy is a painful blow.
The Mismanagement Of Streaming I suspect, however, that Paramount's single biggest defect over the past few years has been the competency of its management. In a streaming world, success hinges overwhelmingly on the efficiency with which a content budget is deployed. That efficiency, in turn, requires avoiding the trap of "overload," something cable doesn't have to worry about but which can kill a streaming service.
What Is Overload? In brief, overload is when a streaming service spends money on content that appeals primarily to those subscribers who were already subscribed and intending to remain subscribed, even without that content. Because revenue does not increase with more viewership, such spending is essentially wasted money. I have been arguing for several years that some economic models of streaming profitability fail to take account of this significant element.
Paramount seems to have had a lot of overload in the last few years. Specifically, its single most broadly appealing piece of content is the NFL, which Paramount is an anchor broadcaster for. Because NFL fans are accustomed to spending upwards of $100 a month on cable just to watch the NFL - over 10% of cable subscribers say that the NFL is the only reason they're still subscribing - Paramount's $6-$12 a month fee for streaming really doesn't need anything more than NFL games to attract these 40-50 million fans.
The Earnings Jaw-Dropper And yet, it seems that's where a lot of the extra streaming money has been going. On the Q2 earnings call last year, CEO Bob Bakish, watching the stock price steadily decline, seemed to be eager to reassure he had a handle on the situation and began describing some of the changes he'd be making. It started out well enough, really; he told investors that NFL viewers churn drops dramatically if they also engage with entertainment titles, which is what you'd expect.
But then, he stunned me and I expect just about everyone listening when he said, "we probably need to do less for [the NFL viewer] in the fall, and more outside the fall because we can rely on the NFL." Compounding the almost Looking Glass-feeling, he then went on to reassure everyone he would be "fine-tuning" the content strategy to address that point in the years to come.
It was, frankly, stunning. Both me and I suspect just about every analyst who was modeling Paramount had just assumed it went without saying that of course, any entertainment content targeted at retaining NFL viewers should drop in the other half of the year when the NFL wasn't playing on TV. My own calculations of the profit margin on CBS's NFL deal had always incorporated that.
And while that was bad enough, it also raised the concern that a management team that didn't understand that going in might have put a lot of other overload in other categories as well. Suddenly, it wasn't so hard to see how the best-scripted shop with the most profitable sports contracts was having trouble making money. Double-loading for 50 million households would be a major drag on the financial performance for streaming.
Light At The End Of The Tunnel Despite all of this, I still think there are bright spots in the Paramount picture, even without a merger. Its operations, as well as its merger discussions, don't seem to lack potential.

1: My Usual Paramount Bull Argument: Sports Profits

One thing that continues to go right is sports content. A few years ago, I wrote that Paramount was a strong contender to become a sustainable streaming business because it had the only profitable sports slate in the business. The stock hasn't gone where I wanted it to go, but that is the one part of my thesis that has been definitively borne out. In fact, many now say that it is CBS's sports deals, at least as much as Paramount's film/TV studio, that the prospective buyers of Paramount are after.
I've covered these in other articles already. The March Madness deal runs until 2032 and the NFL deal runs until 2033, although the NFL has an opt out after 2029 that it will probably exercise given the utterly ludicrous bids the NBA is receiving, so the last four years of that deal might have to be chopped off the profit projections. Even so, Paramount can probably generate $1.25 billion a year in profit just off of those two deals for the next six years.
Those are probably the biggest, but it doesn't stop there. Almost every sports deal Paramount has is profitable. For all the flak management has deservedly taken, Paramount continues to show discipline and focus on sports. You won't find Paramount throwing $2.5 billion a year at the NBA's 'B' package, which is more money than the NFL gets for its 'B' package despite having 10x the viewership.
For all its many, many missteps, a Paramount that can just manage to stay afloat long enough for some of these ludicrous sports bets at other companies to blow up may yet find itself with cards to play later in the decade.

2: Recouping Write-downs Via Preferred Conversion

Another small boon has been the official conversion of the preferred shares. The Paramount mandatory convertible formerly trading under the PARAP ticker was capped at 0.85 shares per common share. Given the initial price of the convertible at $100 per share, that effectively means that a preferred share that was carrying a $100 liquidation value has just been converted into 1.1765 shares of a common stock currently trading around $12. A total value per preferred share of around $14.
And they sold for $1 billion, so that's basically $860 million back into the common equity that management was able to get at the peak of the boom. That actually repairs almost all of the red ink from Paramount's doomed international originals push on its own.

3: An End To Streaming Waste

Finally, a lot of the waste in streaming may soon be ending. Bob Bakish was finally fired a few weeks ago, and while I never want someone to lose their job, he frankly had looked overmatched for a while. Bakish was a lifetime cable executive who seemed to be having trouble making the transition to a streaming-world mindset. Frankly, if I knew about it in 2021, the CEO has no business fine-tuning it into the strategy in 2023.
With international originals no longer draining the coffers and overloaded entertainment programming shifted to months of the calendar where it can be more productive, streaming may yet turn the corner.
Investment Summary I recognize fully that each fall in Paramount stock makes my bullish optimism seem ever more out of step. I do believe, however, that Paramount's failures are more failures of execution than lack of scale or structural disadvantage. Paramount CEO Bob Bakish simply wasn't up to the job. Ironically that wasn't what got him fired; Bakish was almost certainly fired for opposing Redstone's plan to enrich herself at the expense of other shareholders, probably the most competent thing he did in the last few years of his whole tenure.
Paramount has everything it needs to be successful; profitable sports contracts, which is just unbelievable in this day and age, a thriving scripted TV operation, and a viable, if recently somewhat mismanaged, streaming service. An end to overload waste, the continued exploitation of its favorable sports slate, throttling back unhelpful international originals and boosting kids content engagement may yet produce a different streaming picture going forward. Should older viewers start to get more comfortable with streaming going forward and following their favorite programs to Paramount+, that would just be icing on the cake.
It's been a depressing ride the last few years, but I'm sticking with Paramount.

Hear the Whisperings of the Soulmask
The sun was setting, casting long, warm shadows across the jagged peaks of the mountain range. A lone figure crouched low, their broad back hunched against the chill of the evening air. They were clad only in a loincloth and leather armor, their muscles tense as they gripped a battered wooden shield and a massive spear, its tip stained with the blood of countless enemies. A quiver of arrows was slung over their shoulder, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice. This was Cid, the outcast of his CLAW tribe, banished for reasons he could no longer remember. His only purpose now was survival. And survival meant raiding the mountain fortress of his former brethren. Cid crept silently through the underbrush, his senses on high alert. The faint sound of drums echoed through the air, signaling the approach of a patrol. He tensed, ready to strike. As the patrol rounded a bend in the path, they caught sight of Cid and shouted a challenge. The outcast barbarian did not hesitate. With a primal roar, he charged forward, spear thrusting and shield arm blocking as the arrows rained down around him. His superior strength and agility soon became apparent, as he overpowered the surprised guards and continued deeper into the fortress. The sound of battle echoed through the mountains, and soon reinforcements were pouring in from all sides. Archers took to the walls, raining down arrows upon Cid as he fought his way through the main gate. He ducked and weaved, using his shield as a living shield against the deadly volleys. The ground beneath him grew slick with blood, both his own and that of his enemies. Cid's fury knew no bounds as he reached the inner sanctum of the fortress, where he knew the chieftain would be holed up. The air was thick with smoke from burning herbs, and the flickering light cast strange shadows across the walls adorned with the skulls of slain enemies. The chieftain stood before a great altar, his face painted with symbols of power and dominance. He held a ceremonial hammer, its edges glowing red-hot, as if forged in the fires of the mountain itself. As Cid closed in, the chieftain turned to face him, a sneer curling his lips. "So, you have come to die at my hands, outcast?" he mocked. "Very well. Then die you shall." With a mighty swing, the chieftain hurled the hammer at Cid's shield. The impact sent a shockwave through the outcast's body, but his grip did not waver. He thrust his spear forward, aiming for the chieftain's exposed throat. The chieftain dodged with surprising agility, and in the same motion, he counterattacked with a swift kick to Cid's shield arm. The outcast stumbled back, grunting in pain. The chieftain circled around him, his movements fluid and deadly. "You are no match for me, outcast," he hissed. "I am the true leader of this tribe, chosen by the gods themselves." Cid growled in response, his anger burning hotter than the lava that had birthed the mountain. He charged again, this time avoiding the chieftain's trap and landing a solid blow with his spear. The chieftain stumbled back, but did not fall. The battle raged on, the sounds of clashing metal and grunting warriors filling the air. Cid could feel the weight of his armor, the strain in his muscles, but he pushed forward. The chieftain was tiring too, however, and his movements were becoming less precise. Seeing an opening, Cid lunged, thrusting his spear at the chieftain's heart. The chieftain parried with his ceremonial hammer, but the force of the blow sent it flying from his grip. As it clattered to the ground, Cid stepped forward and drove his spear deep into the chieftain's chest. With a final gasp, the chieftain crumpled to the ground. The remaining guards, realizing they were defeated, threw down their weapons and surrendered. Cid stood over the body of the fallen chieftain, his chest heaving with exhaustion and victory. The fortress was silent now, save for the occasional groan from a wounded warrior. As he surveyed the carnage, Cid felt a strange mixture of satisfaction and despair. He had saved his people from the chieftain's tyranny, but at what cost? So many lives had been lost, and the wounds inflicted upon the tribe ran deep. He knew that the task of healing and rebuilding would be long and arduous. The surviving warriors looked to Cid, their faces a mix of relief and awe. They knew that he was now their leader, chosen by fate or the gods themselves. But Cid felt no pride in his new title. He knew only that he must guide his people through the darkness and back into the light. Cid knelt beside the chieftain's body, studying the symbols painted on his face. They were symbols of power, dominance, and control. Control that had been used to enslave his people for far too long. He wondered how such a man could have been chosen to lead. He turned to address the surviving warriors. "Today, we begin anew. We will rebuild our tribe, we will mend the wounds that have been inflicted, and we will find the way."

This is for England. I have had an offer accepted on a house which is currently being rented out. The tenant is a border and has floor to ceiling towers of books and dvds beyond anything that can be called a collection. To the point where they are towered from the floor and not on the floor to ceiling bookshelves. The theme continues and there’s a clear footpath the tenant walks around the house as the rest is filled with other things.
Onto the query, I spoke with a house surveyor and they saw the photos of the property page and said I’d be better off waiting on getting the survey done after the tenant had moved out the house. This is so they’d be able to see the actual state of the property not the mountains of stuff the tenant has. I called the estate agents to get a date for when the tenant would be moving out and was put through to the manager of the agency who I’d never spoken to before. I got a tirade of that’s a stupid idea why wait so long and spend all the money on checks and get through the process to find out something on the survey and walk away then. I said it was what was advised by the surveyor who works in their building who the estate agent who actually showed me the house recommended I speak to.
This manager then just went into how he’d been working in the industry and sold countless places in London that had tenants in when the survey was done. I told him it’s what was recommended by the surveyor and neither my solicitor or mortgage advisor who I mentioned this to said it seemed sensible to do. Am I wrong for disagreeing with the estate agent who just got more and more rude with me when I said this. I really expected better and was really shocked by how this manager would speak to me. I haven’t had anything like this with the other people in the office I have interacted with.
Just hoping to sense check this and see what others think. Worried the estate agent will make me out as an awkward buyer and speak to the seller about it all and advise to find someone else as it’s only been a week through the process but I have gotten everything done for the T forms and my mortgage application in so doing what I can.

I found a notebook with writing which looks like it was formatted to be a movie script. I handed the book in to the staff at the library. Anyway i went back to the library to check if had been collected and it hadnt so i thought id post a bit of it here hoping whoever wrote it is on here? Long shot but whatever.
EXT. AZKABAN. NIGHT
The perpetual storm outside rages: lashing at the dark prism which protrudes from the restless ocean.
Lightening cracks and chips the blackened bricks on the corners of the equilateral roof.
A dark, hooded figure floats above the frothing sea towards the prison. His face is hidden but his pale, scarred hands can be seen protruding from his tattered robe. The audience think he must be some sort of dementor by the cloak, the nature of his travel and the destination of his journey.
However when the figure approaches an upper third of a rectangular side of Azkaban, he raises a scarred hand towards the brickwork: a spiraling red stream of electricity shoots out from his fingers and hits the blackened brickwork. The wall of the prison explodes outward, the shattered bricks falling into the dark waters below.
The hooded figure glides into Azkaban and steps lightly onto the cobbled passageway inside the building.
CUT TO:
INT. AZKABAN
A group of similarly hooded guards float inches off the floor facing the intruder standing at the edge of the blasted hole in the wall he had made.
Seven feet tall, with a dark boney figure, they are similar in appearance to the man, and the dementors seem confused by his arrival. More dementors gather as the crowd approach the man, their rattling breaths create a horrifying chorus of sickness.
Before the crowd reach within 6 feet of the man, he lazily extends an arm: this time, a pale blue mist falls gently before a contorting shape forces it's way out from the man's hand. It grows, bones cracking uncomfortably, taking the shape of a ghostly bear. The patronus of the bear is formidable in size, however it's scarred and manged. The bear is hardly covered in any translucent blue fur, the few patches left protrude randomly across it's body. It's face is scarred and disfigured, one eye is fused shut. The bear snarls and growls deeply at the crowd of dementors and breaks into the crazed run at the figures. It barks as it runs, contorts it's body as it chases. Foamed spit falls out it's mouth as it lunges to bite the dementors. The crowd fall back down the dark corridor, chased by the man's patronus.
On the right, all the way down the corridor, are a series of adjacent cells, the fourth wall facing the corridor being thick wrought iron bars. The occupants of each cell had wildly different reactions to this intruder. Some rattled the bars of their cages and exclaimed wildly, some rocked in the center of their damp cells, quietly rocking and muttering to themselves. All were decidedly mad.
The hooded man looked down the corridor at the barred cells, by raising his arm, each inmate levitate off the floor, then with a sudden jerk of his arm, the figures fly to the barred wall of their cell their bodies do not fit naturally through the gaps in the bars, but they continue going through, their bones snapping and twisting to allow this.
The deafening screams of the prisoners echo down the dark corridor as they go through the bars and then float in a neat line in the center of the corridor. The hooded man then turns out to the open sea and floats up, the parade of contorted bodies follow.
The hooded man rises up and turns back to face the side of the building. He subtlety flicks his hands and the group of broken bodies line up horizontally against the black wall. With another motion, a large wall stone pushes out from the flush brickwork. Creating a small ledge for the prisoners to stand on. Their broken feet and legs crumble and they begin to collapse and fall off the ledge, however before falling to the sea below the floating man raises both his hands, a thin green mist shoots out and the inmates broken bodies begin snapping back into proper place, the ensemble of bone fixing and ligament reattachment is sickening but doesn't last more than a few moments.
There is a combination of wails, crying and laughing from the lineup.

HOODED MAN:< Quiet!<

He has a deep rattling voice.
The air infront of his words vibrates and the column of air reaches out to the lineup of prisoners. Think black cords wrap threw their lips and sew their mouths shut. Some grasp at their mouths. Their moans can still be heard.

HOODED MAN:< You may be hoping I've come to free you. I have not.<

Some of the people laugh manically through their sewn mouths.

HOODED MAN:< You hide behind veils of madness. To shield yourselves from your circumstance. Perhaps remorse would lead you here, more likely you'd rather laugh here than cry. But it's a façade, you do not know true madness, your insanity is a flimsy curtain to hide your true self from the realities of your situation, no. This pathetic pretence will not do. I want you to beg for mercy. It would be easier if you did so now. But I know you will not. I will take these veils from you and you will see the world as it is. And then you will beg.<

The hooded man rushes towards a hysterically laughing women in the center of the lineup.

HOODED MAN:< And I will kill you.<

She laughs even harder through her sewn mouth.
The man reaches out a hand and grabs the woman's forehead, her and all other inmates in the line throw their back. Their eyes glow white as they look up to the dark sky.
CUT TO:
INT. INMATE'S MIND
The hooded man stands in a large hall. The enclosed black hall is the shape of the inside of a skull. The walls of this room glow faintly white. The man stands on a ledge where the prefrontal cortex is.
He stands in a thin pool of water which gently splashes as he walks to the ledge of the platform. Once there he looks down to see a small naked figure crouching at the base, where the spinal cord leads out.
The man looks down and reaches out, his arm is stopped by an invisible wall, brown rotted strings which run top to bottom vibrate revealing the barrier. The man steps back and inspects the barriers edges and it's construction. He steps back up and plucks a rotted string. When he turns around he pulls a large medieval sword from his cloak and begins to slice as the edges of the veil. The tattered rope falls down the ledge to the platform where the naked figure sits. The figure looks up at the falling ropes infront of her.
The hooded man sheaths his sword into nothing and looks back down at the woman over the ledge. He beckons for her and she stands up.
She begins to float up to the man with increasing speed until:
CUT TO:
EXT. ASKABAN. NIGHT
The inmates whip their heads back forwards, groaning and grasping their heads in pain.

HOODED MAN:< (With satisfaction) There.<

The groaning of the inmates has stopped and now they stare terrified at the man, in silence. Waiting for his next word.
The man surveys his work looking up and down the lineup, some of the prisoners realize their predicament of standing 300 feet over a cold ocean and back up as far as they can, flush with the wall.
He waits for a moment.

HOODED MAN:< Now-<

He rushes in to the side of the central woman, his hood flies off as he does so, revealing a scarred face with a mop of short black hair. Lines of black spider like veins run up his face, scars and burned markings adorn his face, little runes and symbols. The marks look self inflicted, like he's tried to shove foreign objects into his face, and presumably body. It's grotesque to look at.

HOODED MAN:< - you will beg.<

There is an eruption of begging and pleading from the group who have dropped any pretence of not caring about living.

CROWD OF INMATES:< Please. No- I can change- I didn't mean to, you have to understand.<

The hooded man falls back and begins to laugh.

HOODED MAN:< Yes, yes YES!<

He laughs louder and louder as their pleas become louder and more desperate.

HOODED MAN:< (Quietly, barely a whisper) Now, you die.<

He snaps his head to look at a small man at the left end of the lineup. A large brick to the right of the man's head slides slowly out of the wall, the pleading of the crowd has stopped to watch what happens to the man. When the first brick slides all the way out, the brick next in line to the left, behind the man's head slides to take the place of the first brick.
The floating brick then lines up in the empty spot, right in front of the man's face, and slams back into the wall, taking the man's head with it. His headless body crumbles and begins to fall, before the hooded man gestures and the corpse is suspended limply on the platform.
A tall woman next in line stumbles back from seeing this and falls off her platform. She falls out of frame before being brought back up by the man. She crys hysterically.

WOMAN:< Please, no you don't understand PLEASE!<

The process happens more quickly this time, the brick movement happening more fluidly, ending with the crunching thud.
People in the lineups scream and crouch to try and avoid the flying bricks, but they are held up by invisible strings, and stare screaming as the black bricks come crashing back.
This happens twelve times going down the line, but skipping the ragged woman in the center who starts sobbing when's she's skipped.
Once all the others in the lineup are dead, their limp bodies standing on the platforms, and a bloody rim to the bricks behind where their heads should be, the man approaches the woman slowly.

HOODED MAN:< Do you know who I am?<

She shakes her head.

HOODED MAN:< No I wouldn't expect you to. But I remember you.<

He laughs and points at her.

HOODED MAN:< That's why I'm here. For closure.<
WOMAN:< I don't understand.<
HOODED MAN:< And that's how it'll end.<

He floats back for a last time, and orchestrates the same brick movement, sliding out and replacing, however this time it happens at chest level, and when the brick slams back into the wall, it creates a rectangular gap in her chest, which she looks down at as she dies. She moans and coughs weakly, before going limp.
The hooded man sighs.
He gestures and cords appears from his hands and tie around the 13 figures to hold them up once he leaves. He goes back and looks at the puppet like scene he leaves, and he nods. Then, and quietly as he came, he flys off into darkness, putting back on his hood.
MATCH CUT TO:
EXT. AZKABAN. DAY
The storm has cleared and the sky is a bright blue with few white clouds dotted around.
A group of well dressed men and women sit suspended on broomsticks, looking at the wall.

DETECTIVE 1:< What the fuck is this.<
DETECTIVE 2:< It's sick. I mean they deserved it, but it's sick.<
DETECTIVE 1:< (as he tugs on one of the strings) Fucking hell. So this guy, broke through the protective barriers, and enchantments on the walls, pushed off the entirety of the Azkaban guard force, took out the whole floor of prisoners and then did this?<
DETECTIVE 2:< Looks like it.<

So Weekly shonen magazine, the biggest rival to jump, just produced a new “hit”, Mayonaka heart tune, that just got a LCP. Lets look at its stats.
-Mayonaka Heart Tune 3 — 9,443 (12 day sales)
It has gotten an LCP by chapter 30 and is considered a new hit
Lets compare this to a recent similarly performing series in jump
-MamaYuyu 1 10,480 (10 days sales)
It got axed by chapter 30…..
Now obviously they have different standards, just being in jump gives you more exposure and jump cares a lot about toc and survey results, but still this is pretty funny. The same sales performance in jump that would nab you a LCP in WSM, gets you axed in jump.
So most here will be familiar with the minimum requirements for staying in the magazine at present. Its….
Weekly Shonen Jump
1.Sell at least 20-25k in volume sales for the first month (Roboco does 20k, kill blue does about 25k) Gag manga have slightly lower standards though.
2.Avoid the bottom 5 of the TOC for consecutive weeks. Unless there is editorial reason for being put low, or other promotional/magazine related reasons something is low.
Also, You can start at around 15k for volume 1 but you have to grow.
Obviously there are other contextual considerations like whats in the magazine, whats ending etc etc, but right now these are the general standards.
People call this harsh, but shonen jump has gotten more lenient of late. Regardless, this method has served it well… to generate a higher proportion of hits than most other magazine for a very long time.
Lets compare it to the second biggest shonen magazine though.
Weekly Shonen magazine.
1.Sell at least 7-10k in volume sales for the first month (Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard, yowayowa sensei and blue wolves of miba all sell less than 10k)
2.Avoid the bottom of the toc consecutively, but the requirements are less strict. WSM has more discretion with what they put at the bottom, with hajime no ippo and to your eternity put low at times just for editorial reasons.
WSM has more leeway for the mangakas, with break weeks very often, and has less stringent requirement for axing and gives them more time. It is still fairly strict and you will get axed eventually if you don’t perform.
So superficially, jumps method produces bigger hits, and magazines gives more leeway more the mangakas.
Let compare the hits each have produced in the last 4 years .since 2020 .
(This is by recent volume sales for the first month, not peak sales or total circulation. )
Shonen jump (numbers rounded)
Ruridragon 118,000
Sakamoto days (116,000)
Blue Box #12 (110.000)
Mashle (90,000)
Kagurabachi 2 (70,000 est)
Akane Banashi #8 (50,000)
Witch Watch #13 (45,000)
The Elusive Samurai #13 (40,000)
Undead Unluck #20 (30.000)
Nue's Exorcist #3 (30,000)
Kill Blue #4 (25,000)
Me and roboco (20,000)
Weekly Shonen magazine
Shangri-La Frontier #15 + Limited Edition (110.000)
Four Knights of the Apocalypse #14 (62.000)
A Couple of Cuckoos #19 (48.000)
Seitokai ni mo Ana wa Aru! #4 (48.000)
Megami no Café Terrace #12 (41.000)
Amagami-san Chi no Enmusubi #12 (31.000)
Gachiakuta #8 (27.000)
Medaka Kuroiwa Is Impervious to My Charms #12 (24.000)
Sentai Daishikkaku #12 (14.000)
Kanan-sama wa Akuma de Choroi #4 (14.000)
Mayonaka heart tune (10,000)
Yowayowa-sensei #4 (9.700)
Ao no Miburo #11 (8.300)
Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard #6 (6.000)
Observations
1.Jump produced 12 hits since 2020. Shonen Magazine 14. This is by their own standards though. 6 of the "hits" in magazine would have been axed in Jump...and perhaps more given the emphasis on the toc.
2.Jump had 37 axes in the same period, shonen magazine had 23 axes.
3.Even though the aggregate sales are higher for jump titles, the highest ceiling is similar. Shangri la vs ruridragon/sakamoto. Shangri la does have an anime though, which only gave a minimal boost.
4.Jump is still better at producing better selling titles more frequently. Magazine axe less and give more time and breaks to the mangakas.
What about series in other magazines?
Monthly Afternoon
Monthly afternoon is a seinen monthly magazine by kodansha, that values quality and gives a lot of time. They let series even with a few thousand sales, have a lot of time to build up an audience, which they eventually do. No idea what the internal process is, but my guess is that they also evaluate for quality on top of popularity.
Here is a series skip and loafer, that started with low sales, but is now critically acclaimed and selling pretty well with an anime.
Skip and loafer
Volume 1/ 2 068
Volume 5/ 8 914
Volume 8/ 28 766 /4 weeks
Volume 9/ 59 996 /6 — anime
Volume 10/ 74 262 /7
https://x.com/al_mavivi/status/1558278403664535552
This method of dealing with new series gives them more time to develop and find an audience. It may not produce as many big hits, but it works for the prestige brand they are trying to cultivate at afternoon and is doing a great job at it. They obviously introduce less and axe less, but that comes with the territory of more curation.
Obviously there are a lot more magazines to go through, shonen Sunday and champion, shoujo and josie magazines, but the post would get too long for all that. The general gist is almost all of them consider a few thousand sales good enough to start, and aren’t anywhere near as strict when it comes to voter survey results. And of course, they dont axe or introduce as many series as jump.
What I also think is interesting is that there seems a clear set of ways in how a magazine can configure their axe methods for different objectives.

1. Do you want to produce the biggest hits?
2. Do you care about quality and critical prestige?
3. Do you want to give the mangaka more lenience and breaks?
4. Do you want to give manga more time to develop an audience?

….
Jumps method prioritizes 1 , but considers 2
Magazines method prioritizes 1 , but considers 3
Afternoons method prioritizes 2, but considers 3, 4 and 1
What jump can learn from this?
The question people will ask of course, is why cant you do all 4? If someone figured that out, im sure they would do it. Problem is physical magazines have a finite set of slots, keeping something for too long prevents other things from being cycled in, which is why jump axes so much. People always wonder why jump don’t keep more than 20 titles in the magazine like other magazines. Other magazines do this where they have 25+ series, with a few taking breaks every few weeks. Jump only gives breaks to one piece, jjk and mha. But newbies could do with them too.
Also, others can also produce big hits, Blue lock was the biggest selling manga of last year, and it comes from magazine. Its stats early on
blue lock

1. 25k

5 ) 45k
20/ 197, 494
21/ 278, 301 — anime
22/ 346, 180
23/ 445, 253
Before that there were successes in other genres like Tokyo revengers, quintessential quintuplets etc.
Moreover, since the demographics of jump are changing, prioritizing quality on top of hits is also a good way of transiting into a new era. Look at monthly afternoons lineup after using its method.
https://x.com/al_mavivi/status/1607031535760203776

1. Blue Period 12 — 154 652
2. Land of the lustrous 11 — 133 430
3. Yakuza fiancé 6 — 121 598
4. Big Wind up 35 — 97 861
5. Vinland Saga 26 — 80 278
6. Skip and Loafer 10 — 74 262
7. Darwin Jihen 4 — 66 211
8. Heavenly delusion 8 — 31 926
9. Medalist 9 - 30,000

No massive hits by jump standards, but lots of high quality, award winning, solid selling series….with mangaka who are certainly treated way better.

I’m going out on a limb here, because this post is going to be a strong dose of woo. But I feel I have a duty to warn, and you people seem just weird enough to be able to get it. Read this in the voice of John Oliver if you have to, it might help.

TL;DR: Things are going to get worse before they get better. A mundane and lame, but not altogether surprising, amount of worse. Around 2045-2050, is when things finally turn around. Time to get your shit together, people.

Backstory: Back in the late 70s, a former Special Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations, Stephan A. Schwartz, got involved in remote viewing. Schwartz started a long-term project that ran from 1978 to 1995 to ask remote viewers to look at one day in June, 2050 to see whether or not the Cold War turned into a nuclear war. He collected data from hundreds of remote viewers over thousands of sessions, over decades of time, and aggregated down the places of only broad consensus. The points where nearly everyone agreed over years and years.

What came out was while we didn’t nuke ourselves, things like the fall of the USSR, the rise of HIV/AIDS, climate change, and terrorism replacing the Cold War seemed like crazy talk at the time, but it's what the remote viewers said. To date, points of wide consensus have held accurate because they’re non-specific. It's not “on Sept 11 this will happen…” it’s “something happened, and now terrorism is why the world is a more dangerous place.”

You can watch here in 2017 where Schwartz talks about a “series of epidemics” occurring. HIV/AIDS was the first one, and last I checked, the opioid crisis, huge increases in non-communicable diseases, and COVID are all massive public health problems on a scale we didn’t used to have - even at the level that in 2017 to consider them. Then he describes Zoom meetings, and how they’re in VR by 2050. So, like I said, things get worse.
/backstory

In the last few years, Schwartz started up a new version of the 2050 project, asking remote viewers to look at the year 2060, and report on wide consensus. A summary of his work is here, with findings on the last page. (This is not investment advice… or is it? ;) I’ve been waiting around on a book with more details for 2 years now, and still nothing, so I have this and interviews as most of what he has out there to go on.
I’m a remote viewer, and I’ve had years of profound, sometimes bonkers experiences that have forced me to stop being so materialist and accept that sometimes remote viewing works. And that the universe is buck wild, but whatever.
Anyone can learn to remote view, just like anyone can learn French if they spend a lot of time every day working on something that seems cool at first, but is ultimately borderline pointless to do without a solid reason. In reality, both have too many rules and are kind of annoying to keep up every day when you’re not using it professionally. But, objectively, learning French is still worse.

….But I’ve also studied and used social science data for work, and looking at broad consensus is how we evaluate things like aggregating survey data. So I put a lot of stock in both the 2050 and 2060 projects simply based on the methodology.

You know what I don’t put a lot of stock in? Astrology.

So I made the mistake of asking astrology about the general themes forecast for the US for 2030-2045, expecting some sort of hilarious contradictions. Like “oh, 2034, Saturn is in Leo - the US elects its first kitty-cat president :3 YAY!””

Nope.
Fam (can I call you fam?) - look, Fam, let me tell you, it did not go well for me.

TL;DR of that post: Nothing contradicts Schwartz. Even the timeline of bad to worse lines up. And I didn't even tell them why I was asking about that time frame before I got a few responses back.

We go from now to bad in the early-mid 2030s, bad to worse in late 2030s/2040, then spicy worse until 2045, then come up for air by the time kindergarten-age kids of today are old enough to rent a car and drive it through Mad Max: Tornado Dustbowl II.
OK, so two woo-woo data points. Who cares, right? Just stupid woo coincidence, right? How many pretend "skeptics" are screaming "confirmation bias!" at me right now? It's not zero.

But....Then we have the unfortunate triangulation of the fact that some of the less pleasant climate change models pointing to a 2.5+ degree world, which is entirely right smack-dab in the realm of possibility right now, agree with the severity of the remote viewing predictions. Expectations of a Blue Ocean event are on track for 2036-2038ish, and the remote viewing data says something happens around 2040 that is a big deal.

The 2050 and 2060 projects both agree that there are migrations: “people flee the coasts, then the Midwest becomes uninhabitable.” But like, more uninhabitable than right now. Constant tornados and floods and drought and general bad times kind of uninhabitable, not like, thinking spaghetti in your chili is still food (I’ll fight you about this, Cincinnati! Come at me!)

Now, if you’ve made it this far, you’re probably just a podcast host desperate for content. Respect.

But for real, if you’ve made it this far, it’s important to acknowledge the fact that this is a warning. This is knowledge, not to create fear, but to inform your sound choices. To be used to guide your life. Data to keep you safe and happy and doing whatever else normal people do these days. Fidget spinners? Are those still a thing? Anyway, point is that if you’re scared, you’re doing it wrong.

And look, this is a topic I’ve looked at for a long time, so there’s no way that you won’t have questions about the nuance. I would, too. Maybe questions like “I’m not clear - are you on drugs now, or do you NEED to be on drugs?”
But I’m going to get off the internet now, and let comments pile up for a while, because we have, like….8 years left to post on IG about plates of food someone else made and you just paid for. Or however you spend your time. I have 8 years left to understand why fidget spinners are a thing before I’m taking out the ball bearings and using them for ammo.

People, get your shit together. Find community. Be compassionate and kind. Learn to garden. Get in shape. Touch grass.
And vote, FFS. Not for America’s first kitty-cat president, I mean, not YET. Vote for humans now so we can have cats later.

Hello, here I am once again! First ever Fan-Fic.
Last week I opened a poll about the type of Fan-Fic I should write (or try to), and after a good 4 days I took a look at said poll, and the overwhelming majority went for Option 2. And so I shall try my hardest to deliver, and give you all a story about Humanity entering on the Galactic stage later and being more prepared for eventual hostile encounters, and acting as such.
Let's see what I can cook up in my tired state- Some creative liberties are to be expected.
Still thinking of a Title- but this is the one I came up with.
... Also consider this a proof of concept for now, a WIP if you will, as I'm still new to writing (and not a native English speaker either) and wanting to learn as much as possible while writing anything at all- so expect word vomit. Any and all feedback will be welcomed.
Lastly, all love to for having made such an amazing universe.
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Memory Transcription Subject: N/A, AI Communications Unit Terminal, UN-HQ.
Date [Standardized Human Time]: January 1st, 2300, 00:00
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Log Update: 01:15
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Memory Transcription Subject: N/A, Terminal Deactivated.
===---===
Memory Transcription Subject: Alan Voor-hein, UN Secretary-General.
Date [Standardized Human Time]: January 1st, 2300, 11:00
It has finally happened. A fellow space-faring civilization has been found, something we thought would happen one day- Never in my 40 years would I have guessed it would happen in my lifetime. But I guess that is the thought process for everyone who are now involved.
I had gotten the first message out of anyone. It was now up to me to head to the HQ and get everything ready for the Emergency meeting. We'll have to "discuss" our next course of action on this situation. And I use the term "discuss" lightly, because there is not a lot to discuss, rather there is much to think about as a potential next step. I'll be having these discussions with our diplomatic and military advisors. Civil advisors will be left out, as to not make the public aware of this discovery ...at least, not yet.
I have an hour to get everything ready... and I still need to travel 20 minutes to get there. Luckily I have my own companion who can be my chauffeur- who is always ready at a moments notice, essentially 24/7.
I was speed-walking.. or speedily descending more like it, down the stairs of my house. ...Don't ask me what I was doing upstairs. My hastiness almost caused me to trip while going down the stairs because I was in a such rush to get outside, I did not have a lot of time on my hands.
After reaching the ground-floor I sped-walked past the kitchen, and I took a second to contemplate about taking a quick bite from a snack, but I decided against it. After-all, I could eat at the HQ... not that I'd have the time too, but at least I could give it a shot if I arrive in time.
As my journey to the front door continued, I was met with a familiar face- namely Heluni. Heluni is my Android companion. Android technology has gotten far over the last few decades, and Androids have become more Human than ever before.
"Good morning Alan!" Heluni spoke up, her voice as smooth as the calmest oceans. I looked towards her, and greeted her in return.
"Morning Heluni- Sorry to be a bother, but I gotta use your driving expertise again today. Emergency UN meeting. It's at 12, but I would like to be there as quickly as possible. Can you do that for me?"
"Of course I can, sir. Right this way." She led the way, opening the front door, waiting on me to follow behind her. I took my place behind her as she led me towards our car that was parked outside. A classic unmarked "not noticeable" vehicle, one everyone knows screams "here is someone important" but no one seems to care about in their daily life.
And like always when walking outside, my mind wandered to the flowing shoulder long hair Heluni has, her hair was always a beautiful sight to behold. How she- an Android- managed to have the hair of a Goddess remains a mystery to me. But I learned to never question our technological prowess.
Before I knew it, I was standing next to the car, Heluni having already taken the drivers seat. I took my seat in the back. And before I even sat down, Heluni look back at me. "Ready sir?"
"Floor it." was the only thing I responded with.. and Heluni took off like it was the end of the world.
... And I'm suddenly reminded why I only used her driving skills in Emergencies. This type of driving is gonna make me sick- but it's to late now, I suppose. I gazed down to my watch, and it's 11:15. If Heluni keeps driving like this, we'll be there in about 10 minutes.
...
I'm just gonna try and keep myself calm, as to not make myself sick with Heluni her driving.
...
We drove through the city towards the UN Headquarters. Heluni was cutting through the traffic wherever she could- you'd think we would get pulled over. But the only reason we never were, was because the only symbol on this car (to at least mark it somewhat) was that the UN symbol was put in place of the car-manufacturer logo. Any officer knew that, if a UN car was speeding like this, there was something going on.
But since I still did not want the public to know about the discovery made earlier today, I'd have to come up with some excuse for this... I think I'll wave it off as a training exercise for my Android.
Noticing that I was rather quiet, Heluni chirped up. "Sir, is everything okay?"
"Hm? .. Oh yeah, just thinking about stuff. Don't worry about it."
"Sir, is it about the upcoming meeting? What is it about?"
"..Heluni, that's confidential information-"
"I know sir, but perhaps.. whatever it will be about, is making you nervous?"
... Am I nervous? I don't think I am- maybe subconsciously I am??
...
"Well, I can say it's something I have never planned on doing."
"Is it bad?" Heluni asked me, trying to inquire more out of me.
"Depends on future circumstances...."
"Will I be allowed to know more about this meeting?"
"One day you will, Heluni. But for now, that's gonna be a negative."
"I understand, Sir."
...
For the rest of our journey, no words were spoken. I was deep in thought again. Like.. what does this mean for my career? I will be the first leader in UN history who may lay the ground-works for an eventual "First Contact" between Humans and an Alien species.
I'm nervous thinking ahead that far, for all we know, they are those type of Alien we have seen in pop-culture. Either fun and loving, or utterly ruthless and genocidal. What would they think of us? ... What will we think of them? Is there a potential for a future war?
We have that last one covered at least. Humans being Humans and all- we already have a decent Space going fleet of roughly 8000 ships of various sizes. ... Just in case a Colony gets any funny ideas with their local security forces. But now knowing we might have to face off against Aliens as well, I think it's about time to ramp up the ship production tenfold.
More importantly, we have to spy on them. Luckily that probe we sent is close to their planet, so we'll just use that for any surveillance and intelligence..
My thoughts were shaken back into reality from plausible scenarios once we took a tight corner a little too fast- but before I could scold Heluni for it, there it was, the UN-HQ in the distance. A few more minutes, and we'll be there.
...
===---===
There we have it! I think I did well in my tired state for this first part. I'll keep looking through the text itself from time to time. So if any feedback, grammar, etc, is thrown my way. I can implement them right away.
I hope this is setting a decent stage for what's to come. Hope you had fun reading this!
For now, Imma chill with some music.

I recently discovered prime opinion and i cashed out 10 dollars in a span of 5-6 days and i just need around 200 points more to cash out 5 dollars again. (s.s attached)
everything you need to know about prime opinion:
it's one of the best survey apps for beginners as it offers fast cash out
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you get compensated for getting screene out
the surveys aren't long usually
pay is good and fast
it offers payment through paypal, gift cards like myntra, domino's and many more
tip: use the 100 points bonus when you sign up
be patient, don't get discouraged when you get screened out in the beginning.
it gets better as you reach higher levels + i thinkprime opinion survey's are more user friendly and easy. Definitely worth trying.
Sign in and try it yourself.

This is a follow up to a prior post
https://www.reddit.com/ryobi/comments/1csiuwd/comment/l4e1gbz/?context=3
I used my survey on the house to measure out the yard and rate it against how long a battery lasted. Each time was a fresh 6ah battery at a full charge. Mowed with dry grass, just sharpened the blade, 85 degrees out. The only change was the mower getting hotter from use. Used the side chute to maximize performance as bagging or mulching would likely drop battery performance. Will say the back yard is shaded, front is not. I am not sure if the back results would change if I mowed it last instead of first.
First round/battery was my back yard, 3540sqft. I used half of a battery and assuming the other half would match, that would be 7080sqft per battery. Mower is sold with 2 batteries and notes up to .75 acres using both batteries. Converting it out, I would get .64 acres for two batteries based on that run. A little lower than the max, but at 85% its no big deal as I assume the .75 is flat surface, no upswing in blade speed, etc.
Second round was the main section of my front yard, drained the battery 100% on the very last bit. Mower had a small cool down since the back yard, but warmer and getting hotter as I mowed. This time I only covered 4790sqft. Converting that out like the first battery, at the same rate I would only get .48 acres done with two batteries. That is 64% of the advertised max size. Mower began slowing down a bit, hard to tell if it was low battery vs other issues.
Third round was another fresh 6ah to get the rest of the front. I used half of the battery and only covered 1418sqft. Converting out again, 2 of these batteries at this pace would only get .26 acres mowed. That is 35% of the advertised size. During this round, the mower started to slow as well. Speed would go up and down while blade speed was consistent. I turned off the blades and used just the self propel to get it back to the shed and the speed continued to go up and down and at times nearly come to stop despite half a battery still left.
The more use and heat, the worse it performs. Last week it took two full batteries for the front yard at 90+ degrees and I didn't touch the back yard that day. Performance then was far worse on those two and that was without the back yard mow somewhat warming up the mower. At this point I have began the process with RYOBI to either have them replace it or refund the purchase. Replacement may become an annual event unless they can fix the issue as this is the replacement to another unit with similar issues.

Hi all,
As the title states I'm looking for some career advice, and maybe also an opportunity to get some things off my chest. So, I apologize in advance if this is a little long.
I started my career in market research by complete happenstance. I was fresh out of college with a Marketing degree and applied for a job for a large well-known market research supplier - mainly because the title had "marketing" in it. I honestly had little clue what the company did, but it was an entry level position, and they weren't expecting any experience. I worked at this company for 14 years, getting promoted every couple of years which kept me happy and content. We primarily focused on copy testing TV ads, and brand tracking work. I learned the basics of market research, writing q'res, checking data tables, populating reports, drawing insights from the data. But I would classify all this knowledge as very surface level. Since we had standard "solutions" I rarely, if ever had to write a survey from scratch. We had a data processing team, so I never learned SPSS, R, or other data processing tools. After around year 12 I started looking for other jobs, because I was burnt out doing the same research every day and because of our company’s direction - maximizing profits, cutting workforce, offshoring data functions, etc.
At this time, I tried to branch out of market research, but looking for adjacent type of work - think marketing/web analytics, etc. - but didn't have much luck. I either made too much money or was disregarded because I didn't have the exact experience the role was looking for. I finally ended up taking a job with a small UK firm that specialized in text analytics - basically automated coding of verbatim comments. The role was interesting, as we were using the text analysis to comb through hundreds of thousands of CX survey comments every month. Unfortunately, the company who was conducting the CX research offered our clients the text analytics for free or very little cost, making our services redundant. This was the company’s only US client, so there was nowhere for me to go even though I enjoyed working for the company. Luckily, I saw the writing on the wall early and was able to job hunt before we were officially let go from our contract.
Given the pressure of impending doom at the previous position, I wasn't too choosey about my next role. I took a position in the research department for a B2B trade magazine publisher. In hindsight this was a dead-end move from the beginning, as the company was in a dying industry (who reads magazines anymore?) The research role was split between doing industry research studies to provide editorial content for the 50+ publications and doing custom research using our vast subscriber base. Most of the studies we conducted just ended up being copies of the previous year’s study and required very little thinking. Even the "custom" studies were often repeat waves from prior years and were in areas I had little knowledge of (roofing materials, plumbing fixtures, industrial food manufacturing equipment, etc.). Again, I saw the writing on the wall, as the company's revenue declined year over year and the custom research group barely topped $1MM in revenue (it was basically the co-CEO's pet project). Back to the job search.
This time, I was able to use some connection to get in touch with the hiring manager for a private mid-sized research supplier that specialized in TV ad effectiveness research, which was right up my alley thanks to the experience at my first company. I was hired and was able to seamlessly step into the role. I mainly enjoyed what I was doing, even if it was a bit repetitive. I was good at it, and I liked the company and people I worked with. At this point in my career, I was less concerned about climbing the corporate ladder and more concerned about work life balance and job stability. My main hope was to ride out this job until I was ready to retire (~10 years). However, as is happening all over the research industry, our company was acquired by a private equity funded research company. Over the past 2 years since the acquisition, there have been multiple layoffs and restructurings as the private equity firm looks to squeeze every cent out of their investment. There is no more job stability, and I feel like it is only a matter of time before I'm let go, and I can’t ride out my time here to retirement.
I have again begun a job search but I am running into all the same issues I had when I left my first company. I don't have technical know-how (SPSS, statistical techniques, etc.) and my research expertise is in a small niche sector (ad/marketing effectiveness). There are very few mid-sized research firms left, as most of them have been consolidated into large firms. So I'm either left with these big corporately run firms that have all of the same issues my current companies have (only care about profits above all else), or they are small boutique firms that are looking for research experience (CX, segmentation, product testing, etc.) I don't have and/or technically experience with statistical/data tools.
I don't really want to go back to school to learn a new career, because by the time I finish a new degree I may only want/need to work for a few more years. I'd love to find something that is flexible, and stable even if it means I make less money than I do now. Most of the research firms don't seem to be hiring right now, and I don't know if I'm just trading one bad situation for another. I can't seem to break into any adjacent industries (marketing analytics, media agencies, etc.) I've investigated government jobs, but nothing seems to translate to my experience.
Any other places I should be looking at? Does anyone else feel trapped in this industry that seems to be getting worse every year as more and more consolidation happens?
TL:DR - Have 20+ years of supplier side research experience but in a very niche sector, which is preventing me from getting considered for other jobs/industries. Mainly searching for stability and flexibility (versus $ and career advancement) but that seems to be in short supply as the research industry is continually being consolidated and gobbled up by hedge funds and private equity.

I'm launching this survey because I'm extremely curious to know what people will do during this time period, which is a real death trap filled with clashes and highly anticipated acts.
mitski x eartheater x arca dj set & snow strippers boiler room x phew x dorian electra x sabaka
I would appreciate it if you could also write any details below.
Personally, wanna see Eartheater and i feel that it will be completely impossible for me to get back into the Boiler Room in time to catch the end of Snow Strippers due to the long queue :(
View Poll

Hi all! Would you please help me by taking my survey? I'm looking for a general audience from any country, as long as you speak English. The study takes 5 minutes and is about Eco design perceptions Thank you! PS. The survey contains a code at the end that gives you free survey respondents at SurveySwap.io
https://surveyswap.io/surveys/ce922fb8-05cd-4ccb-b6a5-9f894f74ddf1/take-a-survey