The HRRFY.
It’s the horror movie festival where something genuinely fucked happens every year. And I mean every year.
Like, there are some screenings that unleash hordes of bats while the movie is playing. You're free to leave whenever you want, but the movie will still play for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Other screenings hire actors to turn at you and scream at some point in the movie. You have no idea when, or how many times.
It's a festival where the word "illegal" can't even begin to describe what occurs. You'd only attend if you were a young, stupid edgelord like me who was trying to prove he was hardcore to his friends.
Trust me. DO NOT GO.
You have nothing to prove to anyone. Don't be stupid.
Wait for the lamer film versions to come out streaming. That's what everyone else does. They're neutered edits but they're fine.
All they lack is the real gleaming thing everyone wants to see at HRRFY, but who cares. At least you don’t get traumatized. At least you’re not risking your life.
Anyway, if you really want to know what attending HRRFY is like. I’ll be quick and summarize the one screening I went to. It was the 20th anniversary, and I was lucky enough to get in.
***
I had signed up for the HRRFY mailing list, and joined the subreddit. Through a series of cryptic online emails I solved a sequence of riddles and was entered in the lottery for a HRRFY entry.
Lady Luck took a shine to me, because one day in my mailbox, I received a physical ticket. I had done it.
I was going.
The actual ‘ticket’ was a black USB key that announced the location of the festival the night before (which I won’t disclose here) and it did force me to pay for a very expensive flight in order for me to make it on time.
You see, to prevent getting shut down, the location of HRRFY changes every year. Some years the local police have managed to stop it, but for the most part, authorities have given up. What’s the point of arresting or charging anyone, if all the organizers and attendees actually want to be there?
Upon arrival, I had to pick between three participating theaters.
Based on title alone, I decided to go see “Many Drownings” (directed by Oleksander Gołański.) It was in the theater that was furthest away from the downtown core, which meant it was likely the one where the craziest shit was bound to happen.
That’s what I came here for right?
I lined up a solid two hours before the screening like everyone else. The entire line was jittering, just vibrating with excited twenty-somethings. Rumors flew left and right.
“I heard they’re going to force everyone to take acid.”
“I heard an actor’s gonna run in and shotgun the ceiling.”
“I heard they’re going to disappear like four more people this year. At this screening!”
Each year people disappeared. And each year the same people were ‘found.’ And yes this is the worst part, and why should never, ever, ever go to this event.
Again I will repeat myself. DO NOT GO.
No one has ever truly gone 'missing' at HRRFY in any legal or physical sense, because every missing person always shows up a day later, convinced that they are fine—refusing to elaborate further.
There are some small support groups for people who have family members who had gone to HRRFY, and came back irrevocably changed after being ‘found.’
These few unlucky people lose all semblance of personality. They don’t want interviews, or help, or therapy, or contact of any kind. And they never, ever want to talk about what they saw.
Some HRRFY fans think that these ‘found’ people were body-snatched. Cloned in a lab or replaced by a cyborg, or something stupid like that.
But I think there’s a far simpler explanation. The ‘found’ are still the same people. They're just terrified. They got shaken by something that shattered the foundation of their mind, body and soul. They got too scared.
They got HRRFY’d.
***
I should mention I had a cough the day I went. And I was worried my sickly appearance might give me trouble at the airport.
So I invested in an intense double N95 mask which I wore for the whole flight, and continued to wear even at the screening of “Many Drownings.”
It made my face hot and uncomfortable, but it still didn’t stop me from yelling “excuse me, excuse me!” as I ran to snag a seat in the back of the theater.
I always preferred sitting in the far back. You get a good view of the whole screen, and a good view of the whole audience.
Beside me sat a big dude named Sylvester, who apparently flew all the way from Australia to attend HRRFY.
“Worth the full Seventeen hours mate! It’s gonna be epic!” he dropped a massive camping backpack beside me, which I assume contained all of his luggage.
The lights dimmed, and the production company logos started to play.
The whispering, giggling and suspense all stacked upon each other to create an electric feeling in the air. I was giddy. It's like the entire audience was embarking on a massive roller coaster.
The anticipation was the best part for sure. It might have been the only good part.
Then the movie started.
It was a wide shot of a gray, stormy sea. The waves were massive, and the thunderclouds were looming. There was no land visible in any direction.
All we could hear was the sound of waves foaming, swirling, and crashing over and over. Lightning crackled. Rain poured. The camera held perfectly still over this storm as if it was mounted on a perfectly hovering drone. A drone so resilient that it didn’t waver at all.
I thought it had to be CGI.
The shot held like this for the next few moments. Everyone sat glued to their seats. Everyone was thinking the same thing.
What’s going to happen? How are they going to scare us?
People chuckled. People cheered. People wanted to tease whatever was going to happen—to happen already.
But nothing did.
Five, ten, maybe fifteen minutes went by without any change. People started snoring.
I looked beside me and saw that Sylvester—the most excited audience member of them all—had fallen totally asleep. The jet lag must’ve gotten to him.
Then I peered beyond the rest of the audience members and saw other people snoozing too. Heads were keeled over, some people were curled in their seats, some had even spilled out into the aisle and were dozing on the floor.
I looked above the bright screen, at the huge vents in the corner of the theater. I saw a faint white gas emerging from the vents.
Holy shit. What have we been breathing? I tightened the straps on my N95 mask, and made my breathing shallower.
The gas must have been pumping since the opening credits—because how else would an audience of two hundred people all fall asleep?
As I moved my hand through the air in front of me, I could sense the thickness. It was definitely hazier than usual. I took the scarf off my neck and wrapped it around my mouth as well.
Then I spotted movement in front of the screen.
It was a tall blonde man, wearing a black trenchcoat and military-grade gas mask. Beside him arrived six hazmat suits who started pointing at various audience members.
I slunk in my chair, pretending to sleep like everyone else.
Two hazmats walked over to the front row and picked out a sleeping guy in flannel. They lifted flannel up, under the armpits and by his ankles, carrying him between them both like a hammock.
The hazmats walked back up to the stage, where the blonde leader inspected the flannel man and tapped his head. Something was approved?
The hazmats began to swing flannel back and forth, as if they were getting ready to toss him. Despite their masks, I could hear a very muffled, very distant countdown.
“Three…”
“Two…”
“One…”
The flannel audience member was tossed into the screen.
I literally watched him fly into the image of stormy waves … andfallinto them. The flannel man sank into the gray water like a rock, leaving a few bubbles and foam. A wave came crashing down. All trace of him was gone.
What the fuck.
All six hazmats began grabbing more audience members with much more urgency. It became a minute-long process where they would pick the sleeping person up, bring them beside the screen, and then swing-toss them into it.
How was this possible?
I turned slightly to see if there was a projector above me, and realized there was none. Which meant maybe there was no screen on stage.
Which meant … maybe it was a portal?
I tried to wake Sylvester by shaking him. I pinched his leg and arm a bunch.
He was out cold.
The hazmats started grabbing audience members from the middle rows now. They were emptying the whole theater. What the hell was I supposed to do?
I waited until they grabbed another batch, only a few rows down from me. When all hazmats had their backs turned—I broke into a run.
With my left arm, I tightly gripped my mask and scarf against my face, while my right arm vaulted me over seat after seat.
I had never breathed so hard—through so much fabric—in my life.
The hazmats all turned to me. “Hey! Hey!” But their hands were full with their next victims.
I ran all the way down the aisle, to the big exit sign on the left. My heartbeat filled my head. My plan was to dropkick through the exit door.
I imagined myself breaking through like some flying gazelle.
I jumped.
I angled my kick.
It might as well have been a brick wall. I fell ass-first to the ground, followed by my head. Of course the door was locked.
Through a muffled mask I heard a sneering scoff.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Above me stood the one wearing a trenchcoat. I could see his piercing gray eyes through his gas mask.
I rolled aside and tried to run by him. He lifted a foot and tripped me without effort.
My forehead bashed into an empty seat. It dazed me.
The blonde leader bent down and grabbed me by the neck, tearing away my scarf and mask.
“No! No!”
A sweet, ether-like smell filled my nostrils. I did my best to hold my breath, but I could already feel myself getting light-headed.
The other hazmats joined in, grabbing me from all sides. Even if I had the strength to struggle, there was no escape now.
Above me, all I could see was the dark theater ceiling, and some of the light behind me from the cinema screen.
“Three…”
“Two…”
“No. Please. Don’t do thi—”
SPLASH.
I was plunged deep into cold, wet chaos. My head was completely underwater.
Gagging. Bubbles. Spinning.
I fought for dear life, dog-paddling like a maniac.
Churning. Freezing. Panic.
For a second, my head popped above the water. I inhaled all the air my lungs could muster. I stared across a vast, violent ocean.
An enormous thirty foot wave came in my direction.
My whole body lifted higher and higher as the wave approached. I did my best to tread water. It seemed to be working.
Then a series of smaller waves arrived and smacked my chest.
SPLASH.
Spinning. Kicking. Flipping.
My view alternated between the pitch dark ocean beneath me, and the moonlit night sky above.
Again I swam to the surface, popped my head out. Ravenously sucked in air.
There was a small lull in the water.
Around me I now registered the other theater goers. Most of them were lying face-down or sinking … but a few were flapping about like me, fighting for their life.
And above all of us, a floating white shape.
It was painfully bright, I had to lift one hand to look at it.
My jaw dropped.
It was the movie screen, hanging completely still in the air. It showed a dark, empty theater. The exact same theater we all occupied moments ago.
It was tremendously high, above all of our heads. There was no way of reaching it.
Then I saw another thirty foot wave come our way. It grazed the bottom of the screen.
I knew what had to be done.
***
One of the theater goers happened to be on a college swim team. She was the first one able to traverse one of the giant waves and climb into the screen.
Once she was up there, she found a firehose in the theater and reeled it out to us like a rope.
One by one, we swam as hard as we could, praying to God we could reach the rope. Everyone’s energy was sapped. Your body can only sustain itself on adrenaline and fear for so long.
By some miracle, five of us got out.
I was the last.
I climbed the rope coughing and vomiting. I had swallowed so much water that my stomach felt swollen.
When I reached the top and they pulled me into the screen, I sobbed. I couldn’t stop crying.
My life had flashed countless times before my eyes. In bubbling, suffocating visions, I saw both my parents and my brother. I saw my highschool graduation. I saw my favorite Christmas from when I was six years old.
I had almost lost all of that. I had lost almost everything.
On the dirty, carpeted theater floor, I lay with my face down, savoring the fact that I now lay on a hard surface. God bless ground. God bless this filthy, popcorn-strewn ground.
Beside me I heard bantering, hugging, the wringing of wet clothes. Sylvester was the second last to be saved, and he was particularly vocal.
“Wooooooaaaaahh!” He came and drummed me on the back, lifted me up. “Oh my god dude! Holy shit!”
I sat on my knees, wiping the tears and snot off my mouth.
Sylvester clapped his hands, held his face and screamed some more.
“Holy shit dude! That was so fucking scary! Like literally people were dying beside us. Like I SAW people die!”
I nodded, shivering in my drenched clothes. “ I know it was—”
“—That was craaaaazy!”
He laughed and stood up, patting everyone on the back. He kept clapping his hands like this was some sports event.
“That was sick! That was siiiiiiiiick!”
He ruffled someone’s hair then ran up to me with an open palm.
“High five dude! WE MADE IT! High five!
“Don’t leave me hangin’ dude!”

This is not my confession, its a copy paste of a real confession
Today I want to come clean about something I feel very badly about. I cannot undo some of the things I have done, but hopefully this message will prevent other such occurrences in the future.
I am a paid basher.
Yes, it is true. Today is my last day at this company; I'm moving on to a new job. I've realized that there are more dignifying jobs out there that can pay me equally as well. But before I go, I want to explain a few things because this just isn't right and I won't feel good about myself until I expose this sham. It's hurt too many people and I don't want it on my conscience anymore. I can no longer live with a lie.
I work for a company called Global Calumny Funds in Stamford, CT. Basically, it's a Boiler Room much like the one in the movie of the same name. The idea behind my group is to bash the price of a company's stock down low enough to where the group of investors who retained our company's services can buy the stock really cheap and perhaps even take it over all together.
There are approximately 70 people at the company divided into several groups. My group, consisting of 5 people, is responsible for IDWD. While I probably shouldn't give any names of anyone working here now, what the heck, I'm leaving here, so what can they do? sue me? Ha! I can tell you that laptoptrader and janice shell were part of my group until he left last week, as was ninaturtle. Others who have been part of this include early bashers like hard data and Investorman. You may be interested to know that some hypsters, such as MONEYMADE and even Datatech!!, have also been part of the scam (more on that later).
There are several companies engaged in the bashing business, ours is not the only one. However, I can tell you that not every basher in here is a paid basher. Having done this for a year, I can usually tell who is a paid basher and who is merely someone having a little fun. While unpaid bashers have a different motive than someone like me, they can be unwilling accomplices to helping me achieve my ultimate goal and they also spread rumor and confusion throughout a room, which also helps me.
What is that goal? Well, I am merely a cog in a much larger machine, so my bosses never really explained the big picture to me, but I'd say essentially, Shaddowwatch2oo3 was right. There are several companies who are quite familiar with Jim Bishop and Janice Shell and who are deathly afraid of them.
There are three types of bashers here at Global Calumny Funds: Advanced, Intermediate and Beginner. An Advanced-level basher (also known as a Silver Tongued Devil) would spread false or misleading information about the company. They would deal in facts, countering every longs post with articles, news reports and opinion surveys that gave a negative impression about the company.
An Intermediate-level basher (also known as a Serpent) would try to weasel their way into the confidence of longs and create doubt using rumor or innuendo.
Finally, a Beginner-level basher (also known as a Pitchfork) would attempt to create confusion in the room by distracting other posters with satire, name calling and pointless arguments. The idea was to make sure no serious discussion of the stock could take place. A Pitchfork was usually a basher, but not always. Sometimes, we would throw in a hypster Pitchfork such as MONEYMADE and laptop and a pumper like Datatech to create the illusion of an argument going on. What was really funny (in a perverse way, I guess) was that Datatech and I sat next to each other, laughing the whole time.
I was a Serpent basher, because I am known for effective bashing based on solid facts and truth. I was paid a base wage of $18 an hour for my services. I was given a $1.25 bonus for every decent quality post over 100 per day as well as a monthly bonus of $100 for every penny the stock had dropped from the previous month. I was also paid a bonus for bashing on weekends. While this may not sound like much, I made a decent, though dishonorable, paycheck plus a nice Laptop with free wireless internet connection.
Each of us sat in a small half-cubicle in a cluster with our teammates. Each group (usually five people) was made of three beginners (two who would bash and one who would hype), one intermediate and one advanced level basher. Occasionally for some of the hotter stocks, one of the beginners would be replaced by an intermediate depending on how much the stock was rising. IDWD was a low-level stock, meaning it got the 3-1-1 configuration.
Honestly though, somehow, I get the feeling that WV Hillbilly may have worked for a basher company or knows someone who does because the fund websites he occasionally posts is eerily similar to our employer's websites. While not exact, I'd say it is about 90 percent the same. We do have certain rules that we follow.
First, we have to develop a character and stay within that character in order to build a "following." My character, "FogOfWar," was a humorous, sarcastic, obnoxious supporter of free speech and loved to portray himself as a truth-telling superhero, but only when it came to bashers.
Next, we had to follow certain guidelines on what we could say. We were urged to have an "answer" to every long's question, but we were to frame that answer in a way that ridiculed the questioner for asking such a question. However, we were never to use profanity or vulgarity because that would cause people to ignore us. We were to make fun of people, but in a civil way. The idea was to get "play," i.e. reaction from other posters. The more play we got, the more the room would be disrupted. Ignored posters get no play. One exception would be the hypsters since they were "defending" the stock against our onslaught, they got a little more leeway. People would side with the hypster because they thought he was real since he appeared to be on their side, but was really on ours, setting us up to disrupt the room. MoneyMade was quite good at this and gets paid very well.
I've worked on IDWD, VLO, AGII, QBID, BKMP for a few months now. In addition to the FogOfWar alias, I've used a few others on several other boards as well. I've used so many aliases that I can not remember the monikers or the passwords. I honestly lost track of everything. I stuck with FogOfWar because it was the one that got the most play from other posters.
In closing, I feel absolutely terrible about this. It's just awful how I've been part of a scam designed to cheat honest, hard-working people out of their investments all for the benefit of a few wealthy people who already have enough money to last a lifetime.
These greedy people MUST be stopped. That's why I'm posting this before I leave. I want to make up for some of the damage I've done. I can't live with this lie anymore. You can't imagine how hard it is to look at myself in the mirror each morning knowing my job is to cheat and lie.
I have to go now, I'm too broken up to continue. I hope this confession can make up for my sordid deeds; I would urge everyone who reads this to inform as many people as you can. Only by shining the light of truth can we drive these rats back into the darkness from whence they came. Believe me, they don't want publicity.
Good luck and I hope all of you the best in your investment endeavors.

Shared Kit 

Brittle Form Kit: 

Forged Form Kit: 

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.

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE
* Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:
Norway. Preferably around/below 10 000 NOK, but willing to stretch up to 15 000 if something is promising.
* Are you open to refurbs/used?
No
* How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
Form factor > performance > battery > build quality.
I'd like a basic "laptop" form factor, no convertible. Build quality doesn't have to be the best, I'm ok with plastic as long as it can take minimal handling. My typical use is lying on the sofa with the laptop on my lap or chest or on a table. I often use it to cast youtube to my tv via Chromecast. My current Acer Swift 3 got quite warm, maybe I need a bit more performance? Or just cooling/heat dissipation. Battery life isn't the end-all-be-all. I'm used to laptops ending up needing charging several times a day, though I'd be happy if a new one lasted longer.
* How important is weight and thinness to you?
My current Acer Swift 3 is a good weight and size, I could accept something a little heavier too. Sorry, I can't find the weight of it. The thinness isn't really important to me.
* Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.
I'm used to a 14" currently. Leaning towards 14-15".
* Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
I don't do any editing etc. I play some games, NGU idle (don't think that takes much resources at all) and Balatro. Balatro seems to be a bit taxing for my Swift 3, it gets very warm. I'd like to try more of that sort of game in the future. I don't play any 1st person shooters or anything online.
* If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
Balatro at standard settings, I guess.
* Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
Good touchpad. Fingerprint reader is nice, not a deal breaker.
* Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
I absolutely want Windows OS. I'm not up to learning something new right now.
My current laptop is an Acer Swift 3 (intel core i5, iRISXe graphics). I'm generally happy with it except it gets really warm. The reason I need a new laptop is that the charging port stopped working. Before that, I had a HP pavilion x360.
Audio and camera quality are not important to me. I'm also not concerned about graphics. I'm guessing most can show 1060p?
I tend to break charging cables, so charging with a standardized port that's easy to buy replacements for is a plus. Like USB-c.

I have an Opentherm capable boiler which runs at a fixed 70 degrees in “classic” S-plan (without opentherm controls)

• one “hot water” zone which actually needs the 70 degrees to heat an unvented cylinder
• one “heating” zone which is for underfloor heating and is immediately down-mixed to 40 degrees

This is wasteful, the boiler runs at much too high a flow temperature most of the time. It does not cycle badly because it can modulate down well to produce the right heat output, but it would be a lot more efficient if it ran at 40 degrees unless hot water is required.
The simplest way would be a tiny controller which asks the boiler to run at 40 degrees if only heating is demanded, or 70 degrees if water is demanded (alone or in combination with heating). Basically two inputs from the existing boiler stat and UFH system, and an opentherm output.
Moving to smart opentherm thermostats is not an really an option as the UFH system has 12 individual sub-zones, each with their own thermostat, and is not designed well enough to have a single constant flow temperature in any case. Also none seem to support S-plans, only combi boilers.
Is there anything on the market that simply commands two different flow temperatures depending on demand, or do I have to learn how to “roll my own” using an Arduino?

Recently I've gotten myself into a slate of rebuilding various old laptop battery packs (~2012 and earlier with 18650 battery cells), and I see not a whole lot of concrete answers to these sorts of things, so I thought I should share my own experience with a long and thorough post. Pics are linked at the bottom of the post.
Of course, safety is extremely important when you're rebuilding such battery packs and use it normally and forget about it. On my later rebuilds I mimic basically all wirings as out of the factory to keep them as safe as they were out of the factory. If you do decide to follow this though, proceed with caution and do NOT hold me responsible for a fire or something.
It's highly recommended you do this with spot welder and 0.1mm nickel strips. Soldering for beginners is going to be very difficult to control and difficult to get it to sit flush, but from my experience the 0.1mm strips do bond a lot better and very flush for the few times I did attempt soldering.
Don't rush through the rebuild. Perform such tasks with one wire at a time. This will drastically reduce your chances of making a mistake.
If the thermal fuse is thoroughly blown, you can stop right here. If your laptop's own utility identified the battery as failed as soon as you insert the battery, you can stop here and give up. I've had zero luck of rebuilding with an OEM BMS with a blown fuse and have it working even after bridging it over, without the need of a programmer. If it's only partly blown (fuse not measuring full voltage but also not zero), it could work with a chance after bridging over.
Aftermarket battery BMS are unlikely to lock themselves if you disconnect battery power, but I've had problems with the reliability of those BMS and also bad luck with them increasing their full charge capacity. Some OEM BMS will let you fully disconnect power, from positive to the negative, and reassemble by connecting from negative to positive, short the positive to the positive on the connector, and have it working, but I try not to do that without a NLBA programmer for backup.
Out of all the OEM's that I tried:
Old Thinkpad batteries (T/A3x and earlier) don't lock themselves on power disconnect, but I've had horrible luck getting them to increase full charge capacity. T/R4x/5x BMS do increase their full charge capacity just fine. T6x-Tx20 battery are more evil and swap must be done with hot swap to avoid locking; Tx30 batteries and newer are exceptionally evil and can lock themselves for no reason. The ThinkPad battery maximizepower manager will help you with extra information.
Dell batteries all require hot swap with a live BMS to work properly. Be careful about expresscharge on 2010s batteries and newer - If you use battery cells too "good" and use that version of expresscharge they can blow the BMS by overcurrent. Dell batteries from 2011 onwards are also extremely evil, presumably due to the exploding Dell batteries of earlier.
HP batteries also require hot swap. But after that, most of them will increase their full charge capacity properly, but I've had one identified as Sanyo battery (rather than showing up as HP battery) that failed to do that. I heard newer HP batteries from like 2014 onwards are also very evil. HP Power ManageBattery Check with advanced mode even provides information about the exact voltage for each of the groups, super neat!
Acer batteries all require hot swap, even the oldest ones from like 2003. Most of their BMS will lock even if you disconnect power from the positive to the negative and then reverse for reconnection. They are however pretty friendly otherwise, even for the times I made a mistake accidentally disconnecting wires, then within 2 seconds I hold the wire against the contact, and solder back in, or even for that one time I shorted something and saw nasty smoke. The BMS enters sleep in that case but didn't lock.
Here's my steps for dealing with an OEM battery pack

1. Disassembly

Pick a non-noticeable place, start by wedging a sharp crafting knife into the seams to create separation. If the battery is held together with mainly clips, use flat head screwdriver to pop the clips open. If it's heavily glued down, use that crafting knife and SLICE across to cut open as much epoxy as you can with minimal destruction, do it slowly and bit by bit. Use flathead to help you once you sliced most of that. Try to do the brute force away from the BMS board.

1. Identify the circuitry

Study the factory original wiring carefully. Take good pictures of both sides, and study carefully where and how each of the pins connect to the BMS board. Take good note of the places they put insulating material such as white wax paper and tape.

1. Preparation

Start spot welding the new battery pack and get it to resemble as much of this as possible. Carefully separate the old battery from the housing and start peeling away tape. Remember to separate the thermal probe!! If your BMS belongs to the evil ones, have the old and replacement packs charged up to roughly the same level. If any nickel strip folds down from the positive end of any cell to the sidewalls of the cell, insulate with heat resistant kapton tape. I'd reuse the wax paper from the original battery pack but that comes later.

1. Hot swapping

For each of the connections, 3 in the case of 7.2/7.4V pack, 4 in the case of 10.8/11.1V pack, and 5 in the case of 14.4/14.8V pack, see how it's connected to the BMS. If it's connected with a thru hole wire, it's the easiest - just pick a sufficiently long wire and double up the wiring from the bottom of the thru hole to another place on the battery that has the same polarity. This way you can disconnect the original wire from the battery end and reuse the wire. If it's a nickel strip connection, it's gonna be more tricky. For positive and negative terminus, you can get away with a jump wire soldered to another component such as the current resistor and disconnect the nickel strip connection later; for middle wires you may have to do a jump wire from the bottom of the connection onto somewhere else on the battery, then later snip the nickel strip connection and solder the broken end to the end of the replacement pack.
Once you doubled up all of the wiring, either put the replacement pack on top or on bottom of the old pack, brainstorm just how exactly you'll pull off the hot swap so you know what to do. Once you're ready, disconnect the original connections as indicated, one by one. Then, slightly lift the BMS board up or down, and slowly one by one connect the original wires to the new battery pack. If there is any plastic spacers, transfer them across now. Once that's done and you're confident they all have solid connections, disconnect the secondary connections still attached to the old battery. If the wire now goes inside of the BMS and the new battery pack, tape up the disconnected exposed end of the wire so you won't short something while sliding it out.
Then, transfer over all of the original insulated wax paper connections, and tape up the places that had tape originally. Take loads of clear photos of the final result on both sides, zoom in and pixel peep to see if there are any shortcomings that can affect the safety.
Put the battery inside the inside housing facing into the battery bay, make sure all the terminus are not exposed, and connect the battery pack for testing.
Once you made sure it charges and discharges properly, organise the wires to make them resemble as much like out of the factory as possible, tape up the thermal probe to the right place, put liquid adhesive on the side of the battery that originally had adhesive.
Before you put the top shell back on, take more photos and examine one more round whether there are any shortcomings. Then use liquid adhesive and clamp the battery shut, removing any broken pieces of plastics that could be sticking out. If a corner is not sitting flush right, then use superglue. Clamp it shut using a clamp and leave it to dry for a few hours.
And that's it! This is a very long guide, but this is how I do laptop battery rebuilds with the utmost amount of elegance inside, in most cases without the need of a programmer, and (especially my later rebuilds) I make them as safe as they came out of the factory! Those photos are valuable both for you to share around and for you to come back and inspect whether there can be any deficiencies with your construction.
To reset the battery guage (increase full charge capacity), fully charge the battery, make sure the cells are charged to at least ~4.1V per cell. Turn off hibernation at critical battery level, or if you can't do that, at least put it to sleep so you can wake it back up. Discharge the battery, monitor using software such as batterymon. On most BMS it'll hover at around 6-7% for a very long time before going down further, at which point you can attach the charger, and the capacity should start coming up. On Acer laptops you need to reseat the battery for the updated full charge capacity to show in software. If there are software or manufacturer instructed instructions on how to do the guage reset, follow that.
Here are some galleries on Imgur, the rest are on OneDrive which I have to figure out how to upload on reddit without blocking:
https://imgur.com/a/rku1ZJn
https://imgur.com/a/0KUSgQk

Hey everyone,
Back in December 2023, we took our car to a Ford dealership because of an issue with the ABS module. They diagnosed it and told us they needed to order a part, which would take 3 to 6 weeks to arrive. We agreed and they ordered it.
After waiting a bit over 3 weeks, we called to check on the part and were told it hadn’t arrived yet. This dragged on, and we ended up having to rent a car for basic needs like shopping and getting around since they didn’t offer us a loaner.
Fast forward to May this month—almost 6 months later—the part finally arrived. Now they’re saying our battery died because they didn’t unplug it, and they want to charge us $400 to replace it. We refused and decided to rent a car to drive those 29 miles to handle the battery ourselves.
Just when we thought things were finally getting sorted, we got another call saying our car won’t start. It started just fine before we sent it to them. They want to charge us over $200 just to diagnose this new issue.
We feel like we’re being played and they will keep doing to squeeze out as much as they can. without any connections, we don’t know who to turn to for support or how to defend ourselves. We can’t afford all these additional costs, and it feels really unethical and sucks for them to treat us this way, we know everyone is trying to make it these days but come on!!
What would you recommend we do?

Two summers ago, I drove 7 hours one way to buy a 2019 Manual Genesis G70. It was used, not certified preowned, with just under 12K miles. The OEM tires were approaching the end of their useful life. It had one scratch on the rear passenger door and an annoying dealership permanent sticker on the trunk. It also only had one key. The head unit infotainment screen also had a small delamination crack - visible if you looked close but not perceptible if you ran your fingers across it. I bought it as is, though Genesis has a stellar warranty that transfers to the second owner so I still had 2 years warranty remaining. It was too far away for me to get it to a trusted mechanic to PPI, so the warranty was a huge factor.
On a long drive to the beach, the screens began to flicker. The car still ran mechanically fine, but it was alarming. I also noticed I couldn't get the Genesis Connected Services to work. A few weeks later, the screens were flickering again in my driveway. I shut the car off thinking if I just shut it off and turned it back on it would fix itself - for about 5 minutes I couldn't restart the car. It was as though it had a completely dead battery. I took it to my local dealer which unfortunately is an hour away but fortunately is reached through a combination of great back roads and highways. They were unable to replicate the issue but decided to attribute it to the head unit and replaced the entire thing on the basis of the delamination crack being covered by warranty. A week after I got the car back, the screens flickered again. I tried doing an over the air software update with Genesis Corporate over the phone and it kept failing, so we went back to the dealership. They manually did the update. After a few more weeks, the screens flickered again. I took it back down and they decided to go nuclear, completely uninstalling all software and updates from the car and then reinstalling the latest software as a clean slate. When I got it back - my genesis connected services were working and the screens never flickered again. BUT. My backup camera would now randomly stop working. I took it back and they tried a patch update to the backup camera software as well as replacing a crush washer that's apparently a known failure point for the backup camera. The problem persisted. They informed me there is a sensor in the transmission that tells the backup camera when the car is in reverse and when to turn on. That sensor apparently failed, and the solution is apparently to replace the entire transmission. I personally found that insane, but a new clutch and transmission covered fully under warranty? Sure, I'll enjoy your courtesy car a little longer. Yeah, on that note. Having the car in and out of the shop so often was annoying, but it was all covered under Genesis phenomenal warranty, the dealership was surprisingly patient, understanding and communicative, and since they're an hour away I had an opportunity to enjoy some courtesy cars on a good mix of backroads and highways. The courtesy cars I had in no particular order...

• 2023 Genesis G70, 2.0 Turbo AWD. Felt heavy and the automatic transmission seems to take up more space in the center console than the manual. Definitely quicker than my car, but I don't enjoy the weightyness to it. I think it might have something to do with how the power is being put down? Like it IS faster than my car and it DOES have better traction in corners but it FEELS much heavier.
  
• 2023 Sonata N-Line. Feels fast and light but not for me. The interior after getting out of a G70 is a let down and the front wheel drive and extra power don't do enough to make up for it. To clarify - I think this is a fun car if you want a quick, front wheel drive sedan - but it's not my cup of tea.
  
• 2022 Genesis G80. Cannot say enough good things about this car. Feels like a true luxobarge. Gorgeous, comfortable, quiet interior, everything feels heavy and expensive but it also has the power to get out of its own way. This was by far, hands down, no comparison, the best courtesy car I've ever been given. I'd go as far as to say it's one of the best cars I've ever driven in my life. That's relative of course, but it really was just such an impressive vehicle. It was hard to find anything not to like about it.
  
• 2023 Genesis G70, 3.3 twin turbo AWD. Holy hell this thing moves. So, this car has the sunroof - which I hate. In G70s with the sunroof, I have to put the seat all the way on the floor to have headroom. I'm 5'11" with a 32 inch inseam if that gives you an idea of my torso/leg ratio. It also had the same heavyness I felt in the 2.0 AWD courtesy car - it's something to do with the AWD but I don't know if it's how the system moves power around or if it's literally just the added weight of the system. It doesn't feel flickable the way my RWD car feels. And before you call me an idiot for describing my G70 as flickable, understand it's all relative and I haven't owned or driven that many performance cars in my life. I know my car isn't a miata. That all being said. So. Freaking. Fast. The V6 has a really unique sound to it unlike any other V6 I've experienced, I can't decide if I like it or not but it's definitely unique. The speed is really incredible and the AWD makes it so usable. You can floor it turning right or left off the line at a stoplight and it will hold the road and put the power down. If I weren't so sure this car would get me arrested, I'd want one.
  

I got my car back and I haven't had any issues with screens or backup cameras or anything else since the transmission replacement. So what's to love? Small, sporty, rear wheel drive car that has the power to break traction but isn't so powerful that you can't use all your gears. To me this car is straddling the line of slow car fast. It's incredibly comfortable, has a great stereo, looks cool, and it's got enough room for me, my spouse, my dog and a child seat. Also so glad I got the manual when I did - manual G70s are not easy to find. This was one of four for sale within 500 miles of my zip when I bought it. The rear seat is actually usable, but the foot room is tight. I'm 5'11 with a 32 inch inseam. If I take my shoes off, I can sit behind my driving position. I have the knee and hip room - but the foot room is very tight for an adult male. Decent gas mileage if you're not driving it like a hooligan. Feels light and eager to turn, even at speed.
What's not so good? The trunk has a high load floor so even though you have a good opening and footprint, it's shallow. It's not unusable, it's just not as deep as you'd expect it to be. I was still able to fit everything my spouse, my dog and I needed for a week at the beach. Speaking of long trips - no spare tire. That pissed me off. Not even a space saver? Come on. I think it should be a legal requirement that all cars have at least a space saver. In any case, this car can accept the same space saver spare kit the 3.3 model comes with or the Kia Stinger comes with. I ordered the parts online and installed a space saver spare myself. The backup camera shuts off as soon as you're out of reverse, even if you're rolling backwards in neutral. This is a nitpick, but I do wish the backup camera would stay on until I was rolling forward. Speaking of reverse, the pedal box is tight and I usually wear an 11 or 12 shoe depending on the brand. With certain shoes, I have to modify my left foot motion because my toe will catch the arm of the clutch pedal. Not impossible, but it can be annoying in certain pairs of shoes or if you have big feet.
Clutch and Transmission :: I'm gonna give this it's own section because I feel like this is a very case sensitive matter. Manuals I drove before this - a 2011 Subaru Outback. First manual car I bought and I drove it for 120K miles before an old dude in a Yukon totaled it. Some people have said they don't enjoy the feeling of this transmission, I don't have much to compare it to. I think the stick feel is fine. The actual clutch is a toss up for me. It's hydraulic, so on one hand it's buttery smooth and easy and very forgiving if you're doing a drive through or in stop and go traffic - things I took pains to avoid in my outback. The flip side is, the pedal gives you very little feedback. The bite point is harder to feel and it definitely numbs the experience a bit. If you're looking for a very raw, analog feeling transmission this is not it. This feels much more like an entry level luxury sport sedan that was given a manual just because it would be cool to have a manual, but also trying to do one in such a way that it wouldn't alienate luxury car buyers who generally find manuals to be a nuisance.
Would I go through it all again? Absolutely. The dealer trips were annoying but it let me test drive some cool stuff and I never paid a dime. The only thing I paid for was an oil change, a new set of tires (not from the dealer) and a new key cause I wanted to have two. The key was $700 which is offensive but unfortunately not unheard of with modern cars. The car is a blast. If you want a smallish, luxuryish, sportscarish vehicle that gives you a lot of nice stuff without being too expensive or too harsh, check out a G70. If you're a manual purist, you may love it or hate it - the clutch is definitely a sticking point for many people. Genesis Dealer? Mine is great, thank god. But I have heard plenty of horror stories from other owners who went to more Hyundai focused dealers. Maintenance? No mechanical issues at all, just weird software related glitches that were all covered under warranty. Mods? Not really planning anything big. I added a sun strip to the windshield, a dash cam and wiring for my radar detector. Also the spare tire. And I put PS4s on it. I plan to keep it stock - at least until it's paid off and the warranty is out.
Questions for reddit :: Catch cans! Should I have one on this car? Is there a recommended brand? Do your mechanics charge you more to empty them or do you empty them yourselves? What does a catch can do that the OEM air oil separator doesnt?
TL;DR :: I like my manual G70. It isn't very fast, but I like it.

I wanted to fully prioritize Solar power + Battery on my power grid, only activating Turbines as a backup when the Batteries are depleted, to minimize overall non-renewable fuel usage (ie maximize the amount of power used from solar). I found a solution isn't 100% efficient and is more complicated than just sticking everything on one power grid, but it does work to prioritize Solar + Batteries before running your Turbines.
Here's a simple example setup: https://i.imgur.com/UpRhXmN.jpeg
The basic design goal is "Run off Solar + Batteries until the batteries are depleted, and only then provide fuel to the Turbines." Because Foundry doesn't have any method of positive control like that, this method operates on the inversion: prevent fuel from reaching the Boilers until after the Batteries are depleted - indicating that the power provided from Solar Panels has been exhausted - and then allow the fuel to reach the Boilers. It does this with the fuel switch in the top left of the picture. The first Conveyor Balancer is set to prioritize input from the fuel loop (rather than the fuel production input), and the second Balancer is set to prioritize output to the fuel loop - both are prioritizing "up" in the picture. Fuel is passed immediately through the Logistics Container (since the output Loader on LV3 is always on and the input Loader on LV1 is also powered). This way, the fuel loop only ever gains as much fuel as can fit on the belts in the loop. As long as the Solar + Batteries are still producing/have energy remaining, the input Loader to the Logistics Container keeps running and fuel never spills over onto the Conveyer leading to the Boilers.
There are 3 Low Voltage (LV) grids. LV1 is where your main production (ie main power consumption) is. You can have your fuel mining/production on this grid as well, doesn't matter. Your High Voltage grid will be feeding into LV1. LV2 is the grid with only the Loaders going into your Boilers. LV3 is the smallest, which only has a single Loader on it as part of the switch that controls the Solar + Batteries to Turbine transition. LV2 and LV3 should be powered with Solar + Batteries such that they are always on - these are the Solar Panel + Battery + Transformer lineups on LV2 and LV3 - if either of these run out of power, the whole system will/might get bricked and you'll have to fix it. One Small Solar Panel and one Small Battery provide enough energy per in-game day to run ~20 Loaders indefinitely, so running out of power is easy to avoid.
The High Voltage grid is shared between the Solar + Battery array and the Turbines, because Foundry doesn't allow you to connected multiple HV grids to the same LV grid.
How It Works:

• Your primary Solar Panel array (bottom left in the picture) charge your primary grid Batteries and power the Transformers for LV1. During the day, everything runs as normal.
• The fuel switch in the top left of the picture fills with fuel.
• At night, Solar stops producing so your Batteries start draining. Once they're depleted and LV1 has no power, the fuel switch is activated.
• LV1 running out of energy disables the input Load to the Logistics Container. This backs up the second Balancer which then starts feeding fuel to the Boilers. Because LV2 is powered by its own separate Solar + Battery grid, the Loaders for the Boilers are always powered, and the Boilers start running as soon as the fuel reaches them.
• The Boilers run, the Turbines start, and power is restored to your grid.
• Because power was restored to LV1, the input Loader in the fuel switch starts working again, which cuts off fuel to the Boilers. The remaining fuel in the Boilers is burned, charging the batteries and running your production. Once the fuel in the Boilers is burned, the Batteries start depleting. After they deplete, the fuel switch is activated again and the process repeats.

This switching of Turbines on>off>on>off repeats until your Solar Panels start producing again in the morning.
Issues:

• Because the Turbines are also recharging the Batteries, they will run at 100% until either the Batteries are charged or their fuel is depleted. This means it's not a perfect system of only running the Turbines when the Solar Panels are offline and Batteries are depleted - more fuel than strictly required will be burned ie the Turbines starting an "on" cycle just as the sun is coming up.
  
• Power goes out during the transition period. This should only be a few seconds in a well-designed system, set by the distance between the fuel switch and the boilers, but it's still a factor.
  

Hi everyone, I’m in Ontario and I am a director in healthcare. This is my first baby after a few losses (my last pregnancy ended in November of last year at 17.5 weeks) and I’m due December 24.
My job is very high visibility, high stress and high risk and a temporary backfill will need to be hired for my role to lead a few huge initiatives while I’m away. I’ll likely take about 15 months away. I won’t be able to work up until my due date, I’ll need to give my work a hard date I’ll be going off so I can overlap with my replacement for at least a few weeks.
I’m worried November 28 is too early, but I’m also worried I’ll go into labour early. I’m 36 next month and the baby is measuring a week ahead already and my pregnancy I think is going to be labelled high risk because of my history of loss. I’m moving from a reproductive endocrinologist this week to an ob-gyn so I can finally ask them questions. I’ve heard from so many other leaders at work they went off one or two weeks before and then gave birth early and had nothing ready and I’m scared that will be me. Work occupies a lot of my time and mental space so I like the idea of 3.5 weeks to get ready for the baby.
For other moms who had really demanding careers, how early did you go off? How much advance notice did you give? I think we will need to start recruitment in September for someone to start in November to begin to overlap with me so I’m thinking I need to notify my VP in August that I’ll be going off end of November.
Appreciate any advice ❤️

I was having car trouble yesterday and there’s a man at my work that’s talked to me about car repairs and helped me before with research. Yesterday, my heater hose broke and we were looking at my car together and that’s when we noticed the hose completely broke. There’s nothing we could do then and there so I decided to have my car towed and taken to a shop, but my car was parked in a parking garage where the tow truck couldn’t access it. I was nervous to drive and he said it’s risky to have the car even run for the minute it would take to get it out of the garage so I asked if he would drive it carefully for me and he said “of course!”. Idk why i asked, I could’ve done it but I figured maybe since he’s better with cars he would be smarter with it. He was honestly because he even put it in neutral and had it coast which was smart and I didn’t even think of that. But as soon as we pulled out of the garage to park it, he hit a curb and busted my wheel. He said sorry and I saw it but we brushed it off since I thought he only scrapped the outside of the wheel, didn’t know he dented it till the shop called me today and said it’s going to be like $600 to replace the entire wheel.
I told my coworker about how much they’re asking and was complaining because the prices are so high and they’re trying to rack more problems on and charge me so much and idk what to do about the wheel. He told me what I already knew about only getting what I needed done and ignore other problems they’re making up but I was hoping me talking about the wheel would hint at the damage he did. I know it’s my fault for letting him drive (seriously wish I could go back and not let him drive, ik it was dumb) but do I ask him for help? How do I even go about it? I am terrible about asking money or help from people. I feel like him “helping” me yesterday was bad now do I ask the man for $600?
ETA: when we talked about the ridiculous pricing and them trying to rack stuff on me, he said just go to a junkyard and find another wheel. Idk anything about cars and doubt my abilities to do it. I feel like that was a big sign he won’t even help because he was like “oh it’ll be so cheap if you just do it yourself! :)” and putting it on me.

First off, I'm just a bozo on the internet so maybe this has all been discussed already. Regardless, I had a thought about how to fix the issue of the U.S's Supreme Court and wanted to share it.
What's the issue? Supreme Court justices are life time appointees. The main conceit of this is to avoid partiality or political influence. This simply doesn't work and has recently become apparent how much this doesn't work. (And before you say it, yes, this has always been the case. This does not make it not an issue.) Its not good when it works against you and its not good when it works for you. An appointment office of this power, magnitude, and duration MUST be as actually impartial as possible or be an elected position. Of course campaigning for this position in an election would be a disaster that would lead to a whole rabbithole of intentionally politically motivated disasters too numerous to get into or speculate on. So what do we do?
The shower thought:
I'd like to put out the idea that the Supreme Court justices become sort of monks of law, an American clergy of judges post-term. By this I mean justices will be appointed to a term with a limit, but their obligations are life-long. Following their term they will remain under the same rules of ethics (tangentially this relies on actually creating a code of ethics for the Supreme Court) and serve as constant "friends of the court" and potentially continue to be in charge of and involved with other low-stakes activities pertaining to the court.
They will continue to receive justice pay their whole life, BUT, they will be forbidden from working outside the justice system. This will be part of the deal when becoming a Supreme Court Justice. It is a tough rule but similar to a clergy's vow of celibacy, it is a vow of duty to the constitution and no other political entity. At least financially. We would also of course clamp down on gifts or incentives or favors towards the retired and active justices so that they cannot gainfully benefit from political influence. (I know there's a litany of holes in this part. The most law-knowledgeable people in the nation will find their way around loopholes, but ideally it would be hard and limiting.)
This should also be paired with some common-sense practices like ensuring some consistent appointment quantity per presidential term. Two justices per term for example would be a somewhat reasonable procedure I think. This would make a justice term 12 years. Long enough for consistency, but not long enough for complacency.
Furthermore, if a justice dies or retires in office, it should be made law that the next presidential term will fill the additional vacancy. In this way the process would at least be thrown back to the American people. In the intervening time perhaps a temporary justice from the pool of ex-justices can step in or some non-president body can appoint a temporary judge.
The result? This would maintain the lifelong appointment concept aimed to deter partiality. But it would also allow a slanted court to course correct a bad judge in some time period that isn't a lifetime. A single president's influence in the Judicial Branch would only last 12 years post-term at max (which is still fairly long). It would hopefully reduce the incentive to be politically motivated or swayed by a party or interest group. It would potentially eliminate geriatric justices (you ideally wouldn't appoint someone you don't expect to survive a 12 year term). It would prevent justices from intentionally retiring when their party is in power so they're replaced with someone of their own political leaning. And importantly it would stop any single president from having an undue amount of power over the court and the country for so many years to follow (the recent example of this being 1-term president Trump, who lost the popular vote appointing 3 Justices while his 2-term twice popular-vote-winning predecessor only appointed 2 justices.).
What do y'all think?

Everybody wants Norsca to be relevant and good again. With Epidemus, Tamurkhan, Malakai, Kislev, Thrott the Unclean, Malus Darkblade surrounding you, and the WoC update, a lot of people have complained that the Norsca roster feels slim, bare-bones, and their campaign can feel lackluster. That being said, Norsca has an amazing economy (arguably the best), a solid dependable defensive base in Norsca, the capability for rapid expansion, and strong lords so it definitely DOES have a lot going for it, and Throgg himself can lead an extremely frenzied (or rapid) campaign.
TL;DR of How Throgg and Norsca Work

• Norscan leaders can automatically confederate other Norscan factions by defeating the faction leader. This leads to Throgg having a 4 settlement start by the end of turn 1.
  
• With the blue line skill tree, you can get 9% improved casualty replenishment, another 9% with a Fimir Balefiend. That's a TON of casualty replenishment, especially when you consider the fact that with Mammoths, Ice Trolls, and Skin Wolves, your units rarely if ever drop to a low amount of models.
  
• Throgg gives Trolls & Ice Tolls a physical resistance of 15% and a reduced upkeep of 20%, which makes the unit absolutely fantastic faction wide.
  
• Their tier 3 ports give 800 income, 15% casualty replenishment and +30 growth. Enough said.
  
• Loads of buffs for sacking, and rewards you for razing settlements to the ground. When you raze a settlement, you can dedicate it to 4 gods. Benefits ranging from improved income from ports, improved casualty replenishment, reduced upkeep for your armies, and unique lords.
  
• A monster hunting mechanic that gives items, cash, and of course, unique RoR monsters to join your armies. Surprisingly, this actually isn't really that impactful. The RoR are amazing, especially the Hellcannon, but they're minor compared to everything else.
  

Pros & Cons:
Will try to only give pros and cons relevant to Throgg's faction rather than the Norsca.
Pros:

• Very fresh campaign because wherever you look, you have enemies. In less than 40 turns, it's almost guaranteed you will fight Dwarves, WoC, Nurgle, Kislevians, Dark Elvens, Empire, Norscans, Skavens and a plethora of LLs.
  
• You can get Throggs end game doomstack online very fast. The doomstack stays relevant the entire game. Throgg is fun AF to use, and Ice Trolls & Skin Wolves reliably destroy most armies. I wish I could have 5 Throggs, I'd literally paint the entire map in maybe 100 turns.
  
• Very flexible gameplay that rewards you in every way for being aggressive and moving forward.
  
• Throgg gives his personal armies Trolls +8 MD, +12 Leadership (!!), another -10% upkeep, 20% missile resistance, Frenzy (which is massive on these guys), and most importantly, HORRIBLE REGENERATION which means they can REVIVE DEAD MODELS (ABSOLUTELY WILD). These buffs also apply to Skin Wolves and Femirs. With the red tree, you can give them another +6 MA and 12% WS. With techs, +10% charge bonus, and another +10% WS. **THEY ARE INSANE AND HIT LIKE A WRECKING BALL. To make it even better, Throgg has the ability to give Ice Trolls a global recruitment turn of 1, which greatly improves your ability to navigate in enemy lands.
  
• Norscans encamp stance is a raiding encamp stance providing 10 MD, 10 LD, raids, makes them immune to attrition, and decreases the upkeep of that army by 20%. Huge, huge plus.
  
• When you confederate Wulfrik, he's still the same insane duelist. With his abilities, you can reliably snipe 99% of the LLs with little to no effort. I struggle to see an enemy AI that can take him on except maybe Malus Darkblade and even then, you'd need a large XP gap. Mammoth Wulfrik? No shot. He can drop most generic LLs MD to 0 and stop them from moving.
  
• You can achieve the win condition by as little as 30 turns. Damn.
  
• Easily the best end turn sound effect. Click end turn, inhale, and yell NOOORSCAA.
  

Cons:

• The roster is slim, and as a result, it can become very stale. In fact, I would boil down the roster to two LLs, heroes, ice trolls, chaos trolls, mammoths (sick af tho), and skin wolves. You could maybe play fimirs but you have better trolls so why? That's really not that many units when you consider factions like WoC, Lizardmen, High Elves, Skaven, etc. This is a WH1 faction, they should have so many more units (I get that it may not have as much content from the table top).
  
• You have defendable inner provinces but you're surrounded by enemies. You literally can't be everywhere at once. Although, when you conquer the Northern chaos wastes, you have your back to the edge of the map.
  
• Norsca is too long. It can take upwards of 8 turns to go from 1 end to the other, and there's mountains separating them as well, so you could chase Wulfrik down the middle only for him to be on the other end and all of a sudden you're listening to this.
  
• Outside of your own personal goals, the campaign offers little to no goals after you beat the initial goal. You got the only other LL within 30 turns. You crushed Kislev. The Empire is a grind. You got your tier 5 settlements and units within 30 turns. It can be stale. I personally enjoyed the campaign late in because I like painting the map and watching Throgg eat up different LLs but there were moments where it was weak.
  

Early Game:
You do have a bit of a tough initial battle, but you got it for sure. Let your province allow you to recruit 1 more, recruit and move. Ignore Norsca after you get your initial province, go down, take Malakai out ASAP (very achievable, rush his artillery). get Lair of the Trolls, go down and you'll find Kostatlyn and Azazel fighting, with Kostatlyn wounded. In fact, if you offer to join his war against Azazel, he'll most likely agree to be your vassal (happened in 3 out of 3 playthroughs). Don't let him be your vassal, he won't join wars against Katarin and its in your victory condition to crush him. With this, you have Katarin to crush and you can recruit another lord in Norsca to lead your war to confederate the others.
Build infrastructure buildings ASAP. Minor settlements will have growth building + minor military chains + either the income building (only 150g, so not really worth it), or the building that gives you a wizard hero.
If you decide to raise another army, it could be worth it to wait till Throgg minimizes the global recruit time for trolls. You can save loads of turns and cash because you recruit 3 Ice Trolls per turn. Replace Throggs army with Ice Trolls ASAP though, and make sure that its recruited on the east side of your province because thats significantly faster to reach Throgg with than raising at the capital.
Mid Game:
A decision here: Do you continue conquering past Kislev into the Empire and eventually running into the Chaos dwarves? Or do you conquer the entirety of Norsca and go north? It's up to you. You've probably already accomplished your early victory conditions, so it's entirely up to you.
The ideal composition for non-Throgg armies now are LL, 2 Skinwolf Werekin, 1 Fimir Balefiend, and 1 Sorcerer-Shaman, 6 Skin Wolves, Ice Trolls, and maybe 3-4 ranged units (I add them for flavor but you could just have more Ice Trolls or whatever you want here).
Malus Darkblade will be a PROBLEM. Loads of ranged weapons, artillery, and Malus is a tough, tough guy to beat. Sigvald might also have the legendary heroes with him + upwards of 5-6 armies between him and his vassal who attack you from all sides. Sigvald and Malus will 100% get some of your settlements. You can't be everywhere all at once.
Late Game:
Mammoth doomstacks. Raze settlements. Occupy and paint the map. Do whatever you want. You were done with your objectives in the early game, it's entirely up to you what you want to do now. You've also experienced most of the roster, so it's literally just long term objectives for you. I would actually not advise that you play into the late game, because I am almost certain you will find the campaign stale as hell and the god rewards aren't worth grinding out for, especially now that we have Tzeentch and Nurgle factions.
Trees
In this order for Throgg:

• Blue Tree: I recommend 3 points in despoilers, 1 in Norscan Resilience (You're never there long enough to benefit from the growth and recruitment cost doesnt matter). Lightning strike, unnatural healing, and then you can skip spawn of chaos but you're already there so you might as well.

Into

• Red Tree: You definitely want to optimize for trolls, and then for monsters of the north. On Throgg though, you can skip going for monsters of the north, and immediately go into Throggs line now.
  
• Throggs Line: You can skip Dread Retainers (its good but not necessarily priority). Primordial might is great for WS as well, makes it worth getting.
  
• Yellow Tree: The rest is up to you. It's all good here, I take hard to hit and deadly blade, wound maker, and indomitable/scarred veteran (both good, especially since Throggs regen helps him last vs LLs that cause terror).
  

Research Tree

• Beeline to Corpulent Sails (campaign movement range is insane).
  
• Monster Hunter into Ice Blooded Strength (boost your trolls even more).
  
• The rest is completely up to you, I skip the marauder lines though (so basically just ignore top left of the research map).
  

Stand Out Units, lords, heros

• Trolls: You should know this by now. Beasts, crazy stats, crazy regen, cheaper, physical resistance, easy to globally recruit.
  
• War Mammoths: One of the coolest units in the game, a doomstack of these has a hard time losing.
  
• Skinwolves: I actually got really good use out of these units in the campaign. Anti-large is becoming more and more useful, the regen is excellent, they're speedy as hell, I was surprised by how much I loved this unit. They definitely fall off as the game goes on though.
  
• Chaos Frost Dragon: You will recruit these because they're dragon. They're pretty good. You'll enjoy.
  
• Throgg & Wulfrik are really, really fun. Wulfrik more so than Throgg. He has a ton of bound abilities.
  

Overall Rating & Review
If you're an old head who's played a ton of Norsca, it be very enjoyable to play Norsca with the new LLs that surround you. If you're new and own WH1, Norsca is a fun faction that you need no DLC for to have everything. There's no time wasted in this campaign, no down time, it ramps up as fast as it burns out.
Definitely a fun change of pace, a straightforward campaign, it's not where we would probably want Norsca as a faction and they would benefit a ton from just a few more units and some end game goals. That being said, I don't think it deserves the amount of hate I see it getting. It's enjoyable.
Final rating:
8/10+ if you're a Norsca fan.
7/10 if you're neutral.
5/10 if you're a difficulty nut.
Also everyone, it's my second time writing a guide or a review for Total War, so if you have any feedback, please do let me know in the comments! I submit my first guide for Nakai over a year ago, and I still get messages in my inbox and on that thread for it which really motivated me to make another guide. I'll be more than happy to get back to anyone if they have any questions, I had a great time playing this campaign and I love this game!

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To my beloved Marcus
I know you will make sure
this Heart reaches every lost Bastard
or any curious soul in general
until this guide is no longer necessary.
It makes me so sad to think I won't live to see that day.
It is hard for me to say this, but if this book has made its way into your hands, it means that it is already too late for you. For some reason, whichever it may be, you are already in the middle of our situation. And taking the chance now that I already said something so depressing, here is another thing: there is no way for you to get out of it.

Are you being surrounded by strange events lately? I don’t know, maybe the lights around you blink more often than not, the radio changes stations without anyone touching the dial? The animals are suddenly extremely aggressive, or maybe unnaturally tame towards you?

Suddenly you can’t shake the feeling that someone, or something, is staring at you from somewhere unseen in the room…

I guess that I don’t need to mention how this all started. You probably saw something you weren’t meant to see, didn’t you. Some random person breaking the rules of reality in one way or another. A guy flying, a girl on the streets spitting fire, objects appearing out of nowhere.

Nothing makes sense and no one seems to care or know how to explain it. Well my friend, I am sorry to inform you that you have been infected. You are incubating the Arcane Infection, and you are now Awake.

Now, you are a Mage. A Bastard Mage, if you don’t have a master to guide you… which is most probably the case.

If this is the first time you read this book, or any kind of Draconian Text, this probably doesn’t make any sense. I know, it didn’t make sense for me either when I was in your place, almost seventy years ago. But trust me, everything will be explained in time. Just be patient, and stay with me, ok? Keep calm, and keep reading.

The first thing you need to learn is to shut up. You cannot talk about this with anyone who hasn’t experienced it and holds some sort of relevant position in society. Really. Famous scientists, politicians, Mayors, I don’t know. Anyone who tends to be trusted by non-mages. Just. Don’t.

If you already did, let’s hope they didn’t believe you. With some luck, you were disregarded as a fool, a maniac or a person with too vivid of an imagination.

If you survive past three days or so after opening your dumb mouth, you should be safe? Now don’t do that again. The Black Pages don’t like it when you try to talk about this…

Remember that sensation of being stalked? Let’s say that it will eventually go away, unless you are stupid or naive enough to try and bring attention to this deal.

Yes. Magic is real. Good for you. Now shut your piehole and keep reading unless you want to be remembered soon. Walls have eyes and ears, and they’ll probably continue to have them for two or three months. Trying to run away will only perpetuate this, so the best thing you can do is not think about it.

Do something stupid in these months and you will die. Disappear. Kaput. Remembered.

There are people who want to maintain this as a secret. That is another thing I will explain in time.

Right now you have two options: You can learn how to manage this new “gift” (if you want to call it that) in a remotely appropriate way; or you can just be another idiot, and try to live a normal life.

What? You think I am being unnecessarily aggressive? Well maybe I am. But you need to understand the gravity of this situation.

Because I lied. You have no options. Learn how to use this new capability to your advantage, or you will die in a freak accident.

If after reading this you prefer to just keep on with your life like nothing happened, then good for you. Close the book, and put it back where it was. With some luck it will land in the hands of someone less dense.

.

.

.

Still reading? Good. Excellent! Sit down, get comfortable, maybe grab a drink. This is going to be long.

Among the words of this tome in your hands, you will find all the information I have been able to gather along my eighty god damn years of life, or at least all that you need to know to keep yourself alive until getting a proper guide.

It will be a long journey, and many of the things here won't make much sense, especially because I had to take the time to adapt and translate documents three or four centuries old to a mostly understandable format.
So you better be thankful.

The first thing I want you to know: please, for the love of God, do not settle for the things I am exposing here. All the information in this book will be absolutely basic, it won’t replace a formal education.. All the information here is for you to know where you are, how to start, and where to aim.

And now is when I am going to start telling you what IS inside this book.

We will start with something simple: what is Magic (or “The Art”) exactly, how did you end up in this situation and why is it important that you study it by yourself.

Then, after the general explanation, I will talk a little about our “Society”, if we can call a bunch of lonely, grumpy jackasses a “Mage Society”. There are some non-written rules of etiquette and other details that you need to keep in mind, if you want to keep the head on your neck.

Another section of the book will talk about the dangers around us… and this section will be, ironically enough, quite short, because the less you know about it, the better.

Mystery is your greatest ally, it’s everyone’s greatest ally. All that you don’t know is as important as what you do know. And that is what the fourth chapter is about. Each Mage has their own magical system, according to which they can create a Heart. There are as many ways of Magic as Mages in the world (so, not really that many), but all of them share some similarities.

Chapter Five is about the foundations of a ritual. Not every magical system has rituals, but it is always useful to learn and understand how these work, just in case you may find yourself in a desperate situation..

Finally, Chapter Six will be a directory with Formulas, Glyphs and Thrills that should serve as a starting point for all of you. Nothing too complex, but still, very useful. I left a few blank pages here, for you to add anything you learn and feel convenient.

If any of you misuses it, I swear to the Gods.

And this would be the real reason behind this tome: take whatever you can, leave what you create for others to use. I started this book as some sort of reproduction of the classic “Metodología del Fantástico”, that dear Gwendolin de Recattio left for us almost four hundred years ago, and that is obviously beyond obsolete at this point.

That and also probably burned to ashes as many other manuals end up.

Take notes damn it, I will leave spaces for everyone to make a little mark. But for the love of the Gods don’t use your real name, don’t be an imbecile.

Let’s make something together. Let’s create something important for once in our stupid lives. Let’s make the Bastard's life a little easier.

Gato.

That casual exclamation to the so-called ‘gods’ makes it clear that this book is either heretical or very old. Then again, the Wohlian it is written in is quite modern… but that could be the effect of magic, right? After all, this thing is written in ‘draconic’, which seems to be a magical language that self-translates or something?

But that was not the only thing that kinda came to my attention. This guy, Gato, is treating magic like this incredibly serious and dangerous thing… and I can’t help but feel a little nervous about it. I mean, everyone seems to be doing just fine, even if there are a few rules that I have to consider. Was this deal really so complicated?

Well, Gato was the expert, and it felt like everyone respected them plenty so… I will abide by them!

Besides, the knowledge here is beyond promising! A part of me wants to skip right to chapter 6 and start learning new runes! But no, I have to be patient, I have to learn the way it was intended and take my time absorbing/acclimating to the knowledge!

That does remind me, I have my own runes to learn and start using, too… should I begin practicing that before I start learning new ones?

“Wait. Before you do any of that… there’s more on the page?”

Huh?

I will add as much as I can! This book is a great resource but it is also a bit outdated, after all it’s been almost 80 years since its writing!

Don’t give up! We will see this through!

— Giovanni.

If I leave that idiot in charge of the notes he will undoubtedly forget things. Take his optimism with a grain of salt.

Pay attention.

— Mustafá.

Annotations?

I quickly open the file on my computer to compare… and just as I thought, these annotations are not on the scanned version. The beginning is exactly the same, but the writing makes it obvious that these two were written at different times, by the same hand but, still, copied individually!

I look down at my physical version again. Who are these people? And why did they feel the need to vandalize the book like this? I can only beg for them to actually make sensible and useful comments. If this book is as old as they say, maybe the updates will be a good thi–

Wait, only 80 years? I thought a book like this would be at least a century old.

Maybe magic is surprisingly modern after all!

“Fat chance. Gato quoted one of his sources, ‘Metodología del Fantástico’, which should be around five hundred years old.”

Hmmm, whatever the case… I should ask someone about this.

But I can’t just go right back to the Chatbox after saying I would be busy, that would be silly! I instead connect to the Messenger.

Pepe is not online, probably planning a cool vacation with his family or something. Vito is out drawing, Patricio is online but busy… ah, there it is! The group Gal made. Someone should know something there…

xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Hi hi! n.n Anyone here?
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: hey Tav, just me for now! the others are busy or snoring.
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: I wish I could go for some zzz right now
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Is it late where you live? o.o
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: early, we have a few hours of difference between Wohl and Rayah.

The Commonwealth of Rayah… that’s on the literal other side of Jericho, so of course we have half a day of difference!

xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Wait O.o is it like, five in the morning over there then!?
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: eyeup
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: today I gotta take care of granny’s business and that means waking up EARLY
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Damn u.u I hope you have a good day, remember to keep hydrated!
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: hah, will do, will do.
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Hmmm… hey, sorry to bother you with this but, I gotta ask… uwu
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Have you ever heard of Mustafá and/or Giovanni? uwu
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: in what context?
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: those are names, you’re saying names right now
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: In magic contexts? O.o
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: not a clue, sorry
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Bah, probably just a couple of randos then u.u
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Oh well, thank you anyways! n.n
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: where did you even find those names?
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ah! I found them in the physical version of the book you sent me!
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: why did you go looking for that?
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I don’t like reading in electronic media TwT
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: hmmm ok but be careful
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: don’t go testing the knowledge of randos or something like that
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I won’t, I won’t -u- I will be nice and careful!

Cracking my knuckles, I finally get back into the book. Finally, some answers at hand!

I won't say that I am writing a proper review or something. Just sharing my personal experience with my Xiaomi 12T. Excuse my English, it's not my first language. Btw I am from SEA, the weather here is either hot most of the time or just a little bit cold because of heavy rain during rainy season. Some of the most popular games here I would say are ML/Mobile Legends (still playing on my 12T) and PUBGM/PUBG Mobile (stop playing on my 12T cause I play on my iPad).
First of all, why do I bought my current Xiaomi 12T? Because my phone before, Poco X3 Pro, just died while I am PUBG Mobile. When I search through the internet, I figured it out that there're many Poco X3 Pro out there with the same problem as mine. So, I brought it to the closest service center and it is the motherboard burn or something. And, the cost for replacing the motherboard is like >90% of the price I paid for when I bought my Poco X3 Pro. The customer service's staff advice me not to repair it, so I do. At this point, I just use my Poco X3 Pro for almost one year and a half (1.5 year) which is unacceptable because my phone before that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 being my main for 3.5 years at least. Even though, my Redmi Note 5 is just sitting on my desk, it is still alive until today which make it almost 6 years. I just open and charge it once in while. And for it entire lifespan, I just change it's battery and charging port, that's all.
So, even though part of me being "I won't buy Xiaomi any more" because of my not so good experience with my Poco X3 Pro. There's still part of me feel like giving Xiaomi a second chance with 2 reasons.

1. I have a very good experience with my Redmi Note 5. Even though I tortured it as much as my Poco X3 Pro and try to bent it through the back like JerryRigEverything, it still survive.
   
2. Maybe I just being unlucky and got into problem this time around with my Poco X3 Pro. Like, that's why warranty exist because it's not like 100% product manufactured is completely perfect. Unfortunately, mine is out of warranty. And maybe this is why an ex-flagship chip Snapdragon 860 can be put inside such a budget device.
   

So, while waiting for my Xiaomi 12T, I back to using my Redmi Note 5. Even though it was lagging and "old smartphone problem" everything, it still get the basic job done. Then, my Xiaomi 12T arrived. I can't really remember my whole experience from the beginning to right now with 12T as I don't write on note or something, I will just write this base on my memories.
First few weeks/month, honeymoon phase some will say. Few things that I notice compared to my Poco X3 Pro is that the 120Hz is much smoother and the AMOLED is beautiful. 108mp is an upgrade compared to 48mp on Poco X3 Pro, I keep zooming and testing on the camera and the snap/shutter is much more responsive. 120w is really fast and hot. Under display optical fingerprint scanner is much more convenient than side mounted fingerprint, not sure if it is faster. I can play ML at high graphic and Ultra/120fps frame rate, 90fps smooth on PUBGM. I really enjoy my Xiaomi 12T. So, I will say these is few things that I realized as a significant upgrade compared to Poco X3 Pro.
So here are a few problems or things that I personally don't like with my Xiaomi 12T. 1. PUBGM even though 90fps is enable, it was not that enjoyable. Meshes/Texture was not completely rendered. I am not sure if this is the correct word. Like, I can see the building and structure but the surface of those building and structure take few seconds or never rendered.

1. I rarely use the ultrawide unless I really need it. Never touch the macro lens, I rather use the main camera and zoom/crop in. Main camera is good with enough light and not-that-good on lowlight situation. The other thing I don't really like is the colour processing on the default camera app as I don't see such problem with third party app. Which is the black colour or dark area being processed quite weird, it look unnatural in my eyes.
   
2. Sometime, quite rarely, it didn't detect when I try to charge it. I am sure it was charging but somehow the charging notification or something didn't appear. I can solved it by unplug and re plug again. If that doesn't work, I will try to reboot the device. Then, it detect the charging.
   
3. "Power button ghosting" I would say. It rarely happened but the first time it happened it was really frustrating as I can't use my phone as it continue to power off and power on itself for half a day. The next time this almost-same problem happened again, it is not that problematic and frustrating as the first time but still a problem.
   
4. ML unstable performance. Sometimes, if it's alright, I can do high graphics 120fps. When it was not alright, no matter what I do even though put the graphic on low, it still lagging/low frame rate. When war, it can drop under 15 fps when not alright. I don't use app or tool to measure, but my eyes know that is definitely under 15 fps. So, I tried to delete some games and heavy stuff and maintain my storage around 200GB/256GB, it was alright for a while. Then, it come back again. I tried to delete some stuff more, it seem to not disappeared. Maybe I should delete more stuffs, but what the points of me buying 256GB if I can't use it all.
   

All in all, I have a good time with my Xiaomi 12T if the above problem does not occur. Maybe because I become much more tech-nit-picky as my knowledge about smartphone and technology increased and I know how a good phone should act. It's a midrange device after all, I know I can't expect it to perform like a flagship.

GOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING SUPERSTONKERS! HAHA. It's me again. Yeah, i slipped past the defenses again to drop this off so you can all refresh yourselves on the state of FUD and disinformation in this protracted fight against the legal larcenists doing their best to try and get you to sell. Please spread this amongst the holders, the more people know the less power they have over us holders. We don't sell until we get a call from marge, and that's always been the play.
TLDR: This is a set of tactics used by the Alphabet Boys(CIA, FBI, DEA) to control and manipulate us into drama to collapse our communities and movements. And should be read in full by anyone willing and wanting to learn how these things work.
I've come to notice recently, people keep asking me to repost this for the sake of keeping the new people abreast on what needs to be done to protect the holders of GME. Beneath here will be a detailed account on what you need to be aware of in your online interactions, to avoid being taken for a fool!
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1. COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum
2. Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
3. Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
4. How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
5. Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

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COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum..
There are several techniques for the control and manipulation of a internet forum no matter what, or who is on it. We will go over each technique and demonstrate that only a minimal number of operatives can be used to eventually and effectively gain a control of a 'uncontrolled forum.'
Technique #1 - 'FORUM SLIDING'
If a very sensitive posting of a critical nature has been posted on a forum - it can be quickly removed from public view by 'forum sliding.' In this technique a number of unrelated posts are quietly prepositioned on the forum and allowed to 'age.' Each of these misdirectional forum postings can then be called upon at will to trigger a 'forum slide.' The second requirement is that several fake accounts exist, which can be called upon, to ensure that this technique is not exposed to the public. To trigger a 'forum slide' and 'flush' the critical post out of public view it is simply a matter of logging into each account both real and fake and then 'replying' to prepositioned postings with a simple 1 or 2 line comment. This brings the unrelated postings to the top of the forum list, and the critical posting 'slides' down the front page, and quickly out of public view. Although it is difficult or impossible to censor the posting it is now lost in a sea of unrelated and unuseful postings. By this means it becomes effective to keep the readers of the forum reading unrelated and non-issue items.
Technique #2 - 'CONSENSUS CRACKING'
A second highly effective technique (which you can see in operation all the time at www.abovetopsecret.com
) is 'consensus cracking.' To develop a consensus crack, the following technique is used. Under the guise of a fake account a posting is made which looks legitimate and is towards the truth is made - but the critical point is that it has a VERY WEAK PREMISE without substantive proof to back the posting. Once this is done then under alternative fake accounts a very strong position in your favor is slowly introduced over the life of the posting. It is IMPERATIVE that both sides are initially presented, so the uninformed reader cannot determine which side is the truth. As postings and replies are made the stronger 'evidence' or disinformation in your favor is slowly 'seeded in.' Thus the uninformed reader will most like develop the same position as you, and if their position is against you their opposition to your posting will be most likely dropped. However in some cases where the forum members are highly educated and can counter your disinformation with real facts and linked postings, you can then 'abort' the consensus cracking by initiating a 'forum slide.'
Technique #3 - 'TOPIC DILUTION'
Topic dilution is not only effective in forum sliding it is also very useful in keeping the forum readers on unrelated and non-productive issues. This is a critical and useful technique to cause a 'RESOURCE BURN.' By implementing continual and non-related postings that distract and disrupt (trolling ) the forum readers they are more effectively stopped from anything of any real productivity. If the intensity of gradual dilution is intense enough, the readers will effectively stop researching and simply slip into a 'gossip mode.' In this state they can be more easily misdirected away from facts towards uninformed conjecture and opinion. The less informed they are the more effective and easy it becomes to control the entire group in the direction that you would desire the group to go in. It must be stressed that a proper assessment of the psychological capabilities and levels of education is first determined of the group to determine at what level to 'drive in the wedge.' By being too far off topic too quickly it may trigger censorship by a forum moderator.
Technique #4 - 'INFORMATION COLLECTION'
Information collection is also a very effective method to determine the psychological level of the forum members, and to gather intelligence that can be used against them. In this technique in a light and positive environment a 'show you mine so me yours' posting is initiated. From the number of replies and the answers that are provided much statistical information can be gathered. An example is to post your 'favorite weapon' and then encourage other members of the forum to showcase what they have. In this matter it can be determined by reverse proration what percentage of the forum community owns a firearm, and or a illegal weapon. This same method can be used by posing as one of the form members and posting your favorite 'technique of operation.' From the replies various methods that the group utilizes can be studied and effective methods developed to stop them from their activities.
Technique #5 - 'ANGER TROLLING'
Statistically, there is always a percentage of the forum posters who are more inclined to violence. In order to determine who these individuals are, it is a requirement to present a image to the forum to deliberately incite a strong psychological reaction. From this the most violent in the group can be effectively singled out for reverse IP location and possibly local enforcement tracking. To accomplish this only requires posting a link to a video depicting a local police officer massively abusing his power against a very innocent individual. Statistically of the million or so police officers in America there is always one or two being caught abusing there powers and the taping of the activity can be then used for intelligence gathering purposes - without the requirement to 'stage' a fake abuse video. This method is extremely effective, and the more so the more abusive the video can be made to look. Sometimes it is useful to 'lead' the forum by replying to your own posting with your own statement of violent intent, and that you 'do not care what the authorities think!!' inflammation. By doing this and showing no fear it may be more effective in getting the more silent and self-disciplined violent intent members of the forum to slip and post their real intentions. This can be used later in a court of law during prosecution.
Technique #6 - 'GAINING FULL CONTROL'
It is important to also be harvesting and continually maneuvering for a forum moderator position. Once this position is obtained, the forum can then be effectively and quietly controlled by deleting unfavourable postings - and one can eventually steer the forum into complete failure and lack of interest by the general public. This is the 'ultimate victory' as the forum is no longer participated with by the general public and no longer useful in maintaining their freedoms. Depending on the level of control you can obtain, you can deliberately steer a forum into defeat by censoring postings, deleting memberships, flooding, and or accidentally taking the forum offline. By this method the forum can be quickly killed. However it is not always in the interest to kill a forum as it can be converted into a 'honey pot' gathering center to collect and misdirect newcomers and from this point be completely used for your control for your agenda purposes.
CONCLUSION
Remember these techniques are only effective if the forum participants DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THEM. Once they are aware of these techniques the operation can completely fail, and the forum can become uncontrolled. At this point other avenues must be considered such as initiating a false legal precidence to simply have the forum shut down and taken offline. This is not desirable as it then leaves the enforcement agencies unable to track the percentage of those in the population who always resist attempts for control against them. Many other techniques can be utilized and developed by the individual and as you develop further techniques of infiltration and control it is imperative to share then with HQ.
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Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
Note: The first rule and last five (or six, depending on situation) rules are generally not directly within the ability of the traditional disinfo artist to apply. These rules are generally used more directly by those at the leadership, key players, or planning level of the criminal conspiracy or conspiracy to cover up.
1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Regardless of what you know, don't discuss it -- especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it's not reported, it didn't happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.
2. Become incredulous and indignant. Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues which can be used show the topic as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the 'How dare you!' gambit.
3. Create rumor mongers. Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method which works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such 'arguable rumors'. If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a 'wild rumor' from a 'bunch of kids on the Internet' which can have no basis in fact.
4. Use a straw man. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent's argument which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.
5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. This is also known as the primary 'attack the messenger' ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as 'kooks', 'right-wing', 'liberal', 'left-wing', 'terrorists', 'conspiracy buffs', 'radicals', 'militia', 'racists', 'religious fanatics', 'sexual deviates', and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.
6. Hit and Run. In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain criticism, reasoning -- simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent's viewpoint.
7. Question motives. Twist or amplify any fact which could be taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.
8. Invoke authority. Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and present your argument with enough 'jargon' and 'minutia' to illustrate you are 'one who knows', and simply say it isn't so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why or citing sources.
9. Play Dumb. No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid discussing issues except with denials they have any credibility, make any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have logic, or support a conclusion. Mix well for maximum effect.
10. Associate opponent charges with old news. A derivative of the straw man -- usually, in any large-scale matter of high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or were already easily dealt with - a kind of investment for the future should the matter not be so easily contained.) Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency plans. Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered, can usually then be associated with the original charge and dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current issues -- so much the better where the opponent is or was involved with the original source.
11. Establish and rely upon fall-back positions. Using a minor matter or element of the facts, take the 'high road' and 'confess' with candor that some innocent mistake, in hindsight, was made -- but that opponents have seized on the opportunity to blow it all out of proportion and imply greater criminalities which, 'just isn't so.' Others can reinforce this on your behalf, later, and even publicly 'call for an end to the nonsense' because you have already 'done the right thing.' Done properly, this can garner sympathy and respect for 'coming clean' and 'owning up' to your mistakes without addressing more serious issues.
12. Enigmas have no solution. Drawing upon the overall umbrella of events surrounding the crime and the multitude of players and events, paint the entire affair as too complex to solve. This causes those otherwise following the matter to begin to lose interest more quickly without having to address the actual issues.
13. Alice in Wonderland Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards or with an apparent deductive logic which forbears any actual material fact.
14. Demand complete solutions. Avoid the issues by requiring opponents to solve the crime at hand completely, a ploy which works best with issues qualifying for rule 10.
15. Fit the facts to alternate conclusions. This requires creative thinking unless the crime was planned with contingency conclusions in place.
16. Vanish evidence and witnesses. If it does not exist, it is not fact, and you won't have to address the issue.
17. Change the subject. Usually in connection with one of the other ploys listed here, find a way to side-track the discussion with abrasive or controversial comments in hopes of turning attention to a new, more manageable topic. This works especially well with companions who can 'argue' with you over the new topic and polarize the discussion arena in order to avoid discussing more key issues.
18. Emotionalize, Antagonize, and Goad Opponents. If you can't do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material somewhat less coherent. Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance, but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can further avoid the issues by then focusing on how 'sensitive they are to criticism.'
19. Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs. This is perhaps a variant of the 'play dumb' rule. Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon.) In order to completely avoid discussing issues, it may be required that you to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that statements made by government or other authorities have any meaning or relevance.
20. False evidence. Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations -- as useful tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution. This works best when the crime was designed with contingencies for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from the fabrications.
21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other empowered investigative body. Subvert the (process) to your benefit and effectively neutralize all sensitive issues without open discussion. Once convened, the evidence and testimony are required to be secret when properly handled. For instance, if you own the prosecuting attorney, it can insure a Grand Jury hears no useful evidence and that the evidence is sealed and unavailable to subsequent investigators. Once a favorable verdict is achieved, the matter can be considered officially closed. Usually, this technique is applied to find the guilty innocent, but it can also be used to obtain charges when seeking to frame a victim.
22. Manufacture a new truth. Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), leader(s) or influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific, investigative, or social research or testimony which concludes favorably. In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so authoritatively.
23. Create bigger distractions. If the above does not seem to be working to distract from sensitive issues, or to prevent unwanted media coverage of unstoppable events such as trials, create bigger news stories (or treat them as such) to distract the multitudes.
24. Silence critics. If the above methods do not prevail, consider removing opponents from circulation by some definitive solution so that the need to address issues is removed entirely. This can be by their death, arrest and detention, blackmail or destruction of their character by release of blackmail information, or merely by destroying them financially, emotionally, or severely damaging their health.
25. Vanish. If you are a key holder of secrets or otherwise overly illuminated and you think the heat is getting too hot, to avoid the issues, vacate the kitchen.
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Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
1) Avoidance. They never actually discuss issues head-on or provide constructive input, generally avoiding citation of references or credentials. Rather, they merely imply this, that, and the other. Virtually everything about their presentation implies their authority and expert knowledge in the matter without any further justification for credibility.
2) Selectivity. They tend to pick and choose opponents carefully, either applying the hit-and-run approach against mere commentators supportive of opponents, or focusing heavier attacks on key opponents who are known to directly address issues. Should a commentator become argumentative with any success, the focus will shift to include the commentator as well.
3) Coincidental. They tend to surface suddenly and somewhat coincidentally with a new controversial topic with no clear prior record of participation in general discussions in the particular public arena involved. They likewise tend to vanish once the topic is no longer of general concern. They were likely directed or elected to be there for a reason, and vanish with the reason.
4) Teamwork. They tend to operate in self-congratulatory and complementary packs or teams. Of course, this can happen naturally in any public forum, but there will likely be an ongoing pattern of frequent exchanges of this sort where professionals are involved. Sometimes one of the players will infiltrate the opponent camp to become a source for straw man or other tactics designed to dilute opponent presentation strength.
5) Anti-conspiratorial. They almost always have disdain for 'conspiracy theorists' and, usually, for those who in any way believe JFK was not killed by LHO. Ask yourself why, if they hold such disdain for conspiracy theorists, do they focus on defending a single topic discussed in a NG focusing on conspiracies? One might think they would either be trying to make fools of everyone on every topic, or simply ignore the group they hold in such disdain. Or, one might more rightly conclude they have an ulterior motive for their actions in going out of their way to focus as they do.
6) Artificial Emotions. An odd kind of 'artificial' emotionalism and an unusually thick skin -- an ability to persevere and persist even in the face of overwhelming criticism and unacceptance. This likely stems from intelligence community training that, no matter how condemning the evidence, deny everything, and never become emotionally involved or reactive. The net result for a disinfo artist is that emotions can seem artificial.
Most people, if responding in anger, for instance, will express their animosity throughout their rebuttal. But disinfo types usually have trouble maintaining the 'image' and are hot and cold with respect to pretended emotions and their usually more calm or unemotional communications style. It's just a job, and they often seem unable to 'act their role in character' as well in a communications medium as they might be able in a real face-to-face conversation/confrontation. You might have outright rage and indignation one moment, ho-hum the next, and more anger later -- an emotional yo-yo.
With respect to being thick-skinned, no amount of criticism will deter them from doing their job, and they will generally continue their old disinfo patterns without any adjustments to criticisms of how obvious it is that they play that game -- where a more rational individual who truly cares what others think might seek to improve their communications style, substance, and so forth, or simply give up.
7) Inconsistent. There is also a tendency to make mistakes which betray their true self/motives. This may stem from not really knowing their topic, or it may be somewhat 'freudian', so to speak, in that perhaps they really root for the side of truth deep within.
I have noted that often, they will simply cite contradictory information which neutralizes itself and the author. For instance, one such player claimed to be a Navy pilot, but blamed his poor communicating skills (spelling, grammar, incoherent style) on having only a grade-school education. I'm not aware of too many Navy pilots who don't have a college degree. Another claimed no knowledge of a particular topic/situation but later claimed first-hand knowledge of it.
8) Time Constant. Recently discovered, with respect to News Groups, is the response time factor. There are three ways this can be seen to work, especially when the government or other empowered player is involved in a cover up operation:
a) ANY NG posting by a targeted proponent for truth can result in an IMMEDIATE response. The government and other empowered players can afford to pay people to sit there and watch for an opportunity to do some damage. SINCE DISINFO IN A NG ONLY WORKS IF THE READER SEES IT - FAST RESPONSE IS CALLED FOR, or the visitor may be swayed towards truth.
b) When dealing in more direct ways with a disinformationalist, such as email, DELAY IS CALLED FOR - there will usually be a minimum of a 48-72 hour delay. This allows a sit-down team discussion on response strategy for best effect, and even enough time to 'get permission' or instruction from a formal chain of command.
c) In the NG example 1) above, it will often ALSO be seen that bigger guns are drawn and fired after the same 48-72 hours delay - the team approach in play. This is especially true when the targeted truth seeker or their comments are considered more important with respect to potential to reveal truth. Thus, a serious truth sayer will be attacked twice for the same sin.
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How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
One way to neutralize a potential activist is to get them to be in a group that does all the wrong things. Why?
1) The message doesn't get out.
2) A lot of time is wasted
3) The activist is frustrated and discouraged
4) Nothing good is accomplished.
FBI and Police Informers and Infiltrators will infest any group and they have phoney activist organizations established.
Their purpose is to prevent any real movement for justice or eco-peace from developing in this country.
Agents come in small, medium or large. They can be of any ethnic background. They can be male or female.
The actual size of the group or movement being infiltrated is irrelevant. It is the potential the movement has for becoming large which brings on the spies and saboteurs.
This booklet lists tactics agents use to slow things down, foul things up, destroy the movement and keep tabs on activists.
It is the agent's job to keep the activist from quitting such a group, thus keeping him/her under control.
In some situations, to get control, the agent will tell the activist:

• "You're dividing the movement."

[Here, I have added the psychological reasons as to WHY this maneuver works to control people]
This invites guilty feelings. Many people can be controlled by guilt. The agents begin relationships with activists behind a well-developed mask of "dedication to the cause." Because of their often declared dedication, (and actions designed to prove this), when they criticize the activist, he or she - being truly dedicated to the movement - becomes convinced that somehow, any issues are THEIR fault. This is because a truly dedicated person tends to believe that everyone has a conscience and that nobody would dissimulate and lie like that "on purpose." It's amazing how far agents can go in manipulating an activist because the activist will constantly make excuses for the agent who regularly declares their dedication to the cause. Even if they do, occasionally, suspect the agent, they will pull the wool over their own eyes by rationalizing: "they did that unconsciously... they didn't really mean it... I can help them by being forgiving and accepting " and so on and so forth.
The agent will tell the activist:

• "You're a leader!"

This is designed to enhance the activist's self-esteem. His or her narcissistic admiration of his/her own activist/altruistic intentions increase as he or she identifies with and consciously admires the altruistic declarations of the agent which are deliberately set up to mirror those of the activist.
This is "malignant pseudo identification." It is the process by which the agent consciously imitates or simulates a certain behavior to foster the activist's identification with him/her, thus increasing the activist's vulnerability to exploitation. The agent will simulate the more subtle self-concepts of the activist.
Activists and those who have altruistic self-concepts are most vulnerable to malignant pseudo identification especially during work with the agent when the interaction includes matter relating to their competency, autonomy, or knowledge.
The goal of the agent is to increase the activist's general empathy for the agent through pseudo-identification with the activist's self-concepts.
The most common example of this is the agent who will compliment the activist for his competency or knowledge or value to the movement. On a more subtle level, the agent will simulate affects and mannerisms of the activist which promotes identification via mirroring and feelings of "twinship". It is not unheard of for activists, enamored by the perceived helpfulness and competence of a good agent, to find themselves considering ethical violations and perhaps, even illegal behavior, in the service of their agent/handler.
The activist's "felt quality of perfection" [self-concept] is enhanced, and a strong empathic bond is developed with the agent through his/her imitation and simulation of the victim's own narcissistic investments. [self-concepts] That is, if the activist knows, deep inside, their own dedication to the cause, they will project that onto the agent who is "mirroring" them.
The activist will be deluded into thinking that the agent shares this feeling of identification and bonding. In an activist/social movement setting, the adversarial roles that activists naturally play vis a vis the establishment/government, fosters ongoing processes of intrapsychic splitting so that "twinship alliances" between activist and agent may render whole sectors or reality testing unavailable to the activist. They literally "lose touch with reality."
Activists who deny their own narcissistic investments [do not have a good idea of their own self-concepts and that they ARE concepts] and consciously perceive themselves (accurately, as it were) to be "helpers" endowed with a special amount of altruism are exceedingly vulnerable to the affective (emotional) simulation of the accomplished agent.
Empathy is fostered in the activist through the expression of quite visible affects. The presentation of tearfulness, sadness, longing, fear, remorse, and guilt, may induce in the helper-oriented activist a strong sense of compassion, while unconsciously enhancing the activist's narcissistic investment in self as the embodiment of goodness.
The agent's expresssion of such simulated affects may be quite compelling to the observer and difficult to distinguish from deep emotion.
It can usually be identified by two events, however:
First, the activist who has analyzed his/her own narcissistic roots and is aware of his/her own potential for being "emotionally hooked," will be able to remain cool and unaffected by such emotional outpourings by the agent.
As a result of this unaffected, cool, attitude, the Second event will occur: The agent will recompensate much too quickly following such an affective expression leaving the activist with the impression that "the play has ended, the curtain has fallen," and the imposture, for the moment, has finished. The agent will then move quickly to another activist/victim.
The fact is, the movement doesn't need leaders, it needs MOVERS. "Follow the leader" is a waste of time.
A good agent will want to meet as often as possible. He or she will talk a lot and say little. One can expect an onslaught of long, unresolved discussions.
Some agents take on a pushy, arrogant, or defensive manner:
1) To disrupt the agenda
2) To side-track the discussion
3) To interrupt repeatedly
4) To feign ignorance
5) To make an unfounded accusation against a person.
Calling someone a racist, for example. This tactic is used to discredit a person in the eyes of all other group members.
Saboteurs
Some saboteurs pretend to be activists. She or he will ....
1) Write encyclopedic flyers (in the present day, websites)
2) Print flyers in English only.
3) Have demonstrations in places where no one cares.
4) Solicit funding from rich people instead of grass roots support
5) Display banners with too many words that are confusing.
6) Confuse issues.
7) Make the wrong demands.
8) Compromise the goal.
9) Have endless discussions that waste everyone's time. The agent may accompany the endless discussions with drinking, pot smoking or other amusement to slow down the activist's work.
Provocateurs
1) Want to establish "leaders" to set them up for a fall in order to stop the movement.
2) Suggest doing foolish, illegal things to get the activists in trouble.
3) Encourage militancy.
4) Want to taunt the authorities.
5) Attempt to make the activist compromise their values.
6) Attempt to instigate violence. Activism ought to always be non-violent.
7) Attempt to provoke revolt among people who are ill-prepared to deal with the reaction of the authorities to such violence.
Informants
1) Want everyone to sign up and sing in and sign everything.
2) Ask a lot of questions (gathering data).
3) Want to know what events the activist is planning to attend.
4) Attempt to make the activist defend him or herself to identify his or her beliefs, goals, and level of commitment.
Recruiting
Legitimate activists do not subject people to hours of persuasive dialog. Their actions, beliefs, and goals speak for themselves.
Groups that DO recruit are missionaries, military, and fake political parties or movements set up by agents.
Surveillance
ALWAYS assume that you are under surveillance.
At this point, if you are NOT under surveillance, you are not a very good activist!
Scare Tactics
They use them.
Such tactics include slander, defamation, threats, getting close to disaffected or minimally committed fellow activists to persuade them (via psychological tactics described above) to turn against the movement and give false testimony against their former compatriots. They will plant illegal substances on the activist and set up an arrest; they will plant false information and set up "exposure," they will send incriminating letters [emails] in the name of the activist; and more; they will do whatever society will allow.
This booklet in no way covers all the ways agents use to sabotage the lives of sincere an dedicated activists.
If an agent is "exposed," he or she will be transferred or replaced.
COINTELPRO is still in operation today under a different code name. It is no longer placed on paper where it can be discovered through the freedom of information act.
The FBI counterintelligence program's stated purpose: To expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, and otherwise neutralize individuals who the FBI categorize as opposed to the National Interests. "National Security" means the FBI's security from the people ever finding out the vicious things it does in violation of people's civil liberties.
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Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression
Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down a government. When the government lacks an effective, fact-based defense, other techniques must be employed. The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party.
1. Dummy up. If it's not reported, if it's not news, it didn't happen.
2. Wax indignant. This is also known as the "How dare you?" gambit.
3. Characterize the charges as "rumors" or, better yet, "wild rumors." If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through "rumors." (If they tend to believe the "rumors" it must be because they are simply "paranoid" or "hysterical.")
4. Knock down straw men. Deal only with the weakest aspects of the weakest charges. Even better, create your own straw men. Make up wild rumors (or plant false stories) and give them lead play when you appear to debunk all the charges, real and fanciful alike.
5. Call the skeptics names like "conspiracy theorist," "nutcase," "ranter," "kook," "crackpot," and, of course, "rumor monger." Be sure, too, to use heavily loaded verbs and adjectives when characterizing their charges and defending the "more reasonable" government and its defenders. You must then carefully avoid fair and open debate with any of the people you have thus maligned. For insurance, set up your own "skeptics" to shoot down.
6. Impugn motives. Attempt to marginalize the critics by suggesting strongly that they are not really interested in the truth but are simply pursuing a partisan political agenda or are out to make money (compared to over-compensated adherents to the government line who, presumably, are not).
7. Invoke authority. Here the controlled press and the sham opposition can be very useful.
8. Dismiss the charges as "old news."
9. Come half-clean. This is also known as "confession and avoidance" or "taking the limited hangout route." This way, you create the impression of candor and honesty while you admit only to relatively harmless, less-than-criminal "mistakes." This stratagem often requires the embrace of a fall-back position quite different from the one originally taken. With effective damage control, the fall-back position need only be peddled by stooge skeptics to carefully limited markets.
10. Characterize the crimes as impossibly complex and the truth as ultimately unknowable.
11. Reason backward, using the deductive method with a vengeance. With thoroughly rigorous deduction, troublesome evidence is irrelevant. E.g. We have a completely free press. If evidence exists that the Vince Foster "suicide" note was forged, they would have reported it. They haven't reported it so there is no such evidence. Another variation on this theme involves the likelihood of a conspiracy leaker and a press who would report the leak.
12. Require the skeptics to solve the crime completely. E.g. If Foster was murdered, who did it and why?
13. Change the subject. This technique includes creating and/or publicizing distractions.
14. Lightly report incriminating facts, and then make nothing of them. This is sometimes referred to as "bump and run" reporting.
15. Baldly and brazenly lie. A favorite way of doing this is to attribute the "facts" furnished the public to a plausible-sounding, but anonymous, source.
16. Expanding further on numbers 4 and 5, have your own stooges "expose" scandals and champion popular causes. Their job is to pre-empt real opponents and to play 99-yard football. A variation is to pay rich people for the job who will pretend to spend their own money.
17. Flood the Internet with agents. This is the answer to the question, "What could possibly motivate a person to spend hour upon hour on Internet news groups defending the government and/or the press and harassing genuine critics?" Don t the authorities have defenders enough in all the newspapers, magazines, radio, and television? One would think refusing to print critical letters and screening out serious callers or dumping them from radio talk shows would be control enough, but, obviously, it is not.

Hello. I want to share suggestions on how to make Dota better.
Many heroes buy blink dagger. But not everyone is and is not always ready to pay full price for it.
I suggest adding the BLINK SHARD item. Costs 1000 gold, has a radius slightly larger than that of the for staff. Otherwise it works like a regular blink (maybe a little longer cooldown). I know that this can overly strengthen previous blink hero users. Therefore, the Blink shard should not improve into a blink. Some heroes like Axe, Magnus, Puck will still choose to blink. And other heroes who did not always take it will take a blink shard (venomaser, lich, clowerk). Players will have to choose between blink and blink shard and this will diversify the gameplay.
Many hero picks do not do anything for some heroes who gain an advantage. Many picks cannot do anything to Bristleback, Phantom Assassin, Huskar, etc. Hero abilities can disable passives but not items. The only item against passives is silver. He is not convenient for many heroes; you cannot use an ability under his influence or collect him on a support.
I propose adding a new item that disables passives. Firewater. 4000 cost. Crafted from Wind Lace, Tiara of Selemene, Orb of Corrosion and a recipe. Gives item bonuses and has an active ability: you throw a bottle at a point, pouring the contents of the heroes in the area approximately like the old Omniknight aura, a debuff is hung on the heroes for 4 seconds (the next ability used in this hero will turn off the passive for 4 seconds and will cause periodic damage). Cooldown 25 sec.
The flask's flight speed is the same as the alchemist's ability 2. Used on a point on the ground.
This will ease the balance of some heroes and additionally hit the excessive healing of some picks due to Orb of Corrosion.
Add the ability to accumulate charges for several urns. They are easy to dispel and often you can’t do anything to peaks with a large amount of healing. Other items are often either too expensive or it is not profitable for your hero to buy them.
Add an only mid game mode. As in lol. Only mid with towers and throne 5*5 heroes without forest and sides. This mode will replace turbo and make it easier for new players to enter Dota.
You can also add exploding fruits to the forest on both sides. They work like a sniper's grenade, scattering all heroes when attacking a fruit. Useful for constrictions and escape. Makes the gameplay more spectacular, let him throw the hero in all directions at the radius of a sniper’s grenade.
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I think that Ancient Apparition's skills are outdated and do not fit into modern Dota.
Below I will offer a description of the skill rework:
1skill. ICE CUBE.
Envelops himself or an ally in an ice block that blocks 2/3/3 attacks and 100/150/200 magic damage. (falls off after 6 seconds or when attacks or damage are blocked) cooldown 30
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2skill. ICE VORTEX
old skill, but can be switched through control (attacks everyone/attacks only heroes {I think that after the rework of the 3rd skill it will be necessary to give the opportunity to vortex zone heroes in the line})
3skill FROST GROUND
Works similar to VOODOO RESTORATION.
creates a field around the hero that deals a little damage every second, slows down the movement of enemies, and reduces their health regeneration by 30% for 4 sec(can be cast on a teammate under the influence of the ICE CUBE, working oll duration cube, stops working 3 seconds after broke the cube)
4 skills
COOLING TOUCH
Increases the range of your next attack. It deals 150/225/300 pure damage and prevents health regeneration for 5 seconds. cannot be dispelled. Cooldown time 25 sec. you can save yourself by clicking BKB or another save item
Aghanim Shard
Grants 2 Ice Cube charges. increases damage block to 4 attacks or 250 magic damage
When you deal 50 magic or 1 attack, cube fragments scatter around, causing a little damage and slowing down opponents
Aghanim like old ultimate
This will make the hero truly situational against a hill. Now it is not always effective even against healing picks.
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I propose to remake 1 ability of the Tidehunter.
Replace it with the walrus ability from Aghanim's labyrinth. Like the OGRE SEAL TOTEM, but with the ability to turn a little while sliding. Each bounce deals damage and slows enemies. As you level up, the number of bounces increases and, accordingly, the range and damage. This will make the hero much more interesting in lane and in fights. Don't change Aghanim. (Whoever added the aganim shard is a genius. It greatly improved the hero)
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Loosen up Pudge's hook. The hero is picked or banned in every game. It is not normal that a hero can dominate a map using a hook that is not maxed out. Even if you remove the ability to pump up a hook by more than 1, the hero will still be picked.
Or reduce the radius of 1 spell at the initial levels
Or reduce the speed at the first levels.
Or add vision to the hero and a hook for everyone, even in the fog of the battle, provided that the hook is not maxed out.
Make pudge players max hook
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And finally. This can be mechanically challenging. Let when the enemy hero goes into the fog of war, you saw him for another 1-2 seconds. Could attack and use abilities. The forest will still be used for an ambush, but it will be a little harder to escape into it. Probably every player lost a fleeing enemy in the forest. This will weaken the Tinker a little because he will be visible if he blinks. Often he blinks point-blank at you and gives you abilities, but you cannot catch him due to the fog of war.
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thank you for your attention
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