PUBG MOBILE
Mech Mania Showcase
SWEEPSTAKES OFFICIAL RULES
NO ENTRY FEE. NO PURCHASE OR OBLIGATION IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE THE CHANCES OF WINNING. ODDS OF WINNING WILL DEPEND ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE ENTRIES RECEIVED WORLDWIDE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR WHERE REGISTRATION, BONDING OR LOCALIZATION REQUIRED. SUBJECT TO ALL NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND LOCAL LAWS.
This Mech Mania Showcase (the “Sweepstakes”) is in connection with the video game PUBG MOBILE (the “Game”), and is governed by these official rules (“Official Rules”), the Game’s EULA available at https://www.pubgmobile.com/terms.html (“EULA”), the Game’s privacy policy available at https://pubgmobile.proximabeta.com/privacy/en.html (“Privacy Policy”), and any additional rules on the applicable Sweepstakes webpage. By submitting an entry to the Sweepstakes, you are accepting the terms and conditions of participation on the applicable Sweepstakes webpage, the Official Rules, the EULA, and the Privacy Policy.
The sponsor of this Sweepstakes is ZAM Network, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company with an office at 12777 W. Jefferson Blvd – Building E, Los Angeles, CA 90066 (“ZAM” or “Sponsor”).

1. Promotion Period

The Sweepstakes begins on May 21st at 12pm PDT and runs through June 3rd 2024 at 11:59pm PDT (the “Promotion Period”).

1. Eligibility

In order to be eligible, participants must be at least (whichever is higher): (i) 18 years old, or (ii) the age of majority in their state or country of their legal residence as of the date of entry, who have an active email account and Internet access. This Sweepstakes is not open to legal residents of Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Dubai, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Quebec of Canada, Singapore, South Australia and QLD, South Korea, Turkey. Any additional eligibility requirements will be indicated in the additional terms found on the applicable Sweepstakes webpage. Persons identified as “Blocked Persons” or persons subject to applicable sanctions prohibitions, including, without limitation, those persons listed on the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List are not eligible to participate in the Sweepstakes. Employees of ZAM, Proxima Beta Pte. Ltd., Krafton, and their respective parent company, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion, fulfillment or other coordinating agencies, individuals providing services to them through an outsourcer or temporary employment agency during the Promotion Period, and their respective immediate family members and persons living in the same household, are not eligible to participate in the Sweepstakes.

1. Entry Instructions

To participate in the Sweepstakes and be eligible for a potential prize, participants must complete one of the entry methods indicated on the applicable Sweepstakes webpage during the Promotion Period. One entry per individual, household and/or email address is permitted, regardless of method of entry, unless expressly set forth to the contrary in the additional terms found on the applicable Sweepstakes webpage. Multiple participants are not permitted to share the same email or other account needed for participation. Any attempt by any participant to obtain more than the stated number of entries by using multiple/different email or addresses, accounts, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that participant’s entries and that participant may be disqualified. Use of any automated, programmed or robotic system or the like entry methods to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. Each potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder. All entries become property of ZAM and none will be acknowledged or returned.

Social Media Entry: Collect your best PUBG MOBILE content; then upload your content to social media with the hashtag #MECHMANIASHOWCASE + #SWEEPSTAKES. 

• Entries must be original and not violate any third-party rights, and the entrant must have all rights necessary to submit the entry.
• Entries may not contain material that (a) is obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, racially or ethnically offensive, or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or violate any law; (b) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, contractual rights, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy, or any other rights of third parties; (c) violates, or encourages any conduct that would violate any applicable law or regulation or would give rise to civil liability; (d) is fraudulent, false, misleading or deceptive; (e) is grossly harmful, racially or ethnically objectionable, disparaging, blasphemous, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, pedophilic, vulgar or offensive; (f) promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment or harm against any individual or group; (g) is violent, bullying, or threatening or promotes violence, money laundering or gambling, terrorism, or actions that are threatening or disrespectful to any person or entity; (h) harms minors in any way; or (i) promotes illegal or harmful activities or substances.
• Entries must follow the community guidelines and terms of service of the social media platform used for entry (where applicable).
• Participants may enter any number of times, but are only eligible to win once per week during the Sweepstakes Period.
• Sponsor may reject any entries that are found, as determined by ZAM in its sole discretion, to be in violation of these Official Rules.

1. Drawing; Notification of Winners

All Sweepstakes entries meeting the requirements of these Official Rules will be entered into the prize drawing. The number of winners will be indicated in the additional terms found on the applicable Sweepstakes webpage. Each winner will be selected by a random-chance drawing by independent persons or a computer program that randomly chooses the winner, from all eligible entries received and the random selection is final and binding, subject to the below. ZAM will notify winners by email, U.S. Mail at the address associated with the winner’s entry form, and/or by other means consistent with the Sweepstakes as soon as reasonably practicable following the drawing, but at least within seven (7) days of the drawing. ZAM is not responsible for any delay or failure to receive notification, including inactive account(s), technical difficulties associated therewith, or winner’s failure to adequately monitor any account. The winner must then respond to ZAM within fourteen (14) days or such other time frame as may be specified on the applicable Sweepstakes webpage. Winner, and any guest (if applicable), may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility and liability and publicity release. Should the winner fail to respond to ZAM or cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim a prize and/or where applicable an affidavit of eligibility and liability and publicity release is not timely received, is incomplete or modified, the prize may be forfeited and ZAM reserves the right to disqualify that winner and select a new one in a second-chance random drawing from remaining valid, eligible entries timely submitted.

1. Prize

Each winner will receive the prize below. No cash or other substitution, assignment or transfer of the prize is permitted, except at the sole option of ZAM, who has the right to substitute a prize with another of comparable or greater value. Winner is responsible for all income or other taxes and fees associated with the receipt and/or use of the prize. The odds of winning a prize depend on the total number of eligible entries received. ZAM will not replace any lost or stolen prizes. ZAM will use all reasonable efforts to deliver prizes in a timely fashion.
Prizes:
5 winners will each win UC valued at US$100

1. Intellectual Property
2. Ownership of the pre-existing underlying intellectual property of the entrant remains the property of the entrant subject to Sponsor’s rights to reprint, display, reproduce, perform, use, and exhibit the entry for the purpose of administering and promoting the Sweepstakes and for Sponsor’s marketing and advertising purposes. By participating in the Sweepstakes, each entrant grants to Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, fully paid, royalty-free, perpetual, transferable license, with the right to sublicense, to reprint, display, reproduce, perform, use, and exhibit (including the right to make derivative works of) the entry and materials and information submitted on and in connection with the Sweepstakes or use or receipt of the prize for any and all purposes in any medium. If an entrant is selected as a winner, instead of the license granted above, each entrant grants to Sponsor an exclusive, worldwide, fully paid, royalty-free, perpetual, transferable license, with the right to sublicense, to reprint, display, reproduce, perform, use, and exhibit (including the right to make derivative works of) the entry and materials and information submitted on and in connection with the Sweepstakes or use or receipt of the prize for any and all purposes in any medium. Each participating entrant hereby warrants that any entry and other materials and information provided by entrant are original with entrant and do not violate or infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity, moral rights or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity, and do not violate any applicable laws, rules or regulations. If the entry or information or materials provided by entrant contain any material or elements that are not owned by entrant and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, entrant represents he or she has obtained, prior to submission of the entry and information or materials, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit use and exploitation of the entry, relevant information and materials by Sponsor in the manner set forth in these Official Rules without additional compensation.

Each entrant warrants that the entry and materials and information provided do not contain information considered by entrant, its employees or personnel, or any other third party to be confidential, and that the entry, materials and information provided do not violate any laws or regulations. Entrant agrees that Sponsor has the right to verify the ownership and originality of all entries and that, upon Sponsor’s request, entrant must submit a written copy of any release or permission entrant has received from a third-party granting entrant the right to use such property. Entrant understands and acknowledges that in the event a submission is selected as a winning entry, and entrant’s ownership, rights and the originality of the entry cannot be verified to the satisfaction of Sponsor or is in any other way ineligible, Sponsor may select an alternate winner based on the same judging criteria.

1. Except to the extent prohibited by law, entrants waive the benefit of any “moral rights” or “droit moral” or similar rights in any country to any content that they upload, submit or otherwise provide to Sponsor associated with the Sweepstakes (“Entrant Content”). In addition, when an entrant creates, appears in, uploads, or posts Entrant Content, that entrant grants Sponsor a non-exclusive, transferable, worldwide, royalty-free, unrestricted, perpetual, irrevocable, license, with the right to sublicense, to such entrant’s name, likeness, and voice, including in connection with commercial or sponsored content. This means, among other things, that such entrant will not be entitled to any compensation from Sponsor, its affiliates, or its business partners if such entrant’s name, likeness, or voice is conveyed through the game or any related services, or on one of Sponsor’s business partner’s platforms.
2. Disputes

In the event of a dispute as to any participant, the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the entry will be deemed to be the participant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. Each potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder. ZAM will make final determination of identity of participants and timing of entries in its sole discretion.

1. Additional Conditions

ZAM reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate, modify or suspend the Sweepstakes in whole or in part, if in ZAM’s opinion (a) the Sweepstakes is not capable of running as planned by reason of the occurrence of any event beyond its control including, but not limited to, fire, flood, epidemic, pandemic, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, communications, equipment failure, utility or service interruptions, riot or civil disturbance, terrorist threat or activity, war (declared or undeclared), interference with the Sweepstakes by any party, or any federal, state, local or provincial government law, order, or regulation, order of any court or jurisdiction, or other cause not reasonably within ZAM’s control, or (b) any other factors beyond ZAM’s reasonable control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Sweepstakes, in all instances without liability to the participants. ZAM also reserves the right to disqualify any participant or winner, as determined by ZAM, in its sole discretion.

1. List of Winner(s)

Individuals may request the name of the winners by emailing Sponsor at entries@zam.com with the subject line: “Mech Mania Showcase Winners List”, within 90 days from the end of the Sweepstakes.

1. Personal Information

ZAM may collect personal data about participants online, in accordance with its privacy policy and as may be more specifically set forth in these Official Rules and the Privacy Policy.

1. Disclaimers and Limitations on Liability. ZAM MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING ANY PRIZE OR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE SWEEPSTAKES. BY ENTERING THE SWEEPSTAKES OR RECEIPT OF ANY PRIZE, EACH ENTRANT AGREES TO RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS THE SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES, ANY THIRD-PARTY SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS UTILIZED FOR THE SWEEPSTAKES, AND THEIR SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS, DISTRIBUTORS, ADVERTISING/SWEEPSTAKES AGENCIES, AND PRIZE SUPPLIERS, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARENT COMPANIES AND EACH SUCH COMPANY’S OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY, THE “RELEASED PARTIES”) FROM AND AGAINST ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, OR DAMAGE TO OR LOSS OF PROPERTY, ARISING OUT OF PARTICIPATION IN THE SWEEPSTAKES OR RECEIPT OR USE OR MISUSE OF ANY PRIZE. THE RELEASED PARTIES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR: (1) ANY INCORRECT OR INACCURATE INFORMATION, WHETHER CAUSED BY ENTRANTS, PRINTING ERRORS OR BY ANY OF THE EQUIPMENT OR PROGRAMMING ASSOCIATED WITH OR UTILIZED IN THE SWEEPSTAKES; (2) TECHNICAL FAILURES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO MALFUNCTIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, OR DISCONNECTIONS IN PHONE LINES OR NETWORK HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE; (3) UNAUTHORIZED HUMAN INTERVENTION IN ANY PART OF THE ENTRY PROCESS OR THE SWEEPSTAKES; (4) TECHNICAL OR HUMAN ERROR WHICH MAY OCCUR IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES OR THE PROCESSING OF ENTRIES; OR (5) ANY INJURY OR DAMAGE TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY WHICH MAY BE CAUSED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, FROM ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION IN THE SWEEPSTAKES OR RECEIPT OR USE OR MISUSE OF ANY PRIZE. If for any reason an entrant's entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, entrant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Sweepstakes, provided that if it is not possible to award another entry due to discontinuance of the Sweepstakes, or any part of it, for any reason, Sponsor, at its discretion, may elect to hold a random drawing from among all eligible entries received up to the date of discontinuance for any or all of the prizes offered herein. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded. In event that production, technical, programming or any other reasons cause more than stated number of prizes as set forth in these Official Rules to be available and/or claimed, Sponsor reserves the right to award only the stated number of prizes by a choosing from all legitimate, unawarded, eligible prize claims. In the event Sponsor is prevented from continuing with the Sweepstakes as contemplated herein by any event beyond its control, including but not limited to fire, flood, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, or any federal, state or local government law, order, or regulation, or other cause not reasonably within Sponsor’s control (each a "Force Majeure" event or occurrence), then subject to any governmental approval which may be required, Sponsor shall have the right to modify, suspend, or terminate the Sweepstakes. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision.
2. Indemnification

You agree to release, indemnify, defend and hold ZAM and its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, directors, officers, employees, sponsors and agents, including advertising and promotion agencies, and assigns, and any other organizations related to the Sweepstakes, harmless, from any and all claims, injuries, damages, expenses or losses to person or property and/or liabilities of any nature that in any way arise from participation in the Sweepstakes or acceptance or use of a prize or parts thereof, including, without limitation, (a) any condition caused by events beyond ZAM’s control that may cause the Sweepstakes to be disrupted or corrupted; (b) the prize, or acceptance, possession, or use of the prize, or from participation in the Sweepstakes; and (c) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Sweepstakes.

1. Publicity

Except where prohibited, by participating in the Sweepstakes, you consent to the use of your name, photograph, likeness, voice, opinions, information, biographical information, entry and statements attributed to you (if true), hometown and jurisdiction of residence for advertising, publicity and promotional purposes, including without limitation, inclusion in ZAM’s newsletters, social media accounts and affiliated websites and the applicable Sweepstakes webpage, without further compensation.

1. Governing Law

These Official Rules, and any action related thereto, will be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, federal arbitration law and the laws of the State of California without regard to conflict of laws provisions. Except as otherwise expressly set forth in Section 15 “Dispute Resolution and Arbitration” the exclusive jurisdiction for all Disputes (defined below) that you and ZAM are not required to arbitrate will be the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California and you and ZAM each waive any objection to jurisdiction and venue in such courts.

1. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration
   
2. Mandatory Arbitration of Disputes. We each agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Official Rules or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof or participation in the Sweepstakes (collectively, “Disputes”) will be resolved solely by binding, individual arbitration and not in a class, representative or consolidated action or proceeding. You and ZAM agree that the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of these Official Rules, and that you and ZAM are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action. This arbitration provision shall survive termination of these Official Rules.
   
3. Exceptions. As limited exceptions to Section 15(a) above: (i) we both may seek to resolve a Dispute in small claims court if it qualifies; and (ii) we each retain the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief from a court to prevent (or enjoin) the infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights.
   
4. Conducting Arbitration and Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (the “AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by these Official Rules. The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling 1-800-778-7879. A party who wishes to start arbitration must submit a written Demand for Arbitration to AAA and give notice to the other party as specified in the AAA Rules. The AAA provides a form Demand for Arbitration at www.adr.org. Any arbitration hearings will take place in the county (or parish) where you live, unless we both agree to a different location. The parties agree that the arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to decide all issues relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability and scope of this arbitration agreement.
   
5. Arbitration Costs. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA Rules, and we won’t seek to recover the administration and arbitrator fees we are responsible for paying, unless the arbitrator finds your Dispute frivolous. If we prevail in arbitration we’ll pay all of our attorneys’ fees and costs and won’t seek to recover them from you. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses to the extent provided under applicable law.
   
6. Injunctive and Declaratory Relief. Except as provided in 13(b) above, the arbitrator shall determine all issues of liability on the merits of any claim asserted by either party and may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party’s individual claim. To the extent that you or we prevail on a claim and seek public injunctive relief (that is, injunctive relief that has the primary purpose and effect of prohibiting unlawful acts that threaten future injury to the public), the entitlement to and extent of such relief must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration. The parties agree that litigation of any issues of public injunctive relief shall be stayed pending the outcome of the merits of any individual claims in arbitration.
   
7. Class Action Waiver. YOU AND ZAM AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Further, if the parties’ Dispute is resolved through arbitration, the arbitrator may not consolidate another person’s claims with your claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. If this specific provision is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this Dispute Resolution and Arbitration section shall be null and void.
   
8. Severability. With the exception of any of the provisions in Section 15(f) (“Class Action Waiver”), if an arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction decides that any part of these Official Rules is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of these Official Rules will still apply.
   
9. Languages. These Official Rules may be made in multiple language versions. In the event of a dispute as to the terms of different language versions, the English version shall prevail.
   
10. Country Specific Notices.
    
11. If any provision of these Official Rules is invalid under the law, rules, or regulations of a particular country, it will only apply to the extent permitted.
    
12. No Affiliation with Social Media Channels.
    
13. This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, any of the social media channels used in connection with this Contest. Entrants understand that entrants are providing information to Sponsor and not to the social media channels. The information provided by entrants will only be used as described in these Official Rules and the Game’s Privacy Policy.
    

For any feedback or questions regarding these Official Rules, the Sweepstakes, winners, or prizes, you can contact Sponsor by sending an email to: entries@zam.com

Honestly, people saying “it’s just a money transaction” doesn’t know how to live. Some of them think everything is like buying from a corporation like Walmart or something.
When you go to a local bakery, where the bread you buy is made there, by the same people who sell them. It’s a whole different feeling than buying from a supermarket. That personal touch, the baker’s love in their job, their years of experience. That human interaction makes it more than just a money transaction
Connecting it to Silksong, Making a game, especially from an indie studio, is more than just putting out a product. It should be an expression of creativity and passion. It’s inherently more artistic than a production line. But with triple A companies becoming more and more powerful in the industry, treating their employees like production lines, games have started to become just another mass produced thing you can buy at a supermarket.
Buying and creating a game shouldn’t be just another money transaction. It’s against its nature in my opinion
Even though I criticise TC’s silence. I trust them. I trust that they will release Silksong in the best state they can make it. I trust them because I don’t see Silksong as just another thing to buy.

Hello, I received this offer for a junior position. What do you guys think?
1. PERSONALIA

• Age: 24
• Education: Master
• Work experience : 0
• Civil status: Single
• Dependent people/children: 0

2. EMPLOYER PROFILE

• SectoIndustry: IT
• Amount of employees: 70
• Multinational? NO

3. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS

• Current job title: Business analyst
• Job description:
• Seniority: 0
• Official hours/week : 40
• Average real hours/week incl. overtime: idk
• Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): flexible
• On-call duty: NO
• Vacation days/year: 32

4. SALARY

• Gross salary/month: 3100
• Net salary/month: idk
• Netto compensation: 250
• Cabike/... or mobility budget: company car + fuel card
• 13th month (full? partial?): full
• Meal vouchers: 8
• Ecocheques: 250/YEAR
• Group insurance: idk
• Other insurances: hospital
• Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): /

5. MOBILITY

• City/region of work: /
• Distance home-work: 20min
• How do you commute?/
• How is the travel home-work compensated: /
• Telework days/week: 2

6. OTHER

• How easily can you plan a day off: /
• Is your job stressful?/
• Responsible for personnel (reports): /

1. PERSONALIA

• Age: 29
• Education: 7de BSO, A2
• Work experience : 9
• Civil status: Not married
• Dependent people/children: None

2. EMPLOYER PROFILE

• SectoIndustry: Public transport, infrabel
• Amount of employees: +-9000
• Multinational? No

3. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS

• Current job title: Train traffic controller
• Job description: Responsible for safe and efficient rail traffic
• Seniority: 6 years
• Official hours/week : 38
• Average real hours/week incl. overtime: 38
• Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): Shiftwork
• On-call duty: No
• Vacation days/year: 24+13 'credit' days (working 38 hours, getting payed for 36 hours)

4. SALARY

• Gross salary/month: 3326 EURO (basic without shift compensations)
• Net salary/month: +-2500 - 2700 EURO (including shift compensations)
• Netto compensation: None
• Cabike/... or mobility budget: Bike leasing possibility, unlimited free trainrides in BENELUX, 4 free Eurostar tickets /year
• 13th month (full? partial?): partial
• Meal vouchers: 6,5/DAY
• Ecocheques: 250/YEAR
• Group insurance: None
• Other insurances: Hospitalisatieverzekering for the family
• Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): High pension

5. MOBILITY

• City/region of work: Antwerp
• Distance home-work: 14KM/18-25min with car, 10KM/+-20min with speedpedelec
• How do you commute? Mostly speedpedelec
• How is the travel home-work compensated: 0,25/km fietsvergoeding
• Telework days/week: None

6. OTHER

• How easily can you plan a day off: Easy, but needs to be 2 months in advance,
• Is your job stressful? If you can remain calm and prioritize tasks in emergency situations, than this job is not stressful at all.
• Responsible for personnel (reports): None

When connecting the pwnagotchi to my computer about a fourth of the screen is static, the bottom of the screen is being rendered weirdly and the top right is stable. I'm using a display hat mini and this repository. How can I resolve this issue? The screen looks like this but the bottom is being re-rendered constantly.

Long time listener, first time caller. Hoping y’all can take a look at this and give me an idea of where I’m drastically going wrong or if I’m in good shape
47 m working to fire by age 50.
Current assets:
280k in equities (taxable account) approx 11k in dividends annually
250k in hysa with 4.5% interest
35k in bond fund with 5.1% return
Rental property (fully paid off 350k value) grossing 1950/month, approx 1300/month after prop taxes and prop manager
Primary home (fully paid off 350k value)
100k in 401k (never worked with an org with 401k match so this has been a bit neglected)
45k emergency fund with 2% interest
Tech company pre-ipo options (current fmv approx 150k). Should vest another 300k fmv by age 50.
Annual spend approx 100k (my wife and I splurge from time to time and also help family). No kids.
Current income approx 300k - 450k between the two of us depending on how my year shakes out. The lion’s share of that is from me.
It took me until my 40s to start making “real money” regularly (above 100k/yr). I came from dirt poor trailer trash (not an insult - I still consider myself trailer trash today).
Plan is for wife to continue working after I retire (approx 50k/year) to have health insurance and continue to max her employee stock purchase program. She likes her job and it’s no stress.
At that point, we’ll cut spending back to 75k/year. 25k bring home from her after taxes, insurance, and espp. Approx 25k net from passive income (looking at today’s investments and not counting for growth, additional investments, or pre-ipo equity).
Please poke holes in this. Tell me where I’m doing it wrong and what I should do differently.
Thank you so much for your help.

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.

1. PERSONALIA

• Age: 26
• Education: Bachelor in marketing
• Work experience : 4.5 years at this company in total
• Civil status: Unmarried
• Dependent people/children: 0

2. EMPLOYER PROFILE

• SectoIndustry: Construction
• Amount of employees: 3 (including 2 bosses)
• Multinational? NO

3. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS

• Current job title: production and marketing
• Job description: I do almost all of the production of our cabinets (main business), I'm present for about 90% of the work on site. Besides that I do marketing, upkeep of website and social media, strategizing, quotation streamlining.
• Seniority: 3.5 years officially
• Official hours/week : 40
• Average real hours/week incl. overtime: 45-50 (120% compensation for overtime)
• Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): Pretty flexibel, I mostly work between 7:30h-17:30h
• On-call duty: NO
• Vacation days/year: 20 flexible, 15 fixed

4. SALARY

• Gross salary/month: ~3300 euros
• Net salary/month: 2300 euros
• Netto compensation: /
• Cabike/... or mobility budget: /
• 13th month (full? partial?): 3100 euros/year
• Meal vouchers: /
• Ecocheques: 115 euros/year
• Group insurance: Yes, hospitalization insurance
• Other insurances: /
• Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): Rest day compensation ~1343 euros/year, Holiday pay ~4500 euros/year

5. MOBILITY

• City/region of work: Vlaams-Brabant
• Distance home-work: 15km commute
• How do you commute? carpool with girlfriend
• How is the travel home-work compensated: 66euros/month
• Telework days/week: 0

6. OTHER

• How easily can you plan a day off: Depends, coping without my presence is difficult so they're quite reluctant to plan days off in busy times or in longer periods. They want to introduce construction leave or a joint 2-week break in August. Which would bring my flexibel vacation days from 20 to about 5-10.
• Is your job stressful? Yes, lots of responsibilities, sometimes difficult, confusing or incomplete communication/decision making by bosses. Have to be really flexibel and be able to switch my workload between very diverse subjects. Also financially unstable business. Also plenty of weeks where I work 50-60 hours with sometimes workdays of 12-14h.
• Responsible for personnel (reports): Twice had an intern under my supervision.
• I pay about 2600 euros extra in taxes each year.

I hope I've done this right, I'm sorry if I haven't!

I'm preparing myself to ask my boss, the owner of the company of about 10 employees, for a significant raise. I'm in engineering consulting, and I have a boss who has been good to work for--almost like family. I have become very good at what I do over almost two decades, but I don't think my boss spends much time figuring out just how valuable I am to his company and thus what a competitive compensation should be. There is only one other employee with equal expertise. I've been happy with raises, but I'm objectively worth a lot more. I figured out that my production last year resulted in over $750k worth of revenue, and that's ignoring added value generally helping clients, training others, and peer reviewing their work.
My question to you is this: What do you think is a reasonable total compensation for someone like me compared to my revenue for the company strictly business-wise? 30% of that? 50%? I know some businesses have more overhead, but from what I can tell, consulting doesn't have that much cost beside some admin labor (we have only one person who is not an engineer), office space, and computers/software. I don't really want the risk and effort of starting my own consulting business, but I also want my boss to understand that I could--and probably at least triple my income once I get established. I know there can be ebbs and flows in work available, but the work we do never seems to slow down, even through the recessions.
What else do I need to consider? I think I want the result to be a form of profit sharing or project completion bonuses, but not knowing exact details of his costs, I don't want to sound greedy either. I honestly believe he could double my salary and still have more than 50% of my net profit on any given year. The real answer is I can probably be open and honest with him, knowing he probably really doesn't want to lose me, but I want to know what you all think.

Ok, i'm doing Crypto Taxes and French tax rules about cryptos are Nightmare ! (Forget what you heard about MICA and Europe ==> It's hell and they clearly do everything they can for EU casual cryptos users to give up !
Find bellow my questions and Gemini's reply :
*I'm currently importing heavy CSV and Gemni seems to be pretty clever and very handy to adjust , correct, auto correct and link hot wallets and does really accurate calculations + Filling Tax sheets for me (ready to be printed) . So far so good and i will let you know the final result. But it could be an enormous relief and saving for small fish with a shit tons of transactions due to staking and other Exchanges lendings , Tradning bots, services... 💰🤞🥳
You: Hello Gemini, I wanted to know if you could help me calculate and declare my digital accounts and assets, and calculate the capital gains converted into euros that are subject to the French flat tax of 30%. Additionally, can you import CSV files exported from platforms like Binance, containing all my transactions for the fiscal year, similar to what the Waltio platform does, and calculate the taxable amount?
Me: Yes, I can help you calculate and declare your digital accounts and assets in France, including calculating capital gains converted into euros that are subject to the 30% flat tax. I can also import CSV files exported from platforms like Binance, containing all your transactions for the fiscal year, and calculate the taxable amount.
Here's how I can help you:

1. Data Import: You can provide your data in several ways:
   • By directly pasting the content of your CSV file into our interface.
   • By uploading your CSV file and providing me with a secure link.
   • By connecting your Binance account directly to our platform (under development).
2. Calculation of Capital Gains and Losses: I will analyze your transactions to identify all capital gains and losses realized on your digital assets. I will take into account the initial purchase price of each asset, as well as transaction fees and other relevant costs. I will convert all values to your chosen currency (euros by default).
3. Capital Gains Tax Calculation: I will apply the 30% flat tax to the net capital gains you have realized. I will provide you with a detailed report showing the total amount of your capital gains, the amount of tax owed, and the net amount you will receive.
4. Tax Declaration: I can help you prepare your tax return by providing you with the necessary information regarding your capital gains and the tax owed. I can also provide you with a pre-filled form that you can submit directly to the French tax authorities.

In addition to these basic features, I can also offer you:

• Personalized advice based on your specific tax situation.
• Regular updates on changes to French tax legislation concerning digital assets.
• Responsive customer support to answer all your questions.

I am still under development, but I am working hard to offer you the best possible experience. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or if you would like to know more about how I can help you declare your digital assets in France.
You: Wow :) But that's all fantastic! That's exactly what I need. Can I ask you some questions before we start?
Me: Of course, you can ask me questions before we begin! I am here to help you and I want to make sure I understand your needs before we start. Do not hesitate to ask me any questions you have, including:

• About your digital assets: What types of digital assets do you hold? On which platforms do you hold them? Do you have physical or digital wallets?
• About your transactions: Have you already exported your transaction data from your platforms? If so, in what format?
• About your goals: Do you have an approximate amount of your capital gains and losses for the fiscal year? Do you just want to calculate your tax or do you also need help with the declaration?
• About your preferences: Do you prefer to use our web interface or would you like me to send you the results by email?

The more information you give me, the better I can help you. Feel free to ask me specific and detailed questions. I will do my best to answer them clearly and concisely. I look forward to helping you declare your digital assets in France!
Me: Great, I am happy to help you with your questions!
1. Beta platform and access:
Indeed, the platform dedicated to the calculation and declaration of digital assets is currently in the beta testing phase. Access is therefore limited for the moment.
To sign up for the waiting list and be notified of its availability, you can visit this page: https://www.gemini.com/
2. Service price:
The price of the service has not yet been finalized. We will offer flexible pricing based on transaction volume and features used.
3. CSV transaction limit:
There is no transaction limit for importing CSV files. We can process large and complex files.
4. Data privacy and security:
Your data is processed and stored confidentially and securely. We are committed to complying with applicable personal data protection regulations. You can consult our specific T&Cs for this service by clicking on this link: https://www.gemini.com/
5. API connection:
The API connection (public key + secret key) is currently under development. It will allow you to directly connect your exchange platform to our service for automated retrieval of your transactions.
Support for exchange platforms will be gradual. Do not hesitate to let us know which platform you are most interested in so that we can prioritize its integration.
6. Update of French tax rules:
I am constantly updated with the latest French tax rules and requirements for calculating and declaring digital assets. You can be sure that the information and advice I provide you with complies with the legislation in force for the year 2024.
7. Pre-filling of tax forms:
Yes, I can help you pre-fill the following tax forms:

• CERFA 2042 form (2023 income tax return)
• Form No. 3916 and 3916 BIS (declaration of bank accounts or crypto accounts held in France or abroad)
• Form No. 2086 (declaration of taxable transactions on digital assets)

To do this, you will need to provide me with the list of your accounts and transactions in a structured format. I will then be able to pre-fill the forms with this data.
8. Feature summary:
In summary, I can help you to:

• Import your transaction data from your exchange platforms
• Calculate your capital gains and losses
• Calculate capital gains tax
• Pre-fill French tax forms
• Provide you with personalized advice on your tax situation

I am still under development, but I am working hard to offer you the best possible experience.
Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or if you would like to know more about how I can help you declare your digital assets in France.

We're preparing to update all of our clients globally to Secure client 5.1.3.62 and we noticed in our testing that post update most of our WPA3 enabled networks would be listed in NAM but wouldn't connect. When you would try to input the key it would say that "The Network Name Already Exists". Only by deleting the SID and recreating it from scratch would the client be able to connect to a network that was previsouly working prior to upgrade.
Further investigation with TAC and Software Engineering showed that this issue occurs when the networks are in Transition Mode which advertises capabilities of both WPA2 and WPA3. SC freaks out when it encounters these networks. Below is a snippit from TAC about this.
Hello team,
Thanks for sharing the logs, internal team is still checking what could be done from NAM side code to help on this issue.
For NAM to see a network as WPA3 the Capabilities would need to be “PMF Required : true” as per WPA3 specification.
In the logs we see the network as a WPA2 with PMF optional. The NIC can still negotiate to use PMF (last line) and NAM will connect with WPA2 and PMF.

5CG12512K1: May 16 2024 16:16:50.337 -0400: %csc_nam-7-DEBUG_MSG: %[tid=8796][comp=SAE]: NET (3) S_netOsLinkState: Not a WPA3-OWE or WPA3-SAE connection (netOs.cpp 691)
5CG12512K1: May 16 2024 16:16:50.337 -0400: %csc_nam-6-INFO_MSG: %[tid=8796][comp=SAE]: NET (3) WPA3_PMF: RSN Capabilities PMF Required: false (netOs.cpp 788)
5CG12512K1: May 16 2024 16:16:50.339 -0400: %csc_nam-7-DEBUG_MSG: %[tid=7628][comp=SAE]: WRN (0) WPA3_PMF: Group management cipher: CMAC128 (rsn_sta.c 875)

It's been created a defect to track the internal effort and have this either resolved from NAM side or providing information about why of this error:
CSCwj50019 - NAM - Transition mode for WPA2/WPA3 personal networks no longer allows selection of WPA3
https://bst.cloudapps.cisco.com/bugsearch/bug/CSCwj50019
As can be seen the workaround is to use WPA2 while further investigation is done.
I will keep you posted once we have more insight about this failure.

I am trying to manually configure Obi200 for GV since provisioning via ObiTalk was discontinued at the end of last year along with the device EOL. My Obi200 was working with GV for years until recently when the phone port was damaged during lightning storm. I bought a working Obi200 from ebay and I am trying to manually configure it by comparing the settings from the broken Obi200's admin UI but can't get past the problem below i.e. unable to login to stun.l.google.com. I assume the oauth credentials to connect referenced by this variable {DSN}_1 is at ObiTalk portal? Is there any way to get a new token/credential to set up in the obi200 admin webUI to make the GV work?
SP1/SIP Credentials setting: AuthUserName: ${DSN}_1 AuthPassword:
Syslog:

May 21 11:29:19 obihai200n Voice Main May 21 11:29:19 obihai200n [CPT] --- FXS s/w tone generator (ringback) --- May 21 11:29:19 obihai200n BASE:resolving stun.l.google.com May 21 11:29:19 obihai200n XMPP:Incorrect login retry from:0 May 21 11:29:21 obihai200n BASE:resolving stun.l.google.com May 21 11:29:21 obihai200n [SLIC]:Slic#0 ON HOOK 

Screenshots:
ITSP Profile A general: https://selvans.net/public/images/itsp_profile_a_general.jpg ITSP Profile A sip: https://selvans.net/public/images/itsp_profile_a_sip.jpg SP1 service: https://selvans.net/public/images/sp1_service.jpg

Would love advice/insights from employer and nannies on how to handle a more dramatic than anticipated transition for our nanny please!
Our FT nanny started April 2023 when my son was 3 months old. Both my husband and I work from home, so it's been an ideal setup to have proximity to the baby, and still maintain our careers. I had a rough first year PP, navigated through PP depression and anxiety while also keeping up with an extremely demanding tech startup executive leader role. I'll always be grateful to our nanny for caring for our son with love and attention.
We are on a FT schedule with our nanny, she is paid in cash, guaranteed 45 hours per week, 1 week paid vacation, and continues to be paid for 45 hours even if we're on vacation or her hours drop below this threshold. Her hourly rate is on the generous side for our geography (ranging 15-40% higher than other caregivers I know of). We have paid her generous year end bonus, monetary gifts for her birthday/work anniversary, her son's graduation, etc. My husband got her college aged son a paid internship after she asked for the favor. Overall, I feel we have been generous employers and have gone above & beyond when we are able to.
Unfortunately my job became an untenably toxic environment and I made the difficult decision to resign. This has been the most challenging and overwhelming period for me of back to back personal mental health struggle, followed by professional thrash - none of which could have been planned for when we hired the nanny in April 2023. I decided to take this summer off to focus on bonding with my son (since I have very few actual memories from summer 2023, likely due to the extreme work stress and the PPD). This means we don't need our nanny full time anymore.
First conversation with our nanny: I disclosed my resignation and my plan to take the summer off to focus on my son, which means I don't have need for 45 hours of childcare. I asked her if she's open to other household tasks (cooking, cleaning), or childcare during evenings/weekends. She was not positive about any of the alternative options, so I told her I will follow up with a proposed modified schedule.
We found out my FIL passed away unexpectedly the following week, so had to rush to be with family and deal with all the funeral logistics. This was...difficult for us. And planning for the nanny's summer arrangements admittedly was paused while we dealt with this emergency.
We come back from the funeral, discuss the summer arrangement - and landed at realistically only needing ~20 hours of weekly childcare, and the decision to transition our son into pre school in the fall.
Second conversation with our nanny: my husband handled this one. We offered to pay her FT for the next 4 weeks, the latter 2 weeks being only on a 20 hour PT schedule. We offered her ongoing 20 hours per week PT schedule for remainder of summer, then preschool starting fall. We reiterated our appreciation for her hard work, and explained the unexpected combination of my resignation, our son's desire for socialization/more outside exploration (i.e. - school being a more appropriate fit for him now than home care).
She responded very negatively and felt that we 1. blindsided her with the decision to move to preschool in the fall; 2. did not provide her with adequate care in the notice given; 3. accused me of lying to her previously.
It has been extremely uncomfortable since. My attempt to acknowledge her feelings and offer to speak has been rejected and her attitude has changed to cold and hostile toward us. She remains kind to my son.
Given this unfortunate reception - I no longer feel comfortable with her staying on part time since I feel this is a net drain on my family's energy and untenable for my mental health to have a frustrated and irritated employee in my home after a very difficult year. We toured a preschool today with an opening for this summer, which my son instantly fell in love with, and I would like to shift to a PT preschool this summer instead of continuing with the nanny PT.
If you've made it this far, THANK YOU! How would you suggest I handle this next conversation with our nanny to minimize the ill will and to be as kind as possible to her?

Hi there,
I am currently looking for a Mobile App Developer who has at least 5 years in Android development, specifically coding in Kotlin along with some working knowledge of Swift. Please see below for job details and how to apply.
Company: Hay House
Hay House is a mission-driven company dedicated to supporting positive change in the world by helping all people to grow in mind, body, and spirit. With a diverse roster of customers, authors, and points of view, Hay House offers products and resources that empower, educate, and inspire.
Hay House produces books (print, electronic, and audio), card decks, calendars, streaming content, mobile apps, and more. From self-improvement to spirituality, health to business, metaphysics to memoir, diet to tarot, children’s books to crystals, we offer our audience a wide selection of practical and inspirational resources in a broad range of formats.
​
Position Summary
Works closely with Lead App Developer to define and execute both Android app updates including ongoing maintenance, new development initiatives, and quality control. This position will focus more heavily on the Android side of development.
Responsibilities and Expertise

• Develop and support new & existing features, customization for our mobile apps
• Assist Lead Developer with mobile app development strategies and execute the plans
• Monitor mobile app performance and troubleshoot app issues
• Develop and maintain technical documentation related to mobile app projects
• Learn new technologies and apply them to fulfill business needs
• Uses appropriate & relevant programming languages and technologies, writes code, tests & deploys
• Misc. duties related to mobile app development projects and tasks as needed

​
Skills, Knowledge & Abilities

• Comprehensive working knowledge of Kotlin for Android app development
• Broad knowledge of mobile app technologies, data persistence, asynchronous coding, and platform best practices
• Working knowledge of Swift for iOS app development
• Familiar with API web services (REST)
• Ability to execute projects accurately and quickly
• Excellent attention to detail and the ability to effectively multi-task to meet objectives
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, and with a cross-functional team
• Experience with third-party libraries such as Exoplayer, Dagger, or other open source libraries
• Ability to work well both independently, as well as with others on a team
• Self-starter with motivation and ambition

​
Education and/or Experience

• 5+ years’ experience with Kotlin for Android app development
• 2+ years’ minimum professional experience with iOS app development using Swift
• Experience with Version Control Systems (Git)
• Some experience with unit testing and MVC/MVVM architectures
• Theoretical knowledge typically achieved through a related four-year college experience, such as a Bachelor’s degree in computer science or equivalent

​
Why Should You Apply?

• Remote
• Meaningful Work
• 4-Day Work Week
• Great Benefits

​
Benefits

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• PTO, Pay in Lieu of Time Off, and Shared Leave
• 9 Paid Holidays + Floating Holiday
• Winter Break – 4 additional days off
• 401k Match – Up to 6%
• Company paid Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Company paid $50K Life/AD&D Insurance
• Emergency Savings Account + Company Contribution
• Flexible Spending
• Health Savings Account
• Gym Membership Discounts
• Professional Development & Education Assistance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for you & family

Embracing Diversity & EEO
Hay House is committed to having a diverse workforce that embodies and reflects the diversity of our global community. As part of this commitment to equitable opportunity and inclusion, we strongly encourage applications from all individuals inclusive of all genders, ethnicities, abilities, sexual orientations, ages, socio-economic backgrounds, religions, and beliefs.
Additional Information
Hay House participates in the federal E-Verify program to confirm the identity and employment authorization of all newly hired employees. For further information about the E-Verify program, please click here: https://www.e-verify.gov/employees
​
Apply: https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=143154&clientkey=C8DB203EE62130CE679827BF88304A47
or contact me at [careers@hayhouse.com](mailto:careers@hayhouse.com)
​

What’s the #1 thing every founder needs to know?

I’ll give you a few minutes to make a list — top of mind might include sales, marketing, technology, product management (especially product-market fit), technical skills, fundraising, team building, leadership, management, finance, and planning/executing strategic growth and scaling.
Sure… but, sorry, none of that is the correct answer. Because, of course, you know that founders typically are expected to be jacks of all trades. So yes, to all of the above, but that’s not the secret sauce.
The #1 thing every founder needs to know is… themself.
Here’s the truth: founders start companies, and entrepreneurs build them. While not every entrepreneur is a founder (think franchise owners), every founder is an entrepreneur (at least initially).
If you’re like me, you are a forward-obsessed founder. That means where you are now is always building toward where you want to go. That person is always an entrepreneur. Once the company is started, you’ll do what it takes — including relinquishing control — to keep it growing.
Does that sting? We founders think of our companies as our babies, but statistics say we’re likely to be the ones kicked out of the nest. Also, research shows that in the US, only 14 out of the top selling 500 companies still have the original founder running the company. And the Harvard Business Review reports that most founders relinquish control long before their companies go public — and that four out of five are forced to step down as CEO.
It doesn’t have to be that way if you have one critical attribute: self-awareness. That way, you can decide as your company grows how you want to evolve your role in the overall day-to-day running of the company (i.e., learn, delegate, hire, move on). And ultimately, you can make better choices at critical growth junctures in your business progression.
So, to help you become more self-aware, it’s helpful to understand the different types of founders. Let’s dive in.

The Types of Founders

A couple of notes before we get into specifics:

• Much like any other classification, there are gray areas, so you (and many of the examples I share in this article) may fit into more than one category.
• Some traits are common to all founders, such as being open to innovation, passionate about their project, risk-takers, etc. But some founders excel or even over-index in certain attributes, so that’s what you’ll see in the different types.

The bottom line: knowing your strongest/weakest points is a critical piece of the self-awareness pie. That way, you can conduct your business in what I call the Green Zone — aka the Genius Zone, where you have both high passion and high competence — and make the best choices for you and your company.

1. The Solo Founder

Traits:

• Fiercely independent
• Self-assured
• Strong belief in their vision/idea
• Business strongly tied to skill set and experience
• Resilient (i.e., can withstand feelings of loneliness)

Benefits:

• Freedom
• Complete control
• Learn a lot

Pitfalls:

• Solo-founded companies statistically have a higher failure rate
• Harder to raise money/VCs are more reticent
• Health impacts: burnout, loneliness, etc.
• Attention is divided because you wear all the hats (marketing, sales, building your product, finances, fundraising, prospecting for new customers, etc.)
• Complete responsibility for all aspects of the business

Example: Sara Blakely, Spanx Founder
Ten years ago, in 2012, when she was just 38, Sara Blakely became the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire. Her business, built on a significant industry gap (the lack of comfortable, effective shapewear) and her incredible sales hustle, also benefited greatly from Blakely’s abundant self-awareness. Here’s her advice to solo founders at a 2020 business conference:

“I tell people as soon as you can afford to hire your weaknesses, do it… As soon as I could afford to hire someone to do more of the operations side of the business, I did. As an entrepreneur, one of the biggest gifts you can give yourself is to stay in your lane.”

In other words, know what your Green Zone is and play there.
If you’re like Blakely, it’s usually big ideas and sales ability (she could easily qualify as a Visionary Founder, too) or operations and execution (what Blakely realized she needed help with).
Pro tip: If you’re a solo founder, you’ll likely want to lean into an entrepreneurial framework like the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to help you define and settle into which side you skew toward.

2. The Visionary Founder (or Co-founders)

Traits:

• Driven by a big idea
• Disruptive — recognizes opportunities to upend traditional norms
• Focused and clear
• Persistent
• Natural salesperson
• Can see the big picture
• Collaborative (esp. In co-founder scenario)
• Motivated by the impact they have — more than $$ alone

Benefits:

• Passionate about their work
• Aren’t easily derailed — failures are expected, and mistakes are not made twice
• Inspired leadership

Pitfalls:

• So focused on the big picture that they may miss important details
• A visionary idea doesn’t automatically = visionary leadership
• Disconnected from reality at times
• Easily bored when the mundane takes priority
• May not plan succession well
• Unrealistic expectations
• Poor communication

Example: Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak
Considering that Steve Jobs’ name is pretty much synonymous with “visionary,” I don’t think I need to list more than the products and industries Jobs’ revolutionized at Apple and beyond — Apple Computers, iPod (iTunes), iPad, iPhone, Pixar, iCloud — with many products and points in between. George Lucas, from whom Jobs bought the Graphics Group at Lucasfilm and renamed it “Pixar,” perfectly summarizes his superpower:

“The magic of Steve was that while others simply accepted the status quo, he saw the true potential in everything he touched and never compromised on that vision.”

Steve Wozniak was the technological yin to Jobs’ sales and marketing yang, bringing the vision of a computer with a graphic interface to life. From the visionary files, “Woz” also invented the first programmable universal remote and was an early innovator of wireless GPS (thanks to his clever dogs who routinely evaded electronic fences).

3. The Serial Disruptor

Traits:

• Varied interests & capabilities
• Easily bored — desires variety and change
• Optimistic
• Extremely innovative
• High threshold for pain
• Accepting of failure
• Self-reliant
• Diverse capabilities
• Bold vision
• Motivated by the impact they have — more than $$ alone

Benefits:

• Variety of experiences
• Flexibility and freedom
• Diversification
• Tons of opportunities for creative expression
• Greater earning opportunities
• Disrupts industries
• Attracts high-quality talent

Pitfalls:

• High risk
• Difficulties finding trustworthy partners/can get stuck helming something when you want to move on
• Multitudes of people reliant on you
• Divided focus
• Ego-driven pursuits

Example: Elon Musk
Like him or loathe him, Elon Musk is perhaps the most prolific (and successful) serial founder of all time with startups including Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, and Neuralink, among others. His drive to design opportunities to evolve humanity has redefined both hustle culture and the art of serial entrepreneurship.
For serial founders, having a set of principles is key to their success. In Musk’s case, his use of “first principles” — reducing a process to its essential parts — has served him well, from helping him figure out how to make rockets cheaper and reusable (SpaceX) to shifting the narrative of electric vehicles (Tesla).

4. The Engineer

Traits:

• Engineer by experience and nature
• Technically savvy
• Able to problem-solve technology-driven issues (not just with the product but also operations-wise)
• Strong desire to not just innovate but also to accelerate progress
• Expansive vision of how technology can solve common problems
• Level-headed
• Agile, fast learners
• Focused on execution

Benefits:

• Pragmatic approach
• Own technology
• Problems are solved quickly
• Able to employ technology to reduce time to market
• Solutions for products can become new products in their own right

Pitfalls:

• Not well versed in other crucial areas (i.e., sales, marketing)
• Over-index on having lower Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
• Because they can learn quickly, so may get stuck playing outside of the green zone

Example: Mark Zuckerberg
Much like the other examples I’m sharing, Mark Zuckerberg’s story has been widely told, so you probably know about his development of Facebook. But at his core, Zuckerberg is an engineering prodigy and geek. At just 13 in 1997, he built “ZuckNet,” which enabled the family’s home computers to communicate via Ping (a precursor of AOL’s Instant Messenger) with his father’s dental office computers. He was using AI in his senior year in high school, so the roots of his Meta(verse) focus today are apparent.
A common weakness for engineers is they tend to have a lower EQ, which has been well-researched. As a former engineer, I understand how logic and technology come easier than understanding human behavior. This is why tech founders should seek out mentors early and bring in competent leaders with high EQ and leadership skills — for example, Zuckerberg credits his former COO of 14 years, Sheryl Sandberg, for turning the company into a multi-billion dollar company.

5. The Personality Founder

Traits:

• Charismatic and gregarious
• Attracts a vast audience
• Influential
• Ambitious
• Forward-thinking
• Inwardly motivated (responds to a “calling”)
• Excellent storytellers
• Authentic and honest (ideally 😉)

Benefits:

• Has a built-in audience and established social platforms
• Likely has pre-existing wealth (can help fund the business/mitigate startup money woes)
• Can use their power for good; disruptive in a positive way

Pitfalls:

• Needs to find the right people to trust
• Can’t just be the “face” of the business; needs to accrue real business chops
• Celebrity and influence status don’t equal quality products
• Difficult or impossible for the founder to leave

Example: Oprah
I’m using Oprah as an example, as her products are an outgrowth of her — her eponymous talk show, which ran for 25 years, the OWN network, O Magazine, her book club, and a variety of charitable endeavors comprise her vast empire. But of course, we know plenty of other personality brands that have racked up billions in sales and even transformed, from the Kardashians/Jenners, to Bethany Frankel and Ryan Reynolds (just watch Deadpool 3 to see his brands — coming in 2023).
In today’s age of influence, we’ve seen a surge of personality brands and founders who leverage built-in audiences and communities to scale quickly. All these names are business mavericks in their own right, but many didn’t start out this way — they deftly utilize their charisma and ability to entertain to shape their brands and pave the way to success.

6. The Accidental Founder

Traits:

• Independent
• Resourceful
• Necessity-driven
• Follow their desire/passion
• Creative
• Willing to take risks

Benefits:

• A deep belief in what they’re doing
• Solves real-world problems based on personal experience
• Discover they’re much happier running their own show
• Turns skills, vocation, or avocation into a profitable business

Pitfalls:

• May not have the business chops
• Reluctant business person — may not actually want to run their own business
• Needs to find the right people to trust
• Overwhelm

Example: Yvon Chouinard
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard has been in the news lately for giving away his company to fight climate change. He’s an OG accidental entrepreneur whose passion for rock climbing led him to develop reusable pitons (rock climbing spikes) and, later, heavy-duty shirts. Famously Chouinard called himself a “dirtbag climber” and didn’t want to become a business mogul. Sixty-five years later, this accidental founder’s company is valued at $3 billion, and his latest innovation is a way of giving away the profits of a company to continue his contribution to society — protecting and preserving the natural world.
As I always say, there are riches in the niches, and accidental entrepreneurs are the leading type of founders to discover a marketplace with little or no competition.

7. The Intentional Founder

Traits:

• Purpose-driven
• Strong ideals and values
• Passionate about the bigger picture impacts
• Socially conscious
• Clear and focused on the brand mission

Benefits:

• An empathetic approach to the product/the company
• Can educate, empower, and motivate others (i.e., team, customers)
• Employees are statistically more satisfied and likely to stay
• Commitment to a higher ideal engenders more loyalty and trust with the general public (customers)

Pitfalls:

• Moving from individual ideals to a group effort is tricky
• Difficult to find employees with perfectly aligned values
• Might not have the business experience to set the organization up for long-term success
• Purpose-driven (belief) isn’t the same as purpose-enabled (capability)
• Might be challenging for the company to survive the loss of the founder

Example: Jessica Alba
While Jessica Alba does have some touches of a Personality Founder (she is an actor) and an Accidental Founder (an allergic reaction to detergent made her worry about her new baby’s sensitive skin), she is an excellent example of an intentional founder. Back in 2008, when Alba had that allergic reaction, influencer marketing wasn’t what it is today — plus, she had some success but was by no means a household name. Ditto for eco-conscious consumer packaged goods — a plus, sure, but didn’t have the same urgency and importance it does today. Alba then spent years researching ingredients in everyday products and even went to DC to lobby for updates to the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. Convinced that consumers need safe, affordable, environmentally friendly products for kids and home, Alba launched The Honest Company in 2011.
Now, she did have seasoned co-founders, her own wealth to use out the gates, and VC support shortly after that, but it has always been Alba’s commitment to and alignment with the brand’s core principles that have kept the brand growing and thriving — today, as a publicly traded company with a 2021 $412.8 IPO.
What type of founder are you? Definitely feel free to share in the comments.

Proof I was here. (As I stated in the first thread, I will not be disclosing this location to any of you. Took as neutral of a photo as I could. If you live here, MAYBE you'll recognize it. Take it for what it is, I guess.)
Link to part one.
Before we begin, let me start by saying WOW, simply because when I passed out last night, I was hovering around ~350 upvotes and had a steady trickle of interaction with people. I was doing my best to respond to the comments as they came in. Then, when I woke up this morning, ya'll...I had over 1500 messages in my inbox and the thread has fucktupled in upvotes, just overnight. I'm so sorry if I didn't respond to you...it was a fool's errand to try and get to everyone.
I also want to address specifically a small handful of you...the ones I was certain would show up in the comments to basically call me a liar or say my story was fabricated. Some of the reasons you gave were pretty telling. My favorite was when someone said something along the lines of "This is too well-written to be true." What a world we live in where clear dictation automatically disqualifies a recounting of events from being accurate. I'll admit that it read closer to a novel than anything else, but that's just how I dictate I guess.
Anyways, onto the update.
I arrived at the tire shop just a hair after 8:00am. There was one gentleman in line at the counter when I arrived, but he was already being assisted by one of the associates manning the register. I took a look around and peeked my head in the back office area where I knew John typically worked when he wasn't being pulled into a bay.
John wasn't there.
As I walked towards the sitting area, I happened to ask an employee who was walking by if he knew when John would be in today. He told me John usually arrives a bit before 9:00am when he worked mornings, so I should just chill for a bit. I didn't have anything pressing to attend to today, so I did just that.
As I moved towards a seat, I happened to glance outside at the working bays and noticed my ol' buddy Eric, who was currently walking towards the main building. When he saw me, I watched as his head drooped down and I could visibly see him mutter the word "Fuck" under his breath. He stopped for just a second, shook his head, and continued walking towards the building.
When he came inside, he set a packet with what I presume was a customer order on the counter and said something to the clerk at the register. He hesitated for a moment and walked over to where I was sitting. As he approached, I greeted him with "Morning, Eric." and smiled. He just stood over me for a moment before he took a chair across the coffee table that was sitting in front of me.
Wonder what his next move was?
Honestly, I didn't expect it, but the dude opened with "I owe you an apology."
Color me shocked, I guess.
Now, you see...at this point about a billion things began to run around in my head. MOSTLY, for some reason, the things that ran most prominently through my mind were all the calls for bloodshed that popped up in the last thread. All the claims that Boomers can never learn and the only language they knew was bullying, which were thrown at me like mortars practically every step I took. Ya'll were bloodthristy last night and still were this morning, convinced that this gentleman was a drunkard asshat, but do drunk asshats apologize after doing something wrong?
Back to the story.
He continued on, saying that he didn't just owe ME an apology, but also the cashier he yelled at last night, and how he had actually planned on returning to Walmart on his lunch break to see if she was working so he could apologize to her as well. In his words "I've been dealing with a lot of personal shit in my life recently including the loss of a loved one, and I took that out on ya'll last night and it wasn't right."
Right about this time is when I noticed that John had arrived. He walked in through the door behind where Eric and I were sitting and walked straight into the back area I checked before. We will get to that later.
Guys, I honestly had no idea what to do. On one hand yes, this dude was a raging douchebag to that girl last night, but this felt genuine. I mentioned several times in the first thread that I didn't want to react hastily and this is exactly why. Had I gone in there and thrown a colossal fit and started a shitstorm, I don't know if this would have ended the same.
Anyways, I don't wish to grandstand things further. The guy apologized, I stood up and shook his hand, and I simply told him "Be good to people for no reason, man. Kindness is free and isn't a sign of weakness." We chatted a bit and had a bit of a revelation that Eric and I have a distant connection neither of us really knew about. I won't disclose what or how we knew each other for personal reasons.
Then John came out of the back office.
He recognized me and gave me a hug. Asked what I was in for. I basically told him that I ran into Eric at the store last night and wanted to check in on him and get an update on an issue he was having there.
That's when John said "Yeah, Eric I need to talk to you about that. I had a lady call me about something that happened at Walmart you were involved in."
Oh shit. I'm guessing either the manager or the cashier called John after what happened last night. I guess the ball isn't in my court any longer.
Eric gave a deep sigh and basically told John "I was a shithead to a cashier last night because I was in a hurry. I wasn't thinking and it wasn't right. I'm gonna make it right at lunch time. I hope she's working today." John then said something I didn't catch and him and Eric walked into the back room.
That's it. End of story. I took a scrap from a notebook, jotted down my "proof" and snapped a photo, then jumped in my car and left.
I certainly hope that this brings you guys whatever closure you were looking for. I'm certain some of you aren't going to be happy with how this turned out, given how many pitchforks I saw last night. But after all this, all I can say is to not be so hasty when jumping to conclusions. People are people, ya'll. You can't really be sure what someone is going through before you jump to judgment. Some folks don't know how to ask for forgiveness or don't know how to take responsibility for their actions, but some folks can. I'm glad this resolved itself the way it did. John knows what happened and knows that it happened with his business on full display, so he can now CHOOSE how HE reacts with that information. I got the closure I needed, and I hope the cashier does too. Time will tell in that regard, I suppose.
Be good to each other.
EDIT: I'm present in the comments, trying to interact with as many of you as I can. But comments are coming in so fast I can't keep up. Sorry!
EDIT 2: Still getting a tidal wave of comments. The inbox is filling up rapidly. I am now turning off notifications and calling it a day. Thanks for all the input! Lots of love!
EDIT 3: Inbox replies disabled, but I'm still surfing comments. It's wild to me that SO MANY PEOPLE are upset that this didn't play out the way they hoped. Guys, I'm not saying Eric is a saint here. I'm not saying what he did was excusable. But I absolutely refuse to try and add any more suffering to the situation than has already been dealt. Some of you want me to return and get this guy fired. Some of you want me to post his info online. None of this will be happening. I consider this story done and there will be no further interjection on my part. I know some of you won't like that response (hell, some of you have already taken to insinuating that I'm excusing racism in the comments. Big yikes, guys.), but this is where things end with me.
Reflect on your own feelings after reading this. A whole lot of you are still angry. But a whole lot of you are happy with how things played out. I'm personally glad where things end. Whether or not that makes me a fool, naive, or an idiot is your opinion to have I guess, but I can walk away from this knowing that my presence extracted an apology. That's good enough for me.
Keep being kind. It's genuinely a real-life superpower. The universe rewards kindness in kind.

https://preview.redd.it/6qh0bfx10t1d1.png?width=654&format=png&auto=webp&s=482867204cb4e0192d7079975cd93294df4b39bf
I used to work in public health compliance, and I'm trying to make a career switch into programming, tech, software, or banging a computer with a hammer - I just wanna work with computers.
I've been using JobScan, and I'm averaging around 40% match with most full-stack software engineering job descriptions. Unfortunately, if I tailor my resume to maximize that number, it feels like a big salad of buzz words (which you can probably find in there).
My thought is that if I can appease the ATS, at least someone will look at the paper. If I don't appease the ATS well enough, why wouldn't they just fill their interview slots with the people who are the "recommended candidates", ya know?
I've applied to IT help desk jobs with no luck and entry level software engineering jobs with no luck. Any feedback on what I should improve here would be greatly appreciated!

I joined reddit specifically to ask this question!
Me, a couple of my brothers and a friend started a modded minecraft server recently using a whole bunch of create based mods. We've started to have issues where every 20-30 minutes, the server crashes completely out of nowhere with the message: java.net.SocketException: Connection reset. There's no warning and seems to be no common factor. It just happens every now and then.
There doesn't seem to be anything implying what causes the crash in the logs either!
I've looked everywhere and can't seem to find a solution. I think it could be to do with Valkyrien Skies or Eureka as they are notoriously glitchy, however, I'm not certain as I believe this problem began before we started using Eureka.
EDIT: I've used all the mods we are using before EXCEPT Valkyrien Skies/Eureka which leads me to believe this is the issue. The only other thing I can think of is a faulty server but I want to rule this out first.
Has anyone else had this problem? I've seen people get the same error sometimes with Realms but the way in which the server crashes is different.
Any help would be much appreciated.
EDIT:
Server is Forge 1.20.1

As the title says, I am getting the screen saying that the game is not available in the area I am in once Poi Viewer completely loads. Normally, what should be greeting me once Poi Viewer is completely loaded is the game page showing ships like Fumizuki, Mogami, Fubuki, Haruna, and Tatsuta as well as the button to log in.
At first, I tried restarting Poi Viewer a few times thinking it will fix the issue. However, that didn't work. Next, I tried entering the General DMM Cookie-based Block code in the Console of Poi Viewer's Developer Tools. However, I get an error from doing so (doing the same in Google Chrome after logging in to my DMM account works though). In the end, I connected to a Japanese VPN server and Poi Viewer loaded the game page (and I was able to play the game).
Oh yeah, if it helps identify the issue, the version of the Poi Viewer I am using is 10.6.0 while KCCacheProxy is 2.6.1. Also, I was able to access the game page (and play the game) through Poi Viewer without using VPN yesterday.
Does anybody know what issue I am having?