#Added Value HR

[addictivemeh]

working my way through the elden ring dlc, it's so good. I thought it would just be a couple areas like how it normally goes in souls dlc but it's enormous. Also of course because it's me I've made it 100x harder on myself by not using any of those fragments that make you take less damage, because my brain read them as "here's the easy button if it's too hard for you :)"

thought I would have given in by now but I've made it pretty far without using any yet, though I came close to using them on a few bosses. just started working on messmer rn tho and I can tell he's going to be tough, he's just lightning fast like all the bosses so far and I'm just a little guy with a big slow sword

still incredible experience so far. i think i would only recommend it if you've already beaten the base game tho, it feels more like a bonus challenge for when you've seen everything than an expansion

[burst-of-iridescent]

Hi! I love all your posts regarding atla and deep diving into Zuko and Katara's relationship-those analysis's are *chief's kiss* perfect

Anywho, I hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm guessing you heard about Bryke wanting to expand the atla universe, and will be creating a new movies, one of which, with the Gaang as adults, but as far as I know won't have any of the returning head writers like Aaron Ehasz..

so my question is: do you think there is any hope for these movies? Because to me I feel like it might just be a fully animated comic (we all know how those turned out) & just be 2 hrs of Katara and Aang saying "Sweetie" back an forth. Yes I'm still saltly

frankly? no.

and that's not even me saying it as a salty zutara shipper who doesn't want to see kat.aang as an established relationship. i doubt how good these movies are going to be because bry.ke have little-to-no understanding of their characters, especially katara and zuko, and at least since atla, haven't shown the self-awareness to hire a writer's team that can compensate for their shortcomings. i've said it before and i'll say it again: they have great, creative ideas and an excellent eye for stunning visuals and an immersive world. but when it comes to the nuances of characterization and story-building, they cannot do it on their own. lok proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

but more than bry.ke, these movies are also emblematic of a larger problem that i see in multiple franchises: the subordination of creative, meaningful storytelling in service to shameless nostalgia cash-grabbing. ask yourself, do we really need a story about the adult gaang? most of the main plot threads that they could've expanded on from atla have already been (mostly badly) answered in the comics: what happened to ursa, azula's potential redemption, decolonisation, industrialisation vs tradition, the founding of a new air nomad legacy, zuko's struggles as fire lord. any new story would either have to retcon previously established "canon" or put a new spin on old themes. the latter of which i severely doubt bry.ke's capability to pull off, particularly if any level of nuance is required.

atla is slowly but surely heading in the direction of star wars/harry potter/the mcu in producing new material just for the sake of making money instead of truly adding something impactful to the canon. the fact that absolutely no new atla material since the show itself has ever managed to live up to the original is proof that the franchise has no idea what it's doing.

and before someone comes at me to say that it's impossible to ever live up to the original - just take a look at the hunger games revival happening right now. the ballad of songbirds and snakes has been received so well because it isn't just a shameless cash-grab. it's a valuable contribution to the series that expands on the universe and themes of the original trilogy, giving more depth and nuance to the original books instead of detracting from them. because collins adds to the canon only when she has something meaningful to say, and for a franchise that she could have milked to absolute filth, that restraint reflects not only her integrity as a creator, but the value she places on the stories that she tells - which in turn makes her readers value and respect them as well.

and that's a lesson that i think every single storyteller should take to heart. if you want to be respected as a writer, you have to respect your characters and your stories first. because if you, the creator, don't... why should anyone else?

[crooked-wasteland]

How did you calculate the estimation of how much each Helluva Boss costs to make?

I should clarify that my estimation for the cost and income of the series is extremely generous. The pricing for YouTube views can be as high as $0.05 per view which would increase Medrano's income by 46%, though that is something reserved for only exceptional creators. It's less money for YouTube in that case, and her sporadic uploading schedule would make such a deal undesirable for Google.

If you were to ask me how much I actually think the episodes cost, it would be closer to $500k. However, there are multiple factors I considered when I came to my generous(?) estimate.

Firstly, I looked into how much it cost to make a professional animated episode such as Rick and Morty, which is between $1.2 and $1.5 million per episode. To be honest, I think there are some episodes of Helluva Boss, specifically Truth Seekers, that cost at least near that threshold.

Which it should be noted that Rick and Morty should actually cost less than Helluva Boss due to the style the shows are animated in. Rick and Morty reduces the labor needed for their animation and thus costs by utilizing rigging in their animation, save for select scenes. Medrano pushes her animators to draw nearly every frame by hand. At least she did for the earlier episodes.

The fact that the animation has been declining has not been lost on watchers. And this is the second factor I took into account: Medrano's attitude towards animators and the cost of animation. We saw this during the Hazbin debacle where they ran out of money for the series in the final episode. Which is something we really need to interrogate. A24 is not known for expensive advertising, in fact, they often rely on social media and word of mouth which keeps the budget for a project low.

For example, Elemental was a financial disaster for Disney despite making back the budget for the movie, that's because they spent another several million for their ad campaign which ironically turned audiences away from the film. That counts towards the performance of a movie and a series.

If A24 was unwilling to go over budget for the last episode of the series to be made, her niche form of advertising her streaming cartoon series on a historical theatre marquee in Hollywood was not something they would have shelled out the extra thousands for. Which means the money most likely came from the initial budget for the show. And between paying animators and having a marquee (which to mind you the theatre never had a showing of Hazbin in the building, it was solely for advertising), she chose the marquee. Paying cleanup artists the equivalent of $4 an hr to make her series.

And it needs to be said, that sort of advertising is a waste. Like crypto bros buying ad space in Time Square for their NFTs, this sort of advertising doesn't actually draw in new audiences, but, in the words of Dan Olsen:

"All it's good for is internal propaganda. Making insiders feel like the money that they've spent is buying credibility."- Chapter 5: The Unbearable Cringe of Crypto

We also know that Medrano has a penchant for hiring animators fresh out of college, self-taught with no professional experience or references, and fans. This means she finds people who don't know the value of their work and are easier to exploit, or are simply so sycophantic and blinded by social media clout that they agree to work for what amounts to exposure.

As such, I significantly low-balled the cost of every episode to show just how rough things are going financially. But there is an aspect I didn't touch: Patreon.

Medrano sees a daily rise to her Patreon of around 3k paying members with her monthly total being 11k. It's estimated she makes about $5k a day through her Patreon, which is $150k-$200k a month. It's also worth noting others have pointed out that she has significantly increased the cost of her Patreon tiers, and the massive drops at the start of the month with the gradual rise are members dropping said memberships and rejoining throughout the month, going up and down tiers. She's squeezing the Patreon crowd the most, as that is her actual fanbase.

Add to her income average of $375k from episodes and Medrano can absolutely afford to pay $500k per episode as I actually suspect she does. However it is still clear she is losing money in regards to merch and has had to change manufacturers and how she stocks her store.

The reason I low-balled the cost was to simplify the maths involved and highlight how the show itself is not cutting it to keep Medrano's business model afloat. Obviously when we expand the scope, numbers get larger and more moving pieces come to light. But the merch must first come from Medrano's own income, and we know she first cuts her animators before risking her own income. So she has decided to take the money from her audience in the form of merch quality rather than take a haircut from her lifestyle.

Ironically, she makes and keeps more money when she isn't pushing new merch.

[srbachchan]

DAY 5473

Jalsa, Mumbai                   Feb 9/10,  2023                Thu/Fri  9:40 AM

🪔 .. February 10 ..

birthday

joys to

Ef Rahul Sen

, from The City Of Joy , Kolkata .. prayers and wellbeing .. 🌿🙏🏻🚩

.. and the affection of togetherness to

Ef Anat and her husband Daniel

.. for their 21st wedding anniversary on Feb 10 .. 💍💕 .. mazal tov ..

It is conformed fact that the night of correctness of slumber does indeed bring the life and will and energy to face another day with endeavour and the strength of body .. suddenly the weak outlook of the previous days evaporates in the mist of opportunity and gives another dimension to the 24 hrs that you have been introduced to .. 

And thus the extended slumber , just like the extended family is relentless in its presence with the energy and the rested will for the day ahead ..

The assist that is needed to manage is of prime .. directions to be taken to address the various avenues that erupt each hour , need attention in some order and professionalism .. 

Personnel required for such a device is of importance .. the trust the knowledge the know how to give comfort and allegiance to the employer becomes primary .. the search for this , is another challenge .. 

Some are most qualified and equipped to assess the possibilities and deliver the right choice and people to attend to the requirements .. most are not .. and yours truly falls in that category .. 

It is most difficult to get the right person for the right job .. but when they are chosen they deliver to the satisfaction of the need and that is an added advantage .. 

Some of the Ef have these qualaities and are most proficient , and one admires them and lauds their voluntary efforts .. I thank them for their design of inputs they give to make my life a lot easier - well life is never easy, but still ..

So .. there was talk the other day of decision , and the faults that your Blogmaester has in not being able to equip himself with that most essential quality of existence .. 

The suffering is still there .. the need most .. and the inadequacy is most prevailent .. but what is a day without unfulfilled desire .. unfulfilled work .. unfulfilled destined path ..

And ..

We labour , and face with sufficient rectitude the storms that blow before and above us , with fortitude and the strength of belief and prayer ..

Work has taken a while to formulate ..

But , with the hope and profess of many , hopefully it shall soon be formative .. unknown and uncertainty not withstanding ..

A lot has been given to read and assess .. the scripts and facts of what the nature of the work should be .. and that is to be decided .. decided yes, another factor of decision making .. but we shall make efforts and bring all the creative intellect , limited in its being, before us and move ahead .. with of course the blessings of you and many like you .. 🙏 ..

There are many desired inclinations of many to spend time with them, to be present to present myself and my story of life .. 

This is a matter of great mirth .. 

My story and my life ..? 

It is of no value to be shared or given in a standing of learning for another, as they that come forward , put it .. its an embarrassement for me .. unqulified altogether .. 

NO .. 

I am incapable of doing so , or even attempting to accept such promulgations ..

I am content with what the Ef gives .. what the common man sees and acknowledges .. what the audience see and react .. that is enough .. the profession is professed and assessed by they for whom it has been professed .. that is all .. do not try to attach more than that , bevcause there is none more ..

End of argument .. 

End of the DAY today 

Love hope and will to all .. ❤️❤️❤️🌹

Amitabh Bachchan

[hetalia-club]

Got Bored And Made An Entire Hetalia Baseball League (HBL)

the league is meant to have fictitious and near impossible goals for regular humans to achieve. They are all scaled beside each other accounting for superhuman strength.

~France's Stats~

France's Batting Averages Regular Season- .279 Projected- .283 Career- .282

Running Speed MPH- 19-22 Hitting Power MPH- 85-90 Regular Season Stolen Bases: 1 Career Stolen Bases: 10 (avoids it and only takes the opportunity if there is a play error)

France would be a good player, valued for his consistency, strategic approach, and balanced hitting profile. He would likely be a dependable presence in the lineup, contributing solidly to the team’s offense with a mix of singles, doubles, and some home runs. His experience and understanding of the game would make him a key player in critical situations, both offensively and defensively. While he might not be the most powerful player, his strengths lie in his reliable batting, good plate discipline, and ability to perform under pressure. France would be a well-rounded player who adds significant value to his team through his consistent performance and baseball intelligence.

Other Players: (will update with link as they are added) America Russia Sweden England Ireland Iceland Canada Denmark Turkey France Scotland Greece Germany Japan Nyo!America Prussia China Nyo!England Spain Austria Italy Norway Romano Finland

breakdown below >> (Chat GTP helped with this part because I'm not good at describing things or sports talk)((it also made me the lay out above I made the stats and it put them in MLB format for me & calculated batting average because math :/ ))

Considerations for France’s Stats:

Balanced Stat Distribution:

Regular Season:

Games Played (GP): 150, indicating he is a regular and dependable player, though he might take a few games off.

At-Bats (AB): 520, showing consistent involvement in the lineup.

Runs (R): 80, reflecting a significant contribution to the team's scoring.

Hits (H): 145, indicating a solid batting average.

Doubles (2B): 28, Triples (3B): 4, Home Runs (HR): 20, showing a balanced hitting profile with some power.

RBI: 75, demonstrating an ability to drive in runs.

Walks (BB): 60, Strikeouts (SO)**: 100, reflecting good plate discipline and contact skills.

Projected:

Slight improvements across the board to reflect continued growth and consistency.

Career:

Games Played (GP): 1800, reflecting a long and productive career.

At-Bats (AB): 6200, showing sustained participation and consistency.

Runs (R): 1000, Hits (H): 1750, Doubles (2B): 340, Triples (3B): 60, Home Runs (HR): 270.

RBI: 950, indicating a consistent ability to contribute to the team’s offense.

Walks (BB): 750, Strikeouts (SO)**: 1150, showing excellent plate discipline over his career.

Summary:

Regular Season: France’s stats reflect his charming, experienced, and skillful nature, making him a productive and stylish player.

Projected: Small improvements in key areas such as hits, runs, and home runs to reflect potential for continued growth.

Career: Cumulative stats that highlight a long, consistent, and productive career, aligning with his experienced and artistic character.

Player Analysis: France

Character Traits:

Charming and Elegant: France is known for his suave and charming personality, suggesting a refined and stylish approach to the game.

Experienced and Wise: His age and wisdom imply a deep understanding of the game, possibly making him a strategic and thoughtful player.

Passionate and Artistic: France’s passion and creativity might translate into a flair for dramatic and skillful plays on the field.

Strengths:

Consistent Hitter: With a batting average around .279 to .283, France demonstrates solid hitting skills. He can consistently get on base and contribute to the team's offense.

Balanced Power: France’s stats show a good mix of doubles, triples, and home runs, indicating he has some power and can hit extra-base hits effectively.

Plate Discipline: With a decent number of walks (BB) and a relatively moderate number of strikeouts (SO), France shows good plate discipline. He understands the strike zone well and can draw walks, adding value to his on-base percentage.

Experience and Wisdom: His strategic approach to the game, driven by his experience and understanding, makes him a valuable player in critical situations. He likely has a good baseball IQ and can anticipate plays and pitches.

Weaknesses:

Consistency Over Explosiveness: While France is a reliable and consistent hitter, he might lack the explosive power of elite sluggers. His home run totals are good but not exceptional, suggesting he contributes more through consistent contact and situational hitting rather than sheer power.

Fielding: Based on his character, France might be more focused on his offensive contributions. There’s no strong indication that he would be an elite fielder. His fielding might be adequate, but not a standout aspect of his game.

[xiaq]

(this can be answered publicly) Hey X, pardon me if you’ve answered this before, but I was just curious on how you ended up transitioning from academia to tech and what role you started with in tech? Also, so you have any advice for someone looking to break into tech from a non-STEM background? Thank you!

Hey! I haven't answered it publicly but it's a popular question, so I will now (warning, long answer is long).

So I was so fed up with academia for sundry reasons I won't get into here but I wanted a career that would allow me to A. retire some day (something that paid generally well), B. would allow me some measure of work/life balance without high stress, and C. Would ideally let me use my communication/writing/speaking/presenting skills in some way.

My parents and my partner all work in tech and were like, "did you know that we desperately need people with your skillsets in the tech world?" and my partner, who works in technical sales was like, "You would kill at my job, I am not lying." And I was like, every job listing in technical sales that I see requires either a degree I don't have or past experience I don't have, or both, and my mother was like "Do you know how many mediocre resumes from unqualified men come across my desk? Apply for the damn positions anyway." So I reworked my resume to focus on applicable skills/experiences and wrote a cover letter for each position I applied to saying "hey, I know I'm an odd candidate but let me tell you why that's a good thing." And I got a lot of positive responses!

I was interviewing at 2 different tech places when I accepted the offer for my job now. I had an initial screening call interview with HR, then a zoom interview with the hiring manager, and then I was given access to a limited demo environment and had a week to teach myself the software and put together a demo for a fake customer which I did for the hiring manager (my future boss), one of my current peers, and the VP of the org. I was offered the job the same night I did my fake demo. So in total it was a 2 week interview process, and I started working 2 weeks later. **

I'm a pre-sales solutions consultant, which basically means I'm paired with a sales guy who does all the money and business value talk with customers, while I get to learn about a customer's data problems and then demo for them how our products can address those problems.

The learning curve was (and still is) steep. But it was basically like going back to school, and I've always loved learning new things. The job is super fun. It fulfills all of my wants I listed above with the added bonus of being completely remote (aside from occasional travel to meet with customers for in-person demos). The people I work with are supportive, management is communicative and constantly giving me feedback/talking about my trajectory. I've won internal awards, already received two raises and one promotion and I haven't even been there a year. I'm making more than double what I did as a professor and the concept of retirement doesn't feel like a laughable pipe dream anymore. I miss teaching a lot, but I'm healthier, happier, and better prepared for the future now. And my work is genuinely fulfiling because I'm showing people how they can fix problems. Also, playing with data management software and putting together custom demos is neat. It's like all the best parts of a college project--research, making a preso, knocking everyone's socks off while giving the preso, but I'm getting paid for it. I'm glad I followed my mom's advice.

So I guess my advice is the same as hers: even if you're not "qualified," apply for the position anyway. Make custom cover letters for each position and if there's not a way to include the letter with the app, do some googling and find the hiring manager on LinkedIn and message/email them. The person who hired me said that my cover letter was what got me the initial interview. So that shit works. If you have friends or family working somewhere with open positions, use those connections. Having an internal referral will go a long way to getting your resume looked at. I know we're all like, boo nepo babies, but networking is a huge part of any industry. Use it to your advantage if you have the advantage (no, I'm not working for my parent's companies, but if there'd been an open position I was interested in, I would have applied for it. No shame).

**I also, on the side, applied for the Austin Fire Department because why not. After a whole lot of mental and physical prep, I was accepted to the academy (in the first class, no less, holla) right before I was offered my current job. But I had to be realistic and say that probably wasn't a good long-term career option for someone who is 110lbs and was barely meeting the physical testing requirements who also has issues with getting overwhelmed in high-input sensory situations. So. Into the tech world I went. This side note just to say, I was keeping my options very open and there's nothing wrong with that either, lol.

I hope this helps!

[solarwynd]

That company is a whole nest of vipers. This is why when you're appointing execs it's not enough to look at just their talent or their contacts. Everytime you add people at that level, the whole culture of your organisation changes. Culture isn't just an HR buzzword - every org has its own identity and a lot of it is dictated by the people on the top. No matter your personal identity or values, most everyone who becomes an employee naturally assimilates into the org they're a part of.

MHJ is undoubtedly talented and she's done good work with NJ but her rep has been bad for a while now. Same with 🛴. You keep adding these kind of individuals to your company, don't be surprised if in a couple of years the whole place gets under a haze of company politics and backstabbing. I'm sure there's even more shady things going on behind the scenes that we're not aware of.

True. But certain hybe’s vetting process doesn’t really go past their own self interest. If you fit what they need, then you match. They know they kind of people they shake hands with when they approve them.

[possumcollege]

Does the prospect of tailored, AI generated media where "YOU are the star" sound like a fucking nightmare to anyone else?

Everything about AI has the stink of depersonalization all over it. Maybe it's the ptsd talking, but the idea of watching a character with my face and voice doing things on TV is disturbingly close to the times when I couldn't recognize my own face in a mirror.

Like a dissociative episode with a laugh track.

Sounds like the narcissistic brainchild of someone who can't internalize anything that isn't literally about them.

"Everyone must want this too right? Especially people who aren't as interesting as me!"

I'm viscerally haunted by the presence of my own body on a daily basis. The thought of seeing it accurately scanned and pasted into a movie or skinned onto a more dashing frame makes me ill.

As does the way producers and executives want to use tech to circumvent fair labor practices, fair contracts, residual compensation, copyright law, employment benefits, and human performers to bring their absolute dogshit ideas to light.

AI devs want it to do everything "just like a person" when there ARE PEOPLE to do those things. The problem to be solved is that PAYING and supporting humans costs them money. Employees who don't want to be worked into the ground to bring their dream to life feels like someone eating their lunch.

So they imagine a future where we drive to a building, sit in a cubbie, wearing headsets so our hovering torsos can occupy a fun, budget-friendly, office of the mind for $15/hr 12hrs/day, sleep in the office during crunch time, and praise them for all their great and generous brain ideas!

AI kills jobs by convincing investors that it's cheaper than human workers, and that the remaining human workers will mostly be there for QC, which they don't consider skilled labor. We're the safety net for their machine.

By the time the consumers start realizing actually, AI support sucks, its products are either creepy or trash, and its judgment is dangerously inadequate, the developers have got their payday and aren't legally liable for the mess we made with their tools.

AI is wonderful for separating workers from profits, producers from criticism, manufacturers from liability, and people from each other. We don't share the profits because we just helped keep the Boss' machine from falling over. Our reward is pretending to be the person on a screen before we go back to work.

When we're the star of our own bizarre google-ads-ass media, we're robbed of the opportunity to see ourselves in someone who is not us. It makes us more of a puppet in someone else's play. Our Selves become another product we get to pay someone else to show us.

Why the everlasting fuck should we want to copy/paste ourselves into a product made by an industry that no longer places value on human creative labor? When the brains at the helm of these industries are stone blind to the reality of human experience?

These are the beautiful dreams of people whose lives are so irreparably insulated and disconnected from consequence and the reality of other people that they see "other people" as a problem to be solved.

I don't want a thing from those people.

[broadway-dave]

hi, would it be possible to include the lyrics with your songs? it'd make listening to them a lot easier for me

my deepest and sincerest apologies homie

we at davecorp strictly value vibes for all

on behalf of hr (me) and the ceo (also me) i formally apologize for restricting your vibe efficiency to like a hard 2%

this cannot stand

((Hi! I just saw this, gonna be retroactively adding lyrics to what I've got posted thus far!! Again, I'm so sorry!))

[jcsmicasereports]

Coinfections and pulmonary embolism in a patient with onset of Leukemia concomitantly with COVID19- Case report by Evgenia Papakonstantinou in Journal of Clinical Case Reports Medical Images and Health Sciences

Abstract

The pandemic of COVID19 is ongoing, with the treatment of neoplastic diseases to be challenging. Patients with acute leukemia are vulnerable to many pathogens due to impaired immunity coming from their disease and simultaneous chemotherapy. Although the COVID19 disease evolves milder in children, concomitant treatment for leukemia may be fatal. We present a girl with COVID19 and Escherichia Hermannii infection at diagnosis for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). This child suffered bilateral pulmonary embolism after initiation of treatment. We discuss the therapeutic challenges about the initiation of chemotherapy in the context of coinfections as well as the role of COVID19 and other predisposing factors to pulmonary embolism. We found that the slight delay in the antineoplastic treatment contributed to the remission of the acute infection and did not negatively impact the initial response to the leukemia treatment. Nevertheless, the resumption of the oncological treatment should remain among our priorities.

Keywords

Acute leukemia, COVID19, Escherichia Hermannii, pulmonary embolism

Introduction

Given the immunodeficiency due to their disease and chemotherapy, patients with cancer are vulnerable to infections and COVID19 infection is really threatening. We describe a successful management of a girl diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and COVID19 infection concomitantly with Escherichia Hermannii sepsis. The initiation of chemotherapy was slightly postponed, due to the danger of these severe infections until blood cultures were negative for E. Hermanii. Pulmonary thrombosis was added, as COVID-19 infection predisposes for developing cardiovascular complications, while our patient was under existing predisposing factors for thrombophilia, but with appropriate management had successful outcome.

Case History

A three-year-old girl who presented with a four-day fever, rhinitis, and cough, found positive for COVID19 infection without mutation, as all her family members. She had anemia (Hb: 2.9 g/dL), neutropenia (N: 371/μL), thrombopenia (PLT: 24 K/μL) while tachypnea (RR=31/min), tachycardia (HR=146/min), fever 38.6°C, air oxygen saturation 97%, were found on examination. Empirical antimicrobial treatment with Tazobactam-Piperacillin, Amikacin, Teicoplanin, and Micafungin were given for febrile neutropenia, transfusions (blood, platelets) for myelosuppression, Remdesivir (5 mg/kg) for COVID19. Blood culture yielded Escherichia Hermannii sensitive to receiving antibiotics, but therapy was upscaled to Meropenem due to elevated CRP (109mg/l) and persistent fever 40.6°C. The antibiotic treatment lasting 14-days ceased after two negative cultures. Baseline chest computed tomography (CT) scan showed small cloudy glass spots, areas of pulmonary thickening, atelectasis. Bone marrow aspiration, with 61% blasts, set the diagnosis of pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) hyperdiploid, Central Nervous System (CNS) negative. Abdominal ultrasound showed hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. Examinations for thrombophilia revealed heterozygosity for factor V Leiden. Chemotherapy started while positive for COVID according to ALLIC 2009 protocol, standard risk arm, 15 days post diagnosis. Remained in COVID clinic until two negative PCR tests. The ALL re-examination showed good prednisolone response on Day 8, complete remission on Days 15, 33. On Day 40 from the initiation of chemotherapy, she had tachypnea with a value of D-dimer elevated at 2.145 ng/mL. Chest CT revealed subsegmental pulmonary embolism on both lower lobes of the lungs. She had not high oxygen requirements, hemodynamic instability requiring intubation, and was treated with low molecular weight heparin for 3 months. She continued chemotherapy without delays, with regular weekly tests for COVID19 and without reactivations, despite the use of corticosteroids and immunosuppressive therapy.

Discussion

The management of children with haematological malignancies and Sars-Cov 2 infection remains challenging since limited data about the impact of COVID 19 in these children are available. Main goal is to optimize the oncological treatment and avoid severe Sars-Cov2 infection due to immunosuppressive therapy. The Escherichia Hermanni bacteremia1 at diagnosis increased the risk of severe complications and led to slight delay of the chemotherapy initiation. The risk of virus transmission to the immunocompromised children in our department required a structured protocol regarding nursing care and isolation techniques. According to American Society of Hematology guidelines2, (January 2021), treatment for ALL patients is individualized, especially during the induction period. Reducing chemotherapy doses is not recommended since it may alter the expected therapeutic effect on ALL, while the severity of COVID19 does not seem to be affected. According to SFCE3 (French Society Committee for fight children and adolescents' Cancers), the main threat to children with ALL remains the ALL itself, even if life-threatening infections are emerging. We slightly delayed the chemotherapy initiation and prioritized treating the viral and bacterial infection since the type of leukemia of our patient was neither potentially life-threatening nor high risk (WBC<20.000, no HR cytogenetic findings, no CNS involvement). Our concern was that the co infections could be deteriorated if we had started induction chemotherapy and corticosteroids. The limited data available suggest a significant heterogeneity regarding the time till the first negative COVID19 PCR test in oncology patients (from four to 94 days). Bisogno et al. reported 19 patients with a mean time to negative PCR of 22 days and eight patients with 19 days4. Our patient demonstrated negative PCR testing for Sars-Cov2 on the 40th day of chemotherapy. As there is no standard therapy established for paediatric oncology patients with COVID19 yet, many centers follow the treatment strategy as in adults. Bisogno et al. treated nine out of 29 oncological patients suffering from COVID19 with Ritonavir, Hydroxychloroquine, and immune plasma. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) reported their experience with the plasma administration to critically ill children5. Remdesivir is RNA polymerase inhibitor recommended in children with severe Sars-Cov2 infection and underlying medical conditions, especially in the early course of illness. According to a recent meta-analysis remdesivir has the most promising evidence that improves the time to recovery6. In our patient the seven-day lasting antiviral therapy was well tolerated, without any pathological findings. The reported cases of venous thromboembolism may be related to the systemic inflammatory response or a state of hypercoagulability8. Our patient had multiple coexisting risk factors predisposing for thrombophilia, such as administration of Asparaginase, use of a central venous catheter (Hickman), and heterozygous status for the factor V Leiden. In patients with ALL and COVID19, prophylactic administration of anticoagulants may have an impact, but there are not yet standardize recommendations. We need to maintain a high index of suspicion for pulmonary embolism in patients with COVID19 and leukemia and to measure D-dimers regularly. There is need for guidelines for prophylaxis with low molecular weight heparin for pulmonary embolism in patients with COVID-19 and existing risk factors for thromboembolism. The patient was treated successfully with three- month administration of low molecular weight heparin. She continued chemotherapy without delays, with regular weekly tests for COVID19 as some authors have reported reactivations, without reactivations, despite the use of corticosteroids and immunosuppressive therapy.

Acknowledgements

Dr Pappa A., Medical Biopathologist-Microbiologist, Professor of Microbiology, Aristotle University Thessaloniki, Dr. Polychronopoulou Sofia, Coordinating Director Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Agia Sofia Children’s Hospital Athens.

[coldresolve]

A huge part of the whump being torture apologia discussion comes from the fact that people exoticize torture. It's foreign. It's something you see in spy movies and read about in thrillers. It's a pain that most people can safely distance themselves from in order to experience emotional catharsis or simple enjoyment. The thing is, some people don't get to have that distance.

It's hard for me to describe the sheer grief that comes with it all. I know a man who was tortured in prison. People who faced abuse from family so severe that it amounted to torture. Someone whose torture was to watch their friends be deliberately hurt. I wish whump writers could learn to have compassion for these people as well, even if their lived experiences are not exceptionally common or openly spoken about.

If an author portrays domestic abuse in their writing, it's generally considered necessary and responsible for them to either write the abuse in a realistic way or to state outside their writing that their portrayal of this very real issue is unrealistic. This respects people's lived experiences with abuse and prevents creating a culture of normalizing and glorifying abusive behavior.

It's most definitely not too much to ask of whump writers to uphold those same standards when writing about torture.

you have no idea how nice it is to get someone well spoken and well thought out in my inbox every once in a while. uh im on like hr 30 of being awake and kinda struggling piecing my thoughts together right now, so forgive me if i dont make a lot of sense, but i wanna say sth

the tone of your ask for some reason really hit a nerve for me. like getting slapped in the face, kind of. i think its the fact you come across really compassionate and just. calm, thoughtful in this. kinda puts my approach into perspective lol

i think im just angry about this topic. like ive got a passion for wanting to get it right, but its driven by anger and frustration. having ppl nitpick the fuck out of everything i say instead of actually having the sorts of conversations that should be had about the topic. i know me being angry edgy tantrum controversial oh whats he gonna say now guy and all that, turns people away from listening to me but i dont know how else to approach it sometimes, i don't want to make excuses for people who i feel should know better. i dont have that kind of patience i guess, at least not right now

i think that anger is like a manifestation, symptom. im angry about the people this happens to, and how catastrophic it is. angry at the people who let it happen. the systems that are built around it. people don't see how systemic torture can be. im angry that the fucking war on terror media frenzy was so effective, because your average person still fucking believes in all the bullshit. or the idea of torture survivors being "broken" like its a personal failure, like its the result of their own shortcomings when they're some of the strongest people you can meet. just all these unfair ideas about it that are everywhere. and people still somehow find it necessary to keep spreading those ideas, even if they know theyre wrong. when it doesnt add anything of value, youre not saying anything about it, youre not actually adding something to the conversation by going along with the bullshit, youre literally just entertaining yourself

i dont know how to not be angry about it, i think. thats the growth goal for me i guess, cause i know this isnt the sorta thing thats gonna fix itself tomorrow. and i dunno your ask just made me think about that, like how i handle this on a personal level. and i think itd be healthy for me to step away from the discussion for a couple days at least and just. accept that i tried to reach people this round, maybe it didnt really work, thats fine, ill try again some other time. also i am writing all this very slowly cause my skull is kinda collapsing in on itself so to speak and maybe that has something to do with me being sorta hopelessly frustrated lmfao. apologies

[rainbowrosegames]

RRRRRRRRR DEXCOM I FUCKING HATE YOUU YOU HAD A GOOD PRODUCT AND YOU FUCKING FUMBLED IT DIE DIE DIE BRING BACK G6 U GREEDY FUCKS YOU'RE A GODDAMN MEDICAL COMPANY WHAT IS MY SHITASS INSURANCE FUCKING PAYING YOU FORRRRR

I WILL FUCKING BUY FROM YOUR COMPETITORS AS SOON AS I SEE MY ENDO FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOUUUUU YOU WERE SO CLOSE TO HAVING AN UPGRADE BUT YOU MADE CALIBRATION WORSE TO FIND, MADE THE SAFETY LOCK/APPLICATOR MORE DIFFICULT AND ADDED A HEIGHTENED BLEED CHANCE WHEN APPLICATING, YOUR ADHESIVE IS RAW DOGSHIT SO I HAD TO BUY SOMEONE ELSE'S ADHESIVE OVER PATCH PRODUCT OFF OF AMAZON, YOUR APP SUCKS IT DISCONNECTS MORE, YOU NEVER FIXED THE FIRST 24H OF A SENSOR SCREAMING AT YOU THAT YOU'RE LOW, YOU ONLY ADDED 12H TO MAKE IT 10 DAYS AND A 12 HR GRACE PERIOD WHILE YOUR COMPETITORS SENSORS LAST 14D, THE ADHESIVE ON THE SENSOR ITSELF IS SO SMALL AND HARD TO TAKE OFF, THE SENSOR IS ODDLY FUCKING SHAPED, MAKING IT HARDER TO PUT OVERPATCHES ON, ETC ETC ETC

YOU ARE JUST ANOTHER GREEDY FUCKING DIABETES COMPANY I HOPE YOU AND LILLY AND NOVO NORDISK AND WHOEVER ELSE GET FUCKING REGULATED TO SELL SHIT TO US FOR THEIR ACTUAL VALUE WHICH IS A FRACTION OF WHAT WE ARE PAYING FOR WHATEVER THE FUCK THIS IS!!! GET BETTER APP DEVELOPMENT TEAMS!! DID YOU GET YOURS OFF OF FIVERR?? RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[nina208-journey-to-consistency]

oppenheimer thoughts (spoilers!)

initial thoughts (left the theater 2 hrs ago, these are v rough impressions):

- holy fuck that was good

- the scientists i studied are all here! go quantum mechanics :)

- the subtle acting all throughout the movie was tremendous

- it is such a beautifully shot film, love the color scheme decisions

- i wish some of the characters (the women) had more to do almost (it seems as if a lot of characters didn’t get a lot of dialogue and we don’t know much about them.)

- cillian murphy. that’s it, cillian murphy (amazing)

- i didn’t really feel like there was a specific heart to this movie, but more a weight and a ponderous thoughtfulness that is presented to the viewer due to the gravity of the situation

- i loved how it didn’t really paint oppenheimer as a “great man”. walking out of the theater it seemed like the movie was more about the phrase “actions have consequences” and how diff people lived with the impact of that

- the sound design and score of this movie is one of my favorite things

- i also like that it humanized science, almost. like, giant decisions were being undertaken by people who, at the end of the day, were uncertain about stuff but had to make decisions anyway. and highlighted the difference and common ground between politics and science (and how both can really affect people’s lives). as a scientist myself it made me think more about the actual impact of my work and the value of doing your due diligence (triple checking stuff, thinking about who you will serve, and what potential ripple effects there are) 

(but also that the decision had a catastrophic human toll. throughout this entire movie i couldn’t forget the fact that so many people’s lives and health (EVEN TODAY) are so horribly impacted by the atomic bomb. the movie seemed like it wanted to make the viewer confront that too which was good. but truly not enough. they just glossed over how los alamos was created as well as the impact in japan)

- it made me feel like i was at the trinity test site (the silence right when i didn’t expect it and the insane visuals made my jaw drop. then the reverberations i knew were coming still made me jump)

this is a movie i need to watch again and discuss before adding more detailed thoughts. had an incredible time :)

[sovonight]

Hi you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, I just have a question! You know a lot more about charms than I do, I was thinking about opening custom charm commissions and ordering the charms from Vograce. I think production, if I had 6 charms/slots, would be around 40-ish dollars if I include shipping? Maybe 50? I’m wondering if you have suggestions on how much I should price per charm. At first I was going to charge just $50 per charm, $65 if someone wants two characters, but then again, I don’t want to undersell myself at all, I’ve seen artists charge from $90 up to $105 per charm commission. but I wanted to ask your opinion first. I’m always afraid to price high because a lot of people complain if anything is over $50 when it comes to artwork, but then I have this habit of underselling. One time I only charged $10 for full body full colored artwork and I really burnt myself out making almost 30 of those, it took me eight months to complete them all... and I’m afraid of repeating that mistake with charms too. I’m experienced with drawing and ordering charms and experienced in drawing commissions, but I’ve never done custom commissions for physical items before. Thank you for taking the time to read this!

(disclaimer that i haven't done charm commissions before either, but i've been thinking abt it a lot so i've been paying attention when it's discussed on the art discords haha)

to establish a starting price for the art alone, just time yourself and multiply your hours by at least minimum wage as usual (i'd start with $15/hr). then add in production/shipping cost, then consider adding in extra based on other time factors (in the bulletpoints)

in the end i'd expect at least a $100-$200 starting price for charm commissions, especially if you're drawing the charm fully custom each time. the exception is if your process is relatively quick and easy, like if you use a simple style that's quick for you or a pre-posed base that you only need to make adjustments to. in this case i could see the starting price go down to $50-$100. so if it turns out that the price you calculated based on your hours is higher than what you think your clients are willing to pay, cutting down your hourly rate should be a last resort; i'd suggest first trying to see if you can make your process shorter and faster by offering a more simple or limited design. or you can offer designs that utilize art assets you've already drawn beforehand, and just cleverly select the customizable element of the charm

other things to think abt:

consider adding to your initial time estimate by accounting for time spent formatting your files, placing the order, quality checking, etc. plus the normal commission stuff like time spent on revisions. charm commissions also often mean extra time spent messaging the commissioner compared to digital commissions (explaining choice of clasps/finishes, communicating production/shipping status, etc) so you may want to account for that extra correspondence time too

personally i wouldn't heavily discount multiple characters. maybe a 10-15% discount, but tbh no discount is normal too. if the characters are separate, they're as much work as 2 commissions, and if they're interacting, that interaction takes extra effort to plan and pose, so it's still the work of 2 commissions

bc the difference in cost is small and it adds a lot of value, i'd definitely offer the charms as double-sided. it'd be no extra work, just the same image on both sides, where one side's flipped. you could offer an alternate expression for the other side of the charm for an additional cost

if the character is asymmetric and the commissioner wants them to be correctly asymmetric on both sides of the charm, charge extra (or alternatively don't even entertain this as an option, some silhouettes are difficult to flip for this)

you could consider offering a discount if the commission is of a character with enough demand that you can reprint and sell the charm separately

remember to update your tos to cover the details of physical charm commissions 👍

and on the production end of things, these are what i immediately thought abt:

how many copies of the charm will you give commissioners by default?

how much will you charge for additional copies of the charm?

how many copies will you actually order? (do you get extra to account for flaws, or order exact amounts)?

do you cover shipping cost to the commissioner, or does the commissioner cover it?

what happens if the package gets lost or damaged--either on the way to you, or on the way to the commissioner?

what happens if the charms come in and they're flawed?

can your pricing setup cover the occasional need to order replacement charms for the scenarios above?

[hetalia-club]

Got Bored And Made An Entire Hetalia Baseball League (HBL)

the league is meant to have fictitious and near impossible goals for regular humans to achieve. They are all scaled beside each other accounting for superhuman strength.

~Germany Stats~

Batting Average Regular Season- .298 Projection- .302 Career- .304

Running Speed MPH- 18-20 Hitting Power MPH- 100-105 Regular Season Stolen Bases: 30 Career Stolen Bases: 450

Germany would be a very good player, known for his consistency, power hitting, and intelligent play. His strengths in power and durability make him a cornerstone of the team's offense, while his strategic thinking adds value both offensively and defensively. While he may not be the fastest or most adaptable player, his overall contributions would be significant, making him a key player on any team. Germany's presence in the lineup and on the field would provide stability and productivity, making him a reliable and valuable asset.

Freedom Fighters - link to their team and positions

Other Players: (will update with link as they are added) America Russia Sweden England Ireland Iceland Canada Denmark Turkey France Scotland Greece Germany Japan Nyo!America Prussia China Nyo!England Spain Austria Italy Norway Romano Finland

breakdown below >> (Chat GTP helped with this part because I'm not good at describing things or sports talk)((it also made me the lay out above I made the stats and it put them in MLB format for me & calculated batting average because math :/ ))

Considerations for Germany’s Stats:

Character Traits and Personality:

Disciplined and Hardworking: Germany's disciplined and hardworking nature suggests a player who is consistent, reliable, and skilled.

Strategic and Tactical: His strategic mindset implies he would be a smart player, both offensively and defensively, making calculated decisions on the field.

Physically Strong and Resilient: Germany's physical strength and resilience would contribute to his power hitting and durability over a long season.

Balanced Stat Distribution:

Regular Season:

Games Played (GP): 150, indicating he is a regular and dependable player.

At-Bats (AB): 570, showing consistent involvement in the lineup.

Runs (R): 90, reflecting a significant contribution to the team's scoring.

Hits (H): 170, indicating a solid batting average.

Doubles (2B): 40, Triples (3B): 5, Home Runs (HR): 25, showing a mix of power and extra-base hitting capability.

RBI: 100, demonstrating a strong ability to drive in runs.

Walks (BB): 65, Strikeouts (SO)**: 95, reflecting good plate discipline with a focus on contact hitting and power.

Projected:

Small improvements across the board to reflect continued growth and consistency.

Career:

Games Played (GP): 1800, reflecting a long and productive career.

At-Bats (AB): 6900, showing sustained participation and consistency.

Runs (R): 1150, Hits (H): 2100, Doubles (2B): 480, Triples (3B): 60, Home Runs (HR): 300.

RBI: 1200, indicating a consistent ability to contribute to the team’s offense.

Walks (BB): 800, Strikeouts (SO)**: 1140, showing good plate discipline over his career.

Player Analysis: Germany

Character Traits:

Disciplined and Hardworking: Germany's disciplined and hardworking nature suggests he would be a consistent and reliable player, putting in the effort to improve his skills and maintain peak performance.

Strategic and Tactical: His strategic mindset would make him a smart player, able to make calculated decisions both offensively and defensively.

Physically Strong and Resilient: Germany's physical strength and resilience would contribute to his power hitting and durability over a long season, making him a formidable presence on the field.

Strengths:

Consistency: Germany’s disciplined approach would make him a very consistent player. He would likely avoid prolonged slumps and be a steady contributor throughout the season.

Power Hitting: With 25 home runs in a regular season and 300 over his career, Germany has significant power. His ability to hit for extra bases, including doubles and triples, makes him a key player in driving in runs.

Durability: Playing 150 games per season and accumulating 1800 games over his career indicates that Germany is highly durable and reliable. He can be counted on to be in the lineup consistently.

Intelligent Play: His strategic and tactical thinking would make him a smart player who excels at situational hitting and base running. He would also likely be a good defensive player, positioning himself well and making smart plays.

Plate Discipline: With 65 walks and 95 strikeouts in a regular season, Germany shows good plate discipline. This balance indicates he can work counts, draw walks, and avoid excessive strikeouts.

Weaknesses:

Speed: While not explicitly detailed, Germany's focus on power and discipline suggests he may not be the fastest player. This could limit his effectiveness on the base paths and in certain defensive situations.

Occasional Rigidity: His disciplined and structured approach, while a strength, could also make him somewhat rigid and less adaptable to unexpected changes or unorthodox playing styles from opponents.

Emotional Intensity: Germany's intense and sometimes serious demeanor might lead to pressure in high-stress situations, potentially impacting performance during critical moments.

[marnz]

just trying to figure out work thoughts

right now at work we're in an interesting period where we finally have the funding and availability and candidates to hire a bunch of new people, but they are overwhelmingly inexperienced and require a lot of training. our training methods suck, to put it bluntly. all reference manuals are anywhere from 5-15 years out of date, information is scattered across 7 onenotes and several different websites, and some of the supervisors (people who train) are not good at training! for various reasons! i have been working on trying to come up with an alternate training method, and i've been interviewing my coworkers on their thoughts and opinions, their ideas, their experience. but i'm not super happy about where we are right now because our work is changing, and we aren't prepared for it due to staffing issues. this is where it actively becomes my problem. and i do train people whenever they ask because we have so many people here for months who don't know basic aspects of the work, due to the fucked up training methods. also some people i train prefer me training them to their supervisors, and like...i'm all for helping out coworkers, i am always happy to train and teach and share knowledge, but i'm not getting paid for this. why am i doing this supervisor's job? etc.

a temporary supervisor position has opened up and i am interested in it. not only would it be a raise, but it would let me implement my training plan! i could help fix this problem we have! training methods and making sure people are well trained is important to me not just for workload reasons but because my prior experience and training was Hellish and i was miserable, and it's important to me that people at this job get the experience and training they need in a supportive and healthy work environment. teachers matter.

however two things about the temp super position give me pause.

workload - they won't shift my current workload around, it will just be added on, so I will take on a ton of extra responsibilities and actually do more than the average super because we are so staffing constrained. i worry about this, i already have a heavy workload and on top of that i am a union officer, which requires a lot of work.

role - my main role in my office right now is that i'm the guy that's like "why? and what about x issue? and what is management's plan to address y? and in light of this situation, what steps are we taking to fix z? what if we did this instead? how can we work together to make this not suck quite as much? and how did this come to pass?" which i always assumed made me extremely annoying but it does mean i have a lot of background knowledge as to how my job works, and funding, and bargaining, and HR, and everything. i always look for the full picture. i want to assemble the mosaic. that's my passion. my boss told me that he values this about me and we will meet so he can answer my questions and we can brainstorm. he'll do this with anyone--that's what makes this place great--but most people do not take this opportunity. whatever. anyway i worry that this is a necessary role that will be diminished if i become part of management.

I never really saw this as a necessary role so much as me being me I guess. I always have a thousand questions. My favorite word is "why?" And I have had my coworkers thank me for saying some of the stuff I say, for pushing back. But I didn't see it as a necessary role until someone who has been here for 30 years asked to take me out to lunch to pick my brain. Which made me realize that 1) i know so many people who have been incredibly generous with their time and energy to me, explaining how stuff works, and i need to pass this on 2) this is important and necessary. It let me stop feeling guilty about always pushing, I guess.

also I don't want to be part of management in a punitive way, especially since I am also a steward. but the pay increase would be nice, and I wonder if I would be a more effective advocate in management meetings. to say 'hey actually no, or that's a bad idea, or here's a common sense suggestion we haven't taken for 20 years for some reason.' this position is pretty low on the management track, to the point that i would still be in the union (most of the time supervisors cannot be in a union with those they supervise).

right now...my work has this culture of micro managing. there are several obvious issues with training, and who does what, and succession. my boss really wants to fix this but it's slow going. we're in an exciting time as the work changes and our roles change. we get to improve training and specialize. even before this position opened up my boss told me he wanted to help me work on standardizing and improving training across the org, and said he thinks it will probably complement my union work. so idk, it's obviously not the end of the world if i don't get this temporary position. i just worry that if i do get it, i will regret it.

anyway. thoughts/suggestions welcome. thank u.