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space-specs · 1 year ago

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Your Guide To Voting in 2024

Yes, you may feel like everything is horrible and hopeless, and you don't want to vote. I'm here to not do that, and give you tips and info on why. Ultimately, I do not care what you actually vote only that you try to go and fill out something.

Make Sure You Are Registered to Vote

Check your registration status. This site has a drop down to select your state, which will link you to the website to check and see if you're registered.

Not registered? Go here. This site will tell you how to get registered in your state and will link you directly to the online registration if your state offers it.

Make sure you have a government issued photo ID. Driver's license, state ID, passport, etc. Many states require to you to present some form of ID to vote. Find out what counts in your state (and exceptions and provisional ballot rules) here.

Know you'll have difficulty making it to the ballot box? Check the rules for voting by mail/absentee voting in your state and see if you qualify.

Look up your sample ballot ahead of time! Lots of places provide a sample ballot which allows you to see what all the issues are ahead of time. Since this will vary by local elections, the best way to this is to look up "[your county name] sample ballot", possibly with the year tacked on to the end of the search. This may not be available until closer to election day, but it is a great way to get prepared for voting.

Other Voting Tips

This is where I get into the bit where it matters more to me that you vote than who you vote for. This is a personal principle of mine: everyone has the right to vote regardless of if I agree with what you choose to do with that vote.

You do not have to fill out every box on the ballot. You can leave some blank! Don't want to vote on President this year? Fine! Only want to vote on President and don't want to research other issues? Also fine. In fact, you can turn in a completely blank ballot if you want, and that is a political action, too. (Tip: parties note a blank box on issues because it indicates to them you were dissatisfied with your options)

You can bring notes with you! Too many issues to keep track of? Write yourself a note, print out a sample ballot and fill it out in advance to copy over, finding a voting guide and print it. As long as it is ON PAPER, you can bring it with you. (I verified this is universally allowed here)

Don't know where to start on research? The sample ballot is a great place to start just looking up candidates, but I also recommend checking out your local chapter of League of Women Voters. They put out a voters guides for each election that list pros and cons to various issues on the ballot.

The most important and most neglected elections are your local ones. Real grassroots change might be possible in your city, if you pay attention. Too overwhelmed by all this? Pick a few local issues to focus on, like the school board or city council. My city passed a trans-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance in a red state because people rallied around a handful of progressive city council members that swayed the vote. Even if everything feels hopeless, you make things better for yourself and your loved ones by actively engaging in your local politics.

Remember it's voting AND not voting OR. I know a lot of people are extremely dissatisfied with their options for this year's election, especially at the national level. Don't stop doing what you're doing. Don't stop protesting and boycotting and donating and talking about the things that matter to you. Get involved in your community. Find ways to make a difference. But also, go vote. Please.

Thank you for reading this. I hope something in here was helpful for you, and if it was, please consider reblogging this so that others can find it as well. If I've forgotten anything important, I welcome any helpful additions and will do my best to reblog those or add them to the original post as needed!

#us news #us politics #please vote #election 2024 #us presidential election #us elections #us election 2024 #us presidential election 2024 #voting guide #voting information #voter guide 2024 #vote local #local elections #psa #spec-text-ular

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allegedlyfranzferdinand · 5 years ago

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horses? in MY westerns?

It’s exactly as likely as you think! That is, very likely! The genre wouldn’t exist without them, and I feel like people should talk about them more often, especially wrt fics and fic-writing! So, that’s exactly what I hope to do: give a little run-down of how these very strange dogs work, and how to make them seem a little more real in your transformative works.

DISCLAIMER: I’m an English rider who’s been riding English for almost ten years now! I don’t ride western, and I could count on one hand the amount of times I’ve been in a western saddle. Even so, the people in western flicks aren’t exactly competing in shows, and I think a lot of the basic principles carry through. If I get anything grievously wrong, though, feel free to correct me!

Long post below the cut:

PART ONE: ANATOMY

Both of the horses and of tack, anatomy is important for understanding how things work! Since I suppose people only really need to know the anatomy of a horse as it relates to the equipment placed on said horse, I’ll mention it as it comes up.

I. The saddle

Western saddles differ from English saddles in lots of ways, but the main difference between them is that western saddles are designed to be comfortable for the rider to be in for hours at a time. They have deep seats with a high cantle and pommel (back and front, respectively), which makes them easier to stay in than a flatter English saddle. That’s how people can stand to stay on horseback for those long trail rides, or days at a time spent in the saddle moving a herd across the desert. Saddles sit just behind the withers (above the highest point of the shoulder on a horse, that visible ‘bump’ after the neck ties into the back), usually with a saddle pad or blanket between the saddle and the horse’s back. The cinch, which is the strap that holds the saddle onto the horse, wraps around his barrel (essentially his belly and sides, the main barrel-shaped part of his body. Go figure.) just behind his front leg. Some horses also are fitted with a breast collar, which is a strap that attaches to the middle of the cinch and the front of the saddle through his front legs to keep the saddle from sliding back.

The horn on the front of a saddle might look like a tempting handhold while you’re on the horse, but it’s not meant for grabbing. The horn comes from the saddle’s purpose on cutting and reining horses, and is for tying roped cattle to. Grabbing it while riding is more liable to put you off-balance than anything, as you’re hunched forward and out of the stirrups.

Speaking of! The stirrups are the things that you put your feet in while you’re in the saddle, and they attach to the saddle with stirrup leathers. Western stirrups can’t be removed from the saddle like English stirrups can, but this is mostly because they’re a lot thicker than English stirrups, and combined with a high-heeled cowboy boot, it’s a lot harder for the rider’s foot to slip through the stirrup and get stuck, especially in the event of a fall. The stirrups are where a lot of the rider’s weight is while they’re riding, alongside their seat, and losing a stirrup can really throw you off-balance.

II. The bridle

This would be the piece of tack on his head! Most western bridles don’t have nose bands (a piece of leather that wraps around a horse’s nose several inches above his nostrils) as they’re not really necessary for functionality, but most working styles do have throat latches, which is the piece of leather that goes around his cheeks, and a browband, which is the strap that goes in front of his ears, as both help keep the bridle more firmly in place. Both of these attach to the cheek straps, which run down his face lengthwise.

Honorary II.5 on this list is the bit, the piece of metal in the horse’s mouth that the reins attach to. In most of the westerns I’ve seen, most of the horses are wearing a Tom Thumb or some other kind of shank bit attached to split reins. Split reins are pretty much what they say on the tin: reins attached to either side of the bit but which do not connect with each other. This can give the rider more control, and also makes it real handy to just hop off a horse and tie one of his reins to a hitching post.

Now for the bit ipse.

The above is what a modern Tom Thumb bit looks like. It’s a jointed piece of metal that goes inside a horse’s mouth, attached to a shank that’s anywhere from 5 to 7 inches long. I’m grouping all shank bits together here, since they all have basically the same effect: pressure at the poll (the top of a horse’s head behind his ears) and pressure on the mouth. Since the reins are attached to the bottom of the shank, the rider is given a significant amount of leverage when they pull on the reins; a general rule of thumb is that with a 5″ shank, every pound of pressure the rider puts on the reins is multiplied by three in the horse’s mouth. This lever motion puts pressure on his poll and his mouth, and when the rider pulls sharply, a lot of pressure on the corners of his mouth, and a twisting of the jointed part of the bit that makes it come into contact with the roof of a horse’s mouth. This can cause a horse to toss his head and gape his mouth, something that’s unfortunately seen in lots of westerns.

Shank bits like this can be incredibly harsh in the wrong hands, and can damage a horse’s mouth if they’re used too aggressively. Honestly, I feel bad for most of the horses in these films, where they’re under an inexperienced rider who often saws away at their mouth with a harsh bit like this. If you’re writing a story, remember that for most horses, it isn’t necessary to haul back on the reins to get a horse, even a hot horse, to slow or stop.

III: miscellaneous

Shoes: shoeing a horse makes him better suited to hard surfaces and long-term work. Any horse expected to be used for work would be shod. Horses can throw (somehow get rid of, don’t ask me how, little buggers. . .) shoes to varying degrees of trauma to the hoof, and while it should be fixed as soon as possible, it’s rarely too serious.

Spurs: technically a piece of apparel for the rider, but since everything else a rider wears is kind of a given for any self-respecting cowboy, I’ll chat about spurs. The stereotypical janglin’ cowboy spur is a rowel spur, named after that funky star-shaped thing that spins. Spurs are used to help encourage forward motion, and trained riders can ride a horse in rowels without any harm done to the horse. Even so, overuse or misuse can lead to damage and bleeding on a horse’s side, and deaden him to your legs.

PART TWO: ACTUALLY RIDING A HORSE

Unsurprisingly, riding a horse for a long time can be very tiring. Even in a saddle designed for comfort, someone unaccustomed to riding for long distances will find their back and core hurting something fierce. Worst of all, though, would be the strain it would put on a rider’s legs. Riding for extended periods of time makes your thighs ache, and can rub you pretty raw in the inner thighs and knees even with proper trousers. It can also have you walking bowlegged, which is pretty funny to watch.

Stability when riding starts from the bottom up. A good rider has a steady seat and good legs that grip the horse without pinching at the knees or the ankles (remember those big spurs you’re wearing, cowboy? ouch!). They stay with the motion of the horse, which can be difficult when you're just starting out. Beginner riders might find themselves too tense and easily thrown off-balance, since they're not working with the horse. Though western saddles make the act of staying on easier, developing a good seat and the muscles necessary to stay balanced on horseback can take a while.

In western riding especially, the reins don’t need to be taut while you’re riding. The horse isn’t responding to aids from your hand, he’s responding to your seat and your legs. The reins are helpful to direct and to slow him, but they’re not the star attraction. A horse moves forward in response to pressure from the lower leg, and if he doesn’t listen to that, a rider can angle their foot to press the spur into his side, removing the spur and the pressure as soon as the horse responds to the aid. To slow, a rider settles into the saddle and applies gentle pressure on the reins, escalating as needed, but again, removing the pressure as soon as a horse responds. Anything else is more energy expended than necessary on the rider’s part, and it’s also just kind of mean.

In addition, though I hope I don’t actually have to say this, flicking the reins will not make a single horse on god’s green earth go forward. Why is this a thing.

SO, LIKE, HOW LONG CAN I KEEP DOING THIS?

Mileage varies a lot as to how long a horse can run before he gets tired. A good average is about twenty miles a day if you’re planning on going long distances, which obviously can also vary depending on an individual horse or rider’s endurance. A horse can only gallop (their fastest, four-beat gait--think racehorses) for a mile or two before he’s exhausted, but he can canter (a three-beat gait that’s generally around 10 or 12 mph) for a while longer. Quarter horses, which I assume most of the horses in these movies are meant to be since they're the standard horse for working cattle and ranching in the U.S., aren't built for running long distances; they're significantly better at running short sprints. If a rider wants to cover a long distance in a short amount of time, it behooves them to switch horses along the way so he’s never riding a tired horse, and can run the horse they do have harder while they’ve got him.

An important thing to remember is that a horse should always have a chance to walk for a bit after he’s been working hard. Walking is more effective to cool a horse than just standing still is, as it allows the blood flowing through their legs to cool down. As well, it’s generally a bad idea to let a horse just drink his fill after he’s been working. Ideally, he gets smaller amounts of water over time.

A lot of these examples of less than stellar horsemanship might seem a bit like splitting hairs in fiction, but I think they can serve lots of different purposes. Does your villain have a horse whose skin is rubbed raw behind the cinch since he never lets up on his spurs? Does your hero have to make a daring escape, only to find his horse sick from exhaustion? Horses are a pivotal part of many stories, and there's lots of aspects to them as creatures and as methods of transportation that can be used in many different ways!

BONUS PART THREE: COLORS

Horses of every color show up in westerns, mostly because quarter horses can come in just about every color! Here’s a brief rundown of what different colors are called in horses, so you’ve got some words better than ‘brown’ to work with.

Chestnut: also called ‘sorrel’ when talking about western horses, a chestnut is a horse whose mane and tail are the same color brown as their body. They can range from light, cool browns to deep red browns, but the main thing is that their mane is the same color as their body.

Bay: a bay horse can have any of the same colors as a chestnut, but his points (that is, his ears, nose, mane, tail, and all four feet) are black. A bay horse can still have white markings on his feet, as long as all of his other points are black.

Palomino: a classic western horse, a palomino is a golden or yellow horse with a white mane and tail. A chocolate palomino has a body darker than a normal palomino's, but maintains a white mane and tail.

White/gray: while many horses may have white hair, very few are truly white. A white horse has white hair and pink skin, while a gray horse has white hair and black or brown skin. Most ‘white’ horses are, technically, gray. Generally, it’s safer to refer to a horse as a gray. Horses will also become a darker gray as they age, even if they’re born white.

Buckskin: A buckskin horse has tan or gold hair similar to a palomino, but black points like a bay. Similarly, a dun horse also has a tan coat and black points, but also has a black stripe called a “dorsal” stripe down his spine, a remnant of ancient breeds of horse.

Roan: a roan horse has a coat that’s equal parts white hairs and colored hairs, and solid-colored points. They can have a blueish or blush-colored look, depending on what colors are mixed in their coats.

HEAD AND LEG MARKINGS

Stars and snips: a star is a white mark on a horse’s forehead, and a snip is a white mark on his nose.

Stripe: a stripe is, rather self-evidently, a white stripe that runs from a horse’s forehead to his nose. They’re generally fairly thin, because when they’re thick they’re called a

Blaze: a blaze is a thick stripe of white down a horse’s face that does not cover his eyes.

Bald face: a horse with a bald face has white on his face that does cover his eyes, and usually most of his nose.

Socks/stockings: socks are white marks on a horse’s leg that only goes about to his fetlock, the first joint above his hoof. Stockings are white markings that come up between his fetlocks and his knees on his front legs and his hocks on his back legs.

IN FINE

Wow, that was longer than I thought it would be! Hopefully it helped someone.

I thought about talking about feed on here, but honestly, I have no idea what feed looked like in those days, and this post is long enough without advice that amounts to “probably they got lots of grazing on what you can find in the desert”, so. . .

Most of the information here is pretty basic, but there’s lots of resources online for further research!

Happy riding and happy writing!

#writing #writing ref #horses #western #oh god im sorry in advance #spaghetti western #reference #the good the bad and the ugly

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daddy-bean-boy · 6 years ago

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FMP - Table Top - Evaluation

Earlier this year I wrote my project proposal, proposing the idea for my FMP that I had imagined. The original idea is different in a few ways but ultimately the final product reflects the proposal’s intentions. Other than my admiration for the 1930′s aesthetic which I wanted to achieve, I also wanted to improve my skills outside of my “comfort zone”. I planned this through having a live action side to my animation. This was the part which I knew would create the most challenge, and I can safely say it was. I had to prepare what settings I would have the camera on, create a filming environment that was suitable for the animation and include tracking points. I succeeded in creating the environment I wanted to film in, and I even thought my camera movements came out smooth. This was all from the help of tools I practiced with such as the glide rail. This helped get a smooth panning camera shot I needed of the table. Aside form what when well with this portion of the FMP, I would definitely improve the contrast in which I filmed in. The light bloom of the room gave an overly saturation scene in some cases and this makes it very hard to motion tack using after effects. This is what I am most disappointed with. The tracking in some scenes brings the characters I have drawn, out of the world as they slide because the tracking is unstable. Despite this however, I have gained experience in media creation that I wouldn’t have if these subtle difficulties weren’t there, because then I wouldn’t needed to have found out how to improve them. I’m now more knowledgeable of Adobe software like After Effects and Premier Pro because of this. Specifically with my interest in animation, I would now be able to more carefully prepare myself when composing animation over a live action scene. With learning about software and cinematography, a lot of my aspiration was based on the appeal I have of old era animation from the 1930′s. I wanted to recreate the fluid movement and pioneered techniques that are all but unseen in today's industry. At the time of writing my proposal, I was unaware of how many rules an set backs this level of animation restricts you to. This is where my first major turn in the road had to be realized. I would not be able to perfectly recreate the style of animation with the resources I had. And this was okay, it just meant my animation would be more a homage to it. This was due to me using a computer for animation, as it would be impractical to hand draw within the given time. However, despite digitally creating all the animation I found I can still create the fluid and smooth motion. I found out that among the society of classic animators (Because there are animators who purely use tweening and bone tools etc.) there are 12 rules that following will bring frame by frame animations to life. This is what I decided I would follow as closely as possible while animating, even creating a practice animation in preparation. I had eventually re used this animation after much more practice and changed it ever so subtly, however it had a big impact on the realism of the movement. The most important thing to me, even from the proposal was learning what I now know to be “form”, moving a 2 Dimensional character believably in a 3rd Dimensional way. Now that I’ve come to the end of the project time, I’ve been given perspective on how long this animation takes and why industries have elected to using quicker less costly methods that sacrifice quality. A great help for me during the lengthy process was actually critically watching over animated shorts and films. I watched a lot of Studio Ghibli movies while making the FMP and listening to the studios methods. The films animation is so fluid and believable. Creator Hayao Miyazaki, gives a lot of credit to “people watching” saying almost every movement is based on the way he’s seen others move. This gave me a lot of thought and motivation to keep drawing even when I had little motivation. Time became the biggest obstacle in the end. As I plan on still producing the rest of the animation in my spare time, I discovered ways to make it feel less of a chore. In my original proposal, I had about a month of time allocated to production. While this seemed like enough, I didn’t factor in all the bits that get in the way. For example, keeping up with blogging. I needed to explain everything I was doing and learning through out. This is because while I was producing it wasn’t just drawing, I kept making each key framed drawing based on knowledge I had from the principles of animation. Each key frame I wanted to have Arching Motion, Slow Inns and Slow Outs, Squash and Stretch, and finally Exaggeration. The biggest incorporation that took more time than expected was anticipation and overshoot. This is having frames before and after slowly build up and release the momentum of an action. These were the main principles I focused on. Having to consider each one with each drawing made it much more lengthy than I had intended. I see this as good in a way, because if I was speeding through, then all the high level animators who say frame by frame takes years would false. Although, I have complete just over 50′s which is around the length I had originally intended. My miss sight was with story. Where I had wrote the story of the animation, it would’ve been impossible to fit it all in a minute. This lets me know I had carried myself away with a complex story that had a beginning, middle and end. I should have stuck to a simple plot, maybe not even having the second character “Shaker” who didn't make it into the FMP (as of hand in).

The research I did throughout my FMP was the foundation to everything that I made the film on. The live action cross animation was heavily inspired from the video made by “PWow” on YouTube, entitled “How to make the space jam effect in after effects”. It walked through using after effects to track the motion into a null object and us that tracking information to move the animated character. This had a large impact on my project because it’s literally what let me compose characters into a world as if they are sitting in that plane and moving with it. Obviously like I said this effect I didn't use to its best ability. With more carefully thought out lighting and use of objects. Something through research I found, in Rodger Rabbit, a film I used as inspiration for it feature length use of pioneering animation and live action, they had used objects in the live action footage that mimicked the 3D space of the character that would be imposed over the footage. This let the artists know how they would appear in that space, how the light might affect it and also, if the camera moves, the animator will know exactly where they should be. I think if I recorded live action for animation again, I would do this. It would’ve allowed me to make a much smoother tracking scene for him, by drawing over the top of the cup in real life, following its shape as the angle changes and the camera pans. I even might have just skipped the camera pans all together. Saving myself the trouble of having to track could’ve given me more production time. This would have given me more time, however I learnt a lot of how after effects works and interacts with information to create motion, and that will lead me to being able to create better things in the future. I said in my proposal that I might use a mood board to remind myself of what research I had done and what from it I should use within my animation that I would reflect on. I actually found that the aesthetic comes with simple and appealing character design and the animation itself cant just be a reference to a mood board, it requires more critical thinking. This is where my research lead me to the most useful influence I had when drawing, these being the “12 Principles of animation”, which I originally discovered from Allan Becker, a legendary YouTube self made animator, but written originally by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas. These were two Disney animators who wrote this in the book “The Illusion of Life : Disney Animation” in 1981. Not quite the 1930′s but the principles were based off all Disney learned of animation over the years of making movement look as though it were living movement. While it made my animation appear much better than I would have expected, I think it would have helped if I had delved into each one, with practices and experimentation on them. I could’ve done quick sketch animations that would individually go through them. I said how I wanted to post a lot of my research based on YouTubers and entertainment that inspires me, I think I did well keeping to this and it still remains one of my favorite ways to motivate me. I never feel more like animating than after watching a well animated short of film. However, I do take all my inspiration from similar things. Studio Ghibli and Disney classics both use flowing hand drawn frame by frame and the YouTube Animators I watch also take inspiration from them. This actually worries me because a lot of people who take their inspiration from one source end up creating “unintentional rip offs” which end up becoming someone else’s work through your hands. And that way there no creative thinking to the production. With this in mind, my future animations will be less an homage to a style, and more of an exploration of my own animating style and being more experimental, so there’s less restrictions limiting me to possibly become tunnel visioned when animating.

Taking all that I can from this project, I’ve been left in a better place than when I started for sure. Though my actual animation hasn’t reached its conclusion, all that I have gained from it is more than worth it. I’ve never had an incentive to be overly interested in cinematography, however, I wanted to experiment regardless to see if I could create a believable character in a believable world. Not believable as in it were real, but believable in the sense that its weight, appeal and body language could make sense if it were int he world its presented in. This was the goal I wanted to achieve. All these came into factor when I was researching. Aside from the composition, the second thing I wanted to achieve was the aesthetic. This mostly came into play when choosing character design and the frame by frame animation. There where a few secondary features I used to add to this, such as the film grain (dust and scratches) that I layered over the top of all the footage. These were commonly present in movies of the 30′s because all films were physical strips that could be damaged. All these attributes I believe made the 30′s aesthetic. I’m very pleased with how it looks and I think it was successful. The main thing that brought the believe-ability away was the poor tracking in some cases, where you can see the tracking slide along surfaces. This is something I will take steps to avoid in the future, hopefully to make an even more believable character. Overall, my appreciation for the style is stronger than before, I know how difficult and thought provoking frame by frame can be. Tracking might be something I use scarcely in the future and live action backgrounds can be a refreshing break from animation. For my aspiration of becoming an animation artist (in-between animator and higher) these things will certainly bring me closer to being able to fit into that work environment and understand the process behind it so that I might one day direct my own feature animation.

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feelingbluepolitics · 7 years ago

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What is "Progressive"? Part 1: Intro.

I think people struggle to understand what "progressive" looks like, and what a progressive society or country would be like. It would seem to be "new," so conservatives are sure they wouldn't like it, whatever it is.

People get suspicious. Is it communism? Socialism? What would they gain? What would they lose?

Where, in the world, or in history, or in futuristic fiction, could we look, to get an idea? And also, how long and complicated and boring and objectionable will it be to get some basics on the topic? Because most of us don't care, and all of us are busy.

Go ahead. If you have a car, and you drive on a highway, be on your way. As you go, consider this: You are now, in your car, in a "progressive society." It isn't "the" progressive society, whatever that is. But you are certainly in one, in your car, going along with your life, in public, in proximity with others doing the same. So you are progressing in a progressive society.

The cars and other vehicles aren't all the same, because we are different people with different circumstances and different preferences and various needs.

We are all going the same way on our part of the highway, because we don't want to die, but it isn't the only highway, and we can get on and off whatever one wherever we want. These are literally highways, and not just analogies, ok?

We aren't all going the same place--most likely none of us are going to the same place at the same time unless we planned it. We are different people, moving along with our lives.

We do all need to follow some rules for safety and efficiency. As a society, that is necessary so that we don't die, or kill, or harm one another or our property. Sometimes tragic accidents happen, which affect all of us in proximity. Sometimes, terrible accidents affect some of us who were not right there at the time.

None us are ok with dangerous drivers. None of us like rude people. We want our highway travel to progress smoothly for our own good, and for the good of everyone else too, and that progressive good is a responsibility borne by everyone.

We accommodate and adjust for other people's small misjudgements and mistakes, because those happen, and we all want to keep going as smoothly as possible.

Road rage is a breakdown of this society. It's a danger to all of us. Those enraged people need to removed, for at least some period of time, and perhaps face consequences, so that the rest of us can get where we are going and be safe and productive in our functional, progressive, highway society.

Let's see how all this works in the context of POLITICS.

For one thing, highways need to be maintained.

Maintenance is necessary for all of us, whether we can't afford a car, or prefer private jets. We all need and want -- food and lots of other things. Even if it shouldn't travel really far, food and things have got to travel some.

If you never get on a highway, you still need the highways for now, because we aren't droning science fiction or developing tech here.

Maintenance means money. Money means some form of taxation. Fact of life with highways; fact of life, with highways.

Progressive taxation, which built our highway systems in the first place, calls for people to pay in taxes what they can afford to pay, because that is how society got the money to get and keep our highway system. (For purposes of this issue, "corporations are people," so they can pay what they can afford. They should not get tax breaks for existing, or for existing somewhere in particular. What sense does that make?)

Progressive taxation is the most direct and feasible and reasonable route we've ever been able to come up with to provide money for highways and other public needs that we have. You can't pay during some period of time if you don't have enough money during some period of time. You can pay, if you can. You can pay relatively more, if you have more, in proportion to how much more you have.

Beyond taxes, there are all sorts of other money-driven aspects, but who cares. With respect to politics and highways for progressing society, what's currently significant is Democrats and Republicans, and what they stand for. (People in between these parties are transactional, so they don't, in themselves, represent anything but leanings one way or the other.)

Democrats stand for using collected monies toward the common good, to benefit everyone.

Republicons stand for collecting money and putting it into the pockets of people who, in turn, will pay out some money to elect Republicons. Elected Republicons and extremely wealthy people benefit each other, and more and more often, they have become each other. However, for various reasons tacked on to this core Republicon principle, other people still vote for them anyway.

One of these political parties cares about people and their need for highways, and is therefore more "progressive." The other political party cares about money and people who have monopolized more of the money, and therefore cares about conserving money in narrow ruts.

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blaithinwrites · 6 years ago

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May the Best

Summary: A year ago Bucky lost his arm and his memory in a motorbike accident. Somehow his journey back to normality involves pretending to date the rich and troubled Tony Stark.(loosely, so loosely, inspired by to all the boys I’ve ever loved with a lot more angst)

AO3

Chapter 2

Brock did, in fact, remember that Bucky had punched him.

That in itself would not have been that much of a problem; Steve hadn’t been exaggerating when he had said a lot of people punched Brock when they first met him.

The issue was that a lot of other people remembered that Bucky had punched Brock. They also remembered the way Brock had cried and called his parents to pick him up and get his broken nose set. Brock’s mother, realising that Brock was at a party with underage drinking had called the police. And the police has broken up the first party of the year before 10pm and sent angry little shockwaves through the community’s parents.

Brock had started the school year with a swollen face, hated by most of the student body. And so, he had turned his vengeful sights on Bucky.

It had been two weeks since the beginning of the semester and Bucky was getting pretty sick of being shoved in the hallways, of finding tacks slotted through the grates of his locker, of Brock spilling drinks and stealing his belongings.

The only reason Bucky hadn’t expressed his displeasure directly to Brock was that Brock was the type of snake to turn his sights on an easier target at the first sign of confrontation. And Steve, short, skinny Steve, was exactly the type of target Bucky didn’t want Brock noticing. Bucky figured Brock would get bored soon enough, he just to keep calm and wait it out.

Keeping calm was a lot easier when Brock wasn’t in his general vicinity, however.

Brock was staring at him in the bathroom mirror, his handsome face twisting into a familiar cruel sneer as he met Bucky’s eyes. He sniffed, making of show of adjusting himself and pulling up his zipper, hip jutted out.

Bucky hadn’t realised anyone else was in the school bathroom and felt tense at the knowing, eager look on Brock’s face. Brock smiled amused by Bucky’s frozen expression and stepped up next to him by the sinks. The sound of water hitting porcelain filled the silence between them.

“You know Barnes,” Brock said slowly, “I always knew you were a freak. but I didn’t think you’d be that much of creep to be panting after your best friend. Just imagine how Rogers will feel?”

Bucky sucked in a harsh, shocked breath, twisting to face the other boy, “What the fuck – ”

Brock was holding a notebook, waving it mockingly in front of Bucky. “You really shouldn’t leave such personal things just lying around. Anyone could just take it.”

It was Bucky’s memory journal, the one the doctor wanted him to keep. The one in which he had started to note down his anger and frustration, his confusion over his feelings for Steve.

Familiar, hot red rage filled him and Bucky snarled, launching himself at Rumlow. He grabbed the boy by his collar and strode forward, forcing them both to the other side of the room and slamming Brock against the tiled wall.

Brock was laughing even as Bucky choked him. His sneer victorious.

“We are done with whatever ever game you are playing. From now on you leave me alone,” Bucky snarled and dropped Brock, ripping the book out of his hands.

Brock slid to the ground, uncaring of the wet tiles. He was still smiling, vicious pleased with himself. “Aren’t you worried what Steve will think?” he asked.

Bucky paused, the memory journal bending in his hands. “Are you going to tell him?”

“You could beg me not to?” Brock raised an eyebrow, the edges of mouth curled up in delight, “Please, feel free to get on your knees.”

“Fuck off,” Bucky snarled, struggling to control the urge to punch Brock’s nose a second time.

With one final bark of laughter, Brock got slowly to his feet, brushing off his trousers. “It was just a thought, Barnes. Looks like today is going to be an interesting one for you.” And with that he was gone, swaggering out the bathroom.

Bucky felt his stomach twist and turned back to look at himself in the grease smeared bathroom mirror. His eyes were wild in his face, his hair had escaped the ponytail he’d dragged it into that morning and fell in frizzy strands around his colourless cheeks. He looked frayed, worn out already.

Bucky’s initial wave of anger had curdled into something that felt a lot like fear, churning up his insides. What if Brock had copies of his journal? What if Steve believed him? He and Steve had worked hard to grow their fragile friendship after Bucky’s accident. Not helped by Bucky’s memory loss or his ‘anger issues’. Bucky wasn’t sure they could survive something like this.

With a bitten back snarl of anger, Bucky slammed his fist into his reflection, his metal fingers jolted at the force and the mirror fractured, sending a spiderweb of cracks across the reflective surface.

Bucky didn’t often think he was a coward but he decided to hide and put off the inevitable horrible confrontation with Steve for as long as he could.

He picked the big flat roof of the science building as his hiding spot. Mostly because it was off limits to students and because Steve was a stickler for rules (unless he decided the rules were wrong). Bucky figured he could hide out there until at least the end of lunch without having to face his best friend or anyone else.

“So, who are you hiding from?”

Bucky spun around to see a slender figure lounging by the railings, watching him. Tony Stark tilted his head slowly, bird-like, as Bucky approached him. His dark eyes were bored and his hair was trailing against his sharp cheekbones in small untamed, curls, teased by the wind. Bucky would have considered Tony attractive if not for the deep purple circles pressed beneath his eyes and the dark scab that was sliced across his swollen bottom lip.

Bucky had only caught a glimpse of the boy in the woods, a half-hidden mystery in the darkness. They hadn’t crossed paths since that night but it was like the boy had infiltrated every aspect of the school. Bucky’s peers, his teachers talked about Tony constantly; he seemed to have an unparalleled ability to intrigue and infuriate people. Maybe mostly infuriate. Part of Tony’s infamy came from his millionaire father and part of it came from his drunken, lecherous exploits in the previous year. Part of Bucky wished he'd been there to see it, he had the feeling it would have amused him. Steve had mentioned that Tony was a spoiled, selfish brat and then clammed up so hard on the subject Bucky hadn’t pushed him any further.

“I’m just getting some air,” Bucky said finally, hands back in the pockets of his hoodie.

Tony snorted. “Plenty of air around, you don’t need to come into my space.”

“Oh, so the whole roof is yours now?” Bucky snipped back automatically, still running tense with irritation from his confrontation with Rumlow.

“Whole building actually: it has my name on it.” Tony gestured lazily. This was actually true. They were on the roof of the Stark Science building. A state-of-the-art science lab that had been offered to bribe the principle into taking Tony after he was expelled from his last school (or so the rumours went).

“I think you’re mixing yourself up with your daddy.”

“Perish the thought.”

Bucky was startled by the snort of laughter that escaped him and he glanced over to see Tony’s lips twitching in amusement. Tony had turned way, twisting so he could curl his body lazily into the railing and Bucky found his eyes tracing the straight, delicate lines of Tony’s profile, catching on the heavy sweep of dark lashes that brushed Tony’s cheeks as he blinked.

Bucky took a step forward until they were stood shoulder to shoulder, and looked down at the small campus below. “So why are you hiding out here?”

“I just like to be alone,” Tony said, his dark eyes flicked to look at Bucky. “The real question here, is why you’re alone and not stalking Steve Rogers’ shadow? Is he who you’re hiding from?”

“I’m not always with Steve.” Bucky snapped defensively. Tony’s gaze was piercing, knowing and Bucky felt a flare of heat rush across his cheeks.

Bucky looked away from Tony, unable to meet his gaze and looked back down at the campus just in time to see Steve’s golden head wander by. Steve was walking with purpose and when he titled his head, Bucky could see the knotted frown forming across his forehead. Bucky felt his breath catch; Rumlow must have told him already. Steve was looking for Bucky, probably hoping that Bucky would deny everything.

“Shit.”

As if he had heard him, Steve paused and turned, his gaze climbing up the science building.

Panic flared within Bucky. Steve would see him and be up on the roof within minutes, demanding to know if Brock was lying and Bucky didn’t think he would be able to deny it. He suspected it would be all over his face. Steve had been his best friend, taking care of him since his accident; he would hate Bucky once he realised what Bucky had twisted their friendship into.

“Barnes, you ok?”

Bucky glanced over to see Tony peering at him. The other boy had uncurled from around the railing and was leaning towards him, hand outstretched and hovering awkwardly between them. From down below Bucky could feel Steve’s gaze burning into him. Bucky lunged. He grabbed Tony’s face and crushed their lips together. Tony made a squawking noise of surprise, arms flailing.

Bucky was pressing his mouth against Tony’s too hard for it to be considered a kiss, he could hear the rumble of discomfort vibrating behind Tony’s teeth and remembered the scabbed-over-cut on Tony’s bruised bottom lip. He was probably hurting the other boy.

Just as Bucky was about to pull away, Tony went soft and limp in arms and his mouth parted with a small sigh. And then they were kissing. Properly kissing. Tony’s tongue was in his mouth and Bucky’s arm was curling around Tony’s slender back, drawing him close. Familiar heat pooled in his stomach and the panic that had engulfed him faded away, drowning in the wordless desire for more.

The moment ended abruptly and they pulled away from each other. Tony’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes big in his face, making him look young and vulnerable for a moment. Then Tony’s gaze flicked downwards and snagged on Steve Roger walking away, the back of his neck red.

Tony laughed, the sound as sharp as glass. “Oh, so that’s why you’re not with Rogers today?”

“No, it's not…”

Tony licked his lips, the scab on his mouth had opened up and the movement left a red smear in its wake. Bucky turned away, unable to look Tony’s swollen, cherry red mouth.

Before he could leave, Tony had reached out and grabbed his arm, fingers biting into his skin.

“I deserve an explanation,” he demanded.

Bucky rubbed the back of his neck. “Brock Rumlow was going to tell Steve about me.”

Tony rolled his eyes, dropping Bucky’s arm abruptly. Bucky got the distinct impression he had bored Tony, disappointed him somehow. “I’m fairly sure Rogers isn’t homophobic and even if he was, your plan for sucking the life out of me won’t have helped on that front.”

“No, he was going to tell Steve I liked him. It would have ruined our friendship, I don’t want Steve to know.” Bucky’s eyes were back on Tony’s bruised mouth. The cut had stopped bleeding but Bucky couldn’t’ stop looking, his fingers itched to touch. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to attack you. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Tony rolled his eyes again, the boredom obvious on his face. “You were thinking that maybe if Steve saw you with me, he wouldn’t believe Brock. Or at the very least wouldn’t bring it up with you.”

“I guess…”

“Well, it wasn’t a completely stupid idea.”

“Huh?”

Tony was resting against the barrier lazily again, his tongue poking absently at the cut on his lip. “Even if he does believe Rumlow, Rogers isn’t going to ask you if you like him if he sees you kissing someone else, is he?”

Bucky made a noise of agreement, his mind throwing up hazy memories of how sensitive Steve was to his friends. A half-drawn idea flitted in his head.

“Of course, you can’t hide out here kissing me forever.” Tony finished, “good luck, I guess.”

“Wait.” Bucky grabbed Tony’s arm, a reverse of their conversation from moments ago. Tony didn’t seem surprised, his eyebrows raising expectantly.

“You’re right.”

“I always am, but what exactly are you referring to again?”

“Steve won’t question me if he thinks I’m dating someone else. He’s too polite for that. And he just saw us kissing.”

“So?”

“So, if he thinks we’re seeing each other he’ll think Brock is lying and then our friendship will be fine.”

Tony’s mouth opened and he seemed to struggle for a moment before reply. “And why would I pretend that we were dating?”

“You didn’t exactly seem to mind kissing me two minutes ago.”

As soon as Bucky said it, he realised it the wrong thing to say. Tony’s eyes went hard and his mouth thinned angrily. He scrambled for something else to say, holding on to Tony’s arm tighter as the boy made to throw him off.

“And I’ll do something for you in return, whatever you want. You only have to go along with it for a little while, just until Steve forgets. I could do your homework.”

“Like I’d want you to do my homework, you do realise I’m a genius right?” Tony twisted, trying to shake Bucky off. It was impossible with Bucky’s metal arm but Tony carried on stubbornly, trying to work his fingers in between the metal joints. In the distance, the school bell rang, signalling the end of lunch break.

“Tony please.”

Tony paused, his eyes darting around Bucky’s face. He stopped squirming, going still in Bucky’s hold and touched his tongue to the tender edges of his cut bottom lip one again before sighing. “Fine.” Bucky made a noise of surprised relief, “But, but you have to give me a lift to and from school every day.”

“Yes, of course. Anything” Bucky was grinning down at Tony, relief making him feel light headed. This might work.

“And no more kissing me.”

With one hard shove, Tony detangled himself from Bucky and stalked off, his bag slung over his shoulder and muttering under his breath.

Bucky had imagined how the conversation with Steve would go a hundred times before he actually found him at the end of the day. He was jittery as he approached the blonde, finding his tongue had grown clumsy in his mouth.

“Hey, Steve,”

Steve turned around at the sound of his voice, a strange look passing like a dark cloud over his features. Most people looked at Steve and just saw his lack of height and his scrawniness but there a classic, handsomeness in the straight, strong lines of his jaw, an attesting quality to his perfectly sky-blue eyes.

“Oh, hey Buck, I didn’t see you at lunch today? Everything OK?”

Bucky felt a wave of affection for him and nodded, stuffing his hands into his jeans with forced casualness, “Actually there is something I want to talk to you about.”

The muscles in Steve’s jaw tightened but he forced a smile in Bucky’s direction. “Er, yeah of course. You know we can talk about anything.”

“It’s about Tony.” Bucky blurted, all his careful conversation plans evaporating.

Steve stumbled, righting himself quickly and looking at Bucky, his hair ruffled and his eyes round in confusion. “Tony?”

“Stark, I know you saw us today.”

“Oh well…”

“We’re kind of dating.”

“Oh.” Steve turned away, his expression a strange confused mix. But he wasn’t looking at Bucky in disgust or hatred so Bucky ploughed on.

“I know this seems a bit out the blue.”

“Yeah, a bit” Steve muttered, his eyebrows drawing together.

“But I know you don’t really like him and I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“Oh.” Steve turned to face Bucky, his eyes bright and serious, “I’m sorry Buck. I never wanted you to think you had hide things for me. I might not be Tony’s biggest fan but if you like him then I’m sure he’s great.”

Bucky smiled, the knot Bucky had been carrying in his chest since his run in with Rumlow finally easing. Steve had shown himself to be pretty much the perfect friend, he didn’t know why had worried so much. “Thanks, Steve, you’re a good friend.”

“I’m your best friend, you punk.” Steve retorted and dug his elbow into Bucky’s side. For a moment, Bucky had a shadowy memory of Steve doing this when they were kids. Back then Steve had been even smaller and skinnier and his elbows had been like knives. Bucky pushed him back and they quickly fell into a friendly tussle, pushing each other across the campus.

“It’s funny,” Steve said breathlessly as they untangled themselves from each other.

“What is?”

“Oh, just something Rumlow said this morning?”

“What did he say?” Bucky asked, forcing his voice to remain casual.

“Oh nothing, just Brock trying to make trouble as usual.” Steve smiled and came to a stop, “I see Tony’s waiting for you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Before Bucky could respond, Steve was gone, striding away to his own car. Bucky stared after him for a second before turning back to his own car. Sure enough, Tony was leaning casually against the passenger side, tapping away furiously at his phone, his face covered by a pair of huge sunglasses.

“What are you doing?” Bucky asked, stalking up to the smaller boy.

Tony met his eyes over the top of his ridiculous sunglasses, “You’re giving me a lift remember?”

“I didn’t realise we were starting today?.”

Tony rolled his eyes, “You just told Steve you were dating me, right? Therefore, our deal has already started. Giving me a ride is part of the deal? Or do you want to call it off?”

“No, no,” Bucky said quickly. He rubbed at his neck and sighed, “fine get in.”

Tony smiled at him sweetly and hopped into the passenger seat. By the time Bucky had walked around the vehicle and got into his car, Tony had his feet up on the dashboard. Bucky pushed them off abruptly and rapped the boy hard on the head.

“Show some respect.”

Tony glanced around, his eyes lingering on the dusty floors and threadbare seats. His mouth opened to make a comment but a warning growl from Bucky made him think twice and he gave a huff and settled back into the seat.

They drove in silence, Tony providing direction when needed. Bucky had rarely driven this way before and he found his eyes wandering as the houses got bigger and the roads quieter and neater. This was nothing like the lower middle-class suburbs where he and Steve lived.

“Buses don’t go this way,” Tony explained lazily, his eyes still locked on his phone. At some point, his feet had made their way back up onto dashboard and he lazed like a king, uncaring of the glare Bucky sent him, “I guess they assume everyone around here has a car or a driver.”

“Don’t you have a driver?” Bucky asked as Tony gestured him to pull over. The house they had parked in front of was the biggest one Bucky had seen so far: a red brick and marble structure at the end of a long driveway. A gleaming archway with the word STARK stood as wide as two of Bucky’s cars.

“I do. He’s called James Barnes” Tony’s mouth twisted, his teeth flashing. “Don’t be late tomorrow, I have an early chem class.”

Bucky watched as Tony slipped out the car, and started down the long winding driveway. Steve was right, Tony was a spoiled rich kid. Bucky swung his car around hard and drove away, wanting to get far away from the upper-class neighbour and the lingering presence of Tony Stark.

#winteriron fanfic #winteriron #bucky barnes x tony stark #tony x bucky #may the best

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ymiruv · 5 years ago

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Remember 2020 has been a challenge A year we are tod to forget And whilst I appreciate the sentiment I see this point, and yet: I remember people who encouraged others Set up groups to others support Then, teachers enabling home learning Planning, lessons and reports. School staff assisting families Just showing that people care That despite the enforced isolation There was always someone there. People who embarked on other projects Home business, music and writing Enriching the souls of those around In experiences deeply exciting. I remember colleagues who were nimble Who changed tack from day to day Of people who took the cards dealt And used them another way. I remember the myriad politicians Navigating situations uncharted Criticised for their caution In every response that was started. I remember folks who stayed positive Even though their lives were hard Some of them continue to battle cancer Against any backdrop they have starred. I remember the many businesses Who toiled to keep things going Who evolved when and where they could To keep their communities growing. Then these businesses were ready To operate as best they can Following every changing principles They had short and long term plans. I remember the respectful folks And will do for a long time hence Who followed the rules as set down Even if to them they made no sense. I won’t choose to wipe this year From my tiny memory I’ll remember resilience, strength, courage And serendipity. Greg Noble 31 December 2020 #happynewyear #2020 #remember #drivebypoetry #poem #poetry #instapoet #poetsofinstagram #noblepoetry #poet #poetrycommunity #words #creative #creativewords #instapoems #prose #thoughts #poetsociety #micropoetry https://www.instagram.com/p/CJc6UDnFmw8/?igshid=3urrqt4py65b

#happynewyear #2020 #remember #drivebypoetry #poem #poetry #instapoet #poetsofinstagram #noblepoetry #poet #poetrycommunity #words #creative #creativewords #instapoems #prose #thoughts #poetsociety #micropoetry

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arxile · 8 years ago

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Commissions are open!

And I have nothing to do but work on commissions until the 15th of January, so this is a good time.

If you felt like sharing this around, I’d appreciate that!

$45 - Colour headshot $60+ - Scene $30 - Greyscale portrait/headshot $20 - Minimalist greyscale sketch. $5 - quick line sketch.

And the doozy:

All prices subject to some variation

depending on the precise nature of the piece, but they will be in the vicinity of the list price. The main expected variation is in case a piece is complex or otherwise challenging/time-consuming.

The resolution of the piece also makes a difference.

I unfortunately paint on a cheap laptop, and as such working in resolutions much greater than 2000x2000 (approximately!) becomes increasingly difficult. I’m happy to work in high-resolution, but particularly for portraits I may increase the price somewhat because it physically takes longer for my poor machine to render brushstrokes.

Note that an A4 print at 200DPI is approximately 1600x2400, for a sense of scale and what you can do with the piece. I’d love to be able to work in 300DPI A3 sizes, but unfortunately that’s currently just not possible.

I will not draw

erotica or extreme gore. Non-sexual nudity is fine, as is a little bloodshed (although I have relatively little practice at both). The precise boundaries of “non-sexual nudity” and “a little bloodshed” will have to be negotiated - there’s no easy way to draw a concrete line on “this is gratuitous”.

I will draw

pretty much anything else. However, whilst it is unlikely, I reserve the right to reject any commission for any reason. I can of course also not guarantee that I have practiced drawing pieces similar to a commission, so as the subject matter gets stranger the chance of the final piece being… less than perfect increase.

I won’t refuse to draw highly impractical armour, but I probably will be internally disappointed and might judge you silently. It’s the peril of being fascinated by the way armour works!

What You Get:

A full-resolution PNG file of your commission! It will be signed, but in such a way as to avoid detracting from the artwork. I will also provide watermarked process pictures to allow for feedback (and so you can see if I’m slacking).

I reserve all rights to the image.

This means that I can (and probably will) share it with other people and over social media.

You are more than welcome to share your commission as well, but I request that you:

a) if on Tumblr, reblog it from arxile.tumblr.com b) if on DeviantArt, include “by Arxile” in the title c) if on Twitter, retweet it from @_Arxil d) or if you share it any other way, credit me and include some way that others can find me - whether that is my Tumblr, my DA, or my Twitter.

Do not edit out my signature, please.

If you want to use the image for commercial purposes, we can probably come to some kind of agreement, but things become anywhere between “very slightly” and “several tonnes” more complicated depending on the exact nature of the commercialisation.

As a rule of thumb, “I want to use it as a channel icon on my monetised YouTube” is something I’m completely fine with, although there will still be negotiations.

“I’m looking for concept art for my upcoming [x] with a budget”, on the other hand, would be something where we’d need to get down to brass tacks. In principle, I’m far from opposed, but we would need to clear up precise legalities and possible changes to the pricing.

Other notes and legalities:

Payment is via PayPal. The given price includes PayPal’s various fees. I will send you an invoice when we’ve reached an agreement. I will not start working until I receive payment!

If you request a refund and I have not yet started the commission, I will provide a 90% refund. Once I have started, I will not refund you unless I am unable to complete the commission for some reason. In that case, I will provide a full refund.

I will keep the commission and a backup for at least 6 months; however, I am not immune to issues such as theft, technological failure, and similar problems that might cause me to lose the file. As such, whilst I will almost certainly be able to send you the commission again, I cannot provide a 100% guarantee.

All articles of this… commission information thing are applicable unless specifically outlined within the final written agreement between Client and Artist. I reserve the right to change these terms at any time without notice.

By contacting me for work you are hereby agreeing to the terms expressed above.

#commissions #commissions open #art commissions #artists on tumblr

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zamashi · 8 years ago

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A Note on Author’s Notes

I have strong mixed feelings about author’s notes. Perhaps, and justifiably so, you may wonder why a relatively petty thing such as a few words tacked on the beginning or end of a chapter, generally posted online for free, would warrant any thoughts at all. It so happens that when one devotes a significant amount of time and energy to doing something well, including writing (chapters posted online for free), details like authors notes take on significance. For this writer, including or not including author’s notes is a question of prioritizing the story and reading experience vs. taking the opportunity to communicate directly with the reader.

I approach writing with the following principle in mind: The ideal creative work exists to be enjoyed in and of itself, to the fullest extent possible, by the audience. It doesn’t take much for an Author’s Note to interfere.

From the reader’s perspective, the best approach to author’s notes is probably… none. Disclaimer and/or acknowledgment of an editor if necessary, otherwise, straight to the story. Pick up a published book or two and go on a search for Author’s Notes. You’ll find the preferred professional style is to leave them out. I do recall reading some historical fiction with a few pages at the back of supplemental historical notes relevant to the story, but this is a rare exception.

Online author’s notes are of a different type. The innocuous variety generally talks about the writer’s life or are thoughts and comments not directly about the story content. Their content is irrelevant from the writing, making them a distraction interfering with the story. If a show or a book has captivated your attention, you want to enjoy it without commercial breaks. Or eat breaks, sleep breaks, any form of deal-with-the-non-fictional-world breaks, really. An author’s note of this sort tacked on before or after a chapter is a break, other stuff,distracting from the core content. If it isn’t adding to the story, it’s taking away from it. For this reason, I’m as likely to scroll past authors note as I am to press skip on an online ad.

What about commentary or explanation on the story? Approach with caution. Many things are best left unsaid.

I don’t think notes should be explaining anything… If a modern piece of writing comes out as something like Shakespeare, requiring spark-notes-type commentary to explain special words, context and cultural cues unknown to the readers, it needs to be rewritten. No exceptions, no excuses. A well-written story must explain itself within its given context without any additional commentary on from the author. Referencing the previously mentioned notes on historical fiction, these were supplements offered up at the end and in no way necessary to understand the story.

Commentary? An author making interpretative commentary on their own work can, worst-case scenario, flat out ruin their own story. I have seen younger authors blatantly outline their thought process in their author’s notes, thus spoiling future (and current) content.

One of the advantages of writing as a story telling medium is that as the audience reads, each reader has their own distinct, subjective experience. The readers relate to the characters. They take the written words and play out the story inside their heads. A sufficiently careless Author’s-Note-insertion of the writer’s commentary takes the iron fist of authorial power and squashes the subjective experience. Nobody wins when the author’s note kills the reader’s fun of thinking the story through for themselves.

Now that I have slammed author’s notes as potentially bad for the story and the readers, I must turn around and acknowledge their utility to the writer.

Do you know anyone who’s kinda bad at listening? Maybe like an excited kid without manners. They participate in conversations to talk and aren’t interested in what the other people have to say, to the point of interrupting and jumping to topics that interest them more. Magnify this tendency at least 9,001 times and you get an approximate idea of how much people pay attention to random postings on the internet. Got something to say? Why should anyone care?

How about caring because this particular random person wrote something which the reader enjoyed. The author’s note is a unique opportunity to attach a snippet of information or a message to a valuable creative work. (well… I dearly hopemy writing is of some value.)

So it’s not the cleanest, most professional thing to do. The internet has different rules and expectations making casual interjections common place. For some people (read: me) these notes are as good of a space for communication as I can get.

I’m too protective of my writing to spoil anything by accidentally saying too much- so you can count out commentary or explanation.

Half the things I feel inclined to put notes are more of the personal-comment-distraction variety. I *me, a real live person and bonafide human being* am a selfish creature, and want a chance to be listened to.

I draw from experience when writing, and I want to drop in anecdotes related to conversations, settings and plot points. Other times, I’m so excited to share and I want to be appreciated for creating the stuff I write. I will spend days working on a difficult transition scene and want to point at it and say SEE THAT PART?! WASN’T IT SMOOTH? Because regardless of the amount frustration and mental torment it caused me, the readers pay as much attention to it as their hot running water.

Seriously, when was the last time you gave a second thought to the infrastructure, engineering, sanitation, innovations, and inventions that culminated in the system where you can take a hot shower every day? Probably the last time you took a cold shower. It isn’t in human nature to appreciate things that run smoothly.

The other half of things I want to say…. Did you like THIS PIECE?! Please read this too! And this! And comment! Subscribe! Share! Standard self-advertising fare.

My ultimate goal is to get people to read my stuff and want to come back and read more. The largest most important part is writing well, but telling people my other writing exists and where to find it definitely contributes. Still, I’m always afraid of tacking this on, like it’s not only distracting, but annoying. Shame on me for asking for something from the readers when they’ve already spent their valuable time reading my stuff.

In Conclusion:

I’m sitting around, weighing both sides on this little detail. Add the distractions, say what I want? Do they add to the story, or just get in the way? Is this thing I wrote of enough value to beg for subscriptions and to redirect people to other writing? Stay professional, leave ‘em off?

Ultimately, I leaned into the leave them off argument. For the time being, no author’s notes from me. I’m keeping it clean of both personal comment distractions and self-advertisements. Telling myself to keep my thoughts to myself gets stuffy inside, though.

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thegeneralsnotebook · 6 years ago

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January Feature: ‘As’ Effects Are Dumb

After taking it at least somewhat easy with many of my articles as 2018 was winding to a close, I’ve decided to open up the New Year with something quite a bit more meaty. Be advised, this article is going to be taking a moderately deep dive into the rules, and into some pretty complex pieces of the rules too. It definitely won’t be a very beginner-friendly piece of writing, so I’ll say sorry to anyone who was looking for something like that. Maybe next month.

‘As’ effects, and the way that the game resolves them, are a concept that’s been digging at me really ever since they first became a thing in Absolute Discord. Queen Chrysalis, Identity Theft was the first card to make use of the ‘As’ timing for its enter-the-board text, and it naturally caused quite a stir and more than a little confusion once people started seeing it in play. The idea behind the card, and the reasons why it couldn’t have used a normal enters-play trigger, are pretty straightforward. Chrysalis is built to function as a copy of the card that it’s targeting, as if you had played another copy of the same card. All of the text on the original card should thus be operational on the new card. But because of the way enters-the-board triggers are resolved, if Chrysalis gains the ability when she enters play, the triggering point will already have passed and the newly gained triggers won’t fire. So in order for those triggers to fire, Chrysalis has to gain the abilities before she enters play.

This necessitated the creation of Rule 706.1a, which I’ll inline here just so that we all have it. It defines an additional step in the process of what happens when cards enter play, coming right before the application of modifiers that affect the state in which the card is entering.

(706.1a) Any abilities that occur ‘as [something] enters play’ are applied. This is a one-time check; if one such ability causes a card to gain another ability with the same timing, the gained ability will not be processed. If multiple such abilities would be applied, they are all checked simultaneously and then applied in order. (711)

For what it’s worth, this rule solves the problem that Chrysalis poses relatively succinctly, and under its umbrella the game was even able to manage Wakeup Call and Desert Road several sets later. But there’s a problem. And the problem is that this rule is stupid.

Rules & Exceptions

I appreciate systems. All good games, but especially open-ended ones like CCGs and RPGs, are built around systems that get bent and deformed a little or sometimes a lot as the design space widens, but are robust and well-designed enough to handle pretty much whatever you want to throw at them. For an (hopefully somewhat relatable) example, the core resolution system of Dungeons & Dragons goes as follows: player decides to do something, DM determines appropriate check and necessary modifiers, player rolls d20, consequences happen. This gets bent and twisted all over the place in the course of play, but the fundamental structure is robust and flexible enough to handle pretty much the whole game.

And that’s good, because having a simple system that underlies the majority of a game’s play makes that game easier to learn, and easier to navigate, even when things start getting more complicated. Everything extraneous to the core system system becomes one more thing that the players have to hold in their heads as they play, so the more stuff that can be resolved in the system itself without breaking the system, the easier it will be to navigate the game.

MLP, for what it’s worth, has a pretty solid system at its core: the concept of Priority Windows and Pre-Priority Processing. Essentially, triggers can fire at any time, but their effects will only resolve during the next PPP step. While there are a couple of complications in resolving those triggers, the basic gameplay loop is made pretty simple. Before the window, stuff resolves, then (maybe) somebody does something, and then the resulting triggers resolve, and so on. All we have to do is remember when Priority Windows happen, and we’re set. Nice and easy.

Of course, to bring this somewhat-extended tangent back to the matter at hand, ‘As’ effects are dumb because they can’t exist inside this system, and so the only way to have them in the game is to break it. By resolving between declaration and resolution, there is no Priority Window for them to resolve at. Worse still, ‘As’ effects can be confusing because they look like triggers, but they’re not triggers. They’re their own special thing that resolves in its own special way as defined by one paragraph buried deep in the rules. For the rest of time, we are now doomed to saying “Except for ‘As’ effects” whenever we want to make a general statement about how things enter the board.

Naturally, having this particular, small set of cards that work in a very different way from how other cards work makes the game harder to learn, and makes it harder to play. It’s more things to keep in your head as you try to navigate the interactions between cards and try to craft a strategy for the way that you’re going to play a turn. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the game would be better off without ‘As’ effects, as certainly now that they exist they’ve been used to do some nice things, with particular note being paid to Wakeup Call and Desert Road. But it would be much nicer if we could find a way to fix them, or at least make them more palatable as a full element of the game, rather than something that feels a little tacked-on just to make certain cards work.

Prospective Solutions

The most natural solution seems to be a pretty simple one: give the ‘As’ cards a Priority Window to resolve at, so that the core structure of the action loop is preserved. The idea might start to sound even better once we realize that this is essentially what Magic: the Gathering does to enable its counterspells. Such a response, though, would solve this issue at the cost of opening up a whole hornet’s nest of additional problems. Because in reality, what we’re now doing is breaking open the loop even more, by allowing any number of things to happen in between an action’s declaration and its resolution. Magic can get away with this because it has a stack; a well-defined system for ordering the resolution of events declared and/or triggered in relation to each other. In theory, Ponies could implement something similar, but almost certainly not without a) violating core design principles of the game, and b) likely not even solving the issue we wanted to solve in the first place. (In fact, the merits of MLP’s lack of a stack are a topic that I’m going to save for some time in the future.)

So if that solution is out, what do we have left? If an answer exists, I don’t think that it lies in changing how ‘As’ effects behave, essentially for the reasons described above. We can’t really tinker around in that space without seriously compromising the game’s design, and if we fundamentally alter the behaviour of the text, then we invalidate admittedly cool cards like Chrysalis and Desert Road.

Instead, I think that it could lie in adopting ‘As’ as a fully-fledged timing in the same class as ‘When’. If we can’t fold it into the usual resolution cycle, at least by integrating it more closely into the game we can make it feel like less of an exception. RIght now, as defined the ‘As’ timing only matters when cards are being played. But from a conceptual standpoint, I can’t see a reason why that couldn’t be extended to other actions. The important thing to keep in mind is that as opposed to a traditional trigger, which resolves according to the normal Priority system, an ‘As’ timing would resolve between the declaration of an action and its resolution. This is exactly how it currently works with playing cards.

For example, a hypothetical card with the text: “As you draw a card, put a 1-Pink Earth Pony Friend token into play” would resolve after the resolution of a modifier or ability that allowed you to draw a card, but before you actually draw the card. If the resolution of an ‘As’ effect causes another ‘As’ effect to fire, it resolves right away, as per normal. If it causes a normal trigger to fire, it would resolve according to the usual loop (i.e. before the next Priority Window).

Now, just to be safe, let me say that this is a first-thought idea here. I’m well aware that such a concept would have to be very closely scrutinized to make sure that nothing funny was happening with the game as a result of it. As per usual, we find a whole pantry full of cans of worms once we start considering how this would interact with replacement modifiers, which “happenings” are even worth having an ‘As’ effect attached to them, and what sort of things are reasonable to have happen on such a timing. I’m not even sure if this design space allows anything particularly novel. But it sounds to me like something at least worth thinking about. Heck, just in the last paragraph there was a problem emerging: that chains of ‘As’ timings create a queue of actions that are held up behind the triggered events, and could conceivably require significant bookkeeping to keep track of. Thinking through problems like that would take significant time.

Notably, one can take the same argument that I’ve made above and throw it back onto this suggestion. Because in implementing ‘As’ as a fully-fledged timing, what we’ve essentially done is create two classes of triggers, one of which follows the normal resolution loop, and one which doesn’t. Isn’t that needless extra complication? Isn’t that harder to remember and harder to learn?

Well, sure it does. Except that two classes of triggers is what we’ve already got.

#mlpccg #mlp:ccg #gamdesign

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flockofteeth · 8 years ago

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I felt like I gained so much muscle tacking horses up with western saddles lmfao. First time you put on an english saddle you’re probably gonna accidentally just throw it over to the other side of the horse hahahaha

So. Okay this is a bit of a guess but I would suggest starting with long stirrups or without stirrups to start getting the feel of the saddle and finding balance before you start shortening them? The point of balance for English is a bit different i think, i have only ridden some western at a summer camp but it felt like it leaned more toward sitting on your bum with legs going forward more - at least for casual riding?? (forgive me if im wrong on that - i am not western knowledgable! but i felt like the saddle put me into quite a different position). We sit more with our legs under us and bracing with your feet on the stirrups is … not what you aim for haha. Either way, working longer might help the transition - if you are good at bareback that is an excellent building block. The classic rule of thumb for average stirrup length is that if you have your fingertips at the start of the stirrup, the bottom of the stirrup is in your armpit. So perhaps a hole or two longer than that? so its similar to bareback but short enough so the stirrups are still firmly under your feet. I would suggest looking up old pony club manuals - the english ones - if you can as they actually give a good basic run through some basic principles of the english stuff. Western riders i spoke to at camp who had ridden english seemed to share the opinion that english is harder than western when you start, but easier once you’ve got the knack, which was interesting. I felt in western like i was trying to eat porridge by sitting in an extended lazy boy chair with a spoon on a pole hahahah. english feels a lot more direct to me - I am obviously biased as I grew up with it - but I do hope you both enjoy it. Are you in an English bit? I would suggest a mild bit with no shanks to facilitate English direct contact. That may be a whole nother thing to learn as well??

It does sound like you’re leaping in the deep end! I do suggest getting lessons if at all possible - even if its with someone totally casually just to have another set of eyes on you - if thats not possible then see if you can video yourself? You could get feedback online or even just look at yourself and read a bunch of books/watch videos to compare. Im sure you already know this but seeing yourself can be SUPER helpful. Especially when you’re potentally working on a whole new posture! I have a feeling you may have to remind yourself to keep your lower leg back a lot! (some good half-chaps might help with that - they do for me anyway). You're supposed to more or less have a straight line down from shoulder to hip to heel.

OHHH also!! If you find yourself a bit wobbly, shove a stirrup leather around the horses neck haha. Or a grab strap on the D rings on the front of the saddle!!! No shame lmfao they can be really helpful to get hold of to pull yourself back down into the saddle and settle yourself if needed! Good luck!!!

Help Me Horseblr

So. I’m going to start up English.

I just sold my Western saddle, and am picking up my new saddle in a few days. My trainer picked one out based on my horse and how well it fit him since I have no clue what to look for when it comes to an English saddle. If this saddle doesn’t work out and doesn’t fit ME that well, several people back at the barn offered to trade saddles. So there’s that too if this one is a no go.

From here on out its either bareback or English. No going to my comfort zone that is a trail saddle. (Well, at least until I go home for the summer, I have a work saddle there.)

I feel like I’m going to be nothing but a sack of potatoes riding. Now that my old saddle is sold, I’m getting ever more anxious about switching. There’s no turning back at this point.

As someone who has never rode in an English saddle. (Like I’ve sat. But nothing more). How different is it? How do I do the thing and not fall off my 16.3 horse, cause I am small bean. Ground is far away. I mean I can ride him bareback pretty fine (hell I stuck when he decided to spook and bronc out one day. How, I have no clue considering the next day I fell off when he stopped suddenly from a trot haha) All my horse friends, who are mostly Western, are telling me it’s a whole nother world and it will be tough switching and getting used to it.

What are some tips you guys would suggest since most of you guys here are into the English side of riding?

Help.

Sorry if this is post is everywhere. I just got off a 12hr shift and it’s 1:30 in the morning…

#long post #horses #sorry i hope this isnt just talking out f my ass

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aliamckinstry · 5 years ago

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Bruxism Va Rating Astounding Cool Tips

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Tmj Getting Worse

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Oils For Tmj

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#Bruxism Va Rating Astounding Cool Tips #Kaiser Bruxism

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arxile · 8 years ago

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Commissions are open!

Unfortunately, university has started again and my time is worth more now. :( On the plus side, I’m better than I used to be!

If you felt like sharing this around, I’d appreciate that!

$45 - Colour headshot $60+ - Scene $30 - Greyscale portrait/headshot $20 - Minimalist greyscale sketch. $5 - quick line sketch.

And the doozy:

All prices subject to some variation

depending on the precise nature of the piece, but they will be in the vicinity of the list price. The main expected variation is in case a piece is complex or otherwise challenging/time-consuming.

The resolution of the piece also makes a difference.

I unfortunately paint on a cheap laptop, and as such working in resolutions much greater than 2000x2000 (approximately!) becomes increasingly difficult. I'm happy to work in high-resolution, but particularly for portraits I may increase the price somewhat because it physically takes longer for my poor machine to render brushstrokes.

Note that an A4 print at 200DPI is approximately 1600x2400, for a sense of scale and what you can do with the piece. I'd love to be able to work in 300DPI A3 sizes, but unfortunately that's currently just not possible.

I will not draw

erotica or extreme gore. Non-sexual nudity is fine, as is a little bloodshed (although I have relatively little practice at both). The precise boundaries of "non-sexual nudity" and "a little bloodshed" will have to be negotiated - there's no easy way to draw a concrete line on "this is gratuitous".

I will draw

I won't refuse to draw highly impractical armour, but I probably will be internally disappointed and might judge you silently. It's the peril of being fascinated by the way armour works!

What You Get:

I reserve all rights to the image.

This means that I can (and probably will) share it with other people and over social media.

You are more than welcome to share your commission as well, but I request that you:

a) if on Tumblr, reblog it from arxile.tumblr.com

b) if on DeviantArt, include "by Arxile" in the title

c) if on Twitter, retweet it from @_Arxil

d) or if you share it any other way, credit me and include some way that others can find me - whether that is my Tumblr, my DA, or my Twitter.

Do not edit out my signature, please.

If you want to use the image for commercial purposes, we can probably come to some kind of agreement, but things become anywhere between "very slightly" and "several tonnes" more complicated depending on the exact nature of the commercialisation.

As a rule of thumb, "I want to use it as a channel icon on my monetised YouTube" is something I'm completely fine with, although there will still be negotiations.

"I'm looking for concept art for my upcoming [x] with a budget", on the other hand, would be something where we'd need to get down to brass tacks. In principle, I'm far from opposed, but we would need to clear up precise legalities and possible changes to the pricing.

Other notes and legalities:

Payment is via PayPal. The given price includes PayPal's various fees. I will send you an invoice when we've reached an agreement. I will not start working until I receive payment!

All articles of this... commission information thing are applicable unless specifically outlined within the final written agreement between Client and Artist. I reserve the right to change these terms at any time without notice.

By contacting me for work you are hereby agreeing to the terms expressed above.

#not art #commissions #commissions open #art commissions #artists on tumblr

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saltysuittaco-blog · 7 years ago

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There are not any secrets and techniques in client electronics anymore. Sometimes it’s the fault of flubs and flaws and leakers. Sometimes it’s through design. In the case of the Galaxy Note 9, it’s just a little little bit of each.

The Galaxy S9 wasn’t the blockbuster Samsung’s shareholders have been anticipating, so the corporate understandably primed the pump thru a mix of teasers and leaks — some for sure unintended and others that gave the impression suspiciously much less so.

By the time the previous day’s giant tournament at Brooklyn’s space that Jay-Z constructed rolled round, we knew almost about all the things we had to know in regards to the upcoming handset, and nearly each leaked spec proved correct. Sure, the corporate amazingly controlled to thru in a marvel or two, however the tournament was once all in regards to the Note.

And understandably so. The phablet, together with the Galaxy S line, bureaucracy the cornerstone of Samsung’s whole client way. It’s a portfolio that expands with each and every tournament, to incorporate wearables, productiveness, the good house, automobile, a wise assistant and now the long-awaited good speaker. None of which might make a lick of sense with out the handsets.

If the Galaxy S is Samsung’s tentpole software, the Note represents what the corporate has deemed its “innovation brand,” the uber-premium software that permits the corporate to push the bounds of its cell . In previous generations, that’s intended the Edge show (curving display), S-Pen, massive display and dual-camera. That innovation, naturally, comes at a worth.

Here it’s $1,000. It’s a worth that, till a 12 months in the past gave the impression impossibly steep for a smartphone. For the Galaxy Note 9, however, that’s simply the place issues get started. Any hopes that the brand new type may constitute a transfer towards the mainstream for the road within the wake of an underwhelming S9 efficiency can also be put to leisure right here.

The Note is what it’s all the time been and can most probably all the time proceed to be: a tool for the diehard. An excellent software, thoughts, however one for the ones with an arm and or a leg to spare. Most of the nice new options will trickle their manner down the meals chain to the corporate’s extra mainstream software. At $720/$840, the S9 isn’t the cheap telephone through any stretch of the creativeness, however on the very least, protecting it to a few digits turns out just a little extra palatable.

A just right rule of thumb for a review is incorporating the product into one’s personal existence up to conceivable. It’s an attractive simple ask with a tool just like the Note 9, which has the benefit of nice and device design constructed upon the learnings and missteps of a number of generations.

It’s nonetheless no longer absolute best whatsoever, and the corporate’s everything-and-the-kitchen-sink technique to the road way there are many options that by no means actually made their would possibly into my regimen. And whilst, because the in large part unchanged product design suggests — the Note 9 doesn’t constitute a vastly vital milestone within the product line — there are sufficient tweaks during the product to deal with its position towards the highest of the Android heap.

All charged up

Let’s deal with the gorilla within the room right here. Two years in the past, Galaxy Notes began exploding. Samsung recalled the gadgets, began promoting them, extra exploded they usually recalled them once more, in the end discontinuing the product.

Samsung apologized profusely and agreed to institute extra rigorous protection tests. For the following couple of gadgets, the corporate didn’t rock the boat. Battery sizes on Galaxy merchandise stayed most commonly the similar. It was once a mix of pragmatism and optics. The corporate wanted time to be sure that long term merchandise wouldn’t undergo the similar destiny, whilst demonstrating to the general public and shareholders that it was once doing due diligence.

“What we want to do is a tempered approach to innovation any time,” Samsung’s director of Product Strategy and Marketing instructed me forward of release, “so this was the right time to increase the battery to meet consumer needs.”

Given Samsung’s huge trade as an element producer, the entire fiasco in the end didn’t dent the base line. In reality, in a atypical manner, it could in the end be a internet certain. Now it could boast about having one of the rigorous battery trying out processes within the trade. Now it’s a characteristic, no longer a computer virus.

At Four,000mAh, the Note 9 includes a 700mAh build up above its predecessor. It’s no longer an exceptional quantity — Huawei’s already hit the Four,000 mark — however it’s the most important ever on a Note software, placing the handset within the best percentile.

As a long way as how that if truth be told interprets to real-world utilization, Samsung’s no longer giving a host but. The corporate merely says “all day and all night” in its liberate. I discovered that to be lovely with regards to the reality. I unplugged the handset at 100 % the previous day afternoon. I texted, listened to Spotify, took footage, downloaded and simply usually tried to reside my existence at the rattling factor.

Just beneath 22 hours later, it passed on to the great beyond and after a lot notification-based consternation a couple of seriously low battery, the display went black. Like I stated, it’s no longer loopy battery existence, however going maximum of a complete day and evening with no fee is a pleasing little luxurious — and this kind of factor all telephone makers will have to attempt to succeed in on their flagship merchandise.

The corporate additionally, kindly, incorporated the brand new Wireless Charging Duo. The charging pad isn’t slightly as bold because the AirPower, however in contrast to that product, offered just about a 12 months in the past through Apple, I’ve this in my fingers at this time. So, level: Samsung. Charging the software from 0 to 100 % took 3 hours at the dot with the $120 “Fast Charge” pad. And it’s great and toasty now.

Memories

Okay, about that value. Again, we’re speaking $999.99 to begin. There’s additionally a 2nd SKU. That one will run you $1,295.99. Take a second if you wish to have to.

That’s a foolish amount of cash in case you’re no longer the start line guard for the Golden State Warriors. So a lot for the rumors that the corporate can be running to make its gadgets extra economically obtainable. And whilst the top rate has all the time intended that the Galaxy line goes to stay at the dear aspect, I will be able to’t assist however indicate that a couple of key selections may have saved the fee down, whilst keeping up construct high quality.

Storage is arguably the principle wrongdoer. The aforementioned two SKUs come up with both 6GB of RAM with 128GB or 8GB of RAM with 512GB. With cloud syncing and the remaining, it’s exhausting to consider I might come with regards to that restrict within the two or so years till the time involves improve my handset.

I’m positive the ones forms of loopy media-hoarding energy customers do, in truth, exist on the planet, however they’re unquestionably a rarity. Besides, as Samsung helpfully identified, 512GB SD playing cards exist already on the planet. Sure, that’s every other $350 tacked onto the base line, however it’s there, if you wish to have it. For maximum customers, it’s exhausting to peer Samsung’s declare of getting “the world’s first 1TB-ready smartphone” (512GB+512GB) exists for little extra explanation why than racking up but every other flashy declare for the 1960s Batman application belt of smartphones.

Sure, Samsung for sure will get a deal on Samsung-built exhausting drives, however the element needs to be a key phase in what’s riding prices up. For an organization as pushed through selection as Samsung, I’m in truth stunned we’re no longer getting extra choices up entrance right here within the States.

Remote keep an eye on

Confession: After trying out many Galaxy Note fashions over the process a few years, I’ve by no means found out a perfect use for the S-Pen. I imply, I’m glad that folks love it, and clearly all the early skepticism in regards to the go back of the stylus was once temporarily put to leisure, as the corporate has persisted to return to the properly, 12 months after 12 months.

But all the handwritten be aware taking and animated GIF drawing simply isn’t for me, guy. I additionally lately spoke to an artist good friend who instructed me that the Note doesn’t actually reduce it for him at the drawing entrance, both. Again, in case you like or adore it, extra energy to you, however it’s simply no longer for me.

As foolish as the theory of the use of the S-Pen as a faraway keep an eye on may seem to start with look, on the other hand, it’s transparent to me that that is the primary use of the integrated accent I may just in truth see the use of each day. It’s at hand while you get past the silliness of retaining a stylus on your hand whilst operating, and serves as a at hand surrogate for many who don’t personal a suitable smartwatch.

The S-Pen now sports activities Bluetooth Low Energy, permitting it to keep an eye on other facets of telephone use. Low Energy or no longer, that tech calls for energy, so the stylus now comprises an ideal conductor, which fees it when slotted throughout the telephone; 40 seconds of charging will have to get you a wholesome 30 mins of use. Even so, the telephone will computer virus you to remind you that you simply actually must dock the article when no longer in use.

The suitable apps are nonetheless moderately restricted at release, however it’s sufficient to exhibit how this can be a at hand little addition. Of the bunch, I were given probably the most out of tune keep an eye on for Spotify. One click on performs/pauses a music, and a double-click extends the observe. Sure, it’s restricted capability, however it stored me from having to mess around with the telephone to switch songs went I went for my run this morning.

You’ll want to be a little bit extra inventive when figuring out usefulness in one of the vital different apps. Using it as a shutter button within the digicam app, for example, can be a helpful technique to take a selfie with no need to carry the telephone at palms’ duration.

The whole time, I questioned what one may be able to accomplish with further buttons (quantity/rewind/gameplay)? What a couple of pedometer to trace steps whilst you’re operating at the treadmill with out it within the pocket? Or even a beacon to assist absent-minded other people like myself in finding it when we invariably drop it between sofa cushions.

But yeah, I perceive why the corporate would make a choice to stay issues easy for what stays a kind of secondary capability. Or, heck, perhaps the corporate simply wishes to carry some options for the Note 10 (Note X?).

Oh, and the Blue and Lavender variations of the telephone are available hanging yellow and crimson S-Pens, with lock-screen ink colour to check. So that’s lovely amusing.

Hey guy, great shot

Nowhere is the Note’s cumulative evolution higher represented than the digicam. Each next Galaxy S and Note liberate appear to provide new and/or device upgrades, giving the corporate two distinct alternatives consistent with 12 months to reinforce imaging for the road. The S9, introduced again in February, particularly introduced advanced low-light images to the road. The twin aperture flips between f/1.five and f/2.Four, to let in additional mild.

It’s a neat trick for a smartphone. Behold, a face to face between the Note 9 (left) and iPhone X (proper):

Here’s what we’re coping with at the entrance:

Rear: Dual Camera with Dual OIS (Optical Image Stabilization)

Wide-angle: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF, F1.five/F2.Four, OIS

Telephoto: 12MP AF, F2.Four, OIS

2X optical zoom, as much as 10X virtual zoom

Front: 8MP AF, F1.7

This day out, the enhancements are most commonly at the device aspect of items. Two options specifically stand out: Scene Optimizer and Flaw Detection. The first will have to end up acquainted to those that’ve been taking note of the smartphone recreation of past due. LG is one of the most outstanding instance.

Camera is lovely nice around the board of most current smartphone flagships. As such, those new options are designed to do away with the present weakest hyperlink: human error. Scene Optimizer saves newbie photographers from having to futz with extra complex settings like white steadiness and saturation.

The characteristic makes use of AI to resolve what the digicam is seeing, and adjusts settings accordingly. There are 20 other settings, together with: Food, Portraits, Flowers, Indoor scenes, Animals, Landscapes, Greenery, Trees, Sky, Mountains, Beaches, Sunrises and sunsets, Watersides, Street scenes, Night scenes, Waterfalls, Snow, Birds, Backlit and Text.

Some are lovely common, others are weirdly explicit, however it’s a just right combine, and I believe Samsung will proceed so as to add to it thru OTA updates. That stated, the serve as itself doesn’t desire a cloud connection, doing all the processing on-board. The characteristic labored properly with lots of the plants and meals I threw at it (as a way to discuss), shooting up a small icon within the backside of the display to let me know that it is aware of what it’s taking a look at. It additionally did properly with e-book textual content.

The luck price of alternative issues, like bushes, have been, unsurprisingly, depending on context. Get simply the highest phase and it identifies it as “Greenery.” Flip the telephone to portrait mode and get the entire of the trunk and it pops up the “Tree” icon. I did get a couple of false positives alongside the best way; the Note 9 concept my palms have been meals, which is deeply stressful for any choice of causes.

[Without Scene Optimizer – left, With Scene Optimizer – right]

Obviously, it’s no longer going to be absolute best. I discovered, relating to plants that it has the tendency to oversaturate the colours. If you compromise, you’ll disable the characteristic in settings. However, you must do that earlier than the shot is taken. There’s no technique to manually override the characteristic to inform it what sort of object you’re capturing. That turns out like a little bit of a no brainer addition.

[Super slow-mo matcha under the flicking lights]

Flaw Detection serves a equivalent position as Scene Optimizer, serving to you steer clear of getting on your personal manner as an newbie photog. The characteristic is designed to warn you if a shot is blurry, if there’s a smudge at the display, if the topic blinked or if backlighting is making all the things glance crappy. In the case of lens smudging and backlighting, it best bothers with a unmarried alert each 24 hours.

The blink detection labored properly. Blur detection, however, was once a little bit extra of a crap shoot for topics in movement and those who have been too with regards to the lens to get a just right focal point. The characteristic may just use a little bit of labor, however I nonetheless assume it’s one of the crucial extra compelling additions at the entire of the software and look ahead to numerous different corporations introducing their very own variations within the coming 12 months.

Design Note

The extra the Note adjustments, the extra it remains the similar, I assume. As anticipated, the design language hasn’t modified a lot, which is for sure a part of what made Samsung CEO DJ Koh assume he may just escape with the use of the software in public forward of release. The footprint is nearly the similar despite the ever-so-slightly higher display (6.three > 6.Four-inches, identical 2,960 x 1,440 solution) — from 162.five x 74.eight x eight.6 mm at the eight, to 161.9 x 76.Four x eight.eight mm at the 9.

That’s completely high quality. Samsung’s completed an excellent activity cramming numerous display right into a manageable footprint over the last a number of gens. The best primary trade (apart from the beautiful new blue and crimson paint jobs) is the migration of the fingerprint sensor from the aspect of the digicam to beneath it.

This was once a transparent example of Samsung responding to comments from customers annoyed through all of the instances they mistook the digicam for the fingerprint reader. The new placement is helping a little bit, although it’s nonetheless moderately with regards to the digicam, and the truth that each are equivalent shapes doesn’t assist issues. Thank goodness for that new smudge detector.

Oh, and the headphone jack remains to be provide, on account of route it’s. For Samsung, it’s the most important technique to distinguish the product and way from an international long past dongle mad.

Note on Notes

Oh Bixby, you everlasting bastion of unfulfilled doable. A complete rundown of latest options can also be discovered right here. Overall, the good assistant guarantees to be extra conversational, with higher concierge options. That stated, Samsung’s as soon as once more tweaking it till the final second, so I will be able to’t give you a complete review till nearer to the telephone’s August 24 side road date.

So keep tuned for that, I suppose. I can say that the setup procedure is usually a little bit of a slog for a characteristic designed to make all the things more uncomplicated. Playing with Bixby voice required me to navigate a number of pages as a way to attach the 2. Thankfully, you will have to best must care for that the only time.

Samsung’s proceeding to tweak the internals to make its software extra appropriate for gaming. The water-carbon cooling device tweaks the liquid cooling device discovered at the software because the S7, to assist diffuse warmth extra successfully. The massive, brilliant display in the meantime, is well-suited to cell gaming, and the 6GB type treated Fortnite moderately properly.

A last be aware

The subsequent smartphone revolution all the time appears to be a 12 months away. The doable arrival of a Samsung software with a foldable show makes the perception of sporting a large software round in a single’s pocket virtually old fashioned. For the time being, on the other hand, the Note stays one of the crucial best possible strategies for transporting lots of display round in your individual.

So much has modified in regards to the Note prior to now seven years, however the core of the software is most commonly the similar: giant display and stylus coming in combination to stroll the road between productiveness and leisure. It’s giant, it’s daring, it’s too pricey for numerous us. But it stays the phablet to overcome.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 review – TechCrunch There are not any secrets and techniques in client electronics anymore. Sometimes it’s the fault of flubs and flaws and leakers.

0 notes

nuttytriumphenthusiast-blog · 7 years ago

Text

There are not any secrets and techniques in client electronics anymore. Sometimes it’s the fault of flubs and flaws and leakers. Sometimes it’s via design. In the case of the Galaxy Note 9, it’s a bit little bit of each.

The Galaxy S9 wasn’t the blockbuster Samsung’s shareholders had been anticipating, so the corporate understandably primed the pump thru a mixture of teasers and leaks — some indubitably accidental and others that gave the impression suspiciously much less so.

By the time the day gone by’s giant match at Brooklyn’s space that Jay-Z constructed rolled round, we knew with reference to every thing we had to know in regards to the upcoming handset, and nearly each and every leaked spec proved correct. Sure, the corporate amazingly controlled to thru in a wonder or two, however the match used to be all in regards to the Note.

And understandably so. The phablet, at the side of the Galaxy S line, paperwork the cornerstone of Samsung’s whole client means. It’s a portfolio that expands with every match, to incorporate wearables, productiveness, the good house, car, a wise assistant and now the long-awaited good speaker. None of which might make a lick of sense with out the handsets.

If the Galaxy S is Samsung’s tentpole instrument, the Note represents what the corporate has deemed its “innovation brand,” the uber-premium instrument that permits the corporate to push the boundaries of its cell . In previous generations, that’s intended the Edge show (curving display screen), S-Pen, large display screen and dual-camera. That innovation, naturally, comes at a value.

Here it’s $1,000. It’s a value that, till a yr in the past gave the impression impossibly steep for a smartphone. For the Galaxy Note 9, however, that’s simply the place issues get started. Any hopes that the brand new type would possibly constitute a transfer towards the mainstream for the road within the wake of an underwhelming S9 efficiency will also be put to relaxation right here.

The Note is what it’s all the time been and can most likely all the time proceed to be: a tool for the diehard. An excellent instrument, thoughts, however one for the ones with an arm and or a leg to spare. Most of the nice new options will trickle their method down the meals chain to the corporate’s extra mainstream instrument. At $720/$840, the S9 isn’t the cheap telephone via any stretch of the creativeness, however on the very least, holding it to 3 digits turns out a bit extra palatable.

A excellent rule of thumb for a review is incorporating the product into one’s personal lifestyles up to conceivable. It’s a sexy simple ask with a tool just like the Note 9, which has the benefit of nice and device design constructed upon the learnings and missteps of a number of generations.

It’s nonetheless now not highest in any respect, and the corporate’s everything-and-the-kitchen-sink option to the road manner there are many options that by no means in point of fact made their would possibly into my regimen. And whilst, because the in large part unchanged product design suggests — the Note 9 doesn’t constitute a vastly important milestone within the product line — there are sufficient tweaks right through the product to handle its position towards the highest of the Android heap.

All charged up

Let’s cope with the gorilla within the room right here. Two years in the past, Galaxy Notes began exploding. Samsung recalled the gadgets, began promoting them, extra exploded and so they recalled them once more, in the long run discontinuing the product.

Samsung apologized profusely and agreed to institute extra rigorous protection tests. For the following couple of gadgets, the corporate didn’t rock the boat. Battery sizes on Galaxy merchandise stayed most commonly the similar. It used to be a mixture of pragmatism and optics. The corporate wanted time to make certain that long run merchandise wouldn’t undergo the similar destiny, whilst demonstrating to the general public and shareholders that it used to be doing due diligence.

“What we want to do is a tempered approach to innovation any time,” Samsung’s director of Product Strategy and Marketing advised me forward of release, “so this was the right time to increase the battery to meet consumer needs.”

Given Samsung’s large trade as an element producer, the entire fiasco in the long run didn’t dent the base line. In reality, in a odd method, it will in the long run be a internet certain. Now it could possibly boast about having probably the most rigorous battery checking out processes within the trade. Now it’s a characteristic, now not a worm.

At Four,000mAh, the Note 9 includes a 700mAh build up above its predecessor. It’s now not an exceptional quantity — Huawei’s already hit the Four,000 mark — however it’s the biggest ever on a Note instrument, striking the handset within the most sensible percentile.

As a long way as how that in truth interprets to real-world utilization, Samsung’s now not giving a bunch but. The corporate merely says “all day and all night” in its liberate. I discovered that to be beautiful as regards to the reality. I unplugged the handset at 100 % the day gone by afternoon. I texted, listened to Spotify, took pictures, downloaded and simply in most cases tried to are living my lifestyles at the rattling factor.

Just underneath 22 hours later, it passed on to the great beyond and after a lot notification-based consternation a couple of significantly low battery, the display screen went black. Like I mentioned, it’s now not loopy battery lifestyles, however going maximum of a complete day and evening with out a price is a pleasing little luxurious — and this kind of factor all telephone makers will have to attempt to reach on their flagship merchandise.

The corporate additionally, kindly, integrated the brand new Wireless Charging Duo. The charging pad isn’t rather as formidable because the AirPower, however not like that product, offered just about a yr in the past via Apple, I’ve this in my palms at the moment. So, level: Samsung. Charging the instrument from 0 to 100 % took 3 hours at the dot with the $120 “Fast Charge” pad. And it’s great and toasty now.

Memories

Okay, about that worth. Again, we’re speaking $999.99 to begin. There’s additionally a 2d SKU. That one will run you $1,295.99. Take a second if you wish to have to.

That’s a foolish amount of cash if you happen to’re now not the place to begin guard for the Golden State Warriors. So a lot for the rumors that the corporate could be running to make its gadgets extra economically out there. And whilst the top class has all the time intended that the Galaxy line goes to stay at the dear facet, I will’t assist however indicate that a couple of key choices can have saved the fee down, whilst keeping up construct high quality.

Storage is arguably the principle offender. The aforementioned two SKUs come up with both 6GB of RAM with 128GB or 8GB of RAM with 512GB. With cloud syncing and the remaining, it’s laborious to consider I’d come as regards to that restrict within the two or so years till the time involves improve my handset.

I’m certain the ones kinds of loopy media-hoarding energy customers do, in truth, exist on the planet, however they’re for sure a rarity. Besides, as Samsung helpfully identified, 512GB SD playing cards exist already on the planet. Sure, that’s every other $350 tacked onto the base line, however it’s there, if you wish to have it. For maximum customers, it’s laborious to peer Samsung’s declare of getting “the world’s first 1TB-ready smartphone” (512GB+512GB) exists for little extra explanation why than racking up but every other flashy declare for the 1960s Batman application belt of smartphones.

Sure, Samsung indubitably will get a deal on Samsung-built laborious drives, however the part must be a key section in what’s riding prices up. For an organization as pushed via selection as Samsung, I’m in truth shocked we’re now not getting extra choices up entrance right here within the States.

Remote regulate

Confession: After checking out many Galaxy Note fashions over the process a few years, I’ve by no means found out a perfect use for the S-Pen. I imply, I’m satisfied that individuals adore it, and clearly the entire early skepticism in regards to the go back of the stylus used to be briefly put to relaxation, as the corporate has persevered to return to the effectively, yr after yr.

But the entire handwritten notice taking and animated GIF drawing simply isn’t for me, guy. I additionally just lately spoke to an artist pal who advised me that the Note doesn’t in point of fact reduce it for him at the drawing entrance, both. Again, if you happen to like or find it irresistible, extra energy to you, however it’s simply now not for me.

As foolish as the theory of the usage of the S-Pen as a far off regulate would possibly seem in the beginning look, on the other hand, it’s transparent to me that that is the primary use of the integrated accent I may in truth see the usage of every day. It’s to hand if you get past the silliness of keeping a stylus to your hand whilst working, and serves as a to hand surrogate for individuals who don’t personal a appropriate smartwatch.

The S-Pen now sports activities Bluetooth Low Energy, permitting it to regulate other facets of telephone use. Low Energy or now not, that tech calls for energy, so the stylus now comprises an excellent conductor, which fees it when slotted within the telephone; 40 seconds of charging will have to get you a wholesome 30 mins of use. Even so, the telephone will worm you to remind you that you simply in point of fact must dock the object when now not in use.

The appropriate apps are nonetheless rather restricted at release, however it’s sufficient to exhibit how this generally is a to hand little addition. Of the bunch, I were given essentially the most out of track regulate for Spotify. One click on performs/pauses a tune, and a double-click extends the monitor. Sure, it’s restricted capability, however it stored me from having to mess around with the telephone to modify songs went I went for my run this morning.

You’ll wish to be somewhat extra inventive when figuring out usefulness in one of the different apps. Using it as a shutter button within the digital camera app, as an example, generally is a helpful technique to take a selfie with no need to carry the telephone at fingers’ period.

The whole time, I puzzled what one could possibly accomplish with further buttons (quantity/rewind/gameplay)? What a couple of pedometer to trace steps while you’re working at the treadmill with out it within the pocket? Or even a beacon to assist absent-minded people like myself to find it when we invariably drop it between sofa cushions.

But yeah, I perceive why the corporate would make a selection to stay issues easy for what stays a kind of secondary capability. Or, heck, perhaps the corporate simply wishes to carry some options for the Note 10 (Note X?).

Oh, and the Blue and Lavender variations of the telephone are available putting yellow and crimson S-Pens, with lock-screen ink colour to compare. So that’s beautiful amusing.

Hey guy, great shot

Nowhere is the Note’s cumulative evolution higher represented than the digital camera. Each next Galaxy S and Note liberate appear to provide new and/or device upgrades, giving the corporate two distinct alternatives in keeping with yr to support imaging for the road. The S9, introduced again in February, significantly introduced stepped forward low-light pictures to the road. The twin aperture flips between f/1.five and f/2.Four, to let in additional gentle.

It’s a neat trick for a smartphone. Behold, a face to face between the Note 9 (left) and iPhone X (proper):

Here’s what we’re coping with at the entrance:

Rear: Dual Camera with Dual OIS (Optical Image Stabilization)

Wide-angle: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF, F1.five/F2.Four, OIS

Telephoto: 12MP AF, F2.Four, OIS

2X optical zoom, as much as 10X virtual zoom

Front: 8MP AF, F1.7

This day out, the enhancements are most commonly at the device facet of items. Two options specifically stand out: Scene Optimizer and Flaw Detection. The first will have to turn out acquainted to people who’ve been taking note of the smartphone recreation of past due. LG is one of the vital outstanding instance.

Camera is beautiful nice around the board of most present smartphone flagships. As such, those new options are designed to do away with the present weakest hyperlink: human error. Scene Optimizer saves beginner photographers from having to futz with extra complex settings like white steadiness and saturation.

The characteristic makes use of AI to decide what the digital camera is seeing, and adjusts settings accordingly. There are 20 other settings, together with: Food, Portraits, Flowers, Indoor scenes, Animals, Landscapes, Greenery, Trees, Sky, Mountains, Beaches, Sunrises and sunsets, Watersides, Street scenes, Night scenes, Waterfalls, Snow, Birds, Backlit and Text.

Some are beautiful common, others are weirdly explicit, however it’s a excellent combine, and I believe Samsung will proceed so as to add to it thru OTA updates. That mentioned, the serve as itself doesn’t desire a cloud connection, doing the entire processing on-board. The characteristic labored effectively with lots of the flora and meals I threw at it (so that you could discuss), doping up a small icon within the backside of the display screen to let me know that it is aware of what it’s having a look at. It additionally did effectively with ebook textual content.

The good fortune charge of alternative issues, like timber, had been, unsurprisingly, depending on context. Get simply the highest section and it identifies it as “Greenery.” Flip the telephone to portrait mode and get the entire of the trunk and it pops up the “Tree” icon. I did get a couple of false positives alongside the way in which; the Note 9 idea my arms had been meals, which is deeply irritating for any collection of causes.

[Without Scene Optimizer – left, With Scene Optimizer – right]

Obviously, it’s now not going to be highest. I discovered, when it comes to flora that it has the tendency to oversaturate the colours. If you settle, you’ll disable the characteristic in settings. However, it’s important to do that prior to the shot is taken. There’s no technique to manually override the characteristic to inform it what sort of object you’re taking pictures. That turns out like somewhat of a no brainer addition.

[Super slow-mo matcha under the flicking lights]

Flaw Detection serves a an identical position as Scene Optimizer, serving to you steer clear of getting to your personal method as an beginner photog. The characteristic is designed to provide you with a warning if a shot is blurry, if there’s a smudge at the display screen, if the topic blinked or if backlighting is making every thing glance crappy. In the case of lens smudging and backlighting, it simplest bothers with a unmarried alert each and every 24 hours.

The blink detection labored effectively. Blur detection, however, used to be somewhat extra of a crap shoot for topics in movement and those who had been too as regards to the lens to get a excellent focal point. The characteristic may use somewhat of labor, however I nonetheless assume it’s some of the extra compelling additions at the complete of the instrument and await a large number of different firms introducing their very own variations within the coming yr.

Design Note

The extra the Note adjustments, the extra it remains the similar, I guess. As anticipated, the design language hasn’t modified a lot, which is indubitably a part of what made Samsung CEO DJ Koh assume he may escape with the usage of the instrument in public forward of release. The footprint is nearly the similar despite the ever-so-slightly higher display screen (6.three > 6.Four-inches, identical 2,960 x 1,440 answer) — from 162.five x 74.eight x eight.6 mm at the eight, to 161.9 x 76.Four x eight.eight mm at the 9.

That’s completely positive. Samsung’s carried out an outstanding task cramming a large number of display screen right into a manageable footprint during the last a number of gens. The simplest main exchange (excluding the beautiful new blue and crimson paint jobs) is the migration of the fingerprint sensor from the facet of the digital camera to beneath it.

This used to be a transparent example of Samsung responding to comments from customers annoyed via the entire occasions they mistook the digital camera for the fingerprint reader. The new placement is helping somewhat, regardless that it’s nonetheless rather as regards to the digital camera, and the truth that each are an identical shapes doesn’t assist issues. Thank goodness for that new smudge detector.

Oh, and the headphone jack continues to be provide, on account of path it’s. For Samsung, it’s crucial technique to distinguish the product and means from an international long past dongle mad.

Note on Notes

Oh Bixby, you everlasting bastion of unfulfilled possible. A complete rundown of latest options will also be discovered right here. Overall, the good assistant guarantees to be extra conversational, with higher concierge options. That mentioned, Samsung’s as soon as once more tweaking it till the final second, so I will’t provide you with a complete review till nearer to the telephone’s August 24 side road date.

So keep tuned for that, I suppose. I will be able to say that the setup procedure is usually a little bit of a slog for a characteristic designed to make every thing more uncomplicated. Playing with Bixby voice required me to navigate a number of pages with the intention to attach the 2. Thankfully, you will have to simplest need to care for that the only time.

Samsung’s proceeding to tweak the internals to make its instrument extra appropriate for gaming. The water-carbon cooling machine tweaks the liquid cooling machine discovered at the instrument for the reason that S7, to assist diffuse warmth extra successfully. The massive, vibrant display screen in the meantime, is well-suited to cell gaming, and the 6GB type treated Fortnite rather effectively.

A last notice

The subsequent smartphone revolution all the time appears to be a yr away. The possible arrival of a Samsung instrument with a foldable show makes the perception of wearing a large instrument round in a single’s pocket nearly old fashioned. For the time being, on the other hand, the Note stays some of the perfect strategies for transporting plenty of display screen round for your particular person.

So much has modified in regards to the Note prior to now seven years, however the core of the instrument is most commonly the similar: giant display screen and stylus coming in combination to stroll the road between productiveness and leisure. It’s giant, it’s daring, it’s too pricey for a large number of us. But it stays the phablet to overcome.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 review – TechCrunch

There are not any secrets and techniques in client electronics anymore. Sometimes it’s the fault of flubs and flaws and leakers.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 review – TechCrunch There are not any secrets and techniques in client electronics anymore. Sometimes it’s the fault of flubs and flaws and leakers.

0 notes

stayingfocused-blog1 · 7 years ago

Photo

7 Bodybuilding Tips to Speed Up Your body For every person who lifts weights these days, it seems there are two who have a podcast about it. There are more bodybuilding tips promising greater strength and muscle than ever before, and along with them a ton of confusion; one buffed-up Instagrammer says lifting heavy will get you swole, while a well-known fitness personality has claimed in recent years that two 30-minute workouts per week netted him 34 pounds of muscle in a month. There are undoubtedly many ways to skin the fitness cat (here’s where you can get a few dozen proven ones). And even the most credentialed trainers and researchers admit they don’t know everything about how muscle building works. But for those looking to develop bigger biceps or blow up their chest, there are a few, scientifically validated rules you need to follow 3 Factors Affecting Muscle Growth Recent research has confirmed that there are three primary triggers for increasing lean mass (a.k.a. muscle). Each one is part of every Beachbody strength training program. Mechanical tension Muscles don’t grow unless they need to overcome a resistance, and, to a point, the harder you need to contract them, the greater the “mechanical tension” and resulting growth stimulus will be. It’s the ‘use it or lose it’ principle. The most effective way to do that? Grab a weight (or resistance band) and have at it. Research suggests that mechanical tension disturbs the integrity of a muscle, triggering a series of changes that ultimately results in increases in not only size, but also contractile strength and power. In general, the heavier weight you can lift with good form, the more tension you produce, and the more you’ll grow. Muscle damage Traumatic-sounding, but true: muscle damage — or more specifically, the micro-trauma to muscle and connective tissue that’s a natural consequence of resistance training — touches off a regenerative process that can stimulate the production of new muscle cells. Research shows that eccentric movements (e.g., the lowering phase of a bicep curl), which require a muscle to lengthen under tension, produce greater micro-trauma than concentric movements (e.g., the lifting phase of a bicep curl), which require it to contract. Metabolic stress You know the deep burn you feel in your muscles after sprinting up several flights of stairs or pounding out 12 to 15 reps on your last set of heavy squats? That’s the result of metabolic stress, which is the accumulation of waste products from anaerobic energy production, and research shoes that it can be a powerful stimulus for adaptation (i.e., muscle growth). Want to maximize metabolic stress? Do moderate-duration, high-intensity activities that causes burning in the muscles; think 45 seconds of max-effort bodyweight squat-to-presses or lunge-to-curls, or 30 seconds of max-effort sprinting. 7 Bodybuilding Tips Backed by Science Sagi Kalev's Weightlifting Playlist Unless your workout program involves one or more of the factors above, it won’t put any muscle on your frame. But that still leaves some essential questions: What are the best ways to create tension, stress, and damage in the muscles? Can you combine these factors to maximize growth? Is there a limit to the stress, tension, and damage your muscles can take? The experts don’t have all the answers yet, but the following bodybuilding tips — all of which you can do at home, whether you’re a beginner or a grizzled lifter — will help you find the sweet spot for maximizing muscle growth. 1. Keep challenging your muscles Sounds obvious, but too often men and women aspiring to superheroic proportions fall into training ruts. Month after month and year after year, they use the same weights in the same rep schemes for the same exercises. Unsurprisingly, their muscles don’t grow. Avoid this muscle-building trap through progressive overload: Regularly increasing the challenge to your muscles. Lifting more weight over time is one approach to overload (and this study suggests it’s an effective one), but there are many others. You can: Do more reps Lift faster (or slower) Reduce the rest periods between sets Alter your grip (e.g., from underhand to overhand) Progress to a tougher variation of an exercise, such as a decline pushup instead of the classic version Whatever approach you take, try to do even the littlest bit more than you did last workout. It won’t be possible every day, but over time, these small increases will add up. And don’t become discouraged if gains come slower as you get older; around age 30, you’re paddling against a slow tide of gradual muscle loss that makes gaining strength and muscle tougher than when you were younger. Related: Why Weight Lifting Is Making You Stronger But Not Bigger 2. Do multiple sets The “one set to failure” approach — doing a single, all-out set of an exercise instead of multiple ones — has long been a popular, timesaving strategy among bodybuilders. And recent studies suggest that it can be effective for building muscle. But research (including this study) comparing lifters who performed just one set per exercise with those who performed three to five, suggests that, in general, more sets wins for muscle building. 3. Lift beyond the “hypertrophy rep range” For years, researchers reported that bodybuilding routines should emphasize the “hypertrophy rep range,” which is 8 to 10 or 12 reps per set. In 2016, researchers at McMaster University revealed that there’s another way. They found little difference in muscle growth between those who worked in the hypertrophy range and those who lifted lighter weights for 20 to 25 reps (i.e., deep into the so-called “endurance range). As long as the subjects trained to “volitional failure” — the point at which they couldn’t perform another rep with good form — they got bigger and stronger. (Editor’s note: Volitional failure is different than absolute failure, which is when you simply can’t perform another rep. More on that in tip number six.) “Regardless of whether volitional failure is achieved through heavy weights or high reps, you’ll hit your type II muscle fibers, which have the greatest growth potential,” says Trevor Thieme, C.S.C.S., Beachbody’s senior manager of fitness and nutrition content. “But those lighter weight/higher rep sets will also nail your smaller type I muscle fibers, which studies have shown to have growth potential as well.” Bottom line: To optimize your muscular adaptations to strength training, you should include a variety of rep ranges in your training program. 4. Do both split and full-body training It’s a topic long debated among trainers and strength coaches. Some contend that full-body workouts ultimately build more muscle by working muscles more frequently. Others believe that focusing on one or two body parts in each of your weekly workouts (e.g., back and bis, chest and tris, legs, etc.) maximizes muscular gains by working a muscle group extra hard and then allowing it to recovery completely The best strategy may be to alternate between the two approaches, spending a few weeks on split training followed by a few that focus on full-body workouts. “In the programs I design, I use both approaches, because there’s no one-size-fits all in bodybuilding,” says Body Beast creator Sagi Kalev, DC, CCN, CNS. 5. Rest more For years, people seeking more muscle were counseled to rest just 60 seconds between strength-training sets. But newer research suggests that longer rest periods (2-3 minutes) between sets of both isolation exercises (like curls) and compound moves (like pull-ups) may be more effective in promoting gains in both strength and size. Shorter rest periods have their place — especially if your goal is muscular endurance and fat loss. But longer rest allows you to perform more reps on subsequent sets, and this greater volume, over time, may lead to greater muscle gains in the long run. One convenient way to do this without tacking additional time onto your bodybuilding routine: Perform supersets, which are back-to-back sets of two different exercises that target non-competing muscle groups (e.g., the squat and biceps curl, or the bench press and bent over row). 6. Avoid lifting to absolute failure Consistently training to absolute failure is unnecessary for increases in muscle size and strength. It can also be dangerous. “It’s a recipe for injury,” says Thieme. “A much better strategy is to always and only lift to volitional or technical failure, which is the point — usually in the last set or two of an exercise — where you can’t do another rep without compromising form.” Another way to think about it, according to Thieme: Always keep a rep or two in your pocket. 7. Experiment Studies can only identify training techniques that work for the largest number of people — they rarely account for individual variation, which can be considerable. “Every body is different, and there’s no one combo that works best for everyone,” says Thieme. “The key is to find what works for you.”

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